This book starts out with a great premise. Finding millions of dollars in an abandoned cellar, what would you do with it? That becomes Ben Lindberg's problem in the beginning of Windfall. And it's an interesting problem. The bad guys are looking for their money, he can really use, but how can he spend it without getting caught. The first half of this book is great, really enjoyed it. From then on, it deteriorates into basically a car chase, fight with the bad guys and not the happiest of endings. Could have been much better (see A Simple Plan), but not the worst book I've read either.

I picked this book up after hearing it reviewed on NPR and I enjoyed it very much, although I don't think it would reveal anything new on re-reading - hence four stars. I was particularly impressed by the way the author reveals the corrosive effects of keeping secrets - a theme that reminded me of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. (I have not read or seen the more obvious comparison - A Simple Plan). The story moves quickly, and the characters are both believable and sympathetic. A great book to bring to the beach. Recommended, especially to American Lit professors repaying large student loans!

I know very little about the history of morality tales (Aesop's fables, Sophocles' plays, William Bennett's Book of Virtues, etc) but Windfall definately has a "lesson", and I would be very interested in hearing someone talk about this book in that context.

Ben should have told his wife, Katy, up front. Two minds are better than one and she might not have been so wobbly, stronger backbone. A good read as the reader goes along trying to figure out how to have done it differently. Some may think the latter half of the story follows standard thriller lines. See also "The Moneybag" for legal aspects of a similar situation.

Oh, how I love Saylor's ancient Roman murder mysteries! That's where his heart lies and that's where the talent really is. I have a passing acquaintamce with Saylor and was thrilled to learn from him that he'd written a novel set in Texas in the late 18th/early 20th century. In fact, I ran to the store that day and purchased a copy. From page 1 something bothered me about the story, the narrative, the book. It took me about 20 pages to discern that what bothered me was that it was all written in the present tense. Example (not from Saylor's book): "By this time, I'm hungry. I go to a sandwich shop and get a nice fat ham and cheese. I eat it so fast that I dribble mustard on my shirt. I run to get some water to clean it..." This drove me batty and I couldn't, despite many further attempts, finish this creaky, ill-conceived disaster. Again, let me state for all time what a genius Saylor is with his Roman work -- everyone should read them; they're all real page-turners. But let me also caution Mr. Saylor that, next time I meet you, I'd like to say how wonderful your last book was instead of what I think of this one.

After reading and highly enjoying all the Gordianus the Finder books by Saylor (which I do highly recommend), Twist at the End finds Saylor taking a new tact. Using O'Henry as the key character, we follow the unfolding of a series of brutal rape/murders in Austin, Texas in the late 1800's. Saylor shows he knows as much of this time period in Texas as he did about Ancient Rome...but somehow, the book left me cold. Perhaps it is the length, soem 550 pages, but about half way through, my one thought was "get on with it, already!". Not much of a twist at the end...it's obvious. In short, quite a letdown for an otherwise excellent author of ingenious historical mysteries.

Steven Saylor is known for his fine (Roman) historical detective series. However with the unfortunately titled 'Twist at the End' (..known as 'Honour the Dead' in Britain) Saylor spins a mystery fable based in his home town of Austin (Texas), circa 1885. He has cleverly recontructed a story surrounding a series of true crimes: the brutal murders of young women over a two year period (..in fact these crimes were never solved). Saylor makes use of some infamous/notorious late 19th century Austin residents to embellish his story. Sadly, these embellishments completely ruin any sense of believability; this is a major "no-no" with any piece of historical fiction. And as other reviewers noted, despite its title no one will find a "twist at the end" here.

But all is not lost. The prose flows very well, and the characterizations have some depth to them. I actually enjoyed 'Twist at the End' for its snapshot of 1880s Austin life. Folks interested in Texas history will appreciate the author's obvious detailed research.

Bottom line: certainly a half-baked mystery novel. But the overall writing talents of the author and historical perspectives make 'Twist a the End' a surprisingly decent read.

A review by Kayvan

Herbert Muskie is fat, he's strong and he is very, very mad at the people of Loomis. You see Herbert used to live in Loomis until one day thirteen years ago the town people chased Herbert out of town. Now Herbert is back, and with a vengeance, and more than willing to return the favor to all the towns' people!

This story is somewhat suspenseful but not very much, the characterswere very dumb and had very poor judgment. The one character I liked to most was probably the one that I didn't like, Herbert, I like him because he wasn't afraid to take chances. And although there is nothing that could justify his killing the towns people I liked him because he was just plain he had more color to him, he wasn't average Herbert he was fat Herbert. That's what I think gave him the edge because people probably underestimated him because he was fat. The book was kinda like a old town folk tale, like a story that is told to the children so they do not misbehave. The story pretty much just revolved around Herbert's hate or the town's people. The book is moderately long and the story is very dull.

This book is very dull and somewhat suspenseful, that why I would not recommend this book to anyone no matter how bored you are. This book is just a story about a fat man trying to pay back the people who made fun of him when he was like 13. DON'T READ THIS BOOK!!

... Loomis is a small, simple town where Colin and his family have lived their whole lives. Everything is like it always has been and everyone knows everyone else. This all changed the day Colin met Herbert Muskie or the fat man. The fat man coming to Loomis changes everything. It all started when Colin went for a walk to their grandparents for a little food. It takes place during the war so Colin's family does not have very much food or money. This is where he met Herbert. To everyone else Herbert is kind and funny but Colin sees him for what he really is; a liar, cheater and a murder. Herbert manipulates Colin's father and mother into believing that they can trust him. Colin and Verna (the fat man's step-daughter) are determined to prove to them that he is not trustworthy.

My book was not at all what I thought it would be. I didn't know what to think when I saw the title. I didn't really like the subject that much. When I read the back it was talking about the war, so I assumed it would be about the troubles of warfare to Colin. Instead it only briefly mentioned that the only work Colin's dad could get was working in Herbert's yard. It is mostly a suspense story. This is because you never really know to what measure Herbert will take a situation to get what he wants. Throughout the story he is obviously sneaking behind everyone's backs with something; the problem is nobody can figure out what until one night Colin's dad went with Herbert to Aukland. At first I didn't really like the way the author wrote the book. It seemed to wander and get ahead of it and then go back to what it was originally talking about. The sentences were all right but it just got confusing at times. The story seemed to be just right. That is except for the end. It seemed to drag on and on and then it just ended. I wanted it to go one a little more about what happened after, but it just ended suddenly. It told a little bit about after what happened, but I wanted to know so much more.

I would recommend this book for people who like a little suspense. It was overall a very well written book and I enjoyed it. It is fairly smooth reading but a little hard to follow at other times. I give it a 3.

Many have dreamed of going back to their hometown and wreaking havoc on those people that feel slighted them - imagined or real - when they were young. Well, Herbert Muskie, does just that. Through a chance encounter Colin, a young man from this town, ends up being his "partner in crime". Colin soon realizes that not only is Muskie an evil man, but his main targets are Colin's parents.

Not my most favorite Clive Cussler book. I listened to the abridged audio version and didn't think it flowed as well as it could have. I thought things were a bit to choppy.

In this story you are given a possible link to the last days of the Czar's of Russia and the Kazaks that protected them.

Along comes the modern day Russian who wants to relive the rule of the Czar's and sees himself as the one to make it happen. How does this involve NUMA? Well as usual the story entangles a disappearing submarine, some underwater caverns and a fuel source from the ocean (Fire Ice) which can be more powerful than all other fuels we know if harvested correctly, it could also cause the east coast of the US to be under water after a title wave hits if it is done wrong.

A lot of your familiar characters are in this one though I do miss Dirk. But I do like Kurt Austin. If you are a Cussler fan I recommend this one thought it is not one of his best.

Fire Ice, the third installment in the series, is a classic Cussler story of good versus evil. The story pits Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala against a group seeking to create political turmoil and unrest in Russia with a return of the Tsar. The novel is filled with all of the action, suspense, and frequent plot twists that have become Cussler's trademark. Like Serpent and Blue Gold, Fire Ice provides a broader character set from NUMA than the typical Dirk Pitt novel, with each character's personality adding to the depth and breadth of the story. Although Austin and Zavala are at the center of the action, Austin has more of the top billing than in the previous two books. The ongoing inclusion of crossover characters from the Pitt novels (i.e. Admiral Sandecker, Hiram Yeager) also adds substance. All-in-all, the faithful followers of Clive Cussler will find Fire Ice to be an enjoyable summer read.

Fire Ice by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos is action packed entertainment with adventure and intrigue. Clive Cussler is a name that you CAN count on if you want this type of read. This is a novel written with a Romanov mystery and sea adventure with a real notoriously volatile and unstable compound known as fire ice aka methane hydrate. Yes, it is real and is mainly found off the Eastern shore of the United States as a compressed form of methane mixed with ice under extreme pressure and cold. Extreme pressure via the sediment of rock and the weight of the water and cold by the depth of the location under the water.

Now, combine these with the Cussler's ability to write a good story and you have excitement that will keep you riveted to the pages till you finish. Cussler is noted for his hero Dirk Pitt, but in this novel we have a more subdued hero Kurt Austin. Austin is as resourceful as Pitt and works for the same government entity, NUMA, with all of the same office people Admiril Sandecker, Hiran Yaeger and his supercomputer the lovely MAX, St. Julian Perlmutter and Rudi Gunn. Austin has his team with Joe Zavala and the Trouts, Gamay and Paul. Of course there is and old adversary turned friend Ivan.

Tsunamis, Cossacks, Russians, The Black Sea, Romanov treasure, submarines, oceanographic technology, and the fate of the world as we know it are all in play. A corporate megalomaniac thrown in the mix set to take over Russia with a Rasputin like mad monk. Now, your getting the picture.

You won't be disappointed reading this novel. There is great character development along with an interestingly intriguing story that will keep well entertained. Always...

After reading the first in this series, I was more than happy to pick up the second one. Thank god I read it in the bookstore and didn't buy it first. This book doesn't even come close to the kind of professionalism and overall quality of the first one. The plot is rehashed, hackneyed, and the Huntress is an unwelcome addition. I must say, as a fan of both Batman and the Predator, I think most readers preferred the notion that Batman had to use all of his technology and brains to defeat the badguy, not some buxom nitwit with a bow and arrow. The story could have been a lot better, I guess it gets 1 star cause the drawings not bad.

I guess this goes to show, that just like in videogames and movies, comic crosssovers have their weak points. This proved it in the the return of the Predator to take out Batman. This time it's out for revenge. Meanwhile Batman has a bounty on his head and has attracted 7 of the worlds most dangerouse assassins to hunt him down. Meanwhile he also gets some unwanted help from the Huntress.

The Predator however is not in the complete clear as two of it's kind are hunting it down. Eventually Batman, Huntress, and the Predator face off in a pretty good final boute. Overall thsi is for die hard fans of both series only.

Oh, this is a great read! While the first one was way cool I feel that this sequel was far more complex and engaging. Rather like how Predator 2 felt in comparision to the original. There is no need for mystery as Batman knows who the Predator is. And old Pred figures Batman as a worthy quarry seeing as how he's already knocked off one of his alien brothers.

The story, characters and artwork as so much more detailed and sophisticated this time. And it seriously lends a huge gothic feel to the story before it was all ruined by Batman vs Predator III. That is kind of like comparing Burton's Batman to Schumacher's Batman. The same thing applies when considering Batman vs Predator; only the first 2 are good.

As a Solaris admin I have little knowledge of Oracle. I really did not want to know much either. However, I must know something of it's design and layout. I also need to know what services/daemons do what. However, all the books I found covered Oracle on NT/2000. Who in their right mind would do such a thing! Anyway, this book as sufficient coverage of Oracle on Solaris that it helped get me up to speed on Oracle enough to understand an Oracle DBA when they speak!

This book is probably one of the best book I have in my personal Oracle Library. Very well explained examples, good detail on Oracle Architecture, Management and database administration. Author has done a good job. If you are looking to become an Oracle application developer "you are wasting your time" this book is more for intermediate level person or if you have some exposure to Oracle then you will understand what author is trying to explain. Other books you might want to take a look is "Oracle 8i DBA Handbook" very similar contents.

This is a wonderful book which covers all the aspects of Oracle, including all the interfaces with Oracle. A really excellent book for DBAs and Programmer Analysts. It helped me a lot in understanding DBA part. Am excellent Que publication. I appreciate the structure and contents of the book

Riddled with error, poorly written, an ecclesiology more Episcopalian than Catholic, this book is painfully simplistic such that it might induce a First Amendment activist to organize a book burning.

Now, admittedly I haven't read this version of the book, but I did read the first published version and found it interesting and helpful, even if I didn't agree with everything in it. But then I'm not a Notre Dame-trained liturgist with years -- make that decades -- of liturgical experience under my belt, and Austin Fleming is.

I hooted when I read the comment from the anonymous reader who said it was more Episcopalian than Catholic. I could hear Austin Fleming (OK, so he's an old friend) chortling too, after he wiped the astonishment off his face. Trust me. Austin Fleming is firmly, unshakeably, undeniably Roman Catholic, unless he has changed so much as to be unrecognizeable in the past 10 years. Not to mention you may be giving the Episcopal Church more credit than it's due in regard to preparing for liturgy. Things are not all as they seem, alas.

Hey, Austin! If you read this, drop me an email!

This first edition of this book comes to us with recommendations from highly reputable sources, e.g. a professor of liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame and a teacher at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. This edition is only an improvement. Highly readable, steeped in practical applicability, it certainly is not "more Episcopalian than Catholic." The previous reviewer seems a little paranoid. Though not an exhaustive work, it is a valuable contribution to the theology of liturgical work, often dismissed as the work of people who "decorate the church" for Sunday. It's a good introduction to Liturgy.

It is bad enough for a Swede to portray a culture (Texas) that he does not understand. However, to have this book translated into British, not American, makes the portrayal all the more bizarre. I've enjoyed Gustaffson before in German translation, and on safe, European, subjects. He jes duss'nt unnerstan' Texiz.

I can't speak to the quality of the English translation, having only read the original. Gustafsson demonstrates his usual idiosyncratic reflection of reality in the setting of the book--some details are dead on, others are vague, still others are changed in ways that probably wouldn't matter to a European audience but are weird to annoying to one familiar with the city and time period in question. Reading about one's home town in Swedish is an enjoyably bizarre experience--I can't say I was as taken with the actual underlying story, which involves a lot of philosophizing about good, evil, and the existence of God which just does not feel particularly relevant. Part of the problem, from my perspective, may be that the book really contains only one major character, the narrator, and he is clearly keeping things from us. With a couple of college philosophy courses and a jug of red wine, you could probably discuss this book all night, but on the whole I think "Bernard Foy's Third Castling" is a better example of Gustafsson's current period.

Lars Gustafsson is an author with the rare ability to distill insightful philosophical explorations from stories of everyday life. In Tale of a Dog, he weaves a riveting hodgepodge tapestry of good and evil as seen through the eyes of an Austin bankruptcy judge. The stories of Austin personalities ring true to those familiar with the quirkiness of the Austin scene, where everyone is a student of something. Gustafsson, typically, steps into the shoes of the outsider, the pretender. He is a Texan who doesn't like Tex-Mex; a Judge who cannot decide; a member of the social elite who prefers the company of his road-hard hairdresser. The fun is in Gustafsson's ability to show us the world from the outside and turn the small things large. The meat is in Gustafsson's ability to draw us to his characters' world of profound moral ambiguity. This is a very good book.

What a disappointment of a book. Four unauthorized biographies with no information about what these people do to keep in shape.
To top it off it lacks accuracy.

I'm in 8th grade and have been dancing since I was 6, lifting weights since I was 11, and interested in nutrition since I was 12. I bought this book because of my interest in health and was inspired by such a great book! It describes Tyra Banks, Denise Austin, Christie Brinkley, and Claudia Schiffer, some of my favorite famous females. If you're interested in health like me, no matter what age you are, you must try this book!

I have to echo the bad reviews this book's received. I bought it because the cover looked cool. Silly me. How this book was accepted by Ace in the first place is utterly baffling. It has all sorts of wild point-of-view shifts, snide remarks, and absolutely inept passages of characterization. This is a very bad book and it needed a very mature editor.

Second Contact is a very bad book. Or perhaps I have simply missed the author's point, or I may not be the intended audience. I can only report what I felt.

Second Contact is the story of a planet named Kivlan, far across the Universe from Earth. An Earth expedition visits Kivlan, only to be chased away by a couple of missiles. Some time later, Earth sends another expedition, this one armed rather better, in a sincere attempt to really get to know the Kivlanians. On another narrative thread, we follow the action on Kivlan. Apparently Kivlan is a Utopia of lazy people, having existed in planet-wide peace for 300 years, but unfortunately some volcanic eruptions are making the inhabitants cranky and even psychotic, to the extent that they are annoyed by the intrusion of Earth's expedition, and, later, to the extent that one man tries to start a war and take over the planet.

It's hard to say exactly what the book is about. Characters are introduced, described in the most glowing terms, given love interests, and then dropped. The focus shifts from the first Earth expedition, to the second expedition, to the action on Kivlan, and back. Conflicts are introduced, then resolved effortlessly, usually because of the overwhelming good nature of almost everyone, on both Earth and Kivlan. Much of Second Contact deals with the rather curious utopian society of Kivlan. Is a satire on Earth society intended? The satire, if that was intended, has almost no bite. Moreover, the alien society as portrayed is terribly unconvincing, and terribly inconsistent. And the depiction of the next century society on Earth is also unconvincing, and has little extrapolated depth. So -- if this is a satire, it fails for lack of bite. Is it a serious examination of an alternate society? It fails for lack of rigor, and lack of consistency. Is it a fun romp? It fails for lack of plot, and lack of interesting characters. In a word -- it fails. Utterly.

The characters are uniformly cardboard, given fawning background stories, and unconvincing and emotionally flat love stories. (Most of which are back story anyway.) Naturally there is a love story between a Kivlanian and a human (though the cover portrait switches the sexes) -- it takes about a paragraph to develop. The plot is both discursive and implausible. The science is beyond absurd (though I will say that the book never makes a pretence of having real science -- and in the hands of, say, Robert Sheckley, the same level of science can work just fine). I thought I detected a few jokes -- some even made me grin, some grimace, and I'm sure I missed some others. I will say that the prose is serviceable -- nothing special, but not an encumbrance to the reading of the book. It was a waste of some three hours of my time.

I can only add a caveat -- some editor saw enough in this book to buy it. It is possible that I have simply and profoundly missed the point. But tread carefully.

Well, I'm not going to say the book is bad, per se. From what I've gathered, it's like the Moulin Rouge of literature: either you got the inside joke and loved it, or you didn't and hated it. I fall into the latter. For someone weened on modern books and other reading materials, this is going to seem like a waste of tree pulp. Extrememly predictable, unrealistic (even for a sci-fi story), and chocked full of story info with little relevance to the actual story, it's a wonder the editor didn't laugh at Austin and threw him out of his office. Someone who lived in the early half of the 20th Century, it may bring back memories of the good old days. At best for me, it's a guilty pleasure book, though admittedly, it's a quick read. If you're looking for a meaty or thought-provoking story, _Second Contact_ is neither. Check it out of your local library first before dropping cold hard cash to buy it.