A great work in progress...
354621
Here is my story: Because of strict finance issues, my boyfriend and I have been living with his sisters in their parent's house sharing the mortgage payments. We remodeled and finished the basement and moved our bedroom down there. For several months we have not had an issue with any spiders whatsoever. Until September 1st. We spotted a monster wolf spider every single night for 4 consecutive nights, and the fifth night we have seen 3. I have an extreme phobia of spiders, and when provoked, I can experience panic attacks. I felt that I had no safe place to go since wolf spiders took over the basement, and we had no other rooms to sleep in. For days since the first sighting, we frantically looked online for home remedies to repel/kill spiders. Days and nights of constant searching. Since there are pets in the house, we needed a safe way to get rid of these things. Since strict finances limit our potential to evacuate the house and to attempt purchasing products that might or might not work, we needed something NOW to atleast put me at ease. Research online brought me to EcoSmart's products. I checked different web sites for reviews and they were O.K.. I wanted excellence. But, I heard stories of EcoSmart Home Pest Control KILLING and repelling wolf spiders. After more research, it's safe around our pets, and was just $10.00 at home depot for the 64 ounce jug. Supposedly, wolf spiders are somewhat tolerant to insecticides. Another competitor's brand of Suspend SC looked like something that would be fully guaranteed to work (of course its $250 for a gallon of that stuff!), and I figured this cheap $10.00 stuff wouldn't cut it. But I needed something affordable and immediately. I got home the 6th night that we should have seen the monsters, sprayed frantically around the doors, baseboards, bed, furniture, toilet, hallway, you name it (but just in the basement). The odor was STRONG but tolerable. I vacuumed the entire surface area of the basement, again including around the baseboards, bed, and moved furniture, etc.. That night... we saw nothing. I was up all hours of the night shining my flash light looking for them on walls, on the carpet, and for their glowing green eyes. Nothing. The next morning, nothing, and the next night nothing. I had my hopes up. This morning I saw one monster along a baseboard I did not spray ( my boyfriend was somewhat irritated by the smell and told me to stop and I was crazy lol). So I grabbed the spray and sprayed it directly on the spider. He was slow, unlike the known fast running ones I have seen. We kept spraying, he kept trying to run for a few times. The nozzle was set to mist, so we put it on stream and sprayed it and that's when he stopped, and fell up-side down. Dead. I was extremely skeptical of the product, but I am impressed so far. I understand they won't just suddenly all be gone with one spray around the basement, therefore I will spray again this weekend and vacuum to keep them away. What the future will hold....
Sorry for the long review, glad if anyone stuck around to read it. So far, I would suggest this to someone with a wolf spider problem, specifically, and who has kids and/or pets in the house. Good Luck!
4222810
Great idea, good flow... needs editing to correct typos and word choice (stalky vs. stocky, for example). I do think there are some continuity issues. Mostly, it seems like a great draft. Just needs some clean-up.

I LOVE the story-line, so far. I don't typically continue reading books that have editing issues, but this story is strong enough to keep me engaged. I am looking forward to the next book.
1054185
I was looking forward to this book ever since buying the CD back in June.  I was not let down.  I have read a couple of Anderson's Star Wars works, and I have been a longtime Rush fan, as well as a fan of Neil Peart's books.  This collaboration is a great project.  As far as plot goes, it is fairly typical, but in today's world we can say that about anything.  Plot is not the winner with this book.  The winner is the presentation of the story, through setting, atmosphere, and the main character, as well as the construction of the book.  I'll begin with the latter.

I bought the hardback edition.  It is superbly crafted and fits snugly in your hands.  The jacket is intriguingly designed, and the cover is very durable.  It just feels good sitting in your hands.  The illustrations throughout are also a great addition, adding a bit of visual artwork to the sonic art of the cd and the literary art of the writing.

I loved the main character.  He is presented very well, and his development is subtly achieved.  The story is told in first person, and for that you need a great character.  Anderson has created a great first person narrator whom we watch grow.  It can remind you of your own growth.

The setting and atmosphere blend together.  The steampunk setting as noted in other reviews offers a wonderful mix of retro scifi and magic.  The setting backs this up, and the legends of Earth's history that show up throughout the novel round out the retro/nostalgic/mystical atmosphere that makes this book a wonderful read.

I saw one reviewer state that younger readers will like this book more.  While I think it is wonderful for younger readers, I would also highly recommend it for older readers to enjoy the presentation, and to reminicse on their own growth through life.
3029518
Masterful Work. I eagerly anticipate the next book in this series.
153550
I have just started to work on it. What I have done is beautiful.
2456496
This book is one of the reasons I hate getting into a series before more than one book is written.  Now that it's over, I'm left with waiting until the next is ready, and who knows when that might be.  Patience is SO not one of my virtues.

This was a great read.  I enjoyed it very much and there are quite a few loose ends that need to be addressed.  I'm not sure how many books this author is planning for this series, but there's a lot of material to be covered.

The story of Von is great.  Granted, it's another young man growing into his own and discovering abilities he never thought were possible, but oh, how this one could turn dark.  Will he go down that path, will he be redeemed, obviously, I've got to wait to find out.

Soren is a great character.  Really interested to see if the author chooses to flesh him out a little more in the upcoming books.

Kaiden, Alensa, Yoren, Berkler and a host of other characters held enough weight in the story that I'd love to see where the author goes with them as well.

I know my review isn't all-encompassing, but the gist is here.  The story is great.  The characters have obviously been given depth.  There's enough world-building and back story to give enough information but not bog the story down.  And, the author has done his job of not only spinning a great tale, but left me (impatiently) waiting for more.
909339
This is a truly fantastic work!!! The tone of the author's writing left me wanting more... I am waiting for part 2!
4752622
What an amazing accomplishment for such a young trio. Glad to see that their careers have steadily moved forward. I hope they gift us with their work for a long time.
1267913
A great first work on the author's part. The writer made wise use of scope for this piece so as to lay a simple foundation to spring from in later works. While the work certainly has its flaws, the author shines through in little gems of brilliance leading me to believe that she will grow well with each successive work. I wait expectantly for the author's progress!
1031327
A good book in the series, great development pushing the story along.
1883898
I very much enjoyed this book. My main reason for knocking it down a star was that there were a few places where I felt frustrated at being a step ahead of the protagonists. I'm not sure whether this was due to writing, or due to how many similar tales have been written since this book. Whatever the reason, I found myself muttering, "Come on, guys, add it up, add it up!"

Still, all things considered, this is a great book. I can't wait till next month, when I start the next one.
3166579
Finally after about 6 months of reading I just finished this very well put together masterpiece. My advice is just to read and pick out the highlights for yourself, the rest will take care of itself, Thank You
1777212
I generally try not to evaluate a follow on book written in a series relative to its predecessor(s) as the comparison is not always equitable.  The author's intent and pacing for the overall story does not always become clear until the series is complete.  That said, I really enjoyed this book.  I believe it significantly advanced the story line begun in "The Traveler"  and provided for further character definition of Maya, Gabriel and Michael.  The relationship between Maya and Gabriel becomes more complex as the unemotional attachment that is customarily required between Traveler and Harlequin evolves into a very personal connection.  I believe that it is the emotional evolution between these two characters that portends a change and turn of the tide in the conventional system, which has been fairly unsuccessful in defying, containing and combatting the Vast Machine.  I don't buy hardcovers as I usually wait for the paperback version to be issued but I definately believe that this purchase was worthwhile. Finally, I continue to be fascinated by the premise of the Vast Machine; it is something that could easily become a reality within the next several decades based upon the technological advances available today.  The author presents a compelling and instructive case against allowing the Vast Machine to become a reality. I personally will be waiting for the next installment of the series, even if that means waiting several more years as is currently indicated.
2023673
This guy is so talented. Great piece of work yet again. And it arrived by surprise. Track 6 is greatness. I love the way this guy is evolving. I think he will be around for a long long time.
129831
But... you have to work at it.  It requires you to pay attention in order to keep the timelines straight.  I read it through and then went to the back... and followed several character stories via the handy guide Mr. Kagle included.  I'm glad I did, as I had missed some details the first time through.

That's one of the reasons for the five star rating.  This is a book you can re-read, and with each reading you will find some small detail that you missed the time before.  Keeps it fresh, and I will be keeping it in the current favorites section of my library.
4801803
I dabble in fantasy art, being much better at looking at it than actually creating the stuff myself.  I did enjoy this work.  While I will never be as good as the work displayed in this book, I use books such as this for inspiration and motivation.  This work is well done.  It gives some good, basic tips in developing this particular genre of art.  It would be difficult to say if this work is good for beginners or if it is only for the advanced student.  We all have our own level.  I personally found it helpful, interesting and quite motivating.  If nothing else, it is fun to thumb through and just look at the wonderful pictures.
2718553
I started it and it was rather confusing to keep up with what was going on in Toby's mind...  I just about did not push on, thinking it would not be worth the effort.  You know we have all bought the inexpensive books and been disappointed that we spent time reading something that was so poorly edited and constructed.  Yet this is not the case with this book.  And the stuff "streaming" through his mind gets much easier to understand and keep straight than you first imagine it is going to be.

I am quite pleased that I pushed myself a little further.  I became attached to the characters.  I was a bit emotional at the end, that does not happen for me that often.  Although the plot is not real difficult to see ahead in, you alway like the way you get there, you know the journey is as much as the arrival.  I look forward to reading more by this author and have already loaned it to a coworker.

Highly recommended...