Amazon.com
Warmly effusive and dear yet gritty, Paula H. Deen seems mythically Southern. But this cooking luminary, proprietor of Savannah, Georgia's Lady & Sons restaurant, is the real thing. The Lady & Sons Just Desserts, her all-sweets follow-up to The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook and The Lady & Sons, Too!, celebrates the Southern sweet tooth with 120 recipes, including traditional formulas for the likes of Brown Sugar Pound Cake and Lemon Chess Pie as well as best-loved restaurant innovations like Turtle Cake, Lemon Curd Pudding, and Gooey Butter Cake. ("These are very, very rich," Deen advises, "and a little goes a long way--even for piggies like me!") Lovers of the restaurant--which grew to prominence from $200 and lots of determination--as well as those seeking easy-to-fix temptations should put this book to happy use.
Among its wide-ranging recipes, Desserts offers Carolyn's Jell-O Cheesecake, Lauren's Chocolate Drizzle Pie, and Hidden Mint Cookies--recipes based on cake mixes and other convenience foods. These creditable sweets are of course work saving, but are perhaps better viewed as solidly characteristic of their time and place. Equally particular are candies like Mamma's Divinity and Uncle Bubba's Benne Candy, and "other sweet things," as Deen dubs them, such as Banana Split Brownie Pizza, Easy Homemade Oreo Ice Cream, and Fresh Apples with Butterscotch Dip. With asides by Deen family members, including son Jamie's "Food Is Love" ("I am right this minute 20 pounds over-loved," he writes), useful tips (Deen provides an "emergency" recipe for sweetened condensed milk), and plenty of piquant anecdote (after Deen had rattled on endlessly to her grandmother about her intention to open a restaurant, the older woman paused and replied, "Paula, have you lost you damned mind?"), the spiral-bound book is not only full of delectable eating, it's lots of fun. --Arthur Boehm
Book Description
As Paula Deen will tell y'all, there's just no satisfying way to finish a delicious meal without a scrumptious, mouthwatering dessert!
In this beautiful hardcover edition of The Lady & Sons Just Desserts, Paula -- author, restaurateur, and Food Network star -- devotes her trademark southern charm to a tempting collection of more than 120 delightful recipes, guaranteed to indulge any sweet tooth. Whether you're baking for the holidays or an after-dinner treat, there are crowd-pleasers here for any occasion.
These are the classic down-home recipes that have made Paula beloved to her fans everywhere, from her signature Gooey Butter Cake and Key Lime Grits Pie to Pecan Shortbread Bars, Hidden Mint Cookies, and Iron Skillet Brownies. Whether you're whipping up an Old South Jelly Roll Cake for a weekday treat or baking the Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie or Christmas Nut Pie for a holiday celebration, these treats are as easy to create as they are to enjoy. The Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake -- in coconut (Jamie's favorite), caramel (Bobby's favorite), or chocolate -- makes a wonderful birthday surprise, and the Tennessee Banana-Black Walnut Cake with Caramel Frosting is a southern favorite sure to become one of yours as well. There is also a wide array of cookies, bars, and candy, including Savannah Cheesecake Cookies, Orange Brownies, Chocolate Brickle, and Creamy Caramels. Even the most time-pressed cook will find it a snap to create these from-scratch recipes, using Paula's tips for reliable convenience ingredients and time-tested shortcuts that will impress and delight family and friends.
Filled with warm baking memories and family stories, The Lady & Sons Just Desserts is already a kitchen classic. There are also helpful baking tips for measuring ingredients, storing leftovers, and even cutting a few calories, as well as tasty flavor variations and unique serving suggestions throughout. So bring the folks together to create your own memorable meals and occasions and remember to save room for dessert!
Customer Reviews:
Yummy !!!!.......2007-10-01
This is just one more of Paula's great books. Sharing lots of her self along with her really yummy desserts. A definite YES. Get it.
Not tempting enough.......2007-09-04
I received this book as a gift for Xmas and was quite excited to read through it as I enjoy PD's cooking show. However, I was really disappointed with the recipes and have only made one of the recipes in a years time.
The biggest disappointment to me is the use of processed cake mixes and pie crusts. I can't cook to save my life but I can bake really well and there's a reason I do it ALL from scratch. :) Because many of the cakes call for premade mixes, I'll never bother to make them.
I think the rest of my distaste is simply that the recipes don't really appeal to my personal tastes (much to my surprise). I'm not a big fan of coconut, chocolate or bananas. :)
ok not up to date old cookbook.......2007-08-24
I was disappointed, I expected her newer recipes in ther but instead they are old ones.
Paula Dean is the best.......2007-07-03
Everyone deserves a trip to Savannah, at least once in their lives. A visit to Paula Dean's restaurant is an experience. This cook book can bring a little savannah home with you. You have to REALLY like sweet desserts to enjoy this. All you people with carbo problems, don't tempt yourself with these recipes.
the lady and sons just desserst.......2007-05-07
If anything could make you go off a diet, this is it. Paula makes fattening fun.
Amazon.com
Once upon a time there were petit fours--delicious morsels to be enjoyed as, or after, dessert. Today, there are minidesserts like Marshmallow Moons and Banana Brûlée Spoonfuls, at least according to Gale Gand's Just a Bite. Gale Gand and Julia Moskin's 125 accessible recipes provide a captivating variety of cookie, cake, and candy nibbles. Gand, whose recipes come from her Food Network show, Sweet Dreams, and Chicago restaurant Tru, knows her stuff well enough to have serious fun; readers will be delighted by her bites, which can be served at or away from the table.
The recipes range from reborn childhood classics, such as Caramel-Orange Rice Crisps, and animal crackers made with five-spice powder to traditional grown-up favorites such as Orange Tuiles and the extraordinary, custardy cake Cannelés. Present also are inventive extravaganzas, including Chocolate-Almond Fondue with Cake Cubes and Bite-Size Cheesecakes on Lemon-Pepper-Cornmeal Crusts. Candy lovers will be particularly excited by Gand's Chocolate-Caramel Cigarillos and Peppermint Stick-White Chocolate Bark, which take candy in a sophisticated yet approachable direction. (You can leave the candy thermometer in the drawer.) With a succinctly useful section on basics, and color photos, the book is both innovative and tempting. --Arthur Boehm
Book Description
Sweets. As kids, we could never get enough, and anything sugary, gooey, and good was gratefully devoured. As adults, we give a polite “no thank you” when a dessert tray passes by, or take but a sliver of cake if offered, showing restraint that would make any ten-year-old incredulous. Well, that’s not fair. Why should kids get all the fun? Now, adults can have the best of both worlds.
Gale Gand’s Just a Bite is equal parts kitchen-table, kid-giggling joy and uptown, grown-up chic. Award-winning pastry chef Gale Gand has collected the recipes from her Food Network show Sweet Dreams and renowned restaurant Tru into a book that is as charming and accessible as the author herself. These recipes aren’t just for the expert baker or pastry connoisseur but also for the everyday cook looking to lighten up the end of a meal, or even replace the ubiquitous brownie with, say, Banana Brûlée Spoonfuls. With easy-to-follow instructions, a handful of ingredients, and a craving for fun, you’ll be whipping up Devil’s Peaks with Double-Chocolate Drizzle and popping them in your mouth before, as a kid, you could have licked the frosting beater clean.
Gale has also assembled a mini-menu of sorts for her delectables. Called the Tasting Trio, three of the treats are served together for maximum, sweet tooth bliss. Combinations like Bomb Poppers, Marshmallow Moons, and Butterfly Cupcakes; or Orange-Vanilla “Fried Eggs” on Cinnamon Toast, Meringue Cigarettes, and Mini Granita Watermelons. Or try your own assortments, putting together yummys like Stained-Glass Cookies and Fig Nortons with Peanut Butter Cookie—Grape Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches and Mini Root Beer Floats. The possibilities are endless and the flavors . . . wow, with flavors like this, who needs to be a kid again?
Customer Reviews:
Gale Gand's Just a Bite.......2005-01-19
Good ideas in this book. I only wish all the recipes were listed in the index and that the trios were referenced with a page number.
Fantastic recipes, puzzling errors.......2003-12-17
First and foremost, I highly recommend this book. I just ordered a copy of it for my mother. The recipes may take a lot of time, but they aren't tricky. The results are delightful. I've only made half a dozen things but all have turned out very well.
I agree with other reviewers that there are puzzling discrepancies. One recipe called for "9 ounces of pecan halves (about 3/4 cup)." By the time I had weighed 9 oz of pecan halves, I had about 7/4 cups. So trust yourself, some, when things don't seem "right".
But don't let that stop you from using this cookbook! Fantastic stuff.
GALE GAND'S JUST A BITE.......2003-04-27
I bought this book recently when I saw her at a cooking demostration. I have made quite a few items already and they have all turned out great and the people I have given them to keep asking for more.
Great Presenation.......2002-11-21
I felt the presentation of this book was great and there are a lot of unique recipies. I did try to make the blueberry shortbread and had a problem with it. The consistancy was just not there. After reading someone's else's review here on Amazon, I see I was not the only one who had a problem and perhaps there was something left out of the recipie?
I also tried the cake on the front cover which everyone did love, but I have to say that it made way more cake batter than the pan size and even though I didn't use it all it overflowed all over the oven. I would say that this cookbook may be for someone with a little more experience than a beginner who is not used to anticipating or judging when things don't look quite right! The choc. cake and topping was a big hit though regardless of the big mess in my stove!!
perfection marred - please please re-edit and re-issue!.......2002-09-16
i love the pictures. love the trio suggestions. her instructions are detailed and clear. i love that the baking supplies necessary are noted in the margin of the recipe so one doesn't need to go searching in the middle of a recipe. most of my desserts came out superb.
however, i also found a mistake - the twinkle twinkies don't quite puff up enough to fill a 9x13 pan. they were flat so i used a 9x9 pan instead. anyway, it was a great idea and tasted fine but the ingredient list needs to be rechecked.
Average customer rating:
- 15 Minutes or Less!
- Lots of easy, quick recipes
- Great for Unexpected Guests
- Great Gratification!
- A Treasure of Pleasure
|
Instant Gratification: No-Hassle Desserts in Just About No Time
Lauren Chattman
Manufacturer: William Morrow Cookbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Desserts
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Barbecuing & Grilling
| Outdoor Cooking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Quick & Easy
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
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ASIN: 0688169104
Release Date: 2000-05-16 |
Amazon.com
Instant Gratification is dangerous. The very notion of creating a dessert, from scratch, in 15 minutes or less is itself fantastically appealing. But when the recipes are as tempting as those that Lauren Chattman, a pastry chef, has devised in this clever collection of 110 quick desserts, then anyone who cares about their waistline should run far, far away. Chattman knows too well what she is doing and the shortcuts she creates--say, for a silky peanut butter pie made with a chocolate wafer crust or a chocolate mousse cake made with only three ingredients--never stint on the quality of ingredients. So when she suggests cake flour for a finer-crumbed quick cake, Pernigotti cocoa powder for its full chocolate flavor in a custard, and Dufour puff pastry for its buttery flake in a turnover, smart readers will heed her advice. Recipes that take 15 minutes or less are always attractive to beginners, but advanced cooks pressed for time will appreciate the intuitive way Chattman goes about paring down more complicated desserts to their essentials, isolating what makes them taste great and bringing them to the fore. Her explanation for the Sautéed Brown Sugar Bananas over Coconut Ice Cream explains her method perfectly: "One day when I was making some filling for banana tarts, I tasted the sautéed bananas. I halted my tart-making immediately and decided instead to use the bananas as an ice cream topping." --Sumi Hahn Almquist
Book Description
Good news: Lack of time is no longer an excuse for not making dessert. Pastry chef and busy mom Lauren Chattman offers 110 foolproof desserts that can be put together in less than fifteen minutes.
These amazing desserts are created by someone who truly understands what it means to cook against the clock. Using quality ingredients and the best of convenience foods, Lauren shares her favorite professional tips and shortcuts, like how to turn wonton wrappers into sweet and crisp "shortcakes" and using crumb cursts instead of time-consuming pastry doughs for pies.
Instant Gratification features streamlined, refined versions of beloved classics: Plum Brown Betty, Blueberry-Walnut Crisp, and warm brownies and ice cream. When a spoonful of comfort food is in order, you'll find succor with Banana-Caramel Bread Pudding, Tea-Infused Panna Cotta, and Buttery Butterscotch Pudding. Company coming? In the blink of an eye, you can whip up Champagne Sabayon with Blackberries or Flourless Chocolate-Almond Cake. Bake sale tomorrow? Throw together some almost-instant Deluxe Four-Layer Bars. And when your sweet tooth really demands immediate satisfaction, there's an entire chapter with sweets that can be made and on the table in less than a quarter of an hour.
Every recipe features an equipment list so that no time will be lost fiddling in the kitchen looking for the right utensil. Instant Gratification is all about delicious desserts--and this book shows that it doesn't take long to make them.
Customer Reviews:
15 Minutes or Less!.......2004-04-25
The introduction of "Instant Gratification" goes into the elements of a good 15-minute dessert, like a streamlined ingredient list and carefully-constructed recipes. Ms. Chattman also goes into ways that you can make your recipes go faster, like being organized and working deliberately. The 15-minute mark, by the way, doesn't include things like baking time or chilling time. It's for the actual work you have to do. The intro also discusses various time-saving kitchen implements and ingredients.
Only one of the chapters ("When You've Got to Have It: Unbelievable Desserts in 15 Minutes Flat") actually guarantees you a 15-minute time frame. The others might take you, oh... 20 minutes. Or 25. And the recipes aren't just quick, they're easy. They come with lists of equipment so you won't get caught short.
My only gripe with this cookbook is that some of the ingredient measurements are a little off. For instance, we found that the amount of gelatin called for in a couple of chilled recipes wasn't quite enough. Otherwise, however, the tastes are fabulous! For example, we made the White Chocolate-Mint Truffles. Bet you didn't think you could make truffles in just a few minutes, huh? Well, okay, we were dubious too. The only thing that took a little time with the truffles was chopping the white chocolate. Then you add some hot ingredients and melt it into one big mass. You add the mint extract and refrigerate. Once it's set, you sit down with a bowl of cocoa powder. You dig out bits of white chocolate goo, roll them into balls, roll them in the cocoa powder, and stick them in the refrigerator. That's it! And oh, were they delicious--as has been every single other recipe we've made from this book.
So if you sometimes need a dessert in a hurry, or just want to take a break and make something quick and easy, "Instant Gratification" is a great cookbook to have around!
Lots of easy, quick recipes.......2000-11-06
This is a family dessert book designed and written for the home cook. The ingredients are easy to find and the recipes are simple and straight forward. Some of these recipes can actually be prepared in 10 mins and the results can actually be quite impressive. However, they call for a lot of sour and heavy cream, which are quite high in fat, and some call for a lot of butter as well. I was also disappointed by the lack of photography; I always like to see a picture of the finished product before attempting to try a recipe. The only photos you'll find in this book are on the cover.
Great for Unexpected Guests.......2000-10-05
The recipes in this book really are quick, easy to prepare and delicious. People might even guess that you spent hours in the kitchen! A wide range of desserts are offered, so everyone should find something tempting. Ingredients are usually kitchen staples and will be on hand in most kitchens. Good recipes for anyone who doesn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
Great Gratification!.......2000-07-21
I often begin to think about making dessert too late and wind up just serving ice cream. But this book really makes quick dessert making easy! A minimal amount of ingredients are needed -- most are probably already in your pantry -- and they can be made just before dinner or even while the family is eating the main course. Great taste for miminal effort. And great ideas for doing new recipes with seasonal fruit. The apple or peach pizza is a real winner in my house!
A Treasure of Pleasure.......2000-06-27
I have tried several of the recipes, from the gingerbread squares to the rum-rasin sauce, and each has been a resounding success with my guests and family. The "Instant" in the title is a promise fulfilled 125 plus times over, and the "gratification" is big. Everyone who entertains on weekends must have a copy of this book.
Customer Reviews:
Wasted trees.......2005-08-03
Although I don't like to discourage authors from writing I must say this book was diplorable. The story line was terrible, the charachters behaved unbelievably (teenage sister too naive to believe that there is a sex trade,etc) and the response of the lead charachter, Savannah, to someone who is gay is terrible. Also the emphasis of her southern accent and strange references that are supposedly southern is irritating. I better post this message after I sell my book!
Like dessert, delicious quick-read mystery.......2005-01-31
I withheld the fifth star because although I enjoyed reading it, the literary quality just isn't there and it lacked a certain something I can't quite put my finger on that five-star books have. Still, there are enjoyable characters and the pacing is quick. Great airplane or doctor's office reading, however. It will hold your attention and not require intense concentration.
The plot involves the murder of a designer who is married to a well-loved politician. Savannah Reid, California police detective, is assigned to this politically sensitive case, and from the beginning, gets put under pressure by her superiors to find the "right" solution without ruffling feathers. A subplot involves a visit from a strong-willed but naive teenage sister.
This is the first book I've read in the series, and I liked it enough that I intend to read more. However, I would also add that this probably isn't a book you'd send your grandmother or your pastor, although the sex and language issues are very minor.
And Her Real Name Is..........2002-01-10
To answer the previous reviewers' question, the author's real name is Sonja Massie, and she's written other books under that name.
I really enjoyed this debut of the character Savannah Reid. In this book she's introduced as a police detective in her forties (a nice change of pace) who gets chosen to head up the investigation into a city councilwoman's husband's death. It is a powderkeg, and unfortunately for Savannah, she does her job too well, much to the dismay of the powers-that-be. The price she pays for her tenacity is the loss of her job on a trumped-up rules violation. Needless to say, when she is asked to continue investigating the case by the person who is the prime suspect, Savannah agrees. On top of all this, her very naive yet stubborn teenage sister arrives unexpectedly from Georgia, announces that she is going to stay with Savannah permanently, and promptly becomes involved with an older man well-known to the local police dept.
Savannah is interesting, independent character. She seems to be comfortable with herself, and isn't afraid to go after what she wants. Ms. McKevett has also created a nice assortment of secondary characters with their own quirks and flaws. The mystery had some nice twists and turns. I'm looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.
Foodaholic female ex-cop.......2001-09-28
I think this is first in the series. The great attraction is the character of Savannah Reid who is forty plus and gets fired from the local police force for being overweight and sets up as a private eye. She is overtly heterosexual. Many varieties of sex are hinted at but the main carnal pleasure described is food, and there is some excellent food description.
On the negative side: The murder mystery gets solved by a new character being introduced who tells Savannah who did it. A few sentences like "Savannah had only one cognitive thought after she hit the floor" and an unlikely confession by the murderer.
SWEET!!.......1998-11-02
This is the first book in the Savannah Reid series. It's a great start to a very enjoyable series. Savannah is super. Keep 'em coming !G.A. McKevett - who are you ? I'd love to read more of your works !
Amazon.com
Gordon Ramsay's Just Desserts is a very fine book of last courses from energetic three-star Michelin chef Gordon Ramsay, expertly marshaled for the domestic kitchen by Roz Denny. Ramsay's imagination is obviously caught by the sweet course: he expends a great deal of innovative thinking to it with fascinating results. He is inclined to roast his fruit, for example, caramelizing it for greater intensity of flavor; or he might deep-fry it, as in the elegant and fantastically nonchalant Fruit Tempura. Asian flavors appear in ethereal dishes like the Thai Rice Pudding with Coconut and Lemon or Banana and Passion Fruit Sorbet. Cheesecake is light and flavored with pumpkin. Proper homage is paid to comfort food, with recipes for Bread and Butter Pudding (Ramsay makes his with a baguette and laces it with Baileys Irish Cream) and Steamed Toffee, Banana, and Pecan Pudding. The chocolate recipes are particularly fine, with a Chocolate Mocha Tart standing out. Just Desserts is also an excellent primer of patisserie techniques; its explanations and illustrations of the standard syrups, pastes, sponges, and pastries of the restaurant kitchen, here translated into domestic terms, are particularly lucid. The professional mysteries of the mousse, the parfait, the bavarois, and the various manifestations of the meringue are made wonderfully clear. --Robin Davidson, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
"Life is uncertain ... eat dessert first," says three-star Michelin chef Gordon Ramsay in the first line of Just Desserts. Based on recipes developed at his critically acclaimed London restaurants, the book features Ramsay's classical methods and flair for teaching the basics and beyond. Even complex desserts are made simple with variations to suit the occasion. The first few chapters deal with simpler methods, like roasting fruit to draw out the natural essence or rolling out classic cookies. Then Ramsay takes cooks step-by-step through delicate pastry techniques, expanding their range until they have the confidence to whip up towering souffles that defy gravity. 110 sumptuous color photos accompany these 100 exceptional desserts.
Customer Reviews:
Want to impress?.......2002-11-15
No wonder he's a star in Britain. Fabulous, imaginative recipes covering everything from easy cook basics to recipes you definitely need to practice! Examples - red berries with hibiscus and basil syrup; slow roasted peaches with orange caramel sauce; chocolate and thyme ice cream; apricot and cinnamon mousse; fruit tempura and many more. Not a book for beginners (he is a Michelin 3 Star chef) but very, very good.
Book Description
When the garishly grotesque clan of wealthy carpet-sweeper magnate Otto Broadie sweeps down upon Judith McMonigle's Hillside Manor Inn, it looks like there'll be a wild night of drinking, dining, and fortune-telling in the offing. But when their soothsayer-for-hire Madame Gushenka drops dead after someone douses her tea leaves with bug killer, harried hostess Judith and her irrepressible cousin Renie are left to clean up the mess. One of the Brodie bunch would dearly love to sweep the Madame's murder under the rug, however, and that might mean eliminating the nosy Ms. McMonigle as well. But with the help of her one-time beau, policeman Joe Flynn, Judith is determined to rattle the dust off some closeted family skeletons, in order to coax a killer out of hiding before coffee is served.
Customer Reviews:
I really like all of the B&B mysteries .......2006-03-18
It, like the rest of the B&B mysteries was fun and I loved it.
Were fun reads ONCE..................2005-03-09
I really liked this series at one time, back when they were fun to read. But, the premise the writer depends on now is lacking anything worth the time to read it. They are just RE-hashed over and over and getting totally absurd now. You would think a series would improve with time, NOT so with this one.
Rather Hard On The Senses.......2004-07-08
Unfortunately, this book is about two middle-aged women who think being rude, most often for no apparent reason, can pass for wit. The mean-spirited sarcasm wares on you, making you not care about them in the end.
Not so great.......2003-04-04
I've been trying to get into this series and it's just not working. I've read other books in the series also and Judith and Renie have driven me crazy. They are annoying and nosy. The books jump all over the place and the final solutions just don't come together that well. The storyline and characters are just not that intriguing, I'm not even going to finish the last one I started.
delicious mystery.......2002-03-17
Zany characters, poignant relationships make this a fun interesting read. I can hardly wait to read some more by this author. The end leaves you wanting to know more about what happened to these characters.
Customer Reviews:
Must Reading.......2004-10-11
I read this book for the first time 20 years ago and it still has a lasting effect on how I think about relationships. It's a simple book that carries significant lessons on how girls are taught to deal with males in their lives. I consider it must reading for young mothers of girls, all men, and everyone who wonders why it is so hard to develop relationships that are based on good communications. No jabs, just clear observations and logical advice. You'll find yourself wondering why you never saw the obvious. You owe it to your sons and daughters to read and pass on this book.
Book Description
With a meteorologist convention coming to the Inn, business is looking good. But when the town's new computer expert is murdered, Quill and Meg have to make sure the elusive killer doesn't rain on their parade.
Customer Reviews:
Engaging amateur sleuth.......2002-04-06
Sisters Sarah and Meg Qullian are also best friends as they jointly own and operate the Hemlock Falls Inn in upstate New York. There is very little crime in their small hamlet, but when a murder occurs, it seems that the Quillian siblings are right in the middle of it. To their credit they have solved eight homicides but at the moment neither sister wants to even think of homicide because they are very busy in their professional and personal lives.
Fate ignores their wishes and dumps the body of George Nash in the middle of town so that two hunters discover it. George was a participant in a crime years ago that resulted in the death of a child when the Quillian sisters were small. Both witnessed it but it is Quill who remembers the details of it as if it were yesterday. One by one the members of the victims of that crime turn up in Hancock Falls and they all die except for the mastermind who designed the killing scheme. Quill has to discover who it is before even more murders occur.
Claudia Bishop has written an entertaining, quirky and off beat mystery in which the villains seem heroic and the victims seem diabolical. The Quillian sisters are as delightful as ever especially Quill who thinks she's dying of a dreadful disease even though her sister is convinced her symptoms are caused by an allergy. JUST DESERTS is a special treat for amateur sleuth lovers.
Harriet Klausner
Customer Reviews:
Australian SF Reader.......2007-08-01
There once was a robot named Clunk
His old boss more than a skunk
With Spacejock sent flying
Quite often near dying
Right now he would rather be drunk
Ok, bad limericks aside, I read the third Spacejock book because my slowpoke spousal unit still has her mitts on book 2.
To readers, though, the book happily stands alone.
Again, Hal takes on the odd job with less than a picosecond's consideration, or even the ability to consider for a picosecond, what really might be going on.
Female assassin androids, Mercs 'R Us and more get involved in this tale of corporate skullduggery and Spacejock tomfoolery.
I, like Hal, have also given up on those useless coffee makers.
Anyway, although I will rate them the same, I think this book is more polished than the first. The story is more evenly entertaining, less of the outright hilarity to flat spot segues that could be found in this first book. Not that there is anything wrong with outright hilarity, of course.
More use of unexpected missiles, and again, quite a lot of fun.
Marvelous SF Humor.......2007-04-04
The THIRD book in the series. The intrepid Space Pilot Hal Spacejock and his robot sidekick Clunk in another misadventure. Comparisons to Isaac Asimov's Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw are just going to happen, but it is not fair to either pair (or author). Hal, once again, needs to deliver some cargo, gets sidetracked (a couple of ways), Clunk comes to the rescue then needs rescued himself. Hal to the rescue, and finally they deliver the cargo.
Plenty of laughs. Plenty of references to other Science Fiction. Plenty easy to read, but hard to put down.
Best one yet!.......2007-02-22
The plot moved so quickly and so smoothly that if it hadn't been for the chapter breaks, I might have missed some things -- meals, for instance. Once again, the adventures of Hal and Clunk are just plain fun to read, especially if you keep your eyes open for references to other works of science fiction, both books and movies. (For instance, I started to wonder if it's intentional that Hal Spacejock and Han Solo have the same initials, but the author has said that it's a coincidence.)
I imagine Simon Haynes is frequently compared to Douglas Adams, but there's a different tone. I loved the HHGG series, but I think Adams just sort of fell into SF; Haynes is clearly grounded in it. Plus, according to things I've seen on his blog, he's more than capable of disciplining himself to write and meet deadlines. With any luck, this means we won't have to wait long for Hal 4. Until then, we'll just have to get by with the first three.
I've got my copies! Where are yours?
Books:
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The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook Collection
Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style
Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics: The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook and The Lady & Sons, Too!
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook
Paula Deen Celebrates!: Best Dishes and Best Wishes for the Best Times of Your Life
