Lyle
I needn't have worried that the years since the last of the Chaos Chronicles episodes would have taken their toll. It was like coming home to friends – sure, coming home to far-flung mind-stretching adventures with those friends, along with intriguing and very unique aliens (both friendly and hostile) and seemingly impossible tasks to accomplish and emotional roller coasters thrown in for good measure. But coming home, nonetheless. Kudos, Mr. Carver! I am eagerly awaiting part two of the Out of Time Sequence! (Thankfully, only a few months to wait, not years!)
I found this book to be a good introduction to the world's major religious world views, and it provided a great logical approach to how each differs from the unique claims of Christianity. It also addressed (in a very approachable way) tolerance and respect when interacting with those of different faiths and even those who proclaim no faith. A few times the words used were rather technical and I needed to do a bit of “vocabulary-building” to fully grasp the arguments being put forth, but this did not happen all that often. I felt, after finishing the book, that at least now I have a basic foundation for building further understanding.
When it was a space adventure (pirates, battles, strategy, etc.) it was very good. When it devolved into a sort of odd weirdness, it was less so. I was prepared to enjoy this classic (and I did) but it reminded me it was written some time in the past and our sensibilities have changed a bit since. I don't regret reading it in the least, but I'm not overly eager to read more.
A wonderful guide to the sauropod dinosaur family. Explained clearly numerous paleontological terms that are commonly used, and then used those definitions/terms to clearly define various aspects of the world in which sauropods lived as well as the biology of the beasts themselves. The illustrations by Hallett were a wonderful addition and often helped make the text all the clearer.
Great semi-biographical book re: Chesley Bonestell, the pioneer of modern space art. Quite interesting to read about his ground-breaking approach to “imaginative realism” and to see the resulting images in large format.
While nothing in this collection was “LOL” there were quite a few chuckles and wry smiles resulting from the read. I appreciated the variety of offerings, too, from prose to poetry to cartoons - nicely done.
Reading almost like a combination biography and detective novel, this tale brought out the human side of the titular character, bringing him from farm boy to big city reporter as he explored what it meant to be raised in 1930's America, introducing familiar and unfamiliar fellow characters along the way, and letting us see the man behind the “mask”.
Classic and heart-warming, the further adventures of Mooch and Earl, as drawn and told by a master cartoonist. Even after many years of producing Mutts, McDonnell still keeps things fresh and enjoyable.
A wonderfully eclectic collection of tales, each with a core of warmth and light shown in perfect contrast to the cold and dark of this human sphere. Delightful.
The situation was unique, I will grant that, and did a good job of setting up the premise for what I expect to be the foundation for the Exodus Chronicles books, but the conversations seemed forced and the actions too much like magic given the mundane circumstances. The premise for the “why” of certain things happening seemed too pat, and rang a little false. Also, I didn't quite buy the fact that a large amount of time had already passed for the protagonist to complete the task set before him, given his enhanced abilities, and yet he was still seemingly doomed to failure and working on such a very small scale. I will probably attempt book 1 of the series; perhaps the failures noted above were due to trying to set the stage in a very short story instead of a longer tale.
This little book was quite a fun read – refreshing! Characters and world felt real and interesting; am looking forward to the next in the series.
Great intro and catch-up to the state of VR and AR as of 2017, with some teases about where things are headed. The writing is in an easy-to-follow conversational style, and the author covers a lot of material. Recommended!
A very intriguing premise, and well-developed characters. A well-planned mix of aliens conquering Earth, Norse mythology, psychiatry, and quantum mechanics. It will be interesting to see if the author can sustain the excitement with the sequel.
Fascinating reading...I wonder what the future holds re: continued archaeological study into this study of our more distant past. The author brings many areas of knowledge (and, yes, speculation) into focus to tell a clearer story of what Atlantis was, where it was, and who the Atlanteans might have been.
Interesting review of a multi-disciplinary conference discussing the imagery returned from Viking spacecraft in 1976 of intriguing formations found in the Cydonia region of Mars.
Giancola is a master artist, and his Tolkien-inspired art is sure to inspire and thrill Tolkien fans. This is a wonderful book, with many sketches and paintings, some of which appear as double-page spreads. This large format book transports the viewer to Middle-Earth in wonderful landscape set-pieces and character sketches, all rendered with exquisite craft and detail, filled with emotional content, and accompanied by notes from the artist. This is a volume I will treasure, and will revisit many times!
An enjoyable, if slim, collection of writings covering the development and growth of the three Mennonite Church congregations in the Scottdale, Pennnsylvania area. Having spent much of my childhood accompanying my parents to Kingview, it was informative to read this historical perspective. Lots of familiar names and more than a few nuggets of insight.
Excellent conclusion to the main multi-book “Legacies” arc. The character voices rang true and I was happy to see everyone from the regular Atlantis team to SG-1 playing a part in the story-line.
Interesting survey of Mr. Howe's varied artistic career with numerous images from many sources, from Tolkien-related works to art created for a number of fantasy and science-fiction book covers. Accompanied by sketches and previous-unpublished paintings.
An eclectic mix of stories about the moon and the people who, one way or another, experienced it more closely than most of us. Some stories (“A Walk in the Sun” by Landis, “The Shadow Knows” by Bisson, and Steele's “John Harper Wilson (The Tranquility Alternative)”) were excellent. The rest were a mixed bag, but all had something unique to offer.