Sympathy for the Devil

Book Description

Censured by some critics for its brutality but heralded by others as a modern-day classic, Sympathy for the Devil is a terrifying, intoxicating journey through the violence, madness, and insane beauty of battle. It traces the story of a hardened Green Beret named Hanson, a college student who goes to war with a book of Yeats's poetry in his pocket and discovers the savagery within himself.

In this extraordinary novel, we follow Hanson through two tours of duty and a bitter attempt to live as a civilian in between. At one with the lush and dangerous world around him in Vietnam, Hanson is doomed to survive the landscape of devastation he encounters. Sympathy for the Devil contains some of the most vivid, finely etched prose ever written about the actual process of war--from firing a weapon for the first time in battle to the moment a young man knows that he has entered a living hell and found a home....

Customer Reviews:

"We Kill for Peace".......2006-05-03

If you were only to read one book of the Viet Nam War, watch one movie, or read one historical text of the 60s, make it "Sympathy for the Devil", Kent's Anderson's deeply disturbing, darkly moving epic of war and American culture of the late 60's. This is the story of "Hanson", a young Army Sergeant of the Special Forces, an authoritative treatise of Viet Nam brutally told from Napalm-level. Anderson rips away any illusions of the patriotism or romanticism of war generally accompanying modern fiction, leaving naked the insanity of war as expertly delivered from the bare hands of its most accomplished practitioners. Yet Anderson has no anti-war axe to grind. Far from it - Hanson and his brothers-in-arms wallow in the mayhem and carnage of combat unapologetically, finding themselves clinically unprepared to function in "the real world."

Anderson's accomplishment is virtually without comparison, but Cormac McCarthy's classic "Blood Meridian" is a good benchmark in plumbing the depths of depravity while shattering the niceties and civility of life as seen from the sofa. "Sympathy" is much more than a chronicle of war - it is a deeply moving and arresting indictment of a generation that turned its back on our soldiers. But it is also a cautionary tale of the crooked paths that violence, when unchecked, can take, as the enemy is seen in the eye of the beholder and allegiances warp to fit the circumstances.

Despite the subject matter, the beauty of Anderson's prose casts an intoxicating spell akin to the macabre fascination of an auto wreck, leaving the reader reluctant to turn the page but nonetheless powerless. While not for the squeamish, "Sympathy for the Devil" is an uncommon classic in American fiction; a graphic charnel house tale is at the same time perversely uplifting.

powerful, dark, and engaging .......2006-03-27

This novel is written as pieces or stages of transformation of what happened to Hanson and his various experiences in Vietnam. At times the story can be confusing as it jumps around from place to place, but in all the story is very entertaining. This story will grip you and really cause you to examine not only your beliefs but the pain and struggles "Hanson" went through in Vietnam to get where he is today. There is no happy ending, this is a story about the truth of what really happened in Vietnam. Even though it was fiction, it was one of the most powerfully written stories I've ever read.

READ THIS REVIEW AFTER YOU READ THE OTHER REVIEWS.......2005-12-13

The problem with the reviews above are that those people don't understand that the ending was not abrupt or too "hero" like. The book ends the way it does because the author wanted the reader to contemplate what it means. The author wanted the reader to transform himself into Hanson and try to feel what he feels. Too many people nowadays want everything delivered to them like a great ending to a book was a freakin' double cheesburger. Only read this story if you are capable of using your gray matter in an imaginative way. Then you'll get the ending your looking for. Idiots!

One of the Best.......2003-09-12

If you enjoy reading about special forces you will love this book. I have had it for years and have just read it for the 3rd time.

modern day illiad.......2003-08-29

Having just read this book and the Illiad, the similarities are readily apparent. The callousness, brutality, and combat addiction of Hanson and his Green Beret teammates are as timeless as the effects of war on Achilles, Hector, and the rest of the warriors of the 2,000 year old classic. That's what is so great about this book; despite the vast change in the technology, methodology, and reasons behind war, its effects on the human psyche are the same. Many previous reviews knock the book for its geographical or chronological inaccuracies; but this book is not a memoir of Vietnam, it is a profound statement on violence and what it does to us. Sympathy for The Devil really made me think about the Special Forces guys out on the front lines in Afghanistan, and how they and their families are adapting when they rotate home.

Sympathy for the Devil (Madeline Bean Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

A good beginning to a series
Great cosy culinary mystery
Mouth Watering Culinary Cozy. Duh? So Mote It Be. Fast Paced, Too? Burp. Ahhhh.
A terrific and well-written book
A Great Mystery Series

Sympathy for the Devil (Madeline Bean Mysteries)
Jerrilyn Farmer
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0380795965

Book Description

Madeline Bean, caterer to the stars, is in the middle of the biggest job of her career. She and her partner Wesley have pulled off Hollywood's most outrageous A-list Halloween party for notorious producer Bruno Huntley, complete with an eerie fortuneteller who is astonishingly accurate, and exotic food that's to die for. Before long, Bruno is thrashing and writhing out on the dance floor. Just one problem: he's not standing up, And soon, he's not even breathing.

The newly late Mr. Huntley was poisoned, that's certain. But the number of suspects with a yen to send Bruno to the devil could fill an audition for extras in the next Quentin Tarantino flick. When Wesley is arrested for the murder because of a long-standing dispute with the maniacal mogul, Madeline knows he couldn't be guilty. But to prove it, she has to wade through the muck of a mudslinging family, outrun a pair of crazed canines, dodge a pair of well-aimed bullets, and expose a slew of secrets that could put a soap opera to shame. Somebody's cooked up a murder, and it's up to Madeline to find out who--before she faces a fadeout of her own.

Customer Reviews:

A good beginning to a series.......2007-06-27

I heard about this series from another reader of cozies and thought I should give it a try. I really enjoyed this first book. I like Madeline-she's a real person, and the supporting characters are good too. It's a good mystery with lots of red herrings, and many suspects to choose from. Also the name dropping of big Hollywood names doesn't hurt either. We hear mention of Drew Barrymore, William Baldwin and a few others. It's easy to see that Ms. Farmer is acquainted with the Hollywood party scene. We even get mention about very good food, and that's not a bad thing either. I will definitely be continuing to read about Madeline and her partner Wesley in the other books in this series. Thanks to the person who turned me on to this series.

Great cosy culinary mystery.......2006-11-07

Sympathy For The Devil introduces Madeline Bean, caterer to Hollywood stars. Bean and her partner and best friend Wesley Westcott are catering for a Halloween bash for producer and all-round s.o.b Bruno Huntley.
Before you know it, Huntley is dead on the dance floor. Madeline gets a shock when one of her nearest and dearest is arrested on suspicion of murder. She sets out to prove his innocence and quickly ends up hip-deep in nutty canines, gangsters and scrounging family members - not to mention mouthwatering food.
It's a great cosy culinary mystery, nothing more and nothing less so sit back and enjoy!

Mouth Watering Culinary Cozy. Duh? So Mote It Be. Fast Paced, Too? Burp. Ahhhh........2006-03-18

How strange that, though I've been compelled to give almost every type of earned praise in my reviews, this is the first time I've been sparked to give the single compliment most fitting for a culinary mystery:

The opening paragraph made my mouth water.

It featured stuff simmering on a commercial stove, the ambiance of aroma, and a continuum of taste bud appeal carried out in balsamic detail. Yup. That's what I was there for.

Farmer knows how to surge the saliva glands throughout a culinary, and she DOES it! She enhances the essence of "taking a bite of bread," giving detailed, on the tongue descriptions, thereby spreading warm, buttery rapture to the senses, repeatedly interjecting flavors into the plot at just the right intervals. Her yummy scene of making polenta from scratch (occurring 1/3 into the story) was exquisite flavor enhancement, as she stirred with one hand, held the phone with the other, and went through the culinary process with enough detail to cause auto drool, no recipe necessary. Each ingredient and every process was woven into the ongoing action. Diane Mott Davidson, move over a stool at the communal breakfast bar. Make room for another friend.

Not only does Jerrilyn Farmer use all natural culinary draws to their devilish levels of delight, whenever she's not cooking, she packs nearly every scene with heated, jazzy action and well-spiced intrigue. No chance of even a quarter-inch of reader boredom getting within a mile of Farmer's aura.

Maybe Farmer's well seasoned prose should come as no surprise, since she arrived at the initiation of this pilot with a solidified variety of audience-captivation-skills under her chef's apron, as a television writer. What impressed and enthralled me most, though, was the seamlessly easy flowing, flickering contrasts in the plot rhythm and mood.

The opening scenes around the front stage, huge Halloween party for a demon-blooded (metaphorically) Hollywood mogul were intense enough to seat the reader into a race car and throw him against the backrest, sans seatbelt, as the motor roared into a dancing choreography of "let's have a party!" When Jerrilyn puts on a party through her character sidekick, Madeline Bean, she does it BIG, with the Biggest Heads in Hollywood. Obviously and understandably, lots of readers relish the star-struck mystique. While Farmer uses that draw to the Nth degree of perfection, the superstar scenes alone would not have captured me, as I'm not inclined to being "in with the in crowd," given my reclusive, secluded Ivory Tower, cocoon needs.

So, when the party's over and the next morning arrives, I'm welcoming the pace-drop to cozy, ready for the sensual scenarios to begin, luxuriating in the fascinatingly unique, ideal home/office setup Miss Bean has arranged for herself. Being invited to share the intimate details of a character leisurely opening her day, indulging and divulging personal routines, is the strongest ploy of the cozy mystery's ability to allow a reader to let down the hair and begin living in.

Every-which-way, Madeline Bean has pizzazz, class and charm. But, how can such an intense, fast-rhythm-ed woman of extreme competence exude the vulnerable warmth she seems to own in ready abundance? She slips effortlessly from turbo-charged hyper-drive, to curl-up-w/Chamomile tea and sigh into slow molasses. Yet, her engines rev in the wisp of a whim. Her blood should be studied for traces of permanently interconnected gin and rummy. Somehow Maddie's personality allows her an instant slide into any spot on the continuum of pause-the-show or pour-on-the-coal. Many people, even in fiction, can easily become dependent on externally induced uppers and downers to assist in making these transitions, and the to-and-fro flow isn't actually effective with that chemical "aid."

I love the way Maddie gets herself into and out of jams of sonic-boom-paced, risk-factor-rich intensity. Her "getting outta there" brilliance comes forth in such natural, yet ingenious ways, I'm in awe, and I actually begin to relax in the read, even as I skid through the "crapola" she regularly slides herself into. And I mean "regularly." Most cozy heroines stay (through 86% of the book) in the "hometown comfy" mood-and-flow, schmoozing with recurring friends, family, geography and stage, which become addictive habit as the series surges forward. Normally, the action packed push doesn't slide into plot until the denouement scene arrives, heating up like a sudden hot flash to the "slam-bam" stuff (which is all fine with me).

What surprises me in this offering, is that nothing in this book feels "staged" yet all of it is. Every mood and rhythm feels like it could actually be going down just the way it is, outside the book, in MY world, even the outrageous machinations and high-thrill action. The scene of Madeline being chased by 2 bad guys was exquisite action, and her ways of evading and escaping them were simply ingenious. When I say simple here, I mean it in the most efficient, absolute sense of the word, which leaves a person feeling "yeah, that would work. Sure. Why didn't I think of that? How deliciously easy and right."

This is vicarious personified, just for me, allowing me to do stuff I'd never do, never be able to do, but can enjoy in prime entertainment with Miss Bean and company.

Was also impressed with the way Farmer dealt with the budding attraction between Maddie and Lieutenant Chuck Honnett, and with her winding-down, but periodically hot-to-trot, hit-and-miss relationship with Arlo. Jerrilyn has a way with sexuality which is uniquely and surprisingly "right" and refreshing. In contrast, it exposes other novel's efforts to charge up libido and steam windows seem like ... exactly that ... efforts. I hadn't noticed the effort part in many romance novels, until I placed it beside Farmer's ways of subtly titillating the heat without causing the reader to squirm in the discomfort of a Peeping Tom syndrome, chained to a window bearing too much slippery flesh.

This pilot seems to have incorporated and enhanced all the highest ingredients of draw of every cozy series out there, and then added her own subtle, nuance-lush touches. And, somehow I believe Farmer has outdone herself with each book in this series.

Though it wasn't Hollywood which drew me to this literary entre, I'm in, to the end of the ride.

I love a good movie as well as a good novel, and Farmer seems to rule and meld the two. This series would definitely make a fantastic TV run. It would be one of the few I'd watch and read, both (though at different times; I'd want to relish the unique pulls and ambiance of each medium in its separate space of mind and mood ... see my review of THE MEDIUM IS THE MASSAGE to shift from Right to Left brain in a happy heartbeat).

Linda G. Shelnutt

A terrific and well-written book.......2005-09-06

I am torn between regret that I've only just now discovered this series, and delight that this means I don't have to wait for the next one to be published!

Madeline Bean is an up and coming caterer in LA, pulling off amazing parties for glittering celebraties. Her latest job is a spooky Halloween bash for one of the least liked producers in Hollywood, a powerful if rather sleazy man with whom both Maddy and her partner have "histories". When the host is poisoned in the middle of the party, leaving her partner as the prime suspect, Madeline finds herself thrust into the role of detective. She also finds herself with plenty of time to investigate with catering jobs drying up-- who would hire a caterer who poisons their clients? Fortunately, she proves to have a real talent for it.

This does not read like a debut novel. The writing is crisp and clean and the story moves along briskly. The style is chatty and there is an abundance of humor and wit. The sense of place is well-developed; not just of geography, but of culture as well. The mystery was well-handled: the average reader won't have it figured out until the end of the book, but won't feel deceived along the way. The characters are amusing and engaging, and even the dislikable victim and killer have redeeming qualities. Plotting is even, with enough twists and turns to keep things lively.

In short, this is a terrific book for those looking to be entertained and amused.

A Great Mystery Series.......2005-08-03

Madeline Bean is a caterer to the celebrities, she organizes parties for the best and brightest Hollywood stars. When a murder occurs at one of her famous parties she has to find out who the killer is and why he/she did it
The Madeline Bean series is a fantastic new series for mystery lovers, so buy Simpathy for the Devil right away!

Average customer rating:

Serious subject, but one of the funniest and best Holly!
Give hell a chance
The Start of a Hellishly Funny Series
Raising Hell in North Carolina
Great story of love reaching across all realms

Sympathy for the Devil
Holly Lisle
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671877038

Customer Reviews:

Serious subject, but one of the funniest and best Holly! .......2005-02-11

Just pick up the book and read the first page. If you're not laughing out loud enough to embarrass yourself, then this is not the book for you.

Doubting and disgusted, heroine Dayne challenges God to let the demons in Hell have a chance. Just like physics, for every action Hell's got an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, Satan sets demons loose in North Carolina to claim as many souls as they can including Dayne's.

The story examines good and evil, heaven and hell, but with a light brush. "Sympathy" is both amusing and thought-provoking. IMHO, the best of Holly Lisle's work so far.

Give hell a chance.......2004-12-31

Convinced her ex-husband is burning in hell, Dane asks God why he could allow such a thing and begs him to give the souls of the damned a second chance. God answers, and frees a number of souls into the world. They may do as they will, provided they do not harm anyone or coerce them into harming anyone. That, and they have to stay in North Carolina.

If you go to Holly's website, you'll find that she was under a lot of duress while writing this. The anger and angst she went through shows here and makes for a wonderful examination of religion in general. It starts off very bitter, but becomes something greater. In the end, she does not hate God, but it seems she comes to terms with him.

Sympathy for the Devil is funny, introspective, and even romantic. This is a hard book to find, but if you can get it I strongly recommend it.

The Start of a Hellishly Funny Series.......2004-10-05

I recently read the Hell books by Holly Lisle (or at least the first three). The books are concerned with the presence of the hellraised on Earth and the interplay between Heaven and Hell.

In SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL a young woman who is convinced that her ex is in hell offers up a prayer to give everyone in Hell a second chance. The request is so pure that it must be answered. Since everyone in Hell already has a chance for redemption, Heaven sends residents from hell to North Carolina. These hellraised equal one percent of the population of the state. The woman is made a target for temptation while the rest of the state has to get used to its new residents.

Overall a pretty good story and an interesting handling of Heven and Hell and they way they interact with the mortal world.

Raising Hell in North Carolina.......2004-06-06

Dayne Kuttner has made a challenge to God that the deity cannot refuse. To give the damned souls of Hell another chance to repent. The ineffable deity has responded to Dayne's challenge in an unexpected way releasing several thousand Hellspawn into the State of North Carolina. And while heaven may be offering them a chance to repent, Hell has other plans. They are to tempt more souls into hell, starting with the soul of Dayne. Holly Lisle delivers a book that is full of fun and hilarity, and some food for thought as well as she takes a look at the institutions of heaven and hell and the world of humanity in between.

As with most of Holly Lisle's writing, there's a good dollop of humor in this story, keeping it from becoming darkly serious and overdramatic. This allows the story to be thoughtful without becoming overly preachy. Our heroine Dayne is delightfully tough and intelligent, a strong adversary for the fallen angel Agonostis. And while most of the devils and demons remain more comical than outright darkly evil, and some even downright likable, the characterization feels appropriate to the tone of the story.

Despite the humor, there are moments of true poignancy and epiphany that keep this story from being merely fluff. It's the reason I keep re-reading this book even though it's beginning to fall apart on me and I'll need a new copy soon. While the look at religion is not necessarily the traditional one (Holly Lisle plays fast and loose with some of the conventions) there are still profound messages that Ms. Lisle conveys about the essence of faith, the nature of good and evil, how Heaven can exist if there is a hell, and what does it truly mean to be a human being.

One of my few complaints with this book is that while it offers a satisfying conclusion to the protagonist's story, it leaves an open ended teaser ending for the next story in this trilogy-and these books are a bit difficult to get a hold of. Readers who enjoy humor, fantasy and romance and don't mind a rather tongue in cheek look at the denizens of Heaven and Hell are encouraged to give this book a try. If you enjoy this one, the second book in the trilogy is THE DEVIL AND DAN COOLEY, and the third is HELL ON HIGH. And you may also want to check out GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

Happy Reading! Shanshad ^_^

Great story of love reaching across all realms.......2002-11-08

When I read this book, it was quite apparent that Holly Lisle's writing style and insight into our present day society was unique and superb. I laughed at her views of the computer in not only our world, but in Hell (which is to say a little of Hell will be ever present though out the rest of our lives.) This book also shows in the difficulties of and choices we must make on the basis of our feelings. I think that Holly Lisle is one of today's greatest writers, and all of her books have brought the delight of fantasy into my small literary collection. Any person, who is a fan of fantasy and humor, would do well to read this novel, or any of her other fantastic books.

Oh My Goddess! vol. 3: Sympathy for the Devil (Oh My Goddess)

Average customer rating:

Book 5: Enter Skuld
As if Keiichi didn't have enough problems...
Skuld is here!
THE BEST!
Delighful!

Oh My Goddess! vol. 3: Sympathy for the Devil (Oh My Goddess)
Kosuke Fujishima
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1569713294

Book Description

Life with a gorgeous, live-in goddess sounds perfect, but for Keiichi Morisato, it means a never-ending column of mischievous deities, frightful demons, and mystical bugs in the system marching through his house! As strange as this seems, his human friends are even stranger!

Customer Reviews:

Book 5: Enter Skuld.......2003-04-23

This released of the "Oh My Goddess" manga (comic book) continues to improve in art to a cuter style. We have five stories here and three of them are around the demon Mara.

First, Mara returns and teams up with Sayoko to get Keiichi to reject and leave Belldandy. Then in the second story, Mara goes after Keiichi's sister Megumi and turns her into a car but comes loses her memory when she touches a good luck arrow. Now she can't remember how to undo her spell. The third tale has Belldandy racing for the Nekomi Tech Motor Club. Aoshima is determined to end NTM forever and tries to sabotoge her vehicle.

The fourth tale is the funniest as Urd uses Valentine's Day to con Belldandy into making Keiichi a chocolate (in Japan, women give men Chocolate on Valentine's Day and the men return the favor a month later; homemade chocolate is considered a sign of love as I understand it). Mara gets wind of this and makes a special poison chocolate while Urd makes a special love chocolate to replace Belldandy's.

The final tale introduces us to the third goddess Skuld. She's youngest sister of Belldandy and Urd and has come to Earth because of the bug problem. Fans of the OAV series will recoginze this story though its ending is very different from the OAV.

Bottom line: Fans of the OAV series or the movie will want to have this in their collection. Sweet, cute, and funny, it is a manga that can be enjoyed by most people.

As if Keiichi didn't have enough problems..........2003-04-15

...his little sister is turned into a car, Mara gets amnesia, and ANOTHER goddess arrives! the child-like Skuld is nothing like her half-sisters Urd and Belldandy, and she and Keiichi get off to a bad start right away. She blames him for Belldandy's 'exile' to earth, and hates him for it. She and Urd don't get along much either.

Skuld is not my favorite of the goddesses, but at this stage, she is rather cute. I prefer how she looks now to her design in the later books, since she looks younger. Unfortunately, that means that her older sisters looks younger as well, and that doesn't work.

So...get this book!

Skuld is here!.......2002-01-02

Yep, that is the main attraction of this volume of Oh My Goddess! Belldandy and Urd's little sister arrives! She is a little brainiac with a mecha fetish, cute as a button, and probably the most violent of the cast, including Mara! Yet she loves her big sister Belldandy and wants her to come back up to heaven to help her fight the bugs. Evil little rabbit looking creatures that screw around with everything. Good stuff! Also in this volume Keiichi has to deal with Mara yet again. Mara turns Keiichi's little sister Megumi into a car, but because Mara stepped on a good uck item she has amnesia and cannot turn Megumi back into aperson. Crazt stuff enjoy!

THE BEST!.......2001-06-06

OMG is the best manga series ive found! it's so funny, and cute, and there is actually a little action, mixed with a little love, mixed with a little comedy. its the perfect blend of all the things ppl look for in anime and manga! action, love, comedy, great story, and of course, awesome art. everyone will like this story, guys, girls, everyone. you have belldandy and keiichi in love, belldandy the perfect girl, and keiichi always getting into some trouble (usually by no fault of his own, and with belldandy's older sister, urd, trying to get them together (more like trying to get them to go to bed together), and belldandy's younger sister, skuld, a mechanical genius, who doesnt want to "loose" her sister to a guy. it makes for funny situations and even better stories and plot. if you are a true manga or anime fan you would have OMG in your collection. and if you dont have u are seriously missing out!

Delighful!.......2000-05-09

Oh my goddess may not have the best artwork, or the best plot. But it has charm. And I absoulutly loved it.

College freshman Morisato Keiichi gets more than he bargained for when he goes dialing for dinner and gets an unexpected delivery - Belldandy, a real live, honest to goodness Goddess!

Belldandy grants him a wish, and Keiichi decides that what he really needs is a girlfriend just like Belldandy!

And that's exactly what he gets. The mysterious "Ultimate Force" that enforces all Wish Contracts comes into play, and Keiichi and Belldandy are now inseparable.

That's when Keiichi remembers that his dorm has a strict rule: NO WOMEN ALLOWED!

Can Keiichi and Belldandy find a new place to live? Will everyone buy the story that she's a foreign student? And does Keiichi have the guts to put the moves on a babe who is LITERALLY divine?

As said above, this series follows Keiichi and Belldandy life together. "Oh my goddess" may lack in a number of area's, but it still remains a delightful romantic/comedy. Full of charm, "Oh my goddess" remains one of my favorite manga's.

The artwork is quite good. The characters designs are all interesting and very detailed. The artwork is overall easy on the eyes. is still pretty easy on the eyes.

The characters are engaging. There is Keiichi, college student who, while trying to order takeout, summons a goddess instead. Then there is Belldandy, Keiichi's love interest and first class goddess, she is sweet and kind, and incapable of lying. Then there is the sexy Urd, who is also first class,(actually,first class limited because she will sometimes lie.) Urd has a high profile of herself, and believes she is the most powerful of her siblings. Urd is constantly trying to force Keiichi into puting the moves on Belldandy, and is sometimes quite decieving. Urd is also a talented alchemist. And finally, there is Skuld,who dislikes Keiichi and believes that he is stealing Belldandy away.

This anime is chock full of jokes. Wheither it be Urd's attitude, the evil bugs( who look more kawaii than evil), Skulds love to her devices, or that very weird program on the television, it all works amazingly well."Oh my goddess" may lack the good material that "ranma 1/2" offers, but many of the jokes are still clever.

Many of the jokes are stricky hit and miss. Fortunatly, for me, the weak jokes added to "Oh my goddess"'s charm, while the good jokes created a bundle of hilarity. And I find charm more rewarding than laughs. But as the series progresses, it takes a more serious tone, causing you to ponder Keiichi and Belldandys love for each other. You will be praying that their love holds up against all of the people who doubt them and try relentlessy to tear them apart. This feeling will hook you and force you to continue turning the pages. And this feeling stays far after the laughs are over.

Book Description

On the day before Easter Sunday 1895, four women entered the Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Francisco's Mission District to decorate the altar with flowers. When they opened the door to the little room containing the library, they were greeted with a horrible sight: the stabbed and strangled body of 21-year-old Minnie Williams, her blood coating the floor and spattering the walls. A search of the church revealed another grisly discovery in the belfry: the decomposing body of another young woman, reported as missing ten days before. She, too, had been strangled. But unlike the victim in the library, Blanche Lamont was lovingly laid out as if for burial. Clues led the police to a friend of both victims, a medical student who was also the assistant superintendent of the church's Sunday school. But those who knew Theo Durrant denied that this highly respectable young man could have had anything to do with these horrible crimes. The young man who committed these two apparently motiveless murders was depicted by the popular press at the time as a monster, a devil in disguise, only pretending to be religious. McConnell demonstrates that he was exactly what he seemed to be: a genuinely good man whose life went terribly wrong because of the biological, genetic, and mental problems from which he suffered -- problems he was not even aware of. Sympathy for the Devil examines the extensive and sensational press coverage of the case (criticized by the Governor and by the California Supreme Court), the effect of the murders on San Francisco, and also analyzes what turned an apparently upstanding young man into a vicious murderer.

Customer Reviews:

Theodore Durrant.......2004-11-16

First of all I have to say that Virginia A. McConnell did fantastic work on the Case of William Henry Theodore Durrant and the two young victims.I thought in the last chapter of the book she speculated very well on what happened on the night Durrant supposedly murdered those young girls. But I have to remind myself it's just a speculation. I do not think Theo got a fair trial and the book gave me the impression that they wanted to hold somebody accountable than doing thorough investigation. There is no absolute proof that Durrant did these
heinous crimes so the guilty verdict was not right at all!!

I don't want to hold him accountable just because the media wants him to be. The was no concrete evedience to support his guilt. Besides there were no draw backs in this book from begnning to end. Durrant was a good boy and never had any strange behavior until that massive brain fever he suffered which I'm sure
left his brain with sever damage and I do have sympathy for him for that. Back then very few people survived brain fever in Theodore's day. If someone did survive they were never the same.

The victims of this tragic story I also have deep sympathy for and they were murdered in such tragic circumstances that never should have happened.

This book is great for every crime buff...and a great story to be made into a movie!!!!

Not so sympathetic.......2004-09-18

Being a "true crime" book lover since Ann Rule wrote "A Stranger Beside Me", I was looking forward to this book which follows a pair of murders in 1895 San Fransisco. It is a fascinating read - really fun to see how over a hundred years ago this was investigated, tried and reported on. The only draw back came at the end when the author expressed her personally sympathy for the murderer because of possible brain damage. The account was very fun to read. The "he who is without sin...cast the first stone" sentiment is preachy and uncalled for. I look forward to more books of this type!

Victorian Style Ted Bundy?.......2003-10-12

The second book by this author is even better than the first! The story gives insight into both the murderer and his victims.
It was done with great care to detail to compare the cultures present and past, which is fasinating. Could a young man who seemed to have a good future ahead of him have commited these crimes? What possibly could have drove him to do something like this? If not caught, would he have become a serial killer much like modern day Ted Bundy or was it a simple crime of passion and a cover up?
You MUST read this book!

Marching from Victoria.......2002-12-14

What exactly is a Victorian murder case anyway?

There's a mystique about "Victorian murder cases" that is possessed by devotees of true crime non-fiction, but it sounds as though all that must happen for a murder or series of crimes to be so regarded is that they take place during the Victorian Era (1837-1901).

Of course, the Jack the Ripper murders from 1888 are regarded as the best and the darkest of all Victorian murder cases. The brutal serial killings of prostitutes, the sexual nature of the crimes themselves, accentuated by the certain body parts which were particularly violated by the Ripper's knife, the exposure of proper British society to the world of prostitution and the seaminess of London's East End - even today, all of these cause right-minded people to solemnly nod their heads and remark on how atrocities are regularly caused by the hypocrisy of blue-blooded aristocrats toward sexual matters. But does the Theo Durrant case, circa 1895, really fit neatly into this same criminal category just because of its chronology?

For the most part, Virginia McConnell is to be commended for her well-researched and comprehensive presentation of the Emmanuel Baptist Church murders. Durrant was regarded by his contemporaries and by many later researchers simply as a monster, and McConnell's contrary theme, as hinted by the title, is that Durrant was a decent man and a genuine religious devotee of decidedly non-murderous disposition for whom these two murders were isolated acts that likely would not have been repeated.

Notwithstanding her moral judgment, she is unsparing in her examination. She marshals the facts impressively and in chronological order, particularly the testimony of the witnesses who observed Theo Durrant in the company of Blanche Lamont as he escorted her to the church, in which belfry her body was later found. The circumstantial evidence which led to the quick conviction of Durrant for the murder of Blanche Lamont (in light of the death sentence imposed upon him, he was never tried for Minnie Williams' death) is impressive for its volume and its probity. The evidence proffered by Durrant and his attorneys in defense is shown to be wanting; and there is even a suggestion of one or more aborted private confessions by Durrant.

McConnell also provides several interesting scenarios as to how and why Durrant murdered the two young women and plausibly maintains that neurological influences (Durrant had suffered from bacterial meningitis) and biochemical influences (she diagnoses Durrant as manic-depressive) likely accounted for his uncharacteristic behavior. But she also seems inclined to portray the murders as peculiarly Victorian crimes - erotic bloody affronts to a repressive 19th century society, in which some elements were struggling for freedom.

However, apart from chronology, it's difficult to see why the Bell Tower murders would be thought of as Victorian crimes. Apparently, it's not even necessary that a crime be committed in Victorian ENGLAND to be so classified. The Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Francisco's Mission District was a good 6000 miles away from Windsor Castle. More importantly, 19th century San Francisco, with its gin joints and Barbary Coast dens of iniquity, frequented openly by all classes, must have been equally distant from Victorian London in the cultural sense.

While McConnell delves extensively into Durrant's family life, she seems to largely overlook its significance. Papa Durrant was a weak impotent father figure, and Mamma Durrant was an overbearing overly-possessive mother whose affection for her son (as well as the affection that she demanded in return) was unhealthy and unnatural, just the sort of mother that has produced monsters on many other occasions. Yet McConnell barely acknowledges these elements as contributing factors to the murderous personality that Durrant temporarily developed.

The fact is that as over the years that have elapsed since the Bell Tower case, as fatherlessness has become more and more prevalent, the combination of overbearing mothers and weak or absent fathers has been the cause of many thousands of particularly brutal murders and perhaps at least one presidential assassination. The Durrant case isn't a Victorian murder case at all; it's a 20th century murder case reflecting what would become that century's principal social epidemic.

On the other hand, what exactly was Theo Durrant's precise role in the deaths of the two women? As convincing a case as the author makes for his guilt, she passes lightly over the possible role played by a figure whose shadow never seems entirely absent from this case: the mysterious Reverend J. George Gibson, pastor of the Emmanuel Baptist Church.

A man of very peculiar tendencies, a man who seemed overly eager to protect the church's reputation by hiding the murders from the authorities, a man who brought in handlers from the outside specifically for the purpose of handling inquiries from a suspicious press, a man who indeed should have known the contours of the church at least as well as Theo Durrant (though he denied this in his testimony), Reverend Gibson was widely suspected at the time and was named by Theo's partisans as an alternative suspect.

And as unlikely as that might appear, McConnell runs too lightly over Gibson's tendency to "hide, ostrich-like and pretend that nothing had happened". She runs too lightly over his flippant and suspicious testimony at the inquest and preliminary hearing and passes these things off as products of his fragile and eccentric nature. This is particularly faulty in light of her own curiosity as to how Durrant managed to carry Blanche Lamont's body to the belfry by himself. Her later explanation that adrenaline gave him the strength to do so is not necessarily satisfying. Was Blanche carried to the belfry by two men?

McConnell's book is an impressive work whose narrative delivers slightly less than the research promises. But it may yet prove to be the Warren Commission Report of the Bell Tower murder case - a weighty tome that is the start of all inquiries but which raises at least as many questions as it answers.

Thorough and engrossing.......2002-04-19

Well researched and cleanly written, Sympathy for the Devil relates the events of 2 murders in San Francisco in 1895. The author painstakingly recreates the events leading up to the murders, the media coverage to rival that of the OJ trial, the trial itself, and the subsequent appeals. You can tell the author did her homework. Each chapter is filled with footnotes that provide not only the source of the information, but at times additional facts about the time period, the city, and the mores of the time. It was fascinating to read about a city I visit regularly and recognize some of the places mentioned.

However, the most fascinating part of this book was the trial itself. The media circus surrounding the trial was phenomenal; the 3 major newspapers took turns printing sensational accounts of the murder, the trial, and the defendant as well as out and out lies in the form of forged letters and false testimonies of people involved in the case. Additionally, the differences between trial procedure and proper behavior then and now are astounding. For example, in the trial, jurors actually stood up and asked questions of the witnesses.

The only negative comment I have is that the author waited until the very end of the book to discuss the possible reason behind the murders. Granted, this was her opinion (though backed by facts) so I can understand why she placed it outside the narrative of events from murder to trial, but it was frustrating at times to read the story without any idea why these murders occurred.

Book Description

Be careful what you wish for . . .
FBI Special Agent Angela Bivens has just won a hard-fought racial and sex discrimination lawsuit against the Bureau. She should be euphoric -- all she ever wanted to be was a field agent. But the women she filed the suit with have fled the Bureau, leaving Angela alone to deal with her cynical, ultrapolitical superiors. They throw her a bone by sending her to help the befuddled and apathetic D.C. police solve two seemingly unrelated cases -- the brutal murder of two teenage girls and the macabre, ritualized executions of rival drug dealers.

The cops see the victims as routine casualties of a drug war, but Angela begins to uncover a far more extensive network of horrors. The threads seem to lead right from the case files into her personal life and her hot, burgeoning love affair with Trey Williams, a well-connected D.C. lawyer, scion of an elite family, or, as her girlfriends call him, the "black JFK Jr." Although Trey is everything a woman could want, he is also shackled with a heroin-addicted twin brother nicknamed Pluto who is obsessed with myths and the occult and is fast becoming Angela's prime suspect in this wave of shocking murders.

After she saves the life of a fellow officer in a shoot-out, Angela becomes the FBI's golden girl, a media-anointed local hero. But is the FBI setting her up for an even bigger fall? She can't trust her superiors. She can't trust her boyfriend. Faced with the hard facts and following her gut instincts, Angela feels that she has no choice but to solve these cases and avenge the innocent victims on her own.

Played out against a vivid and realistic portrait of Washington -- from the halls of Congress and swank gathering places of the city's African American elite to the gritty, mournful streets where gang warfare remains a fact of life --

Sympathy for the Devil introduces a remarkable new crime-fighting heroine whose struggle to reconcile the pulls of love and duty, ambition and self-doubt makes this an utterly compelling thriller. Fans of Grace Edwards and Valerie Wilson Wesley, whose stories feature strong African American women, and all readers looking for a riveting page-turner in the style of Patricia Cornwell or Thomas Harris will welcome this impressive debut novel from Christopher Chambers.

Customer Reviews:

A HEART-THUMPING THRILLER!!!.......2006-03-30

This author's debut novel stars the diminutive Angela Bivens. Still reeling from the surprise success of the racial/sexual harrassment lawsuit that she brought against her employer, the FBI, Angela has been reassigned and is finally doing the work that she dreamed of doing when she joined the bureau...instead of pushing paper as she had done in the past. So what if she has been assigned a case that has significant importance in the African-American community....and completely no priority at all within the Bureau. People within the community are dying in particularly gruesome ways....and all signs point to territorial feuds between rival drug gangs. But are they really responsible? Then Angela meets and falls in love with one of the most handsome, eligible bachelors in the District of Columbia....; Trey seems to be the perfect man. Soon Angela discovers that her lover's mentally addled, drug-addicted twin brother Ganneymede is his cross to bear; worse yet, she begins to find connections between Mede and the horrible killing spree. Angela can certainly solve the crimes...but at the possible expense of her relationship. After all...what can be worse than discovering that her boyfriend's brother is a sociopathic killer? What can be worse? Well, Angela's about to find out......
Creepy and suspenseful, I enjoyed the novel. 4 stars only from me as it times I did seem to lose my momentum, confused by the intricacies of the Mayan lore and the DC political lingo. Good debut.

DYB

...reading a movie!.......2003-05-28

In Sympathy for the Devil you meet FBI agent Angela Bivens.

I really liked this book. I am not a fan of Tom Clancy, Stephen King or even the "thriller mystery" genre but this book really got my attention. The story is so vivid and clear its like reading a movie!

The book didn't let me down because I couldn't figure out who did what until the end. It was a challenge to keep up with all the technical names but once you get into it you will not want to put it down until you know Angela has got her man.
For those who love a good mystery thriller then you will definitely want to pick this one up. Kudos for Mr. Chambers!
-JaT

Hollywood is truly sleeping on this novel.......2002-11-06

The book started out very slow, but by the time I got to the middle of the book until the ending it was like I was watching a thriller movie or something. It was really good. I'm looking forward to reading more mystery stories about Angela Bivens.

This book is wonderfull!!.......2002-08-06

This book is absolutely wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed. Twists, turns,suspense...Kudos to Mr. Chambers. For those who said they guessed the ending....so what....this book is well worth the reading. The characters were developed well and Mr. Chambers has inside knowledge I see of the affluent African American in Washington. I can't wait to see what's in store for "Angel.

An Exciting Mystery: It will keep you on edge until the end!.......2002-06-24

On the surface, FBI special agent Angela appears to be a kind hearted, strong woman. Her friends call her "Angel", because of her kind spirit. And she is not afraid to fight the system. Angela just won a class action race and sex discrimination lawsuit against the FBI.

However, Angela cannot forget that she was unable to remedy one failure in her life. After graduating from law school, she was unable to pass the bar. This is one battle that she will never win.

Because of this failure, Angela tries twice as hard at the FBI. She gives 200% to her cases.

Angela lands two cases that no one wants. In Washington D.C., two young African American teenage girls are brutally murdered. Another case involves the murders of drug dealers.

The press has called the cases drug related and the Washington D.C. police want no part in the cases. The drug dealers and the girls' deaths are just part of the reality of living in the underworld drug culture.

Angela meets good looking attorney P. Thomas "Trey" Williams, III. Trey is outraged that everyone has ignored the girls' deaths. Trey believes that the girls are "good girls" and the killer must be found.

Angela is impressed by Trey's conviction and later they start to date. However, Trey is not perfect. Trey's parents are deceased and his identical twin brother Pluto is a heroin addict. To make matters worse, Pluto lives with Trey. Pluto has gone to drug rehab. To Trey's disappointment, Pluto still shoots up regularly.

Trey sees himself as Pluto's older brother, because his birth preceded Pluto's birth by six minutes. He tries to shelter Pluto. However, this is a near impossible task. Pluto also suffers from mental illness and he obsessed with the occult. In essence, Pluto embodies the image of the devil.

As Angela unravels the clues to the murders, she is taken down an unwieldy path that leads her to a place that she does not want to travel. The evidence seemingly points to Pluto. Yet, Trey steadfastly proclaims Pluto's innocence.

On the emotional level, Angela wants to believe Trey. However, her intellect tells her otherwise.

Is Pluto the killer? Or is it someone else? With a surprise ending, SYMPATHY WITH THE DEVIL will keep you on edge until the end.

I would highly recommend this book.

Average customer rating:

Couldn't Put It Down

Sympathy For The Devil (The Best of Hail Saten)
Brian Keene
Manufacturer: Delirium Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1929653751

Book Description

"Woe to you oh earth and sea, for the Devil sends the Beast with wrath because he knows that time is short." But when the Beast couldn't get the job done, the Devil sent his other son. Some call him Brian Keene. Others call him bastard. You call him.Saten. Sympathy For The Devil is Brian keene unchained-raw, ranting and ready to battle the demons, be they corporate C.E.O.s, unscrupulous editors, crazed fans, egocentric celebrities-or even himself. Sympathy For The Devil collects the earliest of Brian Keene's popular "Hail Saten" columns, from their origin in the Bram Stoker award-winning Jobs In Hell to his early Blog entries. It also features much of Keene's early non-fiction from Hellnotes, Horrornet and Masters of Terror. Sympathy For The Devil is a funny, poignant and deeply personal portrait of one of the hottest new authors in the business.

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't Put It Down.......2006-03-22

While this collection of opinions/blog columns might not be for everyone, those in the horror fiction community will find it highly addictive. It has it everything -- the struggle and sacrifices of writing professionally, heartfelt tributes, horror convention adventures, and a plethora of fascinating characters. I can't wait for volume two. Although I enjoyed reading Brian Keene's zombie books, I'm surprised how much more I like his non-fiction. He really has a natural ability to speak the truth, no matter how much it hurts. Bravo!

Average customer rating:

Sympathy for the Devil
P. L. Carpenter
Manufacturer: Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0805959521

Book Description

What is it that haunts the New Jersey pine barrens, preying only on those with black souls and dark hearts who take great twisted pleasure in tormenting the weak and the innocent? Is it a demon spawned from hell by Satan himself or an unexpected guardian angel exacting a bloody form of vengeance, prompted by the torture it experienced at the hands of others?

In this suspenseful, action-packed tale, scientist Sean Murphy is drawn to the barrens for an unknown reason. Along the way, he meets and befriends many of the Pineys, as they are known, but events take a darker turn when he is suspected of murder by an FBI investigator sent to check into the strange happenings and unusual sightings in the forbidding barrens.

Book Description

The recent revelations about the role of the Swiss banks in keeping Jewish accounts after World War II has caused a reappraisal of the role of the neutral nations. What exactly did it mean to be "neutral" in World War II? Was neutrality just a cover for collaboration with the Nazis? Did countries who refused to take sides help or hurt the Allied cause? And how did the neutrals treat people who were vulnerable to the Nazis?

In this first study of Nazi Germany's to the five European neutrals: Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey, Christian Leitz shines a light on their wartime record. Questioning the true commitment to neutrality of the five states, the he details not simply the development of relations to Germany, but also the contribution they made to Germany's war effort. He shows how the Nazi regime benefitted in large measure from permitting these five countries to remain neutral. We learn how during Germany's military decline in the waning months of the war, it continued to receive vital services from the neutrals. Based on a wide reading of sources in English, German, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, French and Turkish, and supplemented by documentary evidence from German archives, this book enables readers at all levels to gain insight into a significant aspect not only of the history of Nazi Germany, but also the history of the Second World War in Europe.

Average customer rating:
3 Titles in Madeline Bean Culinary Mystery Series - Sympathy for the Devil - Killer Wedding - Dim Sum Dead
Jerrilyn Farmer
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000QGY0FO

Product Description

Multiple books shipped as one item. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.

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