MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1898 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Blah Braid by Yvonne 2) fav/least fav books by "ambermoon starshadow" 3) Re: fav/least fav books by "Starshadow *" 4) Re: Blah Braid by Kenneth Allen Hyde 5) Re: Misty Lovers in the UK! by "Kalen [One In Black]" <95662014-+AT+-mmu.ac.uk> 6) Re: Misty Lovers in the UK! by "Kalen [One In Black]" <95662014-+AT+-mmu.ac.uk> 7) {MLlist} fav & least fav books by Kristine Kilpatrick 8) Monster Braid with everything by Autumnleaf-+AT+-t-online.de (Autumnleaf) 9) Re: fav/least fav books by "Wren SilverFire" 10) Re: Blah Braid by "Winterstar K'Canada" 11) Braid..i guess... by Aeon Judgement 12) Re: hey i'm a newbie by "Dawn Sharp" 13) Re: fav/least fav books by Rachesqka-+AT+-aol.com 14) Re: hey i'm a newbie by Lisa Holcomb 15) Firebird Arts by Julia Gray ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 15:11:20 -0800 From: Yvonne To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Blah Braid Message-ID: <36E30798.3B33-+AT+-planet.eon.net> Heyla all yea Winter-Bound folk out there! Or summer, I guess, if you live on the 'bottom' of the world. :P PPPPHHHHTTTTBBBB! Ha, a raspberry for all the people who have warm weather! Here in Edmonton it's cold and snowing again. I'm sick of winter. On Character vs. Plot: I personally usually prefer character novels, just because they tend to be a bit meatier. I like the plot novels for a light read to relax the overworked brain, tho, and I will not turn down a book just because it's more plot drien then character driven. On my LEAST fav book: Well, I think for Misty it would be the Gryphon series, except for Black Gryphon. That was alright, although I wish there would have been more on the war, but other than that it passed the test. The Storm books I felt could have been a bit better ... I liked Karal and Natoli, and I liked the artificers, but I did have a problem with both Andesha and Firesong. I just thought that those books were lacking somewhere, and just not up to Misty's usual standandars. (SP? that just looks wrong) On the Oath books: I LOVED them!! I think the trick to them is to realise that yes, they are more of a collection of short stories then a novel, and you have to read it as such. Tarma and Kethry I just love - they're wonderful, wonderfully balanced characters. The smae thing goes with Kero - much as I love AotQ and Van, I think that T&K and Kero rock. ;P Sheeps to them! To Starshadow: *From out of a shrubbery a sudden wave of water and ... FISH?? appears??* ~~~SPLOSH~~~ Welcome to the MLML! Sorry about the fish - it's been a while since I've used my Enchanted Bucket (tm). *Yvonne looks sheepish and does it too well. A sheepdog comes over and herds her muttering over to the nearest flock* Well, I do believe that's all. Strawberry summer-time sheep to all the wintery Ones out there!! Fare thee well, Yvonne Goddess of Kelpies, Selkies, and the Water-Borne Carrier of the Enchanted Bucket (tm) Knight of Fluff and Lady of the OoUH Head of the Albertan CfWD Headquarters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 18:51:02 PST From: "ambermoon starshadow" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: fav/least fav books Message-ID: <19990308025104.5971.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com> heyla, first off, this is non-Misty, but I have to put in a defense of A_Separate_Peace (by John Knowles, I think). I liked that book. of course, I had to read it for seventh grade English and my analysis of it completely didn't match with the teacher's, but oh well. Yes, it's another coming-of-age book, but those are still good. I thought it moving and powerful, with good imagery. Reminded me just a little of Catcher_In_the_Rye. I didn't always like the main character, but that just made it interesting. I do seem to be in a minority here, though. fav Misty book: Magic's_Promise. definitely. I love Vanyel. least fav Misty book: toss-up between Silver_Gryphon and Elvenblood. I couldn't stand Blade, or Tad for that matter either, and the horror/suspense bit was not appealing, IMNSHO. I've already ranted about Elvenblood, so I won't risk flaming objects hurled my way by doing it again. I also detested the two Bardic books I read, they might come first on this list; they were not at all catching, were far too simplistic, and generally were a waste of paper. I haven't read any of the urban books or anything, I'm not sure I'd like them. another non-Misty I just remembered: I would also like to put in a defense of Shannara. I loved those books. don't remember who said it (sorry), but someone said only Walker had faults. They all had faults: Par comes to mind, for one (I didn't really like him that much). Matty Roh, also. Shea - remember when he drew the sword, and it showed him his faults (not like they were invisible or anything)? Amberle had problems. Even Quickening wasn't perfect. Or Allanon, for that matter. I felt the second part of the series, The Heritage of Shannara, really fleshed out the characterization, with a lot of personal issues, growth and change. Par's struggle to retain his humanity, Walker's to deal with his past and let go to move ahead, Wren's to evolve from a simple Rover responsible only for herself and her companion to a leader of a whole nation, Morgan Leah's to cope with loss and grief and memory, I could go on for pages. but this is the Misty list, not the Terry Brooks list, so I won't. actually, when I first read AotQ (my first Misty book), I wasn't quite sure I liked a book that focused entirely on the mental well-being of the main character, with plot taking a very distant second. I'm still not sure I like it; the later books, with more plot, are more to my taste. fluffy sheep with promises of later posts having more Misty content to all, Ambermoon Singer of Fire ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Mar 1999 19:44:44 PST From: "Starshadow *" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: fav/least fav books Message-ID: <19990308034445.17520.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com> Hi all, I just wanted to say that I totally agree about the Silver Gryphon( although I still think Burning Water was the worst). I usually read a Misty book in a day to a week. Silver Gryphon took me two months. Normally I just can't put her books down and read them every free second I have. My friends have even teased me about having them glued to my hands. But with Siver Gryphon the charectors were really dry and I just never wanted to pick it up. Probably the only reason I even finished it was to get the sence of completion. AS for my least fav non-misty: It would have to Grapes of Wrath. I had to read it for school and I don't know how many of you have read it but it was the single most mind numbingly dull book I have ever read. One thing that really gets me in a book is when the author get's to much into the surroundings. Describing every grain of dust and so on. I am always just like tell me the story( can you tell I 'm from California). That is the thing about Grapes of wrath which really bugged me. Anyway you are probably getting sick of me griping so onward to my fav (now this changes from day to day but today) it has got to be By the sword. That book took me less time to read then any other Misty book. I read it in 15 hrs. I just couln't put it down. There was always something exciting about to happen. Ok I will sign off now and leave you all in peace after my many ramb ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 23:32:25 -0500 (EST) From: Kenneth Allen Hyde To: Misty Lackey List Subject: Re: Blah Braid Message-ID: On Mon, 8 Mar 1999, Yvonne wrote: > On Character vs. Plot: > I personally usually prefer character novels, just because they > tend to be a bit meatier. I like the plot novels for a light read to > relax the overworked brain, tho, and I will not turn down a book just > because it's more plot drien then character driven. I have to say that I prefer a well-balanced book. A book with no real plot, but great characters is no more engaging than a book with a great plot but minimal character development. The ideal book is one in which there is a clear, well-thought-out, detailed plot (preferably with lots of intrigue and byzantine twists) in which a small number of clearly-defined, interesting, fleshed-out characters take part. Perhaps that's why my favorite books are court intrigues and really good mystery/suspense plots. Steven Brust is a great example of this sort of thing. You know, on consideration, I think that this is why I'm so picky about "quest" novels. The quest plot is so often nothing more than a flimsy device to throw characters together and do something exclusively "character driven." Mind you, I have no objections to a good bildungsroman, but I do prefer a real plot. Oh, and you are forgetting the worst kind of book ever: the technology/magic driven ones. You know the kind--the books that seem to spend chapter after tedious chapter explaining the details of technical or magical theory! May the seas be your solace and the forests a refuge for your spirit, Cennydd Councilor of Mist Kenneth Allen Hyde | No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife Univ. of Delaware | between the shoulder blades will seriously Dept. of Linguistics | cramp his style -- Old Jhereg proverb kenny-+AT+-Udel.Edu | A mind is a terrible toy to waste! -- Me //www.ling.udel.edu/hyde/prof/ken.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 13:30:41 GMT From: "Kalen [One In Black]" <95662014-+AT+-mmu.ac.uk> To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Misty Lovers in the UK! Message-ID: <115EAC450EF6-+AT+-alnilam.mmu.ac.uk> Hey is something up with the list? I had a message returned to me saying that there was a problem and nothing could get to the list. Kalen.One In Black Champion Of the Ladies In Green 95662014-+AT+-mmu.ac.uk uthro-+AT+-hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7701/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 11:17:36 GMT From: "Kalen [One In Black]" <95662014-+AT+-mmu.ac.uk> To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Misty Lovers in the UK! Message-ID: <114472B36224-+AT+-alnilam.mmu.ac.uk> > From: "Alexia/Sabrina" > Maybe we could find somewhere sort of in the middle, maybe London? to meet > up and chat about the books and stuff... BTW, Borders on Oxford Street, just > past the station as you're going up to Tottenham Court Road has lots of > Misty. I live in Manchester and I meet up with some other Misty fans at least once a year. I know someone in Harrow. We met b/c of Queens Own and ran a British chapter for a few yrs, it was only this year that we decided that b/c of falling submissions that it was no longer viable to carry on with the chapter. Anywho back to the point of the mail, if anyone wishes to get together then I'm up for it[!] though it would have to be a few months down the line. Kalen.One In Black Champion Of the Ladies In Green 95662014-+AT+-mmu.ac.uk uthro-+AT+-hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7701/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 05:41:59 -0600 From: Kristine Kilpatrick To: "'Mercedes Lackey list'" Subject: {MLlist} fav & least fav books Message-ID: <01BE6926.668C5860-+AT+-qualis123.qualisinc.com> Morning, everyone! As I trudged through almost a foot of snow on my way to work, I pondered the latest query from the list. My favorite Misty book has to be Jinx High. Since I've been to that area of the country more time than I care to remember, I have a sense of home when I read it. Also, Tannim pops in. That's always a good thing (well, most of the time)! My least favorites are probably the Winds books. I tried to read all of the Valdemar books back to back in one summer because I was bored. By the time I had gotten to those particular books, I was worn out with remembering people and events. I'm slowly trying to reread them so I don't get burnt out again. Welcome to all the newbies! Ah, it seems such a short time ago that I was one of you. (Wait, it *was* a short time ago!) Watch out for people with buckets and enjoy some fluffy hand-warmer sheep. ObMisty: Do you think that anyone would ever (or is planning to) come out with a Guide to Valdemar? I have some for Pern, Wheel of Time, & Tolkien, so I was wondering about a comprehensive guide to the world. ~Kristine "Just breathe" -- Ever After ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 12:45:15 +0100 From: Autumnleaf-+AT+-t-online.de (Autumnleaf) To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Monster Braid with everything Message-ID: Heyla listsibs, Alexia/Sabrina wrote: > Had anyone read... Mike Jeffries or Lynn Flewelling? I picked up some books > by them in London to try out along with a Terry Brooks 'cos I'm always > seeing books around by him... David Eddings I picked up Pawn of Prophesy > um... something by I. V. J...somthing... I tend to like books with a male > character 15+, h/c type stuff ... some > violence is fine but I don't like stuff with any sexual abuse. Can anyone > help with suggestions? What is h/c? (Being a German ignorant I'm not at all familiar with abbrevs.) I just finished two books by Tanya Huff which are very good. They are in sequence: "Child of the Grove" and "The Last Wizard". Though I liked them both, I found the second book (TLW) even better than the first. It had all kinds of nice, interesting, well protrayed young men and a gripping story and a very unexpected ending. (In fact, I read the ending, read the epilogue, puzzled if I was right, read the ending again, and found it absolutely fitting) Another author I recommend is Barbara Hambly. She has several trilogies and wrote both in the Star Trek and the Star Wars universe. Personally I can't judge her SF works cause I seldom read SF nowadays. But her fantasy stuff is excellent. ******* and now to the NEWBIES ******* Mindy wrote: > So I hereby promise to try not to do anything that will make you all throw >flaming sheep at me, or whatever it is you do. Torell, the JEster, - bowl in hand - walks over to the dripping Mindy. "Welcome to the List", he says and pours the contents of the bowl over the poor Newbie. A quick lick confirms her that the stuff sliding down her face is custard. "Usually the bucket-wielders come after me to rinse of the mess", he mutters. Dawnfire wrote: >I hope that I will be welcomed into your society again! "Sure", says Torell and puts the nearly empty bowl on Dawnfires head. "We never repudiate a fellow-listsib. Welcome back. Oh, BTW, Shantaya read "Child of the Grove" last month and found it very good. But she liked the sequel "The Last Wizard" even better because Tanya Huff exercised her sense of humor in it." (see above). He then takes a biscuit out of one of his many pockets and hands it over to Tarsi. "Welcome, too." ******************* END FLUFF ************ Least favorite Misty book: Definitly Silver Gryphon. Couldn't get into the story, found the plot boring and absolutely predictable and the characters were flat. Least favorite book ever: Short story collection by Stephen King. I didn't finish it. I thought as a horror author he would thrill me or make me shudder like e.g. Lovecraft did. But he only repelled me with all the blood and gore and violence. No subtlety at all. Least favorite Misty character: Before I read the Storm books I would have said Elspeth because throughout the Winds books I still saw her as the royal brad (and I HATE children like that). But after the Storm books I found she had developped into a mature responsible person. Now my least favorite is Karal because he got on my nerves with his submissive attitude. No offence meant if you like him! (Remember: it is an act of cruelty to hurl flaming sheep towards other people. Do not hurt the animals!) Favorite Misty book: By the Sword. Only Misty book I read twice. Only book in ages I read twice. Favorite non-Misty book: Hm, that's a hard one. "VIllains by Necessity" by Eve FOrward, maybe. Very good character development and food for thought. But I also liked Tanya Huff's *the sheep chorus baaaahs in:* "The Laaaaaast Wizaaaaaard" Favorite Misty character: Kero! Kero! Kero! CLosely followed by Savyl. Cennydd wrote: >This is not to say that I think the people who liked these books are crazy >or wrong, just that, as a matter of my personal taste, I didn't care for >any of them. Oh, but I AM a certified nut-case :) The certificate my sister created must be around here somewhere. I really liked the Di Tregarde books although I found them less interesting than Tanya Huff's "Victory Nelson, Investigator" books or Laurell K. Hamilton's "Anita Blake" books. And thanks, Cennydd, for the fabulous response to character-versus-plot driven novels. Just what I thought about the matter, sentence for sentence. Well-balanced books with sheep on the cover for everyone! Shantaya Autumnleaf and Torell, her JEster Keeper of Cats ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 09:45:05 -0600 From: "Wren SilverFire" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: fav/least fav books Message-ID: <199903080745101-+AT+-wren.wicca.zzn.com> I know I'm gonna get flamed for this, but my least favorite Misty book is TLHM series. *dives for cover behind a placid looking sheep* My fav on the other hand, is By The Sword. I love Kero. She's what I would like to be iffin I was there. Okee, my li'l bit of opinion. *continues to hide* Bright Blessings, Wren SilverFire http://members.tripod.com/Wren_SilverFire Get your own Free E-mail at Witch Wisdom http://witchcraft.simplenet.com ___________________________________________________________ Get your own Web-Based E-mail Service at http://www.zzn.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 09:04:26 MST From: "Winterstar K'Canada" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Blah Braid Message-ID: <19990308160429.4603.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com> >Heyla all yea Winter-Bound folk out there! Yvonne wrote: > Or summer, I guess, if you live on the 'bottom' of the world. :P >PPPPHHHHTTTTBBBB! Ha, a raspberry for all the people who have warm >weather! Here in Edmonton it's cold and snowing again. I'm sick of >winter. *pounces and hugs the Edmontonian* I didn't know there was anyone else nearby but me and Kristy! Augh! Cool! (Yes, I usually go wild with the knowledge that someone on the internet lives close to home) BTW, Kristy and I are in St. Albert, just NW of you! Alright, I'll stop now... Winterstar K'Canada > > "A canter is a cure for every evil." -- Benjamin Disraeli ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: 8 Mar 99 13:25:35 EST From: Aeon Judgement To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Braid..i guess... Message-ID: <19990308182535.19974.qmail-+AT+-www0k.netaddress.usa.net> > On Character vs. Plot: I prefer a character that I can relate to and understand. Dont like theres charactrs who are to powerful and to prefect to be true. Those kind of books annoy me..*grumbles* On my LEAST fav book: I agree it has to be Silver Gryphon either that or one of the Storm books, cant remember which one Grrr moving in 3 days and there packed up..*sniff* But oth of those took me forever to get through... FAV book: HAS to be Magic's Price..Heehee I love that book cuz my FAV Character is in it..and NO its not Van though hes a close second. I love Steph!! Hes my FAV character..*S* LEAST fav NON-Lacky book: Ahh cant remember the name, thats how bad it was about this virus that kills everyonein the world and the only place left thats is Australia and they go out in submarines and stuff...it was BORING and so was the movie..*shakes head* Anyways I will go for now..*L* Bright blessings and Merry Part Aeon ____________________________________________________________________ Get free e-mail and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 10:33:53 PST From: "Dawn Sharp" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: hey i'm a newbie Message-ID: <199903081833.KAA15914-+AT+-law-f251.hotmail.com> >obmisty: anyone get stuck at the storm books? i just can't get >through them and i feel really awful about it. does it get better? >will i adore these new people as much as the old ones? i need >encouragement in a big way.... Are you kidding?! I loved the storms books! I read and reread them. Just curious, how far in the trilogy are you? I had a bit of a hard time getting into them but after a while I couldn't wait to see what happened. I admit that the scenes in the Empire are harder to get through than the rest but I guess that's just 'cause I really wanted to get back to the other characters. Of all the books, the only ones I enjoyed more were the LHM books. Stick in there, it's worth it. Wind to thy wings, Blayze ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 14:00:23 EST From: Rachesqka-+AT+-aol.com To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: fav/least fav books Message-ID: <61eae537.36e41e47-+AT+-aol.com> *Starshadow pops out of a snow bank, and vigorously shakes all the snow off, and Trin wings in from above to land on her shoulder. A gust of wind nearly knocks her off her feet.* Heyla listsibs! Brrrr... the wind out there is something viscious today, and COLD! But the snows almost all gone, few inches saturday night, but that's it. Next week is my spring break! Only four more nights of sleeping here, then I get to sleep in my own bed, in my own room at home! *Squeels happily* and I can only take so much of dining hall food before I start to go nuts. :Home cooked meals! Home cooked meals!: As for the fave/worst book and character well... My absolute favorite book is Magic's Pawn, because it's got three of my fave characters in it, among other things. I love Van, and I love 'Lendel and I love Savil. Don't ask my why, but I like 'Lendel better than I liked Stefen, even though they were both the same person, or spirit, or something along those lines. My fave character is... you guessed it, Van the man! An'desha takes a close second, I really loved An'desha, and sympathise with him. Poor kid, trapped in his own body. And I loved watching his character change and grow in the Storms books. My fave non-Misty book is... hmmm.... *attampting to think coherently* You know, I've read so many, it's really quite hard to pick one. But I'm currently rereading a really good one called "The Crystal Cave" by Mary Stewart. It's a retelling of Merlin's life story, pretty good stuff. So I guess it's my favorite at the moment. Worst Misty book that I've read "Silver Gryphon" hands down. blech...I've ranted about it before so I'll spare you all this time and just leave it at that. Least fave character would have to be Ancar. There wasn't a scene that he was in when he didn't completely pi$$ me off. He made my skin crawl. :Bad Ancar, no like the bad man: *Shudder* My least favorite non-Misty book is... gosh, I don't remember the name of it, it was something "Winter Palace" or... I don't know, but it had to do with Nazi's and nuclear weapons, and it was so flat and boring that I couldn't even get half way through before I threw it down in disgust and never picked it up again. And Ambermoon, I agree with you. :) I actually liked "A Separate Peace" I think that it's partially because I didn't have to read it for school. I read it on my own, and so I didn't have to write papers on it, or even think too extensively on it. *g* So it wasn't a negative experience. School has a tendancy to make a good book seem like a chore. The only book that I can remember reading for school and falling in love with is "Lord of the Flies" I loved all the symbolism and the characters were great. Loved it! *Braces herself against the onslaught of "Are you insane?!?!?!?!?!?"s that her listsibs are sure to throw at her. Trin mantles her wings in defence of her bonded.* I guess that's all from me for now! Baked Alaska sheep to you all! *yummmm...* Zhai'helleva, Starshadow K'Connecticut and Trin "I'm not obsessed, I'm continously enthusiastic!"- my friend Din in denial ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Mar 1999 11:23:44 -0800 (PST) From: Lisa Holcomb To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: hey i'm a newbie Message-ID: <19990308192344.23264.rocketmail-+AT+-send501.yahoomail.com> ---Dawn Sharp wrote: > Are you kidding?! > I loved the storms books! I read and reread them. Just curious, how > far in the trilogy are you? ****I have read everything else except the Owl books...I _loved_ the Oath books, AoQ, LHM, but couldn't get terribly interested in Storm or Gryphon books...as much as I hate to admit it, Lackey's writing seems to be going downhill...*sigh* ...or I'm getting incredibly spoiled by Melanie Rawn's writing... well, if they get better, then I'll try again... thanks lisa :) == Lisa Holcomb awamiba-+AT+-yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Arc/5894 "People who live in reality have no imagination." _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free -+AT+-yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 13:24:42 -0600 From: Julia Gray To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Firebird Arts Message-ID: <36E423F9.BDE62E4E-+AT+-oakton.edu> Heyla!! Just a note- If you (like me) have recently ordered something from Firebirds Arts and didn't get it in their usual timely manner, you might want to give them a quick call. My call revealed that they had my order, had charged me for it, but for some reason hadn't shipped it (hey, even in this world of computers there are those occasional human errors :-) The lady I talked to was extremely nice and helpful, and is working on getting the order out - but did mention there had been some personnel changes going on so a few things may have slipped through the cracks. I hope it's only mine that fell victim to the dust bunnies, but just in case I wanted to let y'all know. Now I'll finally get my own copy of the LHM trilogy so I won't have to ship it back and forth to my sister in Cincinnati when i want to read them!! obmisty - is there anyone who Misty hasn't collaborated with that you'd like to see her work with? Artist or writer or musician? I personally think that collaborations might not always make the best work (some work well), but are always good for the writing in the long run... does that make sense? Betha'lis ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1898 **********************************