it defies description....
925685
i met a couple at a 'yes' concert - they gave me an ozric tentacles disc (pungent effulgent) - these humans were surprised that i was unfamiliar with the ozrics - since i am such an avid 'yesfan' - - knocked-over as i was after hearing 'pungent' - that decided to try waterfall cities - this is quite amazing music - its sound is fluid and yet solid at the same time - very very impressive - it should be played at maximal volume - which implies raw power - yet it has such delicate moments of beauty that it is astonishing - - if you've come to this page - you're probably already familiar with this music - so i'll not convince you to buy this - either you will or you won't - - but *if* you really did just stumble here to this page - and are unfamiliar with this group (as i was) - buy this disc - it is not 'progressive rock' really - i have no idea how you would catagorize this music - it is truly unbelievable - it defies description
"add to shopping cart - proceed to checkout" and play it very very loud
space puppy - out
2206172
I went to the theater to see this movie with great expectations it would be the scarcest movie I've seen in years. I have rarely been so disappointed. This movie really isn't about ghosts. I'm going ahead and spoil it... it's about incest. It was advertised as a ghost movie. The ghosts play a very minor role. For the life of me I don't understand why its getting such great reviews.
4861191
The non-fiction account of a lost city in the Amazon seems like it could be so thrilling, but...could it really be? Sounds too good to be true? It probably is. This book is really two stories that are superbly intertwined. The first is the story of Percy Fawcett, a British explorer who plunged into the Amazon a century ago to find the lost city of Z. He never found it. A century later, a journalist who has never camped or hiked in extreme conditions decides he might try and finish the work of a great explorer. Right...that's a bit far-fetched. Even with GPS and satellite phones and modern medicine, the idea is ludicrous. But he kind of succeeds. In a sense. This might be too much of a spoiler, but if you're gullible enough to buy a book like this thinking that he really did discover a lost city, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I will say that there is a sense of what the lost city of Z might have actually been. So while the premise of the book might guarantee some disappointment among readers, Grann does a fantastic job of story-telling, in mixing his own experience with that of Fawcett. It's a great read.
1742866
OMG!! What imagination. Never saw it coming. I enjoyed it. I loved it. WOW.
Thanks.
Ban
3242368
Even though I read the book through, it is not my kind of book, nor can I recommend it.  I will , however, give commendation to the author for her thought processes.  The detail included in the story was very interesting indeed.
1905268
An excellent novel that defies genre. Hearttily recomend it to one and all. I should point out that, despite the same name, we are not related.
857832
This book truly defies description.  It has won prizes as a young adult novel but, as far as I'm concerned, it can hold its own with the classics of adult literature. It's a book about war and much more: friendship, fear, family, courage and two very young women who have found what they can best contribute to the war effort.  One is a pilot and one is a spy.

October, 1943. Before a crippled British plane crashes as it attempts a lightless night landing in Nazi-occupied France, its human cargo parachutes safely to earth. But just days later Verity makes a simple mistake: at a city crosswalk, by habit she first looks right instead of left, giving away the fact that she is, in fact, British.  She is immediately captured by the Gestapo, and much of the book is composed of her writings as she collaborates with the enemy.  The Gestapo show her photos of the plane with a charred corpse in the cockpit, and Verity despairs for her best friend Maddie, the pilot who dropped her in France.

The plot is best left undescribed and, if you read this book, you'll understand why. But it has made me think long into the night about the nature of courage, of friendship and, ultimately, of war. The characters of Maddie and Verity are beautifully drawn, their voices distinct and heartbreaking in their youth and--despite what they must survive--innocence. It is truly a book for the ages, one I'll remember for years, and easily the best book I've read this year.
2335377
Not what I was expecting from the description given for the book. More of a showcase of the author's work. The book itself is well written and played out. I would not have purchased it if an accurate description had been available.
3240963
This book is not from my point of view - - -
I think it was the advertisment that compelled me to buy it.
3225495
There are many names for what is called "The Commons" in Michael Alan Peck's novel. Most of us have at least heard one word--Purgatory--where, supposedly, all living beings go for the final test, quest, or justification as to where they will spend eternity... Not every faith even has this place as part of their religion. However, if there was, wow, has it changed from what you've heard about it!

Take one rich man, an entrepreneur, who sees the potential for power...and you can look forward to quite a changed location! This is a very weird fantasy--a fantasy so weird that it is fascinating! The imaginative genius of details for this 526-page book is unbelievable and reflects a writer that has taken care to present every image our minds create and making sure that we fully understand exactly what is happening... I admit that I had to slow my reading down--I didn't want to miss a bit of the marvelous ingenuity presented...

Dante might have written about it, but I wondered if he was actually there in The Commons, later, when it all started happening... certainly because this contemporary novel in no way resembles his story... This novel is so up-to-date in concept that the reader is quickly drawn in and may find it difficult to realize the setting is not earth... at least after Paul Reid and many others died on a bus which crashed...

In a building somewhere in The Commons, a single man worked. He was the only man left there in the building, which had once been busy as people came in, were assigned an envoy, and began their journey to their final place. But now only Jonah Porter was left--he was the last envoy! There was nobody working at the Central Assignment Department now, except Jonah... And it was just by chance, that he had heard and finally found the message that told him that he was needed. Paul Reid was beginning his journey and Jonah was to serve as his envoy!

Just a brief statement to share that all people who were entering Purgatory were being stopped. Some were put to work, such as Annie, Zach's mother, because of her computer skills. But they drugged her to speed up her work and slowly it took her over to the extent that she forgot about Zach most days...

But somebody else was watching Zach, at least until he disappeared...

All of the essence of living beings, plants, animals were being captured at the first stop in The Commons, until it was decided where they would be placed.

Paul, one of many who were killed in a bus accident who had escaped from the scene. Once he and Jonah connected, they were joined by several others. The one thing I really enjoyed was that characters in books, having been created, were also in The Commons. Cool, right?

The easiest way to close out is to merely say that somebody has gotten tired of the changes which had been made in The Commons! Change was underway! I've not ever read a book like this--it is unique, but, yet, so familiar, except with the magic, fantasy, and scifi components thrown in... Kudos to Michael Peck for stepping into a new realm of contemporary fantasy...at its best... Go check it out!

GABixlerReviews
Paperback Provided for Review
1741060
This book is nothing like the description.  So much so, that I read the description 5 times after I just started reading the book.  I actually books with occult themes, murder, and romance.  So, I probably would have loved it if I knew that this what the main theme was.  But because I didn't, I spent most of the first 100 pages confused.  I did enjoy the story overall.  Just don't be fooled into thinking this is about 3 "sistahs".
1326611
Not what I expected...but, someone else might find it funny.
610531
phenomal, lives up to the hype, not what I expected at all but I love it!
1898974
If Deliver us From Evelyn were a movie, its TV Guide blurb might read: "After heartless media mogul Evelyn Blake's husband disappears, a young police detective determines to unravel the mystery." And while that is the essence of this novel, the description hardly does it justice. Evelyn is more than just another crime story. Yes, it's about a missing Warren Blake. Yes, it's about a police investigation. Yes, Evelyn Blake is ruthless ala the character Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada. But it's also about redemption, searching for meaning in life... and comics.

Detective Charlie Pasch returns from Well's first novel Forgiving Solomon Long as the central viewpoint character, but his is hardly the only perspective. From the anonymous blogger spilling Blake Media secrets, to the con-man determined to pull off another elaborate heist, Deliver Us From Evelyn jumps all over Kansas City.

But it's the bad guys who steal the show. Especially the con-man who's posing as a minister. This guy has attitude, and it makes for some interesting exchanges, because Chris Well has a way of making even the hardest criminal likable. You might even have to squelch a chuckle in a few scenes. (After all, cough cough, this is a crime novel.) Not so likable is freezer cold Evelyn Blake, who deserves her employees' agnomens of "Queen Evel" and "Cruella D'Evelyn". And we've got a few mob henchmen as well, who are perfectly happy bumping people off.

Perhaps the most intriguing character is the anonymous blogger. The conversational blog entries are peppered throughout the story and make for a nice change of pace amidst the police investigation and con games. An insider at Blake Media, there's no corking this person's opinions, and suspicions, of Evelyn. Only when Blogger and Detective Pasch join forces does the truth about Warren Blake's whereabouts finally surfaces.

Occasionally the ensemble cast made it challenging to know exactly who to root for, and I would've liked to have seen a little more description of what exactly Evelyn Blake looks like, but most readers probably won't even notice this amidst the zipping plot. Loaded with pop culture references, including mentions of Switchfoot and The Wizard of Oz, perhaps most central to the plot of Deliver Us From Evelyn are comic books. It's no secret Charlie Pasch can talk for hours on the subject, and comics ultimately play a part in piecing together the puzzle. But if you're not a comic fan, don't worry. The comic references don't overload the novel. They simply embellish it. I came away from the story with a new appreciation of their value.

Compelling, quirky, and engaging, Deliver Us From Evelyn will be a welcome addition to your bookshelf.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for Infuze Magazine
1747224
Yes, I know I'm being contrary. However, it's hard to heartily recommend or emphatically steer people away from this book. Some of it was annoying, some of it required a leap of faith and some of it left me hanging, wanting a peek into the future. However, I found I could wait to find out what happened next. The author's writing is crisp and clear, not bogged down with clutter. An easy read with an interesting story. I probably would have had a different ending, but that's the joy of reading... the surprise of the end. Check it out.. it really is a good read.
109119
Its has false add as far as I'm concerned. It looks a lot larger than it really is in real life!
148007
This book defies categorization. It is certainly a work of fiction, but where under the umbella would you put this enviable work? Is it a coming of age tale? Well yes shades of that genre exist. Is it a tale of religiosity and the directions that one can steer religion to when one takes a fundamental approach to scriptural interpretation? There is a bit of that in here also, how Islam can be factionalized  based on Qur&aacute;n interpretation is a prime undercurrent of this novel.

The narrator is Dantala, also known as Ahmed who lives with the Sheikh, the leader of the local Islamic sect. Dantala transformed himself from a boy who was hanging out with the street types who slept under a tree. He details his rise from that condition to second in command, he came to be a trusted aide of the Sheikh, giving us a glimpse into the daily lives of those who choose religious compound life. Some of these boys may otherwise be homeless, if they didn't have this option. Some are actually there to devote their life to Islam.

So a cornucopia of issues are touched upon, everything from sex, religious infighting to cholera. There are times in this book when the sentences don't seem related to one another, especially in the first quarter of this debut novel. It is as if the author, is trying to find his groove. Elnathan John does indeed find a comfortable rhythm and his prose becomes steady and heady.

Through following the life of Dantala, we learn a little of Nigerian life for a Muslim. But ultimately, the reader is still wondering, what is all this about. Perhaps, like the Sheikh asks of Dantala after telling him a story, "Were you wondering what the moral of the story was?"Dantala of course is curious, the Sheikh's reply; "There is no moral. I just felt like telling you a story."

I think that sums of the point of this novel, Elnathan John just wants to tell us a story and it turns out to be a pretty good one. 3.5 stars.