My Life as a Fake

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An enchanting story

Beware

tale of a literary golem

A con artist poet

Australians should not read this book

My Life as a Fake
Peter Carey
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400030889
Release Date: 2005-01-04

Book Description

Fiendishly devious and addictively readable, Peter Carey’s My Life as a Fake is a moral labyrinth constructed around the uneasy relationship between literature and lying. In steamy, fetid Kuala Lumpur in 1972, Sarah Wode-Douglass, the editor of a London poetry journal, meets a mysterious Australian named Christopher Chubb. Chubb is a despised literary hoaxer, carting around a manuscript likely filled with deceit. But in this dubious manuscript Sarah recognizes a work of real genius. But whose genius? As Sarah tries to secure the manuscript, Chubb draws her into a fantastic story of imposture, murder, kidnapping, and exile–a story that couldn’t be true unless its teller were mad. My Life as a Fake is Carey at his most audacious and entertaining.

Customer Reviews:

An enchanting story.......2007-03-30

This is an enchanting story. Peter Carey has borrowed the plot from a series of events that took place in Australia. He has changed the names, the times and the places but the core of the story is true. Carey writes exceptionally well. I found myself dog-earing pages to mark sentences and phrases that resonated with me so that I could return to them. The plot device he invokes is a bit of surrealism. If you like John Irving's stories you will like Carey's. He leads the reader into a bit of surrealism - if you accept it, all is well and on you go. If you can't accept it, best put the book down. I prefer not to divulge the nature of the surrealism - it spoils the story if you don't discover it for yourself

Carey is superb at charactier development. They develop out of their actions and their words, not from narrative. Carey is a great story-teller as well.

I have read two of his novels and this book will make me read another.

Beware.......2006-12-22

This book is clever enough, I suppose, but the characters are of no interest as individuals. For another book which is clever, well written, makes use of Tasmanian history, and has characters I was interested in, I recommend "English Passengers" by Matthew Kneale. Note: I only read half of the Carey novel.

tale of a literary golem.......2006-10-29

Carey's tale of literary high jinx and hoaxes owes as much to Golem mythology as it does to Frankenstein or the actual incident the novel is based on. What happens when creative energy is loosed into the world, in whatever form? It takes on an unpredictable life of its own, imbued with its creator's spirit but independent of the creator's will and intentions, and this independence can cause chilling and undesirable results.
The framing story is claustrophobic and vertiginous, a duel of wits between decrepit failed poet Christopher Chubb and literary magazine editor Sarah Wode-Douglass, but the main narrative is a cracking adventure through the jungles of Southeast Asia. The issues that both the framing story and the adventure narrative raise--questions of the meaning, intent and consequences of artistic creation; of the value of the truth; of the role of the spirit in defining character--are developed alongside the personal epiphanies of the narrator Sarah Wode-Douglass, whose internal struggles are as moving as the tale of woe she hears from Christopher Chubb.
This is a novel that gets more complex and interesting with reflection. It lives on in the imagination.

A con artist poet.......2006-08-11

Enjoying rave reviews from the NY Times Book Review and the NY Review of Books, this dense novel is about a frustrated book reviewer (no wonder the New Yorkers liked it) who discovers a poem so brilliantly crafted she sets out to find its author. The trail leads to the back alleys of Indonesia where she is confronted with one con artist after another, one of them a friend of long standing. But are these beggars and socialites only con artists--or something more?

What makes this work so fascinating (besides the good story) is the good storytelling. The author does not waste a single word. Every sentence is pregnant with meaning, and every sentence tells a story of its own. Unlike that real faker and virulent anti-American, (and also a Brooker award winner) Indian writer and darling of the literary teas, Arundhati Roy, whose attempt to impregnate every sentence with meaning succeeds only in revealing a rote formulaic, Carey's prose is fecund and deliciously reverberant.

It is rare that the Madam and I share the same opinion of fiction, but in this one we both heartily agree--two thumbs up.

Australians should not read this book.......2006-03-25

I was surprised how angry this book made me. The Ern Malley affair, the true event on which this book is based, is part of Australia's cultural history, and a key battle in the 20th century's war for freedom of expression. By using this event as the basis for his book, Carey has stolen something which belongs to all Australians. How dare he?! He asked nobody's permission to do this. What right does he have to appropriate this story for his own, personal ends?

Moreover, the actual events had serious consequences, with one of the participants, Max Harris, prosecuted for publishing obscene poems. Because of its re-imagination of historical fact, Carey's book trivializes these real events and their very real consequences. Carey owes every literate Australian an apology for his theft. While his apology remains ungiven, this Australian certainly will not read another of his novels.

Carey's international fame means that his version of the story is likely be more widely accepted outside Australia than the historical record. One hopes he is self-aware enough to feel, as an Australian, some guilt or shame about this. Or is he no longer an Australian?

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Fake: My Life as a Rogue Trader

Manufacturer: Not Avail
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1740310993

Average customer rating:

There's nothing fake here
Intriguing
Not Guilty Your Honour
disappointed
A clever concept, powerfully brought to life!

My Life as a Fake
Peter Carey
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375414983
Release Date: 2003-10-28

Amazon.com

Peter Carey's My Life as a Fake is a literate mystery of forgeries and doppelgangers with a fictional manuscript at its heart. The mystery--the origin of a brilliant but purportedly faked poem--fuels a whirlwind pursuit through Australia and across the wilds of Malaysia. Grappling with her own childhood demons, Carey's bibliophile sleuth, Sarah Wode-Douglass, sometimes becomes lost in the exotic and bloody chase.

The novel opens as Sarah, the reluctant tourist and editor of The Modern Review, is dragged by a foppish poet-friend, John Slater, to Kuala Lumpur. Sarah is intent on biding her time in her hotel, but a chance encounter with a scabrous reader of Rilke soon transforms Sarah's plans and, ultimately, her life. The reader, the Australian poet Christopher Chubb, is the disgraced initiator of a great literary hoax--the faked poems of the non-existent Bob McCorkle. The McCorkle hoax was Chubb's attempt to bring down a rising poetry editor, David Weiss. When the hoax was exposed, Weiss was believed to have committed suicide. But, living in exile, Chubb has hidden a secret for decades: Bob McCorkle had seemingly materialized in human form, killing Weiss and destroying Chubb's life. Sarah is tantalized by a fragment of supposed McCorkle poetry that Chubb has shared with her. Whether it is a fake or the work of a madman, Sarah believes it is genius. Her obsession, however, drives her and Chubb to the precipice of self-destruction.

The primary story--Chubb's pursuit of McCorkle--lives in the fictional past, and the plot occasionally becomes muddled in the nest of narrators recalling conversations second or third hand. In playing out the McCorkle affair, Carey's denouement comes too quickly. If Sarah is transformed, Carey doesn't reveal enough of her in the text. He is mesmerized, as is the reader, by Chubb's horrific tale.

With its small shortcomings, the novel offers a sophisticated interrogation of authorship and fakery and the power of art. Carey avoids simplifying the McCorkle mystery, leaving the reader to puzzle out McCorkle's bizarre incarnation. While My Life as a Fake is frequently entertaining, the atmospheric mystery occasionally glimpses the profound. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

Following the triumph of his Booker Prize–winning True History of the Kelly Gang, Peter Carey ventures into the Far East with a novel shot through with mysteries at once historical, literary, and personal.

Sarah Wode-Douglass, the editor of a London poetry magazine, had grown up knowing the famous and infamous John Slater. And because he figured prominently in the disaster that was her parents’ marriage, when Slater proposes that she accompany him to Malaysia, Sarah embarks out of curiosity on a journey that becomes, instead, a lifelong obsession. Her discoveries spiral outward from Christopher Chubb, a destitute Australian she meets by chance in the steamy, fetid city of Kuala Lumpur. He is mad, Slater warns her, explaining the ruinous hoax Chubb had committed decades earlier. But lurking behind the man’s peculiarity and arrogance, Sarah senses, is artistic genius, in the form of a manuscript he teases her with and which she soon would do anything to acquire. The provenance of this work, she gradually learns, is marked by kidnapping, exile, and death—a relentless saga that reaches from Melbourne to Bali, Sumatra, and Java, and that more than once compels her back to Malaysia without ever disclosing all of its secrets, only the power of the imagination and the price it can exact from those who would wield it.

Astonishing, mesmerizing, and ultimately shocking, My Life as a Fake is the most audacious novel yet in Peter Carey’s extraordinary career.

Customer Reviews:

There's nothing fake here.......2006-08-27

Time for "literature" with the capital L, folks. I think we all know that people will be reading his works hundreds of years after we're all dead. My original reading background is in the literary tradition. I don't often mention it in my newsletter because I'm trying to sell my books here, and most people have a bad case of knee jerk "Literary? Yuk!" There were no Australian authors in my school curriculum, though, so I'm discovering them now.

Peter Carey. He's written some books that I thoroughly enjoyed. He's written a few others that, for whatever reason, didn't quite resonate with me. Well, MY LIFE AS A FAKE is definitely one I enjoyed. His best? I don't know. It's been too long since I read his others. But a contender, most definitely. I mean, wow. Quite intelligent, clever, quick, deceptively simple and sparse, substantial both as an "intellectual exercise" and as just a damn fine ripping tale, literary background amply rewarded but wholly optional.

In case you're familiar with the historical background, which I'm not, it's based somewhat on how poet "Ern Malley" was able to trick the literary establishment into thinking he was a real author instead of an elaborate hoax.

Intriguing.......2006-01-16

Within a matter of three hours, I had read a review of the book, bought it, and devoured it.... There really is no other way about it. Right from the start, the book is full of intrigue and suspense. Nor does it disappoint. Each character has its own complex psychological make-up; all of them interacting with one another, trying to guess the other's game. Enter the ghoulish character who is the biggest mysetery of them all. His writings, others' confessions, and the bizarre ending leave one in a whirlwind of color, action, and intrigue that makes one want to go back through parts of it to make more sense of what is already known but slippery to the touch.
Go ahead... try it.

Not Guilty Your Honour.......2005-12-28

In the beginning Peter writes beautifully, weaving a magical wonderland with his delightfully erudite sentences. He draws you in, setting a scene of interest and intrigue, but about halfway through just when you expect things to begin happening, it all slows down into a big pile of boring sludge where his stylistic concerns seem to be of greater interest than the story itself.

After my initial excitement I was most disappointed by this, and one fine Wednesday morning I hurled the book across my room vowing that I would never be tempted to read another word of it. A few days later I took it back to the shop and asked for a refund, but was refused even though I assured them that I hadn't read or even glanced at the second half. I then threatened the shop manager with violence but calmed down when he pulled a gun from under the counter. Unable to tell whether or not the gun was real I decided to say I was sorry, but he refused to accept my apology and called the police.

At first I denied any wrong doing and blamed it all upon the shopkeeper, but after being confronted with video evidence of my social transgression I was taken to the police station and charged with disturbing the peace, and now have to front up at court in 3 weeks time to face a judge.

I am afraid I cannot recommend this book unless there has been a nuclear war, or an attack by aliens, and there are no other books left on earth. In either of those scenarios I would give it more than 2 stars, maybe 3.

All this because Peter lost control of the plot and the pace.

Such is life.

disappointed.......2005-09-06

I have been a fan of Peter Carey since reading Oscar and Lucinda ten years ago, and have enjoyed every story since (Jack Maggs was a gripper!), but this one was work to get through. The only reason I trudged through the book was because I had faith that Mr. Carey would deliver. At some points, I thought he was close...I was interested, and ready to be excited. But then, once again, something irritating happened (chubb was caught; he meets someone whose past MUST be explained in detail; the editor's own family drama;etc.) which made it such a chore. The ending was anti-climactic.

I, too, felt like I was reading a galley. Oh well, you can't win 'em all! I'm sure he'll do better next time.

A clever concept, powerfully brought to life!.......2005-07-04

Using a notorious Australian literary hoax of the 1940's and Mary Shelley's gothic novel "Frankenstein" as a springboard, Peter Carey's powerful creative imagination produces "My Life As A Fake", a stylishly written, extraordinary modern literary horror story with a wildly inventive, fantastical plot and wide-ranging settings across continents from London to Australia to Malaysia.

Scene: Australia 1940's. Recasting the characters of the famous Ern Malley hoax, the plot revolves around run-of-the-mill poet and hoaxer, Christopher Chubb, who cons his friend, literary magazine editor David Weiss into believing that the poetry of Bob McCorkle, an imaginary figure dreamed up by Chubb - and made more credible by pasting together a faked montage picture of McCorkle - is a work of genius. Chubb has simply cobbled together some literary scraps from various sources. Weiss's gullibility in publishing McCorkle's poetry is publicly exposed and Weiss is then prosecuted as the poetry is deemed obscene. At Weiss's trial, proceedings are dramatically disrupted when a mysterious, wild-looking figure about seven foot tall who bears a strong resemblance to the faked-up picture of McCorkle, explosively springs to his feet claiming he is Bob McCorkle. Is it possible that Chubb's poetry could have brought the Frankenstein monster-like figure of McCorkle to life? A clever concept, powerfully brought to life.

There are some good things to enjoy in this inventive adventure story where the narrative spirals into the realms of the bizarre in the second part of the novel. Carey is strong on providing entertainment value, piling one wacky adventure on another following a trail from Australia to Bali to Sumatra to Penang and thereafter into the Malaysian jungle in an extravaganza of abductions, imprisonments, cruel punishments and machete battles with bandits, including an ingenious story-within-a-story of Japanese war-time atrocities. Carey excels in his atmospheric description of muggy Kuala Lumpur. Wild, fantastic, bizarre stuff!

Average customer rating:

"Fake is fake no matter where you find it."

My Life as a Fake
Peter Carey
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 057121620X

Customer Reviews:

"Fake is fake no matter where you find it.".......2006-03-18

Using a real literary fraud from Australia as the basis for his main plot, Carey introduces the reader to Lady Sarah Wode-Douglass, the editor of a small English poetry magazine, always on the verge of financial collapse. Persuaded by John Slater, a poet and friend of her deceased parents, to accompany him from England to Kuala Lumpur in 1972, she is recollecting her encounter there with Christopher Chubb, a refugee from Australia where he had, in the 1940s, perpetrated a major literary hoax, designed to protest the trends in modern poetry. Chubb had written and succeeded in getting published a series of "poems," supposedly by a man named McCorkle.

The fraud, which took place in the 1940s, is told in flashbacks from the 1972 trip, mainly by Lady Sarah and Chubb. Its wry humor and social commentary are fun to read, with Chubb mocking the state of literary awareness in Australia at that time and providing information about the obscenity trial which resulted from his hoax. When Chubb cleverly shows her one page from another work by "McCorkle," Sarah sees it as a masterpiece akin to "The Wasteland," and tries to obtain the whole manuscript, the publication of which would save her magazine. Sarah's life in 1983, and shocking revelations by John Slater about Sarah's parents, their marriage, and her mother's death in the late 1930's widen the focus and time frame. The reader quickly recognizes, as all the characters play their parts and the story develops, that all are guilty of some sort of fakery.

The second half of the book, however, becomes a wild, often wacky adventure story as separate new plots develop, the time frame changes to World War II, and several new characters, unrelated to the main plot, tell their own stories. Sarah and Slater play no real role in the action as Chubb tries to rescue his daughter from a suddenly real, seven-foot-tall McCorkle, who has kidnapped her and run from island to island in Indonesia and Malaysia, where the Japanese have invaded and have begun vividly described atrocities.

Separate, virtually unconnected plots in four time frames--1983, 1939, 1972, and World War II--revealed by four or five different narrators, in settings that include England, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia all contribute to a confusion of focus. The characters, events, and plot line from the beginning of the book have little if any overlap with the characters, events, and plots in the middle. Though the several sections are exciting and imaginative separately, they did not cohere for me, and I found myself thinking of the first half as a stand-alone novella, with the remaining episodes connected to it as a series of memorable, separately developed short stories. (3.5 stars) Mary Whipple

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My Life As a Fake

Manufacturer: Recorded Books, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 1402561784

Product Description

A brilliantly fictionalized spin on the greatest literary hoax in Australia's colorful history.

Average customer rating:

My Life As a Fake

Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HWH4WI

Average customer rating:

"Fake is fake no matter where you find it."

My Life as a Fake

Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0571216188

Customer Reviews:

"Fake is fake no matter where you find it.".......2005-10-31

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My Life as a Fake
Peter Carey
Manufacturer: Penguin Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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My Life As a Fake

Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 1402559917

Product Description

7 cassettes - 9.75 hours Brilliantly fictionalized sping on the greatest literary hoax in Australia's colorful history. Carey's masterful tale receives a sparkling narration by Lyons who provides authentic and compelling voices for the full cast of vivid characters.

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My life as a Fake
Peter Carey
Manufacturer: Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1402565348

Product Description

My Life as a Fake is Peter Carey's fictionalized take on one of the greatest literary hoaxes in Australia's history. In the 1950's, poet Christopher Chubb, wanting to teach Australia about pretension, composed a body of sexually charged poems. Chubb then duped a trendy literary magazine into believing the poems were composed by the late Bob McCorkle, an undiscovered genius. The trick worked, but soon Chubb found himself tormented by the very monster he created.

Book Description

Emma Holly loves to take a walk on the wild side, and here she ventures into a sensuous and dangerous world where a human courtesan becomes the flesh and blood property of a demon prince. Soulmates, lovers-and victims of an unnatural desire that could drive them both insane.

Customer Reviews:

Erotic masterpiece.......2007-10-08

This story is definitely taking a spin on the 'geisha' style of life. Emma Holly quickly involves you in the storyline and people, and the sex scenes were unexpectedly blunt, but I was not repulsed about it. I can't wait for the next story which is hinted at the end of this story.
If this does not get your pulse going, I don't know what would.

Hot ice.......2007-09-30

I love happy endings, e.g. the ending of the psychotic pig Jehol. I even like endings where just when everything seems hopeless, a troop of cavalry come thundering over the hill. So I enjoyed this book.

The science fiction genitals seemed a bit silly to me but otherwise, the lovemaking was hot.

Return to the Demon World.......2007-07-04

Emma Holly has once again given us a sensual, romantic adventure. This one takes place in the Demon World and it is wonderful.

Xishi is an orphan living in the palace of the Midarri prince, her mother was a maid and committed suicide. she is the close friend of the Prince Corum, he is a child and like her he finds comfort in their friendship. When his mother finds out they are closer than she likes she sends Xishi to an orphanage.

Corum is the heir to the Midarri, he also has a problem controlling his emotions. In his world emotions are never to be shown and all of his kind claim not to have any. But somehow Corum is abit different from his peers. Losing Xishi is very traumatic for the child he is. But finally he finds his way and earns the title of Prince of Ice.

Several yrs later when Xishi is 17 she is contracted to the Purple Crane House, a house that trains and sells pillow friends to the aristocracy. After three yrs she is sold, because she has become friends with a Prince held captive in the house.

Corum is the buyer, his family, worried about his sexuality have decided that maybe he needs help to find his sexual preferences and then to find a mate among the royalty. Corum purchases Xishi and unknown to both there is a mystery about her and some one is determined that she suffer and die.

The story is interesting, the intense and graphic love scenes are done in a romantic way and this world looks at sexuality in a different way due to the facts of their physical make-up. I loved the book and hope for a sequel.

Wonderful story-telling, sexy and erotic, but there are some very disturbing scenes.......2007-06-25

This is a wonderful/exciting read. The only reason I did not give it five (5) stars was because of the rape scene of Prince Pahndir by that disgusting Pig Jehol. And, my only other objection is Ms. Hollys putting tooooo much anal fixation stimulation into her male characters. Otherwise, I absolutely love it. Corum, only 20, was sexy, self-possessed, strong and successul. Xishi, only 20, was sweet, kind, strong and daring. Her grandma was a B on steroids. The pace is fast, and the bad guy is really a cruel, evil Bad Guy. He deserved everything he got, and more.

Hot and well-written.......2007-05-05

This is my second Emma Holly book--the first was Demon's Daughter, which I admit did not favorably impress me. I was a bit reluctant to read this one but got sucked in by the back cover copy, and now I am SO glad I gave Holly a second chance!

What I particularly enjoyed about Prince of Ice was that the world and culture made so much sense to me as I read. In Demon's Daughter, I kept getting lost between the human class structure vs. the demon caste system vs. the technology vs. the alternate history of Victorian Earth vs... you get the idea. It was a lot of world-building, and while clearly well thought-out by the author, I was somewhat overwhelmed and lost through the book.

In Prince of Ice, however, the world is perfectly accessible and made sense to me at once. The exiled royals attempting to regain their rightful place, the difference between the lower classes and royals--both physical and in caste--Holly drew me in seamlessly and it all made sense. While this is not the first of her Demon books, I truly don't think you need to have read any of the previous ones to fully enjoy this one.

And the sensual scenes are hot hot hot! Far more so than in DD, in my opinion. I'm going to have to look for more Demon books from Holly after reading this one, because I'm wondering if I just started in the wrong place with Demon's Daughter. Prince of Ice is absolutely wonderful.

Average customer rating:

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!
A Satisfying Paranormal Fantasy
Pure Delight!
Funny and Fantastic
More than I expected!

Prince of Ice
Stobie Piel
Manufacturer: Love Spell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0505526514

Customer Reviews:

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!.......2007-10-08

Prince Of Ice was a fantastic read, Cahira was a strong heroine I very much liked and admired. Aren was a wonderful hero, caring and very male. The plot twists in this book were enough to make me grin the whole way through. I admit I figured out who Felix was almost halfway through but the knowledge only made me grin even more. I love knowing something even the characters don't know *makes it so much more fun* Shaen was a great villain, I figured her out early on, very early on. She wasn't as IRRITATING as most villains though, for which I am glad, mostly because Cahira didn't take her seriously. I would have felt Cahira sorely lacking in judgment had she not seen through Shaen, even partially. In all, this was a great futuristic paranormal romance novel, full of actual ROMANCE and a great suspense as well. I loved this book, as I do most of Ms. Piel's work. I hesitated to buy it because of the blurb on the back, but I am so glad I did. Its on my keeper shelf!!! I can't wait for the next novel!!! In all, the book was very well written, aimed to market for those who enjoy romance novels with paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, science fiction, suspense leanings. If you enjoy these types of books, pick up a copy, you'll surely enjoy it.

A Satisfying Paranormal Fantasy.......2007-09-18

Although my fellow PNR reviewer has stated that reading STRANGE BREWS (Damir and Eliana's story) first is not required to follow this story, I rather wish I had. I felt that the first half of PRINCE OF ICE went rather slowly for me because I had a constant feeling I was missing background details and character information that was being alluded to frequently. Having said that, my attention was definitely captured once the romance and the current plot became more active.

The Arch Mage (a powerful and evil sorcerer) who had been temporarily defeated in STRANGE BREWS now has reached out to cast a spell putting all of the mages of Amrodel into stasis. Long ago he had sought to steal the power of their Queen, but she had thwarted him by taking her own life. Now the Arch Mage sought another of her line in order to do the same. Eliana, having married and borne a child was no longer eligible, since her power was divided. This left Cahira, daughter of the late King of Amrodel, or Eliana's infant daughter.

Cahira has been hearing the Arch Mage calling to her in her mind to come to him. She knows that while he lives her people will never be safe, she will never be safe. As the darkness swept over the land stealing the consciousness from her fellow mages, Damir grants Cahira his shield which will protect her from the darkness, leaving her the alone among the Woodland mages to defeat the Arch Mage. Before he loses consciousness, Damir also gifts Cahira with his Dragonfly sword. He instructs her to go to the Norsk lands to find the one of true light. This warrior alone would be able to wield the sword that could defeat the Arch Mage and restore life to her people. Aren, the leader of the aggressive Norsk people is the man she seeks. Cahira had seen him once when they were both children and had felt a strange connection. But the grown warrior is not what she expected at all, nor is he very willing to take up her quest. He and his warriors do not trust mages and fear that Aren will be sorcelled by the witch as his older brother had been.

Aren concedes to join his band with Cahira's but he still considers her plan to be suicide and secretly hopes to find an alternative plan elsewhere. Still, he too feels the strange connection between himself and Cahira. Tempers clash as those loyal to one or the other try to dominate the group. Not all of among them have loyalty however, which creates further conflict. Still the pair has one very special advantage. Their company is joined by a talking bat with amazing wisdom and foresight. Although the reader may discern the bat's identity before it's actually revealed, it's rather fun to watch the by play between him and the rest of their little band as he leads them toward the proper resolution.

As Cahira and Aren are beginning to realize that they are very old souls and that they had been "one before they were two", they journey to Damir's homeland and what they find there gives them the last piece of the puzzle that is required to defeat the Arch Mage. Conditions there leave the door open for a future story as does the resolution of Cahira and Aren's final battle with the Arch Mage, the conclusion of which was most unexpected. Without spoiling the tale I can only say that the ending of PRINCE OF ICE contains an extremely satisfying twist. Information is also imparted regarding Cahira and Aren's future child which also leads me to believe that another tale could be forthcoming. I enjoyed this tale of timeless love and truly hope that the saga will continue in the near future. In the meantime I expect I will be seeking out STRANGE BREWS in order to fill in some of the blanks. From what I gleaned Eliana was quite a terror. Sounds like fun!

Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch for PNR Reviews

Pure Delight!.......2006-06-30

This is the sequel to Strange Brews, it continues years later. It is the story of the coming of age of Cahira, daughter of the previous king of Amrodel and a powerful woodland mage in her own right. It is her quest to free the Dark Mage from his prison and destroy him once and for all. But to do that she will need the help of the one person who is able to wield the only sword that can destroy him, the person whose soul is pure light. Aren is Chieftain of the Norsk people and the Prince of Ice. He is also not a mage, he has no magic.

This is the story where Cahira and Aren find and understand the love that they have always had for each other and also come to trust and understand the source of their previously unexplainable powers. The author does indeed explain the source of both Cahira and Aren's power. It is not the more traditional type of power, from magic or the ability to create something from nothing by manipulating nature or matter. But rather a power that comes directly from the purity of the soul. It is something much stronger than magic, because it is something magic has no power over.
Ms. Piel combines Cahira and Aren with a hosts of traveling companions who provide humor and intrigue, which makes the story more interesting and adds flavor to the journey. If not for these traveling companions the story would not have been as compelling. The ending to this story was unexpected and completely delightful, I won't say what to ruin it for you. She does set you up for the next book and I for one can't wait. Ms. Piel's work is not true to formula and that's a good thing.

Funny and Fantastic.......2006-06-18

This is my first novel by Stobie Piel. I thought it was an excellent romance novel and funny. I enjoyed reading it sooo much. I was really suprised when I got to the final battle and the villian turned out to be a good guy. It was an unexpected twist. I just wish that I would have read 'Strange Brews' first. I am going to read it any way. Look for there to be a third novel soon.

More than I expected!.......2006-05-28

This book was far more rich and interesting than I expected. This is probably due to the fact that I wasn't interested in Strange Brews. I loved the characters, the plot and the settings. This book was fun and sweet and genuine. I will definitely be waiting for the next book in line because it sounds just as good.

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Prince of Ice
Emma Holly
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Hunting Midnight (Berkley Sensation)

ASIN: 0739476246

Ice Cream at the Castle (Child's Play Library)

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A Royal Treat

Ice Cream at the Castle (Child's Play Library)
Ann Love
Manufacturer: Child's Play International Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ice Cream Larry

ASIN: 0859536785

Book Description

Opening the castle to visitors promises the answer to King Clifford's financial woes. But it all goes horribly wrong in the third story about Prince Paul and his friends. 11" x 10" For children ages 5-8 years.

Customer Reviews:

A Royal Treat.......2000-07-25

A king discovers that there is no money left in "the royalpurse" and panics to find a way to raise money for the royalpeople at the castle. Suggestions are given and it is finally decided that the castle will be opened to the public, with admission charged to those who enter. In order to draw people to the castle, ice cream, created by Dr. Potamus, is promised to each guest. The incompetent "royal chart-maker" creates a map to the castle and the ice cream is made for the anticipated guests. When the princes and princess of the castle find lines of people walking to their uncle's castle across town instead of their castle, they begin to worry. How were they going to get all those people to their castle before the ice cream melted? This book was entertaining and fun to read, as it provided plenty of dialogue between the unique characters. It was also neat to see how the children in the story were involved in making decisions for the castle. There was a great deal of sarcastic humor used in the story, which makes this story funny to older children as well as younger children. The colorful watercolor illustrations provided an action-packed visual image of the action that was taking place in the story.

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Prince of Ice
Marcia Rose
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0380450135

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Bartlett's Ice Voyage Adventure
Charming!

Bartlett and the Ice Voyage
Odo Hirsch
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Action & Adventure | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1582347972

Book Description

The Queen is a very busy woman who rules over seven kingdoms, some of which she has never even seen. Each kingdom is filled with its own exotic delights, and her loyal subjects constantly send her gifts from far and wide. But there is one fruit she craves--the melidrop--which, until now, has been out of her reach because it rots on the long journey from the far off country in which it grows. This is where Bartlett--the intrepid, stubborn, inventive and irreverent explorer--comes in!

A rip-roaring, fantastical roller-coaster of an adventure story overflowing with wit and rollicking suspense. This is good, old-fashioned storytelling at its very best!

Customer Reviews:

Bartlett's Ice Voyage Adventure.......2007-04-07

In the novel Bartlett and the Ice Voyage, a very powerful queen is not satisfied with the taste of the fruit she is provided with, and wants to taste a melidrop, a rare and delicious fruit that spoils the day it is picked. The queen asks one of her most trusted advisors what she should do. The advisor recommends a certain explorer named Bartlett to retrieve a melidrop from across the ocean. The queen finds it hard to believe that someone could bring it on a nine-week voyage across the sea without spoiling. Bartlett and his partner, Jacques le Grand, ponder how they could get a melidrop back to the queen without spoiling. They go on a long trip across the sea to the country where melidrops grow most abundantly. They ask the owners of a melidrop field what they should do. One of them, a mere boy, offers to help them with this seemingly impossible task. His family offers to give them shelter, food, and water for a night while they recuperate. Then, while Bartlett is thinking about how cold the water is, his train of thought triggers an idea. He goes to the harbor and looks for a captain who is willing to take his ship into the frigid waters of the arctic sea. They find one captain who agrees to take them up to the Arctic Ocean. They want to find an iceberg large enough to preserve a melidrop for nine weeks on the voyage back to the queen's palace. After searching in vain for an iceberg the right size, they decide to go back. Along the journey back however, they find a stray iceberg just the right size. They go back to the melidrop farmers and ask for the tastiest melidrop in the orchard. It is given to them, and the challenge now is to get to the queen within the deadline time. They make it and the queen is so grateful that she funds an exploration of the Margoulis Caverns; the largest chain of unexplored caves in the world.

I liked this story because it had funny characters and twists and turns that really left you thinking. This imaginative tale will be cherished for a long, long time. It is a true masterpiece, and should be read by anyone and everyone who enjoys quirky tales with unusual but hilarious characters

Charming!.......2003-03-21

What a lovely book! I would recommend this to those who have enjoyed the Gail Carson Levine Princess Tales books, as well as anyone who like a story with a little adventure, a little humor, and a good ending. The author's descriptions of the luscious melidrop made me long for them to be real!

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Pretty, sad, good

The Blue Prince of the Ice Kingdom
Shawn Frank Taylor MD
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1412068827

Book Description

A young Prince on a far away world made of ice is tired of being a boy. He just wants to grow up fast and be like his father, the King. Sadly, he is forced to grow up fast and take the King's place after a tragic battle. Before he is even done missing his father, the Prince rapidly becomes the new King. He finds being grown up not as much fun as he thought it would be when he was a boy.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty, sad, good.......2006-10-07

"The Blue Prince of the Ice Kingdom" is a pretty book. It is obviously made with love by a family who cared.

It is also a sad book, about the loss of a father and the challenges of growing up.

It is not a perfect book. Like poetry, it is short and full of empty spaces that challenge the reader's imagination. I would liked to have read more, over chapters, about the prince's growth and thoughts.

But though it is short and sad, it is a good book. It is clearly made with care. I recommend it to parents who have lost fathers for their children. While short, it is touching and memorable.

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Grace and The Ice Prince
J.L. Scharf
Manufacturer: Thistledown Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1897235097
Release Date: 2006-10-15

Book Description

The Montreal ice storms of 1998, give life to Joyce Scharf's bewitching story in which a mysterious diamond initiates a girl's journey to self-discovery. To trade in the familiarity of her winter routine for a whispered promise of an Ice Prince, Grace discovers a magical ice kingdom where, she realizes, time has literally frozen. Her quest to find the ice-castle that was revealed to her in her dreams leads her through a series of adventures, punctuated with charming Medieval royalty, magic mirrors, mythical creatures, and granted wishes. Along the way, the mystery surrounding the long-lost diamond begins to unravel, and by following her heart and intuition, Grace comes to understand its priceless value and significance to her mission. With a little self-confidence and trust in her new friend the Ice Prince, Grace discovers her own potential and saves a kingdom that, only a few days before, she never knew existed.

Product Description

The Transylvanian mountainside provides a regal setting for The Ice Princess Trilogy, three charming tales about Princess Deidre, known as the Ice Princess, and her eccentric family.

"The Ice Princess and the Iguana" introduces us to Ignescent, the stray iguana who captures the heart of Deidre, a young princess who has more ice than blood in her veins. In "Alexandria, Daughter of the Ice Princess," Deidre's nine-year-old daughter struggles against her bizarre destiny. Deidre's niece, Laurianna, shows her grandparents the value of scientific knowledge, logic, and faith in "The Laurient Express."

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