5 comments about 2010 Standard Catalog of Firearms: The Collector's Price and Reference Guide.

1. These were Christmas gifts...the guys LOVED Them. Me, well not so much, but they weren't for me. Thanks.



2. The best book of it's kind I have seen. Can save a buyer of guns money by avoiding paying too much for a certain model. Good reference book to have around.



3. For an otherwise helpful publication, in some area eg, Smith & Wesson, there is a lack of separation between generations of models ie, SW Model 29. 5 Screw, 4 Screw, 29, 29-1etc... The difference between a first year revolver and a used current revolver is several thousand dollars. It would have been very helpful to an investor to have an accurate guide in determining the correct model as well as current value. I hope this comment is taken as positive criticism because there is also much useful info in this publication.



4. I PREFER THIS PUBLICATION OVER THE BLUEBOOK .MORE ACCURATE PRICING AND THE PHOTOS ARE A PLUS



5. 
   Disappointing.
   
   
   Lots of pictures.
   
   Some information.
   
   But not enough information.
   
   So have ordered the next edition of "The Blue Book"

5 comments about The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes.

1. My daughter loves Coraline, so when I bought one of his other children's books this came up as being able to buy both at a deal, so I did. What a mistake!! This is definatly for adults only. I was wrapping for christmas when I started to look throught it and realized it wasn't even appropriate for me! Very sick stuff in this. So if you are a parent dont get suckered into buying just because it is a deal. I will be returning.



2. As a Gaiman fan, I've read Coraline and Stardust as well as Neverwhere and I would have to say that Preludes and Nocturnes was not as good as some of his other work. Admittedly, it's a graphic novel, a totally different genre and one that I am not an expert on being limited to a little bit of Alan Moore. On the whole though, I thought this book was good. Good enough for me to want to buy the next one. A warning though, having read Watchmen and half of From Hell, I was initially pleased that this book was nowhere near as disturbingly graphic as those two books, that is until I got to the chapter entitled "24 hours". It made me want to throw up it was so disturbing.



3. Both Gaiman and his editor readily admit that these first issues of The Sandman are more conventional than the later run of the series, and it's not a comment I disagree with. By the same token, I think both underplay the pleasures to be had from this volume, in which Gaiman takes his first steps with the character and begins to establish a rich and complex cosmology that I can't wait to see develop. Even in the midst of a story about a supervillain who has one of Sandman's gems, Gaiman spins a unique and horrific tale called "24 Hours," in which a group of people slowly deteriorate into madness and violence. Still, nothing quite prepares you for the collection's final tale, "The Sound of Her Wings," which introduces Death and provides not only a sense of where the series will be going, but also the distanced, fascinating way it regards humanity. I haven't read much of what's to come, and I don't doubt that this first volume may not be as groundbreaking as the later ones, but that in no way diminishes the inventiveness and rich world on display here.



4. The Sandman series is a remarkable set of graphic novels for adult readers. "Preludes and Nocturnes" sets the stage for the series in Neil Gaiman's uniquely creative style. In addition to his own expansive imagination, he draws upon a wide range of mythological allusions to create a new mythology that is every bit as meaningful and self-contained as any "real" mythology such as Judean-Christian, Greek, or Roman. In doing so, he pays homage to those mythologies without taking away anything from them.
   
   The craftsmanship of the story telling and writing is equal to any conventional novel, and the stories are completed by striking artwork from a variety of different graphic artists. Dave McKean is one of my favorite artists in the series, and he did many of the covers. This series is, in my opinion, among the finest adult-oriented graphic novels ever; and it has earned many national and international awards. If you like The Sandman, you may also want to check out David Mack's Kabuki and JK Woordward's Fallen Angel.
   
   
   MIke



5. Gaiman's Sandman series is widely considered one of the finest achievements in the graphic novel medium, but does it live up to all the hype? In this opening volume, a mortal who intends to capture Death accidentally snags her sibling Dream instead and winds up keeping him prisoner for decades. Finally escaping, Dream sets about reclaiming his lost talismans so he can rebuild his kingdom, which has greatly deteriorated during his long captivity.
   
   There are some pretty good moments among these dozen stories; I especially liked the cleverly-done duel with Lucifer Morningstar, and the truly gruesome sequences that relate to Dr. Destiny's attempt to destroy the entire human race. And in the concluding episode we finally get to meet Death herself, who isn't at all what we might have expected. But not everything in this collection clicks. The art varies from mediocre to decent - certainly not great, while the storytelling is good but only occasionally superior. The few brief cameos from the DC Universe are pretty insignificant, and don't add much to the stories, but on the other hand, many readers won't recognize these characters anyway and they only detract from the unique cosmology that Gaiman is creating for us. And ultimately, that's the key to this book's reputation: as the title suggests, this is only the prelude. The subsequent volumes each build on the cornerstones laid in this collection, and there's plenty of promise here. Mind you, horror's not really my thing, but this was certainly all around good enough that I'm eager to go on to "The Doll's House", and see what further surprises are in store. But is this volume really light-years ahead of everything else in the comics world? Probably not. Three and a half stars.

5 comments about The Official Blue Book Handbook of United States Coins 2010 (Handbook of United States Coins (Paper)).

1. Product was fine, but it took over a week longer to recieve than another book I had ordered the same time.



2. Like another reviewer, I wish this would come in a spiral bound edition. But more to the point, here's my opinion of the book itself. You pretty much have to own it if you buy and sell coins. But the prices in it are considerably lower than the true wholesale price of most coins. In other words, you'll lose money if you sell according to the book. I suggest you get The Greysheet and go by those figures --- that's what your dealer goes by. You then take 15% to 20% off the bid and you'll come close to what "most" dealers will pay. BUT -- much depends on the coin(s) and many other variables not included in any reference, including The Greysheet.
   
   To its credit, the book does start with G4 and not AU like the Greysheet. That is helpful for lower grades. It also gives grading descriptions for each coin. And, it gives the mintage.
   
   I use it mostly to take advantage of the very low prices in making my own online bids. If you go by the Blue Book, you'll never pay too much.
   
   Highly recommended.
   
   - Susanna K. Hutcheson



3. This Blue Book is nearly identical to the Red Book. Here's the main difference, if the coin value is 40 in the Red Book, it's listed as 20 in the Blue Book. That's it. Since I had a 2009 Red Book, it was a big waste of money to purchase a 2010 Blue Book. There is no additional information, the price values are merely cut by 50 percent. Very disappointing.
   
   In addition, the Red is sold with a very nice wired binding for easy page turning. The Red lays flat on your table. The Red has color photographs (Blue is B/W). Don't buy both books. Pick one and you are forever set.
   
   Pricing in the both guides are inaccurate. I watch PCGS and NGC graded coins on eBay. The grade of the coin is without question. I compare the selling price to the book and it is sometimes close, but often well off. Half of the graded coins sold on eBay are more then 40 percent off the Red Book price. So, what is the point of an up to date price guide, if it isn't up to date?
   
   Both PCGS and NGC give free value guides about their graded coins. Just go to their site and type in their serial number stamped on the slabbed coin case, you'll get a price guide. I have found this guide to be more accurate then the book.
   
   The important value of the book is the information and photographs of the coins. The Red Book color photographs are excellent. Great info too. But you only need one of these books because the info is duplicated between the two editions.
   
   I wish the Blue Book would have explained why some coins wholesale for slightly more, or slightly less, than purely 50 percent of retail. Are some classes of coin appreciating faster then others? The book gives no answers.



4. Just what I wanted. Will get a lot of good information from it. Top quality product!!!



5. Easy to use catalogue -- most informative
   Helped me get good prices for commemoratibe silver coins

5 comments about Wolverine: Old Man Logan.

1. I purchased this item as a gift. I had not recieved it in a timely manner, so i contacted the seller. i was shipped out another book within the day. I did appreciate the gentleman that I had contact with and will continue to purchase items thru them. The book was in good condition and the service was excellent.



2. If you're looking at this book, chances are you know who Mark Millar is, and you know all about Wolverine.
   
   I didn't read this elsewhere, so I felt inclined to praise the packaging of this title. It has your standard dust-jacket, but undernearth is a pearly-white hardcover, with ice-blue lettering.
   
   Truly, this is the most beautifully packaged book Marvel has put out to date. Typically, when you remove the dust jacket, you're greeted with the plain-black cover, with plain-white/silver lettering. Some exceptions are the Daredevil omnibus (black with shiny-red outlined letters) and the Ultimate books (colored covers with black lettering)...
   
   Yet, this book stands out with elegance.



3. Growing up I read books, not comic books, but now that I'm growing tired of books I've turned to comic books and have found many great stories among great and bad artwork. It took me a while to realize that I just don't like Marvel, they produce the same crap over and over again with a pretty picture to make it look worthwhile. I gave this 2 stars for the artwork, because as an artist myself, I have to say it's spectacular, but I was barely able to reach the end of this book simply because the story was so incredibly bad. I really wanted to like Wolverine, he looks cool, has a couple of cool one liners, but I have yet to read a good Wolverine story and I thought Old Man Logan was going to be that story. Turns out they just ripped off great ideas from great stories like Unforgiven. Ripping off from good stories isn't a bad thing, but Unforgiven is all about pacing, Old Man Logan rushes into these crazy moments and it's clear that the writer and artist just couldn't wait to show some gore. With proper pacing and a little more subtly to the story this could have been great. Unfortunately it's a piece of crap with some pretty wrapping paper. Mark Millar needs to realize that story is the most important part of a book.. not pictures.



4. Man, Wolverine as the Hooded Man over in Fantastic Four: World's Greatest? That was pretty sweet. He had Hulk as a son, and kicked all sortsa butt subtly, back before Marvel stuck him in your face, sorta like Claremont did years ago. Remember that?
   
   Well, this is Wolverine IN YOUR FACE AND OLD AND STAY OFF HIS LAWN, oh yeah. He teams up with high-fan-following-but-not-mega-star Hawkeye, who is blind and they run around in the Spider-Buggy, which is mentioned yearly by Marvel Comics and appears maybe once every 3 or 4 years. They wanna take a package across Super Villain, USA, which seems like it's pretty much a "What if?... The bad guys won the Acts of Vengeance" scenario. We get lots of cameos from Marvel Universe dead guys, live guys, and some are pretty neat, but overall...
   
   ..Spoiler...
   
   ...It's Meh as all get out. There's not really lots of excitement here, there's little to get sad at when Hawkeye dies, we get pitiful Emma Frost trying to make herself look hot, we get Black Bolt killing Tyrannosaurus Venom, and we get Banner with super powers eating Wolverine, and how Logan got that Hulk guy to be his kid in F4:WG. But all in all, this really isn't a superstar book. It's just there for Marvel geeks to get a little fan-release over, and that's about it. "Ultimates" did that, and it was at least 17 times better. That's really all I have to say about this.



5. I don't read a lot of comics, but I really enjoyed this. Great post apocalyptic story!

5 comments about Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

1. I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't like this story. I read the numerous 5 starred reviews at the beginning and began doubting myself, but then I perused the 2 stars and under section and felt a lot better.
   
   First off, I LIKE Batman comics, I really do. The only reason I'm not hardcore is because I'm a grad student, and let's face it, I simply just don't have the time (or money). I liked Batman: Year One, and I liked Batman: Hush, Vol. 1, along with Batman: The Man Who Laughs and Superman/Batman Vol. 1: Public Enemies, plus many more. I'm not a newbie to this world.
   
   So when I got TDKR, I figured I'd like it too, right? NOPE. I have the same problem with this comic as I did with Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition), only worse. The art is too spastic; the design is too creative; my brain just isn't able to make the leaps in logic that are apparently required to make this all into a storyline that flows in some kind of understandable manner.



2. I got this because everyone raves about it so I felt obligated as a comic fan. I was not a fan of Sin City or 300 and found Miller's Daredevil kind of slow. And its true, the story is driven by the writer not the artist so you have to read it at a different pace than modern comics but if you do you will be blown away. I was AMAZED at Miller's ability to write an action sequence. Don't expect the faster page turning of a Jeph Loeb Batman story and focus more on the writing than the art and you will find one of the most bad-ass comic stories ever.



3. I'm sure there are people who can more elegantly, or more intelligently say why this is a good comic book; people who've been reading batman since its first incarnation ever, or who can point to those comics that have followed after, and say how The Dark Knight Returns affected them and brought deeper, more serious issues into batman comics.
   But, even from the position of only a moderate comic reader (I never buy comics as 'comics'. I wait until they've been compiled and bound into more lengthy volumes and then shipped to the book stores) I still know enough to say that this is a truly great comic.
   I've heard that it revolutionized batman, and made it darker and more serious; and it certainly is serious.
   
   Set in a time after Batman has retired, following a government bill which has affected the ability of all superheroes to perform their vigilante duties, Gotham city is in the grip of crime once more, held sway beneath a terrible gang called 'The mutants'. Naturally, batman decides he's had enough, and once more begins his duties as the masked hero.
   The stories are solid, but could have been ruined in lesser hands. As it was, Frank Miller penned a dark tale with issues aplenty to study. The biggest, overlying tale is the continual war with the russians raging on in the background; a war that takes an even darker turn towards the end. The tension is always building, and the great climactic end is a pleasure to read again and again.
   
   As for the art, I've always lauded Frank Miller as one of my favorites. Nitty and gritty, Superman and Batman have never looked so tough before or since. The image of Gotham and everyone throughout it is constantly a dreary, gloomy colour, which breeds an atmosphere of just how far the city has fallen (though of course, Gotham was never exactly known for being a utopia).
   
   With great storytelling and great art, this is a must-have for anyone who ever claims to be a batman fan.



4. It's a grippingly-told, amazingly-illustrated novel. If anyone thinks that Batman comics are just for kids, this is the one that will demolish that thought. It's a book that will make you re-examine beliefs and pose questions ... would you like to have a Batman in your town? In your life? Do the means justify the end? What problems can you solve with violence? And perhaps the most important one ... why can't everyone see that Batman is way cooler than Superman?



5. Here's the book in a nutshell: Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman, is on the edge of sanity ...sleepwalking and drinking himself into oblivion because he's been in mind-numbing retirement for the last 10 years. But, Gotham gets SOOO bad that he's given his excuse to don the tights again. Bloody heads and mayhem follows.
   
   Now, be warned this Batman is aged. So much so that throughout the book he huffs,puffs and growls about getting slower. I don't know what happened to the World's Greatest Detective...it's not evident that he even is a detective in this book. Oh sure, he dons a couple of disguises, but the clever deduction we've all come to expect from the character just isn't there in this book.
   
   And the way Miller has the gang called the Mutants talking...I couldn't understand a thing that was written. Selina Kyle has picked up 30 pounds and Bruce is wickedly grey and wrinkled though he still fills out his uniform quite well. Joker by far and a reconstructed Harvey Dent, AKA Two-Face, are the best looking guys in the whole book. Commish Gordon is 70+ years and even he looks younger than our grizzled Batman!
   
   It's a sad, pathetic, angry Bats in this book. His underlying fear of crossing THE LINE is once and forever crossed (SPOILER ALERT!!!!) because he FINALLY KILLS THE JOKER (who has had it coming for how many years now?!?!.) Even while doing that he's injured almost beyond repair (can we get a witness for the dedicated and longsuffering Alfred?).
   
   That final act just didn't FEEL like the Batman. I expected more from this book. Miller's work on BATMAN YEAR ONE was impeccable!...a classic piece of LITERATURE. Yes, indeed it is.
   
   The Robin in this book feels forced. SHE saves the hide of our aging Bat 3 or 4 times. And she does battle with a slingshot of all things. This book isn't at all what I though it could have been. It's not what it should have been. I'd spend my money on YEAR ONE and leave this one alone if I had to do it all over again.

5 comments about Blue Book of Gun Values.

1. THIS BOOK IS VERY INFORMATIVE.....EVERYONE WHO ENJOYS SHOOTING AND FINE GUNS SHOULD OWN THIS BOOK !!!!!!!!!



2. PRICING IS NOT UP TO DATE ON MANY FIREARMS IN TODAYS CURRENT MARKET PLACE. I PREFER THE 2010 STANDARD CATALOG OF FIREARMS AND THE PICTURES IN IT ARE VERY HELPFUL.



3. This book pays for it's self the first time you buy a gun with it.



4. This Blue Book of Gun Values is Super. It has really helped me understand the grading of guns. It is easy to find the gun I am looking for and the values of it. I like it very much.



5. If you are buying or selling firearms this is a good reference on general pricing as long as you follow NRA guide lines on rating your firearm ! Also understanding that in some places these prices may be high with the custumer base you have!(online selling on firearm exchange sites will help you reach out to larger custumer base )

5 comments about The LEGO Book.

1. This book set is great. One book contains much history and background of the Lego company and products. The other is all about the miniature figures. Our kids and I spent hours of fun reading it. The price in Amazon makes this book set a great buy.



2. the minifigure book is a great celebration of an iconic lego item! one criticism, there is a bias towards more recent minifigures, for example, there are no pictures of the original yellow castle minifigures!
   
   the main book has some great features, specifically, great shots of early lego sets, and the wooden toys the company produced before it began making the bricks, there are features of great historic interest such as a double page spread on the evolution of the lego logo. a similar criticism could be made however, there is a definite bias towards recent sets, specifically the movie theme sets, and whilst there are 'sets to remember' pages, vast swathes of great sets from earlier years just don't appear. having said that, i still give it five stars, its worth every cent, very enjoyable, and you'll keep picking it up to look t it!!



3. I ordered the Lego book, but was sent STAR WARS Lego book. Since this was for my son's b-day I had no time to return it...luckily he likes Star Wars as well. Little irritated that I could have got the Star Wars book cheaper though. Thought I was paying for the Lego book.



4. I've now read in their entirety both the Lego Book and the Minifig Book which form the core of this collection. As a collector of Legos since their heyday in the late 1980s (think Pirates) to the present, I've seen a lot of Lego memorabilia. When I received this book collection for Christmas, I was really, truly hoping that DK was intending to focus on the complete history of Lego and the Lego minifigure. Sadly, I was mistaken.
   
   Don't get me wrong, the books are beautifully illustrated in full color on quality paper in a cute little collectors box. But in the end, I feel rather let down. For the main book, I was let down by the content. The book focused on the history of Lego for the first dozen pages or so but then switched to the individual themes. I was actually okay with that. I mean, if you want to see the complete line of Legos from the 1950s to the present, buy the 2008 set collectors guide. I would have liked to see a bit more of a review of the early town and train themes and how they developed prior to the creation of the minifig, but I was generally okay with the content and quality of the brief history of Lego.
   
   The theme sections are what really got me down. I know Lego sponsored this DK book but, technically at least, this is not a Lego production. It is independent. It has no Lego set number, no Lego pieces, only pictures. Yet somehow it is very obvious from the very start that this book was designed and funded by Lego. The majority of the themes have at least one page focusing on the most recent sub-theme of a series. Be it the 2007 Castle line, the 2008 Space Police, the 2007 Clone Wars, or the recent City themes. They are very present throughout this book. What really irked me was the treatment of the Lego Pirates. They dedicate one spread to the 1989-1996 series of Pirates and another full spread to just the 2008 line. That just seems insulting. The 2-year Westerners series is crammed on the same spread as the Adventurers and Time Cruisers. Meanwhile, other lines like Star Wars (1999-present) get four full spreads or more. I couldn't even see examples of some of my favorite Space lines such as M-Tron, Blacktron II, or Spyrius. They just weren't there! The objectiveness of this "Lego Book" is very much in question and I would rather call it the "History of Lego from 2000" than anything else.
   
   My larger gripe, though, is with the accompanying Lego Minifigure book. Where the Lego Book lacked in content, the minifig book lacked in everything except visual appeal. Even at times that was in question, though. As with the Lego Book, the minifig book is in full color and on good quality paper. It fits snugly beside the Lego Book in its collector's box. Yet I have a feeling that significantly less time was spent on this younger cousin of the larger Book. Any editor who read this would laugh out loud. Indeed, I have yet to find a page that doesn't have a spelling, grammatical, or factual error. In almost all cases there are multiple such problems on the pages. Besides being about as non-comprehensive as the Lego Book, barely covering more than the last decade's worth of minifigures, the style of this book is extremely wanting. Many pages I have found odd and hardly interesting facts on the wrong page (the fact that Prof. Snape's head was the first glow-in-the-dark minifig part appearing on the page AFTER that minifig was shown comes to mind). In other places, the same exact minifig appears twice, sometimes on the same page even, often with a different date despite the fact that they are the same exact figure. In other cases, I have found incorrect dates for figures, or even incorrect names. One funny error notes that the Clone Wars in Star Wars took place over 300 years, rather than the canonical 3 years. In virtually all aspects, the minifig book lacks the quality-control checks and editing I would expect from DK. It is as though the people who arranged the hodgepodge of images also created the captions with absolutely no oversight. Were the minifig book sold separately, I would probably demand a full refund from the publisher out of sheer anger at the poor editing of this book. While the visual appeal is arguably good, the writing of some of the poorest quality I have seen in a publication.
   
   So, my advice is to buy this set if you want it purely for the images. It is a great visual feast of Legoness. However, if you expect deep content and a fun jaunt back into the history of Lego, I'd suggest you wait for another book because this will leave you scratching your head asking: "Didn't Lego make more sets before 2000?"



5. My grand kids love these books, they study and read them constantly even the 6 yrs old reads them
   and looks up on his parents pc where good deals are

5 comments about A Guide Book of United States Coins 2010: The Official Redbook (Guide Book of United States Coins (Spiral)).

1. The book is something I get yearly, and is always up to date. My review is mainly for Amazon. After I placed my order, the items were there in two days! Way to go, Amazon staff!



2. This was a christmas gift and was well received. Will get a lot of useful information from this book!!!



3. I had no prior experience determining the rareity of coins, so this guide was a real help. There are plenty of pictures and descriptions. I first tried using a different guide from the public library. This one is far superior.



4. This was a Xmas gift for my husband since he has just started coin collecting. He loves it and finds it very helpful.



5. I bought this book because of the low price. When I got it in the mail I could tell it wasn't made right. I emailed Amazon they sent me a new book at no charge. The return process was trouble free. Yes I would buy this book again, and yes I will shop at Amazon again.

5 comments about State Series Quarters Collector Map.

1. Very nice product, includes the special territories and just looks very cool. Is pretty big, watch the dimensions before you order!



2. I bought this for my Grand Daughter and it was great. It held the coins in very securely. I'm going to ordr another one today.



3. I started collecting the state quarters back in 1999 when they were first released. I picked up a WE Harris & Co. book to help me manage my collection and it was an exercise in frustration. The quarters fell out of the book and wouldn't stay in their little holes. I've almost finished my collection and wanted something better to manage it. After seeing the reviews on this book, I picked one up. It's amazing. It actually holds the quarters in. The map is a thin piece of foamboard which doesn't deform much after you put the quarter in. It holds quarters snug and it has a little indentation to help you get it out if you so choose. I am confident that taking the quarters out and putting them back in out won't ruin the book. It's very well constructed.



4. We purchased this for our 9 year old grandson and gave him a bowl of quarters - It made for a peaceful rainy afternoon!



5. I ordered this, the newer product from Whitman called 'Statehood Quarters Map (Hardcover)' as well as "The Official U.S. Mint 50 State Quarters: Complete 100 Hole Collector's Folder, Complete Collection 1999-2008 (Hardcover)". This was by far the best of the three. It includes space for the new DC and Territorial quarters. It looks good and is very easy to use (yes, even though you are merely storing coins, there is a distinct difference in 'ease' of use of the three products).If someone put a gun to my head and asked me to point out a problem with this product, I'd say its the size. But, that being said, it still fits on my book shelf, so if not a hassle at all. Love it, and will return my 'official US mint' copy to get another one of these (Thats for my dad, he collects these coins too). Here are links to the other products I referred to:
   Statehood Quarters Map
   The Official U.S. Mint 50 State Quarters: Complete 100 Hole Collector's Folder, Complete Collection 1999-2008

5 comments about Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Backlash.

1. This being the fourth book in the Fate of the Jedi series, I don't have much to add to my thoughts on the series. The main plots are here, Jedis going crazy, political power struggles between the Remnant Empire, the Galactic Alliance, and the Jedi, and Luke and Ben adventuring together. Thankfully, the book is not entirely a clone of the ones before it, which books 2 and 3 pretty much were. The Jedi going crazy plot is given little space and that is to this book's benefit. Luke and Ben have switched from following Jacen Solo's trail to following the Sith Vestara Khai's trail; well, that's a bit different at least. And the political power struggles? Well, if the Star Wars: Legacy comics are part of the Expanded Universe continuity, we know how things end up, so there's not too much tension there. Pros: The second half of the book is more suspenseful than the first, especially with Vestara Khai proving to be an interesting and deceitful foe for Ben. Cons: Luke and Ben are still following somebody and interacting with a weird tribe of people that they must prove themselves to, just like in the former books. The small plot involving Allana/Amelia Solo is just as cutesy and seemingly pointless as the ones in the previous books. (Pro: it received much fewer pages this time.)
   
   Overall, this book continues the Fate of the Jedi series: not enough happens for the price of the hardcover. The entire series is the most blatant money grab yet for the Star Wars books; at least the New Jedi Order books, which also had a lot of pointless filler, were mostly in paperback. These books will continue to be enjoyed by Star Wars enthusiasts and completists, and I count myself among them, but do yourself a favor and check it out from the library or wait until it is in the bargain bin.



2. Luke and Ben seemed to have abandoned their mission to uncover the murky truth of Jacen's turn to the Dark Side during the third FOTJ book, Abyss, when a weird new tribe of Sith caught their attention. In Backlash, the adventure continues. Luke's on the prowl, metaphorically sniffing out Vestara Kai like some crazy bad ass Jedi hunting dog; with his blood splattered on her person after a lightsaber battle that ended with the death of her Master, Vestara's unaware she's even being tracked, but you can bet she's looking for a place to hide. Ben's aware of his father's exhaustion, despite Luke's protests, and elicits the help of the Jedi via an encrypted, sneaky, and very under-the-radar message intended to make absolutely clear it isn't Luke who's asking (which would violate the terms of his parole), it's his son. Eager to help and reminding us the "good thing about the Solos and Skywalkers" is they "never run out of things to do" (p. 6), Han and Leia pack Allana and her pet nexu aboard the Falcon and head to the only place Luke and Ben can guess is the most likely location Vestara would land: Dathomir. And here, ladies and gentlemen, is where the fun begins. What follows is a witty and wild adventure in which Daala realizes she's in over her head, Han gets a flamethrower, and a nexu manages to elicit more pathos out of me than Allana ever will.
   
   Now that there's more time between FOTJ releases, the page count per book can go up and fans like me can feel we've bought something worth the cover price. Let me make this clear: the extra pages were not only needed, but they're everything that made Backlash read like a complete installment in the series rather than a rushed addition or careless afterthought. Every success reveals a new failure, though and unfortunately, no matter how much I'm enjoying this series, something went wrong. To be fair, there's many things going on behind the scenes that have affected FOTJ. One of those is the release of the Lost Tribe of the Sith books as e-books. Sure, they're free, but they're e-books. I don't know about you, but I hate e-books. Sitting to read in front of my computer for extended periods of time isn't as easy as sitting with a physical book. There's considerably less eyestrain; not all of us can afford fancy e-book readers with e-ink (or to keep printing each story). Some of the plot in those books, which I still haven't and refuse to read until they're in print, would, I hear, have helped clear up some of my confusion over the latest band of Sith apparently no one's ever run into before. With the release of Crosscurrent, I finally got a lot more information and backstory that I really should have gotten before I read the first FOTJ book, Outcast. It might be too much to ask for books to be released chronologically, but it would have been really, really helpful.
   
   I bring this up because suddenly Zekk's madly in love with someone named Taryn. I was as baffled as everyone else--when did this happen? I can only guess, after a kind fan suggested, theirs was a romance forced to bloom behind the scenes, after Blood Oath was cancelled. Honestly, though? I think these kind of "surprise!" revelations lose any real relevance when they come out like this, especially because Zekk played a larger role in LOTF and has since then suddenly dropped out of existence. His return is lukewarm, unexplained, and unfortunate in execution. Allston, to his credit, was doing the best he could. It's not his fault Blood Oath was cancelled, and I'm sure at some point, if it wasn't him who corralled Zekk back into the narrative, it'd just be another author. Kudos to you, Allston, for taking the bullet.
   
   Now that Zekk's back, I couldn't really understand his role in Backlash. Luke and Ben have made it on planet and are tracking Vestara when they run across a clan of Witches and a little bit of trouble; Han and Leia are off to investigate when they leave Allana in the Falcon with the droids and nexu; Zekk and Taryn are supposed to be watching the kid, but fail to intervene or even notice when Allana successfully outmaneuvers 3-PO (we all know how hard it is) and sneaks off to rescue Artoo. He shoots something once (I think) and is never brought to task for her being scared half to death and the nexu getting a concussion. Someone please correct me and point out where I misread Zekk's actual involvement. I'm not above being corrected, I'm just confused.
   
   Zekk and Allana aside, the return to Dathomir was, surprisingly, most of what made this book so much fun for me. Sine Luke's last visit, the Dathomir Witches have evolved a little and emancipated their men--they can leave clans, form others, own property, vote, and wear pants, too. There were many jibes at the expense of traditional Dathomiri gender roles made even more entertaining when the gang is politically caught up in the elaborate process of the joining of two mutually exclusive, gender-polarized clans in the one thing that I never knew was missing from Star Wars: Dathomir Olympics. It's about as backwater as you'd expect: rock throwing, sharp shooting, wrestling--you get the idea. There's even medals; Han wants to make his into coasters. Dathomir's also famous for rancors and darned if there isn't an influx of them and some skirmishes that bring to memory Luke's caged battle with Jabba's wee baby pit monster. Delicate political negotiations aside, the diversions of the games was a great balance to Ben's investigation into Vestara's real motive.
   
   We also get to meet some new and interesting characters. In particular, I've grown fond of Dyon--a Force-sensitive and unsuccessful Jedi candidate Ben hires for the cause at 5 credits, apparently the going rate for Jedi. Dyon is the little character that could and the type we don't see enough of in a world saturated with familiar heroes and villains. Speaking of villains, Allston's portrayal of Daala turned into a bit of a caricature of the stiff woman we've come to know and expect. At times it seemed she was making fun of herself, or perhaps it's just Allston's characteristic touch of humor that unclenched the Chief of State and finally started letting her realize just how big a can of worms she's unleashed. Although, if you ask me, "policing" the Jedi is not the same thing as sending Mandos in for guerilla attacks when no one's looking and causing hundreds of thousands of credits worth in damage. She needs a dictionary as much as everyone else needs more ginko bilboba in their diet.
   
   Everyone (Han, Leia, Jaina, Jag) is not only surprised when there's a Mando attack, but act as if it didn't just happen in Abyss or as if Wyn didn't try to warn them about it through Fel, who as we all know by now, failed miserably at being the good guy by not passing along the information to everyone who should have found out about it sooner rather than later. The powerful dynamic and tension created from that misstep in the last book is gone from Backlash. Jaina and Jag are, blessedly, hardly ever front and center, which I'm glad for, not caring for either as a character and being lukewarm at best to their relationship. Unfortunately, there's bound to be more Jag with the direction the plot is going, but I'll deal with that when it comes.
   
   Overall, Backlash was just as good, in my opinion, as Abyss, but a little less weird. I really love that Luke's not allowed to do any real important Jedi-related activities. It's as if the entirety of Star Wars has said, "Enough. You've been sitting at a desk and meditating too long on the academic abstractions of the Force. Time to go out, play with a lightsaber, and have some fun." Really, I can't be the only one that misses Luke going out to take care of business when he's been acting like the Grand Master mentor figure for so long. The story is definitely picking up and moving along, even though it took the gang an entire book to figure out if Vestara was really "evil" or not. Their doubt made way for some entertaining distractions, sleuthing, and allowed a couple of backwater no-fame secondary and tertiary characters shine like only Allston can make them. Dyon and Tarth, here's looking at you, kids.



3. Book #4 of the 'Fate of the Jedi' Series (Legacy era). Luke and Ben Skywalker chase Vestara (Sith Apprentice) to Dathomir.
   
   While searching for Vestara, Luke and Ben help two clans of Dathomiri attempt to join together. Raining Leaves and Broken Column clans must put aside the past and their traditions to make it work. They meet resistance by dark-force users known as the Knightsisters, who oppose these changes. Though Vestara appears to help these two clans work together, she has her own crooked designs. She is willing to wait, bide her time and strike at the moment of her choosing. Escape is not her only plan.
   
   I enjoyed reading this book but it seems like a couple of the subplots were left hanging that could have been resolved without affecting future books (I say this with all respect for Aaron Allston, he is one of my favorite authors). In addition to seeing the political machine move forward I was glad to see plenty of Rancor action.
   
   I recommend reading "The Courtship of Princess Leia" for further background on Dathomir and the Knightsisters.



4. 20 words or less: Despite some illogical character decisions, Backlash appeals to fans of both the original and prequel trilogies while continuing to build on the groundwork of the series and fix the expanded universe.
   
   My Rating: 3.5/5
   
   Pros: Luke and Ben feature in a worthwhile plot with memorable scenes; Crazed Jedi plotline continues to build slowly but steadily toward an unpredictable conclusion; Fate of the Jedi continues to build a strong groundwork with consistant characterization and few continuity errors;
   
   Cons: Humor doesn't work as well as in previous Allston novels; Although necessary, the youth movement creates frustratingly illogical scenarios;
   
   The Review: The writers and editors of the Fate of the Jedi series might not be Jedi Masters yet but they are getting closer and closer to hitting that wamp rat sized target located in the middle of nostalgia and innovation. Fate of the Jedi is supposed to be a return to the lighter, more escapist fare of the early Star Wars adventures after years of doom and gloom that robbed the galaxy far far aware of its most promising protagonists. While early installments struggled to drive forward the series plotlines and maintain individual narratives, in Backlash, Allston appears to have placed the flailing series on solid ground with the help of the Sith threat introduced in Book 3.
   
   As young Jedi continue to inflicted by an unexplained insanity that makes their fellow Knights appear to be evil doppelgangers in their maladied minds, the Jedi Order struggles to maintain credibility with a government that has been seen Jedi become Sith one time too many. The Order must defend itself from these mentally ill Jedi, the politicians of the Galactic Alliance, and the power hungry moffs of the resurgent Empire. At the same time, Luke, convicted of endangering the galactic population by training these fallen Jedi and failing to control them and subsequently exiled from the Jedi Order, continues to explore the galaxy with his son Ben, hoping to find what caused his nephew Jacen Solo to become the Sith that killed Luke's wife, Mara. After encountering and repelling a Sith ambush in the previous installment, Luke and Ben track the sole survivor to Dathomir, where she attempts to hide herself within the innately force-sensitive, rancor-riding, indigenous population. When they do ultimately catch up to her, all is not as it appears.
   
   Like the previous novels, the main Jedi plotline and the Skywalker plotline are for the most part separate although Han and Leia do jump between threads, providing that nostalgic feeling of reunion previously missing. However, unlike the previous novels, the Skywalker plotline is more substantive, developing the Force witches of Dathomir into a deeper culture than the wasted opportunities represented by the Baran Do Sages of Outcast and the Aing-Tii monks of Omen. As Luke and Ben attempt to capture the rogue Sith warrior, they find themselves in the middle of a clan war between a progressive clan rejecting the matriarchal traditions of the past and the secretive, darkside-wielding NightSisters. Whether it's the inclusion of the Sith element or the depth of the Dathomiri culture, there is a relevance to their actions that surpasses the "after-school special" superficiality of earlier plots. The re-emergence of the Sith as a threat, although a somewhat tamer version than Palpatine's evil incarnate, also raise the stakes of the series overall. It took awhile but Luke and Ben's actions finally matter again.
   
   The second string concerning the political struggles of the Jedi amidst a crisis of crazies is about as strong as it has been all series but rather than being forced to carry the weight of the book, the strength of the Dathomir plotline allows it to slowly ratchet up the tension. While it's strange that major players are still being introduced into the series in the fourth book, the multi-dimensional power struggle appears to reaching a tipping point and it's difficult to predict how it will all play out, something atypical for the average Star Wars novel. After the extended break between books 3 and 4 caused by Allston's unfortunate heart attack, I'm very excited to see the series continue despite some of its flaws which admittedly may be more a result of my departure from the ranks of the targeted demographic than any flaw on Allston's part.
   
   Through the half dozen or so Allston SW novels I've read, the single most notable aspect of his writing is his gift for humor. Despite suffering the aforementioned heart attack, Allston returns to his trademark humor here, albeit with somewhat less impact. Some of the changes that the Del Rey/Lucas Books editors have been introducing into the Fate of the Jedi are storylines that are somewhat lighter in tone. After the genocidal plots of the New Jedi Order icosikaihenilogy (21 books) and the fratricidal plots of the Legacy of the Force enneilogy (9 books), the fans were clamoring for lighter fare. Del Rey delivers this in Fate of the Jedi but unfortunately at the expense of the effectiveness of Allston's humor. In his X-Wing books and his NJO work, the dark comedy stood out in contrast to the bleak situations our characters found themselves in. Like a coping mechanism, the characters seemed to laugh because it was the only way to distract themselves from the death surrounding them. Even the humor of The Empire Strikes Back broke the tension between Imperial assaults and torture sessions. With the lighter tone of FotJ, Allston's writing comes across as almost cutesy, especially in scenes involving the pre-teen Allana Solo and the young adult Ben Skywalker.
   
   This cutesy factor has been one of the largest problems of the series so far and the lack of appropriately aged characters continues in Backlash. Luke, Leia, and Han are considered to be either "too skilled" or "too old" for major action sequences and as a result an unrealistic amount of weight is placed on the shoulders of young protagonists, namely Ben and Allana. In the past the mainstream SW novels have been separated from the YA stories but Fate of the Jedi appears to be catering to both the old guard of the original trilogy and the younger fans of the prequel era. While understandable, this fanboy doesn't like watching his heroes throw their children into danger with terrible parenting decision after decision for the sake of their screen time.
   
   As an example, Han and Leia leave their daughter alone for weeks where she eventually encounters a murderous junker who runs the local chop shop. Ben is given command of a tribe of older, trained warriors whose culture he doesn't understand to defend their redoubt from a rancor siege. And it's not so much the fact that they are put into dangerous situations, it's that they are portrayed as more capable than any of the adults around. It's only a matter of time before Ben is teaching the tribes strategy so basic a Gungan should know them and using his "detective skills" to suss out decades old secrets in days. Under the flimsy pretense of training, the authors marginalize Luke Skywalker to create artificial tension in scenarios where he could easily resolve conflicts with minimum bloodshed. Why would a Jedi let hundreds of people die when he has the power to save them? This illogical youth movement is frustrating at times but unfortunately necessary as the editorial staff has killed off or marginalized the majority of strong appropriately aged characters over the past few years and continually overpowered Luke and Leia.
   
   Regardless of my fanboy criticisms, Backlash is still a worthwhile entry into the Star Wars canon and my favorite of the Fate of the Jedi books thus far. It ends on an enigmatic note that begs for further exploration in Troy Denning's Allies (due out in late May). Despite the younger, lighter tone of the series, Fate of the Jedi continues to present enjoyable Star Wars adventures in an episodic format that allow you to jump back to the galaxy far, far away that you explored in the imagination of your youth for a few hours. It's clear that Star Wars is in a bit of a transition period as LucasBooks attempts to rebuild the universe from catastrophic events of the past few years but I'm hopeful that once the youth movement completes, the character development will be worth it. It should be expected but character continuity has been something that hasn't always made an appearance in Star Wars fiction, so the increased attention in Fate of the Jedi is appreciated even if it creates other smaller problems. If you were a Star Wars fan that has abandoned the series because it lost the escapist elements that made it Star Wars, it might be time to take a second look.



5. This is definitely the best of the series so far. My biggest complaint of the series is not due to the writing, but the books are short, only 300 pages, and seems like they are dragging out this series in order to make more money from it. It should really only be a trilogy.
   
   Ben Skywalker also has a much more developed role and appears much more prominently into the series since Luke Skywalker has been delegated to a secondary role due to being exiled, which forces Ben to represent the Jedi Order. The Jaina/Jag relationship continues to steadily develop, there is a Jedi temple battle scene, failed assassinations, battle on dathmoir, Nightsisters, Sith treachery, and Admiral Daala continues her political schemes of suppressing the Jedi. This is also the most action packed of the many of the Fate of the Jedi books released up to this point.