Hercules & Xena: The Unofficial Companion [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580630014
• ISBN-13: 978-1580630016
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,820,859 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Discusses the positive aspects of this book over others, April 5, 1998

By	[e-mail] (somewhere east of D.C.) - See all my reviews

Ei yi yi yi! Your daughter shrieks as she forward rolls across the living room, leaps the dining room table and high kicks her teddy bear into next week. Meanwhile, your neighbor's son is busy decapitating imaginary Hydras in your front yard. Confused? Bemused? Not anymore, because you just purchased the book that explains it all, Hercules and Xena, by James Van Hise.

While not the only ox in the Augeian stables, so to speak, this is the only one to have information on both shows, Hercules The Legendary Journeys(HTLJ), Xena, Warrior Princess(XWP), as well as information on the stars, Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless. The co-stars, Michael Hurst(HTLJ) and Renee O'Connor(XWP)are also given a good showing. There are two "Official Guides" written by Robert Weisbrot, published by Doubleday. One is on Hercules, the other on Xena. There are also two "unauthorized biographies"of Kevin Sorbo/Hercules and Lucy Lawless/Xena, in the X-Posed series put out by Prima Publishing. All of these books contain information on the actors, their characters, the episodes, and production tidbits.

While all of these books are must buys for die-hard fans and collectors,the Van Hise book puts it all in perspective for the more casual reader. It gives you the background you need to start watching the show. You'll learn the characters and their histories and be able to talk intelligently to your children about the shows and about the original Greek myths upon which Hercules is loosely(very) based. Xena, however, sprang fully fledged from HTLJ, so don't worry about having missed her in World History class. And speaking of history, that's pretty loosely done also, so you may have to do some dammage control for your kid's education. This book can help straighten that out for you.

James Van Hise's book has two major advantages over the others in this group. First, it begins with a synopsis of the preceding Hercules movies from 1959-1983, with some nice black and white photo illustrations of previous "Herculeses", Steve Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Lou Ferigno. No shortage of exposed muscle there. Secondly, it has several nice color plates of the stars, not as their characters, but as themselves. There is a yummy shot of Kevin Sorbo sans shirt, a common Herculean trait. There are pictures of both stars and their parents and a shot of Lucy Lawless as Mrs. New Zealand before she became a raven-haired leather clad warrior. These personal pictures add a human dimension to the description of these shows that is unique to this book.

The book also contains an episode guide,sadly soon to be out of date as the new seasons emerge, fan club addresses for the stars and co-stars, and unique to this book a list of Internet Web sites for Herc and Xena. Although there are probably a gazillion of them by now, this list is a good place to start.

So, "Battle On" readers and buy this book. You'll be glad you did.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A very inaccurate Xena reference..., March 24, 2002

By	Kickboxfan "Kickboxfan" (Shenandoah, Iowa USA) - See all my reviews

Not a good Xena reference book! This book in very innaccurate. The Xena episode guide is frequently wrong. I don't follow Hercules as much so I can't really comment on the Hercules episode guide. I would not waste my money on this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is one of the most excellent Xena and Hercules Books!, August 27, 1999

By A Customer

I loved the book. It was one the the best! It gave excellent pictures and information!