Pantanal, Brazil's blessed heartland

Average customer rating:

Terrible, terrible, terrible

Although everything in it isn't perfect, this book is well worth owning!

Knife Fighting Classic - Good Intermediate Training Manual

FORBIDDEN MALLJITSU TEXT!!!

A book by a true warrior

Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing For Combat (Special Forces/Ranger-Udt/Seal Hand-To-Hand Combat/Special W)
Michael Echanis
Manufacturer: Black Belt Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Basic Stick Fighting for Combat (Special Forces/Ranger-Udt/Seal Hand-to-Hand Combat/Special Weapons/Special Tactics Series)

Knife Self-Defense for Combat (Special Forces/Ranger-Udt/Seal Hand-to-Hand Combat/Special Weapons/Special Tactics Series)

Knife Fighting: A Practical Course

Knife Throwing: A Practical Guide

Master Of The Blade: Secrets Of The Deadly Art Of Knife Fighting

ASIN: 089750058X

Book Description

Formerly RESTRICTED to military and law-enforcement personnel, this book is now available to the general public for THE FIRST TIME since its initial printing! Through detailed, captioned photographic sequences, learn dozens of knife-attack and counterattack techniques, hwarang-do's relation to hand-to-hand combat, psychological/physical visualization techniques, and secrets of unconventional paramilitary warfare.

Customer Reviews:

Terrible, terrible, terrible.......2007-05-04

Please save your money, I was one of the persons who did not take into consideration what the reviews said about this book. You will be mad at yourself for wasting money.

Although everything in it isn't perfect, this book is well worth owning!.......2007-03-19

Being the author of several books on the martial arts and fighting, I am always looking for books of exceptional quality to add to my library. If I have a book in my library, it's definitely worth owning. One such book is Michael D. Echanis', "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat." This book is directly influenced by the Korean martial art of Hwarang Do and its current Grandmaster Joo Bang Lee, who Echanis had studied under before his untimely demise in Nicaragua.

This book along with its two companion volumes, "Basic Stick Fighting for Combat" and "Knife Self-Defense for Combat," were not initially released to the general public, but instead were only available to certified and recognized self-defense instructors. These books were originally intended to be military training manuals for the various elite units in the United States military. These were units such as the Special Forces, Army Rangers, Navy Seals, etc.

This volume, like the other two in this series, starts out with a brief section on the history of Hwarang Do and its relationship to hand-to-hand combat. This is followed by another brief section that looks at the theory and internal dynamics which make up this very impressive art.

Introduction:

This section begins with a lot of practical advice on the use of a knife against an attacker during combat.

3 Phases of Knife Training:

a. Straight Line Attack
b. Counterattack
c. Visualization

2 Knife Fighting Distances:

a. Outside Attacks
b. Inside Attacks

Basic Principles of Knife Fighting:

This section goes over the basic principles that should be utilized when practicing with and/or utilizing a knife in an actual self-defense encounter. I found this section to be very practical and relevant to the topic, although I thought it was a bit brief and worthy of many additional pages.

Six Basic Rules to Observe During Training and Actual Combat:

1. Conceal the weapon...
2. Observation...
3. Focus on deep breathing...
4. Slash, don't stab...
5. Observe the enemy...
6. Breath control and mental focus of power...

Knife Training:

One would be hard pressed to argue that this section includes some of the best information that you can use in order to train effectively with a knife, and for the effective use of said knife in an actual combat situation. This includes such things as not only how and when to train, but also the psychological factors involved in knife training and how to improve your own mental abilities.

Strategy:

Once again this is a section that is so well done that it can be applied to all forms of combat, not just those using a knife. The authors grasp of strategy and the way he explains it is very easy to understand and is very realistic, although it may be a bit advanced for the beginning student. Also included in this section are the three phases of strategy.

Combat Applications:

Through the detailed use of photographs and fairly detailed sections of text, the author and his assistants take you through numerous different examples (17 to be exact) of how to use a knife and/or knives during an armed and also unarmed self-defense encounter.

Basic Principles of Knife Throwing:

As a general rule, "Never throw your knife at your opponent." This results in a lost weapon and the very real possibility that your attacker could pick it up and use it against you. However, just like every rule, there are exceptions.

Basic Knife Throwing Techniques:

In this section, 14 different throws are demonstrated and explained to you through the use of photographs and text.

This book ends with a basic but well done chart on the vital areas to target with a knife during a self-defense encounter.

This book, like the other two in the series, does an exceptional job of explaining the techniques described within through detailed written descriptions and the use of clear and concise photographs and illustrations. The only thing that I would like to have seen a lot more of in this particular manner would have been some close-up shots during various phases of certain techniques.

Knife Fighting Classic - Good Intermediate Training Manual.......2006-10-13

"Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" by Michael D. Echanis was originally published in the late 1970s and developed a `cult following' among martial artists and knife aficionados.

Echanis was a special operations soldier and a practitioner of the martial art of Hwa Rang Do. "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" begins with a short history of Hwa Rang Do and a tribute to the founders of the art.

The book next delves into combat mindset for the knife fighter. This includes `Six Basic Rules to Observe During Training and Actual Combat', mental focus, and breath control, and the `Three Phases of Strategy'.

The heart of "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" is various photo series demonstrating knife techniques. The techniques demonstrated are very much Hwa Rang Do style techniques as on might expect from Mr. Echanis' background, combined with a military combative focus intended for this book.

While not a beginner's book, "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" teaches `advanced beginner / intermediate' knife techniques that are easily learned by anyone with a good beginner's knowledge of knife fighting. This book also provides a good introduction to reverse grip and double-knife fighting. (Anyone who has seen Master James Keating's ~ Comtech / "Reverse-Grip Knife Fighting" will find the techniques in "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" familiar.)

The final section of "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" is an excellent discussion of knife throwing, or more appropriately throwing of many different items for combat. While many modern "knife fighters" argue against throwing a knife in combat, Echanis offers an insightful discussion of the applicability of knife throwing combat applications.

Overall, "Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat" is an excellent training manual for anyone who has mastered the basics of knife fighting and is now looking for a little bit more advanced-beginner / intermediate techniques to add to one's knife fighting arsenal.

Highly Recommended!

FORBIDDEN MALLJITSU TEXT!!!.......2006-06-26

The late Michael Echanis was a comic genius! I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself, reading this brilliant Malljitsu text regarding the blade arts -- which I have studied for 30 years.

The preface from Ohara (Black Belt) Publications warns that this is only a "basic introduction" to the blade secrets of Korean ninjutsu ("Sul-Sa"). Wow. My 30 years of training seems to have been in vain, as I cannot perform these "basic" techniques. I think that even James Keating and Kelly Worden would have difficulty with them. From this I conclude that either Echanis was a true demi-god (as many seem to believe), or he was living in a deluded fantasy world.

Blade techniques are intended to be simple and direct -- seldom more than "3 steps", due to the speed and unpredictability of combat. Most of Echanis's secret moves are well over 10 steps . . . some are over 20! This is not practical knife-fighting -- this is kata.

Echanis breaks all the rules here -- jumping, spinning, leaping, skipping, flailing, and performing forward rolls throughout. Two techniques actually involve phsically lifting the opponent over your head! The expressions on his face are priceless (anger, outrage, orgasmic, and constipated). He also grips the knives (yes, plural) in an unusual grip that I've never before seen -- actually, SEVERAL grips I've never before seen. For some reason, these grips are never discussed, nor are close-up shots provided (must be "too secret"). Footwork, carry, and drawing are not discussed either, nor is the use of training targets. Unusual for one who claims to constantly train and instruct others. This space is instead devoted to pictures of him prancing about as he flings knives at "multiple opponents." To his credit, in an opening paragraph he says that you should generally avoid throwing your knife, and that it is intended primarilly as a distraction to create an opening to charge in for a fatal blow.

On the positive side, aside from the unintended humor (of which there is plenty), Echanis made an excellent argument for the merits of the icepick/reverse grip at a time when others were denouncing it as "amateurish." He also advocates fighting with two knives at once. Nearly every finishing move is delivered via a powerful overhead blow from a unique angle -- after an opponent is sufficiently worn down, it might actually be a viable technique.

Mall ninjas be warned! You will NOT learn how to be a better fighter from this book!

A book by a true warrior.......2005-08-29

The late Mike Echanis was a true warrrior and has written a book for warriors. It is about combat, not sport and demonstrates very advanced knife techniques. These techniques have been proven in battle over centuries. In the Hwa Rang Do system, the knife becomes an extension of the hand. The techniques, although ably demonstrated and photographed, must still be practiced under the guidance of a Hwa Rang Do Master if one is to become proficient.

Combat Knife Throwing: A New Approach to Knife Throwing and Knife Fighting (This Book Could Save Your Life!)

Average customer rating:

Ralph is very sincere...
Not a good resource
Good, but not what it's cracked up to be
Interesting but not great
Terrible book

Combat Knife Throwing: A New Approach to Knife Throwing and Knife Fighting (This Book Could Save Your Life!)
Ralph Thorn
Manufacturer: Loompanics Unlimited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1559502274

Customer Reviews:

Ralph is very sincere..........2007-07-31

... and very well-practiced. I don't personally think of a throwing knife as a good weapon, because I don't have the time or inclination to develop the degree of skill that would make it truly effective. I've seen Ralph throw, and wouldn't put myself up against him if I were carrying a pistol, but then again he's put an enormous amount of time and effort into mastering knife throwing. For the reviewers remarking on the similarity to shuriken throwing; I'm sure you're right, but I wanted to mention that Ralph did develop his style independently (we met in high school, and I got to see some of the early days of his obsession :) ).

Not a good resource.......2007-01-16

I ran across this book while doing research about knife throwing in movies. As a teenager I had spent countless hours in the back yard throwing every type of knife I could buy or make. Although I became proficient at distances under 15 ft I never discovered the holy grail of knife throwing: throwing a knife like a spear.

Later when I studied physics I learned why. An object can be thrown without rotation by applying the throwing force through the object's center of mass, easily done with a spear but not with a knife. A 6 foot spear also has at least 36 times more rotational inertia than a one foot long knife, making the spear over 36 times more resistant to rotation.

I was naturally intrigued to find a book claiming a knife could be thrown like a spear. Had I looked at the book's cover I would probably have immediately dismissed the notion. It shows a knife rotating into position and flying straight a short distance after leaving the thrower's hand, a physical impossibility. The illustrations and instructions inside the book were not much better.

I eventually tracked down a web site for the author and bought one of his DVD's. While stop action video shots were often too blurry to analyze, it looks like he does have a throwing style that minimizes rotation although it does not completely prevent it. The book's author, Ralph Thorn was shown at one point juggling several knives and is obviously a dexterous guy with a powerful throwing arm and a lot of skill. Even so, his low rotation throws in the DVD were typically at distances of less than 15 ft.

My advice: Ralph Thorn is a sincere guy who does have something to offer would-be knife throwers. However, I'd recommend buying one of his DVDs rather than his book. I'd also recommend not taking his explanations literally.

Good, but not what it's cracked up to be.......2006-07-22

I have used some of these "combat throwing" techniques for years. They are not revolutionary, they originate from ninjutsu spike shuriken throwing techniques. A few things regarding their use,
1) Only effective really within nine feet.
2) You actually can get enough power for serious penetration. I can stick an unbalanced knif an inch and a half into an oak door.
3) Knife throwing in any form is not for killing, in a fight, its a distraction. Since you are ditching your weapon, you would be using the distraction to run.
It is the best way I know of to throw knives though, and if you would be a proficient knife fighter I would recommend reading this book, but with skepticism.

Interesting but not great.......2005-10-12

There are some good "combat" techniques for knife throwing, but "life-saving material" as the title indicates, I kinda doubt it. The author does seem to know his stuff and the illustrations, while basic, are pretty clear and helpful. The quality of the writing, on the other hand, is a bit below par. Topics covered include an introduction to spear-style throwing, basics of combat knife throwing, balancing a knife for throwing, targeting, psychological/physical conditioning, hunting/recreation skills, and a bit of interesting historical/context stuff as well. There is also a fairly in-depth chapter for spear-style throwing as well as one for combat throwing techniques, insomuch as you can go in-depth in about a 100 total pages.

It's an interesting tome but not really a groundbreaking one. It also has some iffy ideas. The challenge as I see it is that the focus of the book is primarily on techniques without looking at the larger picture. I've frankly got a philosophical problem with throwing a knife in combat, even if you are in the military. First off, only weapons balanced for throwing will work properly for that application in the first place so you must be carrying a specialty device in order to be able to execute the techniques. Once you do throw your knife not only do you potentially lose your weapon, but you are also operating at some distance from your opponent. Unless you are in an active war zone, that probably won't play too well in court. After all, if you've got distance you'll have to explain to a jury why you couldn't run away avoiding the confrontation before it became violent in the first place as well as why you were carrying an offensive weapon (throwing knives just aren't defensive devices no matter how you spin it... and knives in general are hard enough to justify in court as it is).

I'm not all that great at knife throwing but I did learn some new stuff and improve a bit from this book. All in all, if you take it as an academic instruction book to develop throwing skills for fun or possibly even for survival/hunting it's a pretty decent reference. From a self-defense perspective, on the other hand, I think it is a bit off target.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

Terrible book.......2005-02-05

Poorly written, run on sentences and endless babbling. I could not get past his constant knocking of end over end knife throwing. He spent too much time on the short comings of end over end throwing and not enough time on the technique of his style. I guess he wanted to fill his book with pages so he ran on and on about irrelevant things. What was valuable in the book could have been written on 5 pages max.

Average customer rating:

Cold Steel: Technique of Close Combat

Manufacturer: Paladin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000EZOJYE

Product Description

Paladin Press has obtained exclusive reprint rights to this classic (originally published by Leatherneck magazine), which was the Marine bible of unarmed combat. Emphasizing the practice aspect of bayonet, knife and stick fighting, this rare volume also provides short courses in unarmed combat and knife throwing. For academic study only.

Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing For Combat (Special Forces/Ranger-UDT/Seal/Hand-To-Hand Combat/Special Weapons/Special Tactics Series)

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Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing For Combat (Special Forces/Ranger-UDT/Seal/Hand-To-Hand Combat/Special Weapons/Special Tactics Series)
Michael D. Echanis
Manufacturer: Ohara Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KJ42H8

Special Forces/Ranger-UDT/Seal Hand-to-Hand Combat/Special Weapons/Special Tactics Series: Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat

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Special Forces/Ranger-UDT/Seal Hand-to-Hand Combat/Special Weapons/Special Tactics Series: Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat
Michael D. Echanis
Manufacturer: Ohara
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MASSWK

Book Description

In 1944 Anne Scheiber, a lifelong federal employee whose income never surpassed $3,150 a year--yes, the figure is correct!--invested $5,000 in blue-chip stocks. When she died in 1995 her stocks were worth $22 million--that figure is also correct!--and she was receiving an annual income of over $1 million in dividends from them. The Dividend Growth Investment Strategy tells how she did it and how others can invest long-term in stock for retirement income.

Over half of all Americans have money in the stock market, most of it in mutual funds. But most mutual funds underperform the stock market, and they are taxed. The taxes and fees destroy compounding of investments and diminish the retirement nest egg. Anne Scheiber's method, the Dividend Growth Investment Strategy (DGIS), beats the mutual fund in returns fivefold after thirty years, though both approaches achieve 14 percent annual growth.

This book examines and compares the various investment strategies of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and shows in hard figures why DGIS is the better investment strategy. The DGIS maximizes growth of the nest egg while producing income that doubles every five years. It also minimizes anxiety over market downturns and inflation because investors can ride the market "roller coaster" by keeping their capital growing, while riding the stock market "escalator" through dividend growth returns, all the while avoiding taxes on their dividends.

To help the investor choose stocks, company fundamentals are discussed along with suggestions on how to research them and what materials to use.

Customer Reviews:

A simple but powerful strategy.......2006-03-23

I bought this book and 'Beating the S&P with Dividends' that cover the same topic. Rozann's presentation was much better in laying out the strategy and the concepts behind the strategy. The only drawback with the book is that the data on stocks listed in the book are a little dated. However, the strategy is the most important part of the book. You can always find up-to-date stock/company information on the Internet. It is a good fast read and I have applied the strategy to my IRA stock holdings.

The 'Beating the S&P with Dividends' has more up-to-date company information and various stock lists with different focuses. I used the information for both books to make changes to my stock holdings.

A Good Strategy for Investing.......2005-04-17

This book introduces an excellent idea for investment. Basically, you should look for well-established companies with a good track record of dividend increases, invest, and wait 30 years. If you have less than 25 years until retirement, this stategy might not work so well for you because the real wealth development tends to kick in at around the 25 year mark and shoots up from there. If you have less time than that, then you'll only see a modest return on your investments.

The author provides her pick of top performers historically. Of course this doesn't mean that these will continue to perform in the future. The only weak point of this book is that it is based on data from the tech bubble era of the late ninties. If you plan on taking the authors recommendations, be sure to do your homework and check up on the companies to see how they have weathered the years since the burst of the tech bubble. I would say about 75 percent of the recommendations are still good, while a few such as AIG may not be so smart right now. Just be sure to do your homework. It might be time for the author to give us an updated version of this book.

Insightful and thought provoking.......2004-04-23

I've been investing in stocks and reading investment books for 5 years. Ms. Klugman's book is definately one of the best I've read.

She makes a very cogent arguement for this style of investing, which in a nutshell is:

1. Dividend growth shields investors from emotional turmoil of having your investments sink in value, since these stocks tend to stand up well and also because of the dividend income stream. This is very important if you have a low threshold for financial panic.
2. Dividend growth provides relatively small income streams at first, presumably when you don't need income (and when your taxes are highest), but it grows so that at retirement you will have a large annual income.
3. Dividend growth strategy should have much higher returns than bonds, since your dividend income will grow, while bonds pay static returns.
4. If you hold stocks in an IRA and just live off the dividends and pass the stocks to your heirs, it is a perfect tax shelter for transfering huge amounts of wealth, since all the capital gains on the stocks are not taxable when the stocks are inherited.

Ms. Klugman does mention in passing that Dividend Growth is not necessarily the highest return strategy, and probably will not even keep pace with an index fund. However, Ms. Klugman makes a very compelling case for this style of investing. In addition, her observations about the Wall Street in general are insightful and make good reading.

I have read over 20 books on investing. This is the among the few that I am still mulling it over 2 weeks after I finished reading it.

Good for part of your portfolio.......2003-09-17

This is a very good book especially for the faint of heart and those who shirk at aggressive growth stocks.In my opinion, this would be most useful as long as it represented part of your portfolio (especially for younger investors) I also agree with this author on bonds. They cannot compare with equities except in those rare times when interest rate are high and start coming down. Bonds are not a good long term strategy - but equities are.I am using this strategy along with agressive no load mutual funds. You can double your money every 4-5 years with mutual funds and save on the commissions. President Bush's new tax plan will make this dividend strategy program even more lucrative (as longas the Dmocrats don't screw it up)The dividend growth strategy is an excellent book and I highly recommend it along with the WSJ and IBD to research those dividend stocks.

USEFUL, BUT.............2003-07-29

It is not my purpose to pan this book. The 5 star rating system is sometimes less flexible than one would like. Ms. Klugman actually has a good point to make. Dividends are very useful in any investment strategy that has twenty or thirty years to run. In fact I would go so far as to argue that as a shareholder, a dividend is your absolute right. You own that company, or part of it. Without your capital, the company would not likely be in business and, when it makes a profit, you the owners, should share that success without having to sell your shares to realize it! Ms. Klugman, however, seems sometimes less than fair and careful when arguing against views she does not share.

For intance, she seems to suggest that if you own bonds, you are a faint hearted chump. She utterly fails to accord to bonds the same compounding effect she claims for dividends. Nonsense. Anything that returns a gain that's reinvested compounds. Let me attempt a quick (and mathematically dirty) example to show the approximate effect of bonds, in this case a bond fund. Say three years ago you had $100,000.00. Say you put it all into S&P 500 quality stocks with no dividends. At the end of 2002, you'd have had about $69,880. If you include a 2.5% dividend yield each year you'd have about $76,568. If, however, you'd put $80,000 into the dividend S&P 500 stocks and $20,000 into Vanguard's Long Term Corporate Bond fund, after paying it's .31% annual cost you'd have a total (between stocks and the bond fund)of about $90,258, a full 20.4% better than 100% stocks without dividends and 13.7% better than the dividend stocks. If you were looking at retirement inside of 10 years, that bond cushion would have made a big difference to you.

I know this is long, sorry. But one more point. Dividends are not guaranteed to rise. Even in a strong dividend culture like Heinz, a company Ms. Klugman cites favorably, this is demonstrably true. From a 3 for 2 stock split in '95, Heinz quarterly dividends climbed steadily from $.26/share to $.43 in 3/02. Then they were lowered to $.41, climbed again to $.44 in December '02 and were slashed (no stock split this time) to $.27/share in 3/03.

Still, dividends are MUY BUENO! If you own stock in a company not paying them, ask them and yourself why. If Ms. Klugman's book motivates you to look into this dividend thing, there's a web site (and newsletter) that you may find very interesting. ... This is put out by Ms. Geraldine Weiss (and her merry men) and will give you some insight into valuing companies by the relative dividend yield of their stock (a concept also practiced by Ms. Nancy Tengler and her associates). Ms. Klugman has the right idea here: take control of your own future. As such this is a useful book, but... there is no one surefire way. It's about dicipline , diversification, and allocation of assets (all of which I say better than I do). Good luck to you all, and remember, neither governments nor corporate managements know how to use your money better than you do.

Customer Reviews:

The End of a Trilogy.......2005-08-31

This book ended an underlying trilogy story within this series that started in book 6. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are reunited as Padawan and Master, which isn't really a spoiler if you have ever seen Ep 1.

The further I dive into this series, the more I like it. Each book has a better story and the characters develop more depth as well.

For a quick, easy and fun read I would recommend this entire series.

good padawan gone bad.......2004-06-17

This is one of my favorite books. I always like books where good guys go bad. Xanatos was Qui-Gon Jinns former padawan. He already went to the dark side. When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi went on a mission to Telos Xanatos' home planet. They ran into a surprise. Xanatos was waiting for them. They fell into many of Xanatos' traps yet in the end of the book the jedi manages to put Xanatos in a similar trap. This is one of the best books yet and I love it. It shows ones evil fall and anothers redemption as a jedi. Qui-gon is finally letting go of Xanatos and accepting Obi-Wan, This sets a background for the entire saga of Star Wars. I would just like to say that I have read all of the Star Wars kids books and I am the biggest fan. I know what I'm talking about. May the force be with all who read this book.

The Day Reckoning a Story Arc.......2003-05-01

I've been reading the Jedi Apprentice books to my son (Alex) off and on for the last three years, and he's loved them - and so have I. I still read them to him even though he's getting old enough to read them himself, just so I can have an excuse to read young adult books (yes they are that good).

We've followed the early adventures of Qui-Gon Jinn and young Obi-Wan Kenobi and have been enthralled with the ongoing Xanatos conflict (Xanatos is Qui-Gon's former apprentice introduced to us in the second book of the series "Star Wars Jedi Apprentice: The Dark Rival") . Over the last few book there has been a large story arc concerning Obi-Wan leaving the Jedi order that reaches its conclusion here, and we were happy to see its well thought out end (following a story that long has been a challenging task for my son). However about halfway through this well written epic adventure (as good as any published for adults), I realized that story elements that were set in motion during the very first books (the equally great "Star Wars Jedi Apprentice: The Rising Force" and the aforementioned "Dark Rival") were now coming to a head.

At first I was concerned that my son wouldn't remember all that had come before (in the last 8 books) but just as with Bruck's story in the last book ("Star Wars Jedi Apprentice: The Captive Temple") it came back to him and that speaks volumes about the quality of Jude Watson's writing - that in an age were so much is disposable and easily forgotten, these books have left a lasting impression with my boy.

We look forward to breaking the spine of the next book in the series, to see what adventures await Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, and if they are anything like what has come before - I know we're in for a treat.

Star Wars 8 review.......2003-03-01

I have been a star wars fan since I was 8 and this is one of the best star wars books i ever read. I gets to the story of Qui-Gon and obi wan vs. Xanatos. Books 7 and 2 of this seires will help you understand this one better. Qui-Gon and Obi Wan go to Xanato's home planet of Telos to find him and bring him to justice. There they will try to become master and apprintice once again if Xanatos dosen't [destroy] them first. This is a page turner I read it in one day it was so good. The ending is suprising and makes you wonder for a second. Reading all the series leading up to this book will make this a must have for star wars fans. To me there are two parts two this series books 1-8 which is the begining of the master apprintice relationship part two books 9-18 watches the relationship grow overtime and introduce new allies and enemys. out of part one this is the best book. To me it is the 3rd best book in the series the only books that top it are books 15,and 16. The only flaw with this book is that it was predictable except in chapter 2 and the second to last chapter. The cover of the book front and back give away some of the best parts. Still Jude Watson managed to make a great star wars book.

Still immensely enjoyable.......2003-01-14

Jude Watson deserves all of the praise that has been heaped upon her for the Jedi Apprentice series. Writing in prose ideal for 7-9 year olds, she nevertheless communicates with adults on levels both subtle and profound. She has masterfully charted the relationship of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, leading them on a path so believable and so multi-faceted that readers of all ages should be left both moved and impressed.

The Day of Reckoning presents both a reconciliation and a growth in the relationship of our two Jedi heroes, as they travel to the planet Telos to track down Qui-Gon's former apprentice, Xanatos. Watson gives us just enough to bring Telos alive and into the Star Wars universe, while also giving us a plot that is interesting if not gripping. The highlight of the book is the final confrontation with Xanatos, as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan grapple with issues of responsibility for the fall and death of others - issues that Obi-Wan will have to face on his own in another thirty years or so. The Xanatos/Anakin parallels are clear but not overdone, a tasteful preview of what is to come.

Book Description

Robin Jarvis's thrilling finale to the Deptford Mice Trilogy is now available in paperback. Back from the dead, the spirit of Jupiter-the evil cat who was once Lord of the sewer rats-wreaks more destruction than ever. The Deptford Mice Feel his chilling grasp everywhere they turn and know they face the most desperate struggle of their lives. Will anyone survive?

Customer Reviews:

An Amazing (yet confusing) Story.......2004-12-28

The third book in the Depford Mice series is amazingly well-written, and a definate page-turner. There is action, adventure, fantasy, and even some romance in it. I dropped a star because of the constant character-to-character jumps, and the slightly hard-to-follow plotline. Otherwise, thsi is a must-read series that rivals the Redwall and Warriors series.

The Books of Magic #6: Reckonings (The Books of Magic)

Average customer rating:

Super Reader

The Books of Magic #6: Reckonings (The Books of Magic)
Carla Jablonski
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0064473848
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Customer Reviews:

Super Reader.......2007-08-26

Basically, this book boils down to
1) Don't change into a cat until you know what you are doing
2) Don't take advice from random witches
3) Teenage logic will work with the king of fairyland
4) Be sympathetic to married deific types

It all ends well for now for teenage uber-magician, Tim Hunter, and his girlfriend, who seem a lot more concerned for each other than normal.

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