Charnan Simon (1952–2014)

First of all, there is no Simon. It's Peter Levenda. This is particularly noticeable in his narrative history here in that he tells you a lot about Levenda's background, thoughts, and actions, but not any of that for "Simon." Yes, "Simon" admits that Levenda was involved with the Necronomicon. (Also, other researchers have pretty much proved that Levenda is Simon.) As such, it is Levenda/Simon's apologia for the so-called "Simon Necronomicon," i.e., the Necronomicon published in the black show more paperback by Avon/Bantam that is in every New Age section at Barnes & Noble. Levenda/Simon weaves a tale of how he supposedly got the book, translated it, published it. Luckily for him, all the characters in his tale are conveniently dead, except for Levenda and "Simon." Where's the actual manuscript he supposedly translated? Conveniently destroyed by a guy now dead. Where did it come from? From thefts supposedly undertaken by thieves now dead. Despite this unprovable provenance, Levenda/Simon tries to make the grimoire seem like a real descendant of Sumerian magic. And link it to Crowleyan magick. And, despite the fact that Lovecraft invented the "Necronomicon," Levenda/Simon tries to have it both ways and say: (a) I never said this was supposed to be Lovecraft's Necronomicon and (b) maybe Lovecraft secretly knew some occult stuff and saw my now destroyed Necronomicon, so it is Lovecraft's Necronomicon. And then Levenda/Simon attacks his critics, but mostly setting up straw men and ignoring their main criticisms. Levenda/Simon attacks especially Harms and Gonce, while ignoring their main contentions about the inventedness of the Simon Necronomicon. Of course, as Dan Clore and Owen Davies, both scholars, note, the Simon Necronomicon grimoire is just as made up and fake authentic as all the other grimoires in grimoire history. show less

I almost didn't check this book out due to the lurid front cover, but that would have been a mistake. Better illustrated and more intricately written than most and coming to a solid 128 pages, this book commences with Leif's brief sojourn in Vinland, and then follows with multiple chapters on the historical context of Leif's voyage, the history of Leif's family, subsequent efforts to settle Vinland, and the ultimate disintegration of the Scandinavian settlements in Greenland. Unlike many show more other books it leans heavily on the sagas in its stories of murder and revenge, stories which were part of every tale of settlement or attempted settlement, from Iceland, to Greenland, to Vinland. It uses many of those old 19th century illustrations of improbable Vikings in enormous winged helmets, but also excellent photographs of the locations which figure in the story. A standout. show less

I viewed this eBook through eZone. It was my first experience with eZone but not with eBooks. I find eBooks to be easy for a quick I need it now book find. Yet, I personally still prefer a book you can hold to a book you flip through on a device. This children's non-fiction, picture book is well put together. It has the text components expected in an expository text such as; bold print, subtitles, a table of contents, glossary, index and captions. The pictures are well formatted and up to show more date. The author asks questions to engage, support and extend the readers thinking. Overall, it is a well written book that links facts about Mars with connections to our world. show less

Lucy and Luke are the typically teenage couple. Luck comes from a single parent house but is very close to her mother. In addition, Lucy is a dancer who makes up for paying for her classes by assisting with classes for younger students.

Luke is a star athletic from s dual parent home. Luke has a chance to receive a full scholarship to Austin.

However, a one-night decision for this one couple to take their "love" to the next level leaves all plans in the future up in the air. Because Lucy finds show more out that, she is pregnant.

Will Lucy and Luke grow up quickly and are be able to deal with the issue that had become known. What will the reaction of the parents be?

Reading this novel as an adult I was partial happy. I love the realistic aspect of the book but I would have like to just have a little but more to the novel. Like for example how life is now with this young couple.

But reading this book as a teenager, I think it is a great read for that reluctant reader. It has plenty of dialogue. The chapters are short and it is a fast moving novel.

The author has done a great job with this novel. Great flow and very much an attention getter. In addition, the cover art is another great selling point. show less