Product Description
The first two books in a rerelease of a key trilogy in the Dragonlance saga. This trilogy covers key events that take place between Dragons of Summer Flame and the bestselling War of Souls trilogy. With all-new artwork and cover designs, these books tie in with the trilogy currently being written by the author. JEAN RABE is the author of The Dawning of a New Age, The Day of the Tempest, The Eve of the Maelstrom, The Silver Stair, Downfall, and Betrayal. Rabe lives in Wisconsin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (85)

This stage of the Dragonlance Saga is best skipped
Honestly this is a part of the Dragonlance mainline story that should really be skipped.

I agree with others here that Rabe is not nearly the writer that Weis and Hickman are, but I don't fully blame her for the fiasco that is this trilogy.She was put in a bad way by TSR at the time.They wanted to launch new Dragonlance Modules for their games and were really painted into a corner by the conclusion of Dragons of Summer Flame (a book that also sadly was sub par, mainly because it was clearly intended to be a trilogy yet was crammed into one book.)

The very premise of this trilogy is flawed, yes something had to happen to Krynn after the gods left, but what TSR, not Jean Rabe chose to do here was rather sad and uninspired.Stronger writing probably would have helped these books, but their underlying premise (the world TSR forced her to work in) was so weak that not even the greatest authors in history could have pulled this story off well.

Fortunately they do clean up the mess that is this era of Dragonlance well with War of the Souls.And honestly, if you completely skip this trilogy if you are new to the Dragonlance mythos you really aren't going to miss too much. I would say read the mainline in order, skip this trilogy and go right to War of the Souls.If after reading that you find you just HAVE to read this part because of curiosity, go for it, but it will be a struggle to get through this trilogy compared to the other mainline writing of the dragonlance series.

Now it is true, as some reviews have said there are far worse authors out there than Ms. Rabe.However, the lack of depth of the characters portrayal certainly must fall on the Author.I also have to lay blame at TSR as well for its editorial oversight, remember the first of this trilogy was published in 1996, a year that TSR saw more than a million tie in books returned to them... Quality at TSR was in the toilet at this point and it showed.The remainder of this trilogy came out in the waining days when TSR's fate was all but sealed to no longer exist.


So, other than for Dragonlance officianados who just need to know the mainline story in its entirety, there is little to argue for this trilogy, it is average at best writing portraying a sub average plot with weak character portrayals.The books are not insulting, but they are not great fair.

not good
Rabe's characters keep mouthing words to each other for some reason, and winning fights against absurd odds.

very dissappointed
Alright... so I finish reading the newer Weiss & Hickman books, and while they're not of the same flavor as the older ones, they show a level of writer maturity and solid plot lines, not to mention excellent character development. Then the story ends and "Dawning of a New Age" picks up. I've always been apprehensive of Dragonlance books outside of Weiss & Hickman anyway... and now I truly know why. The plot was all over the place, character development was very shallow, and it fealt like I was playing a board game and not reading a book - I'm sorry, but there should have been better editing before letting this hit the market. Yikes.

Tough to finish, from a long-time Dragonlance fan
First off let me state that the most recent person to give this book 5 stars "doesn't normally read" and can't spell.

I've read a lot of Dragonlance, and really a lot of fantasy in general, and I've come across a few books that were tough reads, but this one trumps them all.Here's a comment D&D fans everywhere will appreciate:This book reads like it was written from the point of view of a DM planning an adventure.Characters go here.Characters do this.This happens.That happens.What's sad is that it reads at some points like a poorly planned adventure, where scenes seem haphazardly strung together, and at times I found myself rereading pages to try to follow the trail, only to realize its really not there at all.Books should read like they're from the point of view of the characters, or perhaps at points an under-educated omnipresent being.I kept wanting to finish, as I've never stopped in the middle of a Dragonlance novel in the past.It just got harder and harder to keep going, but I did it.Underdeveloped characters, played out scenes, the list just goes on & on.I'll stick to the Weis & Hickman as far as Dragonlance is concerned in the future, and would have to recommend some George R.R. Martin, or perhaps a dabble of Terry Goodkind if you're looking to delve a bit further into fantasy.WoTC, please do the Dragonlance line some credit and filter out your authors BEFORE publishing.

Don't waste your time
The dragonlance series has been a personal favorite since the chronicles. I have read every book margaret and Tracy had to offer. Since I began the series in middle school, I have re-read them several times, each time enjoying it just as much as the last. It has been a long journey into the world of Krynn!

The fact that margaret and tracy let other authors use their world, and completely destroy it, angers me. Publicity and money must be worth more than the fans....

This book was ridiculously painful to read....A terrible plot....underdeveloped characters....and a seemingly disproportioned writing style don't just bore the reader, but if they are a dragonlance fan, angers them.

This BUTCHERS the series....if you are a fan, steer clear...if you are a first timer to the series, Stick to Margaret and Tracys' books ONLY.

If i could give it negative stars, I would. ... Read more

Product Description
The final book in an exciting Dragonlance trilogy. The tense struggles of the Dhamon Saga series come to a conclusion in this exciting final book. Redemption ties up the story of a character introduced in the Dragons of a New Age trilogy and meshes it neatly into the beginning of the War of Souls trilogy. JEAN RABE is the author of The Dawning of a New Age, The Day of the Tempest, The Eve of the Maelstrom, The Silver Stair, Downfall, and Betrayal. Rabe lives in Wisconsin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A great book but a bad ending
OK, I love Dhamon, Ragh, and everyone in the book, but i was suprised at the ending and the way each character was "resolved," if you can call it that. And the biggedt question on my mind is "What happened to Feril???!!" She was Dhamon's love and she just disappeared. There was specultion in Downfall but nothing was ever concrete. I hope, pray, and beg Jean Rabe to give us something that can answer some of my questions and a new book with just a little more of the story.

A great story, but execution is wanting.
I have noticed two types of reviews of Jean Rabe books. Those who absolutely hate her works because she is not Weis and Hickman, and those who love her books without question and write glowing reviews in defiance of the nay sayers. Hopefully you won't find any of that here.

Redemption is the last of a three-book series. I followed the series with as much eagerness as I pursued the War of Souls trilogy. Jean Rabe is a very promising author and the potential shows in her writing, making her works enjoyable of their own, but her style lacks that certain depth that marks the difference between a fantasy book, and a magical world which you live in vicariously as the story progresses. Redemption is a fantasy book. If this weren't a series, and if Jean hadn't written a series before this I would wonder if this was indeed a first novel.

Jean's overall style is swift and to-the-point. Succinct perhaps to a fault. She usually gives a brief description of the environs followed by thoughts and monologue from a given character. This gives you a sense of being in the character's head, which is interesting. The descriptions of the environs and of actions are all too brief and general, giving you the gist of it all, but rarely going into much real detail. This gives an unmistakable feeling that the book was rushed to meet a deadline and your mind has to work a little more to fill in the blanks. This is why Jean's style takes some getting used to at first, and why Weis and Hickman fans, being so used to the descriptive and full of depth style of the duo, are furious that Jean writes Dragonlance books.

Once you get used to the style, you'll find Redemption an enjoyable read, though there are some glaring inconsistencies. For example, at the end of one chapter Dhamon gives Maldred's great sword away, and Maldred spends the remainder of the chapter being angry about it. Apparently Dhamon must have forgotten that he gave the sword away for in the very next chapter he "hefts the great sword". The Fiona character is another example. I don't want to spoil anything, but as the story went on I wondered why she was even there. She seemed to be nothing but the token female presense in Dhamon's party, taking the place of the absent Rikali, and the constant diversion with her mad antics.

Despite all that, Redemption is a solid book. The story is interesting and full of twists, and Jean has a knack for making her characters come to life. She draws a constant tension between all the characters which is refreshing, though a bit overdone at times. I really cared what happened to the characters and their relations with each other. The only major disappointment had to be the ending. The story concludes with a bang, yes, but it's rather wanting. I found myself scratching my head and wondering "that was it?" On the optomistic side it does open the story up for future Jean Rabe books.

Overall, this is a Solid book and worth adding to your collection. A worthy addition to the Dragonlance world in it's own way. Just don't come here expecting Weis and Hickman. You'll be disappointed.

Journeys End, A New Begining!
Amazing. This is by far in my top 10 favorite Dragonlance Books of all time! Jean Rabe does an amazing job of fleshing out her characters and giving them more than just the normal two dimensions.

While reading this book you truly feel that you are in the story itself. The action never seems to slow down that much, but at the same time even with all the action going on the story is what really holds the book together. Plenty of plot twists. Not to mention Jean continues to let us see some of the lesser mentioned creatures of Krynn.

The ending will bring tears to the eyes of most that read it. All in all she ended the Dhamon Saga with a bang, and opens up for many of the characters in the end a new begining.

Hopefully even though this was the end of the Dhamon Saga, it will not be the end of Dhamons stories. Go out and buy this book, I doubt you'll have any complaints.(DL Archives rating = 5 Orbs!)

When is book Four? I WANT MORE!!!!!!!
Redemption is incredible. The writing is gorgeous and the characters are complicated and "real." Dhamon is my favorite Dragonlance character. I like his draconian pal, too.

The book moves along quickly, and it puts the characters in a bunch of frightening situations. I liked how it went from one area of Krynn to another -- lots of traveling. I also liked all the surprises. I figured by the name "Redemption," that the book would turn out all happy. But it didn't turn out the way I thought it would. Blew me away!

I want there to be a book four and a book five and a book six.

...Jean Rabe, you have hit a HOME RUN with this one!!
...I have to say that this book was worth the wait. After getting the book only two days ago from amazon.com I devoured it word for word re-reading certain parts of it not because it was difficult to understand but because... they were just stupendous. The characters don't get along all the time, they are not all cozy and when they bicker I could feel the tension in the air and LOVED IT because I felt I could identify with the characters and their points of view.
This book, nay this trilogy is not only a sequel to Jean's often controversial Dragons of a New Age trilogy but rather can be easily read without that background. The book is the conclusion to a trilogy about a rather tragic yet engrossing man named Dhamon Grimwulf a man who has been put to the crucible and at times succeeded, and at times failed. In other words he is HUMAN and fallible. At times he has given up and now with a book titled, "Redemption," I had to wonder upon opening it... does Redemption exist for this man?
Of course I am not so cruel as to spoil the book, go and get it to find out! All I can say is that the book continues to dissect the land of Dragonlance's Fifth Age and I found it to be exciting. I felt like I was a voyager, traipsing the world on a genuine D and D quest of my own. This is not a campfest though and it is not a book about epic events although things continue to build and build into a very dramatic and tear inspiring conclusion.
...I cared about all the characters in the book, they were all written very well. She continues to take risks as a writer, giving us well fleshed characters that are mythic monsters yet ultimately the cast stays small and is focused. The plot twists and turns but never deviates...
Ultimately it is a book about the journey of one man and his hope to redeem himself for the dark stains in his past as well as to plot out if possible, a new future for himself before he dies... Read it and enjoy. ... you WILL not be sorry. ... Read more

Product Description
Between twilight and dawn, half-glimpsed things lurk in the swirling sea mist, long-dead things that have clawed their way out of the darkest abyss, things that were better left entombed.In this second volume of Blue Kingdoms Stories, you'll find a host of specters, ghosts, monsters, and more . . . guaranteed to shiver your timbers.Sail the Azure Sea with our ghoulish crew of tale-spinners:Robert E. Vardeman - Paul Genesse - Lorelei Shannon - James M. Ward - Dean Leggett - Jason Mical - Kelly Swails - Marc Tassin - Brandie Tarvin - Kathy Watness - and Jean Rabe & Stephen D. Sullivan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Solid Fantasy/Pirate/Horror Anthology
One a series of anthologies set in the Blue Kingdoms, a fantasy island setting with a great deal of worldbuilding behind it, this anthology focuses on things that go squish in the dark.Like most anthologies, everyone will have their own favorites, but my favorites included Brandie Tarvin's "The Monster of Moaahnee Bay," Dean Leggett's "Book of Life," Jean Rabe's "Black Spots," Marc Tassin's "The Beacon," and Jim Ward's "Night of the Living Island," not that most of the rest aren't fine stories, too.

Blue kingdoms shades and spectors
How do you not like a story with a pair of basilisks? Besides that as well as other good characters this story has a really great twist. All is not what it seems in the Court of the Blood Red Queen. This collection is worth your time.

More Great Pirate Adventure
I was very excited to get my hands on another Blue Kingdoms book, and I wasn't dissapointed. Ships and pirates, betrayal and adventure, it's all here, including more about Maeve, the pirate witch in "The Queen's Ransom" by Paul Genesse. A really fun read.

Fantasy Horror in an Exciting New World
Though I worked on this book myself, I decided that I should review Blue Kingdoms: Shades & Specters because it contains work by many other fine authors.Shades & Specters is the second anthology in an ongoing series of books based in the Blue Kingdoms -- a shared world created by Jean Rabe and Stephen D. Sullivan (me).The concept is different than previous shared worlds in that all the authors retain the rights to the characters and settings they create.This means that the contributors can fearlessly bring their best work to the series.Shades & Specters contains stories by many of the same people who worked on Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms, including such well-known authors such as Rabe, Robert E. Vardeman, and James M. Ward.The stories in this volume all feature some supernatural and/or horror elements.While each of the book's tales is good, I'd like to call attention to The Queen's Ransom, by Paul Genesse, and The Adventure of the Repose Island Plague Ship, by Jason Mical.

Queen's Ransom continues Genesse's saga of Maeve Tierney, the Pirate Witch (who also appeared in Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms).It is not necessary to read the first book to enjoy Queen's Ransom.This time, Maeve and her crew have sailed to a strange island to retrieve a cursed treasure. Both the action and the ongoing character development make this tale a standout.The Repose Island Plague Ship recounts the saga of a businessman vampire -- yes, vampire -- who finds himself stranded on a remote isle inhabited by two warring clans.As the population of the island is decimated by war, the vampire sees both his food supply and his chance for escape slipping away.

Because I worked on this volume, I'm only giving it four stars.(I wouldn't want anyone to think I was tooting my own horn too much!)Pick up Blue Kingdoms: Shades & Specters.It's a good read for fans of fantasy or horror. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Gnome Thief
The Gnome Thief

Fenzig's Fortune (2007) is a standalone Fantasy novel.It is set in a world of small principalities where one king is trying to expand his realm.

In this novel, Fenzighan is a young gnome.He has curly hair on top of his feet and usually goes barefooted.Fenzig is also an honorable thief;he never harms anyone and never steals all their wealth.

Erlgrane is the King of Burlengren.He has already annexed the lands to the south of Burlengren all the way to the sea.Now he is trying to expand north by annexing K'Nosha.

Rehmir is Duke of K'Nosha.He has a fortified dwelling and a standing army.King Erlgrane wouldn't want to face him in a fair battle.

Carmen the Magnificent is a traveling peddler of nostrums.He is small and slender, wears flamboyant clothing and has a gaily painted wagon.

In this story, Fenzig is caught within King Erlgrane's treasure room.The guards take him down to the dungeons and throw him into a cell.It looks nasty, smells worse and has rats.

The next morning, King Erlgrane offers Fenzig a deal.If the gnome steals three emeralds from Duke Rehmir, the King will let him go.Of course, the King has his ancient wizard put a homing spell of Fenzig.After some time, the spell will kill him unless it is removed.

Fenzig receives a magic sword, a ring of invisibility, and a white pony for the excursion to K'Nosha.After a little while, Fenzig begins to think that he shouldn't have chosen a white pony, because it is too conspicuous.Then he decides that he is too conspicuous because of his smell and dirt.

Fenzig decides to steal some clothes, but is also tempted into stealing a pie.He gallops out away from the farm with the farmer just behind him.Then he turns into the haunted woods and loses the farmer.

But there are craven cats in the woods, six legged felines with a hunger for man and pony.Fenzig kills one of the cats and climbs a tree to avoid the rest.But the cats get his pony.

The next day, the cats slink away from the sunlight and Fenzig returns to the road.Now he doesn't have anything to ride and his time is running out.Then Carmen comes down the road and Fenzig flags him down.

Carmen is very talkative.He talks about many things, including his wares.He even notices the heart on the back of Fenzig's hand and comments that it looks like a homing spell.

Fenzig asks Carmen whether he is going to K'Nosha and he says no.So Fenzig wonders how he will reach K'Nosha in time to steal the emeralds.He even thinks about knocking Carmen in the head and stealing the wagon.Then Carmen changes his mind and offers to take Fenzig all the way to the town.

This tale makes Fenzig feel like a puppet on a string.First King Erlgrane manipulates him, then Duke Rehmir does, and finally Carmen pulls his strings.And various people try to kill him.He is not having a good time.

The gnomes in this story are much like the hobbits in Tolkien's tales.They even have hairy -- and bare -- feet.Other authors seem to have very similar creatures, yet nobody calls them "hobbits"!Haven't the copyrights expired yet?

The story seems straight forward, but then something surprising happens, again and again.This plot has more twists than a mountain road.Read and enjoy.

Highly recommended for Rabe fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magic spells, little people, and true friendship.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Five Star Publishing, Indeed
Five Star publishing lives up to its name with a fine book by Jean Rabe.This would be a good introduction to fantasy fiction for younger readers, or a fine follow-up for people who like The Hobbit.In a couple of places, it's not as polished as Rabe's current work (it was originally written over a decade ago), but there's still more fun and fantasy than in any two books by less-accomplished authors.If you like this book, you should certainly check out Jean's other work -- including her Dragonlance work, her collaborations with Andre Norton, and her short stories and Blue Kingdoms adventures.The book's premise is simple, Fenzig is a young gnome thief who gets in over his head while on a job, but the twists and turns will keep you guessing right up until the end.A fun fantasy book for all ages!

Fun Fantasy Adventure
A delightful tale.Jean Rabe's obvious affection for her characters gives them a warmth and charm not often found in fantasy adventures.Plenty of action, surprising twists and turns, and gentle humor in a story about a gnome thief who thinks he has lost all control over his own destiny, but finds otherwise as he learns lessons about life, family, work, outrageous fashions, and tattoos.Recommended for tweens, teens,and all lovers of fast-paced, humorous fantasy.Donald J. Bingle, Author of Forced Conversion. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (8)

A totally engaging story!Will be one of my favorites!
I've been reading science fiction and fantasy books for over 30 years and this book sucked me in.I was totally engaged with the characters and the plot line.I can barely sit still as I wait for the second book in the series to come.Do yourself a favor and buy this book.The character of Kal is one of my favorites.

I've read better fanfiction...
I couldn't believe this got published, and then I read who the author's friends were...

Has a HUGE show don't tell problem, flat, unengaging characters, and a boring, predictable plot which is not make fresh or original in any way.It read like an outline of a story. I kept reading in hopes it got better, but had to put it done in despair about half way through.

I gave it two stars because it was a fairly creative idea (that I wish this author could have done more with) and it was readable (in terms of grammar and spelling).

Fun adventures of a young girl & a young horse
"The Finest Creating" is intended for young adults.This book is set in the middle ages, with a sprinkling of magic and magical creatures.The plot follows two main characters.The first is an orphaned girl, the king's nephew.She and her brother have gown up in isolation, and at the start of the story are about to travel with their cousin, the prince, to his weding.The second main character is a magical horse, one of "the finest creations".These magical creatures are morally superior to humans.Their purpose is to guide their chosen humans into being better people.This quest is complicated by their other goal, which is to never let anyone know that they are more than simple horses.The mood of this novel is light and enjoyable.

I had three problems with this novel.First, the middle of the novel is a bit slow.Second, I don't see how the magical horses are supposed to provide moral and ethical guidance to people, while being constrained to pretend to be ordinary horses.Apparently the author doesn't know either, because the magical horses choose good people and then simply protect them.Third, it ends rather suddenly, with the plot continuing in the next book, and I prefer stand alone books.If these sound like overly fussy complaints to you, I'm sure you will love "The Finest Creation."

Overall, the author has crafted an enjoyable story, with interesting people and just the right amount of magic.The mood is quite dissimilar from Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar, which has lots of moody sulking and melodramatic complaints.Rabe's people & horses are happier and more concerned with others, so their quandaries build sympathy.I enjoyed watching the young magical horse grow and learn.

Magical Young Adult Adventure
Jean Rabe has authored a lot of stories and books in worlds originally established by others and, although she has had a greater impact on many of those worlds than is sometimes realized, it is wonderful to see her create a world that is entirely of her own making.Aimed at a YA audience, The Finest Creation has a magical feel comparable to Harry Potter, but characters who are more innocent (and less bratty) and a less convoluted plotline.Jean has a real affinity for describing the feelings of her young protagonists and for showcasing the natural world, including the equine Finest Creations.Creative and original.Donald J. Bingle, Author of Forced Conversion.

Didn't quite make it for me
The cover's nice enough to catch my eye.The review blurbs comparing this book to a cross between Narnia and Valdemar was enough to convince me to pick it up.

Unfortunately, this book lacks the charm of Narnia, and the action of Valdemar.The characters don't develop well at all, the plot was shaky overall and downright unbelievable in places.Of the two big revelations toward the end of the book, one I'd called during the first couple of chapters, the other was improbable enough to be unbelievable.

Sorry, but I won't be picking up the rest of the trilogy. ... Read more

Product Description
Cross swords and match wits with a crew of award-winning fantasy authors in this third book of the exciting new Blue Kingdoms world!Within these pages you'll find savage seas, enchanted islands, blood-curdling magic, ravenous zombies, and buxom buccaneers galore in a treasure trove of salty tales by: Lorelei Shannon, Robert E. Vardeman, Kathleen Watness, Kelly Swails, Marc Tassin, Dean Leggett, Jason Mical, Paul Genesse, and Jean Rabe & Stephen D. Sullivan.Plus a great cover painting by renowned fantasy artist Jim Holloway! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

blue kingdoms buxom buccaneers
If you like pirate stories and who doesn't? Give this book a try. Jean Rabe's tales never disappoint and her Balabra story is quite entertaining. Sisters in Arms is a great story. The Coralshell sisters are a pair I'd like to have a barbarossan ale with. There are many other good stories also. ... Read more

Product Description
Want a little adventure . . . danger . . . romance . . .or maybe a good scare?Yearning to read some fantasy . . . science fiction . . . humor . . . urban fantasy . . . horror . . . or even a haunting Civil War tale?We've got what you're looking for!The authors in Gen Con's Writer's Symposium have collected 22 of their favorite tales into this volume. There are magical garments, spooky settings, women warriors, urban headhunters, spell-casting goblins, an overlord with a wicked sense of humor, high-seas adventure, hungry rats, talking toys, and more.There's even a brand-new story by New York Times Bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole.Sit back in your favorite easy chair, put your feet up, and prepare to be thrilled. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good Book
Some big name authors in "Stalking the Wild Hare".It is a fun anthology to sit back and enjoy. I enjoyed all the stories, but my favorite three are: "Covenant" by Mike Stackpole. I couldn't decide if the main character is a vampire or a demon; If you like creepy endings, "The Pool" by Wes Nicholson; next is "The Roadshow" by Jean Rabe.A cute tale with little talking collectible antique cars that race around at an antiques show."In the Eyes of the Empress's Cat is a fun read too.There are stories in this book to please everyone, from fun to fantasy.

stalking the wild hare
What a great idea, all the panelists from GenCon writers symposium compiled a book of short stories. There are some really good ones in here. Don Bingle's Stew was excellent and Micheal Stackpole's Covenant was a bit creepy if you like that sort of thing. Since I don't think he's ever published a bad story make sure to read it. Jean Rabe's is a cute tale about what could happen if you were an antique at the Roadshow. Almost Brothers had a bit of a creep factor to it and I could imagine myself on Chris Pierson's And a Ship to Sail. I'd never want to be an inspector after reading Critical Violation but it was a good story by Daniel Myers. Steven Sullivan's stories never disappoint. Crimson the semi-immortal and a vortex machine, how does he come up with all that stuff?I've always liked Anton Strout's writing. If you are looking for a lot good stories in one book get a copy of Stalking the Wild Hare, you won't be disappointed. I sure hope they put out another next year for GenCon if so this one will become a collector's edition. Don't miss it. ... Read more

Product Description
No need to shoot for the stars when some of the greatest tales of the universe are right here in our very own solar system. Take a tour through these new, original stories with such acclaimed interplanetary guides as Timothy Zahn, Brian A. Hopkins, Jack Haldeman, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Mike Resnick, Roland Green, Michael A Stackpole, and others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great SF close to home
This anthology is comprised of seventeen stories taking place at varying points in the future within our solar system.From the moon to Mercury to Pluto to the asteroid belt, all the planets or their moons are used as settings.

Timothy Zahn's "Old-Boy Network" takes place on Mars; it is a story in which the human toll from avaricious greed is revealed.The ending is as good as one could hope, were we in such a position.Brian A. Hopkins' "Mirrors" and Mike Stackpole's "Least of My Brethren" both give insight into how we should treat those beings we create through genetic engineering to be subservient.In their humanity, be it vengeful or sacrificial, their true hearts are revealed, regardless of their outward humanity.Jack Haldeman II's "In Finnegan's Wake" and Brian Thomsen's "The Grand Tour" take us on a tour of the system in the guise of a race (Haldeman) or a last great exploration (Thomsen).In "Finnegan" two people try to triumph over their personal ghosts, while in "Tour", a poet ends up siding with scientists and the great curiosity latent to humans.John Helfers' "Ghosts of Neptune" is the longest in the collection, and is not too bad.While seeming familiar to other stories, this seemed more apt to be expanded into a novel rather than being the short we are given.Rusch's "Moments" and Bingle's "Patience" give us tales of murder.The difference is that one is the result of corporate profit-enhancement, the other of unadulterated madness.Bingle's story is one of the best in the book, in which I particularly liked the lack of hypocrisy in the murderer.Jeff Crook's "'Roid" is another good story.One man makes a sacrifice in vain to do what he believes is right, though we learn his efforts were all for naught."The Demons of Jupiter's Moons" by Resnick and Stafford gives a good accounting of man vs. alien.Those little beasties aroused the wrong sleeping dragon.Dupree's "Ringflow" and Gibson's "Acceptable Risk" both give us examples of exploration efforts gone bad.While neither end well for those involved, the end was the choice of each, and is somewhat ennobling in itself.Sullivan's "Martian Knights" is a good man vs. machine conflict.Making good use of irony, he shows us that not all members of a group should be judged by their fellows of that group.Davis' "Omega Time" tells the story of a man who could live without his deceased wife, but faces the promis he made that they would be together, in his mind not just unto death, but beyond it.Green's "Son of a Belter Earl" is really not a good story.It moves slowly and is uninteresting, doing nothing for the collection.Pack's "A Coin for Charon" illustrates very well that trust is too easily misplaced.Know your friends well, it seems, to ensure they are not, in fact, your enemies.

I really liked this collection, which has SF stories in nearly every vein:Hard SF, horror, mystery, humor...The authors are a mix of well-known and lauded with lesser-known up-and-comers.Overall the stories are great, though some of the stories suffer from egregious misspellings.The truly great thing about these stories is that they nearly all deal not just with humans and their reactions and behaviors, but with humanity and our plight against the universe and each other.That's what SF is really all about.

Out of This World
I like what they call "hard sf," where the stories have some tech in them and make a reasonable amount of scientific sense. There are quite a few stories in this collection that match that criteria, which pleased me. There are also a mix of character-strong stories, and introspective stories. These I found enjoyable. I have two favorites, and those were the first and the last in the book, both of which made me think about "mankind."

All and all, I would say this is an excellent collection with some top-name writers. It's definitely worth a look. There are also some names I've never heard of before--Jeff Crook, Gibson, and Pack. A good blend of high-profile authors and newbies. ... Read more

Product Description
Sail enchanted seas and cross swords with a crew of award-winning fantasy authors in the first book of the exciting new Blue Kingdoms world!Within these pages, you'll find enchanted islands, angry sea gods, mysterious magic, and pirates galore in a treasure trove of tales by: Robert E. Vardeman, J. Robert King, Lorelei Shannon, Lester Smith, Marc Tassin, Kathleen Watness, James M. Ward, Paul Genesse, Brandie Tarvin, Steve Winter, Dean Leggett, Jason Mical, Kelly Swails, and Jean Rabe & Stephen D. Sullivan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

pirates of the blue kingdom
Pirates of the blue kingdoms is a great collection of pirate stories. My favorite is Marc Tassin's Accidental Pirates. It's amusing and clever. I like a happily ever after tale every now and then. Shipmates by Stephen Sullivan is an entertaining tale when you follow the crew of the Marauder and Captain Plutark.

Great Book
I really enjoyed this book and felt that the stories were some of the best pirate stories I've ever read. I especially enjoyed "The Pirate Witch" by Paul Genesse and "Treasure" by Jean Rabe, but there are many other great stories in the book as well. If you like pirates and adventure and a lot of good swashbuckling, you'll probably love this book.

A Fantastic World of PIrate Fantasy
Yes, I worked on this book myself, but, yes, I'm still putting up a review because Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms contains work by many other great authors.Pirates is the first anthology in an ongoing series of books based in the Blue Kingdoms (Blue Kingdoms: Shades & Specters is the second.)The Blue Kingdoms is a shared fantasy world created by Jean Rabe and Stephen D. Sullivan (me).Because authors retain the rights to the characters and settings they create, they can bring their best work to the series, and then take their "toys" home afterward.This book contains piratical stories by many well-known fantasy authors including Rabe, Robert E. Vardeman, J. Robert King, and James M. Ward.While each of the book's tales is great fun, I'd like to call attention to "The Accidental Pirates" by Marc Tassin and "Haunted Isle" by Steve Winter.

Tassin's story is a comedy adventure in the style of The Crimson Pirate and other classic movies.In it, a roguish gambler wins a ship and then sets out to knock off the best-fortified treasure island in the ocean.In contrast, Winter's eerie yarn strands a young pirate in a lost jungle city filled with unseen monsters.What follows is a weird tale that Robert E. Howard would be proud of.

Because I worked on this volume, I'm only giving it four stars.(I wouldn't want anyone to think I was promoting my own work too much!)Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms will be available in print form from Amazon and www.walkaboutpublishing.com in the spring of 2008.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Bailey, as always, for the defense
In the jacket material of this book, we are proudly told that as a criminal defense lawyer F. Lee Bailey has a conviction rate of a mere four percent.

In this sense, Bailey's treatments of the cases he covers is much like hearing about the history of American politics from either an ardent Democrat or an ardent Republican.This phenomenon is particularly on display where Bailey talks about his time on the O.J. Simpson case.In a several page precis, Bailey for the defense attempts to convert us to why theverdict was, after all, not just gamesmanship and actually was a supposed innocent's victory.

It was one a few places where I found myself looking up from what I was reading and litterally taking it with a grain of salt.

That being said, Bailey has been part of that upper echelon of Uber Lawyers for defense, the type of guys imitated in plays like Chicago and partly feared and partly admired in the way Americans only seem to be capable of partly fearing and partly admiring those at the peak of morally ambiguous activities.

In this way, Bailey's insights on the great trials that have characterized husband murder and alleged husband murder are well worth the price of admission.This is particularly so with his treatment of the Sam Sheppard case where Bailey's activities themselves were the cause of Sheppard's freedom.

I think Bailey was also strong where he concentrated on other cases -- for want of a better phrase -- that you may have actually heard of or cared about.Good examples of this included the Robert Blake case (which resulted in an acquittal) and the Scott Petterson case (which resulted in conviction AND a sentence of death).

Being brief, this is not only an excellent "airport book" but observations from a master himself on one of the more unseemly and interesting niche areas of the law.

Shows bias
This book is extremely biased. Apparently, Mr Bailey believes that every one of the subjects in this book is innocent and that they were framed. At least that was my impression before I got sick of reading about these "victims". I know defense lawywers are supposed to believe that the client is innocent but this book is just so much garbage.

The Spouse is the Prime Suspect
F. Lee Bailey is one of the best-known trial lawyers in America. His conviction rate in his murder trials was a low 4% compared to the national rate of over 90%. The twenty cases in this book range from the innocent to the guilty. When a wife is killed the husband becomes the first suspect (`Preface'). When the husband is found innocent many people still assume guilt. Most people are murdered by someone they know, women are murdered by husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends. Guns are the weapon of choice (p.8). Neither the media or the investigators are ever embarrassed in wrongly suspecting the husband.

Some of these twenty cases are more famous than the others (`Contents'). A missing person (like Jennifer Wilbanks) can create a media frenzy in blaming her boyfriend (John Mason). Its as if the media wants to create interest to attract viewers. [That classic play "The Front Page" can be a tutorial about the media.] This book shows how a messy and infuriating divorce is always better that a murder trial (p.205). Bailey's advice to any man whose wife is murdered is to immediately get the best lawyer so you can avoid an indictment and save a lot of grief, embarrassment, and a trial. Beware of giving a false alibi! If you are acquitted a large segment of the population will think you were guilty but got away with it.

There is no index and no pictures in this concise summary of the cases. Bailey's comments alone make this a very interesting read. His earlier book "The Defense Never Rests" is better reading. The twenty "Suspects" are discussed on 258 pages. There names are: Dr. Sam Sheppard, Dr. Carl Coppolino, Dr. Jeffrey Macdonald, Claus Von Bülow, Dr. Robert Bierenbaum, Steven Sherer, O. J. Simpson, Rabbi Fred Neulander, Mark Winger, Allen Blackthorne, Michael Schiano, James "Jeff" Cahill, Rae Carruth, Kenneth Fitzhugh, Richard Sharpe, Robert Blake, Michael Peterson, Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, and John Mason.

The OJ Simpson Trial is the best known. Page 93 does not mention the couple that found the body around 11:45pm. A report said the grand jury was dismissed because they would not indict OJ on the evidence (p.97). The limo driver's testimony led to a `not guilty' verdict (p.102). The author points out the other connected murders (p.103). Bailey explains the "low-speed chase" (p.105). The media created a bias of guilt similar to Dr. Sam Sheppard. Bailey says there is a lower quality to reporters today, unlike Dorothy Kilgallen (p.106). [What caused that?] Bailey challenges the reader to consider four points: the `time line' , the demeanor, the interrogation, and the trial testimony (pp.107-110). The jury was shielded from the nonsense in the press. Bailey said the defense chose to hold back significant evidence (p.110).
[Was this trial over-publicized to distract Americans from the job losses from NAFTA?]

Snarky, Smarmy, Read it!
When I opened this book, I sighed with disappointment.I have read another book about each and every one of these cases!Several are the same as featured in Dominick Dunne's "Justice".However, F. Lee Bailey's commentary at the end of each case makes it all worthwhile.At first, I couldn't help but laugh at how blatantly conceited this man is but then I stopped and remembered he is the most famous and renowned defense attorney in the U.S....sorry GerEGO and J. Cochran...
I began to enjoy his take on these pathetic men who take down women they can't control through brutish violence.More power to men writing about savage losers who wind up caught and strung up to dry!

Fascinating case reports
This subject is so interesting to me, and the approach this book takes is just excellent.The overview of the cases - many cases I am familiar with, but Bailey has added more details in background and court information - and the knowledgeable, objective analysis is so interesting.I could not put this book down and having read it I have a much better understanding of the tragedies these cases were to all involved. ... Read more

Product Description
Fifteen original stories of Renaissance faire magic and mayhem by fantasy's finest.

From a master jeweler who unexpectedly gains a treasure beyond prince.

A musician suddenly able to work magic with his strings.

A Thief who picks the wrong mark-or perhaps the right one.

A policeman's encounter with Merlin and murder. Here are imaginative tales of enchantment certain to captivate both Faire-goers and fantasy fans alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Faire collection of fantastical tales
I've never actually been to a RenFaire -- yet -- but I love the idea of recreating a (granted, decidedly romanticized) a capsule of medieval life in the modern day as a break from all the commotion and hustle-bustle. And it's that romanticized view of the past that lends itself easily to fantasy, since the line between reality has already been playfully erased:

"Jewels Beyond Price" -- While digging through a pile of all but worthless trinkets, a put-upon jeweler stumbles on what looks like a lamp with a genie inside, ready to grant the wishes he didn't realize he had.

"Diminished Chord" -- A down-on-his-luck musician discovers he may have a second chance for his dreams when he picks up a lute which might just have some magic in its strings.

"Splinter" -- When he tries to swipe a holy artifact from a seemingly dotty old gentleman, a pickpocket learns the hard way about the pain his thefts have caused.

"Giralomo and Mistress Willendorf" -- In a by-turns comical and thought-provoking clash of wills, a latter-day Savonarola locks wits with a mysterious woman who appears to be Mother Nature herself.

"A Time for Steel" -- A Lady Godiva impersonator wittingly or unwittingly alerts two detectives to a murder at the Faire.

"One Hot Day" -- Two young women at the Faire have a strange encounter with a crazy old woman who might be the Crone herself come to stir things up.

"Wimpin' Wady" -- It's easy for a young child to go astray at the Faire, but when Faeries get involved, the results could spell trouble...

"Brewed Fortune" -- An old family rivalry and a seemingly hokey tea-leaf reading session prove to carry more weight for one faire-goer and his seemingly stodgy friend.

"Marriage a la Modred" -- After a Faerie prince threatens his sister's honor, a bored teenager finds out the real meaning of chivalry -- and that the Faire might not be such a dumb place to spend a Saturday afternoon, after all.

"A Dance of Seven Vales" -- When developers want to bulldoze a faire-ground to make way for a bunch of McMansions, a wise bellydancer must find a way to charm them into changing their plans.

"Moses' Miracles" -- A collector of ancient manuscripts makes the discovery of a lifetime in a bookseller's stall, but he may have to take on the Sidhe to claim it.

"Grok" -- Even an Orcish being roving at the Faire has a tale to tell, and despite his grungy exterior, he just might have a poignant secret hiding under the hair and rags.

"Renaissance Feare" -- A flip comment about wishing to live in the Renaissance era triggers something a bit too real for a modern couple roving at the Faire.

"The Land of the Awful Shadow" -- On returning to find a RenFaire-ground set up in the wilderness where he roamed as a youth, a warrior reconnects with his past -- both the boyishly delightful and the shadows of adulthood brought on early.

"Faire Likeness" -- Two guildswomen suspect that a carver of eerily life-like wooden figures may have a nasty ulterior motive to his craft. Can they stop him before he makes his move?

One gem amongst a mediocre bunch of crap
The only good story in this book is the one by Roberta Gellis - all the other stories are lame, badly written, and condescending.

Less than Spectacular
I was very happy to purchase this book when I saw the title. But it is much like people who are told to write Sci-Fi who hate that sort of thing, so they write about how stupid people are for reading such.


This was exactly like this anthology, many of the writers belittled the very people who adore the genre of Faires. While that is fine and good? I don't want to waste hard earned money reading about how these authors think Renaissance Faires are silly or stupid or the people are somehow not worthy of thier respect. So I was hoping for stories of people who met and went to the time and was happy, Instead many of the stories held within were sad or terribly boring.

I would not suggest this book to read to anyone.

Some good, some not so much
This anthology gives a number of stories set at Renaissance Faires in various parts of the country.All make use of some fantastic encounters or occurrences to tell their stories.

"Jewels Beyond Price" by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough is a fine story, though it is a bit slow.Nothing like a genie to make life interesting.

"Diminished Chord" by Joe Haldeman does not actually take place at a Fair, but it does make use of fantasy.A musician has a magical encounter with a mysterious woman and acquires something that allows him to become successful later.The closest to a Fair is a musical performance among other players of antiquated instruments at a gathering at a home.

"Splinter" by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta is a nice lesson-story that brings in some historical personages and religious artifacts to educate a misguided young man.

"Girolamo and Mistress Willendorf" by John Maddox Roberts is a really nice story about an eternal conflict.It brings in classic religious items and something of the battle of the sexes.

"A Time for Steel" by Robert E. Vardeman is a nice little Arthurian story set in a modern Fair.I enjoyed this one.

"One Hot Day" by Stephen Gabriel is one of the stories in the anthology that links an attendee of a Fair to the past by some mystical means.The buildup was good, but the end was a bit sudden.The resolution itself, though, we nicely done.

"Wimpin' Wady" by Jayge Carr is something of a lesser part of this book.This one deals with faeries and changelings and parental authority and how children of any race can be precocious.

"Brewed Fortune" by Michael Stackpole is one of the really good stories in this book.Using characters from a past story, he uses a Renaissance Fair setting to tell a story about the assistant to an investigator that ties into the ancestry of that assistant's past.Really well done.

"Marriage A La Modred" by Esthner Friesner was another lesser story in the book.A young man inadvertently gets his sister into trouble with a fantastic Fair-attendee, leading him to a noble decision to save her.The ending is lame, and most of the dialogue and developments nothing to write home about.Not her best work.

"A Dance of Seven Vales" by Rose Wolf is another so-so story.This one has magical and mystical doings aiding preservation of the environment, and the many creatures that live therein.

"Moses' Miracles" by Roberta Gellis is a really nice story.A collector of rare manuscripts and his assistant make an interesting acquiantance at a Fair.Linking ancient religion and New World civilizations in a satisfying way, Gellis delivers one of the better stories in this book.

"Grok" by Donald J. Bingle is a bit sad, telling the story of a forgotten man whose only life takes place at the annual Fair.

"Renaissance Fear" by Stephen D. Sullivan is another lesson-story, and another time-travel story.While it is at least not as touchy-feely as most of the stories in this collection, the overriding lesson of being honest is not as valuable.

"The Land of the Awful Shadow" by Brian A. Hopkins is another great one in this collection.The trials and tribulations of youth are the focus here, especially as they relate to alternate realities and people able to perceive them.

"Faire Likeness" by the recently-departed Andre Norton is a typical great work from her.A wonderfully gifted artist and the magic he wields to produce his works is the focal point.The same great characterization and viewpoint that she could write is evident in this one.

Overall, the few really good stories make this collection a good buy, but there are a few in here that were certainly not to my liking. ... Read more

Product Description
How much is an act of betrayal worth?

Worth the price of a soul?

Dhamon Grimwulf and his band of mercenaries greedily eye a long-forgotten treasure concealed beneath a grassy plain. Legends promise riches too numerous to count, wealth too grand to be believed. But in a shifting world of secrets and deception, such fortune comes at a high price, higher even than the searing agony Dhamon suffers under the curse of a dragon's scale.

High enough to cost Dhamon his life.

The paperback version of the sequel to Downfall, the first book of the Dhamon Saga. Betrayal continues the adventures of characters featured in the USA Today bestselling Dragons of a New Age trilogy.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A step in the right direction..
Jean Rabe is probably one the most notorius writers in the Dragonlance world. People don't seem to like what her books tackled in her Dragons of a New Age trilogy. I for one am a fan of Rabe. I was immensly pleased with her DoNA books and looked forward to reading her Dhamon saga as soon as I had time.

This book starts where "Downfall" left off. Other than a short cameo in the beginning and end of the book by Rig and Fiona, the story mostly settles around Dhamon, Maldred, Riki, and an interesting draconian. Dhamon and Maldred are searching for a treasure, that when found, will hopefully help Dhamon find a cure for the cursed dragon scale in his leg.

"Betrayal" is full of enough adventure, excitement, backstabbing, and intrigue to keep any Dragonlance reader hooked. Rabe has really grown as a writer since her DoNA books. They just keep getting better. There are plenty of twists in this book to keep you guessing the whole time. The ending is a shocker and will easily keep you thinking about it until long after you are done, and will keep you begging for more. If you are a fan of Dragonlance, this book is a must.

Smashing well-paced story Rabe rocks!
Rabe gets too much flack from Dragonlance fans. Many automatically brand her books with the mark of the Beast simply because she is not Weis nor Hickman.

Instead she gives us a good RABE book, her own style. With characters that are risky to write and even harder to pull off, and she does it.

The book takes us on many adventures throughout the realms of the evil Dragoness Onysablet, called Sable by we mere mortals.

We see the suffering of humans becoming monstrous spawn, repitilian slaves of the Overlord. We see towns and characters put to the crucible and sword and feel their suffering.

Rabe's writing grows a lot. Her plot pacing is not fast but subtle. She uses wording that is differnt and unique.

I must say that I found this book to be a great supplement to the War of Soul in that it fleshes out Krynn for me ....It helps me see the Fifth Age through the eyes of people other than the Heroes of The Lance... Rabe's books stand out as being every bit as strong, but different than Weiss and Hickman!

Heartily Recommended.

great, wonderful book
this book is going to be a great classic and leaves you hanging waiting for the next book, which comes out in june 2002 if i am not mistaken truly a good book, the whole benedict maldred episode puts a nice touch in.

Twists and Turns kept my head spinning!
I have to admit that I like surprises, and there were plenty in this book. I felt sorry for some of the characters, and angry at others. I like it when a book gets me to feel something.

I probably shouldn't give away the ending, but it surprised me. I am looking forward to the next book to see how it all turns out.

Wonderful Characters and Creatures
I'm not sure I liked this as well as the other one, but I loved the fight scenes, especially the giant spiders. That one caught me off guard. I'm looking forward to the wrap up of the trilogy, as it will be interesting to see what she does with Dhamon and Maldred, and if the half-elf comes back into the mix. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (13)

If you liked the first book, don't read this one!
I wanted to like this book.I really did.However, this has to be the most disappointing sequel I've ever read.I had never read any of Ms. Rabe's other works, and now I never will.She claims that this novel was very much a collaborative effort between her and Andre Norton; but I sincerely hope that's not true, because that would mean that Ms. Norton did not even remember her own book.In the foreword, Ms. Rabe talks of how her husband had recently re-read Quag Keep to her, over the course of several evenings.From the results, I can only assume that this is the extent of Ms. Rabe's research.

One character's animal companion, a small pseudo-dragon, was named Afreeta in the first book; but in this one, it is named Alfreeta.The characters in the sequel were so totally unlike the characters in the first book that I couldn't believe they were supposed to be the same people.The first book named several prominent landmarks in the old World of Greyhawk (where the book is set, with a few small changes).Yet very few geographical features are named in the sequel- the city in which the characters begin is not even named, and the desert which surrounded the `Quag Keep' of the title is treated as a minor annoyance, instead of the major obstacle that it presented in the first story.

In addition, while the first story was written from one character's point of view, the sequel was written in a different narrative mode... switching from one character's point of view, to another's.I have NEVER read a sequel where the author(s) changed the narrative mode between books.(Sometimes from a different character's point of view, but never switching from first to third person narrative.)If I'd handed in a story like that in my high school writing classes, I would have received a well-deserved `F'.

However, the main problem with this book is the lame story line.I'll give a spoiler alert, although if you heed my advice above it won't matter.In the first chapter, two of the major characters leave on some minor quest that isn't mentioned throughout most of the book, and they don't appear until nearly the end.The second chapter has two of the characters in a tavern, looking for work... how many times has that been used in a game?As expected, there was a bar fight (yawn).The rest of the book was equally uninspired.Back in my role-playing days, any game master who ran a fantasy game like this would end up losing all of his players.

I won't go on.If you truly loved the first book, like I did, you are better off not reading this so-called `sequel'.It will spoil your memory of an old favorite.

Return to Quag Keep
Great book by Andre Norton.I had talked to her on the phone years ago.She was a gracious lady and even sent me two lettrs.I would recommend every book she wrote.I have over 150 of her books!

Gene Kroll

Dismayed, disappointed.
I loved Quag Keep, so I was excited to discover the sequel. Unfortunately, Return to Quag Keep has so little in common with the original book that it might as well not be a sequel. It's not even a fun book.

The story seems to start shortly after the events of the first book, but that's not entirely clear. Gulth tells the other members of the group that he's dying and needs to leave them in order to find help. Deav Dyne goes with him. And I hope I'm not being too spoilery here, but that is the last we hear from either Gulth or Deav Dyne until the last three pages of the book.

In Quag Keep, Milo was the stoic, serious, worried leader of the group. In Return to Quag Keep, he starts off the book getting drunk in a tavern when he and Naile are about to meet a prospective employer--not a Milo-ish thing to do at all. It doesn't matter, because through roundabout means (and rather transparent plot devices), they get the job anyway. They're guards for a caravan, of course. And of course they're attacked by various baddies and things go awry, and then they discover they all need to go back to Quag Keep, where something important has been left undone.

I found the plot uninspired and the characters sadly interchangeable. The writing was also not very good. In one scene, just after a character gets an arm cut off (can you say "consult limb loss table"?) and has to have the wound cauterized with a torch, another character calmly peruses some books, complains that he's hungry, and then reads a long and meaningless passage from a book aloud. It makes no sense. Many plot setups have no payoffs. For instance, as a result of reading the book aloud, the character writes a message for help and sends it with Afreet (called Alfreet in this book, for some reason)--but there was no need to send for help, since the other characters were on their way to help anyway. That's just one small example of sloppiness that continued throughout the book.

The ending was particularly disappointing. There was no closure at all, very few plot points were resolved, and all the characters were left hanging--some of them in dire straits indeed. I really find nothing at all to recommend in this book, and that's too bad because I wanted to like it very much.

Terrible Sequel
Like others, I was excited to see a sequel to the book that opened the fantasy book world to me. What a total dissappointment.

This book seems to have been written by a highschool creative writing student. Storylines that go nowhere, characters appear and dissappear and many bring nothing to the story. Plot lines that just end seemingly at random.

I reached the last sentence of the book and turned the page, thinking there was more to go. I have never done that with a book.

The biggest dissappointment is that the storyline and characters have almost nothing in common with the original book other than in name. Personalities are totally different. Situations left off in the original book are not even addressed. The setting itself is also different. The Keep was next to a forest? What happend to the Sea of dust and the Swamp (QUAG) that it was named for? Also, for some inexplicable reason, the author divides the group of characters at the very beginning of the book, with two of them having virtually no part in the story at all. She then rapidly kills off a third.

The villians are mediocre at best and the demise of one is almostl an afterthought.

I could go on and on but I leave it at this. As a stand alone book, I believe it is poorly written but passable. As a sequel to a book that opened up a whole genre, it is a major failure.

Once More Into the Keep
Return to Quag Keep (2006) is the second fantasy novel in this series, following Quag Keep.In the previous volume, the seven heroes have fought their way across the Sea of Dust to the quag surrounding the keep.Gulth provides transportation across the quag to the highland surrounding the keep itself, but oversized fanged frogs dispute their passage.After a final battle with Carlvols and his fighters, the heroes enter the keep and confront the power who has brought them to this world.

In this novel, the heroes have come to a city to regroup after leaving Quag Keep.However, Gulth is dying and Deav Dyne has no cure.They meet with Yeleve, Wymarc and Ingrge to pass on their plans and then leave the city to travel to Gulth's swamps.

Milo and Naile are waiting in the Golden Tankard, hoping to get a job with a merchant caravan.Meanwhile, they are drinking ale and getting drunk.Three other drunken men enter the tavern and insist that Milo and Naile are sitting at their table.One of the three gets very insistent, but Milo and Naile ignore them.Finally they see someone who looks like a prosperous merchant and get up to approach him.Naile, however, accidentally knocks down the most vociferous of the three drunks and a fight ensues.

Milo and Naile have been blamed as the persons who started the fight and thus liable for all the damages.Yeleve and Ingrge get them bailed out of gaol, but they are now indebted to the merchant, Ludlow Jade, and will be working for him without pay as caravan guards.Wymarc stays behind to play in the inn as restitution for the damages.

As the caravan wends its way north to several small villages, Yeleve drives one of the wagons.Milo and Naile walk alongside until they tire and then ride on the wagons for a while.Ingrge scouts ahead and behind to search for the bandits expected by Ludlow Jade.He finds partially obliterated footprints ahead of them and then discovers someone following them.

Just then the caravan is attacked by the Undead buried alongside the trail.Everyone fights back, but Naile changes into his were-boar form and becomes the most effective combatant against the skeletons and zombies.Although the caravan suffers losses in personnel and horses, they continue to the next village.

The man who had been following them is Berthold, a thief and wearer of another bracelet identical with their own.He was himself a gamer and a member of another group seeking Quag Keep, but the others were killed or vanished before they reached their objective.Now he is alone and certain that something is seriously wrong in this world.

Berthold has had a dream about a wizard imprisoned below Quag Keep.Although Milo explains that they had thoroughly searched the Quag Keep tower, Berthold points out that they did not search the underground portions.Milo and Naile agree to travel with him to Quag Keep while the others remain with the caravan.

In this story, Fisk Lockwood is an agent for Pobe, a shadowy and amorphous creature who has imprisoned the wizard Jalafar-rula beneath Quag Keep.Fisk has already killed the others in Berthold's party and now is after Milo's group.He has maneuvered several of them into the caravan and has set up the Undead to test their meddle.Another trap awaits further along the caravan's path.

This novel is more like a roleplaying game than the original story, but Jean Rabe has had considerable experience in the roleplaying field.However, the terrain and vegetation are less vivid that within the original story, but the personas of the gamers themselves are much better developed.In fact, so are the personas of the agents of Chaos.Overall, this story seems more alive than the original.

This story has a more satisfying ending, but still leaves many loose ends.Some of the group have returned to Earth, but others have been left behind in the other world.Possibly there will be another sequel.

Recommended for Norton & Rabe fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of questing, combat and magic.

-Arthur W. Jordin ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Dragon Mage
I loved Dragon Mage from the very first page. I got the sense that alot of research on ancient Babylon was done in preparation for this book. It has suspense and humor along with solid believable characters. I especially liked Nidin. If you are looking for a good read you won't be disappointed with any of Jean Rabe's books but especially this one.

Savior of Dragons
Dragon Mage (2007) is the second fantasy novel in the Dragon duology, following Dragon Magic.In the previous volume, four boys assembled pieces of four dragon puzzles and then experienced the past to observe a dragon from their own legends.

Sig followed Sigurd King's-Son in his venture against Fafnir the Wurm.Ras was taken to Babylon with sirrush-lau, the swamp monster.Artie worked to foil a conspiracy against King Arthur, the Pendragon.Kim helped Shui Men Lung -- the Slumbering Dragon -- win a wager.

In this novel, several decades later in present time, Sig has a heart attack and dies.His daughter Shilo is taken to Slade's Corners in Wisconsin to live with her grandparents.She is under the impression that Wisconsin is cold, but she discovers that the summers can be very hot.

Shilo is living in a three story building that is now an antique store and the home of her grandparents.The building had once been a stage stop and had rooms upstairs for travelers.It still doesn't have air conditioning and Shilo keeps telling herself that she is within Hades (for more reasons than the heat).

One night Shilo hears someone calling for Sigurd Clawhand.She starts looking for the source of this voice and then the lights go out.Shilo keeps telling herself that she is smarter than the normal horror movie victim, but she goes up into the attic anyway.

Shilo can't find anyone up there.Then the lights come back on and she looks around some more, but sees no one.She notices an old trunk that supposedly contains some of her father's old belongings and opens its lid.She notices only toys and playthings within the box.

One thing catches her eye.A wooden box with an illustration of four dragons upon the lid.She opens it and discovers wooden puzzle pieces that seem to match the pictures on the lid.When she leaves the attic, she takes the box of puzzle pieces with her.

In this story, Shilo finds that pieces are missing for each puzzle, but she can put the parts together to form a fifth dragon.Then suddenly she is somewhere else facing the resemblance of the dragon upon a gate.She is standing in a large plaza filled with people who are staring at her and making sounds that she cannot understand.

When the guards appear, Shilo runs away from them.She soon observes that the people have brown skin and are wearing a completely different type of clothes.She ducks into a room off the street and steals a robe;well, she does leave a gold bracelet for it, but she doesn't bother to ask for permission to take the clothing.

Wearing the robe with the hood up to hide her red hair, pale skin and freckles, Shilo walks among the city folks without attracting further attention.She comes to a river and follows it to a temple building.It is getting dark and she would like to find a place to sleep, so she enters the temple from the back.

When she wakes up the next morning, Shilo sees that the statues around her are all of the same person.Then she is discovered by a young priest and, despite their language gap, Shilo learns that she is within the temple of Shamash in the city of Babylon.The young priest is named Nadintulugal.

Shilo's father had an interest in history and Shilo has inherited this affection.She had learned some things about Babylon in a class on Middle Eastern Conflicts.Since the current ruler is Nebuchadnezzer, Shilo realizes that she must be about 2500 years in the past.

This tale also concerns a dragon -- Ulbanyu -- who has lost her four eggs.The dragon has divined that her eggs must be discovered soon or dreadful things will happen to dragonkind and maybe to mankind as well.She is the one who has been calling Sigurd Clawhand, but now she knows that Shilo is his daughter.Ulbanu expects Shilo to help recover her eggs.

The story leads Shilo into a confrontation with another person from the future who is breeding demons.Shilo also receives some help from an unexpected source.Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Norton & Rabe fans and for anyone who enjoys tales of historical dragons, ancient history, and a determined yet moody young woman.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Good Sequel
I really enjoyed this, but I don't think anyone who hadn't read Dragon Magic would have gotten the full impact.As a stand alone, I think it would lose something.That said, it was great fun, a new location for our time travelers, and an interesting double twist in who is where when!

entertaining young adult fantasy
Following the heart attack death of her forty-nine year old father, Shilo's paternal grandparents take the teen from Marietta, Georgia into their home in Slade's Corner, Wisconsin.Shilo is grateful because she knows she has no place else to go except perhaps her older brother's Atlanta apartment; but between him and his pregnant wife there is no corner for a fifteen year old.However, she is also bored as she feels she landed in Hades as life in a small town living above an antique store is not very exciting.

Her kindhearted grandmother encourages Shilo to look at her late father's stuff that they stored in boxes as a means of learning more about his childhood.In all the cartons the most interesting items are very old puzzles with each different yet containing the picture of a dragon.Her grandmother explains that Shy's dad had quite an imagination as he would tell his parents about his adventures in another realm where a dragon ruled.Unable to put any puzzle totally together as pieces seemed missing, Sly finally realizes that this is one master puzzle not multiples.When she finishes assembling the giant puzzle, Shy finds herself in ancient Babylon serving an ancient dragon and studying to be a DRAGON MAGE just like her dad did as she must complete his work to simply save the world.

In spite of a Forward explaining how the sequels to Andre Norton's classic DRAGON MAGIC came about, I am not sure how much the late Ms. Norton provided (beyond a needlework depicting the four dragons).My previous impression was her last work was A TASTE OF MAGIC in which Jean Rabe used Ms. Norton's writings notes to complete the fantasy.Regardless, DRAGON MAGE is an entertaining young adult fantasy that readers of all ages will enjoy as the modern day heroine goes back several millenniums in her father's footsteps to become an American in a dragon king's Babylonian court.

Harriet Klausner
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Product Description
For Goldmoon and her followers, Schallsea Island is a place of bright beginnings. In the shadow of the magical ruin called the Silver Stair, a translucent spiral that leads to visions and revelations, they have started construction on the Citadel of Light. For the first time since the Chaos War, the future looks promising.

But two forces challenge Goldmoon's plan to launch a new mystical order on Krynn -- one clad in the plate mail of a Solamnic Knight, the other hidden by mysterious magic and dark shadows.

Jean Rabe's novel tells the compelling tale of the struggle to preserve the Silver Stair and to prevent the dream of Schallsea Island from becoming a nightmare.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Frustrating characters
Having read Rabe's DRAGONS OF A NEW AGE trilogy and now this, I've come to the conclusion that she has a difficult time writing characters that act like actual people would.This tended to improve as the aforementioned trilogy progressed, but it was terrible in this book.What I mean by this is, if something strange or suspicious occurs, most people would stop and question it.However, Rabe's characters tend to blithely continue on with what they were doing and don't give it a second thought.Very very frustrating to read when you know that it needs to be questioned.It's as if Ms. Rabe just wants to get where she's going and she completely disregards the fact that she needs to make her characters act like normal people in order to make them believable.This makes it very difficult to become emotionally involved with either the characters or the story.I'm guessing that this is one of her early works because, by the third book of DRAGONS OF A NEW AGE, her characters were behaving more reasonably.

The other thing about this book that caused me to dislike it so much was the fact that her main elf character, Gair, didn't actlike an elf at all.He was impatient, impetuous, and, for someone who claimed to be a scholar in the field of magic, tended to jump right in to doing something without even considering the consequences.These characteristics are all the complete opposite of those describing an elf.They are more along the lines of a human.If you're going to create a character and assign them a race and you want them to be believable, they have to have at least some of the characteristics of that race.Gair seemed to have none.I felt no sympathy for him whatsoever.I am sure this was not Rabe's intent, but she fell completely flat in attempting to make me connect with the character.

Finally, since Gair was such an integral part of the plot and Ms. Rabe was forcing him into acting so unlike an elf, the whole story just seemed to contrived.It was simply a way of establishing Goldmoon's Citadel of Light for use in subsequent books.A story had to be created to put these pieces into place.The bad characterization just made it blatantly obvious to the reader that the whole point of the book was to get to the ending point.Unfortunately, Rabe's handling of the characters just made the journey unpleasant and unbelievable.

It was a decent story, but nothing to get excited about.The execution could have been light years better.Unless you're a hardcore Dragonlance fan, you can probably skip this book and not miss much (if anything).

Healing powers come back Krynn!!
As a writer, Jean Rabe either runs hot or cold.There's no middle ground with her.Her novel Marquesta Kar-thon:I started reading & then quit. I'll go back & read it sometime.Her 5th Age trilogy was god-awful stupid.

On the other hand, her Dhamon trilogy - while I haven't read them yet - sounds promising.This book is very good.You know there's a threat to Goldmoon but you don't know where it's coming from until springs up.I was completely surprised.

The characters are well-developed, the plot's strong & it draws you in.The rules by which they recieve their clerical powers in this book actually makes sense unlike the rules they made for the wizards in the 5th Age.A good read.

The Silver Stair
First, DRAGON LANCE books are world class fanasty books. Unless you know nothing about reading these types of books you have no reason rating this book so low. All books by Jean Rabe are of the greatest stories told throughout DRAGON LANCE saga. The Silver Stair just happens to be my most favorite DL ever because theres just so much going on throughout the story. "Just read it"! DRAGON LANCE rules all others fail to come close.

Just Rabe's other books
The characters are all shallow and the story is poorly written.The elf goes from being an inheritantly good person to the most evil person in the world in one chapter for no apparent reason.He also gets whacked in the knee 5 or 6 times with a hammer then two pages later is out running someone.You gotta wonder why TSR lets her continue to write for the dragonlance series, I have not read a good book from her yet.

Another great Dragonlance book.
Despite a few flaws I found this book quite entertaining. Following Gair's story was a very interesting read, and if this is how the Age of Mortals trilogy is like I'm sure it's hardly as bad as some people say.One thing that was odd, how was the mage at the start using magic as he did? ... Read more

Product Description
Here, in this new original collection, are ghost tales to frighten, mysteries to solve, histories to dig up, and skeletons to bury.

Includes stories by:

Roland Green

Brian A. Hopkins
Lisanne Norman
Andre Norton
Bruce Holland Rogers
Michael A. Stackpole
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
and others ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

No Ghost Stories Here!
As anyone with a fondness for the genre knows, a "ghost story" is not any story with something labeled a "ghost" in it; a ghost story offers an encounter with the unknown and unexplained, a meeting with something that is outside the realm of the expected. Ghost stories contain elements of suspense. By such a definition most of the stories in this piece are not ghost stories.
I do not blame the writers -- some of the stories are decently written. I do blame the editors for imagining these action yarns constitute ghost stories.
The first, "Fighting Spirits" is a supernatural confrontation with some monsters from beyond. No ghostly suspense; just a fight scene. The second, "Jennie in the Field" is a ghost story, but not a particularly well-written one. The third, Andre Norton's "Ravenmere," is an exception -- an excellent little story. "In the Charnel House," apparently attempts to be a Kafkaesque morality play but leaves me looking at an over-played and insufficiently justified moral. "When You're Dead" is an adventure / escape story "ghosted up" by a too easily labeled Harry Houdini. "Spirit of Honor" is an Oriental sword & sorcery piece, not a ghost story.
Get the idea?
This is definitely the most disappointing ghost story anthology I've purchased (and I've purchased more than a few).

Excellent, subtle horror
The cover caught my attention, and so I bought it. I'm waiting for the next volume. There's Houdini's ghost, Helen Keller's, some WWII guys, all of them excellent and most of them with surprising, twists. My favorites were Jimmy Hoffa's ghost and Andre Norton's story.

You said scary stories.HA ha ha.........
This book doesn`t keep the promises.As you read the title you expect to be intertained with SCARY stories about ghosts but once I began to read it I soon give up because this book is SO boring.
Some cold air,a small strange noise and a little mist and that is all.I don`t know where those writers picked up their ghost???? stories.

Amazing detail
Historical hauntings kept me up all night. I couldn't think about anything else until I was finished with the book. Vivid detail in every object. My only complaint is that it's waaaay too short. But other than that, highly reccomended. ... Read more

Product Description
In Gamemastering Secrets, Aaron Rosenberg and guest contributors cover everything about running a roleplaying game, from choosing a game system to closing out a long-running campaign. They give tips on how to handle various situations, pointers on potential dangers and how to avoid them, and advice on how to get the best gaming experience for everyone involved.

If you've never GM'd before, they teach you how to go about it, where to start and how to proceed, and enough tricks to convince anyone that you're a veteran.

If you are an experience gamemaster, they give you new tricks, ways to keep your players on their toes, and ways to spice up your games.

For use with any roleplaying game (examples are drawn from the d20 and Fudge systems).

Featuring John Kovalic's "Dork Tower" comic strips, and Same Chupp - Gamemastering for Kids, Hilary Doda - Women at the Gaming Table, Ann Dupuis - The Science and Art of Mapmaking, Lee Gold - NPCs: Not Paper Cutouts, Matt Forbeck - Running a Con Game, Kenneth Hite - The Joy of Research, Larry D. Hols - Throw 'em to the Wolves!, Steven S. Lng - Genre and Setting Simulation, Steven Marsh - Treasure, Frank Mentzer - Trust at the Gaming Table, John Nephew - The Beginner's Game, John R. Phythyon, Jr. - Creating Memorable Villains, Jean Rabe - Winging It, Mark Simmons - Gamemaster's Flowchart 101, Lester Smith - Campaign Troubleshooting, James M. Ward - Campaign World-building, Ross Winn - Character Creation

('d20 System' and the d20 System logo are Trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used with permission. The Fudge System logo is a trademark of Steffan O'Sullivan, used under license. Logo design by Daniel M. Davis.) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Food for Thought
This book is a collection of essays by notables in the gaming field, and their thoughts about the purpose of the Gamemaster, and ideas on how to make the roleplaying experience better for all. While it does have some "try this" tips, it really isn't a "how to do gamemastering" book, in the sense of checklists and steps.

A book full of ideas
This book is a good resource for Dungeon Masters to gain a different voice in ideas in creating stories for your players. It is a good addition to a DM's library ... Read more

Product Description
The latest title in a series based on characters from the best-selling War of Souls trilogy.
This title is the next in a series that explores the lives of key characters from Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's New York Times best-selling War of Souls trilogy. The Lake of Death describes events that directly overlap events during the War of Souls and is an unofficial sequel to Rabe's Dhamon Saga trilogy. Author Jean Rabe is well known by both recent and long-term Dragonlance novel fans.
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Customer Reviews (6)

Not a big fan of Jean Rabe, but she's getting better.
This continues the story of "Dhamon" from the Age of Mortals books.As she does in her other books, Jean Rabe includes creatures and beasts not typically seen in the Dragonlance setting, but I wish she would focus more on character development and I'm not a fan of her general writing style, though she seems to get better with each book I've read.

Worth the read
This was a much better book than I had expected...I could not finish Rabe's "Dragon's of a New Age" series and was very skeptical about this book.I'm glad I picked it up.The only problem with the book is her in accuracy with draconians...they are NOT thousands of years old.they were created during the war of the lance.

Sad but expected
Let me first say that I love Jean Rabe's work..I know many people think her characters are to powerful and behave inhumanly and unrealistic,but these are fantasy characters,not real people.. One thing you must do when you decide to read any of her novels is try not to compare the characters to real life people..If you do that,then none of her books are for you..Matter of fact,reading fantasy DL or FR novels aren't for you...

Anyway,I loved all of the main characters in this novel,especially my favorite character of all,Dhamon.. Ragh was also pretty cool and some senes had me dying laughing.. I kinda felt bad for the Draco..For a Draconian,Ragh had a high sense of honor which I liked..The best part was of the story was Dhamon being reaquainted with Feril..It would have been nice If the 4 book quest ended differently,but the series was great nonetheless..
I hope Rabe writes moer about Ragh and Feril..I've really come to enjoy Ragh's character,and I liked Feril from the New Age trilogy...If you haven't yet read these books,you definitely should go out and get it...

Could have been better
Jean Rabe has done many good books, but this one he lacked alot of suspense, danger, and excitement.Most of the characters is this book are just lead ins from the other books about Dhamon and his adventures.The Lake of Death looks at trying to get a cure for Dhamon to turn him back into a human after being tricked by a shadow dragon and then becoming one.Throughout the whole book he is constantly fighting himself trying to figure out if he wants to become human or stay a dragon.He enlists the help of his only love of life the elf Feril. She sets out on a journey to help find him a cure in what they call the lake of death which was the lake that was made when Qualinesti was flooded after the green dragon Beryl buried it when dying.The fun part was Feril going into the lake to find the sunken city, but Rabe doesn't go into detail about the lake, I thought this was the most interesting part. To go down to a lake and find a sunken city with treasures and adventures of finding something down there.The final act of Dhamon was also one of the best parts, by this time it was the end of the book and anything in between wasn't needed.It acted more as a filler than adding anything to the main line of the story.Could have been much better, by looking at some of his other books.

Another Fine Book by Jean Rabe
This is another fine book, indeed. Jean Rabe has written some of the best of the Dragonlance novels and she does herself proud with The Lake of Death. She's negotiated the many shifts and changes in the world of Krynn with grace and managed to tell exciting stories throughout.

To Ms. Rabe, I say: Way to go! ... Read more