Lucas Reviews

This was a great find. Now, I'm 41-years-old and don't read much of this type of stuff - but the cover art grabbed me and the storyline is awesome. The mix of beautiful artwork and colors, along with the great and different storyline draws you instantly in a fantasy world with sci-fi undertones - awesome!
I will definately be buying the next in this great start of a bright and different fantasy series.

All the information you need to find in this one book. History in the making

Scott Lucas has a strong military and foreign service background, and it serves him well in his first action novel, "The Not-So-Good Shepherd." Although you'd never guess it from the title, the story line's hero, Michael LAMB (is there a hidden message here in the "Shepherd" title?) is a former Navy SEAL and charter airline pilot. He and his pregnant wife, Jennifer, taking a seemingly innocent European trip, get involved in foreign intrigue, terrorism, murder, hair-raising escapes, and behind-the-scenes manipulation by powerful enemies in high places. The large cast of characters reads like a European phone book. As a former Navy fighter pilot myself, I missed any flying action, but the twists and turns in the plot, the scene shifting, the detailed descriptions of foreign people and places, the unfolding of the terrorist plot, the impending climax, and the crisp dialog throughout, kept me turning through the 310 pages long after my allotted bedtime reading. Scott Lucas, thanks -- but you owe me at least 10 hours of sleep!

In "The Outward Urge" (1959) John Wyndham writes, along with his alter ego Lucas Parkes, a story describing four generations of a British, space-faring family - the Troons. The title of the book refers to a compulsion felt by this family to leave Earth and head for the stars. In their eyes there is a destiny to be fulfilled: to spread out and conquer ever-widening reaches of space.

The first chapter takes place in 1994, when the first space station is being built and mankind is yet to claim the Moon. (Wyndham never dreamed there would be footprints on the Moon just four months after his death.) The rivalry between the United States and the Soviets is intense. Britain is somewhat neutral. Ticker Troon, 24, is taking part in the construction of the space station when the project is almost sabotaged by an unknown, wandering missile. Ticker's bravery saves the lives of his fellows and the project but he never sees his new-born son Michael...

Fifty years later Michael Troon is the commander of a British station on the Moon. On Earth the northern hemisphere is being pounded in a nuclear bombardment. The extent of the damage can only be guessed at but casualties are known to be in the millions. Shocking statistics for a war that has only been going for ten days. Much of the northern hemisphere is reduced to ash.

After the Great Northern War countries of importance are now in the southern hemisphere. The strongest of these is Brazil. In 2094 Geoffery Trunho, the first man on Mars, becomes stranded after a misadventure with the landing module. He writes an account of what happened, in the hope that someone will find it one day. From his description, Mars is a dreary, desolate place to be marooned.

By 2144, Australians have landed on Venus. (One of the Troons became an Australian citizen.) This causes something of an uproar among the Brazilians, who consider space to be their province. It looks as if their monopoly of space is being challenged and plans are made to save face. Will Australia and Brazil come to blows?

At the time "The Outward Urge" was written space travel was still a dream. The best views of space were in the paintings of Chesley Bonestell, even though they were fanciful. Lucas Parkes wrote the parts of the story detailing the science (such as it was then), in an effort to make the book more believable. In the end you can't help but agree with the Troons - space needs to be colonized, and soon. In the event of an apocalyptic meteor smashing into the Earth it would be comforting to know that other planets are populated. The human race needn't become extinct.

This book is a collection of essays on channel relationships in retailing and other sectors of industry. The contents include empirical research on wholesaler/distributors' and manufacturers' perceptions on manufacturer-wholesaler relationships. The book provides a good overview of the subject of marketing channels.

For those who have ever asked "why?" This book will help you discover the answers, one of the best Serial Killer books on the market and one I refer to often for research and uni study.

Highly Recommended.

It is about Shirley and Albert who go swimming while the sun is going down. Shirley sees blood comming from behind her. Then a suprize happend to Shirley.

I purchased this reference as soon as I could fit it into my budget. There are no references written for Crystal Decisions enterprise level products and I was excited to see one in the works.

I purchased the book for it's attempt to describe the features of the products and how they are designed to work together, from the Crystal Enterprise components to Crystal Analysis Pro. Probably a full 25% of the book is spent on customizing Crystal Enterprise for a web site or web application. The explanations are easy to understand and cover the major points necessary to make the product work.

I am not a big fan of the "Special Edition" book series because I find them to be too general. This one fits the content style of the series to a 'T'. If you need a general reference on the Crystal Enerprise/Crystal Analysis Pro products, by all means, by this book. If you have been "knee-deep" in the product since it's release, you will probably not find any grand revelations here. It succeeds at trying to be what it is: a solid, general product reference.

Also, it is written by Crystal Decisions employees and certified trainers/consultants so you will not be told about any bugs or shortcomings in the product.

I gave it four stars just for the breadth of content and since it is the only reference for Crystal Enterprise, you can honestly say it is the best. To me, it is worth the money spent.

I don't think I know anyone who lives this lifestyle. I have a fantasy that these people really do exist. I hope not.

The story was so well written that I felt as if I were right there in the room as all this was unfolding and, of course, there was nothing I could do to stop them. This was a story of extremes. The good was so good, the bad was so horrible and permeated so many lives, the surprise really was that.

There was a note inside the back of the jacket that John Lucas was writing another novel. I hope it's just taking him a long time to do and that there will be another. I look forward to reading more of his ideas.

Here are two meaningful paragraphs from the book.
"The screams are the medicine leaving," Lone Wolf said. "Feel the medicine!" he bellowed, still wrestling with the white man. "Feel it course through your body!"
Tehan felt it. His whole being hummed like a plucked bowstring, the vibrations making his teeth ache. He was light -headed, giddy, almost delirious with the power passing into him. "Yes!" he shouted, wrapped in ecstasy.
This is a nice story I think you will like it.