This book seems to fall somewhere in between Feist & Wurts' Empire trilogy and James Clavell's Shogun. It has similar thematic elements to the Empire trilogy and the tone and atmosphere of Clavell's seminal work. Miller seems to have done her homework in researching for this book in that the samurai mentality of medieval Japan is ever present. The attitudes and beliefs of the characters add a note of authenticity (not that I'm an expert, but judging from Clavell's book) to the book.

Yes, the plot is almost exactly the same as Feist and Wurts' series: a young woman must fight for her right to assume her father's throne in a medieval Asian setting dominated by men. However, the story elements differ quite a bit. Miller places more focus on the samurai mentality and code of honor than Feist and Wurts did. She also adds elements such as geishas and their behind the throne movements that only enhances the atmosphere of the book.

Miller's strong point is her characters. While many authors attempts at writing in a medival Japanese world result in many characters becoming interchangeable, this is most definitely not the case here. From Javere, the main character, to her court wizard and military leaders, each has their own personality and quirks. The desert people she mixes in also adds to the diversity of the world that is only hinted at in other places. Her dialogue adds to the mixture. Not only is it realistic and authentic in tone, but it also adds to the strong characterization.

Unlike Clavell's book, however, this is definitely a fantastical story. From the court mage to the dragon warriors, this book is firmly rooted in the genre of fantasy fiction. Miller does not overpower the reader with this, though, which makes these elements much more mysterious and engaging. Not only that, but the characters react to them as if they were not unexpected. By making them seem, not common, but rather expected, they seem that much more believable to the reader.

If you enjoyed Feist and Wurts' Empire trilogy, you will most likely enjoy this standalone book. As it is out of print, however, you may have a bit of a time tracking down a copy. I do wish there was a sequel to it as I would enjoy seeing what has happened to the characters and the ending seemed a bit abrupt.

With this book, Terry Goodkind takes a completely different approach than he has with the rest of the books in the series. The main characters from the previous six books don't even show up until the last 75 pages or so. Not only that, but it does very little to advance the plot that has been developing. Instead, Mr. Goodkind takes us on an exploration of the world he has created through a completely different set of eyes. We are introduced to Jennsen, a young woman who has been almost completely isolated from everything that has been happening in the books. She is learning about the world outside of D'Hara and the events that are occurring for the first time. Through her eyes, the reader gains a different perspective on things, a perspective that relates more to the common person and how these events affect them. We have been used to seeing things through the eyes of the characters in the middle of the war and this outside looks causes us to view things from a completely different angle.

Goodkind's ability to suck the reader in is still as strong as every. As with the previous six books, I found it very difficult to put the book down. The characters he has created to populate this book are greatly varied and all have personalities all their own. As usual, they must suffer through trials and tribulations along their journey and we see how these events change the characters throughout the book. By the end, the main character has evolved into almost a completely different person.

I would imagine that most people who have enjoyed the series so far would enjoy this book as well. I am guessing that a lot of the negative reviews here represent people who have not enjoyed the last few books, but have stuck around either out of morbid curiosity or to see if the series gets any better. If the last few books have not appealed to you, odds are you won't like this one any better. For all of you hardcore Goodkind fans out there, this book will most definitely please. Just don't expect to see much of Richard, Kahlan, Zedd, or Adie.

While this may not be the most unique story idea (something kills of every male animal on the planet except one man and his male monkey), Vaughan's handling of the story is exceptionally well done. His characterizations are vivid and each has their own voice, making it easy to remember who is who from issue to issue (rather than waiting for this trade paperback, I bought all of the monthly issues individually as they came out). Vaughan also throws in some very interesting story concepts: women who used to be models now trying to find meaning in their lives, a new tribe of Amazonians, and a doctor who was about to give birth to a clone of herself thinking that it's all her fault.

Pia Guerra's artwork, while not outstanding, is very solid. She very capably imbues each character with their own individuality. She is able to convey emotions very well and her designs for this post-apocalyptic world are subtle (i.e., the world is still recognizable, but it is very evident that things have changed).

This title was a sleeper hit for Vertigo with the first two issues selling out quickly and prices jumping quickly. I assume that if you are here, you're at least mildy interested in this title. Do yourself a favor and pick it up. You will not be disappointed.

As the trilogy progressed, Rabe's writing just got better and better. It went from being awkward and stilted in the first book to very smooth flowing in this last book. It actually felt like a true Dragonlance book and made for some very enjoyable reading. Yes, some of the characters needed to be fleshed out more and they seemed to get mortally wounded and overcome unbeatable odds more than they should have, but those seemed like minor things.

The last half of the book seemed like fight scene after fight scene with minimal rest in between. Rabe has a knack for writing suspenseful battles, despite the fact that they can be a little unbelievable at times (5 people taking on 3 dozen Knights of Takhisis and winning). Her handling of the dragons and the intrigue among them in this book was very well done. I especially enjoyed the introduction of the shadow dragon. There was also an interesting exploration of the undersea kingdome of the sea elves, Dimernesti.

The conclusion, however, seemed a little flat. It seems as if the author wanted to set up another book, be it one of hers or some other author's in the Dragonlance saga. Maybe it continues almost directly into Weis & Hickman's War of Souls or into her own Dhamon Saga. Guess I'll find out when I get to those books.

My only complaint was the need for some serious proofreading. Typos, missing words, incorrect words ("to" instead of "too"), and missing punctuation got to be really excessive. I was surprised at how bad it was. There were pages where I found three or four of these. Of course, this was the previous edition that I read, so maybe they fixed these in this new release.

All in all, a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Even if you hated the first book, I think you'll like this one (just make sure you read the second installment as well).

The first thing I noticed in this book was Rabe's heavy handed way of recapping the previous book. Presumably, readers will know that this is the second book in a trilogy and will have read the first book. This being the case, Rabe goes into way too much detail in her recounting of what occurred previously. And it wasn't done subtly, either. Authors such as Jordan and Goodkind have taken this type of thing and elevated it to an art. Unfortunately, Ms. Rabe doesn't take that approach here and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Fortunately, by the time we get to around page 100, it seems that Rabe has finally found her voice. The clunky prose and awkward dialogue that plagued the first book have almost completely disappeared by the end of this one. Her narration becomes much more smooth and her characters speak like actual people. Most of the time. There are still a few rough spots to be navigated, but the improvement is definitely noticeable.

The story itself is very engaging as well. The trials and tribulations of the characters and how they deal with them made me want to keep reading. I wanted to see how everything was going to end up. There is a twist or two at the end that I wasn't expecting and those made me want to immediately pick up the third book and start reading. Rabe is able to accomplish, in the last half of the book, what she wasn't able to do in the first book and a half: get me to care about the characters. Not up to the level of Weis and Hickman, but enough that I began rooting for them rather than just following along.

Readers disappointed in the first book in the series have something to look forward to here. Rabe's writing improves immensely, which makes for a much more enjoyable book. Since this is a pivotal storyline in the new Fifth Age and should be read before moving onto Weis & Hickman's War of Souls trilogy, this is important for all Dragonlance fans. If she continues her improvement, the world of Ansalon will have a great new voice to add to the chronicles of the land and its characters.

I think some people are having a knee jerk reaction to this book's sub-par quality. After having been treated to the near brilliance of Weis and Hickman for so many years, many readers are upset that this direct continuation of the storyline had such a drop in quality. The story is still enjoyable, but it is not presented in as eloquent a fashion as was the case in previous books.

Now, I don't know if Ms. Rabe has written any books before this, but it seems like a first book. A lot of the dialogue is awkward and there are places where the prose is very stilted. These kinds of shortcomings, however, do not call for one star or even two. I've read books that were much worse. Books with no plot, impenetrable prose, and even dialogue that sounded like the two people were having different conversations with each other at the same time. Essentially what I am saying is that, while the presentation of the story was lacking, it is still enjoyable, especially for Dragonlance fans.

This book continues the story where it left off at the end of Dragons of Summer Flame. We see old friends and meet new characters. The beginning of the book then skims over the next twenty years as the land changes with the withdrawal of the gods. I hope that there are other books in the series that flesh this period of time out, but it's not really necessary for the story that Ms. Rabe is telling here. And as far as the reviewers who complained about kenders and dwarves not behaving as they should, don't they think that different members of those races will have completely different personalities? I know humans do.

Anyway, if you're a fan of the Dragonlance saga, this is a must read for the continuing story. From what I have heard, if you jump straight to Weis & Hickman's War of Souls trilogy, you'll be missing out on a lot. Just don't go into this book expecting the same level of writing as those two and you should be okay.

First off, let me say that this is the first novel I've read by David Gemmell. I must say that I was very impressed. His writing style grabbed my attention on the very first page. I felt as if I was actually in the room! And it only got better after that: engaging characters, great pacing, and brilliantly written action scenes. What more could a fantasy fan want?

Gemmell's characters may not be as developed as those of other authors, but they are vivid just the same. Each one was unique and Gemmell cuts to the heart of their motivations with well written interior monologue and interaction with other characters. They may not be the most three dimensional, realistic, or completely believable characters, but Gemmell puts them out there with such well written passages, it's hard not to like (or hate) them.

Gemmell's pacing is another thing I really liked. This wasn't one of those involved, complex novels like Jordan or Martin write. This was a straightforward, light reading book with the appropriate pacing. In the first couple of pages, we already have a general foreboding of what is to come. After that, Gemmell introduces the main characters in short order and gets them on their way with a minimum of pointless wandering.

And then we get to his battle scenes. Take Salvatore's one on one swordfights and extrapolate that to a battle involving thousands and you'll get the general idea. Sometimes when an author writes a fight scene, they stretch it out with such description that it loses all of its tension and excitement. Gemmell manages to write such scenes with just enough description so that you can tell what's happening, but not so much that you don't feel involved. I hardly breathed for the last fifty pages.

Due to this book, I will now be buying more of Gemmell's books. He is a very enjoyable author (at least, judging by this book) and I can't wait to get to the rest of his stuff. If you're into gritty military fantasy with lots of brutal action, you'll enjoy this immensely.

This book gave me a seemingly thorough overview of the history of Thailand. From the early centuries AD up through 1982, we see how the various countries of southeast Asia interacted with one another in defining their boundaries today. The author gives a good look at how the royalty and wars of the area shaped the peninsula as it currently stands.

There are shortcomings to the book, though, that seriously detracted from it. My biggest complaint is the fact that there aren't enough maps. For example, there is a map that illustrates the area in the mid 1500s, but there isn't another one until the mid 1700s. Boundaries have changed, new cities are referred to, but the reader has no idea exactly what things look like. In addition, there are areas and cities referred to in the text that I couldn't find on any of the maps. My other complaint is the fact that the author uses some notations and terms that are never explained to the reader. I found some of these things confusing and they were never really cleared up to my satisfaction.

If you are looking for a general overview of the history of this area of the world with a focus on Thailand, then this is a very decent book with which to start. If you're looking for something that goes into a lot of detail, this book may let you down.

This series turned out to be a disappointment to me. This could be due to the fact that I was going into the series with a certain set of expectations and the books turned out to be focused in a different direction. I was expecting epic medieval fantasy: lots of battles, strong characters, and fast paced action. These are the reasons that I read more fantasy than I do sci-fi. A lot of sci-fi tends to lean on heavy character development and fleshing out ideas and concepts. In essence, this series of books could be classified as "medieval sci-fi." The last half of the series was mostly excruciatingly slow with nothing really happening for hundreds of pages. There were a couple of action scenes in there, especially at the ends of the books, but the rest of the time, the characters didn't seem to be accomplishing anything. This lack of action is what ultimately lessened my enjoyment of the books.

As in the previous three books, however, Gentle gives us strong, vivid characters and realistic surroundings. I actually felt as if I was trapped within the frozen city. Her descriptions are subtle, but effective and her characters interact with one another and react to their surroundings just as you or I would. The only thing that kept me turning the pages was a desire to see what the characters would do next (hoping all the while that they would actually DO something).

The ending of this final book in the series seemed strange to me as well. It is sort of an epilogue to both the story of Ash and the story of the historians of the wrapper story. The last twenty or so pages seemed kind of tacky. They seemed to weaken the overall story and I could definitely have done without them. I will say, though, that the ideas espoused in the wrapper story are some of the most unique story ideas that I've seen in a long time.

If what I've described sounds like something you'd enjoy, then you probably will. It's hard not to like the characters and Gentle's handling of them. You want to see them succeed and you feel for them when they don't. However, if you're looking for a fantasy book about mercenaries that's heavy on action, I'd have to recommend either Elizabeth Moon's DEED OF PAKSENARRION trilogy or Mercedes Lackey's BY THE SWORD. Though not as sophisticated as this series, the action is a lot more rousing and there are fewer slow places.

I was worried something like this might happen. Book 2 in the series (CARTHAGE ASCENDANT) seemed quite slow throughout its middle portions and I was worried that, with Dijon under siege, we would get bogged down in strategy meetings, political maneuvering, and, basically, waiting for something to happen. It turns out, I was unfortunately correct. My main problem here is that nothing really happens in the book until the last 50 pages or so. The amount of plot advancement that took place in this book could probably have been covered in 100 pages. The main characters simply sit in the city, trying to figure out how to get out of their predicament. They never actually DO anything. Endless meetings, discussions, and staring out at the enemy and their uncountable legions and siege engines. I was going stir crazy just reading about it.

The one thing that rescued this book from being terribly boring was Gentle's writing. Vivid characters, brilliant dialogue and interaction, and description that makes everything seem real absorb the reader into the story. As in the first two books, Gentle's writing makes up for shortcomings in other areas. Unfortunately, there was just too great a lack of action to make up for here.

Additionally, the reader gets answers to some of the questions created in the first two books in the series. How did Ash survive the culling as an infant in Carthage? What makes Burgundy so vital to the Wild Machines' plans? What's been happening in Dijon while Ash and half the troop were in Carthage? Plus, the ongoing mystery that's been unfolding in the wrapper story of the historian gets more compelling as well.

Overall, I'd have to say I was disappointed with this book, but it did have some redeeming qualities. Plus, it was an important part in the overall story, despite the fact that it dragged on longer than it really should have.