Product Description
This Choose Your Own Adventure 6-Book Boxed Set includes the following storied titles from the classic, interactive, children's series: The Abominable Snowman * Journey Under the Sea * Space and Beyond * The Lost Jewels of Nabooti * Mystery of the Maya * House of Danger.
Customer Reviews:
Choose Your Own Adventure.......2007-09-10
These books are fantastic - I have fond memories of them from my childhood. As a school teacher, they are a wonderful read aloud. I let the children vote everytime there is a choice. They think they're great!
Great reading for people of all ages.......2007-09-03
We have read Choose Your Own Adventure 1-6, and our 7 year old son, my husband & I were glued to every book. The books are well written, interesting & intriguing. Not too scary but gripping. We highly reccomend these books to everyone. They can be read & reread, a real plus.
NOT the original books.......2007-04-20
My children have been enjoying some of my old Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80's, so when I saw this rerelease of several classic books for such a reasonable price, I bought it for them. Well, apparently R.A. Montgomery wasn't able to get the rights on the original illustrations, so he had a bunch of freelance designers from Thailand draw replacement pictures for each of them, and they are AWFUL. Not just 'different,' but shockingly, unignorably BAD -- they look like cartoons drawn carelessly by teenagers, with no sense of proportion, anatomy, lighting, or anything else. The drawings in "Mystery of the Maya" are not bad but most of the others are so terrible they render the books unreadable. Leaving them unillustrated would have been better than this. Find used copies of the originals (most of which are for sale cheap on Amazon) or just pick something else to read.
Paths Too Short.......2007-03-30
You make one or two choices and the book is over. They should only have a few endings and make each path longer.
My 9-year-old LOVES these.......2007-01-10
We bought these books for our son because we remembered how much we loved them at his age. They are much quicker reads than I remember, but he loves them, so they get 5 stars. One book takes him less than 45 minutes to get through. He hasn't gotten to the stage where he goes back and makes different choices yet, but I'm sure he'll become even more fond of them then.
Amazon.com
In 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik and the ensuing space race. Three years later, Gene Kranz left his aircraft testing job to join NASA and champion the American cause. What he found was an embryonic department run by whiz kids (such as himself), sharp engineers and technicians who had to create the Mercury mission rules and procedure from the ground up. As he says, "Since there were no books written on the actual methodology of space flight, we had to write them as we went along."
Kranz was part of the mission control team that, in January 1961, launched a chimpanzee into space and successfully retrieved him, and made Alan Shepard the first American in space in May 1961. Just two months later they launched Gus Grissom for a space orbit, John Glenn orbited Earth three times in February 1962, and in May of 1963 Gordon Cooper completed the final Project Mercury launch with 22 Earth orbits. And through them all, and the many Apollo missions that followed, Gene Kranz was one of the integral inside men--one of those who bore the responsibility for the Apollo 1 tragedy, and the leader of the "tiger team" that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts.
Moviegoers know Gene Kranz through Ed Harris's Oscar-nominated portrayal of him in Apollo 13, but Kranz provides a more detailed insider's perspective in his book Failure Is Not an Option. You see NASA through his eyes, from its primitive days when he first joined up, through the 1993 shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, his last mission control project. His memoir, however, is not high literature. Kranz has many accomplishments and honors to his credit, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but this is his first book, and he's not a polished author. There are, perhaps, more behind-the-scenes details and more paragraphs devoted to what Cape Canaveral looked like than the general public demands. If, however, you have a long-standing fascination with aeronautics, if you watched Apollo 13 and wanted more, Failure Is Not an Option will fill the bill. --Stephanie Gold
Book Description
Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America's manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA's Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He participated in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission, and beyond. He endured the disastrous first years when rockets blew up and the United States seemed to fall further behind the Soviet Union in the space race. He helped to launch Alan Shepard and John Glenn, then assumed the flight director's role in the Gemini program, which he guided to fruition. With his teammates, he accepted the challenge to carry out President John F. Kennedy's commitment to land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s.
Kranz was flight director for both Apollo 11, the mission in which Neil Armstrong fulfilled President Kennedy's pledge, and Apollo 13. He headed the Tiger Team that had to figure out how to bring the three Apollo 13 astronauts safely back to Earth. (In the film Apollo 13, Kranz was played by the actor Ed Harris, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance.)
In Failure Is Not an Option, Gene Kranz recounts these thrilling historic events and offers new information about the famous flights. What appeared as nearly flawless missions to the Moon were, in fact, a series of hair-raising near misses. When the space technology failed, as it sometimes did, the controllers' only recourse was to rely on their skills and those of their teammates. Kranz takes us inside Mission Control and introduces us to some of the whiz kids -- still in their twenties, only a few years out of college -- who had to figure it all out as they went along, creating a great and daring enterprise. He reveals behind-the-scenes details to demonstrate the leadership, discipline, trust, and teamwork that made the space program a success.
Finally, Kranz reflects on what has happened to the space program and offers his own bold suggestions about what we ought to be doing in space now.
This is a fascinating firsthand account written by a veteran mission controller of one of America's greatest achievements.
Download Description
Perhaps best known through Ed Harris's Oscar-nominated portrayal in the film Apollo 13, Gene Kranz was a NASA flight controller throughout the entire manned space program. Kranz witnessed everything from Alan Shepard's and John Glenn's early flights in the Mercury program through the triumph of Neil Armstrong's giant leap for mankind in Apollo 11 and the near-disaster of Apollo 13. Kranz headed the "tiger team" that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts, and he provides new details about the urgent and successful improvising that brought the crew safely back to Earth.
Failure Is Not an Option is a thrilling insider's account of Mission Control from the early years of trying to catch the Russians to the end of the manned space program. It is filled with behind-the-scenes stories, including the painful self-examination that took place following the Apollo 1 disaster and the daring decision to schedule an Apollo flight to the moon before NASA had ever launched a manned rocket beyond earth orbit. Kranz's stories about the dedication and resourcefulness of the astronaut corps and Mission Control teams show how an organization dominated by young people only in their twenties could succeed in one of the boldest missions in human history, placing a man on the moon in less than a decade.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring reading for technical leaders of all kinds.......2007-08-15
While I confess to being a lifelong space buff, this book is the first of many memoirs I have had the pleasure of reading from the actual men and women who participated in one of the greatest adventures in human history. I read it nonstop from the moment I brought it home, and have reread many sections of it numerous times. I believe it is a useful historical record of the golden era of the space program, but also holds many lessons for those who find themselves in formal or de facto positions of technical leadership in all types of organizations - churches, consulting firms, technical contractors, manufacturers, and probably many others with which I am not personally familiar. Thank you Mr. Kranz for all you have shared!
a fist hand report of the early NASA years.......2007-06-30
I highly recommend this book to all the poor men who already believe today that APOLLO is a whole fake
KRANZ tell the truth it is obvious when you read him
The best way to learn about spaceflight is through this book.......2007-05-17
Failure is not an Option
The first time I heard this sentence is when I saw the movie Apollo 13 (Tom Hanks), when I was only 7 years old. I then read the book only when I was 11 years old. Gene Kranz is a great writer as well as a great Flight Director.
The book explains about everything from Mercury, through Gemini, to Apollo in great detail. The book taught me a lot of stuff that I did not know such as that Gemini 7 was before Gemini 6A. The book explains why did it happen and how. It will also explains what they were going to do about it.
The book has 21 pictures and 397 pages of knowledge. I recommend it for everybody
Failure Is Not An Option..........2007-03-15
The book arrived within the scheduled delivery time in excellent condition.
Thank you,
Mark & Francine Keehnel
Not a bad book - not a great one either........2007-01-16
"Failure is Not An Option" is not a bad book, but it is not a great one either. Kranz provides certain insight into the role of NASA Flight Directors and the book is interesting to the extent it serves that function. However, Kranz occasionally gives major events fairly short shrift, while writing at length on an array of banal topics which are of limited interest. The reader is often left wanting greater details about events that shaped the space program and less information on subjects such as Kranz's management style or his trademark vests.
Moreover, Kranz's writing style is a little too compact and terse to make this book a consistently engaging read. Kranz uses the word "crisp" in seemingly every other paragraph. His writing style might be described in the same way. Unfortunately, it can make sections of "Failure Is Not An Option" a bit tedious at times.
Lastly, although a small point, Kranz makes no attempt to hide his political bent. The book is replete with praise for Kennedy and obvious (though unarticulated) disdain for Nixon. Kranz speaks with almost boy-like ardor of Kennedy's far-sightedness and vision for the space program despite the fact that many regard Kennedy's interest in space to have arisen solely out of a political desire to beat the Soviets - not for scientific or human advancement as Kranz would have the reader believe. At times, the political commentary proves irritating and distracting and Kranz's idolatry of Kennedy excessive and simplistic.
That said, this book is worth the read for the information it does impart and to supplement other texts on the space program, but it is not as gripping or engaging as "Lost Moon" or a host of others.
Average customer rating:
- good pics
- Beautiful Book
- Breathtaking photos of our Solar System
- Look At the Stars & What Do You See?
- Gorgeous!!! Nothing Comparable.
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Beyond: Visions Of The Interplanetary Probes
Michael Benson
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
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Magnificent Universe
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Orbit: NASA Astronauts Photograph the Earth
ASIN: 0810945312 |
Book Description
"These images are a spectacular reaffirmation that we are privileged to live in the greatest age of exploration the world has ever known."-From Arthur C. Clarke's foreword
Since the 1960s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been sending unmanned satellites to explore the planets, moons, and sun. These probes have amassed a stunning visual record of other worlds, revealing not one but scores of new frontiers, from rust-red Mars to the ethereal rings of Saturn.
Author Michael Benson has spent years compiling and digitally processing the best of these images. In Beyond this "deskbound cosmic pilgrim" (Atlantic Monthly) has pulled together the most spectacular of them into one volume that presents these photographs for the first time as art. The resulting book consists of two parts: the first is a spectacular visual tour of the solar system, with views every bit as compelling as the work of the great landscape photographers on earth; the second is a series of beautifully written essays that explain the story behind these photographs: the history of the probes' journeys, how they work, and why they were built. This book shows us how modern science has revealed the astonishing beauty and mystery of the solar system and its awe-inspiring worlds far beyond any places human beings have ever directly observed.
Customer Reviews:
good pics.......2007-10-02
this has a lot of good pictures in it. It is well worth the purchase if you are looking for a reasonable compilation of planetary images. The one problem is that is does not have any of the Cassini-Huygens images of Saturn. This is extremely unfortunate because the book would have benefited greatly by these images. Other than then that it is mostly pictures without a lot of explanation. So if you have a decent knowledge of the planets or you are in the mood to do some internet research on the things that you see, it is a great book.
Beautiful Book.......2007-05-09
beautiful coffee table book. not the sort of thing you sit and read, but great to have out when guests come over. fantastic images.
Breathtaking photos of our Solar System.......2007-01-05
I am floored every time I open this book of pictures of our Solar System. The images are so amazing and clear. I sometimes wonder that these are actually our neighboring planets.
The main planets themselves are mind-blowing in and of themselves. Io is perhaps the single most jaw dropping moon - a planet in its own right - and evokes so much imagination. Gallisto is also a fascinating moon with its craters coming to life.
Only two regrets with this book. First, the pictures of the moon were not satisfying at all. They didn't portray the moon in any way that is as beautiful as the rest of the solar system. Instead the pictures focus on close up pictures of its surface, which is interesting as well, yet I would have still liked to see whole far off pictures of the moon. And lastly, one of Saturn's moons is mentioned in passing - Titan - as perhaps the most interesting and fascinating of the solar system, and yet it isn't included. Why? Because they didn't want to detract from Saturn and its rings! Including Titan, if it is as fascinating as they are saying, would only add more to Saturn.
Both are trivial and it doesn't in any way change my view of this fantastic collection of pictures of our Solar System. This is a must for all households. A definite recommend.
5 stars.
Look At the Stars & What Do You See?.......2005-10-28
Have you looked up into the night sky or early morning to see the plethora of stars in their stark beauty. On a clear day, it is a spectacular sight, as on this morning's. Mars is getting closer to the Earth, but that is not the sight you will get if you go out and observe the solar system in all its glory.
Near the outer reaches, the second largest planet hovers like a shimmering star with its rings; Saturn is 250,000 miles wide and formed of minute to boulder-size particles held in the gravitational grip of a rapidly spinning central sphere. Jupiter, the largest, has two moons as discovred by the Galileo probe in its fourteen year mission.
Galileo Galilei made telescopic discoveries of the universe; Johannes Kepler used meticulous mathematical charting of the planets; and NASA's 'Spunik' and 'Ranger' spaceflights of the past four decades shows the beauty of the spheres as they appear "suspended in space like weightless jewels." Venus is out nearest and Mars the other next-door neighbor. The 'Mariner 9' probe showed the vastness of the "grandest canyon in the entire solar system and as wide as the continental United States." Venus is the brightest planet we can see from Earth.
Mercury speed around the Sun every 88 days faster than any other planet. It is forty percent larger and far denser than our Moon. It has an overall magnetic field and an iron core, like Earth. Jupiter and Neptune have also been closely obsrved by NASA's 'Voyager 2.' Jupiter is the largest planet with fourteen moons; no, make that sixty-one, according to the 'Voyager 1' probe.
Once upon a time, some years ago, I gave a tour of the Solar System to a literary group. Being a new member, I had stuck with travel books until I got a firm footing and learned what the others were reviewing. So, I began, "Today I will take you on a tour, but not like one you've ever been on before -- we will soar out into the sky and view the Universe as man knows it today." Much has been discovered since then, as the photographs Michael Benson uses in this book show in detail. He confesses that he retrieved most from NASA's Planetary Photojournal web site. They are "out-of-this-world" in every aspect.
Gorgeous!!! Nothing Comparable........2005-07-11
This book is really a space buff's wet dream. I mean, there is not a single book on the market, anywhere, that has such gorgeous, exquisite and detailed pictures of the planets and moons of our solar system as this book has (made by Voyager, Galileo, Maggelan and the like). You just won't believe your eyes. And the essays of Benson (and those of Arthur C. Clarke and Lawrence Weschler) are also splendid, one by one. Convince yourself and surf to the website of Kinetikon Pictures to behold some of the photographs offered in this book and to read some of the essays (and even more). Robotic planetary photography made into (abstract expressionist and impressioinst) art, that is what Beyond is all about. Buy this hefty beast of a book before it is sold out.
Book Description
Getting Beyond "I Like the Book": Creating Space for Critical Literacy in K-6 Classrooms
Vivian Vasquez, with Michael R. Muise, Susan C. Adamson, Lee Heffernan, David Chiola-Nakai, and Janice Shear
Discover the potential of children's literature as a tool to teach critical literacy in K-6 classrooms. This book tells the story of eight teachers who work in a variety of schools serving diverse populations. These educators used critical literacy discourse to frame classroom conversations about children's literature, prompting students to critically examine the meaning of the texts they read. By putting this critical edge on children's talk about books, the teachers enabled students to examine and act on social issues that emerged from their conversations. The book shows critical literacy in action through many classroom vignettes and offers a variety of other resources that are the hallmarks of the Kids InSight series, including Reflection Points, examples of students' work, annotated booklists, and information boxes.
©2003 | 120 pp | ISBN: 0-87207-512-5 | 512-553 | Elementary
IRA Book Club selection 05/03
Customer Reviews:
Vasquez does it again!.......2007-02-24
Another great easy to read book by Vivian Vasquez that explores her (and others) applications of critical literacy concepts with young children. She offers a good outline of the Freebody and Luke Four Resource Model on pages 14 and 15. She also explains critical literacy as a mixture of Whole Language and Critical Pedagogy. A great example is the activity that evolved from a Royal Mounties poster that had only men. Fantastic!
Book Description
Tired of being a slave to that green carpet in your yard? Enjoy gardening but don't have much space to work with? Love the idea of a water-saving, pesticide-free, natural-looking yard that also happens to look great?
This refreshing book offers a wealth of ideas for nontraditional outdoor spaces that are as beautiful as they are low-maintenance. Written by veteran landscape designer Keith Davitt, this guide shows how to banish cutting, watering, and weed worries forever by creating lovely outdoor spaces that replace the traditional grass lawn with rock walls, sculptures, native grasses, mosses, wildflowers, and more.
Davitt guides readers through making design choices that suit their unique needs, such as determining which plants will thrive in particular climates and soil conditions. Filled with easy-to-follow tips and techniques, illustrative photos, and color renderings of design plans for outdoor spaces, this is a comprehensive guide to simply beautiful alternative gardens
Keith Davitt has been designing, building, photographing, and writing about gardens around the globe for 20 years. He recently won the Herald Award for Excellence in Garden Communication, and his gardens and articles have appeared in numerous gardening magazines. He is also the author of Small Spaces, Beautiful Gardens (Rockport, 2001). He lives in New York City.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!.......2004-11-25
This is a great book for the gardener with little space. All of the gardens featured are pretty small by suburban standards. But none the less, the gardens and designs Keith Davitt covers are spectacular.
You will discover how to get rid of that same old boring lawn that everyone else has on the block. Davitt takes you through creating your very own unique garden with stone, brick, gravel, water and lots more. He covers why it works for the owner and the space given. It gives valuable insights for the gardener planning a new space.
Crafting a unique, personal, and relaxing atmosphere.......2003-10-10
Written by gardening expert Keith Davitt (winner of the Herald Award for Excellence in Garden Communication), Beyond The Lawn: Unique Outdoor Spaces For Modern Living is a simply beautiful and exceptionally "user friendly" sourcebook of ideas for creating harmony with stone, brick gravel, rock, water, herbs, conifers, planted pots, native and wild plants. Lavishly illustrated with full-color photography, Beyond The Lawn is a treat to page through and recommended for gardeners everywhere looking to add a bit of originality to the grounds outside their home. Offering a vast panoply of materials for crafting a unique, personal, and relaxing atmosphere, Beyond The Lawn is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to professional and personal gardening reference collections.
Many unusual beautiful gardens & good design analysis.......2003-08-08
This book is full of pictures of unusual and beautiful gardens all very different from one another. I especially enjoyed seeing the variety of what is possible. The text focuses mainly on design with discussion on style and analysis of what works and why. Although I think Keith Davitt's first book "Small Spaces Beautiful Gardens" was a superior book with more information on how each garden was created and before & after pictures, I still highly recommend this book for its many examples and design tips.
Book Description
This book of practical suggestions is aimed at helping educators who are transforming mathematics learning and teaching and who are implementing curricula such as Investigations. Grades K-6
Book Description
He was the third man to walk on the moon. And the first to dance on it.
For Pete Conrad, it was all about the ride. Nicknamed the Comeback Kid, he survived his family's financial hardships, overcame dyslexia, landed a Navy scholarship to Princeton, and became one of the country's elite test pilots. Never the squeaky clean NASA poster boy, he famously bounced himself out of the Mercury Program but came roaring back to fly two Gemini missions, walk on the moon as Commander of Apollo 12, command the first Skylab, and work to develop the first re-usable commercial rocket-logging more time in space than all the original astronauts combined. Based on interviews conducted with Conrad by his wife before his untimely death, Rocketman is the amazing-but-true, surprisingly candid insider's view of the greatest ride in history, America's glorious race to the stars, as seen through the eyes of the real Space Cowboy: Pete Conrad, the Rocketman.
Customer Reviews:
Enormously Dissapointing.......2007-06-30
Pete Conrad had a fairly colorful style about him, part cowboy - part engineer - full time iconoclast. However, these traits do not come thru in this book. The writing does not convey the dynamics of the man, so ultimately it becomes little more than a 'just the facts' biography.
While I doubt any astronaut book came come close to capturing the human story of space Michael Collins' "Carrying The Fire", this book had a chance since it focused upon one of the truly unique characters in the space program. So am immensely dissapointed at the final product.
Factual errors.......2007-03-28
I enjoy reading about this time in American History and consider myself a student of the early space program. In that regard, in a brief perusal of the book, I have already noticed some factual errors that should have been caught by the editor or by Mr. Klausner. First, in the picture section, it shows a picture of Pete on the ladder about to board an F4 Phantom, yet the label says that he is posing in front of a T-38. Another error is related to the issue with "Max Peck". Max Peck was the Mgr of the Rice Hotel in 1962. After the 2nd group of astronauts was chosen, including, Frank Borman, Pete Conrad, Jim Lovell, Ed White and Neil Armstrong they were asked to check in under the Mgr's name to avoid their names reaching the press prior to their formal introduction. However, this book states that this happened back in 1959 when the first 32 candidates for the Mercury program checked into a a non-disclosed hotel in Washington. Not only is that fact wrong, but they didn't check into a hotel in 1959 for that first meeting but the Dolly Madison house in Washington.
Rocketman: Astronaut Pete Conrad's Incredible Ride To The Moon And Beyond.......2007-03-15
The book arrived within the scheduled delivery time in excellent condition.
Thank you,
Mark & Francine Keehnel
Great guy, deserves a better book.......2007-01-05
I've read way too many space books, so I love the subject matter, but the style of this one was too breezy, lacking in important detail. Each chapter is about 12 words long, so you get the impression this was either rushed through or intended for young adults. I learned little about the man, whom I wholly admire. Did he alienate anybody? Were there any character flaws? Also, I was looking to learn more of an insider's view of Gemini and Apollo, but it was all very superficial, heard-it-before material. I'd read a bit about Conrad, like his attempt to smuggle onto the moon a huge cowboy hat to fit over his space helmet, or his attempt at trick photography on the lunar surface, hoping to befuddle the photo analysts later. Neither of these gems were in the book. He's a great guy, a pilot's pilot, a problem-solving magician with a live-for-the-moment spirit. But the book is really junk food, even for a space nut like myself. Sorry, Pete. They done ya wrong.
Good read!.......2006-11-10
I've read a number of books written by astronauts and this one ranks near the top. While I enjoyed the humor and frankness of Mike Mulane's "Riding Rockets" better, this book by Nancy Conrad tells a great story. If you want to know the story of one of the 12 people to step foot on the moon, this is a great read. Thanks to Mrs. Conrad for sharing.
Average customer rating:
- I'm Enjoying it.
- Just as wonderful as the first book in this series, StarDoc!
- The mindlessly pleasant journey with Dr. Grey Veil continues
- A masterpiece? No. Good? Yes.
- Did I mention that you should BUY this book!
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Beyond Varallan (Stardoc II)
S. L. Viehl
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Rebel Ice: A Stardoc Novel (Stardoc)
ASIN: 0451457935
Release Date: 2000-07-10 |
Book Description
Dr. Cherijo is living the perfect life-if you think that finding out you're a clone, then being declared "non-sentient" by your father/creator is your idea of perfect.
Things could be worse. But when the Human League comes after her, with bounty hunters of every race trying to bring her in, Cherijo figures it can't get any worse...
Until someone begins stalking her dreams.
Praise for StarDoc:
"[I] just loved it. Don't miss this one."-Catherine Coulter
"Continuously surprising... deviously written...and splendidly full of new characters."--Anne McCaffrey
2nd in the StarDoc
Customer Reviews:
I'm Enjoying it........2004-02-29
I don't often get the opportunity to read good science fiction, where the characters are well-developed, consistent, and evolving. It is additionally interesting to now follow the main character out of a planet-bound environment and on to a starship- from a Deep Space 9 environment and on to moving Enterprise space ship. It provides more room for the author to develop plot twists and character growth.
I particularly like this series because it focuses on a female- a group that often gets short-shrift in the genre. She is mysterious, powerful in her own right, but also acting and thinking in a feminine manner. This is not simply a book written by a male author where the heroine is female in body only, going out and courageously kicking alien butt, acting and thinking in everyway like a man. It is good to get into her head, as the book is all written from her perspective, as the author considers how this genetically engineered woman might respond to different developments. And this Veihl does very well.
At one point, for a good portion of the book, I started to be disappointed with Veihl. The characters she had so well portrayed in the first book, and in the beginning of the second, seemed to not be following their previous descriptions. They lacked credibility. It seemed that Veihl lost her touch. But stick with it- the explanation is convincing, when it finally comes.
Unfortunately, there is less thematic philosophical development in this book, compared with the series originator. I was hoping for more exploration of the ethical ideas involved in Dr. Grey's decision to clone, and the ramifications of slavery and ownership. Perhaps it is something that will be seen in the next book.
Just as wonderful as the first book in this series, StarDoc!.......2004-02-24
Dr. Cherijo Torin had come to terms with finding out she was a clone of her "father". She learned to adjust to the fact that her Jorenian lifemate, Kao Torin, was dead. She was even doing well as a Healer among her adopted Jorenian race on the ship Sunlace. But the ship had been sabotaged and the Jorenian Warriors were out for blood! The culprit would be found and the right of ClanKill would take place! This meant the guilty one would be disemboweled (while he still breathed) by Jorenian claws. The Jorenians had many different decorations made out of the entails before the body was displayed as a warning to others not to hurt anyone of the Clans! Since Cherijo had been the Chosen of Kao, she was now of Clan Torin. Thus, any harm to her meant death by ALL of the Clans.
Reeves from Kevarzangia Two (book one) returned as well. So he is among the fighting when Dr. Grey Veil and the League (and bounty hunters and merchs, etc) come with weapons blazing!
***** This book is just as WONDERFUL as book one was! It has several surprises and twists to keep the reader off center. I especially recommend it to all the Honor Harrington fans out there! Cherijo's story is a masterpiece and S.L. Viehl will (if not already) become a huge name in Sci-Fi/Fantasy circles! *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
The mindlessly pleasant journey with Dr. Grey Veil continues.......2003-11-05
I am again embarrassed to admit that I chewed this book up in a very short period of time; immediately following the first book in the series. First of all, you need to read StarDoc first in order to capture the mood and intent of this second novel in the series.
I will repeat that this is not great fiction, but one of the most pleasant fictional journeys I have made in awhile. Mostly Sci-Fi, the StarDoc novels surprisingly cross genres in a pleasing way. Space travel, fantastic aliens, medical thriller, murder mystery, romance, and comedy all come together in that rare way seldom achieved to bring us readers this un-mind-cluttering escape from our mundane everyday lives and suck us into the fantastic and unpredictable world of Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil.
Again, read StarDoc first, without it you will be lost.
After being rescued from her predicament on K2 by her adopted HouseClan, Cherijo travels with her HouseClan of Torin on their huge ship called The Sunlace. He is headed towards her betrothed's home plant of Joren, with some stops and surprises along the way. She immediately befriends the Senior Healer on board, and becomes fast friends with the older female. There is a clash with a fellow resident, resulting in a physical confrontation. Her ClanBrother Xonea becomes obsessed with protecting her, and further confrontations with her fellow Terran Duncan Reever are forthcoming. All while the League is still pursuing her, sending mercenaries after her consistently, while there is a betrayer on board that is killing off her Clan members in bizarre and brutal ways.
Cherijo must deal with Xonea's over-protectiveness extending even to the point of his Choosing of her to protect her, the enigma of Duncan Reever, the unresolved mysterious murders, a cacophony of injuries including her own, a hostile co-worker who will eventually become an ally, plus a huge new family when she has never known familial love before.
Light, entertaining, exciting; this is one of those series you will read for the pure unadulterated pleasure of reading. Life doesn't always have to be heavy. Enjoy.
A masterpiece? No. Good? Yes........2003-10-21
Another reviewer said this is a masterpiece and compared it with the Honor Harrington series. Far be it from me to tell another reviewer what to say, but this book is not in the same league as Weber's Harrington series. That's not to say it isn't a good book, because it is. There are very few books to compare to the Harrington series, not being one of them is no shame.
Cherijo is now living aboard the Jorenian ship Sunlace on her way to Joren--her adopted people's homeworld. but her evil father and creator isn't giving up that easy. League warships and mercenary vessels constantly attack the Sunlace trying to retrieve Cherijo, while aboard the ship itself there is a series of murders. Time is running short for Cherijo as she struggles to patch up the injured Jorenians while dodging attempts on her life. She has more than enough to do, but it seems she is the only one who can solve the mystery of who is sabotaging the Sunlace and killing her crew.
A good book, but the series does benefit from reading them in order. Do read Stardoc first.
Mark E. Cooper
Warrior Within (ISBN:0954512200)
Did I mention that you should BUY this book!.......2003-03-15
Dr. Cherijo Torin had come to terms with finding out she was a clone of her "father". She learned to adjust to the fact that her Jorenian lifemate, Kao Torin, was dead. She was even doing well as a Healer among her adopted Jorenian race on the ship Sunlace. But the ship had been sabotaged and the Jorenian Warriors were out for blood! The culprit would be found and the right of ClanKill would take place! This meant the guilty one would be disemboweled (while he still breathed) by Jorenian claws. The Jorenians had many different decorations made out of the entails before the body was displayed as a warning to others not to hurt anyone of the Clans! Since Cherijo had been the Chosen of Kao, she was now of Clan Torin. Thus, any harm to her meant death by ALL of the Clans.
Reeves from Kevarzangia Two (book one) returned as well. So he is among the fighting when Dr. Grey Veil and the League (and bounty hunters and merchs, etc) come with weapons blazing!
***** This book is just as WONDERFUL as book one was! It has several surprises and twists to keep the reader off center. I especially recommend it to all the Honor Harrington fans out there! Cherijo's story is a masterpiece and S.L. Viehl will (if not already) become a huge name in Sci-Fi/Fantasy circles!
Customer Reviews:
Start here!.......2007-09-29
If you are new to choose your own adventure, I recommend starting with
these 4. They are the first in the new series, and are all individual
books. I am pretty sure they are all reprints, and the art is definitely
new, but they are a great place to start as they cover a wide range of
topics. The bottom line is kids will eat these books up, not just because
they are about great topics, with fun art and very well written but
because they get to choose. They get to pick where they go, what they do,
and all they while they are reading. A warning though, buy this box set
and you might have to by the next.
A classic collection returned.......2007-07-10
Choose Your Own Adventure collections have always been a part of the series, and carrying on that tradition is this collection of the first four books in the newly republished series.
If this is your first trip into CYOA, or are a long time fan coming back, this is collection has a lot to offer. The first four are a nice mix of adventure, mystery, and sci-fi and you get a good feel for the writing of author R.A. Montgomery. The stories have been updated for the times, which is to say the "You" character now has cell phones, GPS and the like. The art has also been redone, but continues to be of excellent quality and pertinent to the choices. Those choices, however, are still the same. They are yours.
There are also collection of 5-8 and 8-12. Six book collections are available as well, but if you are looking to get a started in choosing your own adventure, this collection is a great way to start.
Finally, on a personal note, its great to see the series back!
Warning: These are NOT the original books.......2007-04-21
Don't buy this set expecting a reprinting of the original 1978-1982 Choose Your Own Adventure books. The text has been revised, though the revisions are serviceable enough; but what's worse is that all of the illustrations have been replaced with hideously bad cartoons. Words cannot even express how amateurish and badly drawn these cartoons are, with no sense of proportion, anatomy, lighting, or composition; some appear smudged or to have eraser marks on them, and others have no relevance to the text they are accompanying. And since they're on nearly every page, it's impossible to ignore them.
The exception is The Abominable Snowman, where the pictures are of much better quality (though still not exactly compelling--it seems that the illustrators only read the first two sentences of each page before illustrating it, so that an ending in which the protagonist is killed by a tiger is illustrated by a picture of him slapping mosquitos, for example, because that's what he was doing in the first sentence of the passage.)
Buy used copies of the original books, or choose something else to read. "The Abominable Snowman" is the only one of the set I intend to keep.
Book Description
Providing a foundation for space planners and anyone interested in human settlement in the solar system, this book theorizes about the near future, when the heretofore significant steps of humankind—traveling to the moon and building space stations—will be dwarved by new progress. Scholars and scientists raise and answer such questions as Why does space matter to us? What will ordinary life be like in space? and What will our homes be like on Mars or the Moon? This collection of findings by professionals documents important research, laying the bricks for space-faring civilizations and even consults future space-dwellers—kids—for their visions. Working from the assumption that humankind has a biological need to explore and improve the quality of life, the wide variety of contributors successfully argue that space as a future human habitat is not simply possible, but manifest.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointment.......2007-04-24
This is not an example of writing that will get people enthusiastic about space travel. It will put them to sleep first. It appears to have been slapped together by someone with minimal editorial experience. Even the illustrations were amateurish and the copy I received was misprinted.
Beyond Earth: A Worth While Read.......2007-03-17
I'm a real space enthusiast. As an avid reader of sciene fiction and space science fact, I loved this book. The book covers the gambit of subjects and really makes you think about what our future in space can and will bring, if only we can just focus on it. It focuses on age old questions like "can space travel be done?", "why should space travel be done?", and "how should we do space travel?" The book also discussed areas that you would never think about in regards to space, such as space law, space art, and space sociology. In my opinion, this book is well worth it.
A few of our future in space.......2007-01-12
I found the book to be exciting and it will be good for people who have an interest in what's just around the corner. Whole new areas of study like remote viewing, space law, robotics, evolutionary psychology and more. I found the optimism of the human sprit refreshing and exciting.
It is not a book for one sitting, rather it is a book best taken slowly, however the reader can move about the book as their interests dictate as most chapters stand on their own in content.
The authors all have very impressive backgrounds in the fields discussed and show excitement and hope about possibilities. I often wonder how we can let people know the we are on the edge a major revolution in space, that change is coming, and it is being driven by the same hopes and wishes that motivates all explorers past and future. The space race is on and many never heard the gun go off. This book is great for catching up and even getting a picture about what is ahead.
The Science Faction.......2006-08-07
The Science Faction
Reviewer: James A. Wakefield, Jr., Ph.D. (California State
University, Stanislaus)
Stephen Hawkins recently said that we must colonize space in
order to survive. This conviction is shared by all the contributors
to "Beyond Earth: The Future of Humans in Space." Bob Krone, Ph.D.,
Kenneth Cox, Ph.D., and Langdon Morris of The Aerospace Technology
Working Group have compiled and edited a series of readings frankly
designed to make this conviction more prevalent. Although not
argumentative in tone, the book is likely to undermine factions that
(a) react to space exploration by placing higher priorities on other
human endeavors as well as factions that (b) distract from space
exploration by proposing cheaper ventures limited to, say, the Moon--
been there, done that! (With apologies to JFK, we should not be
distracted with calls to "ask not what your country can pretend to do
for you.")
With the word future in the title, the book had to begin by
asserting that "This book is about science, not science fiction."
Indeed, only a few chapters hint at the role of science fiction in
forming children's visions of space, defining the meaning of space,
setting space exploration as a public goal, and sowing inspiration
among the explorers, and the bulk of the book deals with functional
aspects of organizing people and machines to explore space. The
motivation for the book is not so much to provide a handbook for
space exploration as to allow the political "science faction" to
support the goal of space exploration by providing material to answer
both (a) the reaction faction and (b) the distraction faction.
For the reaction faction, important human endeavors that support
(and are supported by) space exploration receive ample coverage in
Beyond Earth. Chapters on leadership, law, governance, cooperation,
ethics, art, music, education, ideology, the "meaning of the
heavens," the soul, and human evolution are featured in the section
on "Human Factors in Space" which comprises roughly half of the
book. The answer is that space exploration "ought" to be done for
our own good, although a delightful child drawing on page 130
recognizes that our ability to explore space does not imply that we
should. "Is" still does not imply "ought."
The distraction faction is answered in about a third of the
book, "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Management for Space,"
with chapters covering resource management, risk taking, commercial
development, and exploration operations. These chapters (as well as
others in the book) take on the hard issues of whether long range
space exploration can be done. The answer, as might have been
guessed, is that it can--and not because it "ought" to be done (that
would be science fiction)--but because the technology "is"
available.
The most important contribution of this book is bringing
together a variety of answers from the science faction in one
source. Those interested in human factors (as is this reviewer) may
have difficulty with some chapters outside this area (as did this
reviewer), and it is likely that readers with different interests
will have difficulty with other chapters. This wide-ranging book, in
its entirety, is clearly not a book for every reader. Various parts
will inform most readers, and as a statement from the "science
faction" (The Aerospace Technology Working Group), it is valuable to
us all.
Books:
- The Bridesmaid Guide: Etiquette, Parties and Being Fabulous
- The Brother: The Untold Story of Atomic Spy David Greenglass and How He Sent His Sister, Ethel Rosenberg, to the Electric Chair
- The Chinese Garden: History, Art and Architecture, Third Edition
- The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House
- The Devil's Advocates: Greatest Closing Arguments in Criminal Law
- The Gregg Reference Manual
- The Hard Questions: 100 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Say "I Do"
- The House Next Door
- The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove
- The Malloreon, Vol. 2 (Books 4 & 5): Sorceress of Darshiva, The Seeress of Kell
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 13
- Gypsies: The Hidden Americans
- Statistics and Chemometrics for Analytical Chemistry
- To Green Angel Tower, Part 1
- Analysis and Performance of Fiber Composites
- Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
- Beating the Devil Out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Families
- Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980
- The Surreal Calder
- I Spy: The Secret Life of a British Agent
Lost on the Amazon/Prisoner of the Ant People/Trouble on Planet Earth/War with the Evil Power Master (Choose Your Own Adventure 9-12) (Box Set 3)
Choose Your Own Adventure - The Abominable Snowman
Mystery of the Maya/House of Danger/Race Forever/Escape (Choose Your Own Adventure 5-8)
Race Forever (Choose Your Own Adventure #7)
Escape (Choose Your Own Adventure #8)
