Short and sweet! Marjorie King's 1997 historical novel about the life of one of God's own secretaries, JOHN BOIS, is a delightful companion pice to Adam Nicolson's new book about the KJB. Mrs. King's 184-page novel depicts daily life--sometimes warm and cozy, sometimes tragic and tumultuous--in Reformation England. We see not only John Bois's Bible work--as one of the 54 scholars who translated the KJB--but his daily activities as husband of a spirited, much younger woman, as father of their five children, and as pastor of the Boxworth village church where he preached for 47 years. To most contemporary scholars, John Bois is little more than a name. A HOUSE ETERNAL, based on Mrs. King's extensive and intensive research, which included travel in England, brings John Bois to life. We see him struggling through family crises, domestic spats and financial difficulties at home, as well as in his professional relationships with colleagues and religious leaders in the rarefied academic atmosphere of Cambridge and the bustling city of London. A HOUSE ETERNAL presents a realistic picture of the personal and professional life of one of the men who helped produce the world's all-time bestseller, the KJB. A HOUSE ETERNAL may well become a collector's item.

While the cover of Marjorie King's novel "A House Eternal" simply and modestly states that it is a "Historical Novel About A Bible Translator", it is truly much more than that. It is the compelling story of a man and scholar, John Bois.From marital discord to professional strife and jealousy, the author brings the character of John Bois and his time alive to the reader.Historically, the reader is offered a rare glimpse into the life of a 17th century biblical scholar. John Bois' role as one of the men chosen to translate for the King James version of the bible is very aptly described. I not only learned a lot reading this book, but also enjoyed it immensely!

In his last will and testament, Henry Holt left his library and Rectorship of Boxworth to John Bois if he would marry his daughter, Barbara, whom Bois has never met.

Marjorie King has taken this intriging starting point and added major research on Bois life to provide understanding of God's impact on the life of a translator. Robert Overall- April 10, 2000

John Bois was a man fully worth knowing, who played an important part in the final revision of the entire Bible. John Bois was in someways the most vivid of the translators. At any rate we have more about his private life and his ways of doing than we have of others. Gustavus S. Paine - 1977

Max Lucato's and other wise christian devotionals and insights make the word of God come alive for you today. Full of compassion, grace, prayers, and truth. Very readable. For every level of intellect and knowledge of the bible or God. It feeds my soul.

This is an excellent book to read and study from to understand the world's creator and mans redeemer. It states that He is coming again and we can chose to live with Him forever.

This is the first Bible that I have been able to read and understand. The summaries and stories at the edge of the pages really help to clarify what is being said and apply it to real life. As an 18 year old student, this Bible has helped me to understand, apply, and live the Word of God. Thanks Max!

I really love my Max Lucado Inspirational NKJV Study Bible. It's a wonderful study bible with many sidebars of life lessons of Lucado's teaching guides. This the only one I use because it helps me to have a better understanding of the Scriptures. Each Book of the Old and New Testaments are laid out in an instruction manual style. All chapters are boldly titled to explain the situation for each one. The Life Lessons examines more closely the situation, makes observations, gives inspiration, makes application and gives further explorations of other scriptures throughout the Bible. It's chalkful of footnotes of many reliable references. Throughout this study gem are more inspirational ancedotes from Grace, Forgiveness, Suffering and Victory to God's Love, Hope, Prayer and Faith. And many more worthwhile inspirations that will bless your life. Even more, it has one hundred greatest thoughts, an index to selected readings, a dictionary with topical concordance, acknowledgments from many great references from the most notable names in Christianity. There's even a place in the back to add your own notes. I'm sure this is the only study bible you'll ever use. I find it to be the most comprehensive, enriching masterpiece of the Holy Bible yet. I would definitely give this as a nice gift.

I found this to be an excellent study tool. Max Lucado does not give a commentary on the verses. Instead he gives a life application lesson with the scriptures and a devotional thought. XCELLENT!!!!!

I love the Inspirational Study Bible, mine is NKJV. It has truly opened the word up to me as never before. I love reading and studying from it. It helps me understand a lot more of what was going on at the times the books were written. Mostly it helps me apply the Word to my own life. It has spoiled me, I have hunted several times for it in leather bound, I sure wish they would make it. I would get 1 for every member of my family.
Mary A.

A friend and I were discussing books that we pick up over and over again throughout our lives and of course I thought of this one. I loved this book so much that my copy is falling apart at the seams. What a wonderful story, so descriptive, and so imaginative. I watched my dollhouse like a hawk for years. Anyone would love this story, my brother even loved it. I wish it were in print so I could get a copy for my god daughter.

I'm a 31 yr old mother of two and need to find this book! I can't tell you how often I have thought about this story. When I was a little girl, I would read it over and over again. A little girl discovers a royal family living in her dollhouse! The book is so descriptive when it comes to explaining all the miniature items the King, Queen, and the Peanut Butter babies used in their everyday life. It's been over 20 years and I have not forgotten about this book! I hope my children can one day read it.

I loved this book as a little girl. My brother and I used to make our older sister read it to us over and over. I'm sad to see it's out of print. Much better than The Littles or other stories about tiny dwellers amongst us.

The Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania, a world-renowned black illusionist, and old family baggage are the makings for another romantic mystery for Marcia King-Gamble. Skye Walker is back in her hometown Mills Creek writing for the local newspaper after eight years in Paris. There she had blossomed from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. Now she is a self-confident journalist and a very attractive woman, not the same woman who was stood up for the prom as a practical joke. One of her first big assignments is to interview Creed Bennett, an acclaimed illusionist, who has come back home for some much needed rest amid rumors surrounding him involving a number of missing women who were in one way or another associated with him. He is also the one who stood her up on prom night. Creed has little patience with journalists, especially beautiful young woman journalists. Skye is at first insulted that he doesn't even remember who she is, and when Creed does realize who she is, he is embarrassed when remembers his innocent part in the prom practical joke. This was a finely crafted 4½ star romantic suspenseful tale.

A book with suspense and love all wrap up together, what more could you ask for. I really enjoyed this book. You find yourself trying to figure out the what is going to happen next.

Marcia has done an excellant job. Very good read.

I enjoyed reading the book and I have suggested it to all of my friends. It was funny and full of suspense. A murder mystery and love story all wrapped into one. Simply Marvelous!

This is how the Arthurian legend should have gone. The story fills in the gaps that a typical King Arthur story fails to address. By the end of this epic tail you will have come to love these characters through crying, laughing and cheering for them.

Young Pelleas is a Pictish boy, one who has earned the ire of the Druids, and does not expect to survive the next Samhain. When a smith named Myrddin rescues Pelleas, he begins an adventure that introduces him to his half-brother Arthur, makes him instrumental in the founding of the Knights of the Round Table, and crowns him as High King of the Picts.

In this book, Professor Courtway Jones takes the Arthurian legend back towards its Dark Age roots. Many of the original characters are recast as Britons, Picts and Gaels, and many of the old customs (including those of a sexual nature) are reflected in the story. Christianity is merely a patina on this multi-ethnic society, as both religions and races fight for dominance. Magic is downplayed in this book, with telepathy and magical healing potions being about the extent of it.

This is a great retelling of the Arthurian legends. Though Professor Jones' inclusion of knights and tournaments in the Dark Ages represents an anomaly, his Dark Age story is fascinating and informative about the era. The storyline is fascinating, and becomes positively gripping once Pelleas is knighted. Indeed, I found myself unable to go to sleep before I read the final few chapters.

By the way, though this is the first book in a trilogy, it is an entirely self-contained story, and can be read on its own.

Author Courtway Jones takes you into the magic of Camelot with characters who are seen with all of their human foibles. Rather than the hocus pocus of Merlin, and the heroic Arthur, Jones gives us more reasonable characterizations of these mythical figures. You are drawn in because first and foremost, these are flesh and blood men and women, who do ordinary things, have reasonable explainations for the actions they take, and act like you would expect could really have been the way things were in medieval Britain. The reader, rather than feeling like they are reading a fantasy novel, feel like they are reading about real peoples lives. This made this reader feel much more involved in the storyline and characters. This is a fabulous book. I, for one, will be reading the next books in this fabulous series.

Pendragon is great. This book contains detailed data, written in a clear way, about life in Arthur's age, beginning in the year 510 after CHrist. THe only flaw is the combat system, which is too violent. Of course, a battle till death is a violent event, but after loosing so much time developing your character, you discover how easy is to be killed using this combat system. ANyway, the authors give you a perfect set-up to go aboard a journey of history, not only a journey of killing, earning gold or casting spells,like AD&D does, for exxample.

Now, part of the review guidelines for this forum is that one should not simply praise without giving good reason why: however, in this case there are so many good reasons for praise that i am overwhelmed.
So, to keep it simple: this is the Arthurian roleplaying game. You play a knight, or maybe a clecrk or lady, or maybe even (though i would not reccomend it) a magician.
Yes, that is about it for "character classes". You see, the game depends a lot more on your characters background and personality than his "powers". Do not worry though, there will be lots of fights anyway.
If you like medival stuff (but not so much that you let facts get inthe way of fun, wich the medivals themselves would find silly) you will like this game.
A lot.
The not - so - simple, pretentious version...
I suppose one way to start would be its base material, the most splendid cycle of legend in Britain, the chronicle of King Arthur Pendragon. Sadly, the legend in our time has been tainted by superficial sentimentality, dried out by cheap attempts at making it historical (often just an excuse to make it but another version of poor conan the barbarian), and mocked by new - age foolishness. The wonder of this game is that it takes all these limited approaches and simply lets them be absorbed by the origional noble medival tales, creating a setting of vibrant richness.
Another important point: this is a game that is much larger on the inside than the outside. There are mysteries in it that simply never will be solved, even though one feels a hint of their massive importance. But building on them is a clear, if complex, world of heroism and everyday responsibillities. But even if you try to stick to "normal" knightly deeds, you can still get caught up in the labyrinths of politics and romance.
Last but not least, this game does exactly what it was intended to: rules, mood, and setting are in perfect symbiosis. This becomes painfully clear when talented but lesser designers try to muck about with the basics: just look at fourth editions pathetic magic system. Still, at least they had the good sense to make it optional.
This is the best role - playing game in the world. Try to be worthy of it.

It's been a whlie since I've played this, or any other game.

This game lives up to it's title. While, perhaps, a bit more gritty than the "Once and Future King" stories, the rules do an excellent job of re-creating the world of King Arthur. I've been Role Playing for quite a while now... 14 years? And this is one of the best games out there, and a very refreshing change from the Monty Haul-ism of D&D and the like.

The emphasis here is on ROLE PLAYING. The rules focus on attempting to become a perfect knight, a paragon of virtue, and a knight of renoun. Unlike other games, this game incorporates a "winter season" that assumes downtime, and allows your character to age. Yes, aging is a part of this game, and perhaps your character's children will get to adventure as well.

The Traits operate on a balance scale of 20 points - The total of these two attributes add up to 20. So you have, perhaps, Merciful 17 - Cruel 3. Passions are things you feel strongly about, your Lord, hate of the Saxons, etc.

This is a sample of the way the rules are designed to help you Role Play rather than Roll Play.

Combat and Magic are taken much more seriously than in D&D. Your character's hit pionts are derived from their stats, and stay that way for the rest of the game (more or less). The most hit points you can have is 39. Armor absorbs damage. Now, what's the most damage our 39 hit point character can do with his sword? 7D6 - that's up to 42 points, with an average of 24/25.

Combat is to be taken seriously!

As for Magic, well. This isn't D&D. There's none of the flash-bang Magic that there is in D&D. In fact, Merlin would be impressed by the magic a 2nd level D&D wizard could do. Spells take a long time to cast. Holy Ground, High Holidays, group ceremonies, etc. have a great effect on the outcome of spells. This is a game where players will spend weeks or months preparing spells, to be cast in holy places, on high holy days. Then spending time resting and recuperating after spells have been cast.

I don't know how supplements handle magic, Faerie, etc. Notice again that the emphasis here is on Role Playing, Storytelling, not FLASH-BANG effects. This game gives you opportunities to describe events, tournaments, adventures, celebrations, not just hack-and-slash fighting.

This game isn't for everyone, even those who it is for may take a while to acclimate. Like Castle Falkenstein, and Amber, this game is designed to help you tell a story. The rules add to the drama, they aren't just a collection of rules on how to create powerful characters and how to fight with them. Role Playing came out of Wargaming, and it shows. This is one of the few games that elevates Role Playing to the status of art. This is a game that returns to us the lost art of Story Telling.

Although I am no longer a Christian, this is a great Bible for African American Women. I especialy enjoyed the essays in the back.

This outstanding bible opened my eyes to how the Bible really relates to me, an African American woman. It affrims the presence of Africans in the Bible. It also helps to correct the distortions that were taught or told to my people for so many years. I use to believe in the Bible through blind faith, and thanks to this beautiful book,I now believe through knowledgeable faith. The Women of Color Study Bible is an excellent bible, which brakes down every book in easy to understand language and helps connect us (African Americans) to our African decents. Like never before in history, we women of color have our own bible to teach our families, the true meaning of God's word and his plan for our salvation. I leave my copy out on my coffee table, and six of my friends have already bought it, because they love my copy so much. We have formed a women of color bible study group, to discuss and learn more about God's word from this wonderful book.

I have never had a book that is as enlightening as this. I love the Bible. We as African Americans haven't been taught about our place in biblical history, but because of the extensive research by this group, we now know. Thanks so much. Anyone that reads this Bible will certainly be blessed. Get ready!

The quite town of Fairhaven, Ohio has little crime and that is mostly confined to an occasional DUI or bar fight. The biggest crime to rock the town occurred twenty-five years ago when Samantha Baxter disappeared at a Fourth of July celebration. Her body was found many years later in the John's Fairhaven Caverns, but the case remains open even today.

Fairhaven's long stretch between deadly crimes ends when someone murders Sally Jastrow while she participated in a government sponsored medical experiment. The case is virtually a closed door mystery that means either an insider, or a computer whiz who could overcome the lock codes, had to do the crime. Sheriff Alan Schneider and Captain Toni Ashcroft of Air Force security investigate the murder. As they make their inquiries, a strong attraction develops between them. However, first they must solve an ugly killing that has threads reaching back to the child's murder over a quarter of a century ago.

David Wolf has written an entertaining contemporary closed door who-done-it. The numerous viable suspects leave readers struggling to select the culprit. The police procedural also includes a strong romance that Mr. Wolf fully integrates with the main story line. Reminiscent of the powerful works of Sandra Brown, KING OF INFINITE SPACE has cross-genre appeal that romance and mystery readers will find quite enjoyable.

Harriet Klausner

Once I started reading King of Infinite Space, it was hard to stop. It is full of mystery, suspense, tender love relationships, as well as elements of science fiction (or futuristic stuff). This is a great story for a screenplay and movie. Furthermore, I hope there is a continuation of the love story with Toni Ashcroft, Sheriff Alan Schneider, and Amy.

This book was simple and easy to read and kept your attention throughout. King of Infinite Space has a little of everything which makes it appealing to all types of readers. It has murder, mystery & suspense, humor, romance, a touch of science, and military action. A must read. Check it out. I highly recommend it!

Steve Carr

I just stumbled across the paperback edition of these stories and couldn't be more pleased. The characters are not so unique as their perceptions and responses to the world around them. Harun takes ordinary feelings of pain and loneliness and spins them out in new patterns so that the stories are new and imaginative. Her style is fluid and mesmerizing and each story has-I wouldn't say a surprise ending-but a sort of twist on the character's reality; she doesn't hit you over the head with it but arrives there gracefully. Hard to put down and I definitely look forward to more.

Adrianne Harun, author of The King of Limbo is quite possibly royalty herself. Harun is masterful in her craft, and the queen of seeing the world through various perspectives.
In this compilation of ten (20-or-so-paged) short stories, Harun provides deliberate outlooks from vastly contrasted characters and secondary characters. She captures the roles of a Nigerian exchange student and the troubled girl he perceives to be under the grips of an evil juju spell; a woman who has lost a child and the elderly couple whose house she drunkenly plows her car into; and in the title story, a six-year-old boy, his mother, and the same Nigerian exchange student -- only now, he's all grown up. In these brilliantly detailed vignettes, Harun lends her readers a pattern (which is sometimes formulaic, but nonetheless satisfying) of a rich anecdote or situation infused with cryptic feeling descriptions, followed by an explanation of such emotions, and then finished with a drastic -- or at least surprising -- concluding character action.
The best model of such development is in the book's first story, Lukudi. Natife, the aforementioned Nigerian exchange student, is working with a local girl as an extra credit project. He "pedal[s] hard on...[a] borrowed mountain bike..." down the street heading towards the stable at which she lives, to meet with her for the sixth of their peer counseling meetings. Natife is described as, "resplendent...this tall young man in a silky fuschia tracksuit." When meets Ally, the troubled girl that he has taken a friendly liking to, the reader can clearly see the images and events unfolding; but it is only after information of both character's pasts are revealed that the real issues of the story become apparent. The all-too-brief and all-too-painful piece ends with the girl's suicide and the residual morals that wealth does not equal happiness and we must strive to take care of our families and neighbors.
Harun's writing may be full of sensory images and sentiments, but she still leaves much to the reader's imagination. Rather than stating the young girl's fatal choice, Harun illustrates the moment in literary beauty, and through the peripheral and foreign view of Natife. She writes, "[Ally] cleared the fence and disappeared into the night sky, flickering like a star, but it was only when he heard the fire siren, the trucks tearing out down Old Cross Farm, that Natife caught Ally's cry, caught it and held it briefly in his shining bowl. Then he let her fly." The pain of the act is expressed, but in a more worldly manner; one in which most authors do not have the insight to express.
The stories are more juxtaposed with some common themes rather than woven together. There is the one recurring main character, and a few side characters whose names are repeated throughout the various stories. Most importantly, though, is the setting of Salish Bay, a place one character in The Eighth Sleeper of Ephesus (a slowly paced, magical story -- my favorite in the anthology) describes simply as, "God's country." The phantom northwest town is the home of hospitality and brotherhood, a place that advances with time but still stays true to its time-honored values. The heavenly town works as the setting for many of the dissimilar characters to recall what really matters in life. And with Harun's mastery of diverse subject matter, we can imagine that she has some idea as to what that may be.
Often while reading, I am enticed to create a relationship with a character based on personal similarities. But Adrianne Harun invites her readers to remember that reading is meant to be an adventure, that it is supposed to show us the unexplored. Her craftfulness over a group of zany and new protagonists encourage the reader to look beyond themselves and become more open-minded. This book has just limboed its way into my favorites collection.

This debut collection of short stories bodes well for the author's future and our reading pleasure, as Harun writes with precision, grace, and style. Nonetheless, taken as a whole, these ten tales seem oddly disjointed, vignettes gathered from hither and yon. Individually they are minute works of art, penned with perception and imagination.

"Lukudi," the opening story, features Natife, a Nigerian foreign exchange student and a recurring character in this collection. He is a "tall young man in a silky fuschia tracksuit, a gift from the aunts in Chicago," who is perplexed by the problems besetting 16-year-old Ally Reisch, she of "the pink rheumy eyes and frail blondness of an old woman on her way to bone." He relies upon his native upbringing, concluding that a blood sacrifice is needed, a chicken perhaps.

Miranda, a young woman who "set up housekeeping with one poor excuse after another; all sponges, heels, rats," is the focus of "Accidents." After driving her car into the front of a house she recall the pain she experienced when her baby was born prematurely, a baby who came "all in a rush, like a traveler without luggage or money or memory or desire."

Perhaps the most poignant story is "The Eighth Sleeper Of Ephesus" (winner of the Nelson Algren Award). We meet an older man, Frank Cocokowski who hears the voice of his dead wife, and finds surcease in writing letters to the editor of a newspaper.

Adrianne Harun proves herself a writer to watch.

- Gail Cooke