Doomworld (Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 1)

Book Description

Dark Horse Comics is proud to present Classic Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... featuring classic Star Wars stories not seen in over twenty years! Originally printed by Marvel Comics, these stories have been recolored and are sure to please Star Wars fans both new and old. Volume 1 contains stories from the original Marvel run like the riveting classics "Eight for Aduba-3," "Star Search," and the smash hit of June 1978 "Doomworld!"

Customer Reviews:

A long time ago..., A more innocent time for Star Wars and Comic Books........2007-01-17

In 1977 Star Wars arrived in theaters and quickly fired the imaginations of millions of young people. In a world without cable TV, DVD's, and home computers, Star Wars fans looking to satisfy their "hunger" turned to the Marvel Comics adaption. The Star Wars comics of the late 70's and early 80's were much more than "just" comics to my generation.

In the 1970's Marvel put in a great effort to bring many popular science ficton films to the comic book format. Marvel had already released "planet of the apes" and "2001: a space odyssey" and were in the process of delivering an outstanding "Logan's Run" adaption when Star Wars arrived. There had not been a film in over a decade that was better suited to become a comic book than Star Wars.

Marvels' "Star Wars" was destined to become a classic, but issue number one was something of a false start. The issue featured a rough and somewhat "experimental" style of artwork. They quickly changed direction with issue number two and it was much smoother sailing from that point forward. But the folks at Marvel didn't have a great track record of producing excellent "non-superhero" content, so the odds were against them when it came to taking the Star Wars series BEYOND the movie adaption.

Some younger Star Wars fans may judge these stories to be corny, bizarre, poorly written and even poorly illustrated efforts. But I can tell you that these comics contain the TRUE spirit of the time and the true spirit of what Star Wars meant to my generation. There is a certain magic within the pages of these comics that can never be fully appreciated by anyone who has come to know Star Wars via Six films and nearly 30 years worth of other media and literature. I'm not claiming that "younger" Star Wars fans will not enjoy this collection, only that it might take an effort to "understand" where this stuff came from.

The comics represented in this compilation were created during a time of great imagination and wonder, a time filled with "a new hope". These comic books are a great way for current fans to take a journey back in time, to a Star Wars universe that was still fresh and unexplored. If you're an original fan, you may feel (as I do) that George Lucas has since destroyed much of his own wonderful creation. Perhaps these stories will stand as a reminder of a much more innocent Star Wars universe that once existed, "a long time ago...".

Product review:

This is a great effort by Dark Horse to pay tribute to the original marvel comic books. The coloring has been revamped and looks bright and quite amazing. It's certainly nice to have all of the original issues contained within seven "easy access" volumes. Well worth the price!

The only cool feature missing from these volumes (that can be found in the original issues), is the "Star Words" page. This page featured "letters" sent in from fans and readers. Today, it's certainly a real treat to read some of those letters which help to demonstrate what fans were thinking about Star Wars and this adaption all those years ago. The missing "Star Words" pages certainly do not detract from the enjoyment of the comic book, but would have been a nice addition!

Also, while Dark Horse claims that all of the coloring is 100% faithful to the original artwork, this isn't entirely true. Cover art from each issue is reproduced within each volume. The cover of Issue #14 has been drastically altered. It originally had an AMAZING colored background behind the drawn warriors and was one of the best covers of the Marvel comics run. I'm only guessing that Dark Horse was not able to faithfully reproduce the incredible effect from the original cover and instead simply made it a "white" background. It's still worth tracking down the original comic just for the great cover design for that issue!

JM

Everything it should be!.......2006-04-23

This is the first book in the marvel
star wars series and I enjoyed it.
It shows all of A New Hope and after.
This book also has full vibrant color that makes the pictures stand out.
The only thing I didn't like was that they talked about a old Jedi named Don-Wan Kihotay teaming up with Han solo.
And then in the next issue they just make him disappear and he was a cool character.
I liked in this book how they showed Chewbacca looking like a monkey.
Jabba the Hutt looks weird too.
In one issue Chewbacca is forced to shoot Han and it's really suspenseful.
P.S. Don-Wan has a yellow lightsaber, weird.

All New Adventures, Some Great, Some Not So Great.......2005-12-31

Volume 1 is the weakest of the "A Long Time Ago" collections, but the quality of the stories shows a trend toward improvement. Marvel's adaption of the original "Star Wars" is passable, with wide variations in the quality of the artwork. The first story arc, concentrating on Han and Chewbacca after the movie, is dreadful.

The series gets better with the Waterworld/Crimson Jack stories, and really hits its stride around issue 16. The stories set on The Wheel (based around the schemes of Leia's old nemesis from the Senate and gung-ho Imperial Commander Strom) are quite entertaining. A fun look back at the comics I remember from my childhood, collected in a nice trade paperback format.

Nostalgic and Corny.......2003-12-26

Before the days of Dark Horse there was: THIS STUFF. On the one hand, this is what we once had. On the other hand, some of it was really corny. Sometimes the art was pretty awful. Other times it was the story line. Yet, through it all it was a lot like a grade B movie in comic book form; fun to read though you could never take it too seriously.

Some of the ideas were pure corn. How about a giant carnivorous rabbit (Jaxxon). The Don Wan Kioti character was right out of "The Man of La Mancha." There are other examples, but these suffice to give you a rough idea.

In spite of all the corn, these things are fun to read. The stories take me back to the days of yore when comics really were oriented towards young boys rather than adults, and we ate these things up. Of course, these were what we had, and we had no comparison to the quality graphics in todays comics. Many people in the industry are loath to call them comics.

While the book is a bit pricey, on the other hand you do get 20 comics. The book is pretty thick and the reproductions are good. You have to be a hard-core Star Wars fan or nostalgic for original Star Wars comics to want these, but for either of those groups, enjoy!

Weak movie adaptation improves afterward.......2003-09-09

Howard Chaykin is one of my favorite, if not the favorite comic book artists/writers. That is why it is so disappointing to see his work in this compilation. It is incredulous that the man who produced the gorgeous, crisp, clean art of American Flagg was responsible for the sloppy, hurried art presented in his issues. After Carmine Infantino takes over though, the art improves markedly.

The first six issues are an adaptation of the movie, although it bears much more resemblance to the novelization as it includes such things as Luke seeing his friends on Tatooine, Luke being a part of Blue group rather than Red. The first cover features a red-headed Princess Leia and a green Darth Vader in a mistake of galactic proportions. Also editing errors are rife throughout the adaptation with weapons being called different names throughout and not often matching what they were called in the movie. I can only hope they rushed these out 1 a week the quality was so low.

After we get through the movie adaptation things improve, though for a while we get some really bad editing. Names spelled differently in different panels for one thing. Still though, despite the improvement in plotting there are still some laughably bad ideas such as Don-Wan Kihotay(also spelled Don-Wan Kioti) the Man of La Mancha Jedi ripoff.

There is continual improvement though and we eventually get to see some nice, plausible adventures of what may have happened to our heroes after the destruction of the Death Star. Chewbacca though never really looks much like Chewbacca.

Book Description

Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... features classic Star Wars stories not seen in over twenty years! Originally printed by Marvel Comics, these stories have been re-colored using today's computer technology, giving "old" work a fresh face. Volume 2 collects issues of the original Marvel run and contains such riveting classics as "Crucible" and the unforgettable "What Ever Happened to Jabba the Hut?"

Customer Reviews:

Marvels Ignorance and You.......2006-09-10

Like the name of the review suggests dont let Marvels ignorance of Star Wars hinder your purchase of this item. Based on what we know now of Star Wars the stories in this volume will seem kind of strange and a tad weak. Truthfully there are a quite a few really good stories in this volume, including the Clone Wars Obi-Wan story that is included. Its pretty cool to read a story made in '78 about events that we finally saw and read about today (The Clone Wars).
Another great story but very strange is the introduction of Jabba the HuT (yes one T) For any Star Wars fan it should be interesting how Jabba the Hutt had evolved to the slug we see in ROTJ. In this one he is anyting but what we expected hes a Humanoid with tusks. Hes rich and he even has underlings that do his dirty buisness and its kind of cool to see him in such a light.

This is a must read collection for any true Star Wars fan

Classic Marvel Star Wars.......2004-02-03

I read the first volume in this series, "Doomworld," and enjoyed it, but thought it was a bit corny and too cartoonish in places. I was surprised and pleased that the comics got much better with time.

A good portion of this set of 19 comics revolves around the Tagge family, who generally opposes Darth Vader, but also opposes the rebellion. Baron Tagge even hopes to supplant Darth Vader himself, though we know where such schemes end. In "Doom Mission," we find Baron Tagge has created a space station within the stormy atmosphere of the gas giant Yavin where Tie fighters launch attacks against the rebel base on the fourth moon. This story is quite creative with how Baron Tagge created the space station, how it was discovered and how it was eventually attacked.

There are quite a few creative moments in the various stories. In a series of three stories, "The Jawa Express," "Saber Clash," and "Thunder in the Stars," we see the Tagge family test and implement an interesting device that freezes anything between implanted towers. The Tagge family uses this device as a weapon against rebel forces.

In one of the most creative stories, "Riders in the Void," we find Luke and Leia have jumped into the void between galaxies. In one of the emptiest places in the universe Luke and Leia discover a unique, organic space ship with only one inhabitant, who is marginally insane. The ship and its inhabitant have an interesting and unique history, and there are moments when I wondered how Luke and Leia were going to escape.

Creature creation was similarly unique and better than in the first 20 comics of "Doomworld." In "The Long Hunt/A Duel of Eagles" we meet the winged people of Skye. In "Cavern of the Crawling Death" we learn about stone mites that destroy everything they contact as they eat it.

There are a few departures from the Star Wars universe as we know it today that are forgivable given that the second two Star Wars movies had yet to be released. We see a Jabba the Hut very different from the slug-like creature we came to know and loathe. We also see the continuing romance between Luke and Leia, though we also know that they are brother and sister. Yet, the general tone of the stories fits well within the Star Wars universe, and the astute reader can see some of the substantial creativity yet to come.

If you read "Doomworld" and liked it, you'll find that "Dark Encounters" is substantially better and more interesting. The quality of the stories is still lower than the general caliber of the Dark Horse stories, but some of them are very creative and interesting. For those readers that look back fondly on memories of comics from the 60s and 70s, these are the types of stories that you remember well. Enjoy!

Solid Improvement.......2003-09-20

3.5 stars actually.

The artwork, and the plotting improves dramatically in this second collection of Marvel stories. Unlike most of the first collection, these stories mostly feel like they could take place in the Star Wars universe and are viable adventures that the heroes could have had before The Empire Strikes Back.

Still though, they are not stellar work by any means, merely solid. In retrospect, due to the authors not knowing where George Lucas was going, some of the things you see cause some cognitive dissonance. No fault of the authors, but it is still jarring to see things you know are untrue.

Decent artwork, and stories in a rather large collection make this a worthwhile collection if you'd like to read a sort of slightly altered universe of what the Star Wars characters did between the movies.

Green Rabbits and Cyborg Bounty Hunters..........2002-07-22

I've just ordered the reprint trade paperback reprints of these Marvel books. I remember reading and re-reading all of these "beyond the movie" adventures when I was a kid. It was just such an incredible charge to see what Luke, Han, and company were doing between the movies. Water worlds, gambling satellites, Darth Vader learning the name of the Death Star's destroyer(a nice plot device), the blocky artwork and awkward poses of Carmine Infantino artwork, wondering WHY these adventurers NEVER changed their clothes as they NEVER seemed to make their way back to Yavin Base after their Flash Gordon-esque side-adventures... Oh, and we can't forget that Obi-Wan Jedi story with the droid 68RKO (which were the call letters of a radio station if I'm not mistaken)...They really DID capture the imagination. Hopefully, Dark Horse will get around to publishing a VOLUME 3 because therein lie the BEST Marvel STAR WARS tales. But these first two will take you to a Long Time Ago in a Decade Not Far Away Enough--The Seventies. You'll see the pop-cultural impact of the first wave of STAR WARS mania, in many ways as endearingly cheesy as that Thanksgiving Holiday special. If you remember these, you will LOVE them all over again...if you don't, then prepare to be mightily entertained, whether you like comics, STAR WARS, or pop-culture in general. These books definitely belong on your shelf...

Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 6: Wookiee World

Average customer rating:

Star Wars at its Finest!

Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 6: Wookiee World
Various
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 7: Far, Far Away
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Dark Encounters (Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Book 2)

ASIN: 1569719071

Book Description

The latest volume of Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... features more classic stories not seen for more than twenty years! Originally printed by Marvel Comics (issues 82 to 95), these stories take place after Return of the Jedi, as the heroes establish a base of leadership for their newly freed galaxy. Also: a stranded Leia fights for her life with a native of her destroyed home world...an Imperial trooper! Lando goes to the aid of an old flame and gets caught in a planet's political struggles. Han and Chewie set out on a treasure hunt, but manage to twart an Imperial plot. And much more! Introduction by Dark Horse Star Wars writer and editor Randy Stradley.

Customer Reviews:

Star Wars at its Finest!.......2003-06-20

Terrific grouping of stories, both epic and self-contained, during the period immediately following Return of the Jedi (and Truce at Bakura) which contains some of the best and most exciting Star Wars tales to date.

With Jo Duffy firmly at the helm as writer, the Marvel Star Wars series really hit its stride with these issues. Duffy has an instinctive feel for the Star Wars Universe and especially for its characters whom she handles with expert grace. She also adds a touch of genuine humor, an element present in the films, but oftentimes lacking in Star Wars fiction. Unlike criticisms of The Phantom Menace, however, the humor never collides with the dramatic tension, and in this the author excels, producing some of the more somber and dark tales of the series. In these issues, moreover, there is an onslaught of movement, both the fast action-paced variety and the more internal dramatic ones.

With the dissipation of the Empire, an alien force moves in (precursors to the later Yuuzahn Vong) that is both ruthless and terrifying. The Nagai are the proud and sometimes vicious warriors of a system that itself has suffered the ill-effects of centuries-long war. Drawn in malevolent form by the likes of experts Tom Palmer (one of my all-time favorite SW artists) and then newcomer Cynthia Martin (who's style predates the US invasion of Japanese art), the Nagai are never one-dimensional villains, and along with fan-favorite, Lumiya (a former Rebel plant trained in the Dark Side by Vader himself), dominate these pages with a presence that perfectly fills in the gap left by the Empire.

Also featured here is Randy Stradley's first contribution (issue 86: Last Gift of Alderaan) which is a prequel to his later Crimson Empire series for Dark Horse. This is a moving tale that never fails to elicit resonance. Issue 89 (I'll See You in the Throne Room) by Ann Nocenti is likewise a haunting and evokative tale of betrayal, greed and madness that provides a forgleam of Luke's eventual descent to the Dark Side six years later in Dark Empire. Some times the Bad Guys win... Also, here is the first entry by everyone's favorite Star Wars artist, Jan Duursema in a story called "The Dream", a fantastic conclusion to The Apprentice (in Annual 3) which demonstrates the sad consequences of the abuse of power, and in which we are given a glimpse of the second Dark Lord of the Sith to follow in the wake of Vader's demise (the first being Lumiya) as well as a surprising and touching appearance by Yoda! Great stuff here! The above is just a sampling of the many incredible stories you'll find. There's also a fantastic Lando tale (with his famous and hysterical "Drebble" disguise!), Ewoks at war, Hoojibs, Han, Leia, Chewie on his homeworld of Kashyyyk and much, much more!

Book Description

What is a fossil?

Sometimes it's the imprint of an ancient leaf in a rock. Sometimes it's a woolly mammoth, frozen for thousands of years in the icy ground. Sometimes it's the skeleton of a stegosaurus that has turned to stone.

A fossil is anything that has been preserved, one way or another, that tells about life on Earth. But you can make a fossil, too--something to be discovered a million years from now--and this book will tell you how.

Customer Reviews:

Fossils for Primary Learners.......2006-11-03

My son and I enjoyed this book and used it to add to our study of fossils. The book was easy to understand the artwork was engaging. I recomend this book for primary grades 1-3.

Another hit from Aliki.......2006-02-28

I love the Let's Read and Find Out science series, and Aliki is one of my family's favorite authors, so this book is a real winner for us. Clearly written text and lovely illustrations make for an enjoyable read-aloud for K-2 level students, or an informative read-alone book for older kids or early readers.

A review of the record of fossils for children Ages 5 and up.......2000-01-31

Fossils tell of long ago is a good book for children. Brightly illustrated pictures help them grasp the facts of fossils. It includes a fun experiment, too, along with a clear explanation of how fossils were made. I give this book four stars.

Aliki's blatant attempt at political correctness........1999-11-18

While this book is still a decent introduction to fossils for children, I'm giving it two stars because it is a VERY different book from the original (published in 1972, I believe) that I read and loved as a child. I purchased this version thinking it would be the same as the original (except for the different cover and perhaps some updates to the information therein). Well, I was wrong. ALL of the illustrations have changed (NOT for the better, either, in my opinion). There are now children of every hue pictured, and even a black boy in a wheel chair. How nice. This is what all children's books of the future will look like, apparently. (Classic children's books that don't include pictures of kids from various ethnic groups will need to be re-illustrated.) Aliki, why did you mess with a perfectly good original?

Book Description

This final volume of Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... features classic Star Wars stories previously out of print and hard to find for nearly two decades! Far, Far Away collects issues 96 to 107 of the original series, taking place after the classic Star Wars trilogy, as our beloved Star Wars heroes continue to fight the remaining Imperial Forces and new evils following the Battle of Endor. "Supply and Demand" is a gem of a story, with comics legends Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson whisking Han Solo and co-pilot Nien Nunb off on a mission to a former Imperial prison planet. Jo Duffy and Sal Buscema offer an excellent underwater adventure in "School Spirit!" as Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian return to the water-planet Iskalon and are reunited with old allies.

Customer Reviews:

Final Entry of the Classic Marvel Star Wars Comic Series.......2005-12-20

Excellent final entry covers the end of the Rebellion and the birth of the Alliance of Free Planets (the interim government that soon became the New Republic). But the transition to a new government is hardly a smooth one. Artist Cynthia Martin hits her stride as Jo Duffy gets full swing into the Nagai Invasion and the Alliance's greatest adversary, Lumiya! We are also introduced to an old friend of Han's, a complex character with a mysterious past named Bey, as well as the return of fan favorites Fenn Shysa (the Mandalorean Protector) and Kiro. But the Nagai may only be the tip of the iceberg as a new threat descends into the galaxy to hunt down the Nagai, and anyone else that stands in their way...

For those getting set to read the upcoming LEGACY era books (set in the final Star Wars age), Lumiya's origins are revealed in this volume (as well as in one other) as is her all-consuming hatred for Luke, the Alliance and the Jedi. Before Asajj, before Aurra Sing, there was Lumiya.

As with the previous issues (in volume 6), Duffy knows the importance of comic relief (as a counter to tragedy) in epic storytelling, and its evidenced here by the insectile Hiromi and Leia's four Zeltron bodyguards, precursor to other annoying bodyguards Leia would have in the Nogrhi and the Squibs. These stories capture the feel of Return of the Jedi and the Classic Trilogy in ways that no others have. Not unlike Jude Watson (Jedi Apprentice/Quest series), Duffy knows these characters inside and out, and also understands the dynamics of great space opera. And because she has taken the time to develop them with clever and interesting character arcs, so too do the side characters stand out as memorable additions to the saga: the Zeltron Dani and her bizarre relationship with her former torturer Den; the now sullen and insular Iskalonian Kiro; the jaded and ultra-loyal Nagai Knife.

The only unfortunate aspect to this story's conclusion is the fact that it was not intended to be the conclusion. Marvel sales of Star Wars were still going strong in the mid-eighties, but in 1985 Lucas wasn't sure what direction the franchise would go in, and as a result, Lucasfilm told Marvel to cease production of Star Wars comics. It was thus that Issue 107 was decided to be the final issue, but unfortunately, Jo Duffy wasn't apprised of that until very late in the game. Her story wasn't even close to conclusion, and in fact she had outlined an epic 12-part storyline detailing a fierce battle between the Alliance, Nagai and Tof, the return of Domina Tagge and a few other surprises! Sadly, it wasn't to be, and issue 107 is a less-than-satisfactory denouement as Duffy was forced to discard her plans in order to wrap up all the plot threads that were building towards something much greater into one single issue.

It was a sad time for Star Wars comics fans who deserved better. Star Wars returned in comic book form not long thereafter, but with hardly the same results. Marvel's kiddie line Star introduced both Droids and Ewoks comics to capitalize on the cartoons (and with similar results). Later, Blackthorne 3D got permission to do Star Wars (which they squandered with three subpar issues, one of which would now be considered Infinities). It wasn't until Dark Horse took the reign on the license and produced Dark Empire (initially intended to be released under Marvel's EPIC line) that Star Wars was truly relaunched in comic book form. And while excellent in its own right, the new more mature series released by Dark Horse since still don't quite manage the nostalgic feel of the old Star Wars under Jo Duffy, Archie Goodwin, David Michelinie and Chris Claremont's hands. In the 1970's and 80's Marvel had caught lightning in a bottle and thankfully in the new millenium Dark Horse has had the wisdom to bring it out from the darkness for new fans to enjoy and old fans to relive again...

For further discussion of the Marvel Star Wars series and a timeline of all Star Wars stories, go to www.starwarstimeline.net.

Far Far away (star wars: along time ago, book 7).......2005-05-17

Very informative a wonderful colloection by dark horse containing stories out of print of nearly 20 years. Along with A long time ago, volume 5 contains the stories of Fenn Shysa menchioned under Boba Fett in the Essential Guide to Characters, also refered to in the dark horse graphic novel: Boba Fett Twin Engines of Destruction.

Average customer rating:

If only I'd read these reviews before I bought this book!
Bad story, bad characters, bad transition
Pass this book
A Sequel That Does Not Quite Make It...
Too choppy and uninteresting for the first 200 pages

On a Long Ago Night
Susan Sizemore
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380804190

Customer Reviews:

If only I'd read these reviews before I bought this book!.......2006-03-03

From the back cover:

He vowed she would marry him...

Years ago, Honoria Pyne was forced to make a devil's bargain with a mysterious rogue. Now one of the ton's greatest heiresses, her world is shattered when the devil comes to claim his prize. Though she longs to scorn James Marbury, her body remembers too well his searing touch, and the seductive whisper of his voice spurs memories of one passion-filled night--when captor became willing captive, and prisoner became glorious accomplice..when he was all she desired.

Once he'd owned Honoria body and soul, but his need for her was so great that he abandoned a lifetime of dreams for the chance to share with her the delights of desire. Now, restored to his rightful place as heir to an English title, James has returned to London to make amends and to marry his untouchable beauty--whether she wants him or not. Only Honoria is no longer his prisoner...and she had sworn to hate him forever.

But some promises are made to be broken.

And my review:

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be this: choppy. If you are person who dislikes head-hopping in a novel, then you'll dislike the way this one was written. But instead of annoying point-of-view switches, you'll find annoying time switches.

I like love stories that have a back story to them, that is, where we are first introduced to the hero and heroine, only to find out that they have a past together. Then the story explores that past, returns to the present and reaches the conclusion.

Not so the case here. Sizemore has decided to tell both stories, the backstory (past) and the present at the same time. Instead of feeling drawn into the book, I was left feeling jerked around and confused. It was hard to keep things straight. Like another reviewer said, I felt like I was trying to read two books at the same time, and neither one was very good. Even if the author had had one chapter the present and the next chapter the past, that would have been fine. Instead, she would write a page of the present, then half a page of the past, then half a page of the present, then two pages of the past, etc, etc throughout almost the entire book. Sound confusing? It was!

Also, I found the heroine annoying and childish. She might as well have been constantly throwing tantrums, the way she acted.

I just wished I'd read the reviews before I bought this from my local used-book store. When a book has this many bad reviews, there's usually a very good reason for it. If you want to read a good love story that involves a captor/captive past between hero and heroine (without the constant jerking around between the two), I suggest "After the Abduction" by Sabrina Jeffries. As for this book, I recommend you skip it.

Bad story, bad characters, bad transition.......2002-11-24

This was the most difficult book to finish due to its past/present jumps. The transitions were too quick and I was confused by what happened in the past and what was going on in the present.

Pass this book.......2002-11-04

I find this book to be dry and boring. It was hard to stay interested when it went back and forth from past to present. It is different, yet the author didn't make good transitions when she went from present to past then back to the present. This book would have been written better and a good tone if the past history was done in prologue and the present afterwards. The book did give a sense of hot and cold relationship between Honoria and James as well as the past and the present. Yet it is hard to believe Honoria's love for James at the end, when throughout the book she couldn't stand him and disliked him.

My advice, buy it used if you have to, it's not worth the full price you pay for it. I couldn't read this book a second time, so not much of a keeper. This is more of a drama/fiction book than romance.

A Sequel That Does Not Quite Make It..........2002-07-23

Having read so many of her delightful other books, I was bored and disappointed with this sequel, which would have been better left unwritten. Part of the problem was the style, choppy going back and forth from a recent past to present. If she had told that story first and then proceeded, it might have been more interesting. Unlike her other novels, this one lacked pace and riveting plot lines. It repetitively focused on the heroine's coldness and desire not to be wed, and her former lover's equal insistence that they would be. Other books are far better, such as Wings of the Storm, After the Storm, etc. Was her editor sleeping?

Too choppy and uninteresting for the first 200 pages.......2001-05-09

I read in other reviews that there were a lot of flashbacks to in this book to 8 years ago. That's something that usually doesn't bother me; it creates suspense and another storyline. Not in this book. The flashbacks did not create an anxiousness to get back to the main storyline, they were just annoying interruptions to a story that was already barely holding my interests. It created a very choppy feeling in the book. I felt like I was reading two separate books and neither one was holding my attention well.

I persevered and finished the book and by the end the flashbacks felt more natural and the story had finally involved me enough to care what happened both during the flashbacks and when they ended.

Customer Reviews:

a little dated but a classic none the less.......2004-03-11

I like the pictures and its an easy book for children to follow.

Long Ago In France: The Years In Dijon (Destinations)

Average customer rating:

Dijon du Jour
Enjoyable, tantalizing
Excellent Memoir and Writing, but not her best
One of the best from America's 1st literary foodie
A Reader's Feast

Long Ago In France: The Years In Dijon (Destinations)
M.F.K. Fisher
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Two Towns in Provence
The Art of Eating
Poet of the Appetites : The Lives and Loves of M.F.K. Fisher
The Gastronomical Me
How to Cook a Wolf

ASIN: 0671755145

Customer Reviews:

Dijon du Jour.......2006-06-30

With her usual wit and style, MFK Fisher brings the food and atmosphere of Dijon alive. It is a fun book, perfect as an introduction to a way of life that is both foreign and dated. The delights of the table set by an eccentric landlady and shared with a variety of characters from the building, are extravegant. Fisher also draws a picture of the town's restaurants, markets, and life.

A good read.

Enjoyable, tantalizing.......2006-01-04

This is an enjoyable, tantalizing book, with some dull spots in the earlier chapters. It is an account of Fisher's 3 years in Dijon, where she moved in 1929 so that her new husband could pursue a doctorate. She was 20 years old, bright, pretty, charming, in love, and most of all, enthusiastic. The reader gets caught up in all this, so as to overlook the book's serious drawback. Fisher can write very nicely, but you learn much more about her landladies than her husband. Fisher says of her sister Norah, "she TOO speaks always with reserve" (caps mine). The book is written as if you are already acquainted with Fisher, as no doubt many readers are, but for the rest I would recommend, before starting the book, that they look up M.F.K. Fisher in Google and thereby get to the site about Fisher sponsored by Les Dames d'Escoffier International.

Excellent Memoir and Writing, but not her best.......2005-01-25

`Long Ago in France' by premier American food writer M.F.K. Fisher was one of her last autobiographical memoirs of life in France. She may not have invented the `American in Europe' memoir exemplified by Peter Mayle's `My Year in Provence' and Frances Mayes `Under the Tuscan Sun', but she certainly helped define the genre with this work as well as `Map of Another Town', `A Considerable Town', and parts of many of her other autobiographical works such as `The Gastronomical Me'.

The events in this book, covering much of the first three years of Ms. Fisher's life with her first husband, Al Fisher, spent in a private boarding house in Dijon while hubby Fisher was completing his doctoral dissertation at the University in Dijon. The period of this book occupies a scant seven pages in `Poet of the Appetites', the biography of Ms. Fisher by Joan Reardon, yet the original book reveals practically nothing about the life of husband and wife Fisher. It certainly does not give any clue to why they ended up in Dijon, since their original intention was to study at the more prestigious university in Strasbourg.

This is the first complete work of M.F.K. Fisher's I have read and I feel just a little disappointment. The word pictures of living and eating in Dijon are certainly illuminating, but there is practically none of the humor you find in the books from Mayles and Mayes. There is also less of the scintillating writing I have sampled in some of her more famous pieces. By the author's own admission, much of this material is also a reworking of material from earlier published works as much as it is new stuff mined from her journals of this period.

The most obvious omission is a sense of the troubling times in which these events take place. The three years covered in the narrative are from 1929 through 1931, yet there is virtually no mention of the great depression as it affects Dijon, let alone how it affects the writer and her husband. Oddly, the same is true of Fisher's life as described by her biographer. Fisher's father was the editor, publisher, and owner of a small newspaper in California who did much to subsidize the student life of the young Fishers and of Mary Frances through several difficult years between marriages. Yet, there is practically no mention of this in the writings by and about Fisher.

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in Ms. Fisher's life and the influences on her writing, as she is easily, in the twentieth century American culinary world, the Wittgenstein to Julia Child's Einstein. That is the much lesser known theorist of culinary desire matched with the incomparable practitioner of culinary technique, both of whom got their inspiration from the food and cooking of France.

Yet, compared to similar works by probably less talented writers, this book is just a bit flat and dusty, befitting its recollections of events over sixty years before in the author's life. The stories of life are illuminating. The stories of people are a little empty, as all characters other than Mary Frances herself are long gone from the stage.

One of the best from America's 1st literary foodie.......2003-07-24

MFK Fisher holds a special place in the hearts of all `foodie' Americans. She was perhaps the 1st person to see the sense of writing food-based literary books and articles, and of course it's now a genre unto itself. But few have rivaled her beautiful prose, and I recall reading that she once said she considered it a day well-lived if she'd managed to compose one perfect sentence. To consider her just a food writer is to do her an injustice; she is a writer, first and foremost, who happens, sometimes, to write about food.
Long Ago in France is a memoir of her years in Dijon in the 30s, a book full of rich wine, rich ideas, character portraits filled with rich detail. It's about Life, a life filled with joy, experience, food, travel, and memorable people. This book is a paean to a lost era.
Highest recommendation.

A Reader's Feast.......2002-11-16

Between 1929 and 1932, young M.F.K. Fisher (later a famed chef and memoirist) and her husband Al Fisher lived and studied in Dijon, France. Here she discovered the people and the food of Burgundy, and she describes both with warmth, sensuality, and humor (without becoming overly sentimental: "It was there, I now understand, that I started to grow up, to study, to make love, to eat and drink, to be me and not what I was expected to be."

Her writing is crisp and evocative. "He took the apple slices from the bowl one by one, almost faster than we could see, and shook off the wine and laid them in a great, beautiful whorl, from the outside to the center, as perfect as a snail shell. We said not a word. The music trembled in the room." Fisher helps the reader discover the beauty of our appetites. She writes of an old soldier who offers her chocolate: "The chocolate broke at first like gravel into many separate, disagreeable bits...Then they grew soft, and melted voluptuously." Then a doctor offers her bread, admonishing, "Never eat chocolate without bread, young lady!" There is a delicious denouement: "...in two minutes my mouth was full of fresh bread, and melting chocolate, and as we sat gingerly, the three of us, on the frozen hill...we peered shyly and silently at each other and chewed at one of the most satisfying things I have ever eaten..."

Book Description

Dark Horse Comics presents the latest volume of Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... featuring classic Star Wars stories not seen in over twenty years! Originally printed by Marvel Comics, these stories have been re-colored and are sure to please both new and old Star Wars fans. Screams in the Void collects issues 54 to 67 of the original Marvel run, along with Star Wars Annual #2. These stories take place after The Empire Strikes Back, as Han Solo's friends continue to search for their lost scoundrel - and Lando Calrissian joins Luke, Leia, Chewie, and the droids on their continuing, galaxy-spanning adventures. Also highlighted are several tales focusing on Luke Skywalker and such classics as "Coffin in the Clouds," "The Mind Spider," and "Serphidian Eyes." Introduction by Geoff Johns!

Customer Reviews:

Fun stuff!! Simonson and Palmer are the BEST!!!!!.......2004-06-15

This material is beautiful to look at, even if the stories are occasionally a tad weak (often, they are very good too, so don't get me wrong).

Walt Simonson is one of the all-time great comics artists, and this is his most unique work, because he combined with inker-extraordinaire Tom Palmer to virtually redefine the boundaries between "penciller" and "inker" in comics. The result has the amazing energy of Simonson, but the neo-realism of Palmer, and it has never been equalled by another Star Wars art team to this day.

More classic Star Wars. Well-drawn, well-written........2003-04-22

I started picking up the Star Wars comics halfway through its run -- right when this book takes off. Compared to the first issues in the series, the art is quite sophisticated and matches well with the imagery seen in the films. Characterizations are remarkably deep considering the plotters were barred from using situations that would pop up in Return of the Jedi.

My favorite bit deals with a young Rebel woman who looks like she could be Luke's first girlfriend, but is actually much more. I won't spoil the surprise here, but let's just say that Mara Jade wasn't exactly a totally original creation.

Most importantly, these stories are FUN and are a great read for all Star Wars fans young and old. I can't recommend them highly enough.

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