While The Influence is by no means a bad read, it certainly does not represent Ramsey Campbell at his best. An old matriarch named Queenie has managed to summon her family around her in her dying days, exhibiting a conspicuous amount of attention to her great-niece, whom she summons just before she dies. As her family settles down in the house for the next few months, young Rowan begins to change, becoming more and more like the late Queenie herself. Queenie had always had a terrifying influence on the family, particularly upon her nieces Hermione and Alison, Rowan's mother, once scaring Hermione so badly with a vision of death that the girl had to spend some time in hospital. After Queenie's death, an acquaintance of the family supposedly kills himself after having tried to contact Alison about "the child." Rowan also finds a new playmate named Vicki whom no one but Hermione ever actually sees. She, unlike her sister, is deeply suspicious of Queenie's motives even after death, knowing the old lady all but swore she would never really die, but everyone else thinks of her as just a little too unstrung by events. Naturally, Rowan continues to take on more of Queenie's ways, eventually coming home a changed little girl after a traumatic night with her Aunt Hermione. The story takes something of a weird turn here, one which ends up slightly problematic in my eyes. The events of the last several chapters are thrown together a little haphazardly, with Campbell conveniently avoiding several thorny issues that I believe he really needed to elaborate upon. The actual shift in focus is handled quite well, revealing itself rather surprisingly to me, but the novel's momentum increasingly falters at the very times it should be heating up. Another plot device I didn't particularly embrace was the author's tendency to shift back and forth in time between characters; something would happen to one character in one chapter, then the next chapter would shift backwards and walk the reader up to the same established point through the eyes of another player in the events; this isn't necessarily a bad technique, but I found it a little awkwardly done at times.

The Influence has plenty of potential to interest and even please the potential reader, but it doesn't seem the type of novel one might find exhilarating; I basically watched events unfolding without ever finding myself really sucked into the drama. Ramsey Campbell fans will surely want to read this novel, but there are several more impressive Campbell novels better suited for those wanting to try Campbell for the first time.

THE INFLUENCE is perhaps the best demonstration yet of Campbell's skills as a novelist. Like INCARNATE and THE NAMELESS before it, this book sees Campbell writing at the peak of his abilities both as a sensitive chronicler of ordinary lives threatened by unpredictable forces, and as a literary conjuror of spine-chilling spectral terrors. In addition, this may be Campbell's most understatedly eerie novel since THE DOLL WHO ATE HIS MOTHER; but even so, some particularly frightening scenes and images in the latter half of the book may well be among the scariest that Campbell--or any horror writer, for that matter--has committed to paper within the last fifteen years at least.

Offering a haunting perspective on death and dying and a unique, skewed vision of what may lie beyond that proves both chilling and chillingly plausible, THE INFLUENCE is ultimately an intelligent, moving, terrifying meditation on loss, regret, and our need to come to grips with our own mortality--the result being arguably Campbell's most perfect novel so far.

This is a rewarding book. The author has researched his subject thoroughly, and he brings some interesting analysis to it. There are, however, a few problems.
First, the author argues that Campbell was a Southern "moderate." Judged by the likes of his fellow-Alabamian, the "fire-eating" William Lowndes Yancey, he was. He believed that slavery was a flawed institution, but he vehemently defended both its constitutionality and its morality. (He was after all a member of the Supreme Court majority that decided the infamously pro-slavery Dred Scott case in 1857). He told his fellow-Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Curtis that he freed all of his slaves "some years" before the beginning of the Civil War, but, as the author points out, the assertion was false--whether intentionally or inadvertently it is unclear. Campbell expressed rather tepid opposition to secession in 1861, arguing that Lincoln's election, in itself, was insufficient cause for the separation. But he stoutly defended the constitutional right of the South to go its own way. And when, in the spring of 1861, he attempted to find an alternative to secession, he argued that the Constitution should be amended to protect slavery in perpetuity, and that this amendment itself should be made unamendable. Was this moderation?
The author speaks often and admiringly of Campbell's great intelligence, but facts dropped here and there raise questions. Attending Lincoln's first inauguration, Campbell proclaimed the President "a conceited man" and condemned his address as "a stump speech" totally wanting in "dignity and decorum." And in a letter to Jefferson Davis he expressed the opinion that Lincoln was "light, inconstant, variable." Was Campbell intelligent? Certainly. But did he have good judgment?
It would have been interesting if the author had compared Campbell's decision to resign from the Supreme Court in 1861 to the decisions of John Catron and James Wayne to stay on the Court. All three were pro-slavery justices from states that seceded (Catron from Tennessee and Wayne from Georgia). But Campbell's loyalty was to Alabama, Catron's and Wayne's to the United States. The author ignores the decisions of Catron and Wayne, which would have added an interesting contrast to Campbell's.
The author's writing is uneven. In places, it is engaging and persuasive. In others, it is murky. In yet others it betrays a pro-Campbell bias that tends to undermine the principal arguments of the book. And, since so much of the book concerns legal issues, the author's misunderstanding of some basic legal procedures is unfortunate (a trial court decision is not reviewed by "filing suit" in the Supreme Court but by "appealing" from the judgment in the original suit.) Finally, someone (the author himself or a copy editor) should have checked the text more carefully. It is marred by more than an acceptable number of errors, some typographical, others more substantial.
Notwithstanding this criticism, I found this a useful book. It taught me a lot about Campbell, who was an important historical figure. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the tragic sequence of events that led up to the beginning of the Civil War can read it with profit.

John Archibald Campbell's life and political philosophy illustrate the difficulties that Southern moderates faced in developing and implementing a solution to the problems of slavery and secession. Campbell opposed both slavery and secession. Campbell's legal gifts eventually led him to practice before the United States Supreme Court and subsequently to an appointment to the Supreme Court itself. During his service on the Supreme Court Campbell opposed the Filibusterers in the New Orleans region, wrote a concurring opinion in the Dred Scot case, and rejected nullification by the courts of Wisconsin. As a moderate Campbell was vilified by both Southern fire-eaters and Abolitionist radicals. Campbell served eight years (1853-1861) on the Supreme Court before resigning to become an assistant secretary in the Confederate War Department. After the war he practiced law in New Orleans where he eventually became the lead attorney in the Slaughterhouse Case. His views in this case prepared the way for the broad interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment in the Twentieth Century. This book gives a very solid story of the life and labors of an important lawyer of the 19th Century. This political biography is the first full life of John Archibald Campbell. It will be of great use to students of the Supreme Court, American history, and legal scholars as well as those who enjoy good biography. It belongs in most libraries.

The Lion's Share begins with the death of Jimmy Flannery's long-time political sponsor (his "Chinaman"), Chips Devlin. Jimmy is in for a surprise when he learns that he has inherited the Devlin house just so long as he lives in it. Soon his wife, Mary, is sorting out all of Devlin's belongings and picking out wallpaper. Friends begin pitching in to do the hard work of restoring the house.

Jimmy finds himself without a political mentor for the first time in his adult life. He's surprised to find ex-congressman Leo Lundatos at the wake for Chips. Lundatos soon issues an invitation for Jimmy to join the team as his right-hand man while Lundatos tries to make a fresh start by running for local office as alderman from the 11th ward. This seems like the big time to Jimmy, but there are a few things bothering him. First, Lundatos lost his job in Congress for being caught at minor thievery. Jimmy is all for doing the right thing. Second, can the two men actually work together? Third, can Lundatos be trusted?

The offer quickly gets around, and Jimmy receives a surprise telephone call telling him to come to a building if he wants to know whether or not to take the offer. When he gets there, the caller disappears without being seen . . . but Jimmy does find a beautiful woman dead in a bath tub. This is a woman Jimmy had met at the wake who chose to call herself Fay Wray, and earned her living by pleasing men.

Jimmy calls the police, and stays involved to be sure that the murder doesn't get swept under the rug. In the process of finding out who killed Fay Wray, he learns a lot about Lundatos and his wife. By the time the story's over, it's an easy decision for Jimmy to make.

The theme of this story is that you don't know how sound your principles are until you've been tempted to abandon them. Naturally, powerful politicians receive all kinds of favors and may come to expect special treatment. As Jimmy moves up the political ladder, he will find himself mixing with those who have been compromised by that access.

I like this series very much, but I did not enjoy the ugly material in here about paid sex. For that reason, this is one of my least favorite Jimmy Flannery books.

For those who remember who Dan Rostenkowski was, the Lundatos character seems loosely based on the former House Speaker's Congressional career.

After you finish this story, think about what principles you believe in that you would not usually compromise. What temptations might you have to overcome in order to hold to those principles? How can you prepare to resist the most challenging temptations?

This is the 1st book by Robert Campbell I have ever read and I am hooked! This book is a swift moving book about politics and a murder in Chicago. The Irish-Americans are the most popular characters. You can read this book in about one or two days. And read it again, and again, and again......

Little Rat is charming and her fears and worries will really hit home with many children. However, it really bothers me that Little Rat is out there on a sailboat, and apparently nobody has considered teaching her how to swim!

Ever summer parents have to find something for their kids to do besides hang out around the house all day and the same is true for Little Rat's parents. They have signed Little Rat up for sailing lessons, despite the fact that she is terrified of the water. Little Rat is cared of falling in, even with her life jacket on, but then on the first day of class she discovers her life jacket is gray (with a big red stripe on it) while everybody else has neat yellow-and-orange zip-up life jackets. So what is Little Rat to do when she is a fraidy cat and looks like a dork?

"Little Rat Sets Sail" is written by Monika Bang-Campbell, who worked on traditionally rigged sailing vessels for several years after graduating college, and illustrated by her mother Molly Bang, who sold her tiny sailboat because she got too cold when she sailed. This charming chapter book has fun with Little Rat's fears of sailing, but also takes them seriously as we see how she learns to overcome those fears as she learns the basics of sailing from Buzzy Bear. Even more impressive is how the book actually shows some of the important things young kids learn about sailing. There is even a detailed drawing of a sailing boat pointing out all the key parts the book talks about, like the main halyard and the jib sheet.

"Little Rat Sets Sail" promises to be the first in a new series of adventures starring the irrepressible Little Rat. The illustrations are done in pencil, gouache, and watercolor, with some charcoal and chalk dust, on illustration board, which make Little Rat and her friends stand out from the sailing boats and other objects. It will be interesting to see what happens next and what else Bang-Campbell has done in her life besides sailing, but this is certainly a nice little start. I look forward to which of life's travails Little Rat faces next.

Excellent for beginning to think about stonework, how to use it in your landscape, what it might look like..
It reflects the author's environmental/Japanese garden point of view, which is really an organic way of looking at landscaping in general.
Interesting to read, not many pictures [a few illustration] - a little dry in terms of food for fantasy...
and not really a how-to book for people who haven't done some fairly complex projects before.
But if you want to do some research on stone in the landscape this should be part of your process.

After an interesting world-wide overview of famous rock structures, the authors show you how to use rocks to create balance, depth, and interest in your gardenscape. I love the contrasting factor of the rocks with plants. It adds a great deal of enhancement to even the commonest of botanicals. Linda Fry Kenzle, author of Gathering

Cutler, Jane. No Dogs Allowed. (1992). New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.

No Dog Allowed is a great family book, based on sibling rivalries. Jason, the oldest brother fined his younger brother, Edwards's action absurd. Such as the time Edward pretended to be a dog or made friends with the biggest guy in fourth grade. Jason just wants to feel older and to be cool, but with Edward around he finds this hard to do. This book could be read aloud to children 8 to 11. If you like humor's children stories this is the book for you.

I love this book!! You must read it!! Its sooo comical!! If you havent read this book you dont know what youre missing!!I would have given it 100,000,000,000 stars!!I totally recommend it to everyone!!

My mother told me she had to read the original "Huis Clos" in French class. Being interested in unorthodox interpretations of Hell (such as the beautiful Grey Town in C.S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce") I've always been curious about "No Exit." At last Mama bought it for me. While "No Exit" wasn't as captivating a tale as I anticipated, it has its own merits. It's very... well... "out there." When I try to find words to describe it, my face twists up in knots. I've read the highly philosophical sci-fi work "White Bread" by William Meyer, and yet "No Exit" is the only book I've ever read that I can describe just by saying "That was WEIRD!" Do you like bizarre literature? Read "No Exit."

I think if I were one of the characters in this little drama, I'd be Inez. Sadly enough, she reminds me of myself. On the other hand, if I were trapped in a hotel room for eternity, I wouldn't act stuffy and grown-up like Sartre's characters. I'd probably begin by building a fort out of those accursed sofa cushions. Hey, I'm a kid.

What I like about Garcin is his straightforward honesty. He doesn't weasel-word around his sins the way Estelle does... "Cosi fan tutte," as Mozart would say. "Women are like that." On the other hand, if I were confronted as he was with the hotel room's open door, I would have run outside to wander the halls, or at least propped the portal open!

Read "No Exit," and enjoy.

As an actor/aspiring playwrite/existentialist I figured this was right up my alley. It was. I borrowed No Exit a while ago, and read it straight through twice (once during an important math class, and later during chemestry). I'm buying my own copy now. Don't just read this (or anything...especially plays) only once! Do you think Paul McCartney only listened to Stevie Wonder once? (wink to anyone who can identify this quote) This is a great play, even if you're not into reading plays, or not into philosophy. The Bauhaus theatre dictum of form following function is great to keep in mind, as this is similar to didactic theatre. The post before mine is a bit misleading in writing it off as 'weird' and an unconventional view of hell. It could be both things if you want to stay in the shallow end all of your life. No Exit is best read with an understanding of the anti-naturalism, but this is only to understand why it's 'weird' and is not nessesary. I don't want to tell you how to interperate the play or anything, so I won't go into why it is not an unconventional view of hell. If you want to know, or discuss the play (or pretty much any other play/theory) IM me on AIM: Digestingtrevor or Email me at Don't_spam_spit@the-cowboy.com Just remove 'don't spam' from it. Know also Sartre was not primarilly a playwrite. He was a prominant existentialist philosopher/essayist, but turned to playwriting (thank god[though he won't respond!]) as a new medium for expression. He's also quite good as a playwrite for a philosopher! REALLY good! It's great to be frustrated with the characters and really feel like you are going insane. (possibly the birth of reality TV? it's funny how much it is like the real world.) This is a GREAT read for the Arist(of all mediums),philosopher,and the person who just wants to read something cool. I suggest this book to all different types of people, and they all love it. You can easilly read this with no desire to put any interperative thought into it, and love it just as much as if you want to delve into it's infinate levels of meaning and relevance. It is both entertaining and enlightening.

Chris Campbell is an unusual person who managed to go deeply into addiction yet retain enough awareness and intelligence to write about it as she went along. Her story reads with the innocence of a naif in the jaws of evil. It's hard to stop reading once you start, and it's all to easy to imagine yourself or your kids in the same situation - good and caring and bright yet unable to say no. Sampbell's story may be more complicated than is related in this narrative of adolesence, but the simplicity of her view is a message in itself.

I am not going to review my book, because I don't personally think it is that good. However, what it signifies is important to me. Perhaps someday I can write the real story, the whole truth. I am almost 28 now, this book was written after I turned 18. So much has happened. I was so innocent back then. Read the book, check it out. Let your kids read it. Let it warn them about the realities of drugs and life.

This is a modern retelling of the traditional story. The princess's fate is not determinded by a little pea, but instead on the importance of being a strong woman. She runs away from the castle and accidentally runs into Prince Hector who is looking for a princess. I love how the independent princess wins her prince the real way.

I love this book for it's sweet and modern storyline and for it's whimsical, colorful pictures. I recommend this book for children of all ages!

This book, while interesting, just isn't up to the level of the books before it. The introduction of the meta plot by White Wolf, along with making the game that much darker, dampens my enthusiasm for this title. However, it does include some interesting ideas, and the exploration of the Order of Reason is a good addition. I do miss Phil Brucato's fine way with the game, though.

I love the order of reason..I can't belive that they where not in the mage the ascention handbook. This book has every thing you will need for mage the socerors crusade.