3 good stories, 1 horrible one
585889
I am not a great fan of Stephen King.  I tend to find his later books a little vulgur and depressing for my liking.  However, I completely love Different Seasons!  The Body and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption are  incredible.  They are interesting and they keep your interest without being  shocking or out there.  I found them to be two of the best stories I have  ever read.  I also liked Apt Pupil.  However, do not read The Breathing  Method!  It is heinous!  Not only is it boring for half the story, it them  turns completely ridicules.  Besides that story, this is a tremendous book,  I would recommend it to anyone.
4782906
Story 4 was no better than story 1,2, or 3. I am very disappointed in this book and this author, as I had read The Dovekeepers and really liked it. Blackbird House is a collection of short stories that supposedly are connected through location, although I could barely connect the stories. There was a thread of the white blackbird running through each story, albeit sometimes just the mention of it "a white blackbird flew overhead." I felt the first four stories were tragic in nature, very depressing and there was no conclusion in any of the stories, at the end they just dropped off or quit and were never finished. At first, I thought that my Kindle version had some pages or some chapters missing, but to my disappointment, they were all there. This book comes highly reviewed but evidently I just don't "get" it!
1431834
I loved the first 2 books, the historical background is amazing, and the story telling wonderful!  The third book I didn't enjoy at all.  As a health care professional myself, I found the indictment against US health care to be specious, and the story telling just not on the same level as the first two books.  Rated alone I would give the 3rd book 1 star and the other two 5 stars
933390
These stories keep getting worse. The first 2 or 3 were pretty good, but 10 books later there's nothing really to root for anymore
4527739
First comes the disclaimer. I am a fan of Shirley MacLaine. Having said that she never stroke me as someone who would get the mother of the year award. I always felt that Shirley was probably fun to be with, difficult to live with (or without in Sachi's case).

Anyway back to Sachi Parker's book.
I didn't like it at all. In fact I hated it. And the reason is not because I am a fan of her mother, it's because it is badly written, poorly edited and has very little substance.
I have no doubt that Sachi Parker had a difficult, lonely childhood. On the other hand the stories she describes are so far fetched that makes the reader (me) question her memories. There are a few of them, especially a couple with her dad that are obviously embellished with a child's imagination (for example the story when her dad took her at age 6 to a gay Japanese club and the waiters were stark naked serving drinks while stirring them with their youknowwhats. Come on now. Give me a break.)

I have the impression that most of her stories are true to a certain level and at some point she exaggerated them in such a manner that they seem like a collection of short drama film scripts. There is the school story, the spring break story, the australia story, the plastic surgeon story (who deals drugs btw) etc.

What made me wonder about her imagination and sanity is how many times she let things turn bad in her life because she did nothing about it. As an adult, not as a child. There are moments that I was screaming in my head over the absurdity of some events. Losing her inheritance from her dad is one example.

She also writes repeatedly about people that she wants to do right about them, that they were good in general until they drank and abused etc and then she describes the life from hell living with them. At which point these people were good, I wonder? There is very little evidence of that if any. Why would you want to do right by them? Because they didn't kill you?

Anyway, I know many people liked it and are enraged about what happened to her. I am just left with questions and no real answers, just a child's exaggerations in my opinion.
1603832
I have mixed feelings about this collection. If Gods of Gotham wasn't included I would have given it the full five stars, but the aforementioned storyline was one of the worst I ever read. The plot, in which Greek gods take over the bodies of three Batman rogue gallery members, is just silly. Its something you would expect to read in a 50s comic or the Superfriends TV show. And when Batman's body was taken over, I wanted to puke! Also, the dialogue is corny and it seems the point of the story is just to show how much Wonder Woman and Batman respect each other and how noble, fearless they are, etcetera, etcetera. Also, the Batman villains have almost no personality since its they are mindcontrolled for most of the story. I also object to the use of the Joker. This is a great character which is already overexposed. When there is a Joker appearance, we should say "Hey, cool! Joker". Now its like "Oh no, not again!" His appearances should mean something and he should really be sinister, not just a naughty clown, as so often seems to be the case. We don't need, on top of that, to have him appear in comics where he doesn't even have a personality. Having said that, some of the interactions between characters was well-handled. Putting Huntress with Artemis was a great idea. I can't beleive no one thought of it before! I'd like to see them together again. Also, Troia and Nightwing work well together, as ever. But there were just too many characters! Here is a roll call. Wonder Woman (of course), Hippolyta, Batman, Troia, Nightwing, Wonder Girl, Robin, Oracle, Artemis, Huntress, Ares, Deimos, Phobos, Eris, Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Maxie Zeus, Harley Quin, Stheno and extras. See what I mean? There is no way that enough time can be devoted to all these characters. This feat was pulled off in stories like Crisis, Legends and Zero Hour, but that was with the support of crossovers. Here it just fails miserably.
OK, enough critisism. Phil Jimenez, with help from Devin Grayson, finally finds his footing with the story Who is Troia? Its a good retelling of Troia's origin and also serves as a good prologue to the next storyline, Paradise Lost. This is an epic tale, reminiscent of the ones George Perez used to tell when he wrote the book. In fact, Perez, contributes plots to part of the storyline, which depicts a battle between the two Amazon tribes. The ending is very climactic, with relevations and major changes for the Amazons. There is also an interesting love story sub-plot between the Amazons Iphthime and Anaya, who are of different races and different tribes also. I won't ruin the story by saying any more on that.
The last story, serving as an eplilogue to Paradise Lost, is good character development for both Wonder Woman and Lois Lane (and indirectly, Superman too).
As for the art, its some of the best I have ever seen by any artist. Its better than his previous work, but he seems to have become more derivitive of Perez. Jimenez is one of the most detailed and versitile pencillers around, however. I approve of all the character depictions here. He draws great monsters, beautiful women, detailed backgrounds (when needed) and his panel layouts, like Perez, are some of the best. Most pages have around ten panels each while most artists can only manage the standard six or even less.
And the cover gallery in the end, by Adam Hughes, is also beautiful. At least two of them are among my favourite covers of all time.
Whew! I never wrote such a long review before, but Wonder Woman is one of my favourite characters so I'm a bit passionate about her.
742666
This trio of Death--actually you do have to watch all three versions to get the picture. The first story is about a guy who dies in class, and what may happen to you once your spirit leaves your body. Who knows? It's a short movie...well, perhaps..

The second-which made this trio famous-is aftermath. It's what can happen to your body once your spirit leaves this world. An autopsy is done, and the corpse stabbed repeatedly. then the guy has intercourse with the body. Not one word is said in this whole skit, but you really don't notice that. The facial features make up for the lack of voice. Actually the "corpse" he rapes is a plastic dummy, and you can tell it's a plastic dummy, with cheap plastic hair.  The cheapness of this dummy kind of removed the "creepiness" of the movie. I didn't find it particularly "gross out". (THe only movie that made me make wreching sounds like I was about to vomit was Salo. I was also appalled by the "Guinae Pig" which was a japanese gore film series, and Kichiku, which was a work of pure genius and awesome in every way). Aftermath did nothing to me in terms of grossing me out . I guess it had to do with the cheap looking dummy corpse made of plastic and cheap hair. But the question is--WHAT CAN happen to your body after death...not that it matters, but dead men tell no tales....this is what makes you think.

THe third moviette was kind of slow that this dude's wife is killed and he mournes carving a likeness of his dead wife...until it starts bleeding and he slowly turns into a statue while his creation turns into flesh and blood. It's in fact a symbolic thing of what extreme grief can do to a living being and turn him into something dead due to the magnitude of pure sadness: He loses his own life from excessive mourning. It is what happens to loved ones, that "survivors".
2359778
This anthology of 5 spooky stories had good potential but poor execution. First story seems to be about a woman who's afraid of every noise in her house: oooo, scary. 2nd story has a little more going for it but the pacing could have been better. 3rd story is a waste of time. 4th and 5th stories were the best of the lot. Worth a look if you can see it for free. Note: the cover illustration is actually from 15-20 seconds of the 4th segment, so don't let the box cover influence you!
2095146
Some of the stories are too lengthy and average, but there are a few stories that really blow my mind.
1599298
I bought this book mainly because I enjoy Lori Foster's books.  I also like to buy anthologies because it gives me an opportunity to "discover" another author that I may not have read before.  Well, the only reason I am giving this a three-star rating is because I enjoyed Foster's story.  I can't stress enough how TERRIBLE the other two stories were - especially Castell's.  If I were Foster, I would be offended that the publisher put these authors (who clearly are not the same caliber) in with my story.  If I could give out stars based on yuckiness, the other two stories would definitely rate 5 stars!
733036
I agree with the previous post by D. Muron.  The first story had me laughing and crying.  The second and third stories had me giggling and laughing as well.  Then I lost interest in the frat-like stories.  It almost became sad and pathetic.  I didn't finish the book.  I'm always up for a good laugh, and I think this book is definitely a "rental" aka read a few stories and then get rid of it.
357684
Although I was hesitant to get the book because of the negative reviews, I read a few excerpts and was impressed enough with the drawings and the whimsical style of the writing that thought I would try it anyway. After all, I figured, a little poetic license is sometimes used even by preachers to liven up a Bible story. However, after reading just two stories, I became seriously uncomfortable.

- Some additions are reasonable. For example, in the story of Naaman from 2 Kings 5, the author spent a whole page describing the background of the slave girl, how Naaman had killed her whole family, took her to Syria, and made her into his slave. The author mentions the girl crying herself to sleep and struggling with helping someone she hated. Of course all of this narrative was made up. The scripture only mentions her background in one sentence: "At this time, Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman's wife as a maid." This should give you an idea of the poetic license the author takes. In this particular story, I didn't think it was too bad. It actually brought up a point we my have missed in the Biblical narrative and gives us a different perspective.

- Some changes are so far off that this book could be considered heretical. One particular issue that is most concerning is that it paints a wrong picture of the Trinity (that God exists eternally as Father, Son and Spirit). It starts with the retelling of the Christmas narrative in Luke 2. The star appears, and "God put it there when his baby Son was born... You see, God was like a new daddy... He's here! He's come! Go and see him. My little Boy." As I read this to my daughter, I actually stopped. I felt very uncomfortable. Jesus actually said that he existed before creation (John 8:58). Yet, by emphasizing Jesus as GOD'S BABY this story leads kids to see Jesus as a creation; he is like any baby. Moreover, by stating that he is God's baby, the author inadvertently implies that JESUS IS NOT GOD himself. He is just God's baby. The author wrote, "God's Son has been born," in contrast to the scriptures that state, "The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - had been born" (NLV). Theologically, the Son was born, not God's Son. The Son is God. So it is more accurate to say that God the Son was born.

The Trinity is also misrepresented in the retelling of the Last Supper. The author quotes Jesus: "'I won't be with you long' he said. 'You are going to be very sad. But God's Helper will come. And then you'll be filled up with a Forever Happiness that won't ever leave.'" This was an opportunity to for the author to explain a little bit about the Trinity, as Jesus does in John 14. But the author fails to clarify this important aspect of the Christian faith. We have to be careful when we try to simplify things because we risk simplifying God and who he is. In this case, the author removed the divine nature of the Spirit and referred to him as a helper who comes to make us happy. In contrast, Jesus said that the Spirit "lives with you now and later will be in you" (John 14:17). God himself will be in us - not just a feeling of happiness (I suspect most kids will not notice the capitals). The misrepresentation of God by this book is a serious issue.

To sum up, while there are some interesting perspectives that can be gained by reading this book, there is a grave danger of being led into theologically inaccurate ideas, especially about who God is. I definitely do not recommend it for children.
3797982
An interesting collection of short stories by Brian Alan Ellis, this is the first thing I've read by him and I think it is quite a good introduction to his work.  I've not been blown away by them but I have enjoyed reading them.  He has taken some pretty selfish and despicable characters and given each of them a voice in their own stories and because these characters are so horrible it does make it difficult to pick a favourite story...seeing as I wanted to give so many of the characters a slap. Easily the most hated character was Christopher from "Cutter" an excellent portrayal of a drunk who is a complete arse!

I enjoyed the very short stories, barely a page long as they almost felt poetic at times, "Drinking in bed with Zadie" is the best example of that.  The most disappointing story in the book was the one the book was named after, that was a real shame because it is such a great title I was expecting something stunning.

This is a great intro into Brian's writing and I'll be checking out more of his stuff.
4044036
The story was good and I like trilogy stories.  What I didn't like was having all 3 stories
in one big book.  I had a hard time holding suck a big book.  I have trouble with my hands
and holding a big book like this one hurt a lot.  I would have liked 3 separate books.
3304224
Starts out very promising and entertaining with Amanda the wild bride who runs away, then Sandra, the nanny turned bride, then Nula, the new age nut case who he doesn't marry, but just becomes irritating when he married the social climber Dita, especially with her rapist son Morad. The "hero", Anthony Ascombe, is a good but weak man who puts up with way too much from his weird women, but this finally becomees too much with Dita and Morad, although they are both very good character studies, one of the nasty side of adolescent lust in a spoiled rich kid, and the other in the spoiled but very polished social climbing wife Dita. W

Spoiler Alert for comments below:
hen one of his step sons ruins his bank with out of control spending, and Morad gets acquited for rape, and Anthoney loses his bank and then immediately rebounds to host the music fair on the property, it shows that this author has no concept of crime and punishment, morality, etc. I did not even finish the very end, I was so disgusted. First 3 quarters, or a 7.5, last quarter is 2.5
4889906
As I am not a huge fan of short stories, I was surprised to find most of these excellent. 'Colors of Belief' was an further insight as to how the Games of Istar worked after Caramon's experiences in the Legends. 'Kender Stew' was very funny and a nice little story. 'The Goblin's Wish' was my favourite, a saddening tale of how different races banded together to fight Istar. 'The Three Lives of Horgan Oxthrall' was not so good. The scribe's narration is just silly, I think Douglas Niles could've just told the story and got on with it. Far and away the worst story was 'Filling the Empty Places'. I find myself being more and more disappointed by Nancy Berberick's work. Stormblade was okay, but her writing style has definitely gone downhill since. 'Off Day' was hilarious. And finally, 'The Silken Threads' again showcased Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's wonderful talent which puts them at the forefront of the DL world.
Those disappointed by the other Tales books will find this a better one, with more information into a neglected part of Krynn's history.
885328
The stories are good; some are very sickening to read (explicit) but inspirational in other. Together the stories reflect  life during and after an F5 tornado hits your city. The main problem is the stories have not been edited well, so sometimes it is difficult to read.