Posts Tagged ‘Adventure’
Wednesday Words: A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
May 2, 2012 | 
Author “I do not believe that I am made of the stuff which constitutes heroes, because, in all of the hundreds of instances that my voluntary acts have placed me face to face with death, I cannot recall a single one where any alternative step to that I took occurred to me until many hours later. My mind is evidently so constituted that I am subconsciously forced into the path of duty without recourse to tiresome mental processes. however that may be, I have never regretted that cowardice is not optional with me. ”
“Fear is a relative term and so I can only measure my feelings at that time by what I had experienced in previous positions of danger and by those that I have passed through since; but I can say without shame that if the sensations I endured during the next few minutes were fear, then may God help the coward, for cowardice is of a surety its own punishment. ”
“Few western wonders are more inspiring than the beauties of an Arizona moonlit landscape; the silvered mountains in the distance, the strange lights and shadows upon hog back and arroyo, and the grotesque details of the stiff, yet beautiful cacti form a picture at once enchanting and inspiring; as though one were catching for the first time a glimpse of some dead and forgotten world, so different is it from the aspect of any other spot upon our earth. ”
-A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Posted in Fiction, Futuristic, Romance, Wednesday Words | 
Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Futuristic, Historical, Quotes | 
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John Carter Books-to-Movie Intro
Novel Reaction is excited to be once again doing the Books-to-Movie Challenge. This month we are going to be reading and watching John Carter by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Originally published as a serial novel in 1912, A Princess of Mars is the first book in the Barsoom series. There are eleven books in the series with the last one being published in 1943. The books are all public domain, meaning there are no rights retained by the author’s estate, so you can get the first book free here.
In the spring of 1866, John Carter, a former Confederate captain prospecting for gold in the Arizona hills, slips into a cave and is overcome by mysterious vapors. He awakes to find himself naked, alone, and forty-eight million miles from Earth—a castaway on the dying planet Mars. Taken prisoner by the Tharks, a fierce nomadic tribe of sixlimbed, olive-green giants, he wins respect as a cunning and able warrior, who by grace of Mars’s weak gravity possesses the agility of a superman. He also wins the heart of fellow-prisoner Dejah Thoris, the alluring, red-skinned Princess of Helium, whose people he swears to defend against their grasping and ancient enemy, the city-state of Zodanga.John Carter first appeared in 1912 in the pages of The All-Story magazine and immediately entered the dream-life of American readers young and old. He was Edgar Rice Burroughs’s favorite among his many creations and remains a favorite of lovers of science fiction and fantasy everywhere. On the occasion of John Carter’s centenary, The Library of America invites readers to rediscover A Princess of Mars, the adventure-pulp classic that gave the world its first great interplanetary romance.
We are watching the 2012 version of the film starring Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris and William Defoe as Tars Tarkas. The film also stars Mark Strong as Matai Shang, I have to admit that Mark Strong is one of my favorite villain actor, he was fabulous in Sherlock Holmes (2009) and The Green Latern (2011).
So pull up a book, a bucket of popcorn and let the fun begin!
Posted in Books-to-Movie, Challenges, Review, Romance | Tags: Adventure, Books to Movie, Fantasy, Historical, Romance | No Comments »
SEAL of My Dreams Anthology Review
There is nothing sexier and lovable than a man who protects his country but those in the elite services have a special place in our hearts. SEAL of My Dreams is a collection of 18 short-stories about the elite of the elite, Navy SEALs. SEAL of My Dreams is a heartwarming collection that showcases the love, devotion and sacrifices made by these brave soldiers and their families. From soldiers returning home after spending years putting their personal lives on hold and missing out on key family events while they protect their country to running special ops to save the ones they love, this anthology has it all.
A couple of the stories had me tearing up, especially Dog Heart by Barbara Samuel. Marcus Stone finds himself returning to the woman who broke his heart after he is injured while on a mission. Marcus had sworn never to return but when his team’s combat dog shows signs of PTSD after a blast kills three team members and injuries five others, he realizes that Jessie is the only one who can help Sgt. Thor. The scars, both physical and emotional, that Marcus and Thor suffer just touched my heart, causing me to tear up several times when I stopped to think about the real men, women and animals who put themselves on the front line all the time and end up living with the scars of their sacrifice for the rest of their life.
I highly recommend SEAL of My Dreams because besides being a great fundraiser, the authors do a fabulous job of showing the heart, devotion and sacrifice of these elite soldiers. Be aware that there is some use of the f* word in several of the stories and it definitely rates as a five flaming hearts on the sex content scale but it is a great collection of authors.
All proceeds from sales of SEAL of My Dreams goes to the Veterans Research Corporation, a non-profit fundraiser for veterans’ medical research. So not only are you getting some great stories, you are helping raise money for a good cause.
You can read an excerpt from each of the stories here.
The Anthology includes the following:
A foreword by Robyn Carr
Coming Home by Jami Alden
Baby, I’m Back by Stephanie Bond
SEALed Fates by Kylie Brant
Going Dark by Helen Brenna
Finding Home by HelenKay Dimon
SEALed With a Kiss (A Black Ops, Inc story) by Cindy Gerard
Panama Jack by Tara Janzen
Wrapped and SEALed by Leslie Kelly
Worth the Risk by Elle Kennedy
Twenty-One Hours by Alison Kent
Not Waving But Drowning by Jo Leigh
Her Secret Pirate by Gennita Low
SEALed by Fate by Marliss Melton
Signed, SEALed, Delivered…I’m Yours by Christie Ridgway
Dog Heart by Barbara Samuel
Whirlwind by Roxanne St. Claire
Holding On by Stephanie Tyler
Letters to Ellie by Loreth Anne White
Rating: 
Content:
Title: SEAL of My Dreams
Author: Large collection (see above)
Format: Paperback, eBook
Page Nos.: 396
ISBN: 978-1611940510
Publisher: Belle Bridge Books
Release Date: November 22, 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
Fatal Heat by Lisa Marie Rice Review
Max Wright is out of the Navy SEALs forever after almost being killed by a bomb. In Fatal Heat by Lisa Marie Rice, Max has beat the odds by learning to walk again but he will never get rid of the limp nor be able to be active duty again. Having lost the one thing most important to him Max has retreated to the semi-seclusion of his CO’s beach house to heal his body. But Max’s solitude is interrupted by the antics of his next-door neighbor’s dog and the distracting presence of the dog’s owner Paige.
Paige, a plant geneticist, does not have a good track record with men but something about the rugged Max calls to her and she finds herself reaching out to the injured soldier. As Max and Paige get closer, Paige’s job puts her at risk and it is going to take all Max has to rescue her.
Max’s story was heartbreaking, with the loss of his role in the SEALs he has loss his sense of identity. Fatal Heat has a bit of a slow start, although I was intrigued by the fact that the first time Max and Paige meet Max is laying on the floor after collapsing from a work out and refuses to talk to Paige. Paige’s dog is also named Max, which could have been confusing but Rice does a good job keeping the characters separate. Like I said, the story was bit slow beginning before the true conflict begins but once it starts I was glued to the story and couldn’t put it down. Because of the slow start I gave the story a 3 star, I also felt like the descriptive nature of some of the scenes were a little drawn out. Overall I liked Fatal Heat well enough but the sneak peak of Nightfire that was included in my copy of the book has me really looking forward to it.
Rating: 
Content:
Title: Fatal Heat
Author: Lisa Marie Rice
Format: (Paperback, Hardbound, eBook)
Page Nos.: 208
ISBN: 978-0062127549
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release Date: November 2011
Available for purchase: Amazon
Reviewer: Jessica
**I received a copy of this book from NetGalley but was not required to provide a review and it did not impact my review in any way.
- A Night Like This by Julia Quinn Review
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