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- Another Reacher Fairy Tale
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- Lee Child never ceases to amaze
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Die Trying
Lee Child
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Tripwire
ASIN: 0515142247 |
Amazon.com
Television writer Lee Child's otherwise riveting first thriller, Killing Floor, was criticized by some reviewers because of an unconvincing coincidence at its center. Child addresses that problem in his second book--and thumbs his nose at those reviewers--by having his hero, ex-military policeman Jack Reacher, just happen to be walking by a Chicago dry cleaner when an attractive young FBI agent named Holly Johnson comes out carrying nine expensive outfits and a crutch to support her soccer-injured knee. As Holly stumbles, Reacher grabs her and her garments--which gets him kidnapped along with her by a trio of very determined badguys. "He had no problem with how he had gotten grabbed up in the first place," Child writes. "Just a freak of chance had put him alongside Holly Johnson at the exact time the snatch was going down. He was comfortable with that. He understood freak chances. Life was built out of freak chances, however much people would like to pretend otherwise." Lucky for Holly--whose father just happens to be an Army general and current head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thus making her a tempting target for a bunch of Montana-based extremists--Reacher still has all the skills and strengths associated with his former occupation. And Child still knows how to write scenes of violent action better than virtually anyone else around. --Dick Adler
Book Description
When a woman is kidnapped, Jack Reacher's in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's kidnapped with her. Now he has to save them both.
Customer Reviews:
Review of book purchase.......2007-08-14
The book arrived in good condition and in a timely manner. Took about two weeks.
Another Reacher Fairy Tale.......2007-08-09
I have to agree with another reviewer that called this a fairy tale for men. Reacher takes on powers of nearly mythic proportions in this novel. He can shoot the world's most powerful sniper rifle with an effectiveness never before seen. Every woman loves him and every man respects him. Well all the men that don't want him dead. Yet, even they respect him enough to keep him alive when he is obviously a threat.
I don't want to sound too negative. The pacing is good and the dialogue doesn't seem forced or riddled with clichés. Most of the necessary characters are fleshed out in decent manner. There is also a good bit of suspense regarding certain sub plots. Lee Child uses the devices of writing well and comes up with a decent read.
An exciting and entertaining read.......2007-08-04
Lee Child is one of my favorite mystery authors and he sure knows how to capture my attention..I couldn't put "Die Trying" down once I started reading it. The story is exciting and entertaining. It's a great book, and I love Jack Reacher. The nice guy, who's not like the guy next door. Highly recommend this one.
Lee Child never ceases to amaze.......2007-06-08
Lee Child and especially the Jack Reacher series are the best adventure action filled fictional read out there! I have read all of the Jack Reacher books and I would recommend this for anyone who likes the "eye for an eye" philosophy. No avoiding conflicts but taking it head on.
Fun Read.......2007-06-01
The review of Lee Child's books keep saying that the books are getting better. I decided to start the series at the beginning and to work my way through. Die Trying is number 2 and I do not see any improvement. In fact I think that this book is a step back. Others continue to summarize the plot so I will not do repeat the effort.
I found in Die Trying several long segments that were boring. The truck ride was never ending and really did not enhance the story. In addition, the sniper scenes were overly technical. Lastly as in many thrillers when the writer begins to discuss politics it is too unbelievable.
Putting all that aside, once it is accepted that Jack Reacher is super at all that he does and the reader suspends his knowledge of what is possible the book is very enjoyable.
I said in my first review of a Jack Reacher book this is the closest to 24 I have ever experienced in print. I will continue going forward with another installment in a few weeks.
Book Description
KILLING FLOOR - "I was eating eggs and drinking coffee. I was in a booth, at a window, reading somebody's abandoned newspaper. Outside, the rain had stopped but the glass was still pebbled with bright drops. I saw the police cruisers pull into the gravel lot. They were moving fast and crunched to a stop. Light bars flashing and popping. Doors burst open, policemen jumped out. Two from each car, weapons ready. Two revolvers, two shotguns. This was heavy stuff. One revolver and one shotgun ran to the back. One of each rushed the door. I just sat and watched them. I knew who was in the diner. A cook in back. Two waitresses. Two old men. And me. This operation was for me. I had been in town less than half an hour." - From the opening of this searing tale of honor and revenge where Jack Reacher, a former military cop, hunts down his brother's killers.
DIE TRYING - In a Chicago suburb, a dentist is met in his office parking lot by three men and ordered into the trunk of his Lexus. On a downtown sidewalk, Jack Reacher and an unknown woman are abducted in broad daylight by two men - practiced and confident - who stop them at gunpoint and hustle them into the same sedan. Then Reacher and the woman are switched into a second vehicle and hauled away, leaving the dentist bound and gagged inside his car with the woman's abandoned possessions, two gallons of gasoline…and a burning match.
TRIPWIRE - Jack Reacher is settling into lazy Key West when his life is interrupted by a stranger who comes looking for him. When the stranger turns up beaten to death in the Old Town cemetery - fingertips removed - Reacher knows whomever the man was working for is not a friend. Reacher follows the trail to New York.
Book Description
KILLING FLOOR (Director: Michael Page) - "I was eating eggs and drinking coffee. I was in a booth, at a window, reading somebody's abandoned newspaper. Outside, the rain had stopped but the glass was still pebbled with bright drops. I saw the police cruisers pull into the gravel lot. They were moving fast and crunched to a stop. Light bars flashing and popping. Doors burst open, policemen jumped out. Two from each car, weapons ready. Two revolvers, two shotguns. This was heavy stuff. One revolver and one shotgun ran to the back. One of each rushed the door. I just sat and watched them. I knew who was in the diner. A cook in back. Two waitresses. Two old men. And me. This operation was for me. I had been in town less than half an hour." - From the opening of this searing tale of honor and revenge where Jack Reacher, a former military cop, hunts down his brother's killers.
DIE TRYING (Director: Michael Page) - In a Chicago suburb, a dentist is met in his office parking lot by three men and ordered into the trunk of his Lexus. On a downtown sidewalk, Jack Reacher and an unknown woman are abducted in broad daylight by two men - practiced and confident - who stop them at gunpoint and hustle them into the same sedan. Then Reacher and the woman are switched into a second vehicle and hauled away, leaving the dentist bound and gagged inside his car with the woman's abandoned possessions, two gallons of gasoline…and a burning match.
TRIPWIRE (Director: Laura Grafton, Engineer: Jeremy Spanos) - Jack Reacher is settling into lazy Key West when his life is interrupted by a stranger who comes looking for him. When the stranger turns up beaten to death in the Old Town cemetery - fingertips removed - Reacher knows whomever the man was working for is not a friend. Reacher follows the trail to New York.
Product Description
Some of you are probably wondering what a book titled,
Love Jesus, Hate Church, is all about. Ah, I can hear your questions now: What's the point? What are you trying to say? Where are you going with this? How can you
Love Jesus and Hate Church? Aren't they the same thing? Hey, your concerns are understandable. First, I understand some of you are probably already a bit put off by the title of this book maybe even a little offended. I'm also keenly aware of the fact that using the words
Love and
Jesus and
Hate and
Church all in the same sentence seem contradictory. It feels sacrilegious. Unholy. Somehow just plain wrong.
What Do You Mean When You Say, Church? But understand,
Love Jesus, Hate Church is not talking about the true church, the "called-out ones" Scripture so proudly refers to as "men and women the world was not worthy of." But the church of our own creation, the church created in our own image our own Frankenstein. We're talking about the man-made institution we call church. You know, the social organization whose steepled buildings dot the landscape of our communities. The club, the structure, the established entity we vainly try to infuse artificial life into each week with our hyped-up praise music, our social programs disguised as ministry, and the self-affirming, feel-good speeches we attempt to pass off as Spirit-empowered sermons. Or, as those of us who "bear on our bodies the
Love Jesus, Hate Church battle scars" like to call it the
Well-Oiled Machine.
What is the Purpose of Love Jesus, Hate Church? The purpose of
Love Jesus, Hate Church is not in any way to slam, malign, tear down or "dis" the church. Nor is this book designed to simply point out the obvious faults, systemic shortcomings or the inherent hypocrisy that has plagued the institution of the church for the last millennium and a half. No, the purpose of
Love Jesus, Hate Church is actually quite the opposite. The goal of
Love Jesus, Hate Church is to present the church in the breathtaking splendor the Lord intended as the spotless, chaste, virgin bride of Christ. It's to show the church, as Paul so clearly pointed out in Ephesians 3, as the eternal vessel of Christs glory on earth. Consider the praise of the Apostle Paul: Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. The problem we face, however, is the visible church that which we see, attend, claim membership in and have known all our lives, is a far cry from the true church revealed in Scripture. It's literally light years from the living entity Jesus promised the very "gates of hell will not prevail against." What we see masquerading as church today is, at best, a dim reflection of the Lord's intention. In fact, the current visible church that seems to dot every other street corner in North America is now so far removed from the example Jesus left us in Scripture, that we might never be able to divorce ourselves from our traditions, and experience the pure bride of Christ in all her fullness. Or, to put it in the perspective of the Lord's promise to us, we frankly may never be able to experience the abundant life He promised. Never! At least not within our current church structures and religious mindsets. So what are we to do? Good question. But we've got a great answer! And
Love Jesus, Hate Church explores that very answer.
Customer Reviews:
Thanks for trying, McCranie . . . .......2007-05-22
Steve McCranie's book, Love Jesus, Hate Church certainly has some jewels of truth and pinpoints the daunting state of the American church, BUT, his conclusion is shortsighted and theologically incompetent.
By exploring the current state of Christendom in America, McCranie accurately depicts the Love Jesus, Hate Church syndrome - which is missed only by the religious zealots he enthusiastically describes throughout the first chapters. I was anxious to see what conclusion he draws and how he proposes to "Fix" the church, or at least his own church - McCranie made the pastorate his career. Each chapter I read, I all the more anticipated his conclusion and answer to the question.
Sadly, as the title indicates, McCranie is not interested in restoring a biblical church, but only in creating the type of Christian that transcends (and just maybe transforms) a dying, faithless church.
I realized that the theology of the Church as well as some basic church history is something McCranie is not interested in. At the close of the book he criticizes the faith of the apostles who hide themselves for fear of persecution after the crucifixion and were slow to believe in the miracle of the resurrection. He proposes that our faith be more like that of Mary Magdalene, who stayed weeping at the tomb of Jesus. Sure, the apostles have some faith to make up for before they take center-stage, but he ends the book without recognition of how the apostles then taught with authority and unity, something lost in today's American church.
McCranie does recognize that a church does exist, but merely an "invisible church" not to be mistaken for the visible churches that are so obviously wrought with lukewarm faith. He therefore does not seek to reconcile the biblical (and visible) church Jesus prays for in John 17, the one that is to be perfectly united so that the world might see and believe, with the state of the church today. The church of today is NOT unified in word or action and one could use this to say Jesus was unable to keep corruption from the Word and his believers.
McCranie's lack of recognition of the theology of the church (even the basic understanding of it in the Apostle's Creed) and the authority given it by Jesus and the promise that it be lead to ALL truth is theologically negligent. The theological question to be asked: "how can we as modern Christians make any biblical sense of our divided church with competing dogmas, competing theologies, and the complete stripping down of orthodoxy and liturgy to something that barely resembles Christianity?!" That is the question that I would hope this book would answer, but instead Love Jesus, Hate Church insists that the church will never change, so individuals must. A very nearsighted, anti-historical view of Christendom. McCranie never seemed to address the real issues that scandalize the Church and how he himself reconciles his "Hate Church" attitude. Rather, by the end of the book, I felt he never intended to reconcile his feeling to any biblical meaning of church and instead accepts the church as a broken-down institution.
It left me craving a book that truly sought to answer the questions posed to the modern Christian about the truth of the Church and the reality of holiness we seek. I would recommend "Four Witnesses: The Early Church In Her Own Words," by Rod Bennett. He gets into the theology of the church and how the magnificence of the early church is to be lived.Four Witnesses: The Early Church in Her Own Words
I gave it two stars because I feel he has at least identified a true cause for concern among American Christians.
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!.......2006-09-15
Thank you for this book. Love Jesus, Hate Church was like a breath of fresh air. It showed me that I was not crazy for feeling like I do about the things people do in church under the name of Christ. And I was not alone.
Steve McCranie calls it like it is... yet he does so with compassion and an eye for encouraging us to raise the spiritual level of the church back to where it should be by raising the spiritual level in our individual lives.
Again, I can't say "thank you" enough for this book. It is a must read for everyone!
This Book is Very Angry, Sarcastic and Meandering.......2006-08-27
I picked up this book with high hopes. After having attended churches which were little more than social cliques, I was excited to read about a possible remedy for this situation. While the author gives some excellent examples of how church politics have made churches worse than ineffectual, he fails to hit the mark.
Ironically, although the author chastises people who speak out in public about trivial church politics and portrays them as poor witnesses for Christ, he does not see how his own voice is also a poor witness. This book is filled with anger and sarcasm, and I am thankful to have met Christians who are filled with God's wonderful light, because this author does not project it, and I want no part of whatever it is he has!
The book, being angrily styled, contains a few curse words, and repeats ad nauseam the phrase, "and Jesus vomited them from his mouth". The author's words appear to be randomly vomited onto the page, with little regard for structure. For example, one chapter lists many reasons why masturbation is a sin, and then meanders on to connect masterbation with attending church. The entire book has a disjointed feel. It is obviously self-published, and badly needed a good editor.
The author holds up individuals such as Randall Terry as role models, so if angry Christian activism is your cup of tea, you may enjoy this book. However, if you are looking for healing due to negative experiences you may have had with organized religion, this book may very well be more damaging than helpful.
I wish the book had focused a bit more on the "Love Jesus" part. We have enough hate in the world. This book simply adds to it.
Don't let the title fool you..........2006-04-19
Don't let the title of this book fool you... it's not simply a book about church and all the stuff, good and bad, that we've all grown up with. In Love Jesus, Hate Church, Steve McCranie paints a wonderful picture of how church really "is" and then compares it to how church "should" be. He calls it the "called-out ones" versus the "well-oiled machine." As a pastor, I couldn't agree with him more!
This book really opened my eyes to what church is all about and how it is possible to love Jesus and, at the same time, hate what Christian's have done to His church.
It was great to see what I have been feeling for years in print.
Every pastor needs a copy of this book!
Can you say... like, Wow!.......2006-04-19
Wow! A truly amazing book! Steve McCranie hits the nail right on the head in regards to those of us who find ourselves loving Jesus and, at the same time, having a "less than positive" experience with the church. But the book is really much more than that. It is a book that challenges the believer to live for Christ with more passion and diligence than ever before and to be an example of how a true Christian "looks and feels" in our apathetic church culture today.
It is a must read. I couldn't put it down!
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You Can Die Trying: An Aaron Gunner Novel
Gar Anthony Haywood
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
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ASIN: 0312094256 |
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I'm Going to Age Well or Die Trying: A Humorous & Practical Look at the Second Half of Our Lives
Susan Lapp
Manufacturer: Susan Lapp
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0965710300 |
Book Description
Susan Lapp takes a humorous, compassionate and realistic look at this second half of our lives, with its challenges and opportunities, giving us some practical suggestions for coping with the joys -- and not so joys of aging.
Book Description
Praise For
Save Now or Die Trying
"Most Americans see retirement as a certainty. The problem is too many older Americans have not saved enough and too many younger Americans start too late. Mark Bruno's Save Now or Die Trying provides an actionable wake-up call for some and an important jump start for others."
—Mellody Hobson, President, Ariel Capital Management, LLC/Ariel Mutual Funds
You could work until the day you die. Or you could start saving just a little bit right now and actually enjoy a real retirement. You make the call.
No one is picking up the tab for our retirement, no matter how many decades away it may be. The way we retire has changed, but we still have time to potentially be more secure in our retirements than any other previous generation—but only if we buy into the financial realities of our retirement right this second.
With Save Now or Die Trying, you'll discover a number of retirement savings options that could net hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement, if you begin using them while you're still young.
Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this guide will show you how to take full advantage of the most important elements of the retirement planning process—time and participation. Through practical profiles of young adults dealing with difficult financial situations and detailed discussions with scores of financial advisors about the various options available for building long-term wealth—from IRAs to 401(k)s—you'll quickly learn how to overcome the challenges of successfully saving for retirement.
Whether you're just out of school or just starting a family, Save Now or Die Trying will show you how a little commitment today can translate into significant financial stability tomorrow.
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Trying Not to Die in the Tropics
David Brian Martin
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
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ASIN: 0738869325 |
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You can Die Trying (Crime, Penguin)
Gar Anthony Haywood
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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ASIN: 0140239464 |
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The beast that will not die: trying to stop America's seemingly unstoppable "war on drugs".(Culture and Reviews Comic) : An article from: Reason
P. Bagge
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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Release Date: 2006-06-05 |
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This digital document is an article from Reason, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1713 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.
Citation Details
Title: The beast that will not die: trying to stop America's seemingly unstoppable "war on drugs".(Culture and Reviews Comic)
Author: P. Bagge
Publication:
Reason (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 38
Issue: 1
Page: 50(4)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
One of the best of the "Friends Of Darkover" anthologies........2000-10-01
There were no clunkers in this batch, and several top-flight stories. Highly recommended.
Typical Darkover anthology. Some good & some very good........1998-12-26
Have read & re-read all of the Darkover books several times. Just finished this book for at least the fourth time. There are only 4 or 5 stories which are up to Ms. Bradleys level, but since she picked them, all are good. Several extend some of Ms. Bradley's books ie. A Lesser Life tells of a time after and puts a happier end to STORMQUEEN.
Customer Reviews:
over 25 years, omg.......2005-10-19
I'm happy to see this novel still available. I read it 25 years ago, it was a symbol of my teenage rebellion.
The culture of the early Darkover novels was absorbing and great in that it made you suspend belief, so much so, the culture came alive.
This novel in the series brings a Human from Earth into the culture, giving you the whole fish out-of-water fish-eye view. The character Andrew suffers culture shock due to the fact the two married couples (the wives are sisters), basically; share some intimate quarters. They are also rebels together, going against the ruling parties of Darkover.
Depending where you are in the Chronology of Darkover, sometimes only women can be matrix tower keepers, other time periods, only the men are permitted.
There is some interesting use of Psychic powers that some of the Darkover people have developed, it makes the resistance to Science more easily understandable, especially by the High-born, who rule this medieval like society.
This novel is my favorite in the Darkover series. If you liked this novel, "Stormqueen' is another great Darkover novel. The novels before the 'Terrans' arrived were more fantastic fantasy.
not the best of the Darkover novels, but it had potential.......2004-04-09
"The Forbidden Tower" is another of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels. This one is set shortly after the events of "The Spell Sword", where Callista had been rescued and the Cat People defeated. Damon Ridenow is engaged to marry Ellemir, a daughter of the Alton family. Ellemir's twin sister, Callista, intends on marrying the Terran, Andrew Carr. This seems simple enough. Two couples want to get married. But, this is the basis for the entire novel and the way this plays out is rather interesting. The trouble is in who these people are.
The marriage of Damon and Ellemir is not the problem. The problem is Andrew and Callista. You see, Callista is a Keeper of Arilinn Tower. What this means is that for a woman to become a Keeper there are years of training and conditioning of her senses and her psychic powers and they are honed so tightly that physical contact is almost unbearable, let alone emotional attachment. Callista may love Andrew very much, but years of conditioning has made her unable to physically respond to him, and should she respond there is the threat of Callista's powers attacking Andrew without her control (part of the conditioning). They marry, but understand that they cannot consummate the marriage until Callista's conditioning can be undone, and this may take months and years.
Meanwhile they are all living at the Alton estate (as would be customary on Darkover). Andrew is adapting to life on Darkover and is discovering his role in the household and with his new family in friends. But Andrew still has Terran (think Earth) ways of thinking, and this causes more problems, especially since Damon, Ellemir and Callista are all telepaths, as is Andrew. The closeness of Darkovan and telepathic relationships is frightening and different to Andrew and he recoils at times causing conflict and confusion.
At its heart this novel is a romance, in part between Andrew and Callista, but also between all four of the major characters. Exactly how that works out would spoil the story, but it is something that is presented as fairly natural on Darkover (though if we judged it by our own standards it would be unusual at best and perhaps deviant at worst). There is also a major conflict within Darkover's culture because of how the four are viewing their psychic powers and what proper use of them is (there is tradition and laws on Darkover regarding use of "laran", the psi power.). This puts the four into direct opposition with the ruling powers of Darkover.
While the relationship between Andrew and Callista is at the heart of the novel, the strongest point was (in my view) was the conflict between the four and the rulers of Darkover. This was the most interesting part and one that I wish was focused on much more than the attempts for Callista and Andrew to finally consummate their marriage. This was a good Darkover novel, but not one of the best. Perhaps if the focus would have been on the "Forbidden Tower" aspect of the novel it would have been the best of the Darkover novels.
Sheesh.......2003-05-23
Of the eleven Darkover novels I've read, this is surely the dullest. It's a good deal longer than it needs to be, and the greater part of it is given over to the attempts of four people to help one of them, a former Tower Keeper, perform the `marital act'. Regrettably, there is not much lurid detail involved, so we're denied even something to appeal to our prurient interest. And it goes on for quite a long time. In many places the narrative reads like a first draft, and I kept wishing the author had gone through one more time to tighten up the prose. Later on there's a rather silly time travel sequence, a blast from the past as it were, which doesn't contribute a whole heck of a lot to the proceedings. The action picks up a little at the end, but so what. Unless you're a rabid fan who must read everything this somewhat overrated s.f. writer published, consider this one a waste of time. (BL, Tucker, GA)
Great book, but don't let your kids read it.......2002-12-27
We like the Darkover books in my family. My husband got into them first, but they're spreading to the rest of us. These books are mostly real page turners, full of action and suspense; but, nevertheless, they have marvelous character development with tremendous complexity in how the characters think, feel, and interact.
There is some wonderful philosophy sprinkled throughout about the nature of marriage and of gender roles in society. The fantasy and telepathic aspects of the books make for intriguing variations on what leads to dominance in relationships and what leads to successful and unsuccessful relationships, whether between husband and wife; parent and child; or between siblings.
This book shares these nice features with many others in the series.
My older son, age 12, is a strong reader and loves reading adult science fiction and fanatasy. He has picked up on these books and started stealing them out of my husband's bookcase and loving them. For the most part, I think that's o.k. for the Darkover series, BUT NOT FOR THIS BOOK! It's too bad that books don't have ratings like software or movies. This one is definitely R or possibly NC-17. For myself, I enjoyed the explorations of how telepathy would affect sex myself -- some of which got pretty darn strange; BUT it's not the sort of thing that my pre-pubescent child, who is already pretty confused about sex roles as it is, should be reading.
A keeper, and among the best of Marion Zimmer Bradley.......2002-08-15
I am not a fan of science fiction works where male-dominated societies are replaced by female-dominated ones. I do like much of the Darkover saga, notably those that show conflicts between cultures native to Darkover (as well as conflicts between Darkovan and Terran culture). As I cut down my library, I consider which of the Darkover novels I should keep with me. I have never swayed from my opinion that THE FORBIDDEN TOWER is probably the one to keep, above all others.
A confession - this was the very first Darkover novel that I read, and it took me a while to realize that it was part of a series. I think the attractions of the book have been described well by others, as well as the plot. I will not say much more for fear of spoilers. The only thing I will add regarding the plot is that the resolution of the two couples's problems is achieved via something that can be used successfully just once (as far as Darkover fans are concerned). Unfortunately, MZB tried to use the same solution for another and much weaker novel THE WORLD WRECKERS (which many fans also consider to be non-canonic in the sense that its events violate the history told in other books, earlier and later).
I will instead explain why this book is so outstanding among many good books (including those dedicated to the Free Amazons, and the story of Lewis Lanart-Alton in THE HERITAGE OF HASTUR). THE FORBIDDEN TOWER takes place relatively late in Darkovan history (which spans several centuries). The events in this book occur some years after the planet has been discovered, or rather rediscovered, by Terrans. [For that story, read the co-authored REDISCOVERY]. There is a prequel to this book, THE SPELL SWORD, but it is not really necessary to read it. There is a sequel to this book, called THE BLOODY SUN which some would view as essential reading and others not. I believe that this title can stand alone, one of the few Darkovan titles that can do so.
The protagonists of this book are Damon Ridenow (whose ancestors were dry-town bandits), and his new wife and her sister. Both women hail from the powerful Lanart-Alton (or rather Alton) clan. Each clan - the Ridenow, the Altons, and others - have specific powers, although not all members of the clan exhibit those powers. [Forgive me for errors in terminology, because it has been a while since I read the whole series]. The difference in inheritance of powers becomes a minor issue between the sisters, in that one became a Keeper (a position of great honor and power, but enforced celibacy) and the other - married. There is no resentment between the sisters, but the fact that siblings do not inherit the same level of power becomes an issue in other books.
There is both internal conflict (generated by the beliefs and expectations, as well as life experiences of the protagonists) as well as external conflicts (the decisions and actions of others). Part of the appeal of this book is the internal conflict. No body is perfect here, and each person has a reasonable point of view. The sole Terran, Andrew Carr, husband to Callista Lanart-Alton (the former Keeper), must work his way not only through a complicated relationship with the other three, but also his own feelings about marriage. [Marriage in Darkover is not quite like marriage between Terrans]. Part of the attraction in this book is seeing Andrew adjust to and gradually accept this very different notion of marriage, not to mention his relationships with his wife's sister and her husband.
I should mention here that if you have a very conventional mind about marriage, you will be shocked by some of the goings-on. But I assume that as a reader of this review (who is interested in science fiction), you are prepared to accept that other worlds have different rules.
I loved the ending of course. It was not just that the good guys won, but how they won. Somehow their particular solution to the problem made sense brilliantly. And very few people got hurt, compared to THE HERITAGE OF HASTUR.
I won't say what happens to these couples (and to others) down the road, because that is a story fully told in later books, particularly THE BLOODY SUN. However, since I know the ending to this particular story, that does not make me love or hate it more. It just adds a special poignancy to this particular book.
I think of THE FORBIDDEN TOWER both as a romance and as a creative work of SFF. Even after reading through other works, this book remains the most accessible as well as the most memorable.
Grade - A+, 4.9
[No breakdown in grade given]
Recommended - Very Highly for lovers of SFF (or soft SF). Might appeal to readers of Catherine Asaro or Mercedes Lackey.
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Set of 5 novels from the Darkover series: Sharra's Exile, The Forbidden Tower, Free Amazon's of Darkover, StormQueen!, City of Sorcery.
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Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
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Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
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The Forbidden Tower/Two to Conquer/ Hawkmistress!/Darkover Landfall
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Bradley, Marion Zimmer | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Paperback | Bradley, Marion Zimmer | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0451934032 |
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