And No Birds Sing: A True Ecological Thriller Set in a Tropical Paradise

Customer Reviews:

A Gem.......2001-02-18

This account of efforts to understand and deal with threatened exotic-caused extinctions on Guam is a gem. The paper back's blurbs focus on Jaffe's "ecological detective thriller." But it's the seamlessness of the book's widely-informed joined elements -- including biographical and political sketches of great pith, accessible population biology, and How Modern Science Works to try to save avian species -- that's most compelling. This deftness in weaving many individually fascinating threads recalled for me Neal Ascherson's astonishing "Black Sea."

The paperback's Index lists only passing references to DDT -- on pages 26, 27 and 72. Because the bad guy is not a chemical, not one of our products. No, he's one of us. And after the paucity and untimeliness of the legislative response to the Guamanian situation had sunk into my consciousness, it was ironic that in the end, an air force base on the island established the 50-acre "environmental reclamation experiment" Jaffe hopes could begin to turn it all around. Like the ending of William Golding's little masterpiece, with the navy warship rescuing the tribe of island-stranded boys from themselves.

silence of the birds.......1998-10-30

My God! You won't find any birds singing in this masterpiece! Rachel Carson has nothing on this guy! The DDT chapter broke my heart!!!

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Amazon Parrots
Paul R. Paradise
Manufacturer: TFH Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Birds | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0876669852

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Superb Book.
The Birds of Paradise
THE BOOK on Birds of Paradise
GOOD BOOK

The Birds of Paradise: Paradisaeidae
Clifford B. Frith , and Bruce M. Beehler
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198548532

Book Description

Birds of paradise have long played a central role in the mythologies, ceremonies, dress and dance of the peoples of New Guinea and its neighbouring islands. For the few centuries that these magnificent birds have been known outside of Australasia, their striking nuptial plumages and elaborate courtship rituals have captured the imagination of collectors, scientists, and naturalists throughout the world. The first part of the book provides a comprehensive and scientifically accurate overview of the biology, ecology, and history of the group, written so as to be interesting and accessible to the lay-reader as well as the scientist. The authors' intimate observations of the birds have enabled them to describe for the first time how the extravagant tails and plumage are used in courtship and mating as well as to describe their nesting biology, about which little has been written previously. The role of the birds of paradise in human culture and tradition is explored in chapter 7, and a final chapter discusses issues of conservation and threats to the survival of these unique and beautiful birds. The second part of the book consists of species accounts of the 42 species of birds of paradise, describing their plumage, size, habitat, distribution, and behaviour in detail and accompanied by distribution maps and sonograms. 12 superb colour plates by William T. Cooper, one of the world's most acclaimed bird artists, illustrate all the species, their known hybrids, and many juveniles and sub-species. His original fine line provide a vivid record of how the birds use their famous ornaments during reproductive behaviour. As with the other books in the Oxford Bird Families of the World series, the Birds of Paradise is written by authors who have dedicated much of their professional lives to researching the birds and observing them at first hand. It includes previously unpublished material and provides a synthesis of the huge literature that has been published over the last few years. As such it will be the most comprehensive review ever to be published on the birds of paradise, the most ornate and interesting group of birds on earth. Nothing comparable exists in print.

Customer Reviews:

Superb Book........2005-08-06

Beautiful illustrations, very informative of the most interesting avifauna family.
I wish there's photographs of each species ...

The Birds of Paradise.......2001-11-11

I have just returned from Irian Jaya and spent the time looking at birds (including some BOP)and reading this excellent book. It is an extremely thorough, comprehensive and enjoyable book. Anybody who has an interest in Birds of Paradise - or indeed birds in general will do well to invest in this book. One day all bird books will be like this. Well done Frith, Beehler & Cooper - well done indeed.

THE BOOK on Birds of Paradise.......2001-04-03

This is a truly massive work (600+ pages all in "King-size") more suited for the coffee-table than the field. If there is anything you would like to know about Birds of Paradise you can find it here. The first part (150+ pages) of the book deals with a huge number of scientific matters examples being the discovery, ecology, biogeography, evolution, conservation, and reproductive behaviour of the Paradisaeidae. A absolutely astonishing number of tables exist in this part of the book. The next 300+ pages of the book deals with the individual species (all 42 or so species incl. Manucodes and Riflebirds). These descriptions are truly comprehensive dealing with description (incl. juv. and nestling appearance), distribution, systematics, subspecies, size, distribution (incl. map), habitat, vocalisation, courtship behaviour, diet, status, where any knowledge is lacking, and experiences in aviculture (this is just a sample of the subjects dealt with!!!). Numerous black-and-white drawings show different behaviours and a sonogram is often included. The text is scientific (with numerous references), however it should not present a large problem to the average reader, as a glossary exists in the back of the book. In the centre of the book 15 colour plates exists. One shows old drawings of Bird of Paradise, another shows different habitat photos, and yet another shows different nesting behaviour and moulting of a number of species (also in photos). The remaining plates show some of the highest quality drawings of birds I have ever seen. All the species of Birds of Paradise are depicted in a huge variety of plumage's (e.g. males, females, juveniles, and different subspecies). One plate is even devoted to their egg's. The drawings can only bee described as a true appetiser for anyone interested in beauty. The last two plates depict a number of hybrids apparently rather common in the Birds of Paradise. A chapter also deals with this subject. Well, after all this scientific nonsense, who would want to buy this book (other than a scientist)? Everybody interested in special, interesting, and beautiful birds. If you are going to New Guinea in the near future this is absolutely also a book worth looking at. A five page chapter also discusses how, when, and where best to see Birds of Paradise (also as a the tourist!!!). It will prepare you for this astonishing group of birds like no field guide could ever do. The only thing I would have wished for is more colour photos.

GOOD BOOK.......2000-02-03

Hey thes book is very good i am from denmark and when i first saw it it seams like a good book, nice colorfotos of every species and easy readable text what moore can i say buy it *s*

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The Birds of Paradise
Michael Everett
Manufacturer: Book Sales
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Decent Reference to Everything Dodo...
A Beautiful History of Extinction's Emblem
A vapid performance

The Dodo: Extinction in Paradise
Erol Fuller
Manufacturer: Bunker Hill Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1593730020

Book Description

The Dodo explores the science and mythology, the history, archaeology, and legend, as well as the dodo's place in art and literature.

Customer Reviews:

Decent Reference to Everything Dodo..........2006-03-01

As past reviewers have mentioned, this book is visually stunning. A very good entry level book to give a historical background on records, sketches, semi-factiods, and assumptions. Fuller makes it very clear (time and time again) that everything we think we know about the dodo is based on written records or sketches. Fuller also points out that we don't have complete facts on the legitimacy of any of the accounts. For example, some written accounts were taken from a boat that traveled by the island...the accountee not even stepping foot on the island. Furthermore, the recognizable paintings may or may not have been created from a live specimen, but a taxidermied version which may have been overstuffed. The book is a quick read, allowing the reader to form their own view and create their own image of what they belive the dodo once was. I recommend merely as a collection of visual reference and general historical accounts.

A Beautiful History of Extinction's Emblem.......2003-05-17

"As dead as a dodo." Everyone knows the phrase (and it is far clearer than the obscure doornail variant). The dodo is universally acknowledged as a symbol of extinction, not just a dead bird, not just a dead species, but an emblem of wipeout. Although everyone knows the dodo, we know almost nothing about it. It was discovered and wiped out long before the days of scientific observation. Errol Fuller has told us just about everything there is to know about the bird in _Dodo: A Brief History_ (HarperCollins). It is not as big or lush a volume as the one he produced on another goner, the great auk, but it is beautiful and fascinating.

The facts about the birds are slim. They came from the small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. They were actually large pigeons. They weighed more than fifty pounds, according to an observer from 1634. They had ridiculously small wings that were a parody of flight. We don't know what they ate, what they sounded like, or how they mated. "But of one thing we can be sure," he writes, "There are now no dodos." Europeans arrived on Mauritius when the Dutch navy landed in 1598 (there had been transient visits by Portuguese and Arabs before then), and only fifty or so years later, there were no dodos. The dodo had no predators before encountering humans, so it had slipped into a flightless existence, and also did not flee when approached. They were easy prey. After the bird's extinction, no one much cared about it. In 1755, there was exactly one stuffed dodo. It was within the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It was in such a decrepit state that it was consigned to the flames. The head and right foot alone were saved, and "these pitiful fragments" still exist and have been used for DNA samples. Of course they are depicted here.

After more than a century of oblivion, Fuller explains that one simple event caused "... the general public to take notice of the dodo, and the bird itself to enter the ranks of universal celebrity." In 1865, Lewis Carroll published _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, with an episode of the "caucus race" which the dodo decides "Everybody has won, and all must have prizes." Prizes, he also decides, have to come from Alice herself. Sir John Tenniel illustrated the episode, with his image based on first-hand depictions. Fuller explains that the dodo, like the book, "... was suddenly in vogue and - again just like the book - it has never since been out of it." Dodo poems followed, and "Dodo" as a nickname for girls, dodos on teapots, tea towels, stamps, coffee mugs, advertisements, table service, and more. We will never forget the dodo. Fuller's handsome, beautifully illustrated volume of all this dodo lore helps in the cause of dodo remembrance. It is throughout good-humored, and in accord with its subject, it is peculiar, funny, and sad.

A vapid performance.......2003-03-12

Visually this book is stunning. Informative it is. But if you found a book about dinosaurs that said "we know almost nothing about them, except that there are no dinosaurs today" would you be interested? This is how Fuller starts his commentary on the dodo - "We know almost nothing...." dodos equal famous dinosaurs. The moral of the whole book is, "here are the facts but we don't really know and we can't either so there". In its attempt to be critical and parsimonious, it trips over itself in a mess of contradictions (was the Dodo grey or brown? - "it seems to have been greyish though Saftleven clearly shows the head was brown")and a script that reads like watery thin soup.

The fact of the matter is, there is a lot of background interest in the Dodo and this book does not dare to speculate on various assumptions and models that have been made of the Dodo. For example that it may have shed the tip of its bill, that it produced chicks every 2 years or on any differences between males and females of a specific nature. The paintings of the Dodo are not discussed critically in terms of authorship and attribution or history. We don't get to hear about where a few dodos were sent alive and how they contributed to paintings. The map of Mauritius does not clearly mark the spot where lots of dodo skeletons turned up and the general distribution of dodos. Fuller leaves us guessing if dodos lived on the interior of the island or coasts and whether it was a forest or shore type bird.

In the end, the book is more like a log of evidence and we are left to pick out our own picture for ourselves. The author has very little conscious, critical or thought provoking to say. There is too much on dodo paraphanelia/souvnirs as well.

It is in fact more disappointing than his other books on extinct birds like the Great Auk. A lot more could have been said and done. This book remains a vital reference on the Dodo with holes, unapologetic omissions and scientific coyness.

Its price is good and it remains a reference - on the dodo, the Solitare and the mysterious "White dodo" though there isn't much of a story here.

Vanishing Paradise: Duck Hunting In The Louisiana Marsh

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Vanishing Paradise: Duck Hunting In The Louisiana Marsh
John R. Kemp , and Julia Sims
Manufacturer: Pelican Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Marsh Mission: Capturing The Vanishing Wetlands

ASIN: 1589802217

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'To most of my clients, bifocal glasses are asthma.' ..
This one is a Prequel to the other Dolly books!
A "modern Lymond" fails to stir

Dolly&bird of Paradise
Dorothy Dunnett
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0394523776
Release Date: 1984-02-12

Customer Reviews:

'To most of my clients, bifocal glasses are asthma.' .........2007-04-15

With these words, we are drawn into the world of Rita, make-up artist to the stars.

The Dolly series are Dorothy Dunnett's contemporary mysteries: a world away from the intrigues of Niccolo (fifteenth century) and Lymond (sixteenth century). Or are they?

Dorothy Dunnett brings the same energetic, descriptive writing to the Dolly series as is evident in her historical novels. The action is fast, the hero is enigmatic and intelligent. The setting is exotic, and the characters? Judge for yourself.

Recommended as both great fun and as an example of Dorothy Dunnett's versatility. There are seven novels in this series.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This one is a Prequel to the other Dolly books!.......2003-06-05

Once you realize that the book is a prequel to the other Dolly books, a lot of it starts to make more sense. In this book we hear a little bit about the accident that killed JJ"s wife and the damage it did to him. We also meet a very interesting Bird - a makeup artist no less. Her hair colour changes with the weather in the book, and that is where she gets the name "bird of Paradise". Rita is quite a gal! As she says "wee", but mighty. There is a lot of confusinon in the story, and it takes some sharp interpretations to stay ahead of the enigmatic Johnson, and I have to admit that I didn't succeed when it came to the discovery of Rita's origin. But we visit Madeira, Barbados and St. Lucia and that is wonderful thing. The book bears the Dunnett trademarks - bright dialogue, exotic settings, cheerful characters (though with more secrets than we can imagine. A pretty wild ride overall!

A "modern Lymond" fails to stir.......2001-02-15

Dorothy Dunnett is the celebrated authoress of the Francis Crawford of Lymond series (beginning with THE GAME OF KINGS), which to many are the definitive works of historical fiction by a living author. For some unfathomable reason, her "Dolly" books (of which BIRD OF PARADISE is the first) don't work nearly so well. They somehow fall flat on their faces - laboured, uneven, and lacking excitement. BIRD OF PARADISE is actually one of the better ones, but even so it seems pale and sickly, particularly when compared to the vibrancy and grippingness of the Lymond books.

The premise for these books don't portend disaster; they are light-weight and set in the latter twentieth century. Each book is self-contained, and is narrated by a different woman (the "bird" in the title). The hero (an English spy and world-famous portrait-painter) makes a enigmatic appearance in all. The stories are in the style of the Gothic romance: There is suspense, danger and mystery, and sometimes a dash of romance. You wouldn't think there would be difficulty in this, and there is nothing obviously bad about the writing itelf, yet the stories just don't take off.

Nonetheless, a Lymond fan might find these books an interesting comparison. Lymond is the definitive romantic super-hero: An astute politician, a brilliant soldier and tactician, charismatic leader of men and armies, master spy and dissembler, accomplished musician, razor-sharp intellectual and outstanding lover; while endowed with fierce patriotism, integrity, loyalty and a sense of humour, he also has a rapier wit, a brutal streak, and neurotic tendencies (in the fine tradition of the mysterious and tormented hero). A favourite parlour game of Lymond fans is: How much is Lymond a product of his time? In other words, what would he be like if he lived in our day and age? Would he be a statesman? Perhaps a diplomatic? A cutting-edge scientist who in his spare time writes devastating classical music critiques and fences competitively?

I believe that DD's answer, consciously or otherwise, is in Johnson Johnson, the hero of the "Dolly" books. It is too jarring for a persona as dashing and glittering as Lymond drop into our real world in all his flamboyant glory. JJ is Lymond in essence, but banked down. The mystery is achieved by him hiding behind a pair of bifocal glasses (which, you will come to realise, he doesn't actually need), an inscrutable expression and a mild manner. His intellectual and scheming prowess are exercised in the course of his real vocation of a spy in Her Majesty's service, which also serves to display his patriotism and his enigma. His artistic side is expressed in his portrait painting, and the assassination of his wife (which occurs before the book begins its narrative) hints at his torment. Dashingness is supplied via the sleekness and luxury of his yacht, "Dolly". I feel sure that while JJ can not sweep around in period clothing, cut dashes through royal courts or win glory through soldiering as Lymond could, he can be as interesting a character, even within the constraints of the more familiar twentieth century. Unfortunately, in DD transporting her creation through time, something seems to have been lost along the way, and the reader is left feeling disappointed and flat. JJ is not nearly as arresting a character as Lymond, and the narratives are not nearly as interesting.

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A complex, humane novel

Definitely a Notable New Author!

The Past and Beyond

A Paradise lost

Birds of Paradise
Hiram Goza
Manufacturer: Claiborne Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0975472305

Book Description

Birds of Paradise was named a Finalist in the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Awards. Set in New Orleans, the novel focuses on a barroom owner/ex-actor who is harassed by a local theater critic. The book ends with the approach of a hurricane.

Customer Reviews:

A complex, humane novel.......2007-06-06

The characters in Birds of Paradise all want something. The things they want are both large (a reunion with a former lover) and small (new pots and pans, a critique of a poem). Through a skillful interweaving of points of view, Hiram Goza brings us along with these (mostly Southern) people as they attempt to find what they need. A former actor thinks about writing a play and installing a greenhouse, complete with birds of paradise plants, next to his bar. A woman works to unearth an ancient boat that may have been used by an archetypal man and woman. Another woman takes in a boarder but doesn't tell her husband that another man is living in their small home. (She plans to use the rent money to buy kitchen utensils.) Somehow, these disparate stories come together in a clear picture of people's lives. By the end, we come to realize that these honest, slightly lost souls are the real "birds of paradise."

Definitely a Notable New Author!.......2005-07-05

The author has the ability to turn these characters inside out--not with overly melodramatic hullabaloo, but in a matter-of-fact manner that can be humerous at one turn and chilling at the next. Goza deftly intertwines multiple storylines that unfold against the backdrop of present-day South Louisiana. The end result is a richly textured book that subtly, yet insistently, has something to say about our plight in postmodern society. Apparently this is Goza's first novel -- I'll be waiting for more!

The Past and Beyond.......2005-07-02

One thing I admire about this novel--and there is a lot here to admire--is the way the author uses the past--not just the simple past and the past perfect, but also the ancient past--to bring us closer to the hiding places of the characters, especially Joe-Joe, the only first-person character in the book. This is a highly original work, and it does not come out and tell you much--but you feel you are with these people, hearing their thoughts and voices, hearing them breathe. I am eager to see Hiram Goza's next novel.

A Paradise lost.......2005-06-15

Hiram Goza's terrific new novel, Birds of Paradise, is a tour de force of haunted memory, disconnection, longing, and absurdist humor. The prose is crystalline; the plot more than the sum of its parts. Set in New Orleans and South Louisiana, the book follows four characters whose lives intersect in funny and desperate ways as they try to assemble themselves in the face of frustrated love and pasts that will neither leave them in peace nor reveal any usable meaning. Hiram Goza's the writer we've been waiting for and Birds of Paradise reinvents the novel from something as fragile as memory.

The Bird of Paradise and Other Sabbath Stories

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The Bird of Paradise and Other Sabbath Stories
Steven M. Rosman
Manufacturer: Urj Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Judaism | Religions | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

And No Birds Sing: The Story of an Ecological Disaster in a Tropical Paradise

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TROUBLE IN PARADISE

And No Birds Sing: The Story of an Ecological Disaster in a Tropical Paradise
Mark Jaffe
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Rain Forests | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Endangered Species | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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Tropical | Ecosystems | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0671751077

Customer Reviews:

TROUBLE IN PARADISE.......2003-08-13

This account of efforts to understand and deal with threatened bird extinctions on Guam is a gem of a book. The paperback's blurbs focused on Jaffe's "ecological detective thriller." But I found most compelling the seamlessness of the book's widely-informed joined elements -- including biographical and political sketches of great pith, accessible population biology, and a good-scientists-versus-stupid-and-finally-thwarted-others story.

The ecological culprit was not some natural substance, and not even one of homo sapiens' products (the book's index lists only three references to DDT). Nor was he us. But he was (and is) one of our fellows -- a little predator incredibly well adapted to feeding on birds' eggs.

After the paucity and untimeliness of the governmental response to the Guamanian situation had sunk into my consciousness, it seemed ironic that the book ends with the United States Air Force establishing a 50-acre "environmental reclamation experiment" on Guam which Jaffe hopes will provide the setting for much more effective research on the culprit. Like The Lord of the Flies ends with her majesty's warship rescuing from themselves the band of island-stranded, warring boys.

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Graphic SF Reader

Gail Simone Pens Another Winner!

The Ret-Con begins
Birds of Prey Vol. 3: Between Dark & Dawn
Gail Simone
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Birds of Prey Vol. 4: The Battle Within

Birds of Prey, Vol. 2: Sensei & Student

Birds of Prey, Vol. 1: Of Like Minds

Birds of Prey Vol. 5: Perfect Pitch

Birds of Prey: Old Friends, New Enemies

ASIN: 1401209408

Book Description

Huntress goes undercover to infiltrate a religious cult with a dangerous secret and a hidden operative, while Black Canary and Oracle uncover the true nature of Sovereign Brusaws organization. It all leads to the Huntresss battle against former Justice League member Vixen! Finally, the Birds must face the aftermath of the Gotham Gang War, leading to a decision that changes the teams fate forever!

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-04

This Birds of Prey trade contains stories that are a bit weaker than those that have come before, I think, and don't gel as well.

There is the undercover Huntress part, where she runs into Vixen. That is ok. Out of nowhere though, we have Brainiac interacting with Oracle, among other things.

It is still ok, just not as good as the rest.

Gail Simone Pens Another Winner!.......2006-10-08

Chuck Dixon created the mold when he delivered the first BIRDS OF PREY mini-series that later spawned a comic series that's about to pass 100 issues, and a short-lived television series that never quite found its wings. But I really think Gail Simone is the shining star of the series. She has the women's rap down, and she tech-savvy and seems to enjoy world-building, military hardware, politics, and history. All things that I gravitate to in storytelling. Simone is an absolute gem when it comes to creating captivating characterization.

In this last offering of issues rendered as a graphic novel, the Birds come into their own in many ways. Instead of the group just being Black Canary operating undercover with Barbara Gordon (Oracle) as backup, Huntress has been added in, as well as Lady Blackhawk. They work well as a group, and all of them are individuals with different triggers and goals.

This graphic novel concerns itself with a religious cult that has a surprise villain that I truly didn't see coming until X was on the page. Yet, X really fit. That's the magic that Simone brings to her work -- it's all a logical outgrowth of characters and situations. The later section of the book deals with the aftermath of the GANG WAR storyline that ran through the Bat books and ended in the loss of a major Robin-centric character that I still haven't agreed with.

As always, Ed Benes's artwork is lush and almost pure cheesecake -- except that he does action and body language and backgrounds so darn well. He's the perfect artist for a book like BIRDS OF PREY, and I hope he stays with the series forever.

If you haven't checked out a BIRDS OF PREY comic book/graphic novel and only have the television series to judge from, I'd suggest picking up any of Simone's graphic novels. Or any of Chuck Dixon's. But if you're wanting the deep emotion and women in turmoil, Gail Simone has definitely carved out territory of her own. I'm looking forward to more.

The Ret-Con begins.......2006-05-19

This is another complicated and finely woven story by author Gail Simone. This story involves BoP issues 68-75. And can be broken into four parts.

Part 1. involves the Birds investigating the disappearance of a bunch of kids. Oracle sends Huntress undercover to a cult in the woods of Oregon to investigate. While there she meets up with another undercover operative by the name of Vixen who is there to help her. Once again my biggest problem with this book comes down to Gail Simone's portrayal of Huntress. I am not certain whether Gail did her homework on Huntress or simply decided to arbitrarily ignore all the ground work laid out by other others such as Greg Rucka, Chuck Dixon and even Jeph Loeb did with her. But whatever the case, this is not the same Huntress. It's as if the character has been twisted and changed in order to suit the story the author wants to tell.

In the last book, Sensei & Student we saw Huntress--- a character who had previously portrayed as somewhat aloof proud and uptight---now reduced to a wanton who was predisposed to having sex with a man who just treated her abominably.

Now in this story we see a character,who had previously been portrayed as such a devout Catholic. That she incorporated the cross into her costume and took the time to pray for six slaughtered men. Now professing her discomfort with Churches, And who claims that she doesn't know the distinction between cults and churches! And Huntress' anger throughout the entire story is a real turn off. Gail Simone has made no secret of being an atheist and it's as if she's taken her own prejudices and foisted it onto the character.

Part 2. A subplot involving Oracle being taken over by Braniac, which is very interesting.

Part 3. A surprising stand alone story involving Canary finally confronting Savant, the man who kidnapped and humiliated her in the TPB `Of Like Minds'. I actually liked this story and consider it probably the best story that Gail has written. Because Canary is actually portrayed as a bit more human, and less `Pollyanaish' than she usually is. The story showed a woman who was suffered anger and resentment. Which would not be out of the norm considering what Savant had done to her.

Part 4. Involves a turning point for the Birds. Where after her clock tower being blown up and a fight with Batman. Oracle decides to re-locate to Metropolis. There is also a formal invitation for Huntress to join the team. And the introduction of a new character.

That being said. This probably is my favourite BoP arc, because of the darkness and intrigue.

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