If you've never read Steven R. Lawhead, prepare to be entranced by the breathtaking beauty of the universe which springs from his pen. He follows the man we know as Merlin from conception to the fruition of his potential, as a wise and powerful adviser to Britain's greatest king, Arthur. Lawhead's Merlin is not a shadowy druid lifted from the pages of Mallory, but rather a man whose exceptional ablities are complemented by the terribly heavy burden of his responsobility. He does not live in a time of chivalrous knights in shining armor, but a tumultuous malstrom of conflict in which barbaric kings scramble for scraps of power amongst the ruins of the Roman Empire. It is Merlin's task to guide and impart vision to the one man who can quell the bickering and unite the Isle of the Mighty under one flag. But there are many obstacles along the way. I would have hated for this book to end but for one fact: there are more books in the series! It only gets better.

I give Merlin, by Stephen R Lawhead, five stars because it excelently portrays the life of Merlin before Arthur was actually born. When I was reading the book I felt like I really knew Merlin as my friend , and I really understood him as a person and a character. All of the characters are very well developed and the plot is very exciting and complex. It tells of how he was born, where he lived, a time he ruled as king alongside his friend, Custennin, and the eleborate visions that led to his prophesy of the Kingdom of Summer, originally seen by his father, Taliesin. This is one of the best books about the ancient legend of Merlin and Arthur that I have ever read and I give it five stars.

I started out the Pendragon Cycle with "Taliesin", as was the chronological thing to do. After that came "Merlin" - and maybe it was the anticipation after reading "Taliesin", or maybe it was only the fascination I've held for Merlin ever since the first time I discovered Arthurian legend...whatever it was, I absolutely fell in love with this book.

Now that I've finished reading the cycle, I can say without a doubt that "Merlin" surpasses all others in the series. Arthur is a genius, Llenlleawg a talented warrior, Pelleas a loyal companion...but Merlin is REAL. Merlin has gifts and flaws; he has a distinct personality that makes him come to life as a flesh and bone human (however immortal). For example, I found him to be vain and more snobbish as the story progressed! He is definately one of the most well-written characters I've ever read.

After finishing this book in less than four hours, I eagerly acquired the rest of the Pendragon series, thinking that they would live up to the standard of "Merlin", if not surpass it. I should have known that such a perfect book full of plot and characterization is one of a kind. However, to my delight, Merlin's character only develops more in depth as the Pendragon series continued on. After all, Merlin's name is etched in legend...but in Lawhead's writing, he lives.

Peter Ackroyd has written a superb biography of this great figure Renaissance England, and Catholic history. His depiction of the sheer geogprahy of More's London world is so real that it served as guide for this reviewer on a visit to London who could trace More's steps, copy in hand. Ackroyd puts the humanist scholar, statesman, and saint in his own context and avoids the all too common trap of trying to "read" More against our own post-Christian secular world, where heresy is a "virtue", rather than a threat to the stability of an entire social and spiritual order. The only complaint this reviewer has is that Ackroyd has chosen to quote More's English works in their original spelling and grammar. This at times approximates reading a foreign language. It is this reviewer's opinion that he would have done better to use a more modern English, as his translations of More's Latin works are clear and eminently readable. All in all, however, a superb book !

Sir Thomas More was described by brother-in-Humanism, Erasmus as "virum omninium horarum"(p. 52). Robert Bolt's play translates this illustrious sobriquet,"a man for all seasons." In his erudite, fascinatingly descriptive LIFE of THOMAS MORE, Peter Ackroyd has employed manifest powers of scholarship and love of subject to write a biography that will no doubt earn regard among THE definitive. Some readers may find the immense zeit-geist(era)detail;and description of More's education...along with characterization of mentors and spiritual/intellectual influences...distracting, even tedious. On the contrary, the excellence of Ackroyd's effort is to CONSTRUCT before an attentive reader: TIME(incipient Reformation); PLACE(London, as a Center of Western Christendom);and the MAN( as he was; not as Post-Modernist Deconstructionist/revisionists say he was, or should have been).

The award winning author of LONDON crafts a "living" city. Within this ambience,he delineates More's demanding legal education regimen in a time where LAW defined class and art/craft of POWER. Secular and Ecclesiastical Law--literally--vied for men's souls as well as ordinary compliance within the polity. Chapter VI: DUTY is the LOVE of the LAW is crucial to understanding Thomas More as being practical and singularly A MAN of his TIME...as well as "man for all seasons" whom Winston Churchill is said to aver "the greatest Englishman these isles have ever produced." More's conflict--absolute preeminence of spiritual/Ecclesiatical law over against a growing body of utilitarian, civil law--IS the essence of his story. Well known, it ends in reluctant defiance of the King's "Dieu et Mon Droit"(when human "Droit" is declared precedent to God's Law); martyrdom; and eventual Sainthood. A materialist,secular culture as ours might,indeed, find More's defiance "disproportionate obstinacy" rather than heroic. But as Ackroyd's information and impact of More's "gravitas" become "overwhelming", one's convictions are tested like More's( or any "educated" Englishman)in the days following LUTHER's Reformation and HENRY VIII's peremptory Edicts on royal SUCCESSION and--for More--far more importantly,SUPREMACY over Christians and Christ's Church.

Deconstructionists(Harvard's Richard Marius, for example)place great weight on their own interpretation of what More "must have thought" or "should have acted". Ackroyd tries to characterize. He quotes "olde" English from oral and written records. He cites words and actions which publically ( More's Chancellorship); relgiously (attendance at daily Mass and observance of "hair shirt"penance); and intellectually(renowned authorship of tracts, letters and political satire,UTOPIA); reveal him. For example, that More was vigorous prosecutor of heretics is neither denied nor concealed. In that TIME, heretics--as enemies of the Universal(Catholic)Church--were both enemies of God and The State (more properly The Commonwealth of Christendom; of which all European Kingdoms were precedentially and intrinsically part). The book itself is well-appointed with classic portraits of More; Erasmus; Henry VIII; Cromwell; Luther: Henry's Wives and numerous other players. The bibliography is formidable and by-the-chapter SOURCE notes very helpful. This is a great book. It is excellent portrait of a good man of great talent,"not to the manner born, but trained" to be counselor to the King.His fate is well known. The book, to this reader, marks well emerging tragedy in integrity and heroism which The Roman Catholic Church still regards worthy of declared SAINTHOOD. In a time like ours the exploration of INTEGRITY alone makes The Life of THOMAS MORE well worth considered reading...(10 stars)

My interest in Thomas More began when I learned that he was the Patron Saint of Lawyers, when I as about to graduate from law school. This book seemed to be the most realistic and comprehensive work on the life of Thomas More. Naturally, many of the works devoted to him are much more spiritual or political in nature. Peter Ackroyd, however, covers it all. His discussion of More's childhood and family life provide insights into his political career and spirtuality.

At first glance, the contrast between More's "worldly" political career and his deep, sincere spirituality might seem jarring to contemporary eyes. Ackroyd deftly points out, though, that for More's contemporaries, there really isn't a contrast. Religion, politics, and social hierarchy were all part of the same system -- to a point. The Life of Thomas More shows that, given the right elements (e.g., Henry the Eighth on the throne, the Protestant Reformation in full swing, More's own faith), religion and politics can (and will) clash violently.

Ackroyd's writing is, quite simply, wonderful. While the material can be quite dense, Ackroyd's prose keeps you moving swiftly through the book. Although the book is certainly well-researched and up to anyone's standards of scholarship, Ackroyd's tone is not at all distant.

On a more personal note, I found Thomas More's strength and faith to be very inspiring. While few of us will become martyrs to our faith or wear a hairshirt, Thomas More's life shows that strength of character and strong faith require a lot of work, but are valuable attributes in a complicated world.

Long before the self-help and men's movements, writers like Frederick Exley told honest and epic tales of sound and fury that came from their own experiences. Exley's 1968 groundbreaking novel "A Fan's Notes" is one such work, a novel of biographical fiction whose power has only grown with time and whose addition to the Modern Library is entirely fitting. The story frames the author's young life, from his adolescence in upstate New York to his post-collegiate wanderings in New York City. The tale is not a happy one, full as it is of depression, alcoholism, and perhaps the worst of Exley's maladies, hero-worship -- for his father, a smalltown football legend, his war-hero brother, and his Southern Cal classmate and New York Giant Frank Gifford. Like Salieri in "Amadeus," Exley's narrative voice in "A Fan's Notes" is distinctly aware of its failures beside the greatness around it, and that painful awareness makes the story a masochist's paradise that the reader spirals through. The journey takes us through Exley's uninspired youth of inebriated musing, aimless existence, and half-hearted attempts at careerism, showing us all the while his ill-timed punches at life's shadows.In the end, we and he somehow emerge alive but armored for future struggles with bitter wisdom, in no small measure due to the power of power of Exley's extensive prose. Perhaps because we no longer think it fashionable to judge such men kindly or with a respect for their complex foibles,"A Fan's Notes," after nearly 30 years in print, serves in our time as a harsh but needed reminder of the ongoing struggle of the artist to be true to himself and his work, even when he has no apparent love for either.

"A Fan's notes" is a blistering, literate critique of the emptiness of the illusory 'American Dream' told through the eyes of one who longed for, yet at the same time recognized the futility of it as defined by society at large. He cuts through the veneer and exposes the rotten underpinnings of a value system based solely on what trappings one manages to acquire during one's lifetime. It is an analysis that could only be performed by someone on the outside looking in.
It seems the negative reviews of this book focused on the fact that Exley was a drunkard and a louse while missing the point of the book entirely. There is no place in society for a man such as this, in his mere existence he thumbs his nose at the things most structure the framework of their lives around. Therein lies the value in a seemingly wasted life.
A funny, sometimes harrowing account of American life as seen though the eyes of what just might be the most intelligent man to spend the majority of his life with his ... firmly planted on a barstool.

"A Fan's Notes" is the best American novel written in the lst 50 years. Why the Modern Libray edition has not sold more is beyond belief. This book should be read by anyone studying American literature and anyone desiring a good read.

I first read this book almost 30 years ago as a graduate student and have returned to it many times, just to read favorite parts. Yes, it is sad and depressing, but one cannot help but to enjoy Exley's writing style in this thinly disguised autobiography. Read Yardley's wonderful Exley biography, "Misfit, the Strange Life of Frederick Exley." Although I enjoyed the other two books of Exley's trilogy, they nowhere near approach the literary level of "A Fan's Notes."

Sure, I grew up in Morristown and thus immediately identified with Reiken's setting (Livingston, NJ; the Turtle Back Zoo; the Jersey shore) and the characters. But Reiken's talent is taking the ordinary--the lives of a middle class New Jersey family--and digging until the magic appears. And magic is what we get from every point of view in this book.

Anthony, the teenage hockey star, is our first-person character, and through him we learn about the world his family inhabits: its geographical location as well as its emotional landscape. The joy of the story is moving from this first person to the points of view of his father, his mother, his neighbor, and a few other characters who inhabit this space. All are searching or longing for connections, deeply personal connections. In the shadow of the Meadowlands complex, where a wrong turn off Route 3 can lead to danger or just surreality, connections are hard to come by, even within the bounds of your own family.

Some of the jumping around in this book makes for the most fun. From revisiting high school from the point of view of the bully's girlfriend as he beats on some sorry kid to meeting a lover on a trip to buy bagels, Reiken gets you with absolutely fascinating magic moments. I highly recommend this book.

With his knockout second novel, Reiken makes it clear that he is not a one-hit wonder. A much more complex and multidimensional book than its predecesssor, The Lost Legends once again demonstrates Reiken's uncanny ability to create characters we feel and know and remember. The most amazing thing about the novel, however, is that it simultaneously manages to depict suburban New Jersey as both mundane and magical. The author's gift is that he is capable of taking the ordinary and, while keeping it realistic, achieve a certain resonance that stems directly from the characters' varying and all-too-human points of view. In other words, the magic is not literally magic. Rather, we feel a sense of magic because at certain times we feel a character's sense of wonder and beauty rising out of the sterility of the landscape -- something like the plastic bag scene in "American Beauty." Reiken is masterful at this kind of thing and New Jersey is the perfect setting for such moments of quiet luminosity. In one scene, for instance, the main character and his sister take a nighttime bike ride across Livingston NJ under a full moon. What could easily be banal turns haunting under the glow of the moonlight -- no magic realism here, just emotionally charged childhood wonder (and sorrow). Likewise, the scene in which Anthony finds a garbage dump filled with old band instruments in the Meadowlands becomes legendary... This is a powerful, heart-wrenching book, a must read, whether or not you've ever driven the NJ Turnpike!

Frederick Reiken has given us a wonderful, brilliant novel. It snuck up on me. I started reading it thinking it was a nice, coming of age in New Jersey novel, but after about 50 pages, I realized it is so much more than that. As a coming of age novel, it is wonderful. Reikien's prose is so evocative of a particular place and time (northern New Jersey, 1979-1981). But this novel is about so much more. It is about the tremendous hold the past has over us, how it keeps being repeated, in our actions and in our minds. It is about stories--the stories we tell, the stories we omit and what the listener/reader must extrapolate from beyond the boundaries of what is told. I highly recommend this book. I don't think you have to be from New Jersey, or in your thirties to appreciate what happens to Anthony Rubin, the wonderful protagonist, and his family. His parents separate after his father's affair with his best friend's mother and Anthony falls in love with the girl next door, whose father just could be in the mafia. A wonderful story, wonderfully told. I highly recommend it.

The tales of King Arthur and of the knights of the Round Table are well-known and have been the subject of many books, poems (Tennyson), at least two musical works (Purcell's "King Arthur", and the famous Broadway musical, "Camelot"), and films ("Camelot", based on the musical, and "Excalibur"). The most famous English-language book version of these tales is this version by Sir Thomas Malory, yet this is not easily readable, even in modern prose. The modern English rendition by Keith Baines is excellent, for it allows those of us who do not have Ph.D's in English literature to get an idea of what the original was like, but the book itself is tedious in its very nature.

What you should expect with this book is a very good beginning and ending, and a "will it ever end ?" middle. Arthur himself cannot be called the central character, for he is virtually absent, except in the first tale of the book, which deals with his coming to power, and the last one, about his death. The rest of this book is concerned with jousting and tournaments, so much that in the end one gets bored with this never-ending succession of fights with knights whose names you'll only read once and which have no consequence on what is supposed to be the larger plot (such as the quest for the Holy Grail, or the famous Tristram and Iseult tale). Of course, the better-known knights of the Round Table, such as Launcelot, Tristram, and Percivale, are present, but only from time to time, and narration often shifts from one to the other for no reason.

What this book lacks most is continuity. Apart from the first and last tales, everything in between is not in chronological order, which gets confusing. In one tale one character is dead and another is well-known; in the next tale the first character is living and the second one is unknown (just take the example of King Pellinore and Sir Percivale). All tales were obviously separate ones, and the reader, at some point, will simply stop trying to understand how Malory ever came up with such an order for his tales. If Malory (or his original publishers) had any idea in mind when they chose this setup of the tales, it will appear unclear to most readers.

One of the few good points of this book is that, since it was written in the late Middle Ages, it avoids to a certain extent the over-romanticization of the Middle Ages, which is what later authors, such as Sir Walter Scott, did to such an extent that even today we cannot think of the Middle Ages without having in mind the picture-perfect version of it (which I will not delve into -- I'm sure you know what I have in mind). Even though chivalry as described in the book has some romantic elements attached to it, it is never fully exploited, and "Le Morte d'Arthur" certainly does not fit the requirements to be classified into the romantic genre (which was not fully described until the nineteenth century). This book therefore does not use romanticism as we now know it. But this good point may also be one of the book's weaknesses, because the topic is a legend, and not fact. Because this subject is not historically accurate (and some parts of the book are hilariously improbable), Malory could not use realism to replace romanticism, and I believe that if he had used more romanticism in his book it would only have made it better. In the end, Malory used neither style, and this makes his writing style very dry. His characters are mere fighting machines with no emotional depth, his narration is action, action, and action: no description, either of his own characters or of the scenery (a castle is a castle, nothing more). The scenes he depicts cannot be located, for the setting is never described. Malory, above all, was an awful storyteller. He could only describe his characters jousting and fighting, and since this had nothing to do with the larger plot, this only lengthens the book for no reason. (If you want a modern comparison, just think of a public orator who just tells personal anecdotes that are not related to his topic.)

Furthermore, anyone interested in the Middle Ages has nothing to gain from reading this book. It holds no historical interest (apart from a study of the English language, but then I would not go for this modern rendition) for the reason that its subject is not based on fact and its description of society in the early Middle Ages is simplistic. This book is certainly no "Canterbury Tales", in which a lot can be learned about what was life during the Middle Ages. So if you are mainly interested in history I'd skip "Le Morte d'Arthur" and I'd go for "The Canterbury Tales" instead.

In conclusion, "Le Morte d'Arthur" is worth reading only if you have the patience to go through it, for this book is overlong and repetitive. Keith Baines's rendition makes this task easier, and his appendix on the main characters is very helpful if you intend to skip parts (which you should not do because the whole is chronologically inaccurate).

I don't read a lot. In fact, the only time I do read is when I am required to do so by a class. Such is the case with The Tales of King Arthur. But although I would never have read the book were it not for my fascinating English teacher, I must say that I have never read anything as intriguing as the Tales of King Arthur.

Getting used to the language isn't as difficult as some other reviewers are saying... At least it wasn't for me (and I'm an eighteen year-old high school student). You'll struggle through the first few pages but once you've got an ear for it the language comes natural (somewhat like reading Shakespeare - it takes time to adjust). I found nothing tedious about the book other than the somewhat unfocussed book of the Sangrail.

The characters are awesome, the language is awesome, the plots and emotions are awesome. If you read this from beginning to end you'll walk away with a sincere compassion for the characters and the inevitable death of the times.

I can't imagine bothering with a modernized version - the classic text is just so sweet.

This review applies to the abridged audiocassette version. I have not read the book, but I will, after hearing this wonderful reading by Derek Jacobi. His immaculate British accent truly brings to life this epic tale of King Arthur and his knights' adventures. I highly recommend this version and also: 'Excalibur' the movie, T. H. Whites' 'The Once and Future King', and also Carl Orffs' 'Carmina Burana - Empress of the World' - music which was featured in 'Excalibur'. These four put together can give you a truly grand starting experience of the Arthurian Legends.

This is a solid contribution by Frederick Forsyth, one of the best espionage/thriller writers around. Odessa is a secret organization dedicated to furthering the interests of the Nazi regime in the post-World War II era, and the book is about one German's encounters with that group. Both how that German becomes drawn into pursuing Odessa and the revelation of his motivation for doing so make this book an excellent thriller. It is not quite on par with The Day of the Jackal, but it does come awfully close.

As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I fished out my ancient copy of Frederick Forsyth's THE ODESSA FILE because I wanted to read about a time when evil was simpler and villians were much easier to comprehend. THE ODESSA FILE is one of the most clever books I read as a young person, and it holds up well. The bad guys are Nazi sympathizers, and the hero seems to be a crusader for world justice. Forsyth spins quite a tale here. His characters seem real. He captures the essence of his setting perfectly. I still love his final plot twist. As I crime fiction author, I especially admire the hidden plot that exists just beneath the surface story that reader thinks she is absorbed within. THE ODESSA FILE is a terrific book, even today.

After reading "The Day of the Jackal", I thought that there couldn't be a better suspense thriller than this, but I still hadn't read "The Odessa File". Its set in the early 1960's, where a young freelance German journalist comes across the personal diary of an old German Jew who's committed suicide. Reading the diary through the night, the journalist, Peter Miller finds out that the Jew was a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camp at Riga, Latvia during World War II. As he reads on, he's shocked by the graphic description by the Jew of the atrocities committed on the camp inmates by the camp commandant, Eduard Roschmann. Millers vows to track down Roschmann and bring him to justice. But while doing so, he comes across a super-secret organization known as Odessa, which protects Nazi ex-SS members from being captured and brought to justice. When Miller starts getting too close to the Odessa, his life is in grave danger. But he decides that it will end with him bringing Roschmann to justice for his crimes, or with his death.

"The Odessa File", as with all other Forsyth books, has a super-shocking twist in the end, where we get to know the real motive behind Miller wanting to find Roschmann. In the process, Forsyth manages to include The Beatles' short stint in Hamburg, the background of the brief Arab-Israeli war and last but not the least, Kennedy's assasination. As usual, Forsyth's factual knowledge is accurate to the point, and his research is deep and minute. "The Odessa File" is undoubtedly Frederick Forsyth at his very best.

Le Carre is the best spy novelist ever and truly a modern master of literature. Tinker Tailor takes the reader on a journey through the murky labyrinths of british intelligence as the antihero Smiley, a plump, confused, betrayed, but deceptively steely and intelligent spy, ferrets out a mole burrowed into the highest levels of British Intelligence by his Soviet nemesis, Karla. The themes of betrayal, downfall, and the inescapable immorality of spying permeate this finely written book, while the challenge of discovering, with Smiley, who the mole is, captures the reader from the start. Le Carre's character developement is superior to almost any writer, living or dead, and the complexity of the mole, Smiley, Connie Sachs, and a host of other characters adds another superior facet. Finally, Le Carre's use of wonderfully quaint terminology, with "moles", "legmen", "burrowers", "the circus", and others making frequent appearances, spices up the book. The best spy book I have ever read, and I have read every book by Forsyth, Higgings, Clancy, and Craig, and almost every Ludlum. This may be a great spy book, but it is also an outstanding work of literature, like its two successors, and is a classic in every respect. Everyone should read it who has a mind and appreciation for a nobly done turn of phrase. However, this book isn't for the James Bond Boom Boom kiss the girl and fly off sort- requires thought!

I'm a longtime Le Carré fan, but I realized recently that it had been nearly two decades since I read what is undoubtedly his best work -- the Smiley trilogy. Based loosely on the Kim Philby debacle, this one is about the realization that a Soviet mole has been busy for many years in the Circus -- the headquarters of the British espionage service -- and the recently sacked George Smiley, a victim himself of the mole's machinations, is secretly brought in by a reluctant Whitehall to identify the culprit and clean house. It's the old problem: Who will spy on the spies? Le Carré is a master of the telling detail, even with minor supporting characters, and all the inhabitants of this novel are vividly realized. This isn't a James Bond yarn, either, as the "action" is mostly in the form of reading files, interviewing agents, and hard thinking. And Smiley, fat, middleaged, and in secret agonies over his wife's habitual infidelity, turns out to possess unexpectedly heroic stature. This novel, and the two that follow, make up the best spy story ever written in English.

I?m a longtime Le Carré fan, but I realized recently that it had been nearly two decades since I read what is undoubtedly his best work -- the Smiley trilogy. Based loosely on the Kim Philby debacle, this one is about the realization that a Soviet mole has been busy for many years in the Circus -- the headquarters of the British espionage service -- and the recently sacked George Smiley, a victim himself of the mole?s machinations, is secretly brought in by a reluctant Whitehall to identify the culprit and clean house. It?s the old problem: Who will spy on the spies? Le Carré is a master of the telling detail, even with minor supporting characters, and all the inhabitants of this novel are vividly realized. This isn?t a James Bond yarn, either, as the ?action? is mostly in the form of reading files, interviewing agents, and hard thinking. And Smiley, fat, middle-aged, and in secret agonies over his wife?s habitual infidelity, turns out to possess unexpectedly heroic stature. This novel, and the two that follow, make up the best spy story ever written in English.

The most consistent comment found in other reviews of this book is that "it will stay with you". And it will. "The Odd Sea" is by turns sorrowful and uplifting, but ultimately it is just about dealing. About living one's life in the face of the pain, frequently unexplainable, that comes into every life.

As the reader follows Phillip's ongoing, quietly desperate, search for the whereabouts of his lost brother, we see all the characters deal with tragedy in their own way. Eventually, we see Phillip come to grips with his grief.

"The Odd Sea" is a short novel, with simple, yet elegant, prose. I read it in just a few hours. However, its moving narrative will stay with me much longer; it is one of the best novels I have read in the last five years.

This is a beautifully written story, told with deep emotion and a lot of love. I think this is one of the "best" books I have read in a long time. Reiken knows how to make you care about his characters & really love them. This book seems more like a true story than a work of fiction.

One late Spring morning sixteen year old Ethan Shumway disappears and vanishes without a trace. Philip, Ethan's younger brother, narrates the events and feelings of all of his family and their friends after this tragic event that shocks and paralyzes all the community of this rural hilltown in western Massachusetts. Was Ethan abducted, kidnapped by a child molester or did he just want to disappear on his own for some reason? Will the truth be ever known, and does Philip and his family finally find out the reason he disappeared? Well, it's through Philip's emotional re-telling of the events of the last five years after his disappearance that make this such a wonderful story. How it effected Philip's parents, and his three wonderful sisters is a lesson in true family love. What a difficult and terrible thing to happen to a family that truly loves each other so much.

Paul Reiken's writing is so realistic and emotionally tender and loving. I will never forget this book. It makes one wonder how and what you would do if the same situation happened to someone you love and care about very deeply. My highest recommendation. A stunning debut novel.

The Odd Sea haunted me for days after I read it. Mr. Reiken has the gift of being able to make us feel his characters deeply. His simple but elegant prose brings us right into their world. This is not a book for people who want a fantasy story, though in many ways it is a very magical novel. The magic comes out of the characters' love for each other, and from the beauty of their spirits as they bravely face an unbearable situation. This is a book that will teach you how to keep your soul alive.

I'd just like to point out that Arthur could not have incestuous sex with his sister: he had no sister! Morgian was the step-sister of Charis, she was the youngest child of the King of Atlantis! I also agree with the reviewer who pointed out that this is set, not in the middle ages, but in the 6th century. At this point, Arthur had no established capital. No Camelot, no established court, no court intrigue, and Gwenhwyvar's protector may or may not have been Lancelot Du Lac, who was a knight of France, not Ireland. Lawhead brings in a great historical perspective with the true setting and the Gaelic names. I love how he, in the series, connects legends from all over the classical world. He perfectly fuses the Mediterranean stories of Atlantis with the Gaelic and Celtic myths about Taliesin, the Greatest bard who ever lived... the characterization is wonderful. Merlin really comes alive, because he's not just an old wizard in a pointy hat, he's a man who was born from a union of two great cultures. You see him live and love, you see him suffer. He's a real person, as are all the characters. Morgian is evil, but she is beautiful, and seductive. She's a mother. Arthur isn't the perfect king. He's not the perfect man. He struggles. He loses. This story is anything but flat!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It one of the best stories I have ever read. Lawhead certainly did his home work, and has crafted a masterpiece of midevil lore. If you like the Arthurian legend then this book is for you. Even those who have never dived into the magic and mystery of Arthur will be captivated by this story. More then just legend, this version holds a measure of truth to it. More so then any other fatansy book I have read. The characters really did live and the places are true geographical locations. His style of writing reminds me much of Alexander Dumas. Lawhead has the ability to take you back to a time long forgot, and make it more real then you could ever imagine. I appreciate the strong Christian overtones, as truly Arthur was a true man of God. It apears to me that for somone to have made such an impact on history he was more then just a legend, more then just a king; but a man inspired by GOD, driven by honor and purpose. A man who changed ! ! a nation, a world, and created a system of honor. I encourage you to breath deep, reach within your self and find Arthur in you.

Enjoy

This is a tremendous, well-written, well researched book. It is however following a different path than was presented in the classic Morte de Arthur and The Once and Future King (a storyline visually portrayed in Excalibur). There is no incest, no tale of forbidden love between a queen and the best knight. Rather, in avoiding the tales of court intrigue which were so prevalent in the middle ages, Lawhead seeks to tell a story which reveals a more accurate look at life in the 6th century. We see characters as they were in that era, rather than the height of the feudal period. These are Celts, not Normans. This is the story of the later Celts attempting to fight off the invasions of the Saxons and others who sought to topple the peace that Arthur was able to bring by uniting warrring tribes. There is certainly the mystical events and a well crafted spirituality which certainly would have reflected 6th century Wales and England. This book seeks to tell the story of Arthur in his historical context, while still maintaining the fantasy aspects which have made the story so popular. A very nice book, and a welcome relief to the social intrigue that characterizes other tales of Arthur.

My rating on this book is really a three and a half, if given the option to rate a half-star, that is.

I enjoyed tremandously learning about the Teamsters, the politicians and of course the Mafia involvement in the Las Vegas casino operations. The book exceled in the abundance of information.

However, the writing itself was not so great therefore lowering the reading experience. Just as in real life, when people tell you their side of the story, it hardly ever concurs with someone else's account. Since the book was really a collage of vaious narrations, the author had a hard time weaving together different points of views and tones. Sometimes readers are left wondering what really happened.

I would recommend this book for people who are interested in information and stories regarding the Mafia. The topic is very interesting, but for those who prefers a bit more drama and fluency of writing, then this may not be your top choice.

Everybody who likes true life/crime/mafia/Las Vegas stories will enjoy this book. Casino shows the develoment of the mafia and their business interaction between legal and illegal operations. I could not put it down once I started. It is fascinating to see what stories life can write and what bad can happen to bad people.

This gripping narrative exposes Midwest mob influence in Las Vegas during the 1970-80's. Author Nicholas Pileggi focuses on four major characters. The most prominent was ex-sports handicapper and bookie Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who became an innovative casino manager. Lefty ran the casino at the Stardust Hotel, the location from where the Chicago and Kansas City syndicates skimmed millions in gambling revenues. We also read about Lefty's friend and mob enforcer Tony Spilotro, front man Allen Glick, and Lefty's glamorous but volatile wife Geri. The author describes casino operations, financing by teamster pensions, and gambling executives who knew enough to look the other way. We also see how unchecked greed and ego can destroy casino operators as surely as it does some of their customers. The book's only weakness was that Pileggi seemed to go easy on a couple of the major characters.

"Casino" became a 1995 movie of the same name. Pileggi also wrote "Wiseguy," basis for another excellent mob film ("Goodfellas") by Martin Scorsese. "Casino" doesn't quite match "Wiseguy," but it's a highly readable and informative book.