Dancing to "Almendra": A Novel

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Maybe a little too quirky

Not believable

What a mess!

"On the same day Umberto Anastasia was killed in New York, a hippopotamus escaped from the zoo in Havana."

From a Cuban to a Cuban

Dancing to "Almendra": A Novel
Mayra Montero
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Captain of the Sleepers: A Novel

Divisadero

ASIN: 0374102775
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Book Description

Havana, 1957. On the same day that the Mafia capo Umberto Anastasia is assassinated in a barber’s chair in New York, a hippopotamus escapes from the Havana zoo and is shot and killed by its pursuers. Assigned to cover the zoo story, Joaquín Porrata, a young Cuban journalist, instead finds himself embroiled in the mysterious connections between the hippo’s death and the mobster’s when a secretive zookeeper whispers to him that he “knows too much.” In exchange for a promise to introduce the keeper to his idol, the film star George Raft, now the host of the Capri Casino, Joaquín gets information that ensnares him in an ever-thickening plot of murder, mobsters, and, finally, love.

The love story is, of course, another mystery. Told by Yolanda, a beautiful ex-circus performer now working for the famed cabaret San Souci, it interleaves through Joaquín’s underworld investigations, eventually revealing a family secret deeper even than Havana’s brilliantly evoked enigmas.

In Dancing to "Almendra," Mayra Montero has created an ardent and thrilling tale of innocence lost, of Havana’s secret world that is “the basis for the clamor of the city,” and of the end of a violent era of fantastic characters and extravagant crimes. Based on the true history of a bewitching city and its denizens, Almendra is the latest “triumph” (Library Journal) from one of Latin America’s most impassioned and intoxicating voices.

Customer Reviews:

Maybe a little too quirky.......2007-06-05

I enjoyed this book in spite of some of its characters, who were unbelievable, at best. But the story fit into my mental picture of Havana in the last days before Castro-decaying from within, but still charming and slightly manic(which also describes some of the characters). Great writing, I liked the mixing of historic characters with fictional.

Not believable.......2007-05-31

Jim Lewis's review in the Sunday NYT caused me to buy this book. This novel also interested me since I spent some time in Havana around the time the book was set. Lewis states that he is "tired of gangster stories and wary of grotesques" but then went on the praise the novel to the skies. I found it to be a grotesque gangster story and not credible.

What a mess!.......2007-04-14

This book is messy, disorganized and cluttered. Historical and fictional characters appear and disappear for no particular reason. The plot lurches around and eventually falls flat on its face. It wastes an atmospheric setting and some engagingly quirky characters.

"On the same day Umberto Anastasia was killed in New York, a hippopotamus escaped from the zoo in Havana.".......2007-04-13

This opening line introduces a crime thriller that takes off at a gallop--a unique combination of dark actions and absurd, often humorous, commentary. Set in Havana in 1957, when Castro was still organizing his revolution in Oriente Province, and Mafia bosses Meyer Lansky and Santo Trafficante were sending suitcases full of money from their Havana gambling interests to Miami, the novel captures the last moments of Cuban high life, just before the revolution. Joaquin Porrada, a twenty-two year-old entertainment reporter, reads the teletype report of Mafia boss Anastasia's death in New York, and soon gets a tip that the gunshot death of the escaped Havana hippo was a belated warning to Anastasia from other Mafia dons--Anastasia was not being an "obedient hippopotamus."

Filled with period details of Cuban night life, Havana's American Mafia, the corrupt officials of Fulgencio Batista's ironman rule, and the lives of ordinary Cubans and their families during this turbulent period, the novel follows Joaquin as he investigates the deaths of the hippo and Anastasia and decides to report on them. To get at the truth, he visits strippers and prostitutes; covers the action at Trafficante's club; meets George Raft, who is host at the Capri; travels to New York to investigate the recent Apalachin meeting of mobsters; falls in love with a one-armed woman maimed during a performance of "magic"; and eventually is warned, beaten, and threatened with death.

Cuban author Mayra Montero's novel, ostensibly in the tradition of Cuban noir, is filled with broad humor, and the absurdities she highlights within the narrative provide a light, sometimes farcical, touch which keeps the reader amused, even as the blood is flowing. Joachin is hopelessly naïve at age twenty-two, but he is imaginative, and his fumbling attempts to investigate and write about crime in Havana do produce results, though not always the results he wants. Told alternately from his breezy point of view and that of Yolanda, his thirty-six-year-old, one-armed lover, who is also the mistress of Santo Trafficante, the novel is full of intrigue, overlapping characters, secret identities, and surprise twists.

The numerous characters, many of whom have two or three aliases, are sometimes hard to track, but the action is lively and entertaining. Montero's characterizations of Joachin, his friends and family, combined with the story of Yolanda and her life and family, are well drawn and intriguing, though they sometimes veer off and have little to do with the violence among the Mafia dons. Extravagant and sometimes over-the-top in its details, this exuberant novel is a fast read, full of fun. n Mary Whipple

From a Cuban to a Cuban.......2007-04-07

After reading the Spanish version of this book, I must compliment the English translator for the accuracy of her work.

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No, no es un manual de un baile tipico caribeno
Buena, pero pudo ser mejor

Son de Almendra / Dancing to Almendra
Mayra Montero
Manufacturer: Alfaguara
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1575818469

Book Description

New York, October 1957. Albert Anastasia, head of the mafia, has just been murdered. A war over the control of Havana casinos is brewing. Joaqu¨ªn, a young journalist, decides to investigate connections between important Cuban individuals and the sub-world. The same day Anastasia is killed, a hippopotamus is also killed. Joaqu¨ªn realizes that both deaths may be connected and that search leads him to a zoo caretaker who apparently holds the key to a deathly conspiracy. At the same time, he falls in love with a woman from a circus that will reveal a world full of rigged possibilities ¨Dthe false bottom of impossible loves. This thriller of devastating speed that Mayra Montero gifts us with, is a brilliant counterpoint between memory and nostalgia; one that you will find very hard to put down.

Description in Spanish: El capo mafioso Albert Anastasia acaba de ser asesinado en Nueva York. Corre el mes de octubre de 1957, y se avecina una guerra por el control de los casinos habaneros. Joaqu¨ªn, un joven periodista, decide investigar las conexiones de importantes personajes cubanos con el bajo mundo. En su b¨²squeda, comienza a frecuentar a un cuidador de fieras de zool¨®gico, quien aparenta conocer las claves de una macabra conspiraci¨®n, y se enamora de una mujer de circo, que le revelar¨¢ un mundo de posibilidades trucadas: el desencanto como juego de espejos, y el doble fondo de los amores imposibles.

Bajo la ominosa presencia de ese imperio mafioso, y con el tel¨®n de fondo de una ciudad enrarecida por las acciones revolucionarias y la consiguiente represi¨®n pol¨ªtica, Mayra Montero nos entrega una historia apasionante; un thriller que avanza demoledor como un tornado, y que es tambi¨¦n un brillante contrapunto entre la memoria y la nostalgia.

Customer Reviews:

No, no es un manual de un baile tipico caribeno.......2006-05-23

Aclaro que es la primera vez que leo una novela de Mayra Montero.

Esta bien escrita y documentada pero, me llegan mas sus escritos como columnista, en los que muy seguido nos sorprende con su incisiva vision de la realidad en que vive: la actualidad puertorriquena.

Varias veces puse el libro a un lado mientras iniciaba otros que si terminaba de un tiron o abandonaba por completo.

Y es que eso de las historias paralelas, la de Joaquin y la de Fantina, que se bifurcan en lugar de encontrarse, no es precisamente lo que anticipaba.

Una excelente columna op-ed, que sobre la reciente crisis gubernamental en Puerto Rico Montero publicara en el The New York Times - que para eso, repito, la autora esta entre los mejores, si no es la mejor -, confirmo que la version en ingles de "Son de Almendra" se titulara "Dancing to Almendra", tal como lo indica la linea introductoria de Amazon.

Con respecto al titulo, este no nos dice mucho sobre el argumento de una obra que es un thriller bien trazado y ambientado en otra epoca. Igual que en el original en espanol, el titulo en ingles y la cubierta sugieren muy poco de lo que se trata la obra.

Ese empeno - o sera una obsesion - en titular obras literarias con titulos de canciones es algo que todavia no logro entender. Y cuando las traduzcan a otros idiomas, que?

(Sugiero que los editores le cambien el titulo en futuras reimpresiones. Ya hay precedentes con exito, como la novela "Los crimenes de Oxford", del argentino Guillermo Martinez, que en su primera edicion fue titulada "Crimenes imperceptibles".)

La novela abre una ventana a los tumultuosos momentos finales de la mafia que domino los negocios del turismo y entretenimiento en la Cuba de los cincuenta.

Ojala y sean pocos quienes no confundan la obra con un manual de pasos de algun baile tipico caribeno! Porque no lo es.

Buena, pero pudo ser mejor.......2006-04-19

"Son de almendra", la mas reciente aventura que nos entrega la escritora cubano-puertorriquena Mayra Montero, es una gran novela. Como ya nos tiene acostumbrados Montero, "Son de almendra" tiene una trama rica, que se va desarrollando ritmicamente en el ambiente caribeno (visto ya en "Tu, la oscuridad", "Del rojo de tu sombra", "La trenza de la hermosa luna" y "El capitan de los dormidos", entre otros). Tiene la novela el elemento de periodismo (el protagonista es periodista) y en este sentido le otorga mucha pasion a la escritura, ya que Montero se inicio como periodista y no deja de sentir gran afecto por esta profesion.

Los personajes estan perfectamente trabajados y delineados, demostrando la grandeza de la escritora. Tambien merece mencion su intensa labor de investigacion y su minuciosa descripcion de los tiempos pasados. Detras de cada obra de Montero hay meses o anos de arduo estudio para llevar un trabajo serio y de calidad.

Sin embargo, comparando con sus pasadas creaciones, volvemos a encontrar elementos que se estan volviendo repetitivos y trillados. No me convence el punto de vista masculino con extremada atencion en detalles ridiculos, las casualidades sobrenaturales con repercusiones importantes, dos historias o dos puntos de vista corriendo paralelos y simultaneamente a traves de libro, etc. Titular su novela de forma similar a alguna cancion caribena (como en "La ultima noche que pase contigo" y "Vana ilusion") o centrarse en el tema de la musica (como en "Purpura profundo" y "Como un mensajero tuyo") parecio traerle cierta musicalidad a sus pasados libros, pero en este da la impresion de ser una estrategia traida a la fuerza, sin lograr el exito de sus anteriores intentos.

"Son de almendra" es una lectura obligada para todo aquel que disfrute de la novela caribena, quienes (igual que yo) admiren la consistencia del trabajo de Mayra Montero, aquellos que sientan nostalgia por la Cuba de la epoca de Batista, o cualquiera que quiera gozar de un "thriller" en espanol, entendiendo que este trabajo es bueno, pero pudo haber sido mejor.

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Aladdin - Almendra
Walt Disney
Manufacturer: Sigmar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Dumbo - Almendra
Walt Disney
Manufacturer: Sigmar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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La Almendra
Nedjma
Manufacturer: Grupo Oceano
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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La Almendra Hardcover
Nedjma
Manufacturer: Circulo De Lectores
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 8467213698

Product Description

Hardcover Issued with a dust cover

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Un Gusto a Almendras Amargas
Hella Haase
Manufacturer: Edhasa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Un Gusto a Almendras Amargas
Hella S. Haasse
Manufacturer: Plaza & Janes Editores, S.A.
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Alcohol Consumption among High School Students in Barcelona, Spain. : An article from: Journal of Studies on Alcohol

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Alcohol Consumption among High School Students in Barcelona, Spain. : An article from: Journal of Studies on Alcohol
Miriam Fuentes-almendras , Ramon Mora-ripoll , Amanda Dijk , Angela Dominguez-garcia , and Lluis Salleras-sanmarti
Manufacturer: Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098M7ZE
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Studies on Alcohol, published by Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc. on March 1, 1999. The length of the article is 3585 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: Objective: Since adolescents are a high-risk group for alcohol-related problems, this study was undertaken to gain insight into the prevalence of alcohol consumption among this population. Method: This study was carried out in the city of Barcelona using an anonymous questionnaire which included information about frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption. The sample population was composed of all the students from 13 to 20 years old who were attending high school during 1992-93 (n = 1,137) and 1994-95 (n = 1,094). The amount of alcohol consumption was calculated in alcohol units per week for 4 groups of different beverages (beer, wine, spirits and aperitifs) and also in grams per day. Results: Lifetime prevalence of alcohol consumption was 92.5% in 1992-93 and 77.0% in 1994-95. Students who drank more frequently were older and male. In 1992-93, 8% of female students had an absolute alcohol intake beyond 24 g per day (risk consumption), which was the same percentage in 1994-95. Male students had a higher intake, although risk consumption rate (more than 40 g per day) was similar to that of females: 9% and 7.4% in 1992-93 and 1994-95, respectively. Conclusions: While changes in the prevalence of drinking are encouraging, the results of this study also show an increase in the quantity of alcohol consumed. (J. Stud. Alcohol 60: 228-233, 1999)

Citation Details
Title: Alcohol Consumption among High School Students in Barcelona, Spain.
Author: Miriam Fuentes-almendras
Publication: Journal of Studies on Alcohol (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 1999
Publisher: Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.
Volume: 60 Issue: 2 Page: 228(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Bambi - Almendra
Walt Disney
Manufacturer: Sigmar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Lady of Poison (Forgotten Realms: The Priests)

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Awful!
Wordy!
Terrible
Good Read
Reviews here confirmed my fears...

Lady of Poison (Forgotten Realms: The Priests)
Bruce R. Cordell
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0786931612
Release Date: 2004-07-01

Book Description

First in a new series of stand-alone adventures about the clerics of the Forgotten Realms world.

Lady of Poison is the first title in a new Forgotten Realms novel series focusing specifically on priests, the popular D&D® iconic class also known as clerics. Each title will chronicle priests loyal to a different deity in the Forgotten Realms pantheon. Like the preceding series The Rogues, each novel in The Priests series is written as a stand-alone adventure, allowing new readers an easy entry point into the Forgotten Realms world.

Customer Reviews:

Awful!.......2007-02-06

I'll start with a question. Why is this book called Lady of Poison if Talona's clergy are given whole 20 pages of the novel? Queen of Forest would have been a more suiting title, and it would even go along with other names of this series.

This book is so badly written, to the point of unbelievable. I'm not a native English speaker, and I noticed literally tens of grammatical errors. Editing is nonexistent.

Dialogues are in a class of their own. An example: A: "The Rotting Man is an evil power." B: "Then, I have to stop him! Let's go!" Absolutely unrealistic and boring.

This book is loaded with Realmslore, but the way of presentation is a problem. Usually, one of the characters asks another character about something they encounter, and then that character holds a one page monologue about that something, so you have a feeling it was a copy/paste action from one of the Supplement Books such as Unapproachable East.

The plot and characters are equally terrible. To put it in the short way, I'm 100% certain that this was once someone's pretty dull D&D campaign. Two characters are on the quest, they meet another character with similar goals, they go to the next place, meet another character who joins them...

The book is supposed to be about a priest of Lurue, but his connection to his deity is represented only by his endless worrying about the deity's waning power. That's it.

[...]

Wordy!.......2007-01-03

All in all, a decent book -- it is awfully wordy, though, and the characters seem to go on forever. Not only in the character's words, but the author's. Many names and explanations are often thrown about when they don't yet need to be.

Also have to say I was so saddened by the heroes in the story -- I had read Maiden of Pain first, and I was looking forward to seeing an author try to make a Talonite a justifiable (anti)hero, like the author of Maiden of Pain did with a Loviatan. :( The follower of Talona is the bad guy here, if any other of you bad-guy lovers were hoping for another of the same. Still though, give it a read.

Terrible.......2006-09-20

I just finished reading this novel by Bruce Cordell.

Absolutely horrendous. Amateurish writing to say the least. It could have been written by a high school student. I was greatly relieved to see that he was not the author of any more of the Priests novels. And hopefully he'll never be allowed to write another one.

What could have been great characters and follow up novels, were poorly written and developed by Cordell. The way he had them act and the things he had them say would never be uttered by characters living in the world they live in. I felt embarassed for them at times. Save your time and money and skip this novel.

Good Read.......2006-03-04

I found this book to be very enjoyable. It kept my interest and was nicely written.
I am looking forward to more books from Bruce. I would recommend buying this book.

Reviews here confirmed my fears..........2006-02-04

I am just now getting to read this book because I have read close to EVERY Forgotten Realms book ever published. If I haven't read it, I will soon... except for this one. I got until page 34 before I decided to read Amazon reviews to determine whether this book would be a waste of my time. Sadly, it looks like it would be. I agree with the other reviewers that the dialogue and style of writing are both horrible. In short, I will have read every Forgotten Realms book ever except this one. It's that bad.

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