Book Description
In mid-December 1141, a callous new priest arrives at Brother Cadfael's Benedictine Abbey along with his housekeeper and her nephew, Benet. When the priest is murdered, suspicion falls on Benet, who has begun working in Brother Cadfael's herb garden. The sleuth's search to find the real killer showcases Ellis Peters's well-known intricacy of detail, plot, and characterization.
Customer Reviews:
A cat among the pigeons.......2006-03-04
Just prior to Christmas,1141, a new priest is appointed to the parish church of Holy Cross...also known as the Abbey of St.Peter and St.Paul. Father Adam, the easy going, genial and forgiving priest who had cared for his flock for many years, has died and the charge of filling his shoes falls to the brothers of the Abbey. The Abbot has selected a well educated, former secretary to the Papal legate as a worthy candidate, not realising that an able administrator does not necessarily make a compassionate and understanding priest. Father Ailnoth immediately alienates his parishioners with his harsh, unforgiving rule, severely ruffling the feathers of servants and free men alike, so when his body is found, floating in the river, Sheriff Hugh Beringar finds a wall of silence surrounding the apparent murder. Suspicion falls on Cadfael's new garden helper, Benet who came to the town as a nephew to Father Ailnoth's housekeeper. As usual, Cadfael and Hugh solve the not so difficult mystery and, as usual, the setting for the story is what makes it so appealing. Despite the changes in the surroundings and circumstances of today, the people of nine centuries past, are just the same as the people of today, with their jealousies, faults and squabbles.
Mystery at Holy Cross.......2005-05-20
This is the first book that I have read of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I was drawn into the world of medieval England that Peters brings to life. "The Raven in the Foregate" is a quick read, entertaining and mysterious to the fact that there is not much mystery to the case at hand.
As usual, Brother Cadfael is drawn into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the newly instituted priest of Holy Cross, Father Ailnoth. While he was alive, Ailnoth was quick to make enemies in the church and in the community; many are glad to see him dead, and many are content to hold their tongues as to the truth of what caused his death on Christmas Eve. Complicating matters are the search for a French renegade who was undercover at Holy Cross in the guise of the nephew of Father Ailnoth's housekeeper. Brother Cadfael must piece together the scant clues and abounding rumors to uncover the truth of Ailnoth's death.
"The Raven in the Foregate" is a well-written mystery, although at times too tidy and predictable. It was a true delight to enter into the world of Holy Cross and medieval England that Peters has crafted throughout her Cadfael mystery series. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.
A raven is a symbol of death and wisdom.......2005-04-30
RAVEN makes play with the dual role of the abbey church as the parish church of Holy Cross, which puts the brothers in the odd position of appointing a new parish priest when an incumbent passes on. The void left by the passing of Father Adam isn't adequately filled by the title character, unfortunately, a scholar ill-suited to being a pastor. This book explores the lives of the ordinary folk of Holy Cross, and just how much damage an ill-chosen shepherd can inflict on the flock.
I recommend the audio edition narrated by Stephen Thorne. The Jacobi TV adaptation isn't the same story.
This December of 1141, papal legate Henry of Blois must for the second time in a year call a legatine council - a mirror of that in THE PILGRIM OF HATE, now that King Stephen is free and the empress has been driven from Westminster. Once again Henry has turned his coat according to the fortunes of war - small wonder that Bishop Henry seeks to reinforce his own position with his abbots.
Abbot Radulfus returns from the council with a priest from Henry's staff to fill the vacancy of Holy Cross. In his wake, Father Ailnoth brings a housekeeper and her nephew, Benet, who is assigned to Cadfael as a lay helper, Ailnoth having implied that Benet might have a vocation.
Neither Benet nor Ailnoth turns out to be what was hoped for.
Benet not only has no intention of taking vows, but is inexperienced at the kind of chores Cadfael can use him for. However, he's a hard worker and has many virtues that appeal to Cadfael if not Prior Robert. Benet is, in fact, one of the many strayed young hawks of the empress' party to cross Cadfael's path over the years - a bit of a problem, deep in the heart of King Stephen's territory.
Father Ailnoth, on the other hand, seems fine in theory - scholarly, if austere - but serious issues arise in his wake in practice. Ailnoth's hellfire sermons and violent temper with boisterous children distance parishioners from the church. (Under Father Adam's tolerant regime, by contrast, the Foregate children used to play ball outside the priest's house.) Ailnoth measures all things by the bare razor of justice, without mercy or generosity - fine for a bishop's clerk, but not a parish priest, and hard to live with even in an ordinary land-owning neighbour. He doesn't even have a knack for picking his battles, having (for example) outraged the Foregate baker with accusations of giving short weight, rather than knowing enough to mention Jordan's adultery.
Jordan leads a delegation of parishioners to Abbot Radulfus. Even one of Ailnoth's good points - that he does his job conscientiously - has a dark side: Ailnoth wouldn't interrupt his devotions even to perform an emergency baptism. By the time Ailnoth arrived, Centwin's baby son was dead - and Ailnoth then refused burial in consecrated ground. Then there's the case of Eluned, a beautiful girl who couldn't say no to men. Where old Father Adam was merciful, Ailnoth said Eiluned was *not* genuinely penitent. After Ailnoth publicly turned her out of the church, Eluned was found in the mill-pond; fortunately the next parish treated it as an accident. (Eiluned's grieving mother later says that Eiluned had also defied Ailnoth, refusing to betray the father of her newborn daughter.)
As Radulfus says privately, getting nowhere with Ailnoth, "A man with every virtue, except humility and human kindness. That is what I have brought upon the Foregate...and now what are we to do about him?" The first sign of an answer is Ailnoth's non-appearance at mass on Christmas morning. Cadfael last saw Ailnoth storming along a frost-slick street, and sure enough, searchers find Ailnoth's body trapped under the ice in the mill-pond. Cynric, the old and silent verger, must bury another parish priest.
Benet soon finds himself hunted by Hugh's sergeant's for murder. Having tried to contact Ralph Giffard, one of the empress' former supporters in the district, Benet had found someone who'd lost too much at the battle of Shrewsbury to remain on the empress' side. Giffard had told Ailnoth of Benet's approach, and Father Ailnoth would hardly take kindly to being embarrassed by a connection with the empress after Bishop Henry's experiences, any more than Giffard did. But Benet, although an easy answer, isn't the only answer.
(Hugh Beringar, who could have found 'Benet' if he wanted to, is fortunately keeping Christmas with King Stephen, since Stephen needs to decide whether to confirm Hugh as sheriff - he's only been acting sheriff since DEAD MAN'S RANSOM. Once Hugh returns, the investigation takes another turn, as the fate of the empress' liegemen in Shropshire has become a concern of the king's for his own reasons.)
Cadfael's epitaph for Ailnoth is that 'no blinking it, the man generated grudges wherever he stepped. He may well have made the most perfect of clerks, where he had to deal only with documents, charters and accounts, but he had no notion how to coax and counsel and comfort common human sinners. And what else is a parish priest for?' Radulfus, taking responsibility for installing Ailnoth, pronounces the eulogy - well worth reading. Cadfael's quest for truth here is not for the sake of justice to the dead, but for the living - including Radulfus, who feels a double guilt over inflicting Ailnoth on the Foregate and on having brought him to his death, putting him in a job to which he was never suited.
Another Pleasant Tale.......2002-02-02
"Pleasant" is a good way to describe the Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters. These romanticised renderings of life in twelfth century England, however unreal, make the era seem pleasant enough that you almost want to live there. The countryside is lovely, there is usually a hint of romance in the air, and life moves at a measured, unrushed pace. No pavement, no pollution, no hustle and bustle. Seldom mentioned are the poverty, hunger, disease, and general stench (people rarely bathed). Life, especially in the cloister, is a bucolic idyll.
In "A Raven In The Foregate", Abbot Radulfus returns from a church council with a new priest for the Foregate. Father Adam having recently died, Radulfus brings back Father Ailnoth at the recommendation of Bishop Henry. Ailnoth, however, turns out to be a harsh and stiff-necked young priest and manages to alienate his flock before turning up dead on Christmas morning. There are plenty of suspects, not the least of whom is young Benet, nephew of Ailnoth's housekeeper.
With plenty of potential suspects, this would seem to be an intricate and challenging mystery, but ultimately the plot is not as involved as one might wish. The outcome is a happy one, if a bit too neat and satisfactory for everyone involved, but not too hard to see coming.
Like most of the books in this series, "A Raven In The Foregate" is only an average mystery. What makes this and the other Cadfael tales enjoyable is the pleasant world Peters creates and the idyllic, unhurried way in which she tells the tale. These are nice books to read and, on the strength of that I recommend them, especially to those who like a bit of history and romance along with their whodunits.
Red herrings in and without the Foregate.......1998-08-24
The mystery is a bit trite and too neatly wrapped up at the end, but this remains a good read because of Peter's strong characters and setting and great metaphysical questioning.
Average customer rating:
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The Raven in the Foregate (Book Club Edition)
Ellis Peters
Manufacturer: William Morrow and Company, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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ASIN: B000M3TRV8 |
Average customer rating:
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The Raven in the Foregate (The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, 12)
Manufacturer: Recorded Books - 6 cassettes
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Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 0788701630 |
Product Description
Let Ellis Peters whisk you back to medieval England in this coloful whodunit featuring Brother Cadfael, an herb-gardening monk with a knack for unearthing crime. It is a frosty December day in 1141 when the handsome young priest arrives at the Shrewsbury Abbey. His years of study with the Bishop completed, Father Ailnoth has come to take over the nearby parish of Holy Cross. He seems a pillar of devotion and piety, but Cadfael quickly senses something sinister lurking behind the young prient's calm smiles. It is not long before Ailnoth's true nature surfaces - harsh, cold-hearted, and merciless- and someone in the parish lures him from his home and murders him. Who in Shrewsbury hss the nerve to kill a priest on Christmas dayl. Cadfael does not know - until he learns a shocking secret from Ailnoth's servant. With gentle humor and authentic detail, Ellis Peters illuminates the enchanting and stormy world of the Middle Ages. "If you haven't read one of Perter's warm, witty, splendidly crafted whodunits...here's a good place to start." Chicago Sun Times
Average customer rating:
- Ultimately a busted product
- Imaginive supplement. This year's best TSR release.
- Woo-Hoo
- An excellent overview of the Brotherhood and the southlands.
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The Scarlet Brotherhood (AD&D Fantasy Roleplaying, Greyhawk Setting)
Sean Reynolds
Manufacturer: TSR Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0786913746
Release Date: 1999-02-22 |
Customer Reviews:
Ultimately a busted product.......2007-07-08
This is a very negative review. I'm doing this because it's important a person not in the know on older Greyhawk (or even Living Greyhawk, really) products not get a false impression of what they might be getting from both Greyhawk and this setting in particular. (This is a AD&D set, not at all directly compatible with the current 3.5 rules.)
WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW...
First the bad, and there's a lot of bad. The product just doesn't make sense on so many levels. And to make things worse, there's serious sentence structure errors that make it somewhat hard to read in places.
For those "not in the know", the Scarlet Brotherhoood (tSB) are a basically a far-flung extremist Suel outpost that survived the pre-Greyhawk Baklunish-Suloise war. The problem is the Suel under any other name might as well be "Aryan Nation" because the Suel are described as fair-skinned with blond or red hair, racially intolerant, and more then willing to commit grievous crimes for things like "racial purity". In LG they are described as having "wiry, curly, or kinky hair", but in every picture I've seen (old, new, and in this set), Suel hair has been fair and straight. It was actually because of stuff like this TSR took some serious heat from various sources.
The box set itself also really only has 35-something pages dealing with tSB proper, with the balance of the rest dealing with nearby Hepmonaland (HL) and The Amedio Jungle (AJ), both of interest to tSB. (This may be either considered good or bad, depending on what the reader enjoys.) Both of these extras have a Aztec feel, and both are barely described to a point of causing more confusion then being helpful. This is because important, and sometimes conflicting , events are casually listed without any details of how, why, or their ultimate conclusion. For example, Yuan-Ti are listed in HL but there really isn't anything about any potential diplomatic situation with the various human tribes they are obviously intermixed with but causing massive problems to. And the Suel are here too, apparently in respectable numbers. I'm sorry, but I just don't see a bunch of random fair skinned blond and redhead exiles doing well in what might as well be Central America.
In summary it's really just not a very well thought-out setting on so many levels.
Rather then just be negative and leave it and since I'm in a lazy mood (I don't want to create another complete homebrew) and feeling stubborn since I paid for it, I'll some things that I'm working on as general idea fodder. First, I'm checking the Maztica set (which used to be [still is?] a free download on the WotC website) and grabbing what is usable there. I also am picking bits from the African-based Nyambe sourcebooks.
The Suel situation is a much harder egg to crack without doing some serious thrashing of source material everywhere, but I'm thinking of making the Suel of tSB a slightly insane psionic using race with the bigotry aimed along those lines. This also somewhat solves the problem of why tSB are able to pull off some of the bogus diplomatic stuff that they are credited with in canon.
Should you get this product? If you're "old-skool" you may have already made up your mind. If you're anyone else, just know it's a busted setting that will require a bit work to get rolling.
Four stars for old-skool sake, two for what's really in there... for an ultimately very kindly three.
Imaginive supplement. This year's best TSR release........1999-06-05
From the stuff I've seen released this year, I would have to say, hands down, that the Scarlet Brotherhood is by far the best release TSR has put out this year. It details the sect itself, the surrounding area, and the different tribes and cultures in the south are of Oerth, thw world in which the Scarlet Brotherhood is set.
Woo-Hoo.......1999-03-05
After the long wait, The Scarlet Brotherhood delivers with 96 pages of great stuff!
Maps of jungles you never knew existed. The character classes of Monk and Assassin are back, similar to the 1st edition folks, but these are all evil.
The Scarlet Brotherhood, Hepmonaland, and The Armedio Jungle are all detailed here with enough information for entire campaigns of sweaty, mosquito-infested fun!
An excellent overview of the Brotherhood and the southlands........1999-03-05
This is the first truly 'new' supplement released for the Greyhawk line (the others were mostly rehashes of old material). The title is somewhat misleading, as only some 30 pages are devoted to the Brotherhood. An equal amount is also devoted to Hepmonaland, and another dozen or so to the Amedio Jungle.
Overall, it is of very good quality, providing a good general overview of each area's history, internal structure, and long-term goals providing the needed structure for the Brotherhood, but without overwhelming detail. Quick stats and personalities for major NPCs are given, along with a gazetteer of all major areas. In addition, the SB's character is fleshed-out with details of culture, dress, and even a Suel-English dictionary.
Hepmonaland seems slightly under-detailed, as it is made up of 'city-states' that actually cover vast territories. A greater density (ie more locations) would seem more realistic. One area of interest that has often been neglected in Greyhawk supplements is culture. 'The Scarlet Brotherhood' does an excellent job of fleshing out the SB, the Olman, and the Touv (a new race) with customs, dress, deities, and even language.
The map provided has a nice style to it, and is clear to read (although swamps and deserts could be more clearly delineated). It is, however, somewhat delicate - the size of the maps would have been perfect for a cardstock insert such as found in the Player's Guide to Greyhawk.
The artwork is probably the weakest part - most illustrations (a good idea - illustrating the content of the text, rather than random decoration) is sketchy and rushed-looking. Overall, I think this supplement is well worth the cost and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Average customer rating:
- Great Book!
- Hands are not for Hitting
- My kids like it a lot
- good, but too wordy
- Disappointed in board book version
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Hands Are Not for Hitting
Martine Agassi Ph.D.
Manufacturer: Free Spirit Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Words Are Not for Hurting
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Teeth Are Not for Biting (Best Behavior Series)
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Feet Are Not for Kicking
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When I Feel Angry (Way I Feel)
ASIN: 1575420775 |
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!.......2007-10-08
This is a really great book. When my 2 year old daughter started hitting, my daycare provider suggested this book. My daughter loved reading it at bedtime and her hitting has stopped! Now she will reminder other, "Hands are not for hitting".
Hands are not for Hitting.......2007-09-27
Hands Are Not for Hitting This book approaches the problem of toddlers hitting others and pets with imagination. Children find it fun and enjoy trying to find other things they can do with their hands without hitting. This would be a good book in an infant school library and is for anyone who interacts with toddlers on a daily basis. Will help positive development with social skills. Highly recommended for mums, dads and grandparents.
My kids like it a lot.......2007-08-23
My kids like this book a lot. They each have a favorite page of the book, they fight over it, and they like to have it read to them. It is sturdy construction, and has not yet been destroyed or even seriously injured. On the downside, I wish that there was a better link between the words and the pictures, so that I could more easily go from reading the few words to pointing out something about the illustrations.
good, but too wordy.......2007-08-06
This is a good book, based on the whole series. But to me, and my 28 month old son, it is too wordy. I have cut out a lot of it and picked out my own main points that deal with his behavior problems and left out a lot of other stuff. I think the board book would be better, like the others I have (Teeth Are Not for Biting and Feet Are Not for Kicking). Maybe would be better for older kids. But I still like the concept and he still enjoys it, just not as much as the other two.
Disappointed in board book version.......2007-06-09
A previous reviewer had mentioned that the original book is more in depth, so maybe I should have opted for that version, as I was disappointed in the board book's lack of content. It tells what hands are used for, and adds in "hands are not for hitting" occasionally, but doesn't even touch on why we don't hit.
On the plus side, the book is nicely illustrated, has wonderful warm colors, and even has a small section with helpful hints for parents/caregivers on how to help your toddler deal with frustration.
Product Description
3 Books: 1) Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery / 2) Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs / 3) Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Unboxed Set of Children's Books by Different Authors)
, in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package to
save on shipping costs.
Product Description
Parents and grandparents know that little hands are not for hitting, and that message is made clear to small children through this clever set of poems and illustrations. Children will quickly grasp the message and will enjoy echoing the refrain that reinforces it. "Hands are for picking flowers and sailing boats, and taking showers, and eating oats. But hands are not for hitting."
Customer Reviews:
Hands are Not for Hitting.......2007-09-27
Hands are not for HittingAs a grandmother who regularly minds the grandkids, I have found this book very helpful in stopping the littlies from hitting other people and pets. The way the book is written is enjoyable for the children, with practicle but fun ways of handling this problem. Children will also start to think of extra things they can do with their hands rather than hitting. Friends have been so impressed with this book that they have asked me where they can purchase it. A must in every household where there are toddlers.
Book Description
Here’s an indispensable companion for anyone who likes to indulge in that just-right mix of delicious wine and fabulous food. Fiona Beckett is one of the UK’s most respected authorities on how to pair up these two pleasures of life, and in this practical, compact guide she matches a multitude of dishes—from soups to seafood, chorizo to chocolate—to a variety of wines in all price brackets. Whatever you like to eat, Beckett lets you into the secrets of picking the perfect glass to go with it.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent !!.......2005-09-05
Great book if your interested in what wine goes with what type of food.
Books:
- The Riddle of the Traveling Skull
- The Samurai's Daughter
- The Siren Queen (Mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's Court)
- The Watcher in the Pine (Soho Crime)
- Thieves Dozen (Dortmunder Novels)
- Tropic of Night
- Tularosa
- Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century
- Vineyard Deceit: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries (Avon Books))
- Vineyard Fear : A Martha's Vineyard Mystery
Books Index
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