Rating: 
Summary: Wow again!
Review: "The Crimson Claw" is impressive and I enjoyed it a lot. Israi, Ampris and Elrabin embark on new adventures and lives as they painfully grow up to the realities of a crumbling Viis Empire. Well, maybe Elrabin and Ampris are rejoicing that fact, but Israi as the new Kaa or Imperial Mother is in danger. I can't wait to read "The Crystal Eye" and I hope it comes soon to my small area!
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for Number 3
Review: ***********************The Crimson Claw A Review by Bob Berry I picked up "The Golden One", along with several other books in a store going out of business. It sat around for months while I read the other books. I finally started to read it and about half way through decided I needed Books 2 & 3 right away. I found Book 2, "The Crimson Claw", but much to my surprise Book 3 hasn't been published yet! I finished "The Golden One", and thought, "I'll save "The Crimson Claw" and wait until I get Book 3 to read it", as I hate to be left hanging, waiting for the next book in a series to be published. That thought lasted at least two days after I finished the "Golden One". So, now I have almost finished "The Crimson Claw" and I don't even know if Deborah Chester has started writing Book 3! If you read these reviews, Deborah, please respond with a timetable for your third installment. Since Lucasfilms is associated with this, could we also be in for a real treat in the form of a "Star Wars" type saga once Book 3 is complete? That would be wonderful! One thing I have noticed in the first two books. Deborah Chester has reversed the scale of beauty and ugly. If you go to the Alien Chronicles web site you will see a picture of Israi, the "beautiful" Viis princess. Beauty most certainly is in the eye of the beholder! These books carry another message, one that history teaches also. Governments usually fall due to corruption from within. Although the Viis Empire has not fallen yet, it is on the brink, and all that is needed to give it that final push is a rebel force, ("Star Wars" again). It appears that Ampris is that rebel force. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I can't wait for the third book. Please hurry, Deborah! You may not wish to print this last comment, but I will make it anyway. It might be helpful for some of your reviewers to type their reviews on a word processor with a spelling and grammar checker and then cut and paste their completed review into your review space. I grew up in an era where spelling and grammar were more important than they appear to be now. Using a spelling and grammar checker might expose your reviewers to some of the more common misteaks (Ha Ha), and their reviews would be much more readable. Thank you Amazon.com for providing us with an opportunity to present our thoughts to others.
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for Number 3
Review: *********************** The Crimson Claw A Review by Bob Berry I picked up "The Golden One", along with several other books in a store going out of business. It sat around for months while I read the other books. I finally started to read it and about half way through decided I needed Books 2 & 3 right away. I found Book 2, "The Crimson Claw", but much to my surprise Book 3 hasn't been published yet! I finished "The Golden One", and thought, "I'll save "The Crimson Claw" and wait until I get Book 3 to read it", as I hate to be left hanging, waiting for the next book in a series to be published. That thought lasted at least two days after I finished the "Golden One". So, now I have almost finished "The Crimson Claw" and I don't even know if Deborah Chester has started writing Book 3! If you read these reviews, Deborah, please respond with a timetable for your third installment. Since Lucasfilms is associated with this, could we also be in for a real treat in the form of a "Star Wars" type saga once Book 3 is complete? That would be wonderful! One thing I have noticed in the first two books. Deborah Chester has reversed the scale of beauty and ugly. If you go to the Alien Chronicles web site you will see a picture of Israi, the "beautiful" Viis princess. Beauty most certainly is in the eye of the beholder! These books carry another message, one that history teaches also. Governments usually fall due to corruption from within. Although the Viis Empire has not fallen yet, it is on the brink, and all that is needed to give it that final push is a rebel force, ("Star Wars" again). It appears that Ampris is that rebel force. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I can't wait for the third book. Please hurry, Deborah! You may not wish to print this last comment, but I will make it anyway. It might be helpful for some of your reviewers to type their reviews on a word processor with a spelling and grammar checker and then cut and paste their completed review into your review space. I grew up in an era where spelling and grammar were more important than they appear to be now. Using a spelling and grammar checker might expose your reviewers to some of the more common misteaks (Ha Ha), and their reviews would be much more readable. Thank you Amazon.com for providing us with an opportunity to present our thoughts to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Great read! Can't wait for the third volume.
Review: Better than the first in the trilogy, I read this book in two sittings. This book focuses on both Ampris and the Sri-Kaa, but I found myself growing bored with the scenes of palace intrigue which interrupt the more-compelling Ampris story line. The Viis empire starts to fall apart towards the end of this end of this novel, setting the stage for an exciting conclusion in the third book. My only other complaints are that the rescue scene at the end of the book felt rather contrived, and that too many scenes are left without detail, where depictions of gore and trauma would have made for a more vivid picture, at the risk of making the book unsuitable for younger readers.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story, I Want More
Review: Deborah Chester's "Crimson Claw" is a sci-fi novel with a definite historical feel to it. While the story was about the conflict between the slave races and the master race,set on a different planet in a different time, I always got the feeling I was reading about the Gladiators of the Roman Empire. This is not a negative criticism, just that the story had a very real flavor to it. Additionally just about all her characters seem very real and that is disturbing. I found it very difficult to hate most of her bad/evil character because she gave them so much dept. And it made a lot of their motivations very understandable. Chester has a knack for getting into all her characters heads and while the story is about Ampris, it could have also been about Elrabin, Israi, or the Kaa. Surprisingly however, two minor characters who play a big part in the book get the short shrift. Halehl, her trainer we really know nothing about. And an early antagonist Sheri, her early bunk mate, who I kept expecting to see in the ring. One thing that bothered me was that Ampris's team "The Blues" were supposed to be the reigning arena champions, but they cheated big time in a number of ways. Chester gave little attention to the possibility that they could or would ever get caught. At one point in the book Halehl threatens to sell Ampris, but the thought that Ampris might reveal their cheating techniques never comes up. Another thing that is not clear is why is the Viis empire crumbling. Sure they are not fixing things, the economy is collapsing and they are a ruthless race. But why? Their motivations for allowing all this to happen boggles my mind. Perhaps it will be more explained in the last book. Minor quibbles' thou. The book is a very quick read and completely engrossing. And after you are finished you will want more. A book kinda sorta similar to this book is McCaffrey's "Freedom Landing" trilogy. However while that book purports to be about runaway earth slaves from a master alien race, it is really a book about colonization. lewis@qnet.com
Rating:
Summary: powerful foreshadowing for the finale
Review: excellent a great find!!!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a must have.
Review: I especially liked this book because of the action. Who ever would have thought that Ampris turned into a gladiator, and killed lots of other aribu? This book is defintly a must have. Elrabin and Ampris meet up again, and throughtout the course of the book, they are seperated, but they meet again. In the near end, Ampris is sold to a labratory, where she used to do testing for the Dancing Death, which only hurts Viis, and the aribu races are immune to it. Ampris is made to have cubs, and her single female cub is taken away and dissected. Her other 2 cubs look quite odd. In the very end, Elrabin the Kelth comes with a bunch of Rejects to rescue Ampris. However she doesn't need rescuing. She has broken out of the labratory, and taken her fellow captives with her. The former Blues champion is now a fugitive.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book
Review: I felt that this a very good book and very sa
Rating:
Summary: It better than I expected......
Review: I have a bad habit of reading books out of order. The reason being my local library doesn't contain certain volumes. Even though, I started with this volume I felt as though I didn't miss a beat. When reading this book I felt that this world is waiting to be discovered and I have to say I'm proud to be one of the few that discovered it. Ms Chester has a unique way of drawing you in and wow, I felt like I was in entirely different universe which separated itself from anything out there. The whole infrastructure of the Viis empire and community was interesting. The Viis being superior to any race out there gave you an understanding of how Ambris felt. She felt supressed and seeking out a way for every race to feel equal. Even though she was a slave turned famous gladiator she stayed true to who she was and what she believed. No mattered what had happened to her especially when she gave birth to genetically experimented children she still believed in the greater good of things. Everything in this book shows how Debra Chester had great depth of knowledge of this universe. So now goes on my search for part one and part three.
Rating:
Summary: Will there be more?
Review: I loved it! This is a great book and it lives up well to the first of them 'The Golden One' This one also ends leaving you hanging. But I truely believe Debi's next will be just as great. Debi ( I hope you don't mind me calling you that) I have one question for you if you ever read this please answer. Will there be anymore, now ofcourse there will be the end of this, but what about AFTER that, will we here more about Ampris? I think that after this you sould do more books about Ampris and Co. Because I read many fantasy books and this is one of the few that really reach my high standers. Thank you.
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