Customer Reviews

Xena Questward Ho

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I Just finished reading the first two books based on Hercules and Xena. BY THE SWORD by Timothy Boggs was the better of the two. THE EMPTY THRONE by Ru Emerson was not quite as enjoyable.

Having seen Xena rescue the arc of the Covenant, Defend Troy, save Helen and meet Homer, Xena goes to Ithaca and gets involved in the Odyssey (Homer is still a young boy and has never met any of the heroes). Unfortunately it lacked the fun and silliness that runs throughout the series. Although I do like the way Homer was in diapers at the start of the Trojan war. Really.

I had hoped that books based on the series would get better with time (like they did with Star Trek) but there were only a few and now the series has ended. Oh, well. If you really liked the show, you should probably skip this one. Ru Emerson is a talented writer but the nuances of are just not her style.

Ru Emerson knows nothing of Xena's attitude or style and she changes chakram in to her own version of shakra. There were also several spelling or typing errors. Obviously she's too cheap to have anyone proofread her work. It is like that in all of her other books as well. RU EMERSON STOP WRITING ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW A THING ABOUT>

This book is very interesting. I thought it was very well written and that Ru had done a fabulous job with the characters and the story line. The characters especially, they were exactly like they were on the television show. I would recommend this to any die hard Xena fan!!!

This book was excellent! Even though the story didn't really focus on the main characters it still was written in great detail. I think Ru Emerson did a great job on what the story was based on and how she wrote it. I would recommend this to any die hard Xena fan!!!

After reading Emerson's latest installation of Xena books I have to wonder why she didn't call them Gabrielle: Warrior Bard. The book seemed to center entirely around Gabrielle. And if that wasn't enough she hinted at a relationship between Ares and Gabrielle. AS IF!

I have read the other reviews and find them very mixed. In my opinon (unbiased I hope) I think it's an okay book. Joxer gets annoying after a while, but that's why he becomes an interesting character. I also agree that Gabrielle was a little off. Strictly mythology speaking things are modified as they always are. they have to be or their would be no show. The book has a plot, it's original if not particularly full of twistes and turns. I found several spots to be funny and well thought out in conjunction with the show. For example the cherries are mentioned in conjunction with Draco. I also found that Ru is making much better fights than before. She is improving and trying hard.

The book is better than okay. Its worth the dinhars, but it doesn't stand up to in depth nit picking.

You would think that one who carries the screen name XenaBard would at least have a working knowledge of the program about which she writes. Ru, however, makes glaring errors that have continued from the first books she's written. Why the publisher continues to allow her to have a contract is beyond my ken. At least in this book, Argo has returned to her natural state as a mare. But Ru, if you read this, the word is CHAKRAM, not chakrum. The story is lame, character development sorely lacking, and those things that make Xena such a wonderful show are not there. The majority of fan fiction available on the web is better than this book.

I should of known better, but I decided to get this book anyway, my hope being that Ru Emerson would be able to do a better job with a three-book plot line than her earlier books.

I was wrong. Xena and Gabrielle seem to be different people. Joxer seems to be right out of the second season and has not been allowed to show his development at all. Even Draco seemed to be slightly off.

Will somebody ask Ru Emerson to watch the shows or at least talk to somebody on the show?

I found this book marvelous and well-written. The story-line was flowing, and the characters were true to the story. For those who complain that many of the characters mentioned do not show up in the myths and legends of ancient Greece: NEWS FLASH! XENA doesn't appear in any old legends either. And by the way, most of the background characters don't even appear in most legends anyway. I mean, did you ever hear what the prince's name was in Snow White, for gosh sakes, even in the Bible, they never mention any of Noah's or his son's wives, do they? Anyway, back to the story. Xena, Joxer, and Gabriel continue on their quest to find Helen, and beat the other warlords sent to get her as well. Joxer is his usual goofy self, Gabriel is, as always, a little bland, and Xena is the cool, calm warrior. Lots of Mythical Surprises, lots of references, and plenty of plain old fun. By the way, for those of you curious, yes, there is a section of the book with a sea monster. TWO in fact. And, beleive it or not, Joxer's right in the thick of it (surprise, suprise).

I thought this book was very good. It deals with Joxer thinking he's on a mission to save Helen and Xena and Gabrielle are trying to stop him and everything they do doesn't stop him from accepting the mission. I normally am not a Ru Emerson fan but I thought this book was really good and if your a Xena fan you shouldn't be without this book.