CULT MOVIE STARS

Rating:
Summary: An epic book about a Galactic Empire
Review: I found Prince of Sunset to be a sweeping epic of a Galactic Empire, complete with intrigue, betrayal, and gripping space battles between massive fleets, while retaining a tight focus on character. This book was just what I was looking for. For those of you who know Babylon 5, this book reminded me a lot of all the political manuevering of the Centauri court. The three major villains are excellently written and fully fleshed out, yet are very different from eachother. And I could identify and sympathize with each of the heroes, simple folks who make a commitment to eachother and rise through the ranks in surprising ways. The plot has some very suprising twists and turns that keep the reader guessing, and this book was a real page turner for me. At times, the plot seemed almost Shakespearean (elements of Macbeth, Richard III, Henry V, etc.) and also reminded me of the fall of the Roman Empire with all the power grabs.
Besides the space opera adventure, I enjoyed some of the book's "hard science fiction" elements as well. Steve White definitely provokes a sense of wonder, but I won't ruin the surprises.
My criticisms of the book are relatively minor: At times, the plot does tend to jump abruptly from one event to another, and I'm sure the ending is controversial for those who read it. But I'm eager to begin reading the sequel (Emperor of Dawn)!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Few Flaws though
Review: It's got a lot of good info and tons of pictures, but some stars are missing and the info is a bit inaccurate (ie. They say Peter Boyle died in 1990, how can he when he's playing Frank on Everybody Loves Raymond!) It helps you figure out the names of those rarly seen stars from your favorite low-budget films, but hardy gives much info on people you want to know about, no Marty Feldman, Elvis Presley, Dudley Moore, Rick Moranis, Paul Rebuans, or anyone the same, but take it as it is.

Rating:
Summary: This one's not up to Mr. White's usual standards.
Review: Much like his earlier work "Disinherited / Legacy / Debt of Ages" in scope and feel but with a deepening sense that the main characters will not "live happily ever after". This book seems to be the historical background of a multi-part epic and I await the next installment with anticipation.

Rating:
Summary: Not just movie stars, but CULT movie stars!
Review: This book is basically a reference book of movie stars and directors who have made films that have spawned cult followings (some of the entries include Tim Curry, Divine, John Waters, Steve Reeves, Mamie Van Doren, Ed Wood, and Bela Lugosi). It includes a short biographical paragraph with little-known facts and has several illustrations - I found the book to be most useful because it also included a brief film history of the performer in his or her best roles. I would recommend buying the book if you are like me and get a kick out of b-movies and b-movie stars. It's really too bad it's out of print.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite film critics
Review: Though I know some people dislike him as much as others love him, I have to say that, for myself personally, no film historian better captures the love and exhiliration that can be felt from watching a truly wonderful movie. In his writings, Danny Peary has always proven himself to be not only a student of films but also a fan. And yes, there is a huge difference! Peary came to prominence with his three Cult Film books. Cult Film Stars provides a great companion for those books and is a lot of fun on its own as well. Cult Film Stars is a thick compilation of entries, listing names from the expected (Pam Grier, Sonny Chiba, Klaus Kinski) to the unexpected (John Wayne, long though of so mainstream but Peary wonderfully shows how Wayne is almost as important as cult star as say Ed Wood's infamous friend Dudley Manlove). Along with listing each star's important films, Peary crams each entry full of interesting and often humorous facts and observations. This books works as a great introduction to films that many might otherwise have not heard of. I was still in high school when it first came out and just starting to discover how much I truly loved film. It was from this book that I first found out about such really cool (sorry if I sounded juvenile there but there's no better way to put it really) people like Pam Grier, Terrence Hill, and Toshiro Mifune. His entries on Kay Lenz, Meg Foster, and Karen Allen helped me to discover such unsung entertainments as Breezy, Ticket to Heaven, and The Wanderers respectively. A really great book for any film fanatic. However, keep in mind, the book was also published a decade ago. Some of the information will be dated but none the less interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Not just movie stars, but CULT movie stars!
Review: Well worth buying simply because it DOESN'T have a happy, story book style ending.

On the downside, the narrative could be a bit more interesting - I enjoy space opera, and was hoping for some good battle scenes, with lots of bigger than life characters. Getting a gritty, "realistic" space setting is interesting, but only if you expect it. Overall though, well worth getting.

Rating:
Summary: Overall, a good "tragedy" type story
Review: Well worth buying simply because it DOESN'T have a happy, story book style ending.

On the downside, the narrative could be a bit more interesting - I enjoy space opera, and was hoping for some good battle scenes, with lots of bigger than life characters. Getting a gritty, "realistic" space setting is interesting, but only if you expect it. Overall though, well worth getting.