IPhone 3G used's review (If you liked the Herald Mage series, you'll like this too) 『I read the Herald Mage series first and was sucked in. The Queen's Own series is different enough that it feels familiar but has new tales. I own a copy of both series and will never part with them. I re-read them at least every other year and enjoy Mercedes Lackey's writing. Never could get into the other series, but these two are must-reads.』 『This is the 3 in 1 book of the Queen's Own trilogy. It contains Arrows of the Queen, Arrow's Flight, and Arrow's Fall.』
Kakaku：999 saved$9.99
TokyoPop
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Another Great Classic) 『Honestly, my fiance loved this series. Typical Shojo drama. There is a Princess, this is a mysterious world and a lot of Manga drama!! It is a very good series if you are fans of The Twelve Kingdoms, Vampire Knight,or Wild Ones!』 『Disaster and destruction strike Phantasma as Yuna embraces her feelings for Rieno. Torn between her longing for Rieno and her duty as Queen, Yuna spends each day in agony. Meanwhile, Libera is also struggling with a secret love, an unspeakable love that leaves her horrified and humiliated. As thunder and lightning fall from the sky, chaos reigns throughout the land. Will the people ever trust their queen again? And will the knights stray when they learn of Yuna's love for Rieno and not Ehren?』
IPhone 3G used's review (here's one for the girls (and boys)) 『"Queen in Disguise" was one of the books that came out during the Episode I merchandising blitz -the likes of which the world had never seen. In any case, this title seems to have become a forgotten part of the Jedi Reader family. It is unfortunate since "Queen in Disguise" is one of the few Star Wars stories to feature a heroine. The female protagonist is courageous, wise and down-to-earth. These are great qualities to cultivate in young girls. While the book has a feminine slant, that's not say that its 'girly' since there's enough action to keep the boys engaged. John Alvin's illustrations are beautiful while Monica Kulling's story is well-written for children between second and third grade. "Queen in Disguise" is a high quality Star Wars book for the young reader.』
(Good for kids.) 『Though the story itself is juvenile, it proves to be very interesting to children of a young age. This book was especially useful to coerce my niece into reading, and she found the book very interesting.』 『Queen Amidala's handmaidens are trained to protect her if she is in danger. But Queen Amidala wants to learn to defend herself. She joins the training disguised as Padmé so her handmaidens won't worry. Can she handle the training? Read this colorful fully-illustrated beginner reader and find out! 』
Kakaku：1495 saved$14.95
Literary Network
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Shallow story, bad history) 『I bought this book with hopeful expectations after reading the other's reviews. I was seriously bothered by the following problems: This book is not a historical novel really but rather is a modern story set in medieval times. As such the characters King Richard, Berengaria, Eleanor and all other characters are generally portrayed with a "modern mind" with today's mindset, especially regarding relationships and marriage. A book set in medieval times is best when written in contemporary mindset - otherwise why not just write a romance set in 2008 Europe??
Secondly - the author embraces the FALSE assumption that King Richard the Lionheart was gay. This is completely erroneous. Our arrogant modern culture has a terrible tendency to view all history with today's moral morass of sexual ethics. There is no factual basis to this fine King having same sex attraction - only extremely weak conjecture. I found turning Richard Plantagenet into a gay who sleeps with young men and boys a disgusting slander that he does not even begin to deserve.
Overall this book read like a cheap modern romance. If you're looking for an experience of medieval immersion based on history - get another book. If you're looking for a 21st century "emotion-fest" in 12th century clothes, this book is for you.』
(It's an OK read) 『I have always been fascinated with the story of Queen Barengaria, and this answered a lot of questions. Of course, I'm easy - I see something in print and figure it's gospel truth. Didn't like reading bad things about Eleanor of Acquitaine because she has been one of my favorite people of her time. No wonder she got mean - she lived far too long. Enjoyable read, but I'm not suggesting you drop everything and take this one to bed.』
(A Place in History) 『I really enjoyed this book. I was curious about someone whom I may have heard mention about, but knew nothing except that she had been Richard I's wife. I knew a lot about him so I was interested. What I like about this book, compared to so many other historical fiction novels, is the lack of rediculous, embarrasing sexual descriptions. Also, the main character is not a super-woman, but someone who seems very real and good. She was someone I could relate to as opposed to a sexual goddess type that you usually find in these sorts of books. The historical information is extremely well-researched and presented in an interesting way. The characters are well-developed and likeable.』
(Politically Correct Equals "Boring") 『I love the story of Berengaria but have had a hard time finding out about her life after Richard. Therefore, I was very happy to find this book.
Unfortunately, the author is so preoccupied with not writing about any scandal that the book just becomes boring. For example,
Richard is portrayed as a man who likes men and women equally. But for some reason, he finds it very difficult to bed his wife.
His first betrothed Alice is mentioned in passing -- no mention of her affair with his father.
There is no explanation of the animosity between Philip the King of France and Richard. Nothing about their relationship.
Not only those scandals/rumors are missing but also some of the most exciting parts of the crusade! No mention is made of Richard's massacre of the Saracens! The crusade comes off as a very boring war.
I can't comment on the second half of the book about Berengaria after Richard since I know so little about her. But, if the first half is any indication, I will need to read a different book to get an idea of what kind of woman she really was. 』
(A Masterful Historical Novel) 『Richard I of England's charisma reaches out and grabs us 800 years later. He is the epitome of the chivalrous medieval knight. But Richard's behavior toward his wife, Queen Berengaria, reveals a cold, callus aspect of his personality.
From casual reading I have noticed that many accounts of Richard's life mention that he married Berengaria, daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre on May 12, 1191 in Cyprus. However, some biographers do not mention the marriage at all! Many state that the marriage was never consummated. Aside from the marriage, Berengaria is rarely mentioned in connection with Richard.
With this meager knowledge, I was eager to read Queen Without a County. Who was this woman? Why did she have such a weird name? What became of her after her marriage?
Rachel Bard has done a masterful job with this difficult subject. Facts are scarce. But she sticks to those at her disposal. There is a love interest Bard admits may not have occurred. But she believes the little evidence available indicates that it might have happened.
Because of the lack of information, to do justice to the subject, Bard was compelled to write a novel, not a history. Using her imagination in conjunction with the facts, she creates a warm, injured, patient woman who overcomes incredible obstacles. Bard's Berengaria is not a 21st century woman wearing long dresses and strange headgear. Berengaria is woman of the Middle Ages. She has medieval interests: doing embroidery; copying manuscripts from Arabic into Latin; building a monastery. Berengaria has medieval morals (e.g., she worries about when to cover her hair) and a medieval concept of herself as a woman.
A 21st century woman would not put up with kind of abuse to which Berengaria was subjected. Berengaria patiently put up with it for years and blamed herself as much as Richard.
Most historians seem to agree that Richard was at fault for Berengaria's problems. Some believe Richard was a womanizer and that no single woman could hold his interest. Most writers, however, seem to believe that Richard was gay. He was simply not sexually interested in his beautiful wife. Because Richard was not interested in her, it seems that the rest of his world scarcely gave her a glance. Because of that, history is not interested in her. The different perspective on Richard Lionheart will intrigue those interested in this period.』 『As 25 year old Berengaria of Navarre journeys on a ship bound for Sicily, little does she know what adventures and trials lie before her. She must face an indifferent husband, a domineering mother-in-law and the turbulent political climate of twelfth-century Europe. Will she find happiness amid such tribulations?』
IPhone 3G used's review (One of best Queen biographies etc) 『This is one of the best Queen biographies available, and the only good biography that contains good information about Queen after 1991.』
(Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind) 『"Queen - Complete Works" is a remarkable book. So accurate, so through, so in-depth, very well researched and written in an easy to use and informative style. This is, quite simply, *the* best book on the subject of Queen's musical catalogue and that of its members. This is "the bible" of Queen discographies and it will be an indispensible resource for all serious fans of this endlessly entertaining band - in all its past and present permutations. You will not be disappointed - guaranteed.』
(Informative and interesting) 『I found this book both informative and interesting. Sure there is information that most Queen fans are quite familiar with, but that's more of a "pro" than a "con". The author keeps his opinions fairly impartial, but he is spot on with most of his viewpoints. I tended to agree with most of his observations. He covers just about everything Queen did in their career. A good reference book for any Queen fan.』
(A very detailed and interesting book) 『I bought this book a few months ago, and I think it is excellent.
One thing to keep in mind however, is that this is definitely a 'reference book' more than a biography-type book. As such, it is not quite so much of a book that can be read from cover to cover, as a book that you look up interesting little bits and pieces in.
It is divided into several sections, from pre-queen, then gives a detailed account of the process behind the production of each album. Next it gives an extremely thorough description and write-up of EVERY SINGLE song performed by Queen (or any of its members by themselves). It then describes each gig played by Queen( set list, where played etc.), and gives a run-down of all 'non-album' items released (e.g. VHS, DVD etc.)
I most enjoyed the section about the production of the albums as this is the part of the book that reads the most like a biography, however I definitely enjoyed being able to read the descriptions of the individual songs. It also gives an excellent run down of DVDs etc, and helped me to choose which ones I wanted to buy (although it is now slightly out of date, and does not feature the most recent DVD).
Also, keep in mind, that there are no pictures to speak of in this book, which does not really detract - but just be aware.
All up though, a great book for any Queen fan, very interesting, although perhaps a little too in-depth for casual fans due to its 'reference book' nature.』
(A must-have for Queen-fans) 『I must admit, I was a little skeptical about buying this book, thinking that it wouldn't be much more than a long boring story about what the author thought about Queen. But, I was surprised. Have you ever wondered over the meaning of a Queen-song? Just look it up! Want to know about their bands before they became Queen? IBEX, 1984, Deacon and so on? Well... It's all here. You won't regret buying this book : ) The only thing I have to comment is the lack of pictures. Not a BIG deal, but still. It would give the book a nice touch.』 『
Mixing and clashing an outrageously eclectic set of influences—the close harmonies of the Beatles, the guitar pyrotechnics of Jimi Hendrix, the heavy sound of Led Zeppelin, and the glamour of David Bowie—Queen found a winning formula by channeling this strange cocktail through its charismatic frontman, Freddie Mercury. More than a decade after Mercury's death, Queen's fan base continues to grow. This meticulous, session-by-session, album-by-album, tour-by-tour chronicle of the band is the book that Queen fans have been waiting for.
大満足！北国のホタテ・いくら・ボタンエビがぎっしり！
