The Skull, a twist in time
594040
Good story, short and right to the point. Philip K Dick did a great job. If you have read other sci-fi books it's pretty easy to figure out the story by the fifth page or so, but still a great read.
2568440
The skull on the front of the shirt isn't very clear, but other than that no complaints. But the skull looked so sinister in the picture that that's the main reason I bought it
4116088
I bought this novel for my niece and then read it myself. Now I'll have to buy another one for her.

"The Skull" is exactly the sort of mystery novel I searched for in my youth and rarely found. It's a story I could envision myself a part of.

It begins at a yard sale of sorts, where genius-IQ middle-schooler Remy acquires a tiny skull said to be that of a monkey. But Remy is an adept, though amateur, forensic investigator, and she knows how to reconstruct the facial features of a skull with clay. To her horror, it isn't a monkey's face that she sees emerging beneath her finger tips as she applies the clay flesh to the skull's bone.

Remy has two sidekicks in her investigation into the skull's history: one is Rob, a boy who's cruelly called "Roadkill" by the kids at school because of his hobby (he photographs road kill as a way of dealing with death); the other is Andy, a homeless waif with a mysterious---possibly gang-related---past in Detroit. Each of the three has unique talents that contribute to the investigation, a quest that leads them into the town's shady past and uncovers corruption among the rich and powerful. Each also has suffered traumatic dislocations and loss of loved ones. Remy is the child of divorce; Rob's mother died tragically; and Andy seems to have survived the worst of urban nightmares. None of the three knows how to cope with what they've lived through; but they do know a great deal about forensics and science.

"The Skull" is as carefully crafted as any adult mystery. In fact, it's exactly the classic sort of mystery I really love to read and wish that novelists would produce for those of us over 18. The only aspect of the story that places it in the Young Adult category is the unlikely, appealing set of young-adult sleuths.

I hope there's a long series of Remy and Roadkill Mysteries, and very soon.
1773722
This unique novel is at once crime fiction, and a well researched plausible reconstruction of historical events as they likely unfolded during a highly tumultuous and relevant period in ancient Egypt.
The radical monotheistic religion of the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th dynasty has inspired the imaginations of many modern figures from Sigmund Freud to Frida Kahlo, and the chaos left on its wake was inherited by Tutankamun whose reign covered the reinstatement of the status quo of the old religion.
A meticulously crafted,  well developed work of speculative historical reconstruction depicts a highly plausible scenario, and includes many of the major players of the time. Kudos to Nick Drake
3813933
The book moves along and puts a new spin on a serial killer.  The twist at the end  demonstrates how quickly events can unfold and our perceptions can be influenced.
3836160
Story of a young man who discovers an ancient artefact in Africa,belonging to our ancestral beginnings.

This orb creates tumultuous side affects, due to its ability to control time and space.

The story is well presented and intriguing,well worth the read,looking forward to reading : Series Two.
2268732
Time flies when events are happy, but bring on trouble and sadness, then time dawdles and becomes endless.  Notice how  time drags for youth but accelerates for the more mature.  Time is an intangible entity that can be viewed from the past, the present, and the future.  The past resides in memories, the now immediately transitions into the past, and the future relies on imagination.  In this absorbing account of the elusive quality of time, New Yorker staff writer Alan Burdick seeks to understand how time is perceived by different individuals and how the brain intakes stimuli to translate perceptions into our varying clocks.  Beginning with a history of how time is measured from the planetary, global, and atomic levels; the story continues with a survey of the philosophers view of external changes.  Past and current scientific studies exploring the vagaries of the inner time pieces are delightfully detailed.  Some investigators seclude themselves in blackened caves to avoid all external stimuli that might influence their time clock, others use more technological gear trying to probe the brain and find its neuronal dials.  You may be familiar with prediction, but read the book to discover the essence of postdiction.
168174
The author spins a tale of time travel that provokes thought. He is well read and uses fiction and fact to make the read believable
807282
A paleontologist and her dog seek some shade from the unrelenting sun in the flat country surrounding the Powder River and end up sheltering under a rock overhang. As she looks off into the distance, the dog's barks and stance send her eyes to the top of the overhand, from which protrudes the huge hand bones of a tyrannosaurus rex. The new discovery is named Jen, after the paleontologist who found her, and a mad dash to claim her begins. The local museum that Jen (the paleontologist, not the dinosaur) works for has a claim based on paying the owner of the land, that landowner's Native American family has a claim, the federal government has a claim, and tempers rise along with the potential price tag of the bones.

Shortly after the find, Danny, the Native owner of the land where Jen was found, is discovered floating in his precious turtles' pond. Suddenly, it appears as though the competition for ownership may have become deadly, and Walt Longmire gets involved. Craig Johnson is right up there on my favorite mystery novelist list, and DRY BONES, his 12th Walt Longmire novel (with a short story collection in the mix) pulls a variety of threads from previous novels together. It harkens back to perhaps my favorite in the series, HELL IS EMPTY, in which Longmire formed a sort of mystical connection with the Native American world that is revisited here. In DRY BONES, Walt's love for his daughter is highlighted while his willingness to treat his undersheriff with respect and to give her space, even in the face of his love for her, is clear. There is an understanding between Longmire and Henry Standing Bear that almost doesn't require words at this point. For the reader who has been following the series, it takes only a page or two of DRY BONES before there is full immersion in Walt Longmire's world.

Nonetheless, the plot in this book, involving paleontology, politics, and spelunking, will capture the imagination of any reader of western fiction even if this is the first meeting with Longmire. If a reader jumps into the series here, s/he will undoubtedly be inspired to go back to the beginning with THE COLD DISH. Johnson's ability to transport the reader to the Wyoming location is astounding. Whether it's being thrown from a horse, caught in a flash flood, soaring above the ground in a Neiman Marcus helicopter, moving through a cave with only a lighted dust broom as a lantern  Johnson brings the experience to life. Every one of the Longmire books has provided an engaging, thrilling visit to the West with a humble, strong, and personable guide, and DRY BONES is no exception.

This review first appeared at www.reviewingtheevidence.com.
3104832
Michael Crichton seems to have a fixation with authentic amusement parks.  That was the theme in JURASSIC PARK and we encounter it again in TIMELINE.  The wrinkle this time is that history is involved.  Through some complicated make-believe theories of physics involving quantum mechanics and black holes, it is possible to return in time to the middle ages.  This happens to some of the historians funded by a corporation, working at an archeological site in France, who know very little about the other enterprises of the corporation. There is a portrait of a genius company founder with zero social skills.  There is a compelling adventure story given with much imagination.  The book contains a bibliography of mostly historical references.
3650693
I just received this item, and am going write a review that I hope will help someone choose whether or not to drop the cash on this.

The skull came very well packed in a 12"x12" box.  It was buried in packing peanuts, wrapped in several layers of heavy plastic wrap, and had a couple of pieces of dense foam between the mandible and the skull.  I wasn't sure if the mandible was separate from the skull-- it is!  There was a heavy rubber band wrapped around it to hold the mandible firmly against the foam.  I think the only way it could have gotten damaged is if the UPS truck ran over it.

The color of the skull isn't the bone color shown in the pic, but a red clay color, as noted by another reviewer.  If you've looked at pictures of Lucy's fossils, that's about the color this is.  To me, it's much more authentic looking than if it were bone colored.  The paint job is very well done, with the teeth being painted a worn enamel white.  They are not glossy as is shown in the product picture, but they still look very good.

I was expecting it to be made of epoxy, but it's actually made of a heavy stoneware/ceramic.  This gives it a nice heft.  It also has some nice artistic touches, like what appear to be knife cuts on the mandible, and what looks like reconstructed shattered bone on the calvarium.  The foramen magnum on the bottom appears to be where the post from the stand (not included) goes.

This is probably one of the coolest things I own, and, if this is representative of the rest of the Skullduggery hominid series, I will buy a few more.

Thanks for reading!
439015
Well done, well documented study about artificially elongated skulls and other forms of cranial deformation.  The book is quite interesting.
124142
The author does a nice job of putting a twist on this time travel device: changing history!  Interesting characters developed in a side-by-side narrative separated by 700 years.  A far less familiar historical backdrop serves as an opportunity to pervert "history" for purposes of the dramatic twist.  Well told with a fair amount of humor.
3026665
Another great story that just makes you keep reading. There were a few surprises in this story, well worth the time spent reading it. Now I can hardly wait to learn more about Skull. He sure has a lot of notches in his rifle. I received this book free from the author in exchange for anow honest review. And, I can honestly say this author keeps your interest.
914161
This is a sequel of the results of the military usage of  accidental "created" time machine. The vehicle facilitate trips backward in time to points the New Mexico territory. The owners' have no control of its destination or the time period that it will travel? The story lines in each of the books written, so far, are greatly enhanced by the author's knowledge of New Mexico's many folk tales concerning buried gold; the geography of New Mexico;
social conditions the evolved between the many ethnic groups living in the territory. The time period in this book is the "late" 1870's. Reading this book, there are many clues to aid the reader in recognizing some of the social activities of this time period. The Gatling gun was invented during the Civil War and first used by the Union army in one of the last big battles. This territory was the home of 20,000 plus Comanche indians. Their were many inter-tribal battles on-going between the Comanches and the Apaches. The Comanches was victorious in their war against the Apaches, essentially driving them out of the New Mexico territory into Arizona. The Comanches were also killing the settlers who were moving west into this territory. The US Army were fighting all of the Indians tribes plus trying to protect the settlers. The Comanches, the last of tribes, in the territory was finally subdued and shipped to a reservation in 1875. This (I assumed) lead to the General's decision to add "Professor Janet Slate, an expert (archaeologist) on the cultures of the New Mexico territory" to the team. The author description of results many of the encounters with the time travelers reflects the fighting skills and ruthless nature of the Comancheros roaming this territory after 1875. The US Marshall Service was established in 1875 (?). At the end of the book, the author gives a "shout out" to one the first US Marshall assigned to this territory. The author, cleverly, used knowledge gained by the time travelers' visit to a location in the 1870, to locate that place in 20th century. There were a couple of twist that i thought were unfortunate but at the end of the book, the logic was justified. I think a knowledge of the social conditions that existed in the location and time of the story, greatly enhances the reading and the enjoyment of story. There are multiple dialogues in progress all thru this book! They are merged seamlessly. This is much appreciated!
3969339
Unique piece. Since long time I was looking for a nice piece with a decorating skull. Now I've got it finally!
4921608
The blending of historical tale and modern archaeology manages to excite the mind with a tale of "What if?" which I have not seen in literature in a long time. Looking forward to a sequel to this story. It held my attention from the first page to the very last. Good job, sir!