Average customer rating:
- Always a pleasure to see the Slammers in action
- If your not into military sci-fi don't bother
- lack of excitement
- Mercenaries wreck another world
- Thoughtful view of a mercenary company
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Paying the Piper (Drake, David.)
David Drake
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0743435478 |
Customer Reviews:
Always a pleasure to see the Slammers in action.......2004-08-03
Yet another excellent addition to Drake's "Hammer's Slammers" series. The author has been in an Armored Cavalry Regiment (as have I), and he has been in combat, and it shows in the quality of the action. Personally I find the writing to be quite good, with vivid combat scenes and the occasional dark humor. Often his theme/message entails the hard decisions faced by soldiers in the field. These are decisions that those who have never been in harm's way often find difficult to understand, and which the politician's responsible for putting those soldiers there certainly did not intend, but nonetheless were inevitable.
A side note for purists: there is "combined arms", but no "air support" in his future, since powerful directed energy weapons that shoot line-straight and line-of-sight for 40km make any aircraft that doesn't absolutely hug the surface suicidally vulnerable. This is a story of small units within a Regiment (@5000 personnel) primarily containing both heavy tanks and lighter reconnaisance vehicles, as well as infantry/ artillery/ engineers/ other support
If your not into military sci-fi don't bother.......2004-07-30
Paying the Piper is a tale of Hammer's Slammers, a futuristic mercenary organization. In the Slammers universe human kind have settled the galaxy and due to the low population numbers on some of these worlds armed conflicts are settled by mercenary units who are hired by warring parties. Planter's World is such a colony. An economic conflict turns nasty between two factions on this planet and the Slammers are hired to go to war on behalf of one of them.
The story revolves around the adventures of one Lt. Arne Huber who leads an armored hover car platoon on Planter's World.
Drake is a military vet and it shows. he demonstrates an ability to describe the day to day activities of huber and his men with a very strong sense of realism. Despite this fact I found Drake's writing to be somewhat lacking. Drake is not very good at effectively describing a scene and as a result I found myself having to read paragraphs twice in order to understand the setting and action. I become very annoyed with a novel that forces me to do this. (makes me think twice about reading his fantasy series).
My only problem with the military tactics used in the book is the lack of combined arms. (where are all the fixed and rotary wing aircraft) ? Drake never explains why there is no true airpower used in this conflict. Other than that the combat "feels real". All in all this is a good book if your into military sci-fi, however because of Drakes literary shortcomings I don't know if I will be motivated to read any more of his novels.
lack of excitement.......2004-07-16
While I liked the book overall, I thought there was a real lack of excitement in the battle scenes simply because the Slammers armored battalions simply walk right over their enemies with almost no casualties to themselves. Virtually every battle is the same: the tanks and armored cars go in, blow everything away in their path with little to no losses of their own, then the enemy surrenders. It would have been much more exciting if the Slammers faced an actual challenge from enemies that fired back, instead of the target practice/ turkey shoot battles that pervade the novel.
Mercenaries wreck another world.......2004-01-12
This is an average shoot-em-up type adventure novel. The novel is divided into three parts, involving three actions on Plattner's World (although the last part has a fourth action). It should be noted that the novel was published before the invasion of Iraq - readers might find some parts interesting considering events related to that invasion. I had some problems with the writing style. Some sentences seem awkward (I had to go back and reread to understand what I was reading) and the author sometimes writes with an echo, repeating information previously given to the reader, i.e., how many times do we need to know about a man's injuries which caused him to be reassigned to a logistics unit? Under UNESCO standards, 49 pages qualifies as a book. The novel has 358 pages (hardbound edition), and some of the writing could qualify as excess baggage.
This novel is a case of history repeating itself. When politics and diplomacy fail, greed causes various factions to hire mercenaries and mortgage their futures for little or no gain. It makes one think of the War of 1812, where both sides lost heavily, and neither side ended up with much to show for it. In this case, a dispute over tariff fees, and neither side willing to compromise, leads to a costly war. There are the usual anti-war factions, trade being routed through third parties, outside interests becoming involved, foreign agents, and double dealing.
It should be noted that Colonel Hammer never trusts anyone, especially people he is working for, but he always honors his contracts. He may do serious damage to the countryside in the process. You most certainly do not want to get on his wrong side as he might have you shot.
Thoughtful view of a mercenary company.......2004-01-09
The planet was rich--at least before they brought in the mercenaries--and the disagreement over a puny few percentage points in loading fees at the local spaceport. But that was enough to let the locals invite in mercenary soldiers including Hammer's Slammers. And once the Slammers are in a conflict, they follow through. How they follow through may not be pretty--and may not be what the governments who invited them in intended, but they follow the money and their contracts, not some abstract ideal of good. After all, it wasn't them who started the war--they simply intend to end it.
PAYING THE PIPER follows the path of Lieutenant Arne Huber from initial landing on Plattner's World to the war's wrapup. Getting there requires Huber to fight across the planet, facing a variety of local militias (hardly worth fighting), and experienced mercenary companies. Sometimes, though, it seems like the enemy is within the nations that hired him. And sometimes, it even seems that the white mice of Hammer's police and intelligence group is the real enemy. But it's up to Huber to find a balance that leaves him loyal to contract, his men, and his unit (although not necessarily in that order).
Author David Drake doesn't delve especially deep into Huber's character, but he does give Huber enough detail to make him sympathetic and interesting to the reader. And Drake's analysis of the military is largely small unit and tactical rather than strategic. But Drake keeps the action rolling, sending Huber from one deadly firefight to the next with virtually no respite.
Although Huber and Hammer's Slammers are the heros and 'goodguys' of the story, Drake doesn't attempt to romanticize war or the military. Most of Huber's men and women are killers, pure and simple. In many cases, they kill when they really don't have to and when the killing serves no useful military purpose. Worse, Hammer command doesn't especially care whether it is supporting properly elected officials or helping those elected through voter fraud. They're there to get the job done. For me, this darker approach to the military future is interesting and timely. By the time the battle is over, everyone is a loser. And Drake doesn't even attempt to persuade the reader that all of this killing has been for a noble purpose.
If you're looking for an exciting military action SF adventure, with just a touch of cynical realism, it's hard to go wrong with PAYING THE PIPER.
Book Description
"She's Agatha Christie with an attitude; outrageous and engrossing at the same time."
Steven Womack,
NASHVILLE BANNER
Book four in Sharyn McCrumb's Elizabeth MacPherson murder mystery series.
A motley crew of American and British professionals and amateurs gathers for an archaeological dig into prehistoric burial rites on a small Scottish island. Things already aren't going so well, when one of the strongest in the crew dies suddenly. Afraid for her life, fellow digger and forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson probes the rocky topsoil for a reason behind the evil aura of death that seems to hover over them. Is the excavation cursed by the ancient dead...or is there a more modern explanation behind the group's strangely rising mortality rate...?
Customer Reviews:
not her best.......2007-02-01
I have a lot of Elizabeth MacPherson Novels & I liked them so when I found this I bought it. It was really boring. It took until the last 8 pages to get interesting. And that wasn't that interesting. It just explained what had been going on through the whole book. This is one of her older books. Written in 1988.
Completely Engrossed.......2006-03-05
This was the first McCrumb novel I ever read and it was worth it... Good plot, suspenseful, and a love story in a way. I loved the setting, it makes me want to pack my bags and travel to far off lands and explore. Thank goodness for books like this one. I'm a fan for life.
Good entertainment!.......2003-12-18
I really enjoyed this mystery, and while it followed (in a satisfying way) some of the traditions of the genre, it also avoided a lot of the cliches through the depiction of interesting, non-stereotypical characters and relationships. Strangers stuck on an inhospitable island together, unexplained accidents and mysterious deaths, the haunting sound of bag pipes coming across the water, a brewing storm - these all come together to provide pleasantly shivery reading. The reader of the audio version has a lovely lilting voice, and while it's a little odd to have her speaking in the voice of the American female protagonist's diary, she does a great job with the Scottish accents!
Sharyn McCrumb is wonderful!.......2003-10-21
I recently re-read this book and enjoyed it thoroughly. I really like the Elizabeth McPherson stories. She's an anthropologist, not a detective, but she can add two and two.
This time she joins an archeological group on a remote Scottish island, and her companions are quite diverse. You never know quite where anyone stands, and when people start dying of some unknown cause, it doesn't occur to anyone that it might be murder.
Ms. McCrumb has a wonderful sense of humor and uses it appropriately in her stories. My favorite McCrumb story (and title) is "If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him..."
A NICE LIGHT TOUCH.......2000-09-29
Elizabeth MacPherson is a delightful, clever lady who is a very likable character. She does not pretend to have full knowledge and she does not come across as being pretentious. She also has a nice sense of humor. Like all the books that feature her, this one also has that nice, light touch that will certainly evoke laughter. Sharyn McCrumb has a delightfully lyric voice and she breathes life and freshness into her characters. This is a book I would gladly recommend to anyone. This is excellent.
Customer Reviews:
Mixed Review.......2006-12-09
Lyn Stone-A Bouquet of Thistles- ***
This was an okay story with a decent plot. Alys was a great girl, and the hero, John, was honorable and handsome, (he was the best thing about this story). But I wouldn't have minded if someone had throttled Alys' bratty brother. The boy was just too vindictive for my taste.
Gail Ranstrom-Paying the Piper-**
A very predictable, boring tale. And I like this author! The hero, Anthony had great potential, his good looks, a war hero, and wealthy to boot, but the author somehow succeeded in making him a very boring guy.
Anne O'Brien- Battle-Torn Bride- *****
The Best of the lot. Great characters in war-torn 15th century England. Richard was the perfect hero and the love between him and Beatrice came through very well. The story, based on fact, held my interest to the last page.
Average customer rating:
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Paying the Piper: Culture, Music, and Money
Alan Peacock
Manufacturer: Edinburgh University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0748604545 |
Book Description
This collection of Edghill's finest short fantasy works includes: "The Piper at the Gate" where Mary Frances Baynes longs all her life for Real Magic and finally achieves it . . . at a price; "The Intersection of Anastasia Yeoman and Light" where a midlist SF-writer-turned-successful-editor gets a glimpse of the way her life could have gone; and the story of Ator, Jannifer, Ancel, and the Grail, set in ancient Britain and told by the son that Ator tried to kill as an infant, is told in "Prince of Exiles."
Customer Reviews:
fine short fantasy collection.......2003-06-15
Fans of short fantasy will appreciate this fine collection consisting of seventeen tales, all except one written in the last seven years. The stories run a wide gamut (as expected from an author who has entries in several genres) in the field so they are aimed more at a generalist. Each of the contributions is well written and fun to follow, as in most cases the fantasy elements seem real in spite of the relative size of the story. However, "The Prince of Exiles" was particularly fascinating as the narrator tells the tale of his family in Ancient Britannia especially once the reader understands who he is. Rosemary Edghill keeps her audience on the edge of their seat with this delightful anthology that will send fans seeking her novels and other works.
Harriet Klausner
Absolutely wonderful.......2003-06-12
I've already tried once to write a review for this terrific book, "Paying the Piper at the Gates of Dawn," but maybe it was swallowed up somehow.
No matter. This is a terrific, fabulous, absolutely wonderful book, in which just about every possible fantasy genre is represented, and quite a few different styles are, too.
There's "The Maltese Feline," humor and a detective send-up, all in one. There's "The Intersection of Anastasia Yeoman and Light," which shows how one woman's life could have been -- and could have been _again_. Very, very powerful, as well as oddly moving.
And yet, there's more!
There's "The Fairy Ring," truly an inspirational love story, as well as an unusual quest story/fairy tale; the Aesopian "Two Gray Horses," in which a young man does the right thing and is rewarded -- but not as much as you'd think; "Scandal," a story of swords and men -- but not quite the way you'd expect; and even a Boscobel League story, which harkens to the world "The Shadow of Albion" set up, where Silver Stick in Waiting makes the biggest mistake of his life, all to prevent his King from marrying a totally unsuitable woman.
And there's much more than this!
Let me put it this way; since receiving this book, I have read it four times. I've enjoyed it more every single time. And I think Ms. Edghill is one of the best s/f writers extant.
Go read this book already!
A story to please every appetite.......2003-06-10
"Paying the Piper at the Gates of Dawn" is one of the best short story anthologies I've ever read -- and every story here, every delightful one of them, has been written by one woman, Rosemary Edghill. It's very difficult to believe at first that one person can write in so many different styles, as there are quest stories here, fantasies, humorous fantasies, alternate historicals (of a sort), and many more. The earthshattering fantasy of "Prince of Exiles" and "Scandal" makes way for the more lighthearted "The Maltese Feline," stopping for the extraordinary fairy tale "The Fairy Ring." And there's much, much more; the Aesopian "Two Gray Horses," the alternate-history (personal) "The Intersection of Anastasia Yeoman and Light," the alternate-history overtones in "May Eve," and even a return to the Boscobel League (featured in Ms. Edghill's novels with Andre Norton, "Leopard in Exile" and "Shadow of Albion"), where Silver Stick in Waiting makes the biggest mistake of his career, in trying to prevent . . . well, you'll see. Ms. Edghill's writing career has spanned several genres, including Regency romance, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and probably more I'm forgetting at the moment. And her short story collection reflects the same broad-based appeal as her novels, being as there are several wonderful stories almost too tough to classify except as the general, "Read this!" Now, I've read this collection at least four times so far (one of these days, I might share, but not just yet), and I enjoy it more every time. All I can say is, "Read this book! You won't regret it!"
Average customer rating:
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Paying for the Piper: Capital and Labour in Britain's Offshore Oil Industry (Employment and Work Relations in Context)
Matthais Beck
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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ASIN: 0720123488 |
Book Description
This book is an appraisal of current offshore industrial relations, and safety regulations instituted after the 1988 Alpha disaster in the North Sea. This text discusses the oil industry's attempts to contain subsequent, unwelcome regulatory interference, and examines the fraught history of trade unionism in the offshore industry, the conflict over health and safety, and the sometimes brutal struggle over union rights as the workforce attempted to achieve a collective voice in the reshaping of the safety and production environment. The authors conclude that, as yet, offshore safety has been little, or not at all, improved.
Average customer rating:
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PAYING THE PIPER
SOPHIE COLE
Manufacturer: MILLS & BOON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RXZJ8I |
Amazon.com
Claudia Roden, author of The Book of Jewish Food, has done more than simply compile a cookbook of Jewish recipes--she has produced a history of the Jewish diaspora, told through its cuisine. The book's 800 recipes reflect many cultures and regions of the world, from the Jewish quarter of Cairo where Roden spent her childhood to the kitchens of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Both Ashkenazi and Sepharidic cooking are well represented here: hallah bread, bagels, blintzes, and kugels give way to tabbouleh, falafel, and succulent lamb with prunes, which are, in turn, succeeded by such fare as Ftut (Yemeni wedding soup) and Kahk (savory bracelets).
Interwoven throughout the text are Roden's charming asides--the history of certain foods, definitions (Kaimak, for instance, is the cream that rises to the top when buffalo milk is simmered), and ways of preparing everything from an eggplant to a quince. In addition, Roden tells you everything you've ever wanted to know about Jewish dietary laws, what the ancient Hebrews ate, and the various holidays and festivals on the Jewish calendar. Detailed sections on Jewish history are beautifully illustrated with archival photographs of families, towns, and, of course, food. The Book of Jewish Food is one that any serious cook--Jewish and non-Jewish alike--would gladly have (and use often) in the kitchen.
Book Description
A monumental work--the story of the Jewish people told through the story of Jewish cooking--The Book of Jewish Food traces the development of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewish communities and their cuisine over the centuries. The 800 magnificent recipes, many never before documented, represent treasures garnered bu Roden through nearly 15 years of traveling around the world. 50 photos & illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
A bittersweet classic.......2007-09-15
It's evident from some of the reviews below (some of which betray a bizarre provincialism among the writers) that this book engenders some controversy in some sectors of the Jewish community. Well, I am not Jewish, so to me, such debates are a tempest in a teapot, especially as this is one of my most favorite cookbooks in my entire collection.
A good ethnic cookbook tells its culture's story alongside the food, as food is and always has been a critical part of any culture. What makes this book's perspective unique is how much of its story is told in the past tense -- the horrors of the Holocaust resulted in a vast resettling of much of the Jewish population of the world, and a consolidation in places such as the United States, Israel, the UK, and Canada. Roden's book, therefore, becomes something of a record of a wide variety of Jewish cuisines, a sort of time capsule containing many pasts to be sent to a single future. Yes, the Sephardic/Mizrachi section is quite a lot larger than the Ashkenazic section, but the shtetl culture was only the largest microcosm of a vast diversity of Jewish cultures that mostly reflected the countries they developed in (the titles of the recipes, in a multitude of languages including English, Yiddish, Ladino, Arabic and French, bear as much witness to this as any other aspect of the book). One suspects that 800 recipes isn't nearly enough to do a decent job of covering the ground Roden set out to cover, but what's there is such a huge wealth of data as it is that it seems pointless at best to fault her for it.
Claudia Roden has always been one of my favorite cookbook authors, primarily on the strength of this book. She writes excellent historical sidebars, and also seems to be very fond of the idea (Leo Rosten was another practitioner) of including jokes in a reference work. Her closeness to the background (she is of Egyptian Jewish extraction) gives it a personal touch as well. Her James Beard Award was well deserved, and this surely stands out as her best work (it certainly is my favorite out of the three of hers that I have). It isn't the last word in Jewish food by a long shot, but it's an unbeatable opening gambit.
Great reading, but turn to another book for actual cooking, especially if you keep kosher.......2007-07-20
The depth of Claudia Roden's book is impressive, and she covers many important Sephardic recipes. I enjoy reading the historical sections, and if I want to know how to cook a specific food, I can often (but not always) find it in this book. When I actually want to cook, I turn to Gil Marks and Pamela Grau Tweena.
The recipes in this book are presented with indifference to the reader's ability to procure the ingredients and to make the recipes in a kosher way. For instance, Fesenjan, a Persian pomegranate-poultry dish, uses duck breasts, which are too expensive for an everyday kosher meal in a middle class home, and often impossible to buy without getting an entire frozen duck. I've never seen fesenjan made kosher with anything but chicken. While Roden does have a tiny note at the bottom that you can substitute chicken, she doesn't say that chicken thighs should be substituted in order to get the same kind of depth of flavor that (I imagine) duck breasts give --- chicken breasts would dry out and not carmelize and add flavor to the sauce properly.
In a couple of recipes, she uses seemingly raw liver (which is not kosher until it is grilled in a particular way). In other recipes, her directions for making liver kosher, she instructs to put the livers on aluminum foil which makes all the blood emitted from the liver go right back into the liver, so anyone following her recipe would end up with a non-kosher liver, and a non-kosher oven, frying pan, knife, and food processor (yes, she has people put liver into the food processor, although almost no one who keeps kosher would have a meat food processor). I'm relatively casual about kashrut, but liver is serious business.
She is also inconsistently specific: while she quantifies some ingredients in both volume and weight, other ingredients are left vague, such as the Tabeet recipe which calls for 1 large stewing hen, without specified weight.
As comprehensive as the book is, I've noticed that some common recipes are missing. She only has one Yemenite soup which seems to be pretty skimpy on the seasonings, and many vegetable stews aren't there, a glaring omission given that the book seems to be attempting to be so comprehensive.
Good History Book.......2007-05-13
Not really the traditional cooking book although you can make a promenade through history and traditions of Jewish cookery. The Sepharadim topic is less privileged but you can have a go in the kitchen with this book. I won't comment about other branches of Jewish gastronomy. The fact is, its a book to be read and be on the kitchen's bookshelves. Not only for the ones interested in Jewish gastronomy; very interesting to the ones that have at least one foot in the Iberian Peninsula some generations ago, you maybe will recall some smells of Granny's food served at the table. Very pretty presentation.
A pleasure to read for an eater of Jewish food .......2006-12-12
I do not cook. I cannot judge the quality of recipes. But reading through this book was a great pleasure.It was a historical tour of the Jewish world featuring the special foods related to each distinct place and culture.
The Book of Jewish Food - an odyssay from Samarkand to New York.......2006-08-18
Even if the recipes weren't superb (which they are!) reading the history of a people through its food is totally enjoyable. I've read and reread it learning something new each time.
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