Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

A Decent Sample of Freas
I'm glad to have a copy of this fine book; I wish I had an original Freas. The book presents a good cross-section of his work from early-on to the present. The quality of reproduction is decent. If you are a dedicated SciFi type then this one can a good addition to your collection as it gives a decent overview of one of Science Fiction's leading artists. Now, some folks might say that he over-idealizes the human form with his clever exaggerations of features such as the shape of a nose on a man or a curve on a woman - I personally find this ability to be one example of his great talent. There's nothing like a SciFi short story that starts off with a Freas illustration!

Fantastic!!!
Freas was one of science fiction's greatest artists. His protrayals of intergalactic worlds and even his cartoony creations in MAD were amazing. I had the grand oppurtunity of reading this book some years ago and was saddened to hear that it is now out of print. That last loser who reviewed this gave a porn movie a good review. Ignore him and see what true art is.

BAADDDDD!!!
Freas' paintings basically are badly painted cartoons that occassionaly look like something more realistic on accident. His text is head-ache inducing as he covers everything from the history of paint to selling books with attractive covers-something he has no right discussing given his poor artwork. He also rants about art critics and buyers, again, something a sub-par illustrator has no business talking about, and most annoyingly of all, how great he thinks he is. I've never read an autobiography that was this narcissistic! The only good thing about this book is that it smells nice!! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Generic Space Opera
As his first novel, this has none of the byzantine plotting or historical research given life that defines the typical Tim Powers reading experience.Instead, it's more like a rejected Asimov novel featuring a painter's son and his impact on his world in a declining interstellar empire.

His father dies in a political coup, and the main character enters the underworld out of desperation, only to later make a difference.Frank Rovzar hits plenty of moral dilemmas, but simply acts without thinking much about them.

Story is sparse without much trickery or revelation.What's on the surface is what you get, and if you are a true fan of Tim Powers, you'll dislike this novel.

If you take the novel as it comes, it's simply a generic groundside space opera without the 'space' aspect.Tons of better novels are out there, and I don't recommend this one.It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't great, like science fiction can become.

Lame, but tolerable
This is not Powers' best book. Quite the opposite, really. But it IS a fair, light read. I can't honestly recommend it to anyone but a hard-core Powers fan; his writing style does shine through at some points. If you seeit used, pick it up, but do not base an opinion of Powers' writing on thisbook alone.

An early work for completists only.
I've loved (or at least liked) all the other Powers books I've read, which is to say all but a few early ones. I finally found this in a used bookstore for $1, which is more than the story is worth. I honestly don't know how it got published it is so bad. It's not worth paying a lot for to complete your collection. Just keep an eye out if you have to have it.

a bad book by a great author
This is a bad book by a great author.Do yourself a favor by reading other Powers books first.Then skip this one altogether.

Tim Powers early & very unpolished work.
This was the first sale by Mr. Powers & it shows.It is generic space fantasy with just a few hints of why his fans love his writing now.Established fans may find it an interesting contrast to his current style and skill ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An elegantly written novella that pleases like a novel.
Tim Powers is and always has been the master of atmosphere and research in his brilliantly woven longer works. Now comes an excercise in self-editing that satisfies the reader like a delicious Powers novel or a five-coursedinner. You don't need to be a fan of fantasy to appreciate the prose thatonly a wordsmith like Powers can apply to a page. This book is a wonder toread and a pleasure to hold as well. Charnel House has done anunbelieveable job with the binding, the paper and even the printing.Reading such afantastic story in this rare and beautiful form is indeed atactile pleasure that one can experience again and again appreciating newand different elements with each new retelling of the tale. No one tells abetter tale than Powers and this is a "Must Own" book for fans,collectors and lovers of fine works of art and fiction.

A stunt
By my records, Where They Are Hid is Tim Power's first solo short story indamn near a decade and a half. And one would expect, with the typicallylavish presentation Charnel House has given the novelette, that it would bea stunner. That expectation is more than reasonably met. I'd advise thatreaders toss out all others when it comes to this complex, marvelous story.

The bare bones:Mr. Stanwell has a certain amount of control over time.He's able to jump back and forth, with limitations. On precisely the sametime each July 1st, he's visited by a future version of himself, given somesage advice, a pat on the head, and sent on his way though the next year.Stanwell uses his advice to secretly control the world. He's seen that theAtomic Bomb, Vietnam, and a host of other "real world" events are avoided,his way. A noble enough calling, eh? Meanwhile (as if that word has meaningin this story), Keith Bondier is damn near a negative image of Stanwell.He's stuck in a drab existence, on the dole, thinking mostly of seducinghis friend Margie. Strangely enough, Bondier also suffers fromblackouts.

I won't lay out more of the plot here, because that's thenovelette's main strength. In Where They Are Hid, Powers has managed tocram a novel's worth of plot-and story-into a much shorter tale. I thinkmany readers will spend a first reading just attempting to keep up with theway things are tied together, and the second marveling at the author'scontrol and craftsmanship. Trust me, you'll want to read this story atleast twice.

And the downside:The paper and binding materials are upto Charnel House's usual standards here, but the interior design'splainness doesn't accentuate the story. The author's illustrations arelimited to a frontispiece, endpiece, and a single image repeated at pagebreaks. Caveats about design aside, as Where They are Hid is limited to 350numbered copies, and 26 lettered, you can't go wrong in picking it up. I'dadvise doing so before you have to pay extra on the collector's market. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Blaylock and Powers are at it again!
These are fun recipes.Unfortunately, for some reason known only to them, Blaylock and Powers left out the fact that you need to be several sheets to the wind to really get them right!
This is undoubtedly a conspiracy of some sort.I am happy to hear that Mr. Ashbless is, after all, still living (must be going on several hundred years, now).

All kidding aside, this is a book that is lots of fun, and has a few good recipes, too!This would make a perfect Christmas present to fans of Powers and Blaylock.Koontz, too, though he apparently was a bit of a curmudgeon re his Ashbless correspondence.If you love inspired silliness, then buy this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Must for Fans of Powers and Blaylock
Blaylock and Powers have been collaborating for thirty years, often implicitly influencing each other and sometimes, like here, collaborating on stories with both their names on them.Fans of either should appreciate the brief account of that collaboration in this book's afterward and introduction and, specifically, the comments on the volume's three stories.

As is typical for his shorter work, Powers abandons his characteristic secret histories.In "Through and Through", a weary, lukewarm priest confronts a ghost in the confessional and rethinks the power and significance of Catholic ritual.But, if we don't get an epic combining of magic and history, Powers still works in some interesting thoughts on the Garden of Eden.

The modern obsession with inclusivity on college campuses is satirized in Blaylock's "The Devil in the Details".A college president's attempt to build a Christian chapel is thwarted by forces both silly and sinister.

I must admit that I appreciated and understood Powers' and Blaylock's collaboration "Fifty Cents" more after reading Blaylock's afterward.But, even on the first reading, the protagonist's quest -- searching in used bookstores for a book once given to him by his dead wife -- and the odd characters he meets in his drive through the desert Southwest, kept me interested.

Each story gets its own introductory illustration, and Blaylock's afterword is in the form of an inserted pamphlet.

Collectors or fans of either of these authors will want this book not only for the stories but the accounts of a longstanding literary friendship. ... Read more

Product Description
Edited by leading figures in the field, this handbook gives an overview of the current status of cognition and emotion research by giving the historical background to the debate and the philosophical arguments before moving on to outline the general aspects of the various research traditions. This handbook reflects the latest work being carried out by the key people in the field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Enlightening but not light reading
In this very academic and scholarly book intended for the graduate student in psychology or professional psychologist, the editors have compiled writings from the top researchers and theoreticians in their fields to explore the intersection of emotion and cognition.Although some of the chapters are weighted down by summaries of research, most of the authors strike a balance between addressing the most interesting issues and questions in this area and informing their conclusions by empirical evidence.One of the historical debates which appears to be a thread which ties many of the chapters together is the question of "primacy"; does cognition or emotion have primacy either in terms of which occurs first in a temporal sense or in terms of importance.A reading of this book leaves the reader with the impression that both are interdependent and reciprocal, leaving the reader without a simple answer to an extremely complex subject. This handbook, furthermore, looks at the interface of cognition and emotion in normal as well as abnormal behavior.Although there is a section on the implications of experimental research in this area for clinical practice, this is not primarily a book about clinical practice.If you are interested in such erudite questions and issues, you will find a wealth of material to be mined in The Handbook of Cognition and Emotion.If you are looking for simple answers or reductionistic approaches, you will either be put to sleep, or end up using this voluminous text as a door stop. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Tim Powers and Jim Blaylock at their most playful.
This excellent little book is purported to be a collection of the work of a purely fictional writer named William Ashbless.
The authors originally created him when they were literature students at Fullerton State University near L.A. Over the years he has either appeared in or been referred to in most of their books and Tim Powers considers him a "good luck charm". ... Read more

Product Description
Those two madmen, Powers and Blaylock are back, with a recently unearthed and touched up short story thought lost to the ages. "Pilot Light" is vintage William Ashbless, complex to the point of incoherence, with a good eighteen footnotes added by the poet refuting and clarifying the changes made by Powers and Blaylock to his sacred words. Also included in this small form hardcover chapbook are an introduction by Powers and an afterword by Blaylock. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Ashbless: Poet for the 21st Century
In spite of sabotage by the postmodern pranksters Blaylock and Powers, this memoir shows the true greatness of William Ashbless.

Notes from napkins...
This is not a novel, or a short story - it's a pamphlet.It's a very short satirical piece that is made up of a jumble of interviews, short story outtakes, and excessive annotations, all involving the fictional author William Ashbless.If you are looking for Tim Powers' usual excellent fiction - this is not it.For those who are closely following the history and adventures of William Ashbless, and are intensely interested in this main hero of Anubis Gate, I wouldn't recommend this pamphlet even for you.I am somewhat offended by Powers and Blaylock sticking it to their fans - this work, as a hard cover book is not worth it.If it had been included in a larger anthology of Ashbless' works, letters, and IOUs, then maybe I can see the value in that.

Kind of a letdown
I was hoping for a lost treasure, instead it seems to be a bunch of in jokes from Powers and Blaylock. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Skeptic (Altadena, CA), published by Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine on June 22, 2004. The length of the article is 3294 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Did women's blood lead to men's blood lust?(Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution)(Book Review)
Author: Tim Callahan
Publication: Skeptic (Altadena, CA) (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2004
Publisher: Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine
Volume: 11Issue: 2Page: 92(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more