Anthony Heald is the great. He is so good that I'd rather listen to him do a book than the dramatizations I've heard.

This is a review of Shadow of the Empire which is available as a hard cover book of 340 (ISBN 0553574132) pages, a comic (isbn 1569711836), a novelization of 176 pages (isbn 044013036) and audio cassette (isbn 0553100890). This story tales places between ESB and ROTJ. I always felt it was one of the more important stories of the Expanded Universe given that Xizor became an action figure as did Dash Render and his ship (Outrider). The whole gang is in this one even Han, though is encased in carbonite. We get Vader, the emperor, Fett, Guri, Boosk, 4-Lom, Jabba, Zuckuss and Wedge along with the regular gang of heroes.
Apparently Dark horse did have available any pictures of Lando or Leia because the artists did a lousy job of drawing them. Most of the time Luke was OK, but sometimes he looked like Jessica Lynch. They did do a great job drawing Fett, Vader and dash however.
Everyone is searching for Han, but he has not be taken directly to Jabba. Xizor has risen to lead Black Sun which has thrived since Darth Maul wiped out the old leadership. His newest ambition is to replace Vader as #2 in the empire. Xizor orders Luke killed knowing that Vader wants him alive. Then Xizor captured Leia.

This is one of my favorite of all the EU stories. Steve Perry has created a new and exciting Journey. The novel is 4 stars and the comic is 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Considering that Dark horse released this in 1997 before some of their awesome new production techniques, this is a very well done comic. The abridged audio cassette is good quality, but at on 2 ½ hours to much is cut.

My dad got me this tape for getting a good report card and I was very satisfied. I originally thought that this would be a boring book but I was wrong. This book has a very good plot.

The 3 most powerful person in the galaxy is Prince Xizor. Darth Vader killed Xizor's familly and now Xizor wants revenge. Using his crime syndicate, Black Sun, he plots to kill Luke, Vader's son.

Anyone who has even a faint interest in Star Wars should read this book. It is one of the best Star Wars books so far. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes sci-fi stories for this is one of the best. I only wish Xizor was in it more.

I love this book for the simple fact its got not one, not two, but three villains. Aside from my fave, Palpatine, it introduces another, Prince Xizor who dares to go up against another fave Lord Vader. Its an action packed book with lots of scheming, dirty dealings and fighting scenes. The glimpses into Vader's thoghts was a real treat and I was glad to see that the ending left you guessing a bit. A great addition to the Star Wars saga. Anthony heald who is my favorite narrator in audiobooks does a fantastic job bringing each character to life; using sound effects i.e mechanical breathing when Vader was speaking was a nice touch and you got to love Xizor's theme which plays throughout this great audio production; one of my top audiobooks in my collection and one which has given me countless hours of listening enjoyment. Highly recommended.

This is a quiet, rather slow mystery with the apparent hidden theme that everyone in the story must fall in love. Loan shark and blackmailer Weems is killed, and the inspector Pitt must track down the people listed in his papers -- including some members of high society and some members of his own police force. Meanwhile, his wife Charlotte is helping her pregnant sister Emily deal with the demands placed on a would-be MP's wife. And everyone -- Pitt's superior Drummond, and people both of society and not -- falls in love, though not necessarily with happy results.

Perry writes in a competent, though not artistic, way. Her characters seem believable as people, with one exception which I'll get to, but are not striking or outstanding. She is at her best with setting: the etiquette, fashion and stifling "correctness" of late Victorian society are well delineated here. The newness of a police force and its iffy social status form an interesting part of Perry's world.

I found the plot to terminate with a twist that had not been sufficiently foreshadowed. Instead of "Oh, of course," it made me say "Huh? Where'd that come from?". It is a good twist, but it needs some foundation. The characters involved need to show, at least in retrospect, better signs of their hidden relationship. Also, the means of Weem's death, which promised to be interesting, was never really explored.

For those unfamiliar with this series, Inspector Pitt is a police detective in Victorian England, in the period shortly after the professional police force was first established. Policemen were respected to a degree, but apparently had about the same social status as a skilled laborer. Pitt's wife, Charlotte, on the other hand, is from a much wealthier and higher-status family. Indeed, Charlotte's sister is married to a wealthy and well-connected man who is being considered for a vacancy in Parliament. That connection enables Charlotte to participate discreetly in Pitt's investigations when they require a peek into the activities of society's upper crust.

The story: a sleazy loan shark is found shot to death in an unusually gruesome manner. Almost everyone who knew the man had good reason to want him dead. Even Inspector Pitt, who is assigned to investigate the case, can't avoid the feeling that the murderer did the rest of society a favor. But murder is illegal, and so the investigation goes on.

It quickly develops that the victim was not only a loan shark, but a blackmailer as well, with several socially prominent people on his list of victims. Hence the investigation must proceed delicately. And that's where (as usual) Pitt's wife, Charlotte, lends a hand.

If you are already familiar with Anne Perry's Inspector Pitt series, you know that she's one of the very best mystery writers around. Personally, I think Elizabeth George and possibly P. D. James are her only superiors in the field. It's hard to rank one book in the series against the others, but this one certainly upholds the high standards of the entire series. The characterizations are vivid and believable, the plot is complex and captivating, and the ending is logical and satisfying. My only complaint about the book (and it applies to all the Inspector Pitt books) is the constant obsession with differences in social class. Those differences existed in Victorian England, of course, but I find it hard to believe they were such a preoccupation in everyone's mind, minute by minute, day after day, as Perry makes them out to be. The class distinctions were more likely taken for granted, like the weather.

If you're a mystery fan and you haven't read any of Perry's work, then this is as good an introduction to the series as any. You're in for a treat.

Thomas Pitt is a police inspector in London, circa 1890. He has been removed from more routine cases to handle a special investigation. An unsavory usurer (loan shark) has been killed, and some high placed people have an interest. It seems the usurer was also a blackmailer. Someone else may now have information damaging to various people.

The novel provides a good picture of the social climbing and snobishness of Victorian England, where the old school tie meant a lot, mistresses were OK as long as you were discreet, and an exposed skeleton could ruin you socially, destroy your children's marriage prospects, and get you blackballed from club membership. People were expected to be seen in the right places, but you could not accept invitations unless you returned them, and a woman could not possibly wear the same dress or hat to two functions.

Events are compounded by a shadowy secret society that goes beyond the old school tie. People are not telling the whole truth about their relationships, and investigations by Pitt (with some additional nosing around by his wife) reveal well hidden secrets. The novel comes to a surprising conclusion as truths are revealed.

The novel has some sexual content and violence.

A masked woman, a third-part of a ten thousand bill, a dubious deal and a nice murder (of course!): these are the elements in yet another great case in which Perry Mason displays his astonishing abilities to unveil the truth. Alibi analysis is fundamental in this one!

The hook was baited. Mason was summoned from the dead of night to his office, where he received $2,000 in cash, and the small end of a $10,000 bill. The client was a masked woman, and he had no way of knowing who she was, and how to prepare her defense.

Mason stumbles around trying to figure out how to protect his mystery client. Then even after he unmasks his client, he finds himself the victim of a frame-up by a suspect who tells a story which the district attorney is happy to believe.

This is the 30th Perry Mason novel I've read (the 14th in the series), and it's the best one so far! A spinster librarian finds love. He's a bit older than her and unemployed, but he's such a wonderful man that she marries him and enjoys the happiest months of her life. But alas, when he is found murdered in their honeymoon cabin, she discovers his real identity--that he was actually a multimillionaire who was married to another woman. Such betrayal! and all the evidence points to her as the murderer, including a parrot who repeats the murder dialog over and over again. And everyone but her has an ironclad alibi for the time of the murder. I won't give away the solution, except to say that it's so good that you'll want to study cinema just to bring it to the screen.

The positives:
-Very original idea
-I like the set-up of the book, especially how it read just like a diary - as the name implies
-While someone mentioned that it read like a financial report, I feel that this was a very important aspect of the book. Kudos to Perry for including and tracking every cent
-This is a quick, light read - a perfect choice, especially for this subject
-He knows the book's subject - and he knows it well
-It's not like other gambling-related books - he doesn't try to sugarcoat anything or brag about wins. He's very honest and sincere
-Simply, it's interesting

The negatives:
-Perry's writing just isn't that compelling
-His random opinions on the NBA and sports betting read like "filler" and, to me, served no real purpose
-I noticed quite a few grammatical errors and printing errors
-Even though it's nonfiction, I expected a more dramatic ending. The books seems to just suddenly end.

All in all, it's a pretty good read. If you're into blackjack (or just Vegas in general), you'll really take a liking to it.

This is a great book. You really are at the table with the author, and wonder what he has been doing since. The anticipation and preperation for the trip even made me feel a little nervous when he went to the Golden Nugget for his first session.
I personally liked the asides. He does a good job of conveying the isolation he feels at times. It makes me want to try the Golden Nugget buffet next time I'm in Vegas...and stay away from the Barbary Coast or Plaza casinos. You would have to be interested in blackjack to like all the book, but someone who has never gambled in thier life would enjoy most of it.

You've read Stanford Wong, Arnold Snyder, Don Schlesinger, and all the other great stuff about how to beat the game and you have learnt how to count cards, maybe you can count down a deck to less than 30 seconds. You have gone to the casinos and put your knowledge to work, to practice and at the same time hope to make a few bucks at the end of you trips. And you know what, you got burnt many times, especially during the positive counts.
That is what happened to me. At first, I wonder if I did something wrong until I read Stuart's diary. This book is must have addition to your BJ library, Stuart's real life experience, and especially his honesty put our BJ theory to practice. A 4 stars for his writings and 5 stars for practical side of BJ.

This book suffers from a number of major problems, but the main one is that it's incredibly predictable. I have never in my life seen a horror movie, and I've read a grand total of two thriller novels, but despite being totally unfamiliar with the genre, I was never once surprised or caught of guard. I guessed which characters were going to survive and which were going to die when I was maybe a fourth through the comic, and the ending was [bad] and predictable. Add to that the fact that none of the characters were even remotely interesting or well-developed, and the result is a very poor comic indeed.

It kept me from putting it down, full of action,aliens,and non-stop suspense. I suggest you at least check it out. It remains worth reading again.

The "Sea Star" and it's crew come up to the "Volvok". Not knowing what they will find they explore it. There is an intelegence in the ship thats trying to kill them. To survive they must be smarter than "it".

I do not usually read books of this sort (I like fiction, philosophy, cosmology), but the reviews of this book caught my eye. It is written extremely well. Unconventional ideas presented very intelligently and backed up with compelling scientific and anecdotal evidence. Highly recommended to those with an open mind.

Dr. Melvin Morse gives us one of the best books that I have ever read. Thought provoking and detailed. How do humans connect to God? Is it through the brain? What of near death experiences and how are they similar? Is there proof of past lives? Do they connect? What is our link to the universe, or our position? Many topics are explored in this book in detail.

This book has to rate as one of the best on the subject of Paranormal Science. A must read for anyone who has an interest in the subject, or to someone who may be curious as to what this subject is all about. But this book, open your mind.

I found "Where God Lives" to be one of the best examinations of the NDE. Dr. Morse's section on children was compelling, but even more interesting was the section on past life remembrances. As Dr. Morse is a professional and researcher, the book is filled with case studies, scientific analysis and much insight. Although the premise of memory being stored in a place besides the brain may sound a little wacky and "occultish", the book is clearly not that at all. Definitely check this one out for an entertaining read.

Any book which extolls independence from men, I'm for. I bought this book three years ago, and the best thing I've learned from it is the Rule of 72. (What is that? Read the book.)

I've since learned that there's more to picking investment vehicles than finding one you like and feeding it. If a person already has their "dignity money" built up and want to maintain it, that's the only time bonds and bond funds should be considered. If a person is still in the process of building assets, then use safe savings vehicles like money markets until enough is attained to start investing, after that only consider stocks and stock funds to invest in for growth. And watch out picking mutual funds! It involves more than choosing no-loads over loaded funds. For more information on this, I highly recommend another book, Eight Steps to Seven Figures by Charles B. Carlson.

I disagree with not waiting until credit debts are paid off before investing. A person must have something to invest WITH, after all! If a person has such serious cash flow problems that any cash they have must go to pay off these bills, it would to me be fooling to be sending off that money to an investment firm at the risk of losing a house or a vehicle. That person needs help, most of all they need discipline and less dependence on material things. I say clear the debt or at least bring it way down; then work on a savings plan, then work on an investment plan, in that order.

A girl does need cash, but in order to have that cash she's simply got to quit spending it. She needs discipline and faith in herself to meet her financial goals. Part of that discipline is not relying on others to take care of her financially, whether it's a man or other lover or the Federal Government or even the stock market. This book doesn't really tell the whole story in that regard, but I think it's a good start toward self-education.

I just wish it had been a little more "condensed", if you will. I'm extremely busy with not a lot of time to just sit around reading a book, and this book in particular could have been a bit quicker to read without all the personal anecdotes and individual examples. BUT...this is a good book if you want to learn about taking charge of your financial future. For the most part, her strategies sound very accessible. For example, she recommends paying your mortgage plus the next month's principle, which is highly do-able. Most financial gurus admonish us to pay no less than double our mortage payment (yeah, right). And, I love the fact that the author advises readers to NOT wait until credit cards are paid off to begin saving. Another refrain of financial gurus: "it's absolutely ridiculous to put money in a 3% savings account when you could be paying it on your 20% interest credit cards." Granted, theoretically that is sound advice, but it's just not logical for most of us, including me. I for one do not want to wait until my credit card is paid off before I start building a savings account. After all, the only way to prevent more debt is by having cash available, and how will you have any if you're paying every nickel and dime on your card? I also love how the author describes credit cards as "the Draculas of the financial world, draining assets out of our lives", how true! A great and very insightful book. It wasn't entirely easy to understand (unless you're already a financially-minded person) but the more I read it, the more I get out of it. The author also encourages readers to sit down and map out their financial future, for instance, if they want to have $1,000,000 to retire on, they need to actually write out how much that will require per month and how they will get it. I did that for the first time after reading this book, it's something I've never done before, and it has given me a more tangible goal to shoot for. I love this book and others like it for encouraging women to take active control in their financial future, not just mindlessly float around expecting someone else to take care of them.

For the first time in my life, I feel in control of my finances -- and what a great feeling it is! As a professional woman with feminist leanings, I've long perceived myself as being in charge of my career and my love life. But economically speaking, I've always been more or less out to lunch. For some reason, I zoned out when the topic turned to finances...I let my father -- and then my husband -- handle my money. Well, no more. After reading this book, I feel more than capable of managing my money myself. I dare say I now know more than either my husband or dad, both of whom now defer to my judgment. I've bought copies of this wonderful book for my sister, my best friend, and my niece. And I'll continue to give copies of "A Girl Needs Cash" to my nearest and dearest female friends -- anyone who would benefit from this one-of-a-kind gift of financial independence.

This is the 29th Perry Mason novel I've read (the 12th in the series). Forgive me for giving this one less than a rave review. Usually Perry Mason sees what no one else can see--a sort of mid-20th Century Sherlock Holmes. In this case the only surprise about the solution is that it takes Mr. Mason so long to happen upon it. The most interesting feature of this story is Perry Mason's marriage proposal to Della Street. (Holmes' own Doctor Watson got married in the "Sign of Four," but his wife was killed off in "The Empty House." I guess his wife "got in the way" one too many times. Could Della suffer a similar fate?)

If the writing style characteristic of the thirties and forties is something that you enjoy, then Gardner's mysteries are a must-read. In this early novel, mistaken identity plays a large role. We have a switched photograph, a bandaged man, a woman in thick glasses, and a family traveling under false pretenses. Perry Mason is initially involved to protect a young innocent from scandal, but he gets in deeper and deeper until it's finally all about murder.

So, you've heard about Perry Mason and would like to read one of his books? If you were to read one and only one of the dozens of books Erle Stanley Gardner wrote, "The Case of the Substitute Face" should be it. This book, written in 1938, shows Gardner at the top of his form, after he had fully developed his formula, but before it truly became a formula.

Gardner himself was a top lawyer. "The Case of the Chinese Shopkeepers" could have been one of Gardner's books if he hadn't done it himself. When Gardner heard the DA was going to subpoena one of his clients, a chinese shopkeeper in Oxnard CA, Gardner put another chinese man, who didn't speak English, in his client's store. The court officer then brought the wrong witness to court and, after much confusion, the case was dismissed.

"Pentecost Alley" is another entry in Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. It is the thirteenth of these stories that I've read, so it would be safe to assume that I like the series. Perry seems to have a good feel for the period and her characters are well-drawn. She makes late nineteenth century London seem an exceedingly grim place, and perhaps by our standards it was, but other major cities of the day were likely worse (some still are). She sometimes spends a bit too much space on her soapbox expounding on the social evils of the day, something that Doyle avoided (to his credit -- his stories were always concise). Still, the social ills focused on are invariably central to the plot, so this is only a minor complaint. Some of Perry's earlier stories also suffered from rather simplistic plots. There was often a single character with a clearly dysfunctional personality, leaving the reader with only the details to figure out. All that is not a problem here, though. Perry makes it clear in the course of "Pentecost Alley" that she is against capital punishment (an opinion that is not necessarily germaine to the story), but the plot is intricate and intriguing. As public pressure mounts on Pitt, especially when it appears that the wrong man has been hanged for the murder of Ada McKinley, I felt his anxiety. The tension builds very effectively. Although I was able to identify a couple of characters who ended up in a central role, I still couldn't see how it all fitted together until very near the end.

Fans will enjoy "Pentecost Alley" as another chance to spend time with all the regular characters: Thomas, Charlotte, Emily, Gracie, Caroline, Grandmama, the children, etc., but beyond that this is a first rate mystery that any mystery fan can sink his teeth into. I think this is one of Perry's best efforts, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading a good mystery, whether familiar with the series or not.

As far as I'm concerned, Anne Perry's books are keepers. I was buying her books in hardcover as soon as I spotted them before there was an Amazon.com. Now I routinely pre-order them. When I pulled PENTECOST ALLEY off the shelf yesterday, I realized I had forgotten who all but the regular characters were and who was the killer. Some things dimly came back to me while I read, but the story was just as compelling. Yes, there's the usual contrast between the lives of the filthy rich and those of the filthy poor, but I've never known Anne Perry to fail to bring them to life.

Is Finley Fitzjames guilty? The more I learned about his father, Augustus, the worse he seemed, but that didn't mean his son was a murderer. If someone was framing Finley, why? Did anyone hate Finley that much or did someone want to get revenge on the father through the son? The best member of the Fitzjames family is the daughter, Tallulah. Underneath that party-loving exterior is intelligence and fire. She's certain that her beloved brother is innocent, but how can she prove it? While she's at it, can she make up her mind between her life of luxury and a very worthy, but poor man whom she loves but who thinks she's only a social butterfly?

Emily Radley's life has been just as useless as Tallulah's lately. Her husband is fighting for the right in Parliament so they don't have much time together. Her servants are so competent that they could easily manage the household without her. Worse, she has Grandmama living with her. The other women of the family have grown and changed since book one, but Grandmama is a narrow-minded and nasty as ever. It's a good thing we have Lady Vespasia to show us that an elderly widow can still be vital and involved. What Emily needs is to be involved in another of her brother-in-law's cases. Will her new aquaintance with Tallulah give her the chance to be something other than decorative and charming? When things go horribly wrong, as they will, Charlotte will have to step in, too. More than just her husband's career is at stake. There's been an outbreak of violence. Will more follow? Full scale riots? Anarchy? It's a very tense situation. No one has forgotten that Jack the Ripper business only a couple of years ago, nor the fact that the killer was never caught. Don't miss the scene where Emily, Charlotte, and Tallulah forsake their good clothes to visit the brothels for clues. I loved the frank assessment of their chances for success as ladies of the evening. Pay attention to the names of even the most briefly-noted characters. One of them is the same as that of a character in a famous classic novel. I wish I knew if that were coincidence or deliberate.

As usual in one of Anne Perry's mysteries, morality, principles, and soul searching play a prominent role. One of the other reviewers mentioned the author's past, but failed to mention that she was only a schoolgirl at the time.

If you're looking for a book that's fast-paced and shallow, with characters of cardboard, PENTECOST ALLEY is not for you. If you demand more from your mysteries, I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

This book has been my favorite of all the Thomas Pitt series. I love how Anne Perry investigates all levels of victorian London. This one caught my attention and I could hardly put it down. I highly recommend Anne Perry!

BETHLEHEM ROAD is another installment in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. As such, it has all of the usual features: interesting characters, many of whom are familiar as series regulars, an intriguing plot, Victorian London as the backdrop, and a burning social issue of the day that plays a significant role in the story. As occaisionally happens, Ms. Perry lets her soapbox get in the way of her mystery once or twice in this one, but that's only a minor problem.

For most of the story, the plot revolves around a series of murders involving MPs. Each is found tied to the same lamppost with his throat cut. Each was returning home alone and on foot from an evening session of Parliament. This is pretty riveting stuff, and for most of the book there is no obvious suspect. The only suspect on the horizon seems unlikely to be the perpetrator. Both Thomas and Charlotte are baffled. Ultimately, however, the solution to these murders is only the prelude to the real climax of the story, which is abrupt in true Anne Perry style. For me, the solution to (or, really, the rationale for) the lamppost murders is this book's weakness; it's what keeps this from being a five-star book. The lamppost murders, with their bizarre circumstances and the misery they provoke in the families of the victims, need a more compelling purpose than what we end up with here. At the risk of giving away too much, it just seemed to me that the lack of intent and motive for the murder of these men left a little to be desired when all was said and done.

BETHLEHEM ROAD is a pretty good mystery with most of the strengths usually found in the Pitt series. While Perry perhaps over-reaches herself a bit here in trying to pull off a plot within a plot, it will keep readers turning the pages from beginning to end. For me it was entertaining, even if ultimately a little frustrating. I recommend it to other mystery readers, particularly fans of the Pitt series.

The statue of Boadicea driving her war chariot stands in front of the British Parliament building. Members of Parliament (MPs), walking past the statue every day, contended that women did not have the ability to understand issues and vote intelligently. The year is 1888 and women's rights are a contentious issue. When MPs have their throats cut on the way home from evening sessions, suspicion points in many directions. Was it a radical women's rights advocate, a demented anarchist, or perhaps someone benefiting financially?

Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte, become involved in the investigation. The entire issue of women's rights unfolds including various repressive laws. There are issues of inheritance, child custody, and a wife's obligations to her husband (religious fundamentalists in the U.S. have been revisiting this issue). This is a real whodunit with a surprising conclusion. The novel provides a good picture of the English social structure of that time period.

Bethlehem Road is the tenth novel in the Pitt series of mysteries by Anne Perry. While I would recommend reading the series in order for maximum enjoyment, the characters are at a turning point in this book and so you could just jump in here if you wish. Charlotte Ellison Pitt is really getting comfortable in her role as a police Inspector's wife; Thomas Pitt, her husband, has a more sympathetic and appreciative new boss; Emily Ellison March (Charlotte's sister) just married for a second time; and Aunt Vespasia is starting to show alarming new signs of frailty and age. Together, Thomas, Charlotte and Vespasia work together to solve the mystery of the "Westminster Cutthroat" who is murdering MPs on Westminster Bridge.

What I most liked about this mystery was the number of red herrings that were thrown in the way of the conclusion. I found myself unable to figure out who had perpetrated the crimes and went down lots of blind alleys as a result. This added to my enjoyment of the book, although the ending was a bit Christie-like in all honesty. I'm really looking forward to Highgate Rise, the next book in the series, since Bethlehem Road sets up so many interesting new possibilities.