Product Description
Sven Tveskoeg–antisocial, antihero, anti-you-name-it–is a one-man killing spree whose best friend is an intelligent handgun with a bad attitude and whose worst enemy is, well, just about everybody else. These qualities have earned Sven a lieutenant’s commission in the Death’s Head, the elite corps of assassins and enforcers whose purpose in life is to serve OctoV, a tyrant who is part machine, part boy, part god, and all evil. Sven’s new assignment? Lead his ragtag band of Death’s Head rejects to the artificial world of Hekati to find a missing citizen of the United Free, a vast empire that turns out to be a vicious den of backstabbing and betrayal where nothing and no one can be trusted. Looks like Sven is on a suicide mission. So what else is new? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

The reading continues...
If you enjoyed the first Death's Head then definitely read this one as well. Sven and the Aux are back and deep in it again... Or is that still? This one had me as riveted as the first story did and couldn't put it down. 24 hours later I found myself wanting more after reaching the end, it was like visiting old friends.

Didn't work for me
I quite enjoyed the first into his series, so picked this up to to see where the author was taking the character.

Sadly the pace of the story is reflected in the pace of the writing too, things rush by without sufficient explanation or background. Generic and confusing sci-fi action this, which is a shame because Sven and his Aux have real potential but he rushes from one scene to another without drawing a breath for either logic or to sustain what little plot there is. Perhaps I had left it too long since I read Death's Head, but this really didn't work for me.

Maximum Dissapointment
I read this book in two days. Not because it was too good to put down but because I have been snowed in and unable to leave the house. I got this book used, I can't say I would pay full price for a new copy. First the pros, I personally enjoy Gunn's first person writing style and I feel like there are some genuinely interesting aspects to the universe he has created. That said I do not enjoy the character of Sven. He can be humorous at times bit mostly he is just exhausting. As far as anti-heroes go Sven is a cliche model, style without substance. There is nothing original about Sven. I've seen his type in dozens of other books but rarely have I seen such a bland caricature of badassery. The Aux, Sven's ragtag team of conscript misfits has even less personality. Ironically the character with the most depth is Sven's gun Sig-37. The gun is funny and useful but I can't imagine a realistic purpose to putting such a highly advanced AI in such a weapon.

The plot of this book is pretty bland, there are no surprises or intrigue. The real purpose of the mission is kept from Sven and the Aux, which is ridiculous for what type of mission it is. The action is passable but nothing noteworthy. The first half of the book is largely irrelevant and the description of the ring world Hekati is poor. While this book had more of a plot than the first it lacks much of the intensity. There is a lot of room for background development but little hope that Gunn will provide any in thr next series entry.

hardcore sci-fi
This is a HARDCORE,gritty real look at sci-fi.The ultimate anti-hero smashing a bloody path across space.

Another great read
Again, David Gunn comes through with an exciting adventure.Sven is off with the Aux to a secret mission that is so secret even he doesn't know what it is.Gunn's style is quite engaging and fun to read.There were some areas where things lost some clarity, but maybe it was because I skimmed a little bit in certain sections.Not as strong as the first, but I am absolutely looking forward to reading the third book. ... Read more

Product Description
Fueled with high-octane testosterone and noteworthy for a kill rate more customary in computer games than in works of literature, David Gunn’s novels take no prisoners and make no apologies. Like war itself, they are raw and violent, horrifying yet mysteriously moving. These qualities also characterize Gunn’s hero and narrator, Lt. Sven Tveskoeg, a killing machine whose DNA marks him as less–or perhaps more–than human. Whatever he is, he is always as enthralling as he is lethal.

Sven has survived everything a hostile universe can throw at him. But he’d be the first to admit that it isn’t smarts that have kept him alive for so long. And it’s not luck, either. Because luck wouldn’t have seen him plucked out of obscurity to serve in the army of Emperor OctoV, a machine-human hybrid who appears to be a teenage boy but is actually immeasurably older. Maybe Sven has survived out of sheer orneriness–although his artificially intelligent, unmistakably sarcastic, and more or less sociopathic sidearm might argue otherwise–but Sven isn’t one to ponder such questions.

In Day of the Damned, Sven and his band of misfit auxiliaries have arrived at Farlight, capital of the Octavian Empire, for a little well-earned rest and relaxation. Sven visits his old friends Debro and Anton, whom he liberated from the prison planet of Paradise, and their teenage daughter Aptitude, whose husband he assassinated and who now has a major crush on him.

But what begins as a respite quickly turns into a bloodbath as civil war erupts. And behind the double crosses and Byzantine betrayals threatening to topple OctoV from the throne he has held for thousands of years are the United Free, a galaxy-spanning empire with the technology of gods and the morals of schoolchildren.

As usual, big trouble seems to be following Sven. Which is all right with him. He isn’t that fond of vacations, anyway. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

3rd in the series...
This was as I expected... Unpredictable. From beginning to end. Well, the characters were as expected when taking the first two stories into account. With any good writing reoccurring characters must grow from their experience unless they are too stupid beyond belief and Gunn delivers with intriguing twists and turns. Plot line however was unexpected, at least for me, but then I usually read with an open mind. By the time I finished this one I was wanting more, the next installment.

Sfi outerspace War Extreme action
This is no Slacker it is full bore ripass. Swen is guy with the brass b---- He is tough and knows what to do, he learned the hard way...Go read this you'll be up all night can't put it down....Ken

Think the author hired a ghost writer
Wow, had to force my way through this one.It had none of the flow or interest the first two books had.Seemed like a different author wrote this one.Very, very disappointing book.I never really caught on to the plot, the location, or the characters.Too bad, I really enjoyed the first two books.

Hmmmmm ending!!
its has all the action that I have come to love about this series but I was left thinking WTF at the end, I REALLY do not know if I likedor hated the ending. So I am going to sit on the fence and read the next book allowing the author to convince me that plot was a good idea LOL

A nice turn to the series
I don't know what most people are talking about. Okay, the first book in the series is arguably the best, but this one is almost as good, and it's certainly better than Maximum Offense. Sven has his problems as a character, but he's getting some depth here, and Gunn attempts to trim the fat when it comes to Aux; ie, eliminate the characters that aren't that memorable. I would defineatly recommend this book, and i hope Gunn continues in this direction with the next. ... Read more

Product Description
Set in a chillingly realistic far-future world, and featuring a gritty antihero even more frightening than the evil empire he serves as soldier and assassin, Death’s Head is sure to be one of the most talked-about novels of the year. David Gunn is loaded–and he shoots to kill.

At the top of the galactic pecking order is the United Free, a civilization of awe-inspiring technological prowess so far in advance of other space-faring powers as to seem untouchable gods. Most of the known universe has fallen under their inscrutable sway. The rest is squabbled over by two empires: one ruled with an iron fist by OctoV, a tyrant who appears to his followers as a teenage boy but is in reality something very different, the other administered by the Uplifted, bizarre machinelike intelligences, and their no-longer-quite-human servants, cyborgs known as the Enlightened.

Sven Tveskoeg, an ex-sergeant demoted for insubordination and sentenced to death, is a vicious killer with a stubborn streak of loyalty. Sven possesses a fierce if untutored intelligence and a genetic makeup that is 98.2 percent human and 1.8 percent . . . something else. Perhaps that “something else” explains how quickly he heals from even the worst injuries or how he can communicate telepathically with the ferox, fearsome alien savages whose natural fighting abilities regularly outperform the advanced technology of their human enemies. Perhaps it is these unique abilities that bring Sven to the attention of OctoV.

Drafted into the Death’s Head, the elite enforcers of OctoV’s imperial will, Sven is given a new lease on life. Armed with a SIG diabolo–an intelligent gun–and an illegal symbiont called a kyp, Sven is sent to a faraway planet, the latest battleground between the Uplifted and OctoV. There he finds himself in the midst of a military disaster, one that will take all his courage–and all his firepower–to survive.

But an even deadlier struggle is taking place, a struggle that will draw the attention of the United Free. Sven knows he is a pawn, and pawns have a bad habit of being sacrificed.

But Sven is nobody’s sacrifice. And even a pawn can checkmate a king.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

An exciting read...
I didn't know what to expect when I bought this on whim. The sex, the violence, sometimes both together, aliens, guns and lots and lots of action is what I got and I loved it. It has enough humour without being a comedy. For me the characters were realistic enough to be believable, adding to the overall enjoyment.

Full bore action
This is the elusive author David Gunn's first book in a series and it starts off with a bang and doesn't really stop until the last page. This is the story of an orphaned boy growing up to be a child soldier and then an adult killer, caught up in a vast war where, like most wars, soldiers are numbers on a strategic map somewhere, to be deployed like pawns on a chessboard. Except, this pawn is more like the entire opposing side in one piece.

The first person perspective and the hardness of the narating character, Sven Tveskoeg, is in a way reminiscent of Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs and the hard violence is similar, but Richard Morgan's use of language is better and, with the small details that pepper the book, one quickly gets the feeling that this author has seen warfare and violence in real-life. This is an ex or current soldier writing.

The book is excellent and the story is good. With only a few slip-ups here and there, this a recommended read.

Great Fun
Simply put, this is the most entertaining book I have read in years.Gunn has created a great universe and a great character.When I finished the book, I was pretty amazed by the sheer amount of action and major events that had taken place.

Highly recommended.

Fantasy, not Military SF
The book is described in various places as "Military SF". It is not, at least it is not for anybody that has ever been in, or is familiar with, the armed forces of the US. It is probably best characterized as an Anti-war Fantasy. Recruits are ill-trained or conscripted. Officers are cruel, stupid and political. 100,000 men are dropped on a planet for an assault - less than 100 survive to leave. There is no thought of logistics, supply, indirect fire, intelligence, or medical. It is a fantasy. No government supported by a military this badly organized would last very long.
Logic and reality aside, I kind of enjoyed the book. The action never flagged and I liked the talking gun - It was often the most intelligent entity in the room.

Death's Head Series by David Gunn
Death's Head Series
David Gunn

1. Death's Head (4 ½ stars out of 5)
2. Death's Head: Maximum Offense (4 stars out of 5)
3. Death's Head: Day of the Damned (4 stars out of 5)

When it's time to put down those dusty classics, the recommended high-brow literature and your lengthy summer reading list I suggest you pick up any one of David Gunn's Death's Head books. They are the Science Fiction equivalent of the action adventure blockbuster movies you've come to know and love. The stories move faster than the speed of light and are quite literally jammed with swearing, shooting and screwing (not necessarily in that order.) Between the three S's however, you'll find great storytelling, sharp dialogue and quite a few unique literary inventions. Wait! That just doesn't give justice to Gunn's work. There is backstabbing, compassion, evisceration and even a bit of technological tom-foolery. Yes, I said it - tom-foolery. How else do you explain the computer chip resurrection some characters achieve? But take my word for it this is not a cheap sub-plot to play god. There is logic and purpose behind the concept. You'll feel it before you truly understand it.

The Death's Head books are military Science Fiction the way it was intended to be written and the way it must be read. The characters are the meanest, nastiest, toughest survival-types you'll ever meet and they find themselves in impossible situations under unbelievable odds. Yet, they still manage to stay sane and complete the missions (well, most of them anyway.) Two of my favorite creations are the talking gun (and a smart-ass to boot) and a cognizant, sentient planet. You really have to read them to understand the complexities involved. But believe me when I tell you that it's absolutely worth it. I've been reading the series since the publication of the very first book and I wait impatiently for each next installment to hit the bookstores. (I haven't done that since Harry Potter!) This is great solid, throw-back military Science Fiction and I assure you that you won't be wasting your money if you purchase every book in the series.

The Alternative
Southeast, Wisconsin

[...] ... Read more

Product Description
This bible commentary traces the reception of Judges through the ages, not only by scholars and theologians, but also by preachers, teachers, politicians, poets, essayists and artists.

Customer Reviews (2)

A really neat book.
This book provides a very interesting and thorough explication of the way Judges has been viewed and used in debate by various luminaries through the centuries. It's a neat companion to the book itself. You can read each narrative section of Judges, then read the pertaining chapters of Gunn's book, and really come away with an understanding of the text itself and the meaning it has taken on at various times in Western history.

Bible Commentary in Historic Eras Contexts
Judges by David Gunn (Blackwell Bible Commentaries: Blackwell Publishers) (Paperback) The commentary is constructed around the biblical book's main constituent stories and characters. The first chapter deals with the entry into the land and includes the cameo stories of Adoni-bezek who lost thumbs and big toes, Achsah who asked for water, and Othniel the first "judge" (Judg 1:1-3:11); the second chapter is on Ehud's assassination of Ehud (Judg 3:12-31); the third chapter covers Deborah and Barak defeating Sisera, and Jael putting a spike through his head (Judges 4-5); the fourth chapter discusses Gideon testing God and defeating the Ammonites (Judges 6-8), and the next its sequel, Abimelech's abortive kingship (Judges 9); the sixth chapter examines Jephthah, his vow, and his daughter's sacrifice (Judges 10-12); the seventh chapter deals
with Samson the Nazirite, from annunciation to self-immolation, and, of course, his Timnite bride, the prostitute of Gaza, and Delilah (Judges 13-16); the eighth chapter treats Micah, his Levite, and the rampaging Danites (Judges 17-18); and the ninth chapter closes with a story of rape writ large, the Levite's woman and the Benjamite war (Judges 19-21).
Each chapter begins with an abstract of the story (the "argument;" as older commentaries called it) and a summary of the discussion. (Names are given as commonly found in English, usually Protestant, sources, with Catholic alternatives where these differ.) A reader desiring a brief overview of responses to Judges over the centuries is invited to read through these summaries. Two main sections follow: "Ancient and Medieval" and "Early Modern and Modern." The former runs from Josephus and Pseudo-Philo, includes the clas¬sical texts of rabbinic Judaism, the Christian Fathers of Late Antiquity, and sources from the Middle Ages. It concludes with the fifteenth century and the onset of printing. The latter starts with the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, and continues through the Enlightenment up to the present day. Given its extent, this section is often broken up into topics, often main characters - for example, in the third chapter, "Deborah," "Barak, Sisera, and Sisera's mother," "Jael" - or main talking points - in the seventh chapter, "Typology," "Edifying history," "Foxes and fire," "Captivity and death," among others. By and large each section or subsection proceeds chronologically from earlier to later sources, and often the chapter ends with a "Recent reception" subsection focusing mainly on scholarly reception over the past century. This last review will seem cursory (to say the least), given conventional commen¬taries, but it does attempt to give the reader interested in the state of Judges scholarship today some guidelines.
The illustrations offer a small sample of the visual art of Judges, with pref¬erence given to works originally designed for reproduction, such as print suites or Bible illustrations, and to published engravings of paintings rather than photographs of the original, since these are what most people saw before the late nineteenth century. Because of limitations of space, most of the plates are composites of pictures, many of them cropped or providing detail only and much reduced, so providing only a flavor of the real thing. The folio engrav¬ings of Gerard Hoet and Caspar Luyken, for example, are magnificent, far beyond what can be conveyed here.
The Bibliography at the end of the book is subdivided into Ancient and Medieval, Early Modern and Modern, and Graphical sources. It is followed by a complete list of illustrations. Also included in the end matter are a short glos¬sary of terms, events, and interpretive methods perhaps unfamiliar to some readers, and a set of brief biographies (where information was available). Anindex of names includes both primary and secondary-source authors, and an index of main subjects concludes the book.
A few idiosyncrasies need to be mentioned. First concerns the reference system. In the main text, the date supplied for a source is the original (as best could be determined). Details in square brackets are those of the edition used, when it is reasonably certain that its content does not differ significantly from the original. In the bibliography, however, a date in square brackets is the original, and the principal date is that of the edition used. Second concerns the reference materials. There are many secondary sources discussing topics covered here. That they are not mentioned does not mean that they are unavailable. But I have chosen to focus on primary sources, and the bibliography reflects this choice. Third, where possible, life-spans are supplied when (deceased) authors and artists are first mentioned, as well as dates of their works. Likewise a few words describing the person are offered. In larger chapters, where a reader may be consulting only one section, this information is sometimes repeated. The result may appear (and be) inconsis¬tent as well as redundant to some readers, but it is intended to be helpful to others.
... Read more

Product Description
Biblical authors were artists of language who created their meaning through their verbal artistry, their rhetoric. These twelve essays see meaning as ultimately inseparable from art and seek to understand the biblical literature with sensitivity to the writer's craft. Contents: David Clines, The Arguments of Job's Friends. George Coats, A Moses Legend in Numbers 12. Charles Davis, The Literary Structure of Luke 1-2. Cheryl Exum, A Literary Approach to Isaiah 28. David Gunn, Plot, Character and Theology in Exodus 1-14. Alan Hauser, Intimacy and Alienation in Genesis 2-3. Charles Isbell, Story Lines and Key Words in Exodus 1-2. Martin Kessler, Methodology for Rhetorical Criticism. John Kselman, A Rhetorical Study of Psalm 22. Kenneth Kuntz, Rhetorical Criticism and Isaiah 51.1-16. Ann Vater, Form and Rhetorical Criticism in Exodus 7-11. Edwin Webster, Pattern in the Fourth Gospel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Paleoindian Book
I was really looking forward to this addition to my early American library.Fortunately I "Looked Inside" at the Table of Contents and Index and was very surprized to find no mention of the Atlatl, the major hunting weapon used by Paleo people the world over. Predating the bow and arrow by thousands of years. Not only artifacts but wonderful petroglyphs in the US Southwest.A simple but most effective weaponstill used by the Aboriginal people in Australia's Outback as well as well as South American Indians for large fish in the Andean lakes and by Alaskan natives for seal.
Maybe I missed something.
Barry VanWinkle

An Excellent Synthesis in Southeastern Archaeology
This book is a series of papers initially presented at a symposium during the Southeastern Archaeological Conference.It summarizes what was known at that time (1993) about the Paleoindian and early Archaic periods in the Southeast; that is, the time when the first ancestors of later Native American cultures first settled in what is now southeastern North America.

The book covers the entire southeastern region, with site reports and syntheses from Florida out to Arkansas and north to Virginia.It presents a good picture of what we know of the first human settlers in this region, including their believed use of "staging areas" - that is, places the first settlers could learn about their new environments before moving outward into more marginal territory - as well as the environmental factors, such as stone outcrops and plant and animal communities, that would have affected patterns of human settlement.

My only complaint against the book, like so many others in archaeology, is that it does not address what is known or what could be known of the cultures themselves beyond the merely physical.That is, there is far too much attention paid to environmental and technological factors at the expense of attempts to understand what these first settlers may have been thinking, or what their cultural systems or worldviews may have been.However, this alone does not mar what otherwise is a well-written and comprehensive synthesis.

I enjoyed the book, and recommend it to anyone interested in Native American cultures and archaeology.

The Paleoindian and Early Archaic Southeast
Very useful collection of papers and summaries of papers on paleo and early archaic Americans in this region.The thought provoking theories on settlement and hunting practices that evolved along with the changingclimate make this well worth reading.I keep my copy handy and refer backto it often. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive guide to the future of therapy in collaborative practice combines a broad perspective with consideration of the detail. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent resource
I am a RN and also soon to be a counselor. In our field we need more direction like this to help develop programs which integrate medicine and mental health. ALL tehrapist should use this as a tool to help guide in development of a collaborative model with all your clients MD's.. it is a MUST!!
... Read more

Product Description
Widely regarded as the leading work on this subject. Provides a lucid and wide -ranging account of the English Legal System covering the institutions, personnel and procedures, and the handling of case law and statutes. The text is accompanied by sample court forms, tables of essential statistics and flow charts illustrating the court structures ... Read more

Product Description
God, Gender and the Bible demonstrates that both maleness and femaleness are constructed in the light of divine omnipotence. Unlike many approaches to the Bible that offer hegemonist interpretations, such as those that are explicitly Christian or Jewish, or liberationist or feminist, this enlightening and readable study sustains and works with the inconsistencies evident in biblical literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating and a topic of further research
This is an excellent text that deals with the construction of a MASER - it is simialr to a laser but uses micorwaves instead of light (and can basically burn things up) - from parts that can be found in a microwave.It does a decent job of covering the theory of MASERs but is mostly practical.This book can also be used as a first look into the fascinating discipline of electromagnetic weapons, a topic that is all to relevant today, as "e-bombs" are an inexpensive, realistic choice for the terrorist.Note that this book is still very much in print (don't buy the overpriced used copies from Amazon.com) and can be purchased from the publishers site is faster service is required (deltapress dot com <- I write it like this to hopefully prevent Amazon.com from censoring it hehehe). ... Read more

Product Description
The Bible is often said to be one of the foundation texts of Western culture. The present volume shows that it goes far beyond being a religious text. The essays explore how religious, political and cultural identities, including ethnicity and gender, are embodied in biblical discourse. Following the authors, we read the Bible with new eyes: as a critic of gender, ideology, politics and culture. We ask ourselves new questions: about God's body, about women's role, about racial prejudices and about the politics of the written word.
Reading Bibles, Writing Bodies crosses boundaries. It questions our most fundamental assumptions about the Bible. It shows how biblical studies can benefit from the mainstream of Western intellectual discourse, throwing up entirely new questions and offering surprising answers. Accessible, engaging and moving easily between theory and the reading of specific texts, this volume is an exciting contribution to contemporary biblical and cultural studies. ... Read more

Product Description
Matthew's gospel begins and ends with the Jewish-Gentile debate, and at the heart of both the issue and the gospel is the story of the Canaanite woman. It is a story that reveals tension between Jews and proselytes in Matthew's community and responds to the question, "what must one do to be a member of the community?" This study focuses on the stereotype of the woman as a Canaanite as well as Matthew's sources and the form of the story. The conclusion is that the story reflects a reinforcement of Jewish law that allows gentiles to attain membership in the Matthean community, thus continuing the Jewish tradition that allows gentiles into the faith. ... Read more

Product Description
After almost two centuries of historical criticism, biblical scholarship has recently taken major shifts in direction, most notably toward literary study of the Bible. Much germinal criticism has taken as its primary focus narrative texts of the Hebrew Bible (the "Old Testament"). This study provides a lucid guide to the interpretive possibilities of this movement. Attempting to be both theoretical and practical, it combines discussion of methods and the business of reading in general with numerous illustrations through readings of particular texts. Gunn and Fewell discuss how literary criticism is related to other dominant ways of reading the text over the last two thousand years. In addition, they address characters, including the narrator and God; plot, modifying recent theory to accommodate the peculiar complexity of biblical narratives; and the play of language through repetition, ambiguity, multivalence, metaphor, and intertextuality. Finally, the authors discuss readers and responsibility, exploring the ideological dimension of narrative interpretation. An extensive bibliography completes the book, arranged by subject and biblical text. ... Read more