Product Description
The human race has extended itself into the far reaches of our solar system -- and, in doing so, has developed into something remarkable. The inner system of the Met -- with its worlds connected by a vast living network of cables -- is supported by the repression and enslavement of humanity's progeny, nanotechnological artificial intelligences whom the tyrant Amés has declared non-human. But the longing for freedom cannot be denied. And now a line has been drawn at Neptune's moon Triton, where those who oppose Ame's and hisfearsome minions await the foretold return of a mysterious man of destiny and doom who has vanished into the backwater of the Met. But resistance will only ensure the unspeakable onslaught of the dictator's wrath -- a rage that will soon ravage the solar system and plunge all of humankind into the fury of total war.

Customer Reviews (44)

The best space opera I've read from the '00s
Metaplanetary has it all: big-canvas space opera, memorable characters, real hard science, humor, pulse-pounding military sci-fi action, and the most wildly creative world I've seen since Dan Simmons' "Hyperion" or Vernor Vinge's "A Fire Upon the Deep". This book is definitely in a class with those classics. I just couldn't put it down.

Cool stuff in this book includes ubiquitous nanotech, humans that are combinations of virtual and physical, cables connecting the inner planets, giant nebulous ships with human minds, unlimited body modification, a dictator who eats people's personalities, and much much more. There is plenty of hard science scattered throughout - the first book includes a detailed explanation of the Casimir effect, for example, and the sequel explains the basics of quantum cryptography. Tony Daniel has clearly done his homework. But it's presented in a fun and lighthearted way that actually helps to provide breathing spaces between the intense, world-shattering action sequences.

The best thing about this book, however, is the way the author makes this crazy high-tech world really come alive and feel natural and lived-in. Other authors - Greg Egan, Charles Stross, John C. Wright, etc. - have written plenty about posthumans with divided personalities, personality upload, body modification, etc., but their posthumans generally just don't feel...well, human. Daniel is an absolute wizard in terms of his ability to create characters and situations that could never exist in our modern technological milieu, but nevertheless are as poignant and instantly familiar as any scene from realist fiction. In fact, the entire plot of Metaplanetary is about the existence of something timeless in the human character. Reading Metaplantary, you find yourself believing in a man whose wife is his house. Very few authors have the magic touch to make that happen.

Unfortunately, Metaplanetary is the first in an unfinished series, of which only two books have been written. It is not certain when or even if the series will be finished. This in itself is a tragedy, since it and the sequel are two of the greatest science fiction novels I've ever read. If you don't like reading great things that go unfinished, then save yourself the heartbreak and skip Metaplanetary. If you don't mind, and you just want to plunge into one of the most awesome sci-fi universes ever created, then buy this book right now, and enjoy.

Cool ideas, fun story, great book
This book evokes a world so innovative, complex and finely realized that a thorough description of it would take several pages.Its plot is exciting and fast-paced, its cast of thousands is largely sympathetic and likable, and it explores contemporary SF ideas like AI, nanotechnology, quantum information transmission, space travel, and military combat with originality and painstaking detail.The book is the first in a series, with Superluminal being the second, and the third book does not seem likely to be published anytime soon.The cliffhanger ending is frustrating, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story and its ideas.This is a really cool book.I will try to write a more substantial review when I have time.

Great Story
One of the best science fiction books I've ever read. It is truly on par with the early masters of the genre, Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Dick, Bester, Norton, and others. Very interesting science (at one point he actually proposes in simple mathematical terms how gravity works in conjunction with e=mc2).

Great characters - with one of the most wonderfully developed evil dictators I've seen in awhile. He has new ideas in nearly every chapter, which are short, descriptive, packed with dialogue.

This book is the first in a trilogy - be forewarned. It is a great read but ends in a cliff hanger.

Meh
This book was pretty bad.

Not particularly interesting, original, or understandable.

It's hasn't been that long since I read it but I don't recall a single memorable character, or even much of the plot, it was so uninteresting.

Prelude
METAPLANETARY is billed as "A Novel Of Interplanetary Civil War", but it's actually the prelude to a novel of interplanetary civil war. At least, I guess it is. This book doesn't get much past the "Fort Sumter" phase. It would have been nice to have known going in that this was just the opening salvo.

At the risk of bringing down the wrath of the book's fans upon me, I have to say that I was disappointed by it. The premise, an incipient civil war between the older and more settled inner-system planets against the more free-wheeling outer-system colonies, is an intriguing one. Some of the action sequences were engaging, too, and the characters, though one-dimensional, were often quirky enough to be interesting.

Ultimately, the problem was that I had to suspend my disbelief a little too far in order to accept some significant elements of what the author has envisioned. The first of these elements is "grist", a form of nanotechnology that infests everything. Most humans have grist integrated with them and hosting a version of their personality in AI form. These are called "converts". Then there are "free converts", simulations of humans in AI form based on brain scans and without a body. Finally, there are "LAPs", which are clones and converts based on real humans, making it as though a person were physically and virtually in different places at the same time. Makes it challenging to keep track of who's really who, and made me wonder if it really mattered. An amusing concept perhaps, but absurd. Any humans stupid enough to let technological gizmos take their place are doomed (see ECHOES OF EARTH).

Then there are the "cables", some kind of ill-defined grist conduits that connect the planets and colonies. A true engineering marvel considering the motions of the planets and mooons in our solar system relative to each other. It's hard to escape the notion that the cost and difficulty of creating such a structure, assuming it was possible at all, would far outweigh any benefit.

Finally, "cloudships". Living interplanetary (even interstellar) ships that have their own society and even reproduce. Ships run intelligently by AIs I could accept, but these things are ridiculous.

I expect to have to suspend disbelief when I read scifi. It goes with the territory. The idea of a "ringworld" was an inspired one, even though later sequels got pretty silly. This, however, pushed me beyond my limit, and I didn't even get a complete story out of it. What could have been a fascinating plot got lost amid a tangle of overlapping (sometimes artificial) personalities and unlikely technologies. AI personas are especially off-putting for me. I find it hard to get any more emotionally involved when an AI gets erased than I do when I unplug my blender. If METAPLANETARY had made me curious enough to want to see how it all plays out, I'd be planning on continuing into the next book, but I simply didn't care that much by the time I got through this one. It had descended from creative and intriguing to bizarre and tedious. I was just relieved that I didn't need to try to entertain the idea of spaceships arguing points of law with each other anymore. ... Read more

Product Description
An accessible, thought-provoking exploration of evolutions witness to the God of creation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Bringing Stuff Forth
Enjoyed this book immensely.The book's style is very much a reflection of its author - 75% thesis (and 25% sidebar).I am sure it will have a significant impact in the world of faith (and science).

When I first came to faith and starting reading "in the beginning" of Genesis in the King James Version (shows you how long ago I got started), I noted:

v. 20-21a:And God said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the openfirmament of heaven.And God created ...."

v. 24-25a:And God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.And God made ...."

... it seemed to be describing evolution through the use of the language, coupling the acts of the creation (the waters & the earth bringing things forth) with the acts of the Creator (God created/made).So when I starting hearing all the antagonistic hoopla pitting evolution against faith, it struck me as odd.So, touché to Daniel Harrell for doing something about it!

"Can I Get A Witness?!"
In the realm of those who have heard about Christianity, there are not many things worse than people lacking the physical necessities for a sustainable life--coming close, however, is the disheartened individual who walks out of a church because they cannot reconcile what they heard inside of it with what they see outside of it.Harrell casually approaches the fairly 'untreaded' gap between those with Darwin bumper stickers and those with "Father God created Mother Earth" bumper stickers by providing well-informed, easy to understand and theologically sound reasons why both sides should help rebuild the unnecessarily destroyed bridge.This book was very honest and transparent and on my recommendation, any Christian struggling with the belief in evolution as a means for God's creating, I would recommend the section: Image of God on p.52 to get things percolating; and to any person struggling with the belief of God behind evolution as a means for creating, I would recommend the opening joke in the chapter that only Harrell could have titled: Believolution.

Hopefully this book helped
I have some family members who are about 6,000 years behind the times when it comes to science and theology, so I bought this for them in a vain attempt to spare them from ignorance and poor theology. I hope that they read it, in which case I hear this book is quite effective. But then again, Christianity has made a name for itself in terms of being about to deal with cognitive dissonance.

A hearty Zero stars
Dr. Harrell's book is replete with errors in several critical and foundational areas. For the astute reader, a few brief quotes need to suffice.

1- The relationship of faith to knowledge.
Before science can proceed to investigate a single question, she must make a number of pure acts of faith.
a- Faith in the trustworthiness of human reason.
b- Faith in the trustworthiness of human memory.
c- Faith in the trustworthiness of the senses.
d- Faith in the unprovable principles on which all science is founded.
All these propositions are assented to by acts of faith of the most absolute kind. They are not only not proven by science, but can never be proved. Possibly there would be less of a tendency to set religion over against science, or vice versa, if it were more generally recognized that ... faith is indispensable to both. Science & religion, both ultimately rest on faith- both of them are forced back upon convictions which are beyond the possibility of further analysis or proof.-- Wernecke- Faith in the NT

... religious belief is no more of a faith than is the belief that nature is uniform. They are both acts of faith.-- Raphael Demos- Academic Freedom, Logic & Religion


2- The nature of science.
The history of science is a road strewn with the decaying bones of assumptions which were once considered self-evident and later found to be false.-- Moses Richardson, Mathematics and Intellectual Honesty

Laws of science are not laws at all. . . . Laws of science state tendencies we have recently observed in our corner of the universe.--Bart Kosko - Fuzzy Thinking


3- The nature of reason.
Faith is not the antithesis to knowledge nor to reason.
The opposite of Knowledge is Ignorance.
The opposite of Reason is Irrationality.
The opposite of Faith is Doubt.-- Wernecke- Faith in the NT

The Christian takes belief seriously; the rationalist tries to dispense with it. The Christian says that without believing there is no knowledge; the rationalist says that when there is believing there cannot be knowledge. Reason does not precede faith, but faith precedes reason. The uselessness of saying that reason has merely to follow the laws of its own nature in order to arrive at truth is that this is precisely what it cannot do; its own nature has been corrupted by sin. The whole of us, including our reason, must be justified by faith.-- Alan Richardson- Christian Apologetics

Mankind would remain in the deepest darkness of ignorance if the path of reason were the only available way to the knowledge of God.-- Aquinas- Contra Gentiles

Philosophy seldom suspects that reason itself is incapable of knowing the truth.-- D. R. Davies


4- The nature of logical fallacies.


5- The nature of truth.
Please visit www.truth-defined.com for a clear exposition of the nature of truth.


6- The nature of scripture.
[We] compare scripture with scripture until [we] have discovered the true meaning of the text. But right there [our] authority ends. [We] must never sit in judgment upon what is written. [We] dare not bring the meaning of the Word before the bar of reason. [We] dare not commend or condemn the Word as reasonable or unreasonable, scientific or unscientific. After the meaning is discovered, that meaning judges [us]; never do we judge it.-- A. W. Tozer-The knowledge of the Holy

... the word of God judges us, not we the Word of God. Either we accept by faith the divine truth of the Bible or by unfaith we reject it.-- Alan Richardson- Christian Apologetics

7- The nature of evolution.
Evolution...is therefore a theory about unique events that are, by definition, not part of science, for they are unrepeatable and not subject to test.-- Colin Patterson- Evolution

Belief in modern evolution makes atheists of people. One can have a religious view that is compatible with evolution only if that religious view is indistinguishable from atheism.-- Prof. Will Provine

But by far the most potent single factor to undermine popular belief in the existence of God in modern times is the evolution theory of Charles Darwin.-- Philos. & Christian Faith- Colin Brown

All truth is God's truth
Daniel Harrow, a pastor at Park Street Church, in Boston, accepts biological evolution as God's means of creating life on Earth, then examines the theological implications in layman's language. As you accept the reality of genetic variation and natural selection, you can either "watch your faith crumble as God is moved to the periphery" or you can "praise God for his ingenuity and creativity - even when that creativity runs counter to your expectations" (p. 133). "Natural selection need not imply godless selection . . . [It] is no more godless than gravity." (p. 78). He asks more questions than he answers, but does have many helpful insights. He is not dogmatic about his views, leaving open the issue of exactly how Adam and Eve came to be, for example. The book is an easy read and includes numerous notes and an excellent bibliography.

I recommend this book for Christians who are struggling with how to integrate biological evolution into their evangelical Christian worldview
... Read more

Product Description

The future is at war for the soul of humankind ...

Customer Reviews (18)

The Constant Reader gets hosed by Publisher again
I agree with all the other laudatory comments made on the two books in this series but would like to express my profound displeasure at the fact that a conclusion to the story will not be forthcoming.

We all paid for these books with the expectation of a completed story arc being available at some point in time.But the publisher apparently feels no responsibility to complete the beginning and middle for which they gladly took our money.

My advise is to not buy this either of the books in this series as you will only get a partially completed product.

Amazing
This book, a sequel to the amazing Metaplanetary, was meant as one more part of the epic series that started with Metaplanetary. Unfortunately, his publisher at Eos decided not to continue his contract with them and so he was unable to finish the series. Personally, I find that very tragic, these two books are some of the best SF I've read, interesting and intriguing in some of the very original concepts put forth. The way the author presents the ideas behind time towers and LAPs (Large Array Personalities) is fascinating; the entire culture he creates is very unique among the other SF I've read. He hopes to one day find a way to finish the story, and I truly hope he does, this story really needs to be finished.

Great sequel, need another!
This was a very well done sequel to Metaplanatery, but (a) I didn't like how abruptly it ended; (b) how the publisher and/or author made the book thick (promising a longer story) by stuffing the back with ELEVEN appendices; and, (c) the statements I've read in other reviews that there is no concluding sequel in the works.I think this definitely deserves a third book -- but only one more.

The Story Continues...
Daniel's continues the story he started in Metaplanetary.The Department of Immunity Enforcement Division (DIED) forces have been building up their fleet in preparation for an all-out attack on the fremden (basically rebels) Triton.Also, Aubry has finally found her free-convert mother and is set to make an attempt to rescue her.

These events, along with Director Ames's further scheming to co-opt all of humanity, make Superluminal an easy page-turner.Unfortunately, Daniel's character development is hit and miss.He does a wonderful job delving into the burgeoning romance of a free-convert (all 1's and 0's) and aspect (flesh and blood)...but then lacks development of characters on other fronts...like Aubry and Jill...their lives as partisans fighting against Ames were skipped over almost completely.

What it all boils down to is a fun read...unfortunately, the depth Daniel's does show in his characters is hardly enough to sate readers but on the most cursory of levels.This being said, I do look forward to a continuation? ending? to Daniel's story.

Ending on a middle book
After finishing Superluminal I was dissapointed to find out that plans for a third book are on hold for the foreseeable future.While Superluminal was not as good as Metaplanetary it is still an enjoyable read with interesting SF elements.It does have a strong case of middlebookitis in that plot elements are not fully resolved and the ending is a cliffhanger.

On the positive side, Tony Daniel succeeds in making Director Ames a truly creepy entity and his characterization of a semisentient jeep was well done.On the other hand, several of the other characters are not as well fleshed out.Also, in juggling many plot lines at once, the author tends to focus on just a few and leaves the rest too bare.Considering that there were around a hundred pages worth of appendices that space would have been better utilized on the minor characters and their storylines.

Hopefully, the author's next project will be successful enough so that he can revisit this universe and provide a proper conclusion. ... Read more

Product Description
"Batman: R.I.P." and FINAL CRISIS saw the end of Batman. Now, months following the disappearance of her protector, Gotham City sits at a precipice and it may be too far gone for Nightwing, Robin, Commissioner Gordon and the rest of the city's heroes to save the day. Amid the fires, rioting, looting and gang warfare, one question rings out from the souls of Gotham's desperate citizens: Where is Batman? With guest-stars galore, the destruction of a sacred Gotham City institution and an ending that will have everyone talking, this event written and drawn by Tony Daniel (The Tenth) and other top creators features the battle to take on the Mantle of the Bat. Who has earned the right? Who thinks they deserve it? Robin? Nightwing? Jason Todd? Two-Face? Catwoman? Batgirl? Who will ultimately win the BATTLE FOR THE COWL? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Inside Dick Grayson's Head
I loved this graphic novel--at least the first three chapters. (The last two are taken from a different perspective in the aftermath of Batman's "death" including Harvey Bullock and Vicki Vale--I didn't care for the artwork of those last two chapters and wasn't interested enough to do more than skim through the story.)

The Battle for the Cowl is a three issue story focusing on Dick Grayson. I disagreed with other reviewers. It was fun and action-packed and seemed to open up storylines for other Batman titles. SPOILER (if you haven't figured it out already): It does a great job of showing how Dick claims the mantle--and that he is the only one worthy of it.

I also loved the art. I have seen Daniel's work in Teen Titans, but this is even better. (Maybe because Dick Grayson is my favorite DC character.)

I borrowed this from the library but hope to purchase it soon--that's how good it is.

good but not great
Batman Battle for the Cowl seems like it should be a long epic story ala Knightfall or The Resurrection of Ras L Ghul but it is less than 100 pages. That is its biggest weakness. Tony Daniel despite hsi inexperience as a writer does a good job in writing action and the contrast between how Dick and Tim who confronts Jason in a Batman suit areshown well.Dick actually tries to reason with Jason and try to save him while fighting him while Tim is primarily maybe only interested in giving the blood thirsty Jason a thrashing. I wish that DChad kept Jason dead but making him a Punisher type executioner of crinimals is about as sensible a way to portray him.They should have Ras steal his body put him in a Lazarus Pit and then brainwash and send him after Bruce and Gotham as the reason for his madness that would be better than how they brought him back.Tony Daniels art is excellent even if he has his characters pose too much. It is why I rate Battle for the Cowl 4 stars instead of 3.I wish Amazon would allow half star ratings; it would add more nuance and probably more accuracy to the ratings. In such a system I would give it 3.5 but I move it to 4 due to the art which is also quite atmospheric and to the coloring and also the Gotham Gazette stories which I think are betterthan the main storyA note to DC if you are going to hype a storyline as epic the make it epic length so your writer can do something with it.

I liked Battle for the Cowl
The 3 or 4 stories of BFTC included on this trade were very good.The Gothem Gazette ones...mmm, it was ok but nothing fabulous.

What really piss me off is the fact that DC suits made this hardcover as thin as they could and didn't include many of the issues that have for name "Battle for the Cowl".Instead they made a "Companion" with some stories, and they include other mayor issues (like "Battle for the Cowl: Arkham Asylum") in other trades.

The story on this book is a very good bridge from Batman RIP to Batman Reborn, plus it have great action scenes.I'm glad to see Jason Todd Back at what he does best: Killing Batman style.

One star for the poor packagin.If your a fan, don't get this.Ask it borrow first and then decide.

Okay but not worth getting
If you know Batman then you know the person who has always been second in line to become him. Predicting Nightwing would become Batman was like predicting that the sun would rise. So while their is a conflict over who gets the cowl its not a internal one like I hoped.

Instead its a conflict between Jason Todd someone that DC has no idea what to do with, one minute being a jerk bent on destroying Batman (Red Hood) or trying to save the Multiverse (Countdown) Jason Todd and Nightwing and friends fight for awhile with a subplot of Black Mask gathering more forces. (don't worry that doesn't get solved here)

Although I do have to say that the book has good art and I liked the action. Also I hated the other collected issues with this. The art was terrible for them.

Really missing Bruce!
This book is ok for an in between while we await DC's revival of Bruce Wayne.If suspense and nail-biting from page to page is what you are looking for, then save your money and time for Grant Morrison's revival of the infamous Dark Knight!Battle for the Cowl gets a 3 star.Here is a link for info on the Return of Bruce [...]:_The_Return_of_Bruce_Wayne and as always you can pre-order when available on Amazon!Later! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Not Free SF Reader
A good book.This collection averages 3.50 which is really nicely done for a first batch, anchored by the excellent 'A Dry, Quiet War' about a very strange post-war homecoming from his Metaplanetary setting.A few stories from that setting, as well as a couple in the middle that tend to the supernatural, and even a science fiction spy story, in Prague.

Robot's Twilight Companion : Life on the Moon - Tony Daniel
Robot's Twilight Companion : A Dry Quiet War - Tony Daniel
Robot's Twilight Companion : Radio Praha - Tony Daniel
Robot's Twilight Companion : Aconcagua - Tony Daniel
Robot's Twilight Companion : Black Canoes - Tony Daniel
Robot's Twilight Companion : Death of Reason - Tony Daniel
Robot's Twilight Companion : Mystery Box - Tony Daniel
Robot's Twilight Companion : Grist - Tony Daniel
Robot's Twilight Companion : The Robot's Twilight Companion - Tony Daniel

Centre of the earth rescue rangers.

3.5 out of 5


Ferret girl proves vital in time tweaking titans massive personality conflict.

3.5 out of 5


Pellicle met pellicle. Grist met grist.

With some landscaping and brain blowing.

3 out of 5


"F.A. license HARCO234319599 for genre constructions, science fiction.""

Cop stuff, however, far from Ideal.

3 out of 5


Inversion cave croocificixion rite.

3.5 out of 5


Climbing ghost guide.

3.5 out of 5


Smoking spies like us radio statis time.

3.5 out of 5


Metaspace Marine homecoming cleanout.

4.5 out of 5


Architectural possibilities scrambled.

3.5 out of 5




4 out of 5

A great showcase anthology of science fiction storytelling!
The Robot's Twilight Companion is a superb collection of science fiction short stories by Tony Daniel and presented under one cover for the first time. These outstanding tales of imagination include: Life On The Moon; ADry, Quiet War; Radio Praha; Aconcagua; Black Canoes; Death Of Reason;Mystery Box; Grist; and the title piece, The Robot's Twilight Companion.This highly recommended anthology offers an introduction for sciencefiction fans to one of today's best storytelling talents and will leavethem wanting more!

Brilliant and thought-provoking
The Robot's Twilight Companion is a brilliant compendium of stories by one of the best and the brightest (not to mention criminally underappreciated) young writers in America. Read it and stretch your mind so far out of shapeyou will never see the world in the same way again. If you like Philip K.Dick, Stanislaw Lem, or even William Faulkner, Tony Daniel's books belongon your shelves -- and in your head! Make The Robot's Twilight Companionyour companion and I guarantee it will be the start of a beautifulrelationship. ... Read more

Product Description
Tony Daniel returns to the BATMAN series as the new writer and artist after his best-selling BATTLE FOR THE COWL miniseries!

With Batman pounding the pavement in search of a new crime figure calling himself Black Mask and the completion of the new Arkham Asylum looming close, Gotham City has reached a boiling point! But when pandemonium breaks out at the inaugural ceremony of the new Arkham Asylum, the combined forces of Oracle, Huntress and Catwoman aren't enough help for Batman and The Caped Crusader takes on an unlikely ally - The Penguin! Chock full of fan-favorite characters and the debuts of new supporting cast members, this high-speed adventure is sure to hit the spot for Batman fans who like their comics bursting with mystery, action and fun. And you won't believe your eyes when Batman uncovers the Black Mask's true identity! ... Read more

Product Description
With Spawn, legendary writer and artist Todd McFarlane unleashed his iconic antihero on the world, and launched the most successful independent comic book in history. Spawn Origins Volume 6 includes stories penned by Alan Moore, along with artwork by Greg Capullo, Tony Daniel, and Kevin Conrad. Collects Spawn #33-38. ... Read more

Product Description
Orf is an intelligent drilling machine, designed to probe the very center of the Earth. But as the world around him changes, and the Pacific Northwest is transformed by cataclysmic earthquakes and social upheavals, Orf must change as well, becoming both myth and monster, savior and sage to future generations of humanity.Amazon.com Review
Who isn't a sucker for a good robot story? Few sci-fi fans can resist sucha staple of the genre, especially when it's done well, and the firstsection of Tony Daniel's three-part Earthling stands shoulder toshoulder with the best. Daniel is an able and imaginative writer, and hisgentle, curious mining robot Orf is a bona fide charmer. Reactivated for adeep-digging geological research project, Orf is imbued with the memoriesof a dead geologist and acclimatizes himself to the world like a wide-eyed,articulate child, observing mating moths with the same detached fascinationas he does a cold-blooded murder.

Although the poetry-loving Orf is the novel's common thread, he ceases tobe its focus after the first section. That part closes when Orf discoverssentient beings ("terranes") in the Earth's mantle, and cataclysmicearthquakes and flooding destroy the northwestern U.S., plunging the worldinto chaos. As exciting as all that may sound, these portentous eventssignal only the unraveling of Earthling's patchwork narrative. Thedisappointing middle section follows the harrowing--and gory--journey of a Park Service ranger (the Park Service being justanother warring, post-apocalyptic tribe) delivering medical supplies toCalifornia. Earthling's third and final section nearly--but notquite--salvages the novel, fast-forwarding to the year 3000, where society"trances" across the galaxy and studies the Earth not as an organism but asa piece of art. --Paul Hughes ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Terrible
There's no getting around it - thisbook was terrible. From the beginning it is nearly incoherent. There is no real introduction of characters (and characters are invented for a single page then dropped). There's no scale. After the dated entries I could never be sure what century it was placed in. And it jumps from a personal journal to a robot to a random human hundreds of years in the future to... well, I can't even describe the finale. The tectonic plates are *spoiler* sentient? Planets are dolphins?


In short, Avoid this book at all costs. Not worth the read. The author needs to pick a character and focus on it.

moooo
I really enjoyed this book for the most part. The first two stories were real page turners, but the third (the last 30 pages) felt rushed and was a bit to metaphysical for me. The ending is forced and hardly and ending to the story as a whole. I would have like to see the first two stories made into books of their own and the third thrown in the bin.

Intelligent. and beautiful. I was moved and love this book.
This was a surprising, fascinating read. I am turned on by his stark, earthy and pure poetry. Daniel is immensely imaginative, intelligent and courageous writer. I was moved and inspired. I definitely enjoyed 'Earthling'. Looking forward to the sequel of 'Metaplanetary'- another must read!

Earthling - Tony Daniel
Earthling is an amusing little read but that's about it.The idea is not especially original and the execution is poor.Written in three sections, Earthling lacks coherence and refuses to yield a single remarkable character.If you want good science fiction, look elsewhere.

Horrifically painful
I highly recommend this book to masochists.The lack of any coherent plot really allows the book to go into compeltely unpredictable areas. ... Read more

Product Description
Twelve top agents, one chance to save the world from a madman who would unleash a deadly disease from another planet. Penny Hurst and her top secret team from F5 have what it takes to stop the bad guys — if they can just get their act together. But, as the mission derails, and team members are picked off one by one, it becomes clear that there’s a traitor in their midst. Somebody they trust wants the "Saturn Germ" for their own purposes ... Read more

Product Description

“There’s no question you’re going to be a better Flex and Rails developer when you’re done reading this book.”

–From the Foreword by Matt Chotin, Senior Product Manager, Adobe Systems, Inc.

Adobe Flex enables the rapid development of rich and engaging user experiences. Ruby on Rails dramatically simplifies the development of database-driven web applications. Now there’s a book that shows how to use the newest versions of both frameworks together to create state-of-the-art Rich Internet Applications (RIAs).

Flex on Rails begins with the absolute essentials: setting up your environment for Flex and Rails, passing data with XML, and integrating Flex front-ends with Rails back-ends. Then, using practical, easy-to-understand code examples, the authors take you from the basics to advanced topics only discussed in this book. Techniques covered here include 

• Constructing sophisticated interfaces that can’t be created with AJAX alone
• Using RESTful services to expose applications for access via APIs
• Testing Flex and Rails together
• Using Flex Frameworks
• Getting Flex into your build/deploy process
• And more… 

The authors also offer practical introductions to powerful complementary technologies, such as RubyAMF and Juggernaut.

Written by developers with extensive experience using both frameworks, this book covers the new Adobe Flex 3 and Ruby on Rails 2 from the ground up. Even if you have minimal experience with Flex or Rails, you’ll learn all you need to know to use them to build exceptional production applications.

Customer Reviews (1)

Best Buy
If you know Rails and Flex, and if you are desperately looking for a book that can guide you to Integrate Flex and Rails, then this is the book to buy.

I was actually waiting to read the book Enterprise Flexible Rails, but as you can see, the book will not be published.

*Firstly, I would like to appreciate the authors for the sample code published in GitHub. They are ready to serve and very well organized.
*It has a right combination of addressing Flex and Rails. This book can sure help you to build enterprise level Flex based application with Rails backend.
*Got lots of tips, collections and receipes that you may not find easily in Internet
*Chapter 8 is very useful in getting an overview of Cairngorm and PureMVC, and the sample codes were also driven with it.
*Has a detailed Chapter on Testing using Fluint, something that is important for developers who loves TDD/Agile
*One thing I very much liked the quality of the sample codes, it address common use-case, well structured. Best of all, the authors updates the code at their blog [...]
*While the first part of the book gives conceptual details & foundations, the second part of the book gives useful recipes. Especially Authenticating, server push with Juggernaut, File Upload and so on.
*Finally, its worth buying. ... Read more

Product Description

** Shortlisted for the NASEN Special Educational Needs Academic Book Award 2009 **

Inter-professional collaborations are invaluable relationships which can prevent the social exclusion of children and young people and are now a common feature of welfare policies worldwide.

Drawing on a four year study of the skills and understanding required of practitioners in order to establish the most effective interagency collaborations, this comprehensive text

• Gives examples from practitioners developing inter-professional practices allow readers to reflect on their relevance for their own work
• Emphasises what needs to be learnt for responsive inter-professional work and how that learning can be promoted
• Examines how professional and organisational learning are intertwined
• Suggests how organisations can provide conditions to support the enhanced forms of professional practices revealed in the study
• Reveals the professional motives driving the practices as well as how they are founded and sustained

Full of ideas to help shape collaborative inter-professional practice this book shows that specialist expertise is distributed across local networks. The reader is encouraged to develop the capacity to recognise the expertise of others and to negotiate theor work with others.

This book is essential reading for practitioners in education and educational psychology or social work, and offers crucial insights for local strategists and those involved in professional development work.

The book also has a great deal to offer researchers working in the area of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT). The four year study was framed by CHAT and offers a well-worked example of how CHAT can be used to reveal sense-making in new practices and the organizational implications of enhanced professional decision-making.

As well as being important contributors to the developing CHAT field, the five authors have worked in the area of social exclusion and professional learning for several years and have brought inter-disciplinary strengths to this account of inter-professional work.

Product Description
The hit miniseries is finally available in one volume! During the Cold War, the Russians created the perfect covert weapon -- incredible strength, speed, and stealth within a single human body. After several prototypes are hidden away in the U.S., Project Adrenalynn discovers a teenage girl named Sabina Nikoli -- and turns her into the ultimate weapon! Now, she`s been found in the U.S. and reactivated to search and destroy the killer prototypes...but once her job`s done, her creators want her dead as well! Featuring characters from the hot series The Tenth, Adrenalynn: Weapon of War is a wild ride like no other! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It could have been better....
As was mentioned in another review, this story is about a Russian girl who is taken from an orphanage to be used in a government experiment to be a cyborg weapon.

As I type that description, I recall that story has been told before. Many times before. (When a story has been told many times before, I hope that the writer is able to put a new spin on the story).

This is not the case with Adrenalynne.

The title character Adrenalynne, aka Sabina Nikoli is revived, and wants to get back the people who changed her into a weapon, and destroy other cyborgs that have been sent to America.

It is said in the story that there were Chinese as well as Russian cyborgs; however, we don't get why the Chinese are involved. (We only get the reason why the Russians want to do it....i.e. to take over the world! Or at least America, and have Russia rise in power!) It is assumed that there are some characters who are Chinese or Asian due to their names; but they are given no distinctive characteristics that show the reader is such. All the characters look pretty much the same pretty much.

The cyborgs that Adrenalynne destroy are not given any depth; we are to assume they are evil and accept that. Moreover, the villains as a whole are one-dimensional.

There are no real obstacles for the heroine; she takes down anyone without any strain; she is always one step ahead of the 'bad guys.'

I think this heroine, who is obviously tightly-leather-clad/anatomically correct in the course of the story, could have been something more with a stronger story.

Engages the reader's total and rapt attention
Dark Horse Comics has established itself as a premier publisher of contemporary comics and graphic novels that sets the standard for art in the service of story telling. One of the latest and best examples of this is Tony Daniel and Martin Egeland's Adrenalynn: Weapon Of War. This is the story of a young crippled girl, Sabina Nikoli, who is plucked from a Russian orphanage, extensively operated upon to equip her with biomechanical prosthetics, and trained to be a cyborg assassin: codename "Adrenalynn". She is to be Russia's ultimate Cold War weapon. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union all she wants is to escape her "hunt and kill" assignments -- directed primarily at other Russian cyborgs who have "gone rogue". But the way to personal freedom is one of blood, violence, and heartbreak. Adrenalynn: Weapon Of War is a superb graphic novel that engages the reader's total and rapt attention from beginning to end. ... Read more

Product Description
The only complete guidebook to Cambodia, this new edition has the latest information on visas, safety and transportation, and maps. In addition, there are special sections on the history, art, and architecture of the legendary Angkor Wat and Khmer language and cuisine. color illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Update needed badly
I spent a few weeks this summer in Cambodia and relied heavily on this book.While this may be the definitive Cambodian guidebook, it is dangerously outdated.So much has changed in Cambodia since the secondedition was published in November 1996.Much of the basic information andmaps are helpful but I would not rely on any of the places to stay reviews,prices, or schedules.The Cambodia section of the Lonely Planet SE Asia ona Shoestring has a more recent review and was much more helpful.Hopefullyan update is in the works.

This book helped me get the most out of my trip.
I used the first edition. It had so much important and interesting information. I wore its maps out, the finest maps available. There was no other source for the information. People living there didn't know what bankcould get wire transfers. I left the book with NGOs in country for theiruse as a valuable resource. If you are contemplating any independantexploration your biggest help will be this book. How did they get so muchinformation. They must have gone everywhere and did everything. Smallcountry, small book I'ld have missed much without. WOW!! ... Read more

Product Description
A retelling of the story from the Old Testament about God's creation of the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden. ... Read more

Product Description
As inhabitants of the earth spread throughout the galaxy, they discover that a group of Mississippi Indians from before Columbus's time had preceded them into space, and an interstellar Indian nation conflicts with the new colonists. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

If you can take the premise, you'll love it
Egads, these reviews are appallingly negative. "Steal this book and then burn it"? This must be one crap-fest, this wacky Indian book here. It must suck something fierce, no? I admit, the summary is probably turning you off. I felt the same way; I found it in a used bookstore and giggled. Indians in space on birchback canoes?

However, that summary and most of the reviews here can't tell you how good this book is. They don't mention the sheer inventiveness of the novel; Daniel has half a dozen good ideas weaved in and out, along with themes of imperialism and cultural sensitivity, and a sly satire of secular humanism to boot. On the surface, it seems like a future-western, with white folk facing off with Native Americans, but to be so simplistic does the novel a disservice.

Now, it is true that sometimes it seems like Daniel is stringing his book along more on pathos and cool sf ideas than by actual plot, but my enjoyment never suffered for it. I loved the exhilaration of creativity; why should mere logic come into the picture? Daniel is brilliant, and should he ever control and direct that brilliance, you can be assured that nothing less than a masterpiece will result.

Yeee-owch!
Since I stubbornly refuse to stop reading a book no matter how bad it is, I suffered through the whole thing.Between the ridiculous premise that's completely unbelievable, the lousy writing style, and the lack of anything remotely resembling a plot, the book easily rates instant-dumpster status

Writing style counts for a lot
I will admit that Warpath forces a tighter suspension of disbelief than many S.F. novels.

The writing, however, is superior!

I would much rather have a off-beat, or even odd, alternate universe written tightly and with a very enjoyable style than most of the poorly-written, but straight-line extrapolation, SF novels one runs across.

Daniels writes fluidly, engagingly, and I felt very connected to the characters, the plot, and the alternate universe he created. I'll admit that some fo the universe conceptualizations were hard to accept, but have you every tried analyzing the universe A.E. Van Vogt created in "Slan"?It's got more inconsistencies than one could shake a cliche at, but in the end it doesn't matter because you enjoy how it's written, and you have a good time reading it. Warpath and Daniels writing affected me that way.I want to read more, and have two Danniels books on pre-publish order here at Amazon based on his entertaining and professional writing style.

Steal this book, then burn it....
Good grief... how do you justify having Indians paddle about between the planets in canoes as the basis for a modern SF novel? There's usually plenty of elements and devices in the plot of any SF novel or story that you just have to let go of - there's no sense wasting any of your mental energy trying to determine the legitimacy of the physical sciences portrayed within their pages. Just take a break from reality and enjoy the book, that's what reading SF is all about. But Indians in canoes traveling between the planets? If it had been marketed as juvenile SF, I wouldn't be so harsh about it, but it wasn't, so I'm not cutting it any slack.

Anyway, as my previous statements imply, the book combines many of the common elements associated with native American Indian culture, animal gods and the like, being one with nature, canoes (yeah, right), and lots of stupid white people, into one seriously bad SF novel. What was sort of funny was that even though these space traveling white folk were living on a distant planet, they totally lacked any real technological capability? They were using sheet fed printing presses to publish the local newspaper, and culturally still seemed to fit the backwater image of the average southern hillbilly with a racist attitude towards anything that didn't look Caucasian. Maybe they traveled there using rafts made by binding tree limbs together?

The real unfortunate thing about reading this book was that I had to review it for a local newspaper. The editor for book reviews was a friend of a friend of the author. So with no real way to slash the author for writing a complete piece of garbage, and not damage my relationship with the book reviews editor, I did what I had to do. I wrote a pretty basic review of the book that did little more than outline the plot elements, collected my fee, and never went back for another book to review for fear of getting a reputation for delivering nothing for something! THE END...

Crazy
This book is absolutely, downright strange. The persona used to be a radio wave, and is friends with an American Indian who travels the galaxy in a bark canoe. They live on a freezing planet, called Candle, where a host ofstrange things occur.Despite this highly original story line, the book isruined because it is written in a style that makes it close to impossibleto comprehend. Major events occur with very little introduction and notmuch explanation. Most of the book seems to be the persona whining aboutone thing or another, or talking about some esoteric technology (not yetdeveloped yet obviously) which leaves the reader 100% mystified. ... Read more

Product Description
A witness to the murder of his acrobat parents at the hands of gangsters, circus orphan Dick Grayson was taken in by Bruce Wayne, becoming the teen hero Robin! Now, follow some of the Boy Wonder's greatest adventures in this action-packed collection that spans all the ages of Robin! Discover Dick's involvement as a founder member of the world's greatest teenage supergroup the Teen Titans! Then follow the exploits of Jason Todd, the second Robin brutally murdered by the Joker, before being brought up to date with current ward Tim Drake's battles on the streets of Gotham City! Written by comics legends Geoff Johns, Dennis O'Neil, Chuck Dixon and Bill Willingham, and sporting a cover by Alex Ross, this essential collection is simply not to be missed! ... Read more

Product Description
EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINING ... Read more