Book Description
From the pages of Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN comes thestory of Lucifer Morningstar, the former Lord of Hell who is unexpectedlycalled back into action after he receives a mission from Heaven. In this final volume, the war is over and a new order is rising from theashes. His own fate now decided, Lucifer begins to settle his affairs --only to discover that he still has one deadly enemy unaccounted for.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent ending, irritating coda.......2007-05-14
This wraps up most of the loose ends in the "Lucifer" series in a satisfactory way. The open-ended nature of Lucifer's fate is appropriate and suitable, and the mood and method of his final parting from his father Yahweh is ...hmm, properly consistent with his character; so is his farewell gift to Mazikeen. Elaine's choice of immanence rather than transcendance as her path of Godhead is well-justified and portrayed.
Unfortunately, the pretty but meretricious separate episode "Nirvana", which is a sort of filler to the whole thing, spoils the mood. This piece of orientalist trash should have been mercifully forgotten, rather than resurrected here. Surely it would not have hurt Carey to have actually talked to a few Buddhists to find out what Nirvana is actually conceived to be, rather than inflicting his own ignorance on his readers.
That's all, folks..........2007-02-15
The Lucifer series is over. And if you know Mike Carey, when he finishes something, he likes to make sure nobody can ever pick it up again. In a word, this really is it.
I'd like to start off by saying a few words about the entire series. Lucifer is easily one of the best comic series Vertigo has ever produced, in part because Mike Carey is one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to know. I place him on a level with Gaiman in terms of inventing characters and settings that have never been used before, and utterly without peer for keeping his plot threads tightly wound. More than once I have stood in awe of the way he manages to pull things back together for a startling climax.
Evensong has many things in common with the last book of the Sandman series, The Wake, in that it occurs after all the action has taken place, and exists mainly to wrap things up. Therefor, it should not be surprising that the big "go out with a bang" comes and the end of the last book, and Evensong is, if not exactly a whimper, then perhaps only the fading echo of the bang that was.
In true Carey fashion, all major characters drift off where it would be difficult, if not impossible, to pick them up again. I have no wish to spoil the endings, but Jill Presto lives happily ever after, Elayne decides to start taking her God roll seriously, and even Gaudium enjoys some level of respite.
Then there's Lucifer, easily the most entrancing character to ever walk through literature. In the final comic, Lucifer comes full circle with his past, and has the final confrontation with his father that we have been expecting since the first book. As you might imagine, Lucifer cannot help but be himself, and nothing is resolved. The last comic even manages to force you to sympathize with God's position, and the ending is more than a little sad as Lucifer fades away into the sunset (or lack of sunset, as the case may be).
Now, I hate to nitpick, but when someone with Carey's reputation for thoroughness misses anything, it's easy to be critical. My number one complaint over the entire series is that, back many novels ago, when Lucifer is searching for the ship made of dead men's nails, he promises Loki to hold him up over the side of the ship come the day of Ragnorok. This is a small thing, but because of Lucifer's penchant for never being forsworn, I at once assumed that he was going to fullfull this oath before the end of the series. Come the last issue, Loki has never again made an appearance, and Lucifer has placed himself in a position to make it obvious he no longer cares. I find it hard to believe I am the only one to notice that Lucifer has been foresworn, and as with anything, one mistake ruins the formula.
The other notion I have issue with is the entire storyline of the Japanese death goddess. Evensong deals extensively with her, being the only true enemy of Lucifer's left alive, and she acheives what could be best termed a stalemate with him. Somehow, her final meeting with him is referenced as though it foreshadows her doing something very important, and very detrimental to Elaynes cosmos, but the book doesn't go into any detail, and it doesn't finish her story very satisfactoraly.
These two small things are the reason I have to give this book four instead of five stars. Given the scope of the series, and the way Carey has impressed us before, I think fans were expected something truly spectacular. What we see is an impressive feat any other author would be proud to call his own, yet still not par with Carey's other works. In spite of this, I will be reading the series again and again.
Because as I said, this is it, and it's more than a little sad now that it's over. For the last time, "that's all folks..."
Amazon.com
In the tight-knit Smoky Mountain town of High Balsam, several weeks before the new millennium, Margaret Bonner finds herself pondering the notion of marriage. "I was mystified anew by this whole thing we humans do when we take it into our heads to love one particular person," she muses. At 33, she is the first woman pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church, and her husband, Adrian, is the headmaster of a progressive high school. The Bonners are in a marital slump--Adrian's self-loathing exasperates his younger, more passionate wife and she can't resist imagining what life would be like without him. Yet as the end of the century approaches, they are forced to turn their attention outward and respond to the escalating needs of their North Carolina community. The appearance of three colorful misfits brings matters to a head. Grace Munger, an aggressive fundamentalist Christian, is on a crusade to organize a "Millennium Birthday March for Jesus"; Brother Tony, a chatty 80-year-old itinerant who's taken up the life of a Benedictine monk, has a particular interest in Adrian; and Chase, a 16-year-old delinquent, harbors a thirst for liquor, with calamitous consequences. In her sequel to Father Melancholy's Daughter, Gail Godwin expertly traces the contours of faith, compassion, and loyalty in an isolated community on the brink of change. --Rebecca Robinson
Book Description
To read Gail Godwin is to touch the very core of human experience. With inimitable grace and aching emotional precision, Godwin probes our own complexities in characters whose lives oscillate between success and struggle, stoic resolve and quixotic temptation, bitter disappointment and small, sacred joys. Now with Evensong, she again translates our everyday existence into soul-touching truths as she brings to brilliantly realized life the people of a small Smoky Mountain town--and a woman whose world is indelibly altered by them.
Customer Reviews:
To Be Tasted.......2007-04-24
Finishing this book without being patted on the back for my achievement was a bit anticlimactic. I wanted to give up SO many times, and the fact that I actually made it all the way through (ok, with some ~serious~ skimming near the end, I confess) deserves some kind of recognition! How did I do it? When exactly did I start caring about the characters in the book? Did I ever really care at all? Not easy questions to answer, and not a particularly easy review for me to do tonight.
The book is about two priests - or pastors, or rectors, I'm still not sure - they are husband and wife. They are Episcopalian, I got that much. There was a lot of discussion of things I need to look up in order to properly understand: the Advent, the Eucharist, and many more such capitalized Episcopalian rites. I mean no disrespect, in fact, I was quite intrigued. As a convert to my religion, I appreciate how unusual religious observances can appear to the un(religiously)educated eye. Anyway, the wife is in charge of a congregation high in the mountains of North Carolina, the husband is the chaplain and acting headmaster at the town's alternative boarding school for wayward youth. He is about 20 years older than her and suffers from terrible bouts of depression. They are both orphans - he since being abandoned as a child, she since the death of her mother when she was 6 and her father when she was in her 20's. They are at best both damaged property.
There are some odd elements sprinkled into this book, which is largely a quiet, slow, microscopic evaluation of their religious training and beliefs, as well as their lives together. First, the book takes place at the close of 1999, and a major plot point is a discussion of the Millenium and the varying beliefs and odd behavior of people in their attempt to understand Y2K. There are also two characters introduced midway through the book - the 16yr Chase, a miscreant from the school, and Tony, a mysterious traveling monk. I think it may have been the injection of these two more interesting characters that saved me from closing down completely on the humdrum husband and wife.
The "pros" of this book are few, and would have been much more valuable if I had enjoyed the story more: there are only about 3 or 4 obscenities, and only a couple of vaguely referenced examples of sexual content. There is one uncomfortable discussion about self-flagellation, but in the context of the story, it fits. I should be shouting "hurrahs" for finding such a *clean* book. If only it weren't so dull! Ack!!
I am hesitantly putting this in the "To Be Tasted" section, although I'm considering adding a category entitled "Smell This - I Think It's Bad".
Gentle as an Evensong.......2006-05-19
I agree with everything the reviewer "Birdwoman" from Bryn Mawr Pa May 06 said. This was a beautifully written book. I would say a more intellectual version of the Mitford books by Jan Karon.
Another reviewer mentioned that the story was overly religious but I didn't feel that at all. I did not agree with every point Ms. Godwin made regarding religious views but there were plenty I liked and took into my heart even further.
I like the idea she presented that God wanted to "make more of us". (her way of saying "God's plan for us"?) I found the situation with Tony the monk, and Chase amusing at times. The love between Margaret and Adrian so deep and tender was touching to read yet at times laced with emotional angry moments. The beginning of the book was a bit slow going but by page 60 or so I was getting real interested in the story then found myself looking forward to when I could settle in and begin reading it again. So don't get discouraged.
I loved that the author chose to write about faith and how it weaves its way in the daily lives and thoughts of the people in the book. I saw how Margaret, the pastor committed her day to God with prayer and devotion and wondered what better way to start the day? I ended up feeling nourished in my soul after reading this book and felt the message Pastor Margaret wanted us to hear was trust and faith in God first would teach us how to muddle through our lives, make more of ourselves and each other and learn to use the gift of love through kindness and patience.
If I read the ending correctly, there is a third book in this saga coming one of these months. I hope anyway.
A quiet yarn.......2006-05-07
This is a story told from the first person - the narrator is a priest, a young woman who's both in love with and loves her husband. It's a peaceful yet completely disrming stoty with flashbacks filling in the characters. There's a slight amount of small-town intrigue in the backdrop of the end of the millenium. Mostly though, there's a quiet definition of the narrator's faith - in people, in life, in God.
I adored this story and its quiet, slow pace. Perhaps it does pale in comparison to the prequel - I picked this up in the library and didn't realize it was a sequel. It stands alone well.
(*)>
It Can't Be True!.......2005-09-04
I couldn't believe it when I saw this book I needed for a book group at the price of 1 cent! At first, I thought it may be an error. I decided to take a chance on it and was pleased the book arrived promptly and in very good condition! Now I just need to find the time to read it!
Evensong....Uneven and Long.......2005-04-02
Don't expect major theatrics from this book or its main character. There are none. What is in the book is a fascinating, rivetting account of the thought processes in Margaret Bonner's head, we see her world through her eyes so minutely its as if ure a silent spectator in the midst of it all. Through her first person narrative, we inhabit the small, middling and big events that take place in her life. The novel is claustrophobic, peopled largely by Adrian (husband, also a priest/headmaster)and Margaret, unabashedly sentimental, overly introspective and plodding. Yet despite the overly heavy religious elements, the reader begins to identify with Margaret almost unknowingly. Probably the most human aspect of this otherwise priestly, ostensibly perfect couple...is when Adrian realises that she was not a virgin when he married her...interesting frailty on the mans side. Another insightful angle is when margaret wonders what should she do when she is falling out of love with her husband just when he is falling in love with her.
Book Description
"This anthology, Evensong, is a celebration of the rich spiritual tapestry that is contemporary American religious experience. If this book is flawed recall that to be spiritual is to have faith even when one doubts, to see the flaws yet find belief.
"When I write poetry, I try to give myself over to the sublime, to that which is great within, to that which knows what I don't know I know. When I participate in the writing life, I try to be giving to that which has given to me. And, let's face it, being a poet in America sometimes feels like taking a vow of poverty! But it also provides a community of others who share a belief in the power of poetry to be redemptive, to change the moral, emotional or spiritual landscapes if only for a brief moment.
"Please consider this anthology a meeting house: not everyone has shown up to services, but they're all here in spirit."
from "Introduction" by Gerry LaFemina
Customer Reviews:
Started out SO well, but then..........2007-01-19
...It was the heroine, Aline, who ruined the story. She started out feisty, independent, a dancer in a traveling troupe of entertainers, who is convinced to impersonate a well-born lady by a deceitful Duke who wishes to harm his enemy. The book takes place in 1161, during the reign of Henry II. Aline has her own reason to want to hurt James, the hero -- he attempted to take her during one of her performances, and when she escaped from him she was afraid he'd come after her and harm the troupe. Also, not for nothing, the Duke promised to give her father & mother a job and protection, so she decided to do it.
But once Aline begins to impersonate Clarissa, the Duke's niece and fine lady, she suddenly loses all her charm (it's like she really is a fine, dull, wellborn lady, not the fiesty independent dancer anymore), and when she falls in love with James, it's like, um, you REALLY need to tell him about what you did. I lost all respect for her when she consummated their marriage without telling James the truth. Because he is illegimate, he needed a marriage with a highborn lady to give him some standing. Aline knew this, and yet she let the marriage go forward under a lie. I thought it was bad choice on the author's part not to let her confess to James much sooner than she does, and, it kind of spoiled the whole love story for me. Who loves someone and doesn't want to protect them from the kind of pain caused by serious lies?
The book is well written, particularly the first part when Aline is just Aline. The characters from her troupe and her parents add color & variety, and when the Duke convinces her to impersonate Clarissa -- it's lively and I like Aline for her guts and her wanting to get that revenge on James. But then she weakens when she gets into the impersonation, and the book kind of sinks into a does-he-love-me/does-she-love-me? saga. I was more annoyed & disturbed by her failure to confess to James than intrigued.
By the way, this book is a sequel to the author's THE BLACK EARL, written in 1982. This need not be read to follow EVENSONG, but it does help, and James is a much more interesting, twisty, tormented-by-his-birth character in THE BLACK EARL than here. Here, frankly, he's much more like a re-write of his brother, Richard, the hero from THE BLACK EARL, obsessive-lusting-loving with his woman like Richard was in the first book. He lost that allure he had in THE BLACK EARL; he's still an interesting hero but he's not as original as he was in that book.
Just barely three stars (sigh).
WOW!.......2003-05-28
This is the first romance novel I have ever read and it was nothing like I thought. I loved the plott, it kept me interested though out the book. I kept wondering when Aline would finaly fess up and the whole cat and mouse game that was played though out it was quite funny. I truely enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to reading more by Camp
Average customer rating:
|
Ascension Day Evensong
Gloriae Dei Cantores
Manufacturer: Paraclete Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
 General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Music
| Books on CD
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
General
| Books on CD
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 1557250480 |
Average customer rating:
- Completely unbelievable and an insult to religious men everywhere.
- I can't believe I finished this piece of ...
- Food for the Romantic Gods
- Not Tempting Enough!
- Romantic, Humorous, Entertaining,
|
Tempest in Eden
Sandra Brown
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Brown, Sandra | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
Paperback | Brown, Sandra | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
-
Prime Time
-
A Whole New Light
-
Eloquent Silence
-
Love's Encore
-
Temptation's Kiss
ASIN: 0446616818 |
Customer Reviews:
Completely unbelievable and an insult to religious men everywhere. .......2007-07-20
I actually liked the premise of the plot, but early on I realized this book was headed in the wrong direction. Shay acts like a spoiled child, lacking respect for other people's values, and who is completely unwilling to compromise her values - but expects a devoutly religious man to do just that. I didn't even like her very much. Ian (the minister), acts entirely out of character in many of the scenes, and continually - and casually - puts them into situations (which he would/should know better!!) that are only going to lead to "trouble". And what "trouble" there is in the book is not "loving" at all - it's just base lust, and not very well written either. (Don't get me wrong, that's why a big reason I read this genre, but don't try to pawn it off as real love or even some "spiritual" magnet that pulls them together...)
The banter is unoriginal and gives the impression of a contrived scene in a sitcom - not-so-witty cliche line. end scene.
I only finished it to see if the ending redeemed itself. It didn't.
I can't believe I finished this piece of ..........2006-04-19
Nude model Shay is up for the weekend to meet her mom's new husband and step brother. She walks in on said brother in law as he is naked emerging from the shower. Does she allow him privacy? No, she hangs out to make him even more embarrassed. Once she learns that her new brother is a man of cloth, she sets about spending the entire weekend trying to tempt him. Never mind that for all intents and purposes, he ignores her, making her more petulant and determined. And she is supposed to be 30.
When the weekend turns into a bust (a drunk and naked Shay climbs naked into Ian's bed and not realizing that he isn't dreaming, he starts fondling her), both go their separate ways. Then manage to hook up down the road when he realizes she is a temptation he cannot resist. But can a sexually unrepressed nude model find happiness with a conservative minister?
Trite dialog, an implausible love story, it has all the makings of really bad romance novel that was reissued due to the author's later popularity (the fact that it was published under a name says it all)! How Brown can be proud of such a horribly badly written story is beyond me - better to leave this one on the shelf of your local library.
Food for the Romantic Gods.......2005-11-28
Eureka!
This true Romantic has found the mother load..It's food for the Romantic Gods!
QUESTION: what's more precious than all the Gold in Fort Knoxs' ...?!
ANSWER: a True to life love story, that you can sink your teeth into & enjoy each delectable,delicious tasty morsel bite...yummieee!
Tempest in Eden by Sandra Brown is a gold mine of love you'll forever cherish.
Wow talk about SIN-suality at it's best, I like the Hero (Ian)truly his character spoke volumes oppose to the person he is and was. Especially,when you think of the old adage NEVER JUDGE A BOOK By it's Cover! Can you say HOTTIE...a lover likes to no other...pleazze to me it was even a bigger turn on that he was a man of the cloth so to speak(teehee!)Nor did it take away from the story that the setting was of a another time or age...heyyy that made it all the Better for this Romantic!
What a guy!!! I must admit the beginning of the story did throw me for a loop but this READ is a keepsake. I love how Ms. Brown handle the two lovers head on, in this love story...I'm sooo glad she didn't choke-up or shy away from telling it like it is!
Superbly &wonderful was this classy story told.
Most of all Ms. Brown was True to the feelings of how a man &woman should feel regardless of religion or back ground., with matters of true love are in the mix. I got such a FEEL GOOD feeling ,when Shay...(I love that name!) found herself and grew. You go girl...NOW...that's what I'm talking about...yesss!
I read this Love story twice,and I promise you it wont be my last !!!
THANKS Ms. Brown for the sweet & tasty lovely treat for it fed my fires,passions & desires most complete!
susieQ
Not Tempting Enough!.......2005-05-14
What do you get when you cross a nude model and a minister? If you're Sandra Brown, you turn it into a love story. I enjoyed the roller coaster ride with Shay Morrison and Ian Douglas in this book. Somewhat typical of a romance novel from the early 1980's, but as with most of Sandra Brown's books, there are a few twists and turns along the way.
TEMPEST IN EDEN is an enjoyable way to spend a few hours, but don't pick it up if you want to be captured in a story and not be able to put it down. This one definitely won't interfere with your schedule!
Romantic, Humorous, Entertaining,.......2004-04-09
I ran across this book as I was restocking my home library and remembered how good this story was so I had to read it again. Happy that I did. It was even better than I remembered!
Product Description
5 massmarket paperback Romance Titles By Sandra Brown - Tempest in Eden - In a Class By Itself - Riley in the Morning - Thursday's Child - Sunny Chandler's Return
Average customer rating:
|
Tempest in Eden
Sandra Brown
Manufacturer: Warner Books Inc.,U.S.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VHKVXI |
Books:
- Mara and Dann: An Adventure
- McSweeney's Issue 15 (Mcsweeney's Quarterly Concern)
- Mother of Sorrows
- Nova Express
- Oracle Night: A Novel
- Our Nig: or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black
- Pears on a Willow Tree
- Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent
- Politics of Modernism: Against the New Conformists (Radical Thinkers)
- Prologos De La Biblioteca De Babel/ Introduction to the Library of Babel (Biblioteca De Autor / Author Library)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- Ancient Shores
- The Dada Painters and Poets: An Anthology, Second Edition
- The Millennium Girl
- Varieties of Religion Today: William James Revisited
- American Perceptions of Immigrant and Invasive Species: Strangers on the Land
- A Leg to Stand On
- Breaking Designer's Block: 501 Graphic Design Solutions for Type, Color, and Materials
- The Mating and Breeding of Poultry
- The Union That Shaped the Confederacy: Robert Toombs and Alexander H. Stephens
Lucifer: Morningstar - Volume 10 (Lucifer (Graphic Novels))
Lucifer: Crux - Volume 9 (Lucifer (Graphic Novels))
Lucifer: The Wolf Beneath the Tree - Volume 8 (Lucifer (Graphic Novels))
Lucifer: Exodus - Volume 7 (Lucifer (Graphic Novels))
Lucifer: Mansions of the Silence - Volume 6 (Lucifer (Graphic Novels))
