Book Description
Critics and fans alike are wild about Rita Mae Brown’s richly imagined and utterly engaging foxhunting mysteries–and this latest novel promises more thrilling hunts, breathtaking vistas, and an all-new sinister scandal.
Millions of dollars seem to be missing after a long-overdue audit of the local aluminum plant reveals a major accounting discrepancy. Company president Garvey Stokes finds himself at a loss–in more ways than one. He turns to his sharp-tongued, ornery bookkeeper, Iphigenia “Iffy” Demetrios, for an explanation, but she’s no help. Yet when the fuzzy math suddenly includes a body count, the figures can no longer be ignored.
While the town sheriff tries to get to the bottom of the matter, leave it to “Sister” Jane Arnold, venerable master of the Jefferson Hunt Club, to rely on her keen horse-and-hound sense to follow the trail of murder and cover-up. Throwing her off the scent, however, is former hunt club donor and all-around cad Crawford Howard, who thinks he can go toe-to-toe with the beloved septuagenarian and outclass her club by grossly sidestepping hound- and-hunt etiquette. Against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a menagerie of friends, foes, and fresh new faces saddle up for the breakneck ride to unravel the conspiracy. Even the furry denizens in the fields and boroughs have a thing or two to say about these peculiar humans.
Incomparable author Rita Mae Brown returns to the glorious hills of Virginia and its genteel foxhunting society, where how much money you have in the bank is not nearly as important as how long your family has lived on the land–and where nearly everyone has something to hide. As Sister muses, “The little secrets leak out. The big ones, well, some escape like evils from Pandora’s box. And others we’ll never know.”
Customer Reviews:
Foxes love to be hunted.......2007-06-28
The people of one tiny backwoods Virginia community have a unique despotic society. Sister, a 70-something master of foxhounds is their ruler. Sister's enforces a strict dress code, as well as a unique spoken language and various whimsical procedurals. I admit a compelling desire to dope-slap most of the book's characters when they address the wrinkled old broad as Master, however once getting past that urge, I enjoyed these novels.
A better fit into the fantasy category, the series is considered in the mystery genre. The occasional murder is incidental to the storyline and of no real importance. The charm of these novels, such as it is, lies in the make-believe world this community has created. The people between these pages exist only to ride hell-bent behind 30-plus hound dogs chasing one tiny fox. They are willing to endure all manner of petty tyrannies and humiliations for the supreme excitement of the hunt. Set reality aside and let yourself believe life has no deeper concerns than chasing foxes.
good animal characterizations; a little 'preachy'.......2007-06-12
This is my least favorite in the foxhunting mystery series because I think Ms. Brown gets off-track of the story a little too often. She seems to promote her own view of political issues, products (she doesn't like Chevy truck ads - what does that have to do with the story?), and how wonderful, perfect, strong, fiesty, and even sexy the seventy-something 'Sister' is. I get the feeling that the author is describing how she sees herself being viewed when she is that age. The mystery story line is only so-so. The elements of foxhunting are, as usual, interesting to me. The characterizations of the animals are very good - that is one of this author's strong points.
Love the foxhunting mysteries!! Fun read, ends too quickly.......2007-04-11
Sister, Shaker, Inky, Comet, Cora, Dragon, Gin Fizz, and all the others are back in this newest fox hunting mystery...great characters and a good story. all the animals communicate in a way I imagine they must in "real life." and I love the descriptions of how a proper hunt is run. i'm envious.
and I have just one question for Ms Brown: In your author's photo, why isn't your horse braided?!?
Condescending Huntress - the Egoist has landed.......2007-01-24
I was very disappointed in the changes in the main character, "Sister", from a 73 year-old honorable, respectful environmentalist and 'sage'/protector of her community, to a somewhat self-centered younger woman searching for the right mate.
Ms. Brown's Sneaky Pie and fox hunting mysteries have always given me great pleasure until the Hounds and the Fury. I had the very strong sensation that Ms. Brown used three-fourths of this book to expound on fox hunting and her rise to Master of Fox Hounds in her private life. 'Tooting her own horn' so to speak. If I could get my money back, I would.
I hope that this is not a trend and that Ms. Brown returns to her previous writing style re: "Sister" and her world; if not, I will not be buying anymore of this series. If Sneaky Pie's mysteries change radically, as well, I will not buy more of them.
More mystery, less spin, please.......2007-01-15
I was really looking forward to this book--I've read RMB since Rubyfruit Jungle and I love mysteries--but my anticipation came to a screeching halt on page 4, where Ms. Brown produced this piece of pandering: "The whole point of the ban [on English foxhunting] was to punish those suspected of wealth or title from (sic) enjoying themselves... It was perfectly fine with [those who passed the ban] if the farmers shot the beautiful creatures... Better yet, Americans did not hunt to kill the fox."
No. It isn't all about the seedy underclasses hating the wealthy (though given the centuries of class privilege in England, it might be understandable if that were the case). It's not to punish those with wealth or title for enjoying themselves... though I'm sure those with wealth and titles were equally annoyed when droit du seigneur was abolished.
The whole point of that ban was to put an end to the bloody and horrible way in which English hunts conclude--the painful, terrifying death of the fox. You see, I'm one of those ignorant Yankees who signed one of the many petitions to Parliament to try to bring an end to the bloody business of British-style foxhunting. I don't recall the English foxhunters ever offering to compromise--to merely hunt the fox, and not allow the dogs to tear it to pieces when it's cornered. It's one thing to shoot an animal that's endangering one's poultry--at least it's quick and relatively merciful. A British fox-hunt is anything but.
Ms. Brown tosses off the very important difference between US and English hunts as though the death of the fox, and the manner of its death, does not matter. It matters to me--as I am sure it matters to the fox. The English hunt begins early, with gamekeepers going around to where the foxes live and stopping their dens--blocking their means of escape. Not very "sporting!" - but if the fox were allowed to escape, the ladies and gentlemen of the hunt would be denied the pleasure of the kill, and that would be such a disappointment!
Let's look at it from the fox's point of view, as Ms Brown does in her books. What would happen to her beloved foxes--what if Target or Comet were unfortunate enough to live in Merrie England? What about sweet, intelligent little Inky? How would the story go...
"Panting, exhausted, Inky dashed through the creek, backtracked to muddle her trail. She ran along a fallen log, cut through a thicket, and dove for her escape hole. It was blocked by a stone, too big to move, too deeply wedged to move around. She gasped, whirled--but it was too late. The hounds closed in, snarling. Inky screamed in agony as her hind leg was torn off, but her adrenaline-charged heart was pumping so fast that she bled to death in seconds.
The whipper-in beat off the dogs and pulled out the bleeding stump of what had been her beautiful, luxuriant tail.
He took the still-warm trophy of their victory over to the youngest member of the hunt, an eight-year-old old boy, and smeared Inky's blood across the child's face.
The boy fought back nausea. This was the glory of the hunt--his father, his mother expected him to be a man! So he did his best, and smiled, and wished he were a million miles away."
I used to buy Rita Mae Brown's books in hardcover. When her misplaced modifiers and brand placement got too irritating--her last Sneaky Pie book read like an ifomercial for the Virginia wine industry--I started reading the hardcover at the library and buying the paperback.
At this point... I don't even know if I'm going to finish this book. The disconnect of making her foxes such interesting, lovable people (her animals have always been more interesting than her humans) while kissing up to the savage brutality of English foxhunting is just more hypocrisy than I want to deal with in recreational reading.
I don't care if Ms Brown or anyone else wants to chase foxes till they're blue in the face; I'm sure it's great exercise. But I draw the line at being told what to believe when it comes to humane treatment of animals. It's sheer nonsense to pretend there's no difference between the US and UK style of fox-hunting or wax indignant over how those of us who think British foxhunting is barbaric are trying to punish the poor hunters. I'm sure Ms. Brown's fox-hunting friends were hugging themselves with glee over her polemic on page 4, but it's just lost her a reader.
Average customer rating:
- Takeshi's last stand.
- Closer to the first book
- Great continuation of the Kovacs Saga
- Weakest out of the 3
- deComm and Envoys? Just great, I love it.
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Woken Furies (Takeshi Kovacs Novels)
Richard K. Morgan
Manufacturer: Del Rey
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ASIN: 0345479718
Release Date: 2005-09-27 |
Book Description
Richard K. Morgan has received widespread praise for his astounding twenty-fifth-century novels featuring Takeshi Kovacs, and has established a growing legion of fans. Mixing classic noir sensibilities with a searing futuristic vision of an age when death is nearly meaningless, Morgan returns to his saga of betrayal, mystery, and revenge, as Takeshi Kovacs, in one fatal moment, joins forces with a mysterious woman who may have the power to shatter Harlan’s World forever.
Once a gang member, then a marine, then a galaxy-hopping Envoy trained to wreak slaughter and suppression across the stars, a bleeding, wounded Kovacs was chilling out in a New Hokkaido bar when some so-called holy men descended on a slim beauty with tangled, hyperwired hair. An act of quixotic chivalry later and Kovacs was in deep: mixed up with a woman with two names, many powers, and one explosive history.
In a world where the real and virtual are one and the same and the dead can come back to life, the damsel in distress may be none other than the infamous Quellcrist Falconer, the vaporized symbol of a freedom now gone from Harlan’s World. Kovacs can deal with the madness of AI. He can do his part in a battle against biomachines gone wild, search for a three-centuries-old missing weapons system, and live with a blood feud with the yakuza, and even with the betrayal of people he once trusted. But when his relationship with “the” Falconer brings him an enemy specially designed to destroy him, he knows it’s time to be afraid.
After all, the guy sent to kill him is himself: but younger, stronger, and straight out of hell.
Wild, provocative, and riveting, Woken Furies is a full-bore science fiction spectacular of the highest order–from one of the most original and spellbinding storytellers at work today.
Download Description
Richard K. Morgan is the acclaimed author of Market Forces, Broken Angels, and Altered Carbon, a New York Times Notable Book that also won the Philip K. Dick Award. Morgan sold the movie rights for Altered Carbon to Joel Silver and Warner Bros. His third book, Market Forces, has also been sold to Warner Bros. He lives in Scotland.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Takeshi's last stand........2007-09-13
The last in the series starring Richard Morgan's hyper violent protaganist
did not disapoint. Kovac's background in the envoys is fleshed out as well as his start on Harlan's world and gang past. It moves at a breath taking pace with plots and sub plots interweaving nicely. Think of that...Gideon's Fall: When You Dont Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will DoGideon's Fall: When You Dont Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will Do
Closer to the first book.......2007-08-06
I liked all three books, but I believe that this one was closer to the spirit and style of Altered Carbon than Broken Angels. Not to say that I didn't like the second book, but I prefer the sort of film-noir, cyberpunk detective novel to the more traditional sci-fi of the second novel.
Great continuation of the Kovacs Saga.......2007-07-31
Another good book from the Takeshi Kovacs series. The ending left kind of wanting more. But covered alot Kovacs past and early childhood that made him what he is today.
Weakest out of the 3.......2007-07-30
Up until last year I hadn't read a sci-fi themed booked in over 6 years. The genre, it seemed to me, had fissled out after years of rehashing plot, characters, and tech. Then a friend of mine suggested I pick up Morgan's first book Altered Carbon because it was "wicked sick". So, I did. And to my surprise I was hooked almost immediately. I read the book in a day and then went out and bought Morgan's second Takeshi Kovac's novel Broken Angel's. I read it just as fast and enjoyed it almost as much.
8 months went by before I had the time to read Woken Furies and I went into this novel fully expecting a book on par with the last one...but was disappointed. I'm not an English Professor or major so I can't pick apart the book in minute detail and tell you what elements were lacking. It just was. After finishing the novel it felt like Morgan had used Woken Furies as vehicle to exercise a pseudo proxy midlife crisis instead of furthering a great character and story.
deComm and Envoys? Just great, I love it........2007-07-19
Morgan always enthralls me, always draws me and drops me right in the midst of the world he has created. It is almost unbelievable how well crafted the world of Takeshi Kovacs is. Right from page one I don't want to put the book down, and there is never a dull moment. This is no easy task to complete, and yet Morgan has done this with all his books thus far. This is mainly because of how descriptive he gets with such depth that you can imagine exactly what is happening. I couldn't even begin to count the number of images that jumped to my mind's eye and showed me exactly what was described. Unbelievable.
And Morgan seems to be getting better with each book. Woken Furies has yet again a great plot as we get to watch the book's hero hunted by none other than... himself? Great twist with originality. Additionally, we know the world from the first two Kovacs' books, but with this book we get to view more of the world, get to view and uncover some of the mysteries, and to have new mysteries created that will be great fuel for another Kovacs book.
My only complaint, and this has always been the case, is that Morgan always, and I mean always and a lot, has to add full on pornographic scenes into his books. I can understand it at least once because it adds to how certain characters interact with one another, but why do it two, three, four times? It is just gratuitous and eventually adds nothing to the story. But, alas, this too is becoming a trademark of Morgan and it should be expected that he will continue to do this in all of his books.
A definite recommend.
5 stars.
Customer Reviews:
Fury.......2007-04-23
Whew. Now I know what the MAX label means when it's placed on the cover of a Marvel graphic novel. It means harsh, bloody, brutal action, as well as foul, filthy language. And nauseating gore (yes, I already mentioned bloody, brutal action, but you have to add nauseating gore--the bloody, brutal action is during the quieter parts of the story, usually before, and leading up to, the gory nausea, sorry, nauseating gore, whatever. The blood and intestines).
The word MAX is a warning; NOT for kids!
Nick Fury, on the outs with the new, red-tape laden S.H.I.E.L.D. as exemplified by the smart-mouthed, smooth-dressed and so young Mr. Li, sits down at a bar to drown his sorrows, only to bump into an old enemy of the USA and democracy, Rudi Gagarin. Not too long after that--after Fury has fantasized about feeding his loser nephew to tigers, after he has entertained several prostitutes at his apartment, after he has visited old warhorse pal Dum Dum Dugan's humble suburban abode and insulted his friend's quiet retirement from govt.-approved murder, after he has bullied S.H.I.E.L.D. in their new HQ, after his home has been invaded by a cadre of Gagarin-appointed assassins in preemptive-strike mode (can you say "dogmeat once you pick out all the guns and put what's left in a big bowl"?)--Fury goes to war against Gagarin, on a small island, between mainland USA and Hawaii.
Gagarin seems to have invaded the island purely to manufacture a useless war that will bring Fury and a fresh, hand-picked team of crack soldiers into glorious battle. But his plan to shoot down a plane full of Chinese military advisors while making it look like the work of a US Taskforce gives him a shot at an added bonus: possibly starting a major global conflict.
Fury and his intrepid team execute a clever plan to arrive on the island undetected, and Fury's initial operation involves stopping Gagarin--and making US plans to bomb the island into flaming oblivion unnecessary--with minimal bloodshed. But then everything goes crazy, Fury's team gets smaller by the minute, and a final deadly confrontation with Gagarin and his main muscle, a giant, hideously-disfigured killer with a name that's mostly a swear-word and so I can't give it to you here, is inevitable. Amid the hellish flames of battle, Fury and Gagarin square off for the last time. The ensuing combat is disgustingly over-the-top, and that's just the foul language, never mind the gut-wrenching gore.
This isn't for kids. Honestly, this isn't even for me. I give this a reluctant four-star review, because, well, I was riveted. Nick Fury is a juggernaut here, commanding allies and enemies alike to bend to his will, strafing political correctness, and detonating previous notions of how comics should behave. I know all this is old-hat for Garth Ennis fans, but it's all new to me, and I'm shocked but entertained. Risk-taking is appreciated, and I don't have to read graphic novels like this all the time. And I won't. But the vicious humour, the cynical worldview, and the vile characters--including perhaps Fury himself--make this a strangely satisfying nightmare. I didn't delight in the graphic violence--I discovered that, just like I still close my eyes at the gory moments in a movie, I move my eyes swiftly over the bloody panels of Fury without lingering--but the carnage, and the foul language, does make reading Fury a memorable experience. War as a result of some kind of macho bar bet, war as a way to make the world exciting--what a terrible concept. But, in this tale, we're still left hoping the good guy wins, even if the good guy worries that he's not much different than the bad guy.
I kind of wish I was young enough to give this a one-star review, but I confess I did like it. Now back to comics that don't leave me feeling so nauseated.
Old Soldiers don't Die---they just find something else to Kill.......2006-12-20
Sherman may very well have been right, and War may be Hell---but Peace can be boring.
That goes double if you're Nick Fury, aging, semi-retired from S.H.I.E.L.D., playing nanny for his not-too-bright nephew Wendell, and fallen from a state of bloodthirsty grace that included killing for Queen & Country (and President & Congress) to hiring a battalion of hookers to slake your thirst for a little excitement, to getting nixed from SHIELDs more interesting real estate---Well, if you're Nick Fury, Peace can be Worse.
What's a former roving government super-operative to do?
How about start another war?
Our man Nicky is drinking---alone---in a Manhattan bar, lamenting the fallen state of the world. He can't even smoke his trademark stogie in NYC---because he's "offending other patrons", even though it's 10:30 PM, and the bar is cleared out, and he's the only patron. Dig? It's post-9/11, the City has suffered a brutal attack that left its trademark Twin Towers a smoking crater, and the city government says---Hey! let's ban smoking in bars!
It's that kind of petty tyranny Nick Fury was designed to fight, you know?
Anyway, the other guy in the bar that night happens to be his old Nemesis Yuri Gagurin (or somethin' like that, JEEZUS)---big former Soviet killer, KGB, Spetsnaz, Russian Murder Society, the works. Real horror-show, baby, you know it. And Yuri, well, he's feeling the lull, just like Nicky, peacetime ain't pleasant, it's like an ex-con his first few months out of the joint, craving the action---you know where I'm going with this?
No? Well, the ex-con would wanna pop a Burger King, or a small backwater bank, just to get the juices flowing. Gagurin wants to fly down with some Boyz to a small Caribbean Island, help the little tinpot Despot there seize total power, start importing arms and nukes and microwave weapons and ASATs into this little offshore Tyranny, and start World War III. The Big One.
Hell, it's something to do, and beats the hell outta waiting for the Oakland Raiders to turn things around. Right?
Except Fury is still the Good Guy, so he doesn't accept. I mean, Yuri was gonna split it right down the middle, which is pretty damned decent for a Rooskie, yeah? Anyway, a month later and Fury gets the news about Napoleon Island, and the coup, and the Russian and Chinese advisors, and---well, he's gotta do *something*, right?
So it's on!, and you're invited: Nicky gets wind that something's up, pulls together the best squad he can muster, and bludgeons his way through the new S.H.I.E.L.D bureaucracy and gets his island hopping pass and baby!---have 9MM FN Browning (with laser-scope sight, UV/night-vision), will travel!
Note: a few critics have said this is "not your Father's Nick Fury"---but that's not right: this *is* you Daddy's Fury, it's just the world ain't. It has passed Fury by. It has become peaceful, fat, indolent, safe, secure in its high walls bought and paid for by the blood of stogie-chomping patriots.
Sound familiar?
Garth Ennis writes & directs, very cynically, just fine. Darick Robertson illustrates, plenty bloody, very "Preacher", lots of brains and gore and popping eyeballs, the works. If that's what you dig, you'll dig it.
In the meantime, it's about that time, and I've got a cigar. And a 9MM FN Browning. Mind if I light up?
Smoke 'em if you got 'em, Gentlemen.
JSG
Nick Fury has issues........2006-05-06
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Looking at the first page, I wasn't sure I'd like the art, but by page 3 I was hooked. While I wasn't so into character development in Fury MAX, it certainly provides a backdrop for an excellent action/dark humor read. Laugh-out-loud funny at certain points, my only complaint is the end, which tried to be a little too serious. Otherwise, well worth the money.
Another Great MAX Title..........2005-12-23
The team of writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, Hellblazer, Punisher) and artist Darick Robinson (Punisher: Born, Wolverine) have brought us yet another great MAX title, MAX meaning for mature readers only. I've enjoyed Marvel's MAX titles so far from Punisher MAX, to The Hood, to Alias, and this didn't dissapoint me either.
The Cold War is over, S.H.E.I.L.D is run by corporate pencil-pushing wussies, and Nick Fury wants war again, and he just might get it. His freind from the Cold War is about to start World War III, unless of course, ol' Nicky can stop him. Great story written by a legend in his own right, Garth Ennis, he also showcases his trademark bizzare characters, dark humor, and his taste for violence here. The supporting cast includes Nick's nephew Wendel(reminds me of Arseface from Preacher, also written by Ennis), Rudi, the Li brothers, and F*ckface(a soldier with a bizzarly distorted face, hence the name F*ckface). He also uses his trademark dark humor here, especially with Wendel. The violence is about as gruesome as it can get, you can look forward to blood, brains, and a man being stangled with his own intestines.
The art is by Ennis's partner from Punisher: Born, very well done, especially in depicting the violence. He sorta brings a war feeling to the pages, he does the same in Punisher: Born, his art works really well with Ennis's storyline.
If you're a fan of Garth Ennis, or the MAX comics, this is worth checking out. But be warned, don't purchase this if you can be offended by profanity, nudity, sexual themes, or eccessive violence, but if you're not, then you're gonna enjoy this. Get yourself a copy!
Interesting concept, not very well carried out.......2005-11-18
Everyone knows Garth Ennis is one of the kings of "cool concepts", but his delivery here was not up to par in my opinion. His portrayal of Fury himself is fantastic, but the story itself is a bit contrived.
I must say that I like Fury as an aged, disgruntled old bastard better than as a young, sleek, fast-talking, hard-hitting super spy. Everything that makes him Nick Fury is well thought-out in this tale, but everything else is fairly weak. The story itself is a fun idea, an old adversary-cum-almost-friend of Nick's is bored with peace and wants to start a war. Fair enough, I could dig that. It's a very ex-Cold War soldier thing to do. But it's too easy for this insane Russian to suddenly run a country, and from there on everything is static, there is no character development, just fighting. The outcome is predictable, which isn't always bad, but the story itself is predictable.
As always with Ennis, you can expect vastly unnecessary amounts of gore and sex. His periphary characters are, as usual, way over-the-top (note the General and his daughters, and the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Ennis is brilliant when he is creating his own tales (Preacher, Troubled Souls), but lately he has not been doing well writing for established characters of the Marvel Universe (see his decidedly uninspiring work on The Punisher series, both MAX and otherwise, for proof).
I never read his work on Hellblazer or Judge Dredd, so I can't comment, but I must say that this comics icon is losing his touch. All his stories these days seem to be intriguing concepts, but in the end are just unnecessarily violent and profane tales featuring one-dimensional characters. Don't get me wrong, violence and profanity are right at home in the comics world, and Preacher is an amazing series, but this is not Ennis' route. His extremely eccentric nature is not appreciated here.
Book Description
Starring Wolverine, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Black Widow, Luke Cage, and more! Brian Michael Bendis, the most popular and acclaimed writer in comics, reveals the darkest chapter in Marvel Universe history! When Nick Fury finds a disturbing connection between many of Marvel's deadliest villains, he puts together a ragtag team of the Marvel Universe's most misunderstood heroes for a secret mission to do what the U.S. government could never allow, eventually leading to a super-powered blowout between a who's who of NYC heroes and mutants! Collects Secret War #1-5; and Files of Nick Fury.
Customer Reviews:
Classic Marvel.......2007-08-05
This felt like an old school Marvel comic with a modern edge. I liked it a great deal.
A Good Premise.......2007-04-13
What could have been a great story, superheroes going undercover in a foreign land, ends up being poorly executed. The painted art is often dark and difficult to follow. The story is muddled by a non-linear narrative which doesn't flow through past to present, and requires a new character to come in and explain the whole plot to the characters and the readers. Not the worst thing I've ever read, but I couldn't recommend it, either. Go get David Mazzechelli's and Paul Aster's City of Glass, instead.
Not worth it.......2007-03-19
This book reprints the SECRET WAR 5 issue mini-series and the SECRET WAR: FROM THE FILES OF NICK FURY one shot. The story by Bendis is disappointing, particularly how the ending transpires. The (painted) art is by Gabriele Dell'Otto, which at the time the mini-series was being published was being hyped by Marvel as the next Alex Ross (that prediction didn't come to pass). While the art wasn't bad, it did not possess the take-your-breath-away impact the Alex Ross' work does. It also was an odd pairing with Bendis, whose work is more light-hearted in tone (Spidey has some one-liners in this book) while the painted art conveys a dark and moody tone.
What really is the downfall of this book is that HALF of this book is made up of chat logs, dossiers, etc. Again, HALF OF THE BOOK (I counted the pages - the story was 128 pages). While they do add to the story, this takes away from the enjoyment experience of the book immensely. A few pages I would understand, but when you cannot proceed to the next chapter of the story due to the voluminous pages of text material (which one cannot ignore if one hasn't read the book before), then it becomes a chore to go through the book.
At this price point, even with the online discounts, it simply is not worth it. Save your money.
Good story idea, poor delivery.......2007-03-09
This graphic novel had the story idea potential to be on par with V for Vendetta, but in the end the plot line was over about halfway through. The rest of the book was marginally interesting, but mostly useless information about the characters. The drawings were excellent though.
so so.......2007-02-25
It spent a lot of time looking for things in this book. The artwork makes it a little hard to identify characters. And the story jump around a little too much. And its resolved with another unknown super character. Still I bought it and kind of like it. Maybe its because I like the way they presented Fury.
Average customer rating:
- Soldier's Pay best book I've read so far in LOA series
- for the sound and the fury
- Beautiful edition of Faulkner's first four novels including the masterpiece "The Sound and the Fury"
- All of Faulkner's novels now available in exquisite Lib/America eds!
- The Library of America's exquisite hardcover collection of four of William Faulkner's classic literary works
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William Faulkner: Novels 1926-1929: Soldiers' Pay / Mosquitoes / Flags in the Dust / The Sound and the Fury (Library of America)
William Faulkner
Manufacturer: Library of America
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Faulkner, William
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William Faulkner: Novels, 1957-1962: The Town / The Mansion / The Reivers (Library of America)
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William Faulkner : Novels 1936-1940 : Absalom, Absalom! / The Unvanquished / If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem / The Hamlet (Library of America)
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Henry James: Novels 1901-1902: The Sacred Fount / The Wings of the Dove (Library of America)
ASIN: 1931082898 |
Book Description
The Library of America edition of the novels of William Faulkner culminates with this volume presenting his first four, each newly edited, and, in many cases, restored with passages that were altered or (in the case of Mosquitoes) expurgated by the original publishers. This is Faulkner as he was meant to be read.
In these four novels we can track Faulkner's extraordinary evolution as, over the course of a few years, he discovers and masters the mode and matter of his greatest works. Soldiers' Pay (1926) expresses the disillusionment provoked by World War I through its account of the postwar experiences of homecoming soldiers, including a severely wounded R.A.F. pilot, in a style of restless experimentation. In Mosquitoes (1927), a raucous satire of artistic poseurs, many of them modeled after acquaintances of Faulkner in New Orleans, he continues to try out a range of stylistic approaches as he chronicles an ill-fated cruise on Lake Pontchartrain.
With the sprawling Flags in the Dust (published in truncated form in 1929 as Sartoris), Faulkner began his exploration of the mythical region of Mississippi that was to provide the setting for most of his subsequent fiction. Drawing on family history from the Civil War and after, and establishing many characters who recur in his later books, Flags in the Dust marks the crucial turning point in Faulkner's evolution as a novelist.
The volume concludes with Faulkner's masterpiece, The Sound and the Fury (1929). This multilayered telling of the decline of the Compson clan over three generations, with its complex mix of narrative voices and its poignant sense of isolation and suffering within a family, is one of the most stunningly original American novels.
The editors of this volume are Joseph Blotner and Noel Polk. Joseph Blotner, who wrote the notes, is professor of English emeritus at the University of Michigan. Biographer of William Faulkner and Robert Penn Warren, he is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and the French Legion of Honor. Noel Polk is professor of English at Mississippi State University and editor of The Mississippi Quarterly. He has edited the texts in all five volumes of William Faulkner's novels for The Library of America.
In his first four novels, William Faulkner moved beyond early experiments to discover the themes and style of his maturity. With Soldiers' Pay, a sardonic distillation of postwar disillusionment, and Mosquitoes, a freewheeling roman à clef satirizing the writers and artists of his New Orleans milieu, Faulkner served his restless apprenticeship as a writer of fiction before settling in Flags in the Dust (first published in truncated form as Sartoris) on the material that would chiefly engage him: a mythic Mississippi region dense with ancestral memories and echoes of the Civil War. The volume concludes with what many consider Faulkner's greatest work, The Sound and the Fury, a novel of family torment whose audacities of form and fearless explorations of the inner life continue to astonish. The newly edited texts in this volume include passages altered or in some cases expurgated by the original publishers.
Customer Reviews:
Soldier's Pay best book I've read so far in LOA series.......2007-08-29
Back a few years ago, I bought the entire series of Library of America books, some 173 books, each with as many as 1,600 small-print pages. Typically, each volume contains several books (say novels) by an author.
The quality of the writing they have selected is marvelous. There are very few "dogs". Below are my ratings of all the stuff I've read so far (a miniscule fraction of the total library), along with, of course, my completely nonsensical (often sports or pop culture) author nicknames.
And they keep sending me new books faster than I can read the existing ones...
Practically all that I've read ranges from good to fantastic, and I stop reading ones I don't like, so almost all of the books cited below are worthy by my standards. No stars means good, * means especially good, ** means great, and I think I also gave one book (Soldier's Pay by Faulkner) ***. The numbers are the series # of the book out of the 173 published so far.
A book of Henry James' fiction (not in the LOA series) that I read about 3 years ago got me started on this quest, a supplement to my quest of playing the entire history of baseball via APBA.
1. Herman "Franks" Melville: Typee* ("Idyllic") 316 pps
1. Herman "Franks" Melville: Omoo ("Picks up where Typee left off") 330 pps
2. Nathaniel "Nate the Skate" Hawthorne: Assorted Stories ("Some hard to follow") 301 pps
4. Harriet "and Ozzy" Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom's Cabin** ("Uncle Tom is no 'Uncle Tom'") 520 pps
5. Mark "Shania" Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer* ("Hilarious moments for a different kind of Tom") 216 pps
10. Nathaniel "Nate the Skate" Hawthorne: Fanshawe* ("Young scholar, romance, skullduggery") 114 pps
6. Jack "Gene" London: The Call of the Wild ("Savage") 86 pps
6. Jack "Gene" London: White Fang* ("Roger Vick-type dog-fighting
action") 198 pps
8. William Dean "Bailey" Howells: A Foregone Conclusion* ("Gripping, intricate romance") 172 pps
8. William Dean "Bailey" Howells: A Modern Instance ("Marriage gone awry in repressed times") 418 pps
11. Francis "Shibe" Parkman: Pioneers of France in the New World** ("What it was REALLY like") 330 pps
11. Francis "Shibe" Parkman: The Jesuits in North America* ("More of these accurate depictions") 382 pps
14. Henry "Don" Adams: Democracy** ("Real politics 1800's-style")
16. Washington "Dr. J" Irving: Early writings ("Boring at times") 87 pps
18. Stephen "Whooping" Crane: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets ("Fascinating but grim") 74 pps
18. Stephen "Whooping" Crane: The Red Badge of Courage* ("True face of war") 134 pps
19. Edgar "Teletubbie" Poe: Assorted Stories ("Truly weird") 188 pps
29. Henry "Edgeron" James: Washington Square* ("Plain woman trapped") 190 pps
30. Edith Wharton "School": The House of Mirth* ("Reese Witherspoon plays role in movie") 348 pps
33. Frank "Chuck" Norris: Vandover and the Brute ("Wolf-man emerges") 260 pps
33. Frank "Chuck" Norris: McTeague** ("Greed prevails") 312 pps
35. Willa "Thrilla" Cather: Assorted stories ("Oblique") 76 pps
36. Theodore "Early" Dreiser: Sister Carrie** ("Young lives go opposite directions") 456 pps
37. Benjamin "Joe" Franklin Assorted Writings* ("Brilliant satire") 87 pps
39. Flannery "Father" O'Connor: Wise Blood ("Liked better at 25") 132 pps
55. Richard "Gary" Wright: Lawd Today!** ("Unforgettable humor, violence") 220 pps
59. Sinclair "Jerry" Lewis: Main Street* ("Small-town USA") 486 pps
69. "Ornery" Sarah Orne Jewett: Deephaven* ("Atmospheric")
72. John "Franken" Steinbeck: The Pastures of Heaven** ("Modern Gothic") 170 pps
74. Zora Neale "Zorro" Hurston: Jonah's Gourd Vine ("Black preacher")
97. James "I think I'm going" Baldwin: Go Tell it on the Mountain ("Conversion experience") 216 pps
101. Eudora "The Explorer" Welty: The Robber Bridegroom ("Ridiculous fairy tale") 88 pps
103. Brockden "Les" Brown: Wieland* ("Early Gothic chills") 228 pps
111. Henry "Etta" James: Assorted Stories 1864-74** ("Consistently compelling") 430 pps
117. F. Scott "Ella" Fitzgerald: This Side of Paradise* ("Ultimately sublime") 252 pps
126. Dawn "Boog" Powell: Dance Night* ("Small-town romance in 1920's") 204 pps
134. Paul "Super" Bowles: The Sheltering Sky* ("Sophisticates lost in Africa") 252 pps
148. James T. "Turk" Farrell: Young Lonigan* ("Coming of age in tough streets") 176 pps
164. William Faulkner "Pontiac, Buick, GMC Trucks": Soldier's
Pay*** ("Unique, gripping") 256 pps
164. William Faulkner "Pontiac, Buick, GMC Trucks": Mosquitos** ("Indescribable romp") 284 pps
164. William Faulkner "Pontiac, Buick, GMC Trucks": Flags in the Dust ("Doomed family") 336 pps
164. William Faulkner "Pontiac, Buick, GMC Trucks": The Sound and the Fury ("Bewildering") 268 pps
for the sound and the fury .......2006-11-04
The Sound and the Fury is such a wonder of book, that I give this publication 5 stars just for providing us, finally with this beautiful edition. I haven't read the first three of these books, because they seem to be by an author who hasn't yet found his voice. Just to throw this out there, but I'd love to have his complete short stories (with notes) in this format. Don't you agree, Faulkner lovers?
Beautiful edition of Faulkner's first four novels including the masterpiece "The Sound and the Fury".......2006-08-30
We all owe the wonderful Library of America a great deal for publishing the volumes of William Faulkner's complete novels. It has taken more than twenty years to bring them out and now concludes with his first four novels. These were published from 1926 until 1929. This volume includes "Soldier's Pay", "Mosquitoes", "Flags in the Dust", and "The Sound and the Fury".
"Soldier's Pay" is a first novel and shows it. While it has some fine moments and shows Faulkner's style of presenting "reality" without context and focusing on emotional interiors and the aspects of life that we tend to hide even from ourselves, it is not a great work. However, it is still worth reading. The central figure is a disfigured and dying pilot brought home from the war by strangers into a complex family dynamic that is made much worse because the pilot was thought dead, but is now alive and horribly disabled.
I personally found "Mosquitoes" to be all but unreadable. It is too self-indulgent with a delight in talking about intimate things as if that were profound. No thanks.
"Flags in the Dust" was published in part as "Sartoris" in the late twenties. In 1973, Random House published the complete text as far as it could be restored. It reads much differently than his first two novels and it is here that the voice starts sounding like a mature and confident Faulkner. It concerns multiple generations that fester into ruin and misery of all kinds that seem to include perverse sexual relations and alcoholism. Yes, there is also racism in the books, but the books are not racist because the attitudes of the characters are consistent with their times and do not include any sympathy from Faulkner that I can find. And his is a worldwith living memories of the tragic Southern experience of the Civil War and the shock and loss of the Great War (WWI)for the living generation.
The volume ends with Faulner's first clear masterpiece, "The Sound and the Fury". While all Faulkner's prose is not easy to read and requires constant attention and often some re-reading, this book also has multiple unannounced perspectives and shifts in narrator. At the end of the book is an appendix that was first written by Faulkner for "The Portable Faulkner" edited by Matthew Cowley in 1946. You might want to read this first if you want to understand the story more clearly the first time through. However, it could be argued that you shouldn't because the confusion and disorientation is part of the reading experience that author wants you to have as you work through his story.
It is clear to me that Faulkner is a great master of prose and that his works are great treasures in the English language. However, his ethos is quite foreign to me. I do not find great value in reading about lives of misery, incest, adultery, perversion, ruin, and loss. Is that really all there is to human life? Not in my more than fifty years of experience. And since Faulkner was a young man when he wrote these works, what did he really know about life and what was just rumor and hearsay?
Still, the use of language is powerful and unique. Attempts have been made to copy aspects of his style, but none can come closer than mannerisms. Faulkner's was a genius that not only included his words, but in the way he conveyed reality. We don't experience our lives with chapter headings or with moments clearly delineated as part of this or that. We construct our filing system for events in retrospect. So, Faulkner presents us his stories in ways that require us to ask ourselves what is happening, what just happened, did anything happen? Where does this go? Who is this? Why the different names for the same people? Why the same names for different people? It is working through these and every other question that occurs to you that you come to an understanding of the work. And your understanding will almost certainly be personal and different from almost everyone else.
This is a fine volume with reliable texts for these important works, a chronology of Faulkner's life, notes on the texts, and a beautiful binding with materials and type that add to the quality of the reading experience.
All of Faulkner's novels now available in exquisite Lib/America eds!.......2006-04-15
Although chronologicallly the four novels in this volume (which includes Faulkner's masterpiece The Sound and the Fury) are Faulkner's first, this is the last volume of his novels to come off the presses of the Library of America. This is a landmark event in the world of Belles Lettres, not just American literature! The first volume (Novels 1930-35) was published in 1985, making the publication of the definitive texts of the novels of William Faulkner a 21-year enterprise. Kudos to Library of America and editors Noel Polk and Joseph Blotner.
For those who haven't heard of them, the Library of America (LOA) is a non-profit venture with the mission of publishing the definitive texts of the best of American literature in uniform clothbound editions designed to last. (Google them to find out more about their mission and for a complete list of titles in print and forthcoming.) But these are not just handsome books or cheesy Franklin Mint style collectables. Establishing the best texts for the works selected for the series is a difficult and tricky enterprise, and the most qualified scholars are sought to take on the series' diverse authors. For Faulkner this editorial task fell to two of the most prominent Faulkner scholars around, Joseph Blotner (also his biographer) and Noel Polk. LOA does not clutter up its pages with footnotes and does not commission literary introductions for its volumes, so the casual reader may be unaware of the extensive amount of scholarship that goes on "behind the scenes." As noted in brief "Notes on the Text" to the Novels 1926-1929, "By preserving Faulkner's spelling, punctuation, and wording, even when inconsistent or irregular, the Polk texts strive to be as faithful to Faulkner's usage as surviving evidence permits. In this volume, the reader has the results of the most detailed scholarly efforts thus far made to establish the texts of Soldier's Pay, Mosquitoes, Flags in the Dust, and The Sound and the Fury" (p. 1175).
Since the publisher's own description of this volume here on Amazon.com doesn't point this out, it should be noted that the version of The Sound and the Fury published by LOA includes the "Appendix (Compson: 1699-1945)" which does not exist in all editions of the novel still in print. Although this Appendix was first published in 1945 as part of The Portable Faulkner (16 years after the novel itself was published), I always found it perverse and annoying that it was excluded from all but the Modern Library edition of the novel. (After all, if readers want the experience of reading the novel in the pristine form of the 1929 first edition, all they have to do is ignore the Appendix.)
I don't know what else, if anything, of Faulkner's output LOA intends to publish going forward (short stories, screenplays, speeches, letters, poetry?), but these five volumes of novels contain (arguably?) the best works of American fiction by any author. Each volume is a handy size (though some contain four novels, they are all the size of one of Faulkner's novels as orinally published), and set in large and readable type. Buy them all and you can own all of Faulkner's best work without giving up three bookshelves to store them!
The Library of America's exquisite hardcover collection of four of William Faulkner's classic literary works.......2006-04-08
Faulkner Novels 1926-1929 is The Library of America's exquisite hardcover collection of four of William Faulkner's classic literary works: "Soldier's Pay", "Mosquitoes", "Flags in the Dust", and "The Sound and the Fury". Like all volumes in this publisher's authoritative texts of literary classics, Faulkner Novels 1926-1929 is a compact hardbound volume with a ribbon for easy bookmarking sewn into the spine. A chronology and sections of notes on the text as well as Faulkner's life round out this definitive "must-have" edition, ideal for public and college libraries as well as private reading shelves.
Customer Reviews:
The Sound and Nick Fury.......2007-01-04
Nick Fury is one of the pivotal characters of the Marvel Universe, yet also the least 'super'. He has no special powers, no latent mutant abilities, and no expertise in kung fu or the dark arts, yet he is the focal point of most of the Marvel action since the brewing of the Marvel Universe in the early 60s. The eyepatch is a good touch (although has never been explained, at least not to my knowledge) making him the Odin of the superheroes. His role changes with the times, in the 60s a Bond-like figure, in the 70s and 80s he took to the shadows and more covert ops, and today his role is more political and policy oriented. This early collection is a good addition to your collection, perhaps not the best stories, and perhaps not the most complete collection (an Essentials collection assembling early Capt Am, SHIELD, and Iron Man books would provide some character continuity, as well as a pre-quil Howling Commandos, which maybe would say something about the eye). Good reading, not the best, and really reserved for the obsessive afficianado. But, you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't, right?
Jim Steranko tranforms Nick Fury into Comic Book "Pop Art".......2002-01-26
I know I could never tell you where Jim Steranko came from before he started drawing Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division), in Marvel's "Strange Tales" comic book in 1966. Actually, way back when, I was more interested in Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystical Arts. Besides, it was hard to believe Nick Fury, from "Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos," was a one-eyed spymaster. But the development of Steranko's signature style as an artist became THE reason for bothering with a comic that was, in many regards, the bottom of the line at Marvel. Steranko began by doing the finished artwork over layouts by Jack "King" Kirby and ended up not only drawing the series but scripting it as well. The rest was most definitely comic history.
Included in this collection are "Strange Tales" 150-168, which provides one of the greatest examples of artistic growth ever seen in the field of comic books (Barry Windsor-Smith's legendary run on "Conan the Barbarian" is the only other example on the same plateau). Here we have Nick Fury's one-man assault on Hydra and the epic battle with the Yellow Claw. Early in the Sixties Marvel had labeled its comics as "Pop Art," in a feeble attempt to market themselves as more than just comics for kids. Well, when Steranko started incorporating elements from the psychedelic films and art of the time you could argue he achieved "Pop Art" in comics. Steranko used photography, optical art effects and unorthodox page designs to create his own unique style. Ultimately, his work had much more to do with cutting-edge cinema than it did with traditional comic books, which is why his reputation endures.
It is hard not to look at these Steranko's striking designs in these super spy stories and find yourself thinking more of "Bladerunner" and "The Matrix" more than James Bond. But as much as we admire Steranko's use of fine, defined ink line we also need to pay attention to his use of pacing, which is undeniably cinematic. I heard Steranko went on to do storyboards for movies, including "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula," which is fitting, but also rather ironic. Speaking of irony, Steranko's best work in comics, both with Nick Fury and other characters (most notably Captain America and The X-Men) was yet to come. So while this collection does not represent Steranko's best work, it does capture the evolution of a major talent in comics. Besides, it will probably cost you more than the price of this collection to pick up just ONE of the comics reprinted within.
WHAT?!?.......2001-06-15
Reading level: ages 4-8. Ages 4 to 8?!?! Come on, Amazon, how many four year olds are going to pick up a 60's mod spy books? Have some common sense, please. I'm twenty-two and these books aren't exactly "Goodnight Moon". Why America has such a disrespect for graphic storytelling, when it is highly respected in essentially the rest of the world, is beyond me. [...]
A volume of ingenious and innovative storytelling........2000-12-19
Seldom has a comic artist injected so much of his personality into a series. There are variations of Fury the escape artist. There are multiple identity themes (did the film makers of Face Off and MI-2 read these stories at an impressionable age?). There are scenes that are, literally and figuratively, slight of hand. Beginning with "The Tribunal," Steranko molded his life, comic book, and film influences to fit his sensibilities and developed rapidly as a master storyteller. In doing this, Steranko became a major influence in his own right.
It is great to have the stories in one volume. After more than thirty years, they hold up wonderfully as entertainment and as models of innovative storytelling for the critical reader. The only drawback is that the color printing in this volume is not quite as good as in the original comic books.
Eye-Popping.......2000-06-30
I first read these comic books when I was 13, and knew then there was something unique and different about them. And re-reading them over 30 years later confirms my belief that these are still truly incredibly entertaining comic book stories! The artwork gets better and better throughout the book as Steranko actually becomes a better artist with each subsequent chapter. His graphic design sense is totally original and eye-popping. I have the original comics on which this reprint book is based upon and it is nice to have them in one volume printed on better paper. My criticism is that Steranko's original colours were not used and that the stats upon which these reprints were based were not of the highest quality.
Book Description
First published in 1929, Faulkner created his "heart's darling," the beautiful and tragic Caddy Compson, whose story Faulkner told through separate monologues by her three brothers--the idiot Benjy, the neurotic suicidal Quentin and the monstrous Jason.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant and Untouchable.......2006-11-02
While some may think that good work should be "readable and enjoyable," great work is meant to elevate us. Stun us, amaze us, fill us with wonder. Otherwise, See Spot Run would be a masterpiece.
William Faulkner is a writer the likes of which we may never see again. He is not only brilliant of word but of concept. He creates a picture not only by text, but by context and form. In many ways, his works sculpt. How else would we see things from the vistas of the characters, especially those who can't speak but by setting and demonstration?
One reviewer cursed his conveyance of emotion by "using big words." Writing is the art of language interplay, the use of beautiful and succinct language. Faulkner uses language that most of us have never heard of but when we take the time to look up that language, the effect is stunning and makes the experience all the more worth it.
Signifying Nothing.......2006-10-17
Macbeth V.v 25-30:
"A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Stream-of-conscieness technique (no punctuation), southern accents (no spell check), mixed and matched timecrawls (flashbacks without warning), sequencing narrators (voice change with no scene break), first and third person viewpoints (confused yet?), and slapped-your-faceee! symbolism.
For literature, I choose Hemingway (who can be subtle or direct, but is always clear). Good books should be enjoyable and understandable. I understand the story Faulkner was trying to tell about a Jerry-Springeresque southern family, but I didn't like the novel. If you want to enjoy dsyfunctional American families with blistering social commentary watch 'South Park'-- much funnier. I'll let one of Faulkner's contemporaries speak:
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use."
--Ernest Hemingway
Unless you are forced into this book for a literature class, don't buy it and don't read it. If you look hard enough, anything can become meaninful, even this tripe. Victor Hugo, Shakespeare, and those ancient greeks are excellent in that their works have themes and meanings already. You don't have to overanalyze and create meaning where none exists in order to enjoy those works.
Faulkner is babble and murky and opaque with circular symbolism fading into tempestous violence only an idiot pretending genius or an eleemosynary prententious genius enjoying idiocy might love and obtuse run-on sentences longer than this one are exactly what you'll find all over this classical work.
The most overrated book ever written.......2006-09-26
This book is a perfect example of people in ivory towers, and those who are afraid to admit they don't get it, jumping on a 5-star bandwagon. Faulkner titled this book perfectly, calling it The Sound And The Fury, while leaving out the rest of the phrase: signifying nothing. The first chapter is a noble, but failed, attempt at creativity. But almost no one, even the most well-read people, understands that the first chapter is written out of chronological order until they find out someplace else. The chapter's main point was as an excuse to get in Faulkner's description of what instigated the novel, a somewhat kinky description of looking up at the girl Caddy's muddy panties. A fatal flaw in the chapter, which never achieves a rhythm, is that Benjy, whose thoughts comprise the chapter, apparently has a photographic memory and thinks in completely lucid, complete sentences despite being an idiot. Caddy, the main character in a novel of stereotypes and pitiful prose, is actually a despicable trollop. She's characterized as Benjy's friend, but a careful reading shows that she only befriends him when it's convienent for her. Other chapters are even more sick than Benjy's castration, including the one with Caddy's brother lusting after her, or the hackneyed, cliché chapter with the old slave showing how much wiser she is than folk she serves. The Cliffs notes and other reviews perpetuate the idea that the book's theme is the downfall of the old plantation system. This is an invention; not found in the book. S&F, as Faulkner loudly hints in the title, is about nothing other than his infatuation with Caddy. It has no plot. And it is far from a great insight into the way people think. Only perverts think as these characters do. In the end, this novel is just page after page of sheer boredom. It's supposed to be a great book of human tragedy, but to feel tragedy you have to sympathize with the characters ... and all of the white characters in this novel are disgusting. All of its supposed great meaning, and the flip-flop in reviews from castigating to praising the experimental style, weren't dreamed up until 15 years after the first printing flopped, by literary professors who have to keep coming up with new ideas under the "publish or perish" law. It was only revisited because Faulkner did, eventually, write some good books. You want truly great writing? Try Steinbeck, Welty, Hemingway, Harper Lee, Dickens, Twain, Tolkien, Melville, Dostoyevsky, O. Henry, Wells, Verne, Maugham, Crane or even Rowling (Yes, Rowling. Her Potter books are complex, effortlessly intertwine several story lines and sublimely combine strong characterization, suspense and humor).
Difficult But Rewarding.......2006-08-02
The first two sections of The Sound And The Fury have a reputation for being extremely difficult, and deservedly so. In fact, the first time I tried to read it, the Benjy Section made me feel dizzy, and I had to stop...I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere without a little orientation courtesy of Cliffs Notes, so I put it off for a while.
But when I came back to it a few months later, this time prepared to do a little work to understand the chronology and characters, I felt like Faulkner was transporting me to a whole new world, the deep south at the beginning of the twentieth century, and it was an incredible experience. By the time I was finished, The Sound and the Fury had become one of my favorite books, meaning that I enjoyed reading it and plan to read it again.
This is not to say, however, that Faulkner couldn't have made the book more accessible or easier to read. He certainly could have, and maybe that would have improved it. But, to me at least, it's important to remember that part of Faulkner's greatness was his willingness to experiment with form, to push the envelope of what a novel could do, and so I strongly believe that this book is worthy of praise just as it is.
In fact, to me the Benjy Section isn't supposed to be accessible...it's supposed to make you feel just as confused and disoriented as Benjy felt...and I've never encountered anything else quite like it. It's like being caught up in a whirlwind of sound and color, without a clear sense of space or time, without making logical connections or understanding the broader context of what's going on around you. In other words, the Benjy Section is felt and experienced rather than processed, and that's what makes it so confusing...yet that's what makes it amazing too. Not only that, but I actually enjoyed it. You just can't find many pieces of literature that change the way you look at the world quite like The Sound and the Fury does.
Now, I'm not saying I would recommend this book for beach reading necessarily, or as a page turner in the traditional sense. And I like to read those kinds of books too...I proudly acknowledge that I've read every Harry Potter book twice. But if you're looking for incredible dialogue, for symbolism, for experimentation, for a powerful sense of time and place, for imagination and a sense of humor, for an exploration of how the same events appear to different people, for a unique and compelling vision, for a challenge...then I'd recommend The Sound and the Fury without reservation. It's tough, yes, but I also found it deeply rewarding and even exhilarating.
A lot of people love Faulkner and a lot of people don't enjoy him at all. To me, it just depends on what you're looking for. He certainly isn't all that accessible, he doesn't do a lot of favors to the reader, he may be a bit pompous at times...all of that is true to a certain extent. But it is still very possible and even easy to love reading his books anyway, just for the simple pleasure of it. Personally, my advice is this: if you're interested, read it. Then make up your own mind.
More a puzzle than a story.......2006-01-10
Wanting something to read on vacation, I hurriedly grabbed the Vintage paperback edition from a dusty shelf in the back of my home office. The book had belonged to my stepson many years ago. As I thumbed through the pages, it began to fall apart.
I do not recall having to read The Sound and the Fury in college, but I knew it was famous. Other than that, I came to the book with an open mind but expecting excellence. To that end, I was sorely disappointed, despite some fine passages, but even those often contained unclear elements.
From the start the story came across as gibberish. Time jumped around, and characters appeared with little or no introduction. Gradually a sense of story began to sink in, but by then, what might have been significant in the earlier pages was already lost to me. I wondered what connection the title had to the story. I struggled through the entire book, finding later sections to be more coherent, particularly the last, but I was unable to gain a full appreciation of the story. And I wasn't about to reread the book repeatedly to obtain it.
There seems to be no effort at word economy, particularly in dialogue. There are endless rambling paragraphs and only four "chapters" for the 400 pages of text.
Worst of all, there is inadequate exposition throughout the book. There is no introduction telling the reader how the book is constructed, most notably, that it begins with an account by an idiot. The idea of having a family's story related by several members if fine, so is writing in stream of conscious, but adequate exposition is needed to orient the reader.
Frustrated during the reading, I thumbed through it and discovered the appendix which described the Compson family. Most of this material should have been presented early in the book, but even that would not have provided adequate exposition. After reading the book, I learned that the appendix was added some time after the first edition to help the reader. That should be a big hint that the book is lacking in exposition. I believe that good exposition is the responsibility of a writer.
This book is more of a puzzle than a story, and the latter is sacrificed for the former. The author does not lead you through the story; he throws you into it. For those who marvel at the literary value of this book, I say, "The emperor has no clothes."
Book Description
Before he presided over S.H.I.E.L.D., before he ran with the Howling Commandos, Sgt. Nick Fury fought on the blood-stained sands of the Tunisian desert. It was here that he came face to face with the incomparable might of the 21st Panzer Division and its skilled warrior commander - General Stephen Barkhorn - and barely lived to tell about it. And it was there that he got a second chance at life... and revenge. In this gripping tale, Garth Ennis (Ghost Rider, Punisher) and Darick Ropbertson (Punisher: Born) offer a never-before-seen glimpse into the soul of a warrior you only think you know. Collects Fury: Peacemaker #1-6.
Customer Reviews:
Ennis takes on Nick Fury once again.......2007-03-01
A couple years back, not long after Garth Ennis began his revamp of the Punisher, he and artist Darick Robertson took Marvel's mature MAX label to new limits with the Fury mini-series. A spectacularly bloody and vulgar action epic, Fury was a smashingly great series that showed just what Ennis and Marvel's MAX line were capable of. Once again, Ennis takes on Marvel's grizzled, cigar chomping war hero with Fury: Peacemaker. Robertson is back as well providing the pencils, with the MAX imprint long gone to boot. That aside, Ennis manages to tell a compelling yarn that finds a pre-eye patch Fury in the middle of World War II. After becoming the lone survivor of his brigade, Fury embarks on a secret, revenge fueled mission. There's some twists and surprises (along with a few nods to the future events in the aforementioned Fury series), and Robertson and Jimmy Palmiotti provide solid artwork as usual, but the lack of the MAX label does limit Ennis' creative freedom. Despite that, he still manages to provide a great war yarn (something else Ennis has always been great at telling) featuring one of Marvel's oldest icons. All in all, whether you're a fan of Ennis or Nick Fury, Peacemaker is definitely worth checking out.
Product Description
WHA-HOOO! Its time for Marvels first-ever war Masterworks with tales of Sgt. Nick Fury and his Howlin Commandos in thick of ol WWII! And for the icing on the cake, its a titanic team-up of the mighty talents of Sgt. Stan Lee and Infantryman Jack Kirby! Thats a pair storytellers so explosive you better make sure you keep your lid on when you read this one, soldier! Prepare yourself for drama, intrigue, humor and action galore as Fury, Dum Dum Dugan and the rest of the Howlers as they battle more Nazis than you can shake a bayonet at, team-up with Captain America and Bucky, battle the nefarious Baron Strucker and Zemo, and set out to capture Adolf Hitler himself! With a pedigree like that, get off your duff and reserve your copy today, goldbrick! Thats an order! Collecting SGT. FURY #1-13
Customer Reviews:
The Greatest Generation, Take One.......2007-07-29
I owned the thirteen issues collected in this Masterwork volume, and
indeed, they are masterworks. Death was a reality in Sgt. Fury, as the youngest Howler, Junior Juniper, was killed in issue #3. Reed Richards
made an appearance in the same issue as an OSS agent working with the
Italian partisans, which gave Fury an a priori link to the later Marvel
Universe. The Howlers were short-handed until issue #7, when Percival Pinkerton, member of a prominent British military family was introduced
as an enlisted man assigned to Fury's Ranger squad. In issue #7, the
commandos were assigned to recover or a destroy a suspected "death ray"
created by the evil Dr. Zemo, who was suspected to be Dr. Doom in the
present day, AND Kang the Conqueror, in the distant future, tying the
past again to current storylines. Issue #7 was also the debut of Dick Ayers as Fury's chief penciller and my personal favorite. Jack Kirby did
his last work on the title in issue #13, as it was the "guest" appearance of Captain America and Bucky, filled with the Silver Age bombast that
was Kirby. Stan Lee was at his creative peak, and his collaborations with
Kirby and Ayers kept this title creatively vital throughout the '60s, in spite of Vietnam, assassinations, and ethical betrayals of the public
trust. Some say it was a simpler time. Maybe. I say it was simply that we had things to believe in. Either way, within these pages you may find it
easy to believe again.
Paperback Edition, Please??.......2006-04-28
Sgt. Fury was one of my childhood favorites: Jack Kirby doing a war comic was as good as it got, and Stan Lee's gag-riddled storylines mixed humor and violence to create an extremely palatable stew for an eleven-year-old to feast upon. This was the comic equivalent of TV's excellent "COMBAT" series, and the action and the plots and the art were really superior.
That said, these Masterworks editions are a little pricey-- if they could be republished in a uniform paper edition at about $20, they'd fly off the shelves.
Product Description
FFG is proud to present a major event in the bestselling and award-winning Midnight campaign setting product line. This limited edition boxed set will be a must-have for every fan of the Midnight world. The endless hordes of the Shadow in the North are marshaling for one final thrust into the heart of Erethor, the vast forest homeland of the elves. If this epic military campaign is successful, it could mean the end of organized resistance to Izrador in Eredane.
Customer Reviews:
Take the Fury.......2007-07-08
I bought this box set when it was firs published. Read it and loved it; and over the next several years flipped through it from time to time. Recently, I have re-read the book and have fallen in love with it again.
The box contains the following: a big map of Eredane, character sheets, DM screen, map booklet, and 160 pages soft cover campaign book (the meat of the box).
I must confess that the while the big map is nice, it is really just a blown up image of the map from the Midnight campaign setting book, with no additional information; the character sheet did no impress me much (and I do not even know where they are now), and the DM screen serves its purpose as long as it hides my notes and dice rolls (I don't really care what is written on the inside of it).
The most important part of the box is of course the campaign book. This book is a must for any DM who plans to run a campaign in Erethor, or who just wants to expand his/her knowledge of the elves and what they are facing.
I'll break down the chapters for you:
Chapters 1 to 3 describe the various regions of the elven forest Erethor that are directly affected by the war with the Shadow (Izrador): the Caraheen (central), Veradeen (north) and the Arrun jungle and Druid's Swamp (south). The Caraheen receive the most attention with a page count that almost equals both the south and northern area, which is a shame. The relatively quite coastal area of western Erethor, the Miraleen, does not receives it's own chapter, and while it get several other mentions in other areas of the books, I think that some more information on this area of Erendane would have been welcomed. Even though, all three chapters a choke full of great locations and interesting personalities with enough quirks and twists that a cunning DM could have his players constantly on edge and asking themselves whether they should truly trust\hate\love\etc. that particular person (and in my opinion, one of the most important parts of a Midnight campaign)
Chapter 4 goes into a little more detail about the various elven societies (all four), their strength and how they fight the Shadow, what could happen should the Shadow succeed in corrupting or defeating some of them, as well as some adventure hooks. The chapter also provides on some other groups that help/hinder the elves in their fight such as the Cult of the Witch, Roland's Raiders, and the Pirate Princes.
Chapter 5 provides an excellent recounting of the war on Erethor for the past 99 years, an Arc by Arc (months in Midnight) description of the Shadows "final" and greatest offensive against the elves, and some of the Witch Queen plans to counter such an offensive. It is important to know, and the authors keep reminding us, that this chapter is a possibility of things to happen to provide adventure seed and\or a backdrop to the party's adventure in the elven forest.
Chapter 6 describes the Shadow's forces besieging Erethor, the location and difficulties these forces have, their plans of conquest, the personalities and ambitions of the various captains (with all the conflicts between them), giving us a better understanding of how they might react; and as well as the elven forces and how they try to counter the Shadow's minions. This is another excellent part of the book with plenty of ideas.
Chapter 7 provides general adventure ideas in Erethor for both good or evil parties, and three short encounters taking advantage of the various areas described in the book. Chapter 8 gives us the new monsters and several important NPCs complete with their personalities and quirks. Chapter 9 is the shortest and gives us a handful of feats and one Prestige Class, the Erunsil Blood.
The book on the whole is very well written. Short stories (several paragraphs at most) dot the chapters and give readers a more in-depth look at what the elves and orcs fighting in this warfront feel. You cannot read a page of this book without an adventures idea, if not a whole campaign, jumping out at you (in fact, I recommend reading this book with a notebook and pen on the side. Just in case).
There are no meta-plots in this book. The authors keep reminding the reader that everything written down are suggestions and ideas, a possibility of things to come, nothing more. They leave enough gray area for the DM to run around in and fit and mold into his/her own campaign.
The book in black and white (as all Midnight books are) and I like this because I believe it very fitting for this dark setting. While I do not like the cover art of the book, I do like the interior art. The map booklet is also black and white, and I have no problem with that either; I do not think it detracts from them, and still believe they are very good.
The original box set cost $50, and I do think it was a little too much for what the box offered. But, at the current price here on Amazon ($33), this box set is good value for your money.
THE WAR AGAINST THE ELVES.......2005-09-12
If you've seen my previous reviews for the Midnight Campaign setting or some of its supplements you know I've had nothing but great things to say about this dark, foreboding, and enthralling fantasy campaign. The Fury of Shadow box set continues to keep the bar set very high as this supplement moves the battle for the world of Aryth into Erethor, the homeland of the elves. The first three chapters of the guidebook details the various Elven lands and how the evil of the Dark Lord Izrador has already affected the lands. Major points of interest are including in the descriptions of each land and also serve as adventure hooks for the GM. Areas such as the Spider Haunted Thorn Webs of Tanglehorn, The Darkening Wood, and the massive, steel tree known as Silverthorn all make wonderful jumping off points for the GM to begin an adventure. And then there is the ominous Obsidian Spire that churns with foul magic and evil creatures.
Succeeding chapters detail the free Elven peoples and their struggles against the dark forces as well as documenting the history of the war within Erethor and the forces that the Dark Lord has brought to bear against the Elves. This is where the Midnight products really shine. There is a depth and richness to the history and people of the Midnight setting is lacking in many campaigns. You can tell that the designers spent a great deal of time developing the milieu rather than just cookie cutter places and names. Rather than do all the work for you, Fury of the Shadow outlines several adventures that the GM can then flesh out and develop further. These outlines also include encounters to help the GM out.
The final chapters provide a wealth of resource material including the new monsters you'll encounter such as Bog Hags, as well as major NPCs, new feats, and new prestige classes. The boxed set comes with a beautifully illustrated poster sized map, a regional map book, a GM screen, and character record sheets. I would concur with some of the other reviewers that at $50, it may be a bit on the pricey side but you can get it for about 33% off at Amazon which definitely makes it worth the money. As with all their Midnight products, Fantasy Flight Games spares no expense in the production. The cover art to the box and books are first rate as is the interior art. It's perhaps a small thing, but one that sets them apart from other companies producing RPGs. These really catch your eye when you see them. It's for this reason that Midnight has moved to the top of my list of favorite campaign worlds.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
Sticker Shock!.......2005-02-08
First of all...I agree with the person who said this was overpriced. It's one of the reasons I don't like boxed sets. And I see no reason for this to be a boxed set, to be honest. The maps aren't very detailed, and not created by a professional cartographer, which I would expect for a product in this price range. The writing is choppy, and the plot lines are overly complicated.
The screen, from what I saw, wasn't very helpful, and the character sheets don't seem any different than what I can get online. This product in no way lives up to the hype.
If it is true, and this is being produced by the official fan site...then I can certainly see why the quality has gone downhill. That particular site is cliqueish, and the members are rude. It's sad, to see this line marginalized this way, not to mention that FFG seems to have been hit with the whacky stick of profit.
Plenty of good ideas.......2005-02-08
Fury of Shadow has many good points, but it has a couple annoyances that could have been cleared up to make a better product.
First, the good. It is filled with details for a large swath of the continent of Eredane. By combining the stories and ambitions of several key characters (both friend and foe), an overriding campaign is instantly created. Plots within plots, character scheming, and political intrigue are all readily available for the DM to place the characters into truly epic setting-altering events. Details of the geographical regions and locations can be used as miniature settings- i've already got many ideas for the Plains of Blood and Ash.
There are a few minor scars on this product though. The localized maps in the book are in black and white, but contain such detail it becomes difficult to read. The giant poster map of Eredane is very nice, but because Fury focuses on the war upon Erethor, the new details are limited to the center of the map. The result is a map with plenty of detail in the center, but with no new information on the edges. The writing is good, though with so much detail a reader might get confused- i often found myself asking, `now who was that character again?', and then flipping back through the book to keep things straight.
But overall, an impressive product. Even if you're not running a Midnight campaign, I don't see how you could not find good ideas for your own campaign from this set.
Overpriced.......2005-02-05
While in physical quality, this is a very attractive set, it is overpriced, and the writing is flat. The quality of this line seems to be going downhill with each publication.
The booklet of character sheets are the same sheets that are available online, and seem to have been put in as filler. The GM screen is of the odd, horizontal design, and seems to be rather random in it's placement of information. On some occaisions, the information on the screen contradicts what's in the main book. The maps in the map booklet are too tiny, and the poster 
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