The Deed of Paksenarrion: A Novel

Customer Reviews:

a tale of development.......2007-08-09

This is a great story, well developed characters, belivable environment. A classic tale of a young persons' growth from a scared kid to a secure adult. Moon has the ability to describe life in a miltary organization. Not everything is exciting, some days and weeks, are just drudgery. All in all a book to keep and to reread.

You'll love it too.......2007-07-16

I read this series years ago when it was originally published. I lost the books over the years. I'm so glad I made this purchase.

A personal favorite.......2007-06-14

Quite simply, this is one of my all-time favorite books. It has defined the genre (epic fantasy) for me. I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone.

One of the strongest heroines in literature--not just fantasy.......2007-05-02

Elizabeth Moon cannot write a bad book. She knows her stuff having once served in the military. She also researches and acts out her scenes with meticulous care.

As a result, she gives us Paksenarrion, a farmer's daughter who rises to become a Paladin and a heroine.

I read this book long ago--actually, these were some of my entree into fantasy and they lead me to read other greats in the genre, including Tolkien. Cannot recommend this series highly enough for those who love heroic fantasy or military fantasy.

OK but No Middle Earth!!.......2007-05-01

I was hoping to get into the magical world of Middle Earth but couldn't find the door here. It's fun to read a book about a strong female character but this is in no way close to Tolkien's Fantastic World. Saying she is the heir to Tolkien is a gross overstatement and I am glad that I had bought it used for 5 bucks. This book feels more sci-fi style less fantasy in her presentation of dialogue and character develpment. So I continue my quest for Middle Earth and will re-read LOTR yet again.

Average customer rating:

Definitely worth reading
Some words from the author

Property Rites - A Deed of Enslavement
Han, Li Thorn
Manufacturer: Velluminous Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Adult Fiction | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1905605005

Book Description

High-born and beautiful, Alasha Malkenstorm is heiress to her mother's lands, titles and powers - until the day she is robbed of everything by the stroke of a trickster's pen. Sold into slavery by her swindling stepfather, Alasha must find reserves of tenacity and courage she never knew she had as degradation mingles with slowly kindled lust. Collared, ringed, pierced and whipped, she is auctioned at the block and passed from man to woman and back again. For the sake of her people, Alasha knows she must find a way to reclaim her inheritance - but how can she turn her back on the man she has come to love, or her own submissive nature?

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"DELICATE EROTIC DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FEMALE EMOTIONAL STATE. AMAZING" That's how one Amazon.com reviewer described Property Rites, a full-length erotic fantasy of bondage and domination. Set in the mythical kingdom of Xendria, it tells the sexually charged story of Alasha, a lovely but naïve young noblewoman, who is transformed into a helpless, naked slave by the stroke of a trickster's pen. Sold by her swindling stepfather to a passing slave caravan, Alasha must find reserves of tenacity and courage she never knew she had as pain and degradation her masters inflict on her mingle with slowly kindled lust. Collared, ringed, pierced, and whipped, she is auctioned at the block and passed from man to woman and back again. For the sake of her people, Alasha knows that she must somehow fight her way back to reclaim her stolen inheritance - but how can she turn her back on the man she has come to love, or her own submissive nature? A masterpiece of the romance of bondage and domination by the author of Spike Trap: A Tale of Female Submission.

Customer Reviews:

Definitely worth reading.......2005-01-13

I found that Property Rites was really a fun book. More than once I had to *ahem* take a break from reading.

The heroine, Alasha, is a lovable good girl with a slutty streak from here to eternity, and the antagonist(s) are hateful older men who want to rob her of her freedom. Unfortunately, there's nothing Alasha loves more than being robbed of her freedom.

This book, unlike a lot of bondage erotica available, offers a good plot, as well as several well-developed characters. However, while the ending in satisfying in its own way, one of the main themes, unwilling slavery, was not addressed again. This story has loads of potential that was not properly exploited.

My recommendation to Han Li Thorn would be to continue this story, allowing Alasha to blossom into the natural ruler and lady that so obviously lies within.

Some words from the author.......2004-05-03

My erotic novel Property Rites is set in the medieval-fantasy kingdom of Xendria. It tells the story of Alasha, a naive young noblewoman who is swindled out of her inheritance by her conniving stepfather and stepbrother, and sold to a passing slave caravan. The novel mixes BDSM, sensuality, romance and adventure in fairly equal measures.

For those who have read my erotic novella Spike Trap (also published by Renaissance Ebooks and available on Amazon), Property Rites is over twice as long: approx 82000 words compared to 33000. I always like to try before I buy, and I wouldn't offer my own fiction without offering the same opportunity: here's hoping Amazon will pick up the excerpts I've made available and include them here.

Of the two, Property Rites is my favorite (although published second, it was actually written before Spike Trap). My motivation for writing these novels was frustration at the amount of steamy fiction that falls short in terms of delivering characters you can care about or a plot that's both believable and compelling.

If you do (or don't) find that Property Rites works on those terms, I'd love to read your thoughts here. In the meantime, please forgive an author's inclination to self-award five stars :-)

Thanks for reading!

Book Description

When Wagner first serialized Grendel: Devil by the Deed as a backup in his critically acclaimed title Mage, its innovative storytelling techniques, philosophical undertones, and charismatic anti-hero ignited a devoted following. Introducing Hunter Rose as the brilliant, twisted assassin Grendel, it gave birth to what would become a centuries-spanning epic exploring the roots and consequences of violence. This influential tale has been collected only twice in the past twenty years, quickly selling out each time. Now, for the first time in hardcover, Dark Horse presents the book that brought one of the most popular alternative comics characters to life and marked the auspicious arrival of one of the greatest visionaries of modern comics!

Customer Reviews:

Re-Red, and Not for the Better.......2007-08-10

While Devil by the Deed still stands as an important and quite beautifully realized milestone in comics history, I did find the decision to recolor the work in the 'black, white, and red' style to be a mistake. The coloring of the original version of the story had always been one of my favorite aspects of the work, and I do not think the revision was necessary or desirable. While it is nice to own a hardcover of the story (which is mostly undiminished by the alteration), I may have thought twice had I known about the recoloring. That'll teach me to do a little research, I guess. Fortunately, I do still own a copy of the 1993 re-issue (I've never run across a copy of the original Comico collection).
I can at least content myself with the fact that this version of Devil by the Deed still stands lightyears ahead of the alterations that Image did to the original Mage collection.

By highschoolers, for highschoolers........2007-08-03

The art work is very much like something you would expect from a talented highschooler; the writing is like a movie treatment written by a highschooler who is NOT remotely as talented as his mother says he is.

The best graphic prose ever written!.......1997-08-04

This book is a visual and literary masterpiece. Matt Wagner took a novel approach to the comic book format and created the poetic dark story of Hunter Rose aka Grendel, the most sadistic and romantic killer in comic book history. It chronicles the birth and death of Grendel in a smoothly flowing pictorial, with text inserts. This book is a must read if you are a fan of the dark and twisted. This is not a children's book by any means

No Good Deeds: A Tess Monaghan Novel (Tess Monaghan Mysteries)

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No Good Deeds by Laura Lippman
No Good Deeds
Ghetto blasting
Good, but not great
No More Crow, Please!

No Good Deeds: A Tess Monaghan Novel (Tess Monaghan Mysteries)
Laura Lippman
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Women Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060570725
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Book Description

From Laura Lippman, one of the most critically acclaimed crime fiction writers today, comes an intriguing new tale of mystery and suspense with everyone's favorite P.I., Tess Monaghan. This time Tess is involved in a frightening investigation that will make her question her loyalties and threaten those she holds most dear. . . .

No Good Deeds

For Tess Monaghan, the unsolved murder of a young federal prosecutor is nothing more than a theoretical problem, one of several cases to be deconstructed in her new gig as a consultant to the local newspaper. But it becomes all too tangible when her boyfriend brings home a young street kid who doesn't even realize he holds an important key to the man's death. Tess agrees to protect the boy's identity no matter what, especially when one of his friends is killed in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity. But with federal agents determined to learn the boy's name at any cost, Tess finds out just how far even official authorities will go to get what they want. Soon she's facing felony charges -- and her boyfriend, Crow, has gone into hiding with his young protégé, so Tess can't deliver the kid to investigators even if she wants to. Time and time again Tess is reminded of her father's old joke, the one about the most terrifying sentence in the English language: "We're from the government -- and we're here to help."

Customer Reviews:

No Good Deeds by Laura Lippman.......2007-07-10

In Lippman's latest installment of the Tess Monaghan series, Tess has taken on a new gig as consultant to the local newspaper, where her job duties are to train reporters in investigative techniques, using three recent cases as paradigms. One of the cases Tess plans to focus on is the murder of a local federal prosecutor. When Tess's significant other, Crowe, befriends a homeless street kid, Tess inadvertently learns the young man has information about who killed the prosecutor. In an effort to inform the authorities without identifying her source, Tess sets up an interview between the young man and a reporter. Although she promises Crowe she will do everything she can to protect the young man's identity, federal agents insist she reveal her source. When Tess doesn't cooperate, they begin to threaten her family and hint at filing felony charges against her. Crowe goes into hiding with the young man, unaware that two federal agents have honed in and are after them, not to bring them in but to kill them.

The Tess Monaghan series remains a constant bestseller in PI series to date. Tess is a strong character, a young woman with an edge. To counterbalance her cynicism is her mate, laidback and amiable Crowe. Lippman excels at characterization, and with No Good Deeds allows the reader a deeper look into Crowe's persona and background. And, as always, spending time with Tess is a bonus. This must-read moves at a fast pace and has plenty of interesting characters.

No Good Deeds.......2007-05-07

I will try to read more of her only because it took me
3 chapters to figure out who did what. Will never be a PD James.

Ghetto blasting.......2007-04-17

When PI Tess Monoghan and her boyfriend, Crow befriend (a little unwillingly on Tess's part) Lloyd, a tough, black teenager from the ghettos of Baltimore, they put in motion a series of events which are connected with murder, drug dealing and extortion by people who should know better. Lloyd is living on the streets in a hand to mouth fashion, getting money for food from begging, scams and from skirting around the edges of a criminal element which uses young boys to do their dirty work. When the body of Federal Attorney, Gregory Youssef is found, Agents begin digging to find connections with drug dealers and Lloyd clearly is frightened by the name of Youssef, even though he claims never to have met him. Tess, Crow and their families are threatened when crooked Federal agents try to locate Lloyd and so are forced to go into hiding and to call in favours from family and friends, to remain alive. It's an exciting, pacy read which fans of Tess Monoghan will thoroughly enjoy.

Good, but not great.......2007-04-08

This is the third Tess Monaghan novel I've read and I don't think it compares well with Ms. Lippman's earlier work. Crow is an annoying character. It is hard to understand how Tess even tolerates him. While reading it I kept thinking how two-dimensional he is. A 1960s hippie-wannabe who doesn't seem to understand how the world works. It also bothered me that by the end of the book there were still a couple of unresolved plot twists. Ms. Lippman is an excellent writer and her style and pacing kept me interested enough to move through the book in a single sitting. Because of her writing ability I'm looking forward to reading her latest novel, "What the Dead Know." At least I know I won't have to put up with Crow in that one. (It is a stand alone book, not part of the Monaghan series.

No More Crow, Please!.......2007-04-04

I think Laura Lippman is a terrific writer, and I love Tess and this entire series. However, the one character I've never been able to stand is Crow, so I didn't really enjoy a book that was mostly about him.

I thought it was out of character for Tess to not question Crow about all his money via the disposable cellphone, and moreso to not be upset to find out he'd been keeping it from her considering her own financial problems. I also couldn't understand why she'd be putting herself and her family at so much risk for someone she didn't even know (who tried to take advantage of her) and a guy she was slowly finding out she barely knew and might not be able to trust.

As with all her books, this one was well-written and hard to put down. I just wish I didn't have to suffer through the annoying Crow to enjoy it.

Deed Without a Name (Golden Age Detective Novels)

Average customer rating:

Another Great Mystery
another excellent revival
Wonderfully entertaining and a brain twister

Deed Without a Name (Golden Age Detective Novels)
Dorothy Bowers
Manufacturer: Rue Morgue Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

British Detectives | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0915230828

Customer Reviews:

Another Great Mystery.......2006-03-08

Another first-rate mystery from Dorothy Bowers that brings to life a by-gone era. Wonderfully written and well plotted.

another excellent revival.......2005-12-09

Blessings on Rue Morgue for their revival of Dorothy Bowers! This is another fine story, beautifully written, atmospheric and neatly puzzling. It's a great pity that Bowers died so young, but at least we have these few treats from her pen now available again.

Wonderfully entertaining and a brain twister.......2005-12-04

As heir apparent to Dorothy L. Sayers, Dorothy Bowers' short but critically acclaimed career ended with her death at age 46 from tuberculosis. She wrote four Dan Pardoe novels between 1938 and 1941 to excellent reviews, and her final novel was published in 1947. She lived long enough to see her election to the prestigious Detection Club in 1948 and died shortly thereafter.

Someone has made three attempts on Archy Mitfold's life, because Archy knows something he shouldn't. When Inspector Dan Pardoe and Sergeant Tommy Salt are called in to investigate whether someone finally succeeded in killing Archy or if he took his own life, they find that Archy has left clues. There are several drawings of spotted birds, some with a hatchet. And there is Archy's red diary, but that is inconveniently missing. It is up to Dan and Salt to reconstruct the week that led up to Archy's death to find out if his death is linked to a pro-Nazi Nordic Bond or if something more sinister is at work:

"'The rope, Tommy-keep your eye on the rope,' said Pardoe, with a sudden grim vision of a second one at the end of the story. 'That was a piece of smart improvisation-quick thinking, speedy action, but improvisation all the same. Else he'd have brought rope with him, and if rope, why not a simpler weapon? As I read it it means the murderer had to think up that method at the last to ensure Mitfold died, and it tells us too, that he's a man familiar with the run of the house in Mulberry Fountain.'"

Dorothy Bowers manages to lead the reader into not only a world of enigmatic clues left by a man-child who has stumbled on to a murderous scheme concocted by someone very close. Bowers sets her writing bar very high, and the reader is bombarded with eloquence from the first page. Suspense and peril aren't far behind, and this is a case that has tentacles that go everywhere and has Scotland Yard's finest scratching their heads in dismay. Bowers leads both the police and the reader on a merry chase and skillfully succeeds in one of the finest points of mystery writing...the red herring. She firmly points the reader in one direction while Dan Pardoe and Sergeant Salt are forcefully building the case in a very different direction. The result, Bowers' second Dan Pardoe mystery is wonderfully entertaining and is a brain twister.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

No Good Deeds CD: A Tess Monaghan Novel (Tess Monaghan Mysteries)

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No Good Deeds CD: A Tess Monaghan Novel (Tess Monaghan Mysteries)
Laura Lippman
Manufacturer: HarperAudio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Women Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060897937
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Book Description

Average customer rating:

Hasn't this book already been written?
Who wants to own Manhattan?
light but amusing
I liked this book!
Definitely Worth Reading!

The Deed : A Novel
Keith Blanchard
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 074322387X

Book Description

A hip and hilarious debut novel about a twentysomething guy searching for love, for meaning...and for a long-lost deed that could make him heir to the island of Manhattan

Meet Jason Hansvoort, a single New Yorker with a curious knack for surviving near-death experiences. Wistful about college, apprehensive about the future, he's currently flailing around in post-college limbo as low man on the totem pole at one of Madison Avenue's "Big Five" ad agencies, impatiently waiting for the Next Thing to happen.

And then one day he's approached by Amanda, an attractive young law student and one of the last members of the Manahata, the Native American tribe who sold Manhattan Island to the Dutch almost four hundred years ago. She's spent years on the trail of a lost document that supposedly gave ownership of Manhattan to a seventeenth-century benefactor and all his descendants. She believes Jason's the last of this line...and therefore heir to the island of Manhattan and everything on it. If they can find the deed, that is. Jason's skeptical...but enchanted enough to play along.

If Jason and Amanda can indeed locate the deed, the consequences will be tremendous and far reaching: grave for millions of landowners and mortal for every title insurance company on the Eastern seaboard. There are literally billions at stake, and when a dysfunctional New York City crime family looking for a big break picks up the scent, it places Jason's streak of surviving near-death experiences in peril.

Informed by Blanchard's gift for dead-on observation and pitch-perfect ear for dialogue, The Deed heralds the arrival of a fresh comic voice in contemporary literary fiction.

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A hip and hilarious debut novel about a twentysomething guy searching for love, for meaning...and for a long-lost deed that could make him heir to the island of Manhattan Meet Jason Hansvoort, a single New Yorker with a curious knack for surviving near-death experiences. Wistful about college, apprehensive about the future, he's currently flailing around in post-college limbo as low man on the totem pole at one of Madison Avenue's ""Big Five"" ad agencies, impatiently waiting for the Next Thing to happen. And then one day he's approached by Amanda, an attractive young law student and one of the last members of the Manahata, the Native American tribe who sold Manhattan Island to the Dutch almost four hundred years ago. She's spent years on the trail of a lost document that supposedly gave ownership of Manhattan to a seventeenth-century benefactor and all his descendants. She believes Jason's the last of this line...and therefore heir to the island of Manhattan and everything on it. If they can find the deed, that is. Jason's skeptical...but enchanted enough to play along. If Jason and Amanda can indeed locate the deed, the consequences will be tremendous and far reaching: grave for millions of landowners and mortal for every title insurance company on the Eastern seaboard. There are literally billions at stake, and when a dysfunctional New York City crime family looking for a big break picks up the scent, it places Jason's streak of surviving near-death experiences in peril. Informed by Blanchard's gift for dead-on observation and pitch-perfect ear for dialogue, The Deed heralds the arrival of a fresh comic voice in contemporary literary fiction.

Customer Reviews:

Hasn't this book already been written?.......2006-10-19

Keith Blanchard's premise is that the fabled sale of Manhattan Island by the Manhata Indians to the Dutch is actually incorrect. Instead, the island was sold a second time by the starving Dutch colony to a Dutch man who sympathized with the Manhata, married a Manhata woman and insisted on a deed for the island so that he and his heirs could hold it for the native peoples who did not understand these legal machinations.

It's an interesting premise, but one that was explored 4 years earlier by Larry Jay Martin in his book "Sounding Drum". Interestingly, it was also a quirky comedy, it also involved a romance, the mafia and Indian casinos.

Regardless of those similarities, this book should be judged on its own merits. I liked the historical section and the actual mystery of the deed. I truly disliked Blanchard's description of Hansvoort and his friends. Page after page in this book involve the bar scene and the consumption of literally gallons of alcohol. If Blanchard was trying to show us the dichotomy between Hansvoort's pointless career and the empty lives he and his friends live and that of the Indians he failed because he did not explore the lives of the Indians.

On the whole, this book failed to go farther than just being OK for me - the white characters were unlikable, the Indians were mysterious and barely developed as characters and the mafia characters were menacing until it came to actually menace - then they were duds.

All in all, I give this one a grade of C.

Who wants to own Manhattan?.......2005-04-05

This is a very light mystery novel built around different type characters than the normal police, detective or CIA agent. A young struggling ad exec is approached by a Native American, attractive attorney-to-be with very mysterious questions. While trying to overcome his attraction to her he learns her secret. Her heritage and legal background puts her in the unique position of knowing that he may be the rightful heir to all Manhattan.

Now, isn't this the type fantasy we would all like to dream about? Well, except if you are in the title insurance business of course. The novel becomes a light trip through this fantasy, the past history of Manhattan, and the growing relationship between the two main characters.

This is an enjoyable, light read for the beach or a plane trip across country. Not really breaking new ground but an excellent idea for a first time novelist.

light but amusing.......2003-06-28

After reading this I was reminded of both, "The Nanny Diaries" and Jack Finney's New York time travel book, "Time and Again." The Deed is a snarky read and the idea of a young ad exec becoming the sole owner of Manhattan is intriguing. It will keep you amused for a couple of days. I'll be interested to see what Blanchard comes up with next.

I liked this book!.......2003-06-13

It's nice to read a stress-free book about a modern day treasure hunt! The author has a very good ear for dialogue. I can't wait to read more of his works.

Definitely Worth Reading!.......2003-05-03

The most positive thing that can be said about Keith Blanchard's debut novel THE DEED is the fact that he hits one out of the park when it comes to writing about New York City. Although the novel seems a bit sophomoric at times, Blanchard, editor-in-chief of Maxim magazine, also does a solid job in bringing to life his story's protagonist, Jason Hansvort.

Set in 1999 in Manhattan, before the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11th, Jason is struggling with his career in a top ad agency. He doubts himself, he doubts his career choice and he especially doubts the current product he's supposed to be peddling. But Jason, fortunately, is a direct descendent of Pieter Hansvoort. And so Blanchard's novel tries to convince the reader that somewhere there is a deed that, after over 400 years since the Manahatas sold the city that never sleeps to Dutch settlers, will rightfully allow Jason to claim his long lost inheritance.

The deed becomes known to Jason after he receives a mysterious phone call from Amanda, a gorgeous Native American lawyer who is determined to find the Hansvoort descendent, even though his name has been shortened throughout the centuries. Jason is skeptical at first, but after his boss gets removed from the ad agency, Jason walks after a hilarious spat with his autocratic supervisor Diana and the cat-and-mouse chase for the deed really heats up.

Blanchard not only possesses the fine ability to translate the history behind the discovery of Manhattan, he also does yeoman's work in describing the sale of the island and the effect it had after the Manahata people sold it to the Dutch. The novel's prologue begins in New Netherland (New York City) in 1643. While the prologue is vital reading to understand the jest of the story, the author wastes 16 pages before the first chapter and never, ever returns the reader to that time period. He could have easily worked the entire prologue into the story and made it much more interesting.

The author tragically does an injustice to Amanda's mother as well. Mary is doing all she can to thwart her husband from allowing organized crime to establish a casino on their Long Island reservation. Blanchard crafts Mary perfectly but leaves her by the wayside far too often.

THE DEED is definitely worth reading as Blanchard illustrates the mystique of Gotham before the destruction of the World Trade Center flawlessly. He writes in great detail about Wall Street --- and the history behind it --- and the Statue of Liberty. In years to come, people who will want to understand The Big Apple and all its uniqueness should rent Ric Burns's splendid PBS documentary New York and pick up a copy of THE DEED to accompany it.

--- Reviewed by David Exum

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The Deed of Life, the Novels and Tales of D H Lawrence
Julian Moynahan
Manufacturer: Princeton University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RV9ZMQ

Average customer rating:
The Deed of Life: The Novels and Tales of D. H. Lawrence.
Julian, Moynahan
Manufacturer: Princeton Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Textbook Binding
ASIN: 0691060231

Average customer rating:
Deed of Life: The Novels and Tales of D.H. Lawrence.
Julian Moynahan
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CLW0P

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