S.J. Parris
S.J. Parris writes about her inspiration for Heresy, which masterfully blends true events with fiction into a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Adam Haslett
A conversation with Adam Haslett, author of Union Atlantic, a deeply affecting portrait of the modern gilded age, the first decade of the twenty-first century.
A swashbuckling adventure story that reveals for the
first time how Diego de la Vega became the masked man we all know so well.
Born in southern California late in the eighteenth century, he is a child of
two worlds. Diego de la Vega's father is an aristocratic Spanish military
man turned landowner; his mother, a Shoshone warrior. Diego learns from his
maternal grandmother, White Owl, the ways of her tribe while receiving from
his father lessons in the art of fencing and in cattle branding. It is here,
during Diego's childhood, filled with mischief and adventure, that he
witnesses the brutal injustices dealt Native Americans by European settlers
and first feels the inner conflict of his heritage.
At the age of sixteen, Diego is sent to Barcelona for a European
education. In a country chafing under the corruption of Napoleonic rule,
Diego follows the example of his celebrated fencing master and joins La
Justicia, a secret underground resistance movement devoted to helping the
powerless and the poor. With this tumultuous period as a backdrop, Diego
falls in love, saves the persecuted, and confronts for the first time a
great rival who emerges from the world of privilege.
Between California and Barcelona, the New World and the Old, the persona
of Zorro is formed, a great hero is born, and the legend begins. After many
adventures -- duels at dawn, fierce battles with pirates at sea, and
impossible rescues -- Diego de la Vega, a.k.a. Zorro, returns to America to
reclaim the hacienda on which he was raised and to seek justice for all who
cannot fight for it themselves.
Book Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Allende's latest page-turner explodes with vivid characterization and high-speed storytelling.
Booklist - Brad Hooper
Starred Review. Allende's mesmerizing narrative voice never loses timbre or flags in either tension or entertainment value. To describe her as a clever novelist is to signify that she is both inventive and intelligent.
Library Journal - Misha Stone
Allende is a beguiling storyteller, and Zorro provides a rich palate for her customary embellishments. Recommended for all public libraries.
Kirkus Reviews
The up-to-date, even postmodern ending makes for a nice touch, too, and will gladden the heart of anyone ready in his or her heart to carve a few Zs into the bad guys.
San Antonio Express-News Zorro reads like classic 19th-century literature . . . Remarkably, Diego is no cardboard hero checked out from central casting; Allende has skillfully rounded his corners, nuanced him and breathed life into him . . . Allende's vivid reimagining of the Zorro legend will make you want to pick up a sword and start slashing your initials into the nearest available bad guy. This rollicking adventure yarn is that much fun, chock-full of romance and heroism, a swashbuckling read . . . More old-fashioned, rip-roaring storytelling than you can shake a sword at.
Houston Chronicle
One of those rare and perfect matches of subject and author... Sinfully entertaining ... Serious fiction.
The Washington Post - Craig Nova
It is not possible to sum up the surprises, rescues from prisons, flirtations (between Zorro's true love and, for example, a pirate), but the book has plenty of what Hollywood would call non-stop action, and this is told with a pleasure so keen on the author's part that it's difficult not to be swept up in it.
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family.
The Postmistress is an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. And how every story-of love or war-is about looking left when we should have been looking right.
Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
Lisa See has written a great book! This story is satisfying on many levels, some scenes horrifying, but seemingly truthful, and her handling of the ...
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I was sorry to see that there were so few reviews. I started reading COAL and could not stop. The only thing I am going to say is that I wish ...
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The tragedy, the sorrow, the loss, is almost too much for me to recommend this; on the other hand Mistry made me believe I knew these characters. I ...
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Amazon 'buy button' rumors abound(Mar 18 2010) Rumors swirled today that Amazon could revoke the buy buttons for books by Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin, or Hachette if the major publishers can't...
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Amazon's e-pricing threats(Mar 18 2010) With Apple's iPad launch just weeks away, Amazon raised the stakes again when it threatened to stop directly selling the books of some publishers online...
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Zorro
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