Bookstore Welcome to the CRPGA Bookstore! Here we offer you the chance to put your hands on that rare book or new publication you have been looking for. You can even get some good RPG tools and sell you own used books! Take a look at what we have for you: New this month What we are reading Books you recommend Gaming tools - Rotations by themes Send us your recommendations All prices listed are in American dollars. New this month: Star Trek IX Insurrection by J. M. Dillard, Rick Berman (Contributor), Michael Piller Hardcover, 384 pages List: $22.00 Our Price: $15.40 You Save: $6.50 (30%) Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. BUY THIS BOOK About the book: This novel is based on the new hit movie "Star Trek IX : Insurrection released December 11 1998. Both Star Trek fans and scifi fans should find something in this great new addition to the Star Trek saga. Shiva in Steel (Berserker Series) by Fred Saberhagen 1 Edition Hardcover, 352 pages List: $23.95 Our Price: $16.77 You Save: $7.18 (30%) Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours. BUY THIS BOOK About the book: This is another installment in Fred Saberhagen's ongoing saga of war between humanity and the almost-sentient death machines known as Berserkers. For long years the war has been at a stalemate, with humanity managing to fend off the bulk of Berserker attacks and even strike back from time to time. But on a remote planet called Hyperborea, things are about to change. The Berserkers have developed a new tactical computer that has proven unbeatable, and it could spell the death of all living things in the galaxy. A last-ditch effort to destroy the machine, code-named Shiva, has failed, and now the only thing that stands between Shiva an certain victory is a handful of humans that circumstance has thrown together on Hyperborea. In this Berserker book, Saberhagen returns to all of the things that have made his series such a mainstay in science fiction. His heartless enemy machines are as treacherous as ever, and the fragile humans who most stop them may not be perfect, but they are resourceful. --Craig E. Engler Star Trek : DS9 Technical Manual by Herman Zimmerman, Rick Sternbach, Doug Drexler Paperback, 192 pages List: $24.00 Our Price: $19.20 You Save: $4.00 (20%) Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3 days. BUY THIS BOOK About the book: Whether you're looking for a cross-section of a Bajoran tricorder, plan drawings of the USS Defiant, or a detailed explanation of station wastewater treatment, you'll find everything you need in the Deep Space Nine Technical Manual. This is a fascinating and useful reference for the dedicated DS9 fan, or the Star Trek collector. Intricately detailed, colorful illustrations show you things like the station layout, its cargo and security systems, crew quarters, and transportation facilities. You'll also see DS9's position in relation to the wormhole, the Bajor-Cardassia sector, Ferenginar, and the Romulan and Klingon empires, not to mention the current location of Voyager and (shudder) Borg space. What we are reading: The Path of Daggers (Wheel of Time, Bk 8) by Robert Jordan 1 Edition Hardcover, 704 pages List: $27.95 Our Price: $19.57 You Save: $8.38 (30%) Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours. BUY THIS BOOK About the book: Robert Jordan's bestselling Wheel of Time epic is one of the most popular fantasy series of all time for a reason. Jordan's world is rich and complex, and he's assembled an endearing, involving core of characters while mapping out an ambitious and engaging story arc. But with the previous book, Crown of Swords, and now with Path of Daggers, the series is in a bit of a holding pattern. Path continues the halting gait of the current plot line: Rand is still on the brink of losing it, all the while juggling the political machinations around him and again taking to the field against the Seanchan. The rest of the Two Rivers kids and company don't seem to be moving much faster. Egwene continues to slowly consolidate her hold as the "true" Amyrlin (finally getting closer to Tar Valon and the inevitable confrontation with Elaida), and Nynaeve and Elayne keep on wandering toward the Lion Throne, again on the run from the Seanchan. Mat Cauthon is barely mentioned, and fellow ta'veren Perrin keeps busy with politics in Ghealdan. The ending does provide promise, though, that book nine might match the pace and passion of the previous books. If you're already hooked, you could sooner overcome a weave of Compulsion than avoid picking up a copy of Path of Daggers. But if you're new to the series, start at the beginning with the engrossing, much-better-paced Eye of the World. --Paul Hughes The Rivan Codex Ancient Texts of the Belgariad and the Malloreon by David Eddings, Leigh Eddings 1 Edition Hardcover, 400 pages List: $27.50 Our Price: $19.25 You Save: $8.25 (30%) Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours. BUY THIS BOOK About the book: So you want to write a multivolume, bestselling epic fantasy? Here's the book to help you. The Rivan Codex was published to answer the many letters David and Leigh Eddings have received from students, teachers, and aspiring writers. It's a companion to the 12-book fantasy series comprised of The Belgariad (five books), The Malloreon (five books), Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. In David Eddings's words, The Rivan Codex "may give the student of our genre some insights into the creative process--something on the order of 'connect wire A to wire B. Warning! Do not connect wire A to wire C, because that will cause the whole thing to blow up in your face." This is a collection of the groundwork David and Leigh Eddings laid for the Belgariad and Malloreon series. On this firm foundation they imagined and built their world in book after book. There's a fascinating introduction, a personal history of Belgarath the sorcerer, Holy Books, Gospels, Histories, King Anheg's diary, and an afterword. Footnotes tell how the authors used and changed these materials in writing the books. And of course, there are plenty of maps (the starting point for all epic fantasies). --Nona Vero Tales from the Empire Stories from Star Wars by Peter Schweighofer (Editor) Mass Market Paperback, 256 pages List: $5.99 Our Price: $4.79 You Save: $1.20 (20%) Availability: This title usually ships within 2-3. BUY THIS BOOK About the book: Culled from the pages of the Star Wars Adventure Journal, one of the most popular Star Wars magazines in the field today, comes this exciting new short-story collection. Here are stories from such award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors as Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole and Kathy Tyers as well as exciting newcomers, including Erin Endom, Laurie Burns, and Patricia A. Jackson. From the desperate flight of a civilian mail courier carrying vital Rebel intelligence through an Imperial blockade, to a suicidal commando raid on an impregnable Imperial prison, to a Corellian smuggler mysteriously hired by an actor turned Jedi Knight turned Imperial assassin for one final transformation, these tales capture all the high adventure, imaginative genius, and nonstop action that are the hallmarks of the Star Wars saga. What's more, the centerpiece of this magnificent collection is the short novel Side Trip, the first-ever collaboration between Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole, in which a freighter smuggling arms for the Rebels is commandeered by an Imperial Star Destroyer led by a mysterious helmeted figure who claims to be the notorious bounty hunter Jodo Kast. It is all part of a devious plan that includes Hal and Corran Horn, who are working undercover to nail the infamous Corellian warlord Zekka Thyne. But one slip-up can get them all killed. Books you recommend: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley Reissue Edition Paperback List: $14.00 Our Price: $11.20 You Save: $2.80 (20%) Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours. BUY THIS BOOK Reviews: From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Gloria Bauermeister: "There is no such thing as a true tale. Truth has many faces and the truth is like to the old road to Avalon; it depends on your own will and your own thoughts, whither the road will take you." The Mists of Avalon is a story of another time and place. It's the legendary saga of King Arthur and his companions at Camelot, their battles, love, and devotion, told this time from the perspective of the women involved. Viviane is "The Lady of the Lake," the magical priestess of the Isle of Avalon, a special mist-shrouded place which becomes more difficult to reach as people turn away from its nature- and Goddess-oriented religion. Viviane's quest is to find a king who will be loyal to Avalon as well as to Christianity. This king will be Arthur. Gwenhwyfar, Arthur's Queen, is an overly pious, fearful woman who successfully sways her husband into betraying his allegiance to Avalon. Set against her is Morgaine of the Fairies, Arthur's sister, love, and enemy - and the most powerfully believable person in the book - who manipulates the characters like threads in a tapestry to achieve her tragic and heroic goals. The Mists of Avalon becomes a legend seen through new eyes, with details, majestic language, and haunting foreshadowing that hold the reader through its more than 800 pages. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. Shards of a Broken Crown (Serpentwar Saga) by Raymond E. Feist Hardcover, 448 pages List: $24.00 Our Price: $16.80 You Save: $7.20 (30%) Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours. BUY THIS BOOK Reviews: From Booklist , 02/01/98: The fourth and concluding volume of the Serpentwar Saga is notably better than its immediate predecessor, Rage of a Demon King. This time, Feist puts much more emphasis on the diplomatic and military aspects of the kingdom of Krondor's struggle to survive, and Jimmy and Dash, the late Duke James' grandsons, take center stage away from Rage protagonist Erik von Darkmoor. They help persuade the late Emerald Queen's General Duko to change sides and enlist the thieves of Krondor in the resistance to the magically assisted Keshites. Their transformation from green if good-hearted youths to warriors much older than their years is the core of the book and a development Feist works out in some of his best writing ever. Meanwhile, the reptilian Saaur also become neutral, which leaves only the Keshites to be defeated in a series of grim, well-depicted battles employing both magic and steel. The major complaint to make about Shards will likely come from fans of Pug, Miranda, and the saga's other purveyors of potent magic, who are given less consideration herein than their importance to the plot merits. But the book is undeniably riveting, a respectable conclusion to a most readable fantasy saga. Copyright© 1998, American Library Association. All rights reserved Gaming tools: Star Wars : The Visual Dictionary by David West Reynolds, Alexander Ivanov 1 Amer Ed edition Hardcover, 64 pages List: $19.95 Our Price: $13.97 You Save: $5.98 (30%) Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours. BUY THIS BOOK About the book: Watch the Star Wars trilogy enough times and you'll find yourself straining to catch all the little details. Not the subtle plot points (Darth is Luke's dad, check; Luke and Leia are brother and sister, check), but all the cool gear and gadgets that keep flashing in front of the camera. Like what are those pointy things on Boba Fett's kneepads? And what's with all that ammo on Chewie's bandolier? And does an Imperial Probe really need that many legs? Finally, we've got some answers. David West Reynolds, a boyish Ph.D. in archaeology who looks like he just rode in on the last Bantha, has catalogued the artifacts and inhabitants of the Star Wars universe with the same clinical thoroughness one typically reserves for studying Mesopotamia. His oversized, eye-pleasing picture book is packed with scrutinizing photos of actual props and characters from the movies, complete with systematic, scientific labels. And Reynolds's friendly, pseudo-academic style seamlessly blends new information with old. (In the Sand People description, you can't help but hear Alec Guinness's voice when Reynolds reveals that "Sand People ride in single file to hide their numbers.") In a few instances, the book shines an embarrassing light on the movies (Max Rebo is clearly no alien lifeform, just a poofy, blue elephant muppet), but the countless close-ups of thermal detonators, imperial blasters, and gaffi sticks more than make up the difference. --Paul Hughes Star Wars Chronicles by Deborah Fine, Aeon Inc. Hardcover, 320 pages List: $150.00 Our Price: $105.00 You Save: $45.00 (30%) Availability: This title usually ships within 24 hours. BUY THIS BOOK About the book: This is the ultimate must-have for the Star Wars fanatic. Spendy, but definitely worth it, the Star Wars Chronicles is a big, beautiful book that comes in a gold and black box--it will look great on your coffee table next to your Star Wars Logbook. The Chronicles cover the beloved trilogy of movies in thousands of behind-the-scenes and up-close photographs, many you've never seen before. From the creation of all the aliens to the details of Boba Fett's jet pack, you'll find fascinating facts, drawings, paintings, and photos to pore over endlessly. Each detail is lovingly presented for the appreciation of serious fans, and the whole package will be a delight to collectors. Credits ©1995-1998 Canadian RPG Association. All Rights Reserved.