Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: Burns and OatesPublication date: 1881Subjects: Religion / Christianity / CatholicReligion / Christian Rituals ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: New York The Catholic Publication SocietyPublication date: 1869Subjects: Middle East -- Description and travelNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
It seemes to mee strange, and a thing much to be marueiled, that the laborer to repose himselfe hasteneth as it were the course of the Sunne: that the Mariner rowes with all force to attayne the porte, and with a ioyfull crye salutes the descryed land: that the traueiler is neuer quiet nor content till he be at the ende of his voyage: and that wee in the meane while tied in this world to a perpetuall taske.
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Product Description
The Crossroads Series explores previously undescribed areas of the Dragonlance world. Dragonlance fans eagerly await detailed information on any area of their favorite fantasy world.

The port town of Flotsam has always been left to handle its own problems, neither asking for nor wanting help from the rest of Krynn. That is, until the young mage Ulin Majere and his traveling companion are summoned there to identify a murder victim. They quickly discover there is more to the rough seaport than just one dead body, including cagey thieves, failing magic, the Knights of Neraka, and a very greedy, very deadly red dragon.
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Customer Reviews (4)

Flotsam, a wrenched hive of scum and villainy
An extremely well written novel by Mary H. Herbert, as always with her dragonlance novels, "Dragon's Bluff" is solid.This time she expands on her forays into the Majere family and Ulin Majere, son of Palin, comes into the spotlight.While not as interesting as his sister Linsha was in "Clandestine Circle", he provides a strong draw for anyone that enjoys the Majere family.

This novel includes just about everything a good DL novel needs.It has mages, thieves, dragons, gnome and kender sidekicks.It even has the cool theme of the story revolving around a card game called Dragon's Bluff.But it just kind of lacked that killer instinct that could have turned it into a truly great novel.Instead, while well written, the plot never really gives you the action you assume you should get.And the ending lacks that large bang you want during the end of a DL novel.

While it was realistic, had a well driven plot, developed characters, and even had the all important dragon as a villain, it just lacked a little "umph".Can't say I didn't like it, but sadly can't rave about it either.

Final Thought: Anyone up for a game of Dragon's Bluff?

a boring series
While the characters were vastly more entertaining than the ones in the previous book & the writer not quite so long-winded, this book was still rather bland & as boring as the rest of the series.

With about 80 novels in the DL series, it's a good thing that not all of them are worth reading a 2nd time(or 1st for that matter)but it still drives me crazy when they so obviously give some of these books a half-hearted attempt.

not bad at all
This book was good. I enjoyed the characters and the setting but nothing was great. The plot was good, well everything was good but not great. I would say it is worth buying if you have nothing else you currently want to read. I was not dissapointed or impressed. Buy it if you feel like it.

It Takes a Thief...
It's been a long time since I've read a DragonLance novel.Probably as the result of overdosing on Weis and Hickman's books.Recently I felt a yen to revisit the world of dragons and kenders and picked up Mary Herbert's "Dragon's Bluff."I'm not sure why I decided to read the third book in a new series, but it turns out to have been a fortuitous choice.

This story starts out with Ulin Majere and his betrothed, Lucy, living in Solace after the destruction of the Academy of Sorcery.With magic failing both are making the transition to mundane lives.Suddenly, their routines are upset when a dwarf appears from far away Flotsam and asks Lucy to journey to that town to identify a corpse - one suspected to be the body of her father, Kethril Torkay.Lucy hasn't seen her father in 10 years and, wants to resolve her ambivalent feelings about the man who deserted her and her mother.She also feels a need to prove herself to Ulin, who is a descendant of the famous Majeres.When the dwarf offers 25% of her father's estate, the temptation proves to great and Lucy and Ulin set off on a hair-raising journey by boat and caravan.

Once arrived in Flotsam, Lucy finds that she hadn't quite been presented with all the facts.The corpse is not Kethril, and it turns out that his 'estate' consists of the stolen treasury of Flotsam.That treasury is desperately needed to pay the town's taxes to the fierce red dragon Fyremantle and his horrific mistress Malystryx.Far from being able to pay Lucy, Flotsam is on the verge of destruction and desperately needs help.On the strength of having magically converted several potatoes into firebombs and thus saving a caravan Lucy is offered the job of sheriff.Lucy and Challis the dwarf attempt to organize the town while Ulin, with the help of Notwen the gnome attempt to track down her errant father and Flotsam's missing taxes.Of course, nothing ever works quite according to plan and the fate of Flotsam is not decided until the last minute.

"Dragon's Bluff" turns out to be a charming story full of suspense and surprises.I am used to heavier fare from the DragonLance series and found myself being happily entertained by the many plot twists and the fascinating residents of one of Krynn's more obscure locations.This is by and large an upbeat story, despite being set in a land ruled by vicious and destructive dragons.It is a grim place to be, but the denizen's of Flotsam are determined to survive.Mary Herbert writes for pure entertainment and there is much to enjoy here.The novels in the Crossroads series are intended to be independent tales, and this tale stands well on it's own, although some understanding of the world of Krynn would be to the reader's advantage. ... Read more

Product Description
Three years after the Summer of Chaos, Sara Dunstan, adoptive mother of Steel Brightblade, hears rumors that the Knights of Takhisis are regathering in the evil city of Neraka. Although still branded a renegade by the Dark Knights, she travels to Neraka with the blue dragon, Cobalt, to learn the truth. There she discovers the knights are not only rebuilding under the leadership of General Mirielle Abrena, but they have imminent plans to return to war.

Frustrated and seeking answers, Sara jounreys to the Tomb of the Last Heroes in Solace. At the tomb, she receives an answer she never expected, which inspires a new order that could help the people of Ansalon to survive the dark days ahead.

Mary H. Herbert is the author of the best-selling Dark Horse series.
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Customer Reviews (23)

Good read.Suprisingly entertaining.
I was suprised at how good this book was.It's very well written and I look forward to reading more from Mary Herbert.

Probably my favorite out of the bridges of time series.

Mediocre at best
I finished this book 2 days ago after letting it sit in my library for nearly 3 years. I have to say that I find the book uncompelling and simple. I mean, with the word "simple", that the charecters have no depth at all, when the author needs a person, boom, he/she's there.

What disappointed me most was the dragon Cobalt. I understand that dragons can be fond of their riders (and don'T get me wrong I've been reading DL for quite some time now) but this one is just childish. Almost as if he's a pet. He is lacking depth as well. The main plot of the book is unclear until the last 60 or so pages. The reader has no idea what the book's all about.

But, the book takes hold of the reader now and then. Some parts of the book is definitely exiciting but all in all not a very good effort on Herbert's part.

Decent, but nothing to rave about
Unlike the first book in this series (Chris Pierson's SPIRIT OF THE WIND), this book doesn't have a compelling plot that draws the reader into the book.There is a bare semblance of a plot, but nothing truly engaging.It's about Sara Dunstan's (Steel Brightblade's foster mother) infiltration of the regrouped Knights of Takhisis.Herbert tells this story with no real goal observable to the reader.There is an ultimate goal of the book, but it's really just to set up a story element that will appear in subsequent books in the Dragonlance universe.

The big redeeming quality of this book is the character of Sara Dunstan.Readers were first introduced to her in Weis & Hickman's THE SECOND GENERATION and we saw more of her in their DRAGONS OF SUMMER FLAME.This book fleshes here character out much more than those two did.Since the book is told from her point of view, we get to observe the various facets of her character.This is important since I get the feeling that she will be playing a larger role down the road, possibly in Weis & Hickman's War of Souls trilogy (which I have yet to read).

The writing in the book was solid, although the supporting characters all seemed pretty one dimensional.The new general of the Knights of Takhisis was kind of interesting and it would be neat to see her fleshed out in another book at some point.Herbert does a good job of telling the story and getting to the point where the necessary things (I don't want to ruin things for people who haven't read it yet) are established for use in later books.I just wasn't engrossed in the story since there wasn't much of a plot to get involved in.Decent book and Dragonlance fans might find it useful in understanding these new concepts that I'm not mentioning.If you're not a completist, though, you can probably skip it and not miss out on much.

Absolutely Amazing!
What a wonderful Book. I recieved it, and read it cover to cover all in the same day! I don't usually do that, but what a damn good book.

This story is centered around Sara Dunstan, whom is still grieving over her adopted son Steel Brightblade three years after the summer of chaos. In the begining, she is living as a exile from the Knights of Tahkisis, and is pretty miserable. Then she starts having some dreams that call to her for help. Eventually, she sets out to find the source of the dreams and comes upon a wounded and riderless blue dragon whom she nurses back to health.

Thats all I'm telling you about this book. But It was page turning. I just added Mary H Herbert, to the list amazing Dragonlance storytellers, right under Richard A Knaack, whom we all know is the best. I Cannot wait to learn more about the "Leigon Of Steel" which is founded in the end of this work!

By Huma's Shield, this was a Fantastic Book!

The second book intresting from the first page
Like i wrote in the title this has been on of the first dragonlance's beautiful books from the very first page.
This could be only my opinion, but if you like dragons stories this is your book....even if i can't tell you this is the best, for sure it is very good story filled by action and quite linear plot, easy and pleasant to read.
It's explain someting about dragon riders,dragon training and dark knights.
Read it and enjoy! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Practical resource for family ministry
This book is a practical reference resource for churches and other institutions working with families.In a time when churches seem hesitant to preach, teach, or even have open discussion on the subject of marriageand family for fear of alienating their members, this book providesnumerous jumping off points for conversation and ministry.

The bookbegins with useful summaries of the Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, andsecularperspectives on marriage, family, divorce, reproductivetechnologies, division of domestic responsibilities, and the relation offamily to government.It also discusses approaches from these fourperspectives to family ministry with children and youth, single parents,stepfamilies, families of gays and lesbians, the elderly, abusive families,and bereaved families.There are also sections on the impact of violence,substance abuse, and popular culture on today's families.

Ofparticular interest to ministers is the section on resources forcongregational ministry with families.This section includesinterpretations of specific Biblical passages on the family from the Oldand New Testaments.These Biblical references are placed in context withdiscussion of the family in ancient Israel, the Greco-Roman world, earlyChristianity, medieval Christianity and the Reformation, and the nineteenthand twentieth centuries.This resource section furnishes material thatwould be extremely useful in sermon preparation or as the basis forcongregational education.

The book concludes with a directory offamily resources.This list of religious and secular organizations dealingwith family issues provides helpful summaries of these organizations'offerings for individuals and congregations, including web site and e-mailcontact information. This is a very practical resource for anyoneinvolved in family ministry or simply interested in a highly accessiblecomparative summary of religious perspectives on the most pressing issuesfor contemporary families. ... Read more

Product Description
Quotes from the book:

... endeavours to pervert him, sent soldiers out of hand to dispatch him. They entered the prison, and found the saint fearless and ready to receive the stroke of death, which they instantly inflicted on him, cleaving his head with an axe, whereby his brains were scattered on the floor. St. Gregory the Great attributes to the merits of this martyr the conversion of his brother, King Recared, and of the whole kingdom of the Visigoths in Spain. Levigild was stung with remorse for his crime, and though...

Let nothing disturb thee, , Let nothing affright thee, All passeth away ; God only shall stay. Patience wins all. Who hath God needeth nothing, For God is his all.

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Customer Reviews (1)

Omnibus Edition
"Valorian's Legacy" is a "Science Fiction Book Club" omnibus edition of "City of Sorcerers" and "Winged Magic", the final two books of Mary Herbert's "Hunnuli" series.

Gabria's daughter is now in the spotlight as a new magical threat faces the Clans. They must leave the Clan's home on the plains and venture into the city that created the Clans' belief that magic is inherently evil.

But even after that problem is solved, the return of magic to the plains and the results of that magic bring outsiders eager to gain what the Clans have created.

If you prefer a hardcover book and a longer read for a single book, this is a great way to finish the Hunnuli series. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduction to Groundwater Modeling presents an overview of the fundamental concepts and applications of computerized groundwater modeling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Introduction to Groundwater Modeling
I found this text very valuable in explaining the differences between these two methods and how each handles the dependent variable (head) and its first derivative (flow).The text also discusses Laplaces equation, iterative methods including Gauss-Seidel/SOR.Chapters are dedicated to finite difference and finite element methods under steady-state and transient conditions.It also demonstrates how each element is handled separately using finite element method and then the equations are assembled into a conductance matrix.

This text is a very good complement to other modeling texts.However, if you want to learn how to set up your hydrogeologic conceptual model, what data is needed to develop a good model, how to choose your numerical model, verify, calibrate your model, interpret results and perform a post audit, this is not that text.For the purpose of model setup etc. I would recommend Applied Groundwater Modeling.

Outdated and of little value
I found this book somewhat outdated.Even though it was well-written if was of little value.There are several other books of better quality.

Highly recommended
I've used this book in two of my groundwater modeling classes. Despite the fact that it is a little outdated, it has the clearest explaination I've come across of the mathematics behind groundwater modeling.In addition,it contains very good example problems. ... Read more

Product Description
"Picturing the Bible" explores the vast tradition of Christian art at its very beginnings in the third century A.D., just as Christianity was emerging from its outlawed, clandestine status to become the state religion of the Roman Empire. What images did these Christians use to express their faith openly? Were they the first believers to part with Mosaic law by creating 'graven images'? What Jewish and pagan sources, if any, did they look to for inspiration? When did they begin to depict the life of Jesus? This beautifully illustrated book takes up such questions, revealing the story of how Christian art began through insights from recent discoveries. Leading experts explore topics ranging from Jewish art in the Graeco-Roman period and the influence of Constantine, to the development of church decoration and the meaning of illustrated Bibles.Throughout we see the distinctive pictorial selection of Early Christians, who at first depicted Old Testament figures - Abraham and Isaac, Jonah, and Daniel - and did not invent new images until over a century later.The special meanings attached to old images and new ones like the fish, anchor, and Good Shepherd all come to life in these pages. The essays are complemented by extensive new archaeological research on a range of more than one hundred objects, drawn from major museums of America and Europe. Frescoes, marble sculpture and sarcophagi, silver vessels and reliquaries, carved ivories, decorated crosses, and illuminated Bibles are illustrated in new colour photographs, allowing the reader an unprecedented encounter with Early Christian art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Images of the Word
This gorgeous and hefty volume looks like a coffee table book, but it's a book to savor page by page for both its scholarly texts and spectacular images (263 color and 40 black and white). The book was published in conjunction with an exhibition by the same name that was conceived and organized by Jeffrey Spier for the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The exhibit drew upon the collaboration of lenders from nine countries and forty-one private and museum collections.

In the first half of the book six scholars write one chapter each on various aspects of the earliest Christian art through the fifth and sixth centuries. Spier explains how the early Jesus movement first expressed itself in visual forms. Art and architecture flourished in classical Greece and Rome, of course, but "the Christians were slow to express their religious beliefs pictorially, and no churches, decorated tombs, nor indeed Christian works of art of any kind datable before the third century are known." This might have been because the earliest Christians were a persecuted and illicit sect comprised largely of people from lower socio-economic classes. They also inherited Judaism's ambivalence toward art rooted in the prohibition against graven images in Exodus 20:4.

Around the year 200, "purely Christian images began to appear." The forty catacombs in and around Rome, along with the discovery of a house church at Dura Europos in Syria dated to 240 AD, show how the earliest Christian art was not merely decorative but intentionally devotional; its purpose was not "objective beauty" but an "expression of faith." In the first decades of the third century, genuine Christian art appears on seal rings, tombs, clay lamps, engraved gems, and in one instance a marble statuette. A hundred years after that, Christian art adorns belt buckles and Bible covers, plates and coins, intricate mosaics and ornate crosses (see Spier, pp. 1-23). Christian art under Constantine changed radically as images became "imperialized."

The earliest Christian writers didn't say much about art and images, and Spier believes that their hostility toward visual representations has been exaggerated. Most of early Christian art drew upon well-known Bible texts like Noah, Daniel in the lion's den, Moses, Jonah, Adam and Eve, and Abraham. In perhaps the earliest textual reference to Christian art, Clement of Alexandria (150-215) writes that Christians could also borrow pagan symbols as long as they were appropriate. Swords and bows would be inappropriate, he said, because they signaled war and violence, but a dove was suitable, said Clement, "since we follow peace." The volume stops chronologically short of the iconographic controversy.

The last half of the book is a catalogue of color photographs (pp 171-287) which, in effect, place the exhibit into your own hands. Christians identify themselves as people of the Book who worship the Word made flesh. It took a while, but Christians also became people of images, and in those images they expressed their faith as much as they did in words.

Thanks for the vision
This book is essentially the catalog for the world-class exhibition held from Dec. 2007-March 2008 at Ft. Worth's Kimbell Art Museum. Curated by Jeffrey Spier, the exhibtion titled "Picturing the Bible" brought to this country 100 treasures, many of which had never left their countries before. For those who couldn't see this once-in-a-lifetime collection, the catalog presents pictures with articles of all the exhibits. More than that, however, well-known art historians, classicists and archaeologists provide major articles on the Jewish art of late antiquity, on pre- and post-Constantinian Christian art, as well as on book illustrations of late antiquity. The volume is beautifully done and provides a fine addition to the library of anyone interested in Christianity and Christian art in late antiquity. Personally, I appreciated Dr. Spier's vision for assembling this collection and editing this volume. It is rare to have an opportunity to experience these works in a U.S. museum. ... Read more

Product Description
This legal environment text offers balanced coverage of private law and public law. To illustrate the legal points covered, it integrates cases in the language of the court into each chapter. Strong ethical coverage helps students understand the need for responsible decisions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Textbook
This was a mandatory textbook purchase and it was interesting and valuable during the course.

excellent service
It was good service. The book was intact and delivered in time. Excellent job.

Long and drawn out
The text is comprehensive but it consistently takes too long to get to the point.Furthermore, many application sections are scattered throughout the book and seem to be poorly placed (would be better off placing them in aseparate section.) ... Read more

Product Description
The third title in a trilogy that explores the south of the Dragonlance world after the War of Souls.

Return of the Exile concludes a trilogy that centers on Linsha Majere, the grandchild of one of the central characters in the entire Dragonlance saga. This trilogy advances the story of post-War of Souls events in the Dragonlance world and introduces a major new villain to the setting.
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Customer Reviews (5)

good read
If you like Dragonlance and good strong female warriors, this book is great; this triology is great.

Wishing for more
I have read most of the Dragonlance books and like all other series/trilogy's I end up wanting more. It might just be me but I hate when I have to put down the last book in a trilogy.Grrrrrrrrr

An Amazing Read Start to Finish
At the start of this trilogy I greatly disliked Linsha, I thought she was annoying, boring, and not well developed in a literary sense.By the end of the second book however, I had begun to consider this trilogy fairly good.At the end of this book I learned that this trilogy gets proggresivley better as it goes on.
The third installment of this trilogy begans with Linsha going to the Tarmack homeland, and the new life that ensues there.This part of the book is particularly intersting to me because it shows us a whole new light to Linsha during her struggles to live in an alien society.After a daring escape on the back of a sickly dragon, Linsha sets about getting back the stolen dragon eggs.

Overall I was very pleased with the plot and continuation of the story.I feel that Mary Herbert is definitley one of the better DL authors as of now.Linsha's character is fleshed out more in this novel then the other two.We get to see a kind of darker side to her when she battles and kills a rival woman on Tamrak homeland.

The ending of the novel is very good, particularly because it is not like most of its other new DL counterparts, were the ending is scrunched into 30 pages in a sudden climax.Slowly throughout the book the tension increases, with the climax taking place near Sanction in a dormant volcano.No big suprises in the end really happens but that doesnt make it any less fun.I'll spare revealing the ending to you but I practically jumped for joy when a certain character kicks the bucket.

Overall this book was very good, and in all actuallity it suprised me just how good it was.It ranks in my top 20 for DL books at this point in time.Even if you are dissapointed with the current state of DL books, this book delivers in so many ways.

Fantastic Conclusion
Return of the Exile, by Mary Herbert is the third and final book in the Dragonlance: Linsha Trilogy.

All the loose ends that were created in the first two books are nicely wrapped up. The way Herbert concludes this trilogy is just fantastic. I was enthralled the entire time I was reading this. The first book in this series was a good read, the second book was decent, but this book blows the doors off of either of the first two. It's a fantastic book and one I would recommend to anyone.

Mary Herbert has staked her clain to the Dragonlance world with this trilogy. She certainly stands above a lot of the recent sub-par books that have been released. Rest asured this book is int he upper teir of recent Dragonlance novels.

Buy this book; Buy this Trilogy
This was a trilogy of books that I went into with a little bit of reluctance.Linsha Majere a Rose Knight, something that is a recent addition for the Majere household.However, this entire trilogy is awesome.There are unique characters, which have good story lines, and the ending I find, personally to be completely awesome. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Two great books in one
Valorian's Children is a Science Fiction Book Club omnibus edition of Dark Horse and Lightning's Daughter.

Since both books are a relatively fast read, having the first two stories in this series in a single edition is comfortable and useful. ... Read more