Day of the Dead Books

This bilingual picturebook, with its full text presented to young readers in both English and Spanish, uses narration, photographs, and illustrations to teach children about the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead, an annual holiday to honor and remember all those who have passed. Vibrant colors and emphatic traditions pepper this book, which makes for a brilliant multicultural reading experience. The Vigil Of The Angels is perfect for a child who is learning to speak both English and Spanish, regardless of which language he or she learned first. The text and photos are by Mary J. Andrade. The illustrations are by Jose J. Murguia.

the book shoulda stated that it was part 1......it left me hanging for an ending, and the rest of the middle. its like leaving the theatre right when the movie starts getting good.

Never drags. You won't be able to put this one down. Free time will be well spent reading this book!

I felt this was a surprisingly good novel from a first time writer. The format is of a personal journal, complete with spelling and grammer errors, kept by a survivor. With the story written from the first person perspective, and without to much detail about the survivor, it is very easy to "fall into" the story. It also focuses mainly on what is going on directly around the character; you have little idea what is happening in the rest of the city, country or world.

I do have a few small criticisms. I don't feel the characterization of the supporting cast is very good. I just can't imagine what they look like, if you know what I mean. And the ending is much more abrupt then I would have liked.

At the end of my edition is a beginning chapter of a follow up book. To be blunt I hope this will be heavily re-written and edited. It's just not up to the standard of the first.

I like this book because it's a first person view. Plus it's FKN sweet buy it.

Let me be clear from the start - I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Fans of zombie apocalypse speculative fiction would be well served picking up this book if they have not already done so. The author is clearly intelligent and has done his research and his attention to detail is fantastic.

My problem is that the story is a little bit too perfect - the protagonist is just too good at what he does and his luck appears to be just too good. There doesn't appear to be a single skill or ability that he or his crew doesn't have to tackle the myriad of situations they're faced with. This is not a story about your `average joe' who rises to the nigh impossible challenge of surviving in a world filled with the undead. It's more like MacGyver vs. the Undead.

... in the best sense. Volume 1 of the Walking Dead would make for a perfect zombie film in and of itself. The fact that there are already another 7 anthologies awaiting the readers seemed frankly too good to be true (I've rarely been happier to be wrong). When I read Robert Kirkman's forward to this first volume, I remembered the feeling of seeing the credits roll after my favorite movie ended, that agony of having to leave characters and places without knowing if I would ever get to see them again (this is admittedly not so much a problem for the youth of today in this age of infinite Disney sequels). The Walking Dead is an answer to that pain... Kirkman's goal is to spin a story that tells you What Happens Next. And unlike the eternal sequels we have come to expect from Hollywood, these stories aren't endless iterations on the same theme... they instead show the evolutions of each of the characters in this world after civilization's fall.

Kirkman's writing is sharp and believable (at least it covered how I think people would talk if being chased by zombies). The relationships are vital and poignant, thus capturing another crucial element of the zombie genre. Tony Moore's art in this first volume is extraordinary. The story is told as much from the images and expressions of the characters as it is in the writing - Kirkman and Moore created an amazing tapestry in these first 6 issues. I was genuinely moved.

Now to grouse a bit. Moore only drew the first 6 issues, contained in this volume. Other than the covers of the ensuing anthologies, that's all you get of Moore, which was a bit of a rude shock when I opened Volume Two - Charlie Adlard took the reins in Issue #7. Adlard has made the series his own, and done a great job of it, but I still miss the look and feel of those first 6 issues.

That said, I think that the comic has transformed from a great idea into a worthy epic part of the Modern Zombie Canon (Simpon Pegg even pens the after-ward of one of the later volumes).

Now you'd better stop reading and click the "Buy" button. It's time that you met Rick.

I love the walking dead series and this book is a great introduction of the main characters. It sets the tone for the rest of the series. Everything is in black and white, but the art is wonderful. The story draws you in. It makes you think what it would be like if you suddenly awoke in a world full of zombies.

Visceral horror and subtle ongoing character serial combine to make "The Walking Dead" one of the most engaging comic-book series currently being produced. This initial volume, "Days Gone Bye", takes the first six issues of the Image Comics series and edits them together into one seamless (no easy feat when it comes to compilations) 130-plus page epic. Subsequent volumes collect later issues, with new volumes coming out like clockwork once there are six new issues of the monthly comic book to collect.

With its realistic looking characters (no abs-of-steel guys or buxom bimbos here) and gritty day-to-day situations (often horrifying but never over-the-top with silly horror movie situations), "The Walking Dead" is a comic book that doesn't feel "comic-booky", and would be a good title to recommend to friends who don't normally read comics. If they enjoy horror stories, that is.

Quibbles? Robert Kirkman is telling a great story here, but sometimes the word balloons can be a little dense with verbiage. These characters DO go on a bit. But that's really about it.

As this is a comic book, I guess I should touch on the visuals. Tony Moore's art is wonderful: detailed, subtle, yet fast-moving, if that's way to describe comic book art. What I mean is that the art makes your eye fly from panel to panel, drinking in the action. But his detail and subtlety make the quiet scenes resonate the way they should, too. Though Charlie Adlard's art in future volumes is perfectly fine, and has its own plusses, for my money the series never looked better than in this initial collection.

Give "The Walking Dead" a try. Its unusual mix of subtle artistry and firing-on-all-cylinders outright horror will grab you and keep you coming back for more.

just like lays potato chips . the best zombie saga that george r. never wrote . all the books are compelling . i don't even miss the color . kirkman rocks .

Some of the more negative reviews of this first Walking Dead book are quite merited. In many ways it feels derivative, even a bit lazy. I'd only like to add that the series does get better, a whole heck of a lot better. Read this first one just so you can get to know the characters, but if you're feeling put off, do yourself a favor and keep going. By the time I was halfway through the second book I was hooked hooked hooked, and I devoured the rest of them as fast as I could. These have some of the best character development I've ever seen in any media, let alone in comic books, which are NOT known for their depth.

Kirkman has made a decent name for himself in this business, and The Walking Dead series is a fantastic testament to his deserving respect.

If you google Kim Paffenroth you will discover that he is a very accomplished professor of humanities, most recently the author of one of the finest books on George Romero out there. Bear this in mind and you will have some idea of what to expect from Dying to Live.

The novel follows Jonah Caine as he joins a reconstituted town after the zombie uprising and their efforts to rebuild a dignified human existence. The writing style is easy to follow if not exceptionally crafted, but this is par for the course in zombie lit. What really makes Paffenroth's story come alive is the play of ideas about what it means to be human--which is the perfect topic for meditation in a zombie world. In general he does not go overboard on gory descriptions but there is one scene that is truly worthy of Dante or Bosch in its horror.

I felt that the novel started slow but by halfway through I could not put it down. The ending is especially tense and somewhat traumatic, but ultimately affirms the value of working to become better humans.

I liked the author's idea of presenting sort of deep side of people in zombie period. He tried to heat the philosophical side of it, but it was too shallow and merely refreshing. I hoped to see something like "would this be the next evolution?", "what would God's (specifically analyzed) purpose of this disaster be?", "how would the ecosystem work if they eventually dominate the human race?", and something like that.

I really liked his work of revealing the personalities of each one. It was good.

BUT, for some reason, I hated the "Zombie Jesus" of whom zomebies are afraid to approach. It just killed all the thrills and excitement that could happen by REAL people.

Hated the "Zombie Jesus" and the "philosophies", but admire new approach so I give this book 3.

This was a really good book! There was a lot to keep me interested the entire way through and I really honestly did not put it down. Great action and great story!

This book is fine for young readers however I would not recommend it for an adult. Story line is simple and very basic.

I bought this after reading the excellent World War Z. Unfortunately, this book is a pale shadow of World War Z.

While I feel that the author was earnestly interested in writing a good, interesting book about a zombie apocalypse, the plot was very derivative of other zombie works without bringing anything innovative to the table. Additionally, the characters, though complex, were not believable- and the same can be said of the plot (even with normal horror-book-suspension-of-disbelief).

I read the book while on vacation- and then abandoned it once finished in a hotel in Rome.

First I want to say I feel so sorry for reviews all over the internet who expect everything to be Steinbeck or Hemingway or Lynch or Kubrick. A book or movie can just be something to enjoy without it having to be a great work of art. And that's what this book is.

I have read this book dozens of times and have lost numerous copies I have lent out and never gotten back. When I have a friend who is having a rough time with life and seems to be giving up hope, I lend them this book. It is a silly, quirky story of a life gone wrong and the absurdity that happens that brings things back to reality. The moral...no matter how crazy and out of hand life gets, it usually turns out OK. Life goes on and we learn from our experiences.

Jimmy Zoole is a none too successful actor in his late thirties, never having really made it. Then his best friend dies, he is burgled twice in succession, his girlfriend is leaving him, he loses his job in a leading role on Broadway and he has to vacate his flat . . . and his cat is dead.

When on New Year's Eve he catches the burglar making a third attempt in his flat maybe things are about to change. After a struggle he has the burglar tied up and secured minus his trousers over the kitchen sink. What to do with him now? They talk, he learns his name, Vito, he is something of a loser, and he swings both ways.

A brilliant and bizarre story, two potential losers come together in extraordinary circumstances, maybe it marks a change for them both. It is beautifully written and very funny; the two appealing main characters are complete opposites yet manage to bond. They story becomes more absurd and equally more gripping by the minute; impossible to put the book down.

You have to take this book with a grain of salt. Normal guy who has alot of bad luck all at once and kind of snaps. He gets himself into some really strange but very entertaining situations that end up snowballing on him into bizarre and hilarious situations. Would definately reccomend!

I like Nora Ephron. Really. I thought When Harry Met Sally was quite a film, very cleverly written. Perhaps, however, I shouldn't hold Ms. Ephron in such high esteem that I immediately buy anything with her name on it. No, she didn't write PS Your Cat is Dead...but she did endorse it. And shame on you, Nora. This book made me laugh countless times, but never at anything the author intended to be humorous. Rather, I laughed at the sheer absurdity of the dialogue. Never have I heard people speak in the way these characters did. They were overly witty and brazen, as well as entirely one-dimensional. As much as I disliked this book, I would recommend it to self-declared "theatre types." What they saw in Rent (the film, of course) I shall never know, but they will almost certainly find that same element in PS Your Cat is Dead.

I think the concept of this book might have been funny but then it took a creepy turn and was actually not funny at all. I hardly laughed through the entire book and was wondering what all the other people were reading when they gave it such good reviews...

If you are looking for the definitive version of this book, the must have out of all editions, this is the one. This edition has the scans of the actual text, and the Faulkner translation below (and yes I perfer Faulkner to Budge). The artwork on the actual text itself is beautiful, and not to be missed.

This volume is the most up-to-date revision of the famous funerary scroll of the Egyptian royal scribe, Ani. It was meant as a guide to assist the dead in his journey into the afterlife. There are several books by EA Wallis Budge that bear the same title The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani in the British Museumbut cannot compare to this most recent edition.

Though Budge is popular due to the shear volume of his non-copywritten texts (he wrote over 100 books - many outdated before they were even published!), any Egyptologist will tell you of the numerous errors in both translation and transliteration ("vocalization"). Budge's work is antiquated and dated. By contrast, this new volume is the colaborative effort of several modern Egyptologists, namely Dr. Raymond Faulkner, who re-translated the entire scroll using much more current and accurate data than Budge could have ever had (Budge's original work was done over 100 years ago).

The beauty of this book is the complete series of color illustrations of the scroll along with the actual text. The beautiful 74 color plates, with some wonderful fold-outs, also have captions identifying each deity taking part in the scenes. Another bonus is that the COMPLETE translated texts of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, missing from this papyrus, are included in the second half of the book. A plate key also lists each chapter by scene and text reference.

The papyrus of Ani is a visual and spiritual treasure from 3500 years ago that has finally been given the respect and scholarly treatment it deserves. This is a first rate book for anyone interested in ancient man's quest for eternity and the Egyptian idea of how to achieve it. It's a delight to the mind and eyes that will fascinate any reader or student of this period in history. A five-star achievment all around!

I must say that I received my order on time, and I did not have any complications with the delivery process or any thing associated with that.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead

(This edition of the book joins Word and Image together for the first time in 3500 years. It has been reprinted with a new ISBN. Please see ISBN-10: 0811864898, ISBN-13: 978-0811864893)

The Papyrus of Ani was painted in Egypt about 1250 BC. It represents the best preserved, longest, most ornate, and beautifully executed example of the form of Mortuary Text known as the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Ani was a well-to-do scribe (or accountant) within the Temple hierarchy who, as he approached middle age, decided it was time to order his personalized selection of the prayers and invocations designed as a guide to the Egyptian afterlife. Compiled from the oldest religious culture on earth, these spells (known as the Pyramid Texts) had originally been engraved on the walls of the tombs of kings or pharaohs). As time went on, they began to be more widely available, carved and painted on the wooden sarcophagi of great nobles (where they are known as Coffin texts). Finally, they became even more widely available, painted on scrolls and available to the upper middle class. Ani's papyrus measured 78 feet long by 15 inches high.

The prayers are connected to certain archetypal images. Thus an invocation to Osiris, the Lord of the Underworld, will be written within a painting (or vignette) of that deity. The meaning of the passage is a marriage of word and image, reaching well beyond the merely verbal level of the brain. One of the best known examples of these breathtaking unions of text and image is the Weighing of the Heart scene. Here, the heart (the moral integrity of the deceased, the conscience) is weighed against the feather of Truth and Justice. If the cumulative effects of the person's past have allowed his soul to be as light as the feather of Truth, he or she is judged pure and admitted to the presence of the Lord of the Dead in preparation for the journey through the Afterlife. However, if the person's heart is weighted down with the burden of sin, his soul is flung to the great monster who awaits the recording of the verdict and is no more.

As a magical, polytheistic religion, the Egyptian spiritual path was alive with creativity and energy. The spiritual dignity afforded the observant Egyptian was an invigorating state. One who had led an upright moral life, who had shown respect to the Gods, and, who had been strong enough to persevere through the awesome dangers of the path of the afterlife, was then invited to feast with his Gods, playing board games in beautiful fields, drinking beer and enjoying related pleasures, The successful adherent would reach a stellar glory of his own, at last a member of that hierarchy his life had been spent in honoring.

The impact of Ancient Egypt on modern western culture is of course ubiquitous. Egypt is known as the Mother of Western Civilization. The 42 part Negative Confession is a source of our own Ten Commandments. (The additional ancient statute against the bringing of law suits might be worth revisiting!) Egyptian religion is the source of the Judaeo-Christian belief in the after death resurrection promised to mankind as a reward for righteous living.

The Egyptian religion was a magical religion that involved a continuous interaction between the individual and the various deities who constituted its elaborate and exalted pantheon. Initiates were required to memorize magical formulas and spells, and to demonstrate their proficiency therein; tests of courage and honor were administered by the officers of the Temple. Possession of secret knowledge, along with a highly developed moral character, were necessary to penetrate the deeper levels of Egyptian spirituality.

Egypt's moral teaching presented in its Wisdom literature and Mortuary texts attain to the highest levels of sacred awareness. Egypt's temples, statues, frescoes, carvings, jewelry, painted scrolls and sarcophagi stand as mute witnesses to a brilliant and lofty spiritual culture that has never been equaled on earth. The silent and stationary images of The Egyptian Book of the Dead continue to speak and move today, some four millennia after their creation.

* * * * *
The story of the securing of the Papyrus of Ani combines elements of fate and tragedy, even slapstick, and marks the very end of European colonialism in North Africa. Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, assistant Keeper of the Egyptian Collection at the British Museum, and author and editor of many books on ancient Near Eastern civilizations, arrived in Egypt in 1887 with funds for the purchase of antiquities for the Museum. There had recently been a series of extraordinary finds in Upper Egypt. The Egyptian government, seeking to preserve the finds, had appointed police/military units to seek out native Egyptians in possession of these antiquities and to prevent Europeans from buying them. Budge was personally threatened with arrest should he attempt to purchase anything.

At Luxor, Budge found a papyrus he described as the largest such roll he had ever seen. "... I was amazed at the beauty and freshness of the colours of the human figures and animals, which in the dim light of the candles and heated air of the tomb, seemed to be alive." In fact Budge was obsessed with the papyrus. He arranged for a tin smith to make a cylindrical box to protect the roll. He evaded the chief of police of Luxor, who was carrying out orders from the Director of the Service of Antiquities. The Ani papyrus was stored in a small building nearby the old Luxor Hotel, where it had been placed under government guard. Budge and the antiquities dealers first attempted to get the guards drunk, then to bribe them to leave their posts for an hour. Finally they arranged for a crew to quietly dig under the wall. A substantial supper was arranged for the guards and while they feasted, the conspirators removed the papyrus of Ani along with numerous other finds through the two foot square hole they had dug for the purpose earlier in the evening. Secreting the papyrus aboard a steamer at midnight, Budge arrived in Cairo, and with the help of members of the British army, managed to get the papyrus off to London.

* * * * *
Here's where the real trouble began. Budge cut the papyrus into 37 nearly equal lengths for ease of handling. The sheets were glued onto wooden boards to keep then rigid. Fortunately Budge immediately commissioned a facsimile to be prepared. An exquisite limited edition was produced by color lithography in 1890 preserving forever the awesome beauty of the ancient original. Meanwhile the translation began which took five years and a companion volume of translation was released in 1895. Meanwhile, the extraordinary nature of the find encouraged the British Museum to display the sheets under a large skylight in a central hall. The glue and direct sunlight damaged the papyrus beyond repair. The translation had also revealed that many of the cuts were made in the wrong places, thus chapters were interrupted, vignettes were split, and text was left far from its accompanying image.

Book designer James Wasserman arranged to photograph his extremely rare copy of the British Museum facsimile of the papyrus. Utilizing the modern magic of computers and state-of-the-art production techniques, the images were scanned, reassembled, and electronically recut to best display the 78 foot papyrus as a book. A team of Egyptologists was led by Dr. Ogden Goelet of the Department of Near Eastern Studies at New York University, who wrote an overall commentary on the work along with a plate by plate The bulk of the translation used is that of the late Dr. Raymond O. Faulkner, whose work is universally acknowledged as the most authoritative. It was updated by Dr. Goelet to reflect advances in Egyptian philology. Carol Andrews of the Department of Antiquities of the British Museum wrote the Preface and facilitated access to the original papyrus. Eva van Dassow acted as overall project editor. The work of these scholars made this publication as intellectually accurate as it is visually beautiful.

The translation of the text of each image is placed on the page directly below the image, allowing the reader, for the first time in 3500 years, to gaze on the images while reading the words of the papyrus. Uncluttered with footnotes or other extraneous matter, the papyrus is displayed with the intent of allowing the modern reader to experience the full depth of the original. The restoration of the unity of word and image in this publication of the Papyrus of Ani has brought to life one of the most important early spiritual treasures of mankind.

This book was on a tv show I was watching. It's a reproduction of a real ancient Egyptian's expensive book of the dead. The plan was that once he was dead, he would then help the other members of his family get to heaven. This guy paid a fortune for this and it was suppose to be buried with him but grave robbers took it. I sure hope this man and his family isn't in Egyptian limbo someplace. All that time and effort and money only to have thieves steal it from you when you are dead.
Guess that old adage is true, you can't take it with you.
This book has a beautiful presentation.

Nearly all the advice in this book is for individuals right out of school going on to their first jobs. Even then it is weak. For example, it has advice such as learning as much about the industry the employer is involved in and the company itself in the first week on the job. Is this not something that should have been done before even an interview? Other advice includes not speaking to loudly while at one's cubicle. Most of the advice in the book is along these lines. Not of much (if any use) to someone who has worked before. To someone on their first job, however, this simple advice may actually be worth something (despite being common sense).

This book is awesome and very readable. Being so clearly written and straight to the point, it makes for a quick read and serves as a great reference.

While geared towards a business environment, the survival guide is written from a unique perspective which gives deep insight into the psychology of managers and coworkers.

I truly wish I had "Sink or Swim" for my first job. That would have helped me to avoid so many small mistakes which I was totaly oblivious to. It's just jam packed full of useful tips which coworkers usually won't tell you.

Even after two years in my current position, I found that reading this book gave ideas to naturally improve my professional image without any major effort or changes!

Definitely recommended for any professional employee - regardless of rank.

Within the first week of starting my new job at a startup internet company, I came across this book and it made all the difference. Working at a startup can often be disjointed, especially since we didn't have an office to call our own. By incorporating some of the advice in my weekly routines, I created a structure for myself that I continue to follow. The advice was clear, concise and right on.

This is definitely a must-read for anyone starting a new job.

Pay no attention to Jeffnc, the bitter reviewer from SC! I live in SF and have no idea who the Sidells are, but this book is fascinating! Follow everything they say week by week,a nd you'll get that "This is going very well" at your 90-day review just like me! What's more, you look not only super organized with this book on your desk, but also super-conscientious....I brought this book into a one on one with the boss, and I cracked the book and said "I'd like to talk about my career goals.." she asked me what the book was...she was impressed!

This book is perfect for new college graduates or inexperienced employees starting new jobs. Milo and Thuy Sindell provide a wealth of information about proper business conduct and etiquette, including a checklist for recommended activities during your first 12 weeks on the job. Although the material is basic and somewhat repetitive (just like a start-up job), we think the book would make a great gift for anyone who is just beginning to learn the workplace ropes.

I bought this for my mother-in-law for Christmas because she had lent her book to someone and it was never returned. Even though the book is not a recent edition, the pictures and accounts were stirring. I also appreciate the list of the servicemen who died on all of the ships that day especially since my uncle Herman Koeppe died on the USS Arizona. His name is on the list. Thanks for the quick shipping too. The book was a hit!

Hell, is this the way to begin a review?

Pearl Harbor is a ball, a square, a city, a village, a fool and a loop. Whatever it was, it wasn't this. The Camera doesn't lie -no, but you lie with your own eyes . You do it all the time ,you all deny what you're seeing.So how is a film like this going to make any difference? How is one to make sense of history? -To realize that the British pioneered the technique of aerial destruction of a navy in southern Italy, to feel only empathetic emotion without compassion, a sort of thrill, and feel vicariously English-speaking without the boon of truth and conscience to back it up with?
Live without fleeting flag-wavers; America folds its thoughts upon itself, and is blind. It shocks itself ,nightly, and expects sympathy, like the most selfish old man that ever lived.It cries out in the night, and is impressed with the volume.How desperately low America has become. There is scarcely one iota of sympathy or even coherence to which it appeals; why? because they can't even tell the truth.Hysteria is inflation.

So many expected Ben Affleck's Pearl Harbor movie to be a blockbuster like Titanic that quite a few decided to go for the coat tails. As a consequence, many new books were written on the subject.

This is one of the best of those books published. Nicely written. Very informative. Well illustrated both with period photographs adn original artwork.

A must have for anyone interested in this subject.

From reading this book about the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 I think that this book gives great detail of both sides of what happened and its aftermath.

Much more than a coffe book, I think that this book is a great resource in which people can learn what happened.

Author Dan Van Der Vat has done an excellent job in examining the attack on Pearl Harbor in a photographic context. This book contains numerous photos of the attack, both in black and white and color, along with informative maps and drawings. The narrative is very good and provides an authoritative, minute-by-minute account of the attack.

Oral histories from both Japanese and American personnel, as well as Hawaiian civilians are also included. These exciting testimonies give the reader a true sense of what it was like to be at Pearl Harbor during the attack. From a captured Japanese midget submarine crewman to American sailors and airmen, their stories are brought to life inside the book.

One section I found especially interesting was the list of casualties included at the back of the book. One look at the size and length of this section will make the reader realize just how tragic and costly December 7, 1941 was for the United Staes armed forces.

Finally, the photos of the USS Arizona memorial, with the "Mighty Mo" serving as a guard, bring a poignant end to the book, and lets the reader know that December 7 will never be forgotten.

I highly recommend this book. I've read numerous books on this subject, and I was very impressed with the quality of the photos as well as the accompanying text. As a stand-alone volume or companion to another book, this work of history deserves its place as one of the best books on the subject of Pearl Harbor. Look through the photographs and get a true sense of what the Day of Infamy was really like.

Great quality paper, book is bigger than i thought which is good. I was worried when i took it out of the cardboard package, because it wasnt wrapped in plastic. But came in perfect condition. DEAD DAYS---great art and drama/action. I bought this specially for the FANTASTIC FOUR ZOMBIES story, amazing art, sometimes it looks like pictures of real people. Most complain about the BLACK PANTHER stories, but i found them HILARIOUS, situations going from bad to worse...and a zombie BUG. So, if you are new to the marvel zombies get this one. I want to get the original MARVEL ZOMBIES but amazon is out of stock. Hope they get some of them soon.

The service was excellent! Fast shipping and it arrived in perfect condition. Five stars, definitely.

I love marvel zombies dead days!!!! I have been a fan of marvel for years and this book just amps up the level of comic reading !!I would highly recommend it to any fan.

What a stupid concept, right? Spiderman, The Fantastic 4, The Hulk, The X-Men and all the rest of the Marvel Super-heroes turn into zombies. Dumb, no?

NO!

Marvel Zombies was one of the more pleasant surprises that I've come across in long long while.

Robert Kirkman, creator of the absolutely fabulous Walking Dead series (The Walking Dead Book 1, The Walking Dead, Book 2, The Walking Dead Book 3, The Walking Dead, Vol. 7: The Calm Before & The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made To Suffer), knows how to do a zombie story. And he does the Marvel Zombies series just as well as he does the aforementioned Walking Dead series.

Marvel Zombies: Dead Days is part prequel, part concurrent storyline and part continuation of Marvel Zombies. It fills in a lot of blanks as to the "whys and wherefores" introduced in Marvel Zombies. And it includes the Marvel Zombie story arc issues of the Ultimate Fantastic 4 and Black Panther. All exceptionally well-done tales of what would happen in the universe (or 'alternate universes') where some of our favorite super-heroes are affected by a zombie infection and go to war with the living. What happens? Well, our super-heroes win, of course...but us normal folk don't see it as a win, that's for sure. We're talking taking super-heroes and turning them into super-zombies that retain their ability to think. Do the math....It's Doomsday, people.

Dead Days is extremely well-written, and even eludes to the cause of the zombie infection. There's no need to have ever read or seen a single comic book to appreciate the Marvel Zombies series. I'd suggest reading Marvel Zombies first, and Dead Days is chronologically a good read prior to the more recently released Marvel Zombies 2.

Do you like zombie flicks? Do you enjoy the Marvel super-hero stories? Yes? Then Marvel Zombies is a terrific, enjoyable, quick read that you'd be remiss to deprive yourself of.

Check it out. (And don't miss the other very well done story arc prequel: Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness where some real "Ash" kickin' gets done!)

First off, before you get this, make sure you read the first Marvel Zombies installment, which is just titled "Marvel Zombies." (Although this book does give some summary as to what happens in the first book and then what will most likely be seen in MArvel Zombies 2).

To summarize, this story is about an alternate Marvel Universe that becomes infected by some Zombie virus that apparently came from another "already infected" alternate universe. All of our heroes become infected and can't help but want to eat anything that is living. Although they seem very barbaric, their basic "personalities" are still intact. I'd get more into the story but it might ruin the first book if you haven't read it yet.

I've got to say, this book really opened me up to who the "real" heroes are in the Marvel Universe. Magneto is by far one of the greatest characters in Marvel history and this story proves it even more.

There is a very graphic and insane scene with the Fantastic Four. It sparks a big event between this Zombie "reality" and the "Ultimate" universe (Any title with the word "Ultimate " in it). That part of the book was probably my favorite because we get to see an actual "evil" Fantastic Four and they somewhat face off against the (younger by at least 10 years) Ultimate Fantastic Four.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a different/new view of the heroes we all have grown to love.


::Spoiler::
My only real problem with this book is that it gets a bit cheesy with the Galactus-Powered zombies attacking the Skrull planet.

Fast, fun read. Lots of interesting characters and plot twists and turns.
Keeps your interest 'til the last page. Can't wait to read more Nancy J. Cohen.

Nancy's Bad Hair Days get better and better. Poor Dalton, stuck into Marla's family reunion. Not only is there a mystery to solve, which Marla does once again, but Nancy's books have that added flavor of family fun and tension, plus a bonus of hair grooming tips and recipes.

This Bad Hair Day mystery novel has everything! Murder, mystery, family history, ghost busters, greed, evil motives, Russian royalty, psychic predictions, Nazi's, hidden treasure--you name it.

Marla Shore, owner of the Cut 'N Dye hair salon, and part-time sleuth is heading to the Florida coast with her unflappable police detective fiance, Dalton Vail for the first Marks family reunion.

Three generations of Marks from all over the U.S. and Canada are gathering at the haunted luxury resort created by the family patriarch, Andrew Marks, whose ghost is said to inhabit the halls guarding his secrets. This could be the family's last opportunity to connect with their heritage through this resort as it is in jeopardy of being redeveloped into an amusement park.

Marla's Aunt Polly, keeper of the family secrets, alludes to the mystery surrounding Andrew Marks' death, the visitation of mysterious strangers right before his death, the rumors of treasure, and secretive documents.

Aunt Polly publicly opposes Marla's engagement to someone outside the faith, further dividing family loyalties and skewing motives.
Aunt Polly ends up murdered, despite having secretly fought the good fight with cancer. Family secrets are peeled away one member at a time while forecasting the future for Sugar Crest resort.

Armchair Interviews says: If you love a good mystery with humor running throughout, this is for you.

Marla Shore, hairdresser is going to the family reunion that her Aunt Polly has put together at the historic Sugar Crest Plantation Resort. Marla knew this weekend was going to be bad as this was her first time at introducing her fiancee, Detective Dalton Vail to the family. Worrying that they wouldn't accept him because he wasn't Jewish, wasn't as bad as the worry that she had that he wouldn't accept them because they were nutty.

Things got worse when they arrived at the resort to find out that one wing was condemned and off limits, there was a ghost hunter on site, looking for spirits who seemed to be roaming the old plantation.

Then Marla finds out that her Aunt Polly has a secret. It was Polly's Russian father, Andrew Marks, who had come to America after the Russian Revolution, who had once owned the plantation and he had died after a visit from two eerie Cossacks who had disappeared. It had been her mother who finally sold the plantation, but Polly retained the rights to stay at the resort whenever she wanted.

Polly hinted of lost treasure and secret ownership of the hotel, and when she was found suffocated in her bed, Marla knew she would have to unravel her own family history, as well as, the history of the plantation to find if there was a treasure. If they still had a claim on this resort or if the family ghosts were still haunting the place or was it just a current family member who was responsible for both the killings and the hauntings.

Highlights:

Marla has always been a likable character and her relationship with Dalton Vail and his thirteen year old daughter, Brianna has always been very believable. Marla has had some trauma in her younger days and a bad marriage which made her wary of both men and of having children.

The Mystery. There were actually several going on here. Who killed her Aunt Polly. Who was her grandfather and as an immigrant from Russia just after the revolution, how did he have the money to buy this estate? Who were the mysterious men who showed up a few days before his death? Were there ghosts on the estate and what did they want.

Humor. This series has always been one of the funniest.

Lowlights:

Boring. The worse thing a mystery can be is boring. I liked that there were several different mysteries going on at the same time, but except for finding out her Grandfather and Aunt Polly's history, they weren't very interesting.

Missing characters: In the previous books most of the interesting characters are people who surrounded Marla at her work. Dalton's daughter, Brianna and Marla's wonderful dog Spook. The least interesting people have always been her family. An entire book filled with the least interesting people and none of the ones you love can be tedious.

I think this was a misfire, but Marla is still a great character that I'm sure the next book will be much better.

Marla Shore and her fiancé Detective Dalton Vale head off on a much-needed vacation. Marla is excited as she will be introducing Dalton to many of her extended family. They are going to a family reunion at the Sugar Crest Resort. Her Aunt Polly arranged the reunion.

Turns out Marla's relatives once owned the place and it is now supposedly haunted by some of her past relatives. Apparently Polly wanted to right some wrongs and uncover family secrets by having the reunion there. Unfortunately, Aunt Polly is found dead before she can do much more than ask Marla to look for some old letters and gems. Marla is not sure they really exist, but her curiosity gets the best of her.

When a workman falls to his death, Dalton believes the death to be murder. The house doctor lists it as an accident. Unfortunately, the local police believe the house doctor and not Dalton. This just spurs Marla on further in her investigation. Dalton is doing some investigating as well. When they discover that Aunt Polly's death wasn't a natural death, things really heat up.

Can Marla help Dalton uncover the truth without anyone else being hurt, including herself?

I really enjoy this series. Marla is such a likeable character. Most of the books are set in and around her Florida salon. While I enjoy that, this was a nice change. The relationship between Marla and Dalton has really matured and it is fun watching it grow and change through the various books. Marla is a believable sleuth. She does get herself into some scary situations, but she has a level head most of the time.

I highly recommend this book and the whole series.