In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel

Average customer rating:

A Masterpiece of Accuracy

Richly Descriptive Period Piece.

Diluted Sexuality in the Company of the Courtesan?

Audio to text: Bravo!

In the Company of the Courtesan

In the Company of the Courtesan: A Novel
Sarah Dunant
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Historical | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Birth of Venus: A Novel

The Constant Princess

The Boleyn Inheritance

Leonardo's Swans: A Novel

The Other Boleyn Girl

ASIN: 0812974042
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor’s army blew a hole in the wall of God’s eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment.

Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant’s epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid.

With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her.

Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan’s court. But Fiammetta and Bucino’s greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all.

A story of desire and deception, sin and religion, loyalty and friendship, In the Company of the Courtesan paints a portrait of one of the world’s greatest cities at its most potent moment in history: It is a picture that remains vivid long after the final page.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

A Masterpiece of Accuracy.......2007-08-09

a well researched, documentary quality history, entriging, believable charcters, engaging story.

Thank you Sarah Dunant, another good read.

Richly Descriptive Period Piece........2007-07-30

This book has most everything you would want in a period piece. It contains unique richly developed characters, intrigue, humor, & a deep plot. The sights, sounds, smells, & ambiance of 16th century Venice are almost lifelike. There is a fine mingling of social mores & politics that leads to many types of betrayal that keep the reader guessing. The author tells Fiammetta's story through the eyes of Bucino, a clever dwarf who shares her lodgings. He eventually will be the main character. The story begins in 1527 with the sacking of Rome. Fiammetta, is ravaged by the invaders & flees the city with Bucino{a loyal caretaker, & sardonic, resourceful spy}, with little else but the clothes on their backs, & some swallowed jewels. They reach Fiammetta's deceased mother's home in Venice. Soon La Draga, a mysterious, blind woman comes into their lives to nurse Fiammetta back to her original health & beauty. After a long recuperation she sets out to be the highly desired Courtesan she had been back in Rome. But, clearly she has not recovered as she gets more businesslike & cold as the book advances. Her lovers & friends are well done 7 most have an impact on the general theme. The most interesting relationship in the book is between La Draga & Bucino. their relationship will eventually put Fiammetta into the background, while these two characters play out their dramatic fates. The only minor flaw is that it was a too long, had it been a bit shorter in reaching the end I would have given it 5 stars.

Diluted Sexuality in the Company of the Courtesan?.......2007-07-25

Dunant is a brilliant and poetic writer, which makes the book well worth the read. However, I agree with other reviewers that, for a book about sexuality and intrigue, it certainly lacks passion. While "The Birth of Venus" was provocative, this book was disappointingly tame. The most beautifully written passages of the book concern Bucino's thoughts and memories, and he also happens to be the only intriguing character. Fiammetta, who was supposedly so charming, certainly failed to impress. Only in the first chapter was she as mesmerizing as the author wanted her to be. The ending was rather anticlimactic, abrupt, and unsatisfying. These criticisms aside, the book was still entertaining, yet not quite as memorable as "The Birth of Venus."

Audio to text: Bravo!.......2007-07-09

I have to say the audio of this fine book is the first book I've listened to on CD, and I had a fine time of it! So much so that I bought the hardcover book and am now immersed in that. I didn't just want the abridged version. I wanted the whole cake.
--James Conroyd Martin, Author of PUSH NOT THE RIVER Push Not the River and AGAINST A CRIMSON SKY Against a Crimson Sky: A Novel

In the Company of the Courtesan.......2007-07-04

I had just read "Birth of Venus" by this author and decided to try a second one. That period of history in Italy interest me, and I think she does an outstanding job of weaving history and fiction into both novels.

Average customer rating:

Triangle
If you missed it the first two times, let me repeat....
Pretentious and annoying, albeit occasionally absorbing
Could have been much, much better
The tragedy that reformed working America...

Triangle: A Novel
Katharine Weber
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Blowout Books | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0374281424
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Book Description

Esther Gottesfeld is the last living survivor of the notorious 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire and has told her story countless times in the span of her lifetime. Even so, her death at the age of 106 leaves unanswered many questions about what happened that fateful day. How did she manage to survive the fire when at least 146 workers, most of them women, her sister and fiancé among them, burned or jumped to their deaths from the sweatshop inferno? Are the discrepancies in her various accounts over the years just ordinary human fallacy, or is there a hidden story in Esther’s recollections of that terrible day?

Esther’s granddaughter Rebecca Gottesfeld, with her partner George Botkin, an ingenious composer, seek to unravel the facts of the matter while Ruth Zion, a zealous feminist historian of the fire, bores in on them with her own mole-like agenda. A brilliant, haunting novel about one of the most terrible tragedies in early-twentieth-century America, Triangle forces us to consider how we tell our stories, how we hear them, and how history is forged from unverifiable truths.

Customer Reviews:

Triangle.......2007-09-08

Prior to my reading TRIANGLE, which is a fictional account of the Triangle Fire of 1911, I read TRIANGLE,THE FIRE THAT CHANGED AMERICA, by David von Drehle. Given the precise facts of this horrific event, TRIANGLE is a beautiful story which captures the essence of that terrible day. It may be confusing to some readers who cannot understand the repetitive questions of the journalist but this is a reflection of an attempt to discredit the primary witness at the actual trial of the factory owners by repeatedly asking her to tell the story of the fire, subtley suggesting the similarities in her testimony proved it to be rehearsed.
As an amateur pianist, I found the musical descriptions fascinating but I can certainly understand that for someone with no knowledge of music theory that this could become tedious (hence my 4 star vs. 5 star rating). The sequential development of Botkin's music is an integral part of the book's finale; the reader can feel the tension created in "Triangle Oratorio" and although Douglas Moore is quoted in his discussion of music as saying "....a thing which only exists in sound..." the reader hears and feels this amazing piece of music.
I highly recommend TRIANGLE and suggest also reading about this time in our country's history as this event caused tremendous change in America.

If you missed it the first two times, let me repeat...........2007-08-30

A young woman's quite elderly grandmother is the last survivor of the infamous "Triangle" shirtwaist factory fire in 1911, and as she enters her final illness, the granddaughter and a journalist both get involved in the past and the grandmother's shifting accounts of what happened on the tragic day she lost her sister and fiancé in the fire. The granddaughter and her composer boyfriend defend and protect the grandmother while the nosy journalist worms her way into their lives and starts poking holes in discrepancies she has found in transcripts and former testimony. Except for the pages (too many) devoted to Grandma Esther's retelling the same story, with only subtle changes one might catch, this is a good read. Characters are well drawn and the mystery of what Esther really went through is gradually and satisfyingly revealed (albeit not surprising by the time it's told).

Pretentious and annoying, albeit occasionally absorbing.......2007-07-16

A rather flawed work. The aspects that I found the most annoying were:

1. The endlessly pretentious descriptions of character George Botkins' brilliant musicianship! Weber came across as a musician wannabe trying to show off her in-depth knowledge. I would have quit reading the book midway through Chapter 2 - the first one focused on Botkins' career - if it weren't for the fact that my long-time friend had urged me to read this book.

2. At the end, character Rebecca Gottesfeld has suddenly given up a rewarding career in the medical field after 20+ years so she can be a stay-at-home mom, all with absolutely no explanation for her major change of heart.

3. There were many incomplete story lines. Where did the $20,000 come from? Why was it accepted? What was the connection (if any) between the Triangle fire and the death via car accident of Esther's son and his wife fifty years later? Did her son know his father's identity? Did Rebecca learn her grandfather's identity? Who was the common ancestor three generations back that George Botkins and Rebecca shared?

4. The author didn't seem to have enough of a story to fill even a slim volume so she had Esther repeat her story about the day of the fire many times. In Chapter 10, a "transcription" of her testimony at a 1911 trial, she is asked to repeat the story *three* times, all three recitations of which appear word for word! No explanation is given as to why the lawyer had asked her to repeat her testimony three times, leaving this reader with the idea that the author needed "filler." And Chapter 10 is not the only one in which Esther recites her memories of the fire.

5. The author's depiction of the feminist "herstorian" was way more of a caricature than a portait. As someone who once did a short stint of historical research into a feminist topic, I winced at the shabby treatment accorded this character by the other characters and the author.

So, why did I give this book 2 stars instead of 1?

1. The author gave Esther quite a beautiful death, both in terms of the physical environment in which it occurred, and Esther's last thoughts.

2. Parts of the book were absorbing.

3. Most importantly, it actually motivated me to go looking for a non-fiction book on the Triangle Shirtwaist fire to learn more.

Could have been much, much better.......2007-04-14

This is a good but often annoying book. Parts of it are fascinating (George's lengthy discursions into the theory of musical composition), but parts of it have nothing whatever to do with the main narrative (the lengthy discursions into musical composition). Esther's constant recitation of the facts of her escape from the fire is unnecessarily repetitive, even when you know to look for disconnects in what she purports to remember. The reader is left to wonder whether Esther did, in fact, take a $20,000 bribe from the management of Triangle Shirtwaist (there are numerous other possibilities for the money's origins), and the last-minute revelation that, apparently, Rebecca and George, are related three generations back doesn't seem to have anything to do with anything. (Or maybe I just missed something, I dunno.) The characterization is generally quite good, though Ruth Zion comes across as more of a pastiche of a feminist scholar. This novel needed a much more rigorous editor.

The tragedy that reformed working America..........2007-03-06

I had read about the Triangle fire of 1911 many years ago, so when this book popped up and was recommended by amazon.com I could not resist. This was an interesting book in more ways than one. It centers on the last living survivor of that disaster, who is now dying from natural causes of old age. She had apparently given numerous interviews to reporters concerning what she remembered about the fire, but as an old curmudgeon she really knew how to put reporters with inappropriate suggestions in their place (and shut them up!) To bad, we can't all take lessons on how to deal with such annoying people, whether reporters, nosy neighbors, invasive bosses, etc.

Anyway, the story of the fire is intertwined with the current day through the old lady's granddaughter who she raised by herself after her only child died in a car accident. Of course, she spoke to her granddaughter about that time period, and about the loss of her beloved sister and her fiance. This woman did the smart thing, and did not lose her cool under pressure, maybe partly because she was bearing a child. So instead of screaming and running for the main door which would only open inward instead of outward, she headed toward the dooor the bosses used.

In reading the nonfictional accounts of this disaster, it becomes all too clear that there were those men and women who showed bravery in the face of danger, and then there were those whose only thought was for themselves. To make matters worse, there were young children involved who sewed by hand, even though by that time, child labor was being banned. The horrendous conditions which made it only a matter of time before a disaster of this proportion occurred, were once again done at risk of lives just to make a profit. Sound familiar? Think about the recent mining 'accidents' in West Virginia, as well as the ongoing fight against pharmaceutical companies who push their medications for things those medicines were not intended for and whose contents had not been analyzed.

This book followed a current fad in 'stream of consiousness' in which the older woman who is dying is rambling and her thoughts run into one another, similar to how we think without placing periods or commas at the end of one sentence and one idea, then immediately going on to another topic. This alternated with regular and descriptive chapters dealing with the granddaughter of this dying woman, who is trying to best handle her grandmother's wishes, while trying to stave off the reporter 'vultures' who are circling to get that lst piece of information that will mean a best-seller (even if the ideas are slightly less than truthful or a bit scandalouse in order to attract readers).

This isn't my usual reading fare, but it was a good, fast-paced and well written book. It did not dwell too much on the fire, but focused instead on the heroics of many, and the continued lives of those who survived the fire. Life did go on, though many lives were forever changed because of the fire. And ultimately, the fire did lead to changes in rules, changes in how the rickety outer stairs were built, changes in fire departments and their equipment to make it more likely to save more lives. It also brought back the disaster of the Challenger, which was similar to the Triangle Fire in the push for necessary corrections. It still bothers me to this day, that those responsible for the Triangle fire, the Challenger fiasco, and other such catastrophes such as the Johnstown flood would never face real prison time. Instead they were able to buy themselves out of their predicaments. One can only hope that their memories and happy times were forever altered becauseof the lives they took.

This story would make a good movie...

Karen L. Sadler

Average customer rating:

wonderful collectible
Disney Treasures and Keepsakes are a Must Have
Nice book for the Disney Fan
Disney Treasures
The Disney Treasures

The Disney Treasures
Robert Tieman
Manufacturer: Disney Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Americana | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0786853905

Book Description

Selected from the vast archives of The Walt Disney Company, this historic collection includes handwritten letters and notes of Walt's, rare character sketches from the 1930s and 1940s, replicas of Disneyland's opening- day tickets, photos, movie theater programs, comic strips, greeting cards, commissary menus, and other treasures, reproduced in facsimile form. Many of these special features are designed to be removable so readers can touch and hold masterfully reproduced bits of history. In addition, the book comes with a 60-minute CD that features previously unheard audio of Walt Disney, radio commercials from the 1950s, and never-before-released sound tracks from the parks' most popular attractions.

Customer Reviews:

wonderful collectible.......2007-01-11

Being big disney fans, my son really enjoyed receiving this as a Christmas gift. It comes beautifully packaged and is a great addition to his collection. Playing the cd's brings fond memories of the rides and attractions at Disneyland Park and makes you wish you were there.

Disney Treasures and Keepsakes are a Must Have.......2007-01-10

These books are like a pop up book on steroids...They are FULL of interesting little pieces that you can take out and look at, like letters from Walt to Lillian, ride tickets from the early days and all sorts of other things...These 2 books are worth every penny!!!

Nice book for the Disney Fan.......2007-01-10

You must be a Disney fan for truly appreciate this book. If that is your case, you'll love it!!. The "pockets" where some of the "souvenirs" are located are a little tight, and can tear with ease. Other than that, it is a nice idea.

Disney Treasures.......2006-11-03

I absolutely love this book! I love seeing replicas of letters, stories, pamphlets, early drawings, etc. When people come to visit they pick it up and are as fascinated as we are. It's one of the coolest books we own.

The Disney Treasures.......2006-03-20

This book is a timeless classic, an absolute gem. For anyone wishing to get a real glimpse into the magic that is Disney this is the book.It offers historical insight and hands on replica memorabilia. I found this book full of information and fun.Beautifully presented.

Invincible Volume 7: Three's Company (Invincible)

Average customer rating:

Just keeps getting better and better
Robert Kirkman is less man and more God
Excellent followup!!

Invincible Volume 7: Three's Company (Invincible)
Robert Kirkman , Ryan Ottley , and Bill Crabtree
Manufacturer: Image Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Superheroes | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Image Comics | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1582406561

Book Description

On a trip to Africa, Mark finds himself torn between two lives: his normal life with his girlfriend Amber and his super-hero life with good friend Atom Eve. Decisions, decisions... Also in this volume: Angstrom Levy makes his move and the truth about ROBOT is revealed!

Customer Reviews:

Just keeps getting better and better.......2007-06-21

Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley are one of the reasons why I spend ridiculous amounts of money every month. I do this not only to buy Invincible, but also to buy as many other trade paperbacks and comics as possible just to see if there's someone out there who can top these two guys! So far I haven't found anyone yet, and probably never will. This collection, "Three's Company", contains issues 31 - 35 of the series and focuses on relationships. Atom Eve's relationship with Mark is brought under tremendous strain as he turns up with his girlfriend Amber to visit Eve in Africa. Mark soon learns of Eve's feelings for him and has to deal with his own emerging feelings for her...without hurting Amber. A tricky situation, especially for a college Freshman who has to juggle being a superhero on the side (or is it the other way around?) Plenty of romance and emotional encounters can be found in these five issues, but there's also a lot of action for those adrenalin junkies who've become hooked on Kirkman's weird villains and ever weirder super-battles. The best one in this book features Mark's fight with Angstrom Levy, his self-styled nemesis, the result of which is shocking and totally unforseen. Mark also learns that a superhero cannot always rest on his laurels, but must continually train in order to improve his powers. This concept made me like the book even more, because it focuses on the fact that being a superhero is a lot of hard work and not always a bed of roses, even for a guy who is Invincible. The art here is incredible, the writing even more so. Buy this book. You won't regret it.

Robert Kirkman is less man and more God.......2007-05-07

I honestly don't know how or why Invincible is so good, but it is. I care about the characters, the plot twists are everywhere, yet it manages to feel incredibly real without ever letting you forget it's a comic book. That a contradiction, I know, but I don't care. Invincible is a rare gem indeed. Definitely buy this book, but ideally start from the beginning of the story. All hail the Viltrumite Empire!

Excellent followup!!.......2007-01-04

Like every other book in this series, Invincible Vol 7 really takes you to new places with the young superhero. I love the dynamic & reveal with Eve and the little montage of alternate dimensions! I don't even have to suggest buying this book because if you've made it this far in the series, you're already hooked!

The White Rose: A Novel of the Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company)

Average customer rating:

almost-end of first trilogy aside from the obvious sequel set-up for The Silver Spike
Grave Doings
Glen Cook at his best
The pinnacle of a masterpiece trilogy...
Final battle in the north

The White Rose: A Novel of the Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company)
Glen Cook
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0812508440

Book Description

She is the last hope of good in the war against the evil sorceress known as the Lady. From a secret base on the Plains of Fear, where even the Lady hesitates to go, the Black Company, once in service to the Lady, now fights to bring victory to the White Rose. But now an even greater evil threatens the world. All the great battles that have gone before will seem a skirmishes when the Dominator rises from the grave.

Customer Reviews:

almost-end of first trilogy aside from the obvious sequel set-up for The Silver Spike.......2007-01-12

this review contains spoilers for this novel, the silver spike, and shadow games.

This is the third Black Company novel, and resolves most of the major conflicts set up in the first and (especially) second novels. The story starts out in three narrative lines, one being the Croaker narrative as the company has fled to the Plain of Fear with Darling, another being the story of the sorceror Bomanz right before he inadvertently freed the Lady and the Taken, and the third being a character we obviously suspect to be Raven in Barrowlands in present-time. The second and third narratives end about halfway through the book and Croaker is the perspective for the rest of the story.

The plains of fear seemed very well done (they were just a footnote in the previous appearance if I recall correctly), with odd creatures and flora described in sufficient detail to make them seen quite alien.

The Bomanz and Raven narratives were supplemental but informative.

The final battle with the dominator had enough surprises to be entertaining, though the obvious setup of leaving Toadkiller Dog free and the Limper's head unfound was clearly with a sequel (the silver spike) in mind.

On page 72 Cook seems to offer the idea that the various taken from the original novel might still be around. This is expounded on later when Darling mentioned that burning the Limper might have worked at the end of Shadows Linger. I think from this time Cook was actively playing with the idea inside the story of un-killing some Taken.

Grave Doings.......2006-06-03

This is the third volume of the first of four segments of the 10 volume story of the Black Company (whew!) Unlike many long series, Glen Cook has the knack of always being just inventive enough to maintain a high level of interest without over-amping on any one volume and then running out of plot at a critical moment. The story opens on the final series of conflicts with The Empire, with The Black Company on the side of the good guys for a chance. Hidden away on The Plain of Fear, the last of The Black Company, and other supporters of Darling, The White Rose, carry out what remains of the rebellion. Life is harsh as harsh can be, and they all know that The Lady and her Taken will soon appear and try to squash them like bugs.

Their only secret advantages are Darling herself, who is a Null - magic doesn't work around her - and the Plain itself a vast desert populated with a host of strange and intelligent life forms. Giant whale like creatures sail the skies, giant talking menhirs wander the dunes, stopping only to mutter "There are strangers on the Plain," and an ancient tree guards an even more ancient evil. Life is not good in the tunnels beneath the sand. And someone, somewhere, keeps sending Croaker pages from Bomanz's Diary - the self same wizard who worked the release of The Lady and The Taken, and who no lies trapped in the Barrow Lands in the tangled net that still guards the Dominator and some of his darker friends.

The story continues to alternate between past and present (a favorite Glen Cook device). Gradually we realize that The Dominator is still working on escape and that something evil has worked its way free as the result of Raven's interference in the guardian spells. This time the risk is even worse than that in Shadows Linger. So dire, in fact that The Lady convinces Croaker to get her acess to The White Rose in order to work out a tactical treaty until the big threat is past. This is a Black Company novel, so if you are intuiting a serious blowout, you're right. Everyone gets into the act - rocks, whales, monsters, you name it.

This is a transition volume, bringing most of the loose ends together as preparation for moving into the next phase of the story - the Black Company's ride back into its own history. Much will change, but it is one of Cook's strengths that he can work changes without breaking the reader's concentration. This is one of the few series where neither the writer nor the reader seem to get overtired.

Glen Cook at his best.......2006-01-14

This is without a doubt Glen Cook at the top of his form. The book is original, unusual, fast-paced, and very enjoyable. The original Black Company trilogy are the best of the nine Black Company novels, and this third book is the best of the trilogy. Read the previous two books first, but definitely get this one too. You might be up all night. The tight prose on display here is easy to follow while still interesting and exciting. It makes for wonderful light reading.

The pinnacle of a masterpiece trilogy..........2003-10-04

I just don't find many books that purely entertain me like this very often. Here again, Cook mixes in several plotlines separated in time all culminating in one of the best "show-downs" I've ever read. I just can't say enough good things about this book. The ending was totally unexpected and Cook drove me insane with curiosity about: the Lady's real name, what Bomans was looking for and what happened, who Corbie was, which Taken were loyal to the Lady, who would ultimately win in the end. One is never quite sure who's playing who until the very end. This is the capstone to one of the best trilogies in any genre.

Final battle in the north.......2003-09-12

The White Rose, the third in Glen Cook's Black Company series, completes this mercenary army's adventures in the north country. It is as different from the first two as they are different from each other. The men grow older, their numbers, dwindle, yet they are feared by their enemies.

All of the threads come together, but not altogether cleanly. The differences between good and evil are not always clear. The beginning of the story is disjointed and not nearly as action-oriented as the first two. No one is what he -- or she -- seems to be. Yet at the end, the story is satisfying enough.

Book Description

The wind whines and howls with bitter breath. Lightning snarls and barks. Rage is an animate force upon the plain of glittering stone. Even shadows are afraid.At the heart of the plain stands a vast grey stronghold, unknown, older than any written memory. One ancient tower has collapsed across the fissure. From the heart of the fastness comes a great deep slow breath like that of a slumbering world-heart, cracking the olden silence.Death is eternity. Eternity is stone. Stone is silence.Stone cannot speak but stone remembers.So begins the next movement of Glittering Stone....The tale again comes to us from the pen of Murgen, Annalist and Standard Bearer of the Black Company, whose developing powers of travel through space and time give him a perspective like no other.Led by the wily commander, Croaker, and the Lady, the Company is working for the Taglian government, but neither the Company nor the Taglians are overflowing with trust for each other. Arrayed against both is a similarly tenuous alliance of sorcerers, including the diabolical Soulcatcher, the psychotic Howler, and a four-year-old child who may be the most powerful of all.

Customer Reviews:

It Is Immortality Of A Sort.......2006-07-28

She is the Darkness is the second of the 'Murgen' chronicles, which tell the story of the Black Company's final struggle with the shadowmasters and the factions fighting for power in Taglios. The latter, almost without exception, would like to see Croaker's band of mercenaries dead and gone. They only argue about exactly when the gala event will occur. Driven by a desire to return to their origin in Khatovar the company is really intent on reaching the Shadowgate and finding out what is beyond it. Unfortunately enemies old and new seem determined to get in the way.

Murgen is a pure storytelling device. Unlike other narrators or annalists, Murgen is separated from the action by his role as ethereal spy. A paranoid sorcerer called Smoke lies in a coma, and the company has found that it is possible to ride Smoke's spirit like a spy plane. Murgen spends his time visiting both the present and the past and actually gets to do remarkable little. As a result the reader is one extra remove from what is actually going on. He's not spectacularily bright or talented either, so there are moments when the reader has a better idea of what is going to happen and can even tell it better. Murgen thinks the book is about him, and that he is a victim of circumstance and the plotting of others. The truth is that he brings many of his woes down on himself, and when offered opportunities to take his own action, he just retreats into Smoke.

In a sense Glen Cook has done the same thing. The story is richly detailed - a gritty fantasy with a Southeast Asian setting. The main characters are vivid with complicated problems to solve, but Cook keeps too many secrets, always introducing more questions than he resolves. She is the Darkness has a lot of loose ends to tie off before it comes to its grand cliffhanger of an ending. However, once embarked on this strange journey, the reader will find this a hard book to put down. But don't expect pat answers. Cook has never been one to lead you to the obvious.

Slowly back to form...........2005-07-07

A good book...but not quite at the same level as some of the earlier ones.

The Black Company Rules........2004-01-12

Yet another doozy for the Black Company. I hate reviews that discuss the plot or give a synopsis, so I won't do that. You can find enough here. This review is merely to tell anyone doubting that though this is the EIGHTH book in the series, it is still as fantastic as the first one. Rare in any series.

Murgen is the narrator in this one, and is still hopping around time and place while passed out. If you don't know what I am talking about, you need to read the first seven books before even worrying about this one. The Company is still heading to Khatovar, and Soulcatcher is still being a pain. I suppose that I am discussing plot now, violating my rule, but what the heck.

Long story short, Cook manages to maintain a gritty, funny, enticing and absorbing tale after 30 years of Company and thousands of pages. Bravo.

She Is The Darkness.......2003-08-06

The saga of the Black Company continues as Khatovar draws ever nearer... or does it?

Really a 3 1/2 or 4-. It's strange -- I keep hearing people tell me that this series, which I've never read before, gets worse toward the end, but this book is one of the best yet. Far better characterized than the early volumes, it's from the point of view of Murgen, the standardbearer. Disturbances in Murgen's consciousness and a concomitant decline in his physical state add tension. Though here and there a plot thread is not fully developed and the book gets slow about 3/4 of the way through, overall it works well and the end is an eyecatcher. Like the others in the series, though, it does not stand alone, so will be of interest only to readers of the preceding books.

Best of the Worst.......2001-05-05

Most everything in this novel is a mixed bag, beginning with the new annalist, Murgen. At his best, Murgen gives some interesting new insight into old characters (especially Croaker), and does a fair job of recording events. At his worst, he's too self-involved to report anything beyond his own misery. A misery Cook fails to sell to the reader, so it quickly becomes annoying. The sad part is, Croaker points this out near the end...which I guess was Cook's way of saying, "I'm sorry, I know it sucks."

Another problem with the novel is Smoke. His unique perspective takes most of the suspense out of the story. In order to surprise the reader, Cook is forced to invent one weak excuse after another for why Smoke's ability failed. That gets old, fast. What little suspense remains concerns Croaker's plan for marching their army, in winter, to certain doom against Mogaba's forces. The outcome of that is so pathetically lame it can't help but come as a surprise.

The high point of the novel is Soulcatcher. She's one of the most colorful villains to appear in any fantasy novel, and she really shines here. Even though most of her attempts at revenge are senseless and feeble, she at least has some success. That's a welcome change from the "All Powerful Idiots" that called themselves the Shadow Masters. If you're a fan of the series, the novel is worth reading just for the glimpses of Soulcatcher.

The problem with Soulcatcher is that her true name is in Croaker's annals; figuring it out is a simple process of elimination. There were four sisters; Lady is Dorotea; the Dominator tried to disarm Lady using both Ardath and Sylith; the Dominator knew the true names of the original Taken, so he wouldn't have used Soulcatcher's true name on Lady; that leaves just Credence. End of Soulcatcher.

Book Description

Mercenary soldiers in the service of the Lady, the Black Company stands against the rebels of the White Rose. They are tough men, proud of honoring their contracts. The Lady is evil, but so, too, are those who falsely profess to follow the White Rose, reincarnation of a centuries-dead heroine. Yet now some of the Company have discovered that the mute girl they rescued and sheltered is truly the White Rose reborn. Now there may be a path to the light, even for such as they. If they can survive it.

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A bit of a change of pace, here. There is a major focus on a character in a town that it turns out is harboring Raven, who is doing some organlegging, and also Darling.

Plenty of the usual undead wizard nastiness, as well. There is basically part of the two camps of wizards storyline, as an attempt is made to bring back The Dominator (again). Yet another L v D epic.

Needless to say, there is a battle, and why a career in the Company is maybe not that great an idea.

eat your heart out, Steven Erikson. This is the way to tell a story!.......2007-03-25

After the glory that was The Black Company, I expected more of the the same from Glen Cook in Shadows Linger: soldiers on the move, lots of bleak gallows humor, a desperate hunt and doublecrossing with The Lady's Soultaken, and lots of interaction between the various members of The Company. In short, a near carbon copy of the first book, only with a slightly different objective. Like, what so much of fantasy seems to be. Shadows Linger is NOT that book. At all. Shadows Linger is something else entirely.

The story here is two fold. First (or second, actually) is that of Croaker and a small band of the Company sent to distant Juniper to discover a way to combat the threat of The Dominator that is cropping up there. Croaker, the Annalist of the Company, has serious doubts of the Company betraying its morality by following The Lady. He also knows something that can get him killed and the Company destroyed: Darling, the girl Raven rescued in The Black Company - she is the reincarnation of the White Rose, the enemy of The Lady.

The second aspect of the story is that of Marron Shed, a innkeeper in Juniper trying to get out of debt and who knows a man named Raven and a girl named Darling who is working at his inn. Marron Shed's story, which should have no connection at all to what we think The Company is all about, but is an interesting story about the changing morality of a desperate man. Through Shed we see what Raven is up to and how Raven is still working to get as far away from The Company and The Lady as possible.

These two stories weave together in alternating chapters that reveal more about the world of The Company and the threats The Lady faces, about The Dominator, about the Company and its history, about The White Rose, and about the threat The Lady poses to The Company.

With characters like Croaker, Raven, Marron Shed, Goblin, and One Eye Glen Cook delivers a powerful tour de force of a novel. Shadows Linger is no less a powerful work of fantastic fiction than The Black Company is. This is high praise indeed because The Black Company was one of the more outstanding works of military fantasy out there. Shadows Linger takes the series, even only at the second volume, in an entirely new and unexpected direction. The direction it takes, however, is a wondrous one and one which shows the range of Glen Cook as a creative force. In a series which could easily be the same novel after the same, Glen Cook has already shown that he is willing to pick apart The Company and his characters and that the only driving force is to tell a good story.

He tells a great one.

-Joe Sherry

Fast-paced and Engaging Fantasy.......2006-12-15

Wow, after not having read fantasy for years due to endless descriptions of everything and everyone, good and evil, archetypes, heroes and villians, I lucked out when I randomly picked up this book. It's an awesome read. Cook doesn't bother with much explicit description; he leaves it all to show, which he does with an economy of words that keeps focus on the white-hot story. The climax had me leaning out of my seat, which almost never happens these days - sadly - since I've read so many frigging books. With casualties galore I had no pre-conceived notion of the outcome.

I also really enjoyed the easy use of names. No apostrophe-ridden tongue twisters. No olde English, German, or nominal languages. No foreign language content at all. Here are the character names: Croaker, Goblin, the Lady, the Dominator, the Limper, Whisper, Soulcatcher, Elmo, the Captain, the Lieutenant, Marron Shed, Asa, Lisa, Darling, Raven. You might say it's unimaginative, true, however the easy names frees the reader to enjoy the plot. I found them quite liberating.

As far as descriptions of actions: they were sparse. When damage to people was described it was far more effective.

Overall I'll be reading a lot more Glen Cook and actually am kicking myself for not reading more fantasy as he reminded me of how good it can be.

I have to comment on one of the reviewers giving it a 1 star.

One-star: "Instead we are treated to some guy who double-crosses his wife, some guys who steal urns from an underground cemetary and some mentions of the black company. It took 200 of the 300 pages to even mention the White Rose. After reading the disappointing first book in the series, I was hoping that this one would shed some light on what that first one was lacking. It just confused me more."

Eh, the White Rose was mentioned in the first pages as being the Rebel's motive. The Black Company was mentioned at the same time when Croaker and friends were wiping out rebs. No one double-crosses a wife in the entire book, so I have no idea where he got that. Yes there is a guy who steals urns from the underground cemetary (aka 'catacombs') and that guy is one of the main characters named Raven.

One-star: "There is absolutely not a single interesting or well-developed character in 'Shadows Linger'. At least the first had Croaker, but even he is cast aside as a second string character. The names flit right past the reader, without anything to hook the reader in. Perhaps the characters themselves are the 'Shadows' that 'Linger'... shadows that would be fortunate to be called one-dimensional."

Croaker was the first-person narrator for approximately half the book, and he was well-developed, not second-string. The other principles were Raven, Marron Shed, and Darling. As far as what's needed to hook the reader in, it would be the action involving the characters, their needs and desires and appeal. Cook is very light on physical descriptions, yet it's quite easy to imagine the characters through their actions and even just names. The description of the Lady was something along the lines of: "We'd gotten older but she was still beautiful. She'd always remain 20. Her hair was stunningly black, and men could melt into her eyes. She was a focus of such glamor it's beyond physical description, and describing her is useless anyway as this wasn't her real form but the one she chose." The rest of what the reader picks up of the Lady's image comes from people's comments on her, what she says and does, etc. On the eve of the big battle in the story, there's no hurrah speech BS, this is what she says: "The black castle is a hole in the bottom of the ship of the Empire. We must stop it now lest we sink." Bam - I love it!

One-star: "That aside, the story itself was just uninteresting. There's more plot development on the back cover blurb than there is in the actual novel. Some of the plot elements had absolutely no motivation behind them. It was as if Glen Cook was purposely leaving out details like "Why on earth are they doing this?"

Why on earth are they doing this? Plot: Mortal mercenaries begin to find their souls to the chagrin of their employer, the Lady, who can kill them with a thought. Around this central plot we have: A deserter from the Black Company wages a one-man campaign to save the reincarnation of the White Rose in the harshest of lands at the edge of the Empire. A wastrel bar owner redeems himself in life. The Lady battles her ex-spouse, the Dominator, in a fight to maintain control of the world.

No plot? Yeah, right. Just like the Black Company was never mentioned, the White Rose wasn't in the book till the end, someone double-crossed their wife. Uh-huh.

Three Corpses to Go, Please..........2006-05-29

With the battle at Charm over, and the rebels in disarray, the lady responds to a request from the lord of Juniper, and sends the Black Company to investigate some strange events in that ancient city. A dark castle has risen up, and those who touch it quickly die. The Lady suspects the worst, and the Black Company is, once again, her pawn.

In the same city, Raven and Darling hide while Raven prepares to flee as far as he can from the Empire. Darling, the White Rose incarnate must hide from view until her time, when the comet crosses the sky again. Raven, and an innkeeper named Shed, gather the dead from Juniper's frozen streets and sell them to the dark castle. As they begin to mine the city for its corpses they trigger a series of events that will, inevitably bring the Black Company face to face with an evil even more dreadful than the Lady herself. The Dominator seeks to return, and in Juniper those loyal to him work at opening the door.

All the old characters (those that survived Charm) are back in this sequel. The viewpoint shifts from Croaker to third party depending on the part of the tale you're in. This isn't my favorite form of story telling, but it works here as Shadows Linger strikes the balance between the story of the Black Lady and the beginnings of the White Rose story arc. One Eye and Goblin continue their squabbles as comic relief, and, as always, the Fallen fly their carpets overhead.

It is surprising that, some 20 years after it was written, this series continues to strike the reader as something fresh and inventive. Glen Cook marked out a special ground where heroes and evil have no clear cut boundaries. The world hangs in the balance and dirty maneuvers in back alleys are just as important as desperate battles. Cook displays maturing writing skills enough to satisfy the most jaded reader.

Enjoyable book, decent sequel.......2006-05-26

This was a fun book to read. It introduces a couple of new far-from-perfect characters (shed and asa), and continues the previous novel's interesting depiction of fantasy as a competition of various less-than-angelic sides rather than a struggle between good and evil, as many fantasy novels do. Characterization was believable enough, and in the context of the style and content of the previous novel, it is hard to find fault with this one. Well-written and well worth the read. I do think the first novel in this series was much more enjoyable.

spoilers follow, including spoilers for 'the white rose' as well

That said, a few things seem worth comment (having just re-read this book)

1) dropping raven out of the novel half-way through was a bit annoying, though all raven does here in this story is sell corpses and kill people and THEN sell their corpses.
2) It seems clear that the Limper was considered murdered by the Lady at the end of this story.
3) even worse, raven having 2 faked deaths in one book is even more annoying. I honestly wonder if Cook had planned to leave either Limper or Raven dead after this story and then found it better not to when he wrote The White Rose.

Lady Beware: A Novel of the Company of Rogues (Signet Historical Romance)

Average customer rating:

Excellent Start ..................................
jayinfl
A sensual delight with more than a dash of intrigue
Loved it
Another great read from Beverley

Lady Beware: A Novel of the Company of Rogues (Signet Historical Romance)
Jo Beverley
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0451221494

Book Description

For generations, the Cave family has been marked by scandal, madness, and violence. But after earning a reputation for bravery in the army, Horatio Cave, the new Viscount Darien, has come home to charm London society and restore the family name. He means to start with the lovely Lady Thea Debenham.

The magnetism between them is immediate, but can Thea trust the dark, sexy "Vile Viscount"? And will Thea's brother Dare-the most dashing member of the Company of Rogues-believe that Horatio does not deserve the cursed Cave reputation?

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Start .........................................2007-09-15

Lady Beware was very interesting in the beginning but slow in many parts.
It is not a page-turner, but if you like Jo Beverley probably you will like this one.
But, Beware of this romance if beautiful love scenes are important to you because there is just one love scene and it is very mild.

jayinfl.......2007-09-06

I just loved this book. I loved all the Rogues but this one and Dare's story (To Rescue a Rogue) was my favorites. You never know what's going to happen next in this book. I laughed out loud at several times and will surely add this one to my "keepers". If you haven't read all of the Rouges, you need to definitely need to start from the beginning!

A sensual delight with more than a dash of intrigue.......2007-08-11

A brilliant book in the Rogues series, raises the bar to another level. This book is packed with drama, romance and sensual delight, the dark and damaged male character and a brave and courageous heroine combined with the evil threat to them both makes a dynamic mix.
This book is so good you have to read it again soon!

Loved it.......2007-07-27

I loved this book. This was the first book in the series that I have read so now I need to go back and get the others.

Another great read from Beverley.......2007-07-20

Good characterization and fast-moving plot! Also, plenty of romance without being too graphic. I really enjoyed this one!

Water Sleeps: A Novel of the Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company)

Average customer rating:

Not Free SF Reader
An improvement over the last 2 titles...
Home, Home on the Plain
Great Gritty Real Read
Much better...

Water Sleeps: A Novel of the Black Company (Chronicles of The Black Company)
Glen Cook
Manufacturer: Tor Fantasy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Epic | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0812555341

Book Description

Regrouping in Taglios, the surviving members of the Black Company are determined to free their fellow warriors held in stasis beneath the glittering plain. Journey there under terrible conditions, they arrive just in time for a magical conflagration in which the bones of the world will be revealed, the history of the Company unveiled, and new world gained and lost....all at a terrible price.

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Another of the weaker Black Company novels, as the Company is still in a bad place. If you had not made it this far in the series, you could be excused. If you are enjoying it, you will still like this book, and it does get better later. Perhaps for completists, but I still liked it, and if it was possible would give it a 3.25.

An improvement over the last 2 titles..........2006-08-23

This novel is a vast improvement over the last two titles; I found Bleak Seasons very convoluted with Murgen's temporal ambling and She is the Darkness to be an notable improvement. This novel is certainly a good story, though there are a number of issues which could be brought up.

Notable that there is no military organization called the black company in this novel, rather there are a few survivors of the last few years acting as a sort of insurgency/conspiratorial group.

It takes place 14 years after the previous novel, and the only characters with any development time previously are goblin/one-eye, soulcatcher (who has not resembled the character depicted in The Black Company at all in the last few novels), the local nobles, and a couple of cameos. I think that inevitably, by devolving to other narrators and removing central characters from his story, cook is losing the character of the black company stories as compared to the initial trilogy.

Cook appears to have simply ignored the elephant in the living room, which is that Soulcatcher's true name is known (both by Lady and by being derivable from the Annals from the time in the north, croaker would have known this, he knew what names the dominator tried to use on the Lady, and was present when she was named IIRC) and there is really no excuse for her not having been shut down quickly upon becoming not dead. As I noted above, Soulcatcher is quite a different persona from the character in the first black company novel, who was very quiet, focused and enigmatic, never raising her voice or losing her cool. That worked well with her apparently non-telepathic character insights, but this current soulcatcher is a raving loony.

I did find sleepy's ongoing rambles about her god and all the obligatory phrases annoying, especially as she tried to reconcile later events in her monotheological framework. Pointless and annoying. Tobo was annoying in general (maybe an accurate description of a 14-year old).

The ideas revealed about the glittering plain shown in this book are really interesting. I think he pulled off resolving some major plot threads very well, there was plenty of potential to screw up and he avoided those pitfalls.

One question that comes to mind - why did soulcatcher leave the standard with murgen at the end of She is the Darkness? This was a valuable artifact she could have used to escape the plain in a less threatened fashion.

All in all this is a good book, though unlike Dread Empire, where he kept Ragnarson as the central persona in his story throughout despite a large number of everyone else dying at one time or another, here he has removed his main characters and you really end up with a story that feels quite different.

Home, Home on the Plain.......2006-07-31

Once again we get a switch in annalists - of necessity since Soulcatcher dropped most of the main characters (other than Goblin and One-Eye) into a stasis trap in the depths of the Fortress With No Name. It is Sleepy this time, who got some slight mention in She Is The Darkness, mostly because she was masquerading as a he. Sleepy, along with Murgen's wife Sahra are hard at work getting even with Soulcatcher, Mogaba, and the usual select crew of bad guys. When they aren't pulling someone's chain they are trying to find a way to re-enter the Glittering Plain and release Murgen and all the other Black Company regulars.

The story takes place almost entirely in Taglios, which is now the center of Soulcatcher's 'protectorate.' I'm not sure why the witch chose that title, since the only thing she ever protects is herself. And she is more than content to spend the lives of innocent citizenry if she feels the least bit threatened. Sahra and Sleepy and the remaining fragments of the Black Company have gone into hiding with the help of the Nyueng Bao. They wage a war of irritation with the Protector and the Radisha. They spy, paint slogans on walls, and even resort to kidnapping in order to keep everyone off balance while they engage in a desperate search for a key to the Glittering Plain and some knowledge on how to rescue the captives.

Murgen, the only one of the captives still conscious is still around as a disembodied source of intelligence and advice, and Tobo, Murgen and Sahra's son also plays an important part as he begins to display significant skills as a sorceror. This is a tale told in small, detailed steps, both by Sleepy and by Cook himself as he gives us frequent updates looking over the shoulders of the villains. What with Murgen's ghostly presence and Sahra's day job as a housecleaner in the palace it's no wonder that Mogaba finally remarks that keeping a secret is hardly worth the effort.

Glen Cook always manages to have things work out differently from the reader's expectations and Water Sleeps is no exception. This includes the discovery that there is a fourth volume in this trilogy, which has already covered a lot of ground. But there always seems to be more to find out, and one more volume to read.

Great Gritty Real Read.......2005-08-12

Glenn Cook captures the life and times of a mercenary bad with gritty realism.

I higly recommend the Black Company series.

Much better..........2005-07-07

than some of the other more recent books. Solid and a nice return to form.

Tokyo Mew-Mew, Book 2 /Three's company ,Five's a Crowd

Average customer rating:

A Note by Ichigo~
Tokyo Mew Mew Book 2
Kawiia manga!
This Book is So Good
Tokyo Mew Mew vol.2

Tokyo Mew-Mew, Book 2 /Three's company ,Five's a Crowd
Mia Ikumi , and Reiko Yoshida
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1591822378

Customer Reviews:

A Note by Ichigo~.......2006-11-05

Hi! I'm Ichigo, just thought I'd put a little review for the second book. I don't want to give anything away, but you know how in the first book we're just getting to know each other (even though it's not all of us) and I sorta don't really like Mint . . . yeah. But this book features the other two Mew Mew's: Zakuro and Pudding. Zakuro is part wolf, and Pudding is part lion. . .monkey. . thing. I don't remember I'll have to ask her later. But anyway in this book this is where the Mew Mew's really start to get together, ya know battling chimera anima and stuff like that. (Kish is such the flirt!). . . (and an alien!) So, if you haven't decided whether you wanted to buy this book or not, I think you should. Even though it doesn't have me on the cover *sniff* it's still good. Oh and. . . oh, gotta go! More chimera anima to fight! Bye!

Tokyo Mew Mew Book 2.......2006-01-09

In the start of this book there are only three Mew Mews: Ichigo Momomiya, Mint Aizawa, and Lettuce Midorikawa. Ichigo is part iriomote cat, Mint is part ultramarine lorikeet (a bird), and Lettuce is part porpoise. They meet two other girls, Pudding Fong who is part golden lion tamarin (a monkey), and Zakuro Fujiwara who is part gray wolf. Zakuro is probably my favorite. I like Mint, too. Mint is really pretty on the cover. I like her hairdo.
You should probably read book 1 first. It is about how Ichigo gets her powers and meets Mint and Lettuce.

Kawiia manga!.......2005-11-26

This book is very cute and highly recomended! I just got this book a while ago and I loved it!The only thing I really hate is Kish he's just to flirty around Ichiga. So in this book The mews (Ichoga,Mint and lettuce) finally find the other two mews ,Zakuro and Purin(A.K.A Pudding),
and Minto(mint)and Retasu(Lettuce) meet the alien Kish.This book is made for some one nine or older for some mild laguege.

~*~Purin~*~

This Book is So Good.......2005-11-21

Tokyo Mew Mew
By; Mia Icumi

This book Tokyo Mew Mew was a very good book to read. The main characters were Ichigo the" leader", Mint the rich girl who always has a proper time to do every thing, Lettuce the clumsy one, Pudding who has a lot of energy, and Zacuro the model. This book leaves off from the first one. Mint, Ichigo, Lettuce, Pudding, and Zacuro got injected with animal DNA in a freak accident now Ichigo has to find the other mew mews to help her save the world from anima animals. Kish (a bad guy) likes to flirt with Ichigo and in this book Kish comes out of no where and kisses her. He wants to get rid of the mew mews so he and his master can take over the world. I wanted to read this book because my friend got me hooked on the show so I wanted to read the book to see what was going on. I think girls around 12 or 13 would enjoy this book because its got a really good plot and its about all theaes girls who are like animals. The theme of this book is "don't judge a book by its cover" because people think the mew mews are bad but they're not.
A good thing that I liked was that they were really powerful and they worked at a really nifty coffee shop. A bad thing would be that the ending was not enough and I wanted to read more about what happened so it leaves you hanging in a way.
Over all I think this book rocked so hard and ill read it again any day. I recommend this book because it's really good and it's really entertaining for girls. Im glad I read and hopefully I could get someone hooked on it.

Gabrielle D.

Tokyo Mew Mew vol.2.......2005-10-18

I am Mia not Frank!(just to let you know) This book continues the cliffhanger ending of book 1, the scene with Kish kissing Ichigo. This book made me want Ichigo to love Kish instead of Masaya or Ryou. In this book the rest of the mew mews are introduced. The stupid names and battle cries don't get any less stupider. That's the only downside. This book Kish in it (yay^_^) and tells alittle more about Mint. Ryou shows his love for Ichigo much more in this book but she's just too dense to accualy see it! If you read the first book then you're probably like me inbetween book 1 and 2; dieing for more! Ichigo still won't love Kish(boohoo-_-)This series is like Sailor Moon so if you like Sailor Moon you'd like this!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books