Tideland
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Texas Gothic
  • Alice in Suburbia
  • Hypnotic and Shocking
  • Cullin's best
  • Taxidermy meets Behind the Attic Wall meets Teddy.
Tideland
Mitch Cullin
Manufacturer: Dufour Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 080231340X

Book Description

Welcome to the world of Jeliza-Rose, the young female narrator of Mitch Cullin's provocative new novel, Tideland. And what exactly has brought Jeliza-Rose from Los Angeles to rural Texas? And why won't her father talk to her anymore, preferring instead to gaze at the wall? And who is making all that racket in the attic? In a story which is at times suspenseful, darkly surreal, and often humorous, Jeliza-Rose drifts from the harsh reality of her childhood, escaping into the fantasies of her own active imagination where fireflies have names, bog men awaken at dusk, monster sharks swim down railroad tracks, and disembodied Barbie heads share in her adventures.

In the tradition of such cult classics as Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory, Patrick McCabe's The Butcher Boy, and William Goyen's The House of Breath, Mitch Cullin's novel introduces us to an extraordinary world as created by an extraordinary narrator—Jeliza-Rose. Like his previous novels (Whompyjawed, Branches), Cullin offers up a unique voice, one that moves through a landscape populated with singular characters and stark imagery: a remote farmhouse in Texas owned by Noah, an aging rockabilly guitarist; the mysterious Dell, who wanders her property in a beekeeper's hood; Dickens, the childlike man with an affinity for maps of the ocean floor, his wigwam, and sticks of dynamite. Set amongst grassy fields, alongside an abandoned quarry, in dim bedrooms and mesquite-shaded trails, Tideland illuminates those moments when the fantastic emerges from seemingly common occurrences and lives-and a lonely child discovers magic and danger behind even the most mundane of events.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Texas Gothic.......2006-11-26

Alas, it seems that Terry Gilliam's film adaptation, beset with problems, will not serve well this fine, imaginative novel. That is a shame, because I am convinced that one day this book will be a classic, with a place of its own next to Flannery O'Connor's "Wise Blood", and the works of William Faulkner.

I entreat those of you who like beautiful, evocative writing combined with indelibly grotesque characters to give this book a try.

***SPOILER ALERT!!*** IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE READING A PLOT SUMMARY, STOP RIGHT HERE.

To read this book is to inhabit the mind of Jeliza-Rose, the narrator. Jeliza-Rose is an unfortunate young girl, a haunting victim in the mold of Edward Gorey's "Hapless Child". Both of her parents are junkies, and by the time she is nine, Jeliza-Rose has learned to prepare their fixes for them. When the mother overdoses and dies, Jeliza-Rose's father (a has-been Rock 'n Roller) travels to Texas with her by Greyhound bus to find sanctuary in his family's remote and deserted homestead. Not long after moving into the house, the father also dies of an apparent overdose. As her father reposes untouched in his chair, the utterly alone jeliza- Rose retreats into the shadowy world of her imagination. She occupies herself by battling the natural intrusions of the outside world--red ants and a noisome squirrel that invade the house. There is a beautiful, dreamy suspension about these interludes. Jeliza-Rose further protects herself by engaging in imaginary telepathic conversations with her collection of Barbie-doll heads, particularly one that she calls "Classique". The dolls are enlisted as her allies. For parts of the book, the doll heads seem to function like a Greek chorus, bouncing comments both satirical and poignant back to Jeliza-Rose as she play-acts through her traumas.

As Jeliza-Rose begins tentatively exploring the area around the house, she encounters a mysterious, shrouded woman at work gardening. After observing the woman from a distance, Jeliza-Rose's curiosity moves her toward making contact. The woman at first seems only aloof and severe--but instead of hope for Jeliza-Rose's plight, the woman ("Dell") offers only a more deeply disturbed pathology. Jeliza-Rose is drawn into her web, where also resides "Dickens", Dell's freakish, child-like brother. Jeliza-Rose forms a queasy bond with Dickens, as his "playmate."

At the conclusion of the book, Dickens in effect blasts a hole into the real world by dynamiting a passenger train which runs by the property. Whether Jeliza-Rose will choose to be rescued remains unclear, but Mitch Cullin seems to imply that only another catastrophe can free the girl from her doomed existence.

Mitch Cullin has created a character, in Jeliza-Rose, that will haunt your mind long after you have finished this book. She is the wispish, precociously imaginative Alice-in-Wonderland for our dark, drug-addled times.

4 out of 5 stars Alice in Suburbia.......2006-09-09

Tideland is a fascinating read that stops just short of being good enough to be considered a classic. Even if at first it seems just another updated version of Alice In Wonderland / The Wizard of Oz / The Neverending Story etc. - a child creating a fantasy world as a way of dealing with difficulties of life and a metaphor for growing up - it becomes abundantly clear very early on that Jeliza-Rose's story is a very different one from those of Alice and Dorothy. Tideland is decisively stronger and darker than those classics, and subtlety is all but forgotten; Mitch Cullin makes no attempt to disguise the horrors he writes about or to disguise his novel as a children's tale. Tideland is definitely a novel for adults, and Cullin gives the reader the awful truth straight and headlong.

That is the novel's strength but also its weakness. All too often Cullin seems to be bent on shocking the reader in any manner available to him, and the hopelessness of Jeliza-Rose's life is so obvious and overwhelming, the novel soon becomes unbearably depressing. Jeliza-Rose's optimism fails to convince; her situation is too impossible, and she is obviously far too disturbed and distorted to be taken seriously as a narrator. Which brings me to the biggest problem I had with the novel - even though I got past all the others, this kept bugging me. Cullin seems not entirely certain of the manner and style in which he narrates his story. The story is told in the past tense - in a way that hints at a long period of time passed between the event and the telling. However, Jeliza-Rose as a narrator seems sometimes aware of her situation and sometimes not; sometimes the story is told from the point of view of a little girl in a disturbed state of mind, sometimes that of a grown woman looking back at her own harsh childhood. And all too often Cullin's own voice creeps into the mix.

With that chronic stylistic problem in mind, the story of Tideland is still fascinating enough to be an excellent read. Yes, it's depressing and it's frustrating, but it's also not too long for its own good and fueled with enough humor, morbid and dark though it is, to make it quick and engrossing. Tideland is not an easy read, but a difficult and pessimistic tale. While it falls somewhat between the lines, not at all working as a mature and sophisticated children's tale and not quite complete enough to be a real literary classic - Tideland fails to reach the full of its potential but it's filled with original and enticing imagery and descriptions, and a terrific little story. I'm excited to see it transformed to the big screen by the great Terry Gilliam, because the dark and surreal imagery has great cinematic potential and Gilliam is probably the best man to bring out the book's terrific potential. It's all too likely that the film will be good enough to completely overshadow the novel, but it's still worth checking out.

5 out of 5 stars Hypnotic and Shocking.......2001-06-02

Tideland seized my imagination from the first page, and I think most readers will follow Cullin's extraordinary conceptions with astonishment and delight. Told in the past tense, thus suggesting a good deal of time has passed before its telling, Jeliza-Rose's adventures among the mesquites are haunting, strange, and often beautiful. Her encounters with the odd pair of Dell and Dickens come at a welcome time, yet leads us down an even darker path of family secrets and hidden boxes of dynamite.

Considering Tideland came just months after Cullin's Branches and only a few months before his equally wonderful but different The Cosmology of Bing, one can only imagine what this very talented and singular storyteller has up his sleeve next. Until then, I highly recommend the curious world of Tideland, which is a work of so unusual a nature as to throw new light on Cullin's already brilliant career.

4 out of 5 stars Cullin's best.......2001-05-25

Both poetic and thrilling, the best thing about this novel in the texture: the language and visual imagery are both stunning. This is a wonderful take on a twisted childhood, and so it's no surpirise Terry Gilliam will direct the movie version: the surreal and dreamy misprision is right up his alley. One might quibble that the voice of the narrator in the novel would be beyond that of a child, but the payoff of the reading experience is probably worth the suspension of disbelief.

4 out of 5 stars Taxidermy meets Behind the Attic Wall meets Teddy........2001-03-25

"Tideland," Mitch Cullin's third novel, is at once similar and different than his first two novels, "Whompyjawed" & "Branches." First, the background takes place in the vast wilds of West Texas - loosely connected to the two prior novels. (In Whompjawed, Sherriff Branches - the narrative voice in Branches - has a cameo appearance. And, completing the circle, in Tideland there is a mention of Willy Keeler, star football player in Whompyjawed. - So, we can assume Tideland takes place in the same region as the first two...) Cullin, using the eyes of Tideland's narrator Jeliza Rose, again shows his gift for capturing surrounding. The look through a small girl's imaginative world born amongst the surrounding Johnsongrass, the mesquite, fireflies, etc. It takes on a magical quality, without being overly sentimental. It reminded me of a juvenile book I read years ago, "Behind the Attic Wall" by Sylvia Cassedy. Except I felt that a large portion of the middle section of Tideland could have been eliminated with. Some might appreciate the "real time" aspect of it, but I have to say it became an annoyance the way it began to loop, day to day. When Jeliza Rose finally meets the odd duo of Dell and Dickens, it is a sigh of relief.

In Tideland, Cullin seems to extemporize many of the odd details amongst its pages. Like Jeliza's father's obsession with Denmark, bog men, his rockabilly past, onto the imaginative worlds of Jeliza and Dickens', etc. Most of these details seem to have no purpose other than being creative. But I, personally, appreciated it, and also encourage Cullin to cut loose more in the future. Which leads to a criticism of Tideland. Throughout much of the novel Jeliza's voice bounces around from extremely naïve to Salinger's Teddy gifted, making connections and observations most adults may pass over. In Whompyjawed, Cullin's sense of tact, control, and believability in the narrator's voice is impeccable. As is Branches, for that matter. But in Tideland, I got the definite sense that Cullin wanted to breakout and away from the boundaries of Jeliza's voice. And though Jeliza often mimicked things heard or learned from her father/mother, there's a different feeling that Cullin interjected himself, his creative observations in place of the limited capacities of Jeliza's.

And though saying what I have, Tideland is darkly funny, creative, and an interesting read. Its plots (once into gear) twist into unexpected places of the heart and imagination at the drop of a hat. And even though I do not recommend Tideland as highly as his first two efforts, Cullin is a great talent to be reckoned with. Watch out.
Tideland Treasure: The Naturalist's Guide to the Beaches and Salt Marshes of Hilton Head Island and the Southeastern Coast
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • An absolute must-have
  • Wow
  • Very enjoyable and useful resource for the Coastal Carolinas
Tideland Treasure: The Naturalist's Guide to the Beaches and Salt Marshes of Hilton Head Island and the Southeastern Coast
Todd Ballantine
Manufacturer: University of South Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Biology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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East South CentralEast South Central | South | Regions | United States | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 087249795X

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars An absolute must-have.......2006-12-15

I used this book for two summers when I lived on Hilton Head. My job was to drive people around on small boats and teach them about the natural wonders of barrier islands. Since I was a boat captain, not a naturalist, this book saved my bacon many times over. Anytime anyone asked me a question, I'd just grab the book and look it up, and I'd usually give it to them so they could look at the pictures. I recommend this book for anyone living near the coast in the Southeast. In fact, a lot of it is still relevant to folks in the Northeast. Some of the species are different, but the processes are still the same.

What's not clear from Amazon's description is that this book has a unique format. Each page was originally an article in the local paper, so you get one page of info per critter or process. The pages are works of art, hand-drawn and lettered in pen and ink. Any one of them would be worthy of framing. The language is clear and easy to understand, written for laymen but with enough info to satisfy naturalists. In fact, they're so beautiful and well-written that I'm here today to buy a copy for a professor of mine who teaches college classes on the geology and natural history of the East coast. There's nothing in this book he doesn't know or can't look up in a normal reference book. It's the artwork that really makes this book pop.

Don't hesitate to buy this--you won't be disappointed!

5 out of 5 stars Wow.......2002-04-03

This book gives a wide variety of all the different spots on a barrier island. we use it in enrichment class and I enjoy the book very much.

5 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable and useful resource for the Coastal Carolinas.......1999-06-11

This book uses descriptive illustrations to add to the enjoyment of its useful information. Its particularly relevant to the Coastal Carolina region and contains interesting and helpful facts for the beachgoer. Its format serves the single page reader as well as those who enjoy larger portions. Highly Recommended
New Jersey History: Fall-Winter 1981 (Volume XCIX, Number 3 & 4, Whole Number 381-382)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    New Jersey History: Fall-Winter 1981 (Volume XCIX, Number 3 & 4, Whole Number 381-382)
    David Steven Cohen , Hermann K. Platt , Jerrold P. Kuntz , S. Gail Fuller , William R. Klink , Alan D. Frazer , Wayne B. Yarnall , Carl Lane , and Clement A. Price
    Manufacturer: New Jersey Historical Society
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    Smithson, RobertSmithson, Robert | ( S-U ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
    ASIN: B000L9EORA

    Product Description

    Features: "Folk Etymologies of Dutch Place Names in New Netherland" by David Steven Cohen; "With Rivers and Harbors Unsurpassed: New Jersey and Her Tidelands, 1860-1870" by Hermann K. Platt; "The New Jersey Superplane that Almost Was" (Alfred W. Lawson) by Jerrold P. Kuntz; "Painted in Crayon: Pastel Portraits from the Collection" by S. Gail Fuller; "Robert Smithson: New Jersey Artist of the Earth" by William R. Klink; "New Jersey Under Sail" by Alan D. Frazer & Wayne B. Yarnall; "Guide to the Manuscript Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society Supplement Number 1" by Carl Lane; "The Struggle to Desegregate Newark: Black Middle Class Militancy in New Jersey, 1932-1947" by Clement A. Price; "Index to Volume 97, 1978, New Jersey History."
    Oil and Gas Law: With Articles Pertaining to Sulphur, Taxation, Tidelands, and Other Related Subjects
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Oil and Gas Law: With Articles Pertaining to Sulphur, Taxation, Tidelands, and Other Related Subjects
      Texas Law Review
      Manufacturer: Texas Law Review
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover
      ASIN: B000UPNK4I
      An Oregon schoolma'am: From rimrocks to tidelands
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        An Oregon schoolma'am: From rimrocks to tidelands
        Grace Brandt Martin
        Manufacturer: Calapooia Pub
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Unknown Binding

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        TIDELAND TREASURE A NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE BEACHES AND SALT MARSHES OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND THE SOUTHEASTERN COAST
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          TIDELAND TREASURE A NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE BEACHES AND SALT MARSHES OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND THE SOUTHEASTERN COAST
          Todd Ballantine
          Manufacturer: Deerfield Publishing
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback
          ASIN: B000JWEERO
          Tideland treasure: A naturalist's guide to the beaches and salt marshes of Hilton Head Island
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Tideland treasure: A naturalist's guide to the beaches and salt marshes of Hilton Head Island
            Todd Ballantine
            Manufacturer: Deerfield Pub. Co
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Unknown Binding

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            ASIN: B0007B5OFS
            The Tidelands oil controversy (The Development of public land law in the United States)
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              The Tidelands oil controversy (The Development of public land law in the United States)
              Ernest R Bartley
              Manufacturer: Arno Press
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Unknown Binding

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              ASIN: 0405113684
              The Tidelands oil controversy;: A legal and historical analysis
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                The Tidelands oil controversy;: A legal and historical analysis
                Ernest R Bartley
                Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Unknown Binding

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                ASIN: B0007DMO4A
                Analysis of protease digestion patterns in tideland sediments using SDS-PAGE [An article from: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology]
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  Analysis of protease digestion patterns in tideland sediments using SDS-PAGE [An article from: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology]
                  K.i. Nakamura
                  Manufacturer: Elsevier
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Digital

                  ElsevierElsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
                  ASIN: B000P6OWXA

                  Book Description

                  This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

                  Description:
                  A method to analyse protein hydrolysis in tideland sediments was developed using sodium lauryl sulphate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Bovine serum albumin was used as a substrate and sonication in SDS solution was employed to extract hydrolysed peptides from tideland sediments. By combining these techniques, digested peptides were fractionated reliably on slab gels by SDS-PAGE. Using this method, the protease activities in a tideland were found to be distributed only in the sediment fraction and not in the seawater. The protease activities in sediments were compared among three tidelands in the Seto Inland Sea. Niho tideland, the most polluted of the three tidelands examined, showed the highest levels of protease activity. Peptide cleavage patterns were very similar among the tidelands despite the differences in levels of protease activity, suggesting that the tidelands all contain common types of protease. Furthermore, the properties of proteases in tideland sediments were also characterised using the present method.

                  The Oracle's Queen (Tamir Trilogy, Book 3)
                  Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
                  • Horrible
                  • wow
                  • engrossing
                  • A wonderful woman's trilogy
                  • Excellent wrap-up to an excellent series!
                  The Oracle's Queen (Tamir Trilogy, Book 3)
                  Lynn Flewelling
                  Manufacturer: Spectra
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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                  ASIN: 055358345X
                  Release Date: 2006-06-27

                  Book Description

                  Under the rule of a usurper king, the realm of Skala has suffered famine, plague, and invasion. But now the time for the rightful heir has come, a return to the tradition of warrior queens. And the Lightbearer’s prophecy is to be upheld at last: so long as a daughter of the royal line defends and rules, Skala will never be subjugated.

                  Now a mystical fire has burned away the male body known as Prince Tobin, revealing Princess Tamír, a girl on the verge of womanhood–and a queen ready to claim her birthright after a life in disguise under the protection of wizards and witches. But will her people, her army–and the friends she was forced to deceive–accept her? Worse, will the crown’s rival heir, friend to Tobin, turn foe to Tamír, igniting civil war in a fierce
                  battle for Skala?

                  Customer Reviews:

                  1 out of 5 stars Horrible.......2007-08-03

                  This is the worst book i've red in 5 years. I say red, because a number of books that are as bad as this one i haven't acctualy bothered finishing. However, as this was the third book of a triology i made an extra effort to do it. It wasn't easy, and i've probably all-in-all skipped at least a third of it, but the chore is done at last.

                  Lynn Flewlling had a really original and interesting idea/main plot, which held the first two books. Unfortunately, that and top notch take on magic is all one can credit her for. Her writting skills are average and she has zero talent in creating charachters. In this whole triology there isn't a single character i cared about in the least. And maybe worst of all is the mind-numbing idiocy of dialoges and retorts the so called characters sprout when they open the mouths. There's just nothing in it, no humor, no play of words, not a spark of inteligence...nothing. Often during this trilogy i had to slam the book into a wall in disguast and irritation of how painfully idiotic the dialoges are. Zero talent.

                  So you have the biggest thing resloved at the end of the second book, and now we're waiting for the last confotation since there's nothing else to hold the book. Old Lynn knows it two and just wants to wrap it up, but 500 pages have to be written and she has only 50 than can be called decent. Hence another 450 pages of worthless drivel are added and you have The Orcale's Queen.

                  The only reason i started this series is because my favorite autors, Hobb and Martin, gave it praise (addmitingly to the first book only, which was obviously the best in this wretched series as it had you intrigued by the whole swap, but still only averageif you look at it realisticaly). I don't know what Hobb and Martin were tripping on, weather they were bought or requred by their publishers. If they were honest, it might explain why Hobbs latest series (the shaman thingy)is so bad, and why Martin took so long only to publish his only sub-par ASOFAI book, a Feast for Crows - they have gone insane.

                  Stay away from this book. It will make you loathe yourself for wasting a day or two of your life to read it. Not many books made me regret reading them, but this one did.

                  5 out of 5 stars wow.......2007-06-07

                  I actually had come to forget about this trilogy--not even recognizing the first book as the ending of a series I started. Too much time had passed between the second and this final book. Because of this I was worried that I would not even remember the characters! And yet, remembering events from the previous two books ended up being no problem at all. Flewelling, apparently, seems to be an expert of reminding the reader of previous events without coming right out and saying--this is what happened. Events were recalled and presented seemlessly throughout the novel. The story flowed and travelled like a river through mountains. There were smooth, safe parts, where the reader got to enjoy the budding love and commitment of Ki and Tamir. Then there was the shifting waters which included the preparation for war. Lastly, the rapids--where the ghost of Brother and Tamir's mother and Korin seem to fighting to distroy Tamir.

                  I love the way everything was brought together in this final book. I loved reading about the absolute love and commitment of the Companions. And even though I don't think of myself as a romance reader, I loved watching it blossom between Tamir and Ki. The parts in the story where they jump apart guiltily, while everyone else just smiles and waits for them to discover what is so apparent to them was so cute.

                  4 out of 5 stars engrossing.......2007-05-12

                  While not as good as the first two books, The Oracle's Queen is still an amazing book. You are drawn into the world of Tamir who grew up a boy, and must now rule a country as a Queen. Wonderfull.

                  5 out of 5 stars A wonderful woman's trilogy.......2007-04-24

                  I first read Bone Doll's Twin several years ago and was very disappointed to find out that the next two books were not yet written. I forgot about it and then last year bought the last two and finally read them both in the last week.

                  I've been haunted (appropriate term I guess) by everything that happened to Tamir in this last novel for the last few days since I finished the book. She felt so real for me, probably because as a reader you feel as though you've grown up with Tobin and felt all the anguish she had to go through as a prince with such a sad and sorrowful family life. The confusion between her and Ki was so heartbreaking and it was very satisfying to finally be able to see Tamir rightful Queen at last.

                  (no real spoilers there by the way, since writings by Queen Tamir II appear very early in the book)

                  The themes were very emotional. These books seemed more like a woman's kind of read rather than a male's. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole series, and especially enjoyed the introduction of Mahti and his cleansing ways. The gay theme was MUCH more interesting in this series than the one in Left Hand of Darkness, which I found to be a rather forgettable novel I read in college.

                  4 out of 5 stars Excellent wrap-up to an excellent series!.......2007-03-19

                  "The Oracle's Queen" is a spellbinding final chapter to Lynn Flewelling's Tamir Trilogy. Queen Tamir - once the boy known as Prince Tobin - is thrust into an emotional roller-coaster few teenage girls face. She must accept the responsibility of uniting and leading her kingdom, but also must contend with her cousin, Prince Korin, and an alliance of nobles who do not recognize her as the true heir to the throne of Skala. She must confront the past and the true, dark secret of why she had spent most of her life as a boy.

                  Finally, Tamir's new female form comes with a new set of complications with regard to her relationship with her longtime best friend and squire Kirothius. Tamir and Ki were quite unsure about their personal relationship after the second book, "Hidden Warrior," and that confusion deepened in this final novel.

                  As was the case with Flewelling's previous Tamir books as well as her Nightrunner series, "Oracle's Queen" was full of characters with such believable personalities. The feelings and motivations of the heroes, villains and supporting cast are well developed. The world they inhabit also seems a living, breathing place: occasionally dark and violent and at other times quite bright.

                  There was the danger that the book might have been somewhat anti-climactic given the events of "Hidden Warrior" - but that wasn't the case. While the second book remains the standout of the trilogy for me, "The Oracle's Queen" was filled with both the action and emotional depth of the previous two books. Personally, I don't think it would hurt if Flewelling chose to explore this world again - but if not, she has written a most worthy conclusion.
                  Spider Riders: Book One: Shards of the Oracle
                  Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                  • Better than Spider movies
                  Spider Riders: Book One: Shards of the Oracle
                  Tedd Anasti , Patsy Cameron-Anasti , and Stephen D. Sullivan
                  Manufacturer: Newmarket Press
                  ProductGroup: Book
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                  Similar Items:
                  1. Spider Riders: Book Two: Quest of the Earthen (Spider Riders) Spider Riders: Book Two: Quest of the Earthen (Spider Riders)
                  2. Spider Riders Book Three: Reign of the Soul Eater (Spider Riders) Spider Riders Book Three: Reign of the Soul Eater (Spider Riders)
                  3. Spider Riders: The Oracle Keys, v.1 Spider Riders: The Oracle Keys, v.1

                  ASIN: 1557046522

                  Book Description

                  The basis for an action adventure animé television series to launch in 2005—the first of five novels introducing the world of Arachnia, for 9-12-year-olds—this is the story of a boy and his spider. Only this spider happens to be ten feet tall.

                  When thirteen-year-old Hunter Steele chases a spider into a mysterious cave, he ends up falling straight down to the center of the Earth, into the fantastic subterranean world of Arachnia. Here, he discovers a small band of elite warriors struggling to survive and to save Arachnia from the attack of giant insect mutants. The warriors are kids, just like Hunter, each fighting with the help of their own three-ton, ten-foot battle spiders. They call themselves "Spider Riders."

                  In Shards of the Oracle, Hunter arrives in Arachnia just as a magical stone tablet known as the Oracle has been stolen and smashed into eight pieces, each hidden in a hostile location. Hunter wants to help, but first he must capture, train, and learn to trust the spider who will be his partner, a colossal Wanderer Spider, he names Shadow. Together, Hunter, Shadow, and the other Spider Riders battle to recover the Oracle and restore its power.

                  Shards of the Oracle (Spider Riders: Book One) is the basis for the first season of a 30-minute children's action adventure animé television series currently in production and scheduled to launch in 2005. Spider Riders is destined to become as popular for older kids as Yu-Gi-Oh! and its predecessors Pokémon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 8-page color insert.

                  Customer Reviews:

                  5 out of 5 stars Better than Spider movies.......2007-06-08

                  This book leaves those movies about mindless man-eating spiders in the dust!
                  THE ROYAL BOOK OF FATE: QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ORACLE OF FUTURE EVENTS
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    THE ROYAL BOOK OF FATE: QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ORACLE OF FUTURE EVENTS
                    RAPHAEL
                    Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Hardcover
                    ASIN: B000PU37ZK
                    The Oracle's Queen
                    Average customer rating: Not rated
                      The Oracle's Queen
                      Lynn Flewelling
                      Manufacturer: Bantam
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Mass Market Paperback
                      ASIN: B000OHVJYU
                      The royal book of fate: Queen Elizabeth's oracle of future events, from an illuminated manuscript found in the library of the unfortunate Earl of Essex
                      Average customer rating: Not rated
                        The royal book of fate: Queen Elizabeth's oracle of future events, from an illuminated manuscript found in the library of the unfortunate Earl of Essex
                        Raphael
                        Manufacturer: Sherwood
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Unknown Binding
                        ASIN: B00089P5DU

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                        10. Wyoming: Where Leads the Heart/Plains of Promise/The Heart Answers/To Love a Stranger (Inspirational Romance Collection)

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