Customer Reviews:
Nietzsche's Gentlemen........2006-10-07
Oh, the blessings of being an author with too much time on his hands. I can just picture Ian Rankin sitting in the house (farm? cottage?) he and his wife bought in rural Dordogne, having whizzed through the manuscript for yet another increasingly well-written John Rebus novel and -- having left behind all other employment across the British Channel and neither inclined to carpentry nor gardening -- feeling his mind growing restless, in need of occupation. Now, wouldn't you have started looking for another outlet for your creative energy had you been in his spot?
The result of the aforementioned process, which Rankin describes in the foreword of a 2000 (alas, so far [???] British-only!) compilation uniting all three novels in one volume, were a series of thrillers written under the pseudonym Jack Harvey: Jack for his newborn son, Harvey for his wife's maiden name.
In "Blood Hunt," the last of the three books, fans of Inspector Rebus meet an old acquaintance; George Reeve from the first Rebus novel, "Knots and Crosses." Only here he's the good guy -- well, mostly; because there isn't such a thing as a clean-cut "good guy" in *any* Ian Rankin novel. In any event, "Blood Hunt" introduces us to Reeve's back story; his life as an outdoors survival teacher, and his own memories and nightmares of his service with the SAS -- after we've already gotten a fair share of Rebus's in "Knots and Crosses" -- particularly the Falklands campaign, during which he met the man who would soon turn out to be his biggest nemesis; as much as Reeve will later become a nemesis to Rebus.
Further, we learn that Reeve had a brother; a journalist on the trail of a story centering around a chemical company headquartered in San Diego. When that brother is murdered, Reeve's instincts as a hunter are awakened -- and like a bull terrier he pits himself to the heels of those responsible for the murder and doesn't let go until he has brought them to justice: *his* kind of justice, that is, which isn't necessarily that of the police, but one they understand only too well. The SAS call themselves Nietzsche's gentlemen -- believing in the self-proclaimed amoralist's teachings that the will to power is all that matters and all that controls life; and the novel's conclusion is very much in keeping with that adage.
As a back story to the first Rebus book, "Blood Hunt" works only just so -- while the essential facts are in synch with Reeve's and Rebus's SAS past, to truly click with "Knots and Crosses," this book would have had to be written about a decade earlier, or vice versa, which in turn wouldn't square with the later Rebus books' historical and political references ... you get the picture. Read as a stand-alone, however, this is a tightly-plotted thriller, every bit as violent as the second Jack Harvey novel, "Bleeding Hearts" (there's a reason why blood figures in both books' titles) and, while based on a conspiracy theory that easily dates it as a mid-1990s release, as strong as both "Bleeding Hearts" and the best of the Rebus books on characters and settings (Scotland to San Diego, London, France and back, with -- literally -- a cliffhanger finale on the Outer Hebrides' rough mountainous territory). And then there's that children's rhyme that I don't think I'll ever hear quite the same way I used to ...
Although I'm happy enough for Rankin's success with Inspector Rebus and wouldn't want any story featuring Edinburgh's finest (and most hard-drinking) D.I. missing from my bookcases, in a way I regret that Rankin had to shelve Jack Harvey after only three books. So just in case, Mr. Rankin, in the unlikely event that you should ever resurrect that alter ego (or write another non-Rebus novel under your own name): I promise I'll read that one, too, and probably with just as much pleasure as any of your other books.
Customer Reviews:
Better than Rebus.......2007-01-09
Sure the main character is overdone, the plotting would not stand up to close analysis, and the "philosophy" is basically garbage but the story moves and is competently written. What more can one ask for in a thriller? Jack Higgins made a fine living out of similar stuff which was not nearly as good. Four stars, perhaps because the competition in this genre has become so weak.
An early Rankin not worth the time.......2006-12-06
Former soldier Gordon Reeve flies to California to claim the body of his brother Jim, an apparent suicide. But it soon becomes obvious that the facts aren't fitting together and that Jim's death was murder.
In spite of three attempts, I just could not get into this book. I will admit I'm not a big fan of conspiracy themes but, that aside, I didn't find the character interesting or the plot compelling. For me, this was a Rankin practice book until he started writing Rebus.
Slainte, Rankin! But This One Just Didn't Grab Me.......2006-11-13
My first foray into non-Rebus Rankin (Jack Harvey, whatever) left me with an understanding of why authors might use alternate names for their earlier, less-stimulating projects. "Blood Hunt" has some elements that kept me entertained, but they seemed to wane as I worked my way through the 500 pages. The bad guy, Jay, seems to hold a kind of silly grudge from his SAS experience in the Falklands War while on an operation with main character Gordon Reeve. There is also the story of a highly provocative cover-up involving BSE (Mad Cow Disease) and a murdered journalist/brother that is never brought to a close. Too much, really. Reeve is definitely cool, but he doesn't come off as a sympathetic or fully drawn character. Note: I absolutely love the Rebus series, but I don't feel inclined to pick up the other remaining Jack Harvey-penned novels. Hope I'm not missing something, but "Blood Hunt" has done nothing but cool mine a little. Ouch. Sorry, Ian.
Nietzsche's Gentlemen........2006-07-17
Oh, the blessings of being an author with too much time on his hands. I can just picture Ian Rankin sitting in the house (farm? cottage?) he and his wife bought in rural Dordogne, having whizzed through the manuscript for yet another increasingly well-written John Rebus novel and - having left behind all other employment across the British Channel and neither inclined to carpentry nor gardening - feeling his mind growing restless, in need of occupation. Now, wouldn't you have started looking for another outlet for your creative energy had you been in his spot?
The result of the aforementioned process, which Rankin describes in the foreword of a 2000 (alas, so far [???] British-only!) compilation uniting all three novels in one volume, were a series of thrillers written under the pseudonym Jack Harvey: Jack for his newborn son, Harvey for his wife's maiden name.
In "Blood Hunt," the last of the three books, fans of Inspector Rebus meet an old acquaintance; George Reeve from the first Rebus novel, "Knots and Crosses." Only here he's the good guy - well, mostly; because there isn't such a thing as a clean-cut "good guy" in *any* Ian Rankin novel. In any event, "Blood Hunt" introduces us to Reeve's back story; his life as an outdoors survival teacher, and his own memories and nightmares of his service with the SAS - after we've already gotten a fair share of Rebus's in "Knots and Crosses" - particularly the Falklands campaign, during which he met the man who would soon turn out to be his biggest nemesis; as much as Reeve will later become a nemesis to Rebus.
Further, we learn that Reeve had a brother; a journalist on the trail of a story centering around a chemical company headquartered in San Diego. When that brother is murdered, Reeve's instincts as a hunter are awakened - and like a bull terrier he pits himself to the heels of those responsible for the murder and doesn't let go until he has brought them to justice: *his* kind of justice, that is, which isn't necessarily that of the police, but one they understand only too well. The SAS call themselves Nietzsche's gentlemen - believing in the self-proclaimed amoralist's teachings that the will to power is all that matters and all that controls life; and the novel's conclusion is very much in keeping with that adage.
As a back story to the first Rebus book, "Blood Hunt" works only just so - while the essential facts are in synch with Reeve's and Rebus's SAS past, to truly click with "Knots and Crosses," this book would have had to be written about a decade earlier, or vice versa, which in turn wouldn't square with the later Rebus books' historical and political references ... you get the picture. Read as a stand-alone, however, this is a tightly-plotted thriller, every bit as violent as the second Jack Harvey novel, "Bleeding Hearts" (there's a reason why blood figures in both books' titles) and, while based on a conspiracy theory that easily dates it as a mid-1990s release, as strong as both "Bleeding Hearts" and the best of the Rebus books on characters and settings (Scotland to San Diego, London, France and back, with - literally - a cliffhanger finale on the Outer Hebrides' rough mountainous territory). And then there's that children's rhyme that I don't think I'll ever hear quite the same way I used to ...
Although I'm happy enough for Rankin's success with Inspector Rebus and wouldn't want any story featuring Edinburgh's finest (and most hard-drinking) D.I. missing from my bookcases, in a way I regret that Rankin had to shelve Jack Harvey after only three books. So just in case, Mr. Rankin, in the unlikely event that you should ever resurrect that alter ego (or write another non-Rebus novel under your own name): I promise I'll read that one, too, and probably with just as much pleasure as any of your other books.
Don't judge Rankin by this novel.......2006-07-16
If this is your first Ian Rankin book, forget it as fast as you can, and run quickly to one of his wonderful Rebus books. They are as good as this one is hollow. First one must swallow the coincidence that a US pharmaceutical/chemical company hires a former SAS companion and enemy of our hero to do their dirty work. After that, when trouble erupts for Bro. Reeve, our hero, he gets on Interpol's list of wanted folk. But still he is able to fly back and forth from US to Heathrow at will, pass through immigration and customs, without as much trouble as a US tourist heading to Cancun. So much for Interpol. Under all this is the pasty treatment of our hero's wife and son. This novel is something like the computer games Bro. Reeve's son Allan plays continually. So please, don't judge Rankin by this one. He's really a good writer, who must have felt the need for some extra cash by churning out BLOOD HUNT.
Average customer rating:
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Batman Huntress Cry For Blood # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (The Complete Six Part Limited Series!)
Greg Rucka
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
 General
| Comic Strips
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Graphic Novels
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Batman
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
DC Comics
| Publishers
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
Batman
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000V3SBIE |
Product Description
Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood. The complete six part Limited Series. Includes Part One: When the Pursuer Becomes the Pursued, Part Two: And Now She Can Not be Forgiven, Part Three: So Much to Learn if She is to Survive, Part Four: Once There was a Little Girl who Learned to Hate, Part Five: And Now they Must Return to Him, and Part Six: And so, at Last She has her Revenge. DC Comics 2000.
Average customer rating:
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Blood Hunt: A Novel
Ian Rankin
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTQ2TA |
Book Description
12 tales by a master of the English language take readers on flights of fancy and make-believe. Enhanced by the author's power of expression and 10 ethereal illustrations by S. H. Simes, the collection includes such inventive tales as "The Highwayman," "In the Twilight," "The Ghosts," "The Lord of Cities," and the title piece.
Customer Reviews:
Wielding the "Sword".......2005-10-26
It's been almost a century since the "Sword of Welleran" collection was first published, compiling the title novella with other stories by early fantasy writer Lord Dunsany. Now finally this collection is back in print, and new readers can get acquainted with Dunsany's elaborate prose and otherworldly plotlines.
The title novella is a robust story written in a delicate style -- it takes place in the city of Merimna, "a marvel of spires and figures of bronze, and marble fountains, and trophies of fabulous wars, and broad streets given over wholly to the Beautiful." It's a city that proudly remembers its mysterious heroes and past victories.
When the hero Welleran is killed, nobody can quite believe it. But he is dead, and when the dead hero finds that he is "but dreams," he decides to haunt a young sleeping leader named Rold, in the hopes that young Rold will take his (Welleran's) sword and attack their enemies.
In the other stories, Dunsany spins stories about the exotic city of Babbulkund, and how it was destroyed, about the exquisite dancing "Kith of the Elf Folk," about the death of Tom the highwayman and the three men who are having some fun with graves, the Book of Magicians, natural disasters having a chitchat, a hero pursuing a monster, and some of the most frightening ghosts imaginable.
Dunsany was one of the few fantasy authors who wrote before Tolkien, and his stories are still striking in their originality and beauty. Most fantasy writers just churn out bad quest novels of at least six hundred pages. Not so with Dunsany, whose stories are as exquisite as they are short, and whose stories about elves and brave heroes never seem cliched.
Except for the odd mention of pharoahs and archbishops, these stories could almost take place in another universe. Dunsany spins up elaborate pictures of cities that never existed and fairy creatures, without seeming trite. Instead, it feels like a book of lost legends, deities, history and myths that has just been dug up again.
His writing is almost as lovely as his world-building. At times it can be a bit formal, but not to the point where it seems rigid or bloodless ("Evening stole up out of mysterious lands and came down on the streets of Paris..."). He lavishes loving detail and quiet grace, even on the grotesque "sins" sitting in the laps of ghosts. Even the cutesy "Hurricane" is beautifully written, and has a poignant depth.
Lord Dunsany's "Sword of Welleran and Other Tales" is one of his most entrancing books, without a single dud story in the entire collection. An exquisite read.
Dunsany's 3rd Major Work.......2005-10-03
This book is an original collection of short stories (first published in 1908) by an Irish writer and dramatist Lord Dunsany.
In the first tale, The Sword of Welleran, Dunsany has created a beautiful and, so I would describe it, allegorical story of what Jorge Luis Borges (another master of the short story form, and of imaginative fiction) terms as "the myth of nationality", and of how it leads men to warring and to grief. Most of the rest of the tales are somewhat shorter, and many more open to interpretation (like the terrifying The Ghosts), and all share Dunsany's imaginative narrative style and his masterful way with the English language, with which he conjures up the many atmospheres and places that are appropriate to the tales and the moments at hand.
Dunsany's work is unique (as Dunsany himself was unique, or at least an extremely rare piece of talent cultivated amid fruitful cultural and social environment), but if you enjoy it, you should also try that of James Branch Cabell (especially Jurgen, Figures of Earth, and The Silver Stallion), and of Jack Vance (especially Lyonesse).
Book Description
Now Oneleigh stands in a wide isolation, in the midst of a dark gathering of old whispering cedars. They nod their heads together when the North Wind comes, and nod again and agree, and furtively grow still again, and say no more awhile. The North Wind is to them like a nice problem among wise old men; they nod their heads over it, and mutter about it all together. They know much, those cedars, they have been there so long. Their grandsires knew Lebanon, and the grandsires of these were the servants of the King of Tyre and came to Solomon's court.
Customer Reviews:
Wielding the "Sword".......2005-11-02
It's been almost a century since the "Sword of Welleran" collection was first published, compiling the title novella with other stories by early fantasy writer Lord Dunsany. Now finally this collection is back in print, and new readers can get acquainted with Dunsany's elaborate prose and otherworldly plotlines.
The title novella is a robust story written in a delicate style -- it takes place in the city of Merimna, "a marvel of spires and figures of bronze, and marble fountains, and trophies of fabulous wars, and broad streets given over wholly to the Beautiful." It's a city that proudly remembers its mysterious heroes and past victories.
When the hero Welleran is killed, nobody can quite believe it. But he is dead, and when the dead hero finds that he is "but dreams," he decides to haunt a young sleeping leader named Rold, in the hopes that young Rold will take his (Welleran's) sword and attack their enemies.
In the other stories, Dunsany spins stories about the exotic city of Babbulkund, and how it was destroyed, about the exquisite dancing "Kith of the Elf Folk," about the death of Tom the highwayman and the three men who are having some fun with graves, the Book of Magicians, natural disasters having a chitchat, a hero pursuing a monster, and some of the most frightening ghosts imaginable.
Dunsany was one of the few fantasy authors who wrote before Tolkien, and his stories are still striking in their originality and beauty. Most fantasy writers just churn out bad quest novels of at least six hundred pages. Not so with Dunsany, whose stories are as exquisite as they are short, and whose stories about elves and brave heroes never seem cliched.
Except for the odd mention of pharoahs and archbishops, these stories could almost take place in another universe. Dunsany spins up elaborate pictures of cities that never existed and fairy creatures, without seeming trite. Instead, it feels like a book of lost legends, deities, history and myths that has just been dug up again.
His writing is almost as lovely as his world-building. At times it can be a bit formal, but not to the point where it seems rigid or bloodless ("Evening stole up out of mysterious lands and came down on the streets of Paris..."). He lavishes loving detail and quiet grace, even on the grotesque "sins" sitting in the laps of ghosts. Even the cutesy "Hurricane" is beautifully written, and has a poignant depth.
Lord Dunsany's "Sword of Welleran and Other Tales" is one of his most entrancing books, without a single dud story in the entire collection. An exquisite read.
Dunsany's 3rd Major Work.......2005-10-10
This book is an original collection of short stories (first published in 1908) by an Irish writer and dramatist Lord Dunsany.
In the first tale, The Sword of Welleran, Dunsany has created a beautiful and, so I would describe it, allegorical story of what Jorge Luis Borges (another master of the short story form, and of imaginative fiction) terms as "the myth of nationality", and of how it leads men to warring and to grief. Most of the rest of the tales are somewhat shorter, and many more open to interpretation (like the terrifying The Ghosts), and all share Dunsany's imaginative narrative style and his masterful way with the English language, with which he conjures up the many atmospheres and places that are appropriate to the tales and the moments at hand.
Dunsany's work is unique (as Dunsany himself was unique, or at least an extremely rare piece of talent cultivated amid fruitful cultural and social environment), but if you enjoy it, you should also try that of James Branch Cabell (especially Jurgen, Figures of Earth, The Silver Stallion, The King Was in His Counting House, and The Nightmare Has Triplets; but the rest are almost equally good), and of Jack Vance (especially The Dying Earth, Lyonesse, Maske: Thaery, and The Demon Princes, but most of the rest from this master stylist are highly recommended, too).
Average customer rating:
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The Sword of Welleran And Other Stories
Edward J., M.D. Plunkett
Manufacturer: Alan Rodgers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Dark Fantasy | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1598188585 |
Customer Reviews:
Take out a sword.......2006-07-06
It's been almost a century since the "Sword of Welleran" collection was first published, compiling the title novella with other stories by early fantasy writer Lord Dunsany. Now finally this collection is back in print, and new readers can get acquainted with Dunsany's elaborate prose and otherworldly plotlines.
The title novella is a robust story written in a delicate style -- it takes place in the city of Merimna, "a marvel of spires and figures of bronze, and marble fountains, and trophies of fabulous wars, and broad streets given over wholly to the Beautiful." It's a city that proudly remembers its mysterious heroes and past victories.
When the hero Welleran is killed, nobody can quite believe it. But he is dead, and when the dead hero finds that he is "but dreams," he decides to haunt a young sleeping leader named Rold, in the hopes that young Rold will take his (Welleran's) sword and attack their enemies.
In the other stories, Dunsany spins stories about the exotic city of Babbulkund, and how it was destroyed, about the exquisite dancing "Kith of the Elf Folk," about the death of Tom the highwayman and the three men who are having some fun with graves, the Book of Magicians, natural disasters having a chitchat, a hero pursuing a monster, and some of the most frightening ghosts imaginable.
Dunsany was one of the few fantasy authors who wrote before Tolkien, and his stories are still striking in their originality and beauty. Most fantasy writers just churn out bad quest novels of at least six hundred pages. Not so with Dunsany, whose stories are as exquisite as they are short, and whose stories about elves and brave heroes never seem cliched.
Except for the odd mention of pharoahs and archbishops, these stories could almost take place in another universe. Dunsany spins up elaborate pictures of cities that never existed and fairy creatures, without seeming trite. Instead, it feels like a book of lost legends, deities, history and myths that has just been dug up again.
His writing is almost as lovely as his world-building. At times it can be a bit formal, but not to the point where it seems rigid or bloodless ("Evening stole up out of mysterious lands and came down on the streets of Paris..."). He lavishes loving detail and quiet grace, even on the grotesque "sins" sitting in the laps of ghosts. Even the cutesy "Hurricane" is beautifully written, and has a poignant depth.
Lord Dunsany's "Sword of Welleran and Other Tales" is one of his most entrancing books, without a single dud story in the entire collection. An exquisite read.
Customer Reviews:
Take out the sword.......2006-11-19
It's been almost a century since the "Sword of Welleran" collection was first published, compiling the title novella with other stories by early fantasy writer Lord Dunsany. Now finally this collection is back in print, and new readers can get acquainted with Dunsany's elaborate prose and otherworldly plotlines.
The title novella is a robust story written in a delicate style -- it takes place in the city of Merimna, "a marvel of spires and figures of bronze, and marble fountains, and trophies of fabulous wars, and broad streets given over wholly to the Beautiful." It's a city that proudly remembers its mysterious heroes and past victories.
When the hero Welleran is killed, nobody can quite believe it. But he is dead, and when the dead hero finds that he is "but dreams," he decides to haunt a young sleeping leader named Rold, in the hopes that young Rold will take his (Welleran's) sword and attack their enemies.
In the other stories, Dunsany spins stories about the exotic city of Babbulkund, and how it was destroyed, about the exquisite dancing "Kith of the Elf Folk," about the death of Tom the highwayman and the three men who are having some fun with graves, the Book of Magicians, natural disasters having a chitchat, a hero pursuing a monster, and some of the most frightening ghosts imaginable.
Dunsany was one of the few fantasy authors who wrote before Tolkien, and his stories are still striking in their originality and beauty. Most fantasy writers just churn out bad quest novels of at least six hundred pages. Not so with Dunsany, whose stories are as exquisite as they are short, and whose stories about elves and brave heroes never seem cliched.
Except for the odd mention of pharoahs and archbishops, these stories could almost take place in another universe. Dunsany spins up elaborate pictures of cities that never existed and fairy creatures, without seeming trite. Instead, it feels like a book of lost legends, deities, history and myths that has just been dug up again.
His writing is almost as lovely as his world-building. At times it can be a bit formal, but not to the point where it seems rigid or bloodless ("Evening stole up out of mysterious lands and came down on the streets of Paris..."). He lavishes loving detail and quiet grace, even on the grotesque "sins" sitting in the laps of ghosts. Even the cutesy "Hurricane" is beautifully written, and has a poignant depth.
Lord Dunsany's "Sword of Welleran and Other Tales" is one of his most entrancing books, without a single dud story in the entire collection. An exquisite read.
Average customer rating:
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The sword of Welleran,: And other stories,
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett Dunsany
Manufacturer: J.W. Luce & co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century | Classics | Contemporary | General | Historical | Humor | Letters & Correspondence | Middle | Old | Poetry | Renaissance | Shakespeare | Short Stories
ASIN: B00085ZJ62 |
Books:
- Blue Screen
- Bone Island Mambo: An Alex Rutledge Mystery (Alex Rutledge Mysteries)
- Break No Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels)
- Broken Screen: Expanding The Image, Breaking The Narrative
- Burning Angel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)
- Busman's Honeymoon
- Cradle and All
- "D" is for Deadbeat (The Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries)
- Dead Season: A Story of Murder and Revenge
- Death in the Dark Continent
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Billy And Blaze: A Boy And His Horse
- The Power of the Blood Covenant: Uncover the Secret Strength of God's Eternal Oath
- The Comics Journal Library Vol. 7: Harvey Kurtzman
- The Black Raven
- Strategic Giving: The Art and Science of Philanthropy
- The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers
- The Estrangement of the Past: A Study in the Origins of Modern Historical Consciousness
- Tina Modotti: Between Art and Revolution
- North Carolina Nature Writing: Four Centuries of Personal Narratives and Descriptions
- Patriots Will: Surviving the Great Depression and World War II Combat
Set in Darkness: An Inspector Rebus Novel (Inspector Rebus Novels)
The Falls: An Inspector Rebus Novel
Dead Souls: An Inspector Rebus Novel (Inspector Rebus Novels)
Let It Bleed (An Inspector Rebus Novel)
A Question of Blood: An Inspector Rebus Novel (Inspector Rebus Mysteries)
