Book Description
MysteryLarge Print EditionEach addition to the series is a joy. Long may the chronicles continue. USA Today* A Mystery Guild Alternate Selection In the summer of 1138, fighting engulfs Shrewsbury as King Stephen battles the Empress Maud for the throne of England. When Shrewsbury Castle falls, and its 94 defenders are hanged as traitors, Brother Cadfael is called upon to administer last rites to the dead. But his careful count reveals 95 corpses, and once again the sleuthing monk is on the trail of a murderer this time aided by a lovely young fugitive.
Customer Reviews:
Better than the first book in the series.......2007-08-21
I was disappointed with the first book in the Cadfael series, but there was just barely enough good in the first book to make me give the second a try. It was a good thing I did. One Corpse Too Many is more entertaining, more complex and more surprising than a Morbid Taste for Bones. While it reads more like a nice piece of historical fiction than a "whodunit", you will find yourself surprised and anxious to learn what happens next.
The Pattern Emerges.......2007-08-01
This series is a blend of history, romance, and only lastly mystery. While the romantic thread occasionally hijacks just about every book, [in her heart, I think, Peters was a romance writer] without this romantic thread her stories are lifeless, so this is the price you pay for entrance to her world. If you enjoy romance novels, this series will be a continuing delight. If not, the sometimes intricate mystery, the well developed setting, and the presence of Cadfael, Brother extraordinaire, as well as a vast supporting cast make for a first rate read.
In this second book the pattern is set: Cadfael is tending his craft, the monks, brothers and misc personel are at work, the obligatory young lovers appear, are aided on their way [and may, or may not, reappear in later books], a mystery is cleverly intertwined and solved, usually by Cadfael, who just charms, and Peters' world shines.
In One Corpse Too Many several major characters are introduced, among them, Hugh Beringar, who would have remained much more interesting in further books if she had left him with a little more moral ambiguity,while Aline, Madonna in the making, is just about as interesting as you might expect. Fortunately, many of the monks whose character, foibles, personalities and monastery jobs will make this series readable also appear. While some of her main characters disappoint, [Hugh most notably, but there are other bores] her incidental characters are unfailingly well drawn.
While even a cursory read of history will show many a flaw in Peters' rosy rendering of twelfth century Britain, indeed given the large number of slaves, serfs, and indentured peasants in Britain in the twelfth century, the life of most people must have been good deal more grim and gritty, if not perpetually desperate, than she would have it, while a truer depiction of the church, an enormous international organization owning vast tracts of land and large numbers of people [and not always the kindest landlord or master] would cast a pall on her often idyllic landscape, this is a make-believe world to be read as such, and a nice place to spend an afternoon or three.
Murder by war.......2005-12-24
It's the time when King Stephen of England is battling for control of the country against his cousin ,rightful and legal heiress, the Empress Maud. Stephen's forces have laid seige to Shrewsbury castle and ,after defeating the occupants,have obeyed his orders to show no mercy and to hang the remaining 94 soldiers from the wall. Brother Cadfael from the nearby abbey, is allotted the sorry task of preparing the bodies for burial and counts 95 bodies..one too many. He is aided in this unpleasant business by Godrith, the lovely young daughter of one of Maud's courtiers, who is hiding in the abbey, disguised as a boy, under the watchful eye of Cadfael. The extra body proves to be a murdered messenger of Godrith's father who was sent to reclaim valuable goods, needed by the rebels. The story centres around the need to keep Godrith's identity hidden and Cadfael's quest to discover and bring to justice, the murderer of the messenger. It's another wonderful Cadfael read which will be thoroughly enjoyed by his fans.
A Look Into Shrewsbury.......2005-11-30
With the second book of the series, I found a book different from the first though still engaging and maintaining the central character of Brother Cadael. The book is centered around Shrewsbury this time. The contest of sucession between Maud and Stephen helps drive the story, but it does not overshadow the story or the character. It is certainly a part of the story, masterfully intertwined.
In the story, Brother Cadael has the daughter of a noted noble put under his charge. As the story progresses, you find the couriers for a secret treasury were waylaid. The body of one was unsuccessfully disposed of, while the other escaped. As the story progress, Peters keeps you guessing as to who committed the murder, making you suspect someone on one page ans respect them on the next.
The story was a quick read and a good one. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for period fiction. It would work for a fantasy reader looking to bridge over into another genre as well.
One Corpse Too Many.......2005-10-20
I stumbled upon this series at a library book sale, and bought my first (hardback) copy for exactly one dollar about 4 years ago. It convinced me that I absolutely must read all of the rest of the books because they are truly everything they are purported to be. This particular title is the second in the series, and while I have been reading them out of order just as the titles tempt me, I have to admit that each book, as I read it, becomes the very best of the series. Ellis Peters (the late Ellis Peters) deserves every award she has ever gotten for this colorful, historical, completely engaging mystery series. I continue to be delighted. Moreover, I bought two of the volumes from a priest who had also collected them, and he was a great delight to talk to as well. Read them! You won't be sorry that you took the time.
Book Description
Five extraordinary people with seemingly nothing in common share the bond of surviving a cataclysmic event. In a world devoid of super-heroes, they will come together and discover that all they know has been a liethat the world we live in is not the one we believe it to be. To survive they must unite and face the true masters of our universe. Its a world where literally anything can happen, and probably willas if living on borrowed time wasnt enough!
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Lots of leatherpeople that look decent. However, this feels a bit rushed. The villains of the piece are of the same ilk that those that Messrs Hawksmoor and Santini like dealing with, just a touch more flamboyantly. Presumably this is set up to have more done with it? It is never bad to look at something Chaykin has done, however. Definitely an unexpected twist on the Challengers. Very Wildstorm.
Lousy book.......2006-08-27
What can I say? This is a dismal outing by Howard Chaykin who is capable of better. Doubly disappointing because it tries to recreate an affectionate cult team - the Challengers of the Unknown, who were tough derring-do dudes with chemistry. This new team and new story lacks any reason for us to identify with them. If you liked the old Challengers - you definitely should stay away. Even if you're just a regular comic book fan - I have one word: AVOID!
The last Chaykin story that I will ever read.......2006-05-07
I'm okay with Howard Chaykin as an artist: his linework is very slick and stylized, and even though his characters all look the same, they look good. What I'm not okay with is his writing: it's often disorganized, trite, fixated on sex, and more concerned with being shocking rather than logical. What's more, when he tackles classic DC characters, he often misses the mark. For the last 10 or so years, I haven't read anything by him that I particularly liked, but that was okay, as it was mostly creator-owned work with which he could do the least amount of harm. But now DC has given him apparent free-reign with one of its great Silver Age teams, and the results are disastrous. CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN: STOLEN MOMENTS, BORROWED TIME collects the six-issue miniseries that totally redefines the Challengers, jettisoning everything that has ever been written about the Professor, Ace, Rocky, and Red. In fact, our 4 favorites are nowhere to be seen, and possibly never even existed! Instead, we are subjected to a completely new team of recruits with no similarity to the original team that was "living on borrowed time". While Chaykin does go out of his way to provide a connection of sorts to the original team, it is almost meaningless, and somewhat insulting when taken in the context of their significance to the DC Universe.
In short, 4 strangers are having identical dreams in which they are covert operatives. The strangers then wake up, having survived a terrorist attack, with no knowledge of how they came to be there together. The story proceeds to focus on how they got there, why they survived, and the nature of their purpose. Unlike the original Challengers, there are no weird monsters, giant living statues, or a sense of the "unknown". Instead, the new Challengers are fighting against... are you ready for this?... a GLOBAL CONSPIRACY (ho-hum, another one????) that goes back to the early 20th century. Just know that if you are expecting a story in the spirit of the original Challengers, you are in for a serious disappointment. The best thing that Chaykin and DC could have done in this case is pulled the title and Challengers of the Unknown elements from this story, and just presented it as another creator-owned title. Jack Kirby is rolling in his grave.
A New Group, A New Truth.......2006-04-30
It is a world without superheroes. A world where four men once challenged the unknown. Now a terrorist act has resulted in five people surviving when all others are killed. But even more strange at the uniforms they find themselves in. Soon they discover that they have shared many experiences without ever having met before. Their coming together is not random. It has been arranged but something has gone wrong.
Now a team of five must find out just who has been manipulating their lives and why. The answers take them to new and strange places full of danger and intrigue as the history of the world itself begins to come unraveled. Who is really in control of the world? Why are things as messed up as they are if there is control? These and other questions are answered before the story is done.
A fine tale and an interesting reworking of the original Challengers. The whole secret history was well done but a color television is really no good if the broadcast is in black and white (read the book and you will understand). This volume is also far darker than the original with death at almost every turn. Howard Chaykin's excellent artwork really compliments the story and his fans will not be disappointed. Well done.
Book Description
The two novels combined in this omnibus (Cald of the Long Sun and Exodus from the Long Sun) comprise the second half of Gene Wolfes long novel, The Book of the Long Sun. Publishers Weekly calls it One of the major SF series of the decade The complex language is lovingly crafted.
Customer Reviews:
If you read first half you gotta read this.......2007-06-26
and you will be disappointed. A civil war begins, main hero steps up as leader of rebellion, a third side appears in civil war, and lot of stuff gets complicated and little solved, and mood is not even close to adventurous/mystery mood of book one.
I couldn't say that this series, 'Long Sun' really ends here, it seems that Short Sun is sequel, but I didn't read it yet.
When Wolfe has idea and inspiration, he is best. When not, he is worst.
I'm sure the series will be better the second time through........2007-04-17
After a first reading, I need some time to forget some of the major plot elements so that I can re-read this story later. It is quite fascinating, especially so if you view the society as an anthropologist would.
A lot of the confusion from this book stems from the fact that not one word written in it is trustworthy and it should be read with much more scrutiny then I put into it. As we cannot trust the writers of the biblical gospels to be impartial, we certainly cannot trust a young man with a revisionist take on history and a bad case of idolizing a man at the center of a cult of personality. The joy of reading Gene Wolfe comes from scratching hints, shades of meaning and the truth of events from a storyteller who does not want you to know the whole truth, and is probably outright lying (New Sun) or has absolutely no connection to reality (The Wizard)/is incapable of discerning truth from idealization and revision (New Sun, The Knight)/reality from fantasy (There are Doors)/objectivity from subjectivity (Long Sun) or is incapable of having factual knowledge whatsoever (Latro).
I'm really expecting this book to wow me the second time through, especially after analyzing Knight/Wizard and The Book of the New Sun a couple more times, allowing me to realize that the narrator is your worst enemy in trying to understand and enjoy a Gene Wolfe novel.
Sun of an epic, part 2.......2007-04-08
A couple decades ago, I remember tuning into a panel discussion show on TV because it featured Isaac Asimov and Harlan Ellison, two authors who I really enjoyed reading. There was also a third author on this program, who for many years, I essentially thought of as "the other guy." It would take till just a couple years ago for me to figure out that this other guy, namely Gene Wolfe, was also worth reading, in ways completely different than either Asimov or Ellison.
Epiphany of the Long Sun is the concluding half of Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun. Like the previous volume, Litany of the Long Sun, Epiphany is actually an omnibus of two books in the Long Sun tetralogy: Calde of the Long Sun and Exodus of the Long Sun. Altogether, the four books are over 1200 pages of complex plotting. (The Long Sun books themselves fit into the middle of a larger sequence including the Book of the New Sun and the Book of the Short Sun.)
As Litany had concluded, the protagonist Silk had been elevated, almost against his will, into the position of Calde, a high-ranking position that is half administration, half monarchy. In Calde of the Long Sun, civil war erupts in the city-state of Viron, as not all people are happy with Silk's promotion. By Exodus, things stabilize a bit (although not all is settled) and the focus is more on the nature and destiny of the Whorl itself.
The Whorl is the space colony/generation ship that Silk's people have inhabited for centuries. The societies that exist within this Whorl are both advanced and rather medieval, with both high-end technology alongside more primitive devices. Silk, who also acts as a kind of priest known as a patera and as an augur who sees the future in animal entrails, has become something of a prophet as well. In the Whorl, gods are worshipped and occasionally even seen, but Silk is driven primarily by an outsider god known, quite naturally, as the Outsider.
I can only scratch the surface of this densely plotted story, and there's too much to really summarize well. Wolfe is a good writer, but this is not always an easy read. The Book of the Long Sun is ambitious and has a certain artistic merit to it, but for all its admirable qualities, I personally find it to not be great but merely very good, worthy of a high four stars. There isn't really anything wrong with it, but it never completely won me over either (I guess it's a chemistry thing).
Do not start this book without having read Litany of the Long Sun. The two volumes are really one long story and the breaks between volumes (and the books within) are more arbitrary than conclusive. With that caveat, if you are a fan of science fiction, this is a worthwhile read.
Good story drowned in bad style decisions.......2006-11-28
I loved Book of the New Sun and had high hopes for Long Sun. The plot of Long Sun is very good, and I very much enjoyed most of books 1 and 2. However, as the story goes on, the narrative becomes increasingly annoying. Minor spoiler -- Most of book 3 consists of a war for the city of Viron. This could be great, but unfortunately most of the dozen main characters spend most of their time captured, hospitalized, or hiding -- in other words, not doing anything. The battle doesn't really touch any of them, and you hear about the battle only by their conversations with random people they encounter who have actually been involved in the plot off-stage, or from a few scenes with some minor characters from books 1 and 2.
The narrative of books 3 and 4 also shift almost entirely to dialogue, dialogue, and more dialogue, which is a problem. Dialogue is great when what is being said is important to moving the story forward or offering key insights into characters. The reader doesn't need a transcript of every incidental utterance every character makes -- this includes pages and pages of introductions ("Hi, this is so and so, remember we met back on page 335? I had on a blue dress!" etc), overly long expositions on the logic of what characters are doing ("Well, I'm making this decision because of this, and this, and oh you're right, this and that. And this too."), and even as a means of describing the environement (characters routinely say things like "look over there, see how the mountains flow down into the valley, the river is so smooth it looks like a mirror"). All this dialogue slows the story WAY down and has the effect of lessening the impact of the dialogue that actually IS important to driving the story forward.
The other problem I had with the narrative is that, time and again, Wolfe (slowly) builds up the reader's interest in a storyline, builds up the tension to the point where something (finally!) is going to happen -- and then fast-forwards to a point after the action has happened and just has a scene where the characters talk about what happened in a "Whew, we're safe now," or "Well, that didn't go so well" sort of way. The result is that many of the interesting or exciting bits of the story feel totally flat, having been skipped over and bookended by a long run-up of dialogue and soul-searching and an anti-climax of dialogue and soul-searching.
Some of the storylines that receive the most attention end up not being resolved very well, too, which makes you almost regretting putting in the time reading them. The battle for Viron and the three-way political scheming that consumes huge chunks of Books 3 and 4 are dense and should build to some great climactic pay-off for the reader. I won't say exacly what happens at the end, but the book ends not so much with a resolution of this battle, but an escape that makes much of the details of the battle irrelevant. Where the battle should come to a head, the story instead just runs away from it, and resolves things elsewhere. So what was the point of most of it, if not to set up the conclusion? Similarly, I really enjoyed the storylines with Blood in books One and Two, but Blood and his gang become pretty much irrelevant almost immediately. Those storylines wrap up very early, but the time we spent with them in books 1 and 2 make you wish they were more important in books 3 and 4. Instead, they are finished and the story moves on to bigger, but not better, things.
So basically, this book really disappointed me. New Sun really had none of these problems, and I highly recommend it to everyone, but I don't think Long Sun is worth it.
Prime Wolfe (part 2).......2006-09-01
New characters and threats are revealed. Patera Silk continues to grow in unexpected ways. Mysteries are solved only to open up new complexities. If you have already enjoyed other works by Gene Wolfe, you will be right at home here. Pay close attention, read huge chunks at a time, and just enjoy both the story and the language. I will add these volumes to my "read again" list.
Customer Reviews:
Slow Going, But Good.......2004-05-18
As in the first two books of the series, this one limps along at a less than rapid pace, despite being rife with godly possession, swapped body parts, mechanical soldiers, and one priestly space vampire. It was in this book I began to notice Wolfe's need to have his characters talk and talk about what they know (or think they know) and how they came to know it, as well as his tendency to skip important events only to have his characters talk about them later. This is all fine and good, and is all part of that unique Wolfe atmosphere, which is one part 'huh?' and two parts 'WTF?!' I still believe the encompassing story of the Whorl, the "gods" who created it, and where it's going are the hooks in this series. But given its size (over 1400 pages), at each long-winded conversation I couldn't shake the feeling that Wolfe's characters were being paid by the word.
Boring and shallow.......2002-07-10
After first twoo books of the series I really did't expected much. But what I got here totally dissapointed me. Patera Silk again finds himself in countless situations from which he is trying to get out unscarred. The whole world and characters are presented kinda "shy?", and one can not put himself in role of Patera silk, one can not live inside him a live trough his "adventurs". Wolfe, at the end of a novel, invetns a relatively "unknown" method called deus ex machina. He got so tnagled in a web of characters and situations that this was the only way out. How logical? judge for yourslef. Rather plain writing also doesenßt serve this book as a good messenger, yet long conversation which lead nowhere, tedious pace and flatstone characters totally kills this book. I gave it three stars just for the sake of the "old glory". But if you want honest oppinion, do not read this book.
Overrated........2001-10-17
If it weren't for the astonishing reviews for this series ("telling someone what is great about Gene Wolfe's writing is like trying to tell someone what's great about Mozart's music...") I probably would have stopped reading this book halfway through it. I've been reading sci-fi/fantasy for 25 years. During this time, I have grown to appreciate more literary works. Calde does in fact contain well written, at times transcendant passages, but the story itself is ludicrously overwrought and complex. Wolfe forgets that a good story, regardless of whether it is pulp or artistry, must entertain the reader. Calde was technically proficient, but cold and lifeless. After being mildly disappointed with the first two books, I have continued to read on, hoping that Wolfe's style would click with me. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen.
Probably the best book of the four in the series.......2001-01-04
The action really picks up in this one. Ultimately, the series is disappointing, though. See my review of the fourth book.
Typical Gene Wolfe: rich in detail, character and confusion.......1998-06-01
Long awaited sequel in the Book of the Long Sun. The structure of this strange place slowly comes together. It's quite incredible how the heat, the smells and the colours of this planet come to life in this series.
Average customer rating:
|
Calde of the Long Sun
Manufacturer: Forge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GS8X82 |
Book Description
Everyone loves Mediterranean food. But few can say what makes the soul-comforting, understated peasant food of Portugal distinct from that of its neighbors. The abundant use of legumes and leafy greens in its hearty soups and stews? The unusual combinations of meat and shellfish? The wine and garlic marinated braises? The easy seafood preparations? Or, perhaps, the luscious, egg-sweet desserts, from light meringue puddings to rich, sweet breads?
Peppered with a lifetime of anecdotes from a passionate cook's years in a Portuguese culture, Portuguese Homestyle Cooking draws us into an immigrant kitchen where traditional culinary methods were handed down from father to daughter, shared and refined with the help of the family and friends who watched, chopped, and tasted. The recipes in Portuguese Homestyle Cooking are of dishes prepared as they were in Portugal-but with the measurements standardized and perfected and the commonly used ingredients and methods fully explained. Novices and experienced chefs alike will enjoy preparing these savory dishes.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book, replaces all of our missing recipes from childhood.......2007-04-23
All of my favorite portuguese dishes are represented in this book. Most portuguese women back in the day did not have recipes written down for common and uncommon dishes. They were simply passed down from mother to daughter through the generations. That is easily disrupted by modern life, especially in the U.S. We now have recipes that mirror the food I was brought up with.
My personal favorites are:
Alcatara
Masa Sovada - the BEST bread in the world
Caldo Verde - great soup!
Bacalao - a wonderfully different journey in fish that non-portuguese people would love and have tasted nothing like it.
Great for new portuguese cookers.......2006-12-14
I am portuguese through my mother but the past three generations of family have given up their language and traditions for an American life. This book has excellent traditional meals and a little bit of history as well. The recipes are easy for me to follow.
Portuguese Homestyle Cooking.......2006-02-19
Excellent cookbook which also includes wonderful pictures of both the foods and regions of Portugal. I would recommend this book to anyone who is intrested in the Portuguese culture and it's fantastic coverage of reciepes that have been served in Portuguese household for years.
Wonderful Introduction to Portuguese Cooking.......2003-03-07
Buy this book for the stewed chicken and rice recipe alone... this one was a huge favorite at our house. This book is a great introduction to a wonderful but little-known cuisine, and should provide you with hours of cooking fun. One small caveat: the wine chapter has next to nothing about Port, Portugal's most famous contribution to the world of wine. I'm not sure how the author missed this... she did a fine and thorough job on everything else. But overall a fine book and one which even Emeril's mother Hilda could enjoy :)
All of the classics well represented..........2002-06-05
This is the first Portuguese (non-regional) cookbook I've found that was actually written by a Portuguese person! While most people use Jean Anderson's book as a benchmark, I found that the anecdotes and stories surrounding the recipes really hit home for me, a fellow Portuguese-American. What's great about this book is that it includes mostly the essentials, without a lot of unimportant recipes you don't need. If you are just starting to explore the uniqueness of Portuguese cooking, this is a great first step. Especially if you do not live in California or New England where many of these foods can be ordered in Portuguese restaurants or purchased from Portuguese bakeries. It might also be helpful to understand that Portuguese food is mainly "peasant" food (explains all the salt cod), and should not be confused with other trendy Southern European cuisines such as Spanish, French and Italian. It can definitely be an acquired taste!
Books:
- Pale Kings and Princes
- Payment in Blood
- Pictures of Perfection (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries)
- Poirot's Early Cases: 18 Hercule Poirot Mysteries (Mystery Masters Series)
- Purple Cane Road
- Scratch the Surface (Cat Lover's Mysteries)
- Sense of Evil
- Sentenced to Die: Until Proven Guilty, Injustice for All, Trial by Fury
- Set in Darkness: An Inspector Rebus Novel (Inspector Rebus Novels)
- Sherlock Holmes in New York: The Adventure of the New York Ripper
Books Index
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Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
A Morbid Taste for Bones: The First Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
Monk's Hood: The Third Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
St. Peter's Fair: The Fourth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
The Rose Rent (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
