Book Reviews - Barbee N. (Stragella)

1 to 18 of 18
American Gods
American Gods
Author: Neil Gaiman
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
3 member(s) found this review helpful.


This is one of the best books I've read...PERIOD! Neil Gaiman weaves a story of a man just out of prison trying to get his life in order and discovering his life is not what it seems. Also a commentary on our dying faith in America and how it effects us and the beings that once were worshipped. A great read. It works on many emotional levels. If you liked the Sandman comic books and graphic novels, you'll probably LOVE this book. Can't say enough good things about it.

Review Date: 8/16/2006
Coffin Underground
Coffin Underground
Author: Gwendoline Butler
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:


This is a mystery novel set in England. The subject matter is a little different than your average detective novel...it focuses on a set of murders set around a role-playing game. People are dying and the subtle clues point to a killer involved in a D&D-like fantasy game. The book is a good read because the characters are well-fleshed out and there is more going on than just the mystery at hand. A good series of detective fiction.

Review Date: 7/10/2006
Commander Amanda
Commander Amanda
Author: George Revelli
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
3


The first book of the Amanda series.

Its a nasty book. All kinds of torture, rape, whipping, etc. Its a straightforward sex 'n' sadism story. Its not for the weak.


Review Date: 11/6/2006
The Day of Their Return
The Day of Their Return
Author: Poul Anderson
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
1


An alien empire is going through a period of change and one world holds the answers that could lead to the return to glory of the empire or it's fall. This was a decent sci-fi book, I guess. It seemed like this was part of a series, but I'm not sure. Maybe it would have been better if I had not come in in the middle.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
Doctor Who: The Aztecs (Doctor Who, Vol 88)
Doctor Who: The Aztecs (Doctor Who, Vol 88)
Author: John Lucarotti
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
1


The first Doctor and his companions travel to ancient Mexico and meet the Aztec people. This is based off of an episode of the first season of the original Doctor Who. The story is not bad, it's just that I had seen the episode of the show. It's a nice collectible. If you're a Doctor Who completist, this is for you.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
The Executioner War Against The Mafia
The Executioner War Against The Mafia
Author: Don Pendleton
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
1


The beginning of the Mack Bolan saga...Mack comes back from Viet Nam to find the mafia has been messing with his family while he was gone. He launches a one-man war to take down the cosa nostra. A good, solid read.

Review Date: 9/16/2006
The Fifth Rapunzel (An Inspector Maybridge Mystery)
The Fifth Rapunzel (An Inspector Maybridge Mystery)
Author: B. M. Gill
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
7


From Kirkus Reviews
Detective Chief Inspector Tom Maybridge (Death Drop, etc.) is shocked by the car-accident deaths of forensic pathologist Professor Peter Bradshaw and his wife Lisa. Bradshaw had been a neighbor and professional colleague, working with Maybridge most recently on the so-called Rapunzel murders, for which serial strangler Charles Hixon is serving a life sentence. Maybridge's wife Meg tries to comfort the Bradshaws' only child, 18-year-old Simon, living alone in the big family house until the arrival of Rhoda Osborne, who claims to be writing a piece on his mother, who had been an art historian. But Osborne is really looking for clues to her vanished sister Clare, latest of Peter Bradshaw's many mistresses. Simon's life had been traumatized by his coldly neurotic mother, an in-and-out patient at a nearby psychiatric nursing home. His reluctant involvement with Sally, a pretty, calculating worker there, adds another off-beat tragedy to the dark chronicle and inadvertently fulfills Osborne's mission. The sprawling plot, with some neat twists, is engrossing despite an overload of tormented psyches, twisted lives, and more than a touch of pretentiousness in the writing. Above-average fare- -but only middling Gill.

Review Date: 7/10/2006
The Hidden Temple (Eleven Kingdoms, Bk 3)
The Hidden Temple (Eleven Kingdoms, Bk 3)
Author: Catherine Cooke
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
1


This is a fantasy novel that is part of a series. The story was good. I couldn't follow a lot of what was happening because I hadn't read the previous book, but I got into it as it went. It was well written and it would probably be an excellent read for someone already involved in the series.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
Life, The Universe, and Everything (Hitchhiker's Trilogy #3)
Life, The Universe, and Everything (Hitchhiker's Trilogy #3)
Author: Douglas Adams
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:


For fans of Douglas Adams, this is a great book. I'm not a big fan of his and personally, I thought of all the Hitchhiker books, this was by far the worst. The story is just not coherent enough for my tastes.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
LIGHTLESS KINGDOM, THE (Unbalanced Earth Trilogy, No 2)
LIGHTLESS KINGDOM, THE (Unbalanced Earth Trilogy, No 2)
Author: Jonathan Wylie
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
2


This is the second book in a trilogy. It's a good read. I didn't read the final book, but it got a good start. I would recommend the series for a good read.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
The Paladin of the Night (Rose of the Prophet Vol. II)
The Paladin of the Night (Rose of the Prophet Vol. II)
Author: Tracy Hickman, Margaret Weis
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:


A desert god tries to take power from the other gods by stealing and killing their followers while a dark god from the past tries to resurrect itself during the chaos. A story in the tradition of the arabian nights.

Review Date: 7/1/2006
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Author: Douglas Adams
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:


This is not the worst book in this series, but it's sure not the best. The story tends to go off on tangents and a lot of the characters just seem to get lost in the shuffle. But if you like Douglas Adams, go for it.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
Santa Steps Out
Santa Steps Out
Author: Robert Devereaux
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Rating:
1 member(s) found this review helpful.


I have to say I was disappointed. Halfway through the novel I was rating it maybe three stars, but after I read the ending. I am fighting with two stars. Damn did I hate the ending! I heard nothing but good things about this novel. There was a swirl of perversion, and orgies but it left you feeling, so. The story never went anywhere and the characters were very one-dimensional. It could have been a good book.

The good about this novel the idea is original but that is all it has to offer.

Review Date: 12/15/2007
Season of Death (Sweet Owens Mysteries)
Season of Death (Sweet Owens Mysteries)
Author: Gary Lovett
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
?


Book Type is listed wrong. This is a hard cover edition.

Book Description:

The holiday season has just began,Detective Robert Sweet Owens a street smart Atlanta homicide investigator has become involved in the murder investigation of a popoular member of Atlanta's clergy, whose death is related to a series of other murders and members of the police department. When Sweet Owens' mother's life is treatened by the investigation, he has to scramble to solve the case and save her life.

Review Date: 10/21/2006
So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish
Author: Douglas Adams
Book Type: Hardcover
Rating:


This is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker trilogy. Yeah, I know, that sounds stupid, but you have to know the series. This was more readable to me than the other ones. It seems to be more coherent and the cast of characters doesn't get lost. It's not bad. And if you like Adam's work, you'll love it. Just wasn't for me.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
Stardust
Stardust
Author: Neil Gaiman
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:


This is a wild, magical ride into a world full of elements of light and dark fantasy. Soon to be a major motion picture.

Review Date: 4/9/2007
Stations of the Nightmare
Stations of the Nightmare
Author: Philip Jose Farmer
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
2


A man shoots a UFO in a field and gets sprayed with yellow dust. He starts finding he has gained special abilities and then things get bizarre. This was a pretty good sci-fi story. It remeinded me a little of Stephen King at the start. A little short, but still good. If you like sci-fi and don't have a lot of time, give it a shot.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
There Will Be Time
There Will Be Time
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:
1


This is a story based on "possible" real facts. A young man lears he can time travel and begins to go backward and forward in time. It's actually a good read. I'm not usually much of a sci-fi person, but I enjoyed this book. It's pretty obvious in our day that this isn't read, but it does have a creepy feel.

Review Date: 7/3/2006
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