Editorial Review

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Reviews (1150)

The politically correct shall inherit the earth
Mr. Bradbury's prophetic work has come to pass in the politically correct world of thought controlled by political expediency and special interests.
Thought provoking, but not amazing
What made me pick up this book in the first place was everyone's fixation on how "thought-provoking" and "different" it was. I read it, and found myself agreeing with some aspects, confused by others, and downright bored by some.
read me
Fahrenheit 451 is a read rich with a delicious story and social commentary.Guy Montag lives in a world made ironic because of the stark contrast to the way we wish our society was today.Firemen don't keep people safe from fires, they bust into houses starting fires.Scholars and professors live on the outside of society because of their love for books, philosophy, and sociology where in our world professors are on the inside and the ignorant majority are on the outside because of their lack of interest for the said disciplines.
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Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Literature - Classics / Criticism    3. Science Fiction    4. Science Fiction - General    5. Book burning    6. Censorship    7. Fantasy    8. Fiction    9. Fiction / Science Fiction / General    10. Science fiction, American   

Editorial Review

If you have never read anything by beloved fantasy writer Terry Brooks, take your chance with Read more

Reviews (26)

*3.5 stars*
I was somewhat dissapointed by this novel, brooks stated he would 'bridge' two wonderfully seperate series-word/void and shannara.
Bridging Word/Void with Shannara
Terry Brooks revisits the world of his greatest work: The Word and the Void. That original trilogy was set in a modern day United States where there are demons working for the Void trying to turn humans to acts of evil to twist the world to be a more violent, dangerous, and lost place. John Ross, a Knight of the Word, fought daily against visions of the future that he had to try to prevent. Ross's visions were of events that could happen in his own lifetime and for all of Ross's success, all he did was delay the inevitable. Armageddon's Children is set some eighty years after Angel Fire East and the world is a ruined place and things are only fixing to get worse. Pollution is out of control, a nuclear war occurred, the humans which are "safe" live in compounds (like Seattle's Safeco Field) warded off against the outside world. Those compounds are all under siege and they are falling day by day until there will be nowhere left to run or hide. In Seattle there are gangs of children calling themselves Tribes. Adults have failed them and street children are not allowed in Compounds so they must survive by becoming their own families and looking out for each other. Humans who had been caught outside for too long and who somehow survived drinking radioactive water and eating off of the poisoned land have mutated. This is our world, only broken. This could be our future.
This is not my idea of a trilogy...
I just finished this book a few minutes ago. The story is good, but I want to express my extreme frustration with the ending. A trilogy is a story told in three parts, NOT one third of a story that just stops and the reader has to wait a year for the next chapter. The books in Tolkien's Ring trilogy did not end with cliff hangers such as this. I have read every book Brooks has written. The other Word and Void books could stand alone.I am disapointed in the handling of this story so far.
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Subjects:  1. Fantasy    2. Fantasy - General    3. Fantasy fiction    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Fantasy    6. Science Fiction And Fantasy    7. Fiction / Fantasy / General   

Reviews (53)

Good Ending for a Good Series
Good ending to a good series.Terry Brooks comes through again.

Good News and Bad News
The good news is that Terry Brooks' latest Shannara trilogy, High Druid of Shannara, is a considerable improvement over his previous effort (Voyage of the Jerle Shannara).The bad news is that this one suffers almost as much from sheer "ho hum", as the last one did from sheer implausibility.
Series fizzles out
Spoiler warning.
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Subjects:  1. Fantasy    2. Fantasy - Epic    3. Fantasy - General    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Fantasy    6. Science Fiction - General    7. Fiction / Fantasy / General   

Editorial Review

A masterpiece of modern Gothic literature, Read more

Reviews (186)

Heartwarming Horror - No kidding... and it's great.
Well, Ray Bradbury pulled off something I never thought I'd see: heartwarming horror.Something Wicked This Way Comes is a truly frightening horror story about two boys living in a midwestern town visited by a mysterious carnival and its group of evil proprietors and "freaks."The boys see too much and become the target of the malevolent forces of the carnival.Bradbury writes these characters to be truly frightening.
Carousel music from hell
Carnivals are creepy. I have always thought they were creepy and I will not hear otherwise. My only source of confusion is whether I've always felt this way or only since reading "Something Wicked This Way Comes."
Evil Is A Soft Option
Ray Bradbury's dark novel of a mysterious carnival that strolls one night into a quiet Midwestern town has attained a deserved classic status in the forty-some years since its unheralded release. Here Bradbury's oft-demonstrated gift for recalling the mindset of childhood and returning it however briefly to a reader, is in full bloom. Two thirteen-year-old boys, James Nightshade and William Halloway, each a sort of contrast of the other, exist as the heroes in this fable of good versus evil. In this book the weight of the desires of the human heart and the capacity of those desires to ensnare the soul (here, literally) merit the fullest exploration. Nowhere else in literature is a Mephistophelian bargain made so simplistically appealing, and it is a delight to see how Bradbury delivers his temptations like ripe red apples inwardly rotten to the core. And while thinking about the nature of evil, it seems certain constants have been there to bind the forces of ill in the genre of light versus darkness. One of these is that evil has universally stood revealed in the end. Can evil not hide itself? It seems it always gives its nature away. In this book at least Bradbury has the unmasking come in the form of the intuitive perspicacity of two small boys. I liked this enjoyable tale and I liked its characters, from the wickedly charismatic ringmaster Mr. Dark, to its peculiarly vulnerable wicked witch, to the town librarian, Mr. Halloway, whose seemingly dull life is truly one of secret worlds opening to him each night amid the stacks of books. And what WOULD we each give, either now or one day, to be young all over again? Stop to think about that. And if not a return to youth, do we each have some secret desire for which we would do anything, or pay any price? Under the guise of a soft read, Something Wicked This Way Comes delves deep into humanity's consciousness, and explores what lies within. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fantasy - Dark/Horror    3. Fiction    4. Literary    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Science Fiction    7. Science Fiction - General    8. Crime & mystery    9. Fiction / Fantasy / General   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (63)

Sorry To Close This Book
I had put off reading this book for a long time.It just sat there on my bookshelf wanting to be read.But for some reason I didn't until recently.And now I know why.I hated closing this book because now I will never see Nest Freemark again.
Another page turner from a master
Angel Fire East is the last installment in the Word and Void trilogy that started with Running with the Demon.Twenty-nine year old Nest Freemark lives in her hometown of Hopewell, IL recovering from a divorce and trying to decide what to do with the rest of her life after a strange ending to her career as a professional runner.Meanwhile John Ross, the Knight of the Word, starts a mission to find and capture a gypsy morph, a creation of wild magic that can be used for good or evil, which could tip the balance in the war between the Word and the Void.Of course, the forces of the Void are hot on his trail and Nest and the people she loves most are caught in the middle as a battle for the gypsy morph is joined in Hopewell.
a fine conclusion to Word/Void
Terry Brooks wraps up his Word/Void Trilogy with Angel Fire East.It is now some fifteen years after the events of Running With the Demon and ten since A Knight of the Word.John Ross is still fighting the good fight, trying to stop the small events that he knows will tip the world closer to the power of the Void.He dreams of the future, of a world in ruin and of the events that could hold off that future.He learns that a Gyspy Morph will be born, a being born of wild and uncontrolled magic that could tip the balance in the favor of the Void if Ross fails in captured the Morph.It is raw magical energy in a physical form.Standing in Ross's path is Findo Gast.Gast is a demon sent to stop John Ross and to claim the Morph for the Void.He's a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
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Subjects:  1. Fantasy - Contemporary    2. Fantasy - Dark/Horror    3. Fantasy - General    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Fantasy    6. Fiction / Fantasy / General   

Reviews (81)

Alice in Wonderland meets the Twilight Zone.
Take Isaac Asimov's brain, Stephen King's wind, blend in a vacuum and you get a Greg Bear novel.
Well Developed Tale of Exploration and Future Possibilities
This story describes the sudden appearance of an asteroid into the Solar system during the Cold War.The US (and allies) sends teams of scientists and soldiers to explore and secure the asteroid, which is hollow and filled with cities and advanced technology.It turns out that the original creators of the asteroid are descendants of Earthmen, and the explorers find the historical record of a cataclysmic war that will take place several years after the appearance of the asteroid after which humanity will be reduced to barbarism.This is really only the beginning of the story, and it turns out that there is more to the asteroid than meets the eye, of course, as forces both internal and external begin to shape the destinies of the characters.The story proceeds along several different threads and follows the events from several perspectives.There are definitely some similarities between this book and Clarke's `Rendezvous with Rama', although the exploration stage really only presents a minor subtext to the plot in the first 100 pages or so.This story lacks the gravitas and mystery of `Rama'; it is not a story that one will remember forever.It is probably more comparable to the Giants Novels of James Hogan or the work of Hal Clement.There is a little bit of space opera, some contact with greatly advanced civilizations and `aliens' (that are well fleshed out and have an interesting political and cultural system described in detail), bureaucratic intrigue, and political maneuvering.There are several things I really liked about this story.Bear makes good use of basic physics combined with some speculative ideas about time travel, alternate universes, and the space-time continuum.The characters are realistic and refreshingly well-developed (something lacking in most sci-fi), and the plot is complex and well thought-out.There are a few negatives as well, however.This book was written during the Cold War (1985), and the rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union is crucial to the development of the story.This gives the tale a definite dated feel.Many of the Russian characters are cliched characatures and not particularly imaginative.Second, this is a fairly long novel (500+ pages), and the ending is somewhat weak with many unresolved threads, presumably to leave space for the sequel.I felt a bit cheated at the end (although I liked the story enough to buy the sequel).Overall, this is a solid, if not uniquely outstanding novel.This is my first novel by Greg Bear, so I can't compare it to his other work, but I think that anyone who likes hard sci-fi (such as Hogan or Clement) will find this a worthwhile tale.

Try Greg Egan instead
If you like hard science fiction, I would recommend trying Permutation City and Diaspora by Greg Egan instead. Another book more similar to Eon but far more readable is "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke (not the sequels). Greg Bear wasn't able to convey the sense of wonder of the situation he describes, in fact, sometimes I have found very hard to understand his descriptions, as others reviewers say (not because of their technicallity, but simply because they are sometimes very convoluted). Also, part of the plot seems outdated, be aware that this book was published in 1985 (USSR, Cold War...). I haven't been able to read past a third of the book, so this review may be a bit biased ;) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction - Science Fiction    2. Science Fiction    3. Science Fiction - General    4. Fiction / Science Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

Terry Brooks's Read more

Reviews (126)

"Did You Sell Your Soul for So Little?"
Terry Brooks is best known for his "Shannara" series, which is immensely popular despite being rather obviously inspired by Tolkien's plots, characters and themes. For reasons even I can't explain, I've read quite a few of these novels (despite my distain for them) and so I can say with a fair amount of confidence that "Running with the Demon" is undoubtedly Brooks's best novel. Moving away from his fantasy subworld of dwarfs, elves, magical talismans and plucky young farmboys-cum-heroes, the only thing Brooks hangs on to is his good against evil theme, placing it in contemporary America.
Modern horror in a positive vein
Capsule Summary: Rating: Excellent. A "positive horror" novel which is well-written, well-paced, and clever.
Running With the Demon
I thought this book was an excellent book! It had me hooked from page one!I sat down and finished the book within 36 hours since I wasn't able to put it down! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fantasy    2. Fantasy - Contemporary    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Fiction / Fantasy / General   

Reviews (2)

Phenomenal Fantasy Adventure!
Right up there with the very best of J.R.R. Tolkien, this book (and this trilogy) has everything any fantasy reader could want. I gulped this book down instantly, and now I've started a second read. There's just so much adventure, humor, and rich meaning in this book! This is T.A. Barron's best ever -- and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next. (My vote is a return to Avalon!)

Avalon: A magnificent creation
"You know, Tamwyn, you have your own inner flames, though they cannot be seen.And the most powerful fires reside in the soul."And what a magnificent creation Mr. Barron has brought forth through his own powerful flames!This book--the third in The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy--is incredible.
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Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Avalon (Legendary place)    3. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Fantasy    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children: Grades 4-6    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Legends, Myths, & Fables - General    9. Magic    10. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    11. Wizards    12. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Editorial Review

Special indeed are holiday stories with the right mix of high spiritsand subtle mystery to please both adults and children--Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," for example. Or Ray Bradbury's classic Read more

Reviews (31)

I didn't see much to recommend the Halloween Tree.
The Halloween Tree has a trite and predictable storyline. The characters were one dimensional. The prose style Bradbury elected to use was hyperbolic to the point of a saccharine mania. The central theme of the story was to travel back in time to find the true meaning of Halloween. Unfortunately, the history of Halloween he presented was not accurate. Samhain was not a grim reaper-like god; rather it was a pagan festival that is the basis of the Halloween tradition. Bradbury also got the myth of Osiris mixed up with that of Ra. Bradbury either did not check his facts or, as in The Martian Chronicles, decided not to let the facts get in the way of a "good" story. While some may argue this book was written as an allegory so accuracy is moot, I would say allegories work best when their weakness are not such an obvious distraction.
Great book for young people
THE HALLOWEEN TREE is a book that is geared for younger readers (in the 10 year old range would be about right, I'd say), but is generally satisfying to anyone who picks it up. For an adult, it can be easily read in an afternoon. The characterization is not deep, but Bradbury has a way with language in the book; he is evocative and nostolgic in the way that only he can be. He effortlessly conjures up images of male youth, complete with faux bravado and the sense of mystery that surrounds events like Halloween. He gives a respectful, multicultural view of Halloween, and it's roots in many cultures. Toward the end of the story, he gives our boys a choice: will they sacrifice part of themselves for the good of another? It gives the story some moral grounding and resolves the plot nicely. But the real draw is the poetic use of words--it's a great way to get kids interested in reading, and not a bad diversion for those of us who are a bit older as well.

Haunting as Mr. Moundshroud
"Halloween Tree" recaptures the surreal spookiness of a child's Halloween with the knowledge of an adult. One of Ray Bradbury's relatively few books for children is a wildly imaginative ride, with a strong subtext about friendship and death itself.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    2. Children: Grades 3-4    3. Fiction    4. Halloween    5. Holidays & Celebrations - Halloween    6. Horror & Ghost Stories    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    9. Space and time    10. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Editorial Review

"Going all the way" is still a taboo subject in young adult literature. Judy Blume was the first author to write candidly about a sexually active teen, and she's been defending teenagers' rights to read about such subjects ever since. Here, Blume tells a convincing tale of first love--a love that seems strong and true enough to last forever. Katherine loves Michael so much, in fact, that she's willing to lose her virginity to him, and, as the months go by, it gets harder and harder for her to imagine living without him. However, something happens when they are separated for the summer: Katherine begins to have feelings for another guy. What does this mean about her love for Michael? What does this mean about love in general? What does "forever" mean, anyway? As always, Blume writes as if she's never forgotten a moment of what it's like to be a teenager. ... Read more

Reviews (291)

Still a Great Read!
I managed to miss this one when I was reading Blume as a pre-teen...and since it's around that time of the year (banned book week), I decided to find out why it is that this book gets challenged so often...and yep, I can see why!It's a realistic look at young love, about how teens feel about love and sex and how emotionally crippling a romance can feel at that age...it doesn't pull any punches and presents a realistic and compelling story of young love that could have happened to any of us.I do see why some parents might not want this in libraries...but I personally would LOVE to see teens reading this...it presents an honest, open, and responsible look at teenage love and sex.I love that this goes one step further than that "forever" feeling and examines what happens when those same teenagers who pin their whole emotional future on one other person go away to college or for summer jobs (or both)...what happens when they are exposed to new people and experiences and how that changes what they thought would be forever!
I love this book
I just read it for the fifth or sixth time.Not sure what else to say that hasn't already been said.Basically it was entertaining, honest, enlightening, touching, and the break-up scene made me cry.Who hasn't gone through that?It reads so realistically, and quickly!I was so disappointed it was so short, I really wanted to see what happened after.Maybe Blume will write a sequel about Katherine in college called "Theo called."

Love Story? No. Moral book? Not even.
I have heard people say that Blume was an amazing author. I read this book and was thouroughly let down. I thought it was going to be a love story but I was wrong. It is a sex book and is completely pointless. If Blume was trying to write a moral book then she was way off target.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Juvenile Fiction    4. Love & Romance    5. Social Issues - Dating & Sex    6. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    7. Social Situations - Dating & Sex    8. Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

World-renowned fantasist Ray Bradbury has on several occasions stepped outside the arenas of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. An unabashed romantic, his first novel in 1957 was basically a love letter tohis childhood. (For those who want to undertake an even more evocative look at the dark side of youth, five years later the author would write the chilling classic Read more

Reviews (241)

A Thoroughly Charming Classic Of Bygone Americana
This book is Bradbury in top form. Although not my absolute favorite title by this author, I have found a lot of joy over the years in re-reading this little book that I first picked up off a school library shelf when I was eight. It's obvious Bradbury was writing a story set in the time and place of his own childhood "as it should have been" and it makes me wonder if given time I'll think back on my own youth in similar terms. When I was little, after I read this book, all anyone had to do was say, "Watch out for Lonely One" referring to the killer who stalked Green Town's ravine at night and I was good and scared. Heck, that probably works today, too. From its unique May-December romance to its protagonist who becomes that one soul in a million to truly understand that precious gift of what it means to be alive, Dandelion Wine is simply wonderful. Read this book and travel back with the national treasure who is Ray Bradbury to the delightful world of the fantasy-powered Midwest of the 1920's (as it should have been).

Believe & Partake!or The Meaning of Life, a la Bradbury
I first read Ray Bradbury's miracle of a book, Dandelion Wine, when I was 16, and I have read it every year since.Over time I continue to gain a deeper appreciation for these lovely, strange, often magical vignettes (more properly parables, each one with a little implied moral) that explore the nature of happiness, the magic of love and, above all, what it means to be alive.To me, the overarching intent of the book is to remind all us adults that:
Not really for children.
Its protagonist may be a child, but this novel is not really suitable for a thrill-seeking, modern juvenile audience.
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Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction - Science Fiction    3. Science Fiction    4. Science Fiction - General    5. Fiction / Science Fiction / General    6. Modern fiction   

Editorial Review

John Ross, the tortured, conflicted Knight of the Word from TerryBrooks's Read more

Reviews (68)

A page turner, but...
John Ross is a Knight of the Word (or Creator) who has had it with his lonley mission to fight the evil minions of the Void (guess who he is).After a mission that ends in tragedy Ross calls it quits and tries to make life for himself serving the homeless in Seatle with a new home and a lover.Life is good, but can Ross escape his calling to defend the world from the depredations of demons and the forces of chaos?No.Ross's past catches up with him in the form of an insidious demonic plot to seduce him into the service of the Void.However, there is hope!Nest Freemark, the girl Ross saved in Running with the Demon, is sent by the Lady, a servant of the Word, to save Ross not only from the Void, but also from the fatal consequences the Word will visit on him if he doesn't get his act together.
some of the best work Brooks has produced
When I was a young lad I would read every Shanarra novel I could find, and several times. I read all of Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom of Landover novels. But for some reason I never picked up Running With the Demon or any of the Word/Void novels. It really makes no sense because of how much I enjoyed Brooks' work. A couple of months ago I finally read the first Word/Void novel and was stunned. Running With the Demon was quite possibly the best thing Terry Brooks has written with an argument to be made about Elfstones. What's more, it felt fresh. It was the story of John Ross, a normal man picked by the Word to be its Champion in trying to hold the balance against the Void. When the novel started, Ross had been a Knight for some twenty or so years and made his way to Hopewell, Illinois to try to stop something from happening. He wasn't sure what because his dreams only give him a location and a taste of the horrors that would be unleashed on our world if he fails. He finds a teenaged girl, Nest Freemark and her magic.
John Ross' Story Continues
A Knight of the Word begins with John Ross quiting his destiny of being a Knight.But he is still plagued by dreams of an unpeakably horrifying future (a future that may come true, just read the Shannara books).
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Subjects:  1. Fantasy - Contemporary    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Fantasy    4. Literary    5. Fantasy    6. Fiction / Fantasy / General