This book takes a little while to get started (about 30 pages--not too long), but once it does, wow. What a world! The alternative Victorian England they've created, in which gigantic steam-powered mechanical computers are used by the government in an attempt to control people's lives, is such a thrill to "visit" that I dearly wish they would write another few books in the series. The characters are unusually well drawn, for sci-fi, and the antiquated style of much of the writing and dialogue is lots of fun. Highly recommended.

I bought this book to get an inside view, however fictionalized, on what it's like to be an up and coming band in England. For that purpose, this book is good. In terms of other things you buy novels for... such as characters, dialogue, good writing, etc... it's appalling. The characters are so flat it's really a chore to read.

I'm a practicing astrologer and have published several astrology articles. I still refer to this book regularly and recommend it--and Forrest's other books--to anyone interested in learning about astrology. Aside from his hands-down expertise in astrology, Forrest is a hell of a good writer and an excellent psychologist--what more could you ask for when you're trying to understand how astrological cycles affect real people in real life?

Perhaps a better title for this review would be, "what book were those other reviewers reading"? This book does NOT "lump all goddesses in as one goddess" or impose the Wiccan maiden-mother-crone archetype on Northern beliefs. It specifically SAYS in one chapter that in general Norse goddesses DON'T fit that archetype, although occasionally Norse goddesses are presented in a way that could be seen as related: a daughter-mother-grandmother triad. But (*ahem*) three generations of a single divine line is not the same thing as three faces of the same goddess!!!

OK, that said... I found this book really interesting.

Step aside, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger and so on--this is the voice of America. Classic roots rock and blues, straight from the heart (or the gut). Cub's voice sounds like the voice of a man who's smoked several hundred thousand cigarettes, got run over by a tractor, and thinks he might lose the one woman he loves. What a voice. Powerful stuff. Powerful lyrics. Amazing guitar work too.