Average customer rating:
- What Part of Our World are we "Doomed to Repeat"?
- Are there no editors at iUniverse?
- Poorly written but worth the read
- Great book
- Answers all the questions
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Voices from Legendary Times: We Are a Bridge Between Past and Future
Ellen Lloyd
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
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The End of Days: Armageddon and Prophecies of the Return (The Earth Chronicles)
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The Cygnus Mystery: Unlocking the Ancient Secret of Life's Origins in the Cosmos
ASIN: 0595367380 |
Book Description
About the book: What is the connection between lost civilizations, ancient cosmic catastrophes, and extraterrestrial visitations in prehistory? Voices from Legendary Times draws together compelling evidence from archaeology, astronomy, geology, myths, and ancient texts to prove that superior beings from outer space genetically engineered several human races on our planet. . Examines the flaws in the theory of evolution. . Proves that giants were an important, yet now forgotten part of our history. . Explains what really caused the destruction of highly advanced civilizations and continents like Atlantis, Lemuria, and Thule. . Reveals that our ancestors were familiar with flying machines and nuclear weapons. . Shows proof of extraterrestrial contact in the Bible. In the search for lost origins of humanity, Ellen Llyod demonstrates that races of men have inhabited Earth for millions of years, but not all of them were human. Ancient sources describe the past ages as world cycles. The mysteries of the forgotten past reveal that the humans and all living beings have not been created once, but are products of a continuous re-creation process performed and guided by alien gods. Learn why our history is more startling than we could ever imagine!
Customer Reviews:
What Part of Our World are we "Doomed to Repeat"?.......2007-09-27
We, on this planet, are repeatedly told; "He who forgets the Past, is doomed to repeat It; but, if we have already forgotten "it" "or...never even been told "it", where & how do we even start to get "clue one" about what "it"is? Legendary Times definitely gets a person off on the right foot, gets that foot in the door and that toe in the water! The ancient brought to light, & the public.
Legendary Times puts in one place; stories, facts, legends, recovered artifacts, scientific results, & first person accounts of humanity's origins. This compilation is written for the casual reader, yet still contains good clues for a researcher. If Legendary Times has a downside, it can be said to sort of "trail off towards the end" leaving one wishing for more data.
I bought a copy for a friend and find I am always going back to reference a fact.
Are there no editors at iUniverse?.......2007-09-03
There are a lot of problems with this book but the most glaring are the punctuation, sentence fragments and lack of continuity. If this book was translated from another language into English, where were the proofreaders? I've read lots of books translated from other languages that don't have these irritating mistakes.
With that said, I wonder about the research. Among her many assertions, she states that bones of giants found in CA were re-buried in order to suppress the true history of our origin. How does she know this? Though she has sources listed in the back of the book, there are no footnotes to indicate her source for such conclusions. I would think a mathematician, as the jacket states she is, would be more likely to demand proof. Her off-hand conclusions are not based on any arguments or proof that I found in her writing.
I believe there were civilizations prior to the Egyptian/Mesopotamian civilizations but this book is shallow and offers only wild speculation.
Save your money and eyesight.
Poorly written but worth the read.......2007-02-01
This book would be excellent if it were better written. My guess is that English is not the author's primary language. But beneath the annoyingly dropped words (especially "the"), incomplete and awkward sentences, and randomly placed commas is a wealth of substance. The author makes an excellent case that scholars should take cultural myths and legends more seriously, that there are important truths within the stories.
The tour of mysterious sites around the world, along with other evidence of long-lost great civilizations in our distant past, is relatively comprehensive and interesting. Yes, the "ancient astronauts" theory has for some time now been an object of merciless ridicule, but the ever growing body of anomalous evidence, in my opinion, continues to call conventional notions of human origins into question. Although this poorly written book would never suffice in an academic setting, it most certainly can serve well to introduce the reader to related theories proposed by the likes of Velikovsky, Alford, Hancock, Sitchen, and of course the controversial and giggle-factor encrusted popularizer, Erich von Daniken. If one is willing and able to push aside the ridicule, approach these theories objectively (and also tolerate annoying grammatical errors and typos) for the sake of understanding content, buy Voices, for it serves as a very good compilation of evidence proposed supporting ancient astronauts related claims.
Great book.......2006-08-10
[...]
Voices from Legendary Times by Ellen Lloyd
I have to be honest from the start, I am not a lover of books that deal with visiting "crafts" from outer space as an answer to the mysteries of the past. Ever since reading Daniken's book I always felt that many statements and claims were made without the evidence to back them up, and yet Ellen Lloyd has done a superb job in uncovering a huge and bewildering amount of
data. This is not just a simple tale claiming that ships landed on the pyramids of Giza, no, this is a really good and clever investigation into hundreds of mysteries, from the Hopi indians to the Maya, oh yes, and a really good read.
There are the infamous authors on extraterrestrial visitation such as Sitchin and Daniken with all their flaws and there are many unsung authors such as Ellen Lloyd who deserve to have their voices heard. The simple reason being that Ellen has done more research and uncovered more enigmas than Sitchin and Daniken put together and all this in one book. From the
moment Ellen steps into the "theory of evolution" she had me hooked because I associated with her as she ripped it to shreds. And then, without blinking she moved headlong into a territory many so-called authors would fear to
tread - Atlantis. In her cleverly deduced assumption there was much more to this ancient tale than previously believed - not least of which involved much more advanced technical abilities in ancient times.
Whatever your thoughts on little green men; whether you think there's something at Area 51 or not, you will be hooked by this well-written book that far surpasses the many other ET books I have read before. This is not a "it happened to me" story, but a really serious investigation into areas academics fear to tread and for that alone Ellen deserves applause.
Philip Gardiner, 2006
Answers all the questions.......2006-06-05
As a true supporter of the ancient astronauts' theory, I find this book a great contribution to this field. For me personally, the AAS theory answers all the crucial questions regarding mankind's past. Who are we, were do we come from, who created us and why?
I hope that Ellen Lloyd will keep up her good work and continue where Däniken and Sitchin left off. I look forward to her next book.
Ian Martin,
London, UK
Average customer rating:
- Emotionally Written, Wonderful Book
- Emotionally written. Wonderful book.
- Wonderful
- Interesting women's history
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Women's Voices from the Oregon Trail: The Times that Tried Women's Souls and a Guide to Women's History Along the Oregon Trail (Women of the West) (Women of the West)
Susan G. Butruille
Manufacturer: Tamarack Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Covered Wagon Women, Volume 1: Diaries and Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1849 (Covered Wagon Women)
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The Oregon Trail: Yesterday and Today
ASIN: 0963483986 |
Book Description
WOMEN'S VOICES FROM THE OREGON TRAIL narrates the lives and evokes the voices of the women who traveled the 2,000 mile trail to Oregon 150 years ago. The book artfully blends women's diaries, songs, history, poetry, recipes, and quilts. Susan Butruille first takes us to the Midwestern farms where most of the women came from, then on their brave and outlandish trek, and finally to the strange and bountiful land where a new home was supposed to be.
Customer Reviews:
Emotionally Written, Wonderful Book.......2003-11-24
Susan Butruille has captured the feeling behind the women's hard covered exterior on the Oregon Trail. This book touched me deeplyin the way that I cried during reading of the book and thought about the book many times after reading it. I read this book in two days and since then have visioned it while living my life here in 2002. I have felt so much for the reallife women of the diaries in this book that I talked about it with my husband and simple things that used to get him or me in a tizzy before I read this book now seem so trivial and unimportant. I think that this book changed my life, the way I look at life in a way that I appreciate way more than I did before I read this book and think much about how wagon women would solve a problem that I have daily and if they would have had that problem (via computers or toasters) at all because everything was so much more primitive, necessary and simple YET hard and trying and exhausting back then.
In two words I have for anyone thinking about buying this book is PLEASE DO ..... it will enrich your life. It did Mine.
Emotionally written. Wonderful book........2002-09-18
Susan Butruille has captured the feeling behind the women's hard covered exterior on the Oregon Trail. This book touched me deeplyin the way that I cried during reading of the book and thought about the book many times after reading it. I read this book in two days and since then have visioned it while living my life here in 2002. I have felt so much for the reallife women of the diaries in this book that I talked about it with my husband and simple things that used to get him or me in a tizzy before I read this book now seem so trivial and unimportant. I think that this book changed my life, the way I look at life in a way that I appreciate way more than I did before I read this book and think much about how wagon women would solve a problem that I have daily and if they would have had that problem (via computers or toasters) at all because everything was so much more primitive, necessary and simple YET hard and trying and exhausting back then.
In two words I have for anyone thinking about buying this book is PLEASE DO ..... it will enrich your life. It did Mine.
Wonderful.......2001-02-16
This is a poignant and moving book. It is well constructed. It addresses the daily activities, as well as the overall significance, of women on the Oregon Trail. The book weaves together (and is centered around) excerpts from diaries and other first hand writings. Hearing the stories from those who experienced the journey was an emotional and educational treat.
Interesting women's history.......2000-06-14
If you are interested in the day to day lives of women as they walked the Oregon Trail, you'll enjoy this book.
Average customer rating:
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Tom Talbert His Life and Times: Voices From a Vanished World of Jazz (Studies in Jazz Series)
Bruce Talbot
Manufacturer: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0810848120 |
Book Description
In Tom Talbert--His Life and Times Talbert--in his own words--describes his progress, his influences, his skirmishes with fate, and his sometimes surprising detours. His account, and the anecdotes and memories of many musicians who played with him conjure up a lost world of music and music-making that has disappeared as completely as last winter's snow.
Average customer rating:
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The Time of Voice: Poems 1994-1996
Robert Kelly
Manufacturer: Black Sparrow Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1574230794 |
Product Description
The Time of Voice collects ninety poems by Robert Kelly written between 1992 and 1994. Of his methods, the poet writes: "Writing is the generosity of writing down whatever comes into your mind, in sequence, as true as you can, The diligence of working with that, in all the ways you can, to make it speak, to make it say more than you know. . . . The patience to know that what the writing is saying is more important, always, than what you want to say. . . . The moral discipline not to use the words to sell yourself or your ideas. The concentration to stay with the work under hand, stay inside it, thinking only with it and not beside it, letting all thinking and feeling come to focus in it, as it. The wisdom to know when you're done. When it's done."
Average customer rating:
- Puzzling
- A Great Book!
- The Perfect Sequel to a Great Book
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Voices from the Titanic (Mysteries in Time Series)
Jim Walker
Manufacturer: Broadman & Holman Publishers
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0805417710 |
Customer Reviews:
Puzzling.......2000-10-07
This sequel to "Murder on the Titanic" is pleasing to read and enjoyable, however it, as well as its first installment, carry voids in plot. Plot holes, if you will. It's dissapointing, because he raises more questions than he gives answers. But otherwise, it's a thrilling read, and has some interesting commentaries on the real-life Titanic characters at the end of the volume.
A Great Book!.......1999-02-06
I can't believe how good it was. It's better than the previos installment 'Murder on the Titanic' which was also splendid. Anyone who is interested in the Titanic has to read this book.
The Perfect Sequel to a Great Book.......1999-02-03
Voices from the Titanic is the perfect sequel to the great mystery Murder on the Titanic. It continues the story of Morgan Fairfield as he takes his job at the Herald in the midst of more murders and the Titanic hearings. It introduces intresting characters and a wonderful plot. I salute Mr. James Walker who is a wonderful historical writer. The book was great and I can't wait to read his other works.
Average customer rating:
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Dust Bowl Days: Hard Times for Farmers (Voices from America's Past)
Kate Connell
Manufacturer: National Geographic Society
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0792245571 |
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The times that tried men's souls, 1770-1783 (Voices from America's past)
Richard Brandon Morris
Manufacturer: Webster Division, McGraw-Hill
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Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: 0070432627 |
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Thirty-one years on the plains and in the mountains; or, The last voice from the plains: An authentic record of a life time of hunting, trapping, scouting and Indian fighting in the far West
William F Drannan
Manufacturer: Rhodes & McClure Pub Co
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Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B0008AG5G0 |
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American Voices from the Time of Slavery (American Voices from)
Elizabeth Sirimarco
Manufacturer: Benchmark Books (NY)
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Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0761421696 |
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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles The Authentic Voices of England From The Time of Julius Caesar
Anne Savage
Manufacturer: Coombe Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WWYWKK |
Average customer rating:
- Hard to finish
- The Gods Can Be Slain
- Unfocused and toverwhelmingly detailed.
- Ulitmately, unreadable
- Could have used another draft
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The Tyranny of the Night: Book One of the Instrumentalities of the Night
Glen Cook
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 076534596X |
Book Description
Welcome to the world of the Instrumentalities of the Night, where imps, demons, and dark gods rule in the spaces surrounding upstart humanity. At the edges of the world stand walls of ice which push slowly forward to reclaim the land for the night. And at the world’s center, in the Holy Land where two great religions were born, are the Wells of Ihrain, the source of the greatest magics. Over the last century the Patriarchs of the West have demanded crusades to claim the Wells from the Pramans, the followers of the Written. Now an uneasy truce extends between the Pramans and the West, waiting for a spark to start the conflict anew.
Then, on a mission in the Holy Land, the young Praman warrior Else is attacked by a creature of the Dark—in effect, a minor god. Too ignorant to know that he can never prevail over such a thing, he fights it and wins, and in so doing, sets the terrors of the night against him.
As a reward for his success, Else is sent as a spy to the heart of the Patriarchy to direct their attention away from further ventures into the Holy Lands. Dogged by hidden enemies and faithless allies, Else witnesses senseless butchery and surprising acts of faith as he penetrates to the very heart of the Patriarchy and rides alongside their armies in a new crusade against his own people. But the Night rides with him, too, sending two of its once-human agents from the far north to assassinate him.
Submerged in his role, he begins to doubt his faith, his country, even his family. As his mission careens out of control, he faces unanswerable questions about his future. It is said that God will know his own, but can one who has slain gods ever know forgiveness?
Customer Reviews:
Hard to finish.......2007-09-20
I've read quite a bit of Cook. Instrumentality has many good points, but suffers from an awfully difficult narrative. The plot isn't that complicated in theory, but Cook really manages to shoot it in the foot. Secondary characters pop up for a few pages, disappear quickly, are seen again many pages later. It's like Cook, not a newbie writer by any means, never sat back and thought how readers would be able to keep track of all of it. This book would be great for e-book format: "Quick, scan for first occurrence of 'Runsch'".
Pretty much the same flaws as Dragon Never Sleeps, basically. Unfathomable narrative mars brilliant idea. Is this the guy who wrote Black Company, Passage at Arms and Starfishers?
On the positive side, this book is a refreshing look at the subjectivity of religious vertues and how different faiths, while perhaps good in intentions, can degenerate into cynical power struggles between unscrupulous leaders. There are few pure good and bad guys, but rather very much realpolitik struggles fuelled by petty prejudices and power grabs.
I think Cook wants to reexamine the basic premises of moral superiority that Christianity and Islam are both currently assuming. He uses a slightly twisted version of late medieval Mediterranean politics, with some added sorcery, to do so.
Truth be told, the fractured narrative isn't that big a deal, if you stop sweating the pointlessly confusing details. Just enjoy the ride, page by page, and the much better overall idea behind the whole book. But I'll skip book two anyway.
The Gods Can Be Slain.......2007-09-12
The Tyranny of the Night (2005) is the first fantasy novel in The Instrumentalities of the Night series. The Wells of Ihrian are dying down and the Night is receiving less food. The Ice around the edges is creeping inward, squeezing humans into the warmer lands.
In this novel, on the Plains of Judgment, Captain Else Tage of the Sha-lug is confronted by a bogon arising from the Night and improvises a killing weapon using a mobile cannon, silver coins and gravel. The bogon is destroyed, leaving behind only something like an obsidian egg. At that moment, the Instrumentalities of the Night begin the slow process of searching for the godslayer.
Else carefully takes his company to the coast and signals a warship to pick them up. Although the ship can take some of the men and their booty, the others have to march to the nearest base. Else accompanies the booty back to Dreanger. There he is given another assignment.
Gordimer the Lion and Er-Rashal al-Dhulquarnen send Else to the West to spy upon the Bothans and to create disruption. Disguised as the returning crusader Sir Aelford daSkees, Else sails to Runch on the Isle of Starlirhod, where someone tries to kill him. Then he sails to Sonsa, where someone else tries to kill him.
In Sonsa, Else is recruited by the local Devedians in defense of their quarter. Although he is their token general, Else can do little more than caution the Deves against overconfidence and provocation. When the big invasion of the quarter comes, his major contribution consists of wielding the portable cannon filled with godslayer shot against the Bothan sorcerers.
In this story, further north, six soultaken warriors are brought before their gods and given a mission. Only their leader Grim is party to the details, which he receives in his sleep. They are deposited upon an old battleground in the southlands, where they find weapons and gear. They join with a southern army heading in the right direction, only to be ambushed by the enemy. After the killing and looting is over, the Soultaken retrace their path, still looking for the godslayer.
Else is now Piper Hecht, a mercenary from Duarnenia. He falls into the company of a group of young men hoping to find lives of adventure as mercenaries. Although quickly disillusioning them of their thoughts of adventure and romance, Piper becomes their mentor and implicit leader. When they find a recruiter outside Ralli, Piper stays with the group as they join the Brotherhood of War and later becomes captain of their company.
Pincus Ghort is a career mercenary who also joins the newly formed unit. He too becomes a captain, for few have had prior experience. Ghort can always be depended upon to suspect the worst of any situation.
Osa Stile is a former Sha-lug who was selected to be a spy prior to Else's mission. Although he is almost twenty years old, he still appears to be only eleven due to Er-Rashal's magic. He is spying for the Bothan Emperor as well as for Gordimer the Lion.
This story is set in a medieval world somewhat like Europe and the Middle East during the time of the crusades. The Sha-lug, for example, are slave troops similar to the Turkish Janissaries. Yet Dreanger appears more like the Egypt of that time, but with three Kingdoms.
The religion and culture of Dreanger is Praman, which is much like Islam. The religion and culture of Bothe is Chaldarean, which is much like Christianity. The Devedians are similar to Judaism. Still, these religions and others are not exactly the same as the medieval equivalents. After all, other gods -- or demons -- are demonstrably present in the world.
The Holy Land in this story is significant for the upswelling magic from the Wells of Ihrian. The Night is powered from the Wells, but did the gods create the Wells or were the gods created by the Wells? In either case, the Holy Lands have generated many religions and humans have been fighting over these lands for millennia.
Else Tage is mostly blind to the Instrumentalities of the Night. He is even more blind to the ramifications of destroying the bogon. Else is a wanted man, but doesn't know it. Yet he casually spreads this crucial technique as he travels.
Highly recommended for Cook fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of supernatural spirits, well-developed magic, and casual competence.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Unfocused and toverwhelmingly detailed........2007-09-10
I loved the Black Company series, so I bought the first two "Instrumentalities" books without a thought. That was a mistake. The principal characters are interesting, but the focus never rests on them long enough to fully develop the character. I forced my way through the first book hoping that it would improve, but it did not. The best comparison that I can give is that I felt like I was studying for a history exam.
Ulitmately, unreadable.......2007-08-28
I really loved Glen Cook's Black Company series and even more his Garrett one. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to this new series starting with "Instrumentalities of the Night". I found "Instrumentalities" to be an utter disappointment, and had to set it down in the middle without finishing it. There are potentially some very good passages in the book, as he can be a riveting author. The problem, as other reviewers have written, is his near OCDish attempts to capture every major person, place or event in the Middle Ages, populate the world in "Instrumentalities" with them and provide them with cryptic and forgettable names to the point where it is impossible to follow along with the book unless one takes prodigious notes. I do not know why Cook decided to write in this manner. If he wanted to write about the Middle Ages, he would have been better suited writing a historic novel actually placed in that period. If his goal was to write a fantasy book inspired by the Middle Ages, he would have been better off not writing an exact letter-for-letter copy of this period in time, but instead focusing more on an original, yet more readable fantasy world. I look forward to the next Garrett novel, but will not be continuing with the remainder of the "Instrumentalities" series.
Could have used another draft.......2007-08-23
I enjoyed the plot and the characters Cook brings to the book. The problem here is the execution of the exposition. Much of the background information is presented raw rather than being introduced through story telling. It ends up feeling a bit like the outline of a book instead of the finished product. The drabness of the exposition continues to be a problem throughout the book; I had problems keeping secondary characters and political motivations strait right until the end of the book.
If it hadn't been for all the rain that recently blew through here I never would have gotten past the first few chapters. That being said, the second half of the book does pickup for the first half and on the whole I ended up enjoying the book.
Books:
- Will You Marry Me?: Popping the Question With Romance and Style
- WINTER BIRDS: A Novel
- Worst Fears Realized
- Wyoming: Where Leads the Heart/Plains of Promise/The Heart Answers/To Love a Stranger (Inspirational Romance Collection)
- Yentyl the Yeshiva Boy
- A Beggar at Damascus Gate
- A Blessing on the Moon
- A Cab at the Door & Midnight Oil
- A Century of November: A Novel (Michigan Literary Fiction Awards)
- A Desert in Bohemia
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House, and Hollywood
- Next
- Miss Julia Takes Over
- Kiss Me While I Sleep: A Novel
- Mary Ellen Mark: Exposure
- Organic Chemistry
- Sam: The One And Only Sam Snead
- Popular Advertising Cuts of the Twenties and Thirties
- Inside the Dzanga-Sangha Rain Forest : Exploring the Heart of Central Africa
- Lone Star Blue and Gray: Essays on Texas in the Civil War