This box set is a good example of how a series grows and develops
593853
I want to thank the author for sending me a free digital copy of this box set in return for an unbiased review.

This box set is a good example of how a series grows and develops, and I am glad I was able to read the first three books in this series one after the other. The first book seemed rather short (I'm not sure if that is true or is just a perception), and the mystery was not as intriguing to me, although I was interested in the people involved, particularly Jamie's autistic nephew. However, it was good enough I would have gone ahead to look for others in this series, so it's handy I had the other two right there. In the second I got fonder of the characters, and by the third I was thoroughly invested in their lives, which is what appeals to me in cozy mystery series. I won't synopsize the plots of the three books since others have and will do that, but will say that they were well written, and the characters were appealing. As I am married to a retired criminal defense lawyer who had a quick fling with family law and decided he'd rather deal with criminals than divorcing couples, I found the descriptions of Jamie's law practice spot on. I will continue to look for others in this series.
45307
A well - done series that does a good job of building the relationships of the characters over time. Is clever the way they introduce the transporter... Plus it's in wide - screen!
379653
If you're a sci-fi fan you will appreciate this series
4656937
When I bought this I had already seen the entire series on DVD from start to finish.  So I know what it is about.
This is definitely a series worth investing in.  It has everything you need for a good series.  It has a well defined plot, great characters, a love story, jealousy, action, and comedy.  Yu Watase does a wonderful job of bringing all of these elements and more together.
You'll definitely fall in love with (if your a girl) Toya.  He is so mysterious.  This first volume might not show it, but if you read on (or watch the series), then you'll see what I mean about Toya.  The story line really hooks the reader because it starts out ordinary and ends up with worlds turning upside down.
The colorful characters like Yuhi, Oda Kyu, and Suzumi are what makes this series funny.
So, I would recommend that you read this book and continue to read more.  Or if you can't do that, at least watch the series.
1994716
This was really good, but is one of the first series I've seen that kept getting better with each one that came out.
3664900
I need to first point out that this is a box set and it really does have all three books. No idea what a certain other reviewer was smoking, but there isn't anything missing.

Now, moving along, I do have two complaints. The first being the Epilogue. I was honestly hoping the author would take the story-line further ahead into the future, to give us a glimpse into what the future holds for Maritza and Elen, and perhaps some better closure with the Earth Colony and the characters there. I was left wanting to know more, and we don't really get that.

For my second complaint, the relationship between Elen and Hor. I'd have liked to have seen that fleshed out way more than it really was. Perhaps go into more detail over Hor's true feelings for his master. I was actually surprised the author doesn't have Maritza confront Hor about it, at the very least. It's briefly mentioned and then forgotten.

Aside from that, overall a decent series. I'll be reading the next book for sure.
1632782
This is a great series, but I'll warn you that it was definitely written so it will easily translate to the screen (either TV or movie or series). This just means that the character development isn't as strong as other books in this class, but it doesn't seem to diminish my enjoyment of the story. I do find that these books aren't ones that grab me and I cannot put down. So much happens in one little chapter that just reading a few chapters is satisfying and enough to contemplate at any given reading.

The good news is that you don't have to start at the beginning of the series to know the characters, but once you read one you'll probably want to order more from the beginning.
2007165
3.5 stars
This boxset consists of three books that are a continuing story, and considering the cliffys at the end of books one and two, I'm glad I got to read them all at once. The writing is very good and the first chapter of book one, Havoc, quickly pulled me in with Selene's heartbreaking story and had my mind going in a different direction than the story actually goes. From there, it took me a bit to warm back up to the story, but once I did, I found myself wanting to know more about this couple. There is an element of suspense with a stalker and as that escalates, so does the tension, but that doesn't really pick up until the second book. I will say that the whole story is a very emotionally charged romance and the passion between Selene and Remington felt quite real and the character development was excellent. But, book three is where the story began to lose me again. There was so much going on and it was a bit rushed in the end. I felt like the series could've done with another book to completely tie things up and do the story justice. That, I believe, could have easily moved this one into the five-star ranking.
80073
I remember watching the highlander television series as a kid, trying to catch it when it was on. I missed most episodes though, and was pleased to see they had put it out on DVD. Overall it's a nice box set, not quite as nice as some out there, but it holds up okay.
 There's 3 episodes per disk, except for the eighth disk, which has one episode, a blooper reel, and a behind the scenes featurette. The ninth disk is reserved for the scripts of each episode, which is a nice touch. I did wonder why they chose 3 episodes per disk, it's an unusual number, and they could have put four or five on a disk. I can only guess that they wanted a large number of disks to make it look impressive.
 Each disk is pretty simple; there's no fancy introduction, just the Highlander logo with a still from each of the three episodes below it. A lightning bolt lets you select the episode, which takes you to the menu. The menu is a little confusing, but it gives you more shots from the episode so you can determine if you've seen it, or if you want to see it. One thing that's nice is the Watcher Chronicles. Even though there was little mention of the Watcher's in this season, there's a special screen detailing Watcher information, like the immortals and mortals involved in each episode, swords used, etc etc. It's kind of useful.
 Another nice thing in the episode menu is the large Q that allows you to skip directly to the Quickening sequence, if there is one in that episode. This is great if you want to watch the fight scenes, or if you want to know when to look away if they make you squeamish.
 There aren't a large amount of special features, but for the price and the number of disks it's a good deal. It also takes up a lot less space than the VHS tapes for the same season.
3769508
I am enjoying this series a good deal. Yes, there are the common elements, the journey, the young farm boy headed towards maturity, the old wizzard. But they are done in a refreshingly different way.

The plotting and adventure of this book picked up quite a bit from the first, which was one of my main problems with it. My only real complaint here is that - for a time - it seemed like moving from one country, find a plot to over throw the government, solve it an move on. That bothered me a bit.

That aside, the action was good, the various peoples interesting, there was some character development which was nice and mostly logical, and Eddings' real strength is in his dialogue which was, and is particularly strong in my opinion.

I am still very much enjoying the series, and though not perfect, it is among the better fantasy series I have read. Hopefully the series keeps it up.
4169021
Book 1 of the Faded Sun trilogy sets the stage for the rest of the series.  Cherryh does an excellent job of presenting the setting and backdrop for the story in this first book, but the actual plot for the series only just gets started here.  Character introductions and development are the focus for the great majority of this book, until about 3/4 of the way through when a shockingly sudden disaster strikes and the action really begins to roll.  Niun and Duncan are the main protagonists, while also being antagonistic to each other.  Besides the Regul, it is hard to see who the real 'bad guys' are so far in the series.  The complexity of alien-human interactions are what Cherryh is famous for, and she doesn't disappoint here.  Well defined alien species, with complex cultures and histories populate this universe of the intergalactic future.  While the entirety of this book takes place on the world of Kesrith, you can see that an entire universe remains to be explored in the rest of the series.

The Faded Sun trilogy (1978-1979) is actually part of a broader saga, The Alliance-Union universe, which include most of Cherryh's other novels (32 novels all together in the saga).  Cherryh says that these books can be read in any order, without regard to publication or chronology of the events, with the obvious exception of series within the universe (such as the Faded Sun trilogy).  It is a fascinating universe with tons to offer and plenty left to explore, and I encourage all to delve even deeper into these worlds than this series alone allows for.
4175768
I haven't bought this boxset as I own all the individual copies, however I wanted to leave a review in order to help things along anyway. Frankly speaking, this series is god damn amazing. The attention to detail and effort put into it is astronomical, especially considering Aer-ki Jyr has been releasing an episode every 2 weeks. The series itself is definitely not your typical Sci-Fi, as it jumps through time quite quickly, giving us glimpses of awesome battles, epic world building and all around badassery by the main cast of characters. (Who, despite spanning over a millennium, are still the same. Limited immortality has it's perks. Especially since we get to keep watching our favorite characters grow with the galaxy around them.)

Jyr introduces some very interesting things to the series that wouldn't typically be seen in others. And there are some interesting ideologies that work extremely well with the overall scene.

Personally, I feel that this series is on par, if not better than some of the big names and popular Sci-Fi like Star Wars, Stargate, Star Trek ect.. And in fact it is quite well know among Jyr's current fanbase that the author and series itself is heavily influenced by some of these great works.

There are few things I can say that are negative about this series overall to be honest, and while there are a few select "episodes" that I find a bit lacking compared to others, I do not in any way believe this is a series that can be judged by the individual additions to it. Another thing worth noting is the lack of an editor. For the most part, likely due to the unusual fortnightly release schedule. Hopefully once episode 100 hits the 'digital' shelves, Jyr might be able to look into finding one to go comb through the series and tidy things up. That being said, it is not something worth worrying about in my opinion, greatly in part due to the increasing leap of quality the further the series gets, but also because the series has always been at a readable standard. And complaining about a few grammar or spelling mistakes when each episode is pushed out within a 2 week timespan without fail, is like complaining about an extra cookie in your cookie jar. It would be silly.
2126383
The whole series is well written, believable, and has good character development.,
1479291
This is the tenth book in the series, and touches quite a bit on the overall story arc. I've been binge reading the whole series in order, and reviewing as I go. My reviews focus on setting readers' expectations, rather than summarising plots.

The most important aspect a new reader needs to know is that the series has an over-arching story arc, with roots starting at book 3 (Grave Peril) but only becoming visible as more and more of the series unfolds. It's a great thing, but as itcontinually colours events around Dresden it's best to read the series in order.

*** What to expect
This volume deal again with the Fallen, the faeries, and Marcone. It's a thriller-paced urban fantasy, with fast moving action. Harry spouts his usual brand of flippant humor in the face of the supernatural.

*** What I liked
I like Harry's wise-cracking attitudes towards life, and in dealing with supernatural horrors. I like the supporting characters in general, and I find Butcher is doing excellent job in characterising and building recurring cast and introducing new characters. The long-running support cast are especially complex, and one can see them maturing between books.

*** Be aware
This is part of a series, and you really need to read them in order. Butcher has Harry's mental dialogue to recap previous events and dialogue for those who read the series in breaks, which can feel like he's talking too much (and also may grate on some reader's nerves as a "telling" style, or simply for being repetitive). It's just a function of a long-running series, but as entering the series mid-way is not recommended anyway it doesn't offer much to new readers while could be distracting to fans.
Also, some readers may find Dresden attitudes chauvinistic and misogynistic, though that is a both a trope of the genre and something of a failing of his.

*** Summary
This is one of the better volumes in an excellent series. It's a great example of a fast-paced, urban-fantasy thriller. If you want a blend of modern-day thrillers with dark fantasy, this is the series to read - just start at Storm Front.

--
Assaph Mehr, author of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Murder-In-Absentia-Togas-Daggers-and-Magic/dp/B015TXPPG6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Murder In Absentia: Togas, Daggers, and Magic</a>&nbsp;- for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
2165134
Good pacing and fair character development, this is a good start to a series that has improved with each new book.

Even though religion, good & evil, and eternal damnation are all themes in this series, religion isn't particularly heavy-handed, only slightly more than in, for example, the Dresden Files.
3448482
Although this series is probably overly prolonged, the writing is good and the animation isn't too rotten for a cheaply produced series. There is rarely an episode that isn't interesting in some manner and although the idea of murder is passed off as if it were somehow a natural thing, nevertheless the series is well worth buying.
1047903
After watching the first few, the potential for this series is good.