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by Dean Koontz
ISBN: 0425199584
Binding/Media: Paperback - 448 pages
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Sold with pride. No writing, no highlighting. Copy in very good condition with minimal reading wear.
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Customer Reviews
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What the?
Rating  (1)
Date: 2010-07-03
I started out really liking this book and then about one-third of the way through Koontz became possessed and dumped his first idea for something totally weird. I kept wondering what happened to the good book I started out reading. It didn't get any better as I muddled my way through this novel searching for the original plot. I think Koontz tried to redeem himself towards the very end, but it didn't work. I had to struggle to finish it. I wouldn't recommend Cold Fire.
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Terrible
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-01-20
Terrible book. the story was way dragged out. Very boring. I had to fast forward throughout the book. Now I came to almost the end and the ending seems quite a let down. Not sure if I should even finish it.
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Starts Strong, but Takes a Nosedive Halfway Through
Rating  (2)
Date: 2009-10-28
"Cold Fire" by Dean Koontz starts off very strong. We are introduced to former teacher Jim Ironheart, sort of a "Batman meets Charles Bronson" kind of guy traveling the country saving lives just before tragedy strikes. Koontz throws in a spunky newspaper reporter named Holly Thorne who crosses paths with Ironheart, and whose curiosity leads her deeper into Jim's troubled world. The opening chapters of the novel are gripping and suspenseful. The entire episode of Jim and the two maniacs in the motorhome is classic Koontz suspense.
After setting the stage with some pulse pounding action, and some true nail-biting passages things kind of fall apart in the middle of the novel...and go downhill from there. I don't want to ruin the tale so I promise not to spill any spoilers. As Jim and Holly dig deeper into what is "sending" Jim on his life saving missions, and trying to find out what is causing the vivid sleep shattering nightmares both have been experiencing the story kind of falls apart. What was a taut action/thriller gets bogged down in psychobabble junk, corny scenes and a lousy non-ending.
I think Jim Ironheart and Holly Thorne deserve a better finale than what "Cold Fire" gives us. I would love for Koontz to re-visit these characters and perhaps catch us up on what has happened to them since the events of this novel. As it is, "Cold Fire" just kind of peters out, and the payoff is less than spectacular. If this were the first novel in a trilogy or series I would definately rate it higher, but as a stand alone tale it just doesn't live up to other Koontz tales.
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" Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh " - The Windmill
Rating  (5)
Date: 2009-02-12
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is the Dean Koontz I love! I listened to this as an audio book a few years ago and was thrilled to re-experience the story in print. Cold Fire was published in 1991, after The Bad Place and before Koontz starting coming out with 2-3 novels each year. Some issues examined in Cold Fire include: Environmentalism, Religion and Mental Illness. Like many Koontz novels, this work crosses over many genres including: Science Fiction, Mystery, Suspense and Adventure.
It appears that Koontz has created a fictional work within his work of fiction: The Black Windmill, reportedly written by Arthur J. Willott. We of course know that Koontz is and expert at creating fictional names and works, claiming they were written by someone else but really the author is Dean R. Koontz. Another example of this is The Book of Counted Sorrows from which the following quote appears twice in Cold Fire to introduce readers to both part one and two of the story:
"In the real world
as in dreams,
nothing is quite
what it seems."
A windmill is a central focal point of this story and the imagery is wonderful :
"Night pressed at the narrow windows, which were almost like castle embrasures in the limestone walls. Rain tapped against the glass. Suddenly, with a creak of unoiled and half-rusted machinery, the four great wooden sails of the mill began to turn outside, faster and faster, cutting like giant scythes through the damp air. The upright shaft, which came out of the ceiling and vanished through a bore in the center of the floor, also began to turn , briefly creating the illusion that the round floor itself were rotating in the manner of a carousel. One level below, the ancient millstones started to roll against each other, producing a soft rumble like distant thunder".
Another great imagery example from four pages earlier in the story (this one much shorter):
"Night floated down like a great tossed cape of almost weightless black silk".
Some of my other favorite quotes:
On Religion: "I'm reluctant to believe that some statue of the Holy Mother wept real tears in a church in Cincinnati or Peoria or Teaneck last week after the Wednesday-night bingo games, witnesses only by two teenagers and the parish cleaning lady. And I'm not ready to believe that a shadow resembling Jesus, cast on someone's garage wall by a yellow bug light, is a sign of impending apocalypse. God works in mysterious ways, but not with bug lights and garage walls."
On Evil: "There's too much darkness in some people, corruption that could never be cleaned out in five lifetimes of rehabilitation. Evil is real, it walks the earth. Sometimes the devil works by persuasion. Sometimes he just sets loose these sociopaths who don't have a gene for empathy or one for compassion."
On Books: " Around her, thousands of times and places, people and worlds, from Mars to Egypt to Yoknapatawpha County, were closed up in the bindings of books like the shine trapped under the tarnished veneer of a brass lamp. She could almost feel them waiting to dazzle with the first turn of a page, come alive with brilliant colors and pungent odors and delicious aromas, with laughter and sobbing and cries and whispers. Books were packaged dreams."
And this bit of conversation:
" 'When we get where we're going, you won't carve me up with a chainsaw and bury me under the windmill, will you?'
Apparently he understood her sense of vulnerability and took no offense, for he said with mock solemnity, 'Oh, no. It's full-up under the mill. I'll have to bury pieces of you all over the farm' ".
My only criticism of Cold Fire, is the occasional bits of overdone horror which seem to be tossed in, not necessarily flowing with the story, following are two examples:
"Sensing something above her head, Holly looked up. A large web had been spun above the door, across the curve where the wall became the ceiling. A fat spider, it's body as big around as her thumbnail and its spindly legs almost as long as her little finger, greasy as a dollop of wax and dark as a drop of blood, was feeding greedily on the pale quivering body of a snared moth."
and
"Without warning, a vision burst in Holly's mind with such force and brilliance that the library vanished for a moment and her inner world became the only reality; she saw herself naked and nailed to a wall in an obscene parody of a crucifix, blood streaming from her hands and feet (a voice whispering : die, die, die), and she opened her mouth to scream but, instead of sound, swarms of cockroaches poured out between her lips, and she realized she was already dead (die, die, die), her putrid innards crawling with pests and vermin -"
All of Koontz novels have a supernatural element and some, like Cold Fire also have a Science Fiction theme. I'm not a big fan of Science Fiction but have really enjoyed Koontz' trademark genre mix. If you enjoyed or are interested in reading Cold Fire, I would also recommend the following Dean Koontz novels: Lightning, The Bad Place, By the Light of the Moon, and Brother Odd (Odd Thomas Novels).
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Great and Unassuming, Like the Main Character
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-11-26
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
In a quest to continue reading most of Dean Koontz' early novels, this one was written in 1991, I picked up Cold Fire.
Jim Ironheart is a very unique person; A voice drives him to save people. He doesn't know when the voice will move him, but when he hears it, he is single minded in his desire to get to a specific place to rescue someone. The introductory act of heroism is the saving of a child from being killed by a drunk driver in Portland, Oregon. It is during this action that a reporter, Holly Thorne (Koontz provides an excellent scene involving her name), witnesses the event. Holly is motivated to find out more about Jim, as he is very unassuming and not one for the limelight. While researching Jim, which motivates Holly to be the reporter she always had hoped to be, she discovers that the boy wasn't the first person he has rescued. There have been others, many others. But not everything that Jim "sees" is good; There is evil coming and it seems that he is the only one that can stop it.
Even though this is only the third Koontz novel I have read, it isn't anything like the other two (Watchers and Darkfall). Cold Fire is a novel that centers on Jim and Holly, their relationship, and the support that Holly provides to Jim to understand his gift and help with the dark times. Koontz keeps the suspense level high as the voice guides Jim through a few rescues, and when "The Enemy" makes its appearance. From that point, it is a testament to Holly's strength and love for Jim that they are able to battle The Enemy. After finishing the book, I felt a little disappointed with the climax and subsequent ending, but, later, as I turned the story over in my head, I realized that this was an outstanding novel. It seems like a very unassuming book, but, much like the characters and ending, it grows on you as you review what it is that you have read. Even now, as I write this review, I realize that I have been witness to another facet of Koontz' excellent writing ability. While not in the "horror/thriller" genre, this book should not be discounted solely on what you read on the jacket. Cold Fire will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.
And what a great last page it is, too.
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by Charlaine Harris
ISBN: 0441017150
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 312 pages
Condition: New
Comments: Sold with pride. Brand new copy with publisher mark on the bottom.
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Customer Reviews
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Very good!
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-09-03
This was in good condition and came fairly quickly. I am very glad to have been able to buy this book online!
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A good read, with some reservations.....
Rating  (4)
Date: 2010-09-02
After coming down from "Dead to Worse", I was in full hopes when I began reading "Dead & Gone". Harris is now focusing on the fae situation, and we get to see more of her great-grandfather. But what puzzles me how this fairy war makes absolutely no sense! I guess it was created to have Sookie run for life...yet again. The part concerning Arlene was really sad, and intense. Since she's been a member of FoS, everything she does is bigot-motivated. Quinn proved that he was a nutbag physico. If BILL hadn't shown up, he probably would have kill Sookie! This was a good book, and I got through it faster than the others. What made me roll my eyes every time I read it was the blood bond between Sookie and Eric. And this pledging crap? I thought that was truly a weak plotline, for sure. She's so hot for him, and yet she denies herself. So finally they let nature takes its course and I can't understand how she simply likes Eric. The Eric in this book is so flat, and unloving. He never tells her he loves her, but quickly states, "She's mine" like she's a piece of property. I think the blood bond is only used for Eric's convenience. It's really not about love- it's about control. Having a hold on a person, so they would never sway. Loyalty is very important to Eric; and to have first dibs on fairy blood is a plus for him. Poor Sookie is so drawn into it- and others around her are truly disappointed (Sam, Bill, Amelia). One thing that sticks out in this book how BILL comes to save her, every time. In the climatic ending, BILL makes the last stand, professing his love for her (as always) with Eric right in the room. I'm sure Eric had his reasons why he didn't come to save her first (he'll just tell her he told Bill to save her for him, guh!), but he's her lover...or whatever; he should have been there first. And to read that in that way confirmed what I knew all along. Sookie is an afterthought to Eric. He will always be an opportunitist; and he won't go rushing into battle for some dame. Overall, the book was done quite well. Never a boring moment and it held my attention. I'm looking forward to the paperback of "Dead in the family"...there's no way I'm going to buy it in hardback!
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Has the series jumped the shark?
Rating  (3)
Date: 2010-08-30
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
** I don't think anything here counts as a spoiler, but you may want to think twice about reading this, if you haven't read the book yet **
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In a nutshell
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There are three main threads to the story; The weres and shapeshifters of the world come out of the closet so to speak, but shortly after this one of them is brutally murdered.
Was it a hate crime against weres? Did someone bump them off for another reason, and if so, what reason? Naturally Sookie decides to involve herself with the case and try to use her mind-reading abilities to identify the murderer [because all of the events in the previous books didn't teach her not to stick her nose in where it doesn't belong].
Oh yeah; And the 'hidden from the human world' fey are at war in their own world and it spills over into our world, as they fight over if they should close the portal to the human world, or leave it open.
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My opinion
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On one level I did enjoy DEAD AND GONE as it was just as totally addictive, sit-up-all-night-to-finish-it as the earlier books in the series, but afterwards I had misgivings that niggled away at me, so I'm airing them here. Maybe it's only because I know what standards Charlaine is capable of that stops me from totally enjoying DEAD AND GONE, and I would love it is a less experianced author wrote it...
First of all; The weres coming out should be as major as when the vamps did, but we hardly get a glimpse at the ruptions it would undoubtedly have caused around the world; We just get to skim though newspapers with Sookie and only see how it affects her and have a small side-story via Sam to learn about some of the fall-out. This should have had it's own book; s it is, it's just a waste.
Was anyone surprised at the who-did-it aspect? It was obvious and I became irritated at the characters for not figuring it out sooner.
The fey war is a story thread that we didn't really need. It mostly take's place behind the scenes and just serves to trim the character list down and add non-gripping 'will Sookie make it out of this one?' moments, when we all know full well she will as there's more books on the way.
Which nicely brings me to my main problem with the book: The number of characters cheerfully killed off in it and the way that another couple of characters decide to suddenly up and leave. It is fairly obvious Ms Harris has only done it to tidy up the character list to try to keep it similar to True Blood. However I've been a huge fan of 'The Southern Vampire Mysteries' [I don't care if they've re-packaged it as the 'True Blood' series] and the short stories for the seven years before True Blood started on TV, so the way the author is suddenly trying to reverse the years to bring the books and the programme into evenish balance is obvious to me. It totally ruins all of the character progressions they've made over the years.
Also; Nine books into the series and Sookie is still unsure of which love interest she wants?! In the books she's clearly always been favouring Eric, but all of a sudden she's back to going misty eyed over Bill, when his past actions in the books have been awful and completely unforgivable. If Sookie were a real person I'd lecture her on self respect. And then throttle her. Oh, and Quinn turns up for a grand total of one pointless scene, which adds nothing to the story.
While I'm ranting about pointless scenes; The author now feels the need to write Tara into a scene too, so she and Sookie can have a heart to heart. In the good ole 'The Southern Vampire Mysteries' days Tara was a rarely mentioned old school friend of Sookie's and was a very minor character, with no mention of an alcoholic mother. Now they're suddenly BFFs...
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Another Great addition
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-08-29
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I'm so hooked!!!! The book gets better and better with each chapter, with each book.
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Pretty Good
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-08-28
Okay, I like all the Sookie Mysteries so far, some more then others. This one was good. It pulled a lot of stuff together, and I liked the story over all. Now on to book 10
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by Thomas Harris (Reader: Thomas Harris)
ISBN: 0553526774
Binding/Media: Audio Cassette
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. 4 cassettes, Abridged, 6 hr running time.
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Customer Reviews
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Over the top
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-08-16
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
The reason I'm giving HANNIBAL 4 stars is because middling Harris is better than 95% of what the rest of us write, but that said, this book does not live up to RED DRAGON or SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. I think of this work as overripe Lecter. Less is more, but in this book we get way too much. The plotting is over the top, and villain Mason Verger is beyond belief. What made the preceding books work was that you actually believed that these fantastic events could really happen. HANNIBAL is more like a fairy tale. You go along with it but you know it could never be real, and so the story often feels more silly than scary. But if you, like me, are a Hannibal Lecter freak, don't pass this one up. If nothing else, the good doctor's recipes will give you a chortle.
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epic fail
Rating (2)
Date: 2010-08-13
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
coming into this book i had high hopes. i previously read both red dragon and the silence of the lambs and enjoyed both. this book had a poor plot as though the author was just trying to make money rather than tell an interestimg story. the summary of this book makes it sound better than it is dont believe you will be intrigued if you think the summary sounds interesting. a good third of the book takes place in italy. this is where the author put all his heart and it was the crappiest part of the book. the only thing that kept me reading was a belief that the climax would leave me satisfied with the rest. the ending sucks dont waste your time or money. this book doesnt deserve to be associated with the silence of the lambs
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What in the world just happened?
Rating (2)
Date: 2010-07-26
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is quite possibly what would be considered a disaster. There was never a single moment where I was enthralled enough to keep turning the pages. Of course, that's unfortunate, because it's set in a world where a monster like Hannibal Lecter runs free. The very earth should be shivering beneath his footfalls and it doesn't. Each page should be something of a continued suspension and I had no problems putting the book down to turn to something more important.
I've always enjoyed the simplicity of style that Thomas Harris uses in his books. He never quite tells you exactly what goes on in his story and it leaves the reader groping for more and inclining their own minds to finish reduced scenes. This time, however, it was just irritating. I think if Dr. Lecter was a real man he would have been upset that his story was told in so much reduced form, as if nothing holds any meaning.
The characters, which held up the story meekly, were as lame as a broken leg. Like many of Harris' novels surrounding Dr. Lecter, we find two villains. The more sinister, genius, cannibal and the mysterious criminals that are somehow connected to him in some way, as if his poisonous abilities have slipped out in the world to continue his dirty work in a rather poor fashion. Mason Verger is our second criminal. Half mad, half eaten, half dead. He is far from sinister. Though he has no obligations to the world and is under a delusional, religious, cleansing frenzy he is as weak as the respirator that gives him breath. Margot, his body building sister, is more malevolent and she turns out to be more brutal but she hardly gets enough page time, except for cracking nuts in her hand, to really get fearful of.
Speaking of the Verger clan, Barney gets mixed up with them at one point and his entire stay in this book might as well have been the bumbling fool, in a scholar's clothing, who is just taking up space. He's obsessed with Dr. Lecter and yet he helps to bring him to a connived sense of justice in Mason's mind. Then he floats out of the book again only to appear later under the gun barrel of Ardelia, who is as useless as Crawford (simply acting as a removed security blanket for Starling), and then later when the novel ends.
Getting to more substantial characters. Clarice Starling is 32 going on 33 years of age and she is much smarter, more efficient, but the same delicate little flower that she hides so well. She has also not climbed the ladder of judiciary action since we last saw her. Her humiliation attracts Dr. Lecter and in more ways than one. The novel's end is the most ridiculous thing I've probably ever read. It was as if, during the last forty pages, Harris had no idea how to conclude their little communication together so he gave into the carnal desires of lust and devotion and obsession. Clarice has never struck me as a woman who would annex her mind so easily, even if the mind is capable of creating an almost entirely new schema over a previous one. I feel I have already given too much away, if you're ever interested in reading this thing...though I suggest you do not.
The one thing I liked about the continued character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter is that we start to get his own background. Now that he is a free agent we get into his brain much more often and though it is a beautifully wicked place to be in it is also full of reasons, just like anyone would have, for the way he is. We even see him weak, screaming laments for his past. It sets up the next book, Hannibal Rising, rather nicely with the presentation of his sister Mischa. Though he is our typically creepy Dr. Lecter he suddenly has this sensitive side at the end that makes me, once again, question Harris' reasoning for giving into carnality instead of a more practiced, thought out approach.
All in all the book is hardly worth reading unless, unfortunately, you would like to continue to the next book or at least complete your own developed concepts of the Lecter saga.
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great read
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-04-16
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
It was worth the wait, I've got the weekend off, to read it in, so I'll lock myself in friday night and won't come out until I'm done with it.
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Thrilling story
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-12-28
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I am reading Hannibal for the second time and find it just as thrilling as my first encounter with Hannibal Lecter. I am suprised by the negative reviews that this story has received. The plot is exciting, and I enjoyed the book's ending far more than the one the movie left us with. Is Hannibal a monster? It was easy to say yes after Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lector). Now that we can step into the mind of Lecter, the question is a little harder to answer. He is a complex and brilliant character. I was on the edge of my seat, actually rooting for a serial killer!
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by Jonathan Kellerman
ISBN: 0345413873
Binding/Media: Mass Market Paperback - 416 pages
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Sold with pride. No writing, no marking. Minimal reading wear. Copy in very good condition with normal creasing in the spine from previous reading.
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Customer Reviews
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Predictions
Rating (3)
Date: 2009-09-05
A madman institutionalized in a secured hospital for the criminally insane is predicting the most gruesome murders. The horror of it is that these heinous murders are taking place. Alex Delaware is called to find out how this man can predict these crimes. Milo Sturgis and Alex work against time to stop the monstrous slayings. Beware this is a book that will keep you up at night. Read at your own risk. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River."
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Powerful
Rating (4)
Date: 2009-08-24
It may take 8-9 chapters to get into this book, but then it gets rolling, with just about as much gore and blood as one can take. There are probably more twists and turns than any book I have ever read. And just when you think all is figured out and the story comes to a close, you are thrown another curve, that is just amazing. One of the best Kellerman books I have read even though it was a bit shaky in the beginning. Gonna be haunted by this one for a long, long time. You may think you know how to figure this one out, but be careful, because I was sure, only to be fooled in the end. Still love the Delaware and Milo characters. They get along so well and the dialogue between them lends a tad of humor. This one is a sicky.
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Good ride
Rating (4)
Date: 2009-06-19
I plowed through this book in 3 days because I couldn't put it down. Kellerman is a master storyteller. He doesn't disappoint with this novel--creepy, gruesome, and a lot of twists and turns. Alex Delaware at his finest.
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Disappointment
Rating (1)
Date: 2009-03-18
I have read most of Kellerman's books and enjoyed them. This book is non-stop gore. Do you enjoy children being slashed to death? Do you enjoy young women having their eyes gouged out? I can't believe he wrote it, it is so unlike any of his other books. I hope he never writes a book like it again.
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A slow-moving Delaware novel
Rating (2)
Date: 2008-12-29
I've read most of the Alex Delaware novels, but it's been awhile since I've done it. Unfortuneately, I was disappointed by Monster. I generally like Milo's and Alex's adventures, but this one just didn't seem to get its foot until halfway through the book. I felt confident Kellerman would tie all the loose ends and story threads together by the end of the book, but it took too long for things to start to come together and then it all came in a rush that seemed to require some fairly big logic jumps.
The story also did nothing to advance the characters. So you could safely skip the Delaware novel and not miss anything in an otherwise great series.
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by Jonathan Kellerman
ISBN: 0345413873
Binding/Media: Mass Market Paperback - 416 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. Gently read copy in like new condition.
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Customer Reviews
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Predictions
Rating (3)
Date: 2009-09-05
A madman institutionalized in a secured hospital for the criminally insane is predicting the most gruesome murders. The horror of it is that these heinous murders are taking place. Alex Delaware is called to find out how this man can predict these crimes. Milo Sturgis and Alex work against time to stop the monstrous slayings. Beware this is a book that will keep you up at night. Read at your own risk. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River."
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Powerful
Rating (4)
Date: 2009-08-24
It may take 8-9 chapters to get into this book, but then it gets rolling, with just about as much gore and blood as one can take. There are probably more twists and turns than any book I have ever read. And just when you think all is figured out and the story comes to a close, you are thrown another curve, that is just amazing. One of the best Kellerman books I have read even though it was a bit shaky in the beginning. Gonna be haunted by this one for a long, long time. You may think you know how to figure this one out, but be careful, because I was sure, only to be fooled in the end. Still love the Delaware and Milo characters. They get along so well and the dialogue between them lends a tad of humor. This one is a sicky.
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Good ride
Rating (4)
Date: 2009-06-19
I plowed through this book in 3 days because I couldn't put it down. Kellerman is a master storyteller. He doesn't disappoint with this novel--creepy, gruesome, and a lot of twists and turns. Alex Delaware at his finest.
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Disappointment
Rating (1)
Date: 2009-03-18
I have read most of Kellerman's books and enjoyed them. This book is non-stop gore. Do you enjoy children being slashed to death? Do you enjoy young women having their eyes gouged out? I can't believe he wrote it, it is so unlike any of his other books. I hope he never writes a book like it again.
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A slow-moving Delaware novel
Rating (2)
Date: 2008-12-29
I've read most of the Alex Delaware novels, but it's been awhile since I've done it. Unfortuneately, I was disappointed by Monster. I generally like Milo's and Alex's adventures, but this one just didn't seem to get its foot until halfway through the book. I felt confident Kellerman would tie all the loose ends and story threads together by the end of the book, but it took too long for things to start to come together and then it all came in a rush that seemed to require some fairly big logic jumps.
The story also did nothing to advance the characters. So you could safely skip the Delaware novel and not miss anything in an otherwise great series.
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by David Martin
ISBN: 0679410554
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 291 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Book is in like new condition with no wear, no marks.
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Customer Reviews
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Riveting! Thoroughly enjoyed this book!!
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-11-14
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Read it in a day - couldn't put it down. Disappointed to not find more books by this author.
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Unbelievable
Rating (1)
Date: 2006-09-01
1 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book was unbelievably gory and nauseated me beyond words. However, the biggest disappointment was the ending. I would rather Marianne have been killed than for her to end up a vampire. I doubt I would ever read this author's works again.
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FYI also reprinted under a different title
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-03-08
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Just an FYI This book is also published under the title "Love Me to Death". I read Tap, Tap first. This is a very enjoyable story. After, I wanted to read more from this author, David Martin. After doing a search on his name I saw a listing for the book "Love Me to Death" and ordered it. When it arrived, I was sadly surprised to find out I had already read it. I hope this helps others.
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Dumb!, Dumb!
Rating (2)
Date: 2004-11-22
3 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
Below Par on every level, bad writing, a good plot idea immaturley executed, reminded me of a high school creative writing student but only mildly better. Might appeal to people with an IQ of 70 on a warm day. Try Brian Hodge or Matthew J. Costello Instead, they are far superior.
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Great, but a little too...out there...
Rating (4)
Date: 2003-07-21
4 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
First off...I love David Martins writing. I can't place it, but I can read his books over and over again and still feel the same thrills as before.I was excited to read this one, and I finished it within two days...but just something about it kinda threw me off track. I mean, the book has its thrills and chills...but it gets a little "Fantasy" like towards the end, and one thing I liked about Martins books is that you can actually picture it in your head without hesitation, but in this book I couldn't do it...
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by Jeffrey Ford (Introduction: Jonathan Carroll)
ISBN: 1930846398
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 300 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Book in very good condition with VERY LIGHT reading wear. EX LIBRARY copy which did not spend much time in circulation before being released. Library markings present but no further markings or imperfections.
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Customer Reviews
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Admirable collection of fantasy short fiction focuses building stories out of personal experience
Rating (4)
Date: 2009-07-20
In this collection of fourteen stories, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winner Jeffrey Ford uses his personal experiences to create tales of myth and wonder. From the World Fantasy Award winner "Botch Town," in which a model city becomes a metaphor for glimpses into a changing world; to Nebula winner "The Empire of Ice Cream (from which the book gets its title), where a person suffering from synesthesia does not know whether what he sees is real or a figment of his imagination; to "The Weight of Words," in which math is applied to the understanding of words with unfortunate consequences; Ford's fiction is always very real and very personal. Much of it is born from the his own life experiences--a fact he makes clear in the story notes at the end of each tale. Though there is some repetition of specifics due to this birthing from personal history, each story has a separate theme and a distinct flavor that keeps them all engaging. Ford is not afraid to represent the world as he sees it, so there is drug use and profanity, but these are integral to the story, a means for using concrete, noticeable facts to anchor the more ethereal elements of the story. The only element that seems an additive to some of these stories is Ford's disdain for Christian belief and tradition. In "The Green Word," this is especially evident, as Ford could just have easily used a made-up religion in place of the Christian one or could have chosen another belief system entirely. As the story was written for children, it seems this element is more a piece of propaganda for malleable minds than a truly required part of the narrative. The majority of the stories could be labeled urban fantasy, though a couple are set in different times and places entirely. All in all, the stories within //The Empire of Ice Cream// are well-written, entertaining (albeit it sometimes quite sad), and are worthy of the awards and acclaim they have received.
Reviewed by
John Ottinger III
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Magical, mystical worlds
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-06-12
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Magical, mystical worlds are what Jeffrey Ford creates in this book of short stories. The Introduction talks about our loss of wonder as we age, but this book brings all that back and more. It is a spell-binding novel which will keep you enchanted story after story. The very first story in this book is entitled "The Annals of Eelin-Ok" which is about a fairy creature who lives in a sand castle built by a child and can only survive until the tide washes the sand castle out to sea. But for this fairy time moves at a different pace than it does for you and I. Other wonderful stories in this book were "The Empire of Ice Cream" about a young man who has synesthesia. He is the product of over-protective parents who shelter him his whole life. He is gifted with playing the piano and through the experience of coffee he can conjure an image of a young woman who is an artist. It is a very interesting story. Another favorite story of mine was "Botch Town" about a family in the 1950s and it centers on the children of the family. The oldest boy, Jim, builds a town replica in their basement and calls it Botch Town. The youngest child, a girl, moves the people around as things happen to them. It's as though she is psychic. It's about all the wonderful and horrible things that happen to you as a child. The "Boatman's Holiday" was another interesting story in this book. It is about the Egyptian underworld where Charon steers the dead in his boat along the river Acheron. In this story he goes on holiday and you'll love what happens on this holiday.
All the stories are really well written and fascinating. You will love these stories and they will stay with you after you have finished the book. There will be many I will come back to time and time again. I highly recommend this book.
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Better Than The Title Might Suggest
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-01-07
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Despite its award winning status, the title of this anthology led me to believe it was either young adult oriented or in the vein of the recent plethora of updated fairy tale collections. I was very pleased to find I was wrong.
Jeffrey Ford is a highly intelligent, clever wordsmith that more closely resembles Bradbury and Wolfe than the Datlow/Windling crowd. Like his unstable scholar's work in "The Weight of Words", Ford's writings are greater than the sum of their parts.
In particular, I'd like to praise the novella, "Botch Town." As soon as I was a few paragraphs into it, I recognized the familiar territory of the "remember the year when..." stories by Bradbury, King, et al, that I enjoy so much. The autobiographical tone was convincing, and the characters were universal and believable. My friends and I had our own version of Mr. Blah Blah, and our own Halloween hijinx were remarkably similar to those described within. (I also appreciated the subtle nod to Spike Jones fans.)
Among my other favorites are the darkly humorous "Boatman's Holiday" and the surreal tour-de-force, "Giant Land."
If you're looking for a collection of substantial, sophisticated yet accessible, stick-to-your-ribs short fiction, then pick up The Empire of Ice Cream.
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frankly I couldn't get past second story
Rating (3)
Date: 2007-05-09
0 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
I give it 3 stars because - maybe - the rest of the stories are better. It's possible that I'll never find out.. Is this a book for children? If it is, I should give it 4 stars...
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Excellent collection of lovely varied fantasy tales
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-09-29
10 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
Jeffrey Ford has made quite an impression in the last few years, with several fine novels including the World Fantasy Award winning The Physiognomy, The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque, and The Girl in the Glass. But my favorite Ford works have been short fiction -- and it so happens that my personal favorites appear in this new collection, his second.
The title story, indeed, is one of my favorite stories by anyone from the last few years. My interest was immediately engaged by the Wallace Stevens reference, though Ford, in his introduction, disclaims any intention of alluding to Stevens' great poem. The story is about a man with synesthaesia. He becomes an accomplished piano player and composer, even as he perceives the notes he plays or composes as sights or smells or tastes. Somehow coffee ice cream causes a special hallucination: a young woman. As he grows older, he finds that pure coffee allows real contact with this woman, and he learns that she, too, is an artist and a synesthaesiac. The story climaxes as he tries to complete a major musical composition -- coming to a predictable but still quite satisfying and moving conclusion.
Another brilliant piece is "The Weight of Words." This suggests that the placement and appearance of words can affect their meaning in such mundane ways as subliminal advertising, or such more profound ways as causing death, love, or the appreciation of beauty. It's told by a man who has lost his wife and hopes to regain her by the use of weighted word -- instead he gains something quite different.
There is one new story in the book, a very long novella (nearly novel length): "Botch Town". This is a pitch perfect and rather sad evocation of childhood in a lower middle class New Jersey suburb. The title refers to a model town that the narrator's brother constructs in his basement -- somehow their sister, who is in some way brilliant but not very comprehensible, seems to use this town to reflect real happenings in their own town, including the whereabouts of a mysterious visitor who may be connected with the disappearance of a neighborhood boy.
There are many other jewels here. "The Annals of Eelin-Ok" is a tender, bittersweet, story of a Twilmish, a creature that colonizes a sand castle and lives only until the castle is washed away. "The Beautiful Gelreesh" is quite different in mood, a sardonic piece about a doglike creature with a rather extreme means of curing depression.
"A Night at the Tropics" concerns a cursed chess set and the bully who stumbles into possession of it. The story is framed in a very Kiplingesque manner: the narrator, named Ford, tells of his return to his childhood house, and a visit to a bar his father frequented, "The Tropics." It is there that he again encounters the bully, and hears the tale of the chess set. And, much as Kipling so often and so brilliantly managed, the frame ends up blending with and enhancing the central story. (And, to my relief after Ford's denial of the Stevens reference in "The Empire of Ice Cream," his introduction here explicitly acknowledges Kipling's influence.)
I won't mention the other stories, but I'll say that they are a varied and intriguing lot. The book itself is a lovely physical object, as we expect from Golden Gryphon. And Ford's introductions are fairly brief but very interesting, definitely significant value added. This is surely one of the best story collections of the year.
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by Scott Smith
ISBN: 0307389715
Binding/Media: Mass Market Paperback - 528 pages
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Sold with pride. No writing, no highlighting. Copy in very good condition with minimal reading wear.
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Customer Reviews
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-20 stars, for the worst book that I have ever read.
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-08-18
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I can't believe that I actually finished this book. It was just totally, and utterly horrible. I hated this book, which on the cover says that Stephen King said was one of the scariest books of the decade. This book is about vines that attack people that are stranded on Mayan ruins. Stupid. Vines are not scary!!!!!!! They are stupid!!!!!
I don't like telling people what to buy or what not to buy, but I'm going to have to do it here. DO NOT WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY ON THIS HORRIBLE BOOK!!! It just isn't worth the money or the time.
The reason why I gave this book one star was because they wouldn't let me go any lower, otherwise, I would've rated this book so low that it would look like M.C. Hammer's bank acount--in the negatives.
Look, I'm just trying to look out for the customers and I have to say that this book was a flop and that I would to have you make the same mistake that I did by buying this book.
***DON'T BUY THIS BOOK***
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Horrifyingly Bad
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-08-10
0 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
The horror of this book lies in how dreadful it is. The story is incredibly stupid. Some tourists wander off into the jungle with no money, no supplies, no guide, and having told no one where they are going. They all deserve to die.
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Great book in my opinion.
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-08-09
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
After all, that's what truly matters is your own opinion. Others didn't like it and that's fine, but i enjoyed The Ruins. Sure at times it may have not been a fast paced book, but to me it was well done. Plus i bought this book at a Borders for ninety eight cents. Well worth it. I would have paid more for this book though because of the great characters and was suspenseful enough in its own way.
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Did we read the same book?
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-07-29
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I'm not sure what some of the reviewers on this site are smoking, but I found this to be an excellent horror story. I suspect many of them read the author's first book, "A Simple Plan" which was a crime drama, and expected something similar. I am not much of a fan of crime dramas, but I do love horror, and this is good horror. Horror is internal, it's about visceral fear and dread. It's not about nonstop action or contorted plot twists. This story is not primarily about the flowering plant from hell (not available at your local florist). It is about survival, and the way people really react to a life-threatening and seemingly hopeless situation. Whereas the characters in many horror stories are virtually indistinguishable from one another, the characters here are vividly and realistically drawn. They are recognizable as individuals, and seem like living, breathing humans (I think I may have dated Stacy at one time). How their relationships change as things go from bad to worse is also quite believable. And about that plant...it clearly isn't a plant at all. It is carnivorous, can live in complete darkness, can move, and eats with its flowers and leaves, none of which a plant does. It can mimic sounds and smells, why couldn't it also mimic a plant in its appearance? And if an alien life form were to find itself in a tropical rain forest, what better thing to mimic than a flowering plant? The fact that it might not be a plant is alluded to by Jeff in a conversation late in the book, but the author leaves it to the reader to draw his/her own conclusion. Anyway, this is a good read and I think Scott Smith is taking an undeserved beating here.
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Gripping but not for everyone
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-07-20
"The Ruins" is one of the most intense novels of recent decades, with the anxiety amping up every few pages. It's not a tale of constant action, but the reader is often left curious as to what's going on, and once they can begin to figure things out, the storyline plunges into darker and darker territory.
Scott Smith is truly an author who knows how to put his characters into perilous situations and then make the situation get worse and worse and worse. You might be a nervous wreck while reading this one.
For all its entertainment value, there is one major downside to this novel. None of the characters are very likable, most being standard characters from any teen slasher horror movie.
And I'm not implying the killer here is a serial killer in a hockey mask or anything similar. Nope. The killer in this book is something more, something worse and it's somewhat realistic.
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by Scott Smith
ISBN: 030727828X
Binding/Media: Mass Market Paperback - 528 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. Gently read copy in like new condition.
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Customer Reviews
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-20 stars, for the worst book that I have ever read.
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-08-18
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I can't believe that I actually finished this book. It was just totally, and utterly horrible. I hated this book, which on the cover says that Stephen King said was one of the scariest books of the decade. This book is about vines that attack people that are stranded on Mayan ruins. Stupid. Vines are not scary!!!!!!! They are stupid!!!!!
I don't like telling people what to buy or what not to buy, but I'm going to have to do it here. DO NOT WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY ON THIS HORRIBLE BOOK!!! It just isn't worth the money or the time.
The reason why I gave this book one star was because they wouldn't let me go any lower, otherwise, I would've rated this book so low that it would look like M.C. Hammer's bank acount--in the negatives.
Look, I'm just trying to look out for the customers and I have to say that this book was a flop and that I would to have you make the same mistake that I did by buying this book.
***DON'T BUY THIS BOOK***
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Horrifyingly Bad
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-08-10
0 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
The horror of this book lies in how dreadful it is. The story is incredibly stupid. Some tourists wander off into the jungle with no money, no supplies, no guide, and having told no one where they are going. They all deserve to die.
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Great book in my opinion.
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-08-09
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
After all, that's what truly matters is your own opinion. Others didn't like it and that's fine, but i enjoyed The Ruins. Sure at times it may have not been a fast paced book, but to me it was well done. Plus i bought this book at a Borders for ninety eight cents. Well worth it. I would have paid more for this book though because of the great characters and was suspenseful enough in its own way.
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Did we read the same book?
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-07-29
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I'm not sure what some of the reviewers on this site are smoking, but I found this to be an excellent horror story. I suspect many of them read the author's first book, "A Simple Plan" which was a crime drama, and expected something similar. I am not much of a fan of crime dramas, but I do love horror, and this is good horror. Horror is internal, it's about visceral fear and dread. It's not about nonstop action or contorted plot twists. This story is not primarily about the flowering plant from hell (not available at your local florist). It is about survival, and the way people really react to a life-threatening and seemingly hopeless situation. Whereas the characters in many horror stories are virtually indistinguishable from one another, the characters here are vividly and realistically drawn. They are recognizable as individuals, and seem like living, breathing humans (I think I may have dated Stacy at one time). How their relationships change as things go from bad to worse is also quite believable. And about that plant...it clearly isn't a plant at all. It is carnivorous, can live in complete darkness, can move, and eats with its flowers and leaves, none of which a plant does. It can mimic sounds and smells, why couldn't it also mimic a plant in its appearance? And if an alien life form were to find itself in a tropical rain forest, what better thing to mimic than a flowering plant? The fact that it might not be a plant is alluded to by Jeff in a conversation late in the book, but the author leaves it to the reader to draw his/her own conclusion. Anyway, this is a good read and I think Scott Smith is taking an undeserved beating here.
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Gripping but not for everyone
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-07-20
"The Ruins" is one of the most intense novels of recent decades, with the anxiety amping up every few pages. It's not a tale of constant action, but the reader is often left curious as to what's going on, and once they can begin to figure things out, the storyline plunges into darker and darker territory.
Scott Smith is truly an author who knows how to put his characters into perilous situations and then make the situation get worse and worse and worse. You might be a nervous wreck while reading this one.
For all its entertainment value, there is one major downside to this novel. None of the characters are very likable, most being standard characters from any teen slasher horror movie.
And I'm not implying the killer here is a serial killer in a hockey mask or anything similar. Nope. The killer in this book is something more, something worse and it's somewhat realistic.
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