Ein großartiges Buch, welches so ziemlich alle Standardargumente und deren Widerlegung enthält die von der Kreationismusbewegung geliefert werden.
Die Gegenargumente beinhalten jeweils die korrekten Zitierweisen und praktische Tipps zu weiteren Informationen.
Bei Benutzung des Buches gehen den Kreationisten in der Regel sehr schnell die "Argumente" aus und es zeigt, dass es von Vorteil ist mehr als nur ein Buch im Leben zu lesen.

Eine sinnvolle Grundlage im Kampf gegen die fundamentalistische Pseudowissenschaft.

Neben all den Statistikbüchern, die bei den meisten Menschen Grauen hervorrufen, ist das Buch von Andy Field ein Juwel. Die Beispiele sind verständlich und er benutzt Metaphern, die komplizierte Sachen einfach erklären. Durch seine erklärende und humoristische Schreibweise existiert hier endlich ein Buch für Statistik das Spaß macht.

Besonders gut wird das Buch, wenn man es mit den Vorträgen von Andy Fields YouTube-Site verbindet und so noch die Vorlesungen zu den jeweiligen Kapiteln bekommt.

Ein Werk, welches Statistik praktisch vermittelt, ohne dabei an wichtigen Inhalten zu verlieren. Was kann man sich als Student & Wissenschaftler mehr wünschen?

Das Buch vermittelt zunächst anschaulich Grundbegriffe und -Methoden der Wissenschaft. Diese Einführung ist vor allem für Nichtwissenschaftler sinnvoll, denn liefern die Basis von Verständnis und helfen Marketingstrategien & Pseudowissenschaften von Wissenschaft zu unterscheiden. Danach werden die Ergebnisse aus Untersuchungen dargestellt. Natürlich ist dies für viele Scharlatane unangenehm, denn somit wird gezeigt, dass hier eine Lobby existiert, die genau das vollzieht, was sie der Medizin vorwirft, Leute abzocken, Studien unsauber erstellen etc.
Dogmatiker werden mit diesem Werk wohl kaum ihre Meinung ändern. Wer sich allerdings kritisch mit seiner Gesundheit und Heilung auseinandersetzen möchte, dem sei das Werk empfohlen. Es ist leicht verständlich, aber erweitert dabei den Horizont doch erheblich.

The tenth book in the Horus Herey contains Black Library short stories.
I gave some though to the right way of discussing this and concluded that it's best to look at each story seperately. Of course there isn't much I can say about the actual plot, as you all know; the plots are being kept smaller and smaller. Well, here we go:

Blood Games ' Dan Abnett

A hunter is on a mission, his goal lies in the Emperor's fortress. Over the course of several months he skulks towards his goal, hiding in the shadows, taking on different identites, and tries to outdistance his pursuers. Will his mission be a success?

This first story in the book is one of Dan Abnett's mediocre narratives. The initial part is pretty gripping and well-written, while the second part is a tad plain and predictable. Maybe the already short story should have been kept even shorter.

Wolf at the Door ' Mike Lee

Mike Lee offers us a story about the 13th Company's Space Wolves. Wolf Lord Bulveye comes across a planet that refuses to join the Imperium, but before this planet can even be conquered, a new opponent appears, and becomes their joint enemy: Xenos.
Will the collective opponent give this world what it needs to cross over and be loyal to the Imperium?

Wolf at the Door ist entertaining and elucidates the dark sides of the Emperor's crusade.

Scions of the Storm ' Anthony Reynolds

Sticking to his Word Bearers, Anthony Reynolds gives us an impression of his the nature of his novels' characters 10,000 years in the past.
The 34th company, XVII Legion, is on a mission to rid a planet of Heretics. Is this assignment really what it seems?

Reynolds keeps his story familiarly bloody and full of action. The ending is slightly predicable unfortunately.

The Voice ' James Swallow

James Swallow's bit follows a Novice-sister of the Sisters of Silence and ties in with the novel 'Flight of the Eisenstein'.
The Black Ship 'Validus' is considered missing, and a second ship is sent to find out why the 'Validus' isn't performing its astrophatic check-ins.

The plot is slow and not really exciting, until the ending actually brings a surprise. Boring story, great ending ' now that's something else!

Call of the Lion ' Gav Thorpe

Gav Thorpe sticks to the well-tried and dedicates himself to the Dark Angels again, planting a familiar face into the story as well.
The plot is close to that of 'Wolf at the Door', which sadly doesn't make it any more gripping, except here the conflict between the Terran and Calibanite Marines comes to the fore.

Once again, Thorpe gives us insight into the Dark Angels that show the dubious nature of this Legion's Primarch.
All in all it would be a good story if it didn't have to share a plot with 'Wolf at the Door'.

The Last Church ' Graham McNeill

This story takes place during the Unification Wars on Terra, the setting being ' who would have guessed ' a church.
This church is entered at a late hour by a man who calls himself Revelation. He strikes up a conversation with the church's priest about religion and visions.

Graham Mc Neill's story is this collection's diamond, since the story is not only well-written but also gives the reader some insight into heretofore uncovered realms of Warhammer 40k stories. We find out how the Imperium's original vision differs from the actual situation 10,000 years later.
This is definitely one of the best 40k stories I have ever read.

After Desh'ea ' Matthew Farrer

Along comes another short story that is made up largely of a conversation between two characters, in this case Angron and Kharn.
Angron is enraged: he has been named Primarch, and his planet Desh'ea has been conquered, in the course of which his own 'brothers and sisters' have been butchered. Kharn attempts to convince Angron to accept his position as Primarch, and has to take a lot of stick for this.

This is the story's weak point. Angron's constant violence against Kharn makes the Primach seem more like the Hulk: bitter, disappointed and angry (yet not green!).

Although the story opens insights regarding the World Eaters' history, it blocks itself in a way.

This collection of short stories would be generally average if it wasn't for 'The Last Church', which makes this book worth the reading. Also, it's only fair to say that each and every story in this book contains some information about the events within and the reason for the Heresy, which is why all of the stories are of value to the fans.

It's round nine for the Horus Heresy, and what a round it is!

After reading the story 'The Kaban Project' in 'The Horus Heresy ' Collected Visions' (page 199 ' 222), I was hoping McNeill would stick to this style when turning his attention to Mars and the incidents during the Horus Heresy. I was not disappointed, and as it turns out, 'The Kaba Project' is something like a prequel to Mechanicum.

How I would love to tell you all sorts of details regarding the story! Yet, for fear of accidentally giving away any piece of this ingenious plot, I will just tell you this: there are Knights, and Titans, and new descriptions of the Emperor; everything you could wish for. McNeil makes the polluted deserts of Mars come alive; you can basically see the plot take place before your eyes.

Are you Mechanicum fans? Warhammer 40k fans? Fans of the Horus Heresy? Sci-Fi fans? Go out and buy this book! It is one of the best in the Horus Heresy!

The Time of Legends series now consists of three parts: after Sigmar and Nagash, we now get a book about the life of Malekith (or at least about part of his life, since a life span as enormous as that of an Elf doesn't call for completeness).
As I opened the package with Malekith in it, my first horrified thought was 'an entire book revolving around Elves'.!?'. Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, you know, so I heroically approached my bleakest vision: a book about elves.
Of course I don't want to offend any Eldar and Elf players out there, but Elves are just not my thing. I mean, 'they can't even grow beards'!

Anyhow, the book covers about 1600 years in Malekith's life. It focuses on his conquests in the colonies, the relationship with his mother and his irrepressible hunger for power... but let me start at the beginning.

After the death of his father, the first Phoenix King of Ulthuan, Malekith is refused the right to the throne. He remains prince of the Nagarythe and sets out to the colonies to try his luck there. Here he quickly gains power by military force, pushing further and further into an unexplored continent. After some time, he encounters some possible allies: the dwarves.
Dwarves? Now Gav Thorpe has managed to get my full attention!
A strong alliance with the dwarves as well as a deep friendship between Malekith and Snorri Whitebeard is established over a long stretch of time. This friendship along with the conquests seem to give the Elf a certain sense of purpose for a while. The ghosts of his pasts catch up with him at some point, however, and he begins to search for a new challenge. All this time he doesn't even notice that he is right in the middle of a downwards spiral.

I may have been skeptical before actually opening the book, but after the first few chapters I was rapt. Malekith is written in a suspenseful, intelligent and very subtle manner; it doesn't just throw facts at you, it doesn't spell things out. You can't ever pinpoint an exclusive reason reason why the main character slowly but surely heads toward his own demise.
What causes Malekith's fall? Is it the influence of his witch mother? Is it his anger at Ulthuans' government or even some dark legacy within his soul? All these questions help develop a kind of personality profile, which attaches the reader to the book and makes him want to read the story in its entirety as quickly as possible. Furthermore, you're pushed almost to the edge of darkness yourself when the story reaches the point of Malekith's fall: suddenly you're on the last page and you realize that it will probably be another year before you can find out what happens after the betrayal.

Did I just use positive phrases regarding a novel about Elves? Yes, Sir. And that leaves me no choice but to give it a 5/5!

Ice Guard is Steve Lions' second novel within the Imperial Guard Novel series, the first being Death World. The latter was kind of like a poorly produced action film (I'm tempted to say 'b-movie') so I was curious as to whether or not he would be able to up the ante. I figured the Valhallans would raise the level, since the first book involved the 80s Rambo-esque Catachans. Let's have a look.

There are 48 hours left until the death of the world Cressida by the hands of an Exterminatus when Colonel Stanislav Steele receives a special order.
A plane with a confessor on board has crashed in the middle of enemy territory and the confessor's death must either be confirmed or he must be rescued by all means necessary, since he may not fall into the hands of Chaos alive. This world has been taken over by Chaos, so Colonel Steele needs to jump right into a kamikaze type mission. Given the premise that this world will be dead in 48 hours and a panicky evacuation is to take place, this is like a double feature of '24'.
Colonel Steele puts together a team of specialists and makes his way to the crash site in a drill tank. Why the need for a drill tank, you ask? Well, the invasion of Chaos has somehow caused massive amounts of ice to develop, which doesn't seem to be of natural origin. There are several odd changes taking place on this planet in general, but the clock is ticking away relentlessly.

The novel's main idea sounds interesting and it keeps you checking out the remaining time in each chapter but still it is impossible to cleanse your palate of that bitter taste of b-movie action. During the entire book it seems like you've seen this plot before, and you can basically visualize each and every scene. However, this does not mean that the book has such a great, pictographic style. The images are just trite and overused.
First, the individual characters in the war zone are introduced. They are acting individually and intelligently, not like any given soldier, since they are the select special warriors.
Then the mission is established, the individuals are slowly mingling and becoming a team. This is nothing new for us old 40k veterans; it's how a story involving such a dangerous mission goes, no surprises here.

In conclusion I have to deduce that the strange b-movie feeling of Death World is not connected to Sly Marbo after all. It relates to Steve Lyons' stereotypical writing style. Ice Guard could just as well have been a direct sequel to Death World, just set in a different climate. This book is a solid diversion for newbies and fans of the Imperial Guard, kind of like watching the movie 'Mutant Chronicles' or other Sci-Fi b-productions on a rainy day just to pass the time. You get a bit of action, a couple of cool lines and hardly surprising ending, yet it is still entertaining somehow.

Books based on video games usually aren't that promising but I am set on giving Chris Roberson's a fair chance and will read this book from front to back. I must admit, I didn't manage to do this with the first Dawn of War Omnibus by C.S. Goto. That one I actually put down in boredom; this time, however, I will hang in there so I can give you a full report. Let's get to it!

The book begins with a Space Marine operation on a Tyranid infested planet. Their mission is to safeguard relics before the planet is completely devoured.
The majority of Space Marines in this unit die; as one of the survivors, Brother Aramus is promoted to the rank of sergeant. The book's main character is born.
So far so good.

A delegation of Blood Ravens is underway on Calderis, trying to find new recruits for the Blood Trials. The planet's orcs attack, refusing to stay on their side of the continent.
The aforementioned Space Marines from the relic safeguard operation arrive in the surrounded settlement on Calderis just in time. Similar to the scenario in Starship Troopers, the area is surrounded by aliens, Savage Orcs piling their dead up into a kind of makeshift ramp in order to climb the walls.

The Seventh Assault Squad fights its way through the Orcs in order to save a few refugees, encountering the book's third level: there are 'civilized Orcs' behind the Savage Orcs.
Of course this is not the real threat in this novel; and of course, we can never imagine who that might be, since no fan of 40k ever watched the Dawn of War 2 trailer, right?

Believe me when I say that I fought my way through this book, level by level, and exactly that is the problem. The chapters seem to be written in levels with increasing degrees of difficulty, which really doesn't disprove my prejudice against novels about computer games.

In addition, the plot is extremely predictable, the Tyranids and the battles seem somewhat illogical and the constant descriptions of certain Space Marines' organs are redundant. It's like describing the Space Marines to a newbie, trying to show them just why they are so powerful.
Actually it felt like I was reading the Disney version of a 40k book the whole time.

A few questions popped up and bothered me until the end: The Space Marines find the tracks of an Eldar ship (How? Do they leave logos imprinted in the jungle?). Why are the Eldars mentioned shortly and then the topic is dropped? Is someone planning a sequel here?

Okay you guys and gals, if you're thinking about giving this book to your 9 ' 12 year old cousin that caught you working on your 40k miniatures and keeps asking questions, then I'll give this book a 4/5.
If you're considering reading this book yourself, I'll give it only a 2/5, and only after comparing it to 'Blood for the Blood God'

Wer wie ich dachte, dass Uriel Ventris nach 'Killing Ground' nun seinen 'Ruhestand' genießen darf der wird überrascht gewesen sein, dass es nun einen fünften Roman in der beliebten Reihe gibt.
Nun gut, die Kurzgeschichten von Graham McNeill in den letzten Kurzgeschichtensammlungen der Black Library ließen darauf schließen, dass es noch zu einem Finale Grande mit Honsou kommen wird und deswegen war ich in großer Erwartung und Vorfreude auf Courage and Honour, was für ein großer Titel für ein Finale Grande, doch das Buch widmet sich einem anderen Thema.

Pavonis, der Planet aus Nightbringer, steht nach den Unruhen unter Besatzung imperialer Truppen und der Ultramarines, als eine neue Gefahr den Boden von Pavonis betritt ' Tau.
Zunächst scheinen es nur vereinzelte Späher zu sein, aber schon bald wird klar, dass sich hier nicht nur ein paar Xenos verirrt haben, sondern durch Verrat eine Invasion gestartet werden soll.

Abseits der ständigen Kampfsequenzen wirft Courage and Honour einige Spotlights auf Probleme:
Wie Uriel mit seiner Rückkehr und seinem Kommando zu recht kommt, denn seine Truppen haben so lange ohne ihn gekämpft und eigene Kompetenzen erworben.
Was mit Pasanius passiert ist.
Wie weit darf man Gefangene behandeln um bestimmte Informationen zu bekommen?

Und das genau das ist der Punkt an dem sich die Geschehnisse der letzten Jahre nicht mehr in einem 40k Roman verleugnen lassen. Schon bei 'Killing Ground' hatte ich das Gefühl, dass McNeill in manchen Passagen Bezug zu den bekannten Bildern aus dem Irakkonflikt nimmt, aber dachte mir noch, dass ich mir das bestimmt einbilde. Doch deutlicher als Pyramiden aus nackten Tau geht es wohl nicht, denn hier wird eindeutig eine Brücke zu den Bildern aus Abu Ghraib von 2004 geschlagen. Da kann man sehen, wie unser tägliches Leben und die Bilder die wir aufnehmen sich auch in der fiktiven Literatur widerspiegeln.

Leider ist das aber auch einer der wenig interessanten Punkte an diesem Roman, denn irgendwie will sich weder eine Tiefe noch eine Spannung so wirklich aufbauen, denn mit ein paar Scharmützeln mit Tau kommt McNeill definitiv nicht an seine alten Ultramarines-Romane heran, geschweige denn an seine Beiträge zur Horus Heresy.
Vielleicht wäre der Roman besser, wenn man nicht mit großen Erwartungen heran gehen würde, aber irgendwie kann das nicht das Maß nach so vielen guten (leider auch schlechten) Black Library Romanen sein.

Irgendwie wirkt dieses Buch wie der ein Lückenfüller, ähnlich manchen zweiten Teilen in Trilogien, bis man dann endlich zum Finale kommt. Bleibt nur zu hoffen, dass McNeill dann wieder zu seiner Höchstform aufläuft.

Gav Thorpe's Angels of Darkness was re-issued. 2003 must
have been a good year for novels!

This two-level novel tells the stories of both Chaplain Boreas and the
Fallen Astelan, who is being interrogated by the Dark Angels chaplain after
his capture. Within the parts of the book that are titled "The Tale of
Astelan", Astelan lays the foundation for the thoughts, doubts and actions
Boreas has in the course of the novel's second level "The Tale of Boreas".
Has the Chaplain really earned his first black pearl with Astelan or did
Astelan really have the upper hand in the dialogues? Which dark secrets that
have not even revealed themselves to the highest of Dark Angels does the
Fallen One know?

The novel is extremely tantalizing and has several suprises in store. The
conversations between Boreas and Astelan seem somewhat like discussions
between a man of faith and the devil: the Fallen One comes across as likeable,
working subtlely to undermine the Dark Angel's rigid belief. In the course
of the conversation you begin to wonder which one was really on the
Emperor's side.