I like Kerouac and I thought it would be interesting to read a book of his early attempts at writing, but this book turned out to be a heap of garbage that would never have gotten published if there wasn't a famous name and picture on the cover. Even Kerouac himself said this stuff wasn't worth reading. I'm surprised they didn't print his grocery lists and the doodles he scribled on napkins. They must be saving that for the next book, "Things we collected from Kerouac's waste basket." This sort of thing happens all the time and its sad... Anyway, I gave this book an extra star because I seem to remember at least one or two of the pieces being at least mildly interesting. I don't recall which ones.

Jack Kerouac, with the printing of larger title books (On the Road, Dharma Bums, Desolation Angels...) gained a reputation as the "king" or "father" of the beatniks. A title and position that Kerouac never wanted or ever really accepted. Amidst the caucophenous roar of America in the night with drugs and sex and bachnallian carnality, Kerouac recieved a bad rap as the inventor or sponsor of such activities. While in his life Kerouac did partake in many such things, he was original and utterly different than the dull literary and social scene surrounding he and his friends. Atop an Underwood, I believe, takes us back to when Kerouac was at possibly the height of his burgeoning fascination with the world and those who inhabited it. With prose and poetry alike, Jack allows us into a younger and more lucid, albeit less experienced mind. This book lets us plainly see what Kerouac truly wanted for his life and what he deemed of great enough import to spend so many years perfecting. A very important collection for anyone serious about not only Kerouac the writer, but Kerouac the man.

Use Paul Marion's Jack Kerouac Atop An Underwood (88822-2, $24.95) as an accompanying volume surveying his early stories and other writings: this gathers over sixty previously unpublished pieces from Kerouac's personal files and represents a treasure trove for any avid Kerouac reader. Both are highly recommended, even essential picks for any Beat collection.

While I don't think S&S 17 will go down in the annals of history as one of the great works of literature in our time, it is worth reading. It's good for reading on lunch breaks or other times when you don't have several uninterrupted hours for a good solid read.

As with all anthologies, there are submissions that appeal to my sense of "good story" more than others. My personal favorite from this one was Carrie Vaughn's "Haunting of Princess Elizabeth."

Since volume IX of Sword and Sorceress, I've anticipated each summer's offering of the latest and greatest S&S short fiction - S&SXVII, while perhaps not the best of this wonderful series, still provides some entertaining reads.

Several of the stories are fairly predictable - in an anthology designed to promote strong female characters in Fantastic Fiction, you can pretty much bet that it's the lone girl and not the army (be that Plains Tribe or Amazons or your brother who ought to weild the sword) that will step up to bat and save the day.

That given, there are some delightful gems in S&SXVII that make it worth buying, such as such notables as :

"Memories of the Sea" by Dave Coleman-Reese is an interesting look at the relation of the soul and memories. The characters and their interrelations are drawn especially well.

In "The Summons," Bunnie Bessel built upon an interesting moral dilemma that a bodyguard must face. I only wish this story had been a novel - the glimpses into the world seemed to display something larger than a short story.

"Luz" by Patricia Duffy Novak examines humility, perseverence, and divine favour in a charming and well-wrought story that, given its content, manages to keep away from moralising while instructing at the same time.

Charles Richard Laing's "Weapons at War" draws from the well-worn "gimmick" of sentient swords, and takes it one comical step further, making one swordwoman's whole armament into a highly opinionated convention!

Enjoy!

The "Sword And Sorceress" series is a series of collections of short stories set in the "Sword And Sorcery" genre, except that in this series, all the protagonists are female. The is because, as Marion Zimmer Bradley has always explained in her introductions, historically in the "Sword And Sorcery" genre, the only female characters were "Bad conduct prizes" for the heros.

The series as a whole is very good, although some volumes were stronger than others. I would rate this one as the best of the series, and with MZB's death, it may be the last. Not a certainty; it is possible, I suppose, that the publishers may choose to continue the series with a new editor, possibly MZB's assistant of the last few years. But I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

There are only three stories in this collection that are continuations of the adventures of characters met in previous anthologies: "An Exchange Of Favors", by Dorothy Heydt (the adventures of Cynthia, The Witch of Syracuse); "Shadow Soul", by Laura J. Underwood (Ginny, celtic wisewoman); and "Lady Of Flame", by Diana Paxson (Bera, Norse Voelva). But there are many fine one-shot stories here, and no bad ones. If this is the end of the line for the series, it is going out in fine style. Hopefully, there will be more to come.

I felt that the treatment this author afforded the victim Mary Ball was akin to raping her all over again. He uses the term alleged in front of the crimes against her but does not employ the same qualifier before mention of the crimes committed against the male victim. The author repeats rumors that Miss Ball had loose morals and that (gasp) she sometimes didn't wear underwear! Obviously, if she dressed like that she had it coming, right? He did not, apparently, attempt to speak with anyone with a more favorable impression of Miss Ball in order to present a more balanced picture. Finally, at the end, he presents a touching picture of a reconcilliation between James Cameron and the murdered man's surviving brother but Mary Ball has disappeared from the author's work by this point. She has become an invisible woman. I for one would like to know how she felt at this point, to hear her words. Although the book had it's places the good professor has done a terrible thing to Mary Ball and for that he should be ashamed.

James H. Madison has provided us with a book about an incident that no one wants to know about - a bit of ugly history that we would rather not think, much less READ, about. A LYNCHING IN THE HEARTLAND: Race and Memory in America is a brilliant investigation and commentary on the heinous incident on August 7, 1930 in Marion, Indiana. On that quiet night in the quiet heartland of America, far removed from the South with its long-standing history of racial clashes, two African American men were snatched from the jail by white mob frenzy and hung from a tree for the 'dastardly deed' of murder and rape of a white couple. No trial, no conviction, just an acting out of racial hatred, an act captured in the most famous photograph of a lynching in the American context. Madison reports the events factually with a mesmerizingly accurate attention to detail. But the story does not stop there. Madison has researched the history prior to the incident and the subsequent followup that identified brilliant African American leaders and challengers, one of whom was the third man not lynched on that hideous evening in 1930 - James Cameron. Madison then reflects on the whole history of racism in this country, beginning with the equally offensive murders and tortures of the American Indians and extending down to extant incidences up to the time of the publication of this valuable, disturbing book.

Madison repeatedly makes the point that if we don't study our history and vividly recall our past then we are doomed to persist in unjust racial crimes. This is a tough book to swallow, but a very important one for all of us to read. Only by exposing ourselves to the ugly events of our history can we hope to learn and prevent such madness from recurring. An eloquent, vital, and impressive contribution.

In August of 1930, a lynching took place. It would not be uncommon for one to assume that the lynching took place in the deep south, but in this instance, the assumption would be incorrect. The lynchings of Tom Shipp and Abe Smith took place in Marion, Indiana, America's Heartland. This event is responsible for one of the most famous photographs of an American lynching.

The author demonstrates how stereotypes and fear contributed to the lynching. The mere suggestion that a White woman was raped and a White man was murdered by three Black men, provided enough inspiration to turn a normally cordial, if not friendly, small town into a lynch mob. Madison outlines how a community dealt with the chilling reality that such mob violence had taken place in their small town. Because of shame, guilt and even fear, this tragic event was buried in Marion, Indiana's collective memory.

Flossie Bailey, a prominent African American woman in the community, as well as others, worked hard to mobilize the community in an attempt to make sure that at least some of the people involved in the murders would be held responsible for the crimes while fear kept other African Americans in the community quiet. Unfortunately, no one was held responsible for the crime.

Madison also highlights the history behind what is considered by many to be the most famous lynching photograph in American history. The photograph, taken by Lawrence Beitler the night of the lynching, has been reproduced and widely circulated. During the time immediately following the lynching, some people bought copies to serve as a "trophy", while others felt it was an abomination. It is a stirring photograph that depicts two dead men hanging from a tree while crowds of White's stand around some in their Sunday best, some pointing, and some chatting and laughing.

This book begins with a vivid and chilling description of the events leading up to the lynching, the lynching itself and the events that followed. The description of the scene was a result of the author's extensive research which included interviews, reviewing court documents, magazines, books and other historical archives. Although the author noted that his initial goal was to write an article about the event, he quickly learned that the story of this lynching was much bigger than what could be captured in an article. In addition to the actual description of the events surrounding the lynching, the author creates a historical context by providing a description of life for both African Americans and Whites during the era. He details the role that the NAACP and committed community leaders played in fighting for broader civil rights for African Americans.

He ends the book with a story of healing. On the night of the lynching, three men were in jail awaiting trial, yet only two of them were lynched. The third man, James Cameron's life was spared, and eventually Cameron began to share his story with the world. His goal in sharing the story was to promote racial healing and unity. This book touches on an area of American history that is often buried and rarely talked about. Through the author's research he is able to share a story that demonstrates just how far we as a Nation have come, and I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

This book is an omnibus edition of two books-Stormqueen and Hawkmistress. I know why she put them in omnibus and I usually like omnibus books. However, the title-The Ages of Chaos- may be confusing as the two books are not very close to each other in time and during the second book the events are described as taking place in the next era-The Hundred Kingdoms. That aside the books in themselves weren't anything more than mediocre. The characterization was decent but not great. I never felt truly connected to any of the characters. Many times I predicted what would happen in the book, however, I have read a lot of fantasy and you become more adept at spotting foreshadowing and plotlines the more you read. The editing was horrendous. Either they didn't BOTHER to edit them or the editor was drunk. He instead of she, completely misspelled words, odd phasing, these errors do intrude considerably into the enjoyment of reading these books. Usually I don't even spot typos as I just change them for myself. However, these typos were so blatantly obvious that they made me want to take a pen to the book to correct them! It's not a bad book. In fact it's fairly decent as books go. However for a more interesting read I would recommend Mercedes Lackey, Tanya Huff, Anne MacCaffrey, Kate Elliot, Jennifer Roberson, and even though they're 'young adult' books-Tamora Pierce. I would say that Marion Zimmer Bradley has mediocre characterization in all of the books I've read by her-only a few as I've just begin the Darkover series-Darkover Landfall and The Mists of Avalon, have decent but not great characterization. Although this review may seem alarmingly negative I have still not finished the Darkover series (I just finished this book today) but I plan to. I encourage you to at least read Darkover Landfall if you are intrigued by these books to get an idea if you like her writing style.

Having just started on my Darkovan journey I must say I loved these books. Have not read Sci/Fi Fantasty literature for quite awhile since Pamela Sargent's The Shore of Women and since I love MZB thought this would be a perfect place to begin again.
I was right!
I thoroughly enjoyed both books. However I liked Stormqueeen best. I found the plot twists and the perspective of different characters intriguing. I was riveted from start to finish. And I liked the descriptions quite a bit as well.
Although I enjoyed Hawkmistress, I found the plot less fresh and not as compelling. The "girl dresesed up as boy in a male dominated society and coming into her own power and making good" is a little too predictable.
Two things:
The editing is absolutely atrocious. It was either left entrely to the computer or someone edited it who does not speak English fluently. I too found this distracting. A disservice to both author and reader.
In addition it would be nice to have a chronology and or Darkovan historical timelene at the beginning of these books. Maybe a map too! I always like it when that is done and not just in scifi fantasy books. but in general. hmmm but that does sound kind neurotic doesn't it? But oh well just my opinion
Truly enjoyable! Read and and enjoy and be charmed!

What a tale! The storyline is very involved, but with characters as clearly drawn as Ms. Bradley has presented them, it is easy to keep them all straight. Even with two different stories, it is hard to put the book down.

My only negative comment is there are more typographical errors in this book than I have encountered before. There were enough, however, that this did distract me.

On page 104 of this book, Robert Bly laments that "many forms of personal sacrifice -- the scholarship in cold rooms, the learning of Latin and Greek, the voluntary renunciation of multiple delights -- have since the sixties virtually disappeared. We have a pop culture now, not a culture of swans."

Fair enough. So let's take a little peek at Bly's understanding of Ancient Greek. On page 102, Bly informs the reader that the name Telemachus means "the true aim of our actions". This is false. The name Telemachus comes from two words: tele, meaning 'from afar' and makh/os, 'fighter'. Thus, Telemachus actually means 'He who fights from afar'. This is elementary Greek.

On the same page, Bly informs the reader that "most people don't realize that the standard Greek word for duck is penelope." What Mr. Bly obviously doesn't realize is that the standard Greek word for duck is actually netta. The word he is referring to, which is penelops, not penelope, is the Greek word for a specific kind of duck, namely one that has purple stripes and that was known for its loyalty to its mate. Also, it's highly uncertain that Penelope's name has any connection to ducks whatsoever, since ancient Greeks as well as numerous modern scholars believe that it actually means "the unraveller of the web".

Additionally, on page 101, Mr. Bly offers the following piece of ridiculous misinformation: "[E]ach work of ancient literature conceals, as we are more and more aware, an occult or hidden meaning as well." I won't even bother arguing this point, since it is so patently absurd.

Jungians are psychologists. They understand mass psychology. They know that it is only necessary to create an aura of authority and an appearance of truth in order to make a fortune and to gain a prestigious reputation among uncritical people. Thus, they are at liberty to invent non-existent episodes of well-known myths, to magically transform modern cultural historians into 19th century Lamarckian geneticists, to offer ludicrous definitions of ancient words, and will be praised to the skies for it. These people are not wise elders. They are con artists, plain and simple. They have absolutely no respect for their readership.

Once again, the lecters invite the starlings over for tea, for a little feast on ancient and modern mythology. A clever nobody sends his R.S.V.P. (with a lesson on true and pure mythography):

Star Wars: A Proem

Look!

Now let us pass through the golden broadview

Gate, pass over a sea of restless waves

Upon a bridge made of hallowed bone,

Dragon's wing, and silver polished stone,

To the netherlands of long, long ago,

Back to the lands of ancestors old,

Back to the dancing-grounds

Of the Jedi Knights.

Upon which path of song shall I embark?

Since time allows -- for 'tis a long lay

Full of laughter both and tragedy --

The course that I shall set shall be

The hateful venom spat by the

Black-robed scarlet Sith

Upon all our brightest, most resplendent

Stars. That shall be the complete

Compass of my lay -- lay sung loud

And clear and Forceful true,

As crystal depths of

Pristine lake at Dawn

On the surviving

Moon of Alderaan --

Alderaan,

With her

Grassy plains.

-- May 11, 2001

I had high hopes and in many ways was not disappointed. I loved the format and co-authorship was wonderfully refreshing. The biggest disappointment is that the fairy tale wasn't that fascinating. The tale required all of Bly and Woodman's abilities in amplifying and expanding on symbols, and their abilities are impressive. However, I don't think it's either author's most inspired writing. I also have to vent about Robert "half-empty" Bly's occassional remarks about the current state of decline of today's culture. I think Jungian's call it "negative intuition." It by no means ruins his commentary, so much of which is truly inspired, but I feel his empty comments about "falling SAT scores" and fewer college Shakespeare courses deserve a response. Senex as kurmudgen. The book reflects its origins from a lecture series. It seems to limit the book from being truly great. The spontaneity still registers in the pages, which is nice.

While I enjoyed reading Edghill's very accurate take on large-scale Pagan outdoor festivals (she captured the logistical nightmares perfectly!), I thought the "Whodunit" aspect was her weakest link.

Some mysteries do reveal the muderer's identity up front, so the book has to focus on the protagonist's hunting skills in discovering the killer. Unfortunately, Bast does everything else but that! She deals with the realities of no longer being able to lean on her old coven for support, and wrestle with the prospect of founding a new one. There's her struggle in sorting out how she's going to find a stable magical partner. And, to cap it off, inter-Community politics rears its ugly head once again and requires Bast to make the painful choice of keeping a trust or doing what is right.

Meanwhile, there's blessed little sleuthing. I think Bast's single intimate encounter with the killer was a rather obvious attempt by the author to drop a Major Hint early on.

As a foray into modern Neo-Paganism, it hits the target. For a mystery novel, its more than a tad weak.

As with the previous two Bast mysteries, this one is a rollicking good read. Edghill has a talent for moving the story along with nary a lull in the action. And I must admit, I have a soft place in my heart for the Bast books because they focus on My People. :) However, this particular book was a tad disappointing in that the killer's identity is ridiculously obvious from the moment the body is discovered. For some reason it takes Bast until the end of the book to figure it out, leaving the reader to think, "Well, DUH!" Also, a few loose ends were left hanging, such as who shot the townie? The character of Bast herself is not as strong in this book as in the previous two. She seems a bit lost as she drifts between Lark and Julian, struggles with whether to start her own coven, and generally just gets pushed around by various other characters in the book. Still, it's a good read, and the descriptions of the HallowFest attendees is hilarious. Edghill nails the neopagan community as closely as Sharon McCrumb nailed the sci-fi fan community in Bimbos of the Death Sun.

For less money, you can buy "Bell, Book, and Murder" instead, which is a compilation of all three Bast books (including this one). Wish someone had told me before I bought all four!

Hollow Ground was the latest read in my monthly book club. Eight out of eight readers thought it was the worst book they had ever read, and some couldn't even get through the whole book. We all conceded, the characters were weak and underdeveloped. No one felt any empathy for the characters at all. The introduction of characters were confusing and we kept having to reread prior chapters to make sure who was who. The characters were just that "characters", and not very interesting ones at that! The plot was weak. Promising subjects were introduced and left to fall flat. While Mr. Marion had a unique way of describing the subject's surroundings, mainly using his sense of "smell"...it couldn't bring us to become interested in what happened to any of the characters. When you got to the last page, you were left wondering what the book had been about. I tried to figure out the author's need to tell such a story, and just decided maybe he grew up around these people and used them to write a book, even though the subjects really weren't connected in any way. All in all, my book club felt they had wasted their time and money on this book. This author might be better at writing short stories...like one or two pages. Sorry, but I can't recommend this book, however the cover picture was quite interesting.

As a college classmate of Stephen Marion, I was delighted to see his first novel and immediately bought a copy. Unfortunately, as I began reading, I was not that impressed. It isn't that Stephen Marion isn't a gifted author. It's just that I found the plot draggy, the points of view shifted way too much and at times, I found myself backtracking to see just what was going on. Perhaps I was expecting to see more of our hometown in the book, but I didn't. At any rate, I enjoyed works he did in college much better!

With an ear close to the ground of his native region and the characters that inhabit Zinctown, Mr. Marion has written a compelling debut novel that is anything but hollow. What we see in this writing is a keen eye and voice for sense of place that doesn't falter or devle into sentimentality--tough achievements in a coming of age story. Unlike other novels in a similar vein, Hollow Ground challenges its readers to keep pace with the narrative and concentrate on its charcters. If read with the same ear and eye as the author, Hollow Ground, can and is richly rewarding.

This book had some valuable information on the subject, however, I was offended and appalled by the religious propaganda and shameless self promotion contained within. It made me wonder how helpful prolotherapy REALLY is, or if the authors are just trying to convince people to get business.

This book opened my eyes to a whole new world of back pain treatment. After 15 years of chronic back pain ranging from mild to incapacitating, I was running out of options. Back bracing, ice, anti-inflamatories, and cortisone shots only left me in worse shape. After reading this book, I had a consultation for Prolotherapy. Immediate relief was forthcoming after the first treatment. After receiving 4 treatments of prolotherapy, I am 90% free of back pain.

Read this book and get yourself educated in how to take charge of your back pain.

Largely as a result of reading this informative book, I undertook prolotherapy for "severe degenerative disc disease" in in the L5-S1 area. It was a last ditch effort to head off a spinal fusion operation.

This book and the glowing preface by Dr. C. Everett Koop gave me the courage to persist through early weeks of an 8-treatment, 6-mos process--which turned out to be minimally painful after the first session or so. So far, four months into treatment, I am very much improved. I am lucky to live near Santa Barbara, home of the offices of one of the researchers cited in the book.

I learned a great deal from the book about the nature of the healing process--a lot of which is counter to popular opinion.

To anyone considering prolo-therapy: read this book and go to someone who practices the procedures all day long.

Prolo-therapy is certainly a viable option. The concern should be to find a skilled practitioner.

I picked up this book durring a recent trip to San Semion thinking it would be fun to hear all the wild and crazy things that happened in the castle. Well I got that partly, but I enjoyed it more for it's portrayal of early Hollywood. Hearing stories like Davies and Clarke Gable ditching the debut of Gone With The Wind (it was too long) to make prank calls are too good to pass up.

On the surface, Davies seems to have a terrific life of parties, fashion, socialites and more than enough money to spare. But then you realize that she didn't particularly like making movies, hobknobbing with world leaders or going places that Mr. Hearst did. She was just a slightly ditzy girl wanting to romp and have a good time. I felt sorry for most of the time and it got a bit depressing. But it's her free spirited nature that makes to book as enjoyable as it is. Although,I must admit to putting it down to read something a bit more substantial a few times.

I love it when I find a book that can make me laugh out loud. This one did/does. I get it out and read it again sometimes when I need a pick-me-up. I can see why "WR" loved her. Her childlike sense of fun, her love of animals, her loyalty to friends, just to name a few. Her loyalty and devotion to "WR" would stand out at a time when he was in dire financial straits. Also, this book is interesting in that it gives us a glimpse of the golden era of Hollywood. There are serious moments in the book, but overall it is light-hearted and amusing. She wasn't really shallow or an air-head. The girl just liked to have fun!

Marion Davies truly was blonde! This book is fun to read because she tells all her stories is a light, "airheady" way. She wasn't a dumb blonde by any means, but she has no problem revealing semi-private and semi-embarrasing things. I enjoy reading about Marion and W.R. and if you are interested in what life was like at San Simeon, this book will not disappoint! The book is also heavily illustrated! It is a funny, lovable story!

Now that I have made it I can tell you that this book had many mistakes. It doesn't give information on the different schools and the phone numbers that they do give were wrong. The advice on course selection was wrong as well. It devotes half a page to the MCAT and I can tell you this test is worth more than half a page of commentary.

I am definitely a non-traditional student. This book has taught me many things I would have never known about. Like the fact that I should volunteer, be a leader in school clubs, etc, etc. I haven't applied to med-school yet, but I definitely know more about what it does take to get in.

I gave this book to my daughter in the middle of her freshman year. She was a premed major and did not do very well her first term. after reading the book she changed her major, became a volunteer EMT, did research and joined a women's Rugby team at school. These positioning steps resulted in her being admitted to medical school early in her junior year. She is now a third year medical student and attributes the book to getting in.

we then gave the book to a family friend whos daughter had good grades but did poorly on the mcats. after reading the book and following the sugestions she was accepted by 4 medical schools.

The book really worked, twice.It is best to read thye book in your Freshman year.