Saturn Reviews

I have never read a comic like this before. Most Vertigo books seem to have an Alan Moore feel to it, but this is completely different! Funny comics tend to be silly, surreal or corny, but this isn't! Its firmly grounded in the real world, despite its strange title, except for an unrealistic ending.
The story follows a New York columnist's quest to find herself and her relationship with her sister. It doesn't sound like much, but trust me, you'll love it. Some parts of it actually had me laughing out lound, no easy feat.

I have liked his art for a long time, but this is my first exposure to Kyle Baker as a writer and I am impressed. There are no flashy fight scenes or splash pages or anything like that. Although the art is pleasant, the book is carried on the strength of the writing alone... no gimmicks whatsover.

This is a very impressive 'talk-comic' in the style of 'Strangers in Paradise' and "Box Office Poison', which I think is even better than the aforementioned titles. It's (mostly) about everyday life and all the views a society-critical person has on it, brought with subtle humor.

Main-character Anne is a columnist for some obscure magazine. While she makes her way through life she gets into all kinds of Seinfeld-esque situations, meaning she overanalyzes things we all come across so that everything gets to be a point of either insecurity or humor. Especially the do's and don'ts in relationships are points of discussion. Accompanied by Ricky, a guy who seems to have women all figured out and comes off as verbally unbeatable, she comes across things that are wrong with her (or at least she thinks so), men, and not being able to do anything without valid I.D. And as if her life isn't troubled enough her seemingly crazy sister comes to live with her, claiming she's the 'Queen of the Leather Astro-Girls of Saturn'...

One of the best things I've read in a while ... and I do read pretty variable. A smart, well-written continuation of dialogues with many moments that make you think 'been there'. The good-looking art is black-and-white with a tone of gray. It's best considered as a cross between Bachalo's art (Death: High Cost of Living) and Sale's (The Long Halloween). Also, the art is nowhere interrupted by text-balloons. All the dialoguing is written under each panel instead of in it. This book is not for those who're looking for an action-packed story with art blowing of the pages, but for those who're into witty dialogues and slightly sarcastic views on everyday life it's one of the best choices you can make.

I'm not going to tell you what I think of this book. Or rather I am, but not in the usual I-love- this-book sort of way. I first read this book when my ex-girlfriend made me read it as a "growth experience." Several years later I saw it at a comics convention and immediately purchased this fine pulp product. I then lent it to one of the local ultra-hip coffee house vixens, who promptly dropped off of the face of the earth, never to be seen agian. I'm sure these two events are completely unrealated. Needless to say,I've been searching for it (and her) ever since.

I discovered this book while writing my own "Fatherless Women: How We Change After We Lose Our Dads" (Wiley) and so I came to it having already drawn many conclusions from my own research and interviews. Still, I found myself reading this and going "yes!!" at almost every point Reis makes, often hearing in her words an elegant echo of what women had been telling me in my own interviews. As a woman who had a conflicted relationship with her father -- and as an author who has interviewed many women -- I recommend this book. It's smart, it's insightful, and it's also well written.

In Daughters of Saturn Patricia Reis explores various aspects of the father daughter relationship with a particular focus on the father's effect on a woman's creative life. Beginning with the charter myth of Saturn, the archetypal devouring and melancholic father, she explores the many ways tha Daughters of Saturn have come to name their experience and have used language to tell their stories. Through myth, dreams, and women's experiences, Reis creates a map marking a journey from life in the Belly of the Father through the First Gate of Awakening. She documents women's resistances and rebellions against the dominant culture of patriarchy, the treacherous Battlezone of Culture, and records the lives of four women writers -- Emily Dickinson, H.D., Sylvia Plath, and Anais Nin -- outlingin their struggles and strategies to live creative lives. Reis marks the trails into what she calls "The Wildzone," a place that has existence outside the law of the fathers: a woman-centered ground of being and knowing.

A companion to Gateway to the Moon and also part of the 1978 NASA History Series Moonport volume, this illustrated book describes the seven missions to the moon launched between 1969 and 1972. With the exception of the abortive Apollo 13 flight, all landed successfully. As the story progresses, astronauts explore the moon's surface in the lunar rover (complete with bucket seats and power steering), set up experiments, and bring back hundreds of pounds of lunar geological samples. The book concludes with a description of the last and most spectacular liftoff, Apollo 17, launched on a dark December night before a crowd of nearly 500,000 visitors.

First published as part of the NASA History Series under the title "Moonport", the University of Florida Press very wisely decided to split the book into two easier to read volumes. The first volume primarily tells the story of how Florida swamp land was turned into the world's most sophisicated launch centre. The second volume which will suit the more casual reader goes into detail about the Missions themselves with an extensive chapter on the Apollo 1 fire, a subject which NASA is still touchy about. All the Apollo missions are described and looking back in perspective, I am dismayed that it is nearly thirty years since men last walked on the Moon.

For anyone interested in space, this is an essential book to have and read again and again

Being the avid manned spaceflight reader that I am, this book was a gold-mine. The history of not only the Saturn V is covered here, but also the earlier (less powerful) Saturn I and IB as well as the early proposals for other Saturn launch vehicles. Then, if that's not enough, you get stage-by-stage and engine-by-engine technical explanations along with each components' history. Marvelous! I've only been able to find this book at libraries, (unless you want to spend hundred[s] of dollars for collectable editions online) but, if you're an Apollo program or Saturn V afficienado, it's worth looking for. Highly recommended!

Not for the light reader. A very well done complete guide to the development of the world's most powerful launch vehicle.

grea

...I havent read it yet but at least I know who belongs where for starters...I always get the team players confused !!!

If you own a later-model Saturn (1995 or newer), this is the manual you want to buy. The Haynes guide is only good through 1994, and it's not as detailed as the Chilton's manual. No offense to the good folks at Haynes, but as far as Saturn manuals goes, these guys have you beat. With all the things that go wrong with Saturns (yes, I'm one of the few Saturn owners who thinks the car is a typical GM piece of junk), a shop manual like this is a must have.

Having been a professional astrologer for over 35 years I didn't think I would find much new insight regarding Saturn - BOY WAS I EVER WRONG. This book is fabulous!

Yeah I met Saturn, alright. It was as though she had a crystal into my very soul. But I cried horrible bitter tears of recognition because of the stark reality w/which Liz portrayed my childhood. (Of course 12th house H2O cusp, w/a Saturn Scorp(R). These very tears became tears of relief because I realized that I was not insane. That it was not my imagination. My childhood was written in small glyphs that a handfull could decipher. Easy enough to see, you just had to have the courage to look @ it. To look into the houses of the family, takes so much courage. 12, 8 & 4. All the things which makes up our belief patterns is the heart of Saturn. All those schedules & routines that we don't question. (Even the different stages of life. Biology--Western Medicine)All the things that we think will always continue to go on, in the same manner, if it is to have any longevity, must evolve and change, it must go on to the next level or face destruction. But it means destroying all those things that we hold sacred in our lives.

The dysfunctional motivations that I watched transfixed as a child, now in horror, were being expressed thru my own life. My inheirtance, etc.. I learned that my inheirtance is not just DNA. It's a psychological stance that's imprinted w/in your subsconscious as soon as you greet the world, fresh from the womb. If you're lucky, & truly honest w/yourself & keep digging, (simply because you're just in so much pain, that not to do so, is more harmful in the long run) you may actaully find yourself. All it takes a willingness to strip away the mask of the parental unit. & many times this stripping can take on a brutal aspect. Simply because our parents represent primal energy. The raw energy, the desire, the need to survive.

This book more than any other really set me on a path of reading a chart from a psychological stance as opposed to a "fated destiny" whereby you would have no other future other than the one designated by our parents.

Lest we forget, the exposure as children, our very nakedness. (there are only 2 other times in which we are so vulnerable & needy in our lives, one is when we fall in love. The final time is when we are old & need others to help us take care of us. The same way we came in, needy & unable to take care of ourselves.) The will to survive comes later. 1st & foremost is the desire to survive which feeds the will. Another reason it hurts is because our society loves to pay homage to "experts" read "gods". & who is above a god? To strip our parents from the very core of your being is to embrace your godhood. You ability to create on this plane. It is our foundation that is rocked. In looking @ your parents thru the lens of this planet, you meet your destiny. Never to be controlled by it or anything else again.

Liz Greene is a great writer. She writes about astrology with the comfort and ease of a novelist. She is warm, intelligent and insightful and that comes through on every page. Her more or less psychological views of astrology may not be for everyone, but her explanation of this planet is brilliant and cohesive. Liz Greene goes away from the basic dualities of "benefic and malefic" to shine a more adult light on Saturn. There is much more to the planet than "bad or good" and Ms. Greene gives the details in a manner that is a joy to read.

On the outside: A raven-haired sorceress, holding a skull, dressed in a 1980's prom gown. A sword-wielding hunk, dressed in a ruffled, billowing "poet's shirt" from the 1800's. A wizened dwarf stirring a cauldron. And of course, a cat. (The cat is possible the only figure in the cover art who actually resembles a character in the book.)

On the inside: An enchanting tale that captures the spirit of Arthurian legend--but without actually being a retelling of it. Yes, parallels can be seen between some characters and events, but this is essentially an original work. The plot involves the King's spiteful sister Diaspad, who sows discord at court, and the Queen Sidonwy, who falls into disgrace as a result of Diaspad's machinations. Our hero and heroine are an idealistic knight who wants to restore the kingdom to its earlier glory and chivalry, and a shy sorcerer's apprentice who doesn't think she has any power. The plot is simple but compelling; the characters grow so real that I literally wanted to slap one of them when he broke my heart. You'll know the scene when you read it.

Two gripes only:
(1) Court dramas, because of the sheer volume of characters, generally benefit from having a "Dramatis Personae" in the front of the book that the reader can refer to if s/he has forgotten who so-and-so is and what his agenda is.
(2) Series-itis! It is frustrating to get emotionally involved with a novel only to find that it doesn't really have any closure. _Child of Saturn_ ties up some of the loose ends of the plot, but leaves enough hanging that this book can't really stand on its own. This is especially annoying since Edgerton's books are hard to find. It looks like I'll probably have to collect them gradually and read them out of order.

Browsing through the college bookstore one day over a decade ago, I found my eye drawn to the spine of *Child of Saturn.* Thinking vaguely about Roman gods, I took the book from the shelf and grimaced at the cover, an all-too-standard hodge-podge of the usual fantasy elements: a dwarf, a long-haired warrior brandishing a sword, a glamorous raven-haired sorceress holding a chalice in the shape of a skull, and a sinisterly bubbling cauldron. Nothing new here, I thought, as I flipped open the front cover for a cursory peek.I could not have been more mistaken. A few pages into the first chapter I was well and truly hooked. In her opening paragraphs Teresa Edgerton established an elegant, yet otherworldly atmosphere many fantasists strive in vain to capture, with her description of the wizard Glastyn's mysterious disappearance from the Kingdom of Celydonn and its effects on the court he has long served--"He left behind him: a whimsical, inconsistent king; an order of jaded, disillusioned knights; and a realm slipping slowly back into the chaos from which he, Glastyn, had rescued it some fifty years before." The parallels to Arthurian legend are unmistakable. Like King Arthur bereft of Merlin, King Cynwas must now reign without the counsel of his most trusted advisor, a situation made all the more difficult by the sloth and complacency of his court. The heroes of yesterday have sunk into lazy, even dissolute middle-age, caring little now for deeds of valor and glory. The arrival at court of Princess Diaspad, the King's stepsister, contributes still further to the decay of the chivalric ideal.The best hope for the future lies with a small band of young knights, as yet unaffected by the corruption spreading through the court. Chief among them, is Ceilyn macCuel, the passionate, idealistic Queen's Champion, who senses all is not well with the kingdom, especially not with Diaspad on the prowl.Frequently mocked and derided by his companions and the Queen's ladies for his rigorous sense of honor and formidable conscience, Ceilyn acquires an unexpected ally in Teleri ni Pendaren, the childlike apprentice Glastyn has left behind him. Shy, retiring, and colorless, Teleri at first seems an unlikely choice to be Glastyn's successor; yet her quiet nature hides unsuspected depths of power and knowledge. United in their shared distrust of Diaspad, Ceilyn and Teleri set out to uncover the truth of the Princess's schemes, before all of Celydonn falls victim to her sinister charms. In the process, their alliance deepens into something rich and strange, that transforms both their lives.*Child of Saturn* marks the beginning of Edgerton's acclaimed Green Lion Trilogy, a series that breathed new life into the conventions of the fantasy genre. Edgerton displays a mature, polished style, a gift for character development, and a genuine feel for the British and Celtic legends that flavor her work. Once read, *Child of Saturn* is not forgotten, and one eagerly anticipates the five additional books featuring Edgerton's wonderful cast of characters. It has been, however, five years since the publication of *The Moon and the Thorn*; whatever else Ms. Edgerton has planned, I hope a return to Celydonn is slated for sometime in the foreseeable future.

Child of Saturn is an absorbing blend of some of the most realistic characters I've ever read and an intriguing Celtic-fantasy background. The plot is also excellent, involving the wizard's apprentice Teleri, the knight Ceilyn, the king, queen and, or course, sorceress.

While this could easily have turned out to be a generic sort of fantasy, Teleri's subtle development from a slight, pale shadow into a more mature person is exquisitely done. Ceilyn's depiction as a flawed man who is forced to live up to everyone's image of perfection is equally brilliant.

The heroes and villains are multi-faceted, the plot absorbing and the world-building complete and rich. What more can I say? Read Child of Saturn-- it's definitely worth the time it takes to find a copy.