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Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Candan Club Hotel; City: Marmaris Marmaris District Mugla Province Turkish Aegean Coast; Review: I visited the Candan for two weeks with my family and this hotel is great for young children the entertainment team is great fun for children and there are kids clubs available everyday while adults relax by the pool, the staff here were very friendly and are always welcoming when they see you around the hotel, the waterslide is so fun and has a life guard on duty, the food here was also nice and the price was not to expensive but there is other restaunts near by like Villa Dreams which is delicious and great price. was not noisy at night and I always had a great nights sleep.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Villa Dream Apartments; City: Marmaris Marmaris District Mugla Province Turkish Aegean Coast; Review: Although i have never stayed here the Villa Dream Apartments is a very welcoming place and the food so delicious !! I have been here for 2 years Kenny and his staff are so friendly and always make you feel welcome, me and my family came around to here for our breakfast near enough every morning because their food is English and I am quite fussy about eating Turkish food but I have no problem eating from here I will defiantly be coming back when I next come back to turkey.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Club Sunsmile; City: Armutalan Marmaris District Mugla Province Turkish Aegean Coast; Review: Just come home from a 10 night holiday at club sunsmile and Ho early couldn't fault it gorgeous hotel, clean rooms and fab food, this was our first time self catering so we didn't know what to expect but we will deffinately be returning, also the staff were all lovely couldn't do enough to makeu sure your happy; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Grand Villa Sol Apartments; City: Armutalan Marmaris District Mugla Province Turkish Aegean Co; Review: Been to marmaris 9 times and I have never ever wrote a bad review but this hotel was an absolute hell hole, I honestly don't know how anyway can rate this 5* unless you spend the whole of your holiday there! Staff were very intimidating constantly wanting to know where you were going,we ate there once out of the whole holiday Therefore the staff got quite rude because we didn't want to spend any time there. when we first arrived we was taken down to some kind of cellar were the light was broken as soon as we went into the room everything was broke; curtains were ripped and hanging up by a thread , fridge was leaking and had a vile smell we never even used it, the kettle didn't work so we requested another one the cooker was dodgy and electrocuted me at one point, my friends bed sheet was all ripped and they had attempted to see it back together (awfully) the maid came into the room once we was there 11 nights. They were so desperate for any kind of money toilet roll was 1 lira a phone call to your transfer was 5 lira they also added items on to bill that we didn't have they tried charging us for 22 large slushes and 2 extra cokes when we never had a coke as we don't drink it and we only had 12 small slushes wouldn't advise anybody to stay here it's disgusting worst place I've ever been we literally couldn't wait to leave we met the lady's staying a few doors down from us who only stayed 2 days and changed hotel they said they couldn't cope with the hotel and that Freddie had attempted to punch her mum who was 64!! Such a bad hotel we had an amazing holiday but this place just spoilt it!; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife; City: Adeje Tenerife Canary Islands; Review: Visited playa las Americas in Tenerife for 1 week in September with my friends it was lovely the hard rock is in fabulous location and is open late serving food and drinks, there is also a bar next door which u need tickets for which looked really good; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Maximum Ride: Nevermore; Author: ; Review: WOW - WHAT A BOOK!! Can't stop reading it!!Would recommend to anyone who has and interest in reading the series or not !!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Teen Classics); Author: Visit Amazon's William Shakespeare Page; Review: Was really wonderful and enlightening After seeing the movie reading the book just filled in the blanks and was awesome; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Beautiful Creatures. by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl; Author: Visit Amazon's Kami Garcia Page; Review: I picked this one up b/c of the upcoming movie Was SURPRISED the book is from the boy's point of view Still all in all a good read; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Killer Byte (Diana Tregarde) eBook; Author: Mercedes Lackey; Review: a good read and one I want all my children to read so they will be more aware on the internet; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Box of Bunny Suicides; Author: Visit Amazon's Andy Riley Page; Review: totally had fun giving this and seeing their face while they read it. not for the faint of heart lol; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Uhura's Song (Star Trek No 21); Author: Visit Amazon's Janet Kagan Page; Review: My paper copy is getting quit old and this is a favorite. Glad to find it still in print and available for my Kindle; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Falling Skies; Author: Visit Amazon's Paul Tobin Page; Review: would have loved to have known this was a graphic novel before I bought it. Not sure why I did not know it ahead of time from the cover but some kid books have covers like this.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Stroke of Midnight (Meredith Gentry, Book 4); Author: Visit Amazon's Laurell K. Hamilton Page; Review: Laurell Hamilton's Merry Gentry series is still right on. I would highly recommend this to anyone. Am on pins and needles waiting for the next book in the series!!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Reluctant Suitor; Author: Visit Amazon's Kathleen E Woodiwiss Page; Review: which is why I do not think she did as well with it but it was worth reading and I enjoyed it; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Wolfsbane (Sianim); Author: Visit Amazon's Patricia Briggs Page; Review: Well worth reading and passing on to your friends and 25 words is often more than needed to be written; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hunting Ground (Alpha and Omega); Author: Visit Amazon's Patricia Briggs Page; Review: Fantastic - a wonderful read; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Mariana; Author: Visit Amazon's Susanna Kearsley Page; Review: I just finished reading Mariana a second time and loved it even more. The story and characters are so inviting. It makes me wish I were in their world too!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wild Wings; Author: Visit Amazon's Gill Lewis Page; Review: Bought this book for a read-aloud for my sons' class. We are all loving it! Fascinating and captivating story. We all can't wait to hear what happens next!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Contract with a SEAL (Special Ops: Homefront) (Volume 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Kate Aster Page; Review: So fun to continue following the story of the original,friends.... And to see Vi and Joe in a different light. These books are such a fun read..... I can't wait to start book 4!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Virgin River (Virgin River, Book 1) (A Virgin River Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Robyn Carr Page; Review: A friend gave me this book as a gift and I love it! Compelling characters and an interesting storyline. I can't wait to read book 2! Life in virgin river sounds just lovely. I'd love to get a beer in Jack's bar.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Author: Visit Amazon's J.K. Rowling Page; Review: Listening to the series in the car and my kids are loving it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: I Am a Pilot (Star Wars) (Little Golden Book); Author: Golden Books; Review: This series is just darling! My kids love to read them and look at the pictures.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: I Am a Droid (Star Wars) (Little Golden Book); Author: Golden Books; Review: This series is just darling! My kids love to read them and look at the pictures.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter Magical Places & Characters Coloring Book; Author: Scholastic; Review: Love the quality of this book. Nice thick pages so your coloring doesn't show through from one page to the next and the illustrations are really fun to color.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Grace Valley Trilogy (The Grace Valley Trilogy, 1 thru 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Robyn Carr Page; Review: I really enjoy Robyn Carr's writing. Her stories of small town life in Virgin River and Grace Valley are just lovely.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 2; Author: J.K. Rowling; Review: Listening to the series in the car and my kids are loving it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Book 7; Author: J.K. Rowling; Review: Listening to the series in the car and my kids are loving it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Casual Vacancy; Author: Visit Amazon's J.K. Rowling Page; Review: Excellent narration. Love this series and on audio book it is fabulous.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's J.K. Rowling Page; Review: Excellent narration. Love this series and on audio book it is fabulous.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter Coloring Book; Author: Scholastic; Review: Very pleased with this book. I love that the paper it is made of is thick, quality, paper and the designs are so fun to color! My kids and I have been listening to the Harry Potter series and so all of us are enjoying coloring in these coloring books. We have been using colored pencils and watercolor pencils. I haven't tried markers yet, but the paper seems thick enough that you probably could use them without it bleeding through. I'd test it out first though, just in case I am wrong about that. We bought all 3 books in the series and have been thrilled with them all!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter Magical Creatures Coloring Book; Author: Scholastic; Review: Very pleased with this book. I love that the paper it is made of is thick, quality, paper and the designs are so fun to color! My kids and I have been listening to the Harry Potter series and so all of us are enjoying coloring in these coloring books. We have been using colored pencils and watercolor pencils. I haven't tried markers yet, but the paper seems thick enough that you probably could use them without it bleeding through. I'd test it out first though, just in case I am wrong about that. We bought all 3 books in the series and have been thrilled with them all!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Shangri La s Rasa Ria Resort Spa; City: Tuaran Sabah; Review: stayed here for a week in an ocean view room on the sixth floor. views perfect, did koto kinabalu shopping mall, that was okay, staff always pleasant and smiling, went out of their way to get what you required, room was spacious and room service and food great, we actually e-mailed hotel for restraunts menus and they sent all 8 menus for each dining area to eat at, perfect weather plenty to do for kids as well and most of all orang utans,,,,,, wow need i say more.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Island Jewel Inn; City: Boracay Malay Aklan Province Panay Island Visayas; Review: Stayed here for three weeks during christmas and new year, and all was perfect. First of all the island Jewel itself is a great place to get your head down and rooms were cleaned daily, as were towels. Secondly the staff,nothing was too much trouble for them,anything we needed was got and if they did not have they sent out for it. they were always polite and had a friendly greeting at all times.We will no doubt return here and will highly reccomend this to anybody travelling to BORACAY. WOW; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel le Volpaie; City: San Gimignano Tuscany; Review: We have stayed here twice and each time have booked a balcony room, and its very peaceful,fabulous weather each time. The added bonus of a pool.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pier Hotel Rhyl; City: Rhyl Denbighshire North Wales Wales; Review: Clean & very Friendly......... Stayed two nights in november as attending a wedding but had a fab stay, rooms were en suite ,,,,,,,,, breakfast ........... well so much to choose from and will & wayne were very hospitable and easy going and were happy to help,,,,,,, will definitely stay here again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rainbow Paradise Beach Resort; City: Tanjung Bungah Penang Island Penang; Review: Had read other views in this hotel and reserved judgement of the negative ones, but in all the hotel was average, if you want luxury this is not the place ,but in saying that me and partner had a good time, we met quite a few returning guests who had been returning to this hotel for over fifteen years and they seemed to enjoy and i think partially this was because it was quite cheap. Breakfast was repetitive and some morning we just coulndt face it knowing that nothing different would be on offer. The room we had was spacious and cleaned on a daily basis and fresh linen and towels. Most evening we went into batu ferringhi where the night market was on every night and you could pick up a bargain and haggle with the locals, everything you wanted from hair salons to garra rufa fish spa, clothes, perfumes, jewelery and food stalls galore, ( we ate out every time) as it was so cheap. Overall we had a fab time and the weathe was hot,hot,hot .; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: BQ Belvedere Hotel; City: Palma de Mallorca Majorca Balearic Islands; Review: Had a very enjoyable stay for the first week in June, weather was glorious which always helps, food was plentiful staff always filling up as soon as empty, drinks were such a good range including cocktails,Daniel the barman was always smiling and helpful,but some staff seemed to work morning till night, pool very cold but refreshing in the heat and very well maintained along with the grounds. Rooms were cleaned on a daily basis and maids very cheerful, would definitely stay here again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Island Jewel Inn; City: Boracay Malay Aklan Province Panay Island Visayas; Review: once again stayed at the island jewel as we did in 2010, and once again hospitality was spot on, everything we asked for we got, not a lover of mango and requested banana for breakfast and not a problem, may seem trivia but you ask and you get, rooms cleaned on a daily basis with clean towels, rooms very humid even with air con asked for a room fan and came back after being on beach all day and there it was, extra pillows on request also, we will definitely return; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Chamois Butt'r Eurostyle Anti-Chafe Cream, 8 ounce jar; Brand: Chamois Butt'r; Review: And so are my thighs. Works as advertised and I've yet to have any chafing or irritation since using the product. It lasted through my first and lengthy (time wise) century ride. Enough said. :); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harbinger Power Non-Wristwrap Weightlifting Gloves with StretchBack Mesh and Leather Palm (Pair); Brand: Harbinger; Review: I've got really small hands and as such always use a Small size for gloves. It seemed to have worked for my cycling gloves and other sport gloves but these run quite large. Other than that, the quality seems OK.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pearl iZUMi Men's Quest Cycling Short; Brand: Pearl iZUMi; Review: Well, I used 'em on my first ever century ride two summers ago (I'm a slow cyclist so it was a really looooong ride) and I was fine. What more can I say about comfort and durability? (I'm still using the same pair now and it's holding up.) Oh, in the summer I use them just about every available Saturday for my early AM bike rides that are between 55-60 miles and I've yet to feel discomfort.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pearl iZUMi Men's Quest Long Sleeve Jersey; Brand: Pearl iZUMi; Review: Sleeves are too long but it's comfy and does it's job well. The long sleeve is not enough to detract a star or two.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pearl iZUMi Men's Quest Long Sleeve Jersey; Brand: Pearl iZUMi; Review: Sleeves are too long but it's comfy and does it's job well. The long sleeve is not enough to detract a star or two.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ohuhu Men's 3D Padded Bike Bicycle MTB Cycling Underwear Shorts; Brand: Ohuhu; Review: It's OK for short rides.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Santic Cycling Men's Shorts Biking Bicycle Bike Pants Half Pants 4D COOLMAX Padded Color Blue Size L; Brand: Santic; Review: While I prefer my Pearl Izumi pair these do a find job for short to medium rides.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Canari Cyclewear Men's Velo Gel Padded Bike Short; Brand: Canari Cyclewear; Review: These don't hold up well at all for more vigorous riding. The padding is rather thin, the pants scrunch up and I would not use these for anything other than 20 mile light ride to the beach or whatnot. I love my Pearl Izumi shorts, somewhat like my Santek (Santik?) but do not like these at all. They're also nowhere as grippy as the others.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: SHIMANO 105 PD-5800 Pedals; Brand: SHIMANO; Review: Right pedal jamming up and not resetting to its proper position when clipped out. Feels good when clipped in!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Delta Cycle Leonardo Da Vinci Single Bike Storage Rack Hook Hanger; Brand: Delta Cycle; Review: Clearance is minimal. If you've got a 32C, good luck getting it inside the hook. My Tarmac with 25C tires and the Roval CLX40 rim (40MM) won't make it in. I've read reviews about a new version and they may have changed the angle of the hook to allow for more clearance. But I cannot rate that which I do not have.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: BV Bicycle Strap-On Bike Saddle Bag/Seat Bag/Cycling Bag; Brand: BV; Review: As per poster Tarik "There's just one big problem - the seatpost strap was not designed particularly well. There is a fairly significant amount of exposed velcro on the right side (the non-covered side). This means that if you have a narrow saddle and a tighter riding style - you can find yourself rubbing holes into your expensive lyrcra shorts." And yes, it tore a hole in my shorts and the thermals. (Those thermals lasted me all winter in miserable conditions without a problem. One semi chilly ride with the new bag and *Blaaaam!* I also don't like the fact that the bag isn't all the secure and has quite a bit of sway.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Portland Design Works Shiny Object CO2 Inflator Head; Brand: Portland Design Works; Review: Works great until the rubber seal pops off. As someone who enjoys logging lots of long distance miles I'm going to have to find a better alternative. I do not feel confident in this holding up long term and would hate to be stuck somewhere because of a shoddy design.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Portland Design Works Shiny Object CO2 Inflator with Leather Sleeve and Cartridge; Brand: Portland Design Works; Review: This is the second unit I had purchased. I used it once many months ago and it worked fine. I tried to use it a day ago to help a stranded cyclist at the park and unlike the first time it the first unit failed the seal didn't pop off... this time it stayed inside the valve but completely splattered. I made sure the release valve wasn't turned too fast and took the typical precautions and can only come to one conclusion. These are not reliable units and cannot be trusted for long distance rides. Time to move on.; Rating: 1.0/5.0 | amazon_Sports_and_Outdoors |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Cafe Locca Homestay; City: Sanur Denpasar Bali; Review: I spent a night here when I traveled to Sanur. This hostel is popular among young backpackers. Beds were clean and comfy. The hostel area is nicely surrounded by green foliage; seems like a perfect hideout from the city. Friendly staff and lot of them are musicians too. And there is a warm pool outside for everyone to chill. The price is very reasonable for the quality of accommodation.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Santhika Bed Breakfast; City: Kaliasem Lovina Beach Buleleng District Bali; Review: I directly booked a bed in the dormitory room. The moment you enter this place through the gate you get to feel the scenic and artsy home. There is no reception desk. The warm, friendly and beautiful host, Anna, will find you and make arrangements to make your stay cozy and comfortable. She will help you book sightseeing tours, shuttle buses, massage and anything else available in Lovina. The staff is friendly and welcoming. You will also meet two pet dogs and a talking mynah. Once you check in, you won't feel the need to go out of this place and visit the rest of Lovina. You can spend the entire day in this place. The dormitory room has only one fan for all the 6 beds. So the room becomes really hot during warm season. I would suggest at least adding more fans for each bed if Air Condition is too much to ask for.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bali Caps Hostel; City: Kuta Kuta District Bali; Review: The hostel reception+ lobby on the top floor is a nice place to hangout and chill. You can play pool, watch tv or lazily lie down on one of the bean bags. One who checks in, would always love to come back again. The staff consists mostly young people and they will help you out with anything to make your stay comfortable. All the beds are comfy and are equipped with a locker and curtain. The bathrooms and toilets at each floor are adequate and clean. Unlike any other hostel, Bali Caps generously offers free drop to the airport and nearby Kuta Beach. Backpackers can use the free washing machine and save money on laundry service. The hostel is just nearby to a big shopping mall where you can buy all your travel necessities and enjoy a variety of food. The restaurants here are much cheaper than the beach area. I have been to five hostels in Bali, and no hostel can beat Bali Caps given its price and facilities.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: La Safari Inn; City: Tissamaharama Southern Province; Review: This is a nice home in a village. The atmosphere is calm and very relaxing. I booked one of their basic rooms with fans. Even in the month of May, I didn't feel the need for air conditioning. The staff is friendly and accommodating to your schedule. I booked morning safari early in the morning and the hostess prepared sandwich for me before leaving. It's a little bit far from the Tissa town. But you wont mind for the price you pay. I would love to go back there and spend couple of more nights.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fat Barracuda Hostel; City: Padangbai Bali; Review: Padangbai is not the usual place for tourists to spend the night. Every day tourists come here to take the fast boat to Gili islands. Despite the fact, some backpackers and tourists find this beautiful place worth the night. I spent three nights in Fat Barracuda dorm because I was diving at a nearby dive center. The 12 bed dormitory room has only one shower and one toilet. I expected at least two of each. A decent breakfast comes with the room price. The room has some electricity overload problem, I hope that will be fixed soon. But every time something unexpected happens the staff will take care of it promptly. For a fair comparison, I would rate it average at best.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Macskot Hostel Bali; City: Ungasan Nusa Dua Peninsula Bali; Review: This place is located few hundred meters away from the Ungasan area, South Kuta. Because of the remote location, it is often difficult to find a transport like taxi, uber or gojek. This is probably also the reason I haven't found many guests in the hostel. Therefore, it is suggested that you rent your own motorbike when you visit South Kuta. Or you're gonna have a tough time. The hostel is very nice with antique decorations. You can feel it as soon as you enter the place. The wooden bunk beds are widely spaced and very comfortable. Unlike many dormitory rooms, their room has a reasonable vertical space; you won't feel claustrophobic at all. Although a nearby restaurant would have been perfect, you have a kitchen at your disposal. So feel free to cook some meals on your own. The staff is nice, friendly and welcoming. This hostel also accompanies surf lessons. When I checked in there, a cool dude from Uruguay was staying and working there as a surfing instructor. Although I didn't have plans for surfing, I immediately booked a surf lesson with him. Next day my instructor drove me to Padang Padang beach for my first Surf lesson. The price per night is reasonable given the atmosphere and facilities. If it weren't for my nearing departure date, I would have loved to stay few more nights.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Crystal Sands; City: Maafushi Island; Review: The hotel is only few meters away from the jetty. I booked one ocean deluxe room for my parents. It was one of the ocean view rooms with a spacious balcony at the second floor. The room has good Wi-fi bandwidth (important in this remote island). Each staff was cordial and was willing to make your stay comfortable. We also had a decent meal at the restaurant. You can directly choose and book daily outdoor activities at the lobby. And I would say they are fairly priced. However, If you want a room with wide and open ocean view, this may not be the right hotel for you. Most of your view is taken away by a yellow establishment (probably a waiting room for the ferry), and tree branches. You probably need to reach the rooftop for a better view.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Suisse View Residence; City: Kandy Kandy District Central Province; Review: To be fair, I had a decent stay here in July. I booked three rooms for the entire family and our drivers. The time I checked in, each room was reasonably tidy. I am not sure how it got so many negative reviews on cleanliness. The Air cons worked perfectly. Wi fi bandwidth in every room was fast enough to stream videos. Bathrooms were fairly clean. However, I believe they should do something regarding the water pressure in the showers. Taking a bath takes a lot of effort. The owner who lives at ground floor apartment, doesn't seem to interact much with the guests. The caretaker ran back and forth carrying our message to the owner regarding our special requests. Since we were travelling as a family, we had heavy luggage. But nobody seemed to bother carrying them to our second floor rooms. There's no elevator. If the uphill walk to the residence hasn't taxed your energy, climbing up the narrow stairs will certainly do.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Melrose Hotel; City: Male; Review: The room price typically includes airport pick-up and breakfast. Given its location very near to the airport ferry, you won't find it difficult to find the hotel if you follow your maps application. I agree with most other tourists regarding the staff. They are well mannered and very accommodating. The breakfast, a mini buffet, was pretty nice. The beds are clean and comfortable. However, the only thing I didn't like is the cramped rooms. The entire property is very claustrophobic. Of course, it is unfair to blame the property alone as the entire Male city has no more room for any new real estate. Probably every other property has to go by with very limited space. But I believe, with smart furniture alignment, they could have freed up some space.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Arena Beach Hotel; City: Maafushi Island; Review: This is the only place in Maafushi where you can enjoy a decent continental dinner without worrying much about your wallet. On a nice warm day, you will love dining at the garden tables under candlelight. Try their grilled items and pasta. You might find similar quality food somewhere else but other hotels can't beat the price considering the quantity and service. Undoubtedly the best place to have dinner. Of course, as a traveler you might want to explore other restaurants and save yourself the monotony of having the same food every evening. So for those who will not stay in this hotel, try their dinner at least once.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with Wikipedia articles as follows:
Title: drinking straw; Description: thin tube used to suck liquids from a container into the mouth of the drinker
Title: list of homeopathic preparations; Description: Wikimedia list article
Title: The Invisible Committee; Description: anonymous author or authors
Title: Aja Huang; Description: Taiwanese programmer
Title: homogamy; Description: marriage between individuals who are, in some culturally important way, similar to each other
Title: Roman Reigns; Description: American professional wrestler and Canadian football defensive tackle
Title: activist; Description: person working with promoting or impeding, or causing social, political, economic, or environmental change
Title: humanities scholar; Description: academic specializing in the humanities
Title: scientific illustrator; Description: person who paints, sketches or otherwise illustrates scientifical subjects
Title: gerontologist; Description: person practicing gerontology
Title: physician; Description: professional who practices medicine
Title: Douglas Adams; Description: British author and humorist
Title: philosopher; Description: person with an extensive knowledge of philosophy
Title: programmer; Description: person who writes computer software
Title: Point Chevalier; Description: suburb of Auckland
Title: engineer; Description: professional practitioner of engineering and its sub classes
Title: World Figure Skating Championships; Description: recurring tournament
Title: Mary Temple Grandin; Description: American doctor of animal science, author, and autism activist
Title: Roberto Abrahão; Description: choreographer
Title: Lil Green; Description: American blues singer and songwriter
Title: Diana Churchill; Description: daughter of Sir Winston Churchill
Title: Ex'Act; Description: third studio album by EXO
Title: Armageddon; Description: according to the Book of Revelation, the site of a battle during the end times
Title: Cosmos Laundromat; Description: 2015 fifth film of Blender Foundation directed by Mathieu Auvray
Title: Esther Wouda; Description: scenarist
Title: Prince; Description: Wikimedia disambiguation page
Title: list of Linux adopters; Description: Wikimedia list article
Title: Carposina euphanes; Description: species of insect
Title: DJ Mad Dog; Description: Italian DJ and record producer
Title: Greg Walsh; Description: British musician and record producer
Title: Hideki Fujii; Description: Japanese photographer
Title: Cristeta Comerford; Description: White House Executive Chef
Title: Alphonsus Obi Igbeke; Description: Nigerian politician
Title: Boris Petrovich Gavrilov; Description: Soviet rugby union player
Title: Bennie Adams; Description: American basketball player
Title: Cnemidocarpa platybranchia; Description: species of chordates
Title: Chandradasan; Description: Indian actor
Title: Cosmos Rossellius; Description: Italian rhetorician
Title: Danny Diablo; Description: hip hop musician
Title: Friedrich Manschott; Description: World War I flying ace
Title: Hent de Vries; Description: academic
Title: Raquel Lanseros; Description: Spanish poet
Title: Kasbar Sinabian; Description: Armenian politician
Title: Robbie Greville; Description: Irish hurler
Title: Category:Rowing clubs in Switzerland; Description: Wikimedia category
Title: L'Hôtel; Description: hotel in Paris, France
Title: Ultra-high vacuum; Description: artificial vacuum with very low pressure
Title: cardiotocography; Description: technical means of recording the fetal heartbeat and the uterine contractions during pregnancy
Title: Il colombre; Description: short story collection by the Italian writer Dino Buzzati
Title: Andre Harrell; Description: American rapper and music executive
Title: Francis; Description: 266th Pope of the Catholic Church
Title: The Ellen DeGeneres Show; Description: American television talk show | wikirec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Hoover WindTunnel Canister Vacuum, Electronic Bagless, S3765-040; Brand: Hoover; Review: After researching several vacuum cleaners on Amazon and at Consumer Reports, I decided to purchase this vacuum and I am so happy I did! I absolutly love it. It is light and easy to handle so it can be taken up and down the stairs with no problem. It is self-propelled, making it very easy to use, and has fantastic suction. My mom has one of those expensive vacuums and I could not believe how much this Hoover picked up after she had already used her vacuum. I also like that there are no bags so one can just dump the dirt in the trash after use. My husband is so happy with it he vacuumed the entire house recently, willingly, which in and of itself is a small miracle. My mom also tried it out and loves it. Very easy for her with her arthritis. A great vacuum. We have only had it a month but so far are really impressed and pleased.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Anchor Hocking Central Park Drinking Glasses, 16 oz (Set of 12); Brand: Anchor Hocking; Review: I just requested a return of this product as at least half the glasses arrived broken. The packing is insufficient for glassware. The glasses were in a cardboard glass box, which was placed inside another larger box with very little packing around it. Also, I would have preferred larger glasses that were not tinted blue. Just bought some different ones at Target to avoid the shipping problem and get more what I was looking for.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Perfect Fit SoftHeat Smart Heated Electric Mattress Pad with Safe & Warm Low Voltage Technology, 233 Thread-Count, Dobby Stripe; Brand: Perfect Fit; Review: This has been one of my favorite purchases as I feel totally spoiled every time I get into my heated bed! No more cold feet all night. We usually turn it off after getting in because after the initial heating of the bed the product is basically unnecessary and too hot. I haven't heard any noise like one reviewer stated. Very happy so far.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ASD Living Loretta Apron with Frosty Design; Brand: ASD Living; Review: This apron looks so cute in the photo. Unfortunately, when it arrived and I tried it on, it looked ridiculous. For one thing, the brown middle does not go all the way around. There are long ties the color of the apron that start on each side and are visible, which makes the brown, scrunchy part look just weird. This apron did not spread out and cover me but rather hung in the middle of my body. I am not overweight, just tall, so I don't know why this would have looked like this on me. In any case, I am returning it for a refund, very disappointed.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Flirty Aprons Women's Original Fuchsia Moroccan Apron; Brand: Flirty Aprons; Review: Purchased this for my 11 year daughter and she absolutely loves it. It is very pretty and the material is fine.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: MU Kitchen Mini Kids 3 Piece Chef in Training Cotton Hat and Mitt Chef Set with Apron; Brand: MUkitchen; Review: This is such a cute apron set. My 8-year old daughter loves to wear it every time we bake together. Highly recommend.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Household Essentials 311328 Hanging Shoe Storage Organizer for Closets |10 Wide Pocket Shelves | Natural Canvas; Brand: Household Essentials; Review: High quality organizer, especially for the price. We used them for scarves and gloves in the hallway closet. Would recommend.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: RSVP Endurance Stainless Steel Crank Style Flour Sifter, 3 Cup (SIFT-3CR); Brand: RSVP International; Review: After having the squeeze type sifter, this was such a blessing! This sifter can sift several cups of flour in seconds. Highly recommend.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: BISSELL CleanView Complete Pet Rewind Bagless Upright Vacuum, 1319 - Corded; Brand: Bissell; Review: I bought this after reading all the positive reviews to replace a Hoover I have had for years that finally burned out. I have to say I absolutely do not like this vacuum! On the positive side, it does pick up dirt and hair pretty well. However, I am in good physical shape, but this vacuum is HEAVY! I mean it is really a chore to have to vacuum, where it was not with the Hoover. The vacuum does not do well going from my rug to the hardwood floor either. I also do not like the short hose for attachments. I have to drag this heavy vacuum to where I want to use the brush and then lean it over to try to reach something, like the couch cushions. What a pain! It is also very, very loud. My dog, who let me vacuum her with my other vacuum, runs away whenever I turn this one on. If I hadn't already thrown the box away I would send it back. I am really disappointed - especially after spending over $100! I would not recommend this product.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: VCNY Home Micro Mink Comforter and Pillow Shams Set, King, Chocolate; Brand: VCNY Home; Review: Purchased for my 14 year old daughter. It is so comfortabale and warm. She loves it! I would absolutely recommend this product. It is fabulous, especially for the price.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cozy Sack 5-Feet Bean Bag Chair, Large, Sky Blue; Brand: Cozy Sack; Review: I can't believe how large this is! It is enormous, and so comfortable my daughter sleeps in it most nights instead of her bed. We loved ours so much we bought another one. Highly recommended!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: FoodSaver V4840 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealer Machine with Automatic Bag Detection and Starter Kit | Safety Certified | Silver; Brand: FoodSaver; Review: I wish I hadn't waited so long to purchase this! I have been shopping for a vacuum sealer for some time as we have a lot of venison we process in the winter. However, the reviews were always so conflicting I couldn't decide what to get. When this went on sale at Costco I went ahead and purchased it. I couldn't be more pleased! It works wonderfully and has made such a difference in preserving our meats. I haven't had the opportunity to really play around with all the features yet, but I absolutely am thrilled with it so far. I would definitely recommend this product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pastry Blender Stainless Steel - 5 Blade with Round Comfort Grip Non Twisty – by Utopia Kitchen; Brand: Utopia Kitchen; Review: I did not care for this product. It needs some type of grip on the handle so it is not so slippery. It works fine, I just don't like the handle at all and am going to have to purchase something else. Bummer!; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Ringer - The Original Stainless Steel Cast Iron Cleaner, Patented XL 8x6 inch Design; Brand: The Ringer; Review: Honestly, I can't believe how well this item works. You just wouldn't think it would when you see it, but when you use it, it does do the trick! I have even used it to clean grill parts very successfully. I would definitely recommend this item.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ambesonne Musical Decor Curtains, Music Notes Chopin Sheet for Musician Jazz Lovers All; Brand: Ambesonne; Review: These were purchased for my 14 year old piano girl, and she just loves them. They really are lovely in her room.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Vastar Cake Decorating Supplies Kit - 30 in 1 cake; Brand: Vastar; Review: This is such a great kit for a very reasonable price. I would absolutely recommend it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: American Metalcraft 3806 Round Aluminum Cake Pan; Brand: American Metalcraft; Review: I love these cake pans. They make the best little personal cakes - just the right size. My daughter wanted to have a cake decorating birthday party this year, and these were affordable, well-made, and perfect for what we needed. I would absolutely recommend them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Original Beater Blade for 5-Quart KitchenAid Bowl Lift Mixer, KA-5L, White, Made in the USA; Brand: New Metro Design; Review: I love this beater! It does exactly what I need it to do. Perfect.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Original Beater Blade for KitchenAid 6-Quart Bowl Lift Mixer, KA-6LR, Red, Made in USA; Brand: New Metro Design; Review: I love this beater! It does exactly what I need it to do. Perfect.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: BedJet V2 Climate Control for Beds, Cooling Fan + Heating Air (Dual Temperature Zone - King Size); Brand: BedJet; Review: I returned this product. I was hoping it would help with the night sweats (desperate to get relief!), but it just didn't work that well. It would freeze my feet and I would still sweat on my top. Maybe it would work if you purchased the sheets to go along with it, but after spending so much, I wasn't willing to try. It might be a good deal if you got two of these and the sheets for the amount of money they cost, but after spending as much as I did, I was really disappointed.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Sauder 414238 2-Shelf Bookcase, L: 35.28" x W: 13.23" x H: 29.92", Select Cherry finish; Brand: Sauder; Review: It seems pretty good for the price. It is not real wood, so you can't expect it to be great, but it does what I bought it for - holds books in my teen's room.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bush Furniture Birmingham Executive Credenza; Brand: Bush Furniture; Review: Beautiful, for the money! My husband said it was a pain to put together, mostly because it came in so many parts, but he didn't really have any problems and for the cost, I think it looks great. We just needed something in our basement for books and such and this was perfect. I went back to purchase another one and they are out!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bush Furniture Birmingham 5 Shelf Bookcase in Harvest Cherry; Brand: Bush Furniture; Review: Beautiful, for the money! My husband said it was a pain to put together, mostly because it came in so many parts, but he didn't really have any problems and for the cost, I think it looks great. We just needed something in our basement for books and such and this was perfect. I went back to purchase another one and they are out!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Seville Classics Foldable Storage Ottoman, Charcoal Gray; Brand: Seville Classics; Review: This item looks really nice and is very sturdy, it is just not as big as I thought it would be. For the cost, I thought it would be a little larger, but I am happy overall.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ameriwood Home Hazel Kids 4 Shelf Bookcase, Espresso; Brand: Altra Furniture; Review: Great bookshelf.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Ambient Weather WS-04-WHITE Wireless Thermometer with Indoor and Outdoor Temperature (White); Brand: Ambient Weather; Review: It worked good in the beginning, but only lasted 4 months and quit. I changed the batteries but it never worked again.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Shake-Away All Natural Small Critter Repellent for Rabbits, Gopher, Groundhogs, Possum, Porcupines, Woodchucks other small animals (Fox Urine; Brand: Critter-Repellent; Review: Did not work to get ride of my woodchucks.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Shake-Aways All Natural Small Critter Repellent for Rabbits, Gopher, Groundhogs, Possum, Porcupines, Woodchucks other small animals (Fox Urine; Brand: Critter-Repellent; Review: Did nothing to get rid of my wood chuck.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: X-Chef Copper Sheets for Grilling, BBQ, Baking or Cooking, Copper Mats Set of 3, Heavy Duty and Non-Stick; Brand: X-Chef; Review: The first one I put in the oven melted in places. I am not a happy camper.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: La Crosse Technology Indoor/Outdoor Temperature Digital Thermometer; Brand: La Crosse Technology; Review: Was good while it worked. Unfortunately the outside piece stopped working and that was why I had bought it originally.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | amazon_Patio_Lawn_and_Garden |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: InterDesign Forma Constant Tension Bathroom Shower Curtain Rod - 50-87", Large, Brushed Stainless Steel; Brand: InterDesign; Review: I am so in love with my bedroom now. This rod allowed me to stylishly hang 6 (six) curtain panels. The rod is very suppotive of the curtains. When I mindlessly snatch open the 2 (two) sheers to let in the morning light, the rod doesn't fall or budge. No screwdriver needed No screws needed All that is needed is a stool (maybe) and a desire to change your surroundings :); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Presto 03510 Ceramic FlipSide Belgian Waffle Maker; Brand: Presto; Review: This is wonderful!! I have been using this for at least 2 months and I absolutely love it. I've now learned to reduce my batter to half for when I need to make a quick little one. Love it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Whitmor Ironing Board Cover and Pad; Brand: Whitmor; Review: Had this for at least a month and it is as nice as when first received. The quality is superb! At first I was concerned that it was too small, but after trying again it fit like a glove. I expect to enjoy this for years to come!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: EnviroCare Replacement HEPA Vacuum Filter for Eureka DCF-21 Uprights; Brand: Generic; Review: This is the perfect filter for my vacuum! Fits like the original. Satisfied with purchase.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DecoBros Stackable Under Sink Cabinet Sliding Basket Organizer Drawer,Chrome; Brand: Deco Brothers; Review: Wonderful product. Multiple uses. Very satisfied with this purchase.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Modern Littles Folding Laundry Basket, Black - Collapsible Laundry Bin for Toys - Bedroom Organizer; Brand: Modern Littles; Review: I've had this for about a month and it's very sturdy. I use this as a clothes hamper for my daughter's room. So far so good!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Luxury Bed Sheets Set TODAY! On Amazon Softest Bedding 1800 Series Platinum Collection-100%!Deep Pocket,Wrinkle & Fade Resistant (CalKing,Brown); Brand: HC COLLECTION; Review: These are not the same sheets I ordered and received in May 2016. These sheets do not have the luxurious band around the corners and they also came in a very, very wrinkled state. The quality is just not the same. The ones I ordered in May have a very luxurious feeling these feel worn and as if they've been slept on a thousand times.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Luxury Bed Sheets Set- 1800 Series Platinum Collection-Deep Pocket,Wrinkle & Fade Resistant (CalKing,Cream); Brand: HC COLLECTION; Review: These are not the same sheets I ordered and received in May 2016. These sheets do not have the luxurious band around the corners and they also came in a very, very wrinkled state. The quality is just not the same. The ones I ordered in May have a very luxurious feeling these feel worn and as if they've been slept on a thousand times.; Rating: 1.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Keepsake Window Jewelry Box Organizer Storage Container; Brand: Furniture Creations; Review: I bought this Jewelry Box and I am very happy about the product and the customer service. The product is very well manufactured, looks great. The quality of the customer service is great as well, they put the client first, you'll never be disappointed. The product came in time (very quick)and it is as described. I'm happy that I chose to buy from "Furniture Creations".; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Beistle Company - Pink Pirate Eye Patch w/Plastic Gold Earring; Brand: Beistle; Review: perfect and inexpensive perfect for a child who wants to play pirate and also to exercise the eye perfect and inexpensive perfect for a child who wants to play pirate and also to exercise the eye; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: OBreeze FM102BL Floor Mist Fountain, Outdoor or Indoor; Brand: OBreeze; Review: looks great, works great , but the components are very hard to put together ( the wood balls at the end of the bars doesn't fit at all); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Secura 4-Quart Electric Water Boiler and Warmer SWB-42G, 18/10 Stainless Steel Interior,Eclipse Grey; Brand: Secura; Review: love it, it doesn't have the on/off button, kind of crazy.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Furinno 11174WH(EX)/WH Just No Tools Mid TV Stand, White w/White Tube; Brand: Furinno; Review: love it; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Canary Products FM102WT White Floor Mist Fountain,White; Brand: Canary Products; Review: looks great, works great , but the components are very hard to put together ( the wood balls at the end of the bars doesn't fit at all); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hamilton Beach 67650A Juicer, Grey; Brand: Hamilton Beach; Review: love it; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Crimson Red Twin Extra Long Comforter Set By Ivy Union; Brand: TwinXL.com; Review: love it; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: D&D Futon Furniture Red Sleeper Chair Folding Foam Bed Sized 6" Thick X 32" Wide X 70"; Brand: D&D Futon Furniture; Review: Be aware that this folding chairs are for kids, not for adults. One adult cannot sleep in it, it is to low and too short.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Wieco Art 4-Piece Scents of Callas Stretched and Framed Hand-Painted Modern Oil Paintings on Canvas Wall Art Set; Brand: Wieco Art; Review: even is little, it is great inn a bedroom, love it; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ivation Big Time Digital LED Clock - Table or Wall Clock - Dimmable LED Display - Great for Elderly; Brand: Ivation; Review: looks great, but doesn't worth the money.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: SlipX Solutions Tan Extra Long Bath Mat Adds Non-Slip Traction to Tubs & Showers - 30% Longer than Standard; Brand: SlipX Solutions; Review: it is not extra long. It is even shorter than everything you can find in stores. I highly recommend you to not buy this product. Do not even think about that. It is waste of money.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Danby 1.1 cu.ft. Countertop Microwave, Black; Brand: Danby; Review: Very small. You can find better products in the store at lower prices.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Earthwise Reusable Mesh Produce Bags - Washable Set of 9 Premium Bags, TRANSPARENT Lightweight, Strong SEE-THROUGH Mesh for; Brand: Earthwise; Review: love them; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hamilton Beach Digital Steamer; Brand: Hamilton Beach; Review: the perfect steamer; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Close Quarters; Author: Visit Amazon's Marissa Piesman Page; Review: This must be one of the very best Battletech books I've encountered, and I have read eight or nine. Cassie Suthorn is a scout for a mercenary mech battalion. The Camacho's Caballeros find themselves in a no-win situation, pinned down in the heart of a large city, with all forces turned against them. Cassie must bring off a mission to save them. This writer has an unusual gift for description. His characters come alive on the page. The pace is excellent, keeps drawing you in. Plenty of hot battles, realistically described. A real winner; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: All Flesh Is Grass; Author: Visit Amazon's Clifford D. Simak Page; Review: This isn't a bad book, but the ending for me was very unsatisfactory. It's as though the author just stopped writing. Little is resolved. On the whole, though, the book is rich and beautifully written. Again, Simak takes American small town life and fills it with strangeness and wonder. Originality is so apparent-- in so many ways. For instance, who could imagine that some flowers growing by the roadside, transplanted into the garden by an old man, become a window to communicate with the stars? Read it, you'll enjoy it. And you may wish, like me, that it had a better ending.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Black Betty: An Easy Rawlins Mystery; Author: Visit Amazon's Walter Mosley Page; Review: "Black Betty" drew me into the setting and story, and I only began feeling disappointed in the last 75 pages. The title character has no real role in the book. We look for this lady for 200+ pages, but when we find her, there's nothing there. The setting, characters, and dialog are excellent. But the book spins out of control. The last 75 pages wind the plot so over-complex, I began losing track of who was who and what linked to what. I suspected a kind of "set-up," also as I approached the conclusion. Betty, the title character, had been kept as a kind of slave for many years-- a sex slave, really. The oppressor was a wealthy white man, respected by the community. The author injected numerous comments to the effect, 'that's the way it always is, a black person enslaved by whitey." Was I reading an allegory, or watching the author spin out his own social resentments? I had mixed reactions. I've seen the film version of "Devil in a Blue Dress." It was excellent. I am not sure "Black Betty" would make a good film without major editing.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tom Swift and His Airship; Author: Victor Appleton; Review: This fine facsimile of a classic 1910 boys' adventure book would make a beautiful gift. Young people up to about age 14 would love it. Tom discovers a secret tunnel dug by criminals to access Swift Enterprises grounds and steal his secrets. He soups up a motorboat to get double the original speed. At one point, he fights for his life as he tries to outrace a boat full of gunmen from a criminal gang. Tom is kidnapped and imprisoned, but escapes. The style is lucid, simple, and clean for young readers. The setting of 1910 adds an exotic quality to today's readers. These were the best-selling boys books of all time, with possible exception of Hardy Boys. Your son or grandson would love it. In a beautiful reprint of the original edition.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: John Carter of Mars (Barsoom Series, #11); Author: Visit Amazon's Edgar Rice Burroughs Page; Review: Another reviewer has pretty well summarized the plot, but a few comments might be added. As with most of Burroughs' fantasy novels, this one revolves around a love story. Burroughs' love interest is passionate, but "clean" in language and not objectionable for youths with an enthusiasm for adventure and fantasy. Burroughs always has a surfeit of what Aristotle called "invention." His stories are wildly imaginative, and at times, very original. His monsters are really scary, his villains are wicked as sin, and his ladies, who the book's hero tends to rescue, court, lose, and rescue again, are downright stunning in beauty. His female characters are also surprisingly "modern." They are spunky, peppery, and have a mind of their own. Surprisingly, both the protagonist and the heroine emerge as pretty well realized characters, despite the action packed plots which leave little room for any sort of formal "character development." If this particular book has a shortcoming, it may be too many chapters wandering through secret tunnels and subterranean passageways. Some of this is okay, but after 150 pages of this, the reader begins to get cabin fever. A good read. One of the better Burroughs Mars ("Barsoom") novels.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bolo Rising; Author: William H. Keith Jr.; Review: This was a totally satisfying bolo novel. I have read a number of others, but most of the best are in the past. I'm delighted that a talented writer has gotten his teeth into this series, and hopefully can continue to breathe life into it. The personalities were developed very well for an action novel. As well as we could ask. Hector's personality came alive as his "blocks" were slowly removed, one by one, and his real personality emerged. Battle scenes were gripping, and they were abundant. You got to really care about the characters, also. The ambiguous ending makes us wonder if William Keith is planning a sequel. I hope so. One theme that unifies the book and adds a bit more than just the "thriller" aspect is the exploration of "machine intelligence." The aliens are machines also, and the contest is not just based on gunfire, but on whether Hector's mental processes can "checkmate" the alien thoughts of the /*/*/*/, as the invaders call themselves. David Drake's books are great, but he has totally stopped writing future war novels. Too bad. Now let's just hope that Mr. Keith picks up the mission and pumps out a few more. Can't put this book down ! ! !; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Sign of Four (Penguin Classics); Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Review: I purchased this book in part on the strength of three 5-star reviews on this site. This is a very handsome hardcover volume at a surprisingly reasonable price. There are three classifications of stories in the book. First, stories primarily written by Adrian Conan Doyle, with some input from JD Carr. Second, two stories written almost entirely by Mr. Carr, possibly with some slight input from Doyle. Third, six stories written solely by Mr. Adrian Doyle. Since I have read a number of mysteries by Carr, and expected much, I was most disappointed to find his two stories the weakest in the book. In one instance, after reading the first page I was able to anticipate the entire plot. In the other case, I simply found the story flat, uninteresting, and narrowly derivative of similar stories in the original Holmes canon. To the contrary, some of the stories by Mr. Doyle cannot be praised enough. One that's typical, "The Adventure of Foulkes Rath," seems up to the work of Arthur Conan Doyle himself. All in all, Adrian Doyle admirably captures the style and brooding Gothic tone that so typifies many of the best stories in the original Holmes canon. Moreover, Adrian Doyle's stories have a kind of life and warmth that brings the Edwardian world alive for the reader. I would give the book five stars were it not for a few tales that seem off the pace, and decidedly inferior to the others. Alas-- and surprisingly-- these are from JD Carr's pen. Perhaps Carr tried too diligently to write an impeccably logical mystery, where nothing in the denoument was not well provided for in the early story. The effect, unfortunately, was to create a mechanical kind of plot, which made it all to easy for the reader to anticipate too accurately the entire unfolding of the story. So in this interesting and generally worthwhile book of tales, we might have the amateur outwriting the old master. All in all, a worthwhile purchase -- and handsome book with great bedtime reading at a very reasonable price.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: In Death Ground (Starfire); Author: Visit Amazon's David Weber Page; Review: The book just ends in the middle. The Federation forces have fought the Bugs to a stalemate. Both sides have taken fearsome losses. The Bugs have retreated to lick their wounds and rebuild their fleet. The Federation forces (including humans) are hoping for a year -- or better, 18 months-- to replace their losses-- a full 40 percent of their total naval tonnage before the onset of this war. There's no question to me at least that a sequel was originally planned. Important threads of the story also simply "end"-- the survey squadron that gets lost in a series of unmapped jumps, for example. The authors just seem to forget about this thread totally. There are also numerous hints that the Federation forces do not understand the Bugs-- what motivates them. Numerous hints are thrown out-- some very blatant -- that the Federation will not achieve a breakthrough in this war until they come to "understand" the Bugs. Admirals keep saying after each battle, "what motivates them? What drives them? Why do they do such things?" Given this constant teaser throughout the book, I'm SURE the authors planned to eventually sketch in for the readers the weird psychology of the Bugs-- bring them "up close and personal," if you will. If a sequel comes out, I would love to read it. However, as one other reviewer said, it has been a full two years since "In Death Ground" was published. There's not only no sequel, but the publisher has not even thrown out any hints that one is coming. Many things could have happened, including a falling out between Weber and White, health problems of the authors-- who knows? However, we may be in a spot where no sequel IS EVER going to come out. I'm SURE one was originally planned, or maybe even a trilogy. But . . . it doesn't look very encouraging. Still, a fantastic book of naval type fleet actions in space. I loved it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Nine Wrong Answers; Author: Visit Amazon's John Dickson Carr Page; Review: This book, like many by John Dickson Carr, has a powerful gothic element-- a sense of fear, dread, and doom that draws the reader into the book. I was impelled to read this entire novel in little more than 24 hours. The book gets off to a rapid, fast-paced start and does not slow down. In some ways, the first half of the book was more gripping than the conclusion. While the crimes are ingeniously solved, they are almost too contrived. Carr almost goes too far in forcing us to see how every tiny detail thoughout the book was "in line" with the denoument. The characters were well developed, and the evil characters seem to be Carr's forte. There's also a love interest in the book, and the sense of a loner protagonist going up against enormous odds. Generally speaking, I liked the book and feel I got my money's worth. A caution for older readers such as me-- the print size on the page is uncomfortably small.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: He Who Whispers (Dr. Gideon Fell Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's John Dickson Carr Page; Review: I have gone off on "jags" reading Rex Stout or Agatha Christie, or others, but I always come back with a hunger for John Dickson Carr. This is not easy-- his books are very old and only Amazon provides a good source. This is one of the very best by Carr. What draws me to Carr is the mastery of mood, tone, and atmosphere-- a brooding, semi-supernatural, atmosphere of the Gothic-- of terror, of raw fear-- of people literally frightened to death. To put it crudely, it's like "Sherlock Holmes" meets "Stephen King." In this novel we have a fabulous beginning with an "impossible murder" that seems to have no explanation, a "femme fatale" woman, the setting of a ruined Norman tower in France, and a most sympathetic leading character, Miles. Dr. Gideon Fell is a colorful and delightful detective who usually enters the story at least a third into the book. Frankly, the conclusions sometimes let the reader down -- or seem to -- because Carr's skill at "atmosphere" has got the poor fellow so on the edge of his chair with anxiety that no ending could totally meet the expectations. This book-- like many Carr books -- has a neat love interest-- a totally improbable love between a convalescent British gentleman and a French "woman of the streets." The love interest alone drew me through some of the chapters. Carr's style and descriptive skills are excellent. He will describe a setting with original turns of phrase. He will paint word-pictures that force one to reread the paragraph more than once, savoring the writer's skills. He's a highly literate man with a control of English that would have made him successful in writing more conventional novels. This is probably the best Gideon Fell novel I have read, and one of the two or three best novels by Dickson Carr I have read. I urge you to enjoy the book, and wish you, er, "unpleasant dreams."; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Some Buried Caesar; Author: Visit Amazon's Rex Stout Page; Review: In this novel Wolfe finds himself in quite a different world than his familiar brownstone. The portly detective who never leaves home finds himself stranded far from home -- a bit like the situation in Too Many Cooks. Characterization seems to shine in this early Wolfe novel. Archie does indeed meet Lily Rowan for the first time, as another reviewer points out. The repartee between these two is delightful, and provides an interesting love interest. Wolfe -- perhaps destabilized by being "stuck" in an unfamiliar setting -- is at his most autocratic, eccentric, and unpredictable. This very early Wolfe novel, first published in 1938, has some of the freshness of other early Wolfe novels. It was written when the character of Wolfe was still rather new to Rex Stout. It centers around a most peculiar crime. I'll avoid describing that to keep the reading experience fresh for the reader. Suffice to say, it is very difficult through the first third of this novel to convince the District Attorney that a crime has even been committed! Given the excellence of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novels, I'm only surprised that so few are currently in print. This book-- if it can be obtained-- is a good one to put on your permanent shelves.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: When True Night Falls: The Coldfire Trilogy #2; Author: Visit Amazon's C.S. Friedman Page; Review: I wish I could review this book in a vacuum, but I can't help compare it to the first in the series, Black Sun Rising, because I read them one right after the other. First, don't get me wrong. The author can hold my attention, and draw me from chapter to chapter. There were episodes in the book I could not put down. Again, she has created a weird world -- this time on the eastern continent -- and has further developed her archon demon as well as her evil dictator, "The Prince." Her wasteland of death near the end is truly scarey! But . . . I was a bit disappointed comparing this book to the first in the series. The first novel was complete as a story-- with a beginning, middle, and end. This just seems a transition, albeit 650 pages of transition. It sort of ends unresolved, forcing the reader to purchase the third volume to see what happens. The plot is less complex and considerably more simple than the first novel, and -- frankly -- I believe it can't support the huge number of pages. One wishes her editor had been a bit tougher on her, and whacked about 25 percent of the manuscript. For all her strengths as a writer, she has one irritating trait, which is to describe in narrative what a character is feeling. To paraphrase, she might say that "Damien was deeply hurt by what she said. He felt pain at her words. His anger welled up . . . " Really, a good writer should DRAMATIZE emotion, and "render" the feelings of characters in good dialog-- not stop the book and start explaining to the reader what a character is supposed to be feeling. As with another reviewer, I have ordered the final book of the trilogy from Amazon, hoping it is more like the Dark Sun Rising, and with fewer of the shortcomings of When True Night Falls. Even though I will admit -- for all its flaws -- that When True Night Falls is good. Just, after the first one we have been SPOILED. It was SO good.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Black Sun Rising (Coldfire); Author: Visit Amazon's C.S. Friedman Page; Review: Generally, I really enjoyed this novel. The plot moves smartly, and -- as in many virtual world novels -- one journeys through many landscapes and settings with the characters. I enjoyed the blend of "sword and sorcery" with science fiction. The evil smells like real evil, and evil is so powerful that sympathetic characters like Damien and Ciani are almost overwhelmed with it. In fact, it is almost unbelievable luck that they survive-- or is it a kind of divine providence-- a deeper justice working behind the daily events? Perhaps the most electrifying aspect of the novel is the "devil's bargain" where Damien is going against insuperable odds, and finally decides he must have the assistance of the world's most powerful sorcerer-- the "cursed" Gerald Tarrant. Gerald is an epitome of evil-- and has sealed a hell's bargain for the gift of immortality. He is honor-bound to assist Ciani and Damien on their quest, and yet his evil is so manifest it begins to corrupt Damien on the journey. Damien himself realizes he has made his own "devil's bargain." He has enlisted the help of the evil wizard at the jeopardy of his own soul. What's worse, Damien is a warrior priest, and his fidelity to his religion is the very basis of his self-image and even his magical powers. The evil is evil-- very very-- and you will find yourself drawn through this novel. You will burn the midnight oil until late, and be bleary-eyed at work. But it is a great read!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Starfire (Bantam Spectra Book); Author: Visit Amazon's Charles Sheffield Page; Review: I bought the book expecting a darn good read of the "hard sci-fi" type. I was delighted to find such creative and imaginative touches in the book. The hard sci-fi aspect has to do with a focused particle beam heading for earth from a supernova that occurred 27 years earlier. Earth knows it is coming, and is building a great shield out beyond Jupiter that is 24,000 kilometers long. It has drained Earth's resources for decades to pay for it. Well . . . you guessed it folks-- as the book begins, we are just a couple of months from zero hour. The shield will work or fail-- Earth will survive or cook away its oceans. The pleasant surprises involve some highly inventive and delightful characters. These include US President Celine Tanaka, a very sexy and brave female Pres who tells us part of the story in her own words; electronics genius Gordy Rolfe, a vicious, murderous little dwarf who has accrued such power as "the world's richest man" that he can "get away with murder;" and finally, space engineer John Hyslop, an understated kind of anti-hero who -- for all his self-depreciating ways-- is alone possessed of the engineering genius to complete the shield in time. My favorite character, and the most fun character in the book, is this remarkable Australian black girl. She never had any formal education, but stole books from an astrophysics library. She is a supergenius-- like a young female Albert Einstein. Her I.Q. must be off the scale. She alone can do the mathematical synthesis to identify grave flaws in the shield -- and make revelations about the TRUE nature of the particle beam. But this little self-educated female is truly a native savage-- combining tensor equations with gutter-coarse language. Combining shocking rudeness with a disarming ingenuousness. She's a little barbaric doll, and I loved her. So you get more than you paid for-- a great hard sci-fi story, and the most inventive and creative characters one could imagine. I liked it lots-- hope you do.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wisdom of Confucius; Author: Yutang Lin; Review: I found this book readable and surprisingly useful. True, the Analects are not complete but have been excerpted. The book cannot present more than a sampling of Confucius' writings for obvious limitations of space. Merits of the book include its readability, with a long, discursive essay and some translations provided by the celebrated scholar Lin Yutang. The book also contains a famous Chinese biography of Confucius, plus a few selections from the writings of Confucius's most influencial disciples-- some of these contemporary with Confucius and some from later times. I could not help noticing prior reviews that deal harshly with the book. Some of the criticism will not be meaningful to the nonscholarly reader, who, for example, would not be offended that the "original numbering" of the Analects has been abandoned. Selection of the writings has been most judicious. For example, the book contains "On the Great Learning," and "On Education." To obtain all these well-chosen sample writings of Confucius in individual editions rather than an anthology such as this would require an entire shelf of books. This readable, clean edition will be excellent for the thoughtful person who wants to explore across the breadth of Confucius's thought. And despite biting criticism in the other reviews, I found Professor Lin's discussions of Confucius's life, thought, and cultural impact to be most helpful. The book is also a handsome little volume, and with a quality binding. One is proud to place it in one's library.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mechwarrior: Dark Age #2: A Call to Arms (A BattleTech Novel); Author: Loren Coleman; Review: This book is one of the very best BattleTech novels I've read. It combines a nice balance of "palace intrigue" and guns-blazing action. We follow the strategies of the Steel Wolf clan's commander, Torrent, who is trying to take over the planet for his clan. Also, the conflict is heated further by the meddlings of a kind of private army called the "Swordsworn." These Swordsworn pretend to be defending the Republic, but they have a hidden agenda that is self-serving, and a raw grab for power. Then last, there is the planet's native government, trying to defend against these factions. All these intrigues explode into conflict, and they result in hot action at a number of points in the book. But as in many of these books, bullets alone cannot solve the problem. Raul and the planet's defenders have to unravel the skein of entangled betrayals and loyalties. In the end, strategy and craftiness by Raul and his friends prevail where bullets alone have failed. Another fascinating character is Tassa Kay, a beautiful and mysterious woman who flirts with Raul repeatedly. She is also a master mechwarrior. Her Ruyken mech is a fascinating ride for a fascinating pilot. Bring her back in future novels, please! The book's protagonist, Raul, is a kind of futuristic "Horatio Alger" -- the poor "loser" who makes good and prevails. Raul is a failure who has "washed out" from military cadet training. But with the onset of a war, and because of several extraordinary happenings, he winds up piloting one of the planet's few battlemechs. And piloting it very well-- turns out that Raul is a "natural" -- a gifted mechwarrior. Every aspect of this book deserves praise. The descriptions, the characters -- who seem sympathetic and real -- and the plotting. As for the "Dark Age" setting of the current battletech books-- I am still groping to understand it, but am willing to give it a chance. I do wish the editors would include more graphics such as drawings or maps. The maps that are supplied seem wrong somehow. One cannot find some of the very planets that are key to the story. Are these old graphics that were dragged out of someone's drawer, rather than commission new graphics? There are some "dumb" errors in dates. Some of the chapter heading dates substitute "May" for "March," which is what they should read. There are a few other inconsistencies or errors of detail that suggest the copy editing is pretty thin at the publisher's. However, these books are not Shakespeare-- they are intended to meet a popular demand and probably go through the publishing cycle pretty rapidly. So we can live with it. Some of us have read a number of Loren L. Coleman novels during the years that BattleTech novels have been coming out. We have seen him go from a green rookie writer toward greater experience. At this point, he is really getting good. Keep it up, Mr. Coleman! All in all, folks, purchase of this book is money well spent. Patrick J. Callahan; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Mechwarrior: Dark Age #3: Ruins of Power; Author: Robert Vardeman; Review: My problem with this particular novel was highly implausible behavior by main characters. The father, sergio, is supposedly a former great mechwarrior and hero who has had a lifetime of public service. Yet throughout the book he adheres to a childlike pacifism, even when mobs are killing hundreds of innocent people. A real person with such a background could hardly adhere with such stubbornness to such a ridiculous policy. As has been said elsewhere, the battle scenes are perplexing because characters are worried about the possibility of "collateral damage," and refuse to fire -- they are just big, lumbering targets. Even the arch-villain, a witch-like woman, is trying to take over the planet to give it to the Steel Wolves clan. This is because her mother was raped by a Steel Wolf warrior-- resulting in a fanatical loyalty to the Steel Wolf clan in this woman. Wha? Yes, it's patently improbable. Too much of this very sort of far-fetched motivation -- or lack thereof -- starts to make the novel seem ridiculous. As a final example-- A powerful official visited the planet, learned about the rioting and chaos, and then left in his ship. At a key moment late in the novel, this same official inexplicably returns, just a few days after he departed. He brings an Atlas battlemech, which he gives to one of the factions. Characters ask, "why did he return? He just left, didn't he?" This is never explained. There are a few good things in the book. Some of the characters seemed interesting. The description of the Palace of Facets, which becomes the setting for much of the novel, and the way the museum offers tools of war for desperate characters, these are a few qualities which somewhat mitigate the deep flaws in the book. On balance, however, not worth your trouble. There are so many better BattleTech novels out there. Patrick Callahan; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Elvenborn (Halfblood Chronicles, Book 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Andre Norton Page; Review: Having read all three books in the series thus far-- Elvenbane, Elvenblood, and now Elvenborn, I do have to say that this is the least interesting. I was saddened to see that characters who were front and center in the first two novels of the series are how shunted to the side, and new characters such as Kyrtian come to the fore. I must agree with another reviewer that Kyrtian is really not very interesting or successful as a character. The palace intrigues and political maneuverings of the elves take up much of the first half of the novel. One keeps being more and more impatient wanting something-- anything-- to happen. There's a real lack of originality and surprising imagination that has always been the forte of these novelists. I will say this-- the last 100 pages of the book, which take place as characters search for the "gate between worlds" in subterranean caves, is gripping and a masterful accomplishment of suspense and -- yes -- even terror. But it comes on too late to really save the novel. My comments up to this point may also suggest another flaw-- a great unevenness. A few episodes in the book are up to the standards we came to expect in this series. But alas, they are just a few oasises in a desert of flatness and mundane fiction. Sorry-- the first two books in the series were better. A number of years have passed between the second and third books of this series. Maybe the writers put the project on the shelf too long, and just couldn't recapture the magic. There are better books by these authors. Spend your book budget on those. Pat Callahan; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Mechwarrior: Dark Age #5: Truth and Shadows: (Book Two of the Proving Grounds Trilogy); Author: Visit Amazon's Martin Delrio Page; Review: Truth and Shadows is the second book of the "Proving Grounds Trilogy" and follows "A Silence in the Heavens." I liked "Silence" very much. I was glad to see that Truth and Shadows carries forward the plot very well. More battles take place in a campaign by the Steel Wolves to conquer Northwind, but this time the war undergoes some original and unexpected turns. For example, you will be surprised to discover where the Wolves have hidden their dropships-- but I won't spoil the story by telling you. Characters are very interesting. We learn a lot more about Ezekiel Crow. He turns out to be more complex than he seemed at first-- not just a "boy scout" type of straight arrow. In fact, he acts decisively in Truth and Shadows -- to find out whether he is a good guy or a villain, or how to interpret his actions, we will need the third and final novel of the trilogy-- not yet published. The three motley "ground pounders" have now been promoted to sergeants, but still function wonderfully to bring us the dust and noise of battle from a grassroots view. All in all, author Delrio is to be commended for flowing the second book naturally from the first-- using the larger canvas to brush in more enriching details. The Prefect, Duchess Tara Campbell, never comes alive for me too well, but her aide-de-camp, Captain Tara Bishop, emerges as a very interesting and important character. Another well-drawn character is the civilian medic who is taken as a bondsman by Anastasia Kerensky. This character, Ian Murchison, promises to have a major part in the coming third and final novel. Anastasia Kerensky is her evil and sexy best-- her rock-star leathers display a figure that could cause a bishop to kick out a stained glass window. She's tougher, crueler, and lovelier than any of the other Steel Wolves she rules. She doesn't get as much play as in "Silence," but where she does appear she really steals the spotlight. Part angel, part devil, she both kills and loves without mercy and without regret. Truly a classic femme fatale. Mr. Delrio, give us more of her! One quirk of the book that struck me is the abrupt way it ends. Many trilogies end each separate volume with some sort of reconciliation, some semi- or tentative conclusion. This book just slams on the brakes with little logic. Suddenly, one of the combatants just states, "okay, back off, cease hostilities." We know this is just a pause in the war, and it seems unmotivated. Possibly Mr. Delrio checked the word count of the manuscript, figured out he had penned the necessary 280 pages or so, and said, "hey-- time to go fishing." I wish he had shaped the ending of this book more skillfully. Especially since the third book -- which will clear up all the dangling loose ends-- is almost certainly some months away. The way Delrio writes, one gets a real sense of the mud, the pain, the laser smoke, the fatigue of a major; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Father Brown Omnibus; with a Preface by Auberon Waugh; Author: G. K. Chesterton; Review: G.K. Chesterton -- full name, Gilbert Keith Chesterton -- was a British intellectual of the early 20th century who engaged in many high-class philosophical and religious debates. His books covering areas of religion and theology are still read. For diversion and entertainment, Chesterton turned his hand to mystery stories and espionage tales. His finest mysteries involve the little priest, Father Brown. His espionage novels include "The Man Who Was Thursday" and others. Most of these tales were written in the early decades of the 20th century-- from 1910 through about 1925. I read some of the Father Brown stories more than 40 years ago. Now, in my sixties, I came across the Father Brown Omnibus in the library and started reading again. The stories are excellent. The man is a prose master. One wishes more detective fiction written today were half as well penned. The plots are so fresh, unexpected, and imaginative they just take your breath away. Here I am, with so much more to do, drawn on and on into this huge book. I have decided I am going to buy the book. There are several editions of Father Brown, variously edited, that are still in print. The omnibus has the whole shebang-- about 800 or more pages of the stories. "Try it. You'll like it." On a par with the Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shiva Option; Author: Visit Amazon's David Weber Page; Review: I will not try to write a full-scale review since at this point many good reviews are already listed. I do feel that a few observations may still be helpful. I read the earlier book, IN DEATH GROUND, which begins the story told in THE SHIVA OPTION. One aspect of IN DEATH GROUND that kept me on the edge of my seat was the defeat of mankind and his allies. From the first collision with the bugs, the war began to go badly for man -- and it went more and more wrong. At the end of IN DEATH GROUND man and his allies were fighting a desperate last-ditch battle at Alpha Centauri, which in this story was the web link directly to Sol -- and Earth. This battle was only won by a hair-- and by some extraordinary good luck. In other words, mankind was hanging on by their fingernails, and the bugs were prying those fingers loose! When IN DEATH GROUND ended, mankind was in imminent peril of going down to annihilation. The continuation of the story in THE SHIVA OPTION has an opposite character. Men and their allies begin winning early in the book, and the victories are big. In every battle, while there are losses on both sides, Terra wipes out ten bugs for each human (or allied) death. As men and their allies rack up a chain of major victories, the book actually gets less and less interesting. By the midpoint of this book, the ending seems a foregone conclusion. Man is sure to win "by a knockout." As we plow through the final half of this very large book, we wonder if we really need to "observe" each and every individual bug planet go down to destruction. One very interesting new element that adds to THE SHIVA OPTION is the reemergence of the bugs' "old enemy." Men are the bugs' new enemy, of course. The old enemy had disappeared by fleeing the bugs centuries before-- a last strategy to avoid racial destruction. Now, suddenly they are back! It is very bad karma that the bugs should once again collide with their old enemies while in the middle of a war of attrition with mankind. They are already losing-- now they have to divert a major part of their fleets to counter this new threat. I liked THE SHIVA OPTION a lot. But unfortunately, one-third into the book you realize that the end is a foregone conclusion--that mankind is stretching out a great technological lead and increasingly wiping out fleets of bug ships. So where's the suspense? I still plowed through to the end because the battle descriptions are so well done. Weber (with White, I suppose) has to be one of the very best future war writers out there, along with David Drake and Keith Laumer.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes; Author: Visit Amazon's Larry Millett Page; Review: This novel is the fifth one by Larry Millett, a retired Minneapolis journalist. All of Millett's novels are Sherlock Holmes pastiches. In other words, Millett purports to continue the Holmes saga, keeping the style and characters of the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. The DISAPPEARANCE takes place in the year 1900. Parts of this novel take place in London, New York, and Chicago. (All Millett's Sherlock Holmes stories take place in the United States, presumably on "visits" by Holmes and Watson.) All of Millett's Holmes stories have a very strong sense of place. Millett is something of an amateur historian and fills his chapters with elaborate descriptions of the streets, buildings, parks, and surroundings the characters encounter. Footnotes appear often, usually explaining details of architecture or other historical details. For a certain sort of leisurely reader, the footnotes are fine, but for others they can become a distraction. For instance, if Holmes meets Watson at an old church in Chicago, a footnote appears that tells us the year the church was built, the kind of glass used in the windows, and the year the church was finally torn down. There's a lot of this. Halfway through the novel, I just disregarded the footnotes entirely, and from there on, I think my "read" went better. Millett is a very good prose stylist. He crafts excellent sentences and paragraphs. His descriptions are razor sharp, and his characters come to life rather well. Of all Mr. Millett's Sherlock Holmes books, DISAPPEARANCE best brings Sherlock Holmes forward as a real, living human being. And besides Holmes, some of the other characters are also well drawn and three-dimensional. There is plenty of action in DISAPPEARANCE, and even some tawdry sex. Parts of the story take place in the bordellos of several cities, and some of the villains are madams, purveyors, or prostitutes. There's also plenty of gunplay -- in fact, more "Hollywood" shoot-em-up action than in any of Millett's earlier four novels. Melodrama is very much in evidence. On at least half a dozen occasions, Holmes teeters at the edge of death. But almost miraculously, he always prevails. There's a separate cliffhanger finish for each of the three major acts-- the action in London, next New York, and finally, in Chicago. Sometimes this is a bit "too much." I liked the book, although I can see some shortcomings along with the strengths. The larger structure of the book could use more unity -- it is highly episodic, with too many cliffhanger scenes to be altogether credible. But as I say, the paragraphs are very well written, several of the characters come forward as interesting and believable, and the strong "sense of place" created by Mr. Millett underpins and steadies some of the almost frenetic action of the book. While it was not Millett's primary intention to give a sense of life in America's largest cities at the turn of the century, somehow this comes forward to enrich the story. One smells, tastes, and touches the America of an historical era. This is a kind of bonus; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Blind Lake; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Charles Wilson Page; Review: I just finished Blind Lake, and I enjoyed the book very much, but with a few reservations. The story begins with journalists visiting a scientific research facility-- an image of the surface of another planet is being studied at this facility. Specifically, a living creature of another species is being tracked hour by hour, and day by day. The problem is that even the scientists do not understand their own technology. Self-programming computers of incredible power have driven this observational system, which is not really telescopic in nature. A key to understanding some of the book's themes comes in a peculiar debate midway through the book. Ray and Marguerite, two scientists with important roles in the project, conduct a public debate before an auditorium of people. Ray suggests something remarkable-- that intuition is akin to dream, and that the supercomputers processing the image are really dreaming. Might the free-form thought of incredibly powerful and self-programming computers take on an aspect of a "reality dream?" Early on, the scientists admit they do not understand aspects of the experiment, but -- at first -- they are able to take comfort in applying many principles of relativity physics-- discussing the nature of space and time as portrayed in relativity theory. But they become more and more bewildered as impossible things begin happening. Increasingly, they are forced to admit that the paradigms of science are just NOT explaining the Blind Lake project. This unraveling of our contemporary scientific comfort is a chief part of the impact of this book. And if reality is beginning to blur with dream, the dream coming forward in the novel becomes more and more akin to a nightmare. There's a chilling quality to the book, suggested by its very grim title. The name of the scientific facility, Blind Lake, is symbolic of the "benefits" of a materialistic, agnostic sort of modern science. The characterization was interesting and good, with one exception. Ray, the adversarial and difficult ex-husband of Marguerite, seems to become a kind of one-dimensional villain and all-purpose punching bag by the end of the book. The conclusion of the book brings in too much unneeded smoke and mirrors--a kind of "deus ex machina" of wonderous and spectacular events and effects. But the story doesn't need these. They tend to distract and conflict with the real resolution of the book on the level of the characters, and in terms of the plot's logic. All in all, a very interesting and stimulating book. I read it in two days, staying up late at night. So for me at least, in addition to the "echoes" the book created in me, it came to be a page turner as well. Patrick Callahan; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Night Watch: A Long-Lost Adventure in Which Sherlock Holmes Meets Father Brown; Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen Kendrick Page; Review: Night Watch is a passing good mystery story. It has trappings of the gothic-- spooky, nocturnal settings; seemingly supernatural happenings; and an interweaving of frightening superstition. The plot also has some enjoyable complexity-- such as when Sherlock solves the mystery, but later, Father Brown re-solves it again, this time with a somewhat different explanation of events! The book's subtitle suggests a balance between the detective genius of two literary master detectives-- Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown. However, this promise is not delivered. We meet Father Brown when he is very young in this novel, just approximately 20 or 21 years old. He says little or nothing throughout most of the book, and appears as a minor character at best. In the closing pages of the novel, Holmes seems to sense Brown's promise but that promise is simply stated, not dramatically rendered. Holmes says of Father Brown, "don't let that stolid round face and those blank grey eyes fool you. Brown's a little genius, mark my words." Holmes himself is too meditative -- a kind of crackerbarrel theologian. He waxes philosophic a bit too often. He is portrayed near the end of his professional career, and Watson explains that as Holmes has aged, he has begun thinking more about higher, meditative sorts of truth. But even though Watson states this, it does not jibe well with the Holmes' portrayal as an acid sort of skeptic whom we came to know in the original Arthur Conan Doyle books. I don't want to seem too hard on Mr. Kendrick's novel. It was entertaining to a point, and provided some entertainment on a chilly autumn evening. However, it can't compete in quality with several other recent pastiches (imitations) of the Sherlock Holmes books, such as those written in recent years by Larry Millett.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Death Watch; Author: Visit Amazon's John Dickson Carr Page; Review: Another review posted here is in error. It is not a review of this book. I do not know what happened, but . . . . Death Watch by John Dickson Carr is one of the most intricately plotted who-done-its that I've read in a while. A policeman is murdered after midnight in a darkened house. The murder weapon is the hour hand of a large hall clock. The hands of the clock had been stolen from the same house two nights before. Carr assembles a good group of suspects. Some own the house, others are visitors or lodgers in the house. Carr challenges the reader by amassing detail that the reader is expected to remember, and also, by changing direction just when the reader is beginning to think a suspect is the likely killer. This novel is from the 1930's -- 1935, to be exact -- and thus comes to us from the golden age of detective fiction. The years of the "Black Mask" magazine, and the era of detective writers such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Carr was one of the masters. One senses considerable quality of writing here. Carr is a master of dialog, and uses this skill to bring his characters to life. One engine driving the book is the constant bickering and disagreement between Inspector Hadley and Dr. Gideon Fell, both of Scotland Yard. Hadley is something of a straight man, and a foil for Dr. Fell. Inspector Hadley is an experienced and reasonably intelligent policeman, but is somewhat plodding and not very imaginative. Dr. Fell, to the contrary, is highly intuitive and strikes deductions that at times rise to brilliance. What seems so obvious and clear to Inspector Hadley -- and to the reader most of the time -- is soon shot down and debunked by Fell's unerring analysis. The whole is great fun. Carr's mysteries often have a strong dash of the "gothic flavor." Spooky houses, secret passages, bizarre appearances and disappearances, sinister characters, the trappings of superstition -- the works! If you enjoy such effects, it's just one more source of enjoyment. I highly recommend the book. However, it is somewhat demanding. I would not try to read it while half asleep, nor would I begin the book and then lay it aside for several days. Without a real effort to concentrate, it is difficult to remember all the characters, clues, relevant details, or twists of plot. Many people must be willing to put forth the effort because the John Dickson Carr mysteries continue to be popular many years after the author's death. Patrick Callahan; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Steerswoman's Road; Author: Visit Amazon's Rosemary Kirstein Page; Review: The review that follows is for the sequel to The Steerswoman's Road-- a book entitled "The Lost Steersman." All books in this series are highly recommended! This book had very real-seeming characters, and it showed a great efficiency in exposition that seemed to take me to the center of the story in very few pages. I'm going to try to convey my excitement with this book while avoiding a "spoiler" plot summary. So here goes . . . . As the book begins, there's a great peril facing the small, seaside town. Rowan, the steerswoman, turns her considerable experience and skills to both combating the threat with her sword, and analyzing the origins and nature of the threat. A steerswoman is a kind of wandering combination of a warrior for good, while at the same time a researcher and scientist. Thus her defense of the town involves both her sword and her scholarly analysis. The book is an excellent mystery. Rowan seems to unfold "theory #1," but then it gives way to "theory #2," and so on. As she gets more information, her analysis shifts and changes. The reader is brought along, gripped and fascinated. Each hypothesis seems to drastically rewrite the sense of what is happening. As the book nears its conclusion, there is a kind of epiphany of beauty and good on one hand, and an almost diabolical evil on the other. This goes beyond some glib surprise ending. It is woven deep into the structure of the novel. It appears no further titles will appear in this series, since these "steerswoman" books are back into print after an initial release a decade ago. It is a pity, since much of the larger story is yet to be revealed, and the ending seemed to prepare for a sequel. Some developments of the book just STOP, with no explanation. A really extraordinary read. I have already ordered more of Ms. Kirstein's "steerswoman" fiction from Amazon, and am counting the hours until my order arrives.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Patriot's Stand: A Battletech Novel (Mechwarrior: Dark Age, No. 9); Author: Visit Amazon's Mike Moscoe Page; Review: Patriot's Stand is a very nicely turned novel. The author, whom I've never heard of, has a nice gift for verisimilitude-- the bit of description that's just right to bring a scene to life, make it seem real. His characterization is great also. I really came to like his characters. Grace, a very tough little vixen. She cut her teeth on a mining mech, and tried to fight mercs with a half-baked amateur conversion and weapons that didn't even work right. Another reviewer says that initial battle was a disaster. Actually, considering that Grace and her compatriots survived and captured a heavy tank, it was a victory. In light of the half-baked equipment they had to work with. You could call this "the magnificent seven go to space." Grace goes to a nexus starport looking to hire mercs. She learns that while she has tens of thousands of "stones" (the currency), she still can't buy top merc regiments. So she gets the losers, the down-and-outs, the mavericks, the renegades. She can't even pay them decently-- they are working for deeds of farmland, because that is all the locals are able to come up with. Well, this is one h___ of a book, let me tell you. This bunch of loser mechwarriors, plus miners, farmers, and cattlemen, put together a ragtag army and take on a crack merc outfit. The battles are hot, the characters seem real, the writing skill makes this hole-in-the-wall little planet come alive. If I see a sequel, or another book by the same author, my checkbook is coming out of my pocket faster than you can say "30-mm autocannon." PC; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Watchers Out of Time: Fifteen soul-chilling tales by; Author: Visit Amazon's H.P. Lovecraft Page; Review: I've just read the reviews previously posted here for The Watchers Out of Time. Perhaps some of this criticism is a little harsh. I do agree that there's been some deception -- surely the fault of neither Lovecraft or Derleth, since both men were long dead when this edition was published. The stories are all credited simply to H.P. Lovecraft on the front cover. But -- confusingly -- the back cover describes the book as a joint effort of Lovecraft and Derleth. Then we get more confused when, looking at the back of the flyleaf, we discover that ALL the stories are copyrighted by August Derleth alone. Derleth and Lovecraft knew each other, and they did do some genuine collaboration. But I think this volume is predominantly Derleth's work. One of the other reviewers guessed "95% Derleth's" as I recall. I could believe that. When I say the other reviews are too harsh, I mean that August Derleth was a pretty good author in his own right. At his best, when Derleth writes these gothic tales he rivals Lovecraft in narrative and tone. Some of these stories are very good actually-- well worthy of "Weird Tales" and other pulp collections of the time. Unfortunately, one of Derleth's limitations when writing Lovecraftian material was his conventional religious belief. He tended to spin Lovecraft's cosmic "old ones" into something resembling Christian devils or demons. This loses much of the very chilling alien flavor of Lovecraft's original mythos. There is always a kind of nihilistic despair haunting around the edges of real Lovecraft stuff-- e.g., "At the Mountains of Madness." All in all, one must agree that the book is less than what is advertized. And yet, Derleth is a good writer and his tales can be enjoyable. I enjoyed the book and hate to see it so roundly and harshly panned. The problem is-- this is just NOT really H.P. Lovecraft's writing.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Shadows Over Baker Street; Author: Visit Amazon's Michael Reaves Page; Review: I have to agree with other reviews printed here. The book is something of a mixed bag. Few of the stories are well balanced quality pieces of professional writing. Their strengths and limitations differ. Some of the stories show a paucity of knowledge about Lovecraft's work. In such stories, only a few of the most general references are made to the Lovecraftean canon. Otherwise the stories just suggest the pursuit of a "nightstalker" figure similar to a sort of Jack the Ripper. To justify the story's inclusion in this collection, the author tosses in a couple of Lovecraft's character names or place names such as "Cthulhu" or "Innsmouth" into the story. Nothing is ever done with these references, mind. That would require too much effort. Some stories work pretty well because the writer has worked with the material before and knows it well. I think that Richard Lupoff's story "The Voorish Sign" is one of the book's best. But Lupoff has written and published other Sherlock Holmes pastiches over the years. He has a track record, so to speak. Some of the most intriguing and most enjoyable stories set a Lovecraftian stage beautifully, drawing us in, getting us really eager to move on to the denouement. Unfortunately, it is as though the writer at this point does not know what to do with the situation he/she has established, and just . . . stops. Such is "The Mystery of the Worm" by John Pelan. A series of biographic sketches appear at the end of the book, profiling the authors of the various stories. Here one sees quite a range of experience. Some of the writers have published a number of books and stories, and seem to have done their share of "weird tales." Others have published very little professionally, and seem to be either beginner professionals or serious amateurs. This may partly explain the sense of unevenness one gets from the book. If I could ask for one thing, it would be a more genuine knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft's writings by some of the authors. Most of the writers, not surprisingly, have a good sense for Holmes and Watson, since Arthur Conan Doyle's characters are well known through a myriad of books and movies, although even here there are disappointments. One of the weakest stories in the book, "The Drowned Geologist" by Caitlin Kiernan, is just a long letter supposedly written to Dr. Watson -- but we learn at the end of the story, it was never mailed. This story reveals virtually no serious detailed knowledge of either Doyle's OR Lovecraft's writing. In fact, the only evidence that Holmes and Watson are even involved in the story at all comes in the letter's salutation, "My dear Dr. Watson." One suspects the author congratulated herself that she could make a token gesture toward the editors' requirements while writing something else entirely. I enjoyed the book despite its uneven quality. It is the kind of book that is very good to take on an airplane trip. Three or four of the stories are very; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Child Goddess; Author: Visit Amazon's Louise Marley Page; Review: When I first picked up and examined this book, I very much doubted I would find it interesting enough to get through it. Finally, I applied a test that I've used many times. I just opened the book and read the first paragraph. I finally decided to acquire the book and to see if it would interest me. In truth, I could not put the book down and finished it in two days. The investigator in this detective-like novel is Mother Isabel, a Catholic sister of a religious order that "attempts to shine light into dark places." She begins by trying to protect a child who has been the victim of exploitation by a money-hungry corporation. But as she pursues justice, she encounters mystery after mystery. The story also involves a love theme -- and she is forced to cross paths with the great love of her life. As the mystery draws her in and the stakes rise beyond the welfare of a single child to the welfare of many children, Mother Isabel travels to a distant planet, where she continues to wage a brave but unequal battle against corporate greed and the cold pursuit of wealth. This book excellently depicts a crossed web of feelings -- love between a man and a woman, love of a motherly woman for an abandoned child, and the love of a child for her ersatz mother and protector. This novel could be compared with the works of Rosemary Kirstein -- books such as THE STEERSWOMAN'S ROAD. Here too, a woman protagonist is a member of a sisterhood, or religious order if you will, dedicated to the pursuit of truth -- that is, "to shed light into dark places." This is to take nothing away, and I do not mean to imply that Ms. Marley and Ms. Kirstein even know each other's work. But the excellence of these two authors shows considerable parallel.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Destruction of the Books (The Rover); Author: Visit Amazon's Mel Odom Page; Review: This book has very uneven pace. In the opening chapters, some adventurers raid and loot a goblin ship. The pace here is glacial. It takes several chapters to accomplish this raid. Contrast this to the book's conclusion. In just a few pages, the library is raided, a quarrel-filled town meeting occurs, and a battle takes place with wicked forces for control of the town, all blurring by at a dizzying pace. There are a few structural problems, too. Jugh, the protagonist of the book, is a blurred composite of adventurer and mousey librarian. The different sides to his personality seem to clash-- they don't jell well. In any given scene, will he hide like a timid mouse or will he pick up a weapon and fight like a banshee? Jugh's best friend, Raisho, is a swashbuckling, swordfighting human. At least Jugh, for all his contradictions, comes alive pretty well as a character. Raisho, unfortunately, seems almost a cardboard cut-out character. Perhaps a walking, talking, sword-swinging stereotype would be more accurate. There is a good "sense of place" in the book. The locales are well described and seem very real, anchoring the story. The evil forces are well done. Mr. Odom creates some new and entertaining monsters. The world in which the story is set has a lot of originality. The evil forces are devoted to destruction of books, learning, and the arts. Jugh, late in the story, tells his friend Craugh the Wizard WHY he believe the dark forces want to destroy all books. This development is quite interesting, and promises the reader some interesting turns in the next volume of the series, not yet published. A reviewer on the book's cover compares THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BOOKS to the novels of Tolkien or Terry Brooks. This is a bit "too much" -- Mr. Odom's novel is just not that good. However, in fairness, the novel is a good read. While it has some flaws and in some ways one might wish it better, it is good enjoyable entertainment for a lazy Sunday afternoon, or better yet, as a good read on a long airline flight. Since this is only the first installment of a multivolume effort, the book sort of leaves us in limbo at the end. So many of these "installment" novels are appearing in recent years, this sort of let down is coming to seem acceptable. However, as a way of writing a unified piece of fiction, it does little service to the reader. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BOOKS has just been published -- copyright 2004. How long would a reader have to wait to learn how the story comes out-- two more years? As I said, far from an ideal situation, and far short of a true courtesy to Mr. Odom's readers.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Far Side of the Stars; Author: Visit Amazon's David Drake Page; Review: I had some difficulty with this book, even though I have read many of David Drake's other books with great enjoyment and enthusiasm. Generally, the "galactic politics" themes in this book bored me to death. We have a young captain in a small warship struggling to survive in a very savage pond. Naturally, there are corrupt officials and dirty deals, and the Lieutenant and his shipmates have to be clever, quick, and devious to survive. But unfortunately, this is pretty trite. Another reviewer mentioned fairly shallow characters that are pretty much without complexity. This is okay in an action novel, but all this political intrigue combined with fairly superficial characters -- it just "wears on a reader." What I did discover is that David Drake does not disappoint with action-based "future war" narratives. Embedded in this book are a number of simply excellent battle scenes-- gunfights in skid-row taverns, naval battles between the Lieutenant's frigate and much larger vessels (light-cruiser class). When the ion cannon are blazing and the hyperdrive missiles are flaring, no one writes better than David Drake. Since the novel is a thinly linked picaresque type novel, and is essentially a series of short stories connected only by a very loose overall plot, I decided to read the book that way. So I skimmed and skimmed, and when the ion bolts were blazing and the missile traces crossed the heavens, I settled in for a very careful read! Unfortunately, this means I read half the book carefully and skimmed the rest. But I just could not really get through this book on its own terms. One other thing I might mention-- Drake describes the spaceships in the book with old fashioned terms appropriate to the sailing ships of Napoleon's time. Use of terms such as "hatches," "rigging," "forecastle" and the like are presumably supposed to lend a sort of "Horatio Hornblower" excitement to the story. Unfortunately, it just seems totally absurd. David Drake is a wonderful writer and has done some EXCELLENT books. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: More Holmes for the Holidays; Author: Visit Amazon's Martin H. Greenberg Page; Review: This book has a lot of good fun in it. We not only are able to revisit Holmes and Watson, but many of the stories take us into the interesting world of 19th century intellectuals and literati. For one example, Bill Crider's story "The Adventure of the Christmas Bear" brings Oscar Wilde to life. At first glance, one would imagine no pair more opposite than the dour Holmes and the madcap Oscar Wilde. And yet, they strike some very interesting sparks in the story. Charles Darwin comes to life in "The Adventure of the Naturalist's Stock Pin." Jon Breen creates a story where Darwin himself comes calling at 221B Baker Street using the pseudonym "Mr. Beagle." His wiles are of no use, of course, for Holmes quickly confronts him with his real identity. The story is most entertaining, and again, is a treat for those of us who enjoy bringing of a past milieu to life. Bob Cratchit of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is the heart of yet another story -- as a supposedly "real" personage! Some of these literary pastiches have to be applauded for their audacity and inventiveness. And of course, can the writer bring the story home-- can the sometimes outre premise be woven into a Christmas tale? I believe these stories succeed moreso than they fail. Considering that many of the stories are by authors I've never heard of, I was pleasantly surprised that the quality of the writing is really quite good. The editors deserve a pat on the back. A few of the writers are pretty well known -- I'm familiar with Anne Perry and Tanith Lee, for two. Is this book, "More Holmes for the Holidays," of equal quality with its predecessor, entitled "Holmes for the Holidays?" I am presently reading my way through the latter. It appears there is no fall-off in quality. Good editors are good editors. They did a capable job with the first, and sustained their good judgment with the second. These stories are great fun at Christmastime. It's surprising how differently the authors "imagine" that Holmes responded to Christmas. Often in a dour and sour manner -- "humbug" -- but in some of the stories, he has a bright Christmas spirit. The only Arthur Conan Doyle story involving Holmes and Christmas is "The Blue Carbuncle." That was a fine tale! It's a shame that Doyle did not do more Christmas tales involving the Baker Street duo, and this book helps remedy that deficiency.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Language of Power; Author: Visit Amazon's Rosemary Kirstein Page; Review: Rosemary Kirstein's THE LANGUAGE OF POWER is a bit different, but after all is said and done, it is a worthy continuation of the very gripping saga she has been unfolding in the preceding books, beginning with THE STEERSWOMAN'S ROAD. A reviewer needs to tread carefully here, since too much attention to a plot summary can prove to be a "spoiler" for those who have not begun the book. Let us put it this way. THE STEERSWOMAN'S ROAD and THE LOST STEERSMAN were painted on a large canvas. They involved quest, and crossed the mapped world. They involved peoples, countries, cultures, all beautifully brought to life by the writer. THE LANGUAGE OF POWER pretty much stays in one place, the port city of Donner. Rather than taking us across a world, this book "drills down deep." Rowan, the protagonist, is on the trail of the elusive "wizards." She has good reason to care-- she was severely injured and saw an entire people destroyed by the callous exercise of the wizards' powers. Now Rowan puts all her analytic powers toward unraveling the mysteries and secrets of the wizards. And that involves going into the past. She interviews the villagers, getting a bit of information here, and a bit of information there. We have numerous interesting characters, most rather well sketched, who provide bits and pieces of information. Out of this, we observe a brilliant deductive mind at work-- Rowan's. Only Rowan has the capability to piece together fragments of the past, to finally clarify the frightening nature of the wizards. And then, to find the courage to GO HUNTING THEM. With her dear friend Willam now returned (Willam, not William as another reviewer kept putting it) Rowan goes on the attack at the end of this book. Willam, a half-trained apprentice wizard, as well as Bel, Rowan's swordswoman soul-mate, are her indispensible allies -- they keep her alive while she pursues an old, cold trail of evidence. The upshot of this book is the destruction of one wizard, plus priceless information that will allow her personal war to continue. One thing so exciting about Ms. Kirstein is -- throw out the EXPECTED. Things happen in this book that are truly ORIGINAL. Her narrative detailing the capture of a dragon is marvelous. I can't spoil this by describing it, but it is totally gripping. One can never anticipate what will come out of the pen of this writer. To illustrate my point, I have recently read TANEQUIL by Terry Brooks. Not bad, really, but so predictable. Fantasy by formula. Change character names, and a plot summary would be much like those for Mr. Brooks's earlier epics. Ms. Kirstein throws out the formula. No one can imagine what is going to happen as one starts one of her novels. The element of surprise in her books is paramount. It brings to my mind a quotation from Lawrence Durrell's THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET -- "Take but a step to the East or West and the entire picture changes." This book is a fascinating blend of fantasy and; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Triumph of Souls (Journeys of the Catechist); Author: Visit Amazon's Alan Dean Foster Page; Review: It took me a couple of chapters in A TRIUMPH OF SOULS to figure out exactly what sort of book I was reading. I had not read the previous books in the series. At first I was put off, thinking, "hey, this is totally implausible." Then I figured out that the book follows the rules of a fairy tale. Or even, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. So if a fisherman has a bottle containing the west wind, or the heroes venture into a land of faceless people -- well, in this universe, such things happen. Once the reader orients him/herself to this world, the read becomes more comfortable. And it is full of wonderful surprises! It is as though Foster is familiar with the conventions of such fantasy worlds, and does some amazing switcheroos! These can be very surprising, and if you are reading in bed, the writer really wakes you up. The characters are not too deep, excepting maybe for the lead character Etjole Ehomba, who is drawn with more depth and complexity. And a warning-- some characters are NOT what they may seem! The ending of this novel is full of the most unexpected and amazing twists. Other bonuses -- The story has a very voluptuous, beautiful, and super sexy pricess type, named Visioness Themaryl. What happens to her at the end of the book is quite a testament to the contraryness of women, but for me to divulge the details would "spoil" the book for readers. The novel is picaresque, united by a journey. Each place visited on the journey contains a separate adventure. The dangers the group of heroes face are very original. The structure is very loose-- almost like a chain of short stories involving the same characters. (Naturally, the novel has the obligatory map of the fantasy world, which seems to be a "stock in trade" of fantasy novels these days.) Lastly, there's a really bad villain. About as unpleasant and dangerous as could be imagined. A fun book. A good airplane book. Not to be taken too seriously. (I don't even think the author himself intended that the book be taken very seriously.) The book was interesting enough that I finished it in two days.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Demon's Gate; Author: Visit Amazon's Steve White Page; Review: I have great respect for Steve White after having recently enjoyed the novels IN DEATH GROUND and THE SHIVA OPTION which he co-authored with David Weber. I expected much from this book, but I was somewhat disappointed. DEMON'S GATE has some great scenes that kept me reading, but to my mind the book also has some serious shortcomings. And some of the problems Steve White created for himself. The names drove me crazy. White creates dozens of odd names. They have too many verbs, or in some cases, too many consonants, and are unpronounceable. What is worse, many of the names are confusingly similar. For example, two brothers are named Khaaradh and Khaavorn. I kept leafing back to the previous chapter, trying to straighten out which was which. I will quote one sentence which can suggest to you how very awkward these names become: "Lanoraak, Khaaradh, and Akhraworn were immediately on their feet besides Khaavorn, bellowing their support for him." I could NOT keep these characters straight. For another example, two of the most central evil characters in the book, a high priestess and the demon emperor, have highly similar names of about 10 letters and -- again -- I found it almost impossible to keep them straight. The place names are just as bad. This slew of clumsy names is just continual -- the chapters are salted with them. I can't remember having so much struggle just to keep straight who was who. Or where they were! This was completely unnecessary, in my opinion. The demons were great! Steve White not only sprinkled the book with demons, but he created several orders of demons with different powers and appearance. The scenes where the characters battled the demons were very well executed and were real page-turners. These parts of the book show White at his best. Some of the magic users -- high priests and sorcerors -- were also excellently rendered. The female mages were both drop-dead beautiful and also very frightening. Some scenes in the book appeared to violate common sense. A good example -- Late in the evening before the great battle, the king gets this "brilliant idea" to defeat the demons. He asks one of his officers if the men can find some digging tools. A few hours later, demons the size of elephants are falling into ENORMOUS hidden pits that have been cleverly covered over with branches and leaves. In other words, soldiers with a few scrounged up shovels -- in a few hours and within sight of the enemy -- have excavated enough dirt to practically dig another Holland Tunnel. I mean, this borders on "nuts." As though a writer would describe how a bunch of janitors have rebuilt the World Trade Center overnight. A mixed bag. A few great scenes, a few memorable wicked characters, and . . . I have to say it . . . some major shortcomings.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Berserker's Star (Saberhagen, Fred); Author: Visit Amazon's Fred Saberhagen Page; Review: This is the first berserker novel I have read in several years. I found it quite entertaining, largely for the quite extraordinary stellar system, which consists of a black hole, a neutron star "pulsar," and a "habitable body" called Maracanda. This place is NOT a planet, as several characters keep repeating almost as a mantra. The concept -- for the sake of entertainment at least -- is that the gravitational distortions of massive objects in a tight orbit have created weirdness on the habitable portion of Maracanda. Traveling around or adventuring on Maracanda is quite an experience of time and space dilation. The characterization is not very deep for the most part, although the protagonist Harry came to life pretty well for me. He is part rogue and part "the last honest man." There's a kind of love linkage in the character of Lily, although the author never really has time or room to build this into too much. Really, Harry's first love is his intelligent ship, the Witch. The ship is actually a better developed character than some of the characters. As a very "fun read," I give this book pretty good marks. As for quality, I think the author succeeded in creating an imaginary place that is -- ta ta! -- ORIGINAL and that keeps you guessing. The berserkers are a fun concept -- a bit like the Cylons in Battlestar Galactica or the "replicators" in SG-1. In short, legion of self-replicating robots with the gone-wrong mission imperative of exterminating all life. These are not original, but they make pretty good -- and scary -- villains. Because in the war with the berserkers, it appears mankind is LOSING . . . If you want a fun read that keeps you turning pages, and some very original ideas spun off of Einstein's relativity and astrophysics -- I think you will like this. It is not "War and Peace" but it is fun -- and good of its kind.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rogue Berserker (Berserker Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Fred Saberhagen Page; Review: This novel is more tightly written than some of Saberhagen's other Berserker novels -- more concise and faster moving. The plotting is really skillful. Under the experienced pen of the author, the plot of this book "turns around" to bite the reader in an almost shocking way. Saberhagen "sets up" the reader from the first page with lots of scattered evidence that is subject to lots of interpretation. The bare facts are these: women and children have been kidnapped by the berserkers. As Harry Winston and his boss Winston Cheng puzzle over the evidence, weighing facts against facts, they work out a pretty sound theory of what has happened and why. Using their assumptions, Harry and Cheng assemble a team and devise a plan to rescue the hostages. The whole rescue mission, which is at the center of the book, is based upon this reconstruction of what really happened. Who did the kidnappings? Why? What will become of the hostages? Where were they taken? In this respect, the novel takes on some of the suspense of a good mystery novel. And yet the author wisely plants some seeds of doubt. Harry Silver's logic wars with his instincts. "That HAS to be what happened . . . but it somehow doesn't 'smell' right." Have Harry and Cheng built a house of cards? A blur of shocking and violent events bursts upon the reader at the end of Chapter 12 -- about two-thirds of the way through the book. As Lawrence Durrell once put it, "take but a step to the east or the west and the entire picture changes." It turns out that every key assumption of Silver and Chang was WRONG. As weapons blaze, as his friends are dying, and as his installation is being blown apart, Harry realizes with a kind of horror that his whole picture -- everything -- was based on wrong interpretations. Some of his brothers in arms, on whom he was depending, turn out to be arch-villains, and the berserkers whom he thought he understood are acting in inexplicable ways, beyond anything Harry could have expected. Furthermore, the hostages are not where everyone assumed they were. The kidnappers are not the ones that everyone "knew" were guilty. Lastly, characters who up until now have seemed inconsequential and even silly suddenly become key and central players in the novel. The author has managed all of this so skillfully. The plotting is almost brilliant. It is like one of those "gestalt" drawings where a picture seems to change from a lady's hat to a duck. The author takes the same evidence and lays it out in a different pattern. And, suddenly everything is up for grabs. Harry improvises, recruiting the most improbable allies, making it up as he goes along. When he blasts his way finally into the fortress and releases the hostages, one of them says, "where are all the others? The other rescuers?" Harry said, "I'm it. There's no one else. I'm the only one that's still alive." What a story! The characters are marvelous. The book; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shiva in Steel (Berserker Series/Fred Saberhagen); Author: Visit Amazon's Fred Saberhagen Page; Review: In the last couple of months I reviewed two other Saberhagen novels on Amazon: Berserker Star and Rogue Berserker. Both showed more craftsmanship than Shiva in Steel. The other reviews printed here carry the main idea. The book seems carelessly or hastily done. For example-- the first two-thirds of the book are focused toward preparing and arming a sortie against the berserkers. The ships are prepared, the crews are trained, the strategy is planned. Then we find out, there's going to be no expedition. A kind of ad hoc battle flares up as the berserkers somehow locate the Solarian base. A reader has the feeling that Saberhagen started out to write a big novel, say 500 pages, and then for whatever reason needed to bring it to a very rapid close. As for the characters . . . again, a work half finished. Harry's great love, Becky, shows up in the novel. Given the build-up to her appearance, we are expecting some engagement between Harry and the girl. However, she is little more than a cardboard cutout. There's no characterization, really, and the total exchange between Harry and Becky amounts to just a few paragraphs. Several times, Harry begins to develop sub-plots. Marut is a commander with whom Harry has lots of conflict. He's a pretty central figure in the first half of the book. Then he just disappears. We finally get a sentence or two at the very end informing us that his ship was lost in the battle. Other characters are brought on stage, given some scenes, and assume some reality in the story, to include the Emperor Julius and Christopher Havot. Both of them peter out. It is as though Saberhagen decided to write them into the story, then loses track of them. I formerly had given Saberhagen's Rogue Berserker a very strong rating. I thought it was really well done. This novel is really a patched-together mess. I wonder if the publishers were pressuring him and he was over-deadline. He had a rough draft . . . well, "it would just have to do!" Not for me it didn't. Didn't do, I mean. And one of the other reviewer's comments, that we never find out what happens to the title villain Shiva . . . that's ridiculous. You have a title villain, and you somehow lose track of him? This is a problem with today's equivalent of the pulp market. Novels are pumped out fast, sometimes one or more a year. Publishers keep badgering their few authors who have something of a name for more and more productivity. If the book is ready it comes out. If it is half-finished and desperately needs work, it comes out anyway. At least some of this criticism should go to the editor at the publishing house. Saberhagen has other much better novels in print. Buy those.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda: Waystation; Author: Visit Amazon's Steven E. McDonald Page; Review: I began WAYSTATION without high expectations, since spin-off novels from video series or films are rarely masterpieces. I was pleasantly surprised. The novel shows some surprising quality in places. It really had me turning pages and enjoying myself. Too bad that, overall, it lacked a satisfying ending and -- at the end -- just sort of twittered out into limbo. At first I was a bit put off by the constant flip banter between the characters. However, this constant banter became more familiar by the second chapter and I started to flow with it. Perhaps because I came to enjoy the characters. I have seen the Andromeda TV show and expected the characters to be cardboard cut-outs from the show, but the author did a surprisingly good job of bringing them to life. The best developed character by far was Trance Gemini, that peculiar little elfin woman whose role I never understood in the TV series. She becomes the focus of this book, and carries it. I need to give Mr. McDonald a gold star for developing her into an interesting character for the reader, given that I am not sure the TV show provided him with much to work with in this regard. The novel also helped me to understand some riddles of the TV series that never made sense to me. Like, why there are TWO Andromedas -- one a hologram and one an android. Turns out they are two different characters. At times they even begin to argue with one another. The plot started so well. The ship Andromeda Ascendant has been badly shot up in a battle with defense forces of the planet Kantar; she escapes, limping, into Slipstream drive, but is forced to drop out of hyperspace when systems fail. The ship thus defaults into a very bad location, a quadrant with little but empty vacuum. No planets, no moons, no asteroids. However, by good fortune Andromeda's star charts reveal an old waystation, built centuries earlier to service starships in the early days of exploration. The plot centers on a desperate effort to (1) travel to the waystation, (2) find materials necessary to effect repairs on the Andromeda Ascendant, and (3) return. Here's where the book runs into major problems. At least three-quarters of the book (roughly 200 pages) has concluded before members of Hunt's crew even REACH the waystation. Thus the author has only about 65 pages to roll out most of the plot and wrap up the book. Scene follows scene in a rush, blurring past the reader as the author tries to tie everything up in a few tens of pages. Even with all this haste and compression, a lot is left hanging as the book ends. Perhaps the author might have had more room to conclude the book if he did not devote so many pages to Trance Gemini's dimension doors and encounters with quantum alternates of herself. While this element worked well for a while, and was genuinely interesting when first introduced, it eventually got to be very repetitious and overworked. I; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Crusade (Starfire); Author: David Weber; Review: I started backwards, with ON DEATH GROUND. Then I read THE SHIVA OPTION. Now I just finished CRUSADE. I did think the CRUSADE book was on a par with ON DEATH GROUND. Perhaps the scale of sheer horror was less. But the description of naval battles was on a par. As I finished the halfway point of CRUSADE, I had this feeling of "battles and battles and battles." It was getting flat, and I had a feeling the authors were just repeating a formula. The sub-plots really saved the book. There were some embedded narratives involving key characters. The last 75 pages were the story of a Marines division tasked to assault the command center of the Thebes homeworld. In the epilogue, it was heartening that the "farewell" to six or eight of the key characters really meant something. I was not confused -- each character stood out as an individual. I cared what eventually happened to them. This testifies to the quality of characterization in the book. It's essentially an action novel, but the characters really brought it to live. David Weber is only rivalled by David Drake in writing "future war" novels. And of course, Keith Laumer and the "Bolo" series. They are the best. They are not always at their top form, but this book speaks well for David Weber and Steve White both. I may try to go back and find INSURRECTION.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Historian; Author: Visit Amazon's Elizabeth Kostova Page; Review: I enjoyed this big novel, and read it in a surprisingly short time. What is remarkable about the book is that it takes the form of an epistolary novel of the sort popular in the Eighteenth Century. Richardson's "Clarissa" comes to mind. "The Historian" is structured around quite a few collections of old papers. These include several bundles of letters or postcards -- or even journal entries of persons long since dead. The protagonists chance upon these documents in their nonstop search for Dracula's tomb. When each document or group of documents are discovered, they are read. Professor Rossi -- one of the book's central characters -- leaves a bundle of letters at one point, and a longhand "letter to the world" at the book's end. His sweetheart Helen leaves a thick pack of postcards -- oddly enough, never mailed. The characters keep scattering documents the way Hansel and Gretel scattered breadcrumbs. This is the main structural device of the novel Old letters or documents are discovered in one ancient library or monastary after another as the characters bounce around Eastern Europe. The documents are presented to the reader, often as separate chapters, and are discussed by the book's central characters. Then a few pages later, one or more additional letters are found. They, in turn, are presented for the reader and discussed. Slowly, we wind our way toward the center of the mystery. While this may not sound all that exciting, the epistolatory structure is skillfully used by the author. Tension and suspense come through all this, since each letter -- or old journal, or yellowing old map -- leads us a bit closer to Dracula's tomb. One effect of all this garnering and presenting of old documents is to create multiple levels of time. Some of this takes place in the Fifteenth Century, some in the 1930s, and some in the 1960s. There is also the sense of "a picture within a picture." Old bundles of letters may go on for chapters as they follow each other, one by one. While we are reading these old letters, references are made to still older documents. These in turn refer to scenes from the history of 500 years ago. We get this folding of time effect -- almost as though we see mirrors reflecting other mirrors -- reflections glancing off of other reflections. This can be a bit of a challenge for the reader, but creates a great sense of DEPTH. History seems to unfold into the present in a series of reflections that mirror each other. This is a very interesting book. I did enjoy it. I do think that it is too long on sleuthing and rather short on action. It might have been edited more tightly -- and better at 450 pages than at its present length of roughly 650 pages. The author writes well, and creates an excellent sense of place. Scenes in the book come so alive, partly through good writing and skillful use of selected details. I read a RAVE review before I purchased the book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Secret of Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Paul J. McAuley Page; Review: THE SECRET OF LIFE is a big, sprawling, highly episodic book that seems to lack an ending. On the paragraph level, McAuley writes quite well. For instance, he describes one of his southwestern characters: "She is wearing white, tasseled cowboy boots that add ten centimeters to her not-very-considerable height, white silk shorts and a matching bolero jacket over an orange T-shirt, and shades herself from the noon sun with a fringed parasol. Her skin is so pale the maps of her blue veins show through, her teased and waved blond hair looks as fragile as spun glass." The author weaves a lot of this vivid description through his narrative. When he directs his keen vision to landscapes, he makes Mars come alive for the reader. At this level, McAuley writes very well. But there are some structural oddities in the book that put me off. After moving into the second section of the book, which puts the central character, Mariella, about to blast off for an exploration of Mars, McAuley -- at this unpromising point -- decides to wander off into the protagonist's distant past and tread water laying out background -- for about 35 pages. He woolgathers about his character's youth, about her academic wanderings from university to university, about her half-successful marriage. What an awful time, when the reader is keyed up for the launch to Mars, to just put all the action on hold. Worse, a large part of this meandering seems to be only borderline relevant to the story. What a way to kill reader interest! I must be honest. I began to skim, because I reached a point I couldn't bear any more. The episodes set on Mars were excellent, in part through the writer's descriptive skills and in part due to his extensive science background. If one could somehow excise this and make it a short, stand-alone novel, I would rate it a "5 stars." Unfortunately, McAuley seems determined to press on. The last third of the book -- set back on Earth -- blurs past in a kaleidoscope of changing scenes and settings. Too much, too fast. Every few pages we move to a different locale to the point that we almost lose track of where we are. Characters spin by too fast to assume any reality. The book has no ending. It just stops. The dangerous alien life choking the seas has not been not vanquished . . . indeed, it has not even been attacked. In lieu of an ending, the final pages wonder out loud how -- possibly -- this peril may be defeated. And yet, I thought the survival of earth and the recovery of the seas was the whole centerpiece of the plot! In terms of politics and social philosophy, the author sets up some straw men, then proceeds to knock them down one by one. The "greens" who love the earth -- all totally admirable -- are pitted against corporate robber barons. No one is ever ambivalent or complex -- they wear either the white hat or the black; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Splintered Icon; Author: Visit Amazon's Bill Napier Page; Review: Bill Napier's "Splintered Icon" is everything the cover blurbs promise -- an exciting read that is difficult to put down. The characters are just deep enough to sustain the drive of the plot. Like many thrillers, the characters travel to an exotic location -- modern-day Jamaica. Descriptions are good, and the lush and slightly dangerous byways of Jamaica take on enough menace to accentuate the perils of the characters. Ruthless competitors willing to kill to attain the treasure. Kidnappings, gunplay, attempts to steal key journals that link to the location of the title's priceless icon. Unfortunately, there are a few shortcomings to the book. Or, "it seemed to me" there were. Others may disagree. I was never really convinced that this icon was of world-shaking import. I refuse to ruin the story for those who have not read the book. But the Sixteenth Century episodes in the story try to convince us that this icon was the key to either England or Spain seizing control of the New World. I'm sorry. If I told you what the nature of the icon was, you would find this premise ridiculous. Let me give you an analogy without giving away the story for you. It is as though you have been paid a small fortune to seek out a small, rare postage stamp. You are told that if you do not find this stamp, and the sinister rival team finds that stamp first, the United States will crumble. Now-- no one is going to deny that this searched item is highly valuable -- worth millions. But the consequences as outlined by author Napier are "over the top." They just don't sell. The first two-thirds of the book are exellent. Had me on the edge of my seat. But the closing 75 pages become very thin. Almost as though a "bolt of inspiration" strikes the leading character, he suddenly leaps up and says, "I KNOW where the icon must be!!!!" He then unerringly races to the location, to encounter a battle with the sinister rival team, and . . . just the standard canned ending. My point? The ending is too pat, too neat, too quick, too trite. This is a fine book for a read on the airplane, or to read in the bathtub where it risks the "deep six." It is fun, at least in part. It is not a serious rival to Brown's Da Vinci Code"; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West; Author: Visit Amazon's Gregory Maguire Page; Review: All in all, I'm glad I read the book. It was genuinely interesting. It may seem silly to claim that a book derivative of another writer (J. Frank Baum) is refreshingly original. And yet, this book fits that description. But without giving away the story, I must say that the ending was grim and miserable to the extreme. "Wretched" would not be too strong a word. I had read all but the last 50 pages of the book, but by then I had gotten a pretty good sense of where it was headed. I anticipated a really wretched, miserable ending. I hate books with a despairing and inconclusive sort of ending. Consequently, I put the book aside for a month before bringing myself to finally read those final pages. The final pages were every bit as grim as I feared, almost to be point of being nihilistic. Everything bright or pleasant or sympathetic in the book was systematically destroyed by the author at the book's close, along with the witch. One reason this had an impact on me is that McGuire was so successful in creating his lead character, the witch herself. I really began to care about what happened to her. She was essentially a sympathetic character to me, even rather loveable in her quirks, insecurities, and vulnerabilities. For me, at least, she deserved better than she got. The imaginary land of Oz as recreated by McGuire was very interesting -- sort of the dark underbelly of the Oz of J. Frank Baum's wonderful childrens' books. The play of magic in the book was intriguing. Just about the time we started to believe the magic was a sham, and little better than a carnival trick, some fearsome magic began to actually work! The supporting characters were well drawn, and the interaction between them drove most of the book. Near the end -- including those final pages I was reluctant to read -- almost all the supporting characters were gone, and the witch began lengthy solipsistic debates within herself. This really de-fanged the suspense and interest the book had built up to that point. Unfortunately, for me, the totally dark, despairing ending -- and the seeming destruction of even the few gleams of light the book offered -- was a train wreck. If this is the meaning of life, we are all in big trouble, folks. I feel that I just don't need to read such depressing and despairing books. I can put my fingers on a hot stove burner if my goal is to feel depressed and miserable.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Deepsix; Author: Visit Amazon's Jack McDevitt Page; Review: All in all, Deepsix is an entertaining novel. For me, however, it at times seemed rather flat, like a carbonated drink that has been sitting opened for a few hours. I think the pace of the book was too slow, given that the plot is a rather simple one. But let's start with some plus's. I loved the extensive coverage of alien ruins and alien artifacts. These scenes -- and there are many -- were great fun. Whenever the adventurers entered a jungle clearing and found an alien temple or structure, surprises were many and the reader suddenly sat up on the edge of his (or her) chair. One of the very most fun alien discoveries was the skyhook anchor, found circling the planet in a far orbit. And the flora and fauna of the planet "Deepsix" were great fun also. Encountering dangerous alien life forms while chopping through the rain forest -- this is great entertainment. Especially since McDevitt does a great job bringing it all to life. But back to a few problems. The author creates a character named MacAllister, and seems to want us to dislike him. I mean, this guy is portrayed as a real jerk. Self-important, pompous, and continually abrasive with anyone who crosses his path. MacAllister is a journalist and writer who has attained a great reputation. He has come to feel he is beyond criticism, and has an unpleasant sense of his own superiority. Well, you ask, 'what's the problem?' Lots of books have unattractive characters. Here's the problem. MacAllister dominates the book. Every -- yes, EVERY -- chapter begins with a lengthy quotation from MacAllister. These don't come to anything, and I began skipping them. Also, the author seems to push MacAllister forward to dominate so many scenes in the book. I asked myself, 'why do I need to continually cope with this unpleasant person?' MacAllister is not even interesting as a character. He is one dimensional -- a "one-note Johnny." He has no range, just being a crusty curmudgeon chapter after chapter. As I said when I began this review, Deepsix needs major editing with respect to the element of 'pace.' It just moves too SLOW. too many chapters go by while the author is still introducing the setting and introducing a long string of characters, some of whom prove rather insignificant in the overall story. Sub-plots that have little linkage to the main plot keep pulling us away from the main story, just when we are beginning to get highly involved. This 430-page book could easily shed 150 pages and be a better novel for it. There are some well-drawn and interesting characters that help to power the book. These include the woman "Hutch" and the burned out aging explorer Nightingale. One writer compared this novel to the best of Arthur C. Clarke. Well, there are some resemblances, especially the fascinating alien artifacts that excite the reader about extraterrestrial civilizations. And there is some hard science extrapolated, such as the skyhook technology that shows up in Deepsix. But all in all, we; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Spirit of the Stone: Book 2 of The Shadowleague; Author: Visit Amazon's Maggie Furey Page; Review: Let this review cover both SPIRIT OF THE STONE and THE HEART OF MYRIAL, since I will not find the time to review both separately. This is a very good fantasy series. It reminds me a bit of the Rosemary Kirstein series of Steerswoman novels in that it is fantasy with a science-fiction world for a backdrop. It appears that the world of the novels was set up in a perfect balance countless ages before by some super race. Climate was perfect, and various different races and peoples were set on different islands with barriers between them called "curtain walls.' Now the balance of this world has gone way out of kilter and the world is headed for destruction. Even now the weather is so bad crops cannot be grown and starvation stalks some of the lands. In this setting, we have several most interesting characters on a dire mission, related to an effort by the "Shadowleague" to save the world. Naturally, there's a quest element -- the world cannot be saved if the heroes of the Shadowleague cannot come to a greater understanding of how the world got the way it is, and how it is controlled. Ironically, there is a scientific, central control center for the world which is totally misunderstood by the superstitious and ignorant peasants who now run everything. So this science center is NOW used as a magical temple for the priest class. I mean, sometimes you just want to THROTTLE these fools. The character that is SO MUCH FUN and really steals the show is Kaz, the firedrake. This character is a pint-sized dragon. Bright red, covered with scales, and with the toothy dragon's jaws and head. HOWEVER, the firedrake is only about the size of a rhinoceros. Big, yes. But not huge, if you get my drift. The firedrake is an intelligent character in the story who communicates with telepathy. He is also a magical creature and a fire creature -- he can launch jets of intense flame for 25 or thirty feet -- the heat is enough to even melt metal. He also has quite a personality, always sneaking off to eat a sheep or two. I mean, this firedrake is a big guy, and those fires need to be stoked, you know? Just for the record, the books have a few REAL dragons -- and I mean, these guys are really huge. Like about the size of a small freight train. Fortunately, to avoid going too far overboard on dragons and their firedrake cousins, the real dragons take something of a background role in the novels. Great fun, fast moving, very imaginative -- and Ms. Furey writes VERY well. Some of the other reviewers have complained there's not enough action, but action is a trade-off against characters. To build interesting characters you need lots of dialog, and to supply this the endless action occasionally has to be put on hold. For my part, I think the balance between action and characters is pretty well maintained in the book. I recommend both Heart of; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Berserker Fury (Berserker Series/Fred Saberhagen); Author: Visit Amazon's Fred Saberhagen Page; Review: Looking at so many of the other customer reviews here, with one star or two out of five, I believe the book has been underrated. True, the book has weaknesses, but the final 75 pages are excellent, even brilliant. However, in the opening two-thirds of the book the narrative goes so flat I had to go over to speed reading mode to just get through some of it. Naturally, readers who just get bored to death and quit are never going to reach those final chapters. In the final 75 pages or so, Fred Saberhagen stacks up with David Weber and David Drake as a master of future war. I thought I was so clever, recognizing the Battle of Midway (WW II) as re-described in Fred Saberhagen's novel. Now I get to Amazon reviews, and see that almost every reviewer has picked up the identical parallel. Final remark -- the Berserker novels by Fred S. are very uneven. I reviewed one and gave it about 5 stars as simply EXCELLENT. A different one I just panned as dull, whacko, and without any ending. It just stopped in the middle. Some of these Berserker novels are excellent, but a few are real dogs. Sadly, I suspect that the author is just out for the bucks. By now he is a "big name," so just dumps out anything, whether it is decent or just junk. He doesn't care, as long as he gets the check. The editors at the publishing house don't care either. He is riding on his reputation, and they know he can still sell some to the poor saps who believe in him. Bear in mind, SOME of these berserker novels are really good. Hard for someone starting into them to know which ones, though.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within; Author: Visit Amazon's Bruce Bawer Page; Review: I just finished WHILE EUROPE SLEPT and found it an interesting book. I'm glad I selected the book, and read it. Generally, it was most interesting, and -- I think -- worth my time. However, it might be helpful for potential readers if I address a few concerns. First, the book is more a kind of portrayal of Europe's folly and decline in general. The peril represented by radical Islam to Europe is only one subordinate part of this big picture. I read the second major section of the book, dealing with "blaming Americans and Jews." You can read thirty or forty pages of this section without any discussion of Muslims at all. Rather, the subject is an intense hatred by many Europeans of Israel and America. Anti-Americanism, in other words. It becomes a kind of scapegoating that lets Europeans duck responsibility for their own problems. So maybe the book should be entitled, "Causes of Europe's Decline," and then the subtitle -- "Anti-Americanism, Policy Failures, and the Threat of Radical Islam." This would be a better reflection of what the book is really about. Second, where Mr. Bawer does address Islam and its threat to Europe, he is really not talking about Radical Islam, as the book's title suggests. He is talking just about Islam in general. For instance, when we look at the riots and car burning in France, this is not the work of a tiny, fanatical faction of Islamic people in Europe. Rather, the fury is emerging from the broad Islamic community. So while I do not deny that Islamic immigrants are posing a major threat to Europe, I do not see the "Radical Islam" that is featured on the book's cover. So, with these qualifications, I do find the book deeply interesting and well worth reading.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: At the Mountains of Madness: And Other Tales of Terror; Author: Visit Amazon's H. P. Lovecraft Page; Review: I will not try to write a complete review, since I see that there are already 17 reviews available here, several of fine quality. This edition is of great interest because it issues from Arkham House. Arkham House publishing was founded by August Derleth, a protege of H.P. Lovecraft who himself wrote a rather large volume of pastiche material using the Cthulhu mythos of Lovecraft. One motive of Derleth's in founding Arkham House publishing was to find a medium to reissue all the writings of Lovecraft, since many were confined to the pulps like Weird Tales that had first printed them. I recently purchased this book. The quality of the book is excellent. The print is clear and easy to read. The bookbinding quality is just excellent. This may explain why the book is not particularly cheap. As for the contents, readers may be glad to know that this book contains much of the very finest writing Lovecraft produced. The short novels were written following Lovecraft's return from his years living in New York, and follow the breakup of his marriage. This "period" of about a decade marked the finest of Lovecraft's writings. In my opinion -- arguably -- "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" are the best works in the Lovecraft canon. A few other words might come up to them, but nothing's better. Those who find Lovecraft interesting should also check out the writings of August Derleth that incorporate Lovecraft's "Cthulhu mythos." There is also a board game entitled "Arkham Horror" which attempts to recreate the scary Lovecraft universe on your card table. Whacky as this sounds, the game is fun to play. So have at it! Scare yourselves silly! I love this sort of material myself.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Italian Secretary: A Further Adventure of Sherlock Holmes; Author: Visit Amazon's Caleb Carr Page; Review: It would be easy to key on the shortcomings of this book and just pan it. However, it has some strengths as well. This pastiche is an excellent imitation of the gothic atmosphere in some of the Conan Doyle stories. Notable examples would be The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Speckled Band. The haunted atmosphere of the Scottish castle in this novel is a setting that I think Doyle himself would have loved. A friend of mine is a college professor with a specialist's interest in the period. He was fascinated with the historical setting of the story, and assures me it is altogether accurate. The author surely did his homework here. The background SEEMS very authentic, and my authoritative friend tells me that it is indeed. Now for shortcomings. Something odd happened to the plot, and to the "discovery" which is so essential to a good detective novel. The reader is not brought along, following a trail of clues, toward increasing suspicions of the killer. Instead, about halfway through the book, Holmes just shows up and "announces" who the killer is. He lists off a lot of clues and facts the reader has never encountered in the story, and just says, in effect -- ". . . so you see, it is all open and shut." This sort of slam bang "spill" of the plot secrets sort of ruined the story for me. The good writer will "render" the story -- build it dramatically. Doesn't happen here. Then I thought the ending was gauche and a bit "outre." Too much like a Sherlock Holmes version of "The House of Wax." I better not tell too much, for fear of spoiling the story for those who have not read it yet. I'm not sorry I read this book. It had its moments. But I do believe it could have been better.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Shadowfall (The Godslayer Chronicles, Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's James Clemens Page; Review: Shadowfall is not a perfect book, but it is fast-moving and the imaginary world created by the author is highly original and even unexpected. One real mystery is -- what is the premise behind this imaginary world, and what is really going on? I believe the author is reserving some great surprises for the subsequent volumes. One hundred mysterious "gods" colonized this craggy and scenic world three millenia before. Little is told of where they came from, but it appears to have been an exile following a great battle. And yet these "gods" are more like demigods than real gods. For instance, two are killed in the course of the novel. Oddly enough, their bodily fluids -- manipulated through a kind of alchemy -- are the basis of powerful magic in this world. In Tylar we have the most interesting character . . . oh, I know some of the other reviewers did not like Tylar. But we have in him the "little guy," the "failure," the "loser." He's made a royal mess out of his life, and he's slapped around by life. However, by being accidentally a witness to the murder of a goddess, and after rushing to her in compassion to cradle her in his arms as she dies, he is given the most incredible magical power one can imagine. From this point he dedicates himself to a mission on behalf of the goddess, to find her killers and exact justice. Tylar goes forth after the murder looking his inept and unprepossessing self, but he now stirs with magical power -- and he has rediscovered a cause worth living for. Tylar is really now quite powerful and quite deadly, and the wicked daemons and princes who have had things their own way up to this point had now best watch their backs! I mean, retribution is coming. Tylar becomes their nemesis, if you will. The book's ending is "High Noon" and the "O.K.Corral" all rolled up into one, and the book concludes with a major shootout. This review would get too much more long if I were to discuss all the major threads of the novel. But a few words should be devoted to Dart, a young "cinderella" who has been beaten and mistreated, and even raped, and yet is too gritty and brave to lie down and die as some of her tormentors would like. She's a great character, perhaps the best in the book, but her companion is so interesting as well. Her dog, named Pupp, is her inseparable companion and dearest friend. And yet, Pupp is a trans-dimensional dog. Pup seems to move back and forth through several dimensions, walking through walls and appearing/disappearing like a ghost. And on a couple of occasions, when his little mistress is abused, Pupp turns into something more like a hell-hound than a "pup." Again, Pupp is at the heart of much mystery, which Mr. Clemens withholds in order to delight and astound readers in the subsequent books of the series. As I say, the book is not perfection, but it; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Crimson Sword (Legend of Asahiel, Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Eldon Thompson Page; Review: This book is not "War and Peace," and it is not another "Lord of the Rings," but it is a very entertaining 725 page read. Yup, a big book. I went through it pretty fast. I thought another of the reviewers here hit is pretty well -- Jarmom was looking for the sword, looking for his stolen girlfriend, and looking for victory against the dark. But was looking for his own direction also. As he found his way through the perils that beset him, he slowly gained a better self-presence and sense of his destiny. Well, heck, the evil forces were really bad. I mean, BAD. Those dragon spawn were a blight beyond belief. Jarom fought in several great battles, always to go down in the end to defeat. Mankind was about finished, but -- as in some of the greatest Sword & Sorcery epics -- some pieces of the puzzle came together, Jarom and his friends struggled through against insurmountable odds, and finally, a stalemate -- or pause in the battle -- was won for the forces of men. How this all shakes out will be revealed in the second book of this series, which I have not read. A little rough around the edges, but a heck of a read. Literary quality, perhaps a "C." Entertainment value, maybe an "A-".; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Isle of Glass (The Hound and the Falcon Trilogy); Author: Visit Amazon's Judith Tarr Page; Review: This was a very engaging book, which I could not put down. At a time when so much fantasy appears as huge, bloated volumes exceeding 700 pages, this little novel is very compact. The hardcover edition is 276 pages. The quality of the characterization, dialogue, and description is very high, and it's clear Ms. Tarr is a very talented writer. I found it interesting that this novel, first published in 1986, is still in print. The many lengthy dialogues between Alf and King Richard might have been dull if they had not been put together so skillfully, and if the writing were not so good. Ms. Tarr is very talented at dialogue. It really comes to life. There are some very odd things about the book, such as the reluctant protagonist Alf. He seems timid and shy, and is continually holding back. We all regret, I think, when Alf repeatedly turns away from Thea, the elfish girl who loves him. His monastic vows and all that. Then when his enemies abuse him and humiliate him, his big struggle is to stop King Richard from punishing them. Why? God knows -- it wasn't very clear in the book. But the impression we get is that this so-called hero is really a milktoast -- a wimp. This goes on enough that it becomes a motivational problem. No one in our real-life world would be this passive and sacrificial -- it just doesn't ring true. Later in the book, Alf somewhat comes around. He even kisses the elven maiden in the end, although it's (alas) a chaste kiss. But on the lips-- maybe there's hope for him. I hope in the months to come to read the other two volumes in this trilogy. I will say this -- this book does have a real ending. There are openings for the story to continue, but you do not just "quit in the middle" as do so many part-one fantasy novels of a trilogy.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth's Ancient Atmosphere; Author: Peter Ward; Review: Ward's book is really quite interesting to explain the "logic" of life's development on the earth, starting with the first animals (540 MA). Everything is linked to a timeline showing the rise and fall of oxygen levels over the geologic eras. It would be fatal to the book's premise, I believe, if subsequent research drastically revises this timeline. As for criticism of Ward's writing style, there were creative forays in his writing that I most enjoyed. On a number of occasions, he takes us on an imaginary trip to visit Earth at a particular era. We are in some sort of conveyance that is boat, submarine, and plane. Like a tour guide, he explains what we are seeing -- bare rocks covered with moss and lichens, the faint haze of hydrogen sulphide in the air, the first primitive pre-phyla of the Burgess shale slowly moving across the sea bottom. There is some repetition -- this can be criticized, but can also be helpful if one does not whiz through the book rapidly, but goes back every few days for another bite. This is not a thriller, but a rather challenging book of lay science. It is filled with mouthfilling Latinate words. A little extra help by way of some selective repetion is not that objectionable, I think. One aspect of the book that is radically new is the analysis of the physiology of various prehistoric families of creatures. Their livers, their lungs, their feathers, their bone structure. Only in fairly recent times has this sort of discussion even been possible, and the field is sort of a "terra incognita." Because the book covers new ground, it will remain to be seen how will the findings hold up in decades to come. I found it intelligent, lively, and filled with new assertions and new insights. I do NOT agree with one reviewer that the book is too expensive. I got my copy from Amazon for a considerable discount from the nominal price. Buy it if you think you will enjoy it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Carnivores of Light and Darkness (Journeys of the Catechist) (Vol 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Alan Dean Foster Page; Review: This novel is not a conventional sword/sorcery novel; such novels are set in an imaginary world, but their authors try to depict events in a credible and consistent way. Rather, this novel is more like Aladdin and the Lamp, or Alice in Wonderland, or Lovecraft's "Dream Quest of Unknown Kaddath." That is, it seems like a dream fantasy -- unfolding with all the associative confusion of someone's dream. The country appears to change from chapter to chapter, there are embedded folktales, and the fantasy is beyond extravagant at times. Even so, I was willing to grant Foster his premise-- but there are problems. Is Foster laughing at his readers? Foster damages our willingness to "buy into" the story by interjecting strange passages that may (God help us!) reflect his sense of humor at our expense (I hope not!). Example: midway through the book, the lead character is swimming a river. He looks up and meets a talking frog wearing scuba gear. Yup -- flippers, mask, snorkel, the works. The conversation is brief and insignificant. The frog soon disappears -- but readers MUST wonder how they can possibly "suspend disbelief" when the author is indulging himself in such a foolish way. Let me assure you, Foster's putting the frog into present-day scuba gear garb is in NO WAY connected with anything else in the story. On the plus side, there are some imaginative and rather original monsters, to include wind and earth elementals, as well as a "living wall" -- perhaps the oddest of all, but fun! And heck, there's that favorite of sword/sorcery novels, a magic sword! I liked best the way Foster developed the warrior lead character -- a man understated, self-depreciating, humble -- but an impressive man and powerful wizard or magician to boot. He appears to be so much more than his own modest account of himself. I'm eager to see what Foster will do with him. I have to admit, I am curious to follow the adventures of the brave threesome into the next book. I might add, on the level of the sentence and paragraph, and for vivid portrayal of a strange world, it stands up with the best of them. But is it all just Foster's joke at our expense? -- remembering the frog in scuba gear, just for one example. Some authors have written almost too many books -- they are burned out, and don't appear to take seriously what they are doing any more.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality (Penguin Press Science); Author: B. Greene; Review: This is an impressive book, with a very comprehensive review of the origins of our current perspective on time and space. Since these dimensions are so encompassing, Greene winds up covering most of the high-powered physics of the past four centuries, starting with Newton. The book is very valuable for conjoining a variety of different key theories that well-read readers probably encountered before -- special and general relativity, quantum mechanics, and others. He improved my understanding by not discussing them in isolation, but by comparing and conjoining them, pointing our their triumphs and their shortcomings. Generally the writing is clear and at times even humorous. For example, the Simpsons TV family come in for numerous examples that clarify our understanding. Bart and Lisa talk to each other through a wormhole, for example, as though it were a kids' tin-can and string telephone. It really works as a metaphor. We do gain quite an understanding of these concepts. For those with more math or more of a background, the extensive notes will take us farther. I tended to skip them, because many are too deep for me. Clarity of the writing is fine -- for the most part. (Those deadly words!) There are paragraphs discussing paradoxes in quantum mechanics that are virtually incomprehensible. Gates and particle generators feed into more gates and more generators, with diagrams studded with emblems and dotted lines. [The reader wants to grope for a shot of Jack Daniels to steady his shaken nerves.] I really got quite a lot out of the book -- truly, but Mr. Greene did not sell me on superstring and M-brane theory, which dominates several chapters. We admire Greene's enthusiasm, since he himself is a string theorist. What troubled me most about superstring theory is that way it was reverse engineered, time and time again. If the theory fails to account for the value of a newly discovered particle, the partisans go back and rewrite the equations until it does. The new theory endures a few years until another particle value is discovered by traditional particle physics. You guessed it -- the proponents AGAIN hack away at the equations until they fit the new data. At one point, they increase the necessary extra dimensions of space because -- unless they do so -- the theory will not jibe with proven new values coming out of conventional particle physics (e.g., quantum chromodynamics). Wait a minute! I thought theories were supposed to PREDICT experimental values. This is all "tail gunner Charlie" to me. For those who have some self-discipline and enough education to deal with this book, it is a heck of a ride. I recommend it. You may find yourself, like me, perhaps not buying into everything in the book. If some validation for superstring theory comes along in future years -- possibly when the Large Hadron Collider starts operating in Europe -- I will be happy to eat a generous portion of crow.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Flyboys: A True Story of Courage; Author: Visit Amazon's James Bradley Page; Review: Having seen that a movie has been produced based on this book, I expected more of a narrative centering around some consistent characters throughout. In reality, every chapter seems to introduce new flyboys. The stories of these various men are great -- many were very brave and some had amazing adventures, but there are no central characters who carry the narrative, as I had expected and hoped. The book really traces World War II, with much attention to the war in the Pacific, putting an additional emphasis on the air campaigns. Thus it is a rather broad-based survey of the world war, not a tracing out of individual lives. The author rightly points out that the air war was crucial, and Japan lost WW II in large part because the Japanese high command never really understood the key principles of air warfare. The book is very hard hitting. Some facts are quite amazing. I have read a number of WW II narratives and have not seen some of this grisly information. For instance, did you know that only about one Japanese serviceman out of three was actually killed by a weapon (i.e., a bullet)? Two thirds were killed from starvation, disease, mass suicide, or abandonment by the Japanese high command. If there are "bad guys" in this book, it is the Japanese high command. These people were truly wicked in the eyes of Mr. Bradley. Their indifference to the death of their countrymen was appalling. One interesting detail -- much is made out of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mr. Bradley says that persons who really do the reading about the events of this decade will not criticize the use of the two atomic bombs. The "to the death" fanaticism of the Japanese high command would have made an invasion of the home islands a "lake of blood," with most of the deaths being those of the Japanese civilians. Frankly, the firebombing of the Japanese cities killed far more people than the atomic bombs ever did. Moreover, more persons were killed in the Battle of Okinawa than the combined death toll of both atomic bombings. As Bradley implies, "ignorance makes everything so simple." But hey, we can't deny people their emotional "trip," can we? Anyway -- heck of a book. By no means a bad book, just not what I had expected.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fatal Revenant (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen R. Donaldson Page; Review: Fatal Revenant suffers from the common fate of second books in a trilogy, a kind of "limbo" quality. The first volume has faded in memory, and the final book that brings everything together will not be out for a year. Welcome to the literary "twilight zone." For all of its roughly 600 page size, this remains a very engaging book. It is hard to put down. The character of Linden is so well realized, as are several of the second-tier characters. The book seems well plotted, and seems based around three major battles with evil. Between each battle the characters journey across the map of this land. Donaldson is an excellent writer on the level of the sentence or paragraph, and his descriptions really bring this world alive. I see that other reviews have mentioned the choice of diction. Donaldson loves polysyllabic Latinate words. For instance, a cloak is never red -- it is "carmindine." Generally, this penchant of Donaldson's works pretty well to enhance the exotic nature of the landscapes, but occasionally I do strongly suspect Donaldson uses some words inaccurately -- reaching and reaching for exotic-sounding diction, whether it fits or not. All of the Thomas Covenant chronicles have a certain measure of paranoia to them. Characters seem to need therapy. Linden is hard to understand -- adopting a special needs child and then sacrificing a normal life for that child. In this book, Linden is continually ready to throw her life away for Jeremiah. Don't get me wrong -- I know there are adults who make great sacrifices for special children -- but I think Linden is too eager to martyr herself. The book has the glimmer of psychosis just lurking behind the stage sets. Now, before faulting me for "panning" the book, hold on! This element of thinly veiled madness gives the book a terrific tone and mood, and considerably stokes the tone of brooding evil and terror that are Donaldson's trademark. There has always been a hint of psychoanalytic allegory to the Covenant books -- all of them. The Despiser, the ur-viles, the forrestals, and other characters appear to be elements of a disturbed consciousness, trying to find expression. This mental pantomime is suggested by the duality of the "Land" in this book to the world of normal daily life. Characters are exiled to the "Land" to work out overwhelming problems they have encountered in their daily, worldly existence. The book is very complex, and has more depth than casual readers might appreciate. A fine book. Heck of an experience to read it. Can't wait to see the third and final volume. Write faster, Stephen!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass / The Subtle Knife / The Amber Spyglass; Author: Visit Amazon's Philip Pullman Page; Review: I have completed two of the three novels and have begun the third. This is a powerful book. The only character with any depth at this point is Lyra, the protagonist. However, she is a very wonderful creation -- feisty, real, and totally captivating. The character "Will" also offers some potential. The level of "invention" as Aristotle called it, which is the very heart of fantasy, is very high in this book. Full of amazement, astonishment, surprise. Pullman is an older man, but he has the imagination of a middle schooler, and the literary skills to bring his imaginary worlds to life. Without spoiling anything,I must say, we are back to the "War in Heaven." This is a popular theme with British fantasy writers, and "War in Heaven" was the title of a classic by Charles Williams, a dear friend of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Well, we are there again. Aside from "deep themes" of theological mystery, just on the immediate level of narrative this story "kicks." It grips the reader, and forget expectations or cliche plots. I defy anyone to predict -- halfway through -- where this story is going. Various church groups, mainly in America, have castigated the book for "spreading atheism." Well, Pullman seems more anti-clerical than atheist, although I have no idea what his personal beliefs may be. Anticlericalism has been an old staple of European literature since Voltaire. Much of this ill-considered attack seems based on ignorance. Few of the bishops or fundamentalist ministers attacking the book have even a glimmer of understanding of literary history. Marvelous. I can't waste time on this review-- have to get back to the third volume of the trilogy. Can't stop. This is a real winner. I'm out there in the snow cheering for Lyra. Hope this spunky little lady keeps her courage and prevails!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Amber Spyglass; Author: ; Review: I have completed two of the three novels and have begun the third. This is a powerful book. The only character with any depth at this point is Lyra, the protagonist. However, she is a very wonderful creation -- feisty, real, and totally captivating. The character "Will" also offers some potential. The level of "invention" as Aristotle called it, which is the very heart of fantasy, is very high in this book. Full of amazement, astonishment, surprise. Pullman is an older man, but he has the imagination of a middle schooler, and the literary skills to bring his imaginary worlds to life. Without spoiling anything,I must say, we are back to the "War in Heaven." This is a popular theme with British fantasy writers, and "War in Heaven" was the title of a classic by Charles Williams, a dear friend of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Well, we are there again. Aside from "deep themes" of theological mystery, just on the immediate level of narrative this story "kicks." It grips the reader, and forget expectations or cliche plots. I defy anyone to predict -- halfway through -- where this story is going. Various church groups, mainly in America, have castigated the book for "spreading atheism." Well, Pullman seems more anti-clerical than atheist, although I have no idea what his personal beliefs may be. Anticlericalism has been an old staple of European literature since Voltaire. Much of this ill-considered attack seems based on ignorance. Few of the bishops or fundamentalist ministers attacking the book have even a glimmer of understanding of literary history. Marvelous. I can't waste time on this review-- have to get back to the third volume of the trilogy. Can't stop. This is a real winner. I'm out there in the snow cheering for Lyra. Hope this spunky little lady keeps her courage and prevails!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass / The Subtle Knife / The Amber Spyglass; Author: Visit Amazon's Philip Pullman Page; Review: I have completed two of the three novels and have begun the third. This is a powerful book. The only character with any depth at this point is Lyra, the protagonist. However, she is a very wonderful creation -- feisty, real, and totally captivating. The character "Will" also offers some potential. The level of "invention" as Aristotle called it, which is the very heart of fantasy, is very high in this book. Full of amazement, astonishment, surprise. Pullman is an older man, but he has the imagination of a middle schooler, and the literary skills to bring his imaginary worlds to life. Without spoiling anything,I must say, we are back to the "War in Heaven." This is a popular theme with British fantasy writers, and "War in Heaven" was the title of a classic by Charles Williams, a dear friend of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Well, we are there again. Aside from "deep themes" of theological mystery, just on the immediate level of narrative this story "kicks." It grips the reader, and forget expectations or cliche plots. I defy anyone to predict -- halfway through -- where this story is going. Various church groups, mainly in America, have castigated the book for "spreading atheism." Well, Pullman seems more anti-clerical than atheist, although I have no idea what his personal beliefs may be. Anticlericalism has been an old staple of European literature since Voltaire. Much of this ill-considered attack seems based on ignorance. Few of the bishops or fundamentalist ministers attacking the book have even a glimmer of understanding of literary history. Marvelous. I can't waste time on this review-- have to get back to the third volume of the trilogy. Can't stop. This is a real winner. I'm out there in the snow cheering for Lyra. Hope this spunky little lady keeps her courage and prevails!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Supercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of Our Planet; Author: Visit Amazon's Ted Nield Page; Review: Ted Nield's book Supercontinent was very interesting, and I am glad I tackled it. However, it was not entirely what I expected. At least half the book delves back into the history of "lost continents," including Madame Blavatsky with her Lemuria, and James Churchward with his Mu. These were both bogus prehistoric continents put together by erstwhile self-styled prophets. Neither had any scientific underpinning. This seemed out of place in a science book. Nield also spends several chapters going back to retrace the development of the continental drift theory, and includes a lot of biographical information. I could have dispensed with this. There are some pluses to the book. For one thing, Nield writes very well. Chapters devoted exclusively to the supercontinent cycle from a scientific perspective are very interesting and worthwhile. Moreover, the book is new, just having been released in 2007. Lastly, the introduction and last chapter are both excellent essays on the benefits and promise of science, and deserve to be read even if nothing else. My final viewpoint is -- the book is an excellent place to skip around. Read a chapter carefully, skim some material, read another chapter, skip some things, and so on. This is because the topic "supercontinent" is used by Nield as a kind of peg to hang things on. Much of it is scientific, some of it is just "odds and ends." For instance, what Madame Blavatsky and James Churchward have to do with anything scientific is beyond me. All in all, a mixed bag.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Fortey Page; Review: I have rather enjoyed the book, and am most of the way through it. Criticisms in a number of the other reviews did not dissuade me from reading it, since I am not a scientist, just a layman with a lively curiosity. I did enjoy the many aspects of the fossil record that Fortey develops, such as the rigors of seeking fossil materials in the inaccessible places on earth, the rivalry and politics of science, and even biographical tidbits explaining his own motivation to be come a paleontologist. As for science, there's a lot of it, including numerous photographic plates showing fossils, many of them quite striking. The difficulty level is manageable by anyone with a few high school or college science survey courses. Other reviewers were very unhappy with pages spent describing landscapes and cultures of the far-away places where Fortey did his primary research. In truth, these "interludes" tended to mitigate the difficult reading that usually accompanied his monologs on species variation and radiation. Fortey by his own admission is a specialist in Precambrian and Cambrian Eras. To write a survey of life on the planet Earth, he therefore must pass forward into geographic strata well out of his primary expertise. Perhaps partly for that reason, I most enjoyed his survey of early life, including Archaean bacteria, Ediacaran life forms, and the Cambrian explosion of phyla as documented in the Burgess shale. This book may not be satisfactory for persons highly knowledgeable about the geologic record who wanted more "straight science" and thus wrote adverse reviews, but it is very appropriate for someone like me -- a person interested in surveying the "big picture" of life on Earth from its beginnings to the present. A person who might be described as an interested layman. This is a big book, and parts of it are challenging. However, I recommend it consistent with the cautions I've outlined here. One problem NOT present is Mr. Fortey's lack of credentials as a scientist. He has an impeccable background. If a book like this were written by a "science popularizer" without the credentials, I would be skeptical. As it is, his writing style reminds me of Loren Eiseley, who mixed personal musing with science writing, and is very highly respected. This book needs some time. It is thick and far from light reading. Try it when the winter winds blow and the snow is piled deep outside.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Elves of Cintra (The Genesis of Shannara, Book 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Terry Brooks Page; Review: "The Elves of Cintra" has both strengths and weaknesses. Brooks is capable of gripping narrative. Some episodes in the book are irresistible -- the kind of gripping style that keeps one`s light burning until the wee hours of the morning. Some of the characters also seem believable and genuinely interesting. The successes of the book come through excellent narrative writing, great description, and a wonderful evocation of atmosphere, tone, and mood. This is the "plus side" of the novel. But I would be remiss if I did not point out some troubling weaknesses. The book seems fragmented -- less a unified novel at times than a chain of short stories or vignettes. To be sure, many large novels break back and forth between a series of loosely linked narratives -- with the reader proceeding forward in faith that all threads will be woven together at the conclusion. In this novel, I think Brooks carries this "multiple threads" style too far -- snapping us back and forth between disconnected characters and settings to the extent that the continuity of the story is compromised. We lose our bearings. And worst, at the end of this novel, the fragments have NOT been welded together -- we are still working with pieces of a story. I realize this is a trilogy, but I DO think the reader should have some sort of at least interim resolution after persevering with Brooks for 350 pages. The novel also has problems with flow. Midway through the novel, Brooks suddenly begins a series of flashbacks into the past of the major characters. Now bear in mind, we have already journeyed about 500 pages with these characters -- I'm including the first novel of the trilogy -- and so we have gotten to know them pretty well. Why stagnate the flow with these blocks of "embedded stories" at THIS point? Moreover, all the embedded stories are about the same -- describing sad, disrupted, and often tragic childhoods: children abandoned, and struggling to survive in the post-apocalyptic world of the novel. In other words, these flashbacks are all clones of one another -- essentially boring. They arrive far too late in the narrative to be of much value to the book as a whole. They just kill the pace. I suspected padding -- fattening the book just to meet the editor's guidelines. Why almost all fantasy books today have to be trilogies is beyond me. In most trilogies, the second book is the most difficult to really bring alive. Nothing really starts, and nothing really finishes. So much for this, the second volume. I am still in hopes the final novel will satisfy. The story has potential, and at least a few of the characters are generally interesting. And, of course, Brooks' considerable power as a writer of the individual episodes is still very much in evidence.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Young Earth: The Real History of the Earth: Past, Present, Future; Author: John D. Morris; Review: When I began the first chapter of this book, expecting a discussion of geology and earth science, I was surprised to see a very lengthy discussion of the Hebrew word for "day" as it was used in the creation account of Genesis. Parsing every possible nuance of this Hebrew term, Dr. Morris finally concludes that one of three possible meanings -- a 24-hour solar day -- is what the biblical author intended. I began to wonder if this was going to be a book about linguistics or etymology. Turns out, this is Morris's "gotcha!" From here on out, his young earth theories are "locked in," and his conclusions follow inevitably. But when a so-called scientist STARTS with parsing words in the Bible, and only then moves on to science, you know we are not talking about science here. Confusion, maybe . . . but not science. For what it is worth, this is a beautifully bound and illustrated book. It is rather well written, and there's almost a kind of "train wreck" interest by the reader as Morris lards over natural science with more and more biblical glop. Save your time.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Edge of Reason; Author: Melinda Snodgrass; Review: I managed to read my way through The Edge of Reason rather quickly, drawn on by the author's excellent writing on the level of the sentence and paragraph. A mastery of description, a great sense for the revealing detail, fine images, a pretty good gift for dialog -- all these promise a delightful read. Alas, plotting problems do the book in. The opening chapter or two provide excellent action, and a slam-bang introduction to the story. However, as you continue reading, there are long "dead spots" where nothing seems to happen except endless talking. The plot veers and turns, taking the reader on several side-trips that are almost akin to "filler" material. One wonders if the author had a firm outline, and a clear sense of where she was going. Issues also get in the way. The author appears to have some strongly held views about gayness. We only learn halfway through the novel that the protagonist is a gay man. From there on, many pages are devoted to his fight against prejudice and slights. It is almost as though, "hey, this book is a great soapbox . . . let's take a vacation from the plot for a while." The protagonist Richard is a pretty complex and interesting character, but many of the book's characters are like cardboard cut-outs, altogether evil or surpassingly good. I really believe this author has excellent talent. If she could just get out of her own way, and master more discipline, she could write the kind of books that I could review very positively. As it is, the time wading through this one was not really time well spent.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Sagittarius Command (Tour of the Merrimack #3); Author: Visit Amazon's R. M. Meluch Page; Review: Let's start with some excellences of this novel. I thought the imaginary world of fleet action during a future war was very convincingly done. The Gorgons -- an extraterrestrial enemy -- were well rendered, and were rather frightening. Some of the battle scenes came through as high-excitement, and enough action was supplied to maintain the tension and interest throughout. There were some aspects of the book I found very wearisome. The commanding officer, who is also the book's protagonist, was a caricature of a military officer. His deep-South accent was larded on with a spatula, and I got deathly tired of the "Y'all" and the rest of it. As well as another "southern" trait -- this officer going about the ship addressing every subordinate as "son." Unfortunately, I'm quite familiar with the U.S. military and there used to be quite a few officers like this-- fortunately, most of them have died off. Many of the space-going Marines in this novel are also caricatures -- just cardboard cut-outs. Meluch's Marines are illiterate, potty-mouthed, and rather vulgar types who seem to love rushing forward into danger and getting themselves killed. They represent the author's "notion" of what combat arms military are like. But, just as in real life, illiterate people who have never read a book in their lives are not very interesting people. They quickly get boring. The endless four-letter words are no more interesting on page 250 than on page 50. In other words, "it gets old pretty fast." I will say this. With all this boilerplate, I still managed to read through to the end. So the book's draw and pace must be powerful indeed. Might not be a bad book to bring along on a transcontinental airplane flight. Just be sure to leave it on the seat when de-planing.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World; Author: Visit Amazon's Paul Davies Page; Review: I was quite surprised that no one has reviewed this very interesting and insightful book. It is different from what I imagined. I expected a kind of apology for Christian values by a "born again" scientist. In truth, this book is far deeper and more probing of the fundamental questions. Davies seems to have a very broad grounding in metaphysics, and does not hesitate to draw upon Thomas Aquinas, St. Anselm (the "Anselm argument"), Aristotle, Plato, as well as numerous scientific luminaries such as Stephen Hawking, Paul Dirac, and many others. He probes arguments for and against a "God" -- debating whether today's cosmology demands such a "first cause." He holds no portfolio for the "bible thumpers." Some of his supposed outcomes include a KIND of "god," and yet one with nothing of the personal about him. In other words, a kind of elementary principle of existence -- nothing to which we would want to direct prayers. So the logic of this book does NOT originate in a childlike religious faith. He really starts with a clean blackboard, so to speak. Davies brings in many aspects of modern science. He seems very deeply into quantum theory, and also brings in brane theory, strings, and a variety of cosmologies. I have always liked this author because he can make everything seem so clear. He can write well, and thus define the issues so I really feel I am getting it. The book's a little old at this point. I believe it came out in 1992 and -- while it has been reissued -- I do not believe it has been revised by the author. A lot has happened in science since 1992. Even so, it is a worthwhile read, and a good addition to your library. I also recommend his more recent book, "About Time."; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: In Shade and Shadow: A Novel of The Noble Dead; Author: Visit Amazon's Barb Hendee Page; Review: This novel stands out amid many other fantasy novels for an interesting aspect of suspense and mystery. So many fantasy novels are predictable. A quest, a challenge, a battle . . . and a victory. This novel unfolds like a classic mystery. In a world of sword and sorcery, a young woman monastic named Wynn loses several dear friends to one of several deadly attacks -- always with the object of stealing pages of ancient manuscripts. These manuscripts are written in difficult, ancient languages. The killer waylays and kills young monks who are transporting folios of translated pages from the city to the monastery. The killer is not human, but an undead. Wynn figures this much out. But mysteries abound . . . and multiply. Why kill young monks for pages of a dusty manuscript? What kind of undead IS this killer? Not a vampire, that's for sure. The attacks seem based on inside information, so who among the leaders of the monastery is working hand in glove to direct the attacks? Wynn almost herself gets killed on two occasions, making her ask . . . what kind of weapon or bane can prove effective against a wraith? The mystery is only intensified as the young and handsome captain of the town guard gets everything wrong, and for all his zeal, actually makes everything worse. On one occasion, he attacks and knocks unconscious a mage who was preparing to trap and kill the slayer, thereby exposing Wynn and others to deadly peril. It seems -- the road to hell is paved with . . . but we know that, don't we. I was kept wondering through hundreds of pages exactly who and what was the adversary, and for what motive, and what -- exactly -- was hidden in those ancient texts. I will say truthfully, I stayed up until 3:00 a.m. reading through to the end. As an old, jaded fantasy fan, that is becoming an unusual experience for me. I have to say also, the characters are vivid and believable, with the young woman monastic being by far the best. The supporting cast is anchored by a very mysterious and powerful mage named Ghassan il'Sanke, who has deceived the entire monastery, posing as a humble guest teacher, but with astonishing and frightening magical skills. Nothing in this novel initially is what it may seem. A winner and an "all nighter." After finishing the book and returning it to the library, I checked out several other books by this author. That's the highest compliment I can pay any fantasy novel.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sister of the Dead (The Noble Dead); Author: Visit Amazon's Barb Hendee Page; Review: I was disappointed in Sister of the Dead, although it was not devoid of some good writing and some good scenes. Let's start with the down side. This novel lacks unity. It could almost be several novelettes linked together by a journey. There's no central development that provides a beginning and leads to an end. One problem may be that it is a "mid" book in a longer series. Whether the Hendees are writing a trilogy or a tetrology, this is one of those "in between" books that often prove the weakest in a series. Few if any new characters are introduced. This is my fourth read in the Noble Dead series, and I would like something new once and a while, or even some development and change in the existing characters. As another negative, I found a certain amount of entirely gratuitous gore that was troubling to me. Children, especially. The vampires not only kill children, but we are "treated" to detailed accounts of their throats being ripped out. In one instance, after a vampire has "drained" and killed a boy of about eight he throws the body some distance into the woods like a sack of trash. Pre-teen girls also prove to be "delectable" victims. I suppose if one is psychopathic, this is really great material. Chane, one of the "sympathetic" characters, who twice saves Wynn's life, nonetheless feeds on children, and we are given every detail. A few scenes are rather preposterous. One aristocratic vampire carries a pack with chef's pans and gourmet utensils. He even carries a small tripod table. He drains the victim's blood in a pan, heats it, mixes it with some liquor, and then "sups" with a bib to protect his laced shirt. Great writing, or "nuts" -- ? This particular vampire only needs to have a long mustache to twirl -- he's a cardboard cut-out villain. Now for the plus side. If one just treats the book as a series of novelettes, even so these stories can be very interesting and entertaining. The action scenes are great. The young woman Wynn again steals the show, seeming more real and interesting than the title character or her beau. Once this "interim" novel is completed, it appears we are headed for a showdown in the Arctic that might be considerably more intense and interesting. I hope so. Not all that bad, but structurally flawed. Almost as though the authors had to get some material out of the way before moving on to a stirring conclusion to the series.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes Collection); Author: Visit Amazon's June Thomson Page; Review: I was dismayed to find that no one has yet reviewed this excellent book. I shall set the omission straight immediately. I have read the Sherlock Holmes canon several times, and have read at least a dozen pastiches based on Sherlock Holmes. This has to be one of the very best. Ms. Thomson has a gift for capturing the flavor and feel of the originals. Her writing style is sophisticated and highly literate. She uses a diction which matches the original, with numerous British usages and expressions. The description is vivid, and a remarkable balance between sensory images and maintaining the pace of the story. Her Dr. Watson is -- of course -- the narrator, as is always the case, but she really has a flair for keeping him alive for the reader. He occasionally bumbles and misspeaks, and frequently misunderstands Holmes, as is his wont. Some of this has a touch of real comedy. Holmes comes across beautifully, his somber and somewhat stoic character occasionally relieved by touches of real emotion -- hastily but not entirely concealed. He seems very real. The plots are just marvelous. They are quite ingenious. The clients who visit Holmes to present their cases are a mix of the humble and the aristocratic -- never boring, always fresh. Many modern day writers have attempted to recreate Sherlock Holmes in various imitations. Some have had at least some measure of success -- at least, their efforts are entertaining. However, Ms. Thomson goes beyond that. Ms. Thomson has proven a real master of the Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Except for the element of originality, which has to go to the man who actually created Sherlock Holmes -- Arthur Conan Doyle -- Ms. Thomson's stories can actually rival Doyle's.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: You Are Here: A Portable History of the Universe; Author: Visit Amazon's Christopher Potter Page; Review: The poet Robert Graves once began a book with the words, "there is one story, and one story only, that is worth your telling." The story of the beginning and development of our universe is such a tale, and is told fluently and even reverently by this author. The very fact that Christopher Potter is not himself a scientist or mathematician only underscores that the nutshell cosmology he offers has become a TALE, just as the opening chapters of Genesis are another kind of tale to a similar purpose. One of the most interesting themes that emerges from Potter's book is the extent to which we cross out of the intuitive. He explains again and again that analogies will get us nowhere. That childlike comparisons with the familiar are more distortion than clarification. He even warns at times that to exert one's self too avidly to visualize some of the abstruse aspects of the quantum universe can hazard madness. Didn't some wag say that the universe is not only stranger than we imagine, but is "stranger than we are capable of imagining?" Such an observation really fits here, for the quantum origins of the universe -- set about by Planck space and Planck time -- are of a weirdness almost beyond description. Potter does not come up with much new in this book, despite suggestions to the contrary by other reviewers. Rather, he takes a large patchwork canvas of myriad scientific popularizations and homogenizes it into a smooth, lucid narrative. He adds a dash of personal observation from time to time, and a little humor. This book is just a very good effort to tell "the one story only that is worth your telling," the same story set down in the opening chapters of Genesis. It is science crossing over into our own peculiar 21st Century myth. A myth is a story that explains our origins. I enjoyed the book, and purchased my own copy when I decided that I would like to keep it permanently in my library. Hope you enjoy it too.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Phoenix Unchained (Enduring Flame, Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Mercedes Lackey Page; Review: First off, although this book is entitled "The Phoenix Enchained," there's no phoenix. There are goblins, pixies, unicorns, dragons, and sprites -- but no phoenix. Despite that, it's a good book. Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory have written quite a few fantasy epics over their careers, and I had a concern that their new trilogy might be a little formulaic or stale, but I was pleasantly surprised at how new and fresh it seemed. There's a sense of delight to the novel. Craftsmanship is all you can ask-- very effective description, a good flow, and no boring "dead sections" that I could detect. Perhaps the book seems tightly written because it is rather concise. For the initial volume of a fantasy trilogy, it is only about 325 pages in the hardcover, which is the edition I read. I loved the development of the characters. Tiercel and Harrier are a pair of loveable rogues -- feisty young men in their late teens, known for mischief and practical jokes. Until they are faced with a frightening quest, initiated by a nightmare Tiercel keeps having, night after night. The youths set out to find a "wild magic mage," the only wise man who might be able to interpret the frightening dream. Only when the reader has completed two-thirds of the book does he learn that Tiercel is destined to become a key player in the survival of their world. Think of Tiercel as a sort of Frodo, and Harrier -- his companion -- as a kind of Sam. I was so caught up in the story that -- immediately upon completing the first volume -- I drove to the library to check out the second volume, entitled "The Phoenix Endangered." If I find no phoenix in the second volume either, I am really going to get a bit miffed. The invention or creative surprise in the novel is most satisfactory. The most astonishing denizens pop into the chapters, often unexpected. An important character who features through half the novel is surprisingly killed. The forces of evil eminate from the citadel of a black mage, who seeks to kill the young men. The demons he sends to destroy the boys are very scarey, and far from trite. This is a "discovery of magic" type story, as any reader of fantasy has encountered before. As the boys ride deeper into peril, Tiercel tries to survive, and in that struggle keeps discovering more and more of his own innate magical abilities. The best feature of the book is fine character development. Tiercel and Harrier are both interesting individuals, although quite opposite in many ways. Chapters of the novel that seem without edge-of-the-chair action are still very interesting as a development of the novel's characters. The elves -- whom the boys meet -- play an important part, but are rather odd. We have all encountered elves, as in Tolkien. These seem quite different. For those who like the "Dragonriders" novels, you will be pleased to find dragons -- very interesting dragons indeed, with names, personal histories, and deep magical; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Prodigal Son (Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Dean Koontz Page; Review: I came to this book with a healthy respect for Dean Koontz, and I was not disappointed. Generally, the book was very entertaining, and while it had a few warts and freckles, it also had some refreshing and original elements. The characters Carson and Michael are pretty well drawn for what's essentially an action novel. Carson begins to take on some depth as the story progresses -- I'm currently well into the second novel of the trilogy. Michael's dialog is too "flip," and his snotty gibes are overdone. Sometimes I wished I could take a blue editor's pencil to about half of his dialog. It's more a matter of degree -- some of this is funny, some is witty. There's just too much. Deucalion -- the original Frankenstein's monster -- is a very interesting and refreshing character. As Koontz so aptly puts it, over two centuries the monster has become a man, and the man (Victor Frankenstein) has become a monster. The former Frankenstein's monster may emerge as the most interesting character in the trilogy. One of the most "fun" aspects of this book is its utter unpredictability. At first one imagines one is reading some formula stuff-- just more of the same. Then the strangest and most unexpected elements intrude. The New Men (essentially all vat-borne monsters) manifest surprising flashes of compassion and humanity. Some of the humans begin to seem crude and barbarous. Now a colossal monster akin to the "Dunwich Horror" of Lovecraft's is stirring in the landfill. Now a monster is leaving his traces by devouring all the icecream in a home's refrigerator. Now two hired killers sent on their kill mission by Victor are disintegrating because of a kind of psychosis, wherein the female monster is obsessed with having a baby -- although sterile. How can one sum up this quite remarkable book? It is FUN. It is sheer FUN to read. I went through the first volume in two days, and upon my return to the bookstore, purchased vols 2 and 3 immediately, knowing I would be through the entire trilogy in a week. Along with with chilling elements of true "horror" -- and this is Koontz's forte -- we also have rich humor and some compassionate portrayals of a variety of human personages, not least, the autistic son of Carson's -- an unexpected element in this thriller, to be sure. As for Koontz, never count this guy out. This is not a great novel. It IS a great entertainment. If you are set for a long airliner flight, this is the one you want. Cheers!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Dark Water: The Strange Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes; Author: Visit Amazon's David Pirie Page; Review: The Dark Water by Pirie is a very gripping and interesting book, larded over with all the trappings of a Gothic tale. There are ancient curses, witchcraft, a kind of werewolf, and an adversary for Dr. Bell and Doyle who seems almost diabolical. True in a way to the official Sherlock Holmes canon, Pirie drives forward relentlessly through Dr. Bell's investigations -- at times focusing on major issues, and at times spending an entire day tracking down seemingly minor details. And as in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, Doyle -- who here plays a version of the faithful sidekick Watson -- is continually bewildered by Dr. Bell's approach. And Bell often refuses to explain anything, leaving Doyle totally in the dark. Dunwich is the setting -- a small and cursed sea town. We are reminded of "The Sunken Cathedral" by Claude Debussey -- the old notion that one still hears the bells of the submerged cathedral is included in The Dark Water. One is also reminded of H.P. Lovecraft's Dunwich -- another cursed town with misanthropy abundant at every hand. The plot seems very fresh, and with bizarre characters who are nonetheless convincingly drawn. Some of the least likely characters provide case-breaking small details that snap Bell's investigations into a larger picture. One example is a boy of about eight who is very disturbed, and seems to delight in tormenting or killing birds. Doyle is repelled by him, and finds him just a total distraction, but later in the novel Dr. Bell interrogates him and gleans a crucial bit of fact. The writer is so skillful, one never really quite knows which of the townsmen are working with the evil villain Cream, and which are just as they seem -- innocent passers by. This was for me a page-turner. I could not put it down and went through the book in 48 hours. It is not for the squeamish-- the murders are abundant and often are very gory affairs. Hardly a single Gothic trapping is neglected -- the brooding storm, the twisted characters, the witches and superstitions, the unending tone of sheer fear or terror. Doyle is like the Dr. Watson of the original Sherlock Holmes -- overly sentimental, chivalrous toward women, indignant at any slight of the least passer-by, and finally, truly brave and a stalwart partner to Bell, although . . . . not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Quite a fine piece of work. I hope to seek out other novels by this author.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Before the Big Bang: The Prehistory of Our Universe; Author: Visit Amazon's Brian Clegg Page; Review: I must be honest and state I did not read the book in its entirety. I was waiting for my wife at Barnes & Noble during one of her shopping campaigns. I had over an hour to read and skim. The author spends half a chapter on Genesis. He may offend fundamentalist Christians since he considers the account to be myth -- a story intended to teach a moral lesson. His discussion of Genesis seemed very intelligent to me -- for many of us, the Biblical writers did not set out to write science as such. In their bronze-age culture, there was little interest in such speculation. They were trying to convey values concerning ourselves, the one God, and the world we live in. One surprise is that the author does not accept many tenets of current cosmology. He is far from sure that the Big Bang ever occurred. He is particularly skeptical of the concept of "inflation" which supposedly happened a millisecond after the Bang began. It appears that inflation was dreamed up to solve very serious problems with the initial Big Bang theory, such as the flatness of space and the homogeneity of the current cosmos. The author is also skeptical of "black holes." His doubts remind me of a recent article in Scientific American discussing "black stars." This article also discounts the classic description of black holes as found in most popular accounts of cosmology. The book is very interesting and is well written. It is refreshing for disagreeing at many points with the "party line" as presented today -- often on a highly speculative basis. I was a bit unclear as to the credentials of the author. He is a much published science writer, but I do not recall seeing any impressive credentials, such as a Ph. D. in astrophysics, or the like. The best book of this kind I've encountered is Michio Kaku's "Hyperspace," which covers much the same ground.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle; or, Daring Adventures in Elephant Land; Author: Victor [pseud.] Appleton; Review: I have just read Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle, and enjoyed it. The book was written in 1911, which means it is nearly 100 years old. It is surprising that it can still prove entertaining, but it shows the "notions" of its time. The story is typical of the approx. 35 "Tom Swift Sr." books-- written from 1910 to about 1935. Tom comes up with an invention -- in this case, his electric rifle -- and has a number of adventures with it. In this book, Tom first designs the rifle and builds it. There's a sense of expectation, and there's the excitement of testing the weapon out. The new rifle fires blobs of electrons that are like tiny balls of electricity. The weapon is silent, and has a dial that can set the power from "stun" to "destruction." So far so good. We are into a good story, and enjoying ourselves. Next, Tom decides to go to Africa, to the elephant land, as he calls it, to test the rifle out on big game. He brings along Mr. Durban, an old "shakir" and white hunter, who cut his teeth hunting elephants in Africa. This is where the notions of a century ago start to come into conflict. In the book, Tom and his friends "mow down" countless elephants for their tusks. They also circle over a herd of Cape Buffalo, firing continually, and wiping out a good part of the herd. The buffalo slaughter is justified because "the buffalo MIGHT harm nearby natives in a village." Tom's friend Mr. Damon gets in some trouble for trying to shoot rhinoceros while they are sleeping. It goes on and on. All the members of the expedition -- Tom, Mr. Damon, Ned, and Mr. Durban -- are delighted that they have Tom's airship loaded from one end to the other with ivory. At the end of the book, we are told that they sold the ivory and more than recompensed the cost of the expedition. Well, this is fine. Today, we would not be so sanguine about this type of "mowing down" of game animals. I personally think the book was heavily influenced by Theodore Roosevelt's famous expedition to Africa to hunt big game. Roosevelt, like many hunters of his day, seemed to feel his macho was at stake in hunting, and did not want to kill just one elephant, but dozens. As for African antelope -- stack them up like cordwood. At that time, Africa was teeming with game and wilderness. We can't really apply today's environmental sensibilities to a boy's book written a century ago. The book has a very major plot element involving the rescue of two white, American missionaries from the clutches of a savage native tribe. There are heated battles, and many exciting scenes. Tom sets the electric rifle to stun, so we do not have wholesale slaughter of people. Even so, the action chapters are well turned, and provide page-turning moments. It is only because this book is not comfortable reading in today's world that I rate; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lorie Line - Crazy: Young at Heart, Volume II; Author: Visit Amazon's Lorie Line Page; Review: I purchased this book through Amazon and got an excellent price. The full retail price of the book is a little too rich for my blood. Of course, the book is handsomely printed and abounds with full color images, so printing costs are significant. I like the arrangements very well. This is the first arrangement I have seen for "Girl from Ipanema" by Tom Jobim. It was very playable had had great rhythms. Another interesting piece was Floyd Kramer's "Last Date." This is a very long piece, running eight pages of score and about 15 minutes. Ms. Line did a fine job of capturing the peculiar sound of Floyd Kramer's piano in her arrangement. A couple of other numbers that I most enjoyed playing were "Tennessee Waltz" and "When I wish upon a star" from Disney's "Pinoccio." There's a great breadth and variety of material here, including some country, some popular, and a few old standards. The arrangements are strictly for solo piano-- no words are included for any of the pieces. Another "plus" for this book is that the pieces are neither too easy nor too hard, and the keys tend to be the less complex keys as well. This makes for ready sightreading, and a shorter preparation time. I love the book. Although it is 64 pages long -- pretty ample for a music book -- the binding allows the book to lie flat on the music rack. I get so tired of wrestling with the thicker music books, trying to get them to stay open while I play. I liked the photos of Ms. Line, as well as a long essay she includes in the opening pages, which explains why the selections in this book have special meaning to her. I am CERTAIN I will pick up one or more additional music books by Ms. Line. She has four or five of them in print.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces; Author: Visit Amazon's Frank Wilczek Page; Review: When I first chanced across this book, I was waiting for a friend in a large bookstore. The title was intriguing, and so I took the book down and began to read it. When it was time to go, I was quite intrigued. A week or two later, once again I was marking time in the bookstore. I took the book down again, and continued to read it. On my third visit to the bookstore, I bought the book. Frank Wilczek's writing style is both a blessing and a curse. He is refreshing, with a good sense of humor and a whimsical streak. This lightens the book and adds a refreshing human touch. But there have been times when I'm not sure if he is having fun with us, or strictly on the level. These science books for laymen can be scaled at different levels. Some are a plodding refresher scaled at the level of a high-school freshman. I'm a bit beyond those. Then others are more challenging. I have read a couple of layman's science books by Michio Kaku recently. He writes very well, is a respected scientist, and is very clear. His books are very worthwhile. Then there's a very challenging level of science book, such as the current volume. Frank Wilczek's present effort goes over my head at times. I put up a good fight -- and have read several of the chapters more than once. But Frank really plunges pretty deep, including quite a few equations expressing quark variants and other esoteric matters. The equations begin in a simple way, and I seem to follow. Then they become quite complex and sprawling, with a dozen or more variables, and I just give up. Moreover, there are so many various particles, to include quarks of nine varieties, gluons, mesons, and more, that a certain "overkill" creeps into my noodle. Why do I rate the book positively? Dr. Wilczek did an amazing job of explaining the sourcing of particle mass. His chapters explaining the source of proton mass were totally fascinating. How can the gluons and quarks in a proton, all of very minimal mass, combine to provide the proton's total mass, which is hundreds or thousands of times greater? Dr. Wilczek also explains the peculiar attractive force that keeps quarks inside of protons. How can a force increase in intensity as particles draw FARTHER APART? While I have seen this stated over the years, I never understood the nature of the force. This is well explained, and totally opened some doors to me. I also found great enlightenment in Wilczek's discussion of what he calls the "Matrix," which is his term for the "vacuum" of empty space that figures so importantly in quantum mechanics. This was a guided tour par excellance, and explains the virtual pair generation, various "condensates," and the infrequent, spontaneous generation of rather massive particles. Dr. Wilczek has a Nobel Prize, and seems to be an expert on various esoteric aspects of quantum mechanics, especially quantum chromodynamics. He seems to have had personal experience in experiment; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future; Author: Visit Amazon's Chris Mooney Page; Review: A prime merit of this book is an excellent balance between spokespersons for science and their detractors, such as conservative bible-belt Christians. I thought I knew something about the book's central topic, but I discovered I did not have all my facts straight. A group that I personally have found reprehensible are the fundamentalist Christians who reject so much, only to go on and "cook up" their own pseudo-science. A friend of mine with a master's degree in science went off the deep end years ago, converting to some variant of bible-belt Christianity, and now repudiates almost everything he learned in college. According to him, the earth was created in 4010 B.C., Adam and Eve frolicked with the dinosaurs, evolution is false and perfidious, geology is out the window, astronomy is out the window . . . and on and on. Many of us cannot help being shocked to hear a seemingly educated person spouting this. However, while Creationists and evolution deniers are a big target, the authors also take on the scientific establishment for an ivory tower attitude, and a seeming inarticulate response to "Snopes" type criticisms. Scientists today are specialized to the point they know almost everything about almost nothing. They seem to only speak amoung themselves, with no effort to cultivate understanding among average Americans. We have all read the surveys indicating that 47 percent of Americans accept Creationist conclusions, or that more than half the American public does not know the earth circles the sun once a year. (I mean, that's the definition of "year.") However, the authors suggest that this abysmal ignorance is only half the problem. Deep in American culture, certainly going back to the famous Monkey Trial, there's been a bitter antipathy between science and religion, or between science and popular notions of the world. This cultural tradition is explored in the book, and helps explain the hostility of many Americans against the scientific establishment. Politics become involved in the book as well, as the Bush Administration's intensive disparagement of science gives way to Obama's more balanced and supportive positions. It appears that the fundamentalist anti-science so typical of George Bush himself and many of his minions -- which starved establishment science of stature and funding -- is now giving way to a more supportive position by the new administration. One shortcoming of this book is that it is rather topical, making reference to national and international events at about the time of its publication in March of 2009. Allusions to political happenings already receding in the rear-view mirror, as well as allusions to international science conferences that will soon be superceded. I can visualize this book as becoming dated and passe before too many more months have passed. I did learn from this book. What I thought I knew, going into it, now seems one-sided and overly simplistic. It was worth the read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sandworms of Dune; Author: Visit Amazon's Brian Herbert Page; Review: It has been many years since I read any of the volumes in Frank Herbert's original Dune series. The first of these was published in 1965, over 40 years ago. As best I recall, I read three or four of these releases shortly after they came out. I am now a senior citizen -- I would have probably been a university student at that remote date. Consequently, I find it mystifying that many hostile reviewers are pillorying this book with comparisons to first volumes half a century in the past. Bear in mind -- the Sandworms of Dune was published in 2007. This is 42 years later. Can't we find any other basis to critique this book, except that it fails to jibe with a book that most of us have long forgotten? I liked Sandworms of Dune. It falls into the general category of "future war," an honored sci-fi tradition that began way back with Jack Williamson's "Humanoids," and has moved on through such gifted writers as David Drake, David Weber, Keith Laumer, and others. We have here a large canvas to paint on -- a galactic war spreading over parsecs and centuries. Sandworms of Dune, which runs nearly 500 pages of rather compact type, has the scope to take on a galactic war. No one mentions the characters. The authors constructed some characters that I found quite fascinating. There's Sheeana, the Bene Gesserit who controls the no-ship, a kilometer-long starship of mysterious and possibly alien origin. There's Murbella, a Reverend Mother who leads the Bene Gesserits -- a woman of resolve and courage who really comes alive as a strategist and warlord supreme. Waff was a fun character -- a slightly nutty old man who bred and restored the sandworms -- dying but doughty to the end. These characters and many others -- including the "traitor" Yueh -- drew me in and drew me along. If this book is so bad, how was I drawn to read nearly 500 pages in two days? Some poor soul in one of the other "pan" reviews claims that the current authors cannot write. Lord! On the level of style and sentence structure, this book is replete with skillfully turned, complex sentences. Take the following: "Murbella felt sickened to think of all the unprepared acolytes, spice-harvesting teams in the dune belt, transport drivers, architects and construction workers, weather planners, greenhouse gardeners, cleaners, bankers, artists, archive workers, pilots, technicians and medical assistants. All the underpinnings of Chapterhouse itself." Notice the structure of this sentence, and notice the extent to which long members of the list are succeeded by shorter and shorter constructions, building an acceleration of the sentence. The poor soul who sneeringly disdains the English-language ability of Herbert and Anderson really doesn't know good English sentence structure from bad. The sweep of this novel is epic. It comes out of the past, building on the previous books if only as an outline of future history, and resolves in a battle that is not a battle. The heroes are not heroes in the end. The; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Born-Again Deist; Author: Visit Amazon's Beth Houston Page; Review: Beth Houston's "Born Again Deist" traces her lifelong quest to find a personal creed. This book traces out her search over a number of decades, as she has pursued false trails and true. One set of beliefs that misled Ms. Houston as a young woman and wasted years of her life proved to be Christian fundamentalism. It is perhaps for this reason that Houston takes on Christian fundamentalism very frontally in her book. "Born-Again Deist" shows evidence of wide-reading and impressive research. Houston's bibliography at book's end is impressive. Moreover, she shows a detailed knowledge of the bible that rivals or excels that of many fundamentalist preachers. She reviews the scriptures passage by passage to refute claims that the bible is "inerrant." Houston shows numerous inconsistencies and outright contradictions in the bible. These contradictions explain why many Christians today do not insist on taking every word of the bible literally. Most of us are aware of the extensive symbolic or poetic language used in the scriptures. For instance, when the Book of Job states that "the stars threw down their spears," we do not actually believe that the stars are angel warriors carrying spears, regardless of what ignorant shepherds in the hills of Caanan may have one time believed. Moreover, I would defy anyone to get scientific precision out of the Song of Solomon. This does not stop Creationists from taking the bible literally, of course. It was no surprise to me when Ms. Houston cited in detail the numerous barbarisms that crowd the pages of the bible. Mass murder, rape as entertainment, and numerous other travesties were perpetrated by the Israelites at the specific command of God. Again here, Ms. Houston is able to draw on her detailed knowledge of the scriptures. "By their fruits you shall know them," as Jesus said. Ms. Houston traces out the "fruits" of misunderstood and misapplied Christianity over the two millennia since the death of Jesus. She reveals the horrors done in the name of Christianity, to include the Spanish Inquisition, the misogynistic torture and murder of tens of thousands of women throughout Europe during the witch trials, and she even delves into the pedophilia and sexual peccadilloes of today's clergy, both Catholic priests and Protestant ministers. Two thousand years of Christianity, judging by Ms. Houston's exposition, does not appear to have made anyone better. Ms. Houston contrasts the confusion of so much of today's religion with her own personal credo -- termed "born again deism." One difference between Houston's deism and the deism of America's Founding Fathers is the "imminence" of Houston's God. Houston's divinity appears to care about his creation, and can be the object of prayer. The old Eighteenth Century deist's God was more the remote "watchmaker" who constructed the universe, then essentially "took a hike" beyond the reach of any intercession or prayers. One great merit of Houston's "born again deism" is that it is accessible to all. Such a belief brings into play one's intelligence, feelings, and intuition, all interacting to lend meaning to the religious experience. I am reminded; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Snakes Can't Run: A Mystery (Robert Chow); Author: Visit Amazon's Ed Lin Page; Review: I very much enjoyed this novel. It is unusual, in that detective trappings are very thin, but character and dialogue come to the fore. The characters in the novel take front stage. Considerable effort is made to sketch in the background -- Chinatown in NY, with a temporal setting of about 1975. The book settles into an analysis of half a dozen possible suspects -- potential criminals called "snakeheads" who smuggle Chinese illegal immigrants into NY. Many of the illegal women become prostitutes, and many of the men work themselves to death in menial jobs at marginal pay. The protagonist remembers his father, who was a "snake" -- a victim of the snakeheads. He has a very intense motivation to take down the leaders of the snakehead operation, even though threatened by his fellow police for daring to rock the boat. Interesting side narratives involve his lovely Chinese girlfriend, and the fate of school classmates who have gotten into the tongs or gangs. From the viewpoint of a conventional mystery, the book moves very slowly -- almost boringly. However, the other dimensions of character and background tend to supply an increasing interest as the book proceeds. A praise should also be extended for exceptional wit in the dialog. Every few pages I would either smile or chuckle at the tropes and metaphors, or sheer wit, the author summons. Recommended.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: In Search of the Multiverse: Parallel Worlds, Hidden Dimensions, and the Ultimate Quest for the Frontiers of Reality; Author: Visit Amazon's John Gribbin Page; Review: As with many of the popular cosmology books of recent years, the author begins by giving background. He recapitulates breakthroughs and major discoveries in the last few decades that bear on cosmology, to include the discovery and exploration of the cosmic microwave background. His concept of the multiverse is not especially new, but is thoroughly and extensively analyzed. Of course, the multitude of universes discussed has a lot to do with quantum theory and the Schroedinger's Cat paradox. With every binary decision -- did the cat live or die?-- the universe splits into two futures. One writer, Bernard Haisch, estimates that the minimal number of universes produced by this continual bifurnication would amount to 10 power 100 universes at a minimum. The total number of atoms in the universe is estimated as 10 power 54. Thus, this is a lot of universes, and is a lot for the average layman to swallow. Another process that creates myriad universes has to do with M theory, or brane theory -- an offshoot of superstring theory. We again get almost bewildering numbers. Moreover, John Gribbin begins using the word "infinite." There may be infinite universes. The universe may extend spatially to infinity. To be sure, no one knows the spatial extent of the present universe, since our observations are limited by the speed of light amplified by the expansion of space since the Big Bang -- an radius of about 20 billion light years from the observer. I would imagine the answer to the universe's extension would be -- "we don't know, but it is really really big." I myself would hesitate to jump to use the word "infinite." I am a bit troubled by Mr. Gribbin's utter confidence that his speculations are defensible. He is certainly self-assured -- irritatingly so at times. Superstring theory and M theory have their detractors, including the eminent Dr. Lee Smolin and others. One perennial problem with variants of string and brane theory is that they do not seem suceptible to demonstration or proof. It's just possible that the researches using the Large Hadron Collider may offer indications as to whether string theory reflects reality, as opposed to being just an amazing mathematical construct. For example, if supersymmetry could be demonstrated. I suppose time will tell. One problem with the multiverse concept, as I see it, is that each "budded off" universe is unreachable from any other. Even if we do have infinite co-existent universes, we cannot observe or identify any but our own. Again, this seems to make a demonstration of the multiverse concept impossible. As an interested reader who enjoyed the book, I would see it as a very intriguing series of speculations. It certainly expands the possibilities of our cosmos and stretches the imagination. Infinite space and infinite time somehow do not seem terribly scientific to me -- isn't a major problem with the so-called "Theory of Everything" the emergence of infinities, which thereby make the math a kind of muddle? Perhaps other reviewers with more of a background in physics can make more of this; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Against All Things Ending (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen R. Donaldson Page; Review: I am currently about two-thirds into the book. Before buying it, I glanced over the reviews and saw several that panned the book as almost without action. I'm sorry to say, having read most of it I have to agree. The first 150 pages are a single conversation in a single place. This discussion between characters is not without some interest, but it begins to "wear on" the reader. "When is something going to happen?" Now we move to another scene-- caverns deep under the earth. This episode is at least another 100 pages. There's some motion here -- primarily a racing about up and down the caverns trying to avoid confrontations with monsters -- but motion does not equate to action. Again, there's endless dialog. People are debating each other as they flee the monsters. It almost kills any sense of verisimilitude. Would you get off into philosphical disquisitions if you were being chased by a lion? The roster of characters is simply byzantine. I mean, there's the kind of word Stephen Donaldson might use. There are dozens of characters -- many summoned or reapparated here -- and the summary of the story that begins the volume is 32 pages long. I have read everything else Stephen Donaldson has written over a span of many years. Unfortunately, my memory needs to be refreshed. I just STRUGGLED to try to put all these myriad characters and thousands of pages of previous plotting in some sort of perspective. With mixed success. The language. The language is quite amazing. I read the book on one of the e-readers with a built-in large dictionary. Time and again I looked up unfamiliar words. Most turned out to be archaisms -- words that today are fallen out of usage, but that often were used in the Eighteenth Century, such as perhaps in the sermons of Thomas Hooker or Cotton Mather -- but words just not encountered today. One good example is "percipience," which the dictionary tells us is a synonym for "perception." Many of the characters speak in a stilted argot spun of these archaisms, to the point that they sound like a squad of English butlers escaping from the British manors of a Dorothy Sayers novel. "Madame, dinnah is served in the conserva'try, madame." Some have praised great writers like Shakespeare who "created the language by which they are enjoyed." I will give SD that-- he does create a kind of "tonality" of extreme formal speech laced through with dozens -- nay, hundreds -- of archaic words. The product is distinctive and at times is rather fun. But decidedly odd. And it seems as though the author's eccentricities have expanded to a point here that they are overwhelming anything else. How someone can keep the reader's interest while entirely eschewing any plot or action, I don't know. Judging from some of the other reviews I've seen here, the book is not being well recieved. I will probably keep trudging along until I get to the end. I'm pretty underwhelmed at this point. The book is huge,; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: In the Shadow of Swords (Tales of Ciris Sarn); Author: Visit Amazon's Val Gunn Page; Review: "In The Shadow of Swords" is a very interesting book, and needs to be defined in terms of its genre. What is it? What can it be compared to? Think of various works, film or novel, that are defined almost entirely by ACTION. A good example might be the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. Characters are thin, but the film pulls the reader forward by the sheer intensity of the action, and also by the poignant issue of survival. "For a Fistful of Dollars" certainly has grabbed many of us, and while we don't see much depth of characterization in such works, and we don't experience "deep philosophical themes," we nonetheless get very gripped and "on edge" as we follow battles that limn the book's plot. Could there be a better read for a long airline flight? Violence is everywhere in "Shadow of Swords." The novel has endless murderous conflicts, with almost all deaths inflicted by edged weapons. Daggers plunge. Heads roll. Swords parry and thrust. "Shadow of Swords" mixes violence and courage. Think of "The Magnificent Seven" or Steven King's "The Gunfighter." The title character, Ciris Sarn, is a spell-bound assassin who murders a "grail bearer" personage in the opening pages. He thus draws Marin, the widow of the murdered man, to pursue him throughout the book. We might have little sympathy for an assassin like Sarn, except that he is as much a victim as a murderer, being bound to serve as puppet for his masters until he can execute strategems to free himself from bondage to them. Sarn is perhaps the best defined character in the book, with flashbacks to his childhood. One issue in the book is whether Sarn can ultimately free himself from his curse of murderous bondage. Another important element in the novel involves the four mystical books originally carried by the murdered man, but subsequently carried by his widow Marin. What is their import? They are capable of transforming the very violent mid-eastern desert world. To redeem the world, or plunge it into a variant of hell? Some reviewers have characterized the "world" of this novel as the Middle East at the time of the pashas. Actually, there's a lot of this, but Gunn's world is REALLY more a sci-fi world, with multiple moons and other very alien descriptors. Magic is very real, and spellcraft is a frightening source of danger. Vivid style is one of the merits of the book. Gunn has a gift for description. Here is just one of hundreds of nicely turned passages: "Sarn glanced at the sky. Soon the rising moon would flood the mountains and the all towers of the citadel with a silvery light. The narrow streets of the inner city were a tracery of shadows." As some other reviewers have noted, the description of battles is excellent, with a real gift for capitulating the action effectively. Perhaps one missing element in the book is sufficient characterization. So much of the description of the lead characters involves their fighting prowess. We are not sure sometimes why these characters are; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Provence - To Die for: A Murder, She Wrote Mystery; Author: Jessica Fletcher; Review: This novel -- Provence-To Die For --is only one of several "Murder She Wrote" mysteries by Donald Bain that I've recently read. They are like potato chips -- I can't seem to read just one. And like potato chips, they go very fast -- I seem to go through one every two days. But they ARE fun, and my review will be largely positive. Bain incorporates the first-person point of view. In the opening pages, Jessica writes "I was coming off of a particularly hectic summer . . . ." Some other well-known series of detective novels also rely on first-person narrative. For instance, the character Archie Goodwin narrates all the Nero Wolfe mysteries. The point of view helps us get to know Jessica Fletcher very well -- we not only get her statements, and hear any dialog that's directed to her, but we also get her thoughts, her whimsies, her doubts. Regardless of the name Jessica Fletcher on the dust jackets, these books are penned by Donald Bain. Mr. Bain has a gift for snappy dialog. Characters at times undo themselves with unintended revelations. With the first-person point of view, we have Jessica's wry or ironic reflections on these "bon mots." Humor emerges as Jessica's wise and somewhat sardonic view of human nature casts reflections on her surroundings. Some characters, also, are just foils for humor. This particular Murder She Wrote novel uses as a setting the district of Provence France. The plot driver is the unexpected murder of a star-rated French chef, and the crime occurs midway through a cooking class that Jessica is attending. As in many effective mysteries, the story is developed through very extensive dialog and a series of interviews by Jessica of prime suspects. Culinary murder mysteries are a category of mystery. Many have been written. The best known other one that comes to my mind is Rex Stout's Too Many Cooks, a Nero Wolfe mystery. Wolfe seems to favor poison for knocking off chefs, but Bain makes use of the obvious weapon at hand, one of those huge chef knives with 10-inch blades that seem ever present on TV cooking shows. Bain's range of suspects are of considerable interest for the reader. That is, Bain creates a number of very interesting personalities to play off against Jessica. These include Claire, a lovely young woman employed by the hotel, as well as a trod-down chef named Guy who -- unfairly -- is little more than the star-rated chef's flunky. I enjoyed the police inspector assigned to the case. LeClerq strongly dislikes Jessica. Partly because of his overbearing manner and partly through jealosy, LeClerq is brusque and rude to Jessica at every turn. After a while, he even threatens her with arrest if she dares to pursue the case. But for all her femininity and charm, Jessica on the trail of a killer is like a pit bull in a chicken coop. Clashes between LeClerq and Jessica enliven this book. The denoument, or resolution of the novel, is very effective in this particular book. One hardly knows; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Halo: Primordium: Book Two of the Forerunner Saga; Author: Visit Amazon's Greg Bear Page; Review: I am sure that any reader of science fiction will note a strong similarity to the Ringworld series of novels. The book seems to imitate Larry Niven's Ringworld novels, but less well. I had difficulty accepting some of the "givens" in this novel. The Halo, or ringworld, described here is simply colossal -- I believe it is 24,000 kilometers in diameter. Yet the entire structure is transported through "portals" several times in the story. To just casually transport something with the mass of a planet through "windows" or "portals" -- seems like a lot to swallow. The first half of the novel is very gripping, and I began reading compulsively. Then the story just flat out stopped -- it ended in limbo at about the halfway point. One of the three major characters died suddenly. From there on, the entire novel seemed to change direction. The narrative became very conventional, with too little imaginative invention and too many long, dreary conversations. There's an abrupt, choppy quality to the book as though three or four novelettes were pasted together. There's very little continuity to it. Unfortunately, the book has a "canned" quality, apparently intended to lure in those who play the Halo games. It is thus a commercial product, and we have to wonder if the great motivator for this author is payment per word. Did the author intentionally "pad" the book? I understand this is the second volume of an ongoing series. I wish Greg Bear well. I know he has written quite a few fine sci-fi novels. But I plan to avoid any further encounters with this series of novels.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms: The Story of the Animals and Plants That Time Has Left Behind; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Fortey Page; Review: With this book, Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms, I did something I almost never do. I got the book from Amazon a few weeks ago. I read it cover to cover. Today I went back to re-read the book. The book is not without flaws, and I will address them before long. However, I do enjoy Fortey's chatty, personable style. He actually visited most of the sites where he found living remnants of his ancient life forms. He describes the locations -- many, some of the most remote in the world - as well as the guides and transport he used to access them. It is like an odd sort of safari. I began re-reading with his chapter on the stromatolites. In this chapter especially, Fortey conveys an excellent sense of "deep time." The stromatolites are about the only fossils from the deep pre-Cambrian -- and go back a billion years before other organisms evolved and thrived. These strange colony organisms were comprised of a symbiosis of several bacteria, creating mushroom shaped rock-like living structures. Dr. Fortey takes us to the actual location where the fossil animals survive -- with the stromatolites, it is Shark's Bay in Australia. For the velvet worm, it is the rotting tree boles of New Zealand. His narrative is enlivened by a lively description of the location. To get to Shark's Bay, Fortey had a 22-hour Greyhound Bus ride to the extreme, remote part of Australia. One may think of Crocodile Dundee and a portrayal of "Walkabout Flats" in the eponymous movie. Fortey's writing style is permeated with latinate words. In a single sentence, one can often find several four or five syllable words. Hence the writing is rather dense at times. The reader must be somewhat forbearing. However, Fortey is as much a popular writer as a scientist, and this is certainly evident if we review his recent publishing history. Fortey can make remote creatures such as stromatolites, trilobites, velvet worms, and other exotica to be rather exciting. The book spans 317 pages of rather dense material, and most of it nonetheless engages and draws the reader. I must confess, there were a few chapters that were deadly dull, where Fortey abandoned his usual engaging "just you and me" style and submerged himself in technical language. Well, "two out of three ain't bad," as the old saying goes. Sometimes, too, I would wish he could cool down on the chatty personal anecdotes --- which can be excessive -- and keep on his subject better than he does. Even so, Fortey conveys that feeling of "deep time," the sense of eons of time. Let me quote once-- "fossils dated at 3.5 billion years have been found in the Apex Chert of Western Australia and in Swaziland. It is hardly possible to imagine such antiquity. I have the same trouble trying to grasp the number of stars in the Milky Way, for my mind loses its frame of reference when numbers get so large." Well, when you look at 3.5 billion years, you are looking at 3500 millions; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sable Quean: A Tale from Redwall; Author: Visit Amazon's Brian Jacques Page; Review: For what it's worth, the spelling of the word Quean may seem peculiar to some readers. I checked an unabridged dictionary, and this very old word means "female cat." It is also an antique spelling for "Queen," meaning ruler. Both meanings play off of the sable who's the title character. Interesting, at least to me. Some have expressed concern that Brian Jacques may have "written himself out." And yet, there are still fresh, new elements found even in these late books. One is the strange, berserker mole with the war hammer. There's not a character quite like him in the previous novels. Another charming character is Ambry, the young female badger. She is quite a different sort of badger from her predecessors. For one thing, she refuses to carry bladed weapons. All of Brian Jacques' Redwall novels are highly episodic. He does somewhat link the threads together, but we alternate back and forth between several different narratives. This is a novelistic technique that goes back to Eighteenth Century novelists such as Richardson, Fielding, or Smollett. One gets a sense that the Redwall novels are loosely plotted, almost as if Jacques were to get up in the morning and say, "now what shall the characters do today?" One last observation I might make -- I do not believe Jacques takes the Redwall novels too seriously, and I do not think he expects us to do so. Charming, sweet characters die in the pages of the books, cruelty and abuse of the young and innocent occur and reoccur, but essentially the novels are comedies -- they resolve themselves at the end into scenes of restoration, harmony, mending, and peace. The disorder in the world -- Ravishers, or Sea Rats, or whatever -- has been vanquished. Halcyon goodness returns. The comedic endings in these novels remind us a little of Shakespeare's comedies, which often end with a marriage, or a coronation, or the reunion of dear old friends. I enjoyed the book. With these light novels, I believe that's all one should expect. Hope you like it also . . . .; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Rogue Crew: A Tale fom Redwall; Author: Visit Amazon's Brian Jacques Page; Review: The Rogue Crew is one of the late Redwall novels, and now that Brian Jacques has passed away, there will be no more. I very much enjoyed the book. This time Brian goes more extravagant with his fantasy. The evil Razzid Wearat commands a "land ship," which is a sailing ship with iron-bound wheels. This "land ship" cruises the sea, sails up rivers, and forges across grassy fields. It also mounts two huge crossbows that fire bolts the size of fenceposts. A common pattern in the Redwall novels is the rise of a vermin war leader of great evil who does great mischief until the good peoples of Mossflower Wood unite to oppose him. This particular novel also enlists the fierce sea-otters of the North Coast -- they are the so-called "Rogue Crew" of the title. Razzid Wearat has been described as the most wicked of Jacques' many vermin war leaders. His violence and slayings are somewhat extreme, and victory over the Wearat comes at a high price in lives. But by book's end, the reader sees justice and right restored. It is surprising that the evil villains are the source of great humor, almost of a slapstick variety. The nonsense that goes on aboard the Greenshroud, Razzid's ship, is a never ending source of chuckles and smiles. It would be easy to say that this novel is just "more of the same," since the structure is similar to many of the earlier Redwall novels. However, Jacques' imagination runs at full speed, filling the book with fresh, interesting characters. The developing personalities of myriad characters combined with great dialog -- much of it in dialect -- bring the pages to life. Despite the deaths of some very sympathetic characters in the novel -- moreso than in most of the Redwall novels -- the book remains light in tone. We can't take a book too somberly if it is filled with clownish poetry in the form of sentimental ballads, marching songs, and sea chanties. Some of the most preposterous songs are sung by Rassid's sea rats. I would be remiss if I failed to praise Jacques' writing style and gifts for scenic description. As in the Redwall series as a whole, there's a wonderful skill in limning the setting. Mossflower Wood, Salamandistron, and the dunes of the seacoast all sparkle as they flow from Jacques' skilled pen. Fans of the Long Patrol hares, Guosim shrews, and droll "molers" will not be disappointed. I enjoyed the book quite a lot. I hope you find time to read it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Particle at the End of the; Author: Sean Carroll; Review: I am nearly through this book and have enjoyed it immensely. Although I have read several other books discussing the LHC and the search for the Higgs particle, this has gone deeper and has been more understandable than any. Dr. Carroll has so many folksy analogies and comparisons to help the nonscientist grasp the concepts. One of his favorites -- to which he returns several times -- is to imagine navigating across a crowded cocktail party. You are not stopped or delayed and cross the room rather quickly. Now imagine Angelina Joli trying to make the identical passage. She is continually waylaid and forced into conversations. It likely will take her much longer to navigate across the room. Thus, says Dr. Carroll, is the effect of the Higgs field. Some particles are not affected by the Higgs field. Such particles move at the speed of light -- electrons, neutrinos. Others are retarded considerably -- like so many celebrities at the imaginary cocktail party. Some are retarded more than others -- essentially, they have more mass. This is just one example of many that could be chosen. Dr. Carroll has a chapter on fields versus particles. He clarified this distinction for me excellently. I had always imagined that subatomic particles were important, and fields just secondary. Carroll urges the reader to put the primacy on fields, and says that particles could be thought of as just waves in a field, or disturbances in a field. They are just manifestations of fields. Quite a remarkable shift of perspective, and one that clarified a lot for me. The writing style is very well done, with enough humor and whimsy to keep pages turning. Quite a few excellent color photos are included, as are numerous line-drawings. For those who would like to dig deeper, the book includes three appendices. Highly recommended:; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Song of a Dark Angel (A Medieval Mystery Featuring Hugh Corbett); Author: Visit Amazon's P.C. Doherty Page; Review: Doherty's English mysteries featuring Hugh Corbett all take place in the opening years of the fourteenth century. They are well plotted, well written, and also provide a graphic entry point into the daily life of the medieval world. I believe Doherty has written nine of them. Doherty's books take us to visit quite a few different locations in England. These include Oxford University, Canterbury, and -- with this novel -- a small neglected country village on the Norfolk coast. Doherty's investigator, named Sir Hugh Corbett, holds the title of King Edward's senior clerk. He is called by his enemies, "Edward's hunting dog, " and is really sent out by Edward to solve almost impossible cases as the king's investigator and troubleshooter. Corbett carries a writ signed by the king, which is rewritten specific to each investigation. At one point, Corbett gets very angry at a witness who keeps lying. He holds up the writ and shouts at the man, "do realize that I hold the power of the king? Do you realize that these men will hang you from that ceiling beam if I so command?" So Corbett is no one to fool with. The first mystery we encounter is to learn why Hugh Corbett has even been sent at all to such a humble, desolate village. True, three murders have occurred there, but murders occur all over England. Because Corbett is a very important man as Edward's right hand, he can't figure out why the king would have any interest at all in such "small beer" as this cluster of peasant murders. Only after wandering about in the dark for several chapters, and becoming increasingly frustrated, does Corbett ride to Walsingham to see the King and demand some answers. Always secretive, King Edward is most reluctant to open up, but finally Corbett pries valuable information out of him. It turns out, the village is a focus of a treasure hunt. Corbett and others are tasked to find a treasure lost a century before. This forms part of the mystery -- where is the treasure? But in the meanwhile, more murders occur. Graves in the churchyard are desecrated. Mysterious signal lights are flashed from the sea cliffs to vessels waiting offshore. Mystery piles onto mystery. Not to mention, three attempts are made on Hugh Corbett's life. Doherty's skill at plotting is considerable. The reader follows Corbett's investigation in great detail. His researches include the study of old legal records, interviews with the principals, and visits to crime scenes. Just as in good modern mysteries, the reader develops a valid basis to anticipate Corbett's eventual conclusions. As in so many mystery novels, we are sometimes astonished to learn the identity of the killer. And yet, looking back, a reader must concede that the killer's identity has been cleverly prepared for. The clues were there -- why did we not see them? Those who enjoy history will like the many links to British history that Doherty supplies. We meet a real King Edward -- drawn from life -- and also learn about his grandfather; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Exodus (Starfire); Author: Visit Amazon's Steve White Page; Review: I have read all the precursor novels in the series, beginning with Steve White teaming with Weber. They have all had a great attraction for me. I started this novel while sitting in a B & N store, purchased the book, and finished it in 24 hours. I love these novels with great space fleets battling for dominance in the galaxy. But every novel must have excellent characters to carry the interest. I felt the characters were up to the task. For me, they were genuinely interesting. The aliens assumed the point of view in some chapters. The humanoid galactic forces were -- understandably -- the primary point of view. Over and beyond the mere circumstance of the galactic war, some most entertaining "twists" came into the characterization. One man, who was the top admiral in the "bug' wars, is reincarnated as a 25-year old man. He struggles to re-assume his leadership, although many of his allies are bewildered that a seeming "youth" can presume to lead a multi-nation battlegroup. The aliens are also interesting. So many leading the "people" -- thousands of ships intruding on the galactic core -- are blindly prejudiced against any admission that mere humans are even people, much less intelligent. My favorite parts are the colossal galactic battles of fleets of gunships. I cannot get enough. A typical battle line-up going into the warp point would include 45 superdreadnoughts, 40 supermonitors, 75 battlecruisers, and 25 carriers. Several alien races team with mankind. They may look like bulls, or octopi, or funky cats, or whatever. The interaction on the bridge of the starships between these bizarre types, well rendered in dialog and description, adds so much. Oh, okay. There are a few rough edges. This is not "War and Peace." But it is a heck of a read. I have just ordered the next and final book in the series, and cannot wait to get my copy. BTW, those who complain that the previous novel -- Exodus -- does not have a satisfactory ending -- well, I am sure the authors saw this as the first half of a longer narrative with the next novel in the series prepared to "round off the corners." Not sure I can recommend this wholeheartedly, since many may want to go back to earlier of the five or six novels in the series to get started. But I LOVE THESE BOOKS.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Extremis (Starfire); Author: Steve White; Review: Extremis is a very large book, running about 850 pages. It is a big sprawling work, consisting of three major plot threads. As for the first two of these, two space fleets, each consisting of humans united with allied species, are battling the Arduans, a space-faring race that was already introduced in the earlier novel Exodus. These two fleets are isolated from each other and unaware of each other. They fight a series of increasingly climactic battles against the Arduans that remind this reader of WW II. You know . . . Pearl Harbor, the Coral Sea, Midway, the Solomons campaign, and so forth. Humans are forced to retreat time and again, because although they win on the basis of far fewer losses than the Ardu, they are cut off from supply and simply do not have the resources to slug it out toe-to-toe with them. In the meanwhile, a third important plot thread plays a major role. It involves the first human world invaded by the Ardu, Bellerophon, which has become their imperial center and headquarters. The human populace are suppressed by the occupiers. This plot element involves the resistance, which -- after numerous twists and turns -- culminates in a major breakout and an eventual battle for control of the planet. White and Gannon skillfully merge these plot elements. Whereas in the first couple of hundred pages, the three threads almost seem disparate and unlinked, everything comes together beautifully by the end. Exactly how, I will not reveal for fear of spoiling a very fine tale. Any good novel relies on characters -- convincing, real, interesting, breathing characters. This book has them in plenty, and character building is one of the finest aspects of the novel. Just for a few, there are battle admirals leading mighty fleets through the warp points: Ian Trevayne, Li Magna, and her mother Admiral Li Han for three. Then the resistance on Bellerophon also has very credible and interesting characters. Jennifer and Ankaht, a human and her captor Ardu, are some of the most interesting characters in the book, and are well developed. I also liked the character Weathermere, a young junior officer in his late twenties who keeps suggesting terrific tactical ideas to the commanding admiral of the fleet. When she heeds him, victories ensue. Fortunately, she recognizes his brilliance. Under her command, Weathermere proceeds in a matter of months from Second Lieutenant to Lieutenant, then to Captain, then to Vice-Commander, then to Task Group Commander . . . . and so on. What with battle losses and his prediliction for brilliance, Weathermere emerges at the end of the book as a fleet admiral, probably the youngest in the service. I was favorably impressed by the style, the vocabulary shown, and the care with which this huge book was stitched together. Sure, it is a big sprawling piece of writing. But it holds together well. Could it have been edited to a shorter length? Actually, much less so than with many other sci-fi novels I've recently seen. What a fine ending to the six; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 (Mouse Guard (Paperback)); Author: Visit Amazon's David Petersen Page; Review: I recieved this as a Christmas gift from my son. I am a senior citizen, not that it matters a great deal. I have very much enjoyed the book. I happen to have the hardcover edition. A most handsome volume indeed! Very quickly the reader comes to realize that this is not merely an adventure story, but entry into a complex and deep world. I have come to realize that there's quite a bit to Mouseguard -- at least four of these volumes have been done, together with -- apparently -- a series of comics. The imaginary world of Mouseguard involves a "submerged world" so small that most of the planet is unaware it exists. It consists of a mouse culture living in places such as the inside of hollow trees -- and features a small "state" of mouse people. Villages, crafts, art, customs -- it is all here. This might explain why one reviewer compared it to the "Lord of the Rings." It is . . . . a created world. The art took a little getting used to -- colors are vibrant, and the three Mouseguard portrayed in the adventure all are quite distinct, and eventually emerge as reacognizable individuals. While the characters are small, their enemies are also small, and the playing field seems level. Is Mr. Petersen's medium watercolor? It almost seems to be, although I am no art expert. I was so taken with the book, I intentionally slowed my reading rate, just enjoying one chapter a night. Because the book is graphic, a person could skim through the entire volume much more rapidly. But one wants to go slowly and savor the art. These books have to be expensive, because they are on glossy, heavy paper and are entirely in full color printing. I am about to order the next book in the series. I must compare the Mouseguard series to some childrens' books I read fifty years ago -- about a world of gnomes and called the "Teenie Weenies." I doubt any of you remember these books. They were just great, and most comparable to Mouseguard. Hope you enjoy it. Great for kids, and great for senior citizens. Recommended.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Blackveil (Green Rider); Author: Visit Amazon's Kristen Britain Page; Review: I thought the novel was entertaining, with the usual swordplay and magic we expect from Kristen Britain. Her Blackveil Forest is a masterpiece of brooding description and overpowering setting. Horses are crucial to the Green Riders, and they also add a dimension to the story. Some of them come across as real personalities. I can only imagine that Ms. Britain likes horses and knows lots about them. The corps of the Green Riders is a masterful invention that links many key characters and unifies the story. I thought the novel had some serious flaws. Characters take up quite a few pages, but connect to nothing and go nowhere. Amberhill is one such. He interacts with the lead character Karigan, but then embarks on a voyage to parts unknown. We never know why he is in the story. Plot threads like this come and go without linkage to the larger story. As another reviewer stated, in the first books of this series an effort was made to maintain some integrity, volume for volume. The novels connect in a larger span, but each book tried to have a beginning, middle, and end. The reader had a sense of completion when reading the last page. This book just wanders off into darkness, so to speak. Amberhill, a character we never understand, sails off on a voyage to . . . where? The expedition into Blackveil Forest sort of peters out. We are not sure what is going on there, and -- I suppose -- need to wait for the next novel in the series. An aspect of the novel I did not like was the "harlequin romance" flavor of various love relationships in the novel. The most central romance involves Karigan's, but there are others as well. These romances involve pining alone in one's room, tears of embarrassment, hidden winks and nudges of the lovers, or petulant little snits when one of the lovers feels spurned. Does he/she really love me? After a while, this reader ceased to care. The bad aspect was the great number of pages this sort of swooning took up. A little flavor of romance might be tolerable in a fantasy novel, but I thought this element was laid on with a trowel. Possibly the most interesting aspect of this novel was the Blackveil Forest, and the magical D'Yer Wall that keeps the wicked magic penned in. Yet this device is beginning to get a little old and shopworn. The forest and the magical wall have been worked heavily in the first three novels, and some of us would like a fresh trope brought in. Well, I liked it. I believe Ms. Britain writes well. The central character Karigan seemed believable to me. But -- for sure -- the novel has some structural problems. The way plot elements are just left to hang in the middle of nowhere seems sloppy. Aren't there any editors at Daw Books to assist novelists, so as to point out these glaring flaws? Recommended, but with reservations.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Storm (The NUMA Files); Author: Visit Amazon's Clive Cussler Page; Review: I am sure I have read seven or eight of Cussler's books. I suspect that as he gets older, the coauthor -- in this case Graham Brown -- does a lot of the work. No matter. The two men have produced a very electrifying thriller that kept me reading for about two days -- enough time to finish this 400-page book. The book has excellent plot elements. Often, there's a science-fiction element to the Cussler thrillers. In this case, a "Frankenstein" type of microbot, released into the sea, proliferates and reproduces beyond imagination. This swarm or "horde" as termed in the book is capable of world-wide devastation. A very thrilling initial section describes how a NUMA research ship is attacked and destroyed by these little pests. Who has set this monster loose? Who will profit from the death of millions? Wait until the next chapters! Enter Kurt Austin and his sidekick, Joe Zavala, who inspect the ruined vessel -- or what's left of it. They soon get on the track of a diabolical enemy, a very wicked Middle Eastern guy named Jinn. This villain is almost a cardboard cut-out, without any depth. But he IS totally evil. He keeps killing his own men in very cruel ways because "they have failed in their mission." This guy runs good competition for Dr. No or Goldfinger. I mean, he's MEAN. And ready to destroy the world. We love it when he gets really roughed up and defeated in the last chapters. Well, at least I loved his comeuppance. Maybe YOU will feel compassion for the guy . . . . No, I don't think you will! The pace is excellent, without the flat or 'dead' spots that have plagued some other Cussler thrillers. No book is any good without interesting characters, and this adventure novel has quite a few fun characters who seem to have some credibility, and who are worthy cousins to Indiana Jones. Besides Kurt and Joe, already mentioned, who are linked to the previous NUMA novels, there's a lovely Hawaiian lady named Leilani, who provides some love (sex) interest, plus an eccentric billionaire -- Marchetti -- who has constructed a floating island paradise -- 2000 feet long and 20 stories high. Reminds us of some James Bond novels! Marchetti is actually a very interesting and 3-D sort of characterization. The writing at the paragraph level has some lovely (and funny) touches. Let me give one example -- Joe is fighting for his life, trying to climb out of the sea with a leaking diving suit. Here's a passage -- "Joe knew he couldn't swim, but he could climb. Up he went, crawling across the concrete pylons and boulders like a raccoon in a garbage dump." Nice, bright, fun sorts of metaphors! Reminds us that Cussler and Brown are having fun. This is not a novel that takes itself too seriously! I really enjoyed it a lot. Hope you do also. Recommended. I gave it four stars. It is just an entertainment, but it was very nicely turned.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Doctor Sleep: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen King Page; Review: Several positives struck me about this book. The book is fantasy, of course, but King weaves many real things into it. One is Alcoholics Anonymous, which has played a role in King's own life. Writers should focus on what they personally know. The meetings, members, and credo of AA are excellently and convincingly rendered. This is very integral to the story, not something hung on like a Christmas tree ornament. In fact, Dan's immersion in AA provides him with insights and tools to survive in his battle with the True Knot. Dan is the link with King's earlier novel, "The Shining." He was the boy in that novel, and the focus of that novel. His flashback recollections of his nightmarish time at the Overlook Hotel show the reader that Dan -- whatever else he is -- has become an expert on evil. Some "turns" occur, where the monstrous entities from the Shining actually are put into play against the True Knot. Speaking of that, the True Knot are a very original and creative source of evil. They may owe something to vampirism and other legends, but I have never encountered anything quite like them. The worst of them, such as Crow Daddy or Rose the Hat, emerge as pretty convincing characters. As the backstory emerges for Rose, she is seen as a centuries old Lamia. She possesses human emotions such as vanity, malice, vindictiveness, and rage. She also is motivated by love and grief. How many of us have seen photos of abducted kids pinned up in WalMart or displayed on the back of milk cartons? King is excellent at taking such common experiences of daily life, weaving them into the book to make the totally implausible seem convincing. Possibly the most interesting character in the story is Abra, a precocious kid of 13 who possesses extraordinary psychic abilities. Dan says at one point, "I am a flashlight, but Abra is a lighthouse." Dan is her ally, guide, and mentor. He combines his deep understanding of evil with her remarkable psychic power. Together, they stand against the demonic forces of the True Knot. Other characters come out pretty well designed. Billy is a brave old Senior Citizen who plays a major part. Abra's parents, Dave and Lucy, are pretty well developed also. One great writer said that all successful novels link to character development. Doesn't matter. Horror novels, sci-fi novels, or even "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm." This book is well plotted and well paced. But King's characters really bring it to life.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Eternity Artifact; Author: L. E. Modesitt; Review: The eternity artifact is an object -- partly art and partly machine -- that's found in a city dating back about four billion years. This mysterious abandoned city is located on a "rogue" planet slingshotted out of our galaxy at great velocity billions of years ago. It is now well into the void between galaxies. This book tells the story of an expedition launched to explore this mysterious city. L.E. Modesitt is not only an imaginative writer -- he is a good craftsman. This book has a complex structure revealing Modesitt's skill as a novelist. The point of view shifts between four characters. Each character is beautifully rendered by the author. For example, one of them, the professor Liam Fitzhugh, talks like an academic. When asked at one point if he loves his fellow man, he replies, "I am as enamored of them as any rational being might be, but experience suggests that impartiality and wisdom are seldom exhibited at the same time . . . ." In other words, he talks like an overeducated pedant. However, this is something of a blind. As the novel proceeds, Fitzhugh shows himself to be something far more than this. Other characters are also beautifully drawn. Chang is a woman pilot, tough and battle-hardened, and more than a little cynical. She tends to speak tersely, sometimes in monosyllables. Barna is an artist, continually sketching and painting scenes showing the billions-year-old city. A fourth pivotal character is Goodman, a spy/agent. His own point-of-view is colored by his assassin's view of the world, spiced with a touch of religious fanaticism. Other interesting characters include Commander Morgan, a veteran fleet officer, and Elysen, an aging but charming astronomer who becomes a dear friend of the artist Barna. The novel is both entertaining and very thought-provoking. Social dynamics are important to the author. What sort of beings created the strange, isolated city and sent it speeding across the stars? What can the city tell us about the culture of its creators, if anything? Why was the city constructed new, and then abandoned before it was even occupied? The expedition to explore the city is portrayed against a backdrop of a cosmic war. An enlivening spice of excitement is provided by several space battles. What a book! Highly recommended!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Infinity Beach; Author: Visit Amazon's Jack McDevitt Page; Review: Jack McDevitt's novel Infinity Beach is a very interesting piece of writing. The story is centered on first contact between mankind and an alien or "celestial" starfaring race. In one respect the novel resembles detective fiction. Kim Brandywine, the protagonist, has never come to peace with the mysterious disappearance of her sister, Emily. Kim finally resolves to search for Emily. She begins by siezing on some inconsistencies. As she probes deeper, deceptions and lies begin to collapse like an unraveling sweater. Kim's search for answers forces her to take increasing risks, and finally draws her to committ forgeries, break-ins, numerous thefts, and even the illegal commandeering of a starship. Each "plunge" only draws her deeper into the mystery. Parts of the novel are very gothic. McDevitt uses as settings haunted forests, brooding old mansions, and even sea caves housing a monster called "the shroud." As Kay perseveres, she begins to piece together a story quite different from the mundane "cover story" of her sister's death put out years before. Kay's researchs suggest the seemingly insignificant and routine voyage of the starship Hunter was actually far more dramatic and ominous than anyone suspected. She learns that the ship's log of the Hunter -- at first a straightforward account -- is actually just a contrived fiction to stave off questions. It turns out that Kim's sister did NOT die on the way to her hotel. She never returned to Earth. She died in a starship at the edges of the Horsehead Nebula. Nothing is what it at first seems! What did the Hunter encounter out there near the Horsehead Nebula? That is where the heart of this story REALLY lies. Kim is the best realized character in the book, since the entire story is told through her eyes, but Kim's friends Mark and Solly are well realized also. Generally the book is well written. The plot is sophisticated and complex, yet not difficult to follow. Interesting and varied sub-plots are skillfully nested into the overarching story. The book contains enough hard science-fiction to add spice to the spacefaring sections of the book. Finally, Jack McDevitt reaches more deeply at times into personal musings on the seas of deep time and deep space, reaching for poetry while pondering the near shores of Infinity Beach. Hence the book's title. A fun book. Interesting. And also, a craftsmanlike piece of writing! Recommended.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dinosaur Wars: Earthfall; Author: Visit Amazon's Thomas P Hopp Page; Review: What an unexpected surprise! I began to read a complimentary copy of this book with very low expectations. Within 50 pages I was hooked, and went on to complete this 750-page novel within two days! The narrative is told through the eyes of Chase Armstrong, a wildlife biologist, and Kit Daniels, a rancher's daughter. Chase becomes infatuated with Kit during visits to her father's ranch. When mysterious happenings occur -- such as the crash of a UFO nearby -- Chase returns to the ranch to check on Kit's welfare. Good thing he does, since she and her ranchhouse are being beseiged by a tyrannisaurus! Chase takes his trusty 30-06 out of his truck, shoots the big dino several times, and rescues Kit. From that point on they go through numerous adventures. I would like to compare this book -- actually, a trilogy -- to the Edgar Rice Burroughs "Mars" books. They have this in common -- the setting and plot are highly implausible, the science is off the wall, but both authors somehow make this work. Characterizations are on the simple side -- think "Dudley Do Right" -- but the characters come to life through lots of well-written dialog. Some of the science in Dino Wars is pretty far fetched. For example, the dino "walker" machines are armed with lasers. When Chase wants to know how they are powered, the dino pilot shows Chase metal cannisters filled with white powder attached to the weapons. He explains that the white powder is "solidified light." (!) So what we have is a very entertaining fantasy with smatterings of whacky science -- all this mixed with lots of creative invention. Edgar Rice Burroughs would have been proud! The book is set in Montana, a place I used to live. The descriptions of mountain ranges and towns are accurate. For example, I actually visited the real Red Lodge several times. This town plays an important part in the book. I have a feeling the author knows this territory very well. The ranches and ranch families, the economy, the towns, the mountain ranges, the wildlife, the national forests and wilderness areas are accurately portrayed. What a fun book! Those who enjoy military science fiction will love the battle scenes. The National Guard in Montana take their Abrams tanks against alien "walking machines." What fun! There's also a smattering of romance in the book. "Try it -- you'll like it!"; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Coyote's Daughter (New Legends of the Southwest); Author: Corie J. Weaver; Review: Coyote's Daughter is a beautifully turned fantasy novel. It involves a brave teenage girl, Maggie, her dog Jack, and her spirit-world friend named Ash. This novel is tightly plotted and economical with words. It runs only about 135 pages, but a lot happens in that span of pages! I would consider Coyote's Daughter to be a tale as much as a novel. It could fit several categories.. It is an "entrance to fairieland" story like "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." It is also a quest novel, during which Maggie and her dog travel to a distant place, both marvelous and somewhat frightening, to restore a ruined land to wholesomeness and health. I liked the book in part because I liked Maggie, who carries the story via first-person narrative. She emerges as as a real teenager,. She's lonely, self-conscious, trying to make friends and fit in. She worries about making the swimming team. She struggles to please her parents, frustrates them at times, but yet still remains a good daughter. The character Maggie is possibly the best feature of this novel. Maggie is often very frightened by the evil she encounters, but perseveres bravely.anyway, Her dog Jack also emerges as a very well crafted character who is brave, faithful, and funny, all at the same time. I'm not sure I have met any dog since Toto who is better drawn. The entities Maggie encounters when she "crosses the threshold" into her fairieland include some characters that are winsome, but others that are rather frightening and very evil. The author spins her fantasy world out of the mythologies of our own Native American peoples of the Southwest. Some personages Maggie meets, include the Withered Corn Man, Old Spider Woman, and Old Man Coyote. This last character is a trickster and mischievous spirit who confuses and frustrates Maggie at times, but who emerges -- in the end -- as Maggie's friend. Maggie also finds a human boy of about her own age named Ash and sets out to rescue him. I will stop here because I do not want to spoil the story for you. Try this book. I believe you will like it. It is also highly suitable as a gift for kids in their early or mid teens.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Circle of Sorcerers: A Mages of Bloodmyr Novel: Book #1; Author: Visit Amazon's Brian Kittrell Page; Review: This novel began very slowly for me. Rustic life on a farm, family scenes with Laedron's sister and mother at the dinner table, magic practices in the woods. All fine, but nothing to really get your teeth into. But don't quit. If you begin this novel, hang on through the first 80 pages or more. Once Laedron travels to another city and meets with his teacher, Ismerelda, things really take off. Ismerelda is an excellently wrought character. She serves as a great foil for Laedron, bringing to sharp focus his burgeoning magical skills. With her murder, Laedron changes from a very ordinary (and somewhat boring) farm boy into a nemesis. He vows to slay those who murdered his teacher, and from this point on, the book charges down the tracks like an express train. Brian Kittrell is one of the best writers I've encountered for dramatizing scenes of sorcery. When Laedron revives his murdered friend using spells of a power not seen in decades, he "rocks the neighborhood." The morning after this spell, he and his friends see cracks in the walls, damage to the facade of the inn, and persons are asking him, "were you here when the earthquake struck?" Later in the story, he has an epic magical duel with a "dark magician." When he departs the temple, he notices that one of the temple's marble columns has been shattered and another is split from top to bottom. Other major damage is apparent. Such are the side effects of epic magical battles. Mr. Kittrell writes a very bare-bones and unpolished style. Halfway through Circle of Sorcerers, I happened to pick up a Terry Brooks novel. I was struck by the rich, evocative and at times poetic language of Brooks versus the rather limited, plain style of Kittrell. Another shortcoming of this novel is that it just . . . stops. It doesn't even attempt a semi-ending, such as a pause in a longer narrative, as do some authors of multi-volume stories. It just quits dead in the midst of a cliff-hanger situation. But all in all, I did find the book entertaining. The series is being painted on a large canvas. If you enjoyed this book, more episodes follow in the two succeeding volumes.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: After the Funeral (The Christie Collection); Author: AGATHA CHRISTIE; Review: This is one of Agatha Christie's larger and more complex efforts. The array of suspects includes at least eight or ten characters. The murders are linked to a large inheritance. Many of Christie's suspects are very disgusting or insipid. These include the hypochondriac Timothy with his continual whining about his health; George who pretends to be an investor, but is really just a compulsive gambler; and Michael, who pretends to be a good husband, but is really a serial philanderer. Seldom in Christie do we encounter so many unpleasant characters, or such a tangled web of clues and suspicions. We suspect that many of the heirs will go through their large inheritance very rapidly. Michael and Rosamond will finance very bad plays, pursuing their egotistical dream of becoming theatrical greats. George is already in deep debt to casinos, and will fritter away the rest of his inheritance at the dice table. Hercule Poirot explains that in this case physical evidence is not to be found, so he must approach the mystery by analysis of those characters who had opportunity and motive. The characters come to life through dialog -- pages and pages of it. The novel involves a series of set scenes with all the suspects given free rein to ramble on and on. Poirot says that, given enough aimless conversation, the killer will unwittingly reveal himself. So it proves in this case. Ms. Christie is a master of settings. We have the manor house, which figures several times. There's a lawyer's office where several scenes take place, a few posh London apartments, and a rustic little cottage in a small village. The novel was great fun. Agatha again contrasts the dignified and "classy" world of the old money and aristocracy against the grifters and opportunists that appear to be taking over English society. A case of the fine old gentry being displaced by very shallow, venal descendents. Such is the tension in a number of her novels. The old butler is a kind of choral character. He has seen the old and the new, the best and the worst -- the old world in collision with the new. That old butler is a fine "foil" expressing Agatha's own point of view. I liked it. Buy it. Read it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Land of the Silver Dragon (An Aelf Fen Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's Alys Clare Page; Review: This is a very entertaining novel. It combines sword-and-sorcery adventure with the elements of a good detective story. The protagonist is Lassair, a feisty young woman who lives at a village called Aelf Fen. This small town is well described, and seems to be typical of Eleventh Century Britain. The story launches fast with a series of robberies and plunderings by a mysterious red-bearded giant and his henchmen. It soon appears that this giant is searching for some artifact or talisman. He is quick with his sword, and several of Lassair's relatives are cut down. Unlike the very florid writing of some fantasy adventures, Ms. Clare writes straightforward declarative sentences. It is rather clean prose. The plotting is rather remarkable. In a book of perhaps 230 pages, an amazing number of things take place. The novel might be described as compressed. Perhaps, given the complexity of the plot, the book might be too compressed. Chapter by chapter, Lassair is in Aelf Fen, then Iceland, then back to Britain again. It is like watching a film in "fast forward." The best developed character is Lassair herself, but some others come to life. The warlord who leads the Icelanders is a convincing character. Not everything is action, either. There are a number of relationships explored that seem convincing. This novel is one of a series involving Lassair and Aelf Fen. However, it can stand alone. It's the first book by Alys Clare I have read, but I was never lost. The author is an archaeologist, and appears to live in Britain near the fictional setting of the novel. So she seems to be writing about "what she knows." Always a good start toward success. I liked this rather short novel, and hope you will also.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: X3001 Final Odyssey; Author: ARTHUR C CLARKE; Review: This Arthur C. Clarke novel is the fourth and final installment of the series that began with 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was published in 1997, a long while back, but a review may be justified because the series has gotten so much publicity in the past, thanks to the blockbuster film of the same name. This book read very fast for me. It is only about 250 pages, and is set in a large, well-spaced typeface. The book has a few pluses but also serious shortcomings. One irritating aspect of this novel was Clarke's tendency to use the story as a coat rack. He hangs onto the story all kinds of speculations about our distant future. Some of the early chapters don't even involve the characters or the story. They are just embedded essays on a variety of subjects, such as the design of huge space stations or the wired communications of future people. It is only when one reaches about page 150 that the story really starts to move. Characters are pretty thin. Most characters are taken from the first novel in this series, including the astronauts Poole and Bowman, and even Hal -- or what Hal has become. The point-of-view skips around quite a lot. Most of the novel is seen through the eyes of Poole. Bowman and Hal are hardly characters at all, having been transformed by the monoliths. They come across like "cosmic voices." When the spacecraft Goliath reaches Europa, the location of the largest and most important monolith, I found the book suddenly very interesting. Clarke describes the oceans of Europa -- shielded under a kilometer of ice -- with considerable detail and imagination. The denizens which inhabit Europa are very unexpected, original in concept, and very interesting. The final chapters of the novel began to really capture my interest, but could not offset the serious structural flaws of the book when judged as a work of fiction. All in all, a mixed bag.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Three Act Tragedy (Poirot); Author: Visit Amazon's Agatha Christie Page; Review: This interesting novel is structured roughly like a three-act play, the acts being entitled Suspicion, Certainty, and Discovery. But blocking out of the story in this manner really has little effect for the reader. The book proceeds as a straightforward narrative just like any other Agatha Christie novel. The plot is almost byzantine in its complexity. Several murders occur, with the greatest mystery focused on the motivation of the killer. Especially, why should anyone want to kill the first victim, an elderly, doddering churchman, poor as a churchmouse? The whole issue of WHY the murders are occuring is the central problem, and isn't explained until the book's close. This book is supposed to be a Hercule Poirot novel, but the character of Poirot does not enter in a significant way until halfway through the book. The actual investigating in the book's first half involves two very interesting and well dramatized characters, Mr. Satterthwaite and Sir Charles Cartwright. Another very charming and well rounded character who assists these men in the initial investigation is "Miss Hermione Litton-Gore," a young and very lovely woman addressed throughout the book by her nickname, "Egg." Titled aristocrats even creep in, since Egg's mother is Lady Mary Lytton-Gore. Mr. Satterthwaite, an urbane English gentleman, is one of Ms. Christie's recurring characters. He appears in a number of her novels and short stories. He is not the only such character either. Others such as Ariadne Oliver keep cropping up again and again. Parts of the book have Mr. Satterthwaite carrying the point of view, adding interest to his character -- for me, anyway. This novel has a marvelous cast of characters, a fine use of settings, and is rich with odd Gothic trappings such as old mansions with secret passages and mouldering towers. Quite all one could ask in a British mystery novel. I was held riveted, and could not stop reading until the final page. Certainly one of Ms. Christie's best efforts.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Velocity; Author: Visit Amazon's Dean Koontz Page; Review: I enjoyed the book as an edge-of-the-chair thriller. A few of the characters seem to take on some dimension, also. Billy, the narrator, is certainly one. This book reminds me of similar "Silence of the Lambs" type novels, with an emphasis on tracking a serial killer. The big challenge is for Billy to actually identify the killer. This takes most of the book. A kind of breakthrough comes when Billy is eating in an all-night diner, listening to two truck drivers chewing the fat about various topics. A phrase one uses jogs a memory for Billy. Before reaching that point, however, Billy has guessed wrong and accosted entirely innocent friends. The killer toys with Billy through much of the novel, baiting him and forcing his unwilling involvement in several murders. Near the end of the book, Billy has about reached his limit. He is exhausted and stressed to an unbelievable degree. But he steels his nerves and is able to persist in the hunt. It is as though Billy is hunting the killer, but the killer is also hunting Billy. Koontz is a very good writer on the level of the sentence and paragraph. Birds are a motif that keeps constantly appearing -- hunting hawks, owls, crows. Scenic descriptions are beautifully done in places. Koontz salts the books with elliptical quotes from T.S, Eliot, the British poet. They add to the spookiness of the whole. All in all, if you want to be entertained and have a tolerance for some rather gruesome scenes, the book is worth a look.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Paw and Order: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (The Chet and Bernie Mystery Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Spencer Quinn Page; Review: A charming and funny book. Spencer Quinn takes this trope about as far as he can --- that is, the idea that the detective's dog Chet should narrate the stories. This is the seventh and latest novel in the series. As a murder mystery the book is rather successful. Bernie, visiting his girlfriend Suzie in a suburb of Washington D.C., stumbles onto a murder. Bernie remembers seeing the murdered man quite alive that morning, coming out of Suzie's house. Circumstances like these explain why the police consider Suzie a prime suspect. At first the circle of suspects is very small, and the situation confusing, but as Bernie persists in digging, more information comes to light and the circle of involved individuals becomes ever larger. The most interesting aspect of the book to me was Quinn's developing the dog as a character and as the narrator. We have to give Quinn license to allow Chet a somewhat simple understanding of English. Okay. But this has its limits -- Chet is often thrown by idioms. For instance, if Bernie says "our goose is cooked," Chet begins wondering when he and Bernie will be served a real cooked goose. This adds an element of humor. It stretches my credulity the amazing places Bernie is allowed to take the dog. Bernie MUST do so, since otherwise we don't know what happens. Remember, the WHOLE story is told by the dog -- first-person narrator. So Bernie and Chet crash a formal cocktail party, the men wearing tuxes and women wearing evening gowns. No one seems to question why a nice young man is allowed to bring a "100-pound plus" dog into such a setting. Also, the dog barges into meetings held in high level government offices. It helps that the dog is on his perfect behavior at such meetings, usually lying a Chet's feet. I once owned a 104-lb. German Shepherd. A great dog, but I certainly would not expect him to be at home in formal meetings or at classy cocktail parties. He was intimidating, and looked like a huge wolf. I kept wondering what breed of dog Chet is. The book covers only confuse. The dog is shown on all the covers, true, but not always the same dog. Different covers even have the dog different colors. Great fun! I loved it. Kept me reading. This book is #7 in a series. I have already gone to the library and picked up two more of the books. This book made the NY Times best seller list, and I am not surprised. For a fun evening of light reading, you also may like it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Illustrated "A Brief History of Time" and "The Universe in a Nutshell"; Author: Stephen W. Hawking; Review: What an interesting book! Critics have praised Dr. Hawking's skill as an explainer and teacher. Both are put to yeoman's work is writing this book. Even so, Hawking needs to be a great teacher. I start out in a chapter, and I am entirely with him. But by the end of the chapter, the scientic theories are so technical and so difficult, I begin to wonder if I am soaking up even 80 percent of his presentation. No fault of Hawking, but the stuff gets really HARD. Hawking goes back early in the book to revisit a number of famous physicists of the past, such as Heidelberg or Max Plank or others. He is trying to build up the substrate, so the more original chapters have a context. I was patient with this. Further on in the book, he visits the more recent "breakthroughs" such as string theory. Hawking treats all of these theories respectfully, but one sometimes suspects that he is a bit skeptical of them. One of the most original chapters is the one on time travel and opportunities to visit the past. Here he goes into wormholes. We could call this "Wormhole 101." He does not rule out time travel, but a person gets a feeling this is a long ways off -- and possibly, could never be achieved. He does not close the door on it. His sense of humor is everywhere apparent. It is a gentle, slightly mocking sense of humor. He never makes fun of anyone or anything. The title, I think personally, is rich with humor. "A Brief History of Time." It is like the whole book is just jottings on the back of an envelope. The three chapters on Black Holes are among the best, because Dr. Hawking's own researches have contributed much to black hole theory. He himself pioneered the work on radiation emerging from black holes. His final chapters zero in on the search for a grand, unified field theory of everything. This is the holy grail of today's cosmologists. He doesn't close the door here either, but admits sadly that the best we can do may be many partial theories, none of them a grand, unifying theory. Looking at this book from a bird's eye perspective, what do we have here? A brilliant book that leads us right to the present day, and does not neglect the latest researches. This is the second, revised edition, but is still behnd the times. It was published before the discovery of the Higgs Boson. I wish this had gotten into the book somewhere, but when the book was published the boson had not yet been found. Oh well, you can't have everything. A highly recommended book. Well worth your time. Tough reading at times, but he does better than almost anyone else in making sense of it all.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Universe in a Nutshell; Author: Stephen Hawking; Review: What an interesting book! Critics have praised Dr. Hawking's skill as an explainer and teacher. Both are put to yeoman's work is writing this book. Even so, Hawking needs to be a great teacher. I start out in a chapter, and I am entirely with him. But by the end of the chapter, the scientic theories are so technical and so difficult, I begin to wonder if I am soaking up even 80 percent of his presentation. No fault of Hawking, but the stuff gets really HARD. Hawking goes back early in the book to revisit a number of famous physicists of the past, such as Heidelberg or Max Plank or others. He is trying to build up the substrate, so the more original chapters have a context. I was patient with this. Further on in the book, he visits the more recent "breakthroughs" such as string theory. Hawking treats all of these theories respectfully, but one sometimes suspects that he is a bit skeptical of them. One of the most original chapters is the one on time travel and opportunities to visit the past. Here he goes into wormholes. We could call this "Wormhole 101." He does not rule out time travel, but a person gets a feeling this is a long ways off -- and possibly, could never be achieved. He does not close the door on it. His sense of humor is everywhere apparent. It is a gentle, slightly mocking sense of humor. He never makes fun of anyone or anything. The title, I think personally, is rich with humor. "A Brief History of Time." It is like the whole book is just jottings on the back of an envelope. The three chapters on Black Holes are among the best, because Dr. Hawking's own researches have contributed much to black hole theory. He himself pioneered the work on radiation emerging from black holes. His final chapters zero in on the search for a grand, unified field theory of everything. This is the holy grail of today's cosmologists. He doesn't close the door here either, but admits sadly that the best we can do may be many partial theories, none of them a grand, unifying theory. Looking at this book from a bird's eye perspective, what do we have here? A brilliant book that leads us right to the present day, and does not neglect the latest researches. This is the second, revised edition, but is still behnd the times. It was published before the discovery of the Higgs Boson. I wish this had gotten into the book somewhere, but when the book was published the boson had not yet been found. Oh well, you can't have everything. A highly recommended book. Well worth your time. Tough reading at times, but he does better than almost anyone else in making sense of it all.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wards of Faerie: The Dark Legacy of Shannara; Author: Visit Amazon's Terry Brooks Page; Review: Wards of Faerie I will place my review with this, the first book in the series, although I went on to read the second and third books in the series also. The series is aptly named as the "Dark Legacy of Shannara." These volumes are indeed dark. They are even somewhat depressing at times. Most of the lead characters are slain in the books. Quite a few of the characters are very evil, including the Straken Lord, and later Grianne Ormsford, who becomes a new Straken Lord. Stoon, an assassin, is a very evil character. He is made into a very well developed character, but unfortunately is killed off in the second volume, like so many of the lead characters. The monsters are even more frightening than in some of the earlier Shannara novels. Torture or agonizing pain are features of many passages in the novels. Perhaps Brooks is leaning a bit too heavily on the "dark" elements? I found one interesting inconsistency. In the third, final book of this series, the elfstones are recovered for a time. They are housed in a strong padded box. The box is divided into compartments. Four chambers in this box contain the elfstones. There must be twenty or more of the elfstones, divided into four colors. Railing Ohmsford selects the red stones, removes them from the box, and places them in his pocket. Later, he uses them to save the lives of his small party. BUT, I just reread an earlier Shannara book, The Elf Queen of Shannara. In that book the elfstones play an important role. They are carried by Wren Ohmsford, the book's protagonist. There are ONLY three elfstones. I found this interesting. Clearly Brooks is not rigidly locked into consistency. Well, who cares? One odd element are the numerous airship crashes. There must be at least five. Each crash leaves the plot in limbo as we attempt to determine which of the characters have survived the crash. I felt this plot element was rather overworked. It almost gets tiresome. Overall, I enjoyed the series. I know -- as some reviewers have stated -- there are some plot elements that are repeated from the earlier Shannara novels. Asw an example, the renewal of the Elcrys. Even so, this was not a show stopper for me. Brooks does a great job of creating interesting characters, both good and evil. His gift for wonderful descriptions, and his talent for writing a really literate prose style, have not flagged over the years. I highly recommend these novels.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
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Title: Jordan Almonds Assorted Colors Bulk by Its Delish, 5 lbs; Brand: Its Delish; Review: These were nice got alot in the bags..tasted freat guests loved them..; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Silver Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolate Candy 5LB Bag; Brand: The Nutty Fruit House; Review: Guests loved these and color coordinated with my colour scheme...nice and fresh taste; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bob's Red & White Mini Peppermint Canes (Bulk Package - 550 ct.); Brand: Bobs; Review: These were mini and fresh and sealed...kids had handful at a time...nice; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Snyder's of Hanover Mini Pretzels, 40 Ounce Large Canister; Brand: Snyder's of Hanover; Review: These were mini but tasted nice and you could design it your self to suit guests; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hershey's, Kit Kat, Mini's, White Chocolate Covered Wafer Candies, 8oz Bag (Pack of 3); Brand: Kit Kat; Review: These were nice needs a bit more in the pack..; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wilton Yellow Candy Melts, 12-Ounce; Brand: Wilton; Review: worked well and easy to use and eat,,,the colour was a bit dull but great none the less; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: HERSHEY'S KISSES Chocolate Candy, Pink Foils, 4.1 Pounds Bulk Candy; Brand: Kisses; Review: great for candy buffet...well wrapped....fresh taste; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SNICKERS, TWIX, 3 MUSKETEERS & MILKY WAY Minis Size Candy Variety Mix, 240 Pieces; Brand: Mars; Review: fun size..plenty to choose from..taste fresh and gives ptons for your guest at a party...; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Frooties 360 Piece Bag Blue Raspberry (Net Wt. 38.8oz.); Brand: Frooties; Review: not stick to deal with,,stays fresh and great for candy buffets; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Blueberry Light Blue Candy Sticks (1-Pack of 80); Brand: Fun Express; Review: nice candy stick..tasted fresh and kids loved them..would buy again; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MARS Chocolate Caramel Lovers Fun Size Candy Bars Variety Mix 37.7-Ounce 60-Piece Bag; Brand: Mars; Review: Great chocolate but messed up shipping..urghh; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Grocery_and_Gourmet_Food |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: The Man Who Cried (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Reservoir Dogs (1992); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Cookout (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pay It Forward (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Uptown Girls (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Wedding Planner (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rudy (1993); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: What Women Want (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Cinderella Story (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Carolina (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Braveheart (1995); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bruce Almighty (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Patch Adams (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: In Good Company (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Steel Magnolias (1989); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rain Man (1988); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bringing Down the House (2003); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Catwoman (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Miss Congeniality (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Raising Helen (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fight Club (1999); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Kiss (2003); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Pretty Woman (1990); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sister Act (1992); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beyond the Sea (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Men of Honor (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Alfie (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Driving Miss Daisy (1989); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dirty Dancing (1987); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ladder 49 (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Royal Tenenbaums (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Save the Last Dance (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Fond Kiss (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Kiss the Girls (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cocktail (1988); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Goonies (1985); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Are We There Yet? (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Stepmom (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Daddy Day Care (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mr. Deeds (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Runaway Bride (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Radio (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Maid in Manhattan (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Forrest Gump (1994); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rules of Engagement (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lost in Translation (2003); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Aviator (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Two Weeks Notice (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Coyote Ugly (2000); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The General's Daughter (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Office Space (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Gladiator (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Miracle on 34th Street (1947); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Children of Heaven (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Patriot (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Harold and Maude (1971); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Anastasia (1997); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sam Kinison: Breaking the Rules (2000); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: A Perfect Murder (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Courage Under Fire (1996); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sweet Home Alabama (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Remember the Titans (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Something the Lord Made (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Green Mile (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Laws of Attraction (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shall We Dance? (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Few Good Men (1992); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Titanic (1997); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Saving Private Ryan (1998); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Man in the Moon (1991); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Little Black Book (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Motives (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Chorus (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mississippi Burning (1988); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Beautiful Mind (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Man on Fire (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Life as a House (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 50 First Dates (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Not Without My Daughter (1991); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: When Harry Met Sally (1989); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cocoon (1985); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Lion King: Special Edition (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Wizard of Oz: Collector's Edition (1939); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shrek 2 (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Tuskegee Airmen (1995); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sixth Sense (1999); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dances With Wolves: Special Edition (1990); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Erin Brockovich (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mask: Director's Cut (1985); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: I Am Sam (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Walk to Remember (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Hunt for Red October (1990); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Black Hawk Down (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Suspect Zero (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Untouchables (1987); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Of Mice And Men (1992); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Miss Evers' Boys (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Antwone Fisher (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ice Age (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Good Will Hunting (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fiddler on the Roof (1971); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: An Affair to Remember (1957); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Bone Collector (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: We Were Soldiers (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Contact (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Nell (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sabrina (1954); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: In the Line of Fire (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Primal Fear (1996); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Double Jeopardy (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Count of Monte Cristo (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lean on Me (1989); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: To Sir (1966); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ben-Hur: Collector's Edition (1959); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Enemy of the State (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mary Poppins (1964); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Misery (1990); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dead Poets Society (1989); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Firm (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Clear and Present Danger (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Fugitive (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Chocolat (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tombstone (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Losing Isaiah (1995); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Philadelphia (1993); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Negotiator (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: My Fair Lady: Special Edition (1964); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Intimate Betrayal (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hostage (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ray (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Door in the Floor (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Coach Carter (2005); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: White Noise (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Spanglish (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ocean's Twelve (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Rwanda (2005); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wicker Park (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: After the Sunset (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Notebook (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Love's Enduring Promise (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Closer (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: With or Without You (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wimbledon (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Gothika (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Sea Inside (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: First Daughter (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: National Treasure (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Pacifier (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Gandhi (1982); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Finding Neverland (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Assault on Precinct 13 (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: It Could Happen to You (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dear Frankie (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Million Dollar Baby (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Elizabeth (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Pianist (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Last Emperor (1987); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Little Man Tate (1991); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Breakin' All the Rules (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Work and the Glory (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Play-Doh Modeling Compound 24-Pack Case of Colors, Non-Toxic, Multi-Color, 3-Ounce Cans, Ages 2 and up (Amazon Exclusive); Brand: Play-Doh; Review: Got this to give out for Halloween for kids with allergies. Was a big hit with all kids.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: My First Carcassonne; Brand: Z-Man Games; Review: Great simple fun game. Easy enough for anyone to play through but certainly also a good game to start introducing strategy while playing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Brain Game MiniKit - MK112 by Velleman. Entry skill level soldering project; Brand: Velleman; Review: Fun little project... Really great for beginners, big soldering pads make it pretty difficult to screw up. I would've given this 4 or 5 stars, but the battery case didn't match that of the directions and and it made tricky to complete with the items provided. I ended up using another piece of wire I had from another project, and that worked out great, but I was just lucky to have that laying around.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Strider ST-4 No-Pedal Balance Bike, For 18 mos.- 5 years, Orange; Brand: Strider; Review: Very happy with this bike. My son is doing well with it and he's not the most coordinated kid out there. The first couple times out I was concerned he wouldn't quite understand the concept of coasting, but on maybe the 3rd or 4h ride he started to try and coast on his own. He's still got a ways to go before he gets a two-wheel pedal bike but I feel good about this balance bike vs training wheel.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Prism Bora Single-line Parafoil Kite; Brand: Prism Kite Technology; Review: You can't go wrong when you buy a Prism kite. Very happy with my purchase. I actually bought this as a 'back up' to cheap kite I had purchased (which ended up working out great... it's the cheap $10 octopus all over amazon). I bought this because I knew if my other purchased failed this would certainly fly and prevent my outing from being a bust. The kite is excellent quality, has great colors, is RTF (ready to fly) and flew perfectly on what was a beautiful day for kite flying. We had about 10MPH winds on a clear field that is where the local Kite group flies. Couldn't be happier.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hengda Kite-Beautiful Large Easy Flyer Kite for Kids - Red Mollusc octopus-It's; Brand: HENGDA KITE; Review: VERY happy with this purchase. I'll be honest I was a tad bit hesitant about the quality of the product after reading the negative reviews but for $10 I took the chance, but I did also spend a bit more to buy a Prism Bora 2 at the same time to ensure my next kite outing would go well. I received the kite on Wednesday unpacked it and I will admit, the quality of the ripstop nylon isn't the best I've seen but it's a $10 good size kite what do you expect? The Kite came RTF (Ready to Fly) which is always nice, not a super long line but good enough. The instruction are pretty much worthless.. I do agree, but for the most part you don't need much instruction for flying this thing. The only advice I could give some one who is a complete newbie is to ensure the bridle (the string that is pre-tied to the kite) isn't knotted except for one knot at the end keeping all the strings together. My kite came with loose knots in the bridle line I'm assuming to make folding and packing the kite easier at the factory. Reading a number of the bad review I think this may have been something that others didn't do. I took this kite out for it's maiden voyage today (Sunday). We had about 10mph winds and I was in a fairly clear field, a favorite for many, for kite flying in my area. I unpacked the kite , let about about 50ft of line, had my 4 year old hold the kite while I walked the line out... counted to 3, gave it a little tug and straight up it went. It flew wonderfully, looked great, and my boys loved it. Couldn't be more pleased with this purchase. BTW for anyone who has read the bad reviews and may not be that familiar with kite flying, please don't listen to the folks who say "this kite needs some solid structure". These people don't know what they are talking about. The kite is a soft parafoil kite (similar concept to a parachute), these kites get their structure from the wind which essentially inflates the kite and gives it it's shape. In my experience these are some of the most stable, reliable, and easy to fly kites out there.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Toys_and_Games |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Fawn Valley Inn; City: Estes Park Colorado; Review: We stayed at Fawn Valley for five nights last August, and had a great time. We stayed in one of their renovated condos, so was not cheap, but worth every penny. The views of the surrounding mountains was spectacular. The rooms were clean and comfortable, a lovely stream rushed below. The hot tub on the deck made the vacation, just looking at photos of us in it makes me feel relaxed again. Then, stepping into one of the cotton robes- ah heaven. We swam in the pool several times, and it usually was very quiet. Water was a little cool, but I prefer it that way. Staff was helpful with dinner recommendations. Very close to Rocky Mountain National Park. The main drawback of the property is its dated and worn exterior, and I think the rooms that have not been renovated may be very outdated.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Lodge at Giant s Ridge; City: Biwabik Minnesota; Review: My family and I stayed at the Lodge to ski at Giants Ridge. It was the most miserable two nights in a hotel ever. Main problem- the noise. I've stayed at Motel 6's which were better constructed. The noise from other skiiers echoed up and down the hallways from cheap floorboards. The exit doors slammed shut, literally shaking the wall hangings. You could hear every move of the lodgers above us. Even people outside talking could be heard as if on a bullhorn. Really thin walls and ceilings. Second- no hot water. A whirlpool bath sounds great, but not in lukewarm water. Nothing worse than coming in from a ski, expecting to take a nice soothing bath, to find cold water coming out the faucet. This happened twice to me. All of this for $180 per night. I complained to the front desk at check-out, and wrote an e-mail to their e-mail address, to no avail. I'm sure they've heard this before, and it's nothing new. They got me, don't let them get you.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Country Inn of Hoyt Lakes; City: Hoyt Lakes Minnesota; Review: My family and I stayed here one night. The rooms were very clean, the furnishings and carpet were in great shape. It was very quiet, i.e. very few customers the night we stayed, a Saturday. We had the pool and spa to ourselves both times we used it. A little pricey for such a small town, but nice option to stay in Iron Range.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Togwotee Mountain Lodge; City: Moran Jackson Hole Wyoming; Review: We stayed in a lodge room one night. The lodge gave a worn, tired feel. The room felt like it needed a good cleaning. It was basically an old hotel room. You could hear those around and above, but everyone seemed to go to bed early.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fawn Valley Inn; City: Estes Park Colorado; Review: We stayed here for five nights in early June 2012. It was our second stay at Fawn Valley. Two years ago, the condo we stayed in had been recently remodeled, and everything felt new and clean. The hot tub was cleaned every day. This time, we stayed in a different condo, but one remodeled about the same time as the other one. It already had that lived-in feel, stains on the carpet, the bathrooms still very nice, but not quite having that brand new freshness. We're not sure if the hot tub was given attention the entire time we were there, and had a grimy feel by the end of our stay. Still, everything else was great. Lovely views of mountains and Fall River, a refreshing swimming pool, which was given lots of attention every day, helpful staff, close to the park and Estes Park. Would we stay here again? Probably, but might split the stay in Estes Park with another property.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Country Inn of Hoyt Lakes; City: Hoyt Lakes Minnesota; Review: My family stayed here two nights this past weekend. This remains a great place, to stay; clean, quiet, friendly. The rooms and pool area are in top shape. It was very warm during our stay, and the air conditioner was up to the challenge. Breakfast was adequate. The only drawback is that the beds are a little stiff.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Harrington House Beachfront Bed Breakfast; City: Holmes Beach Anna Maria Island Florida; Review: My daughter begged us to take her to the ocean this spring break, and she chose the Harrington House. I can still hear the surf if I close my eyes. It's a unique home on the water, with a beautiful beach right out front. I must say, it's doesn't appear to be as luxurious as the white sand beaches you see on photos of Siesta Keys, lots of shells rather than sand here, but still very nice. The breakfasts are first rate, healthy and satisfying. Great location to restaurants on the island. Main drawback in our cabin (DODT1) was that we could hear the residents upstairs every move. In fact, their movements echoed throughout the house. Even when they were on the deck, every sliding of chairs reverberated. I would definitely recommend upper level accommodations.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: GrandStay Hotel Suites Madison; City: Madison Wisconsin; Review: My family and I stayed here one night recently. The rooms were nice, clean and roomy. The air conditioner kept the temperature comfortable one a hot summer night. The main detractors were the beds, which were a bit uncomfortable, and the pool and hot tub were ridiculously small.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Jasper House Bungalows; City: Jasper National Park Alberta; Review: I would not stay at Jasper House Bungalows. Our duplex cabin was furnished with old, dated furniture. Everything was dark and suffocating. It was very warm the days we stayed here, and the cabin became sweltering. The windows were very small and even after being left open all night, the cabin remained stuffy. We found ourselves extending our activities elsewhere just to avoid coming back to such a downer of a room. Also, the cleaning staff were dismissive and rudely loud in the morning. Slamming of doors, loud conversations, slovenly appearance, they gave the impression of a bunch of kids with no supervision. I gave them a cheery "hello" every time I passed them, just to ruin their day by demanding some sort of acknowledgement.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Lake Louise Inn; City: Lake Louise Banff National Park Alberta; Review: My wife, daughter and I stayed at Lake Louise Inn for one night. We had a deluxe queen suite. It was very comfortable and met our needs. Our deck faced the property with the mountains in view above, very impressive. The property is a motel type setup. Our entrance door faced the busy highway, but once the door was closed that was not a problem. There are a lot of rooms in each building, so there were plenty of slamming doors first thing in the morning as people start their day. We ate at the restaurant, the Timber Wolf, I believe it's named. It served delicious pizza and calzone. We had the breakfast buffet in the morning, which was less satisfying. The room had some disappointments, sagging wallpaper, a strand of hair in the bathroom, and the price was exorbitant. The staff was exceptional at check-in, check-out and in the restaurants.; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Tripp Lite 1 Outlet Portable Surge Protector Power Strip, Direct Plug In, $5,000 INSURANCE (SPIKECUBE); Brand: Tripp Lite; Review: Great price on protection for electronics. Small and simple. Not much to say till I have a surge or event to test them but seem well made and ships really fast.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Olympus TG-860 Tough Waterproof Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Orange); Brand: Olympus; Review: Took on a once in a lifetime trip with my son and the BSA in the keys. Needed for underwater shots and video. Used and abused for 7 days straight. I gave it a freshwater rinse after each use as instructions stated. Took great shots and video, happy with quality. Now the salt water may catch up and kill it next week, but washed it in alcohol when we got home and seems fine. A little expensive but the cheaper ones had bad reviews. Battery life a big complaint in reviews too but I found it to be acceptable. Took 450 pics and probably an hour of video on it and used 2.5 batteries over the week. Very happy with it. Will use as my water camera from now on instead of dry bags for my phone etc.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DBPOWER 2.7" HD Dash; Brand: DBPOWER; Review: Have used it for 3 days now and everything as advertised. Only complaint is the battery life is terrible. From fully charged it only last 21 minutes. So that means you have to leave it hardwired which limits it's placement on the windshield for me as I don't want a cable blocking my view. But the quality of the video is amazing and the size is great, about the size of a credit card. Oh , the "manual" included is worthless. Has a pictures labeling the various buttons and their location with absolutely no information as to how to operate any of it, it's only so thick because it's the same info in49 languages.. So poke around the menu button on your own. After 3 months the screen started cycling on and off every few seconds. Customer Service was GREAT , replaced it, but here I am 60 days later and it's doing it again. I'm sure they would replace if I give them the opportunity...but for the $50 I paid, I'm good. Going to look for something else.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Sabrent SuperSpeed 2-Slot USB 3.0 Flash Memory Card Reader for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Certain Android Systems - Supports; Brand: Sabrent; Review: Great card reader, everything as described.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: JBtek Male to Female USB Cable with ON/OFF Switch - Easy Start/Reboot for Raspberry Pi & Arduino; Brand: JBtek; Review: Lasted almost 10 months - used for my car's dash camera to save plugging and unplugging usb all the time. Hit the switch on/off at least 3-4 times per day. So for a lot of use, convenience and for $6 .... I give it 4 stars. I'm buying another one today. One day auto makers will figure out we need 12 volt plugs where WE control whether they power up with car or remain hot.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: Miss Congeniality (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ocean's Eleven (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sleeping Beauty: Special Edition (1959); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Count of Monte Cristo (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: O Brother (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Emma (1996); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 12 Angry Men (1957); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The NeverEnding Story (1984); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Anger Management (2003); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Something's Gotta Give (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Rookie (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 3-2-1 Penguins: Runaway Pride at Lightstation Kilowatt (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Peter Pan (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Big Fish (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Matchstick Men (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Matrix: Revolutions (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Runaway Jury (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Freaky Friday (1976); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Hidalgo (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Welcome to Mooseport (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 50 First Dates (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: 3-2-1 Penguins: The Doom Funnel Rescue (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Anna and the King (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Bourne Identity (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mr. Deeds (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Hobbit (1978); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Herbie Rides Again (1974); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Ladykillers (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Manchurian Candidate (1962); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Doctor Dolittle (1967); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Love Bug (1968); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Along Came Polly (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Home on the Range (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 13 Going on 30 (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lady Jane (1986); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Garfield: The Movie (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Man on Fire (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Legend of Johnny Lingo (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Elf (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Shrek 2 (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Treasure Planet (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Luther (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kate & Leopold (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Rock (1996); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ella Enchanted (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Herbie Goes Bananas (1980); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Patriot (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Raising Arizona (1987); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tuck Everlasting (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Bourne Supremacy (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Cinderella Story (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Manchurian Candidate (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Alamo (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Notebook (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mighty Joe Young (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Terminal (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Perfect Storm (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Barbie as Rapunzel (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Incredibles (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Day After Tomorrow (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Shall We Dance? (1995); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spanglish (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spider-Man (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: U-571 (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Racing Stripes (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Fat Albert (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spider-Man 2 (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Whole Ten Yards (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Braveheart (1995); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 3-2-1 Penguins: Moon Menace on Planet Tell-a-lie (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: VeggieTales: Duke and the Great Pie War (2005); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Aviator (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rules of Engagement (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Tarzan 2 (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Because of Winn-Dixie (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: National Treasure (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Great Mouse Detective (1986); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Murder By Numbers (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: adidas Men's Adipower Weightlift Shoes; Brand: ; Review: A good squat show. has helped me increase my range of motion for squats and provided greater stability. They look good too....If you have wider feet you might want to consider a different shoe. My buddy got same ones but had to return as they were too narrow for him.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: H2H Mens Casual Slim Fit Polo T-Shirts Basic Designed with Giraffe embroidery; Brand: H2H; Review: A bit tighter than I wanted. I have an athletic build. Large chest shoulders arms; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Deargirl Open Crotch G String Thong Hollow Out Panty G String Lingerie; Brand: Deargirl; Review: Was a little too tight for my lady; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Timex Men's Weekender Chronograph Slip-Thru Strap Watch; Brand: Timex; Review: Meh; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: MONDAYSUIT Mens Slim Fit Dress Shirt w/Reversible Cuff (Big&Tall Available); Brand: MONDAYSUIT; Review: Nice shirt for the price. Fit well. I have an athletic build.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Days Inn by Wyndham Brooklyn; City: Brooklyn New York; Review: I'm just back from a trip to NYC. I couldn't afford the $500+ rates in Manhattan and this was really the second best thing. The hotel itself is clean, but very small. They have a breakfast counter but no room to eat it. And when I say no room, there's really none. You have to go back to your room to eat. Another problem is they don't have a luggage room, in case you check out but still have the day to wander around. Other than that the staff is very friendly and the hotel is not noisy like some reviews said. The area is pretty run down and I didn't feel safe at first walking there after dark. It turned out to be ok and the walk to the subway is on a busy road (4th Ave) and takes about 5 min. The trip to midtown Manhattan takes about 30-35mins. So overall it does the job if you are stuck, but if you can stay in Manhattan you will be happier.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Bananarama Dive Beach Resort; City: West Bay Roatan Bay Islands; Review: After seeing so many 5's I booked my stay in Bananarama. I have to say I was very disappointed. Nothing major really happened. It just doesn't live up to its reputation. Maybe those who rated it 5 out of 5 are happy with basic accommodation, so I will try to be impartial and describe the place as close to reality as possible. The cabins have a good size with air conditioning and a hammoc outside. The bathrooms are all rusted from the sea breeze. The TV reception was pretty poor when it was available (I know, why would I want to watch TV, but had to say that). Oh, and no remote either. The breakfast was appalling. Seriously, it's bad, really bad: two small pancakes with cheap maple syrup and a couple of watermelon squares in one day and tortillas with funny tasting beans in another. Speaking of food, the restaurant is no different. Food is service with disposable plates and cutlery. The French fries are greasy and seem to have been fried in really old oil. I've seen people say the resort has a generator, but when the power went out while I was staying there, it wasn't used and we ran out of water too. There was also a sewage smell around the entrance area. This smell was consistent throughout my stay. In short, if you are looking for a bed and have basic needs bananarama will do, but if you like a little bit of comfort beyond AC, I recommend you stay elsewhere. The place is overpriced and you get cheap motel like accommodation. Like someone who I met during my stay there said, "you are paying for the location and the accommodation comes free".; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Pousada Pedacinho de Ceu; City: Ilha Grande Angra Dos Reis State of Rio de Janeiro; Review: Pedacinho do Ceu is so quaint and cozy you feel like you are staying with someone you know. Carmen. the owner, couldn't be more friendly. Like pretty much all places in Ilha Grande the pousada is basic but has everything you need and the location is perfect, right at the center of Abraao village. The room we stayed in could have fit 5 and even had an area for hanging your wet clothes. Breakfast is typical Brazilian and very tasty. Mmm... mangos were so sweet. And you can see a lot of humming birds in the front garden. But the best part of it all was when Carmen let us use her own bathroom after we had checked out to change after a day on the beach. I highly recommend this place and would definitely stay here again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Antigua Capilla Bed and Breakfast; City: San Miguel de Allende Central Mexico and Gulf Coast; Review: This place is perfect in every way: quaint, clean, very comfortable room, yummy breakfast, extremely friendly owner. It's like staying at a friend's house. You can call the US free of charge from the room. There's Apple TV with really easy to use instructions. Free wi-fi. Even a list of nice restaurants to try in the city and a little tour magazine with self-guided walking tours you can take. There's also a fridge with drinks in the common area with soda, beer, water, etc you can get any time of the day and charge to your room. I'm the kind of guy that values small things that show attention to detail. For example, I hate cilantro. After I told Antonieta, the owner, about it on the first day, she would have the initiative to give me cilantro-free breakfast every day. Also, I got food poisoning from eating street food one day and again Antonieta offered a custom breakfast that would be easier on my stomach. Not to mention she offered to call a doctor. Antonieta also helps with the booking of taxis to/from the airport, tours to Guanajuato and Queretaro. All in all, It was the perfect stay. I highly recommend it. Just one comment: the B&B is a short walk to the main square, and very easy to get to, but it's a steep hill on the way back. I actually enjoyed the exercise with all the Mexican food I was eating. But you can take a taxi back that will cost only 20 to 30 pesos if you prefer. Don't let that stop you from staying there. You will most certainly enjoy the stay.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pousada dos Quatros Cantos; City: Olinda State of Pernambuco; Review: We stayed here during the World Cup in June, in one of the rooms downstairs that face the street. There was a slight smell of mold and because it directly faces the street, the noise coming from the bar across the street along with the drums that played all night for two nights was unbearable. Even people walking outside talking would be very loud inside the room. If you do stay there, avoid this room at all cost! Breakfast was good enough and the staff friendly, but they really don't know a lot to help you with basic tourist questions. For example, they didn't even know the bus number to go to Recife or where it dropped you. They do speak English though. But do your planning ahead of time. They also had free wi-fi, but I didn't get connection in the room, so had to go to the lobby.; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Dingo Mega Bone Rawhide Chew For Aggressive Chewers; Brand: Dingo; Review: Amazon is the only place I can find these Dingos for my dogs. They just love them. More expensive than other Dingos so I give them to my buddies for a special treat....sparingly unfortunately.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dingo Mini Flavor Blasts Bones; Brand: Dingo; Review: I haven't seen these in the stores. Only Amazon, of course. Dingos are my dogs favorite treats. I have to order more because they love these bacon minis!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Good 'N' Fun Triple Flavor Twist Chews For Dogs, 22-Count; Brand: Good'n'Fun; Review: My dogs love these treats. They are a bit expensive though.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Downtown Pet Supply 960 Pet Waste Bags, Dog Waste Bags, Bulk Poop Bags on a; Brand: Downtown Pet Supply; Review: These are great doggie poo bags. Sturdy and good size. I've ordered them several times. No other bands compare. And the paw prints on the bags are do cute! I prefer the black since you can't see through them. The others colors are nice but rather transparent.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dingo Denta Treats Teeth Whitening Mini Chews For Small/Toy Dogs; Brand: Dingo; Review: My puppies love these treats!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dingo Denta-Treats Long Lasting Chews; Brand: Dingo; Review: My puppies love these.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Pet_Supplies |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: SUNSCSC 1 Pair Boho Vintage Gold Silver Coin Blessing Symbol Tassel Anklets Foot Jewelry; Brand: SUNSCSC; Review: They hung over the sides of my feet a little more than I expected but they don't touch the ground. Very pretty in person and they feel neat on.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 1 Pcs Women Beach Barefoot Sandal Boho Beach Turquoise Barefoot Sandal Foot Jewelry Anklet Chain Foot Bracelet; Brand: Voberry@; Review: These are adorable. I did find they run small. They stretched enough to fit but they feel as if they are stretched while on and it is lacking some beads once it is pulled to fit. I am keeping mine but they would be awesome with a little change. Price is great!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: SNJ Women Strappy Gladiator Zipper Lace Up Caged Flat Sandal Trends Shoes; Brand: SNJ; Review: I am fairly athletic and have larger calves. These shoes don't work at all if you have bigger calves.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: John Deere Men's JD6283 Boot; Brand: John Deere; Review: same as always; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: John Deere Men's JD6283 Boot; Brand: John Deere; Review: same as always; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bestyou Women's Tie Back Tunics Crochet Lace Tops Halter Knit Dresses Sexy Bikini Swimsuit Cover up Beachwear; Brand: Bestyou; Review: I am curvy and this still works. Very well made & just the right length.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Halife Women's Sexy Lace Mesh Patchwork Bikini Bathing Suit Cover Up Tank Dress; Brand: Halife; Review: My husband loves this. I think it is just ok. Nothing special in my opinion. Material is good though.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: CUPSHE Women's Black&White Diamond Printing Halter Padding Bikini Set; Brand: CUPSHE; Review: I wear an XL and a 36DD. There is just to much for fitting padding in the top for the boobs I already have. The bottoms are cute but a little skimpy. I do like the bottoms though. I may keep the suit for the bottoms.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Under Armour Kids' Boys' Grade School X Level Scramjet Sneaker; Brand: ; Review: just as in the store; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: HP7: Deathly Hallows, P2 (DVD); Brand: Daniel Radcliffe; Review: Very addicting movie series - cannot get enough, and always seem to watch them all when I watch one; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter Years 1-6 Gift set; Brand: Daniel Radcliffe; Review: Very addicting movie series - cannot get enough, and always seem to watch them all when I watch one; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Gosford Park; Brand: Maggie Smith; Review: Exciting crime movie. Good story and great build of characters. The mystery movie genre needs to make a comeback.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Smallville: The Final Season; Brand: Tom Welling; Review: Love the series, the ending was worth the wait. All episodes of season 10 collected on DVD; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Brave (Mandarin Chinese Edition); Brand: ; Review: my kid enjoys this movie a great deal - good story and a fun fast paced movie - Pixar just keeps doing better and better; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pixar Shorts; Brand: ; Review: Collection of great short stories, my kid can't get enough of watching these; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pixar Short Films Collection 2; Brand: ; Review: Collection of great short stories, my kid can't get enough of watching these; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ESPN Films: Nine for IX GIFT SET; Brand: Venus Williams; Review: Purchased this set for my wife and she loves it - great sports stories and information - well worth the purchase if you are a sports documentary fan.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Star Wars: The Clone Wars:S3 Box (DVD); Brand: Matt Lanter; Review: My kids love this show, glad to have the blue ray to add to the collection; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Movies_and_TV |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: Victim suffers laceration to heart in south Louisville stabbing; Abstract: A man is in critical condition after suffering a laceration to the heart in a stabbing in south Louisville. Police were called for a fight in the 4900 block of Wabash Place around 6:30 p.m. Saturday. According to the arrest report, police found a man suffering from multiple stab wounds when they arrived at the scene. The victim was transported to University Hospital in critical condition. Investigators said the victim underwent emergency surgery...; Category: news
Title: Is buying an abandoned property a good investment?; Abstract: Is abandoned property a good buy?; Category: finance
Title: 14 House Problems That Don't Require a General Contractor; Abstract: As most homeowners are well aware, problems can strike a house suddenly and without warning: a leaky roof or a fallen tree, a burst pipe in the basement or a boiler that conks out during a cold snap. But there is no need to panic! Many common household issues can be dealt with easily and quickly, either DIY or by calling in a handyman or specialized contractor. Start by assessing the damage and figuring out how extensive the repairs are going to be. You may be able to tackle some smaller jobs, including plumbing, electrical work, landscaping, and interior repairs, on your own. More extensive renovations, however, may require a general contractor to oversee the job. But the common repairs that follow typically do not require calling in the big guns.; Category: lifestyle
Title: 35 of the Best Foods for Strong Bones; Abstract: A healthy diet full of certain kinds of foods can help prevent bone loss and keep our bones strong.; Category: health
Title: Elijah Cummings to lie in state at US Capitol Thursday; Abstract: Cummings, a Democrat whose district included sections of Baltimore, died last week at age 68 from complications related to longstanding health issues.; Category: news
Title: There's a scientific reason you crave junk food when you don't get enough sleep; Abstract: Why do you crave junk food when you're sleep deprived? Blame your ancestors.; Category: health
Title: Pollution around the world: 30 shocking photos; Abstract: While it's easy to become overwhelmed by stats and images about current pollution and trajectories for years to come, the intent of this article is not to instill fear. The intent is to be realistic, to learn from what is going on in the world, and to support one another in our collective efforts to change. Pollution knows no boundaries, so for the sake of future generations, let's err on the side of action and hope.; Category: lifestyle
Title: Kentucky Meat Shower? Yes, meat fell from the sky more than 140 years ago; Abstract: One March day in 1876, a "horse wagon full" of raw meat fell from the sky into the yard of an unsuspecting farmer. And no one knows exactly why.; Category: news
Title: 'Joker' Takes R-Rated Box Office Record…and Possibly Another No. 1 Weekend; Abstract: Warner Bros./Village Roadshow's "Joker" is going where no R-Rated film has gone before, passing the rating record set by "Deadpool 2" this weekend as it heads for $800 million worldwide. Along the way, it might also take one more No. 1 on the domestic weekend charts. Right now, "Joker" is in a virtual tie with Disney's "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil," with both films currently projected by industry estimates to earn $19 million this weekend....; Category: movies
Title: Trump accuses Obama of treason for 'spying' on his 2016 campaign; Abstract: President Trump has ratcheted up his claim that the Obama White House spied on his 2016 campaign.; Category: news
Title: Why Potatoes Are Actually Good for You; Abstract: Put an end to tater hate.; Category: health
Title: Michigan apples being recalled in eight states for possible Listeria contamination; Abstract: More than 2,000 cases Michigan apples, including popular varieties like Honeycrisp, are being recalled due to potential Listeria contamination.; Category: health
Title: Man wins $1 million in the lottery for the second time; Abstract: For many, winning a big lottery jackpot is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.; Category: news
Title: Stephanie Grisham says Trump was serious about fireside chat to read Ukraine call; Abstract: White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham did not shoot down the prospect of a nationally televised "fireside chat."; Category: news
Title: Pamela Anderson gets backlash after wearing a Native American headdress for Halloween; Abstract: Pamela Anderson is under fire after posting risqué photos of herself wearing a Native American headdress in honor of Halloween. The Canadian actress and animal rights activist, who rose to fame for her role as a lifeguard on the series Baywatch, took to Twitter like many other celebrities to post photos of herself in her Halloween costume. In the first photo, the 51-year-old sports a pair of high-waisted underwear, and appears to be drenched in...; Category: tv
Title: Celeb couples with big age gaps; Abstract: Age is just a number for some stars!; Category: entertainment
Title: Inside the Sheikh of Dubai's 800-acre Kentucky horse farm; Abstract: I got a tour of Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai's 800-acre horse farm in Kentucky, where horses live in immaculate barns with skylights and personal fans.; Category: finance
Title: Popular Selena tribute singer from San Fernando Valley detained by ICE in Texas; Abstract: ; Category: music | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: VIAIR 300P Portable Compressor; Brand: VIAIR; Review: I love this little bugger; have had it for a couple of years now. Just the thing you need as an occasional off-roader like I am. It works exactly as stated in its sales pitch and as reviewed in various off-road magazines. If you need to pump up some 35's then you might go up a bit, by this services my 8x32 BFG T/A just fine. Buy it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: BedRug Jeep Kit - BedRug BRTJ97R fits 97-06 TJ REAR CARGO KIT (INCLUDES TAILGATE); Brand: Bedrug; Review: This is a perfect replacement for the old carpet. It's still winter as I write this so it's not installed yet. Very impressed with the quality and look. Will definitely add to the appearance of my '06 TJ. If you're still on the fence, this one beats any other offerings for Wrangler carpeting that I've seen. Update: Installed this over the course of about two hours one sunny afternoon in May. I followed the instructions to the "T" and all went well. I recommend using the old carpet if available for use as a template to double check the fitment before you cut. There was a little trimming in a couple of spots but nothing major. It actually fits and looks better than the original. While much lighter than OEM the liner is quite sturdy. I've done my normal abuse to it with the stuff I carry around and it appears that it's going to take all that I can throw at it. While shopping for replacement carpeting I looked at a few other manufacturers whose prices were comparable. Bedrug, however, was the only company with the video support who displayed absolute confidence in their product. I liked this so much I went ahead and ordered the front kit, too, which is on its way. With average daily use I expect both kits to last a long time and look good doing it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: RAMPAGE PRODUCTS 1261 Grey 4 Layer Breathable Cab Cover (fits over installed top) for 1976-2006 Jeep Wrangler; Brand: RAMPAGE PRODUCTS; Review: I bought this in 2005 and it is just now giving up the ghost. I switch to bikini top, duster and tonneau in May and they stay on until October when the soft top goes back on. Safari doors are on after our rainy season in Japan, from July through October. The cover went through lots of heavy wind, rain and typhoons working very well. The rubber front straps broke two years ago and tears are starting to show up from the wear-weakened fabric. There is a sag between the roll bars which WILL leak water into the back without a tonneau. I give it five stars because it does its job well for the price. That said, I need more coverage with the safari doors on so am switching styles for the replacement.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Smittybilt 1061 Gray Water-Resistant Cab Cover with Door Flap; Brand: Smittybilt; Review: Probably the best cover for a TJ out there, especially for the price. It's heavy and sturdy and looks to be a long-lasting item. More straps and hooks than I can figure out what to do with! I expect the elastic for the spare tire to wear out in a year or so but it's not really needed. We run with a duster, tonneau, bikini and safari doors in the summer and here in Japan rains can come up quickly. The first test in a windy rain went great; no water whatever inside the Jeep. It's tight fitting with very little play or flap when used as designed; a great feature. It's meant for use when the top's off or down so don't expect it to fit with the top up. Why would you do that anyhow?; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rugged Ridge All-Terrain 12920.11 Black Front Row Floor Liner For Select Jeep Wrangler Models; Brand: Rugged Ridge; Review: What can you say about carpet liners? These are a great product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: EAG 97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ Fender Flares with Mounting Hardware Pocket Style; Brand: EAG; Review: I bought these for two reasons: to make the Jeep legal after installing new tires and rims; and didn't want to pay the high price for the super good ones (you know the brand). I don't do a lot of off-roading simply because where I live there's not too many places nearby to do it. That means I don't need good, heavy duty flares that resists damage that could occur. I recently installed new tires and rims on my 2006 TJ and the rim offset left my tread outside of the factory flare limits, which is not legal in Japan. These flares fit the bill. The flares are very easy to install once the time-consuming OEM removal is accomplished. This is a real PIA even if you've done it before. If you haven't, check out the online videos which, even then, don't show you how to fold back the rear wheel well inserts. Prepare to get dirty and scratched. These flares are very rigid and will not bend without cracking when running up against an immovable object which is why I don't recommend them for off road use. These are not mounted with hex-head fasteners but with regular screws and locking nuts. They are not stainless steel so I recommend replacing them with SS simply for ease of removal if they ever need to be replaced. There are chrome plastic covers that look like hex-head fasteners when new. I'm sure after a year or so of washing and weather the chrome will be mostly gone and need to be replaced. Not sure that can be done. If they can't be replaced I'll probably just pop them off with a screw driver and paint them. The flares improve the looks of my Wrangler and meet legal tread coverage requirements. They're inexpensive and easy to install.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: IZTOSS Digital Black Hour Meter Gauge for Motorcycle ATV Snowmobile Marine Boat Yama Ski Dirt; Brand: IZTOSS; Review: Bought this for my new lawn tractor and it worked fine up until the battery went dead only 3 months after installation. There is no on/off switch so the meter starts operating as soon as the "integrated battery" is installed at the factory.; Rating: 1.0/5.0 | amazon_Automotive |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: TORC (T50C Route 66 3/4 Helmet (Black, XX-Large); Brand: TORC; Review: Love it, fits like a glove. Hope I never have the *need* to report if it protected my head from being smashed!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Biltwell Solid Bubble Shield (Amber, One Size); Brand: Biltwell; Review: Works and looks great!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: TORC T22 Interstate Modular Helmet (Green, Large); Brand: TORC; Review: Great helmet! I bought this for the modular feature and also so I could wear my prescription glasses and use the flip down sun visor in helmet. It fit great and I love it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Okra Bicycle Motorcycle Phone Mount Holder [Extra Secure] Bike Handlebar Holder for iPhone Android all Smartphones Devices (Universal); Brand: Okra; Review: Simple and elegant. I bought this for my 2016 Harley Davidson Road Glide. I've only used it 5-6 times but I am confident it will work for a long while. Well done!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ExpertPower EXP1272 Lead_Acid_Battery; Brand: ExpertPower; Review: I bought two of these to power my model 2 tennis tutor tennis ball machine. So far they are working Great! With batteries like these it's all about how long they will serve me. I will comment again if they don't last for very long...I am using a Battery Tender (022-0192) Black 12 Volt 0.750 Amp Junior Battery Charger/Maintainer to charge them after every use and have used them about 6 times for about an hour each time. If these batteries last me for a while I'll come back and report.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Automotive |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Prayers That Avail Much: Three Bestselling Works Complete in One Volume; Author: Word Ministries Inc.; Review: This book is wonderful to get your prayer life going or in my case give it a much needed boost. You can find prayers for any situation you might be facing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: God's Creative Power Gift Collection: God's Creative Power Will Work for You, God's Creative Power for; Author: Visit Amazon's Charles Capps Page; Review: I use the scriptres in the book for confessing the word throughout the day. I use it during my prayer time. i have found that the scriotures I read and confess are getting in my heart because if I do not have the book with me I can still confess the scriptures.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Prayers That Avail Much; Author: Word Ministries; Review: This book is wonderful to get your prayer life going or in my case give it a much needed boost. You can find prayers for any situation you might be facing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Marriage Bargain (Marriage to a Billionaire); Author: Visit Amazon's Jennifer Probst Page; Review: I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It shows that love even when we try to fight it, trumps all; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Turbulent Intentions (Billionaire Aviators); Author: Visit Amazon's Melody Anne Page; Review: I really liked the book. It grab your attention starting g with the first page. It kept me on the edge to see what happened.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Inevitable Conclusions; Author: Visit Amazon's Christina C Jones Page; Review: I loved the characters. The book is about people with some of the issues we all face at one time or another. It shows that if you are meant to be with someone no one else will do. You go through the motions but you are missing something, especially when other people can see it. The book was very interesting and keeps you intrigued.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Shell Rotella 550019921 T6 Full Synthetic Heavy Duty Engine Oil 5W-40, 1 Gallon, 128. Fluid_Ounces; Brand: Shell Rotella; Review: its working great in my 2002 subaru wrx with a Wix 57712 Filter (they say running this oil will burn out your cats faster but im catless and car sounds and is running great with it); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: WIX Filters - 57712 Spin-On Lube Filter, Pack of 1; Brand: Wix; Review: running great in my 2002 subaru wrx; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Valvoline High Mileage with MaxLife Technology 5W-20 Synthetic Blend Motor Oil - 1qt (Case of 6) (609506-6PK); Brand: Valvoline; Review: great stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 20-Pack of Honda Oil Crush Washers/Drain Plug Gaskets - Equivalent to OEM 94109-14000 - Fits Civic, Accord, CR-V/CRV,; Brand: Mission Automotive; Review: exactly what i needed for my oil changes, fits perfect on my 2003 honda accord ex 4 cycl.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hot Shot's Secret HSSFR332Z FR3 Friction Reducer - 32 fl. oz.; Brand: Hot Shot's Secret; Review: stuff works great, my engine sounds quieter and feels like it runs smoother; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: WIX Filters - 57356XP Xp Spin-On Lube Filter, Pack of 1; Brand: Wix; Review: only filter i use on my built wrx; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: J-B Weld 8281 Professional Size Steel Reinforced Epoxy Twin Pack - 10 oz.; Brand: J-B Weld; Review: works great; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Automotive |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The Celestine Prophecy (Celestine Prophecy, #1); Author: James Redfield; Genres: thriller, crime, paranormal, fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: Although the characterisation could have been improved in places, I loved it at the time and found it life changing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Alchemist; Author: Paulo Coelho; Genres: history, young-adult, romance, paranormal, biography, historical fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, fiction; Review: Was a bit of a rip off of an ancient tale, but loved it. Good spiritual kick up the arse for anyone not following their destiny and stuck in the 'crystal shop syndrome'.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1); Author: Stieg Larsson; Genres: thriller, crime, mystery, fiction; Review: First half slow, second half could not put down - far better than the movie and very graphic.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic, #1); Author: Sophie Kinsella; Genres: young-adult, romance, fiction; Review: Quite funny - ideal for alight read when travelling; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tess of the D'Urbervilles; Author: Thomas Hardy; Genres: history, biography, historical fiction, romance, fiction; Review: Classic literature - a tragedy that I have seen played out many times - never more so than in the present day crisis - just in a different format. Hardy is essential reading for any lover of words.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Complete Poems; Author: Thomas Hardy; Genres: history, poetry, biography, historical fiction, non-fiction, fiction; Review: Strong influence on my own poetry - even though mine is a very different genre. "Old Furniture" is one that comes to mind - Hardy's images of all the hands pulling at the draws over generations....; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: On Our Backs Guide to Lesbian Sex; Author: Diana Cage; Genres: non-fiction; Review: Essential reading; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dracula; Author: Bram Stoker; Genres: history, romance, thriller, crime, paranormal, biography, historical fiction, fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: Classic horror and eternal love combined; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Bell Jar; Author: Sylvia Plath; Genres: history, comics, graphic, biography, historical fiction, non-fiction, fiction; Review: Brilliant but depressing; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Perfect Timing; Author: Jill Mansell; Genres: romance, fiction; Review: Light trash passed to me from my mother that I confess was pretty fun; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Thinking Of You; Author: Jill Mansell; Genres: romance, fiction; Review: Easy read for travelling, no literary prizes here though; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Thirteenth Tale; Author: Diane Setterfield; Genres: history, young-adult, romance, thriller, crime, paranormal, biography, historical fiction, fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: A good read, though gloomy in parts; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Living in the Light: A Guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation; Author: Shakti Gawain; Genres: non-fiction, fiction; Review: A life changing book that I have read and re-read over the years. One of those books that like a bible by one's side. Thanks Shakti!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Persuasion; Author: Jane Austen; Genres: history, biography, historical fiction, romance, fiction; Review: Genius at work; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 1984; Author: George Orwell; Genres: paranormal, young-adult, fantasy, fiction; Review: Frighteningly prophetic ... But closer to 2014...we are almost there.... Many themes have already arrived. one of the most gripping and profound reads of all time; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Color Purple; Author: Alice Walker; Genres: history, biography, historical fiction, fiction; Review: Moving, shocking, beautiful; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Slow River; Author: Nicola Griffith; Genres: romance, thriller, crime, paranormal, fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: Bit too slow in places, but well written; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Stay (Aud Torvingen #2); Author: Nicola Griffith; Genres: thriller, crime, fiction, mystery; Review: Much more powerful than Slow River by same author; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium, #3); Author: Stieg Larsson; Genres: thriller, crime, mystery, fiction; Review: Excellent; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Murder at the Nightwood Bar (Kate Delafield, #2); Author: Katherine V. Forrest; Genres: thriller, crime, fiction, mystery; Review: Love Lesbian mysteries and this was one of the best; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Amateur City (Kate Delafield, #1); Author: Katherine V. Forrest; Genres: mystery, thriller, crime, romance, fiction; Review: Classic lesbian reading; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Brida; Author: Paulo Coelho; Genres: thriller, crime, paranormal, fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery; Review: Disappointing compared to the Alchemist, but still a good read; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Six Suspects; Author: Vikas Swarup; Genres: thriller, crime, fiction, mystery; Review: I loved the beginning and it was an original idea, but the US sucker was too far fetched and generally the whole story sagged in the middle. I had read this because I like Slum Dog millionaire so much, but this book needs some serious abridging. Also who really cares about one more gangster murdered? I guess the point was that the suspects were so much more interesting.... Or at least some of them!; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Tales of the City (Tales of the City, #1); Author: Armistead Maupin; Genres: history, biography, historical fiction, romance, fiction; Review: Essential reading; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Animal Farm; Author: George Orwell; Genres: history, young-adult, paranormal, biography, historical fiction, fantasy, fiction; Review: A classic study of how men (sadly women, even lesbians are no exception in life) poke each others eyes out. Human nature left untamed is destructive and disloyal.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Selected Poems; Author: W.H. Auden; Genres: non-fiction, poetry, fiction; Review: A master of metaphor and a fellow traveller.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Works of John Donne; Author: John Donne; Genres: children, poetry, non-fiction, romance, fiction; Review: One of the greats. Donne's ability to suspend time and capture moments of intimacy is almost unmatched. An unusual inspiration for a lesbian poet you may say, but I am not alone!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lady Chatterley's Lover; Author: D.H. Lawrence; Genres: history, biography, historical fiction, romance, fiction; Review: Read many years ago, but a classic bit of titillation, though tame by modern standards :); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sons and Lovers; Author: D.H. Lawrence; Genres: history, comics, graphic, biography, historical fiction, romance, fiction; Review: Quite readable and well written. A formidable writer, but somehow a bit empty still.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird; Author: Harper Lee; Genres: history, young-adult, mystery, thriller, crime, biography, historical fiction, fiction; Review: Moving tale, a classic study of hypocrisy, freedom and racism; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Collected Poems; Author: Constantinos P. Cavafis; Genres: non-fiction, poetry, fiction; Review: One of the world's best poets. Even better in Greek also... Includes phrases that have now entered popular culture, such as it is not the destination that counts but the journey... Which is from the poem Ithaca: "As you set out for Ithaka hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians, Cyclops, angry Poseidon-don't be afraid of them: you'll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body." It is about the journey of Ulysses , but is also a metaphor for any journey or experience and indeed a metaphor for the journey of life. A bit like publishing a book really... It's not the sales that count but the experience of writing and publishiing it... And the feedback... "Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you're destined for. But don't hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you're old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you've gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich. Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you wouldn't have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean."; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Magus; Author: John Fowles; Genres: history, romance, thriller, crime, paranormal, biography, historical fiction, fiction, fantasy, mystery; Review: Could not put down. A master at work.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | goodreads |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Prayer Shawl Quilts; Author: Jeanne Stauffer; Review: I received the product quickly. It did lack a picture of the book so I was uncertain it would be what I wanted - took a chance and it was! Thank you.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog; Author: Visit Amazon's John Grogan Page; Review: This product was exactly what I was looking for. Cost was reasonable and it was quickly received.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: All Is Well; Author: Frank E. Peretti; Review: Best book ever! Best story ever! Great gift for Sunday school children. Came on a timely basis and the cost was reasonable.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hiding Place; Author: Visit Amazon's Corrie Ten Boom Page; Review: Awesome book. I read this book years ago and love reading it again and again. Corrie was a remarkable woman. This is truly faith in action. Have you been deeply wronged? Find it hard to forgive? Bitterness eating you up on the inside and killing you spiritually? Read this book. Learn how to forgive when someone has did something you feel is unforgivable. Truly inspiring.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tramp for the Lord: The Unforgettable True Story of Faith and Survival; Author: Visit Amazon's Corrie Ten Boom Page; Review: All of Corrie tenBoom's books are great! They also make great gifts! I love to give out Corrie's books to women who may be going through some adversities in their lives as her books gives encouragement. It also, I think, empowers women to read what this woman had overcomed and how it made her spiritually stronger; how she glorified God in and through and outside of her adversity.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hiding Place Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged edition; Author: John and Elizabeth Sherrill Corrie Ten Boom; Review: Awesome book. I read this book years ago and love reading it again and again. Corrie was a remarkable woman. This is truly faith in action. Have you been deeply wronged? Find it hard to forgive? Bitterness eating you up on the inside and killing you spiritually? Read this book. Learn how to forgive when someone has did something you feel is unforgivable. Truly inspiring.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The NKJV, Explorer's Study Bible, Leathersoft, Purple: Seeking God's Treasure and Living His Word; Author: Visit Amazon's Thomas Nelson Page; Review: I buy this Bible for my Sunday school children every year for Christmas. I teach 3rd - 5th grade. In the beginning it is a bit advance for children their age but they grow into it nicely and I see them still carrying them around in their upper High School grades. I will be purchasing 3 more of them, in the next couple of weeks, for the 3 new students that I have.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: NKJV Early Readers Bible: New King James Version; Author: Visit Amazon's Thomas Nelson Page; Review: I like this Bible. I purchased it for my Sunday school class. The children seemed to like it as well.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Revival in Belfast; Author: Visit Amazon's Robin Mark Page; Review: If you love praise music and Irish singing this is a wonderful CD for you! I especially love #9 "When It's All Said And Done."; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle; Author: Visit Amazon's Marc Gonsalves Page; Review: Could not put this book down once I started reading it. It took me almost three days (with very little sleep) to finish the book. It was a good read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Scofield® Study Bible III, NKJV; Author: Oxford University Press; Review: Great study Bible! It was a gift that I felt very proud to give.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Nature of Animal Healing : The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat; Author: Martin Goldstein D.V.M.; Review: When ever I hear of a new puppy owner, I try to put one of these books in their hands. Very eye-opening and loaded with great information. I loaned one of my personal ones out (I keep a few extra on hand) that I had highlighted and wrote comments in it, and I have yet to get it back. I keep asking (it has been years . . . still no book - it is that good).; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bloodhounds (Complete Pet Owner's Manuals); Author: Visit Amazon's Kim Campbell Thornton Page; Review: This was a "baby gift" for someone in our church who had gotten a baby bloodhound. They told me they really like the book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Not Without My Daughter; Author: Visit Amazon's Betty Mahmoody Page; Review: A must read for every high school age girl and every woman. Don't just read it once.....read it again and again. And when you have thoroughly digested every word and put it to heart, share the book with someone who hasn't read it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Out of the Depths; Author: David Harrell; Review: Love! Love! Love! Love, this book! Hope in adversity. God's mercy in the valley of the shadow. And what an unexpected surprise at the end - and a little child shall lead them (in this case, shine the light of truth).; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Holiday Inn Express Bend; City: Bend Central Oregon Oregon; Review: My wife and I stayed here after an amazing trip to eastern Oregon to see Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. We booked the room about 10 days in advance, and we asked for a room on the top floor and chose a King Suite. The room was nice, exactly what we asked for; however, the room had a peculiar smell (perhaps due to fumes from the painting going on outside). We opened the windows to air it out, which helped tremendously. The bathroom vent fan would have helped, but it did not work. The bed was wonderful and we liked the idea of no bedspread, just the clean layers of sheets and the "soft" or "hard" pillows which were labeled as such on the pillowcases. The next morning, we discovered what a problem the lack of a vent fan was when the room got steamy and (pardon me ) smelly. We also discovered that the tub did not drain and I ended up showering in a pool of my wife's dirty water. She soon found out that the dryer did not work and the coffee pouches were already used. I wouldn't make a big deal out of this, but the response I got from the guy at the front desk as we were checking out was "Oh? Sorry." No offer to make things right, nor did he write anything down that would have indicated that he intended to have the room checked out. I would have expected a break on the bill, at least, or some other compensation for the $134.00 we spent on the room. This may have been an isolated problem because otherwise, the hotel was nice. I feel ambivalent about whether I would recommend the Holiday Inn Express in Bend to anyone.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rory and Ryan Inn; City: Hines Oregon; Review: There aren't many accommodations in the Hines/Bend Oregon area, but it is the closest, largest city to Malheur National Wildlife refuge. We chose the Best Western Rory and Ryan Inns based upon reviews at tripadvisor. com, and we were pleasantly surprised at what we got. The room was just the right size and reasonably priced. It was quiet and comfortable, easily accessible from the highway, and an excellent jumping off point for the refuge. We asked for a room on the top floor and something quiet, and we were given just that. Our visit to the refuge was really made all the better by having a nice place to go get cleaned up and sleep. If you need to stay in the Hines/Burns areas, I highly reccomend this motel.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Holiday Inn Express Suites The Hunt Lodge; City: McCall Idaho; Review: My wife and I were on an extended trip through Wyoming and Idaho and at the last minute, decided to change our itinerary. We knew little about McCall but it sounded like a pleasant place for a short stay. We also did not know what kind of accommodations we would find, but once we discovered that there was a Holiday Inn Express in town, we were convinced to give it a try. The Hunt Lodge was excellent, from the friendly, knowledgeable person at the front desk, to the clean and comfortable room, to the remarkably low price for our King Suite. We had two TVs, an excellent shower/tub combo, and everything else one would want in a motel room. It's places like this that make me want to travel. Thanks to the Hunt Lodge for adding to an enjoyable trip! BTW, McCall and the surrounding area are beautiful.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort and Spa; City: Tucson Arizona; Review: My wife and I stayed at the Westward Look Resort for 4 days while I was attending a conference. The resort was extremely accommodating to our large group and the staff folks were always friendly, helpful, and polite. The rooms are nicely appointed, although the TV was a bit sketchy (i.e., poor reception, limited selection, could not access On-Demand). The bed was comfortable, we had a nice view of the city, and the amenities were nice. My only serious complaint was the noise from adjacent rooms and the surrounding neighborhood. I could hear almost every conversation from below and next to our room (I'm glad we didn't have a room on the first floor!). I actually had to call the person in the next room and ask them to turn down their TV; I could tell they were watching the Ken Burns Public Television series on National Parks (that's how thin the walls are). The other problem was that the neighbors in the residential area nearby have dogs. Our first night there, one of the little "fellows" (I couldn't use the profane word I would prefer) barked until almost midnight. I knew the hotel couldn't do anything about it, so I didn't ask. Fortunately, it rained a couple of nights, so the little "fellows" must have taken refuge in their respective houses so we got some respite from it. If you can tolerate the thin walls and get a room away from the dogs, the Westward Look Resort is a great place. But I'm not sure if my low threshold for noise would allow me to stay there again.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Allington Inn Suites of Kremmling; City: Kremmling Grand County Colorado; Review: My wife and I stayed here while on a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. The hotel is very nice. Fairly new, very clean, well appointed. The people at the front desk were very gracious and pleasant. The only problem we encountered, and I hate to ding the hotel for it, was the guy in the next room. Apparently, he was part of a road crew that was staying at the hotel. We could hear every word he was saying while he talked on his cell phone. He turned his TV up way too loud and was actually singing along with some Mariachi music he was listening to! This illustrates that the walls of the Allington Inn are a little thin (or this guy was drunk and loud). To the manager's credit, we were allowed to move to another room that was nicer than the one we were in and ended up having a good night's sleep anyway. I guess the best indicator of the quality of this place is how well they responded to our problem with the guy in the next room. We sincerely appreciated being moved to a much quieter room. This place would get my highest rating if ti weren't for the thin walls!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hilton Garden Inn Redding; City: Redding California; Review: My wife and I stayed here one night on our way from Washington back home to southern California. The room was excellent. The walls did not allow sound from adjacent rooms to bother us, which is a big plus. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop idiots from shouting to each other in the hallway and the entry doors are not so soundproof. The duvet cover is a great idea; feels much more sanitary than the reused bedspread in other hotels. The bed was very comfortable with a large number of pillows. The restaurant in the lobby was quite good and a surprise to us. We were afraid we would have to eat at the adjacent Burger King....blech. One thing to note: If you're heading south on I-5, the offramp does not mention Bechelli Lane where the hotel is located. It says something like Bonnyview. Just know the hotel is a little south of town. We missed it and had to backtrack. To our surprise, the offramp for northbound traffic does say Bechelli Lane. Weird.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The Twisted Root: A William Monk Mystery; Author: Visit Amazon's Anne Perry Page; Review: Good story; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Death on Blackheath: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Anne Perry Page; Review: enjoyed the book; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dorchester Terrace; Author: Visit Amazon's Anne Perry Page; Review: no comment; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Tale of Two Cities (Collins Classics); Author: Visit Amazon's Charles Dickens Page; Review: Looking at the illustrations and shorten story book seems what I need for my grandchildren's introduction to the Christmas Carol story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Oliver Twist (Penguin Clothbound Classics); Author: Visit Amazon's Charles Dickens Page; Review: Looking at the illustrations and shorten story book seems what I need for my grandchildren's introduction to the Christmas Carol story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Great Expectations By Charles Dickens - The Franklin Library (Hardcover - 1979); Author: Visit Amazon's Charles Dickens Page; Review: Looking at the illustrations and shorten story book seems what I need for my grandchildren's introduction to the Christmas Carol story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Hotel des Roches; City: Les Eyzies de Tayac Sireuil Dordogne Nouvelle Aquitaine; Review: The innkeepers were very friendly and helped us find a late-night meal in town, after most things had closed. The hotel is charming and old, but very well-kept. We found it a delightful place to stay for our visit to the Font-de-Gaume Cave.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wm Farmer and Sons Boarding Barroom; City: Hudson New York; Review: Farmers is convenient to the train, but not loud, and is a short walk to all the fun of Warren Street. The rooms were renovated quite skillfully in their use of space and natural materials. So handsome. We have eaten here several times in 2016. Great oysters, friendly waiter & the gorgeous room feels great to eat in. My only 'negative' comment is just the result of booming business - On busy nights, people are eating in the bar area and there is very, very little room to stand for a drink without being constantly jostled, so I'd advise against arriving early.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Inn at Ca Mea; City: Hudson New York; Review: My family stayed in the largest of Ca'Mea's three properties, the Allen Street Guest House, a gorgeous old Victorian with a wide porch and several cozy 1st floor sitting areas. The lovely room (#13) was quite spacious and bright with high ceilings and tall windows on two exposures. (Allen street is quiet, but the rear-facing room was extra peaceful.) The bathroom was roomy and updated with beautiful fixtures and marble tiles. The house's main floor dining room is equipped with coffee and tea available 24/7. Allen St would be a fantastic location for a large group who wanted multiple rooms somewhere, as there are plenty of places to congregate downstairs. Bridget, from Ca'mea, went out of her way to facilitate my family's stay, showing me rooms in two of the possible houses that the inn runs.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Verb Hotel; City: Boston Massachusetts; Review: Fun redesign of an old Howard Johnsons into a Dwell-mag style midcentury motel. Comfortable rooms and beds (though no spare comforters available when requested), nice Bigelow toiletries & Keureg coffee in room, sweet hipster staff, great grab & go breakfast in lobby. Pavement, across street-ish, has good, more substantial breakfast, if desired. Hotel backs right up to Fenway Park, so there is no shortage of transportation, restaurants and bars outside the door. (The Japanese one at the hotel did not thrill us - bar too loud, no straightforward sushi.) Small parking lot is $49/day valet only. Our ground floor room faced the pool, which was pretty and perfect for our chilly spring visit; I would be concerned that the pool deck and the bar might make it a loud spot in the summer.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: FieldHouse Jones; City: Chicago Illinois; Review: Excellent location and a really nice re-do of a classic, low, brick building. Great, full kitchen downstairs for all to use, plus serviceable ping pong, air hockey & foosball tables. Superb coffee shop/cafe in the fun lobby. We stayed in a room with a bunk and queen. Small space otherwise, but a good family setup if kids need own beds. Nice new (if under-lit) bathroom with walk-in glass shower. Super-quiet, in spite of being right next to L train. Only real quibble is that the room needs more lighting. In the main space, there's a single recessed bulb above the entrance and a gooseneck on the small desk/counter. It left all the beds in shadow, so we requested another gooseneck for one side of the big bed - this left the other sleeper with no light (and no outlet or bedside table); bunk beds were unlit, leaving things a little gloomy and without a way to read at night.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: GAMO Combo Pack Performance Pellets; Brand: Gamo; Review: I was kind of doubtful that there would be any difference in these pellets than the pellets I regularly buy at stores, but I was wrong these are way better than store sold ones and would definitely recommend them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Airsoft Pistol Gun P169B Black Full Scale 1/1 Shoots around 220 FPS 15 Round Magazine; Brand: Double Eagle; Review: This gun is great I use it a lot actually its not that powerful but I usually just use it indoors to play shooting games with my buddies; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Crosman 2 Pack Spare Clips for the Model SM2C11; Brand: Crosman; Review: They fit my gun and they don't jam, they work great. Definitely will buy more in the near future like tomorrow.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tac Force TF-714BOR Tactical Assisted Opening Folding Knife 4.75-Inch Closed; Brand: TAC Force; Review: I bought this knife just because it looks good, but I recently used it for carpet removal and it worked awesome it cut the carpet like butter made it real easy to remove and after i was done the knife had a couple of small scratches but the blade was as sharp as before.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Sports_and_Outdoors |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: iWatchz CLRCHR22PIK Q Collection Wrist Strap for iPod Nano 6G, Pink; Brand: iWatchz; Review: Beautiful and convenient. I wish they could come up with more colors. Been using them for years now and still buying.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: iWatchz CLRCHR22BLU Q Collection Wrist Strap for iPod Nano 6G-Blue; Brand: iWatch; Review: Beautiful and convenient. I wish they could come up with more colors. Been using them for years now and still buying.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: iWatchz CLRCHR22RED Q Collection Wrist Strap for iPod Nano 6G, Red; Brand: iWatch; Review: Beautiful and convenient. I wish they could come up with more colors. Been using them for years now and still buying.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: DPKIKO Headphone Adapter Splitter Compatible with iPhone Xs max / 7/7 8/8 Plus/X, Dual 8 Pin Jack Aux Audio; Brand: DPKIKO; Review: One of my best convenient purchases if you want to relax with your music in shower. Buy it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sentey® Bluetooth Stereo Speaker B-trek S4 (Pink) up to 6 Hours - Built-in Mic for Hands Free Speakerphone; Brand: Sentey; Review: Very portable and handy for my outdoor activities.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 3M Privacy Screen Protector for Apple iPad 1st Gen Portrait (PFiPadP); Brand: 3M; Review: Great for privacy; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 3M Privacy Screen Protector for Apple iPad (Landscape); Brand: 3M; Review: Great for privacy; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Meffort Inc 13 13.3 Inch Neoprene Laptop/Ultrabook / Chromebook Bag Carrying Sleeve with Hidden Handle and Adjustable Shoulder Strap; Brand: Meffort Inc; Review: Great product with fair pricing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Global Distinctions Nailhead Ottoman Set, Brown Faux Leather; Brand: Global Merchandise; Review: I bought this set with two purposes in mind. My first goal was to use the smaller round ottoman as just that.. a foot rest and secondly to use the larger as storage for some of my vinyl recordings. (Yes, they still make vinyl Virginia). The smaller of the units looks quite nice... no cheap nailhead strips on this one. (see below) The units are very sturdy and if the large square one was as nice as the small round one this would be an easy 5 star buy, but... The square unit arrived with two small cuts in the vinyl on one side. It is really just a cubic frame without any true sides to support it. Also while some may have liked the nailhead studding I found it to be rather cheapish looking. The nailheads are not individual brads for one thing. What in the picture looks like individual nailheads is a cosmetic strip that has been attached. Unfotunately too the strip ends don't particulary line up evenly where they meet. On the plus side the large unit accomodates 12" vinyl perfectly! So what is the bottom line? Sure it's mediocre craftsmanship from a supplier in China, but it comes at a price that is hard to argue with (29.99 plus shipping when I bought them). My biggest disappointment is of course the cuts in the vinyl, so I am not sure if I will be keeping these or not. The tradeoff here might be that the set I received does not have the odor complained about by several other buyers... maybe I am ahead with having the cuts!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Trudeau Donoti Desk Mug, Satin Finish; Brand: Trudeau; Review: Every bit as good as office cups I have paid much more fun, Stainless steel inside and outside, easy to clean and the top removes easily. I can't comment on how well it holds in the liquid if you tip it over as I that is not a purpose I buy this type of cup for.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Circleware 40159 Huge Set of 16 Drinking Glasses & Whiskey Cups, Home & Kitchen Party Entertainment Glassware for Water,; Brand: Circleware; Review: These are really great glasses. They look wonderful, they are neither too heavy or too light,are very easy to hold with arthritic hands and stand up well to washing in a dishwasher. Easily recommendable. Thank you Circleware for making a sensible product at a sensible price!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MALOUF Z Shredded 100% Natural Latex with GELLED MICROFIBER Pillow - Queen; Brand: MALOUF; Review: I don't feel this pillow fits the definition of soft at all. I can only compare it other pillows I have owned and compared to a soft down pillow for instance which I would suggest is the baseline for "soft" comparisons, this pillow is 2 or 3 times more firm. At best I would say it is of medium firmness, it's not hard but it's certainly not soft like down. It does seem to be a well made pillow but I can't say I like it as I was expecting something much softer. The pillow is described as offering the luxurious feel of down without clumping, and I have to respectfully disagree as another thing I don't particularly care for is the outer layer, plain and simple it feels lumpy and uneven. I think in this case less would have been more as it may be the volume of material that is making it feel this way. A thinner layer might have felt better. So while this pillow works for many, it did not work well for me. One thing more I would definitely not recommend this for back sleepers like me who generally need a softer pillow which isn't so spongey.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: High Quality Bed Sheet Grippers Suspenders Holder Straps Clips Fasteners / Black, Nickel Plated Clamps with Fabric Protector; Brand: Greenwell; Review: These function well and grip well but they fall apart too easy. If they were better constructed they would be a 5 star event. The cord snaps under a little too much stress and the closures fall apart as they are simply not heavy enough metal.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Utopia Bedding Blackout Room Darkening and Thermal Insulating Window Curtains/Panels/Drapes - 2 Panels Set - 8 Grommets per Panel; Brand: Utopia Bedding; Review: They will definitely help cut down on the light!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Air Lift 20 Volt Lithium Ion Cordless Bagless Upright Vacuum BH51120PC; Brand: Hoover; Review: It is very light weight and easy to use but... it doesn't suck up stuff very well. In fact it has very low suction power with either the hose or the head. If you turn the power brush off the head will not pick up things very well at all. The power brush helps this a lot by lifting debris off the carpet and once it is a bit airborne the vacuum will get most of it. So despite being easy to use, having two batteries and decent run time... I have to give it only two stars because it just is not powerful enough to reliably use it on a daily basis.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Ultra Seal 1 Gallon Pitcher; Brand: STERILITE; Review: Excellent product. Seals well and fits in the refrigerator nicely.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Nyche Designs Crisscross 2 Way Adjustable Bed Sheet Straps Suspenders Grippers Fasteners for All Bedsheets Fitted Sheets Flat Sheets; Brand: The Nyche Designs; Review: Works well but I've had to repair the ends now several times. A little better craftsmanship and materials and this would be a no brain'er 5 star product.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: OXO 11 Pound Food Scale - White; Brand: OXO; Review: Nice looking but display has issues. Works fine until one day the display simply stopped working in one area for absolutely no reason. Scale was never exposed to moisture of any kind and was kept in a padded cover. Update- While the durability of the display is disappointing OXO customer service is great!. From my own experience, if you are having any issues contact them and they will take care of you. For this reason alone I would still recommend OXO scales. Also I discovered this particular scale which I purchased in 2016 was made in 2012. So perhaps some older inventory is being sold here? The sku on the newer model being sold by OXO is: SKU 1130800V2 and can be found here [url]/ on Amazon.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: MALOUF Z Pillow Soft Rayon from Bamboo Replacement Cover - Fits Z Standard Size High Loft Pillows; Brand: MALOUF; Review: If your down pillow is leaking a bit, this is not going to help as they will pass right through it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Quaker Instant Grits Original, 12-Count Boxes (Pack of 12); Brand: Quaker; Review: Likes very much. Has been eating them for quite some time. Like the convenience of not having to go to store so much.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: YumEarth Organic Fruit Snacks, 50 snack packs; Brand: YumEarth; Review: Husband is diabetic. Uses this for snack. Grandchildren love them too. They always look forward to these snacks from papa.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Eclipse Winterfrost Sugarfree Gum, 60 Piece Bottle (Pack of 4); Brand: Eclipse Gum; Review: Hav used this quite some time from store. Like the taste. Great not having o o to store to purchase.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Donut House Collection Donut House Coffee Keurig Single-Serve K-Cup Pods, Light Roast, 72 Count (6 Boxes of 12 Pods); Brand: Donut House Collection; Review: Very flavorful my husband's favorite; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water, 16.9 oz Bottle, 35 count; Brand: Crystal Geyser; Review: Package was all torn apart. Bottles of water out of plastic wrap. Boxes almost completely upen.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Twinings of London English Breakfast Tea K-Cups for Keurig, 24 Count; Brand: Twinings; Review: Has very good taste; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Gevalia Colombia Blend Coffee, Medium Roast, K-Cup Pods, 18 Count; Brand: Gevalia; Review: Love the taste. Would love to have it back on Subscribe and Save.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Grove Square Hot Cocoa Dark Chocolate, 24 Single Serve Cups; Brand: Grove Square; Review: My children and grandchildren really love this!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cheerios Cereal; Brand: Cheerios; Review: Love the size.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, 25% Less Sugar Variety Pack, 18 Bars, Net Wt. 15.2 oz; Brand: Quaker; Review: Great snack! Not too sweet.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wonderful Almonds, Natural Raw, 1.5 Ounce Bags (Pack of 12); Brand: Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds; Review: Packs too large for me; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | amazon_Grocery_and_Gourmet_Food |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Jefferies Socks Little Girls' Half-Cushion Seamless Socks (Pack of 6); Brand: ; Review: Nice socks but the chemical smell has not gone away after a dozen washes. The quality of the sock is great and they fit well.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Laura Ashley London Little Girls' Brocade Bodice Ballerina; Brand: Laura Ashley London; Review: Extremely cute dress for the cost! My toddler was so excited to try it on! Good material and I was able to machine wash.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Disney Girls' Frozen Sisters Tutu Dress; Brand: ; Review: The dress is so cute and the quality is really great. It was a gift and the little one was very happy. I would definitely order again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Mountain Rex Collage T-Shirt; Brand: ; Review: Really awesome shirt that I'm sure my nephew will love! After being told he is a youth medium, I ordered a youth large and it is too small! I'm glad I ordered one size up. I guess his little brother will be the one wearing it in a few months.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: FoxRiver Girl's Red Heel Merino Monkey Stripe Crew Socks; Brand: FoxRiver; Review: Wonderful wool socks! I would definitely recommend! Cute monkey pattern too!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Saucony Baby Zealot Sneaker (Toddler/Little Kid); Brand: Saucony; Review: Really cute sneakers!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Colortone Tie Dye Baby Creeper; Brand: Colortone; Review: Super cute onesie! It was a gift and the new parents loved it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wildkin Kaleidoscope Macropak, Pink Kaleidoscope; Brand: Wildkin; Review: Horrible backpack! We used it for two months and then the zipper broke off!; Rating: 1.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples; Author: Visit Amazon's Harville Hendrix Page; Review: Just as advertised.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Watch Repairing As a Hobby; Author: Donn W. Fletcher; Review: I have read many books on the topic. This one is the best. Simple, practical and useful.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Complete Price Guide to Watches 2014; Author: Richard E. Gilbert; Review: Very comprehensive!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Invasion of Heaven: Part One of the Newirth Mythology; Author: Visit Amazon's Michael B. Koep Page; Review: Absolutely riveting! Can't wait for the next book to come out.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Leaves of Fire: Part Two of the Newirth Mythology; Author: Michael Koep; Review: Excellent story, well written and well though out. Many twists and turns.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide: The Modern Era (Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide); Author: Visit Amazon's Leonard Maltin Page; Review: So nice to have an up to date resource. Easy to find and research data.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Galaxy S5: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals); Author: Visit Amazon's Preston Gralla Page; Review: This manual is easy to follow, concises, and gives me everything I need. I had heard of the "missing manual" series, but now know how beneficial it is. Thank you.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 2018-2019 Watercolor Flowers 2-Year Pocket Planner; Author: Visit Amazon's TF Publishing Page; Review: Fits nicely in prior year's folder. Convenient to carry in my purse or keep on my desk.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bridge Basics 2: Competitive Bidding; Author: Visit Amazon's Audrey Grant Page; Review: Useful to me as a new bridge player. Good to have in my library but do find it varies in some of the HCP ranges from other authors; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Skipping Christmas; Author: Visit Amazon's John Grisham Page; Review: Read as a bookclub project. Very good to discuss before the Christmas season.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Louise Penny Page; Review: I know this will be the beginning of a wonderful series.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Orphan Train: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Christina Baker Kline Page; Review: This is another eye opener into our past. We have yet to overcome many of our religious and racial biases and prejudices even though we consider ourselves to be good human beings. This book continues to remind me of the distance that remains before we reach a goal of "good." A good read and a heartwarming ending.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with businesses as follows:
Title: Metro Diner; City: Indianapolis, IN; Review: Very awesome place to Eat very good portions of really great food been there for breakfast and dinner once great place to eat; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Metro Diner; City: Indianapolis, IN; Review: Very awesome place to Eat very good portions of really great food been there for breakfast and dinner once great place; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Luciana's Mexican Restaurant; City: Greenwood, IN; Review: This is by far the best Mexican Food that I have ever had! We came here looking for something to fill us up. Sure enough they had gave us what we were looking for and more. The customer sevice was great everyone was nice and a great atmosphere. Everyone was very friendly was quick to help you out. Overall I had a nice time and great experience.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Mocha Nut Coffee Shop; City: Indianapolis, IN; Review: Been there a few times and I love the Ice Coffee Bery Clean and Very good prices Southport always needed a Coffee Shop in the Area .Southport doesn't have any Coffee Shops .; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Mocha Nut Coffee Shop; City: Indianapolis, IN; Review: Been there a few times and I love the Ice Coffee Very clean , Staff is friendly and pretty good price for Coffee, took my Granddaughter there we both had an ice coffee and a cookie was great; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mrs Curl Ice Cream; City: Greenwood, IN; Review: The best ice cream place to go in Hreenwood love going there in the Summer good food great prices; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Metro Diner; City: Indianapolis, IN; Review: Great place to Eat food was great friendly atmosphere took my Granddaughter there she loved the food very pleased; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Southside OBGYN; City: Indianapolis, IN; Review: My Doctor is Brent Suozzi Great Doctor Very Nice Staff a great place to go. My Appointments I always get in pretty quick; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | yelp |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Who Buries the Dead (Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's C. S. Harris Page; Review: Another excellent book in a fascinating series. Well researched and well written, with vivid characters and intriguing glimpses of life in Georgian England. Highly recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Locked Rooms: A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes; Author: Visit Amazon's Laurie R. King Page; Review: I love this imaginative and suspenseful series.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The God of the Hive: A novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes; Author: Visit Amazon's Laurie R. King Page; Review: I love this series by Laurie King, highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries and/or plain good writing. The characters are well drawn and she evokes a vivid sense of time and place. She also has Sherlock and Mary Russell encounter real-life figures from the time period, which adds to the fun. And she adroitly mixes suspense with humor.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Dovekeepers: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Alice Hoffman Page; Review: A brilliant novel, powerful and compelling and lyrical and suspenseful, too, even though we know the outcome already. Far superior to the recent mini-series. Alice Hoffman is a very gifted writer, so when I say this is her best book yet, that is high praise.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Scribe's Daughter; Author: Visit Amazon's Stephanie Churchill Page; Review: I really enjoyed this book. The author can turn a beautiful phrase and has created a believable, sympathetic character in Kassia, the young woman struggling to survive in a hostile world.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Circling the Sun: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Paula McLain Page; Review: A fine follow-up to Ms Mclain's bestseller The Paris Wife. She has taken on a fascinating subject, one of the more remarkable women of the 20th century, Beryl Markham, and brings to life the world of British East Africa, now Kenya. Highly recommended. The characters are three-dimensional and believable and her prose soars like one of Beryl's planes. .; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rescue Road: One Man, Thirty Thousand Dogs And A Million Miles On The Last Hope Highway (Turtleback School; Author: Visit Amazon's Peter Zheutlin Page; Review: A fascinating account behind the scenes of rescue work. I have friends who do this and admire them greatly, for it takes so much courage and patience and fortitude; it is not surprising that so many in rescue burn out after a while.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The Big Green Book of Beginner Books (Beginner Books(R)); Author: Visit Amazon's Dr. Seuss Page; Review: I loved the idea of saving money by getting so many books in one. But I hate reading from it. When you're reading to the little ones, it's annoying to have a big and heavy book. When they turn the pages for you, it can be difficult to get back to the correct book. Yet I like the idea that the two-year-old can go right to my bookcase and get this book and we have a lot to chose from.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Variety Puzzles and Games Puzzle Book-Volume 46; Author: Kappa Books Publishers; Review: I enjoy having a variety of puzzles. I know there are a ton of apps for phones but sometimes it's nice to have a paper version, like in the waiting room at the doctor's office. It's so much easier to pick up and leave and find the puzzle later.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Baby Touch and Feel: Baby Animals (Baby Touch & Feel); Author: Visit Amazon's DK Page; Review: I was disappointed in this book. In this day and age I would think that you could vary the textures better. And some of the pages are just glittery with no real texture. It still has animals with fuzz but there are definitely cuter books out there.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: For Galaxy S4 , ivencase Colorful Tree [Ultra Thin] Pattern Flexible Slim Soft Texture TPU Gel Protective; Author: ; Review: The cover is a very flexible plastic. I think it would have been a great cover for the phone if I'd kept it. My only complaint is how long it took to arrive.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Cup of Ankh (House of Anubis); Author: Visit Amazon's Peter McGrath Page; Review: Unlike the Paw Patrol birthday book, this book was a hit with the little ones because of the stickers. Nickelodeon should rethink the birthday book. The one thing that would make this book great is if the pages had sticker release paper. Now that would be beautiful. The child could place stickers as you read and then return them to the "holding" pages when done. Even better if they were clings.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Puppy Birthday to You! (Paw Patrol) (Little Golden Book); Author: Golden Books; Review: The idea was cute but it doesn't really work. The birthday boy could have cared less to sit down and hear the story so I haven't even read it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Big Book of WHY: Revised and Updated (A TIME For Kids Book) (TIME for Kids Big Books); Author: The Editors of TIME for Kids; Review: This book looks like a lot of fun. I can't wait to read it to some little ones. Once I start, they will start asking all kinds of questions. I've always appreciated books like this one for kids in developing their curiosity.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Little Wildflowers Stained Glass Coloring Book (Dover Stained Glass Coloring Book); Author: Visit Amazon's John Green Page; Review: If I had considered the price I might have noticed that these were mini-books. But I missed that. I was very disappointed in the tiny books. The pictures do look interesting to color and I'd like to see how the paper works.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: My Masterpiece Adult Coloring Books - Christmas Coloring Book: Magical Winter Holidays (Christmas Coloring Books for Relaxation, Meditation and; Author: My Masterpiece Adult Coloring Books; Review: Nice, full-size coloring book with lots of pages. Can't wait for some quiet time to work on it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Jumble Grab Bag: Reach Inside for a Puzzle Surprise! (Jumbles); Author: Tribune Media Services; Review: The puzzles put together by Jumble are nicely done. The books are of a high quality but maybe don't need to be so that they could be cheaper.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Jumble See & Search; Author: Tribune Media Services; Review: I've been purchasing these jumble books for an elderly lady. They are just perfect for her. I might consider having one puzzle per page to be a waste. She enjoys them immensely. I'm looking forward to seeing what her reaction to the unique feature of this book will be.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Dr. Seuss Coloring Book; Author: Visit Amazon's Dr. Seuss Page; Review: Now this is going to be a fun adult coloring book. "Oh the things that you can think" and the "places that you'll go". I'm very excited to get started. I'm tired of flowers and geometric shapes.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Grief Observed; Author: Visit Amazon's C. S. Lewis Page; Review: They keep getting cheaper with the printing of books and this one is no exception. As someone that is grieving I appreciated Lewis' honesty as he questions God and struggles to understand his wife's death. . My son that died would have appreciated his exploration of life. I'm thankful that this memoir got published.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Garden Flowers Stained Glass Coloring Book (Dover Stained Glass Coloring Book); Author: Visit Amazon's Marty Noble Page; Review: I'm not really impressed with these little garden books. They have about 8 pages. Yes, they were inexpensive, but they're so small that they're worthless in my book.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Jumble Explosion: A Puzzle Boom (Jumbles); Author: Tribune Media Services; Review: These puzzles are styled just like they have always been in the newspaper. Which is great because I'm buying them for a 93 year old woman that has taken the newspaper all of her life and delights in having her daily puzzle. I'm sure the large print helps too even though she doesn't wear glasses. I've had fun buying different jumble books for her.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No; Author: Visit Amazon's Henry Cloud Page; Review: This is a well written book for Christians that struggle to do good works without overloading themselves.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: How to Draw Cool Stuff: Shading, Textures and Optical Illusions; Author: Catherine Holmes; Review: Fun book for kids. Bought as a gift. Seems to be well illustrated.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Creative Coloring Botanicals: Art Activity Pages to Relax and Enjoy!; Author: Visit Amazon's Valentina Harper Page; Review: I needed a less busy coloring book for my mother-in-law and this one met my criteria. Things aren't quite as busy. I'm glad that I guessed right because they don't reveal much from the inside. It would be to their advantage to do so. Hopefully my MIL enjoys it. I haven't had a chance to color with her yet.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Adult coloring book : Good Vibes relaxation and Inspiration: Worry end when faith begin; Author: Visit Amazon's Cherina Kohey Page; Review: This is a nice adult coloring book. The sayings give your coloring efforts some meaning when displayed for all to see. Very nice sayings.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: A Beautiful Mind (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Black Hawk Down (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Finding Forrester (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Best of Travels in Europe with Rick Steves: Germany (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Big Lebowski (1998); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Heartbreak Ridge (1986); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Cold Mountain (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mystic River (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Secondhand Lions (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Matchstick Men (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Die Another Day (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Seabiscuit (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Open Range (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Something's Gotta Give (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Training Day (2001); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Pianist (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Last Samurai (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sum of All Fears (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Finding Nemo (Widescreen) (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Signs (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sixth Sense (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Catch Me If You Can (2002); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Monsters (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lost in Translation (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Chicago (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Count of Monte Cristo (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Spider-Man (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: XXX: Special Edition (2002); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Red Dragon (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Old School (2003); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: The Sopranos: Season 1 (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Avalon (2001); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Minority Report (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ocean's Eleven (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Silence of the Lambs (1991); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ghost (1990); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Miss Congeniality (2000); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Untouchables (1987); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: In the Line of Fire (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Godfather (1972); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Rock (1996); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Schindler's List (1993); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Patriot (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lethal Weapon 4 (1998); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Matrix (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Independence Day (1996); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Band of Brothers (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Italian Job (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sopranos: Season 2 (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Fistful of Dollars (1964); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Braveheart (1995); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Godfather (1974); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dances With Wolves: Special Edition (1990); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rain Man (1988); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cool Hand Luke (1967); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: In the Heat of the Night (1967); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Scarface: 20th Anniversary Edition (1983); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Apollo 13 (1995); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Goonies (1985); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: For a Few Dollars More (1965); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Fiddler on the Roof (1971); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Grapes of Wrath (1940); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Papillon (1973); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Forrest Gump (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Sound of Music (1965); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Miracle (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Green Mile (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Fugitive (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Bourne Identity (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sting (1973); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Patton (1970); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Empire of the Sun (1987); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mission to Mars (2000); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: K-Pax (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sopranos: Season 3 (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Amadeus (1984); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Saving Private Ryan (1998); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shine (1996); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: American Beauty (1999); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Speed (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beverly Hills Cop (1984); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shrek 2 (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Jurassic Park III (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Patriot Games (1992); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Apocalypse Now (1979); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lost in Space (1998); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Rush Hour (1998); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Sand Pebbles (1966); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Dirty Dancing (1987); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Top Gun (1986); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Reign of Fire (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Turner and Hooch (1989); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Waterworld (1995); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Verdict (1982); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Coyote Ugly (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Gladiator (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Nobody's Fool (1994); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Jurassic Park (1993); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Raising Arizona (1987); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Graduate (1967); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Clear and Present Danger (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Titanic (1997); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ghostbusters (1984); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Mummy (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Fast and the Furious (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Die Hard (1988); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Chinatown (1974); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Shrek (Full-screen) (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Major League (1989); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lethal Weapon (1987); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hustler (1961); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Odd Couple (1968); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: War Games (1983); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Goldfinger (1964); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Apocalypse Now Redux (1979); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Trading Places (1983); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Breakfast Club (1985); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Romancing the Stone (1984); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Predator: Collector's Edition (1987); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Crimson Tide (1995); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Stripes (1981); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Groundhog Day (1993); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Great Escape (1963); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Birds (1963); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Batman (1989); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Witness (1985); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Big (1988); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Breaking Away (1979); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Wait Until Dark (1967); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Deer Hunter (1978); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Terminator (1984); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Alien: Collector's Edition (1979); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Thunderball (1965); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: From Russia With Love (1963); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dr. No (1962); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Back to the Future (1985); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Spider-Man 2 (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: You Only Live Twice (1967); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Live and Let Die (1973); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Planes (1987); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Flatliners (1990); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: National Lampoon's Animal House (1978); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Few Good Men (1992); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Midway (1976); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: 48 Hrs. (1983); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The French Connection (1971); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: True Lies (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Little Big Man (1970); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Dirty Dozen (1967); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rambo: First Blood: Ultimate Edition (1982); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Sopranos: Season 4 (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Six Feet Under: Season 1 (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Saint (1997); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tombstone (1993); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Body Heat (1981); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: My Dog Skip (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Hunt for Red October (1990); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Troy (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Six Feet Under: Season 2 (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: National Treasure (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Quicksilver (1986); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: In Good Company (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Usual Suspects (1995); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: I (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Firm (1993); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Last Seduction (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spy Game (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fifteen Minutes (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Recruit (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ray (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Bat 21 (1988); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: High Crimes (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Along Came a Spider (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Incredibles (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Jackal (1997); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Out of Time (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Rwanda (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Bourne Supremacy (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lewis Black: Unleashed (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Man from Snowy River (1982); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sahara (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Score (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Rainmaker (1997); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Bone Collector (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Firefly (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Remember the Titans (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Robots (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures (2001); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Backtrack (1990); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Chicken Run (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mighty Quinn (1989); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hidalgo (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Everest: IMAX (1998); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Extended Edition (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Aviator (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: All the President's Men (1976); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Extended Edition (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ...And Justice for All (1979); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Guys and Dolls (1955); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Serpico (1973); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: 12 Angry Men (1957); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Exorcist: Restored Version (1973); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: MASH: Season 6 (1977); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure: IMAX (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: American Graffiti: Collector's Edition (1973); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MASH: Season 5 (1976); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: MASH: Season 2 (1973); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Brubaker (1980); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: MASH: Season 4 (1975); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: All in the Family: Season 1 (1971); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: MASH: Season 1 (1972); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: MASH: Season 8 (1979); Rating: 4.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Flip Ultra Video Camera - White, 4 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation); Brand: Flip Video; Review: The Flip is easy to use and quite portable. It isn't as small as then newer ones, but it is easy enough to carry with you most of the time. Video quality is excellent - I don't know why you'd require HD, but if you do - pick something else. But if you just want very good video - this will be great. Microphone is a little weak, but reasonable. Only negative - I found that I really didn't like the Flip software for editing videos, but no matter - I just use iMovie. However, the videos don't REQUIRE editing - just a personal thing. You can upload them straight to the web as is.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Magnavox DP170MW8B 1080P Upconversion DVD Player; Brand: Magnavox; Review: The upconverted picture is amazing, especially for the price. Don't forget to buy an HDMI cable when you buy this (because they are about 3-5 times as expensive at your local electronics or the like) - I like the Amazon Basics one. I Don't like that you can't change setup with movie on screen - only when stopped. Remote is poorly designed, but I use a universal remote so it doesn't really matter.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Haedphone Splitter Adapter 3.5mm Jack Charge Adaptor.2 in 4 Connector Cable Adapter Earphone Adapter with Volume Control & Charging; Brand: Cabato; Review: I've had my XPad for about 2 years. It isn't fancy, but it is reasonably thin and allows me to comfortably use my Macbook Pro on my lap. Usually feels just like I have a book on my lap. Occasionally, it may feel a little warm, but not uncomfortably. Helps keep computer cooler too, so fan turns on less often. Highly recommended!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Toshiba DMF82XKU 8-Inch Wireless Digital Media Frame (Black); Brand: Toshiba; Review: I've been using this wireless digital picture frame for 3 days. Setup was easy. So far I have only run it using framechannel to display my pictures, the weather, and the calendar. Nothing else thus far although there do seem to be many choices - I figure the weather and calendar are the only things I really want around all the time (because they don't require follow up). Image is sharp and bright. I bought mine for $55 from woot. I am thrilled with it for that price. Probably would be thrilled with it up to about $100. At current list, I think it is a bit overpriced, but I have not shopped this category much.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Case Logic TBC-310 SLR Sling for Camera (Black); Brand: Case Logic; Review: First note - I paid $22 for this bag as a lightning deal. We added a third lens and our old bag just would not hold it. I really like this bag. It has ample room for what we carry - Canon T2i body, 50mm lens, 18-135 zoom lens, 55-250 zoom lens, batteries, and a few small odds and ends. It is easy to get the camera out without moving everything. Padding is moderate. The strap could be a little bit bigger. Overall we are very happy - especially for $22, but I think it is worth the $35 that amazon is currently asking.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kinivo BTH220 Bluetooth Stereo Headphone – Supports Wireless Music Streaming and Hands-Free calling; Brand: Kinivo; Review: I really like them. I use them mostly to listen to podcasts on my iPhone. The battery life is excellent. Audio is good, but I don't listen to much music with them. Fit is good, but I do have a large head - so they may be a poor choice if you have a small head. Controls on unit are good, not great.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: Little Black Book (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lilo and Stitch (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Emperor's New Groove (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Murder By Numbers (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Shrek 2 (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Finding Nemo (Widescreen) (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Raising Helen (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sweet Home Alabama (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Prince and Me (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Saul Steinberg: Illuminations; Author: Visit Amazon's Joel Smith Page; Review: "A writer who draws," that's how Steinberg described himself, and that's what Joel Smith's explores in his great essay on Steinberg's life and art which accompanies the pieces from the ILLUMINATIONS show. If you're looking for Steinberg's New Yorker work, you won't find it here. (Buy the must-have Complete New Yorker on DVD and you'll have everything he ever published there!) But if you're looking for a good place to start on Steinberg, this is the book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fun Home Vocal Selections; Author: Lisa Kron; Review: If you've never read a graphic novel before, this is the one to start your habit. It's funny, it's sad, and it's a masterpiece. Check it out.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students; Author: Visit Amazon's Tom Kealey Page; Review: Everyone considering an advanced degree in creative writing should read this book. The evaluations of individual programs aren't all that important -- what's more important is the way Kealey lays out the whole MFA process: what to look for in schools, what the application process is like, and how to make the most of your time once you finally get in. Kealey doesn't have an agenda, he has a point-of-view: he values programs with good funding that let you get a lot of writing done. I read this book right after undergrad and realized that the MFA scene wasn't my cup of tea. I owe Tom a big thank you for the time and money he saved me.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels; Author: Visit Amazon's David A. Beron Page; Review: David Berona has been studying wordless books for 20 years, but only in the past couple of years has the "graphic novel boom" of the industry allowed him to publish his research. In this handsome book he presents an introduction and sampler of the form's greatest works and artists in a clear, useful, and unpretentious manner. The images included are crisp and beautiful. This is a must-purchase for any fan of comics or narrative art.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: We Learn Nothing: Essays; Author: Visit Amazon's Tim Kreider Page; Review: Funny, thoughtful essays about relationships and the insoluble problem of being a person in the world. I refer to The Referendum at least once a week. Highly recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The Power of Purpose; Author: Les Brown; Review: Package arrived quickly and in excellent condition. This audio compilation is amazing and has helped change my life. Les Brown is an inspiration and his energy level is infectious. I highly recommend this to anyone considering it. It is one of the best investments in yourself that you could possibly make.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lead the Field; Author: Visit Amazon's Earl Nightingale Page; Review: This is a fantastic series that I find to be exceptionally informative and inspirational. If you are looking for ways to improve yourself and your life and are willing to work for it then this purchase will fast track you to accomplishing that goal.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Journey to the Heart: Daily Meditations on the Path to Freeing Your Soul; Author: Visit Amazon's Melody Beattie Page; Review: I was turned onto this book by a yoga teacher that read from it during my first class at a new studio I was trying out after relocating. The teacher read the April 6th excerpt and it so deeply resonated with me that I almost started crying. I went home and ordered the book off Amazon and also bought one for my Mom, my Dad and eventually a very good friend of mine.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain; Author: Visit Amazon's John E. Sarno Page; Review: This is a phenomenal book. The first few chapters were a little difficult to apprehend so I had to re-read them. Once I got further into the book I found it easier to read. There is some very eye opening information in this book that can change your life if you're open to it. I highly recommend this book as it has changed my life for the better. I have also bought extra books and given them to friends and family members.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dr. John Sarno's Top 10 Healing Discoveries; Author: Visit Amazon's Steven Ray Ozanich Page; Review: This is an incredible book. I think I got more out of these 60 pages than I did from the entire Mindbody Prescription book by Mr Sarno. This takes all of the amazing work that Mr Sarno has done, condensed it and added some additional information and eye opening statistics that I found to be very eye opening. I've bought seven of these books so far and given them to some important people in my life that I think are suffering from TMS related issues.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Gary John Bishop Page; Review: This was a fantastic read. It was very entertaining and has helped me realize where I needed to make some changes mentally. Highly recommend this book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Invitation to Ruin; Author: Visit Amazon's Bronwen Evans Page; Review: I really enjoyed this book. Anthony and Melissa were two likeable characters and had a great chemistry that just grew throughout the story. Although Anthony was a rake and a cad, and his actions towards Melissa left a bit to be desired, his terrible background and awful treatment by his father explained his behaviour, and I soon found myself desperate for him to find redemption in Melissa's embrace. Melissa was a feisty heroine, not outlandishly so for the period, but she was by no means an innocent bystander who needed to be rescued. She was spirited and independent, and I loved the way she decided she was going to learn the ways of love so she could entice her husband. I thought the storyline entirely appropriate for the period and thoroughly believable. And the theme of anti-slavery was well drawn and interesting. This was a lovely romance that kept me reading right to the end, and I was disappointed when it was over. Well done Ms Evans. I'll certainly be buying your next book :); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wife by Wednesday (Weekday Brides); Author: Visit Amazon's Catherine Bybee Page; Review: Tis is a lovely romance. The characters are likeable, Blake is gorgeous, Samantha fun and feisty, and I loved the whole marriage of convenience theme. Well worth the money, romantic and fun. Highly recommended!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hearts in Darkness; Author: Visit Amazon's Laura Kaye Page; Review: Fantastic novella, great forced-proximity premise, hot and sexy, and I loved the tattoos and piercings part of it. Read it after I'd finished North of Need, and it didn't disappoint. I love everything about Laura Kaye's work from her characterisation to her humour to her wonderfully written love scenes. Buy it! You won't be disappointed :); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: North of Need (Hearts of the Anemoi, Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Laura Kaye Page; Review: I loved this book! I'd never have thought a freezing setting could be so sexy, but somehow Laura manages to turn snow sizzling hot! Owen is to die for. He's gentle, sexy, caring, and he's a god, I mean really, what more do you want in a hero? Laura clearly likes forced proximity stories - I went on to read Hearts in Darkness, which was just as fun. At the beginning I wondered how she'd manage to fill a whole book with pretty much only two characters (apart from a brief visit by another god). But she does it wonderfully, and I can't recommend this book highly enough.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Private Love in a Public Place; Author: Visit Amazon's Toni Kenyon Page; Review: I know next-to-nothing about life on the road and the day-to-day life of a rockstar, so this book was a huge eye opener for me. I fell in love with all the characters, especially the enigmatic Jules, and followed the rollercoaster storyline with my heart in my mouth at times. This is beautifully written and it hooks you from the first page. I thoroughly recommend.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Eeny Meeny (A Helen Grace Thriller); Author: M. J. Arlidge; Review: This thriller was fast-paced and a real page-turner; I just couldn't put it down! Probably slightly more plot driven than character driven, but Helen was a decent enough heroine with a dark side that made for an interesting read. Highly recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: If I Should Die (Joseph Stark); Author: Visit Amazon's Matthew Frank Page; Review: Great first novel with a superb main character. Stark was fantastic - multi-layered and likable, and by the end of the book I was really rooting for him. This novel is probably more character-driven than plot-driven, but the strength of the characterisation carried me through to the end as I really wanted to see what happened to Stark. A great twist partway through that was unexpected. Top stuff!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Uncivilized; Author: Visit Amazon's Sawyer Bennett Page; Review: Loved this! Sensual, sexy, and with a great hero and heroine. Having the hero as "uncivilized" meant the author could introduce his natural aggressiveness but we could also enjoy the way the heroine gradually tamed him. Highly recommended!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Little Black Lies: A Novel; Author: Sharon Bolton; Review: Loved it! Tense and chilling, and kept me on the edge of my seat. Couldn't put the book down. Loved the first person and the POV of different characters. Enjoyed the different setting and the info on the whales. Highly recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Daisy in Chains: A Novel; Author: Sharon Bolton; Review: An excellent thriller with many turns that kept me guessing and twists I didn't get! Wolfe was a great character - I had no idea if he was guilty or not, and equally Maggie was unusually interesting too. I liked the setting around the caves, and the secondary characters. Highly recommended!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Butterfly Garden (The Collector); Author: Visit Amazon's Dot Hutchison Page; Review: Fantastic thriller, couldn't put it down, enjoyed the switch from third to first person and thought it was chilling and creepy. Yeah it needed a bit of suspension of disbelief, but it's not easy to come up with ideas that are different and exciting without stretching plausibility a bit. Just immerse yourself in the story and believe it could happen, and hopefully you'll find it as chilling as I did.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: The Wedding Planner (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: U.S. Marshals (1998); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hollow Man (2000); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Family Man (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Men in Black II (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cocktail (1988); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Three Men and a Baby (1987); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: I Love Trouble (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Enemy of the State (1998); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Independence Day (1996); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sweet Home Alabama (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Demolition Man (1993); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Con Air (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Daddy Day Care (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Adaptation (2002); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Miss Congeniality (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Armageddon (1998); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Maid in Manhattan (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Two Weeks Notice (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bad Boys II (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Italian Job (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Executive Decision (1996); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Runaway Bride (1999); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rugrats Go Wild (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Holes (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Head of State (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The In-Laws (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: VeggieTales: Dave and the Giant Pickle (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Black Knight (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lethal Weapon 3 (1992); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: James and the Giant Peach (1996); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Anger Management (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Peter Pan (1953); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Spy Kids (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: VeggieTales Classics: Rack (1995); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Gigli (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: What Women Want (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Radio (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Monsters (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bringing Down the House (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Raising Victor Vargas (2003); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Secretary (2002); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: VeggieTales: The Wonderful World of Auto-tainment (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2-D version) (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Seabiscuit (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Riding in Cars with Boys (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hours (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Haunted Mansion (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Drumline (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lost in Translation (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Love Actually (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: You Got Served (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Along Came Polly (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Bourne Identity (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Big Fish (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mystic River (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Chicago (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Monster (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mona Lisa Smile (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The School of Rock (2003); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Freaky Friday (2003); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cheaper by the Dozen (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: My Baby's Daddy (2004); Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Starsky & Hutch (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Bend It Like Beckham (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Miracle (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Exorcist: Restored Version (1973); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Man on Fire (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shrek 2 (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pearl Harbor (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Sound of Music (1965); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: John Q (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Exorcist (1973); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Whole Ten Yards (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Jersey Girl (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Silence of the Lambs (1991); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Finding Nemo (Widescreen) (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mary Poppins (1964); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shrek (Full-screen) (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Walking Tall (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Laws of Attraction (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Taking Lives (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: I (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Friday Night Lights (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Twisted (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Spider-Man (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Punisher (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Bourne Supremacy (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shark Tale (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ray (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Collateral (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Stepford Wives (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: About a Boy (2002); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Remember the Titans (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fat Albert (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Manchurian Candidate (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Notebook (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Spanglish (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Are We There Yet? (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Closer (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Coach Carter (2005); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Land Before Time VII: Stone of Cold Fire (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Secondhand Lions (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Aladdin: Platinum Edition (1992); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Lion King: Special Edition (1994); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Wizard of Oz: Collector's Edition (1939); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Extended Edition (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1997); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Forrest Gump (1994); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze (2001); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Schindler's List (1993); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Aviator (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Matrix (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Extended Edition (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Green Mile (1999); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hitch (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lilo and Stitch (2002); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pay It Forward (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Emperor's New Groove (2000); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sideways (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Dr. Dolittle (1998); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Men of Honor (2000); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Incredibles (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: National Treasure (2004); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ocean's Twelve (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Meet the Fockers (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Stuart Little 2 (2002); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Brother Bear (Theatrical Widescreen Version) (2003); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: I Am Sam (2001); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Pushing Tin (1999); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ella Enchanted (2004); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Million Dollar Baby (2004); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Monster-in-Law (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hide and Seek (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Be Cool (2005); Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005); Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Wedding Date (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stepmom (1998); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Longest Yard (2005); Rating: 4.0/5.0 | netflix |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: HappyCell Genuine Leather Loop Band for Apple Watch iwatch,Replacement real Leather band for Apple Watch all version realsed on 2015(42mm; Brand: HappyCell; Review: These bands are well made...I keep reading about people's straps not having a strong magnetic hold, this could be due to the fact that you have the band on wrong, please make sure you have it on correctly...I have two of these bands and both of them have a strong magnetic hold...and you have nothing to worry about if you receive a defective product the seller is great and responds quickly to all issues; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ZeroLemon Y313 Lightning to USB Plastic PVC Cable for Iphone 5s / 5c / 5, Ipad Air / Mini; Brand: ZEROLEMON; Review: Great charger, no issues after months of use; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ZeroLemon Y313 Lightning to USB Plastic PVC Cable for Iphone 5s / 5c / 5, Ipad Air / Mini; Brand: ZEROLEMON; Review: Great charger, no issues after months of use; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Supershieldz for Apple iPhone 6 Plus / 6S Plus Front + Back Screen Protector, [3 Front and 3; Brand: Supershieldz; Review: Goes on easy with no bubbles; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Spigen Slim Armor iPhone 6S Plus Case with Kickstand and Air Cushion Technology Hybrid Drop Protection for iPhone 6S Plus; Brand: Spigen; Review: Great protection, me and my phone thank you Spigen for making such a great product. If you want to protect that investment purchase to case with confidence.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Spigen iPhone 6s Plus Screen Protector Tempered Glass / 9H Hardness for iPhone 6s Plus / 6 Plus; Brand: Spigen; Review: Crack to easily but at least it was the screen protector and not my actual glass; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: iPhone 8 Plus, 7 Plus, 6S Plus, 6 Plus Screen; Brand: amFilm; Review: Great screen protector for a cheap price. I've purchased higher end brands which after one drop cracked. After 2 months I've drop this a couple of times and haven't had any issues, that I even gave my wife the 2nd one because I don't feel I'll have to use it. Completely love this screen protector.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: CHOETECH USB Type C Cable, 2-Pack (3.3ft & 6.6ft) USB C to USB A 2.0 Fast Charging; Brand: CHOETECH; Review: No issues; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Caseology Skyfall for iPhone 6S Plus Case (2015) / iPhone 6 Plus Case (2014) - Clear Back; Brand: Caseology; Review: It's simply beautiful, I purchased this for my wife be see she was tired of not being able to show off her phone. This case gives you great protection and still gives your phone a nice elegant look to it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kartice for Band,Stainless Steel Magnetic Closure Clasp Bracelet Milanese Loop Stainless Steel Mesh Replacement Wrist Band for & Sport; Brand: Kartice; Review: You can't tell the difference between this or the official apple one; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: ArmorSuit Apple iPhone 7 Plus Screen Protector MilitaryShield; Brand: ArmorSuit; Review: Great product. After hearing about how prone to scratches the iPhone 7 Plus Jet Black was I had to find something to protect the investment. This was my first time installing a full body protector and I must say it was an easy installation when you take your time and following the instructions. I'm extremely satisfied with this product because it allows me to show off my beautiful Jet Black iPhone without hiding it in a case. It still has its mirror like shine to it and with the lifetime replacement I know once the wear and tear starts getting to it and can request for a replacement with no hassle.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Cell_Phones_and_Accessories |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: GardenBliss Best Solar Lights For Outdoor Pathway, 10 Brightest Light Set For Walkway, Patio, Path, Lawn, Garden, Yard; Brand: GardenBliss; Review: I love this product! It makes a big difference in my yard at night. It truly illuminates the pathway.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Solar String; Brand: Ankway; Review: As of today, February 29 the 3 solar lights are not working. The weather was sunny. I have other solar lights from other manufacturers they are older but yet it still produces light. Unless I received the defective ones.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Veepeak 10 LED Cabinet Closet Motion Sensor Night Light Lighting, Battery Powered Wireless Motion Activated Night; Brand: Veepeak; Review: It's not even a year, the last battery doesn't come out of the unit. The unit is not working anymore.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Hetekell 28 Led Super Bright Solar Motion Sensor Light for Outdoor Wall Yard Deck Garden; Brand: Hetekell; Review: The first and second, the light were so bright that's why I gave it 5 stars! Now August 4, since 8pm until now, both units have no lights at all. I am so dissapointed. Unlike my other solar light from different company, it's still produce lights.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Mpow Solar Lights Outdoor, 20 LED Bright Motion Sensor Security Wall Lights with 3; Brand: Mpow; Review: At the beginning, both works well at the same time, now when I leave at 515am, the other solar has no more power. They were placed 5ft apart.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: DROK USB Rechargeable Under Cabinet Lighting, Light and Motion Sensor Switch Control, White Headlamp Security Motion Activated Night; Brand: DROK; Review: Bright light and reliable!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Tools_and_Home_Improvement |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: Week in celebrity photos for Oct. 14-18, 2019; Abstract: Week in celebrity photos for Oct. 14-18, 2019; Category: entertainment
Title: I Was Misdiagnosed With an Allergy and Panic Attacks Until An X-Ray Revealed The Real Problem; Abstract: It took thousands of dollars, multiple office visits, and a number of tests to ultimately determine what was really wrong.; Category: health
Title: Week in celebrity photos for Oct. 14-18, 2019; Abstract: Week in celebrity photos for Oct. 14-18, 2019; Category: entertainment
Title: Photos of the Day; Abstract: Our top photos from the last 24 hours.; Category: news
Title: Rihanna Slays in Sexy Black Bikini in Slow-Motion Video -- Watch!; Abstract: The singer shut down Instagram with her slow-motion clip.; Category: music
Title: U.S. Marshals Auctioning Off 149 Vehicles From DC Solar Scam; Abstract: The largest single car collection that the USMS has ever sold!; Category: autos
Title: Four flight attendants were arrested in Miami's airport after bringing in thousands in cash, police say; Abstract: Four American Airlines flight attendants were arrested at the Miami International Airport and charged with money laundering after bringing large amounts of cash into the country, police said.; Category: news
Title: Mitch McConnell snubbed by Elijah Cummings' pallbearer in handshake line at U.S. Capitol ceremony; Abstract: A pallbearer appeared to refuse to shake Mitch McConnell's hand as Rep. Elijah Cummings was lying in state at the Capitol.; Category: news
Title: I Tried an Intense Metabolic Reset Program for a Month -- and It Worked; Abstract: It was 30 days of hard work, bland food, and hulk juice -- but it ended with a six-pack.; Category: health
Title: Kate Beckinsale is a knockout in corset dress adorned with white feathers at 'Farming' premiere; Abstract: Kate Beckinsale isn't too chicken to wear head-to-toe feathers.; Category: lifestyle
Title: Demi Lovato Just Proved She's the Queen of Halloween; Abstract: The "Sorry Not Sorry" singer debuted her first of many Halloween costumes on Instagram.; Category: music
Title: How much Social Security you could get from a $75,000 salary; Abstract: The first monthly Social Security check was cashed in 1940 for a grand total of about $23. Fast forward to 2019, and the average retired worker gets almost $1,500 a month. How much you receive is based on your income, the year you were born and the age you decide to start taking benefits. So what if you earn a $75,000 salary? Here's how your monthly benefit is calculated, and how much you can expect when you retire.; Category: finance
Title: Celebrity beach cruising for 2019; Abstract: See all the stars who hit the beach this year!; Category: entertainment
Title: Must-See Fashion Police Moments to Swoon Over This Week; Abstract: ; Category: entertainment
Title: Top 10 Highest Priced Cars Sold At DC Solar Scam Auction; Abstract: Here are the top 10 highest priced vehicles that were sold off from the largest single car collection that the U.S. Marshals Service has ever sold.; Category: autos
Title: Nunes Aide Is Leaking the Ukraine Whistleblower's Name, Sources Say; Abstract: A top aide to Rep. Devin Nunes has been providing conservative politicians and journalists with information and misinformation about the anonymous whistleblower who triggered the biggest crisis of Donald Trump's presidency, two knowledgeable sources tell The Daily Beast.; Category: news
Title: Is Ben Affleck Dating Musician Katie Cherry?; Abstract: The pair has been photographed hanging out in recent weeks, but are they just friends?; Category: movies
Title: Celebs celebrate Halloween 2019; Abstract: Here's how the stars dressed up while celebrating Halloween this year!; Category: entertainment
Title: Celebrity Halloween costume fails; Abstract: Check out the stars' biggest Halloween costume fails.; Category: entertainment
Title: Nearly $400M worth of cocaine and marijuana intercepted by US Coast Guard; Abstract: The U.S. Coast Guard announced that it seized nearly $367 million of cocaine and about 11,000 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $10.1 million at a Florida port.; Category: news
Title: Amelia Bambridge: Body of missing backpacker found in sea; Abstract: The body of a 21-year-old British backpacker who went missing after a beach party on a Cambodian island has been found, according to the charity assisting her family.; Category: news
Title: DOJ sues Walmart for allegedly discriminating against a Navy reserve officer; Abstract: The Department of Justice says that Walmart did not hire a naval reserve officer due to her mandatory two-week training in the summer of 2016.; Category: news
Title: Heidi Klum's 2019 Halloween Costume Transformation Is Mind-Blowing But, Like, What Is It?; Abstract: You might say she's scary good at playing dress-up, because Heidi Klum's 2019 Halloween costume is even more impressive than we could have imagined and that's saying a lot, considering transformative Halloween costumes are kind of her thing. But this year Klum took it up one more notch as she shared her metamorphosis into,; Category: lifestyle
Title: Week in celebrity photos for Nov. 11-15, 2019; Abstract: Week in celebrity photos for Nov. 11-15, 2019; Category: entertainment | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Army Web Belt 100% Cotton Canvas Military Color Belts 54" Long; Brand: Army Universe; Review: Arrived on time and is the right color ,length. I've Used it for two weeks with no problems.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fashion White Rhodium Plated Heart Purple Synthetic Stone Angel Wings Pendant with Free 18" Necklace Chain; Brand: Heart Angel Wings Pendant; Review: The necklace arrived on time and looks great.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kanu Surf Men's Barracuda Swim Trunks (Regular & Extended Sizes); Brand: ; Review: Arrived on time and fits well .; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: JINIU Men's Fashion Soild Straight Clip On Leather connector Elastic Suspenders; Brand: JINIU; Review: The supender fit good and hold well. I'm a big guy so this is very important to me. They look like they belong with the suit.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Columbia Men's RFID Blocking Security Trifold Wallet; Brand: ; Review: The wallet looks and feels great. A word of caution: if you work in a high s r curity building as I do, it will set off metal detectors; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Augus Trifold Leather Wallet for Man RFID Blocking Wallet with Double ID Window; Brand: Augus; Review: The product arrived on time. It has lots if space for cards and id. The wallet is a gift for my uncle who bought his last one years ago.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The Art of Falling Apart; Author: Visit Amazon's Mark Dawson Page; Review: A page-turner with fascinating, flawed characters. I was totally enjoying it, but it seems to drop off at the end. I kept looking for more pages.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Magic Shop; Author: Visit Amazon's Justin Swapp Page; Review: An original, fun take on magic wielders with so many twists, it's a page turner. While the story is primarily told by the impetuous young Marcus, the adventure is shared with his twin sister, so any young reader will find a central character to whom they can relate.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Walk In The Abyss; Author: Visit Amazon's Shane Moore Page; Review: An enjoyable collection of four stories that left me wanting more. The authors are all skilled writers, who tell an engaging tale. Most stories reference other characters and races, building on a world filled with rich cultures. The characters -- orces, greyshalks, humans, and giants -- are all interesting, and the so-called "disgusting" is balanced with comic touches. "No Tusks" notably cracked me up. The greyshalks and giant were endearing, despite being a tough bunch. "Unerring," the flash piece about an enchanted arrow in flight, seems a little out of place in the collecting inasmuch as it isn't specific to this world. Still, it is fascinating and beautifully written, so I'm glad for its inclusion. Half the book's content is comprised of the author bios and cross-sales, including the excerpt of Tomlinson's "The Wererat's Tale III." Definitely check it out; it may be next on your reading list. A couple of the illustrations were MIA and hope that's corrected. Totally dug Dan Harding's cover art.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Essential Oils and; Author: Visit Amazon's Josephine Simon Page; Review: Great little book jam-packed with ideas. Lots of grammatical errors, but the information is good.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: We're All Damaged; Author: Visit Amazon's Matthew Norman Page; Review: Norman's writing is clever and witty, reminiscent of Carl Hiaasen and John Irving. A thoroughly enjoyable read that ended too quickly.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Shirley of Hollywood Adult Feather Boa; Brand: Shirley of Hollywood; Review: Feathers were okay but, the white rope it was in was exposed and couldn't hide it.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Tapp Collections™ Classic Adult Size Long Opera/Elbow/Wrist Length Satin Gloves; Brand: Tapp Collections; Review: Nice with my 20s dress; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DREAM PAIRS Tigress Women's Sexy Lace Up Gladiator High Heel Sandals New; Brand: DREAM PAIRS; Review: Cute shoe but it looks cheap....; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Vijiv 1920s Long Prom Dresses Sequins Beaded Art Deco Evening Party V Neck Back; Brand: Vijiv; Review: The dress is beautiful but smaller than expected. However, I loved it so much I ordered a size larger.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: BABEYOND 1920s Flapper Headband Roaring 20s Sequined Showgirl Headpiece Great Gatsby Headband with Black Feather; Brand: BABEYOND; Review: Made my outfit look great!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DoGeek Led Shoes,Led Light up Shoes Female/Women with 7 Colors; Brand: DoGeek; Review: This is a nice shoe but can't figure out the size. My daughter is a kids 3 so I ordered that size was 2 sizes to big. But I liked the shoe so I reordered a 2.5 and it is to small. So now I'm giving up on trying to figure it out.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: MOLFROA Baby Girls Colorful Layered Dance Outdoor Rainbow Tutu Skirt; Brand: MOLFROA; Review: I ordered this for my 6 yr old daughter and wanted it to fit a little bigger so I ordered the 8 to 9 year old and it was almost to small. So reordered bigger size.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Green Mountain Coffee, Dark Magic (Extra Bold), K-Cup Portion Pack for Keurig K-Cup Brewers 24-Count (Pack of 2); Brand: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters; Review: Awesome Flavor and a True Wake Me Up!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Green Mountain Coffee, Breakfast Blend Decaf, Single-Serve Keurig K-Cup Pods, Light Roast, 96-Count (4 Boxes of 24 Pods); Brand: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters; Review: Awesome Flavor and a True Wake Me Up!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Torani Watermelon Syrup, 750 mL; Brand: Torani; Review: Great Flavor; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Torani Syrup Fruit Flavors 3 Pack, Raspberry, Strawberry and Peach; Brand: Torani; Review: Great Flavor!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Alstertor Mustard In Beer Mug, 8.44 oz; Brand: Alstertor; Review: Love this Mustard. Very authentic taste.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wilton Treatology Flavor System, Infuse Gourmet Flavors into Cake Batter, Cookie Dough, Icing, Fondant, Buttercream, Drinks and More, 8-Flavors; Brand: Wilton; Review: Awesome flavors; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: CUSTOM 5 PACK CASE -UNSWEETENED NATURAL FLAVORS -by Flavor Essence ~Any Combination of Flavors You Want; Brand: Flavor Essence; Review: Awesome Flavors; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stone Street Coffee Miscela Privata Espresso Gourmet Whole Bean Coffee, 1lb; Brand: Stone Street Coffee; Review: Awesome flavor.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stone Street Coffee Knee Buckling Espresso High Caffeine Whole Bean Coffee, 1 lb. Bag, Medium Dark Roast; Brand: Stone Street Coffee; Review: Great Flavor.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dried Green Bell Peppers, 2 oz.; Brand: Barry Farm; Review: Awesome flavor; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Haribo Sour Gold Bears 1.6 LB Bag; Brand: Haribo; Review: Love these; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Grocery_and_Gourmet_Food |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Motorized Tie Rack - Holds 64 Ties and 8 Belts; Brand: RHW; Review: Don't buy this product if you plan to hang more than ten ties on it. The motor is so weak that it can't handle anymore than that. Extremely slow, it takes an hour to get to the ties in the back of the closet. With this product, you get what you pay for. Sharper Image makes a good one.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Innovative Technology ITCW-111 Clock-Wise Voice Recognition Digital Clock (Grey); Brand: it.innovative technology; Review: We love this clock! Only problem is that the little magnets that attach the picture on the left side keep falling off and need to be reglued. Otherwise it's so easy to set the alarm and time. You just speak to it and tell it what you want it to do.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Body Pillowcase Pillow Cover 20 x 54, 100% Cotton, 300 Thread Count, Body Pillow Cover, (21 x 60, White); Brand: American Pillowcase; Review: I am very happy with the quality of the cotton. It's soft and fits my pillow well. There is a little more fabric at the end in the length than I needed, but I can live with that. Better more than less.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: BONECO Warm or Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier 7135; Brand: BONECO; Review: This is the best humidifier I have ever owned. It is extremely quiet and efficient, easy to clean and fill. I highly recommend it. It's even quieter than the smaller one they make which I bought for our bedroom.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: DecoBros Crystal Tempered Glass Nespresso OriginalLine Storage Drawer Holder for Capsules; Brand: Deco Brothers; Review: I am so glad I purchased this storage drawer as opposed to the other ones being sold for the same purpose on Amazon. This one is so sturdy that it holds my Nespresso machine and also leaves room to store extra espresso cups on the side. Very strong tempered glass top allows you to see the cups inside and the drawer pulls in and out very smoothly.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: BONECO Cool Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier U200; Brand: BONECO; Review: I am very happy with my purchase. This compact humidifier is quiet except for the sound of a gentle stream bubbling. It's a very soothing sound. The only complaint I might have is that the blue light is a little too bright for a bedroom at night. We had to turn it to the side to block the light.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Private Preserve Wine Preservation Spray; Brand: Private Preserve; Review: Wow! This actually works. Simple to use and just takes a few seconds to do it. Wine truly does taste just as good as when you uncorked the bottle. Also like the price. Some other companies products may look better, but why pay extra when you can get the same results using this one.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: D. Kwitman and Son Hemstitch Tiers, 45-Inch, White; Brand: D. Kwitman and Son; Review: I am glad I bought this. It still looks great after all this time and still looks crisp and clean. Perfectly transitions at the corners and looks to be high end quality.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Boska Holland Stainless Steel Cheese Hatchet, Cleaver, 10 Year Guarantee, Monaco Collection; Brand: Boska Holland; Review: I had been looking for a cheese slicer that was strong enough to slice parmesan and other hard cheeses for my salads. Finally found it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: KitchenAid KSM150PSGR Artisan Series 5-Qt. Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield - Imperial Grey; Brand: KitchenAid; Review: Certainly has some nice features but despite the bowl guard, it throws batter all over the place. Very powerful motor... Almost too powerful for its own good.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Chef's Quad-Timer Professional (Brushed Stainless); Brand: American Innovative; Review: Best timer I have ever used. Durable and easy to set and turn off. Love how I can set timer for more than one thing I have cooking.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fiskars Desktop Scissors Sharpener (98617397); Brand: Fiskars; Review: Difficult to use and doesn't get scissors sharp enough to make a difference.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: BONECO AOS A200 Hydro Cell A200 Humidifier Filter with Activated Carbon, 2 pack; Brand: BONECO; Review: I guess these are necessary for my humidifier but brings the overall price of maintenance way up.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Capresso CM 300 Stainless Steel Thermal Coffeemaker 475 05; Brand: Capresso; Review: After only a few months of using it, mine has died and I can't get it to turn on anymore. In my morning stupor, I forgot to put the pot back underneath and pushed the on button. The coffee ran all over the counter and onto the floor, and now it won't work at all. My fault but there should be some kind of auto shutoff or standby feature.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Jeronic 50 Pack Beige Velvet Hangers Clothes Hangers Velvet Hanger Clothing Hangers Clothes Hanger Suit Hanger Ultra Thin No Slip; Brand: Jeronic; Review: I love these hangers, perfect to prevent all those sweaters and blouses where you don't want those indentations in the shoulders. My only suggestion to the makers would be to make some of them with a silky fabric covering like they used to make.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Whitmor Canvas Padded Hangers (Set of 6); Brand: Whitmor; Review: I like these hangers. Having them has allowed me to hang my cashmere sweaters so that they don't wrinkle. They are covered with a canvas material which prevents slippage. By using them you can avoid the indentations at the shoulders that you often get from other hangers. Still I wish they also sold the old fashioned kind my grandmother used, which were covered in a satin material. I bought one package and have since bought two more packages because they work so well for me.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Vont Digital Kitchen Scale/Food Scale, Detachable Bowl Design, Gorgeous Stainless Steel Design with Alarm Timer & Temperature Sensor; Brand: Vont; Review: A little cheap in quality but works well for a quick measure. I like the removable bowl, very convenient.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill; Brand: Cuisinart; Review: Easy to use. Good design. I like how easily I can change the grind and/or quantity of beans to make different amounts of coffee. If only the top part holding the beans was airtight!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Private Preserve Syste Wine Preservation System, Set of 4, Black/Gold; Brand: Private Preserve; Review: Works well at preserving a bottle of wines original taste, extending the drinkability by a few days.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Cedar Gables Inn; City: Napa Napa Valley California; Review: Wondeful place to stay in Napa. Celebrated our one year Anniversary there and it couldn't have been a more perfect place to fall in love again. The breakfasts were wonderful and hugely filling. Ken and Susie are the perfect hosts and take great pride in all they offer here at the Inn. The rooms are immaculate and the service is outstanding. Would highly recommend as it is well situated in Napa.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Marriott s Timber Lodge; City: South Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe California California; Review: The location is great and you can walk to many nice restaraunts and shops. I agree with other reviews that the $24 a day parking fee is kind of steep. We didn't even use our car during our weekend stay so the additional charge seemed unnecessary. The room we had was one of the standard deluxe rooms. Just a nice hotel room, nothing special. We were there with another couple who had one of the suite rooms and that was very nice and spacious, with a full kitchen. However, their room overlooked the pool and they said it stayed fairly noisy out there very late into the night. The other bad part of this property is they do not have a late check-out option on Sunday's. You have to check out by 10am. Kind of a drag since we wanted to spend more of our weekend there doing some shopping, they were nice enough to hold our bags after we checked out. Overall it is nice just a few minor issues.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Flanigan s Inn; City: Springdale Utah; Review: This last visit will be the third time I have stayed at Flanigan's. You don't get a better location in Springdale. If you are there during the season when the shuttle system is running into Zion it's great because there is a shuttle stop right across the street. I have always stayed in one of the balcony rooms. Views are awesome!! The rooms are comfortable and have a mini fridge & DVD players. The restaurant is great and it is nice to be able to walk to dinner. They only serve breakfast during the main tourist season, but there are plenty of other breakfast choices in town during the off-season. It is a fantastic place for a long weekend get- away from Las Vegas. We will definitely be back next year.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Belamar Hotel; City: Manhattan Beach California; Review: We come here once a year when we want to visit the Hollywood Horse Racetrack. It is convienent to get to from the track and Manhattan Beach is a fantastic little beach town to explore. The hotel is not right on the beach. However, there is this fantastic green belt path that leads directly to the strand beach area. It winds through some very nice neighborhoods with beautiful homes on either side of the path. It is about a mile to the main part of town. The rooms at the hotel are all very nice, have stayed in several types. The ones facing the courtyard are the nicest. Some of the exterior facing rooms can get some of the street noise as the hotel is off a very busy boulevard. Service is excellent and the valet parking is very easy and they are quick. This will be our 4 th time staying here and we will most definitely be back next year!!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Capt Hiram s Resort; City: Sebastian Florida; Review: Stayed here for a couple of nights with some co-workers. After our meetings we did some fishing with some of the local boats for hire. Definitely the highlight of the trip! The hotel is perfectly located on the marina. The sand bar is a fun place to have drinks and listen to music. Plus the restaurant cooked up some of the fish we caught on our trip. Rooms are nice, clean and have a great view with balconies facing the water. Bed was quite comfy and there was plenty of hot water. Great little get away in a small tucked away little place. This is the 5th time or more that my co-workers have stayed here. I look forward to coming back again next year!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Homewood Suites by Hilton Phoenix Chandler Fashion Center; City: Chandler Arizona; Review: Just returned from a three day business meeting in AZ and used the Homewood suites for our groups accommodations. The service we received as a group was absolutely the best. We had set up the group reservation and the hotel was offering their meeting space as part of the package. Our group got a little bigger than the board room can hold at the Homewood Suites so we were offered a full meeting room at the Hampton Inn. This is just across the parking lot so it was very convenient and perfect for our meetings.Every staff member we came in contact with was over the top helpful and accommodating. You could not ask for better service from a hotel staff. They checked in on the group often and were available for all our needs. Including a small technical issue we had with their projection machine. They sent two people and did not leave until they knew it was fixed and working for us. We are returning the property for a follow up meeting with the same group in September. I very much look forward to coming back. Used the gym, which is one of the nicest I have seen in a hotel. The staff at dinner and breakfast are super friendly and helpful. Kudos to the training of these staff members. I travel almost every week and stay at many Hilton properties, but this by far has exceeded the great standards I have seen in my travels. Great job!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hampton Inn and Suites Napa; City: Napa Napa Valley California; Review: Having stayed in other B&B's in Napa this was the first time at a hotel type property in the area. We had a last minute trip to Napa and being at the height of summer weren't ready to pay $400+ a night at a B&B. We decided to use our Hilton points to stay at this newer Hampton property. It was opened earlier this year and while it is a chain hotel it is on the higher end of your average Hampton Inn. The beds are very nice and comfy, pillows too (which can be challenging at a lot of regular hotels)! The bathroom was huge and very modern and bright. Loved the walk in shower. A/C worked great, which was nice because it was fairly hot the weekend we stayed. Breakfast was the same as any Hampton I have stayed in, nothing new here. The location to downtown Napa is good. Could be walking distance if you don't mind about a mile long walk to town. Parking is fairly plentiful in Napa and free in most places too, so it is very convenient. Overall I enjoyed our stay and I would pick it again, but probably only if I used Hilton points. Nightly rates are fairly pricey as are most places in Napa. So if I am going to pay more than $275 a night I would rather pick a fun romantic B&B instead of a chain hotel property. Families would find this hotel very good for a visit and there were lots of families with young kids there too.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hampton Inn Suites Mexico City Centro Historico; City: Mexico City Central Mexico and Gulf Co; Review: We stayed here last month for three nights while visiting Mexico City. We came for the Raiders NFL game. I am a Hilton Diamond status customer and I was happy when I found this property right in the location we wanted to stay for our trip. First I will start with the good parts: the hotel is very centrally located to the Cento Historico area and the Zocalo. Our room was one of the larger suites with two separate rooms. It was nice, clean and had a very large window in the living room area. I read some other reviews of some of the interior rooms not having any windows, but our room was quite bright. The king size bed was very comfortable and we had plenty of towels, toiletries and water replaced each day. Breakfasts were fine, what I would expect from any Hampton type of hotel. Nothing super special but had decent selections and some local choices were nice to try. We found our room to be very quiet at night and as you would expect there is street noise during the day time, as the hotel is in a very busy section of the central area. Now for the reason I gave a poor rating. When we checked out I went to settle the bill at the front desk. We only bought two tins of Pringles potato chips during our stay, which totaled all of $1.50. I had to give the desk clerk my credit card again, which I thought was a little strange since I had already given it to them when we checked in. I did not have any charges for the room because I had used Hilton Honors points to pay for our stay. I asked if I needed a copy of the receipt and she said no so we left. When we arrived home I noticed I had a charge for $33.78 pending on my credit card, along with the other charge for $1.50 (the potato chips). I went to the Hilton site and looked at the bill and it showed 2 charges for items from the Suite shop, very unclear what I was being charged for as there were no details. I called my Diamond Hilton customer service and the agent helped me understand what this second charge was for. She called the hotel and they told her it was for a robe that was taken from the room. I told her we did not take a robe and in fact I had actually noticed that there was only one robe in the room when we had arrived. I didn't think much of it at that time because neither us were planning on using a robe anyway and I moved it to a chair for the entire stay. The Hilton service agent I was speaking with even commented that had we wanted to take a robe with us why wouldn't we get a "new" one from the front desk instead of taking a used one from the room. We laughed about it and she; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Marlborough Vintners Hotel; City: Blenheim Marlborough Region South Island; Review: We were only here for one night, which is sad because it was a wonderful place to stay. It felt like we had the place to ourselves as we only saw a few other people during our stay. Rooms are great and very spacious. More like an apartment than a hotel room. We had the room with the outdoor tub! It was very cool looking but since we only had one day here we did not get the opportunity to use it. But it looks awesome! The grounds of the hotel are just fantastic, quiet, surrounded by the vineyards. Restaurant on site was excellent! Staff was super friendly and interesting to chat to. This was midway through our trip so we needed to get some laundry done. Was able to do this in the guest laundry room, which is very clean. Plus they provided the detergent and laundry baskets. Would love to return one day and stay longer and do some of the local wine tours. If you have the opportunity to go here I wouldn't miss the chance!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Coleraine; City: Greymouth West Coast Region South Island; Review: We only stayed one night here but we're very pleased with our accommodations. It was a very wet rainy day and we actually spent most of the day in the room watching DVD's. So we were very happy they had a DVD player. While we brought our own movies to watch the front office has a large selection of DVD's you can borrow for free too. The restaurant across the street was recommended to us upon check in. We ate dinner there and it was very good. The little we saw of Greymouth was fun and charming. Overall a very nice place to stay and the hotel is well located with great service.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Sails Nelson; City: Nelson Nelson Tasman Region South Island; Review: We were very happy with our stay in Nelson. The hotel is easily in walking distance to the center of town. Plenty of great restaurants along the way. The rooms are outstanding. Furnished beautifully and extremely clean. The showers were rainfall type and very nice. Kitchen had everything you could possibly need. We used the laundry facilities too and they were very nice and clean. Parking is plentiful. All of the people who work here are very nice and helpful. While we only had one night to enjoy Nelson and our great room at the Sails we enjoyed it very much and would be thrilled to come back to this place one day.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stamford Plaza Auckland; City: Auckland Central North Island; Review: We were here for two nights on the beginning of our New Zealand journeys. It was mostly rainy the entire visit, which was a bummer. We made the best of it. Hotel was in easy walking distance of the harbor and museums. We didn't get a chance to go up in the sky tower, too rainy, but it was also very close to the hotel. Bed was very comfortable and the black out shades worked really well. Slept in each day. The pool and spa on the 10th floor have great views of the city, just another little bonus.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: White Lilies: The Mitchell Sisters Book Two; Author: Visit Amazon's Samantha Christy Page; Review: I have read a lot of books. I have read a lot of books on Kindle Unlimited. This Author has amazed me, and I am not easily amazed. I read this series in order. Literally each book gets better and better. The first one was incredible. The character development was spot on and although I wasn't shocked by anything in it, it held my complete attention and I ran through the full range of emotions. Then, the second book...BETTER still! I just finished the third "Black Roses". That was the best one and I literally didn't think it was possible. Enjoy!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Black Roses: The Mitchell Sisters Book Three; Author: Visit Amazon's Samantha Christy Page; Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I read all three in this series...this being the last and BY FAR the best! I have gone back twice to reread this even after reading many other books. The characters are so expertly written that you feel you know them and understand them. The way the story develops and unfolds leaves you rooting for this couple. It IS super steamy but has so much heart too! SAMANTHA KRISTY IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE AUTHOR!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Torn (All Torn Up) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Carian Cole Page; Review: I was blown away by this book. What an amazing author! This was the first book I read in this series....so of course I had to read them all. They are all very good, but this one stays with me. :-); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Your Fierce Love (The Bennett Family) (Volume 7); Author: Visit Amazon's Layla Hagen Page; Review: Until this one...Nate and Alice's story was my favorite. I SO enjoyed this one. Don't get me wrong...I have enjoyed ALL of the books in this series, but this one felt more real and I connected to the characters more than in the others. :-); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ruckus (Sinners of Saint); Author: Visit Amazon's L.J. Shen Page; Review: This is by FAR my favorite of all of the "Sinners of Saint" books. The characters are so well developed that you feel as if you know them, can identify with them completely, and anguish with them. This book was a surprise to me! At first I couldn't understand the connection between Rosie and Dean...but their love for one another unfolded one bit at a time until you could feel how all consuming it s. I love the honesty and the imperfection...which both make their love PERFECT! I laughed and I cried and I have re read it twice so far. :-); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Scandalous (Sinners of Saint) (Volume 4); Author: Visit Amazon's L.J. Shen Page; Review: I liked this book very much. The writing style was so different from the other "sinners of saint" books! It was beautifully descriptive...so much so that, at times, I found myself reveling in the descriptions more so than the story line! This was not my favorite of these books, but it was VERY well done and I did enjoy it. Trent is very different then the other characters of this series. Deliciously so, but I did feel like his change from complete jerk to complete dream happened a little too quickly and only toward the very end of the book. I loved Edie! SHe was so raw and so real. I wish her appearance would have been described a bit more...It seemed like a Trent worshipping book, but most of us reading are women...so I guess that makes sense. Thanks L.J. Shen!! You're my current favorite author! I HIGHLY recommend "Find Me Alastar", and The Stanton books, including "Dr. Stanton". This author is so versatile with each book seeming to come from a different voice! LOVE THEM!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Stone Vows: A Stone Brothers Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Samantha Christy Page; Review: This was the BEST in the Stone series. I absolutely loved this book. Kyle Stone is everyone's dream man. :-); Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Adelaide Riviera Hotel; City: Adelaide Greater Adelaide South Australia; Review: The Riviera looked OK on the net - but it turned out to overlook a railway yard - the wrong end of North Terrace. The street was very noisy although we were given (at our request) a higher floor (and charged an extra $20 per night). It's certainly not 4 star - there were no coffee cups/plates/cutlery, although a microwave was provided in the room. There was no room service menu - apparently they were off getting more printed. When asked about this, the duty manager said it would have been a waste of money to photocopy 84 sheets and put them in rooms! There was no directory or indication of what the hotel offered available in rooms. The bedside clock did not work. When asked at check out what we thought of the hotel, we mentioned all the above. The duty manager was defensive and unhelpful - said we should have mentioned things earlier. When told it was not 4 star he became very indignant. We would not stay at the property again.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Quest Manly; City: Manly Greater Sydney New South Wales; Review: My daughter and her 5month old baby and me stayed at the Quest Grande Apartments opposite Manly Wharf recently. What a good choice! Staff were extremely helpful - apartment was clean, well priced and all it promised on the net. We intend to stay again and bring other family members later in the year.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Headland Tropicana Resort; City: Alexandra Headland Sunshine Coast Queensland; Review: We recently stayed at the Headland Tropicana, for the third time, with our daughter and her family of 3 young children. What a difference the new owners have made - gone is the easy going atmosphere of a holiday by the beach - try being charged $5.00 (hire) for an extra towel, or .70c for an additional roll of toilet paper! Don't know what people are prepared to do if they wash their hair after a swim. Clearly the new owners are looking for every opportunity to make a few extra shekels. The 3 day booking of a 3 bedroom apartment on the top floor of 3 will be remembered for the masses of ants in the kitchen and bathroom, no washing up liquid, 2 minute pieces of soap, a globe out in the second bedroom and lugging suitcases etc. up steep stairs. They've lost us for future weekends on the Sunshine Coast.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Burke Wills Hotel; City: Toowoomba Queensland; Review: We stayed at the Burke & Wills because of its location in the CBD, even though some reviews were less than glowing. (You have to take some chances or there'd be nowhere left to stay!) The offer included a welcome drink - there was one voucher in the room. When we asked reception about the offer, the girl appeared to be totally ignorant about it, tried ringing her supervisor and looking up the rulebook. She finally agreed it was logical for there to be a "welcome drink" for both parties and grudgingly gave a second voucher. The public bar would only serve beer or house wine - the cheapest and most undrinkable stuff ever served! They also demanded a credit card deposit of $50 with the promise that if it was not used they would fax the bank urgently and have it repaid. As other hotels overseas take a $50 note and return it afterwards I wonder if some other technique could be adopted by management to save the credit card.... There's no help with bags and the restaurant was closed. It was OK for one night but we would certainly not stay there again.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Holiday Inn Old Sydney; City: Sydney New South Wales; Review: We stayed at the Holiday Inn Old Sydney because we hadn't been there in some years; it's next door to the great Rocks Markets at the weekend and within walking distance of the Quay. Reception staff were helpful with bags, parking etc. ($35 a night) but the room was quite small, although it had a great view over the harbour. Breakfast was included in the tariff and was good. Only problem we found was the family next door who constantly entered and exited their room, banging the door every time. The children in the family were extremely loud and cried all night. Additionally, a group of drunken women entertained the world in the corridor around 3am for half an hour. Walls are thin, pity, the hotel is in a great position and we'll probably go back sometime. Staff provided an umbrella immediately when rain started, and the bar with open fire in the lobby was nice.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ramada Hotel Suites by Wyndham Ballina Byron; City: Ballina Ballina Shire New South Wales; Review: We have stayed at this property around a dozen times over the past couple of years and it's an absolute delight every time. Located right on the Richmond River foreshore, the hotel is scrupulously clean, efficiently run and has some of the most pleasant front office staff I've ever enountered. Rooms are spacious and in all the ones we've been in, have had balconies looking out over the water. It is thoroughly recommended to all travellers to Ballina in Northern N.S.W.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rydges South Bank Brisbane; City: Brisbane Brisbane Region Queensland; Review: We have stayed at Rydges on several occasions - always impressed by the efficiency from the front door - the valet car parking, reception etc. On one occasion we were running late for a QPAC show and literally threw the keys and bags to the staff, only to find the car safely parked and bags in the room on our return. This time was no exception - the room was located with a view over the Brisbane eye and had a small balcony. Only cons are the smaller than expected bathroom and the obvious need for a little refurbishment overall. It's beginning to look a bit tired - maybe a paint job and a more modern update is needed? However, good staff and a great location.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Crown Towers Melbourne; City: Melbourne Victoria; Review: As a special treat my husband and I stayed overnight at Crown Towers after a Christmas stay with family. We opted for the Chrystal Club package and were very impressed with the individual checkin facilities on Level 3, the afternoon tea, (needs a little more savoury stuff - where were the tiny sandwiches??,) complimentary drinks and breakfast. At all times were staff helpful and the room itself was great. What a great idea to have a separate dressing room to store cases, hang clothes etc.! You really don't need to leave the place - everything's there. We opted for a visit to the Gold Class cinema in the complex and a little flutter at the casino. The hotel is delightful, lots of staff and a real willingness to make a stay enjoyable. From concierge service to waiters in the Chrystal Club, it's a very classy experience. We'll definitely be staying there again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Red Bridge Motor Inn; City: Woombye Sunshine Coast Queensland; Review: Red Bridge looked better than the other motels on offer in Nambour. The reception office stank of smoke and the man in charge was rude. We finally got a roll away three times after asking, and his attitude was extremely confronting. We were the only guests so they weren't busy. The room was clean but the smokers tins outside rooms (which were supposed to be smoke free) were filled with Coke cans and rubbish all the time we were there. The pool was OK but the place is not conducive to a pleasant weekend away. We would not stay there again.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Shangri La s Fijian Resort Spa; City: Yanuca Island Coral Coast Viti Levu; Review: We had stayed in Shangri La properties in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Cairns and Shangri La Fiji has many of the same nice qualities. We had booked at Sonaisali but after reading so many negative reviews on Trip Advisor decided to go to Shangri La instead - a good move. We had two rooms with my daughter, son in law and their 3 kids - the staff were fabulous with the kids, and they loved the kids' club (free with the package). Negatives - internet connection was broken but fixed straight away, as was the TV which would not allow us to access movies. Door card did not work at first but the porter immediately ran back and got the key redone. The second day the room was not done - fixed immediately when I rang reception. You need to remind yourself that this is Fiji and not Tokyo or NY! The Lagoon Terrace restaurant was closed for refurbishment after torrential rain and Takali (the alternative) was a long walk from our room. Breakfast buffet was plentiful and it was possible to take a couple of rolls for lunch - altho the kids ate free with an adult. The actual arrangements for the deal was not as clear as it could be on the documentation. The other buffets were a bit expensive and room service food was better than the fairly expensive a la carte stuff on offer. The pool area is great, but I'm glad we didn't go in school holidays - the resort is well maintained and staff are faultlessly helpful and polite. I missed the nightly flare lighting and some of the other Fijian bits and pieces we experienced a few years ago at another resort, but all in all the place is excellent for a family holiday. Just remember to take lots of duty free grog - it'll save heaps if you like wine!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Arabian Courtyard Hotel Spa; City: Dubai Emirate of Dubai; Review: I found this hotel on the net through Expedia - what a find! Excellent concierge service and terrific staff. We arrived around midnight and were shown instantly to a lovely room. The bathroom was small but the room itself was large with many drawers/shelves etc. Wi fi was free in the rooms and the view was of the Dubai Museum opposite. Lots of shops in the area and a very safe neighbourhood. Walking distance to the water and Old Souk. The hotel has several good restaurants and lovely little sitting areas with lots of big cushions downstairs, plus an excellent tour desk. They (and most of the hotels in Europe) don't cash travellers' cheque these days - go to the big money change place down the street. This hotel is charming, very "Arabian" in furnishings etc., with an excellent breakfast in the package and glass lifts. Would definitely stay there again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: NH Amsterdam Centre; City: Amsterdam North Holland Province; Review: There was no concierge outside to help with bags - thank goodness for the taxi driver. We were given a crook room on the first floor overlooking a dark lane with 2 single beds made up separately and pushed together. Called reception who asked me to go back down. The (eventual) concierge called the desk and asked for a double bed room (don't they ever read the booking forms we submit?). Another room was given, better view etc. Carpets on both floors very marked, need replacing. Both rooms had a wooden floor - crazy in Amsterdam's cold climate. There was no second mirror outside the bathroom (very small with a badly placed door), no flat screen TV and very small hanging space. There were tea making facilities (totally inadequate for more than one cup per day - no sugar) but no shelves or places to put cases. No info in room re services and the air conditioner was useless. Free wi fi in the hotel foyer but charged in the room. For the money asked for this hotel it was disappointing although Amsterdam is expensive. I would not stay there again.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Royal Olympic; City: Athens Attica; Review: This hotel is perfectly located in the Plaka area, with views across to the Temple of Zeus from its top floor dining room. The room was very good, and there's a lot of room in the foyer and upstairs lounge area to just veg out. Pool area is beautiful, with outside bar. The dining room where breakfast is served is very nice with a large mirror wall making it even more attractive. Breakfast is good, but the evening meal was disastrous. The meat had to be returned three times to be cooked - and was cold each time - apparently the kitchen is on the ground floor and has to be brought up 8 floors. Staff are very helpful and the whole experience in the place was good. Definitely recommend it. The Plaka area is within walking distance and the Hop On bus is metres away.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sultanahmet Palace Hotel; City: Istanbul; Review: I found this hotel on the net and chose it because it was different - an old sultan's palace with only 45 rooms (pity about the 3 flights of stairs to the room but worth the view). We looked out our bedroom window onto the Blue Mosque! The other side of the hotel looks out over the Bosphorus, a lovely site for the rooftop breakfast room. The staff are extremely helpful, and gave advice the first rainy night about a fish restaurant who had a free pickup and return service. What a great idea! Loads of music and singing from a great band, and a lovely meal. There's a lovely garden area in the front of the hotel, and the room service is excellent. Breakfast is part of the package as is the free airport pickup. The curtains were probably a bit short so light came in, but the Turkish bath in the large bathroom made up for all that. There's a bazaar opposite (between the hotel and the Blue Mosque) and the whole place felt like someone's rather grand home. Would definitely stay there if we go back to Istanbul.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Orchard Rendezvous Hotel by Far East Hospitality; City: Singapore; Review: We were given a room as soon as we arrived at 10am (check in was 2pm). The room was said to be deluxe but it had 2 single beds pushed together and made up separately, in spite of the request for a queen bed. The 3rd floor window faced a brick wall. When we asked for a different room we were told the second one was poolside but a connecting room - no probs for us. However from soon after we settled in after a long flight, there was huge noise from pneumatic drills above. We put up with it for an hour or so but when we contacted reception were told that there was massive renovation going on on the floor above. We were offered a "rest room" but all we wanted to do was stay and sleep where we were. They did contact the "indeendent contractor" who eventually gave it a rest. The concierbge and desk staff were good but we had no sleep during the day and possibly the worst room service meal we've ever encountered. The hotel needs reno, and the airconditioner had to be fixed during our time there. The shower is old fashioned and there were no washcloths. Not again for us, shame, we spent a pleasant week there a couple of years ago.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Orchard Hotel Singapore; City: Singapore; Review: We stayed at the property across the road, Orchard Parade Hotel, on the forward journey. I'm so glad we chose the Orchard on the return leg. Although it's busy, and I had to go inside to get a bell boy to help with the luggage, the rest of the stay was excellent. The room was good, on a high floor with a view of Orchard Road, the restaurant/buffet was still open at midnight and the hotel's location was fabulous. It was quiet, efficient and wi fi was cheap. Breakfast was good and included in the price - the same fee as for Orchard Parade across the road which didn't include breakfast! Happy to stay at this property again. Helpful front office guy also printed off our boarding passes at the desk.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Twin Towers Inn; City: Greenwich Lane Cove Greater Sydney New South Wales; Review: We chose this hotel because of its proximity to the Mater Hospital (the All Seasons nearer to the Mater has closed down, although its still being advertised - go figure!) We arrived around 8pm and were given a fairly ordinary room with two queen beds - not much room left. Bathroom was small, with a constantly dripping tap and an under-bowl shelf covered with water. The last order for meals at the restaurant was 8.45 so we hurried in. No-one else there. Prices were of the 4-star hotel variety, and there was a very limited choice of wine. House red (1 only) had been openned at least a day and was dreadful. Waiter did not charge us for it and brought a more expensive one. Burger was the meal choice and had very grisly meat inside. We asked to change rooms the following day and were given one which was much larger, one bed only, spa in larger bathroom and a small balcony. Why didn't we get this the night before? Reception staff and cleaner were very accommodating. Second meal in the restaurant was even worse; still no-one else there and the waiter wanting to close early. We chose the chicken caesar salad and took it back to the room - it was hideous. Iceberg lettuce (no cos) with lumps of warm chicken on top, great lump of unidentified dressing on top of that and cut up bits of ordinary toast on top of that. No egg, no anchovies (as advertised on menu). This hotel is large and obviously run professionally - maybe the restaurant is leased out. Pity, it's horrible, the food is very disappointing and it's overpriced. There's plenty of car parking, it's on the Pacific Highway so it's a nightmare getting out, and it's only about 10 mins to the hospital. We would not stay there again.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: McLaren Hotel; City: North Sydney Greater Sydney New South Wales; Review: We needed a hotel in a hurry having been turfed out of one which was full for the unexpected third night we had to stay in the North Sydney area. Found this one on wotif and checked it on Trip Advisor. All good reviews and they were right. It's close to a great pub with a terrific bistro and has free parking. Buffet breakfast is available for $7 pp and the owner allowed me access to the laundry to do some personal laundry needed for the following day. All in all, it's a lovely little old house with about 19 rooms, classic "olde" Sydney. It's clean, bathrooms are modern and ambiance is terrific. Complimentary sherry and port in the evenings. Would definitely stay there again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rydges South Bank Brisbane; City: Brisbane Brisbane Region Queensland; Review: Chamber maids need to realise that the moment guests enter a room, their impression is formed. To pay $20 for an upgrade (a suggestion made by the desk clerk), for a room with a better view, leads one to expect that the room will, in fact be "better". To enter that room and find it completely dark, with curtains right over the major window, and indeed one curtain "hanging" from a rail, does not make a guest happy. A pleasant concierge got up on a chair and re-attached the curtain but the moment had passed. A couple of old cigarette butts on the balcony didn't help either. Neither did the mismatched collection of glasses - two beer glasses and one wine glass - another was requested and brought to the room - yet another size! Is it so hard to expect that two guests need (hopefully) a glass each, the same size? Rydges is in a great position for an overnight stay when one is doing a show at QPAC - it's also near the Museum and Southbank Parklands. Desk staff and concierges are very helpful, and car parking is cheaper than some hotels. We'll go back, but hope they sharpen up these small items.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lon Retreat Spa; City: Point Lonsdale Victoria; Review: Taking heed of Trip Advisor reviews we cancelled our booking at Vue Grande, Queensclciff, although it would have been more convenient to stay there for an Army reunion recently. I'm so glad we did! Lonsdale Views is a boutique accommodation house set in luscious countryside and overlooking the ocean. The proprietors are old-style country folk, leaving the lights on outside for our late entry one night, leaving complimentary port out as well, and providing an absolutely wonderful place to stay. I will long treasure the image of the owner underneath the computer desk making sure a connection was right! Fresh roses on the table, plus fruit, chocs on the pillows on the bed - lovely. There's a heated pool and spa which we didn't have time to investigate. It was cold outside, but the interior of the room was always warm with state of the art air conditioning and heating. We had kitchenette facilities in the warm, and one of the biggest baths I've seen in a hotel. Downstairs are complimentary DVDs and CDs, an open fire and billiard room. There is no cost-cutting; there is a laundry, coffee and biscuits for the guests and free use of the computer. All in all it's a lovely, lovely place to spend time in if you have to go to Queenscliff or Point Lonsdale. Both towns are looking pretty sad, lots of shops closing in the main street and 3 of the 4 hotels in the area up for sale. Pity the Army is moving away from the area. We will take any opportunity to revisit Lonsdale Views and can't imagine a more idyllic place to spend a few days.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sama Sama Hotel; City: Sepang Sepang District Selangor; Review: I wanted to email the hotel before we arrived, but 3 days beforehand could not find any email address - we got to the hotel to find it had changed names (1 Jan 13). It's now known as Sama-Sama.... Lovely set up, Pacific Club Room registration was on floor 9 and views were expansive - good room, great bed/mattress etc. The only draw back was that the evening complimentary drinks and canapes don't start til 7 (til 9), so hungry travellers have to have dinner first! Wine downstairs is terribly expensive (like so many places in Asia) with not much choice. Lounge drinks etc. were lovely, with many canapes etc. to choose from - right up there with Shangri La, Intercontinental lounges. Breakfast was very good, with excellent staff. The outstanding feature of this property is the fact that you can get a free buggy ride from the foyer right to the main departure concourse of KL International Airport - very civilised! The airport connects you to the departure lounges by high speed train - why don't we have this in Australia?? Would definitely stay at Sama-Sama again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Novotel Canberra; City: Canberra Australian Capital Territory; Review: We booked the Novotel because it had a deal with the Toulouse Lautrec exhibition - daughter joined us from Melbourne, arriving early evening - we flew in later. Thank heavens she had the foresight to demand another room - the first one we (three) were given had only a few hangers OVER the minibar! No drawers in the room and very limited hanging space for 3 people for 3 days! Second room at least had a wardrobe. The hotel is in a very good position right in the centre of town near restaurants and shops - Canberra's cafe society is very active - you need to book for most restaurants every night. Novotel's fifth floor carpet in the hallway desperately needs replacing, it's suffered intense water damage and looks terrible. The rooms themselves are functional (a la a business hotel) but with only one dull black and white print on the wall the rooms are boring and there's no couch, only a modern chair and footstool. At over $260 per night, I expected better. Breakfast was OK but the constant reminding by wait staff that the buffet would close in 5 minutes was a bit annoying. Parking is $18 a night -I'll pay what they want and go to the Hyatt next time....; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lismore Bounty Motel; City: Lismore New South Wales; Review: The proximity of this property to the centre of town and the Workers' Club (where travellers can get a good, cheap meal) is its main feature. It's clean, with an efficient and pleasant front office person, and although the rooms are fairly boring with no outlook except onto a closed corridor, it serves the purpose. One good thing was the "breakfast pack" found in the room. It contained cereal, juice and fruit, just the thing. Disappointing that the bar and restaurant were closed on Friday nights. But OK for what it was.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rose Garden Suites; City: Istanbul; Review: We chose this hotel from the internet as somewhere interesting and different to experience on our second trip to Istanbul. It promised an outside area and rooms with balconies. Whilst the staff were very nice, we felt disappointed that we were in a room many steps down through a fairly ordinary outside area, then up another floor of narrow steps to an ordinary room. Thank heavens for the poor guy hauling two heavy suitcases up. Breakfast was an extraordinary selection of dolmades, meats, cheeses, breads and no cereal. The place is in a fairly ordinary section of Sultanahmet on a hill. Just not as it was advertised, and certainly not as good as the Sultanahmet Palace where we stayed previously. I missed the views of the sea and the room was very ordinary. Staff were helpful with arrangements for taxis etc. It's just not what we expected.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Evenia Rosello; City: Barcelona Catalonia; Review: Good sized room, very helpful front desk staff and dining room staff, free wifi, quiet street, what more do you need? It isn't right on Las Ramblas but is only a short walk away. Breakfast is good and plentiful, and there's a pleasant outdor area (pity about the smokers!) Extension to the checkout time was given on the final day and the place had a lift and nice ensuite. recommended.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Torino; City: Venice Veneto; Review: We knew Venice would be expensive, but were unprepared for just how much money we would need for 3 days! Wine is around $AU10 a glass and a basic main course is around $AU30 - however how often are you there, so suck it up. The first hit was the water taxi from the airport to the hotel - Hotel Torino has a small landing station almost outside, very convenient, for $110EUROS one way. Take the same water taxi from the hotel to the cruise terminal and you're up for another $90EUROS.... that's around $AU300 for transfers! The hotel is in a good position, near a canal and a short walk to St Mark's Square. The room we were given was in the annex (heaven knows how early you have to book to get into the main building) and very small, leading on to a shared terrace with no view. The second room was the same size but had a 4-poster bed (nice idea if one of the curtains hadn't fallen down frequently.) Very small ensuite. Clean, basic continental breakfast in the main building. Helpful bellhop - airconditioning did not work until he fiddled with it, thank God, as temp was over 100degrees the whole 3 days we were there. Hoping to win the lottery so I can stay somewhere else next time - you really need cash in this city!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hong Kong; City: Hong Kong; Review: We chose this hotel because of its location and Club room on the executive floor (pay a bit more and get lots more value...) The room was fine, breakfast was terrific, service outstanding and the executive club was worth every penny, given Hong Kong's liquor prices! It's busy, efficient and highly recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Travelodge Hotel Melbourne Docklands; City: Melbourne Victoria; Review: This hotel is located next door to Channel 9s offices in Docklands, with several bars and restaurants in the vicinity. Typical Travelodge-sized rooms with walk-in shower and reasonably sized vanity for 2 people. Room service only for dinner and breakfast served in the 4th floor restaurant. Room service was a little pricey but promptly served. Tray was still outside the door the next morning. Breakfast was very ordinary but plentiful - bacon, the dreadful mixture scrambled eggs, small sausages, mushrooms, toast with spreads, cereals, juice etc. Pleasant staff and room clean. The only beef I have was the $10 per hour internet in room fee - this is ridiculous for a major city hotel. When are Australian hotels going to follow European and Asian hotels and provide wi fi in rooms free? It's an OK hotel for a business trip - no pool or extras though for any off time....; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park; City: Sydney New South Wales; Review: We wanted a classy hotel for a special couple of days away.... for a club room at the Sheraton on the Park we paid a high nightly rate. The location (almost opposite St James station in Sydney CBD) - near David Jones and the main shopping areas and within walking distance of the Theatre Royal, was excellent. However finding a wad of hair in the bathtub the first night was disappointing. The room overlooked the road and brick buildings (a higher fee is charged for a park view). The club lounge is pleasant and free wi fi is available in the foyer and the club for one hour. Any guest to the lounge is charged at $50. There's just something missing at this property - although the staff are pleasant enough. There's a singer and live band in the bar in the foyer on Wednesday nights but the drinks are very expensive. We've been in a lot of 5-star hotels around the world - this lacks the polish of the Shangri La or the Intercontinental in Sydney. I would have expected a full breakfast as well, not just a continental one, in the club.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Seaview Resort; City: Mooloolaba Sunshine Coast Queensland; Review: Units are a good size, with balconies almost all round. These 3 bedroom units are big enough to live. Two lifts make things easier, with friendly reception staff. The only bug I had was a fairly expensive fee for one hour on wi fi, with an unfriendly webpage that resulted in me paying $26 all up! And you have to use the whole time at one go, you can't space your purchased wi fi time over a few days. This is not shown anywhere on the instructions either. Having said that, the resort is about 500 yards up the street from the beach (opposite the caravan park so access is around that) and shops. Pool is a bit small for such a large property, but slightly heated which was very comfortable. Only one TV is provided in the lounge (nothing in the main bedroom), and there's a good laundry room with dryer. BBQ area is beside the pool and small with not much shade. No garden area as such. All in all, a good place to stay for a family. We would go there again, particularly with a direct approach to the property giving us 3 nights for the price of 2. And don't you just love all those signs about making sure everything is washed up and put away in cupboards and all rubbish removed before you leave? I guess it makes things easier for the cleaning staff .....; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel; City: Honolulu Oahu Hawaii; Review: I was a bit disappointed to find at first the hotel was about 500 yards up the road from what I call "the heart" of Waikiki Beach, but this turned out to be a terrific hotel opposite its own beautiful stretch of beach (with a protected part for kids). It's opposite the Honolulu Zoo, has a great restaurant/bar on the first floor, and a great idea for breakfast. At full capacity there usually aren't enough tables on the sundeck near the pool, so people are given a complimentary plastic cooler to fill with breakfast and take across the road to have on the beach! Great idea. We arrived off an early morning flight and had to wait a couple of hours to access the room - checkin staff were courteous and the room had a great outlook across Waikiki Beach and the city. I would stay here again in a blink - all tourist trolleys etc come past the front door and the entertainment at breakfast and sunset is terrific. Well worth the recommendation!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Noosa Blue Resort; City: Noosa Sunshine Coast Queensland; Review: We stayed at Noosa Blue a couple of years ago and were very happy with the rooftop terrace room. This time it's been taken over by a new owner and there are several new things there - a smart café/bar, new function room downstairs etc. Staff on the desk are very friendly and helpful and the room was great. (Needs more artwork on the walls - very plain white!) The terrace was good again but the weather was cool so we didn't spend much time in the hot tub. There's a good carpark underneath and it's across the road from the Reef Hotel which has great meals. It's up the hill from Hastings St which suited us fine as it was so quiet. Would return in a heartbeat. Good deal from Travelzoo included a bottle of bubbly and two cocktails at the bar.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Edison Times Square; City: New York City New York; Review: We had stayed here about 16 years ago and thought it well located but a little dated. Since then it's had quite a bit upgraded but who cares? The hotel reeks of 1920s glamour, with beautiful murals in the downstairs guest lobby, caring people on the reception desk (they even gave us wine and chocolates for our wedding anniversary!) and a genuine "ole NY style" feeling about the place. It's just paces from Times Square, and within walking distance to all the restaurants, shops and theatres on Broadway. The "diner" is good for breakfast, nothing flash but providing eggs/bacon/juice/coffee etc. in a very traditional American way. Rooms are well spaced (ours was anyway) with small fridge, OK bathroom and safe in a totally unlit wardrobe? We moved rooms and I think this may have been a more expensive room but we weren't charged extra. One thing that surprised us was the total lack of room service! Given that so many people would be going to shows at different times and would probably need something late at night! The shower is over the bath and no matter how much we tried, we couldn't stop a gush of water coming out of the bath tap at the ame time the shower was running. There were also no glasses available - we had a bottle of champagne for our anniversary and were told firmly that plastic cups were all that would be allowed in the room. Apparently some woman murdered her husband with a broken glass there - they haven't allowed glasses in rooms since - go figure! I was also disappointed the wifi was not free, and breakfast was not included, but that's New York. I don't think we'd stay there again, but that's not to say it wasn't a perfectly adequate pub - I understand there are massive improvements planned. It can only get better, given its excellent spot in this very desirable area....; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Georgian Hotel; City: Santa Monica California; Review: We had one night sleepover to get rid of the jetlag after the long flight from Australia - the hotel looked great on the website and didn't disappoint in "the flesh".... Situated right across from the pier, with a pleasant balcony restaurant outside, the place is gently nostalgic and very art deco. We were there very early and the room we requested wasn't ready. After a walk round and breakfast on the balcony (complimentary - my daughter had emailed ahead and told them it was our wedding anniversary trip) they came up with another similar room and we settled in for a long sleep. The service throughout our trip was terrific; the room didn't have a view but we didn't care, we just wanted a sleep and a shower.... A pity the basement restaurant isn't open to the public (just for private functions now). It's got great pics on the wall of all the famous people who've eaten/stayed in the hotel. A pleasant overnight stay, would go there again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Los Angeles Airport Marriott; City: Los Angeles California; Review: This is the second time we've stayed here - and both times have been excellent. The room we had was large, comfortable, and QUIET. Getting off a plane which arrived early morning, I was worried we would not be able to access the room but needn't have been concerned. We were immediately taken to a ground floor room and were in bed and asleep within the hour. The long flight from Australia left us tired, but several hours sleep, a shower, and a good meal in the hotel dispelled any jetlag we may have had. The bar is excellent, the shuttle bus to and from the airport is on time and efficient. There could have been more help getting bags out of the bus and into the foyer but it's not a long walk. We would stay here again in a heartbeat. The second trip left us with an afternoon to spare so we walked 100 yards to the public bus stop which took us to a large shopping centre. We caught the same bus back - in plenty of time to get the shuttle back to LAX. There's also a nice swimming pool in the grounds. All in all a good way to relax before the long flight back.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Holiday Inn Resort Phuket; City: Patong Kathu Phuket; Review: We chose Holiday Inn because we'd had another good stay in a club room in Holiday Inn, Hong Kong recently. This one was much bigger and well laid out, with first class facilities and staff. We used the business centre people to print boarding passes, went to Happy Hour (2 hrs every day), ate dinner at both the café and Sam's Steakhouse and enjoyed a "studio" room which was bigger than many others in hotels we've stayed in. Breakfast was included and was excellent, and there was a good deal for kids to eat free. We would stay here again in a heartbeat - it's very good indeed.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Royal Automobile Club of Australia Accommodation; City: Sydney New South Wales; Review: We didn't stay here, just had a dinner with old friends. The food was average, service grudging and the evening was very expensive. Two courses, a couple of glasses of wine and one of champagne was $120.00. The bar stayed open afterwards only long enough for one more drink then the rails were noisily put up. Thank God we weren't staying here overnight - friends who were said it was very basic. It's typically an old establishment with cache, but give me a modern hotel any time!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Best Western Tuscany On Tor Motor Inn; City: Toowoomba Queensland; Review: It looked nice on Trip Advisor - had reasonable reviews... it was Carnival of Flowers week in Toowoomba so accommodation was scarce. We decided to take a larger room in case we brought the grandchild with us. Thank God we didn't. This is potentially a good property; has delightfully friendly managers and is very clean, but the details let it down. You go in the front door of the unit to a two bed room - the main bedroom is beyond that, with a small bathroom in the middle, and a kitchen area in the second bedroom. There's one TV, so if you want to watch TV as adults, you can't because the kids would be in the room with the only TV. The lighting in all areas was appalling; ceiling downlights which were useless for computer use, and either on or off, no ambiance to the room at all - what's wrong with a couple of table lamps in the lounge area? Power points few and far between and the only place to put the computer was on the small table outside the kitchen in the twin bedroom area. The meal in the "Club Lounge" was OK, but the dining room itself was dreadful. No artwork on the walls, bar a counter with no mood lighting, NO TABLECLOTHS, it's like a railway station cafeteria. The traffic outside the room was horrendous all night, and the TV had a governor on its volume so that we could barely hear it. We called the manager and he came and agreed but said the owners had put the noise controller on it and there was nothing he could do. Frankly, we've stayed at Best Western properties throughout Australia, and many hotels/motels all over the world, and I would not stay here again. For $220.00 we expected more.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Grange on Farrelly; City: Margaret River Margaret River Region Western Australia; Review: We arrived late afternoon, there was only one worker there - he was also the cook. It's more of a motel than hotel so you lug your case yourself and park the car outside the room in a very well-defined space. Dinner is provided Mon-Thurs nights only. Wifi is free - the cook was very good but had to keep running to the reception desk when people arrived. When he went there was no-one there although an "emergencies only" number for the manager was available. Bed was very uncomfortable. Breakfast is extra. Rooms are clean and there are ample areas for sitting.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Peppers Salt Resort Spa; City: Kingscliff New South Wales; Review: We had stayed at Peppers before, but not in January school holidays where the pool is chock a block with screaming kids and there are clearly no lounges available (particularly those in the shade) after 8am. We were after a couple of days away as a couple and wanted a bit of luxury. We did not get it at Peppers Kingscliff, although the place potentially has all one could want. Pros are: - the air conditioning is good - although it's so vicious at times you need to pull the stupid padded cover over you, then remove it moments later because it gets too hot (where did they come from, what's wrong with a blanket??) - we had a nice view over the lagoon. - 2 days free wifi service (for our room - maybe more for a more expensive one??) - Happy Hour from 3-5pm, but woe betide if you make an order 2 minutes after 5pm! Cons are: - there's no PORTER SERVICE, so an elderly couple like us had to ask for a trolley (wobbly) and wheel it to our room, into a lift and down several corridors. Our room was behind a door leading to two rooms, very heavy and rat-trap like. Thank heavens for the small rubber stopper or I would never have been able to push it through into the room. (How do REALLY OLD people, or mothers with kids get on??) Put a concierge and a couple of porters on if you want to be considered a 4+ star property! - there's no desk in the room for a computer or any other electronic device. There's a great big chair facing away from the TV (useless). Why not put a small desk there instead? Everyone travels with a computer device of some sort these days - the alternative was putting it on one's knees - very efficient?? - there's no mirror in the bedroom, so one has to wait until one's partner has finished showering/shaving etc. to put makeup on. There's masses of room on the walls of the bedroom area - how about a second mirror?? - there are no reading lamps, just one on either side flat useless light. - there is no plate or knife in case a couple would like to have a biscuit and cheese. - 2 wineglasses provided, each different to the other. Classy. - the balcony has a huge glass table and 2 chairs. The table is far too big for the balcony space and the sun is so strong around 5pm that it's impossible to sit out there anyway. If you're forced to sit in your bedroom to have a nibble and drink, perhaps a small coffee table would be useful? Who decided on the furniture for this hotel? - Happy Hour red wine - ALWAYS ask how long the bottle has been opened! The red wine was old and undrinkable. Don't staff know you can't keep red wine indefinitely? - There is no glass in the bathroom (handy for people who take pills or clean their; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Tank Stream Hotel; City: Sydney New South Wales; Review: I took advantage of a LuxuryEscapes offer for two nights at this property in Sydney, and paid for an additional night. The two night offer was priced at $399 for two people (around $200 a night), including breakfast, a bottle of reasonable wine and 6 other perks (credit towards a Chocolate Walking Tour and a Craft Beer Walking Tour, 2for1 cinema tix, Ozjet Boating credit, credit for a Dessert Tour and credits for the endota Day Spa at The Rocks (15 mins away from the hotel) and discounts on food and wine purchased at the hotel. The additional night was $260 and they "extended it" to include breakfast for 2. We were not really in a position to take advantage of the additional offers but the location of the hotel seemed good and we were impressed when a bellboy/reception guy came out immediately to meet the cab and help with bags. Although I had filled in all requested paperwork online I was asked to fill it in again. (And once more when the additional day came round). There were many people being trained at the front desk and only one seemed to know how things were done. However, the attitude of the staff was very friendly all throughout our stay. I guess we just expect a bit more from an inner city hotel which is on the lookout for new business.... the restaurant and bar did not open (til 5.30pm) - not sure about the lunch hour? Our room was ridiculously small. If the Tank Stream is a "business" hotel it should call itself that. Our room was described as a Superior Queen Room - it was one of the tiniest rooms I've ever stayed in, and overlooked an alleyway. We called the desk and requested another one, and were immediately put in a slightly larger room with a view of Pitt Street. Why not give us this straight away? There's no book in the room to tell you what's available and I didn't see any reference to room service. Again the staff were helpful in giving directions, getting taxis, providing maps etc. They even went to some trouble to repair (short term) my suitcase which was dragged and lifted by the pull-along handle by the guy showing us to the room. (Again I think this is a matter of training - use the handle when lifting a case, not the extendable handle). The hotel's location is good but I can't understand why LuxuryEscapes took it on - we've been on 5 other deals from LuxuryEscapes and The Tank Stream doesn't come anywhere near the standard of any of them. Breakfast was OK, but someone should do a time and motion study of the room to avoid people having to walk past, back etc. to get their food. And please, get waiters to provide tea, coffee for guests - by the time you work out how to run the machine, wait for milk etc. the meal is cold. The breakfast is probably outsourced to the owners of the café - no bread; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Raffaello; City: Rome Lazio; Review: We found the Raffaello online and were attracted to the outside pic - it's got a small lobby with the breakfast room up a few stairs - convenient if you're looking out for a pickup. The first room was small and we asked to be moved to a slightly larger one (all hotel rooms in Rome are small). The shower was complicated and very small. Front desk staff were very helpful, especially the concierge. They looked after our bags while we went on a 4-day tour and welcomed us back with a larger room with a balcony outside. The only drawback I feel is the lack of a bar and restaurant for other meals. There are places to eat in the area, and it's a short walk to Maggiore and a slightly longer one to the Collosseum. No retail shops that I could see, close by. We would stay here again if we needed to. Porters were helpful. It's OK but not great.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: QT Canberra; City: Canberra Australian Capital Territory; Review: We decided to stay at the QT having been impressed with QT on the Gold Coast. Location was great and we got a good weekend deal (stay 2, pay 1). Plane was late and I asked the desk clerk to have the car parked underneath for us (didn't realise this would cost $25 - couldn't find any reference to this on their website!, only $12 for underground parking.) Very busy and noisy bar at back of foyer area late that night - it's obviously a favourite choice for Canberrans.... The room was spacious and had a good view of mountains etc. Good closet and lots of hangers, nice bathroom with large shower. We were near the lift however and it was very noisy every time a life arrived on the floor. Also room walls are thin and we heard people next door quite clearly. Lunch at Speakeasy the following day was a disappointment - not much choice on menu and when the club sandwich arrived it was on huge chunks of bread with minimal filling. Burger was OK but nothing special for $26.00. The meal took nearly an hour to arrive and we were only one of 3 couples in the room - there seemed to be only one chef on. Service was appalling - waitress didn't know anything about the member 20% discount or who had ordered what, had to keep asking others for answers to questions. Room service that night did not offer the 20% member discount on food and meals were half cold. Only cutlery for one included, had to ask for more. On checkout the desk girl was again unable to answer questions, and when we asked for the car to be brought up she said she had asked her manager to arrange and it was on the way. Had to ask a second time, same answer. We noticed the hire car outside in the parking bays and asked if that was ours - guy checked the drawer and found the key. I have no proof that our car was even parked under the hotel all night, and suspect it was left in the outside parking bay (where the guy the night before said he had parked it pending movement to the garage.) Clearly the desk girl had not checked. This hotel could be terrific but someone needs to pay more attention to training the staff, all of them.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: InterContinental Abu Dhabi; City: Abu Dhabi Emirate of Abu Dhabi; Review: We have stayed in many Intercontinental Hotels around the world, and always find them excellent. This was up to standard; a lavishly set out foyer and excellent and very large room. We looked out over a marina and water and pool and had an excellent breakfast in one of the function rooms each day. (The main dining area was taken for the Ishtar feast as it was Ramadan). Staff were excellent and very helpful at all times. The pool was very nice, with a room for non-Muslim people to use during the Ramadan period when people can't eat/drink between sunrise and sunset. The room supplied tea/coffee, soft drinks, fruit etc. The hotel's dining room buffet at lunch was curtained off and no alcohol is available during the day. The breakfast and lunch buffets are excellent, as is the room service. The hotel doesn't have anything much near it, but a short and cheap taxi ride will get you to the souk. We would stay here again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Rydges South Bank Brisbane; City: Brisbane Brisbane Region Queensland; Review: The only reason I didn't give this hotel an Excellent rating was that I found a single sock under the bed and the next day an open glider clip (paper clip) on the floor. Cleaning could be a bit more careful. Apart from that, the reception, the very good weekend deal we got, the room service, the ambiance of the room (upgraded to a suite - complementary) was terrific. The Baccus restaurant is the smart one to visit, pricey but very good food and excellent service with several extras. Bit disappointing to go there again the next morning and see it without the romantic lights etc. for breakfast! Staff at breakfast did not offer, and when asked were not interested, in providing tea/coffee for diners - a usual arrangement in 4star hotels everywhere else. But the proximity of the hotel to QPAC and other places on Southbank is excellent. Would definitely stay here again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Central Springs Inn; City: Daylesford Victoria; Review: It's cold in Daylesford in June, so we asked for a fireplace room. I'm glad we did because the air conditioner didn't work too well and we would have frozen without it. The room wasn't particularly large but had a good bed and a small table with 2 chairs. Bathroom was average but had a spa which was nice to warm up in before bed. The place is quite old with lots of character. Continental breakfast was included and service is good. Lots of extra wood supplied and a bowls club next door for dinner. Recommended.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Impiana Resort Patong Phuket; City: Patong Kathu Phuket; Review: The Impiana is one of the oldest hotels in Phuket and has been completely rebuilt after the tsunami. Staff are excellent - Superior Seaview Rooms are a little on the small side compared to other hotels there but well appointed. Lighting is limited. Nice patio outside with chairs and table. Security everywhere but not available when a group of revellers took to the pool at 1.45am one night...poolside service good. Happy Hour (buy 2 get one free) from 5.00-7.30 - food and booze reasonably priced. Good tour desk and extra help offered in many ways from reception staff, room service good and quick. This is an excellently located hotel, right on the beach, a bit away from the main area with the beach chairs/umbrellas etc. for hire. Only downside was that the beach itself is getting a bit grubby - more cleaning at the beginning and/or end of the day is needed. Lots of pool lounges available in June.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona; City: Barcelona Catalonia; Review: This is a well run, pleasant hotel near the beach. It has a nice pool area but you need to pay to use a pool lounge - first time in my life this has been necessary. Executive Lounge staff are very good and there's a nice outdoor terrace on 15th floor off lounge. Not a wide range of nibblies on offer but all presented well. I'm not sure it's a good plan to allow guests to help themselves to the booze - much better to ask what they want and serve it! Room was good and bathroom well appointed. Would stay here again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: PARKROYAL on Beach Road; City: Singapore; Review: Very expensive drinks and food by the pool, but this is Asia. The toilet was too low and the plastic seat was cheap. There's only 1 red and 1 white wine available at the pool AND the club room. Again, shower over bath - too awkward for oldies! No shops for a few streets, then Bugis Junction. A couple of restaurants in Arab St quite close.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: JA Ocean View Hotel; City: Dubai Emirate of Dubai; Review: Upgraded to a club room - very good. Close to beach and malls and very comfortable. Didn't like the shower over the bath, awkward to access. Good furniture on the balcony and excellent view. Good pool area with food/booze service. Would stay here again.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ramada Hotel Suites by Wyndham Ballina Byron; City: Ballina Ballina Shire New South Wales; Review: It's been over a year since we stayed here, mostly after seeing a show at Ballina Players Theatre. The hotel is light, airy and rooms are well thought out and comfortable. (Particularly the ensuite which has plenty of storage space under the sink - missing in many hotels.) The food in the downstairs restaurant overlooking the river was excellent - oysters the freshest we've tasted in years. Efficient front desk and pleasant and helpful staff. Would stay here again in a heartbeat.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Warwick Fiji; City: Korolevu Coral Coast Viti Levu; Review: We stayed at the Warwick 35 years ago, when it was the Hyatt Regency Coral Coast. There have been a few changes since then to the layout of the place, but it's basically the same. Like others, I found the resort to be very well located on a beautiful piece of coastline, with a helpful and gracious staff. We were upgraded to 2 pool/ocean view rooms when the 2 I had booked with a queen and a single were not allocated. The first night we were obliged to have the buffet - at $65FJD it was not cheap and really didn't have a lot to choose from. At night you only have the buffet, Pappagallo's Italian, Sazanami Japanese and the Wicked Walu to choose from. We ended up eating at the Italian several nights, where a pizza could be shared between the kids and pasta was at least affordable. Drinks are very expensive also, with a glass of wine around $16-18FJD. Daytime meals are cheaper at the pool brasserie - but overall the food and drink available at the hotel is only ordinary and far too expensive. I found the meal at the Wicked Walu was very disappointing, maybe I chose the wrong thing, but the sand under your toes and the general ambiance is lovely. The grounds of the hotel are immaculately kept and each night there was some sort of Fijian or Polynesian entertainment - I particularly liked the Fijian in the grass skirt (with accompanying kids) who blew the conch shell and lit the flares - nice touch. The GM is new and is seen often in the grounds checking things out - good move. Suggestions to him - put a pool attendant on duty during the school holidays, there are some unruly kids out there who are unsupervised and create havoc for other people sharing the pool. Put an attendant on the beach to assist people during kyak and paddle boarding time when the tide is in - too many people miss out because others monopolise the equipment. The adults' pool is quiet and the bar is great - here the staff wander around the area offering service - I did not see this at the main pool with the swim up bar. The stools at the swim up bar were often taken by children - not a good practice. THE POOL NEEDS ATTENTION - THERE ARE BROKEN TILES AROUND THE EDGES AND ONE OF OUR KIDS STEPPED ON A SHARP ONE ON THE BOTTOM. POOL SURROUNDS ARE CHIPPED AND IN NEED OF URGENT ATTENTION. The hotel needs to purchase extra towels for both the pool and the guest rooms - they ran out of both almost every day - totally unacceptable for a 4star property. I particularly liked the wandering guitar trio during lunchtime, a lovely Fijian touch! All in all the staff are extremely helpful, great with children and genuinely charming. Some have been there for 15 years. Rooms need upgrading, particularly the bathroom, but this is not a major complaint - the hotel is older; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ibis Brisbane Airport; City: Brisbane Brisbane Region Queensland; Review: This is a relatively new hotel, promoted as a cheaper alternative to the Pullman (next door) and the Novotel. It's around $129-139 for a fairly basic room, free wifi and a dining room/café style food operation. I thought it would be nice to have a drink at the rooftop bar and watch the planes come in - was told that was only available for functions and events. What a wasted opportunity, and annoying as this is certainly not made clear on their webpage. There's no concierge, if you're lucky someone behind the reception desk might give you a hand with luggage (we were a family of 6 travelling with 8 pieces of luggage). Staff are reasonably efficient and gave usinterconnecting rooms. Meals are not cheap but there is a kids' menu. A shuttle bus to both domestic and international terminals runs every half hour or so costing $5 to international and is free to domestic. It's around 2-3 star but is convenient as a cheaper alternative when you just want to be in Brisbane for an early flight.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Comfort Hotel Tokyo Kiyosumi Shirakawa; City: Koto Tokyo Tokyo Prefecture Kanto; Review: Rooms have (as is usual for Japan) two double beds. Very small bathroom. Great warm toilet seat! Had 2 nights here, split times for breakfast as room dining room is small. No night meal available here. Lots of restaurants around the area. All hotels seem to have baths which is nice after a busy day. This hotel is friendly and efficient but just lacks the creature comforts we like.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Osaka Castle Hotel; City: Chuo Osaka Osaka Prefecture Kinki; Review: It's a big hotel, double beds, nice view over river, series of restaurants on floor above. We dined at the Indian restaurant and I became very sick later that night. As in many hotels we stayed in the Tripadeal tour, there was no safe and no phone in the room.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Loisir Hotel Toyohashi; City: Toyohashi Aichi Prefecture Tokai Chubu; Review: Got there very late at night, modern room, good bathroom, very comfortable beds, good breakfast. Separate room for toilet. Big dining area for groups - fruit available at breakfast! Delightful modern hotel with big rooms.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: HJ Grand Hotel; City: Guangzhou Guangdong; Review: Hotel is very large with deluxe rooms containing free standing bath in big separate bathroom. Two double beds and plenty of room to move about in room. First room was unmade up and we asked for one which was ready for us. Second room smelt strongly of smoke - third room was excellent. Restaurant was open but empty of people and had a set menu which was OK. No bar to speak of, no gin/whisky etc. Beer available. No wakeup call received early next morning - shuttle bus to airport and pleasant staff. More info on which hotel to choose would have been useful - choosing from 6 hotels at airport seems a bit odd - but it provided a sleep and a shower in the 16 hrs we had the layover. We also asked for help for wifi and lights off switch, people were sent up immediately.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Kosuien; City: Fujikawaguchiko machi Minamitsuru gun Yamanashi Prefecture Koshinetsu Chubu; Review: This was obviously an opportunity for guests to experience the "old" Japan - in fact this is an old hotel with a very steep drive you have to walk up (bags are taken on a small truck). There's a small verandah overlooking a lake but the room was bitterly cold with the balcony doors open, aircon helped with the doors closed. We had a typical Japanese meal downstairs with other groups. No safe, no phone. Breakfast not bad, at least some eggs and fruit. Public bathhouses for both M & F, I'm afraid I'm a bit old for sleeping on thin mattress on the floor.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Premium Hotel in Rinku; City: Izumisano Osaka Prefecture Kinki; Review: Hotel is close to airport and next to a shopping outlet mall. There's no bar/safe in room and a big step up to the bathroom. There is a small lift and set menu available in the dining room at night. Breakfast is also supplied. Room is small, but get used to that in Japan!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Citadines Saint Germain des Pres Paris; City: Paris Ile de France; Review: We had a Deluxe Studio which was not overbig but this is Paris... complimentary tea, coffee station in the foyer which was good. No concierge but assistance with bags provided by the very helpful assistant manager. The hotel is on the Left Bank next to (overlooking) the Seine. Couldn't be in a better position. Serviced apartment so you need to help yourself to clean towels etc. All up a very nice place - breakfast included.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Ritz Carlton Dubai; City: Dubai Emirate of Dubai; Review: This is a lovely hotel with superb staff. Get a club room for best experience. Can't praise it enough, especially the beautiful flower displays all over the hotel...room divine and overlooked the pool and beach. They could not have done more for us - wonderful 3 nights.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Horse and Hound; City: Broadway Cotswolds England; Review: We had a smallish room, accessed from an outside door in the carpark. A largish bar serving food supplied dinner and breakfast from a pub-style menu. Breakfast was a good English one, served by the owners. There are only a handful of rooms but it's clean and friendly. A family crisis had me calling Australia on their phone which was offered generously and without cost. Would definitely stay here again.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort Spa; City: Surfers Paradise Gold Coast Queensland; Review: Attended a luncheon at the Marriott yesterday - easy parking and the function room was well attended by hotel staff for audio visual and sound functions. Meal was constantly refilled (curry and rice and condiments) by attentive waiters. The hotel is a large one with attractive and open areas with flagstone floor in the foyer. It has its own beach and pool with tropical fish so guests can swim with them... food was excellent and the whole experience was good.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sheraton Fisherman s Wharf Hotel; City: San Francisco California; Review: There's only a small dining area/bar. Very pushy waitress who pursued us for a tip. No special service and food only OK. Pleasant fire pits outside hotel - no bar nearby so a wasted facility. Good size room but the venue is only 4 stories high so no views of the Bay.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel; City: Mascot Botany Bay Greater Sydney New South Wales; Review: We were booked for one night to catch an early flight to LA - had an expensive dinner with our son and got back to the room to find a message from Virgin to say our flight had been cancelled. Easily booked another night at the hotel (more expensive on Tuesday nights) and got a wakeup call from the efficient staff. Walked across the road to the international terminal. It's plain but very well run - would stay here again. There's a cheaper meal offered ownstairs and at the bar upstairs, together with an outside al fresco area (very cold at night in April but good views of the planes etc.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Presto 02970 Professional SaladShooter Electric Slicer/Shredder, Black; Brand: Presto; Review: Works very well. Easy to use, easy to clean. Saves a lot of time. Makes your salad looks beautiful. I would recommend this product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: CDN DTQ450X Thin Tip Thermometer; Brand: CDN; Review: I was looking for thermometer to get quick temperature reading. This one works fine. You will get immediate result. Would be very helpful to set up specific meat temperature modes. You need a chart to determine if your meat is ready to desire readiness.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sistema Microwave Collection Steamer, Large, 109 oz./3.2 L, Red; Brand: Sistema; Review: Steamer works very well. Easy to use. Durable and nice design. Makes your food preparation a breeze. You'll get healthy food in no time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dimplex DFI2310 Electric Fireplace Deluxe 23-Inch Insert, Black; Brand: DIMPLEX; Review: I am using this unit for more then a year. It is not efficient heater. As to burning effect it is very nice and realistic fireplace but I found one major defect. The power cord of the unit is getting "hot" after just 20 minutes of working. You can smell burning insulation. Would not recommend this fireplace.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Polder 526-39 Sixty Minute Cook's Timer, Red; Brand: Polder; Review: I am using this timer on outdoor grilling. It works O'K . Good quality, nice and simple design. The magnet makes it easy to store on refrigerator . The strip is very convenient as well. I would definitely recommend this product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: HOSPITOLOGY PRODUCTS Sleep Defense System - PREMIUM Zippered Bed Bug & Dust Mite Proof Box Spring Encasement; Brand: HOSPITOLOGY PRODUCTS; Review: Definitely the best for the money.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Eco Living Friendly Evolon Allergy Mattress Protector | 9" Queen Zippered Mattress Encasement | Dust Mite, Bed; Brand: Eco Living Friendly; Review: Very good quality, I would recommend this product; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sunbeam FPSBHS0302 250-Watt 5-Speed Stand Mixer, Black; Brand: Sunbeam; Review: Very simple and reliable mixer. Reasonable price, durable material, easy to use.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Meat Temperature Magnet Guide; Brand: Stock Your Home; Review: very handy magnet-guide. Easy to use, simple.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: innobay 3-inch Mini Handy Portable Rechargeable Fan Operated by 18650 Lithium Battery, 3 Speeds, 1 Led Night; Brand: Innobay; Review: Very powerful, small and nice design. Wood definitely recommend the product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Home Decorators Collection Imperial Area Rug, 8x11 Shape, Light Green; Brand: Home Decorators Collection; Review: Not a very good quality rug. Terrible customer service.; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Ganivet Hotel; City: Madrid; Review: A really good tourist hotel. conveniently situated and friendly. Bedrooms etc are basic but clean and everything works. Excellent location within easy walking distance of the city centre and the main attractions although the metro station is just around the corner. Good value.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Heathfield Bed and Breakfast; City: Whitby Scarborough District North Yorkshire England; Review: The friendly helpful hosts made our all too brief a stay very enjoyable. Although a short uphill walk from the town centre it is well worth the effort. Our room was spotlessly clean and well appointed with a lovely en suite shower room. We enjoyed an excellent breakfast from the wide choice on offer. We have stayed in several B&Bs recently and would have no hesitation in returning to Heathfield; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Old Rectory of St James; City: Telford Shropshire England; Review: The Old Rectory of St. James really is a wonderful place to stay. The perfect hosts Adrian and Rosemary certainly go the extra mile to make your stay here relaxed, comfortable and most memorable. Beautiful spotless rooms, superb breakfasts and lots of welcome extras like fresh flowers in your room, cream tea on arrival, fluffy towels and bathrobes, free Wi-Fi all make your stay so enjoyable. We have no hesitation in recommending the Old rectory to anyone wanting to stay in this area.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Nebula Guest House; City: Liskeard Cornwall England; Review: We were greeted with a cup of tea and a friendly welcome from the owners. Our room was spacious, clean and very comfortable. There was a full choice for breakfast including a freshly cooked full English.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel 50; City: Bournemouth Dorset England; Review: What a superb place to stay either overnight or, preferably, much longer. Matt and Mel are lovely welcoming hosts who have done a great job in renovating this property. It has a luxurious, comfortable and homely feel. The spacious rooms are beautifully decorated, spotlessly clean and have all amenities. The breakfast choice is extensive and the delicious hot food freshly cooked. Over the recent years we have stayed in many bed and breakfast establishments and this has to be one of, if not the best we have come across. We would not hesitate to stay here at Hotel 50 again in future and would highly recommend it. Thank you Matt Mel and the Boys.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bay Tree House Bed Breakfast; City: Southport Merseyside England; Review: Superb B&B, spotlessly clean and very comfortable. The extras such as toiltetries,bath robes and slippers were much appreciated. The breakfast was excellent including a wide choice of cooked dishes. The hosts,Leigh and Chloe are lovely.Friendly and welcoming they do everything to make your stay relaxing and memorable.We will definitely stay here again next time we come to Southport.Thank you.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Eric Clapton: Crossroads Guitar Festival; Brand: Eric Clapton; Review: good stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Room; Brand: Tommy Wiseau; Review: good stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built; Brand: ; Review: good stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Live at Montreux 2010; Brand: Gary Moore; Review: good stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Allman, Duane - Song Of The South: Duane Allman And The Rise Of The Allman Brothers; Brand: Duane Allman; Review: good stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Invitation to Illumination: Live at Montreux 2011; Brand: Santana & McLaughlin; Review: good stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013; Brand: Eric Clapton; Review: good stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Celebration Of Blues And Soul: The 1989 Presidential Inaugural Concert; Brand: Stevie Ray Vaughan; Review: good stuff; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Movies_and_TV |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Presto 03510 Ceramic FlipSide Belgian Waffle Maker; Brand: Presto; Review: Easy to use and the waffles were great!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Victorinox 1-Piece Paring Knife Fibrox Handle 3-1/4-Inch 5.0603; Brand: Victorinox; Review: Super sharp; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 8-Inch Chef's; Brand: Victorinox; Review: Super sharp; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Victorinox 47600 3.25 Inch Paring Knife with Straight Edge, Spear Point, Black, 3.25"; Brand: Victorinox; Review: Super sharp; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cakie Soap Dispenser Infrared Motion Stainless Steel Touchless Automatic Shampoo Box with Waterproof Base & IR Sensor for Kitchen,; Brand: Cakie; Review: A lot of reviewers wrote that drawers stuck; not so on the one I ordered. Love it! Lots of storage.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Boutique 9 Women's Jazzalyn Pump; Brand: ; Review: This shoe looks every bit as elegant and classy as the picture! Beautiful tone in color. This ill be great for Spring!!! Love it!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Geneva Chronograph Look Watch with Crystals..Gold Tone Metal Link; Brand: NYKKOLA; Review: A great watch at a great price! I've read a few reviews about the discoloration after wearing it, but I've had mine 2 yrs now! Let me give you a little cosmetic trick. First, don't expect high-end results from a low-end glamour piece. I have both high-end and "cost-effective" pieces so I've learned what to do to preserve them. What I do with my costume bling before wearing it is coat the jewelry with a high-end clear nail polish. This prevents the sweat and wear from discoloring your piece and will give your jewelry an added shine while protecting your investment!! Paired with a great CZ bling ring I ALWAYS get compliments! I love this watch!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Punk Silvery Full Finger Armor Ring W/rhinestone; Brand: ; Review: LOVELY!!! Fits perfectly!! I feel so trendy!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: HACBIWA Classic Men Stainless Steal Wrist Watches Big Dial Watches; Brand: HACBIWA; Review: Classy!! Heavy and very expensive looking!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Jerollin Fashion Multi Gold Tone Grey Black Chains White Crystal Statement Bib Necklace; Brand: Jerollin; Review: Just as beautiful in person!!! LOVE IT!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Joan & David Collection Women's Alastair Boot; Brand: Joan & David Collection; Review: BEAUTIFUL and expensive looking!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Invicta Women's 12831 Specialty Mother-Of-Pearl Dial Watch; Brand: Invicta; Review: What's with Invicta and the EXTREMELY large bands??? Otherwise beautiful watch!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fergie Women's Prance; Brand: Fergie; Review: Love these boots! Very cool snakeskin look!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: FAIRY COUPLE Women’s Cubic Zirconia Wedding Engagement Band Ring R119; Brand: FAIRY COUPLE; Review: Wow! absolutely beautiful! Perfect fit (size 5)....LOVE IT!! Gorgeous even without a flash of light (which really makes it sparkle)!!! Nice size ( a bit large) but I like "bling" you can see!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Loslandifen Womens Closed Toe High Heels Pointed Slender Stiletto Pumps; Brand: Loslandifen; Review: Beautiful, gorgeous, expensive looking! I'm a shoe-holic so trust me ladies you want a pair!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 316L Stainless Steel 15mm Wedding Band Ring - Comfort Fit; Brand: Zinga; Review: Completely the wrong size! I wear a size 5 ring and the 6 wouldn't even fit (much too small). This retailer wanted me to pay for shipping to return the rings (I purchased two) but it wasn't worth the hassle. Beautiful ring, terrible fit and customer service is even worse! Will not be purchasing from them again....; Rating: 1.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Master and Commander; Author: O'Brian Patrick; Review: I'm not even at chapter 3 and I'm hooked!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cosmopolis: The Hidden Agenda of Modernity; Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen Toulmin Page; Review: I liked it a lot. Got it for a college class, and it really makes you rethink the term "Modern" when used beyond its meaning "now" or "contemporary times"; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Master of Go; Author: Visit Amazon's Yasunari Kawabata Page; Review: Excellent book, great atmosphere, steady pace; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Catch-22 CD; Author: Visit Amazon's Joseph Heller Page; Review: Excellent; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Official GRE Super Power Pack; Author: Visit Amazon's Educational Testing Service Page; Review: Really good; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: GRE Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Essay Topics (Test Prep Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Vibrant Publishers Page; Review: Really helpful; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Attacks; Author: Visit Amazon's Erwin Rommel Page; Review: An excellent firsthand account. Absolutely absorbing. Rommel's engagements become vivid images in the readers mind because of the author's concise writing. This is the definitive edition. Don't get the abridged version. This edition has all the maps and sketches.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Chinese Warlord Armies 191130 (Men-at-Arms); Author: Philip Jowett; Review: It's too short, feels like a little kids book. Has very little information on the historical figures of the time. Reads more like an early 2000's History Channel ten minute early morning special; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Violent Politics: A History of Insurgency, Terrorism, and Guerrilla War, from the American Revolution to Iraq; Author: William R. Polk; Review: great book; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: New and Improved Eva-dry E-333 Renewable Mini Dehumidifier; Brand: Eva-Dry; Review: Just like I wanted. Looks nice on my door,is strong, easy to keep charged, and made of nice material. Thank you for the prompt delivery.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Malden International Designs Crossroads Puzzle Collage Picture Frame, 6 Option, 3-3.5x5 & 3-4x6, Black; Brand: Malden International Designs; Review: I get many good comments about this picture frame.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Gallery Solutions 11x14 Black Oval Wall Frame Matted to Display 8x10 Image; Brand: Gallery Solutions; Review: I get many good comments about this picture frame.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dennis Daniels Gallery Woods Panoramic Picture Frame, 4 x 10 Inches, Ebony Finish; Brand: Dennis Daniels Co.; Review: I get many good comments about this picture frame. Actually I love the quality of this so much, I have bought about 10 from Dennis Daniels Designs!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Adeco 9 Openings Decorative Black wood Wall hanging Collage Picture Linear Collage Picture Photo Frame; Brand: Adeco; Review: I get many good comments about this picture frame.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Disney Frozen Shower Curtain Hooks - Set of 12; Brand: Disney; Review: Nice, high quality porcelain faced. My 11yo causing loved then on her B day.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change; Author: John Hagee; Review: Great book and easy to understand. Something that we all ought to be aware of. This is prophecy coming being fulfilled right before our eyes. Are you ready??; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Booker Page; Review: This is a book everyone should read, especially if you are born again. He describes clearly all that is involved in the Feasts of Israel, something we should all know about.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Light That Was Dark: From the New Age to Amazing Grace; Author: Warren B. Smith; Review: This is one great book explaining how Warren became a Christian. He explains many things regarding the New Age Movement of which we all need to be made aware of.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Spiritual Warfare: Defeating the Forces of Darkness; Author: Preston T. Bailey Jr.; Review: He kind of rattles on about things and I was not all that impressed with what was written. Not that great.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Cure for All Diseases: With Many Case Histories; Author: Visit Amazon's Hulda Regehr Clark Page; Review: It is an excellent book because she goes into all the toxins present in our world today and how to avoid them. Also, some great tips.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Planned Deception The Staging of a New Age "Messiah"; Author: Visit Amazon's Constance Cumbey Page; Review: Good book on deception of which all should be made aware of. She is well aware of what the powers that be are up to.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: LE Solar Power 100 LED String Lights, 49ft/15m, Waterproof, Starry, Fairy, Light; Brand: ; Review: OK; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Qedertek Solar String Lights, 72ft 200 LED 8 Modes Fairy Lights for Indoor and Outdoor, Home, Xmas, Yard, Lawn,; Brand: Qedertek; Review: OK; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fhybat Replacement M18 Battery Charger for Milwaukee 14.4v-18v Red Lithium ion Rapid Charge 48-11-2230 48-59-1812; Brand: Fhybat; Review: ok, does its job; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Waste King Legend Series 1/2 HP Power Cord-(L-2600) Garbage Disposal; Brand: Waste King; Review: ok; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fhybat 18V 3.6Ah Battery for Ryobi One+ ABP1801 P100 P102 P104 P105 P101 High Capacity Cordless Power Tools; Brand: Fhybat; Review: ok; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Tools_and_Home_Improvement |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Ebuddy 3pc Skirt School Outfit Clothes Fits 18 Inch Girl Doll; Brand: ebuddy; Review: Looks really cute. It is a Christmas gift for my grand-daughter. I hope she likes it and it fits the doll she is getting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sophia's Pink & Print Doll Underwear Set, Fits 18 Inch American Girl Dolls, Doll Underwear Set; Brand: Sophia's; Review: These were bought for my grand-daughter's doll. She likes them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sophia's Doll Hangers Set of 10 Plastic Hangers, Fits 18 Inch American Girl Dolls Clothes, Doll Accessories; Brand: Sophia's; Review: This was a Christmas gift to my Grand-daughter for the 18" doll I also purchased for her. She was happy to have them for the doll's clothes.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 2 Pc. 18 Inch Doll Clothing/Clothes Fit American Girl Dolls, Sophia's Long Sleeve Tee Shirt W/Crown; Brand: Sophia's; Review: This is an outfit I bought for my grand-daughter's doll. She like it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lilly and the Bee Novelties 6 Piece Swimsuit Set for 18" Dolls: Pretty Pink Polka Dot Swimsuit Set; Brand: Lilly and the Bee Novelties; Review: I bought this for my Grand-daughter's doll, Tillie. She likes it alot. I was also lucky enough to find a matching swimsuit for my Grand=daughter.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hot Pink & White Polliwog Doll Shoes Set, Fits 18 Inch American Girl Dolls; Brand: ; Review: My Granddaughter said the clogs for her doll were some what big but alright. She does like them very much.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Purple & Teal Polliwog Doll Shoes Set, Fits 18 Inch American Girl Dolls; Brand: Sophia's; Review: More clogs for Tilli, my Granddaughter's doll. She loves them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sophia’s Bunny Doll Slippers, White, 18-Inch; Brand: Sophia's; Review: Very cute pair of slippers for my Granddaughter's doll, Tilli.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Badger Basket Doll Travel Case with Bed and Bedding - Dark Pink (fits American Girl dolls); Brand: Badger Basket; Review: A Christmas present for my Granddaughter's doll, Tilli. She put all her clothes and shoes in it when she travels with Tilli and of course , she uses the portable bed inside ,too.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 18 Inch Doll Backpack, Sophia's Doll Sized Pink Nylon, Zipper Opening in Hot Pink; Brand: Sophia's; Review: My Granddaughter likes this backpack for her doll, Tilli.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: 18 Inch Doll Underwear, Set of 3, Made by Sophia's Will Fit American Girl Dolls &; Brand: Sophia's; Review: My Granddaughter like these Underwear for her doll, Tilli.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Doll Boots Silver Sequins, 18 Inch Doll Shoes Fits 18 Inch American Girl Dolls &; Brand: Sophia's; Review: My Granddaughter likes these sparkle boots for Tilli, her doll.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sophia's 18 Inch Doll Pink Sunglasses & Case, 2 Pc. Set, Perfect for 18 Inch American Girl Dolls Clothes; Brand: Sophia's; Review: My Granddaughter like these glasses for her doll, Tilli.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SHOPKINS 6.5" CHEEKY CHOCOLATE PLUSH; Brand: Shopkins; Review: A Christmas gift for my Grand-daughter. She liked it very much.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Toys_and_Games |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Vivere Double Hammock with Space-Saving Steel Stand, Tropical; Brand: Vivere; Review: Very relaxing and ended buying a second one :); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Swimline Large Capacity Floating Chlorine Dispenser; Brand: Blue Wave; Review: Love this product! It floats and works great for my pool; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Intex LED Pool Wall Light, 110-120V; Brand: Intex; Review: Enjoyed and love the light for night swimming. It makes it more fun!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Blue Wave NS120 8-mil Solar Blanket for Round Above-Ground Pools, 24-ft, Blue; Brand: Blue Wave; Review: It keeps my pool warm when we get in. This product really delivers and enjoyed swimming. My pool is under the shaded trees and it managed to stay warmer :); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Intex FBA_28003E Deluxe Maintenance Kit for Above Ground Pools, 1, Blue; Brand: Intex; Review: Awesome maintenance kit for the price! Love it!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Patio_Lawn_and_Garden |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The Fortune Quilt; Author: Visit Amazon's Lani Diane Rich Page; Review: I love quilts. I love love stories. I believe in forgiveness. I don't believe in fortune tellers. But, I do believe love and faith will bring a happy life or,a happy ending. This book made me happy.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Relatively Dead (Relatively Dead Mysteries Book 1) - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Sheila Connolly Page; Review: Brad was too big of a jerk for any self respecting woman to stay with for two years much less move across country with. Abby never gave the impression she cared for him all that much. She didn't seem to be attracted to Ned in a sexual way. Ned seemed small, wimpy, and nerdy. The exact opposite of Brad. But at the last of the story Abby is having a hot relationship with Ned. The channeling paranormal connection that she and Ned had was confusing, but it must have been good because I kept reading.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Wedding Dress; Author: Visit Amazon's Rachel Hauck Page; Review: I love books like this. I stumbled on to it accidentally......or did I. I didn't want to put it down. I had trouble keeping the names straight and got a little confused but it was a fascinating story of God's plan for people's lives who love him and listen wit their hearts.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Girl With No Name; Author: Visit Amazon's Diney Costeloe Page; Review: Historical Fiction........I love it. I can not imagine how hard it would be to just survive under horrible circumstances like so many did. We have never known such misery at the hands of inhumane monsters in America. May we never experience an invasion like that.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Buying the Farm; Author: Visit Amazon's Kimberly Conn Page; Review: I've always been fascinated with the South, all stages of it's history,life style, food, culture, landscape, architecture, and people. This was a wholesome story of home and family. Not a page turner, but not intended to be. I kept coming back for more.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Five Days in May; Author: Visit Amazon's Ninie Hammon Page; Review: I love historical fiction. I was born and raised in Oklahoma and I live here still. I've been to McAllister and had an uncle who worked as a guard in the prison. I've grown up with the threat of Tornadoes all of my life, but I've never been in one. The story captured me. Over well written.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: OXO Good Grips Lazy Susan Turntable, 16-Inch, White; Brand: OXO; Review: This works great for my spices in hard to reach shelves. It grips fine and turns very easily. I wish I got a bigger one but I went with this one because I wasn't sure if it would fit.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: ZYLISS Chef's Knife with Sheath Cover, 7.5-Inch Stainless Steel Blade; Brand: Zyliss; Review: This is my new favorite knife. I know nothing about good knives but this has worked great for cutting anything (meat, veggies, my finger *ouch*); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Presto 06300 Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator; Brand: Presto; Review: I wanted a simple dehydrator to see if dehydrating is for me, and it is! The 4 racks can fit a lot of stuff on them. So far I have used it to make beef jerky and about a dozen different fruits. If I am creative I can fit all 4 racks in my dishwasher at the same time so cleaning it isn't so bad. It has no on/off switch you just plug/unplug it. I almost regretted not getting a multi-temp dehydrator but my friend spent way more money to get one and he never uses any of the temps other than the highest one because they took FOREVER to dehydrate his foods. Sounds like he wasted his money. I found that this one works fine for all fruits and beef so I'm happy.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Uniware Antimicrobial Microban Cutting Board,17.5 by 12 inches, Orange; Brand: UNIWARE; Review: I love that is it large enough and sturdy. I use it for everything now. Easy to clean and store; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pizza Cutter Wheel - Best Premium Pizza Slicer by All for Pizza - Ergonomic Anti-Slip Latex-Free Rubberized Grip; Brand: All for Pizza; Review: Very good quality. The box is almost too fancy... I feel bad throwing it away. I haven't used it too much but so far it works great.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: T-fal BF6520 Vitesses 1.7-Liter Electric Kettle with Variable Temperature, White; Brand: T-fal; Review: I had this kettle for a couple of weeks and tried everything in the book to get rid of the plastic smell and taste. Nothing worked and I wasn't willing to see if it would go away after a couple of months of use. Just how many bad cups of tea do T-Fal expect me to drink?; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Bellemain Micro-perforated Stainless Steel 5-quart Colander-Dishwasher Safe; Brand: Bellemain; Review: Great colander for the price. It arrived in good condition and seems to be well made. The holes are just the right size which allow it to drain well without loosing any food.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sizzlin's Digital Quick Read Kitchen and Meat Thermometer - Battery Included! (White); Brand: Sizzlin'; Review: It gives a fairly quick read on temperatures but unfortunately it is off by 2 degree.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Serta Charcoal Grey Boca Sofa; Brand: Serta; Review: I've had this sofa now for a little over a month and so far I love it. I needed a firm sofa because after having back surgery and this fits the bill. The sofa is well made and the material seems durable. I really don't have anything negative to say about this sofa.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Tramontina 80114/536DS Aluminum Nonstick, 12", NSF-Certified, Made in USA Professional Restaurant Fry Pan, inch; Brand: Tramontina; Review: Great non stick pan. Heats quickly and the coating seems very durable.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: LauKingdom Cast Iron Cleaner - XXL 8x8 More Efficient Stainless Steel Chainmail Scrubber; Brand: LauKingdom; Review: This does a good job of cleaning cast iron without removing the seasoning.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Freshware PT-100 Collapsible Silicone Stainless Steel Water Kettle/Tea Pot for Outdoor Camping and Hiking, 5-cup; Brand: Freshware; Review: Great little kettle that takes up very little room. It also weights next to nothing. Boils water fast and I love the fact I can see when the water is boiling.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: 1928 Jewelry Manor House Filigree Drop Earrings; Brand: 1928 Jewelry; Review: I received the product and they look great. Will make a very nice gift. The design and craftsmanship is very good.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Luminox Evo Navy Seal Blackout Mens Watch 3051.BLACKOUT; Brand: Luminox; Review: Great watch. Looks better than the pictures. Very light weight; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Barton Watch Bands - Choice of Color, Length & Width (18mm, 20mm, 22mm Or 24mm) - Ballistic Nylon Straps; Brand: ; Review: Band looks and feels great, very lightweight, like not even wearing a watch.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Reebok Work Men's Trainex RB7755 Sport Work Boot; Brand: ; Review: These boots run a half size to big, I wear a 7M however, it is much to big so I go with the 6.5M it is works out much better.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Barmah Hats Foldaway Cooler Leather Hat - Item 1068; Brand: Barmah Hats; Review: The hat is somewhat small, I ordered the small size first, it was too small, I returned it and ordered a medium, it fits better but still seems small however, I am going to keep it, I think the large would be to big. That hat is great other than that.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Reebok Work Men's Trainex RB6750 Sport Work Boot; Brand: ; Review: these are great work boots, I have found they tend to run about a half size large.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Reebok Work Men's Trainex RB6765 Sport Work Boot; Brand: ; Review: For my use and comfort, these boots tend to run about a half size large.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London Marble Arch; City: London England; Review: Three night stay booked through Lastminute.com for my husband and daughter. Great location and good value. Very close to Oxford Street and tube stations. Close to Selfridges and Primark. Room was small but well appointed. Luxurious room with large flat screen TV. Enjoyed the complimentary tea and coffee. Hot cookie on arrival was lovely thought. We would stay here again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kenmare Bay Hotel Resort; City: Kenmare County Kerry; Review: The hotel was lovely and hotel staff friendly and helpful but this hotel has not got air conditioning. We were there for 3 nights during a recent spell of good weather. The room was incredibly warm. We were given a fan but it just circulated the warm air. Ireland does not have a lot of hot weather so it may not be a problem. Food was good in the bar (did not eat in the restaurant). Did not get to try the pool and jacuzzi - had not realised the pool closed 1 hour earlier at the weekend. Kenmare and the surrounding villages are beautiful. Lots of craft shops, tea shops, quaint antique shops; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Wander Inn; City: Kenmare County Kerry; Review: We went to a BBQ here and it was great. There was Music, food, drink, family and friends. Could not ask for more than this. Had a lovely evening. Reasonable prices for drinks and friendly helpful staff.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Premier Inn Belfast City Cathedral Quarter Hotel; City: Belfast Northern Ireland; Review: Great location for shopping and there is an abundance of excellent restaurants nearby to suit every budget. We had breakfast this time and it was good value. It was not fine dining but the quality of food was good. Staff helpful and friendly.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Premier Inn Belfast City Cathedral Quarter Hotel; City: Belfast Northern Ireland; Review: Excellent location. Meeting as a family to socialise and Christmas shop. Our room was very good but some of the families found their rooms were a little noisy as they faced a bar. We would all go back but request rooms not facing the bar.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: The Rumor: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Elin Hilderbrand Page; Review: Good summer read; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Blueprints; Author: ; Review: Great for a summer read, good story lines; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Who Do You Love: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jennifer Weiner Page; Review: Good fast read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Matchmaker; Author: Visit Amazon's Elin Hilderbrand Page; Review: A little to predictable and odd; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Last Anniversary: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Liane Moriarty Page; Review: Just okay; Rating: 3.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Yering Gorge Cottages; City: Yering Yarra Valley Victoria; Review: Based on the web site we expected these cottages to be fabulous and they were! We travelled with kids (six and four) so my choice in booking these cottages was based on how family friendly they looked. We were very comfortable in the two bedrooms and the cottage has everything you could ask for a family stay. The elec blankets were a nice touch as it did get cold at night and the kids loved getting into a warm bed. The other reason I booked this place was the promise of local kangaroos and they were indeed all over the property just grazing outside your balcony or window all the time, this was such a treat for the kids. The location is good, close to all attractions. You will see the construction site for the new golf course on the way in, but we did not notice it once we settled in. The scenery is just magical. The warm welcome from the Manager, Ross set the tone for a lovely stay. We will be back.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hu u Villas Bali; City: Seminyak Kuta District Bali; Review: Hu'u Villas were just perfect for our five day getaway. We always stay in this little pocket of Bali as it is walking distance to the beach and our favourite restaurants. The villa was very clean and well presented. We had a one bedroom villa which has the bedroom upstairs on a mezzanine level with a powder room. This was actually great as during the day you never saw the bedroom tucked upstairs instead using the main bathroom and wardrobes on the ground level along with a kitchenette and lounge/dining area. The outside area was lovely with a good size pool for cooling off and very comfy sun lounges. The pool got enough sun for us mainly between 12-3pm so we planned for outings to chill out back at the villa when the sun was on the pool. We had breakfast in the attached restaurant (you could choose in-villa dining) which was a great outdoor setting. We would definitely come back as a couple but not with small children due to the stairs. The staff were all very accommodating in the usual Balinese fashion.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: RACV Inverloch Resort; City: Inverloch Gippsland Victoria; Review: We chose RACV Inverloch Resort for a two day getaway from Melbourne with our kids aged 7 and 5. This resort was the perfect playground for them. With a flying fox, huge jumping inflatable pillow, interesting playground, indoor swimming pool and many bush walks including wombat and wallaby sightings. We stayed in a Deluxe Cabin, sometimes called a bunkbed cabin which was one queen bedroom and another bedroom with two bunkbeds. A lounge area and kitchen/dining, one bathroom (shower only) completed the cabin. The size was good for a family of four. We dined at the resort restaurant one night during family hour 5-6pm and the kids got a great deal of meal, drink and dessert for $15 each. The other night we ordered in from the same restaurant menu and they deliver to your cabin which was nice and relaxing after a day full of play and swimming. One improvement would be the wi-fi which in our cabin was non-existent. Staff advised that it works better near the resort reception, but as the cabins are scattered around the outskirts of the resort I imagine it would not be the best for most of the cabins. Even up at reception it was not very strong. Overall we we're pretty happy with this resort and would definitely come back.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hevea Villas; City: Seminyak Kuta District Bali; Review: We have stayed in a lot of Villas in Seminyak over the years and Hevea just blew us away with their high quality of rooms and service. Staying as a family with younger kids aged 7 and 5 the management and owner were amazing in making our holiday just perfect and looking after our requests to make the kids comfortable. The initial reason for us choosing this villa was the connecting door between the two bedrooms which gave us immense peace of mind with the kids sharing a room next to us. The quality of the rooms, lounge area and pool were just lovely, we really enjoyed the style in which these villas have been built. Extremely clean with a practical kitchen and large fridge which is essential when travelling with kids. The villa chef produced such delicious meals which the kids loved. Breakfast was also of a high quality. I had our butler toasting my own gluten free bread for me every morning along with the fresh fruit platters which varied each day. The pool area is very enjoyable and was a great place to hang with the kids and cool off after too much shopping! The location was perfect for us as we love the Seminyak restaurants and shopping, just 100m down a very safe and well paved lane we could walk most places with Seminyak Square a five minute walk from the villa. We will definitely stay at Hevea again and can't recommend it highly enough. Our special thanks and good wishes to Brigitte, Dewa, Purmana and Suci for making our stay so wonderful. We can't wait to stay again! Caren, Simon, Vivienne & Edward.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Courtyard Bali Nusa Dua Resort; City: Nusa Dua Nusa Dua Peninsula Bali; Review: We stayed as one adult and two children. The pool terrace rooms were ideal for easy access to the pool with the kids (7,5) and we had two queen beds which comfortably slept the three of us. The rooms are well presented, very clean with good bathrooms. The rooms with two beds only come with a shower which was fine. Staff were wonderful on all levels, especially with the kids. Breakfast was included with our room rate and have to say the quality was outstanding with a big variety of meals and lovely presentation. I chose this hotel as it was newish and offered a better rate than the bigger names on the beach. Although the staff were fantastic with the kids I would say this hotel is not really ideal for kids between 5-15 as the clients were mostly couples. There is a wading pool about .05m for little ones but the main pool is about 1.5 deep with a few shallow areas and I felt very aware to make sure my kids did not muck up too much and annoy other guests relaxing around the pool. A positive to being back from the beach is that you could take a five minute walk around the corner to some very good local restaurants like Mai Mai and Secret Cafe. Only negative on this hotel was the lack of pool loungers - impossible to get one in the afternoon and considering there were large gaps of 4-6m between some loungers they could definately fit some more on the pool deck. Overall happy with hotel as a base to explore Nusa Dua for a few days.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Villa Razi; City: Galle Galle District Southern Province; Review: Travelling as a family with two kids aged 10,8. We booked the family room which is one king bed room and a twin bed room with a shared bathroom between the rooms. This worked really well for our family. Both rooms had good air-con and fans so we were always comfortable. Points to note: There are no TV's in the rooms, no bottled water but easily bought at the corner shop, the location is excellent. Our host Zarrouk was wonderful and went out of his way to make sure we had everything we needed. Breakfast was very generous and we had to ask to down-size the portions, so you won't go hungry. The guesthouse is fairly new and has a lot of potential to become a lovely oasis in the Galle Fort. We enjoyed our 3 nights here and would recommend it as a good mid-budget option for families. Simon & Caren B.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hilton Colombo; City: Colombo Western Province; Review: We chose to stay at The Hilton, Colombo as we had a 40th Birthday there one night and NYE the next night. Travelling with 2 kids aged 10 & 8. Booked a corner suite which was a large king bedroom and a large sitting room where the kids had two roll-out beds. It was the perfect space for us. TV's in both rooms, smaller but good bathroom (a little dated now). Overall the room was great! Items of note: the bed was very comfortable, the service was outstanding, there is a great cafe inside the hotel in the lobby which has very delicious snacks and kept the kids happy. The pool is actually across the road and you access this by crossing an over-road bridge. The function we attended for the 40th was outstanding. New Year's Eve by the pool was very overcrowded with tables and I would not book this event again. Overall the hotel and service was excellent.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Crocs Kids' Rainbow Heart Light-Up Clog; Brand: ; Review: my two year old will not take them off, she even demands to take naps in them!!!! super cute; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Acorn Kids Colby Gore Moc Slipper; Brand: Acorn; Review: Super cute!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Saucony Kids' Baby Jazz H&l-K Sneaker; Brand: Saucony; Review: My two year old wouldn't wear :( I loved them though!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lofbaz Children Hippy Thai Harem Aladdin Pirate Kids Pants Bohemian Baggy Colorful; Brand: Lofbaz; Review: I brought her to the mall shopping and she gots TONS of compliments!!!! Too cute:); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wrapables Peek A Boo Animal Non-Skid Toddler Socks (Set of 6), Small; Brand: Wrapables; Review: LOVE; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with Wikipedia articles as follows:
Title: Herzl Yankl Tsam; Description: Russian canonist
Title: compressed air; Description: air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure
Title: Primeira Liga; Description: top division in Portuguese football
Title: Taca de Portugal; Description: Portuguese football competition
Title: Segunda Liga; Description: association football league | wikirec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Kangaroo Stuffed Giraffe - Toy Plush Giraffe- 2' High, Neck Moves; Brand: Kangaroo; Review: Super cute and exactly what we expected! Great gift for kids that love animals!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow (Vine Design); Brand: Nerf; Review: Christmas gift that was a hit, literally! She loves it, however you really have to give it a good full pull to gain enough air pressure to allow the dart to take off from the bow. All kids that visit our house enjoy playing w/it. We will be getting more Nerf toys in the future.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fits American Girl 18" Purple Pajamas PJs, Slippers, Eye Mask - 18 Inch Doll Clothes/clothing; Brand: Emily Rose Doll Clothes; Review: My daughter loved this pajama outfit for her doll. It fit well on her American Girl doll. My daughter has both an American Girl doll and the Target version 18" doll. I tried the outfit on both dolls and it fit with both. I'd recommend this outfit for anyone looking to add a fun outfit to their loved ones doll collection. I received this at a discounted rate in exchange for my honest and unbiased review; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fits American Girl 18" Peace Sign with Skinny Jeans | 18 Inch Doll Clothes | 70s Outfit; Brand: Emily Rose Doll Clothes; Review: This was such a fun outfit to receive. I bought the outfit for a Christmas gift for a niece, and it fit well on her American Girl doll. My daughter has both an American Girl doll and the Target version 18" doll. I tried the outfit on both dolls and it fit with both. I'd recommend this outfit for anyone looking to add a fun outfit to their loved ones doll collection. I received this at a discounted rate in exchange for my honest and unbiased review; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Gymnastics Outfit for American Girl Dolls: 4 Piece Doll Outfit (Includes Performance Leotard, Warmup Pants, Pullover, and Sneakers); Brand: Dress Along Dolly; Review: We received this product quite awhile ago, so I apologize for the late review. We received it on time and as expected. This was a gift for one of our daughters to go with her American Girl Doll. She loves gymnastics, and it was much less expensive than the standard gymnastics outfits for purchase directly from American Girl Doll. The stitching has held up to the wear and tear of an 8 year old and 10 year old. I'd definitely purchase this again or any other outfits from this seller. It's such a great affordable option compared to stores that sell similar outfits. We also found it fit the Target dolls that are similar to the American Girl dolls without problems. I'd recommend this product or similar products from this seller to anyone looking for gifts for their dolls of the same size.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster; Brand: Nerf; Review: I purchased 2 of these for my nephews that are 3 and 7. They absolutely love the nerf guns! The trigger is a little more challenging for the younger boy I've noticed though. My 7 yr old nephew was able to figure out how to reload the darts and shoot w/fairly good accuracy in no time at all! I'd recommend this product to anyone looking for a fun and inexpensive Nerf gun for the Nerf lover in your life! This package arrived on time and as expected.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Toys_and_Games |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Roxy Women's Lido II Loafer; Brand: ; Review: Exactly as described. Thank-you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: booti boot shaper COLOR - pink (pack of 8) for 4 pairs of boots; Brand: bootiUSA; Review: Exactly as described. Thank-you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Speedo Women's Exsqueeze Me Z9 Sandal Zori Sandal; Brand: ; Review: Exactly as described. Thank-you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Speedo Women's Offshore Amphibious Water Shoe; Brand: ; Review: Exactly as described. Thank-you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Speedo Women's Offshore Amphibious Water Shoe; Brand: ; Review: Exactly as described. Thank-you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: FASH Cyber Monday Sale! Knee High Knitted Women's Legwarmer with Three Button Accents; Brand: FASH Limited; Review: Exactly as described. Thank-you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dreamgirl Women's Lace Top Sheer Thigh-High Stockings; Brand: ; Review: The product, while cute, has no rubbery stuff to make the nylons stick to your legs so they just fell down. I ended up taking them off and throwing them away. If you just want them as sassy nylons, they would be fine. If you want functional nylons, look elsewhere.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Brunswick Prelude Lite Bowling Shoes; Brand: Brunswick; Review: Exactly as described. Thank-you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Macdonald Kilhey Court; City: Standish Wigan Greater Manchester England; Review: I have just returned from a "luxury weekend break" in the Kilhey Court Hotel and frankly found the whole experience really disappointing. The whole weekend we were second to the people who were there for the two weddings that were going on - service was poor and the atmosphere was bad. My partner and I booked a double executive online - only to find that the "double executive" was not as it was promised. As a seasoned hotel visitor I must admit I was somewhat surprised at the size of the room - pokey for a standard - but for a double executive?! The view of the brick wall really made it for me - though it was the holes in the bed sheets for my partner. We mentioned it at reception and they assured us that it was a double executive and that they could not help us this evening, but would see if they could move us -which they did the following day to a much more pleasing room directly above the function where the wedding reception was on until 1am (plus all the people outside till 2am - chatting waiting for taxis etc) This is only a tiny bit that was wrong with the whole stay - the hotel bar was massively over priced (over £15 for two double G&Ts - made with house gin and slap dash service - because they were busy serving wedding guests) The restaurant menu and wine list was uninspired and overpriced - though we did consider eating in the Laureate until the service at breakfast, when we waited over 40 mins for it (when everyone else around us who entered after us had theirs ) and when it did arrive the orders were still wrong - the cutlery was dirty and the atmosphere was hideously stuffy. Our day out in the area was hampered by the fact the tourist information rack in reception was full of info for the Midlands and South Wales, our room service never turned up, the chamber maid barged into the room, realised we were in *then* backed out and knocked informing us that if we wanted the bed making we would have to find them and ask them to do it. The health spa is ok – but you have to fight the locals for machines and the pool is very small. All in all thoroughly disappointing (this is only a fraction of the things the “four star luxury hotel” had to offer us) – though our disappointment did lead us to find a fantastic little pub down the road (The Crown) which did excellent meals (The head chef from the Laureate relocated there) and at far more reasonable prices.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Greyhound Carshalton Hotel; City: Carshalton Surrey England; Review: This is a really good value hotel - perfect for an alternative to a holiday inn / travel lodge. Its not boutique B&B but its very practical and good value for money - also lots of parking and easy to find. The rooms are very clean and modern and are a good size. The service is super friendly and check in and checkout is swift and painless. We didn't go into the pub itself - but it looked busy and nicely decorated. Breakfast was tasty and large servings - plus the restaurant had a really good ambience. Would defiantly stay again and would definitely recommend it to others staying in that area – plus over the weekend its much cheaper than the Holiday Inn down the road!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Big Texan Motel; City: Amarillo Texas; Review: We stopped over at the Big Texan during a cross country road trip (we had seen signs for it from by the interstate roadside from Oklahoma!) and were not let down by it. First up – if you used / wanting to stay in chain motels, where everything is nice and new and clean and sterile, then the Big Texan is not for you. The rooms are clean, but they are a little tired in terms of decor (the bathroom in particular is very 70s!) The cow print throws, saloon doors and western decor just add to the silliness of it. The beds are comfortable, the coffee maker works and after a couple of their 32oz Beers and a huge steak at the restaurant next door – do you need anything more? It’s a perfect stop for any cross country adventurers who want something a bit different. I would recommend booking in advance – we were there on a Friday night and it was fully booked...; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: PREMIER SUITES Bristol Redcliffe; City: Bristol England; Review: Booked an apartment for a long weekend - for a bit of work and some play. The apartment is bright, spacious, modern and clean. In fact - it is exactly what you see on the website - no joke. Imagine a generic new build city centre apartment - this is what these are like (show home stylee!) Kitchen is equipped for cooking basic foods - a few little things missing (corkscrew was the notable one) but otherwise fine. Large fridge and freezer, complementary tea and coffee in there too. Apartments are about 10 minute walk to the city centre - so excellent location - so you can either stay in and watch TV and cook a meal or take a short stroll and select a restaurant to dine in. I booked the apartment at the last minute - it was cheaper than a hotel room and quite frankly if I come back to Bristol I will not hesitate to book here again. Definitely worth checking out if you are sick of having boring old hotel rooms and you want a bit of space / slice of home when away.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Queens Hotel; City: Brighton East Sussex England; Review: I stayed at the Queens Hotel for two nights for a cheap break in Brighton, and I can’t fault the hotel for what it is. We stayed in a Sea view twin room, which was beautifully light and airy (lovely high ceilings), and looks straight out onto the beach and Brighton Pier. The staff are courteous and friendly, and very welcoming. The room is modern, the beds are comfy and the basics (tea making facilities, iron, hairdryers etc) are all there. Breakfast is buffet style and the food though traditional is good quality (bacon is thick cut, sausages taste like sausages etc). The hotel itself is perfectly placed for exploring the pier, beach, the shops and boutiques Brighton has to offer, and is a stone’s throw away from some superb restaurants and bars (Jamie Oliver’s Italian is 3 mins away – yum!) There are a few small hitches with the hotel – such as noisy taps and heavy sash windows that won’t stay open unless you wedge something in them – and if you’re a picky person that can’t deal with anything other than 5* ultimate luxuries then you’re better off staying elsewhere. A big downside is parking – there is a car park nearby but it is £22 per 24 hours (eek) but what we did is drove about 10 minutes away from the beach, parked the car in a quiet residential street without any parking restrictions on it and got a taxi from there to the hotel – costing only £7 each way – much cheaper than the parking on the beach!! Overall if you’re looking for a good value, clean and friendly modern hotel on the seafront i wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Queens. I’m now going to go back to sitting in the window with a gin and tonic and watch the sunset over the pier! Lovely.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Campanile Northampton; City: Northampton Northamptonshire England; Review: I needed an overnight stop while travelling up the country, and chose the Campanile as it was in the right location and the right price (£39 room). It's clean, spacious, comfortable beds and quiet. you have everything you need for an overnight stop. By the time I arrived the restaurant had closed for the evening but there is a harvesters pub across the way that does good value pub grub and some dishes in takeaway. Its not the ritz, and I wouldn't stay here for a special occasion, but for a value for money overnight stop it's fantastic.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Days Inn Leicester Forest East M1; City: Leicester Leicestershire England; Review: Sometimes you just need a bed for the night and the Days's Inn works just fine for when you're en-route somewhere and don't want to stray off the M1 too much. The gentleman on check in was friendly and helpful. The room is pretty average - but the sheets are clean and the beds are comfy. The free wifi was working fine, and you have a glamourous(!) selection of food at the service station to pick from. My only little niggle is that because there are smoking rooms in some corridors (unfortunately like the one near my room) there is the 'lingering stale smoke masked by air fresherner' smell. For what it is and the price it's absolutely fine for a one night stay, but I wouldn't book it for a romantic getaway!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Campanile Dunkerque Sud Loon Plage; City: Loon Plage Nord Hauts de France; Review: I'm a big fan of Campaniles for overnight stops because I find they tick all the right boxes - good food, comfortable beds and strong showers. Campanile Loon Plage didn't disappoint. We had driven up from the south of france that day so all we wanted was to arrive, eat and flop into bed - for which campaniles are perfect. I confess that nine times out of ten i stay in campaniles for the fact I know the buffets are always excellent - and you know it will be clean, good value and functional rooms. Also - free wifi is a must for me in hotels - which they always provide. It's a modern hotel - very well appointed for both the Dunkerque and Calais ferry ports. We stayed there overnight to catch the early morning ferry from Calais and it was only 25 mins drive to the port - and a much nicer and better value than most of the offerings in the town of Calais itself at the time of booking. The room was awesome - we booked a room with two singles and double, and what we got was a suite! There was a large living space, two single beds at one end and a sofa and tv at the other - then a separate room with a double bed in it. The bathroom had a bath and large separate walk in shower. The toilet was in a separate room too. Looking at the fire escape plan we had the biggest room in the hotel by far - I think there is only one - so if you're after the big room then book it early!! It was very quiet when we were there - having read other peoples reviews before booking I could see the car-park getting quite crowded on busy nights - especially as it is shared with the next-door premiere classe hotel. Interestingly - there is a premiere classe, Kyriad and Campanile all within 100 metres of each other (all in the same hotel group) so you could stay in one and dine in the other if you wanted to. There is also a Poivre Rouge diner just across the road so there is lots of eating options. The staff were friendly and polite, the menu was fine - all in a good stop - the only thing I would point out is that it's not in the actual town of Dunkirque but outside it on one of the industrial estates. You need a car to get there - don't think it's a public transport job!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kyriad Blois Sud Vineuil; City: Vineuil Loir et Cher Centre Val de Loire; Review: Stayed overnight with two friends as a stop enroute up north from the south. We wanted somewhere cheap and cheerful with good food and comfy beds - and campanile offered exactly that. There seemed to be swarms of staff waiting to help us - the buffet was well stocked and the rooms were bright and clean. The corridors and staircase to the bedrooms did feel a little municipal - but it certainly wasn't a problem. There is a big carpark - it's well signposted from the main road too. Fast free wifi always makes me happy too! I feel like I am always waxing lyrical about how good Campaniles are - and I also know they can be a little hit and miss in places (there are a few very tired and very grotty ones lurking out there!) - but don't worry about this one - it's everything you would expect from a campanile. It's a 10 minute drive into the centre of Blois (which is lovely) It's a 20 minute drive to Chateaux Chambourd too - which if you're in the area is totally worth a visit - and being so close to the Chateaux it meant that you could get there before the swarms of coach tourists but not have to be up at the crack of dawn.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hostel Inn Iguazu; City: Puerto Iguazu Province of Misiones Litoral; Review: 2 x women, twin room, 3 nights Positives: Great communal space, good value bar ($30AR pint) and bar food, awesome pool and poolside space. Clean and well maintained. Staff super friendly and helpful too. Good mix of younger and more mature travellers. Nice friendly laid back feel to the place. Buses to both sides of the falls from the road directly outside the hostel. Negatives: cash only - and no local ATM. Pretty isolated - nearest shop is a 25 min walk away, but Puerto Iguazu is pretty much just one strip of hotels along a highway, so not surprising really. If you do venture out to get food the kitchen is not the best - limited and very tired pots and pans, virtually no utensils - clean but a bit shonky. Wifi was also a bit ropey but enough to get by. There were free computers with slow but reliable connections to.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Nomada Eco Hostel; City: Valparaiso Valparaiso Region; Review: We stayed in the 5 bed dorm for 3 nights, and it's a really lovely spacious hostel with high ceilings and really comfy single beds in our dorm. Staff were friendly and helpful and there is a nice mix of people in the hostel. Location is an easy walk from the bus station (15 mins max) on a brightly lit street and a nearby super market, so if you want to stay in and cook diner you can do in the compact but well equipped kitchen. Though parts of the building are a little tired, it's clean and tidy, and has a faded grandeur charm about it. The hostels location is nice if you don't want to be right in the thick of it in the tourist zone (for example cerro concepcion) , but still an easy and pleasant walk to all the bars, street markets and cafes.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Running Blind; Author: Visit Amazon's Lee Child Page; Review: Great book as always. Teacher is right tough, smart, and dedicated to helping. Mr child keep up the fine work.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Winner; Author: Visit Amazon's David Baldacci Page; Review: Great book. Liked the story line and of course Mr. Baldacci has another "Winner" of a book. Liked the ending alsol; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Avenger; Author: Visit Amazon's Frederick Forsyth Page; Review: Absolutely top notch story. I worried about the chapter names thinking it would be back and forth in the story but he tied it together so good I could not put book down. Finished it in 2 days. Loved it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Out of Gas; Author: Visit Amazon's Randy Dyess Page; Review: As soon as the author finds the difference between Martial and marital and also commit and comment and really an editor is needed but the story line is Good.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Half Past Midnight; Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Brackett Page; Review: Although leeland is somewhat of a superman it still was a good read. Enjoyed it and would look for sequel.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Dangerous Fortune; Author: Visit Amazon's Ken Follett Page; Review: Wow, Mr. Follett has another winner on hand. I kept wishing for justice to be done and what a superb ending not justice but Wow. Thanks again Ken Follett.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Place Called Freedom; Author: Visit Amazon's Ken Follett Page; Review: Most satisfying story. Finally an enslaved man and woman find a new life in the new world. Mr Follett has done it again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Adrenaline (The Sam Capra series); Author: Visit Amazon's Jeff Abbott Page; Review: Excellent story line , thrill a minute, could not lay the book down. Recommend a spare evening to allow ample time read . New author for me and I will be reading more of his books.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: STATE OF BETRAYAL (Virgil Jones Mystery Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Thomas Scott Page; Review: So enjoyed both books. State of anger and state of betrayal. Anxiously awaiting his next one. A great series and need more of it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Horseshoe Nail Cross Necklaces -(Solid Color) You Pick Colors!; Brand: Horseshoe Crosses; Review: I love these I have bought so many of them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Horseshoe Nail Cross Necklaces -(Solid Color) You Pick Colors!; Brand: Horseshoe Crosses; Review: I love these I have bought so many of them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Realtree Men's Trifold Wallet With Camo Insert And Shot Shell Ornament; Brand: ; Review: My son loves his first wallet.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Horseshoe Nail Cross Necklaces -(Solid Color) You Pick Colors!; Brand: Horseshoe Crosses; Review: I love these I have bought so many of them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Zj Clothes Womens Camouflage Army Green Hoody Hoodie Women Jacket; Brand: ZJ Clothes; Review: ; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Clothing_Shoes_and_Jewelry |
Given the interaction history of a user with news articles as follows:
Title: Cardi B gifted with 'titanic' new diamond ring on 27th birthday; Abstract: Cardi B even thinks her new ring, given to her by Offset, is "huge."; Category: music
Title: Goldman slashes employee pay ahead of new tech ventures; Abstract: It's just the latest sign of the times on Wall Street and Goldman in particular.; Category: finance
Title: Subtle Signs You May Have Clogged Arteries; Abstract: These surprising clues can point to clogged arteries and underlying heart disease.; Category: health
Title: Duchess Meghan Describes 'Really Challenging' Life as New Royal: I'm Not OK; Abstract: Duchess Meghan Describes 'Really Challenging' Life as New Royal: I'm Not OK; Category: lifestyle
Title: Funeral services set for US Rep. Elijah Cummings; Abstract: BALTIMORE (AP) A wake and funeral for U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings will be held next week at the church where he worshipped for nearly four decades. New Psalmist Baptist Church spokeswoman Joi Thomas said in an email that services for the Maryland Democrat are scheduled for Oct. 25. She said the wake will begin at 8 a.m., followed by the funeral at 10 a.m. Bishop Walter S. Thomas Jr., the church's pastor, will deliver the eulogy in the 4,000-seat...; Category: news
Title: Elijah Cummings to lie in state in Statuary Hall ahead of Friday funeral; Abstract: Rep. Elijah E. Cummings will lie in state in the Capitol's Statuary Hall Thursday before a Friday funeral in his home district of Baltimore. Many lawmakers are expected to attend the memorial service for the House Oversight and Reform Committee chairman, which will be held Thursday morning. The ceremony will be held Thursday morning and will be open to members of Congress, the Cummings family and invited guests.; Category: news
Title: Joe Flacco criticizes Broncos coaches as 'afraid to lose' after Colts' comeback; Abstract: Joe Flacco made it clear he thought the Broncos weren't aggressive enough when playing with a lead late in Sunday's loss to the Colts.; Category: sports
Title: Maryland Gov. To Set Special Election For Elijah Cummings' Seat; Abstract: Monday is the deadline for Gov. Larry Hogan to set the special election for the late Rep. Elijah Cummings' seat.; Category: news
Title: RHONJ's Caroline Manzo Slams 'Delusional' Teresa Giudice: 'What's My Crooked Life?'; Abstract: Caroline Manzo Responds to Teresa Giudice's Allegations; Category: tv
Title: New Jersey woman sues waiter for spilling wine on her Hermès handbag; Abstract: The woman is seeking $30,000 for the light-pink luxury handbag, which has been discontinued.; Category: news
Title: Stella McCartney Deleted a Meghan Markle Instagram Post After Followers Called Her Out; Abstract: Stella McCartney deleted a photo of Meghan Markle on Remembrance Day following backlash from Instagram followers.; Category: lifestyle | mind |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Hanoi Lotus Hostel; City: Hanoi; Review: Got a private room, had no windows so felt like a cell. Bathroom tiny...drain smelled of stale cigarette smoke and made noise in the middle of the night. Staff were nice enough tho they over charged us for a train ticket to sapa. Street noise echoes throughout the whole place. Shower was good and hot but classic over the toilet and nowhere to put toiletries. Breakfast was ok but the pancakes tasted like cardboard. Changed in the dorm bathroom before night train and there cockroaches. Wanted to like the place the staff was nice but did not feel comfortable here.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Trang An Farm Stay; City: Ninh Binh Ninh Binh Province; Review: One of the nicer bungalows we've stayed in SE asia, with a super nice shower! Roomy and comfortable bed. Family is nice, we showed up at 7pm and it was completely dark and they didnt seem to know we were showing up, but made us some food and made sure we were comfortable. We were the only ones there and communication was a bit difficult thro google translator but we got by. Very damp in this climate but they gave us a heater which helped, tho a fan would've been nice. In the end the guy didnt charge us for dinners or motorbike rental, just beers so very nice! Also breakfast always had freshly squeezed juice but coffee was just instant.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lucky Homestay; City: Hue Thua Thien Hue Province; Review: Our room wasnt available since there was a leak so we got a whole dorm room to ourselves which was annoying at first but the beds were so comfortable they we stayed put the 2nd night instead of moving. Couple were so nice and smiley which was refreshing and made the stay much more pleasant.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: An Bang Beach Homestay; City: Hoi An Quang Nam Province; Review: Very big clean room with aircon and separate shower! Thought we had a balcony from booking with agoda but didn't which Duc nicely gave us money back for since that room was more expensive. Hard to find since many things on the beach have the same name and there is no sign. He will pick you up tho if you want to avoid getting dropped off in the wrong place like us. Real nice kitchen you can use also. Used a bike for a hour to get to an atm, which he ended up comping which was nice (come with lotsa cash to the beach since the only atm was really far and charges a lot for a max of 2mil!) Duc was so friendly and helpful tho calling a friend to drive s to town for cheaper rather than a taxi. Purple lantern restaurant nearby was really good.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sayo Naga Guesthouse; City: Luang Prabang Luang Prabang Province; Review: Had a private room upstairs. Very spacious and big bathroom with separate shower and the best water pressure. Fan and air con. Refrigerator and little tables around to put stuff. The bed had memory foam or something since we had trouble getting up every morning (so comfy), tho that might be because it lacked natural light as well. Chairs and table outside room to hang out at in the evening. Breakfast ok, wish they had better coffee(instant) and bread tho.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel The Depot; City: Minneapolis Minnesota; Review: We made gift baskets for the 20 rooms we had booked there and asked them to be given out. First of all they were pretty rude and acted like it was inconvenience, but also charged $3 a box (which all the other hotels did for free with a smile). Somehow they messed it up and didn't deliver some of the boxes and when asked no one knew what was going on and said they "were all given out" which was a lie b/c some people haven't even checked in yet. After everything they wouldn't even refund us, even though it would've been only $60 to keep a customer happy, after we gave them so much business. Not recommending this place to anyone.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Microsoft B75-00001 IntelliMouse Explorer; Brand: Microsoft; Review: The IntelliMouse Explorer is by far the most comfortable, functional and easy to use input device I have ever used. THE MOUSE: The mouse, which is slightly larger than standard, fits very comfortably in the hand. The five buttons (one of which is a roller for scrolling) all feel nice, and are placed in appropriate places (though I found the side buttons a bit difficult to get used to at first). The IntelliEye does really work on most any surface, and the tracking is always precise and smooth. THE INSTALLATION: Installation was as easy as puting the CD in, clicking install, and plugging in the mouse-no other setup required. THE SOFTWARE: I am not normally a fan of Microsoft software, but the IntelliMouse Control panel is absolutely fantastic. It makes it very easy to configure global settings for your mouse (you can assign just about anything to any one of the five buttons), and just as easy to create custom configurations for different applications. (For example, I have the roller control volume, rather than scrolling, in my MP3 player and the side buttons start and stop the music.) All around, a great, great purchase. (I've bought two more as gifts!); Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rio 500 64 MB USB MP3 Player (Gray); Brand: Rio; Review: The Rio is overall a great product. The buttons and "interface" on the player itself are for the most part intuitive (though it took me some time to figure out the more "advanced" features) and are easy to use, even when you're fumbling around in your pocket to change a song. The fact that the player is unskipable (it's not like MiniDisc where they SAY it doesn't skip and it really does) and extremely lightweight makes the Rio the perfect exercise companion; I take it on every run. For 99% of purposes, 64 megabytes memory is enough (unless you're a fan of 256 kb encoding). I can almost always fit ten or more songs on the player, and changing them is easy enough. So don't worry about the memory size-it's enough. The software (I use a Macintosh) is well done and makes it very easy to transfer songs to the player itself. The only thing I was less than perfectly happy with was the wait while the songs copy (in the scheme of things, a very small flaw). The USB interface was no problem at all, even on an older, less compatible iMac (Revision A). The headphones included with the player are neat looking, but not great sounding. The fidelity is low, with barely any low and low-mid-range sound. Assume you will have to spend at least another $25 for decent ear-buds. The only feature I feel the Rio lacks is recording capabilities like the Nomad. But again, no big deal. Overall, a great product. I'd buy one for a friend.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Creative Labs NOMAD 6 GB MP3 Player Silver; Brand: Creative; Review: The Nomad Juke Box is by no means the perfect solution to mass storage of MP3s on a mobile unit. The Downsides: 1) Battery Life: It's only four hours! So, you can store hundreds of hours of music on the thing, but only listen to four hours between charges; kind of lame. The good thing is that creative DOES include two sets of rechargeable batteries. That makes up for the low battery life. 2) Size: This thing is heavy! It is, as Creative says, the "size of a CD player." The size, yes, but not the weight! If you're thinking about going jogging (or even walking, really) with this thing, go buy something else. It 's just too big. 3) The Hard Drive Deal: How creative could have stored 6 gigs on a portable player without a hard drive, I don't know, but the hard drive just doesn't work that well. There're the vibrations, the heat (it can get REALLY hot copying stuff to it), and the possibility of damage. I haven't dropped the thing, yet, but I imagine that if I did, it would not be good. The Upsides: 1) The space, of course... lots of music 2) The organization software is pretty decent (I hate the SoundJam software for Mac, though) So, in summary, if you just NEED to have all your MP3s with you, this thing is great (as long as you can deal with the battery recharging). If you're looking to just play some MP3s on a jog, run, or in the car, go get a Rio (or a Nomad, if you like Creative--they're both fine).; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Canon PowerShot S20 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom; Brand: Canon; Review: The Canon S20 is the perfect combination of simplicity, function, and high technology. The camera takes fantastic pictures that are consistently clear, ungrainy, and in focus, even in odd lighting conditions. The metering system is great, as is the autofocus and the telephoto; all work near-flawlessly. The S20's greatest strengths is its simplicity and its size. Although it does not offer advanced features (such shutter-speed priority, full manual, etc.) that some of the Nikons and more expensive Canons do, even an inexperienced camera user (digital or not) will have no problem taking great photographs. All of the moderately complicated features on the Canon such as macro-mode, toggling the flash, and red-eye reduction are as easy as hitting a clearly labelled, obvious button. Additionally, the S20 is just like a "regular old camera." There are no bizare swivling things like on the Nikons, and more importantly, the camera is small enough to fit easily in a small bag or large pocket. Please note that in addition to the camera itself, you will have to buy the battery recharger and, unless you want to be limited to a few megs, an extra PC card which will both add some money to your purchase. Still, for the camera you get, the extra purchases are not a big deal. Overall, a fantastic little camera. Look no further.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: PalmOne V Hard Case; Brand: Palm; Review: I was skeptical of the palm hardcase at first. Afterall, it is just a piece of plastic with some aluminum sheeting on it. I no longer have doubts. I have unintentionally dropped my Palm from considerable heights on a variety of surfaces (brick, hard wood floor, etc.), and both the case and, more importantly, the Palm itself have come out completely unscathed. So, my advice is, if you are looking for real protection for your investment, just get one of these. There is no need to spend more on a titanium box from rhino skin or any of the others (unless you are planning on using the Palm for mountain climbing or on the shooting range...). Not surprisingly, the engineers over at Palm really did a fantastic job making this case stylish, too. You don't feel geeky pulling it out, and the brushed aluminum goes very well with the Palm itself. An excellent product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cisco-Linksys BEFSR41 EtherFast Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch; Brand: Linksys; Review: The EtherFast Router is one of the easiest to use and most functional networking products I have encountered. Setup was a breeze with the QuickStart manual (even on a Mac, which is not specifically supported in the documentation), and the six computers in my house were up and running within a half our. I have not had to reset the router once, and it has yet to malfunction in any way (even with my DSL line going up and down). If you have more than one computer and need (or want) to share a line, this product is worth every cent. It is most definately a five star product.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Nikon Coolpix 880 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 2.5x Optical Zoom; Brand: Nikon; Review: Three main features of the CoolPix 880 make the camera my favorite of the four I have used extensively. First, the camera is very small! It is no larger than your typical advantix film camera, and is light enough so as not to be a burden in a purse, bag, or even large pocket. As a result of its small size, I find myself taking it most everywhere I go and getting some great shots! Second, the quality is incredible. Though this camera, like all other digital cameras, does not perform particularly well under low-light conditions, the resolution and clarity of the images is incredible if you give the camera a decent amount of light! Edges are crisp, colors brilliant, and details clear. Third, the camera has a variety of helpful but EASY TO USE features. This is important. Unlike the Canon G1, using the more advanced features (such as Snow and Beach mode, Portrait Mode, etc.) is as easy as turning a dial and selecting which mode you want. Really! No fussing with multiple menus and dials. Setting up the date and time, resolution, quality, etc. is also very easy and quick. The only shortcoming of the 880 is that it is by no means a complete camera out of the box. I had to spend quite a bit of money to get a suitable memory card and a rechargeable battery. It's a small pain, but for a camera as cool as this Nikon is, I can live with it. A great buy.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Canon PowerShot S100 2MP Digital ELPH Camera Kit with 2x Optical Zoom; Brand: Canon; Review: My first impression of Elph S100 was that there couldn't POSSIBLY be room in the thing for anything other than a battery and a memory card. Somehow, the engineers at Canon did it, and the results are nothing less than astounding. Three things make this camera a particularly good buy: First, and most importantly, its size makes it SO CONVENIENT. I have had absolutely no qualms dropping the S100 in a bag or pocket and walking out to a birthday party, a sports event, or whatever--space simply isn't an issue with this camera. As a result, I have taken some of the best shots of friends and family with the Canon. Second, the feature set is basic, but very easy to use. The power button is a simple button--no toggle thumb switches with multiple settings that can sometimes be confusing. Switching between viewing and capturing modes is simple and straightforward, and even the more advanced features (such as changing the flash mode) are easy to figure out even without reading the manual. Finally, the "built in" lense cap is a big plus. I didn't realize how nice this "feature" is until I briefly used a friend's digital camera and had to remove and replace the lense cap WITH EVERY SHOT. The built in cap seems insignificant with light use, but when taking many shots over the course of a few hours, the S100 really shines. Photographers should be warned, however, that the S100 is not a professional-level camera by any means. The 2.1 megapixel resolution, while not meager, is not enough to yield even high-quality 5x7's. Serious cropping of a photo is usually out of the question because of the limited resolution. So, if you will be using your camera as a "fun" camera--for casual pictures--look no further. This is the one. If you're serious about picture quality, compare the S100 carefully to its larger siblings--the S20, and the G1. Overall, a fantastic little camera.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Rio 800 128 MB Digital Audio Player (MP3/WMA); Brand: Rio; Review: With the Rio 800, you finally have enough space to store a decent amount of music. Unfortunately, solid-state memory is prohibitively expensive, and you are paying serious money to store two hours of music. While I'm not a huge fan of mp3's being played on nice stereo equipment (128 kbps just doesn't sound good on good speakers), the fact is you'll probably be listening to your Rio 800 somewhere where there is background noise or while you're running - basically, since top sound quality isn't too big an issue, 128 kpbs is acceptable. The question, then, is whether two hours of storage is acceptable. The answer depends on what you plan on using your Rio for. If you are either really addicted to a few songs, or you have the opportunity to change your playlist ever day with a desktop PC or, better still, a laptop, the Rio 800 is for you. However, many will feel that its price doesn't justify its two hours of music storage - after all, you could go by an MD player. If you decide that a 128 MB mp3 player is what you want, is the Rio 800 right for you? If size is a big issue, you should look elsewhere. The Rio 800 is small, but not tiny. However, I have found the Rio to be a very compatible mp3 player - it works great with Windows and Mac OS (even OS X). The LCD screen is great, the construction is very good. In a saturated market where high-capacity mp3 players are abundant yet expensive, the Rio 800 stands out as an excellent option. However, it's hard to justify the price, especially since six months after you buy this, a similar model will inevitably be available for half the price. Still, if you want a high capacity mp3 player and you want it now, the Rio 800 receives my recommendation.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sony DVP-NS400D DVD Player; Brand: Sony; Review: I have used DVD players since the first month they came out, and unlike the VHS market where you have to decide whether you want 2, 4, or 6 heads, Hifi stereo, and flying erase heads, a DVD is a DVD. Yes, you can pay for "Virtual 3D" and "DVE" but do you want to? The Sony DVP-NS400D is a wonderful DVD player, and I have yet to find any serious faults with it. Scanning is smooth and the controls are easy to use, and the menus, while not as visually attractive as they could be, are easy to see and navigate. As with most DVD players these days, this model has DTS output... But personally, these "features" are more marketing gimicks than anything else. ...if the added capabilities of the NS400D really do appeal to you, or if you the Sony brand name means a lot to you, this is a fine piece of equipment.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: NEC 1530V 15" LCD Monitor (White); Brand: NEC; Review: Finally, LCD monitors are not prohibitively expensive for those of us on a budget! Many people are wary when they hear 15 inches, but the viewable image size is the same as that of most 17" monitors. Unfortunately, with a LCD, you are stuck at 1024 x 768 resolution, whereas with a 17" CRT, you can change the resolution to whatever you like. The advantage of fixed pixels is that the image is extremely crisp and clear - absolutely no fuzziness or bluriness. However, if you use interpolation to change the resolution to something lower than the native 1024 x 768, the LCD has to use discrete pixels to compensate for partial pixels and the results is something extremely fuzzy and hard to look at. Thus, for many gamers, I do not recommend this display, as refresh times are inferior to CRTs, and resolution is limited to a single option. Another drawback to this LCD is that it is actually not very bright. One thing you lose when you buy a cheaper LCD is brigtness. While all LCD's are signifiicalty dimmer than CRTs, the 1530V-BK is not even as bright as its competitors. If your work environment is an office with few windows and not much light, you probably won't notice a problem. However, if you plan on working in an space where natural light can reflect off your screen, you will quickly find that your monitor becomes nearly unusable. What about color consistancy? Many have railed against LCDs for their poor color accuracy, but the truth is that unless you are a professional graphic designer - and anyone buying this ... monitor is probably not in the graphics design industry - colors look great and this argument is not an issue. Another nice thing about this monitor is that it runs very cool and quiet, and will save you a lot on your electricity bill and general fatigue. Personally, I am very fond of the black color, as it looks much more professional and less cheap and generic than some comparably-priced no-name beige LCDs. Viewing angle is acceptable, although more expensive LCDs and certainly any CRT is more impressive in this arena. Thus, if you plan on using your monitor to give presentations, you should probably look elsewhere. Text appears crisp and readable, as long as it is not too small, and the image is rock solid. Overall, a highly-recommended product for general use unless your needs fall into the categories I warned against in this review!; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bushnell 4x30 Instafocus Compact Powerview Binocular; Brand: Bushnell; Review: What a wonderful pair of binoculars! The binocular market is saturated with a plethora of cheap binoculars, and all too often their cheapness nags at you while using them. However, this pair is really special. For so little money, you get an extremely-accurate pair of binoculars that have great focusing ability and commendable optics. When looking at the specs, however, it is hard to tell how much you will enjoy using them - but after using this frequently for astronomy, bird-watching, and general fun, I have found these to be wonderfully comfortable to hold, easy on the eyes and nose, and not too heavy and not too light (too light isn't a good thing - you can't stabilize them). Highly recommended!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Kodak EasyShare DX3900 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom; Brand: Kodak; Review: Although the DX3900 is very easy to use, unless you are a complete novice with computers, it seems that the extra "ease" is not worth the price premium you pay. After all, with most digital cameras, you simply plug in a USB cable and open the supplied software - this takes about 10 seconds. So with the DX3900 you save maybe 5 seconds every time you download your pictures. Having said that, the 3900 is a very capable and respectable camera for the market in which it competes. Resolution is pretty good, although jpeg artifacts become visible in all the but least compression settings (whereas canon and sony cameras seem to do a better job with compression). Color accuracy is very good, and skies come out vivid blue. The zoom lens works nicely, and startup time is fast. The LCD is smooth and fluid, although not as bright as I am used to from canon and sony. If you are purchasing this camera for a beginning computer user, or if a bit of extra ease of use means more to you than saving a bit of money, then this is a great camera. If, however, you don't mind spending a few extra seconds, this camera is probably a little too over-simplified; you could spend less or get more features for your money elsewhere. Conclusion: for the market for which this camera is targeted, this is a very good camera.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_Electronics |
Given the interaction history of a user with businesses as follows:
Title: Buddakan; City: Philadelphia, PA; Review: I've been here quite a few times, with friends and family. I don't know if it is the MOST overrated restaurant in the city, but it's definitely up there. It has nothing to do with the food, which I've always liked and the portions are surprisingly good given the prices. But I just feel like what was hip ten years ago isn't so much anymore. Buddakan is pretty much a tourist attraction now, full of out of towners or teens who think that this is what older, upscale city folk do on their weekends. It might be in need of an overhaul or just a fresher spin to inject some new life into the concept. Take a cue from Buddakan NYC, which is definitely much more awe-inspiring.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Valanni; City: Philadelphia, PA; Review: Haven't been there since the recent revamp and it became part 'lounge', but I loved it before that. Dark, loud, effortlessly cool. Helps the food is pretty great too. Never had a long wait (the service can lag sometimes) but it's a nice retreat in the heart of the city.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Farm and Fisherman; City: Philadelphia, PA; Review: Formerly Paul (I believe), this is a great little BYOB near Effie's (my all time favorite) that really does the whole local, farm focused ingredient thing well. It's small, but cozy and the decor is simple, a nice departure from the trendiness of all these new places that have been popping up. The striped bass was amazing, with a great balance of texture and interesting flavors (the chanterelle gave it that hint of exotic). Would definitely recommend for a nice quiet dinner for two or even for a 4-5 person group thing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Union Trust; City: Philadelphia, PA; Review: Like most other people who can't afford to go to $$$$ restaurants usually, I was able to dine at Union Trust via restaurant week. The interior is as stunning as it looks in the pictures. Reminiscent of Del Frisco's a bit (both being situated in former bank spaces), the high ceilings, walls of wine racks and dim lighting give it that old school 50's manly steakhouse vibe. All that was missing was a bunch of indoor smokers. The food was good, not GREAT, but with a bottle of wine and some friends who really notices anyway. I've had better filets (i.e. Barclay Prime), as the 8oz I ordered was tougher than I expected, but flavorful just the same. The service was very good (I expected less as I've heard they tend to rush you during restaurant week), but we never felt ignored. Sad that the owners filed for bankruptcy ... this space/concept would be a shame to waste. Though, judging from the half empty tables on a Friday night during the last week of restaurant week, it's probably beginning to lose its spark.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Tria Cafe Rittenhouse; City: Philadelphia, PA; Review: I've been to each of the locations and the original is still my favorite. Stopped by yesterday for lunch, and the staff/bartenders were great - attentive and friendly. the beer selection was seasonal and well rounded, and you can't beat their bruschettas and sandwiches for a filling lunch combo. I also love the fact that they don't rush you to pay and leave (or maybe NYC has just jaded me), and you can just hang out with friends at your own pace. Definitely a must visit for anyone looking for great food and drinks in Rittenhouse!; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | yelp |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Death By Bourbon (Josiah Reynolds Mystery 4); Author: Visit Amazon's Abigail Keam Page; Review: This book was a slow read but I kept on because it kept mentioning things and places in Lexington, KY, and I used to live there. The main problem, in my opinion, is that it didn't have much of a plot nor continuity.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Allah's Revenge; Author: Pete Barber; Review: This is a good page turner, and the second book in a row I have read about nanobots. I looked it up and they do exist, but are not developed in this manner. But the book moved along well, even though the action at the end was a bit tiring.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Lethal Vintage; Author: Visit Amazon's Nadia Gordon Page; Review: Very draggy. Too much conversation that loses your attention. Not enough action. I felt that I was at one of those "who done it"mystery dinners.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Bluegrass State of Mind (Bluegrass Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Kathleen Brooks Page; Review: There was not a lot of obvious intrigue, but I did enjoy it. I lived in the area for a number of years. I almost felt like I was back in Midway, KY again, minus the court house.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Edge of Black (A Samantha Owens Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's J.T. Ellison Page; Review: This book was riveting. It keeps your interest all the way. You have to love mysteries.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Sisterhood (Macmillan UK Audio Books); Author: Visit Amazon's Colin Forbes Page; Review: This book was slow going until two-thirds the way in. It certainly kept my attention after that. The editing was poor in that there were numerous typos that weren't caught.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Irreparable Harm (Sasha McCandless Legal Thriller) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Melissa F Miller Page; Review: This one kept me turning pages. It was a good plot, although the heroine was a little over the top in perfection. Once in a while, the read got bogged down in legal detail. But I truly enjoyed it. I will try another of Miller's books.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: SWORN TO SILENCE.; Author: L. Castillo; Review: It was very gory, so be warned. But it was one of those page tuners that you hate to put down.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Shadow Side (Berkley Sensation); Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Castillo Page; Review: This is the third book I have read by this author. I now look for her books. The story line keeps you engaged.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The President's Killers - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Karl Jacobs Page; Review: This was a good page turner, and I don' t often give 5 stars. The job interviews and early assignments were a little far fetched. But the rest of it was a cleverly woven plot.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Einstein Prophecy; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Masello Page; Review: This was a good read, and it would have been 5 stars if I believed in demons. I particularly liked the references to Einstein, although fictional, and the descriptions of Princeton University..; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Closed Circles (Sandhamn Murders); Author: Visit Amazon's Viveca Sten Page; Review: I thought the characters were confusing, with lots of loose ends. It took me forever to get through this book.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Le Square Phillips Hotel Suites; City: Montreal Quebec; Review: Awesome! We picked this hotel based on Trip Advisor reviews, and everything we read was true. We spent 5 nights in a "Family Suite" room and had a wonderful time. Here are the highlights: > The "room" was essentially a decent size apartment, with an entry area and closet, two spacious bedrooms, one bathroom, a full kitchen with a large refrigerator and dishwasher, a dining area with a large table, and a sitting area with TV and desk. > Everything was immaculately clean. The cleaning staff was unobtrusive and professional. > The stylish modern decor is a refreshing change from the "standard" hotel look. > Perfect location with easy access to extensive shopping and restaurants, the Metro, Mont Royal, Old Montreal, McGill University, etc. > Front Desk staff and Concierge were energetic and helpful in all respects. Their recommendations and services were excellent. >Included continental breakfast was very good, and the dining area is nice. > The attached Italian restaurant was tasty and friendly. This was a great find. Thanks Trip Advisor!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Club Med Punta Cana; City: Punta Cana La Altagracia Province Dominican Republic; Review: After reading the other reviews for the Club Med, Punta Cana, I question if I stayed at the same resort! We had a completely positive experience and were there the busiest week of the year -- the post-Christmas week which runs through New Years Day. We were an extended family of ten, ranging from age 75 to age 5, and a fabulous time was had by all. Yes, there are 1600 people there and yes, there is NO REASON to frequent this resort unless you have children. However, appreciate the fact that you are in a foreign country. Yes, there will be employees and guests who do not speak English. This is a fabulous opportunity for you and your children to learn a few words of Spanish and French. At least one quarter of the guests are from English speaking countries (we asked at the front desk) and all of the G.O.s (counselors) speak at least English and French. I did not find the language barrier to be a problem! If anything, it was FUN to be surrounded by people who came from different backgrounds. At the Spa, which is quite beautiful, I had a delightful massage by a woman who only spoke Spanish. We had no problems understanding each other by using basic hand signals and the very few words of Spanish that I know. My eight year old son enjoyed every minute of his trip and readily made friends with children from all over. Most guests are French, but the children and their bilingual G.O.'s appeared to learn from each other without any misunderstandings. I will say that my eighteen year-old daughter found that the French teenagers do keep to themselves and did not volunteer any English. However, she agrees that it makes for more of a "vacation" to be surrounded by people of different backgrounds. If everyone spoke English, we might as well be in Florida! POSITIVES: 10 minute ride from the airport; incredible water activities (windsurfing, kayaks, sailing, swimming, perfect weather and sea temperatures); unique land activities (beautifully run camps for kids of all ages, including circus-like activities, like a trapeze); plentiful and yummy food; friendly and helpful staff; fun "shows" at night which spotlight the kids; VERY comfortable beds!. NOTE: The Camps are structured so kids can come and go. Some attended for as little as one hour a day. Others chose to be there for the whole day. Lots of flexibility. NEGATIVES: Slow check-in; rooms are not spotless; some litter; snorkeling is poor due to surf; not enough beach chairs; not enough treadmills; SLOW check-in at Punta Cana airport. Allow two hours and bring a pen to fill out forms! There are smokers, but there was PLENTY of non-smoking seating in the restaurant and the "quiet" beach, near the kayaks and snorkelling rentals, was less crowded and generally smoke-free. We did not experience ANY bugs, sickness from the food, or rude staff as other reviewers have implied. The negatives are a pain for parents -- but the kids won't notice. Your children will have an incredible; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Golden Well Hotel; City: Prague Bohemia; Review: I never understood why vacationers truly enjoyed staying in hotels... until now. The other reviews are 100% correct. If this hotel is booked when you are in Prague, you need to change your travel plans. I can not imagine staying anywhere else. Our two children, ages 18 and 9, literally looked forward to returning to their hotel room at the end of the day. It was one of the highlights of their European vacation. I did not see many tripadvisor reviews from families with children. Thus, I was nervous that this hotel may be too sophisticated for my kids. Not to worry. The Golden Well far exceeded every expectation. We felt like we were living in a small, private castle. My children raved about the breakfast buffet, the location of the hotel (with the secret path to the Castle), the cobblestone streets, the private taxi service to and from the airport, the incredible views from their room, the comfy beds and beautiful furnishings, the free happy hour treats (a different surprise every day) served in a cozy public room, the fluffy bathrobes, the free DVD rentals, the friendly and helpful staff, the jacuzzi, free internet.... and the list goes on. Bravo to all of the employees for making our stay so memorable. We sorely miss our Golden Well hotel rooms and we hope we can return.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Trip Hotel Ithaca; City: Ithaca Finger Lakes New York; Review: We stayed at the Clarion for three nights for Cornell freshmen move-in weekend. After reading previous reviews, I was dreading what I would find. I even packed Lysol and scented candles in case the room was unbearably stinky. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised as the GOOD made up for the BAD and UGLY. No Lysol or candles needed. GOOD: Really comfortable beds with high quality linens and pillows. Fluffy towels. Clean bathroom. Pleasant front staff. Air conditioning worked well. Relatively quiet room. Decent location. BAD: Dark, musty and outdated common areas. No natural light in restaurant which made me feel claustrophobic. Chairs in dining room were old and uncomfortable. Restaurant breakfast buffet staff was overworked. (Very busy weekend). Pool appeared to be poorly aerated and displayed floating debris. Doors to hotel hallways are not locked at night. (No key needed to access hotel hallways.) UGLY: Winner of ugliest hotel facade that I have ever seen. Parking lot was an obstacle course of potholes. NOTES: 1) Unlike the other reviewer, our room was cleaned and vacuumed in an orderly fashion. 2) We were in the pet friendly room and I did not notice any pet smell, hair, etc. Perfectly suitable for a pet. 3) I would rate my overall experience as somewhere between poor and average (2 and 1/2 stars). It would not be my first-choice for a future stay in Ithaca, but, if it is the only hotel available, it would be OK. If you have a pet, definitely consider this hotel.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Statler Hotel at Cornell University; City: Ithaca Finger Lakes New York; Review: I attend an annual conference in Ithaca and I always look forward to my stay at The Statler. The location is perfect for it is centrally located on the Cornell campus, just a few minutes walk to the Campus Store and Clock Tower. It is a bit pricy for Ithaca, but I take the free hotel shuttle from the airport and do not need to rent a car. I also splurge and upgrade my room to obtain a beautiful view of the Campus with Cayuga Lake in the background. Make sure you ask for a high floor. My room was spotless and the linen was lovely. The students who work at the restaurant, front desk and as bell hops are so peppy and helpful. I also enjoyed a delicious dinner at the restaurant this year. I believe the hotel rooms will be refurbished by next year and I look forward to reporting back on the improvements. If you are visiting Cornell, the Statler is the only place to stay in my opinion. Location, location, location!!!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Comfort Inn Suites Syracuse Airport; City: Salina Finger Lakes New York; Review: I was pleasantly surprised by the amenities at the Comfort Inn. The pool and hot tub are large and children were having a great time swimming. The pool is even long enough to do laps -- a rarity among chain hotels. The bed had a "pillow top" and the linens and pillows were of excellent quality. The breakfast was plentiful -- my son loved the "make your own waffle" set up. The staff was attentive. The location was perfect -- adjacent to 81 and minutes to the airport. I would definitely recommend this hotel for a short stay. The only complaints I had -- both VERY minor -- were 1) no fruit selections at the breakfast buffet and 2) interior rooms face the courtyard so there is little natural light. I would definitely stay here again for a short visit -- a perfect place for kids.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Elevation Hotel Spa; City: Crested Butte Colorado; Review: I was afraid that reality would not measure up to the glowing reviews of the Elevation Hotel and Crested Butte skiing. Thankfully, every aspect of our extended weekend exceeded my expectations. We used the flawless Alpine Express shuttle service from the airport to the resort. The Elevation is as advertised -- enthusiastic, twenty-something hotel employees; exceptionally clean rooms; fluffy towels (made in the U.S.A. -- I checked!); reasonably priced and speedy room service; perfect location. We did not use the Spa so I can't comment on that. Rooms were well-equipped with a small "kitchenette" area, which included a refrigerator, microwave, toaster and place settings for four. The skiing was equally care-free. We would pick up our equipment at the ski valet, located in the hotel. We would then walk 60 seconds to the lift. We NEVER had a lift line and everyone, including the snow boarders, were friendly and rule-abiding. We ate lunch at the Paradise Warming Hut on the Mountain and were surprised to find yummy food and a pleasant environment. There was plenty of seating and I literally looked forward to my double-stuffed, loaded baked potato every day. My ten year-old did the group snowboarding lesson one day and loved it! There is a free bus that runs in to town, but we were so exhausted that we ate dinner somewhere on the Resort grounds. Our favorite was the Avalanche restaurant, which was very happening with lots of locals. Unfortunately, some places close soon after the lifts close, so restaurant choices for dinner at the Resort are somewhat limited in the lower price range. This would be my one and only complaint. It would be hard to top our trip at another ski destination given that we had perfect weather and no lift lines. We hope to return and would certainly stay at the Elevation again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hakuna Matata Amazon Lodge; City: Archidona Napo Province; Review: My family of five, including my 12 year old son, thoroughly enjoyed our four night stay at Hosteria Hakuna Matata. The Hosteria far exceeded our expectations. The hosts were lovely, the rooms were comfortable, the pool was huge (you could swim laps!) and spotless, the food was delicious and the staff was helpful. We thought we would want to relax in Archidona after spending an exhausting few days at Sacha Lodge in eastern Ecuador. However, once we saw the list of local activities, our sense of adventure kicked in. We spent one day white water rafting (a must!) and another day exploring a local cave. We also hired guides to hike the Hosteria's private trails where the highlights were wading through the pristine river, visiting a frog "nursery" and learning to make chocolate from cocoa plants. Visiting Hakuna Matata was one of the highlights of our Ecuadorian vacation. We hope to return. HELPFUL HINTS: 1) We used the private car service of "Tierra de Fuego" out of Quito. Our driver picked us up in Coca (he met the Sacha Lodge motorized canoe) and drove us to Hakuna Matata. Four days later, he picked us up at Hakuna Matata and drove us to Quito. He was reliable and helpful. I highly recommend Tierra de Fuego and all reservations were made on line. 2) Spend a few extra dollars and rent an "upper level" Supreme room. You will feel like you are sleeping in a tree house. The rooms are not air conditioned, but there is a ceiling fan and we were very comfortable. The balcony was relaxing and comfortable for an afternoon reading spot.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Makimy Premium Silicone Spatula Set + Bonus 50 Tin Meal Muffin Recipes; Brand: Makimy; Review: I received this item at a discount in exchange for my honest review. These have to be my absolute favorite kitchen utensils ever. I have owned several sets of silicone spatulas, purchased both online and in a large chain store. They are all generally lightweight, and fairly flimsy. After a few months of usage, a few of them have developed small cracks toward the tips. These spatulas from Makimy are flexible, yet feel much more sturdy than any others I own. The spatula handles are made of the same silicone material as the heads, making them easy to grasp even with oil or flour-covered hands. The larger spatula is concave, like a spoon, letting you scoop foods while scraping. I have found the smallest one to be very helpful in scraping food out of jars, such as jam. I just love these. I have already placed my other silicone utensils in a drawer, and will leave these within easy reach. I'm sure they will see their fair share of use.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Gourmia GDF450 Compact Electric Deep Fryer 3 Baskets Dual Thermostat; Brand: Gourmia; Review: I have always wanted a deep fryer, and was ecstatic when this one arrived. It was easy to put together, but I would like to say one thing about the asembly: the cord magnetically attaches to the fryer. It holds to he fryer securely, so you do not have to apply any pressure to get it to stay. Keep this in mind if you purchase this item. Simply touch the magnetic end of the cord to the appropriate place on the fryer, and it will stay put. I was actually surprised at how strong the magnets are. You turn the fryer on by turning the temperature dial to whichever temperature you want, and then turn the timer dial to until the 'heating' light comes on. When the heating light turns off, the oil has reached the temperature you set the dial to. The instructions say to never hear the fryer up without oil in it, or you can cause damage to the heating element. I used lard in my fryer, as I c insider it to be the least processed of all cooking oils out there, and it worked perfectly. Of course it took just a bit longer to heat than a liquid oil would because it is in a solid state to begin with, but once it was melted, it heated up to the cooking temperature I chose pretty quickly. I decided to fry some wings, and put about a pound of them in the basket. They cooked very quickly and evenly. The fryer basket has a small hook on the back near the handle that allows you to hang the basket out of the oil so the excess can drip down into the reservoir. One of my favorite features of this fryer is the carbon filter in the cover. This helps to keep the odor of the frying food contained within the fryer. The lid also features a glass window so you can keep an eye on your food to make sure it doesn't burn. Once the oil cooled a bit, I made sure to pour it back into the container it came in. The instructions say to not store oil in the fryer when it is not in use. So far, I have used this fryer to make wings, corn dogs and French fries. Everything came out nicely browned and was much more fun to cook than in a regular frying pan. I am very happy with this fryer and will probably purchase another one to give to my dad as a Christmas gift. I received this item for free in exchange for my honest review.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: TICARE dough blender3238 Blender, Top Professional Pastry Cutter with Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Blades Butter; Brand: TICARE; Review: I love bento boxes, and had been looking for a metal one. I have a plastic one, but it cracked, so I was pretty happy to receive this one. It is very sturdy and the lid fits very snugly. I like the extra band that comes with it, as it helps to ensure the lid stays on. I haven't had an y problems with the lid coming off or foods leaking. The actual spaces to put food are a little on the small side, but that really does help with portion control. The box is easy to clean and hasn't shown any signs of rusting or discoloration so far, and I use it every day. I received this item at a discount in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bigboy Premium Stackable Lunch Box with Lid–high Quality Eco-friendly Leak Proof Food Container–microwave and Dishwasher Safe–durable–with 3 Compartments Reusable Bento; Brand: Unknown; Review: I am a meal prepper, and can always use more storage containers. I wanted to try these because they have numerous cavities, and I wasn't disappointed. They hold a large amount of food, and the black portion of the containers are very sturdy. The lids snap down into place and do not fall off easily; however, I wasn't happy with the quality of the lids. Although the lids fit well, they aren't as sturdy as the rest of the container, and cracked easily after a few washes. I actually cracked one when removing it from the bowl. So, with that being said, I now have several containers without lids because they broke so easily. In my opinion, I would have to pass on these. I received this item at a discount in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Color Coded, 7 Piece Portion Control Container Set | Nontoxic Recycled Polypropylene, Microwave & Dishwasher Safe | Bonus Insert; Brand: Modern Lifestyle Products; Review: I have seen similar diet programs that required the use of similar containers, but I just couldn't afford them. I decided to give these a try, and I am pleased to say that I love them! The containers themselves are quite sturdy, and the lids stay on nicely. I have only hand washed them, as I do not own a dishwasher, so I can't say if they will withstand it or not, but so far they have held up well. The enclosed diet program and outline was very helpful. I really do not have much weight to lose at all, but I did lose 2 pounds my first week following the guide. I would recommend these to anyone looking to follow a healthier diet. I received this item at a discount in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_Home_and_Kitchen |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Kid Camping from Aaaaiii! to Zip; Author: Patrick F. McManus; Review: I have been looking for this book in bookstores for years with no luck. When I found it on Amazon.com, of course I snapped up a copy immediately. The book was delivered faster than I had expected and the condition of the book was better than I thought it would be, judging only from the description found in the listing. I am completely satisfied with my first purchase from Amazon; I'm sure we will do business together again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Penguin Classics); Author: Visit Amazon's Anne Bronte Page; Review: Not on my top ten list of this genre.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: David and Goliath: Art of Battling Giants (A); Author: Visit Amazon's Malcolm Gladwell Page; Review: Interesting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd; Author: Visit Amazon's Jim Fergus Page; Review: Read this with my book club. I did not make this selection nor did I care for the story.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: 10TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBIT: A 10TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION; Author: GARY LARSON; Review: This is a great collection of excellent humor.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever (Bill O'Reilly's Killing Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Bill O'Reilly Page; Review: Interestingly written; I learned a few historical facts about Lincoln that I had not known before.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Prophet; Author: Frank E. Peretti; Review: Good Frank Peretti book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Huckleberry Murders: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery; Author: Visit Amazon's Patrick F. McManus Page; Review: I'm a fan of Patrick F. McManus' stories.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: House; Author: Frank E. Peretti; Review: Frank Peretti is a great writer of Christian thrillers but this one is my least favorite.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: One Thousand White Women by Fergus, Jim 1 edition (2007); Author: aa; Review: Read this with my book club. I did not make this selection nor did I care for the story.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Malcolm Gladwell: David and Goliath : Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (Large Print Hardcover); 2013 Edition; Author: ; Review: Interesting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Charlie Chan Carries on; Author: Visit Amazon's Earl Derr Biggers Page; Review: We have collected Charlie Chan movies and books for years; this is a good addition.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: I Believe - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Patti Roberts Page; Review: I feel like she repeated the same things several times throughout the book. But, it did make me feel better about my faith and things I was struggling to understand.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Hunger Games (Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Suzanne Collins Page; Review: Unlike most of the free world,I have not seen the movie yet. Looking forward to reading the other two books before too many details from the movies come out. Loved the ending to this one!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mockingjay: The Hunger Games; Author: Collins; Review: Unlike most of the free world,I have not seen the movie yet. Looking forward to reading the other two books before too many details from the movies come out. Loved the ending to this one!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Hunger Games (Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Suzanne Collins Page; Review: I found some things in this book to be repetitive with the first one. But, was worth reading. I wish there were more interactions with president Snow and less arena drama. Can't wait to start Mockingjay.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mockingjay: The Hunger Games; Author: Collins; Review: I found some things in this book to be repetitive with the first one. But, was worth reading. I wish there were more interactions with president Snow and less arena drama. Can't wait to start Mockingjay.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Hunger Games (Book 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Suzanne Collins Page; Review: I enjoyed all three books. It didn't end how I thought it would. Looking forward to seeing how the movies stack up.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Mockingjay: The Hunger Games; Author: Collins; Review: I enjoyed all three books. It didn't end how I thought it would. Looking forward to seeing how the movies stack up.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: There Are No Sad Dogs in Heaven: Finding Comfort After the Loss of a Pet; Author: Visit Amazon's Sonya Fitzpatrick Page; Review: After losing my dog, this is just what I needed to make me feel better. Most of the book is a compilation of her clients stories. I do wish there were a few more chapters of just the facts, instead of having to read everyone else's story. But, it was still informative and comforting.; Rating: 4.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Six Not-so-easy Pieces: Lectures On Symmetry, Relativity, And Space-time (Helix Books); Author: Visit Amazon's Richard P. Feynman Page; Review: Any review reflects the biases of the reviewer. My qualifications are in organic chemistry, and, despite the common view that there is nothing outside computation, in chemical theory. The latter interest forced me to teach myself some physics, which was mainly classical mechanics, electromagnetic theory and quantum mechanics. I purchased Six Not-so-easy Pieces simply out of interest. Feynman has an almost unique ability to locate the genuinely fundamental aspects of physics, and by emphasizing these, concepts that others seem to make extraordinarily turgid, in Feynman's hands become remarkably clear. Yes, you need some mathematical ability to follow this, but not exceptional mathematics. As an example, in discussing curved space, where most authors simply present a barrage of equations, Feynman shows, using elementary geometry, how curved space works. Nothing is perfect. The role of symmetry in physics is explained well, but the discussion on the chirality of alanine, while correct as far as it goes, seemed to me to be taking the previous discussion a little out of bounds, and the discussion of the phase of the wave function has to be qualified for multiple particles. Also, a footnote on how an electron could possibly outrun a photon left open the question, given the derivation of the Lorentz contraction, why is that not a function of refractive index? But those are quibbles. The book is brilliant, and, as a challenge, if an organic chemist can follow it, why can't you?; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Character of Physical Law (MIT Press); Author: Richard Feynman; Review: Warning: I have published theory with the lowest impact factor, and I have written an unpublished book on the nature of theory. This book is a transcript of seven extemporized lectures for the mathematically challenged. It is quite remarkable for perceptive interpretations of physics with a minimum of maths and as a bonus, the reader gets an insight into the mind of a truly leading theoretician. If you want an initial insight as to how physics works, excellent. Unfortunately, extemporization leads to "forgetfulness", e.g. "action" is stated to arise from and is fundamental to quantum mechanics, but is not mentioned in the discussion on quantum mechanics. I believe the title is misleading. The book will not help or encourage an emerging theoretician. How to form a theory: Guess, compute, compare with observation. The rest of the book is argued to be no guidance, because any new theory will be quite different from the examples! Worse, we know all theory except at extreme energies or distances. (We could be wrong, but we aren't!) I disagree. The book states on nuclear binding, apart from proton electrical repulsions, neutrons and protons interact with a constant energy. Theory is sound, but cannot be computed completely. Instead, suppose hadrons comprise up and down quarks, with different electric charge, that produce two types of interactions. Believe it or not, that, with consideration of that "action" is sufficient to produce relative stabilities for isotopes, and show why technetium has no stable isotope, and to indicate nuclear binding could come from electromagnetism. Wrong? Maybe, but isn't the fun of theory trying things out? Feynman offers no encouragement, little hope, and surprisingly, no insight on how he developed his theories. That is a pity.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard P. Feynman Page; Review: This book covers four lectures that explains QED in terms of the path integral method, which was developed by the author. Needless to say, this is authoritative on this approach, but it also remarkably clear and comprehensible. Notwithstanding that, I would recommend slow and careful reading, as you may find a small sequence of statements that seem perhaps a little unjustified. Later, Feynman fronts up to some of these, and explains why he oversimplified to get things going. If you see them first, and this is not unreasonable, I believe you will get more from the text. The first lecture is a general introduction that shows how the path of the photon as a particle can be followed in terms of time-of-flight from all possible paths. The assertion is, the photon is a particle, not a wave, however there is no explanation for why there is a term that I would call the phase. The second lecture is a tour-de force and explains in terms of this particle treatment, why light reflects and diffracts, and is particularly interesting in why light behaves as if it is reflected only from the front and back of glass, whereas it is actually scattered by electrons throughout the glass. The third lecture covers electron-photon interactions, and covers Feynman diagrams and shows why QED is the most accurate theory ever proposed. The fourth lecture may seem a bit of a disappointment. The author tries to cover a very wide range of phenomena, which he terms "loose ends", and in some ways this chapter has been overtaken somewhat, nevertheless it also gives a look into Feynman's mind, and that also is well worth the price of the book. It is also here that the issue of renormalization is discussed - if you could call Feynman admitting it is "a dippy procedure" a discussion. Why buy the book? I suspect this is probably the best chance a non-specialist has of understanding the basis of QED. The biggest disappointment? Feynman dismisses wave theory, which everybody else uses, and replaces it with a monumental raft of integrals. My initial thoughts were that waves are effectively an analogue way of solving those integrals, perhaps a gift from nature, and it is a pity I can't ask Feynman why that option was dismissed.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions; Author: Visit Amazon's Lisa Randall Page; Review: Lisa Randall is a theoretician working at the front line of modern physics, and this book essentially covers, without maths (an extraordinary achievement) Randall's path. The book starts with a coverage of relativity and quantum mechanics, each in small chapters, explains the role of symmetry and why it is important, and proceeds to the standard model of particle physics. That path is probably common to all physicists, and Randall shows in its simplest form, the standard model is not without problems, e.g. the difference between prediction and observation can exceed by many orders of magnitude the number of elementary particles in the known universe. Fixes are required, and the path then proceeds through supersymmetry, the Higgs particle, and on to multidimensional physics. The absence of maths makes the book eerily readable, but it may also lead to a little uncertainty in interpretation. However, for the non-physicist, this book may offer the only credible way of finding out what this journey involves. That is the first reason to buy the book. The second reason is that it shows how Randall goes about things; this is one of the very few books in which a leading scientist shows some of their own thought patterns, free of pompous self-justification. It is worth it almost for that reason alone. The third reason is that it shows how "brittle" the standard model is. The way Randall puts it, there is very little "wriggle-room" there. In my opinion, there is a very good chance that much of this will eventually be regarded as "quaint", and may be an interesting historical account of a theory that went wrong, and readers will comment about what physicists should have doubted. However, the fourth reason is perhaps the best. In a few hours after writing this, the Large Hadron Collider will be switched on. Assuming it works, various statements will come out, and if you follow this book, you should be able to appreciate, at least qualitatively, what it all means. Thus if, as I suspect, new much heavier mesons are found, then much of the standard model will fall. Alternatively, if the Higgs is found where it is supposed to be and what I suspect will turn up doesn't, then the reader will gratefully realize they understand nature, at least to a point. This book is one of the very few guides available.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Caligula: The Corruption of Power; Author: Visit Amazon's Anthony A. Barrett Page; Review: Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was something of an enigma, not helped by the fact that his brief Imperium presumably was recorded by Tacitus in what is now a lost volume of the Annals. As Barrett notes, only too much of what written accounts remain were written by people who intensely disliked him. What Barrett does is discard the opinion and stick to the known facts. Once he does this, there is insufficient remaining, so he has to interpret what he knows and make reasonable guesses. On the whole, I think Barrett does an excellent job; the account is plausible, and in the end the reader has a fair account of what happened. The problem with Gaius is that there are so many contradictions, nevertheless Barrett's account is at least in account with the writings of Josephus and Suetonius, which is more than can be said for a number of other accounts. I have carried out a certain amount of independent research on Gaius, and while there are inevitable parts of his life that really cannot be properly accounted for and validated, I believe this book is about as good as anyone is going to get on this topic. One gripe: please, give the man the credit for having two feet!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Devil's Star: A Harry Hole Novel (Harry Hole Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Jo Nesbo Page; Review: A sultry ending to summer brings a strange murder, then another, with geometric precision! Only Harry Holt can solve this mess, despite the claims of a very senior detective who happens to intensely dislike Harry, but Harry is, well, intoxicated. The book is very clever, it is well-written, and it is not easy to put down. There are the inevitable red herrings, but eventually . . . You have to read it to find out. I have two small niggles that reduce the star rating. The first is the crimes are almost too convoluted for the motive. The second is that I have known alcoholics, and yes, I know there are different ones, but there is the odd part of Harry that doesn't quite ring true with me. I confess to a little bias here; the main characters in fiction are supposed to have flaws, and I feel the alcoholic is a lazy flaw, but don't let that put you off. This is well-worth reading.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Changeling: Prelude to the Chosen Chronicles; Author: Visit Amazon's Karen Dales Page; Review: Occasionally, I read something out of my comfort zone; usually I am disappointed, but not this time. Changeling is set in Celtic Britain and following the departure of the legions there are two blights on the lives of the average villager: the marauding pillager/rapist against which the villagers have no defence, and superstition. They believe the forests are filled with demons/vampires and all their many and freuqent ills are due to them. Changeling explores the concept that these superstitions have real substance. The book has a simple plot as it is, after all, a prelude. An albino boy is born; because he looks different he is "obviously" a demon, so he is exposed to the winter, but rescued, and the plot is a voyage of self-discovery for the boy, in which first he is afflicted by some mysterious demon, then he becomes through "choosing" a "good" vampire. The book is well-written, the descriptive passages give an excellent picture and atmosphere to support what is going on, while the plot does not go where you might expect. It reads fluently and it is difficult to put down. Did I like it? Well, I bought the next book, and that is rare for me outside my comfort zone, hence my star rating.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: When Money Dies: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany; Author: Visit Amazon's Adam Fergusson Page; Review: As a young boy I had a small stamp collection, and one sequence had similar-looking German stamps ranging from thousands to fifty million marks, and I always asked myself, how could this be? Death of Money explains what happened in the Weimar Republic, Austria and Hungary. The author has assembled a mind-blowing array of facts, and interspersed with this he has some diary excerpts from some people who lived through the times, and observations from visitors who had difficulty believing what they saw. The book is clearly written, it has clear limits and does not wander off into "what ifs" and in some ways gives a chilling look at how the greedy profit from the innocent, and how politicians can be either totally inept, or totally callous in their own self-interest, as opposed to the interests of their own people. Thus Poincare wanted the industrial part of Germany for France and no sacrifice, French or German, was too much. The way the profiteers behaved shows how money could be made, but when things changed the same strategy lost it all. The surprise is not that Hitler got traction, but rather that he took so long to get traction. This book is very well worth the read. I do have a minor quibble or so. The author starts off with the decision that he does not wish to discuss economics. I think this was a mistake, and a very brief discussion of some relevant aspects of monetary theory might be in order, for example, despite the fact that the printing presses were going flat out, at any given point in time there was insufficient money in circulation according to standard theory, which was why they were printing more. The reason there was such horrible inflation included the velocity of the money. Nobody had any faith at all in it. However, overall this is an impressive book, and if you wish to see the evils of inflation, this book is well worth reading.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World; Author: Visit Amazon's Lisa Randall Page; Review: This book appears to have multiple objectives. One, listed in the conclusion, is to show how high-energy physicists and cosmologists determine their course. In other words, how does science work, at least for this subset of scientists? A further objective is to show the relevance of scientific thought to today's complex challenges. The writing is very clear and the reader should follow what the author has written without any significant effort. The description of how the Large Hadron Collider works is the best I have seen, although its relevance to the objectives is more questionable, and it could have been better edited. How science works is given by example, mainly involving fundamental particle physics, which appears to be the author's own area of work. The Higgs mechanism is explained from a theoretical viewpoint, then follow the problems arising from no direct observational evidence, and thus having to design indirect experiments. Such examples are given to show how science works for the modern particle physicist, and not simply to explain modern physics, although the reader will get this as well, at least up to a point. Nevertheless, there is an obvious problem: where to draw the line regarding what to include and what to leave out. If everything is included, the account gets bogged down in subsidiary side-explanations, but if too little is included, the reader is left with too many questions and may understand less than when he/she started. (Actually, this is how science really works. Very often as the scientist begins to unravel a problem, more problems simply grow up from nowhere; it is only when a genuine advance is made that answers to this morass of problems suddenly self-assemble into a coherent whole. This gives the researcher quite a remarkable feeling, and if the author was trying to encourage more young people to take up science, an example of something like this would have been highly desirable. Possible suggestion for the next edition?) As an example of what I found troubling, the explanation for why a photon has no mass was that a hypercharge gauge boson interacted with one of the weak gauge bosons and the combination no longer interacts with the weak charge of the vacuum (i.e., the Higgs field). The hypercharge gauge boson is not mentioned anywhere else, there are three weak gauge bosons with different charge (+1, 0, -1. If weak charge is conserved, how many hypercharge bosons are there? What happens if the collision results in net weak charge? A two-charged particle? Together with one or two postulated Higgs fields that have an internal broken symmetry, this is quite a set of postulates to explain one fact. Observational support for the mechanism is claimed from the following: in a Bose condensate the electrons pair and such pairs impede the photon's progress, which conveys mass to the photon. Two objections come to mind: how do we know the photon has mass there, and why does this not happen as photons go through a crystal of, say, sodium chloride, where the photon hits a number of electron pairs.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy Ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry, and Challenge Yourself; Author: Visit Amazon's William C. Taylor Page; Review: This book is well-written, and as far as I can tell, authoritative. The basic premise appears to be that nations war through their currencies. I am not entirely convinced that "war" is exactly the correct term, because I think most of the actions are really aimed at self-interest, but that is not important. Rickards first gives an account of a currency war-game, which unfortunately only had three moves so it was perhaps not very informative. He then gives an account of currency actions with particular emphasis to the last two centuries. I checked some random facts as well as I could, and Rickards is accurate. Finally, he comes to, "Where to from here" and he is anything but encouraging. His basic complaints include the currencies are not pegged to anything, and so various central banks can carry out actions such as devaluation to gain advantage over their neighbours, but because everyone can do this, there is no real advantage other than to the highly leveraged. Rickards clearly has little faith in the big bonus-hunting derivative issuers, but he offers no real solution on how to stop them, other than to make the currency pegged to something, and he seems to fancy gold. His scenario to finish could just about be listed under "horror stories", and unfortunately he offers no real advice as to how to protect yourself from this possible total financial breakdown, and this is what stopped me from giving five stars. On the other hand, the debt burden, and the structure of financial markets, makes such a collapse quite plausible. This is a very thought-provoking book, and the more that read it, the better the chance that the population at large can coordinate to stop the possible apocalypse.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Road to Hell: The Book of Lucifer; Author: Visit Amazon's Christopher C. Starr Page; Review: The book is based on the story of creation from the Jewish mythology, up to the point of the downfall and casting out of Lucifer. Accordingly, the plot has a number of fixed points through which the story must pass, and to make things more difficult, there are several interpretations of what some of the archangels did and very little actual material to work with. The base story is very brief. The start of this book is impressive, the writing clear and quite moving, and Starr has real talent with imagery. So good is the start that it almost seems as if it had divine inspiration. Unfortunately, from my point of view, Starr could not keep it up. Religious texts are a bit vague on how Lucifer fell. The implication is, he challenged God, there were mighty battles, and he was cast out. The story starts with Lucifer wondering why he is, which, seeing he is all there is that he can see, seems reasonable. Lucifer falls out with God, although why God behaves this way is unclear. Lucifer then plays at creation, and God appears more like a spoiled child playing with toys than anything else. The story progresses to major fighting, lurches back in time, then progresses back to major fighting that goes on for some time. Lucifer sins in as much as he refuses to spend eternity praising God, then he becomes arrogant, and so on, but this seems hardly the stuff to wish to destroy heaven, particularly since by then Lucifer recognizes that God is more powerful and he is greatly outnumbered. The problem then is, the major fighting has no perceived rules (some die, others should but regenerate) for no real perceived purpose, and I found it hard to work out why what occurred did occur. The last half did not make sense to me. It could be argued that the plot was given and the author was stuck with it. True, but by the same token, in my view the author has to add something to it, some insight, some novel interpretation, or to superimpose some message, in other words, there should be some reason for presenting it. At the end, Lucifer should be dead, but presumably he is not, and there is a discussion about free-will that I found confusing. If that does not bother you, then yes, it is well-written, and there is plenty of slashing, "blood", demons, bodies, destruction, etc. If you want something extra, for me it was not there.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears; Author: Visit Amazon's William Hertling Page; Review: This is a well-written and a reasonably simple story: a code to make people more successful with their emails is given a faulty boost, following which the program adapts itself so that it can also be more successful. That also means survival, and it takes all appropriate action. What I like about this book is that the overall tragedy is a consequence of a character defect followed by a general "out of depth" performance by the major character. The scenario is well drawn and believable, and given the initial premise, events unfold logically. The writing flows well and draws the reader in. This is what I feel science fiction should be like: given the initial premise, everything follows logically from the characters' natures. Perfect? Not quite. There is a scene where the person who caused this problem has to face up to his boss and convince him to act to stop an impending disaster. The boss agrees readily. If someone were to cost me billions of dollars and possibly destroy everything I had worked for, I might agree as to what had to be done, but not without some acute anger directed at the villain. Similarly, the end has a major twist to it, but what is presented is more a summary of viewpoints. When you are deciding about billions of dollars, and maybe the "end of the company" scenario, things are going to be drawn out, and most definitely heated. Nevertheless, this is a really good book, and well worth reading. Also, this book should encourage Indie authors because it shows Indie authors can produce good books.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: 50,000 A.D. The Awakening; Author: Visit Amazon's Mr. J. Jack Bergeron Page; Review: For me, this was in some ways a frustrating book. The plot involved Henry Matthews dying and being "fossilized" and recovered from an asteroid 50,000 years later. His body was resuscitated, with memories intact. There, he found that civilization had spread into three empires of planets where, for some reason, history was only 30,000 years old. Religious fanatics therefore conclude he came from "before creation", and is some sort of messiah, in which case they have to "rescue" him so he can fulfil his purpose. This is genuinely original, and I consider it a first rate plot. The style is "chatty", and the pages flew by. The less good: As an Indie author myself I know proof-reading is difficult so usually I am fairly tolerant, but there were far too many flaws. The story-telling technique was also flawed. In the first fifth of the book, a large cast of characters were introduced in short scenes, and the effect was like walking into a meeting and being introduced to thirty grey suits. The scenes achieved nothing, and worse, the best-drawn characters had very minor roles. Following Henry's awakening, there was a deluge of information exchange, which left me wondering what the purpose of the book was. Then I thought I knew - it reminded me of Il Dialogo, only about religion and society, and with far too many Simplicios. But I was wrong; the author was painting a picture of future society and comparing it with ours. For me, this went on too long. Eventually Henry was captured, and . . . No, I won't spoil it. There were two basic problems for me. Despite what was going on, everybody was so agreeable and the degree of conflict throughout the book was extraordinarily low, so the tension was generally very low. The second was there was far too much telling, and nowhere near enough showing. This had the potential to be a great book, but the execution meant that it was not.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Deadly Pleasures; Author: Visit Amazon's Mary Firmin Page; Review: A very good first book. There are three groups of characters that are well drawn and believable: Matt and two other police, Megan and three other women, and finally the women's husbands/partners/exes, although this latter group are largely elsewhere. There are three subplots, and the author shows considerable skill in running these simultaneously. The women have too much money and are deprived of only one thing: sex. Subplot one has the women seeking a "boytoy" and if this subplot was isolated it is good enough to make, with a little padding, the plot of one of those farcical French films. Subplot two commences when Matt interviews the women, who are sunbathing on an expensive yacht. Matt is an Adonis, black hair, blue penetrating eyes, Megan gets an immediate crush on him and it is reciprocated. Of course they cannot acknowledge their feelings straight away, but they do bump into each other from time to time, sometimes literally, hence subplot two, which I assume is a female romance. (I don't read these, so I may be wrong here.) Subplot three is the nominated plot. A number of women, usually prostitutes, are brutally murdered and carved by a psychopathic serial killer. Matt and co seek out the killer, while Megan blunders through the scenes, which emphasize the darker S&M outlets of LA. I have no idea whether the descriptions are realistic but they are well-described. There are plenty of red herrings and while there are enough real clues for the reader to get a rough idea what is going on (if you can eliminate the red herrings) I did not see any clue to pick the villain with certainty. Had there been a genuine subtle clue earlier, this could have made a first rate mystery. Finally the story ends with a reasonably lengthy action scene that really flies in which the author does extremely well not to make Megan a superwoman. This genuinely qualifies for the thriller lable. The book flows well, but there are some weaknesses. Subplot 2 is very strongly flagged at the beginning. Had Matt's appearance been more normal, and had he been distracted by the sunbather desperately covering up certain parts with a sunhat, subplot 2 would have held more tension. Then, the end is a little implausible, with a psychopathic serial killer being coy about killing, seemingly to prolong the scene. Most best-selling thriller writers also succumb to this as well, so Mary Firmin is in good company. But these are small points. This is a really good buy and 99 cents is a ridiculously low price. Get it before the author realizes it and raises the price. Finally, if the author has more stories in her and if she hones her craft, her later books should be extremely good. Keep an eye on her.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wholeness and the Implicate Order (Volume 135); Author: Visit Amazon's David Bohm Page; Review: This is an unusual book. Bohm was one of the deeper thinkers, and this book is a challenge to many generally prevailing views. The book commences with the concept that a theory is an insight. Bohm points out that for convenience we subdivide our studies, but then ends up with the problem that this fragmentation has led to many of today's problems, where we do not consider the outcomes (e.g. pollution) of what we do. Accordingly, his solution is to give primacy to everything as a whole. One problem with this book is that he tends to leap from one place to another, with no obvious connection, then leave it. In chapter two, he outlines what he calls the rheomode, a way of modifying words to give more precise meanings. Later, to illustrate implicate order, he gives a mathematical treatment of what he calls a metamorphosis using a hologram as an example. The problem here is, anyone unfamiliar with Green's theorem will find this incomprehensible, and at least some of those who have some comprehension will wonder why that is there. Neither these metamorphoses nor rheomodes are used subsequently. The book is a little like a hypercurate's egg. Bohm is very strong on noting problems with standard physics, and his statements regarding the inherent contradictory, and in some formulations, self-contradictory aspects of relativity and quantum mechanics are by themselves worth the price of the book. On the other hand, he then seems to state that each implies a whole, but I am not sure where that comes from. I bought the book to see from where Bohm got his concept of a quantum potential, which, in some ways seems non-physical. Unfortunately, it is just put there, without any particular explanation. Worse, it is little better than an unsupported proposition because by his own admission, it does not predict anything. Oddly, while Bohm is noted for what is generally called pilot wave theory, this is omitted. There is a chapter on hidden variables, but frustratingly, he avoids stating clearly what he means by a hidden variable. (For example, is motion in a dimension we cannot access a hidden variable?) Then comes a section where he shows why action is quantized, and from this he arrives at the Uncertainty Principle in a way that leaves standard textbooks dead. This is excellent, but not the stuff for undergraduate physics. It is also where I show my bias - I prefer to think the argument for why action is quantized should be the other way around (i.e. not if A, then B, but rather if B, then A and also....) but that is for other readers to consider. The book then covers further quantum theory, and tries to take this through, with relativity, to a whole, an implicate order. In my opinion, he goes too far, but if nothing else he is interesting. He then goes on to consider the whole. Bohm quotes Aristotle as the original holistic thinker, and claims he thought of everything as an organism. In a chapter of my ebook I discuss; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Gerwarth Page; Review: I have have had considerable difficulty in giving this book a star rating. In some ways it is exceptional, in others, for me at least, somewhat disappointing. I generally ignore production difficulties, especially for indies, unless they are just too much because having done so myself, I know compiling ebooks is fraught with difficulties. However, this book is expensive for an ebook and it is professionally produced, so the inability to overcome the difficulty of finding appropriate unicode symbols is not good enough. In an extreme example, a six-letter word was spread over four lines. Leaving that aside, proof-reading, etc, seemed to be vey good. The book covers the life of Heydrich, from the beginning to his assassination, and it has an enormous number of references, indeed, the references appear to take up half the book. (In fairness, I did not read them, so I am only assuming the rest are references.) If you are looking for such references, this book should not be overlooked, and it could be an essential source for the role of Heydrich in the third Reich. For me, though, the biggest problem was the rather unfortunate absence of Heydrich. Most of the book describes Heydrich's environment; we have discussions of his interactions with his superiors, those around him in the SS, but there is very little of Heydrich the person, and very little of what he actually did. There are large extracts from memos he sent, and from speeches he gave, but these are, of course, carefully prepared and represent the impressions he wanted to give to the world. As an example of what I mean, there were examples of his exhortations to the SS not to personally loot Jewish property, and he threatened severe measures. That he issues more than one such memorandum suggests that he was aware of a problem, but there is nothing in the book that I could find to indicate whether he ever did anything as a follow-up. Did he ever discipline anyone? Was he all huff and puff? That is somewhat unlikely. Prior to reading this book, I had very little knowledge of Heydrich. There was a film of the Wannsee conference, which purported to be based on notes taken. The part of this book devoted to Wannsee appears to contradict the film in a number of places. Perhaps the book is correct, but it is puzzling that the film was not even mentioned, bearing in mind the differences. (As an aside, the film has Eichmann almost spitting on classical music, except in the presence of Heydrich, where he fawned. There is little doubt that Heydrich was considered not the man to get offside of.) I also gathered that Heydrich had regular home concerts, where he paid music students to perform. (Music students would almost certainly have been immune to general crime!) The book also, more than once, mentions terror in Germany. I am far from convinced this is true. Firstly, I had a relation, now dead, who spent a year studying in Berlin during 1938, and the Nazis were generally; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Zul Enigma; Author: Visit Amazon's J. M. Leitch Page; Review: The basic underlying plot, in which a depressed workaholic Carlos Maiz receives electronic messages from Zul, seemingly extra-dimensional, and which assert that humans must reform and "evolve to a higher density" on December 21, 2012 (e-day), or humanity will be eliminated, and what happens after e-day, is breath-taking. The characters are well-drawn, the writing flows well, the production appears essentially free of flaws, typos, etc, although thanks to TV pronunciation, the dreaded "duck tape" makes a couple of cameo appearances. Is Zul real? Are the messages coming from somewhere else? What is this book about? It could be SF, a thriller, a mystery, a tragedy, the great bulk of it could be a romance. There are so many possibilities that in the hands of a Dan Brown or Tom Clancy, this should be a mega-blockbuster, but it isn't, at least yet. My assessment of this book that follows is probably overly harsh, but as a writer myself, I am a little in awe of the mind-blowing possibilities that unfortunately were not realized. There were two problems for me. The first were credibility issues, in part generated by what I believe is an unnecessary fixation on the Maya calendar, with reliance on communication equipment not currently available, at least generally, a problem that would disappear if we were in the future. I would have expected at least some people to reject Zul's message that humanity must mass-meditate before e-day, or even the galaxy is in trouble. Carlos was previously a leading scientist at NASA. He knows the messages must have come from somewhere else, so I would have expected him to personally take charge of an investigation. At the very least he would ask his friends at NASA for suggestions how somebody could get into his computer without going through the usual internet. Instead, Carlos and the Secretary General meet with the President of the United States to request help to determine from where these messages came. A UN staff member living in Vienna with an implausible message would never get to POTUS; he is busy. The President decides, after Carlos throws a tizzy fit, to incarcerate Carlos in a Spanish asylum. I doubt this is sufficient for POTUS to ignore diplomatic immunity; even Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin respected that. Following a road accident, Carlos escapes but is soon recaptured. Thriller? The escape and recapture are simply not thrilling, and throughout the book, things happen to Carlos. A tragedy? Carlos does not do enough. A mystery? A mystery requires clues, and that requires everything that is not a clue or a deliberate red herring to be correct. As far as I can tell, there are no genuine clues. When NASA works out how these messages could have been delivered, Carlos is off the hook, but even now no investigations get underway. Carlos, head of mass-meditation, embarks on a romance with Rebecca and gets her pregnant. Then, 80% into the book, e-day comes, and an unbelievable horror emerges and we find out what the book is about. There is a brief "wash-up" told,; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Lunara: Seth and Chloe; Author: Visit Amazon's Wyatt Davenport Page; Review: In some indeterminate future, Earth has been made inhospitable by a sequence of meteor strikes, which for some reason are selective for Earth and are continuing. These meteors contain a new element metalor, which is highly desirable, and a small settlement on Lunara collects these meteors in a ship called Protector. The book opens with the arrival of a Mars Medical team half a day early. There is a prolonged debate whether they can dock early, and when they insist, they do, then they want to immediately examine Seth and Chloe, there are more delaying tactics, then Seth and Chloe set off with a team after a meteor. While they are gone, some unspecified invasion force takes over Lunara, the Protector appears to be unaware of this until almost too late, the invasion force warships try to capture the Protector but fail, then the Protector escapes to Mars, where, for the time being, Mars Medical ignores Seth and Chloe. The crew of the Protector split up and the various groups have a sequence of adventures as they attempt to find out what has happened at Lunara. The book progresses at a rollicking pace, and at the end there is a prolonged battle sequence that is quite a page turner. I have two complaints, but they may not worry most readers. The first arises from me as a writer, namely the issue of whether to show or tell. This author strongly falls into the "show" camp, and part of the structure of the book is to provide a mystery as to "what is going on?" The problem for me was that with no given firm background to anchor the illustrations, there are too many possible interpretations of a given show and there is a fine line between providing a mystery and providing confusion. A related point is that clues only work if everything else is sensible. (Agatha Christie was an expert at delivering such clues.) Here, the Protector, a mining ship, has rear gun turrets and can outrun a fleet of warships. Why and how? We later find Lunara has fearsome defences. Why? And how could it be invaded without giving a sign of trouble? Accordingly, some genuinely genuine clues provided to the mystery in the early parts of the book probably will not make an impression on the reader because there are too many other puzzles. Nevertheless, the overall construction of the book is impressive, however again this total predilection for showing through characters made the "big" scenes, and in particular the final battle scene, difficult to follow in terms of "the big picture". My second complaint, that the physics were just plain wrong in places, will not worry many readers, but it was an opportunity missed to provide something impressive. Action scenes on Mars are really action scenes on Earth; the Martian gravity is just under 40% of Earth's and fights would be quite different. The space battles were fought in an atmosphere; you do not do barrel rolls in a vacuum, at least without extreme control. A stream of bullets; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Out of the Black; Author: Visit Amazon's Lee Doty Page; Review: This is one of the few books I wished I had not bothered with. I enjoy scifi, I am quite comfortable with things like "the force" when it came into "Star Wars", but that was because it was original there. This book seems to be written according to some formula written down at the back of some sort of computer game. The start has possibilities, but they are not developed. The characters seem to lack character, and the plot does not go anywhere in particular, at least for me. I really do not like writing bad reviews, but I purchased this book based on an number of good reviews and I think some sort of warning is required; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, Knights Cross; Author: Visit Amazon's Albrecht Wacker Page; Review: This is an unusual biography in that Wacker writes in the first person, and puts himself in the mind of Sepp Allerberger, the second-most successful sniper of the Wehrmacht. The writing style is terse, but effective. Some reviewers have commented on repetition; in my opinion that gives a better feeling for the constant horror of the Eastern front. Some reviewers have commented that this is largely fiction; exactly how they know that is an interesting thought. I have no idea how accurate the detailed accounts are, but they are consistent with what is recorded. Sepp Allerberger arrived on the eastern front as a youth when Germany had effectively lost the war. At that point there was no future for him, and the Wehrmacht did not have "tours of duty". For them it was fight to death. The story is gruesome, and as Sepp notes, living was in part luck, in part skill at reading the situation. The Russian soldiers' inhumanity towards Germans is well documented, and it is described in gruesome detail. Similar details are recorded elsewhere, so there is little doubt they happened. No serious German atrocities are mentioned, but it should be noted that most of the dreadful German atrocities occurred earlier, by the SS. By the time Allerberger got to the front, it was continual retreat. There was the occasional counterattack with odds of only six to one against. In the account where Allerberger won his Knight's Cross, it shows the benefit of attacking where the enemy were in a tactically poor position. When initial fire makes them take cover in a poor position, the young Russian troops had no idea how to respond, and Allerberger, from a flanking position, shot well over twenty of them while MG fire from their front hid the location of the danger from them. This sort of tactical description could only come from somebody who knew. In one sense, one of the main values of this book lies in what it shows, but does not tell. The accounts of the partisan activity, of so-called allied soldiers opportunistically switching sides, when they switch and what they do then, should be forced reading for all those who express opinions on places like Syria now. The role of the Americans at the end should also be read: it was very important to round up surviving German soldiers and ship them off to the Russian concentration camps. The book shows, without telling, the fundamental reason for Germany losing: not enough Germans and not enough German production. The sniper used Russian rifles and ammunition. The Luftwaffe was effectively absent, and after Kursk, there were virtually no tanks. The sheer hell of having to go through all that is almost indescribable, but Wacker makes an impressive effort. Ian J Miller, author of Troubles; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Road to Reality; Author: Visit Amazon's Roger Penrose Page; Review: With just under 1100 pages, this is no light-weight book, and the content matches. Penrose is an extremely capable mathematician with deep physical understanding, and it shows. It is not, however, suitable for readers with little mathematical or physical understanding. It is not a book for basic learning, but rather it seems directed at a very limited audience with sufficient background knowledge and for them it will take them far further. The book is designed to take people with advanced physical and mathematical knowledge up to Penrose's level of understanding. The first third of the book is effectively an introduction to advanced mathematics, and is interesting for this in its own right. The book nominally takes the reader with no background information and fills this in, but I do not believe that is plausible. For example, consider the introduction to Maxwell's equations. These are introduced in Minkowski coordinates and expressed into a spacetime 2-form F, called the Minkowski field tensor, and a further space-time vector, with components expressed in matrix form that permit various symmetries to be perceived. I do not believe that anyone who had not at least vaguely become aware of this sort of approach would make much headway, but what follows is certainly elegant. My biggest "grumble" with this book is the title: I believe "The" should be replaced with "A". The ancient Greeks founded two approaches to physics. Penrose adopts the Platonic approach, which considers mathematical forms, symmetries, and even beauty, and tries to fit reality to mathematical form. Thus towards the end, Penrose devotes a chapter to twistor theory, and in the end has to acknowledge that this is mathematically attractive, but it is difficult to take it anywhere in physics. The alternative approach, the Aristotelian approach, asks questions of nature and tries to find restrictions that lead to the correct theory. I should mention the caveat that I fall into the latter school, and with that warning, I believe that a true route to reality will involve many people working from both approaches. Irrespective of certain reservations, I believe that anybody with some mathematical ability will gain some insights from this book (the more the ability, the more insights), and anybody interested in theory should at the very least read chapter 34, which gives Penrose's opinions on where the road will go, and the fashions encountered on it. This is a truly great piece of intellectual effort. Ian J Miller, author of Elements of Theory; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sidelights on Relativity; Author: Visit Amazon's Albert Einstein Page; Review: This is a very small ebook, containing a brief biography of Einstein, and the text of two presentations he made. From the point of view of learning physics, these are no longer relevant, for reasons which I shall outline below, however they give a very interesting insight on how one of the greatest physicists ever reasoned. The first presentation is an intriguing discussion on the nature and properties of luminiferous ether. Einstein shows, contrary to what is usually stated, that while it cannot be something with a reference velocity, there must be "ether" within general relativity, although it does not have the properties usually attributed to it. The thought processes are extremely interesting to anyone interested in developing theory, for he does not lurch into mathematics, but rather considers nature and shows through logic that various properties frequently assigned to ether are simply illogical, but nevertheless general relativity will not work unless there is "something" there, albeit a "something" devoid of mechanical and material properties. In this context, the modern view of space is that it is a seething cauldron of quantum events of creation and destruction. The second involves a discussion as to whether the Universe is finite, and how we can tell. This discussion is interesting in that Einstein bases it on a premise that is now known to be wrong (we now believe the universe started with a "big bang", which voids this argument), and accordingly, apart from illustrating his method of reasoning, it has little value, other than, perhaps, to give more sympathy to Aristotle, who, like Einstein, stated his cosmology on a similarly erroneous premise for no good reason other than, "it is obvious that...". Unfortunately, the reasoning is also extremely difficult to follow because it depends on a discussion of features in Figure 1, and in my download, there was no Figure 1. Had Figure 1 been there, there is little doubt that the value of the exposition would have increased greatly. To summarize, one third of a very small book is of genuine value to an aspiring theoretician, one third, ultimately, is very difficult to follow in the Kindle edition, and the last third is presented much better elsewhere. The low rating is because only one third is excellent, and then only for aspiring theoreticians. Ian J Miller, author of Elements of Theory; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Myth of the Out of Character Crime; Author: Visit Amazon's Stanton E. Samenow Page; Review: The main proposition by this author, a forensic psychologist, is that there is no such thing as a crime being committed "out of character". His argument is that the character capable of committing the crime was always there, even though it may not have been readily perceived. The author then backs up this statement by examining a number of crimes where everybody thought the crime was out of character. However, in each case, a detailed analysis of the facts showed that not to be the case. The problem, of course, was to get the facts, as opposed to the mirage the criminal wanted the world to see, and there is considerable interest in the methods used to obtain the truth, which generally has to emerge inadvertently. The policy seemed to be, if you can get the criminal to talk for long enough, sooner or later clues will slip out, and of course, the criminal can be confronted with statements others have made about him. The reason I bought this book was that, as an author, I wanted to know something about villains. As it happens, my father was in the New Zealand Police, so I had some concept of criminals, however our criminals always seemed to me to be self-centred, irresponsible individuals that wanted to dominate, and who felt the world owed them something. They were also people who seemed to have no concept of what their actions were doing to others. One way or another, I felt these were a particularly bad sample, and I bought this book to get some clues as to "real criminals". What I found was that they were not that much different, except that the author has a much clearer way of describing what is wrong with them. What I particularly liked about this book is that the author maintains a professional scientific approach to his enquiries without looping off into unnecessary jargon. He shows clear procedures to patiently acquire the facts without letting his own biases into the picture (although I suspect he would hardly be human if occasionally something did not get the better of him) then he shows logically why this defines the character that committed the crime, which was totally "in character". He also shows that the errors of thinking that lead to such a crime are present in most people to some extent. The difference is that when we wallow for a while in self-pity due to rejection, we get over it and proceed to deal properly with the situation, and move on. The criminal does not, and eventually does something that he knows is wrong, and would not tolerate it in anyone else. In some ways, the analysis is depressing, but I think this is an excellent book for anyone wanting some understanding of the criminal mind. Ian Miller, author of Troubles.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wired; Author: Visit Amazon's Douglas E. Richards Page; Review: The book starts with a mercenary hired by Kira Miller to protect her, but instead, for a large sum of money, he abducts her, or tries to, for this is a resourceful Miller, and she escapes. We then find David Desh, an ex special forces officer, is recalled to an army base and offered the job to find Kira. Everybody else has tried and failed, and David is given no more information than that Kira is a recluse, a brilliant neuroscientist, a tremendous athlete, and gorgeous (Warning: Plot flag!) Oh, she seems to be a psychopath. Gorgeous girl, special forces man, obvious plot? Actually, wrong! Loopy, yes. This girl is difficult to find (!!) and shuns the limelight. Surely the photos will be things like passport and other ID photos, or sport team photos from her youth. When was the last time you saw a gorgeous passport photo? Worse, she could be anywhere in the world, and he has to find her. On the other hand, while the plot has holes big enough to drive a truck through, it has an internal logic, and while it too falls down at times, especially at the end where the logic gets the lead brick award in one place, it is fun to read, and once you get past the silly, the ending is resolved not by superhuman effort, huge amounts of luck, but by people doing what they are trained to do. Top marks for that, and that, together with being internally consistent, albeit silly in places, gets it five stars. I think the author had a lot of fun writing Wired, and that fun transfers to the reader. The pages turn, and as long as you do not think too deeply about the plot, it is a really enjoyable read. On the technical level, the author starts about two thirds through the story, and the earlier parts are told, not shown. The way the author does this is genuinely skilful, and although the pretentious pedant will almost certainly object, this is a great example of how to cover a lot of territory and hold the excitement levels. On a slight negative note, a character does not have to get captured to generate tension, and the number of times Desh gets captured makes one wonder how he ever got past the first post in special forces training. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book, and will probably buy the sequel. That, for me, is genuine praise. Ian Miller, author of Puppeteer.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Eldridge Conspiracy; Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen Ames Berry Page; Review: The premise behind this story is that during World War II, the US, Germany and Japan tried to find means of hiding ships from radar, and in each case the ship "disappeared", but the crew emerged with genetic alteration. The children of these crewmen, and in particular their children, inherited paranormal abilities. The story starts with the compiler of a roster of the descendants being killed. Moreover, the data had been tampered with so it could not be recompiled. The problem is that Schmidla, an ex-German experimenter in eugenics, is trying to create a new species, a "superman", but all his experiments have achieved so far is to kill these subjects. Schmidla, and various parts of the US government, want the list to get the remaining descendants, while the main protagonist, Jim Beauchamp, becomes involved in trying to protect those on the list. The subsequent "race to descendants" is told in a fast-moving well-written tale, and as it becomes told, we become aware of just what some of these paranormal abilities are. The beginning and the development of the story are exciting, the writing is crisp and I am prepared to forgive the grammatical/editing slips, which are tolerably frequent. Up to here, five stars. Unfortunately, the conclusion falls down. Without giving away too many details, it has plot clichs, fairly standard action, much of which occurs "in the background" so we do not see it, and it is ridden with logical inconsistencies. It appears that the author has created a magnificent build-up, but then does not know what to do with it. Worse, there are one or two points that seem important to me as a reader that ended up being unclear (and unfortunately I cannot list these without giving away the plot) so I did not really know what the ending was in fine detail. It is still a good read, but for me, the end was enough of a letdown that it left me feeling flat. Ian Miller, author of Troubles; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Arctic Wargame: Justin Hall #1 (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Ethan Jones Page; Review: The premise of this book takes a little getting used to, namely some Danish military makes an unauthorized attempt to take the northwest passage from Canada by launching a small invasion force. Once that is accepted this is a genuinely exciting action story. Justin, an agent of the Canadian Intelligence Service, is assigned the task of finding out what two icebreakers were doing in northern Canadian waters, and why. The time is April, so it is still cold up there. Justin takes a small team, which includes Carrie, whom he has previously almost married. The initial commander of the team is Alisha, with whom Justin definitely does not get on well. The remaining characters do not provide any great surprises for this genre, although in part this may be because they are needed to drive the plot. The team goes north, and we get some good descriptions of life around Baffin and Ellesmere Island, specifically Grise Fiord, Arctic Bay, and some other places I had never heard of before. Rightly or wrongly, I got a feeling for the way the few people there live, so the descriptions of the background are effective, although I cannot comment on their accuracy. There are also background facts, and some may be misleading. One that struck me was a statement that implied that with minus two degrees (Fahrenheit) and ten degrees of wind chill, even with good protective clothing, you could die of hypothermia within an hour. I once spent a year in Canada, and I know that is not true. (Without good protective clothing that may well be true.) Even worse, one part has the hero diving into Arctic water to rescue someone from a submerged car, after having undertaken a long truck chase. Apart from shooting a pistol underwater (not a good idea), survival when he emerged would be difficult, given the long drive back. However, let's put such things behind us. I have seen a lot worse in best sellers! Since this book is largely plot-driven, I shall not go further, other than to say that there is a sequence of exciting action sequences, all set in fairly appalling climatic conditions, and the sequence follows logically from what has preceded each part. Bearing in mind the primary premise, the characters are reasonably well-drawn, the dialogue is usually adequate and the story drags the reader in for an exciting ride. Towards the end there is a prolonged battle description. Fictional battles are difficult to write because in genuine battles, thanks to Clausewitz's "fog of war" (which Clausewitz did not actually coin but is a summary of his thoughts), often commanders have only a vague idea what is going on and other participants only have an idea of their immediate problems. This description is realistic, the battle could go either way, both sides suffer heavy casualties, and victory goes to the side that best recognizes the advantages of terrain, and works out a way to utilize it. (You might question why that piece of terrain was where it was, though.) To summarize, the book should; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00: McSwain & Beck, the reluctant sleuths (Volume 1); Author: CR Hiatt; Review: With the caveat that it is some time since I could be described as young, this book fits nicely into what I think a YA book should be. It is written first person from the viewpoint of Sydney McSwain, an eighteen-year-old, whose mother, a PI, is murdered. To earn something, Sydney and Cody Beck, who had worked for some time with Syd's mother, take over the firm, intending to survive financially on some routine surveillance. Somehow, they fail to realize that one reason why Syd's mother may have been murdered is that one of her investigations was coming up against serious badness, and before long Syd becomes ever increasingly drawn into something that is escalating rapidly. Nevertheless, as Syd describes herself, she is relentless, and we have a well-paced action/mystery that draws the reader in. The characters seem well-drawn and with the caveat above, the author seems to capture youth nicely. What I particularly liked is that Syd's adventures are all plausible with no unrealistic heroics, and the story progresses logically, at sufficient pace and with sufficient introduction of fresh material that the tension is maintained throughout. The story is well constructed, except perhaps at the end, which is more a teaser for further books. There are, however, occasional lapses of proofreading, e.g. "but what you did what still stupid". Presumably the second "what" should be "was". The story has some nice clues embedded that might draw in the perceptive reader, except that the occasional clanger spoils them. For example, Sydney is attacked and she hit the man with a swing of her backpack. Poor tactic, because a little earlier said backpack was locked in the boot of a car for safekeeping. At one stage, Sydney is hiding against a wall when four shots are fired. Two kill the person she came to meet, but later she is told two narrowly missed her. Sorry, but I assure the author, if a bullet narrowly misses you and hits something immediately behind you, you know about it. Nevertheless, these sort of things are picky, and my overall view is that this is a well-produced and eminently enjoyable YA book, and for that audience, I recommend it strongly. Ian Miller Author of Troubles.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Savage Bay: A Titan Six Action Thriller; Author: Christopher Forrest; Review: The story starts with a company Titan Global losing contact with their research facility on Es Vedra, a rocky island off the coast of Spain. This facility is in an old cold-war facility comprising massive excavations/caves in solid rock to act as a submarine base that could resist thermonuclear attack. (Just why you have a research facility there is unclear.) Six specially enhanced Special Forces soldiers are sent to find out what happened. They discover the base has been attacked by a submarine full of Chinese Special Forces intent on stealing the data, so they set about attempting to retake the base. What follows is essentially a sequence of battles that essentially follows something like the script of a "shoot 'em up" computer game. It is reasonably well-written, and it is non-stop action. The action is well-described, and in the first half, at least, there are some quite good tactics deployed, although later in the book, tactics seem to be forgotten. If non-stop action is all what you want to read, then this is worth five stars. If you want more, you will be disappointed. Soon we learn that there was treachery, which is how the Chinese got in. This could be the makings of a great story, but all that happens is that it is noted, the squad chase after the wrong person initially, and in doing so, shoot up a lot more Chinese. Apart from the very end, there is almost no character development, in part because there is no time because there are too many Chinese to shoot up. There are some curious things. The squad have nanobots in their blood stream that can release all sorts of chemicals to repair damage (broken bones are only a minor irritation to this squad!) and they can keep someone supplied with oxygen for thirty minutes. If that were true, the oxygen would have to be under such pressure it would totally destroy all the other chemicals, which, like the ammunition, seem to be there in infinite amounts. There are a number of other sillies that annoyed me that could be avoided with no loss to the story, but are there seemingly to impress the reader. I guess I was the wrong reader, because they annoyed me. One example: a Titan sniper shoots one of two Chinese at, from memory, 1800 meters. The second one is also shot, but not before he can get a shot off that hits the stock of the Titan's rifle. Come off it. To hit something at 1800 meters is near impossible, and it would need considerable correcting factors, as well as a secure base for the rifle (always assuming, for some reason, you had a suitable rifle). You also have to find the sniper, and if such a sniper has not hid sufficiently well that she was seen instantly at 1800 meters, then she does not qualify as a sniper. In short, if you want more than computer-game action, you will be disappointed.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The Martian; Author: Visit Amazon's Andy Weir Page; Review: A futuristic Robinson Crusoe! Due to a dust storm, Mark Watney is left for dead in the Acidalia region of Mars when the Ares 3 mission is aborted 6 days into the scheduled two months. What follows is largely a logbook of living in a large tent or a small rover for about 550 days on what was supposed to be two month's rations for 6 people. Fortunately there were some potatoes for thanksgiving that were alive, so Mark starts dividing them and growing them. But first he has to make soil, and then water, and so on. Generally speaking, a logbook is a poor technique, but here it is brilliant. You cannot have conversation, and you cannot develop other characters, but did I mention he was abandoned? Alone? You might still think that 550 days stuck in a tent or rover could get boring, but no, this book is absolutely gripping. Watney was resourceful, and the book is very good at showing the scientific approach to problems, putting numbers to them, and showing what happens if you do what, so in a sense it is also a book of puzzles: this has gone wrong, how can it be fixed? Tension is maintained well because Watney has an unseen companion: Murphy. If it can go wrong, it does, sometimes because of Watney's own lack of knowledge. To make water, first he makes hydrogen. This is not a good idea, and Watney finds out why. Because I have also written a book centred on Mars, I know the author has really spent a lot of time understanding the nature of Mars, and this book shows quite well what being on the surface of Mars would be like. There is the odd error, probably intentional for effect, for example the effects of the dust storm are too great. Martian winds can hit up to 200 k/h, but gas pressures are about 1% of Earth's, so, after correcting for the lower gravitational acceleration and the mass of dust, the forces will still be only a few percent of those of comparable wind velocities on Earth. That, however, is forgiven, because if the author were strictly correct on this, then there would be no story. To summarize, this is a surprisingly gripping story of survival against all the odds, and I strongly recommend it. Ian Miller, author of Red Gold.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Rock; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Doherty Page; Review: A nuclear bomb is smuggled into one of South Africa's deepest mines, and when detonated, ends the gold production necessary to power much of Africa's economic development. However, that is not all it does. Then a strange message appears to come out of Ayer's Rock. This message is in a highly compressed and coded form, but when decoded, the decoders see that it is the message carried by Voyager 2, intended for the rest of the Universe, although at this stage, Voyager 2 is at about twice Pluto's distance. Then, quite out of place, the message ends with the names of four people. The book then focuses on the US authorities "collecting" these people, with or without their permission, and shipping them to Ayer's Rock. Part of the book then becomes a mystery of the type "what is going on?" and accordingly, a reviewer should go no further in discussing the plot. The book is well-written, the characters are plausible, and there is reasonable action. As the plot unfolds, a threat of immense magnitude is presented, and the actions of high officials in both the US and Russia hinder proper resolution, but at the Colonel level, personal cooperation is possible. The ending more or less clears up part of the problem, although in principle it may have solved little, which, of course, opens the possibility of a sequel. The book is science fiction, but it involves totally practical present technology, plus some from those who generated the message. The story is self-consistent, and generally plausible, at least within the bounds of science fiction. The story progresses smoothly, and it is quite compelling reading. A very good story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Sedition: A Political Thriller; Author: Visit Amazon's Tom Abrahams Page; Review: In the near future, the President of the United States dies of an aneurism. The line of succession is laid out clearly in the Constitution and certain Acts, but there is a problem: the Vice President had died, and while the President had nominated a new Vice President, he had yet to be sworn in. The author gives a clear outline of the issues (although as a non-US citizen, I am not able to verify whether the legal points are correct). The outcome of the legal position is clear: lawyers at twenty paces, and eventually, off to the Supreme Court! At this point, the story focuses on the positioning of the "maybe VP" and the Speaker, and the legal positioning. This part of the book brings up a very important issue: what is the law on succession in this situation? The story then introduces each of a small group who call themselves Daturans, and they see that there is a simple answer to this succession problem: Semtex. Another major protagonist is Matti Harrold, a young NSA staff member who works at the desk, decoding. Suddenly, her supervisor sends her out into the field. At first Matti is thrilled, then she realizes that the information given to her is inadequate, the NSA generally does not do field work, and even if they did, they would not send in a young woman with absolutely no training. Something is wrong. The rather complicated plot, the legal complexities and the rather large cast of characters with their different objectives make the first part of this book a little overwhelming. The author addresses the inevitable information overload by giving very full descriptions of the environment and does something not often done: he portrays the nature of the character through their clothing. This was first done (as far as I know) in the Nibelungenlied, so there is a tradition. However, for this financially and sartorially challenged reviewer, the sequence of brands etc do not mean much. The story then comes to life, with the author making a number of points relating to the inability of US Security organizations to function properly and coordinate with each other, so even when Blind Freddy sees the plot should fail, the authorities' lack of coordination virtually assure the reader that it has strong possibilities. The characterization is very well described, the plot has a driving internal logic once it gets established, and it manages tension and surprise very well. The production is clean, although there are occasional flaws where words appear to have been omitted. Overall, I found this book held my interest strongly. It is a chilling story, but chillingly plausible. Declaration: I received a free copy for the purposes of review. Ian Miller, author of Troubles.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Art of War: The New Translation (Harper Perennial Modern Classics); Author: Visit Amazon's Sun-Tzu Page; Review: This book comprises two parts. One is a translation of what Sun Tzu wrote, together with some comments from Chinese generals who lived shortly after. These comments are explanations for what Sun Tzu meant. What Sun Tzu wrote were chapters that were a collection of points, each point a short piece of advice, which was usually a broad generality on one hand and a universal truth on another. As such, much of what he wrote, although essentially designed for Chinese infantry and chariots of the fourth century BC (or thereabouts), are in many ways just as applicable today. The second part is a description of what we know about the history of the period, and how Sun Tzu (if there were actually a Sun Tzu!) fitted into his time. What is given is very extensive; I do not know whether it is accurate because distant history usually involves some degree of interpretation, but the authors/compilers of the historical aspects appear to have covered most of the possibilities. There are two reasons for purchasing "The Art of War". The first is to obtain the text attributed to Sun Tzu, and assuming you wish to do this, any such book will probably do. The second is to obtain the auxiliary information, and for this I highly recommend this version. Ian Miller, author of Troubles.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pompeii: A Tale of Murder in Ancient Rome; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Colton Page; Review: The basic plot is as follows. While in Alexandria, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus Marcellus is to be made Tribunus militum under Corbulo, but instead of reporting for duty, he and his slave, Tay, travel to Rome, where Marcellus' father is dying. He finds the father alive, there is confusion over a letter that Marcellus has wrongly taken to his father's house, and when he takes Helen and Marcus there to receive it, there is an argument with his father, his father has what is presumably a heart attack, bangs his head on a table as he falls, and dies. An old friend of his father accuses Marcellus of patricide. Helen and Marcus flee, Marcellus and Tay eventually chase after them to get them to testify that the death was natural, and when Helen is murdered near Pompeii, the great earthquake of 62 AD occurs. While trying to unravel what is going on, Marcellus and Tay become the owners of a brothel. The descriptions of Pompeii and Roman life indicate that the author has done a lot of research on the subject, and may well have fallen in love with Pompeii. The story is easy to read and the descriptions of what was going on in Pompeii seem authentic, at least to the level we can understand a period so far away. On a lesser note, I found the first part of this plot a little implausible. If a Roman received orders to report for Army duty, he would report. Then there was the death in Rome. The accuser was not a witness, so instead of fleeing, why not get witnesses to the fact that the only blood would be on the corner of the table (assuming there was any wound at all)? Roman prosecutions were private, and would have to be brought by the accuser, who would have to admit he did not see anything. Further, Marcellus was on excellent terms with the Consul Petronius, so why flee? The major characters are well-drawn, however, I found it hard to believe that Marcellus, essentially the least aggressive person you could imagine, would want to be in the army, or that any friend would recommend him to one of the strictest of Roman disciplinarians. Each legion had one Tribunus laticlavius (the tribune of the first cohort) (the other tribunes, tribunii angusticlavii were usually from the equestrian order) so getting a military position required somebody else putting their reputation on the line. However, this has no part in the story, which is reasonably easy to read; there is a very large cast of characters, and apart from Marcellus' complete lack of ambition, the characters plausibly fit into what we think some of Roman society might have been like. The story has an internal logic, and you may have trouble guessing the ending, and while Marcellus stumbles around and gets side-tracked readily, nevertheless he and Tay get there. If you have some passion for Roman history, there is plenty here for you.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Luftwaffe Fighter Ace: From the Eastern Front to the Defense of the Homeland (Stackpole Military History Series); Author: Norbert Hanning; Review: This book comprises the memoirs of Norbert Hannig, who fought a little less than the last half of world war II in the Luftwaffe. Hannig was not an ardent Nazi, and one of the interesting parts of the book is the appendix, which gives the German Military Code. This is Hannig's way of showing that the German military was not a bunch of thugs, and he distances himself from the Nazis. I mention that because it gives an interesting example of Hannig's writing style: it is somewhat restrained. His most telling points are made by simple example, and often his real feelings show through in only a few words. Hannig was a good soldier in the proper sense, and he fought because Germany was at war. A further example of this restrained way of writing lies in the notification of his brother's death: he died for Volk and Reich; no mention of the Fuhrer, which was supposed to be obligatory. To get the most from this book, you have to read and think about what you have read. Hannig is an unusual writer of memoirs in that he writes everything as if it were yesterday, and thus captures the spirit of then. He learned to fly by first having to fly what he calls a glider, but in reality had to be the cheapest version possible. He describes sitting on a plank, one hand on the joystick, and the other holding the plank for dear life, and he gives the sense of thrill that only a young man feels. In the middle, he had to fly over the Battle of Kursk, and you could see the lack of enthusiasm as realization had to strike that Germany now could not win, yet he still flew on. He had a job to do, and one of the things he was rightly proud of was that he never lost a wingman. He describes being sent to fly the Me 262, which he really wanted to do, not because it would do any good for the war, but he wanted to fly a jet, and you can see the real thrill that aircraft gave him. After the war, there is the material for almost another book, as he wandered around the ruins of Germany searching for his Gisela, who, fortunately, he eventually found. (She had managed to survive the firestorm of Dresden, yet Hannig merely mentions this, without rancor.) Then at the end of the book, retired, he looks up at the sky, and in a way that only an older man would understand, wistfully thinks about how he would like one last yo-yo. This is not a war book in the usual sense. Rather it is a book about a real human being who loved to fly and who was caught up in an unfortunate period. Of course it does describe the flying tactics, and also some of the failings of the Luftwaffe, the most telling one being "bomber escort". When interrogated by a Russian officer, Hannig was asked provocatively why Germany lost if they; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Dominion; Author: C J Sansom C. J. Sansom; Review: Rich in detail "Dominion" is in the genre "alternative history". When Chamberlain resigned in 1940, there were two contenders for Prime Minister. The underpinning premise of this book is that Churchill was not chosen, and that Britain promptly negotiated a favourable surrender. Accordingly, the book, being set in the early 1950s, finds Britain as a fascist state and Germany has an overseeing right. Sansom then generates some further alternative history. Japan does not invade South East Asia and does not bomb Pearl Harbour, but rather fights on in China, the USA stays neutral, and Germany gets bogged down in a war with Russia. Personally, I feel this last option is extremely unlikely in this scenario, but it is not my story! I am not quite sure why it is there, because it has no relevance to the main story. The book starts by introducing characters, and we get their background details, and I mean details. If you like novels where you know everything there is to know about the characters, this is the book for you. If, on the other hand, you like to get into the story quickly, this may not be quite for you. As a writer, I may be criticized for the "slow start", but even I found this somewhat frustrating because by page 175, I was still unclear as to exactly what this story was going to be about. Oh, and the background detail does not stop there. The essence of the plot is that Frank Muncaster is given information he should not have, and the resistance has to keep Frank out of German hands. The writing is clear, and the details make what is happening very vivid. Uncontested action is told in very vivid detail, and you should easily visualize the scenes. Contested action is not quite as good. Generally, if you think about it, it becomes quite implausible. More than once, it appears the Gestapo do not seem to realize that a house has a back door, while the final action scene must be read quickly, without thinking about it. As long as you do not think, it is exciting; think about it and it becomes variously implausible and silly. Finally, there is a postscript-type ending, where suddenly detail flies out the window, and it appears that it is really the author saying, "I do not want to write a sequel so this scenario must die." Overall, I found it an engrossing read, apart from the contested action scenes. Ian J Miller, author of Troubles.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Captain of Rome (Masters of the Sea); Author: Visit Amazon's John Stack Page; Review: Captain of Rome follows the adventures of Atticus, a Greek captain of a trireme in the Roman navy during the first Punic war. The plot commences with Varro, a Tribune on his first command, ordering, against the advice of Atticus, a small fleet into a port at Thermae to attack Carthaginian ships, only to find that these ships are laden with Carthaginian men. A trap appears to have been sent, but some legionaries need saving. Varro orders an immediate retreat, but Atticus refuses to follow orders, and works to save some of the troops, and eventually breaks a poorly set trap and escapes. Varro is accused of cowardice, but later is saved by Cnaeus Cornelius Scipio. Varro is determined to have revenge on Atticus. The story ends at the Battle of Ecnomus, where Rome beats an equivalent Carthaginian fleet in one of the world's largest naval battles, and where Atticus finally . . . well, you have to read it to find out. As a historical novel, the book gives an accurate (as far as I can tell) account of how the Roman navy operated at the time, and leaving aside Atticus and Varro, gives what seems to be a reasonable account of the Battle of Ecnomus. It gives a very good picture of what was really wrong with Rome, and more or less of Carthage. Carthage is more of a problem because the history tends to be written by the victor, and eventually Carthage was totally obliterated and its library totally destroyed. The book is a little weaker on Carthaginian strategy and tactics, and in particular avoids noting that the Carthaginian tactic was to try to sink an enemy ship by ramming, and NOT engage in hand to hand fighting. Accordingly, one of the tactics employed by Atticus was, in fact, rather stupid. I also suspect that the role of Scipio was overdone. I doubt a Roman ex-Consul would be particularly concerned about a Greek captain who he had never seen, and since he had the additional cognomen Asina, thanks to his previous incompetence, it is unlikely he had the influence Stack gives him. Rather interestingly, from a purely military point of view, the order that Varro gave, and which Atticus refused to follow, was the correct order, and if the Senate had any real military experience within it, Varro should have been vindicated. It is not cowardice to run from an oncoming disaster, and you cannot base your strategy on the assumption that the enemy will be even more incompetent than yourself! But these are small points. The history may not be quite right, but this is an exciting well-written book, and if you are interested in time of the Punic wars, this is well worth reading. Ian J Miller, Author of Red Gold.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Red Storm; Author: Visit Amazon's Frank Luna Page; Review: Eight people crew a ship called Mars 2, which has landed on Mars. Their job appears to have been to find water, do preliminary exploration and to set up a habitat for a replacement crew arriving on Mars 3. The book starts with a crisis: the leader, Mac, has to save a crewman from being sucked into an exit valve when the habitat decompresses while he has let himself almost run out of air. The design of this habitat would have anyone with any knowledge of engineering tearing their hair, but you must forgive this because it is critical for a later part of the book. Next, Mars 3 "disappears", closely followed by Earth. Now what for Mars 2 crew? Of course, planets do not disappear; it is merely out of contact. The problem then is, if the crew of Mars 3 arrive, the facilities are inadequate for the two crews to survive, but if they try to send the Mars 2 crew home, with no help from Earth they may not be able to navigate properly. If I tell any more I would spoil the rest because this is a story that depends critically on the plot. The book is well-written, the characters are reasonably well-drawn and there are some very well-written action scenes. At first sight, there are a number of "facts" that are just plain wrong, but do not give up. Think of the way they are presented, and you will see very neat clues to what follows. This is masterly, and the book, at this point, fully deserves five stars and the highest praise. However, there are negatives. First, no character takes advantage of or mentions these clues, so I have to wonder whether they were really put there deliberately or unconsciously. There are some other observations that are just plain wrong and are not clues to anything, while some parts of the plot did not relate at all well, in my opinion, to other parts that were well-separated. There were loose ends scattered through the book, while credibility gets stretched at times, and this loses a star. Nevertheless, if you do not look too closely at these structural aspects, the book is a very enjoyable read. Ian J Miller Author of A Face on Cydonia.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Black Orchestra: A WW2 Spy Story (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's JJ Toner Page; Review: This starts with Kurt Mller, a Leutnant in the Abwehr noticing that Kleister, an Abwehr agent, dead at his desk due, seemingly, to a bullet in the back of the head. The KRIPO declare this a suicide, but Kurt does not see how anyone could kill himself that way so he begins to ask questions. After some time, he is taken by the Gestapo, beaten up, questioned, but let go. Apparently Kurt is a nephew of Reinhard Heydrich. I will not go any further because to do so would spoil the story, which is particularly plot-driven, except to note there is a group of people comprising "The Black Orchestra", and these have come to the attention of the Gestapo. The writing is taut, and while I do not really know, the descriptions of Germany in the first two years of WW II seem to be believable. There are prolonged action sequences that are well-written (with one reservation) that maintain good tension, while the characters of Kurt and his friends are well-drawn. With these considerations alone, this is clearly a five-star book. However, the book is a historical novel, and historical details should be followed reasonably. You are at war, an agent is dead in the major intelligence-gathering organization, so who should show some interest? Don't you think "spy" or "enemy agent" might cross someone's mind? If so, the SD would become involved immediately. A Gestapo agent beats up a nephew of Heydrich regarding a matter the SD should be the investigating agent. Really? At that time, beat up a relation of Heydrich, and you had better have a good reason. Then, when Heydrich finds out what has happened, nothing happens? Really? Later, when Kurt is in Ireland, there is a prolonged action sequence that reads as a very exciting account, until you stop and realize that the opposition could not conceivably be so inept. Then, at the end, you learn how Kleister died. Apart from the fact that "why?", and everything surrounding it, is left up in the air, the KRIPO investigation makes no sense. To sum up, this is well-written as long as you do not think too hard about the background, it is exciting, the characters (apart from Heydrich and the Gestapo) are plausible, but there are strands that are left floating. Ian Miller, Author of Troubles; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Author Publicity Pack: Resources to Help You Take Your Book Marketing To The Next Level (Book Marketing Success 5); Author: Visit Amazon's Shelley Hitz Page; Review: This is not really a book in most senses, but rather a compilation of useful links and other information to assist the Indie author marketing his/her books. Since I purchased it on a "free" day, in mathematical terms, the value for cost is infinite (!!) but even without that consideration, unless the Indie author is a natural publicist, this is a very valuable compilation of information; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hostile Witness; Author: Visit Amazon's Rebecca Forster Page; Review: The plot of this courtroom drama is somewhat ordinary. Hannah Sheraton is accused of murdering a Supreme Court judge, the father of Kip, the man her mother, Linda Sheraton is trying to have look after her. Kip wants to be a judge, so Hannah is an embarrassment. Linda hires Josie Baylor-Bates, who had handled some high profile cases before seemingly giving them away, to defend Hannah. Forster has presumably heard that characters should have flaws; whether these have flaws is a matter of opinion, but they sure carry loads of baggage. The judge's body was badly burned in a fire, but there is evidence that that was not what killed him, or at least incapacitated him. Hannah has burnt arms, which she claims arose through failed efforts to put out the fire. When Hannah is recued, she has muttered, "It's all my fault." Case closed for the prosecution! But wait! Judge is seriously flawed, Kip is no great shakes, Josie decides Hannah is innocent, and, well, you see where this is going. The description of the police evidence is at best scant, and in this country, this would never make it to court. When Hannah said, "It's all my fault," seemingly no policeman thought to ask, "What is your fault?" At this stage, all they know is there has been a fire. I thought police asked questions of witnesses. Needless to say, the prosecution leaps to conclusions based on not much, but Josie has severe problems, not the least of which is a highly disturbed Hannah. All the same, for some reason she does not seem to be very interested in Josie's side of the story. While the set-up and scenarios are fairly average, the author makes up for this with good questioning and answering in the courtroom (good in terms of story; I know nothing of American procedure) and the story moves on at a good pace. The ending has a certain lack of sense, though, and Josie's opponents have a certain cardboard texture. I gather this is the first in a series, and later books may be well worth reading. Ian Miller, author of Troubles; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mourningtide: Book II of The Memphis Cycle (Volume 2); Author: Diana Wilder; Review: The book commences with the son of Seti I make an impulsive and not very sensible decision, which led him into an ambush, where he died. The story then focuses on Seti, who is not told properly about the death. Seti then leaves his son Ramesses II as regent and goes to Thebes to mourn and recover, pretending to be no more than a scribe Sa-Ramses, hence the title of the book. The book is nicely written, and shows what life in ancient Egypt might have been like. On top of this, there is a threat of raiders from Libya, and the story evolves to show how Seti approaches this problem without letting on who he is. The book is more character and background driven than plot driven, and Wilder does a very good job at maintaining interest. A man mourning the death of his son is not immediately obvious as the centre of a plot, nevertheless I felt quite taken by the story. The events are fictional, nevertheless Seti was confronted by such Libyan raiders from time to time, so the background, while fictional, is at least based loosely on the sort of thing that happened. Diana Wilder has obviously carried out a lot of research on ancient Egypt, and you can see her fascination with it in her writing. Was Seti really like this? The fact is, we simply do not know. The historical records of the times are largely inscriptions on a wall at Karnak that lists Seti's major victories, and praises Seti, and various artefacts that can be associated with him. The real man is probably unknowable, but Diana Wilder has created a character that impresses the reader, and we have a highly readable book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Mother of All Viruses; Author: Visit Amazon's John Kovacich Page; Review: The book starts at a small US University where the young Professor Deidre Jennings has a problem. She has kicked off her career with a piece of inspiration, but subsequent inspiration eludes her. This little scene is somewhat recognizable if you have been in this position, so well done, John. Somehow, she gets the idea to formulate a research program computing and predicting quantum events. I found this concept somewhat silly, but we can forgive this because it has nothing really to do with the story other than she needs extreme computing power. She inherits that from another professor, and besides the computer, she inherits the professor's assistant, Bobby, and something else embedded in the computer as well. When she has insufficient computing power, Bobby comes up with a means to get lots of additional processors from gamers, and in one glorious experiment, she gets considerably more processing, and eventually more than she expected. All sorts of things get of hand. The story is quite enthralling, and the author shows an interesting technique in the middle of the story by splitting it into several strands, and by jumping between them, it feels as though a lot is happening when in reality little is. This is good technique. While the structural technique is excellent, there are perhaps too many grammatical errors, particularly relating to apostrophes and possessive pronouns, and overall, I found too many parts of the plot did not really make sense. One simple example. If the Federal authorities thought that stolen government property was on a site, surely they would simply get a search warrant rather than send in burglars? Or even approach the known innocent professor and ask to see the computer? However, perhaps I am being a little harsh there; I thought that the dysfunctional aspects of communication between various US agencies was ridiculous, however having read about 9/11, maybe they are closer to the truth than I like. To summarize, I think if you like a book relating to computers and undesirable outcomes from computers, and if you do not think too hard about why people are doing what they are, this should be a good book for you.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Right to Kill: A Brooklyn Tale; Author: Visit Amazon's Jim McGinty Page; Review: The Prologue starts with a funeral, after which some Brooklyn friends agree that whoever did that is going to get killed. This story spoiler is also on the blurb, and makes reviewing difficult! Set in the second half of the 1960s, Sean Cercone from Brooklyn has abandoned law school, at least temporarily, and has joined the marines. We meet his friends, then his girl, Sandy Gold, a Jewess. (I felt more should have been made of the Catholic/Jew mixture.) The next section involves Sean's time in Viet Nam. The author was a communications man there, so he knows what happened, nevertheless I felt there is a "second-hand aspect" to the front line fighting. (I also reviewed Deep Jay, which gives a more "personal" view of the soldier's viewpoint.) At this time there were strong antiwar protests, and Sean's friends' anti-protest protest, while fictional, is well worth reading! Then Sandy is murdered, and the murderer is going to get away with it. Well, as seen in the Prologue, not exactly. In the third section, Sean returns to the States a broken man in more ways than one. The book is well-written, with very well drawn characters and the third section is a highlight from the point of view of emotional writing. Very well done! On the negative side, following the Tet offensive the marines knew they won that encounter, but defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory by the press and the protests. Surely that would have generated very strong feelings in those recovering but no mention was made. Also, in parts, the plot does not make sense. One example: you need an alibi, so you have your name booked on a flight to Bangkok. Surely an empty seat flags trouble and negates the alibi? However, leaving aside such flaws, the book will stir up your emotions, make you think again of this period, and it is well worth reading.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: THE ORANGE MOON AFFAIR: A Thomas Gunn Thriller (International Mystery, Thriller and Suspense Series Book 1) - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's AFN CLARKE Page; Review: This book is a genuine thriller, it is visual in nature, and could well be lifted directly into a two episode TV miniseries. It is first person, and follows Thomas Gunn, who was once in the Special Forces, and starts with a wounded Thomas Gunn escaping with Julie in a helicopter. We then have to go back to find out how they got there. Thomas' father was murdered, and Thomas reluctantly takes over his father's company Gunn Enterprises, and before long he finds out that his father had started a venture in Northern Ireland, which got something like 2.75 billion in government grants, there is no accounting, and nobody, not even the Fraud Squad, cares, so Thomas has to unravel everything himself. What follows is a thrill a minute, and the most outrageous conspiracy ever. Whatever Thomas does, he bangs against a conspirator! What I liked above all else is the action scenes are realistic, and apart from Thomas' ability to recover from wounds, this might well be the best realistic thriller I have seen for some time. The author was apparently in the Parachute Regiment, which explains the realism. There are negatives; Thomas could have planned better, however, that is picky. I also found the writing to be somewhat clunky at times, and editing in some places would not have gone astray. For example, there was one sentence where he had a sore arm because a bullet went through his upper right arm. There are a number of better ways to put that. If you read it quickly, this is definitely worth 5 stars; the awkward writing in places is why I pulled it back to 4. But watch Clarke. Once he sorts things out a little better, he will be a great thriller writer.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar; Author: Visit Amazon's Simon Sebag Montefiore Page; Review: The book is essentially a biography/history of Josef Stalin from the time of Lenin's death to Stalin's death, with a few notes on what followed. At just under 700 pages, it is not exactly brief, nevertheless it is tightly written, and no words are wasted, and nothing pointless is written. It has what for me was an incredible amount of detail, and it gave me a picture of events that changed my preconceived views considerably. I knew before I started that Stalin was a mass murderer, and I assumed that his senior officials were as guilty, and this is correct. What I had not realized was the reason, at least initially. Hundreds of thousands died of starvation in the 1930s as Stalin took their food and sold it to the west to get money. The reason was that Stalin believed that Germany would eventually attack Russia, and he had to industrialize to make the necessary war materials. As it happened, he was right, although there were definitely better methods to get to where he wanted. Stalin was extremely intelligent, even if he was a sociopath of the worst order. He killed 20 million, and deported 28 million, many to the gulags, for the crimes that they might eventually get around to committing. His policy was, better kill ten innocent than let one person go who might later be a problem. The book shows how he put together the Soviet war effort, having already put to death his most capable generals. Reason: these generals believed in mechanized warfare, and rejected such things as cavalry charges. Accordingly, when Germany invaded, Russia almost collapsed. The way Stalin dealt with Roosevelt is fascinating; Stalin knew who beat Germany, and he was going to get his reward, namely half of Europe. Finally, after the war, Stalin returned to the terror. Why? This is less than clear in the book. It was probably because that was all that Stalin was now good at. Finally, we have his death, which again was somewhat different from what I thought. It was a long-drawn out and rather a painful exit, in which nobody helped in time because everybody was too scared to do anything. If there were any justice, his death was part of it. Part of the eye-opening revolved around some of the others. Khruschev was simply a murdering beast, a sort of dilute less competent Stalin. On the other hand, Beria eventually showed signs of enlightenment, after decades of mass cruelty. He saw what the Soviet Union had to do, a little like an early Gorbachev, and he was murdered for it, thanks to Zhukov and the army. The book is well-written, it has an incredible amount of detail, it has an unbelievable index so it acts as a reference book, and if you are interested in the life of Stalin, or, for that matter, of the most pointless killer in recent times, this is the book for you.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Return to Mars; Author: Visit Amazon's Ben Bova Page; Review: SciFi with a difference - the author tries to include some science! The author acknowledges advice received from NASA Ames Research centre, and it shows. The description of the Martian surface is as good as could be expected from someone who, perforce, was never there, and the descriptions of the habitats, gardens, and equipment again are authentic. You feel that the author has been there, and that is an achievement. As is fair, the author then introduces some additional fiction. Eight people are on a mission to return to Mars. The first expedition has found signs of life, lichens, and the main character, Jamie Waterman, thought he saw a wall, signs of intelligent life, so he must return. The bulk of the story is really about the interpersonal relationships and different reasons for going. Jamie wants to investigate his wall, biologists want to examine the lichens and see if there is further life, geologists want to do geology, while Dex wants to make money from the expedition. So there is an immediate conflict of interest: Mars as an entity to be left untouched other than for serious scientific study, and Mars as a means to generate income and eventually be settled. Finally, there is a member of the expedition who is mentally unstable, and tries to sabotage the expedition, so everyone will go home and leave Mars to its own devices. The author makes an excellent job of blending these disparate interests, and demonstrates that he is an excellent storyteller. There are, however, two negatives. The first is that of portents. There are short diary entries from the mentally unstable but unknown person. Personally, I do not like that as a way of generating tension. Then we get "the plot to force abandoning the expedition". I felt it was forced, and worse, the person concerned was sufficiently balanced most of the time (to hide identity) that the person would know better than to do those things if that were the objective. One problem with going to Mars is you cannot just up and go home. There are specific time windows. The second, for me, was that the science has a number of real blotches once we get away from the description of the surface and the habitat. A poor choice of words might be the cause of "hydrogen condensing at night"; no, it will not. On the other hand, one or two others are hard to understand, thus we have lichens growing inside rocks because there are the elements of water there. Yes, there are, but the power source for lichens is sunlight, and how does that get inside a rock? Then there were the nucleobases of such life: compounds so unknown they had no names. Sorry, but as a professional chemist I have to say all chemicals have names, even if undiscovered: there is systematic naming that, while clumsy, nevertheless exists. Also, it is virtually impossible to have nucleobases without adenine being present, because just about every synthetic route gives adenine. Nevertheless, these are small points. They do not impinge on; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet); Author: Visit Amazon's Orson Scott Card Page; Review: Rather unusually in a book, Card has a Foreword that comments on how the book was written and what the initial responses were. It appeared that people either loved it or hated it, and this creates a problem for me as a reviewer, because I have a foot in both camps. Card has a master's degree in literature, and in his early years he spent much time involved with plays. Accordingly, his interest lies in human interactions, and since this book was first drafted when Card was barely out of adolescence, he wrote about children. The book is written mainly in the "show, not tell" mode, although that switches towards the end, where it becomes more important to cover territory. For me, this is partly the wrong way around. It starts with Ender, a 6-year-old boy, and who happens to be "a third". It took me about 10% into the book to be sure what that meant. Ender is chosen to go to "battle school"; the problem is that Earth has been previously attacked by "buggers" (sentient beings that have a society similar to that of ants) and Earth has to respond to defend itself. What it is doing is taking very young children that have been selected following a period during which they had monitors embedded in them, and they are to be trained as commanders of a space fleet. The training for Ender comprises a mixture of bullying, neglect, games, and "battles" in which "armies" (more like mini companies of miniplatoons) battle in zero gravity. The story largely follows Ender as he is tested to the limits of his endurance, while there is a subplot in which Ender's older brother and sister begin manipulating Earth's society through blog posts. The really good included the depiction of Ender, except that the boy should be older. No six-year-old could think like that, but that does not really matter. Ender is tested to the extreme, and the description of his coming to almost a total breakdown is extremely good. The story is highly original, and while the story in retrospect seems reasonably straightforward, Card tells it in such a way that there are genuine surprises from time to time. The craftsmanship in telling a story and playing with the reader's emotions is excellent. The story also properly appreciates the time dilation effect of relativity, so the science is fine. He does have an invention giving instantaneous communication at a distance, which violates relativity, but this is fine because the story depends critically on it. No such ability, no story. That is the ideal use of "the magic wand" - not to get the author out of trouble, or to shift a standard story into space, but to create a new original story. Good stuff. There are less appealing aspects. First, battle school is mainly devoted to tactics, and worse, nobody learns anything from what happens. The teachers teach nothing. The idea seems to be to let a great commander evolve. They treat the children as dirt. No great commander in history had such; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Galbraith Page; Review: J K Rowling ended her Harry Potter series and appears to have started off another writing career in the crime genre, at first under the pen-name of Galbraith. At that point, sales were modest, so she confessed her identity as the author, and sales rocketed. All of this makes writing a review difficult because it is hard to keep this background at bay. The Cuckoo's Calling follows the general approach of Agatha Christie: a body, the private detective (Cormoran Strike - a wizardry-type name!) interviews everybody then at the end, confronts the guilty party and explains what happened. There is no real action, and plenty of witnesses who do not seem to know much, and many of them are not exactly truthful all the time, for various reasons. At the end, the guilty party more or less concedes. So, how well was this done? I thought Strike was a somewhat clichd character. An ex-military policeman with his leg blown off in Afghanistan, he has broken up with his woman, he has hardly any clients and he is badly in debt. Surely we can do a little better than that? As a detective, he certainly went about it the right way. Such detection is really about gaining and sieving through morasses of information, and Strike certainly gains lots of information. He has a temp: Robin, another clich, but she is quite useful, and, as you might guess, somewhat unappreciated. My guess is that most readers will have difficulty deducing (as opposed to guessing) the real culprit because some critical information does not seem to be delivered until the very end. Also, there are some logic issues with the ending, and in some ways it is an interesting book from the point of view of working out what these issues are. The police were also rather incompetent - another clich. The event involved a famous young woman falling from the fourth floor: was it suicide or was she pushed? Shortly after the body fell, two men were recorded running from the scene. They could not be identified, and the police decided it was suicide. Surely two unidentified runners would raise some concern or interest? Leaving that aside, as would be expected of an experienced writer, the writing is fluent, it is easily read, and the structure of the story is good. The interviews are realistic as far as conversation goes, and the descriptions of parts of London certainly put the reader in the picture. Rowling is very keen on description, and very little is presented without a deep description. The minor characters are plausible, and it is an entertaining read. If you can guess the guilty party and have a good reason to justify the guess, you will be doing well. Ian Miller, author of Troubles.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Curiosity: A Novel (P.S.); Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen P. Kiernan Page; Review: Erastus Carthage leads the Carthage Institute of Cellular Seeking (see a problem?) and his institute has developed techniques for resurrecting krill deep frozen in "hard ice". There has been success, but the krill only live for the briefest of time, then their metabolisms accelerate and they die. An expedition into Arctic waters is collecting more krill when they find a frozen body. The frozen body is taken back to the lab, and an effort to resurrect the man begins. What follows is well-written and well-presented and the characters start out being well-drawn. The question then is, what is this book about? Carthage is a bully-type leader but brilliant, and he has a brilliant team under him. Is it about character decay and hubris? Is it about back-stabbing? Jeremiah Rice, the frozen man is resurrected, and we have a man from 100 years ago viewing the modern world. Is it a comedy of manners? Then, almost three quarters the way through, we ask, is it a romance? It is a bit of each of them, but that gives a real problem with bringing the story to a proper ending, and I was dissatisfied. If all you want is a soft and doomed romance that ends with heart-strings pulled, then this book might be worth five stars, but if you want the characters to act in character, it is disappointing; instead they act more as soggy cardboard. It is difficult to explain without spoiling the ending, but here are some examples that hopefully show the problem but do not serously affect the story. Before trying the resurrection, shouldn't someone make the point that they should sort out the issue of why the krill die before proceeding? Rice has been in ice for a century, so some more time in the freezer is hardly detrimental. When things start going wrong, Carthage has to give a press conference to defend himself. He finds the ink has run on his lecture notes and he cannot read them. (Lecture-note laundering!) He then goes into a funk. Come off it. The man is described as Nobel-prize quality, so surely he would be able to speak without notes. The behaviour of the scientists does not relate to who they are supposed to be or how they start out; wimps do not reach the top of their field. Even the romance does not make sense; you love someone, you expect them to die soon, so wouldn't you (a PhD) make some effort to see if they could be treated? There are a number of stories here, and most of them are wrapped up in a final chapter, sometimes with less than a paragraph devoted to it. Now it is fair that some have to be put to one side, but I felt that with such powerful themes, the last half should have had more bangs, far fewer whimpers and much less self-pity. Ian J Miller - author of "A Face on Cydonia"; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Curiosity; Author: ; Review: Erastus Carthage leads the Carthage Institute of Cellular Seeking (see a problem?) and his institute has developed techniques for resurrecting krill deep frozen in "hard ice". There has been success, but the krill only live for the briefest of time, then their metabolisms accelerate and they die. An expedition into Arctic waters is collecting more krill when they find a frozen body. The frozen body is taken back to the lab, and an effort to resurrect the man begins. What follows is well-written and well-presented and the characters start out being well-drawn. The question then is, what is this book about? Carthage is a bully-type leader but brilliant, and he has a brilliant team under him. Is it about character decay and hubris? Is it about back-stabbing? Jeremiah Rice, the frozen man is resurrected, and we have a man from 100 years ago viewing the modern world. Is it a comedy of manners? Then, almost three quarters the way through, we ask, is it a romance? It is a bit of each of them, but that gives a real problem with bringing the story to a proper ending, and I was dissatisfied. If all you want is a soft and doomed romance that ends with heart-strings pulled, then this book might be worth five stars, but if you want the characters to act in character, it is disappointing; instead they act more as soggy cardboard. It is difficult to explain without spoiling the ending, but here are some examples that hopefully show the problem but do not serously affect the story. Before trying the resurrection, shouldn't someone make the point that they should sort out the issue of why the krill die before proceeding? Rice has been in ice for a century, so some more time in the freezer is hardly detrimental. When things start going wrong, Carthage has to give a press conference to defend himself. He finds the ink has run on his lecture notes and he cannot read them. (Lecture-note laundering!) He then goes into a funk. Come off it. The man is described as Nobel-prize quality, so surely he would be able to speak without notes. The behaviour of the scientists does not relate to who they are supposed to be or how they start out; wimps do not reach the top of their field. Even the romance does not make sense; you love someone, you expect them to die soon, so wouldn't you (a PhD) make some effort to see if they could be treated? There are a number of stories here, and most of them are wrapped up in a final chapter, sometimes with less than a paragraph devoted to it. Now it is fair that some have to be put to one side, but I felt that with such powerful themes, the last half should have had more bangs, far fewer whimpers and much less self-pity. Ian J Miller - author of "A Face on Cydonia"; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Renaissance of Aspirin (Jack Wheaton Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's Glenn Parris Page; Review: Imagine you and a friend are PhD students at MIT, and on a stellar scale, you probably rate as red dwarfs. You are in a cafeteria and a stunning young woman is looking for a spare seat. You offer one, right? As it turns out, on the stellar scale, she is a blue supergiant, and she looks into your project. She has been working on a new medical treatment for fibromyalgia, for which there is no cure. Her workplace finds one that is 100% effective and there are billions of dollars at stake. Anita is fired for not being where she is supposed to be, so she further helps the others who are consigned to a basement lab. (From experience, I would have loved a basement lab - you cannot flood your supervisor's office!) Her previous employers decide to spy on her to see what she is up to, whereupon they hear her announce a 50,000 year breakthrough. What does she mean? Her previous employees think she has made another breakthrough in fibromyalgia; you, the reader, may interpret this differently since the thesis of the dwarfs is on the dietary aspects of hominids from 50,000 years BP. Anita and Gil go away for a week, come back, it is snowing, they have sex, and since Anita's car is wrongly parked, Gil offers to move it. Car and Gil detonate, one other dwarf is murdered, but the third has a father who is a General with Homeland Security, so Anita is sent to Atlanta as an intern. This covers, from memory, something like the contents of Chapter three. Ass you can see, there is no shortage of plot! The intensity is staggering. This is a story with sex and violence, so it is not suitable for some tender minds. The early part of the story in Atlanta spends quite a lot of time introducing new characters, many with Dickensian names (e.g. Khandi Barr). There is a good variety of these, they are well-drawn, but there is, in my view, a little too much devoted to medical procedures. Then Helen, one of the initial test subjects in the fibromyalgia study turns up as an almost perpetual patient. Is something wrong with the trial drug? Then characters start to get killed at a serious rate, and then the thriller aspect steps up several gears. As I indicated in the first paragraph, the reader should not think too hard about why things are happening. The ending is a little rushed, in fact it is almost a separate story in its own right, and at the very end there is a scene that explains why the book has such a bizarre title. Confession time! I had trouble grading this book because it does have flaws, including plot motivation and the "breakthroughs" on fibromyalgia, which seem a little bizarre to me, but I recognized what was going on. I once wrote a similar medical thriller (about cancer) and at a later date I got so upset at what I realized were flaws I destroyed the script and I; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shaman; Author: Visit Amazon's Kim Stanley Robinson Page; Review: This book is a sort of docudrama of life in the upper Palaeolithic, say about 30,000 years ago. The characters are named after animals, or plants, or, in the case of the old shaman (Thorn) parts of plants. This gave me one disconcerting moment, where we have Cat up a tree watching. Sinister? Well, no. It is actually a cat thinking human thoughts. The story starts with the young Loon going on a wander. This involves leaving the tribe with nothing (including clothes) and having to survive for a fortnight. We follow him making fire, making clothes, hunting, gathering food, etc, and this is basically a microcosm of the rest of the book. There is a bit of an adventure in the second half but even this is mainly an outline of what Robinson thinks life in the upper Palaeolithic was like. I found this to be a bit silly in detail. The heroes have a long journey, and when they get home, they have run out of their food and they are nearly starved. Hold on! They are hunter gatherers. Those chasing them start of with wolves on leashes to track them. Again, hold on! Nobody puts a grey wolf on a leash, and even if they succeeded, the wolf will go after its food. There is a sort of innocence amongst all the characters: a sort of part of the garden of Eden transferred to the freezer. Robinson has done a lot of research, and what he describes seems authentic, however the way people behaved is perforce imaginary. And, of course, there is the curse of new discoveries. Robinson has the cave paintings done by male shamans, but recent evidence has indicated that the bulk of the hands are those of women, so it is most likely that many of the other paintings were also done by women. The story ends with the death of Thorn and Loon becoming the new shaman, and it is Loon that paints four horses. Robinson presumably intends this to be the very famous "four horses" painting, which places the action in Chauvet, in south east France. This makes walking north west to the sea a rather long journey, but apart from such considerations, I found this a genuinely interesting and enjoyable read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Jonas Trust Deception: A Thomas Gunn Thriller (Volume 2); Author: AFN clarke; Review: This book is basically a thriller, with an element of mystery, the mystery being, who is doing what and why. It starts with the hero, Thomas Gunn, drowning. Apparently he has been knocked on the head and thrown off the boat after a passenger seemingly jumped off. After we get through this scene, the story lurches back to the beginning, we get to how he got to be on the boat, then follows a hectic sequence of events as just about everyone is after Thomas Gunn. Seemingly, he can trust just about nobody, and there is a huge conspiracy. The action sequences are spectacular and Clarke has a genuine flair for writing them. Also, once you get past the first 15% of the book, the plot is quite well constructed. If all you want is an action story that proceeds in a reasonably logical fashion, this is five star plus! There are negatives. I found the start confusing. The immersion chapter jumps around in time quite a bit. Clarke follows the "show, not tell" philosophy, in my opinion, to an extreme. The book is essentially a sequel to "The Orange Moon Affair", and once the first chapter is over, characters get introduced at a bewildering rate. The average read has not necessarily read the first book, and a few sentences telling who they are would not go astray, at least for me. There is still plenty of action in this part and that is well written. Another part that I felt was unnecessary was that Thomas finds a body that has been raped, then murdered. The LAPD arrive, arrest Thomas, and try to force a confession. This, to me is gratuitous. First, when Thomas asks for a lawyer, they had better behave or they will end up in the prisons where they have sent others. Secondly, if the woman has been raped, a simple DNA test will show that Thomas could not have done it. A final negative: it needs better editing. I am usually fairly tolerant of the odd grammatical and typo error; he who is without sin can cast the first stone! However, twice in the book, a small number of people, including Morgan, did something. Morgan died back in the beginning. On the other hand, if you want to look at the mystery aspect, make sure you assimilate everything in the first chapter very well. There is a big clue that I suspect most will miss, and this book is littered with the necessary red herrings to put off amateur detectives. To summarize, Clarke has written an exciting book, it will hold your attention, and it is well worth the price. You most certainly will not be bored, unless you hate thrillers. Just a little more attention to some details, and it would have been excellent.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Semmant; Author: Visit Amazon's Vadim Babenko Page; Review: Whether you like it or hate it will depend on what you want in a book. The first chapter starts with Bogdan Bogdanov in an asylum, fantasizing about having sex with the nurses. The rest of the book outlines in his mind how he got to be there, which raises a problem: is what he is writing real or fantasy, or what mix? The book is written first person, and it is essentially all tell, with an overlain "stream of consciousness" in which Bogdan fantasizes about all sorts of things whenever anything is about to happen. The net result is that you get two pages where two sentences might have sufficed. The two pages are full of side-descriptions, philosophical thoughts, assessments of art, and a number of other potentially literary devices, but within these limitations, they are very well written. Bogdan is discarded as a child, goes to a school for the gifted, and ends up as a gifted was a bit of a wake-up call for me. This part was not a speculative rambling; it was pretty close to what actually happens if a scientist is impertinent enough to question standard theory. This had me really on the author's side. He then carried on and invented Semmant, described as a robot but more like a computer program, and Semmant became self-aware. Semmant then proceeded to make money by superior analysis of the stock market. This had all the makings of a truly great story, but for me, it then went off the rails. Bogdan left Semmant to his own devices and began a series of sexual escapades, he created a fantasy woman to describe such events and tried to introduce Semmant to love, not that Bogdan had the faintest idea of what love is. Feminists are going to be highly irritated by the sexual fantasies. The story then proceeds to the real woman who is subjected to these fantasies being rejected. Over two thirds of the book are obsessed with these sexual fantasies, and perhaps they are the cause of Bogdan becoming insane. Whether that is realistic I cannot say. He then started to write some fairly awful poetry; maybe not Vogon quality, but rather bad, although to be fair, poetry must be the hardest of all to translate. The question then is, does the above description suggest you want to read the book. If the answer is yes, then this is effectively a five plus star book, but I am afraid for me the answer was, not really. It is also the only book I have ever read where I am unsure what the author was trying to say. If it were about going mad, it might be very apt, but if it were about thoughts, love, artificial intelligence, emotions, etc, then I think the author took on too much in one book.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Northern Star: The Beginning (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Mike Gullickson Page; Review: This is a classic style science fiction story about mind control and cyborgs. Thanks to the oil shortage, almost everybody has migrated to huge cities. Central to the story is Mindcorp, which issues headgear that allows everybody to link to a central core and receive various pleasures, or have various adventures depending on their desires, in the comfort of their own apartment. At the same time there is the Western Curse, a bunch of muslim terrorists determined to wreak havoc in the US, there are American soldiers trying to stop terrorism, there is a detachment of Chinese trying to take advantage of the troubles the US finds itself in, and finally, the wild card, a twelve-year-old boy called Justin, whose brain has the remarkable ability when linked to the MindCorp core, to take it over and reprogram it. A rogue US administrator has decided to take advantage of the boy, to gain effective world domination, and the Chinese are determined to stop him. What follows is a fast-moving action story that quickly evolves from these givens. The book is well-written, fluent, and is very easy to read. There is little character development, in part because the plot evolves so fast there is little room for it. The descriptions are clear, and it is reasonably easy to picture the action, which, because of the "Tank Major" concept, tends to be oriented somewhat towards the comic-style nature or the output of a computer game. In short it is exciting but not exceptionally intellectually demanding. The actual technology is fictional, and probably would not be like that, but who cares! The plot is reasonably predictable, and it offers few surprises. It is very good for light holiday reading, and my rating is on that basis.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Jewel Box; Author: Visit Amazon's C. Michelle McCarty Page; Review: This is a romance, the story of a Texan woman's love life over two to three decades, starting in the mid sixties. In fairness, I should add this is not the sort of book I would normally read, a fact the reader of this review should keep in mind. The story starts with Jill, or Cherie (her later nickname) being goaded by her boyfriend to earn lots of money in The Jewel Box, a topless bar. Needless to say, she saw very little of the money but got abused, and eventually she got rid of boyfriend, with difficulty. What follows is a chaotic sequence of events, with Gabe, a carpenter who had frequented The Jewel Box, always in the background, and sometimes in the foreground. The story is told rather than shown, but it is well told. At times it is raunchy, at times sad, McCarty has created some truly believable characters, even if I questioned whether they were appropriate. The likes of Voltaire being quoted in a topless bar? The plot is so chaotic that despite the assurances at the beginning that this is completely fictional, I cannot help but think this is really based on a true person, with some fictional additions. All of which brings up the issue of what does the reader want? The plot is chaotic, and at times it simply wanders. We have no idea why Jill is doing some of the self-destructive things she is doing some of the times, so in a sense there are no lessons there. I have no idea how accurate the depiction of Texas at the times is, but even if it is wrong, it is highly interesting. On the other hand, this is what life can be like it wanders along with no purpose if the people have no purpose. If what you want is a romance in which the main protagonist almost wanders through the decades and experiences some truly emotional events, then this is a five star book. If you want something a little deeper, I did not see it. It is a highly gripping book much of the time, but occasionally I found it a little frustrating. If this is truly fictional, though, you have here a writer to watch.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Double Agents: Justin Hall #4 (Volume 4); Author: Visit Amazon's Ethan Jones Page; Review: The book opens with an assassination of the Russian Minister of Defence by a Chechen terrorist who somehow became embedded in the FSB, followed by the shooting of the assassin as he tries to escape, and then moves to an assassination of a former mujahadeen guerrilla fighter in Bosnia by Justin Hall, a Canadian Intelligence Service operator. Apparently, the Canadian Intelligence Service is happy to be helpful, and this leads to an almost bewildering sequence of actions. On return to Canada, the CIA requests CIS help relating to an operation in Russia, So Justin and Carrie are soon off to Lithuania, then to Moscow, then to . . . The book is essentially an action and adventure story with certain "givens" that you have to accept throughout the story. Sometimes they stretch credibility, thus the CIA requests CIS help, and later allows Carrie to have almost operational control, at least briefly, inside the US, while the FSB relationship with Justin is, well, you will have to read it to find out. Jones' major strength is that he can maintain very prolonged action sequences. Thus with an antiterrorist operation, he takes the reader through preparation, getting to the scene, and all sorts of events later, many of which have no part in the original plan. He maintains a steady increase in tension, while describing realistic scenes that cover the fog of operations (in some cases, literal fog). A highly entertaining read for those who want action.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bumping Noses and Cherry Pie; Author: Visit Amazon's Charie D. La Marr Page; Review: It is not often you start a book where the author claims to have invented a new genre, but Charie D. La Marr claims just that and names it Circuspunk. I think the claim is valid, because I have never seen anything quite like this before. Accordingly, this is definitely the best book in this genre that I have seen. Bumping Noses and Cherry Pie contains 25 short stories all set in a circus or similar entity, and these contain a strange mix of sex, general grossness and splatter. There is satire, noir, and situations that get unbelievably out of hand, but they are mainly written in a light-hearted way that will make you laugh and cry, usually both at the same time. The sex, violence, language and elephant dung probably suggest that delicate souls should avoid these stories, but if you can get past that and want to read something different, this may well be for you. Charie was apparently a circus clown herself, and I suspect while doing this she saw a number of situations where someone wanted to put someone else in their place, or be with them if that place was bed. They say truth is stranger than fiction, but I think Charie tried to dispel that, for what we get is a sequence of escalating "get even and then some" or "have sex with . . ." stories that go to simply bizarre levels. Read them and you will see the circus in a somewhat different light. Also, when you visit, you will carefully avoid the elephant dung.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Plague of Angels (The Descended) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's John Patrick Kennedy Page; Review: This book seems to be an alternative religion/mythology imposed on the first eleven hundred years of humanity following the birth of Christ. In general the writing style is easy to read, although there are an unfortunate number of typos/editing issues. Generally speaking, I am very tolerant of a small number of these, but I found the frequency here to be irritating. Two cautions must also be mentioned. First, this is actually the first of a series, but I did not find that out until the end. The ending is a cliff-hanger of sorts. It is a reasonable ending in its own right in one sense, but it resolves nothing, in part because there was no clear issue to be resolved. The second caution is for those of delicate disposition: the book contains excessive sex and violence, sadomasochism and torture. Be prepared. The language is cut back so that the effect depends on visualization. Thus we have "angels" that can grow giant scaly penises, and you will see text along the lines, she screamed as she was torn apart. She would, wouldn't she? If you are prone to visualizing what you read, this could be a rather torrid read. You have been warned. The basic story follows Nyx, a fallen angel and the Queen of Hell, who roams Earth. For the record, Nyx was the Greek goddess of darkness and had exceptional power so that even Zeus avoided angering her but she was not evil. She was the mother of a number of deities, including Death, but also of sleep, dreams, etc. Anyway, this Nyx is the serpent who tempts Cristus, here named Tribunal, and is also Mary Magdalene, and copulates several times with Tribunal. Tribunal has not come to save the world; he has come to judge them, and he finds them as failed. He is crucified, he reports to God and recommends humanity be eliminated. God then decides to go away, ignore Tribunal, and close the gates of Hell and Heaven, except that three dark angels can be present. Tribunal now coaxes Nyx to carry out his plan, which is seemingly to eliminate humanity. The sequence of torture of poor Judas is both graphic and extended, although it is far from clear what Judas did wrong. Had he not pointed to Cristus, would the Roman soldiers shrug their shoulders, go away and have a cup of tea? Or just simply take the lot away and crucify them all? Maybe Judas saved all the disciples! The plot, such as it is, is that Nyx spends a little under 1100 years supporting Tribunal's plan, however it was far from clear to me how what she was doing would help it. In general, the outcomes of history are followed, the history is chaotic, and accordingly Nyx's actions to help bring about these outcomes are, to me, confusing. Some confusion is inevitable. The father and the son is a confusing concept in Christianity, but at least they are pursuing a common objective. Here, the father is the son, but the father is elsewhere (maybe) and; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Corporal's Wife; Author: Visit Amazon's Gerald Seymour Page; Review: The premise is great. British Intelligence trap a member of Iran's al-Qods in a Dubai brothel, whisk him away to Austria and drain him for intelligence. Mehrak will only comply if the British will get his wife out of Iran. It is never explained why, because the two despise each other. The rescue is ordered. Great stuff! However, the story then involves British Intelligence hiring three ex-military men now acting as contractors and a young student drop-out to get her out of Iran. The student is required because he alone speaks Farsi. This should be a warning, and it gets worse. Needless to say, things go wrong, largely because this is the most inept plot I have ever seen. The plan seems to be, drive to Tehran, pick up the woman, drive back to Khvoy where, at a specific time, and not a minute late, something organized by Israelis will pick them up and help smuggle them over the border. Talk about amateurish. Oh, British Intelligence is aware of Iranian people smugglers, but no, they will not ask for their help. The members of the party have no cover story, no papers, no ID, no backup transport, no nothing. Even the dumbest crims do better than this, thus there was an armed holdup near here the other day, the crims drove off, and yay, they then switched cars so nobody knew what vehicle they were using. Apparently British intelligence, or Gerald Seymour, hasn't got this far. So while there is excitement of sorts, it is all contrived through general ineptitude. My next problem with it was that there were several groups of British Intelligence present in the book, if not involved in the story. Accordingly, we keep lurching off the story to one of these who have conversations philosophizing on how bad things are, or wondering how the mission is going, or . . . Also, as regards Mehrak, yes, there is more ineptitude on a staggering scale. The ending is mind-boggling, but not in a good way. Basic simple things to do are cast aside for, well, I won't spoil it, but I do not recommend this book, at least not as a thriller. The book is padded, it is thrilling only because of the characters' being forced to be inept, and the plot verges on the incoherent at times.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Sammy, Where Are You?: An Unconventional Memoir ... Sort of; Author: Visit Amazon's Ira Spector Page; Review: This is an unusual book in that it is a memoir of a man who is not particularly notable. He has a wry sense of humour, and while admitting his lack of impact, he notes that the one time he has been cited by some external source, it was in a tennis journal, and he was mentioned as "having introduced tennis elbow to New Zealand". Notable? Maybe. True? Hardly. This wry humour and willingness to distort the truth runs through the book. It is an extremely difficult book to attach stars to because he argues it is for his descendants, his grandchildren and maybe further. This is a really valuable thing to do; in my case I know very little of my grandparents. However, the book is also put forward to the general public. In principle this can also be valuable in that it records what is now going into history. What we see is how "an ordinary man" (if there is any such thing) went through the second half of the twentieth century. The book is also unusual in that it is written as a large number of brief episodes, each more or less unconnected with the others, and each represent almost a short story of an incident in Spector's life. Towards the end, Spector appeared to travel to a number of unusual places, including deep New Guinea, the Amazon rain forest, and a number of other places. He gives quite interesting descriptive passages of what he saw. For me, however, there were problems. The first arises from the lack of connectivity between chapters. They are also not in order, and it is not always immediately clear when. The second arises from lack of editing. I try not to focus on this because I think an independent author should be given a little more tolerance, but the punctuation verges on the bizarre. One example: " . . green leaved trees from, which hung . . " Yes, "which" is usually preceded by a comma, but there is the preposition. The third, and more important, is lack of context. As an example, he starts with his young life in Brooklyn, and he mentions institutions. Yes, he knows their significance but I do not. At one point he is an "engineer" looking at toilets for an American airline, he lurches into making modern art. There is no explanation for why he got involved in these things. He gets hopelessly seasick on a short boat ride so, for military service, to avoid the army he joins the Coastguard. Why? Surely acute sea-sickness is not going to help (and later we learn that unlike most, he never got sea legs). He does not describe his environment, until the end where he goes to unusual places, and here he does well. There is no mention of the Viet Nam war, nor of the summer of 1968, nor of financial crashes, and the book is really a collection of wry observations. There is very little emotional involvement from Spector. It is an interesting book, very easily read,; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Spy Mates: Operation Ace In the Hole (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Chuck Van Soye Page; Review: This book largely covers Bret Lee and his wife Chu Lin engaged in a spying operation in Venezuela, although the first fifth of it covers many years prior to this, and from then on, spying is a bit of an exaggeration. Nevertheless, the concept is quite good, and the ending has a quite interesting resolution to the problem previously set up. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the book. Even though the ending is clever, the approach to it is, in my view, clumsy, and as set up, it would not work in reality. For me, there were a number of further problems. For me, the characters were too cardboard and the dialogue too forced and artificial. One example: Bret Lee, as a military policeman, has shot two thieves who were shooting at him. One of the thief's brother says to him, "You filthy coward. I'm going to make sure you pay for it. I'm going to get you when you least expect it." Throughout the book, characters seem to make a formal statement of what they are expected to say, particularly if they are to be seen as politically correct. Worse, the book is supposed to be a thriller, but I did not find it to be particularly thrilling, and this is largely because of the writing. Thus, when Bret rescues a drowning girl: ". . . diving down at least twenty feet, and returned to the surface. After two more tries he brought the girl to the surface and pulled her to the shore . . ." This is a typical action scene, and it reads more like a newspaper report. Was the water murky? Was it at the limit of Bret's diving ability? What did Bret think? As a further example, the length devoted to discussing the buying of a ball gown seemed to exceed the length of any actual action sequence. What the book does is record a large number of events, but it did not engage me at any point. Perhaps I am too harsh? The good news is the Prologue is a good indication of what the rest of the book is like. Use the "look inside" feature to read it, and if that satisfies you, then you may well be satisfied with the remainder. As an aside, the author appears to feel this is a highlight because he reproduces it later in the book. Overall, I feel this is a potentially good story struggling to get out through all the blancmange poured over it. It could be good, with rewriting.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Aberration (Jack Contino Crime Stories Book 2) - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Steven P. Marini Page; Review: Jack Contino has retired from the Boston PD and intends to graze as Head of Detectives at the Dennis PD at Cape Cod. As it happens, he is the only detective, but since serious crime does not happen at Dennis, life should be easy. Unfortunately, a case turns up. A barman, Manny Duarte, leaves work, gets into his car, and someone in the back seat slits his throat. Jack has a case. Jack does what police ought to do: he interviews everybody who could reasonably be connected with Manny, and while he gets a lot of information, none of it is particularly useful. He comes across one person who is definitely not a nice person, he suspects him, but unfortunately he has an iron-clad alibi. Still, Jack is not one to give up. It is about then he realizes there was a similar murder in a nearby town six months previously, so he starts investigating that. Anything more would spoil it. This is a reasonably straightforward crime novel that does not make demands on the reader, the writing is easy to read and it flows well, although the characters are somewhat cardboard. As an example, Jack arranges for a young policewoman to do some surveillance. She gets murdered, and Jack shows almost no emotion at all. The way the police behave seems quite reasonable, but the ending had too much of the deus ex machina nature to satisfy me. It is a reasonably short novel, and if you do not mind a somewhat contrived ending and some cardboard, this is a reasonably good, if a little formulaic, read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: One Night in Winter: A Novel (P.S. (Paperback)); Author: Visit Amazon's Simon Sebag Montefiore Page; Review: The book is well written, but the plot is not the point of the book. Montefiore is an expert on Stalinist Russia, and while the book is fiction, it might as well be real. The story is set in Moscow at the end of World War II, and according to the author, it is a romance. I do not exactly agree. There are at least three love stories, but the focus, for me, is about The Childrens Case. At first sight the plot verges on the ridiculous, but apparently it is a reasonably accurate picture of the stupidity and callousness at the end of Stalin's "reign". In school 801, a school for the children of the Soviet elite, senior students form a Fatal Romantics Club, and to show their love for Pushkin, at various parts of Moscow they play The Game, and on the particular day, an enactment from Onegin, specifically the death of Lensky in a duel. On this day, a real pistol is somehow involved and two children die. Because these children are special, the MGB is immediately involved, and before long, many children are arrested and taken to the Lubianka for interrogation. Unfortunately, a ten-year-old boy saw the event and took a notebook that was dropped as one died. This outlined the structure of the club, and included a boy labelled GenSec. It is then that the older brother rifled through his younger brothers drawers, found the notebook, and handed it in. This brought in SMERSH, because the only GenSec was Stalin, and the children are accused of plotting a counter-revolution to assassinate Stalin. Exactly how teenagers dressed up in Pushkin-like attire could really be planning a counter-revolution is not addressed by the thugs carrying out the interrogations. The story is a harrowing one of unbelievable stupidity on the part of the interrogators, unbelievable brain-washing suffered by the parents, and a believable disconnect with the children, who simply cannot believe that their pampered lives could soon end with the nine grams. You would not believe this could be true, yet apparently something like this did occur, and the victims included two sons of Anastas Mikoyan, who also apparently provided information to support the authenticity of the story. The actual story, and a number of the characters, are fictional, nevertheless it is grounded in reality. The value of the story is that it seems to give an authentic picture of what it was like to live at the end of Stalins reign, and it was not pretty. The very top level lived in perpetual fear. This is a record of what to Russian people had to live though, and it should be read widely so this sort of thing cannot be allowed to happen again.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Passion Patrol 2: Female Sleuths, Romantic Adventures, Hot Cops, Hot Crime, Hot Romance. (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Emma Calin Page; Review: Shannon's Law is about a rather lippy wpc Shannon Aguerri who has been assigned to the small English village Fleetworth-Green, seemingly to put her unorthodox methods out to pasture. Her problems appear to be someone dousing cats with water, a horse that gets into people's gardens, until she comes across some youths seemingly doing drugs. All but one runs, and she takes the last one home, to find his father is an Earl. What follows is entrapment, romance, and eroticism. This book is probably unsuitable for the puritanical or defenders of moral values. The romance has its problems, but not very many, and the erotic turns up fairly frequently. Just when the romance gets under way, something unheard of happens: a murder! Oops! Real police work is required. This was handled quite well by the author, and indeed if the erotic were cut out and the romance trimmed down quite seriously, with a little embellishment elsewhere the book would be quite a good English village drama. The cricket game and what happens related to the royal birth are examples that would not be found elsewhere, although their coverage is sufficiently light that the reader may have to know something about English village life to fully appreciate what is there. The book is reasonably well-written, although the start is somewhat loaded with purple prose descriptions. For me there was one puzzle. Chapter 11 was a blank page. Existentialism gone too far? Was Emma Calin aiming to suddenly become the John Cage of literature? But leaving such flaws aside, and leaving aside the slightly irritating over-lippiness of Shannon, this was a surprisingly pleasant read, with well-defined characters, particularly the minor ones, and it does give an insight into village life.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: An Enigmatic Escape: A Trilogy; Author: Visit Amazon's Dan Groat Page; Review: This book contains three separate works that are based around three brothers, although apart from the common surname and the acknowledgement that the character in one has brothers with names like those in the others, there is no connection between the stories. The first is described as a short story, while the next two are described as novellas. A common structure for a short story is that the author outlines a scene and/or a situation, and with the reader properly immersed in this creation, the author provides a twist to end the story. All the stories are well-written, but I found the first to be less than satisfactory. The first is written in first person stream of consciousness mode that at first made me you think the person driven to madness by the loss of his wife. I am not a psychiatrist so I could well be wrong, but what followed was a hyperactive stream of thoughts that I found to be increasingly unlikely. Anyway, the twist comes and the story ends, and while I did not see the twist in advance, at the end I felt even less convinced that this character was plausible. The two novellas actually follow the same structure, except that the scenes/structures are considerably more extended, and the story is told by an observer. In the first the scene is a forested area where the story reporter once lived but is now abandoned, and the situation involves a Viet Nam vet who lives in isolation in an adjacent property, and who does not want visitors. In the second, the story reporter is a newspaper reporter who becomes involved with a group of unusual characters in a run-down Chicago bar. The scene setting is extremely realistic and the situations very plausible, the characters here are very well-drawn and believable, while the twists, when they come are not quite what you expect. All in all, I found these two stories to be quite enthralling.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Passing Curse - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's C. R. Trolson Page; Review: Reese Tarrant is a senior LAPD detective who tries to arrest serial killer Richard Lamb, the "Anaheim vampire" who killed thirteen women and drained their blood. The handcuffed Lamb attacks Reese and chews his chest before being shot. Reese, after hospitalization, is fired for unnecessary force and he goes to the coastal Californian town of Santa Marina. Meanwhile, Rusty Webber has been hired by billionaire Ajax Rasmussen, who has made his money by organizing the nation's biggest blood bank, to go to Romania and look for Vlad Tepes' tomb. For some reason, three Romanian police/soldiers kill her guard and try to rape her before she loses consciousness and wakes to find herself in the coffin, with the three assailants beheaded. She is arrested for their murder, taken in front of a firing squad, and after a long conversation she is rescued, and subsequently offered a job as archaeologist in Santa Marina. No, I am not spoiling this book; it has yet to really get started. Whereas this would provide the material for two novels in some hands, we are only a few percent into the book. What happens next is that Reese and Rusty eventually get to suspect Ajax of being a vampire, and of intending to create havoc by introducing the vampire virus into the nation's blood. Which gets to the question, what sort of book is this? It is not really a horror story, because while there is plenty of grisly crime, it is all off-scene, and all we see is the remains. It is not really a mystery, because who is doing what is fairly evident after about ten per cent of the way through. It is not really a police story because Reese's habit of ignoring things like evidence and of trying to make a workable plan before taking action has to make Lestrade look like an inspiration. It is not really an action story, because when Reese tries, his bumbling simply gets him into horrible situations. However, whatever else is missing, events are not. The story evolves at a bewildering pace, and contains the elements of all the different genres listed above. If you don't think about it too much, the story is probably four and a half stars, but for me there were two problems. The first is I think there is too much content, with the result that at the end, there are too many loose ends. Examples are the scenes in the first paragraph above; how could they possibly happen? The second is that I found it difficult to work out why people are doing what, and in particular Ajax. However, if that does not bother you, it is well written generally, and while some other reviewers have complained about editing issues, and yes there is the odd nit to pick, there is nothing in the presentation that spoils your reading flow. This is apparently a first book, and I suspect that when Trolson can get a better hand on structural issues in his stories, he will be well worth reading.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Proxima (A Proxima Novel); Author: Visit Amazon's Stephen Baxter Page; Review: The book has enough material for many stories. The early stories involve two efforts to send interstellar exploration to an earth-like planet around Proxima Centauri, but I cannot see why anyone would do what was done here because there was no real way of knowing whether the effort was successful. Then there is a real attempt to colonize it, but with all the money that must be spent to do this, wouldn't you expect that they would try to maximize their chances of making this work? Instead, the settlers seem to be captive misfits, with no real training, and very undersupplied. These misfits are dropped off in small groups in various places with little equipment, perhaps in the hope that Darwinian evolution will lead to finding out what works. Apart from this being a rather odd way to go about things, nobody on Earth will ever know anyway, so why do it this way? What happens next is hardly encouraging, but then, to add to the settlers' troubles, some sort of ice age starts. Meanwhile, on Earth, tensions increase between the Chinese and the rest, the rest having a strange new material found on Mercury that opens new physics. Then a sequence of events unfolds that did not really make a lot of sense to me. People should do things that gain something, but these events do not seem to connect. Maybe life can be like that, but do we need that in a story? What is the take-away message? Then the ending is not really an ending at all, and perhaps signals a sequel. Baxter writes well, but the structure is awkward. It is fair to create mysteries, but for me the story should resolve at least some of them. The description of Per Ardua (the planet near Proxima) is highly imaginative, and has a good description of the physical environment (although I am unsure there would be an ice age, but then again I do not know that much about M stars) and there is a very imaginative alien ecology. Well done. The political future is depressing, although I suppose it could not be ruled out. However, the resolution of that made no sense to me, because nobody seems to follow a sensible strategy whereby they could come out ahead. The characters do not seem to adapt to their situation, and there are two, who are either sisters or not sisters, and this is yet another issue that is introduced but not resolved. It is this introduction of unresolved issues that could well be left out of the story because they do not alter it that irritated me. Finally, the various threads are sliced and diced, then mixed, not necessarily in sequence. Some will find that that generates tension, but it merely irritates me. I may be being too harsh in this review, but I felt that this could have been a really great story, but its structural defects spoiled it.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Punctual Paymaster; Author: Visit Amazon's Dan Groat Page; Review: The town of Delphi in Arkansas is split by a river. The North side is predominantly white, and the south side is essentially coloured, and the book covers the interactions within and between the two from the Depression through to 2010. The book is written as a sequence of pairs of scenes, at any given time we see something from each side of the river in separate scenes. The scenes essentially portray atmosphere, and show how certain characters are affected by what is happening very locally. Apart from the fact there is a world war, a Korean war, and a Viet Nam war, nothing external to Delphi is relevant, and these wars are only relevant to the extent that a character returns (or in one case, does not return) from each war. The beginning of the book portrays clearly the different standard of living on the two sides, but also shows that happiness is not connected to possessions. The writing is clear, and the book is extremely well written in the use of language, and some scenes portray genuinely deep emotions. Major characters are very well drawn, and much of the book gives an extremely clear picture of life on the two sides of the river. If you want character depiction, and atmosphere in normal life, this book is five star, and virtually unbeatable. However, a major plot also lurks within the book, involving the race issue. I found the writing here to be less satisfactory, because with the odd exception, most big issues are off-scene, and when something big is portrayed, including the major action scene, I found the portrayal to be strangely detached. With one exception, things happen to portrayed characters, and the author avoids focusing on the villains. For me, the major emotional scene, which was extremely well written, involved the death of a dog. It appeared that while Groat raised some serious issues, he seemed to pull back from becoming involved with them. No attempt is made to portray the thoughts of a character before or following a major bad event. The scenes are detailed and very fully written, but sometimes this goes to extreme, thus at a wedding we get a list of everyone who attended; a page of names of people who mainly take no further part in the story. The conversations also sometimes lurch into long speeches, and at the end, a character that has just been introduced talks for three kindle pages uninterrupted. To summarize, this book is genuinely touching. It shows life but it tends to avoid motive and feeling, and as events become more intense, the story becomes more detached.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Finding Billy Battles: An Account of Peril, Transgression and Redemption; Author: Visit Amazon's Ronald E. Yates Page; Review: First, a grizzle that may apply only to the Kindle, which opens art the start of the story, where it says this is a book of "faction", i.e. it is based on fact but dramatized, and is supposedly based on the journals of Ted Sayles great grandfather, William Battles. This is misleading. The book is simply fiction, and is the first of a historical trilogy. The reason for the grizzle is this: because of the historical setting, if the reader has not noticed the first statement prior to where the Kindle opens, he may think the historical facts are true. I have no idea whether they are or not, but if they are, Yates has done an extremely good job of the research because there are plenty of details there. Unfortunately, if they are wrong, as likely as not the reader has missed the warning. Having said that it is a truly engaging story. Billy Battles has grown up just after the civil war, in which his father was killed. His mother has left the family farm and set up a shop in Lawrence, Kansas. Eventually, Billy goes out to see the family farm, only to find it is occupied, a gunfight ensues and . . . What follows is a story of the Old West, mainly set in Dodge City, Denver and Tombstone, and includes characters such as Bill Tilghman, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and others. One amusing scene is how he got out of a confrontation with Ike Clanton; well, he was called Billy, and he was still a kid! Yates also avoids the temptation to go over the legends, thus Battles was nowhere near Tombstone at the time of "The Gunfight in a field out the back of the OK Corral". The book gives a picture of the lawlessness of the times, not necessarily due to inherent lawlessness, but rather of corruption and the use of the law for bad practice. Lawmen like Wyatt Earp spent most of their time running Faro games, mainly because they could not live on their official pay. You could do what you liked if you were in with the Governor. (In this, the reader might like to see the true story of Billy the Kid.) The language is supposed to be that of the time. Again, I cannot tell whether this is right or wrong, but it is engaging. With the reservation that I do not know how accurate it is, this is a really engaging story of a part of American history that has almost become a mythology.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: #Betrayal: A fiction novel of survival (Nuclear Fiction) (Volume 2); Author: Barbara C. Billig; Review: Whether you like this book, more than any other I have seen, will depend on what you expect from a book. For me, Barbara Billig let herself down, but others may not see it this way. The story has several threads and in principle could be material for several novels. They are all well-written, except for the occasional bout of a sequence of sentences that may be too short, but the different components do not seem to mesh, and they tend to fade away rather than be resolved. The author is clearly against nuclear power, which is fine as a message, but unfortunately the author sometimes takes to the pulpit. For me, I hope for "Show, don't preach!" The threads include Sara with a brain tumour, and she is to undergo a radical treatment. That thread is abandoned, and we meet Elise who is undergoing continual cosmetic surgery, another thread starts a description of the problems of dog training, and these threads finally get around to a fund-raising dinner for the victims of Fukushima. All of these are very well-written, but for me the story lacked coherence. Also, none of the threads really finish in that nothing is resolved. Then about the middle of the book, the story focuses on Bryce and Katheryn, who are sent to assess what happened at Fukushima. It turns out there was incompetence on a dazzling scale (I rather suspect this is true) but there is a lot of money to be lost unless this is seen as an unfortunate act of God, and a lot of that money came from the Yakuza, who are not particularly well-disposed to losing more. The report has to be stopped, and what better way than to stop the writers? (Actually, there are better ways, but that is not the point.) This triggers a section where Barbara Billig tries her hand as a thriller writer, and in this section, for me she pushed all the right buttons. It is credible, and she avoids the usual trap of having the hero do superhuman things and have extraordinary doses of dumb luck. Instead, she relies on people being aware of what is going on, and taking appropriate action. The thriller part is worth five stars, although again, it fades out. I originally gave this three stars because of the proof reading but the author has informed me, through the comments below, that this was a compiling error, and on the understanding that this is fixed, I am now deleting the comments on proof reading. As a final comment, if the author can focus her stories and bring them to a climax, she should become an extremely good writer, easily worth five stars.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: he & She; Author: Visit Amazon's Wayne Clark Page; Review: They say the skill of a reviewer is judged by the reviews of that which he does not like. So, with trepidation, I think Clark has nailed this story, which is essentially a third person reminiscence of the life of "He", generally referred to as "K" in the story. Before buying the book, use the "Look inside" feature and read the first excerpt, which should let you know whether the book is for you. The story of K is one of a sex-obsessed alcohol-ridden self-pitying sociopath whose only real goal in life is to fantasize about sex. In his thirties he is a translator whose drinking leads him to lose his job and any real association with women; in his forties he has some sort of relationship with Alana that seemingly satisfies neither of them; in his fifties he descends into BDSM, and has a sort of fantasy relationship with two dommes who also receive whatever income he makes. From the technical point of view the drawing of K is extremely good, but that of the three women less so; they are somewhat one-dimensional, and are there mainly to carry out the functions necessary to keep the fantasies going. That is, more or less, the plot. (Sorry if that spoils it, but it is rather difficult to describe the book without saying that much.) The four stars are because I cannot for the life of me see what more Clark could have done with such material, given the constraints he set himself, but the fifth is absent because first, plot is essentially absent, and second, for me the self-pity wallowing went on too long. That, of course, is a matter of opinion. Given the restrictions and the material, the writing is excellent, the balance regarding the subject matter seems acceptable (although here I may be the wrong judge) and the descriptive passages are clear; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Untangled; Author: Visit Amazon's Henry J. Sienkiewicz Page; Review: This is a relatively short book that is a cross between "life coach" and philosophy in its approach. It starts by describing a troop of boy scouts setting off on a hiking expedition in Taiwan. As they go through various sights, the author uses what happens to give impressions on, and here is a small problem, it is not entirely clear to me as to what. The major message I got was that we should contemplate. For example, when they stopped for the first camp, they opened their rucksacks and found tent ropes were tangled, and had to be unentangled. The author then suggests the same will happen with your life; you must contemplate and unentangle your life, except that soon after, we are encouraged to entangle. We have a number of such "metaphors" for life: the rickety bridge to be crossed, the well-trodden path, the barely discernible path. I had a small number of difficulties. The author had a tendency to write short chapters in which he introduced the metaphor, discussed what it meant, and either asked a series of questions or made some assertions, then progressed to the next chapter. Much of what is written is self-evident, but some is not and much of it could have merited more discussion, so that a more coherent whole would come through. What did I not agree with? First, early on there is a chapter on entanglement, and the author mentioned quantum entanglement. His description there of where two particles interact, is just plain wrong. In quantum mechanics, two particles or two events are entangled when a conservation law requires one to take a specific value after the determination of the other, so that analogy is not applicable here. This is followed by a mention of Feynman diagrams, but to me, that was just arm-waving because nothing was made of them. There were also a number of diagrams of about a centimetre size that were so small I have no idea what was in them. This problem may be restricted to the ebook version. I also found the text somewhat opaque. One example: "Contemplation allows us to intellectually find distance amid the vectors of entanglement." So, what is distance? "Distance is a coping strategy." To summarize, if you want something to contemplate, this book provides plenty of material, and the overall message that people should spend more time contemplating their environment is probably a good one. However, for me it is a book that is lavish with questions and assertions, and a little less so with answers.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Pocket Full of Shells; Author: Visit Amazon's Jean Reinhardt Page; Review: This is more of a novella, and is set in Ireland during the great potato blight. Jean Reinhardt has certainly shown up the miserable conditions, and she focused on two characters, Mary and James McGrother, who were somewhat better off than most, because James was a fisherman, albeit one who merely helped his Uncle Pat, who in turn did not own their boat. There is not really much of a plot, as the two struggle simply to survive, facing hunger, typhus, and a lack of support from the laissez faire economy. James takes a spell in Sunderland with his best friend Michael to earn more money, leaving Mary and his daughter Catherine behind, only to find more misery over there. The book is well-written, and shows the extreme poverty that arose at the time, and hinted at the examples of greed from land-owners that led to so much unnecessary additional misery. It is also a story of the human spirit, and of compassion as those with almost nothing are prepared to give to those even worse off. The low price makes it excellent value for money.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Just Evil: The Evil Trilogy Book One (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Vickie McKeehan Page; Review: This is the first book of a trilogy, and I think it is more a womans book. I had a little difficulty in working out the genre to which it is directed. From the title, and from the book description, I picked a thriller, and that is there, in parts, but that tends to be submerged by what starts out as a romance. There are two main protagonists, Kit and Jake, and previously Jake had fled leaving Kit hating him for abandoning her, he returns, and there is anger, then they fall for each other, then they are at it like rabbits. Frequently! There are long episodes where various women discuss with Kit whether she is having sex, then there is a lot of clothes removal, then there are very long periods of backstory that keep turning up. There are several pages about cooking. Every now and again the thriller parts comes up, has a gulp of air, and is promptly submerged again. Every woman character seems to have had a really awful background, and these backgrounds are gone over and over several times. Is nobody normal in LA? I am not quite sure why these backgrounds are there, because in the present part of the book, everybody also behaves normally, although perhaps it may be more important for the trilogy. The characterization was, in my opinion, shallow. Further, so much of the story was backstory, yet this appalling backstory did not seem to affect the characters of anyone in the present. Also, while the story is quite long, much of the action is off-stage. At the end there is a quite credible piece of action writing, which shows McKeehan can actually write it, but the ending of that scene is also not entirely satisfactory, perhaps because of the needs of the second book. Plot credibility falls away a little at times. The police have IQs approaching those of a brick, there is a killer on the loose, but we do not know too much about him, perhaps because it is a trilogy. However, the writing style is easy to read, and if the reader can get past the flux of backstory and the frequent discussions of various characters feelings, there is quite a gripping tale trying to get out. Of course, these long discussions of feelings may well be just what a female readership wants. For me, however, the book did not live up to the blurb that is seen before purchasing.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Personal Paparazzi: Your Brand Story Told Your Way; Author: Visit Amazon's Alina Vincent Page; Review: What this book does is to show what has to be done to build a brand in the public domain, and the authors clearly know what they are talking about. It argues that with the right promotion, anyone can reach celebrity status, and it shows how to go about it, at least in generalities. When we see people like the Kardashians, it becomes obvious that the authors are correct, but there is a reservation. As the authors point out, it requires very serious effort. What the authors do not properly note, very few can actually achieve it, because there is a second problem. The authors make the case that public status comes in three forms: the good, the bad and the ugly. Ugly is when there is no discernible public image. They then say being invisible is effectively being on page two of a Google search. Page one only has about ten to twelve results, and sometimes the start includes a few ads. Since the most famous will receive multiple entries, even being twentieth is bad news. The book summarizes what has to be done, but it also points out that it requires a major effort that will be expensive. (Likely costs are not mentioned.) In one chapter, what has to be done is allocated to three departments, and a number of examples are from major companies that trade in billions of dollars. In short, while there is a chapter for the one-person business, that person has to hire an awful lot of assistance, and the danger is, you spend a lot of money and still find you have not done enough. The book never gets sufficiently specific, possibly because each individual has its own specific problems. What it does do is leave several links to their website. Strictly speaking, this book could be a template for promoting your own services. The generalities do give some hints on what the individual should do to improve their public standing, such as building attractive and informative websites, but much of what is discussed is, in my opinion, outside the scope of the small business. The one warning they do give is, you still have to concentrate on making your own business work, which means you have to hire assistance. To summarize, it is clearly written, it is easy to read, but the individual will probably find that it is not very helpful at their level of cash flow.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The White Mouse (World War II Series Book 5) - Kindle edition; Author: Jack DuArte; Review: The White Mouse was a code name given to Nancy Wake Fiocca who was involved through the British Special Operations Executive in supporting the French Maquis. However, the book is not really about Nancy, but rather about SOE efforts in the Auvergne, where Nancy played (in this book) primarily the role of quartermaster. The major characters in this book all existed, and all did something similarly to what is described, however the author states this is a work of fiction, and the actual events portrayed in the book are fictional. Since I do not know what is true and what is not, I assume it is all not true, other than the general situations. For those interested, Nancy Wake apparently published an autobiography, which I have not read. On the plus side, it honours the people who were involved with the SOE, and gives quite a reasonable overview of the support given to the Maquis. I had trouble with it as a pure work of fiction. The various characters are unlikely to represent the real people, they were not drawn particularly well, and I found many of the situations not very convincingly told. Part of my problem was that the whole thing reads a bit like a propaganda story from something like Boy's Own. Everybody is so gung ho to get at the Germans, nobody shows any real emotion like fear (and don't tell me nobody gave a thought to German capture). Oddly enough, most of the action is actually omitted or treated very lightly. There are one or two incidents where the Maquis set out to do damage and where we get a description of what happened (at least fictionally), but going by what is presented here the resistance would be at best a minor irritant to the Germans, and also a source of exercise for the troops when they attacked concentrations of the Maquis. In short much of what really happened is almost certainly not presented. I also found the conversations somewhat stilted, probably as an effort to make the conversation that of the time. One example: "I am always able to escape their nasty clutches." Those sort of people almost certainly do not talk like that, and other similar conversational examples. I found the editing relating to punctuation, particularly quotation marks, annoying. The presentation of the Germans was also not particularly credible at times. When an NCO deliberately violates a direct order from an SS Lieutenant Colonel, I find it hard to believe he walks out of the room with the officer shaking his head. As a minor correction, an SS Sturmbannfhrer is the equivalent of a major, not a colonel. Overall, it is an interesting book, it gives some idea of what happened through the SOE and the Maquis, but I would have preferred it if it had not been fictional. A docudrama, yes, but I would have preferred the general facts to be real.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Red Sparrow: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's Jason Matthews Page; Review: This is a spy story, CIA vs Russians in modern Russia. The sparrow is a young woman trained to seduce and entrap Western agents, or people who might have information worth while to Russia, and the sparrow in this story is Dominika, who is never fully committed to her sparrow job. She is sent to entrap Nate, a CIA agent. Added to the mix are MARBLE, a highly placed Russian who is giving information to the CIA, and SWAN, a highly placed American giving information to the Russians. Then throw in a range of extras, and we have a really exciting book. For me there were two important aspects to this book that set it above most others in this sort of genre. The first is the CIA part sounds very authentic; I could see that agents might behave like they do here. This should not be a total surprise because Jason Matthews is apparently a retired CIA operative, and his wife was also with the CIA for 35 years. Here we have someone who knows what they are writing about. The Russian part was, for me, less convincing and there is a tendency throughout the book to promote the CIA and denigrate the Russians, but I guess that goes with the thought that your team have to be the best, someone has to be worst for the story, so that is them. The second great point is that the plot moves along nicely, and just when you think it is starting to get predictable, you get plot twists that are really surprising. Not only that, but it is well-written. One added feature (actually a detraction for me) is there is a focus on food (probably a consequence of TV cooking programs); everyone ends up eating somewhere, and at the end of the chapter you get a free recipe for how to make one of the things that were eaten. Unfortunately, proportions are not mentioned, so amateur cooks could end up with just about anything. Notwithstanding that, this book is well worth reading if you like the spy genre.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Calculation (Jack Contino Crime Stories Book 3) - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Steven P. Marini Page; Review: Jack Contino is head of detectives in Dennis, Cape Cod, having left Boston to get away from the excessive violence and have a quiet graze until retirement. Unfortunately, he forgot to get the author alongside. His grazing is upset by what appears to be a mob hit, and in true detective style, he visits the site and asks a few questions, but before anything of significance can get going, there is another murder. As the book progresses, there is a number of them, such that Jack actually doesn't do much detection; he just visits murder scenes. The book is well written in that the pages fly past, it is tolerably light-hearted and the major characters seem reasonable. It is a crime story, but it is not heavily laden with police methodology, largely because Jack does not do too much of it. On the second murder, there is a wealth of information, and as is usual, most is dross, but for some reason Jack gives up in the middle. The author switches to being inside the villain, but here you get very little idea of what drives him, although in fairness, it may be that nobody can really understand a serial killer. The book certainly moves, and there is never a dull moment. It is a shade formulaic, thus I guessed the essence of the endgame about two-thirds through the story, but I still found it to be a very interesting read. The absence of some basic police procedure was unfortunate because it would have saved a lot of bodies and perhaps there was an element of keeping the story going with bodies. There was also one part that really surprised me: a report in which for a murder victim "they found iodine oxide, a reddish brown powder, on the wall, ceiling and floor of the apartment and on her body." Really? Where did this come from? There is only one stable iodine oxide (I2O5) which is white and is a powerful oxidizer, and is rather too expensive for this. There are two other yellow oxides (probably iodonyl iodate and iodine triiodate) that are somewhat unstable, difficult to make and the latter is very hygroscopic, in short this scene is just plain wrong. So the biggest mystery for me is where did the author come up with this, and why? Leaving that aside, however, this is an extremely good book for those who want to lie on the beach and be entertained, and not think about it too much.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Murmurs of Insanity (A Moriah Dru/Richard Lake Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's Gerrie Ferris Finger Page; Review: This is a mystery crime story that might better be described as a crime drama set in Georgia in which Moriah Dru and Richard Lake try to unravel . . well, that is for the reader. The background is quite realistic sounding, and while I have never been there, I felt as if I understood something of the place. The story is easy to read, and the plot is mainly developed through dialogue, which Gerrie Finger writes very well. The conversations seem realistic, even to the extent that natural conversations tend to wander and these ones do too. That means the plot tends to slow at times, while various side issues are dealt with. Unfortunately, when simple text is required, it tends to be brief, and you have to slow down and really read it. There are two major strands to the plot, and there are a number of side issues. Regarding detection, there are a number of things that happen that are actually irrelevant. Yes, real detection will be like this, but here they end up being forgotten. In a story, if something bizarre happens, I would prefer some sort of explanation. Accordingly, if you want a mystery where you try to solve it in advance by picking up clues, this is not the book for you. The protagonists also do things but the explanation for why is short. I cannot elaborate without spoiling, other than to note that Moriah starts off searching for Damian, then appears to abandon that, and when the person controlling her pay wants to stop payment, she protests strongly. Um, if you are not actually doing what the paymaster has paid you to do, does he not have the right to stop payment? I suspect Gerrie Finger has been to writing classes or discussion groups because two major current "fads" are "show, don't tell", and eliminate adverbs around conversation, and to avoid boredom, avoid "said". This book starts off following these well, but in my opinion, too well. I would have preferred a little "tell" just to let me know who was what where, and some of the very long conversations with no tags at all left me confused at times as to who was actually talking. This may be just me, but I like the odd little anchor here and there so I can follow what is happening. A consequence of this for me was that the whole did not seem to have tension carrying it along, although it does make quite a good drama. The book is essentially a cozy mystery, but there is one extended action sequence that also tended to be more a sequence of small actions rather than an overall tense whole. It is the failure to explain why protagonists switch what they are doing, and the number of loose ends, that led me to downgrade this book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Patchwork Man (Patchwork People) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's D B Martin Page; Review: Kenneth Lawrence Juss has a poor start to life, being in a large family with parents that are at the bottom of the parenting scale. As a boy he is removed from his parents by Child Support and sent to a "home" with a number of other boys. There he is bullied, abused, and forced to assist with certain crimes. Nevertheless, he escapes by using what is effectively blackmail, but described as a gratuity, and with the proceeds he becomes a lawyer and changes his name to Lawrence Juste. The book runs two parallel strands: one as a boy, and one as a mature man who has just lost his wife in a road accident, the driver of which has never been found. The future looks rosy, he may be made a High Court Judge, but then his past starts to catch up with him when he is asked to defend a young boy Danny, who seems to have a problem very similar to that which he would have had as a child. The deeper he investigates this child's life, the deeper the hole he finds that he is digging for himself, aided seemingly by his dead wife. The book is well written, the scenes very well described, most of the characters are very plausible with possibly one exception. Lawrence is supposed to be a really top lawyer, yet there are obvious things he should do to get out of this hole. Whether they would work is another matter, but instead of trying them, we get an excellent description of a man descending into a trough of depressing self-made misery. I would have expected such a senior and successful person to put up slightly more of a fight. The book is not exactly uplifting, and shows some depressing aspects to life in modern England for those on the poorer side of the economy. The plot is extremely well synthesized, although in my opinion the level of coincidence does require a little getting used to, nevertheless, that the coincidences are there is part of the plot. It is the first of a trilogy, and hence the sorry mess is not resolved, and the ending is perhaps a little abrupt, although in part the issue with Danny is resolved for the present.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wayfaring Stranger; Author: ; Review: The story is about Weldon Holland, who, as a teenager in the depths of the Depression, comes across Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. The encounter seems to haunt him for the rest of his life. He later fights in World War II, gets stranded behind enemy lines in the Ardennes, and for some incomprehensible reason, tries to escape by going deeper into German territory, where he comes acroos one of the camps, and one inmate, the Jewess Rosita. He eventually marries Rosita and returns to the US, and with Hershel, one of his men in the army and who happens to have skill with welding, with the aid of acquired German welding technology sets up as a pipeline laying company in the Southern US oilfields. There they run into the worst features of unregulated capitalism, greed, anti-Semitism, the sleazy movie business, organized crime, McCarthyism, and the unfaithfulness of Hershel's wife, Linda Gail. The book was described as a thriller, but I would rather think of it as a historical novel, that just happens to be very recent. The descriptions and atmosphere are overpowering. I cannot comment on the accuracy, but the book certainly reads as if the author certainly knows what he is writing about. It is a telling blow about justice at the time; if a crooked cop, without any evidence at all, called someone a Communist, their life became hell. This is probably accurate. The fact that said Communist happened to be the wife of someone following very successfully the Capitalist dream was irrelevant. The story is very well-written in terms of writing, and the atmosphere, etc,, and with one exception, the characters, are definitely five star material. However, for me there were two problems. The first was the character of Weldon. He does very strange and self-destructive things quite erratically and for no reason. If he is to do something strange, there should be a clue as to why for it to convince me. The second is the ending, which makes very little sense, and is more like the author decided this had gone on long enough; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Whisper of Stars; Author: Visit Amazon's Nick Jones Page; Review: This appears to be a first effort, and it is a good one. It is best described as lying somewhere between science fiction and fantasy (where depends on your definitions) and is set somewhere near the end of the 21st century. Human population has expanded intolerably, lifetimes are almost doubled, the planet is under pressure, and hence society has taken a novel way out: hibernation. Everyone volunteers to get an implanted chip and report at periodic intervals to be put to sleep, to wake up some time later so that the waking population at any time is at reasonable levels. Of course, criminals do not do this, as they fear they may not wake. There is also an illegal way out: swapping bodies. How that works is unclear because while one party benefits, the other party is not mentioned in the book. And there needs to be policing of this policy, and one such policewoman is Jennifer Logan. Jennifer's father had a secret that he buried before he died; Jennifer finds it: an object called a histeridae, and it has remarkable properties, including mind control. Unfortunately, the powers that be know she has found it, and they want it, meanwhile Jennifer finds all is not well with officialdom. Jennifer becomes hunted. The story now becomes a basic chase/escape story coupled with a quest of Jennifer's to find out what is going on. There is the odd "hole" in the story, but if you overlook those you have a genuinely imaginative and exciting story, well-written, and with one of the better long action sequences that I have seen. The book is the first in a series, but it has a very clean ending, and can be considered self-contained, but with an incentive to wait for the next one. Definitely recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Shadow of Worlds; Author: Visit Amazon's JD Lovil Page; Review: While it is book 2 of a series, with one reservation it is a stand-alone book in the fantasy genre. The writing frequently refers to other entities, many of them mythological, but some may be in the previous book. This referencing to things of external origin is the one aspect that spoils for me this otherwise very good writing, although I suppose that many writers and readers strongly favour this approach. T. S. Elliot comes to mind. The book assumes the multiverse (Hugh Everett III has a lot t answer for!) but unlike what we see, here the main objection to that theory (there is no sign of interference between worlds) no longer applies. Rafe is a Walker, who has the magical ability to cross between worlds when he sees an interface, and for him they come very frequently. In the book, Rafe, two others, and a wolf, walk through a vast number of worlds, and Lovil excels at describing these, giving a moderate description that gives the "feel" of the world without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. The basic story is that from somewhere else there is something called "The Scourge" which threatens to annihilate life on various worlds, and Rafe and company must do something to stop The Scourge. They walk through various worlds, collecting various Gods, mythological characters, and purveyors of magic, and take them to "The field of battle", which is on some sort of planar world where another is closely parallel above. The ending was a let-down for me; it was a battle of who had more magic, and that is not for me, although it may be desirable for other readers. For imagination, the book is excellent, but for me there were two serious problems. The first is that there were no real problems to solve. They do not even have to follow a map, because it appears that it matters not where they walk because they will always follow the right path. The second is, there is no tension. The party walks through the story, more or less unimpeded. There is no reason to believe this party will not end up in the right place. For example, in the Lord of the Rings, we more or less can guess that Frodo will get to the volcano, but on the way he meets all sorts of dangers. This sort of thing does not occur in this book, so while the setting is well worth five stars, the story-telling fails for me.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Ways of the World: Paris, 1919-The Battle for Peace Begins...; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Goddard Page; Review: The time is 1919, the war is over, and an ex-RFC pilot, James Maxted, learns that his father, a senior British diplomat, has died by falling off a roof in Paris. At the same time, an important conference involving the victors is going on, James suspects that the death of his father was no accident. James' elder brother inherits everything, including the baronetcy, and wants the father's death to be buried, and just about everyone else shows little interest, nevertheless with a lot of effort, very gradually James becomes involved in an ever-increasingly broad range of suspicious characters, and it becomes increasingly difficult to decide who is friend or foe. The story is well-written, but because of the number of characters, the build-up is slow. On the other hand, the action is realistic and the story plausible, which is good. Then James uncovers the truth about his father in a climatic scene that occurs about 80 pages before the end. This scene itself has more questions than answers, though, and if this were the ending, it was almost in the deus ex machina category. If this were to be avoided, I felt that the next 80 pages were going to be exciting. However, I was wrong, and if anything, more threads were uncovered than were resolved, and the reason became clear: it ended nowhere, and the last 80 pages were really a slow build-up to the sequel. Overall, the writing held my interest nicely, the background felt plausible, but I did not like the way it ended. I do not mind a book ending with an indication that there will be more, as this is inevitable in a trilogy, but it should finish the main aspect of the book, and this does not. It identifies the reason for the father's death, but the way it does it requires a very major something else going on for which there have been no reasonable clues.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Armageddon's Song: 'Stand - To' (The Map Illustrated Edition) (Volume 1); Author: Andy Farman; Review: This book is the first of an epic that offers competition to Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising. The plot is basically that Russia and China set off World War III, first by launching a sneak attack by infiltrating agents, then by set piece military invasions. It has a rather long introduction that introduces some key characters in peacetime, it establishes Farman's credentials relating to the British army, and somewhat surprisingly, it offers an abbreviated section that could have been expanded into an excellent thriller. Farman may have a future as a thriller writer. We then get on to the actual war, which Farman writes from the point of view of the British squaddie, and of individuals in other parts of the war, such as fighter pilots and naval officers. He also writes about the politics going on, and here the British soldier's attitude to politicians shows through a little. Stand To is largely about a hiding the allies take as the Russian forces predominate, although naturally the chosen squads fight bravely and successfully. One of the problems of writing an epic like this is that the chosen characters should largely survive, so that aspect means that the overall losses are not noticed amongst the key characters. The book is easily read, and the reasons I really liked it are there are realistic details of the British infantryman, there are details (such as Velcro tabs) that most people would never consider, and there are details of how the infantryman fights. The book stays away from strategy, apart from the political ructions that come from a retreat, where a badly mauled unit wants to be replaced while it regroups. The fighting retreat is probably the hardest of all military operations to get right, and Farman shows the general incompetence that arises when politicians get in the road of military requirements. The book is obviously the precursor to more, and where it finishes is clearly not an end, but it should give the reader a good taste of what is likely to follow. I enjoyed reading Red Storm Rising, but I actually felt this was better from the soldiers' point of view, hence the rating.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Dazzling Darkness; Author: Visit Amazon's Paula Cappa Page; Review: The story starts with five-year-old Henry Brooke walking home from school through the "Cow Path" with elder sister Laura, who runs ahead of him. Henry never makes it home, which is a parent's worst nightmare. This is not helped by the fact that Adam Brooke comes from a very rich family, Antonia does not and she was apparently "not approved" as suitable for Adam by the family, so Adam has more or less left his family. The story starts with the blame game, the guilt game (Henry should not have been left to walk home alone), but then we suspect he may have been playing in the cemetery and hence the keeper, Elias Hatch, is a suspect. Perhaps Henry was killed in an accident, perhaps he was kidnapped, the author takes the reader through all the possibilities that might have happened, all of which is hindered by the fact that apart from a cap, there is no sign of Henry. There is a sighting of Henry, or was there? Then we get questions of the supernatural, and religion also plays a part, including occasional returns to Helena (Flavia Julia Helena Augusta, wife of Constantius) in the fourth century. In short, the basic question is, what happened to Henry, and what are the effects of his disappearance on his parents, and also, what is going on in this book? The title is apt in more ways than one. One of the oddities of this story is there are so many possibilities that I cannot even assign the book to a genre without providing spoilers. The writing of events happening is very skillful. There was one scene where I had more or less guessed in advance what the "surprise" would be, but nevertheless the scene was so well written that it still held interest. The author has a love of writing scene descriptions, and some may find she overdoes it. If you don't know what this Cow Path looks like at the end of the book, it is not the author's fault. On the other hand, I would have preferred more attention to giving a description of the local geography, because to some extent the story depends on it. While there were one or two parts of the plot that I thought failed the logic inspection (such as why character X was really at place Y at that time) overall it is an interesting and imaginative book, and even if you find the ending a little hard to take on board, I think you will find the story holds your attention quite nicely while reading it.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Novel World of Angela Crown (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Sala Deib Page; Review: This is one of the more complex books you will find, and it is almost impossible to describe without spoiling. The plot is reasonably simple. Angela Crown has her fianc die, and she is extremely distressed. She begins reading, and decides the novels she is reading are totally unfair to the characters and the plots need drastic alteration, then suddenly she discovers a way to enter the novel world, where she attempts to save Sara, the main character of "Sara's Tragedy". The problem is, the plot is written, so how can a character change that which is written? One way is to take a book into the novel world and start tearing out pages! Then again, is it really written? Perhaps the novelist writes the novel as the characters take over? In some ways, there is a little lacking of self-consistency here, but never mind. The story can be read on several levels, and various readers could very well interpret this quite differently. I think most readers would reject the first level, i.e. what is written is it. The next level involves Angela recovering (or otherwise) from a mental problem, and in the "real world" she is continuously seeing the psychiatrist, Dr Price. However, when she is in the "novel world" she also informs the characters there that she came from a higher-level novel world, so it is not that easy. At the next level you can choose between satire, allegory, and I am not going to spoil this by giving my interpretation. I found this book remarkably imaginative and highly original, and it held my attention far more than many others I have read recently. Highly recommended by me.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: No Turning Back: Stories; Author: Visit Amazon's Dan Burns Page; Review: This book comprises ten short stories, each one usually starting with a reasonable common event for an ordinary person, then it proceeds to a somewhat less ordinary event, then to a finish. The author has a flair for describing scene settings, and the reader should find each story easy to read and to enter the author's world. The writing is clear, and the stories have twists that range from the fairly ordinary to the somewhat extreme. At the end of each story the author has a section in which he explains how the story came about (usually some simple event that made the author say to himself, "Suppose . . . occurred, what would happen next?") then he often explains what the story means. Not everyone will want that, but if so, such sections can be skipped. As might be expected from such a compilation, there is a degree of unevenness. While there is a dark touch to some, the stories are largely cozy and which leave a comfortable feeling with the reader. If you want pleasant short stories, you could do a lot worse than read these.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Found, Near Water (A Christchurch Crime Thriller); Author: Visit Amazon's Katherine Hayton Page; Review: This is a fairly grim read, written in the first person. The main protagonist, Catherine, and a number of secondary protagonists, are women who have had children that are either dead or have gone missing, and the story proceeds to elucidate how this happened. Most of the women have had abusive backgrounds and have grown to dysfunctional adults who have got pregnant and then proceeded to be dysfunctional parents. Early in the story we hear that a small girl, Chloe, has gone missing, and as the story proceeds, there is suspicion that the father has arranged for the child to be abducted. Catherine has helped the police (she is a psychiatrist by training) and the story largely hangs on seeking Chloe, but as the story proceeds, more children are found as bodies. As a general rule, the main weakness of many books (in my opinion) is a shortage of plot that hangs together. This is different: we are overwhelmed with plot. There are more stories here than in a series, and they all come together well. There is perhaps a mild weakness in that for the story to evolve like this, some of the women have to be exceptionally dysfunctional and traumatized, but then that is what the plot says. The intensity does not let up towards the finish, and if the reader is not paying attention the ending may come as a bit of a puzzle, but if the reader were paying attention, the "really surprising" part of the ending should be foreseen, but like a good mystery, I rather fancy it will not be foreseen by most. The female characters are drawn very intensively; there is no mistaking what they are, and Christine is clearly an angry woman. Either Katherine Hayton is extremely good at imagining such women, or she too has had incidents she would probably wish she had not. The male characters are not so realistic, in my opinion. Erik, the main policeman, gets a lot of denigration from Catherine, yet just about everything he does is reasonable. Gary, Christine's husband is simply an extremely sad sack and the other male characters are totally undesirable. The settings are realistic, apart from the water pond, which seems to me to be hydrologically improbable, but that is irrelevant as it helps the story. The story is set in Christchurch, New Zealand, following the earthquake, and additionally to the story there are the occasional digs at a justice system that has flaws, and of bureaucracy. Overall, a very good first effort.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sex, Drugs & Islam: Autobiography of an X Fighter Pilot; Author: Visit Amazon's Dari Ghaznavi Page; Review: This book is probably something that you will either find very interesting or you will not like it at all, and I suspect there is not a lot of middle ground. It is an autobiography, and as such the nature of the material is a given; it was his life. The book is written in a racy style with some fairly crude or earthy language, so for some, discretion is required. So how does one grade it? I gave it three stars because that lies between he two extremes, but I suggest you forget my star rating, and read what I write. There are a number of aspects of the presentation that for me had to lead to the loss of a star. There is some rather odd punctuation, at least some of the time, and there are verbal emoticons littered through the text, as the author tries to comment on what he has written. There is also some odd capitalization, and quite odd usage of hyphens. My guess is, the hyphens were used when writing the text and came to the end of a line, so a hyphen was used to break the word, without realizing these hyphens survive when compiling. Dari's life starts as a Muslim youth in Pakistan, and then proceeds to being an interceptor pilot in the Pakistan Air Force. Very little is told about this time of his life and we learn almost nothing about the Pakistani Air Force, which for some might have been the most interesting. He leaves the air force after signs of ill discipline, and makes his way to America, entering it with a visa for a few days and not leaving. He now becomes permanently an American, but no clue is given as to how. His next two objectives seem to be to have sex with as many women as he could, and to smuggle drugs, mainly marijuana, through flying. Later he gets into the business of dealing in aircraft. He still chases after sex, despite being married and having two daughters. What I found was that Ghaznavi seemed not to give an emotional response to just about anything. He makes money, he loses money, he gets cheated, he cheats, and life goes on. For me, the absence of reasons and emotion made this less interesting, and hence the second star goes, but for many this will give an insight into the mind of someone who really does not care about anything or anyone, and a person with almost a total absence of commitment. However there is also a bonus, in that he gives his thoughts on Islam, and these are not very flattering to it. Think about what is in this book, and if you would find this interesting, you will find the racy style very easy to read.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: iron & rust; Author: Visit Amazon's Harry Sidebottom Page; Review: This is a historical novel set in ancient Rome that starts with the end of the unfortunate boy Alexander. By now, the imperium was usually ended by murder, usually by the soldiers. Discipline was clearly not what it had been at the time of Marius or Sulla. There is a brief illustration of the decadence and ineptitude of Alexander's court, then we see the imperium of Maximinus. The book largely covers the preparation for campaigns by Maximinus, and the various plotting, etc, that was going on. The book is very strong on historical facts, and very strong on the structure of Roman society at the time, but is strangely unemotional regarding many of the issues. There is an account of Iunia Fadilla and her betrothal and marriage to Maximus, and the consequent horrors for the young lady. I have no idea how accurate that is, but interestingly, there is no coinage for the wife of Maximus. There are accounts of Maximinus' campaigns, but there is little of military interest in them, and there is the frequent and odd usage of the word "phalanx". The Romans did not use the phalanx, at least in the sense that was defined by the Greeks. Another point is that there are frequent references to money problems, but nowhere is there any discussion of the fact that the economy of the Roman empire was at risk of decaying totally at this time. In short, this is an incredible work of scholarship in some ways, but is strangely missing on some other key points. Equally, I found it difficult to get really committed to any character; the book was to some extent almost free of emotional involvement as none of the characters had any real goal that they tried to achieve, except possibly Maximinus, whose goal was to stay alive and beat the Germans. The book ends with the ascent of Gordian. This is misleading. The book says nothing about Maximinus at this stage, and with good reason, because he had not been removed, and neither Gordian lasted more than three weeks. This was not in the book. Leaving that aside, this book neatly summarizes much of what went wrong with Rome following the Severines. Perhaps Sidebottom has further plans for sequels, because what happened after the book ends is almost an unbelievable sequence of murders, greed for power, and most of what went wrong with Rome.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Iron Relic Book I: The Crossing (Volume 1); Author: Mr. Bobby Hundley; Review: This is a religious thriller. Adam Calhoun is an oncologist with a reasonably normal life when he goes to visit his dying great grandfather, who is aged 119. His great grandfather gives him a necklace that is a crucifix, and allegedly contains a fragment of one of the nails from the true cross. Adam takes it, and later, when a young girl is dying with terminal cancer wants a rosary, he gives her the necklace instead. Next morning the girl is cured. Not only is this a miracle, but everyone finds out about it, and a host of undesirables want the necklace. Adam is burgled, mugged, but somehow the necklace is always somewhere else. He is pursued, and his situation rapidly becomes more and more confused. The book is well-written and the pages turn. There are plenty of very well-written descriptions for those who like descriptions, and the plot has a number of twists and turns. This may be unfair, but in terms of accuracy I could not help smiling at the reference to Pontius Pilot, and there seemed to be four nails. I was under the impression the Roman crucifixion used three standard military nails. Leaving these trivia aside, the plot unfolds at a nice pace, and the reader's attention is held. The actions scenes are sometimes a little clunky and difficult to believe, but my biggest criticism is for the ending; there isn't one, at least in the usual sense, and worse, about three pages before it stops, a completely new scene and new character is introduced with a kidnapping. Sorry, but while I am happy to have a series, in my view each book should have something resembling an ending, even if it is clear that something else should follow. This is a rather short book as it is, and I see no reason why the story could not have continued until a realistic ending could be reached. That loses a star, and is lucky not to lose two.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Another Space in Time, Returns; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Bunning Page; Review: This is a sequel to "Another Space in Time", but I found it to be fine as a stand-alone. Bunning starts with a background that gives what I assume is a reasonable summary of the first book (I have only read this one), and I had no trouble following the story is set on another planet, Goranas, that is populated largely by natives who are telepathic, together with "arrivals" who are not. Arrivals are people who have died on Earth, but since there are so few of them, there must be some selection process, although what it is is not shown. The main protagonist is Rodwell Richards, who discovers he has a twin brother who died at birth on Earth, but on Goranas has become a serious player in a criminal organization known as the Vids. The local police kidnap this brother and persuade Rodwell to take his place. The police plan is not especially good, the police and government are riddled with corruption, so Rodwell's life expectancy is not good. In addition, Rodwell is not exactly an efficient agent. Good material for a thriller. The story is told first person present, and this has some consequences. One is that there are of necessity periods where nothing much happens, for example, in going from A to B. Now, to prevent the story becoming unreasonably jerky, these periods have to be filled in with the protagonist's thoughts, and with what he sees. Accordingly, there are plenty of descriptions, and plenty of periods of philosophical thinking. The situation of resurrection on another planet gives plenty of opportunity for such thinking, and also the question of the corruption and the questions of what to do next. Accordingly, the story is frequently very introspective. If this appeals, the story proceeds at a good pace, and the thriller parts are well-structured, leaving aside the trouble that Rodwell gets into is largely his own fault. As long as the reader accepts this form, this is an excellent read, and is the best I have read in this first person present form, hence the grade.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Time and Time Again; Author: James Hilton; Review: The premise is simple enough. Captain Hugh Stanton, ex British special forces, has been introduced to a group who call themselves Chronations. What they believe is that if you stand in a special spot in a cellar in Constantinople at a very specific time, you will be transferred back to 1914, in time to stop Princip from murdering the Archduke, and maybe stopping World War 1. Of course, stopping one Princip may not be enough, as the nations were aching for war, having no idea what it would involve. So Stanton goes to Constantinople, and finds himself back in 1914. What would you do? The story is very well written, the descriptions are very good and you feel as if you have been taken back to 1914. There are one or two points that I think Stanton may have found more difficult than in the book. At one point he drives a car. How many modern men have experience at double clutching? Further, it usually helps to have done it in the vehicle you are driving. Nevertheless, I found this to be an interesting read and it manages to hold tension very well, while avoiding any deep strategic thinking. The problem, of course, is once you do something in history and change it, you have no more idea what will follow than anyone else. Stanton, a soldier, is for doing, not for overtaxing the thinking. The one fault of the book is the ending, where it almost a rush to finish, and it seemed as if Elton's idea had got away from him. As an aside, if you read the book, before doing so write down on a piece of paper what you would do if put in this situation. You may find what Elton writes to be of particular interest, for Elton has given this a lot more thought than his character did. I highly recommend thje book, if not Stanton's strategy.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Guy Erma and the Son of Empire; Author: Visit Amazon's Sally Ann Melia Page; Review: I was given this book to review, and because it is directed at young adult audiences, there is the risk that a real target audience might not agree with me, however, I feel that it is well-plotted and is very well-written for the target audience. The story starts on the planet Sas Darona, which is on the border between the Zaracan Empire and the Freyne empire, which is expanding. Sas Darona is also rich in monazite, which is argued to be the source of a valuable element. Actually, monazite is a real ore, and it might have been preferable to mention the real elements it contains. The Zacaran Karl Valvanchi is approaching this planet, only to find massive bursts of incineration as people below try to exterminate an outbreak of cy-sect plague. We then go to Freyne 2, where Prince Teodor is either learning blades fighting or getting ready to race on giant carnivorous cats. Teodor is the son of the dead king, and should become king; in the meantime his mother is Regent. Guy Erma is a young model who wants to become a soldier. What happens next is a series of events where others try to grasp power. Teodor is the target, Erma is there, and, well, the story is full of action, intrigue and misrepresentation, but set at a level that I think should be suitable for younger people. Overall, I think it is an excellent read for the YA reader.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Aoleon The Martian Girl: Science Fiction Saga - Part 1 First Contact; Author: Visit Amazon's Brent LeVasseur Page; Review: This is a difficult book to review because it is directed at a fairly narrow target audience that does not include me. The story is basically about a boy, Gilbert, who has a telescope and is interested in star-gazing, and who goes out into a field where he meets a young Martian girl with a flying saucer, and who seems determined to create emotional havoc, by making crop circles and by teasing the US air force. It is written in a light-hearted style, and with humour that seems very suitable for someone like my eight-year-old granddaughter. She would find it extremely funny to think of a farmer who was clearly on the bad side to have to suffer a flying cow land on his head. What she would make of some of the political comments, though, I am less sure. There are a few technical difficulties with the book, but this age group is hardly likely to pick them up. You would not pass Phobos, then Deimos if travelling to Mars. However, all such things would be beyond an eight year old, and there are a number of other things that are clearly made up. Of course Levasseur is hardly the only one; anyone recall a "flux capacitor"? The story is very simple but it also does not end, indeed it is reasonably obvious that the real story is about to start, but not in this book. A bit of a black mark there. The story also has a number of stylistic illustrations, but unfortunately these do not show up particularly well on a Kindle.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Running With Wild Blood (A Moriah Dru/Richard Lake Mystery); Author: Visit Amazon's Gerrie Ferris Finger Page; Review: This is a cosy mystery, and it starts with Moriah Dru being invited to look into a cold case, the murder and rape of Juliet Trapp three years previously. There had been some indication Juliet had gone off with a biker, and the Wild Blood gang were the local bikers. Moriah investigates by asking questions of anyone who might have any connection, and we soon get a series of seedy characters, and another body or so. Then there are one or two other characters who have run off, or gone somewhere to further their careers, depending on how you look at it. As is the case with a lot of police work, an awful lot of the interviews are not all that relevant. The story is comfortably written, but with all the dialogue it can be sometimes difficult to focus on why certain questions are being asked. For me, there was surprisingly little tension generated, largely because the story seemed to be wandering with no clues as to why Moriah was going where she was going. There were action scenes, and these were quite well written, but all but the last one ended inconclusively. Of course the author has to keep the story going, but the protagonists should get something out such fight scenes, even if it is only a desire to catch up with the other side again soon. The ending was also a slight problem for me. Moriah announces a clue as to how she knew, and the clue was presented earlier, but unfortunately, in my view, it is a very weak clue, and it made the ending unconvincing for me. To summarize, it is a comfortable cosy mystery that is easy to read, and if that is what you want, here it is. You get the added bonus of a feel for the southeast of the US, for Gerrie Finger clearly has a strong affection for Georgia and nearby states.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Off the Grid: The Catalyst; Author: Visit Amazon's Brian Courtney Page; Review: The book follows the early life of Pan. Pan is not his name, but rather it is a nickname, and Pan has opted out of a normal life, and rather has adopted a life in which he revolts against most of what is going on in modern America. In one sense it is a polemic against the society in modern America, and in this sense it is a little like the writing of Kafka. It is a sequence of incidents that show up something, such as police brutality, but Pan is also not exactly an innocent citizen. There is not a lot of plot that goes anywhere for most of the book, although there is a change at the end, which must remain unspoilt. The author shows some good descriptions, and while not a lot advances, the writing maintains interest. The style has a lot of tell, and this is done quite well. The language at times is somewhat crude, and, as they say, "Language may offend; discretion is required." I have one significant criticism regarding the editing, and this lost one star in my assessment. The punctuation and formatting around speech is poor, and at times I could not work out, without re-reading and guessing, who was talking, or even if anyone was talking. The convention of using new paragraphs for a change of speaker is not always followed. The book will be of interest to some, but will offend others; however it is not boring.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Death Doesn't Care (Chris Hunter Books) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's David Grace Page; Review: Chris Hunter is a detective with his foot in cast, and so is unsuited for active duty. He could sit at his desk, but instead decides to take on a case on his own initiative. Three years ago there was a mass murder at The Early Bird Caf where eight people were murdered in what was regarded as a gang hit, and accordingly one gang leader was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. The arresting officer was made Lieutenant. Two days later, Bobby Bennett disappeared, and Chris becomes suspicious when he learns that Bobby knew two of the victims of the massacre. Just maybe this was not a gang related hit, but a contract murder of the two men, and presumably Bobby, and the rest were just what was needed to make it look like a gang crime. So Chris sets out to find the real killer, somewhat impeded by his Lieutenant. So, this is a mystery novel? Well, no. What happens is that Chris starts proper police work, interviewing those who he can come across, and as he starts to make progress, there is a flash-back and we see part of what actually happened, in other words we get "progress reports" on whether Chris is getting warm. This is a somewhat unusual way of writing, so the book is more a drama than a mystery, and I found this to be quite enthralling. The ending is a bit on the weak side and I feel the author could have made more of it, nevertheless I am giving it the fifth star first for having an original structure to the story, and secondly be having excellent judgment in pulling it off very well for most of the story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: At the Sharp End of Lightning (Oceanlight) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's NR Bates Page; Review: This book is apparently the start of a series, and reviewing it this early in the series is probably unfortunate. My problem with this book is it is essentially an introduction because at the end of reading it, I am still unsure as to exactly what sort of book it is and what it is about. It is partly a fantasy, but it could even be an allegory. There are at least three worlds that are apparently in the same place, presumably some sort of multiverse, and there may even be a fourth. There is a portal where, if you have the means, you can travel between them, and additionally into the past, present or future. The three obvious worlds involve humans (North wales, more or less now), forest sprites and sea sprites, although perhaps the forest and sea sprites are in the same world but they do not mix. There are also daimons and mecanica, but whether they are in separate worlds is unclear to me so far. There is also a "thinness" and passage between worlds is possible at times there. The book introduces realistic characters (at least as long as a sprite can be real) and Bates has considerable ability at description. The descriptions introduce some genuinely imaginative worlds in very great detail, but on top of that, towards the end of the book the sea sprites live on some floating vessels and cultivate algae in the deep ocean. The mechanics of this are very plausible, and indeed might be modeled on some US Navy experiments in the 1970s. The problems experienced are exactly what might be expected from excess carbon dioxide (the chemical effects in addition to greenhouse warming) but this is not explicitly stated and many/most readers will probably not pick this up. This is really a tour de force but it suffers from the problem that while a number of events happen, there is no unifying theme, or at least if there is, I could not find it. I prefer my series books to at least achieve something in each book, or even fail to, to give some sort of an ending and there is no such ending here. Further, each of the worlds seems to have its own strand of story, and they do not connect significantly in this book. The human world has a character who experiences the past, but the connection between there and the present is yet to come. The character goes there, sees a great number of things which are intricately described, then he comes back to the present and we her every little more about him. To summarize, this is well-written in the sense that the descriptions are vivid, the worlds are genuinely imaginative, but it is hard to find the story. It may be that the series plot will end up being very imaginative, but book 1 is too bogged down with descriptions of events that seem unconnected.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Symmetry of Snowflakes; Author: Visit Amazon's Paul Michael Peters Page; Review: Snowflakes are described as being hexagonal, symmetric, they have six corners and six edges, although all are different. Hank Hanson has a mother who has had three husbands, and a father who has had three wives, a sort of symmetric family, and on Thanksgiving Day, he visits them, and their children, his brothers, etc, in other words he drives all over the place. Hank is also single. This year he is in luck: he has some spare time so he stops to watch the big parade, and ends up talking to Erin Contee. What follows is a romance coupled with a number of family problems, coupled with personal failures, coupled with some rather unusual sexual histories. In short it is a tangled story, with Perry the cat being the only reasonably stable "character". The story is quite readable, the plot uninvolved apart from the falling in and out between characters, and it gives a pleasant light-hearted look at life around a decaying Detroit. The writing style is clean and engaging. For me, some of the coincidences seemed just a bit excessive, and contrived for the story, but it is a pleasant read with moderately explicit sex scenes.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bits And Peaces; Author: Visit Amazon's Mitchell Graye Page; Review: First, I really do not understand the title. I always thought peace was discrete and singular. Maybe I am just dumb, but . . . Anyway, putting that aside, the book comes in three parts. The first part is a collection of short stories, and these focus on basic life, but each of them has a nice twist at the end, and in my opinion, these are really neat. The second and biggest part is also a collection of short stories, except that this time Mitchell Graye inserts himself into the stories, as a writer. Needless to say, these stories are fiction, including the part where he describes himself as a multiple book best-selling author. I guess we authors always dream, but we don't usually put this dream in print. The last part is by far the shortest, and in this, Gaye explains how he has formed his stories, and basically these involve his seeing someone, listening to a little conversation, and then imagining what might have happened next. Think of this as an extended "Author's note". The stories are well written, and despite the fact I often find short stories to be annoying, as if they were more writing exercises than anything, these each make a point, which is what I want in a short story. Most are set in real places, (or were real places in some cases, as redevelopment has changed them) and new get a feel for what life was like for many people there. In other words, this is an excellent collection for "people watchers" and interesting for others. Finally, that title still annoys me. If the author is to explain all his technique, he might explain whether there is something really subtle going on in the author's note.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Damn it, Wake Me Up; Author: E. G. Lander; Review: There are three main characters: Tony, his wife, Mary, and Brenda. Tony has been happily married to Mary for a number of years and they have a gifted son, Connor. However, as is shown in the first third of the book, Tony has become addicted to gambling. His wife has caught him at it in the past, he has promised to give up, but his promises on this sort of issue are not worth the paper they are not even written on. He bets on horses, two thousand dollars at a time, and, of course, the only ones who really make on gambling are the bookies. He does not even have any particular interest in horses; he merely wants to gamble. At first sight, his character seems ridiculous why would anyone behave like this? Well, the sad fact is, only too many people. Tony is a money manager, and it is not long before he uses client's money to get himself out of his current mess, which is, of course, illegal. He manages to cover this. The next part of the book, in my opinion, wandered a bit, then the story takes a turn and unfortunately, no clues on this because it is impossible to do so without spoiling. I found this book rather difficult to rate. The first part is not that exciting, but it is realistic, and in some ways should be mandatory reading for anyone whose spouse gambles. The next part, I found to be even less exciting, but the last half the story really picks up and is mainly well-written with good tension. Tony shows most of the characteristics of a sociopath, but seemingly not all of them. In particular, he does not plan and is not driven by success, so his character is a little confusing. The character of Mary was also very well done, and she is believable, there are only too many like that, but her character then shows change, and the changes are believable. Overall, despite the lesser part in the early middle, this is well worth reading.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Kingdom of Assassins; Author: Visit Amazon's Erik Mackenzie Page; Review: The book is a thriller, and is seemingly well-researched. The concept is, about ten years in the future the Saudi kingdom is under strife, with the choice between becoming more democratic, championed by Princess Saharazad, and Prince Sayf, who seemingly wants it to be more autocratic. In the background are a number of various players that are engaged in various forms of terrorism, and who may be Saudi, Iranian, or others. There is a hinted at background related to a New York policeman Mike Maclaymore, an ex special forces soldier and he becomes engaged in preventing a terrorist attack and other activities in New York. Anything else would be a spoiler. The story has an extraordinarily good plot and ranks alongside Tom Clancy at his best. Not only that, but the characters are quite plausible as people. Unfortunately there are problems, and these could easily be fixed, and I would hope the author will do this. Generally speaking, I am fairly tolerant of flawed editing provided it is not too serious, but unfortunately, this is a case where a little work would greatly improve the book. The first is simple editing relating to things like punctuation around speech. There is this annoying habit of not always starting a new speaker with a new paragraph, so how do you interpret a speech with three quotation marks? In a number of places, I had to reread sections to work out who was saying what, and this makes me grumpy. A second problem may be harder to fix. I thought the action scenes were too clinical, somewhat unbelievable, and too stodgy. Only too often someone has a gun trained on them, and they knock the gun out of the hand followed by some detailed blows. You cannot cross a space before someone can pull a trigger. You might get away with this once, if you could distract the gunman, but it is a bad habit. Action scenes, in my opinion, need some clue as to what the protagonist sees, feels, and what (s)he is trying to do, and not a list of blows. My last problem was the ending. Actually, there was a very good ending essentially there, but then the author had to introduce something entirely new, presumably for a sequel. End the story you have. Then by all means have a sequel, but don't leave me almost in mid-sentence. A little bit of editing and a little rewriting of the action scenes and this would be top-class, and potentially a great movie. Erik, please revise it. In the meantime, if the reader can tolerate the flaws I have mentioned, this is a great story, and it is still worth reading.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Kidnap (Guy Erma and the Son of Empire) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Sally Ann Melia Page; Review: I was given this book to review, and because it is directed at young adult audiences, there is the risk that a real target audience might not agree with me, however, I feel that it is well-plotted and is very well-written for the target audience. The story starts on the planet Sas Darona, which is on the border between the Zaracan Empire and the Freyne empire, which is expanding. Sas Darona is also rich in monazite, which is argued to be the source of a valuable element. Actually, monazite is a real ore, and it might have been preferable to mention the real elements it contains. The Zacaran Karl Valvanchi is approaching this planet, only to find massive bursts of incineration as people below try to exterminate an outbreak of cy-sect plague. We then go to Freyne 2, where Prince Teodor is either learning blades fighting or getting ready to race on giant carnivorous cats. Teodor is the son of the dead king, and should become king; in the meantime his mother is Regent. Guy Erma is a young model who wants to become a soldier. What happens next is a series of events where others try to grasp power. The story is full of action, intrigue and misrepresentation, but set at a level that I think should be suitable for younger people. Overall, I think it is an excellent read for the YA reader.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Scythe of God; Author: Terry Rich Hartley PhD; Review: This is a thriller that starts with Mark Bolton winning a bet in which he gets the use of his boss's car, and just as he is about to start his first ride, he becomes the victim of a phosphorus bomb. The scenes switch around a bit, and we soon get introduced to Dr Augustus Bolderjack, who is a sort of free-wheeling psychologist come profiler, and who has been used by the FBI. He ends up working for yet another part of the US government as the problem descends into a form of biological terrorism. I can't say much more about the plot without spoiling, other than to say it moves at a ferocious speed through various parts of the western US, and involves a detailed description of a Mormon cult group. I have no idea whether the comments on Mormonism are valid, but for worry worts, the biological agent is impossible. For those interested, here is a chance to test your scientific knowledge! The writing moves well from about a third of the way through, although I confess that I found the opening could do with some editing, particularly with regard to lurching into different material in the middle of a paragraph, a style which I found a little confusing. However the writing quickly improves, or maybe I got more used to it. The language is also a little raw in places. Overall, fast-moving, which is just what an action thriller should be, and the action is not contrived, although it is not exactly flattering to the US government, not to some of the police forces there.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Prince: Lucifer's Origins; Author: Visit Amazon's J. M. Erickson Page; Review: This is one of those books that does not fit easily in any genre. The time is sometime in the future (I think) when humanity has been spread through at least part of the galaxy. There is a major alien race called Xenons, there is a Hell-planet that once was Earth, and humanity is ruled by King Talus and at least at the start, five children, the youngest of which, 12 year old Prince Victor, is on the planet Pax, which is the intellectual centre. However, it turns out that the children, who each sub-rule a sector, are squabbling, and Ramsey kills Jason and acquires his territory. Victor is taken from Pax, nominally by people who oppose Ramsey, but eventually they are under siege. Victor descends in an escape pod to Earth (Hell), acquires some supernatural powers, and also takes on the name Lucifer, which apparently means, the bringer of light. The rest of the story involves the attempts to right the wrongs, good versus evil, etc, with Lucifer on the side of good. As an added bonus, there are quotes from Machiavelli at the start of every chapter. On the technical side, the writing is good, and it is easy to read. Unfortunately, for me there were structural flaws. The first one is logic. Twelve-year old Victor is put in an unguided unpowered escape pod and sent to Hell, where he is asked to stay alive for a day or so, dressed only in his pyjamas. Some others will go to some escape vehicle, join another ship, then they will go down to Hell and rescue Victor. This beggars belief as a plausible plan. Why don't they take him with them? If they do not make it, he will not either because he cannot survive on his own (or so they believe), there is no reason to believe he will survive an unpowered crash, and the crash could be anywhere. Then there is the supernatural power. It is used once to devastating effect, except that the incident has no impact on the overall story, and later, when it would be useful, it is ignored. The story is starting to become interesting, but if you start wondering where it is going, we are suddenly introduced to four soldiers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which, coupled with a Michael and a Gabriel, makes the second half essentially obvious. Ramsey destroys Pax, but why? Generally, reasons for things happening are hard to find. Finally, the most exciting part, at the end, is largely told, not shown, and the telling seems to remove much of the excitement. There is also an inconsistency at the end. The Xenons might be aptly named, though. Xenon is an inert gas, and these Xenons are not shown to be doing anything much. To summarize, this could have been a great book, and if these flaws do not put you off, then go read it, for it is certainly different from a lot of others. For me, the flaws I pointed out above are a fine example of an opportunity; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar; Author: Visit Amazon's Rob Goodman Page; Review: The book is a biography of Marcus Porcius Cato, a stoic, and as described on the cover, "mortal enemy of Caesar". However, it is also an account of the death of the Roman Republic, it shows why it died, and it paints Cato as the last citizen to try and prevent its death. It was also an exercise in futility. Cato stood for "what was right" at a time when corruption, bribery and the use of brute force prevailed. In principle, the law provided justice, but in practice, trials could be bought. Getting something done in the political atmosphere of Rome required a lot of support. Cato was essentially isolated because he felt virtue itself would bring all to his point of view, and when it obviously did not, he felt that he had at least tried. The book brilliantly portrays a man whose stubbornness means he must refuse to compromise, and his refusal to compromise inevitably meant that he achieved very little. Additionally, he was somewhat less than pure when it came to his own family. The book also shows how Cato's refusal to play politics led to admiration from those who were unimportant, and the inability to save Rome. The book almost ends with a quote from Lucan: the lost cause was dear to Cato. If you want to know about the end of the real Res Publica, but do not want full academic depth, the research behind this book makes it extremely desirable reading. I cannot judge the accuracy of the work, and nor, I suspect, can anyone else. The ancient sources are notorious for reflecting more the character of the author than of the subject, and in some ways, Cato the person is difficult to find in this account. Personally, I prefer this because basically we don't know, and I would rather the person be a somewhat ghostly person than a fabricated one.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Queensboro (Crow Creek) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Thomas Drago Page; Review: This book is in the horror genre, and is set in Queensboro, a small town (I think) in one of the Carolinas. There are a large number of characters, and these are quite well depicted. Additionally, the atmosphere of the place is described outstandingly. The reader should be readily able to picture the place, and the people in it. (Whether it a fair representation of people in that part of the world is another matter, though.) If you are looking for writing that shows characterization and setting, you cannot go past this, and it would be five + stars. For me, however, there were basic flaws that annoyed me. The first was grossly excessive backstory that was irrelevant to the story, except to further portray the characters in situations quite different from what they were facing in the story. Yes, that helps describe what sort of people they were, but for me, the author won this battle maybe fifty times, at the expense of the war. Worse, all this good work with the characters became undone when the horror arrived. Suppose you saw someone, and it appeared there were worms or something working their way underneath the person's skin, what would you do? Generally speaking, these characters do nothing. They are not horrified, so neither was I. Which gets me to my main gripe: for a book to portray horror, apart from the horrible agent, the rest has to be credible. A larger worm with wings picks up a person and flies off. From the description, this is aerodynamically impossible (It would have to be shaped more like a Pterodactyl) but OK, we can leave this aside. So what do the locals do? They charge off to the forest, where they all get attacked and killed by said worm or worms. This is told more or less like that; it is statistics, not horror. Additionally, why were they not armed? Or if they were, why did they not use said arms? Even a machete or a knife would help. But no, they apparently stood there and got sucked dry. There were a number of scenes where I did not really understand the outcome. There was an obvious one, but something else should have happened. Either I am not "with it" or the writing was confused; I know what I think. Then there was another problem. There is an action scene, we get near a climax, and . . . oops no backstory for a few pages so yes, let's have some more. For me, suspense is not achieved by simply stopping and introducing filler. The actual relevant story is rather short, and in my opinion, very excessively padded. I also found the action scenes to be rather poorly written because again the behavior of the characters lacked credibility. There are also a lot of references to a drug, but what does it do? How is it relevant? The worms attack people, just once. Why stop? Where are they now? Too many irrelevancies for me, and too many questions unanswered. I was just; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Soaring: Living Empowered and Joyful; Author: Visit Amazon's Matti Dobbs Ph.D Page; Review: Soaring is a spiritual book that aims to show people how to reach their maximum potential. It is clearly written, and any reader should have little difficulty in understanding the messages. Therefore the utility of the book depends on whether it works. Does it help? The book has a deeply religious undertow, so the answer to that depends in part on whether you are religious. If so, the steps like "pray" will probably help significantly. If you are not religious, there is still plenty there that may well help, but this may have to be teased out. Also, I am not quite sure that all the advice will help. One of the chapters suggests the person visualize/dream of the end success. From experience of having watched others, this is bad advice. Rather than focusing on what success will be like, it is much better to focus on the means to reach that end. (In fairness, the author does mention that later, but the e4xample of taking very little from a house threatened with fire on the basis that with a positive attitude the house will not burn is not good advice.) The book also gives frequent lists of things to do, and I an reasonably confident this will help some people. The religious overtones will probably not be acceptable to some.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Fall of Icarus (The Elevator, The Fall of Icarus, and The Girl); Author: Visit Amazon's NR Bates Page; Review: This is a collection of three short stories, each of which contains one fanciful premise, none of which I can disclose without spoiling. The set-ups for the stories are very good, and the reader gets easily drawn into them. Further, they are short, and it does not take very long to get through them. For me, there was a problem in that while the start was very good, the endings appeared premature, and for me there was no bite at the end. Thus there were descriptions of something unexpected happening, if not impossible, but at the end all I was left with was a description of the event. The third one was even stranger, because it was a short story within a short story. "I" sat down on a park bench, met strangers, and told the story that really needed more at the end, while the outer story had no ending at all that was, in my view, worth including. In short, for me the stories were to some extent unfinished. One could assume the author intends the reader to see things at a greater depth, but in my opinion, if so such interpretations could go almost anywhere. To achieve that, there has to be a firmer foundation on which to build the interpretation. Good starts, interesting premises, but for me, an empty feeling at the end.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Riding; Author: Visit Amazon's Cassia Cassitas Page; Review: This is both delightful and a little flawed. The biggest flaw is that when you start reading the first question in your mind is, what is this book about? It rambles, but in an easily read way. There are three main characters: Mario, Elizabeth, and their son, Andre. It starts off with Mario somehow getting a somewhat undefined job preparing cities (or something unspecified in them) for Olympic games and for three decades, he circles the world, going to the next games site, and leaving a few weeks before the games to work on the next site. In Barcelona, he marries Elizabeth. No, it is not a romance. Marrying Elizabeth and going to Seoul takes a whole sentence! The first part of the book is almost like a song of praise for the Olympic movement, with lots of observations of construction, etc. Then in Barcelona it is a little like a travel guide, then Elizabeth goes to Curitiba, and the book becomes a bit of "bringing up the child Andre", with husband still somewhere else, then half-way through the book Andre takes up a passion for cycling. Then he takes it up with more enthusiasm, and eventually the book follows Andre's desire to become an Olympic cyclist. At about three quarters way through the book (no this is not a spoiler it should have been specified earlier) we find Andre is going for para-olympics. The reason he has no feet, and has to use prosthetics. (Prosthetics are mentioned earlier, but in no detail.) Which I guess is why Andre has little interest in taking up futbol or the beach, the usual Brazilian passions. In amongst all this there are bits of philosophy, and a very little of the social problems of Brazil. Another minor flaw is that there is a tendency to list things. For example, Elizabeth lands in Rio airport, and goes to a house. What we get is a list of the districts she goes through. If you do not know Rio, this does not help, and I would have preferred a description of where she went. (As an aside, I have been to Rio, and probably went along some of this path from the airport to the city, but the list meant nothing to me.) Similarly, when the book sites itself in Curitiba, it devotes itself to Andre's struggles, and these could have been anywhere, apart from the site references and references to local regulations. I did not pick up much that was specific to Brazil. However, the book is well-written, and the sentences are surprisingly well constructed considering English must be a second language, and it has some delightful passages, and some insightful ones too. If you don't mind the occasional ramble, this is an interesting book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Colder War: A Novel (Thomas Kell); Author: Visit Amazon's Charles Cumming Page; Review: A spy story, set mainly in Istanbul. The story starts with Paul Wallinger, a British agent, having arranged for some dissidents with information to exit Iran, and the mission is a disaster. Paul then hires a plane and takes time off on the Greek Island of Chios, then, on the return flight to Turkey, the plane crashes. SIS wants to know why, and Thomas Kell, a "disgraced" spy, is asked to head an investigation to find out why. Specifically, SIS suspects either Wallinger was a traitor, or someone else was, and had Wallinger killed. Since there is no evidence for the latter assumption, that is perhaps a bit weak. What follows is that Kell carries out an investigation, and this part of the book is good, and shows a realistic scenario of how they might go about things. (The SIS might disagree with that, but at least it is convincing.) Then Kell gets involved with Wallinger's daughter, and about this time, for me the story started to fall to pieces. It is difficult to describe without spoiling, but for me there is an influx of actions that make no sense. Thus one act is committed by the opposition to achieve something when the only possible outcome is exactly the opposite. Worse, as the story approaches the end, it starts to be contrived so as to generate action. About 75% through the story, there is an obvious clean and tidy ending, but we don't have that. Instead, there commences a sequence of events that appear to be aimed to give an exciting finish, but they are sufficiently contorted, and almost obviously wrong, that it did not have that effect on me. The book is well-written, and quite gripping for the first two thirds, but then it starts to fall apart in the background logic, however, if you don't think about it and just accept it, it probably is an exciting finish.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Call Me Pomeroy: A Novel of Satire and Political Dissent; Author: Visit Amazon's James Hanna Page; Review: According to the cover, this is a novel of satire and political dissent. The protagonist is Edward Beasley, who wants to be called Pomeroy. (Don't ask why.) He is coarse, vulgar, extremely deluded, toilet challenged, and is obsessed with sex (although there is little evidence that he gets any) and becoming a rock star. The language and many acts are most definitely not for sensitive souls. Is it satirical? Satire involves vices, follies, various shortcomings exaggerated and held up to ridicule with the aim of shaming some other part of society into changing. Well, there is plenty of vice and folly here, but what is the target? Councils for the shortage of public toilets? The only obvious target is the protest movement, but that is obscure because who cares? Satire should be rich in irony, but I guess I might be missing something as I saw very little here. Political dissent? Yes, in amongst the rants there are flaws in modern society pointed out, but strangely enough, not satirically, except possibly for the prison system, which continually lets Pomeroy out of jail. However, apart from acquisitioning a boat, the worst he does is hit some policemen with a guitar. His crimes, like Pomeroy himself, are really somewhat pathetic. They are also very repetitive; it is a short book, but very repetitive, apart from change of location. Then, at the end, it sort of fades out, like many modern songs. With Kafka, the fade out was more a sign that the problem would never end; I would hate Pomeroy to be eternal. The character is very well depicted, but even here I had a problem. The political points indicate the time of the book is the present, but Pomeroy claims to be a Viet Nam vet, which case he would be something like in or approaching his seventies, and that is not how he appears in the book. If you like toilet humour, and want a rather pathetic antihero, this could be the book for you. If so, you get a bonus: some poetry that could well make it into the collection of Vogon songs.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Beyond A Darkened Sky (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Dana Alexander Page; Review: This book starts where Sara finds herself in a forest in another world called Ardan, where she is informed that an Alliance, and the Soltari, have planned that she save our world from darkness, and the oppression of the Dark Lord Tarsamon. He has no idea what all these are, and at the end of the book, I am not sure either, but she is told she is a skilled fighter with the sword, and is given one, she has a bit of practice, then she is returned to her bed. When she wakes up, her doctor, Kevin, will play a large part in what follows. The book is a quest, in which Sara has no real understanding of what she is looking for, how to go about it, or for that matter, anything related to it. She is told she is some sort of reincarnation, and she has special powers, but she is not permitted to know anything about them. The writing is good, and easy to read, subject to some reservations noted below. For me is there is too much repetition. She has to fight the powers of darkness. Right, but no need to keep saying so. Then there is the question, what sort of book is it? There are plenty of fights, some of which Sara seeks, but in them, she tends to be a spectator. She goes into the Dark Lord's territory, seeking to test herself, and the first thing she realizes is she needs rescuing, and she has forgotten where the portal is to get out. That does not make sense to me. It is nominally a quest, but in this book, her success in the quest involves going into a shop and collecting some stuff. She did not even seek out the shop. A quest story should have a reasonable amount of the plot devoted to looking for clues and following trails of clues. Finally, there is a brooding romance between Sara and Kevin. That is fine, except that Sara is determined not to become romantically involved, and she is supposedly forbidden to by the Soltari. Why, we do not know, nor for that matter, does Sara. Now this could be the stuff of a great tragedy, but it cannot because to be a tragedy, Sara has to deliberately break a rule, knowing why it is there. Devotees of brooding romances may find this book more satisfactory than I did, though. My final criticism is that there are too many formatting errors. There is a page headed "About the Author" but that was otherwise blank. Conversations were not punctuated properly, nor properly separated into paragraphs, and sometimes pronouns such as "him" were used when there was more than one possible "him". This could easily be remedied, but if it were to be, I would suggest the author also does a little structural editing and revising. This is a story that really could have been great, but it lets itself down too much.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Tuna Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Erik Hamre Page; Review: An odd title for a rather interesting book, set in Australia's Gold Coast. The book starts with Andrew Engels having thrown in his job as an accountant to become an entrepreneur. The only problem is, he hasn't a clue what to do, and as it happens, he is not particularly suited to the task. However, he runs into Frank Geitner, who has developed "the next big thing" in apps, and with Ken Speis, a designer, they launch a start-up company that ends up being called Tuna Life, simply because a box of tuna happened to be in the background of the first promotional photo. They need money, and they get it, buckets of it. When I started reading this, my first thoughts were, it's never this easy, but put those thoughts aside because while the start is a bit unbelievable, it is necessary to get the rest of the story going, and in this case, trust the author. Alongside this story is another. Mark Moss is a young journalist who thinks there is a serial killer choosing young girl gold-diggers at tech parties. He gets a little mentoring from Scott Davis, an aging reporter who was once on the crime desk, but is now on the business desk, and is told to find some "inspiring stories" to make the Gold Coast look less run down than is happening in the then current economic collapse. Throw in a Russian billionaire who owns some sordid clubs as well as being a venture capitalist, and the Gold Coast will never look the same again. This is a quite remarkable book, and it has just about everything. It is about start-ups, and at the beginning it paints some interesting pictures of how startups run into trouble and the interpersonal issues that arise. (I have been in start-ups, although nothing quite like this one, but I know these situations arise, and they are handled very well by Hamre.) It is a financial story about some really bad practices. It is a thriller, and it is a mystery (who is the serial killer?) It probably has too much, because eventually it runs into difficulty reaching an end, and in the effort to "mop up", there is a little too much tell rather than show. But all in all, a very impressive effort.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Legend of War Creek (Trace Brandon) (Volume 4); Author: Randall Reneau; Review: This is in the Western genre, but set in modern days. Thus instead of horses and trains, we have horses, cars, helicopters, and private jets. However, the spirit is that of a rollicking western with stereotyped characters, the lost mine, Indians, the "bad guy who wants to own it all", the hired killer, the guy who settles bad guys, in short, the non-demanding book that is great for the airport, the beach holiday, or wherever you don't want too many demands made on you. The setting is mainly in Washington State, and it starts with a record made by the US Army of a vein of gold-bearing quartz in the remote War Creek area. Trace Brandon and his band of merry men have little trouble in finding it, but needless to say, the quartz vein is not all they find and their troubles mount up. The book is very easy to read, and I found the pages flew. One reviewer slammed it for formatting errors. Yes, there are some, but not sufficient to make any difference to my reading, and but for the reviewer, I would not have mentioned them. Maybe I am more tolerant than most. Another noted flaw that was more irritating: Dominic is a woman! There are a few names that sound the same but are spelt differently depending on gender (Leslie/Lesley comes to mind) and an author who does not know which are which should really avoid them. I found two things irritating. The first was repetition. There were a number of warnings about the bad things that happen to those who try to mine at War Creek. Too many for me, but then I suppose that it establishes that Trace is sufficiently resistant to warnings that he ignores them, which has its consequences. Apparently, this book is one of a series involving Trace, and we might wonder how he can survive for a series bearing in mind the messes he gets himself into. The second thing I did not like was the perpetual descriptions of meals. Yes, our hero has to eat, but cannot he do that quietly off-stage? However, overall, as I noted, for the not-demanding reader who wants an escapist piece of not-realism, this book is easy to read and will easily fill in those awkward spots when sitting around not doing anything in particular.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Birth of an Assassin; Author: Visit Amazon's Rik Stone Page; Review: The story starts in the early Brezhnev years with a young Jew, Jezer Kornfeld, in Moscow looking for a recruiting office for the Red Army. A soldier plays a joke on him, and sends him to the large yellow building in Dzerzhinsky Square (from memory, number 2). Unlikely. One of the soldier's names had been mentioned, and incorporating that building into a practical joke was as likely as not to have you incorporated in theirs. However Jez goes there, and is taken under his wing by the future General Petrichova, and Jez gets trained as a Spetznaz soldier. However, Jez blots his copy book by smuggling his sisters out of the country, to save them from the gulag. Petrichova suppresses the report, but Captain Mitrokhin, who hates Jews, finds out, and sets into motion a plan to have Jez killed, and at the same time have him blamed for his own corrupt practices. Jez, being somewhat nave, lands squarely into the plot. Jez wants revenge, but he also has to stay alive. The story is well-written, and moves at a really fast pace. One could argue the plot has holes, in that Mitrokhin's plan is so bad that any reasonable policing would uncover the truth, but Stone's premise is that Russia at the time had little or no effective policing. I don't think that is true, nevertheless it makes for a good story. The story then proceeds to uncover the rottenness of the late Soviet system. Again, I don't think it was that bad, but I don't actually know, and the picture that Stone paints is certainly full and seems realistic enough to fully involve the reader. With one exception, the action scenes are credible, and all are exciting. (The exception is one hand-to hand kill strike. While you should not try it at home, it should not kill as described.) Further, the plot is quite intricately put together, and at the end, it all makes sense. An excellent thriller.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wolf Winter; Author: Visit Amazon's Clare Francis Page; Review: This is one of the more difficult reviews I have written, and I guess I rate it 3.5 stars, but I rounded down because the faults are the things that irritate me. First, the book is wells rotten and presented in terms of writing. The scene is some part of northern Sweden in the early 18th century. It is a depressing scenario, because the people through the winter were almost on the point of starvation, yet that was probably what occurred. There is a scenario of bleakness, struggle, and the secondary position of women. All of this is great. It sets the scene tolerably well in terms of the Swedish political scene at the time, at least as far as I know it. That is good. Provided you don't mind the general depression, the background and the characters are very well written, and worth five stars. My problem is with the plot, and the execution of it. What sort of a book is it? Early on, we find Eriksson has been killed, and Maija is convinced he has been murdered. So, is it a mystery? Well, Maija attempts to find the killer, but evidence is missing, and assertion prevails. Then, at the very end, the author decides this has gone on long enough, so the answer just lurches into a very brief Part Three. Then is it fantasy? Eriksson's ghost appears, as does a dead grandmother, from time to time, but this does not go anywhere that I could see. So, at the end of it, for me the book did not say anything, except that life in early 18th century Sweden was tough. It may or may not have accurately represented life at the time (I don't know enough to answer that) but the story did not seem to end up with any discernible message, at least for me, so I tend to mark down. If you like atmosphere and description, this book is great; it is the plot and purpose that lets it down for me.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Last Alchemist; Author: Visit Amazon's Erik Hamre Page; Review: This is a sort of mystery thriller, with a slight whiff of science fiction. David Dypsvik is a 30 year old student at Bond University, in Queensland, Australia, and while he is allegedly studying business, he is more likely to be on the beach. To rescue him, his professor sends him to England to find out about Yossar Devan, a mysterious very rich person who emerged from nowhere, and then disappeared after giving ten principles of wealth. So David sets out, and it would be hard to find a character more unlikely to succeed. At first sight, it seems as if the book is all over the place: mystery, business studies, the secret of wealth, archaeology, Nazi Germany, pyramids, and some of it really does seem a bit loopy at the time. Stick with it; the loopy bits are actually craftily needed for the plot. The fact that the secrets to wealth read more like a series of platitudes at times is beside the point; it shows up David. One criticism: with his skill set, David should not have got as far as he did, and that he got to where he did is a bit "out of character" in my book. I must confess that while reading it I started to wonder how the author was going to get out of the tangle he had created, but he did. A little bit of a cheat while doing it, but nevertheless given what the author created, quite skillful. When reading it, assume everything is there fore a purpose, because it is, but not necessarily the purpose you think it will be there for. A really clever read that progresses well. Oh, and as an added bonus, you can test your science. Toward the end there are two absolute scientific howlers that break all sorts of rules, but don't worry; they are needed for the plot, See if you can find them.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pilate's Key; Author: Visit Amazon's J. Alexander Greenwood Page; Review: This book clearly follows a previous book, for there are continuous references to it. What I think this book is about is that John Pilate has gone to Key West to write a book about the events of the previous book, but when he goes into a rest room at the back of a restaurant, he bumps into someone, who is shortly afterwards found with his throat cut. Eventually, he works out that the victim has passed something to him, and it appears those who killed the victim have worked this out too. We have a thriller on our hands. On the other hand, it could be a drama about Pilate, because I suspect well over half the book has little to do with this murder and associated issues. Authors get told to make sure their main protagonists have flaws, otherwise the protagonists end up as cardboard characters. My main criticism of this book is that Pilate is so flawed he is just about a checklist for what could go wrong with a person. He naturally refuses to do the obvious, but he also refuses come up with any rational plan. In short, he should not survive, and far too much of the book rotates around his erratic behaviour that has nothing to do with the main problem. If you are an author looking for an excuse not to write, Pilate has a good collection. The book is reasonably well written, and it is easy to read. Given Pilate's general deficiencies, the plot hangs together reasonably well, so if you want a mild thriller with a somewhat depressing protagonist and something that does not make intellectual demands, this could well suit you.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sucker; Author: Visit Amazon's Mark Lingane Page; Review: The genre of the book is probably noir-paranormal; I say probably because the end of the book is almost in a different genre from the beginning. (I can't justify that without spoiling.) We follow the main character, van Avram, thorough what I can only describe as a comic-book plot, with comic-book action, and the stiff-chinned character. Avram gets into a series of extraordinary situations that usually end up as classic comic-book fights, where almost anything can happen, everyone takes enormous punishment, and nothing serious stops them. If you want realism, this is not for you. If you want a plot that makes sense, this is not really for you either. Actually, if you want logical connectivity, it still is not for you. Pistols can be knocked away, and mysteriously reappear again. The villain can be burned to a crisp, but that does not stop their reappearance. In short, it is written in the spirit of a comic, but it is very dark as well. Then, as I hinted above, towards the end, it sort of changes. I also don't really get the title, but that is me. The writing involves a lot of short sentences. Short sentences are good to generate tension in action, but they tend to be misplaced when the aim is to have a quieter passage. There is also a glut of "smart" comments, and colloquial language, and indeed, I had no idea what some of the words were supposed to convey. If you want comic-book style action and plots, and can tolerate noir, this will be a great book. But read page 1 first, to make sure you can accept the style. The grading I am giving is based on the assumption this is what you want.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Heartbeat Thief; Author: Visit Amazon's Ash Krafton Page; Review: This is described as being for "new adults". Apparently there is a new genre for those in their late teen and twenties. This novel follows the adventures of Senza, who appears to be 17 years old, and in the mid Victorian period, because of her wealth, she is about to "come out" into society. She is beautiful, and her mother wants her to be successfully married, for that is the only significant objective for a young woman of the time. However, shortly her grandmother dies, and Senza becomes somewhat morbid about death. It is then she meets Mr Knell, who with magic, offers her a deal: she can have eternal life and remain her beautiful self for eternity. There is only one catch, which she finds out as she becomes committed: she prolongs her life by stealing increments from others, in the form of what are described as "heartbeats". (She does not need to steal a beat for every time her heart beats, but they are consumables.) The story then follows Senza as she experiences immortality, at the price of stealing life from others. Each day, as she wakes up, she is exactly the same as the previous waking. If she cuts her hair, it is uncut. If she was wounded, she is repaired. The book is well-written, its style is restrained, although the descriptions are somewhat lush. However, the descriptions of death, and of Senza's watching all her friends age and die, are compelling. Senza knows she cannot marry, as she cannot inflict her youth on a husband, and she cannot have children, because she returns to yesterday's self each morning. The book offers social commentary of the period from mid Victorian to close to the present, and makes some points for those who want to think about what they have read. Well done.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Float Tank Cure: Free Yourself From Stress, Anxiety, and Pain the Natural Way; Author: Visit Amazon's Shane Stott Page; Review: For me, the value in a non-fiction book lies in the quality of the information conveyed. The basic premise of this book is, there are health benefits in floating in a tank of water made more dense by the addition of some magnesium sulphate, and excluding all light, sound, or any other sensory input. Stott, happens to run a company that sells such tanks. The book is essentially a description of Stott's early life where he basically had burnout from ridiculous overwork and had a consequent mental breakdown into the depths of depression. He cured himself, so he claims, by this floating technique, but it is somewhat vague as to what happened in this period. There are a number of anecdotal stories of others helped by floating, and a general discussion of "ailments" for which floating might assist. Leaving aside the length, this would make quite a reasonable promotional sales brochure. The writing is clear, but I found the message to be somewhat unfocused. Stott compares the virtues of floating to one other technique aimed to aid meditation, which did not work for him, but he went into it feeling it would not work, and he gave it one try. Basically, there is no magic instant cure for depression, but rather a longish program is required. Will this work generally? I don't know. The tank will cost a few thousand dollars, and on top of that you need over a third of a tonne of magnesium sulphate to dissolve in the water, so you will need somewhere to put this where you do not mind crystals of magnesium sulphate forming from drippings when you emerge. A concrete floor with a central drain would be fine. But if your house does not have this, this form of floating is not for you. Is a convincing case made that you should spend several thousand dollars on it? For me, while anecdotal evidence was presented, only favourable anecdotes would have been selected. I would have preferred to see more statistical analysis. To counter that, Stott suggests that before doing this, a potential customer should try it at least three times at a centre. I am unsure how many of these centres there are. The grading I am giving is based on the limited applicability and the limited specific information and analysis provided. On the other hand, the book is cheap, and it may well lead to some people finding help.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The English Spy (Gabriel Allon); Author: Visit Amazon's Daniel Silva Page; Review: An excellent thriller, a well constructed story as regards how the action is put together, and descriptions that puts the reader into the scenes. It starts with a British princess going for a charter cruise, and the cruise boat subsequently exploding, killing all on board. Apparently the British intelligence turns to Gabriel Allon, an Israeli agent, to find out what happened. For me, this is a weakness in the lot. British intelligence would do nothing of the sort. Allon then goes on a sequence of adventures, after hiring Keller, who has become a professional killer, and they go after Eamon Quinn. Their only evidence that Quinn might have been involved with the princess is that Quinn makes bombs. Before long the Russians are involved. In this sense, I found the plot to be unsatisfactory. I would prefer some sort of evidence connecting the villains to the crime, and while Silva admits at the end he basically intensely dislikes Russians, it would be more convincing that if Russian intelligence was doing something, they had some sort of reasonable objective. Finally, the bad guys really are strangely inept. If you know someone is going to shoot you, why give them the information they want? Why not lie? Equally, if you want the truth, why not offer the victim something for it? The writing is good, the action scenes are very good, the sequences are very good. It is just the background logic that I thought could be improved. If you want an action thriller and not think too much about it, you can't go much better than this.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The English Spy; Author: Daniel Silva; Review: An excellent thriller, a well constructed story as regards how the action is put together, and descriptions that puts the reader into the scenes. It starts with a British princess going for a charter cruise, and the cruise boat subsequently exploding, killing all on board. Apparently the British intelligence turns to Gabriel Allon, an Israeli agent, to find out what happened. For me, this is a weakness in the lot. British intelligence would do nothing of the sort. Allon then goes on a sequence of adventures, after hiring Keller, who has become a professional killer, and they go after Eamon Quinn. Their only evidence that Quinn might have been involved with the princess is that Quinn makes bombs. Before long the Russians are involved. In this sense, I found the plot to be unsatisfactory. I would prefer some sort of evidence connecting the villains to the crime, and while Silva admits at the end he basically intensely dislikes Russians, it would be more convincing that if Russian intelligence was doing something, they had some sort of reasonable objective. Finally, the bad guys really are strangely inept. If you know someone is going to shoot you, why give them the information they want? Why not lie? Equally, if you want the truth, why not offer the victim something for it? The writing is good, the action scenes are very good, the sequences are very good. It is just the background logic that I thought could be improved. If you want an action thriller and not think too much about it, you can't go much better than this.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Thyroid Cure; Author: Visit Amazon's Michelle Corey Page; Review: This book is nominally for people (mainly women) the thyroid problems, however, it expands across to just about any autoimmune disease, and then to problems with the environment. It starts with Michelle's health history, then moves along to diagnosis and advocated cures. There are various statements on the science behind the diseases, and the advocated cures tend to be along the lines: go to your health professional, preferably one belonging to "functional medicine", get tests, preferably from nominated labs, then change your diet first to "detoxify" and then eliminate nasties. There are a number of anecdotal stories, then interviews with some designated health professionals in the "functional medicine" area. Consider detox. Michelle had a history where she maintains she had mercury poisoning. This may well have been the case, as she had worked in a dental practice making amalgams. Hardly anyone else has this history, but she infers that amalgam in your teeth will give the same effect. This is not the case. Once the amalgam "sets", we have an alloy in which the mercury is chemically bonded. Further, if you eat anything with S-H bonds, you get a coating on the amalgam that prevents mercury escaping. So, we have a problem: Michelle makes statements that seem "scientific", but are merely assertions without data, and in my opinion, many are false. Some of the statements I found hard to believe, such as she led an active life and only ate 1500 calories a day, and got fat. Fat is stored surplus energy, and I simply don't believe this. In the scientific statements, there are some clear errors. Michelle correctly points out the role of oxidation of iodide in the thyroxine loop, but then warns against the other halogens. Sorry, but fluorine, chlorine and bromine have higher oxidation potentials so there is no problem. Worse, your sodium/potassium system would go haywire with no chloride, and the amount of fluoride in a system is negligible in the presence of calcium. Worse, later she talks of methylation being a key part of metabolism, and lists a number of important methylating agents. They are not, although what she lists are necessary for the body to function. Actually, methylating agents are highly carcinogenic because they methylate DNA. My problem now is when I see a number of statements I know are wrong, what about the rest where I have no idea? My next problem lies in the area of diagnosis. Michelle lists a huge number of symptoms, and anyone who has had any stress in their life is going to find some there. My problem is, while these symptoms may be present when there is an autoimmune problem, they may also arise from relatively harmless problems. Michelle correctly says, "See a doctor", but then goes on to say, keep seeing different ones until you find one sympathetic to your problems. For me, this encourages hypochondriacs to waste an awful lot of money, particularly since the recommended professionals are apparently not supported by insurance companies. Buried in all this there is a lot of good advice, but the; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Burn Zones: Playing Life's Bad Hands; Author: Visit Amazon's Jorge P. Newbery Page; Review: This is an autobiography, and for me, to be of value for those outside the immediate family of the author, the book must illustrate society at the time, or the author should have done something of general interest. On the other hand, for those within the immediate family, the book should illustrate the person. Of course there is no reason not to include both groups, but the former group does require the author to have done something outside the ordinary. From about the age of eight, Jorge Newberry appears to have been driven exceptionally by the desire to make money, and the book starts with the young boy on a paper run. It then follows him through selling ice cream, pausing to try his hand as a professional cyclist, then finding his niche as a loans broker and property developer. Scattered through this are glimpses of some of the seedier aspects of American society through the 1970s to very recent times. The highlight of this book, (or what Jorge would call the lowlight) occurred when Jorge had ventured into the development of social housing for the underprivileged. From his account, he was doing an extremely valuable job, but in one city he had sunk too much into a massive run-down building that was on land that others desired. When a snowstorm came, the resultant damage, and when the attentive crows of society descended on him for pickings, he tried to fight back. What we see is the downfall of someone through no serious fault of his own, but, as he notes, in retrospect he could have done better. I can empathize with him, because I too have been through a similar situation. This book is valuable for budding entrepreneurs, because if you understand what Jorge has written you might see the warning signs in time. Some say there is no such thing as luck and those who succeed do so through hard work. Yes, hard work is required, but the assertion is nonsense. Some never meet genuinely bad luck, but it does not hurt to be prepared.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Trial of Garrett Palmer; Author: Visit Amazon's Terrance J. Pinckney Page; Review: The title more or less describes what the book is about. Garrett Palmer as a boy was picked on by his father and when he was a mid-teenager, he defended his mother against an assault by him, and because he was the general cause, he ran away. He was then adopted by a crime lord of Atlanta, he grew into the family business, and there was a trial. It is difficult to say much more about the book without spoiling. The concept behind the book is very good, the writing is clear, but for me there is a problem. Only too often you see the statement that a novel does not need to be more than about 80,000 words. This one is relatively short, and to my mind, too short for the concept. To cover the ground, too much is told, with the net result that we actually see very little of the character of Garrett. We see nothing of the thoughts/emotions as he started his criminal career, and there are no real emotional heights in the book, even though there should be. In my mind, it was worth more. The ending is also strangely truncated. Parts of it are excellent, and my main criticism is what is not there, hence the grade.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wake Not the Hangman; Author: Visit Amazon's Deborah Leigh Page; Review: This book involves settler-farmers and is set in Missouri in the early 19th century. Marcus Guthrie is something of a tyrant who beats his wife, and when his son, Thornton, misbehaved out in the fields when very young, he shot at him and nicked an ear. (This is unrealistic. A master sniper would have real trouble doing this deliberately with a modern rifle, and weapons of that time were a completely different matter.) Early in the book, Marcus decides to take on three slaves to keep the farm going, while he sits back and partakes of too much alcohol. Thornton effectively has to work in the same way as the slaves, so Thornton is effectively a slave, except he sleeps in the main house. The book is essentially an account of life of slaves in those times, except that Thornton, effectively being one of them, sneaks in books to one who can read. Later, it becomes too much, and they plan a slave escape. The book has excellent descriptions, the atmosphere seems real, the characters are well drawn and overall it gives a picture of what life might have been like. (I have no idea as to how accurate it is.) There are some rather strong examples of brutality towards slaves, and the failings of the law at the time towards slaves, women, and just about anyone except the property owner. The book is very introspective, and a lot of time is spent on what the characters, and particularly Thornton, are feeling. Having said that, there are surprisingly few clues as to why certain decisions were taken while other possibilities were rejected. There are a number of references to Rip van Winkle, and the end of the book contains a major scene that occurs twenty years after the bulk. While it is a major scene, there was no lead-up explaining how the characters got into this situation, and for me, that was a little like having Hamlet's youth, his return to see the ghost, then everything deleted until the final scene. To summarize, the book is interesting, a lot of research went into it, but it really missed the chance to make a real impact. As for value for money, I think it is underpriced.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cup of Evil; Author: Visit Amazon's E. Groat Page; Review: This book has an interesting and very extensive plot, involving the problems of property development, the influence of corruption, white slavery, paedophilia, love, redemption, you name it, it is here. Despite that, overall the book is rather short, and I suspect the author has taken to heart the new dogma that a novel only needs to be 80,000 words long. In fact, it needs to be as long as required to present the story properly. To summarize, in my opinion there is enough material here for many novels, but to cover so much territory, the author has to rely mainly on the technique of telling rather than showing. Worse, it tends to wander, and sometimes the reader is wondering where it is going. Where there is showing, that tends to involve rather trivial aspects. One example: at one point a large number of boys are brought to a scene to dig and search for evidence of a crime. At the end we are told what they found, but the only showing involved the delivery of pizza. Accordingly, this book reads somewhat like a Reader's Digest condensed book. If that is what you want, then this book probably contains as much for you as any.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Game Master; Author: Visit Amazon's Ian D. Copsey Page; Review: This is a book presumably aimed at boys and follows two characters, Josh and Alex who are somewhat competitive gamers. In their search for an even better game they participate in The Game of Life, which, in essence gives the two boys an introduction to life's lessons at their level. I found this extremely difficult to grade. For sheer ambition, this is five star material, but the question then is, is it written in a way that will compel the target audience? I simply do not know. The game puts the boys into scenes where they live their normal lives, but with different circumstances, and they get graded for their performances. There is one problem for the kindle edition, and that is the grades are given in tables, where we have a row for the headings, and a row each for Josh and Alex. The net result is, to get the table into the width of the kindle page, everything is too small to read easily. The rows should be columns, and vice versa. I was also a little confused about the age group. It appears to be directed to boys at an age when they are starting to take an interest in girls, but if that is the case, the maths example shows what should be a much younger age. It is also fairly well directed at young English boys, and I am not too sure how well it would transfer to other cultures. The lessons are significant, and in principle this could introduce boys to the concepts behind a part of literature that they might otherwise ignore, namely, literature where morality is the basis of the plot. The book is very ambitious, but the question remains, will it hold its target audience? I simply do not know.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Atlantic Island (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Fredric Shernoff Page; Review: Theo Essex is near the end of his schooling and is thinking about college, except he has no idea where his life should go. So he and a car-load of friends head off for a summer vacation to somewhere near Atlantic City. On the way, they meet a car load of girls, and of course they meet up. The first part looks like a fairly ordinary "coming of age" plot coming up, but no, what actually happens is "The Event". This involves the urban area and a little land nearby being separated from the US and placed in the Atlantic Ocean, with tidal waves, etc going on while this occurs. The description of this is a bit awkward we have wave damage up to flight floors up, but people on the ground survive. Nevertheless we have this highly overpopulated island separated from the US, and worse, seemingly from everything else. The story follows our young heroes and as everything sorts itself out, some sort of order is restored, and at the same time, our young friends start to really grow up. There is massive rebuilding, demolition, and the need to grow food. This, I found implausible. As far as I am aware Atlantic City is not exactly the centre of an agricultural region, so where did the seeds, fertilizer and equipment come from? But putting that aside, the island has a deputy mayor, Paul Tiberius, who at first glance fancies himself as some regenerated Tiberius Claudius Nero, but that does disservice to the memory of the Claudian. Paul is much more a tyrant! So our heroes have to do something about this. Interestingly, nobody thinks to help out the food crisis by fishing. The YA story with a bit of SF is well written, the characters of the teenagers are good, although the bulk of the population tend to be better thought of as sheep, while Tiberius is mainly a menace who is off-screen, so to speak, so we see little of what makes him do what he does.. Still, that is needed for the story. The last part of the book involves the inevitable clash, and structurally this is well written, although the tactics employed by some are fairly crude, but then again, these people are very inexperienced. The end, however, in my view, is strategically silly, and looks awfully contrived to get into position for the sequel. A far more sensible ending could have got to a very similar place. To summarize, it is well-written, it moves at a good pace, particularly when we get past The Event, and it makes good light entertainment.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: All the Light We Cannot See; Author: Visit Amazon's Anthony Doerr Page; Review: Set in the second world war, it follows a young German who is something of a radio expert and is taken into the Wehrmacht to trace radio sources, particularly from resistance fighters, and a young blind French girl, whose father takes her from Paris to St Malo soon after the fall of France, and she stays there until the invasion, and the fight. Contrary to what the blurb says, it seemed to me that this was the story of two people, and those around them, caught up in a flood of events that they cannot control. The book is a sequence of very short chapters, almost invariably less than four, and these each paint a picture of a point in time. The descriptions are excellent, but almost by definition, not very much happens because the chapters are not long enough to develop action. Indeed, the book has essentially no plot, and is an exercise in the use of "beautiful writing". The characters well-drawn but they do not develop, the descriptions are very clear, but in my opinion, all this is spoiled by the author hopping about in time. In principle this is done with Parts, but within these it is not always clear how much time separates chapters, and since very little actually happens, this struck me as a technique to disguise the fact that not much was happening. For me, this is a cheat; it is done to demonstrate writing skill at the expense of thinking of some message to write about. So, how good this book is depends on what you want; if you want atmosphere, it is definitely five stars; if you want character development based on events or something to think about later, it struggles for three. I have averaged.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Monster Chase; Author: Visit Amazon's Marion A Stahl Page; Review: This is fiction that presents in a documentary form the case that America's medical system is broken. I do not know how valid the points made in the novel are, and this review is based on the assumption they are valid. The argument is that approximately 100,000 general medical practitioners have had their licenses revoked by court action, mainly following the Clinton period efforts to reduce medical costs, and which have presumably been kept going ever since. The story follows Anna, who happens to know a Doctor Helene Quaile, and Helene stops practicing for health reasons, and to keep pests away, keeps all her correspondence coming through a mail center. Enter a prosecutor, who gets "points" for the number of doctors he can decommission, and Helene is an easy target because when he sends notices to out-of-date addresses, she does not receive them, and hence does not turn up to defend herself against trumped up charges. What eventuates is a corrupt bureaucratic nightmare, with a touch of Kafka, except that Helene is not objecting because she is unaware. This is a specific example, but according to the author, the points made are general. What follows is an account of the court proceedings, and a note on the economics. Such a doctor accused should roll over, give the prosecutor what he wants, or fight a legal battle that won't be won, but will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. This is a terrible indictment of the American legal system, the insurance system, and the bureaucracy on doctors. The documentary form is done very well, and it feels as if it could be true. The characters, other than Anna, are more caricatures, aimed at painting the plot, but then again, that is a technique that Dickens made his own to show sociological problems. Stahl is not up to Dickens' writing standard, but who is? Apart from some editing issues, well done.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The High Price I Had To Pay: Sentenced To 12 1/2 Years For Victimizing Lehman Brothers Bank; Author: Visit Amazon's Jamila T. Davis Page; Review: Jamila had a "get-rich-quick" scheme: buy up old houses, renovate, and onsell at a profit during the property boom. Her problem was to get a loan, but no problem: Lehmans offered loans, and while she did not qualify, they showed her how to qualify. All she had to do was prepare the appropriate documentation, in which truth was not a requirement. Then they got her for fraud, took the properties, sold them to an insider for $14 million under what they could have got, presumably would have obtained a nice tax loss with the IRS had they lasted long enough, and as a consequence of her having either incompetent lawyers, as all her funds had been confiscated, or as alleged in one case, a lawyer secretly working for Lehmans, she got 12 years in jail, while everyone else profited. That, at least, is her story. In the final wash-up of Lehmans, which occurred about six months after she was sent to jail, none of their fraudsters got anything like that. An account of getting to there takes up about 25% of the book. The rest is "wash-up", and an account of the appeals, etc she subsequently lodged, seemingly as a self-taught lawyer from in prison, a summary of the prison system, and some poems. This is a very unattractive account of the American legal and political system. I have no idea how much is true, but some must be because she cites court transcripts. One thing that surprised me was that most of the appeals were heard by the same judge who originally presided at her trial. That, alone, seems to me an injustice: surely an appeal must be heard by someone who is not judging his own work? The book is moving, well-written for what it is, and if true, a terrible indictment of corruptive injustice. I regard this an important book for people to read, not for its literary merits, but rather because some very important issues are raised. If true, there are serious issues that must be fixed.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Romance With a Touch of Love; Author: Visit Amazon's Kevin Hollingsworth Page; Review: A very short book, twelve chapters, all very short, one managed one word over five lines. It is either a romantic outpouring of unrequited love, or a myopic outpouring of self-pity. It has no plot, it might make an interesting poem, but in my opinion it is not one. Some other commentators have argued it is a collection of poems, but to me they did not have the necessary rhythm and progression. One sentence summarizes the book: I loved her so, but she never knew. It's value lies solely in whether the writing inspires a romantic emotional response in you. It did not for me.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Busy Executive Diet: How to Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Sharpen Your Brain and Balance Your Mind.; Author: Visit Amazon's Gabriella Kindert Page; Review: The basic message in this book is that modern living has led to some rather awful eating habits, and Gabriella makes a lot of good points. She explains what should be the basis of a diet, and that means lots of fruit and veggies, and cut back on sugar. Yes, there is a lot more to it than that, and you can read the book to find out. Notwithstanding that, there some negatives. First, she has a lot of tables, and at the beginning in particular these are hard to read on a kindle. Fixed image input, like tables, must not have too much data or it cannot be read easily, in which case it really is a waste. The author also has a particular gripe about processed food and additives. I agree that much of this is valid, but the attack on preservatives, say, is not valid. She gives no real evidence they are damaging, and you cannot have manufactured food without preservatives, because they simply go off. She makes much of the life of those in a 14th century house. Yes, our lifestyle is quite different, but be fair; the average city dweller cannot keep their own cow, hens, etc, these days. The average life span in the 14th Century was probably in the vicinity of 35 years, and a number of such deaths would be due to fungal and bacterial attacks from food, including ergotism from fungal rye. There are reasons why preservatives are put into food. Another problem lies in the title. While the advice is good, the busy executive does not have the spare time to follow all this advice. If you assume a wife does the shopping, cooking and pursuing a barrage of unusual foods, then maybe, but women these days have careers as well. To summarize, the book is well-written, it has a lot of useful information, and if you make some thoughtful moderations to the advice, your health should improve. I think, however, of all the people who will find it of value, the busy executive will be one of the least likely. I really doubt they will have the time, although again, if they accept what they have time for, they should find an improvement. Just cutting out sugar is a good start. Finding foods that are sugar-free, though, is not as easy as you might expect.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The New Lease; Author: Visit Amazon's John Stryder Page; Review: The book describes itself as a conspiracy thriller. The first half of the book follows Younis through his learning of Tantric disciplines, and of Fae as she embarks on her career in journalism. Her first exercise is the basis of the book, and is quite unusual for the thriller: why has there been a surprising outbreak of good news? Yes, Younis is involved in some way, and it begins with Fae being instructed to find out why it is breaking out. Now, obviously a story where everyone wanders around plays harps does not a thriller make. There is, of course, a twist, and I shall leave it there. The plot is unusual, and is quite coherent. Characterisation is more difficult because Fae has another problem, and there are difficulties in deciding what an abnormal character like Younis should be. It darts around a little in time and I felt a couple of times this made it awkward for a few sentences to work out when and where, however my biggest criticism is that as thrillers go, this is also unusual in that while the plot has some serious action, much of it is "off-screen", and we find out what happened at a later time. Towards the end, there is also a tendency towards long sociological exposition as Younis explains what he is doing and why. Then, having set up a quite remarkable situation, the novel tends towards fading out, perhaps signaling a future sequel. The writing is fluid and the novel is easy to read, and it has a lot of clear descriptive passages.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dangerous Brains; Author: Mr Erik Hamre; Review: I found this a difficult book to classify as to genre. The basic plot is that an artificial general intelligence called Cronus is created by Andrew Kevorkian, and this lives inside the internet and thus it can be spread across as many computers anywhere. It can also grow, and appeared to have been created in part through inspiration of a project for mapping the human brain. If this AI grows too far, it will be uncontrollable, while if it attempts to hack into the US nuclear control base, there will be the automatic detonation of nuclear weapons I space, sufficient to generate an em pulse that will fry all electronics on Earth. This would lead to billions of deaths. To deal with Cronus, a team of four assemble in a secluded spot in Nevada where they will be immune to Cronus. A small team is desired for rapid action, however this always assumes someone can come up with some plan to act on. They don't, at least initially, and they spend most of their time discussing what Cronus could be, and watching what it does on the net. (See a contradiction?) Meanwhile, Kevorkian has a number of strokes, so talking to him is out. Nominally, this is a thriller, but since they spend most of their time speculating I am not sure that is right. Hamre writes well and is always clear, leaving aside the need to create mystery. The problem for me was he has dug a hole so deep that it is difficult for his characters to get out of, but I think he faced the same problem as author. The ending, for me, just introduced a number of contradictions, and while it is not exactly an example of deus ex machina, it has some of the characteristics. I found it easy to read, compelling, but a let-down at the end when the internal logic was not quite right.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Beneath the Bridge of Sighs; Author: Ursula Bartram; Review: This is a romance, and the plot is romantic, in the sense it could have been formulated in the early 19thn century. Leaving aside the poetry, the tone would not be out of place in the writings of von Chamisso. It starts a long time ago with Marco, at this time a laborer on a Tuscan vineyard falling for the owner, Catarina. It switches to more modern times when Faith finds she has inherited said vineyard, while, at the same time, Faith believes Aidan is "the one". Her friend, Hope, thinks Aidan is a gold digger. The writing is clear, and the characters Faith and Hope are well drawn, but the male characters are somewhat stereotyped. (As a male writer, I am only too well aware that getting characterization of the opposite sex is difficult, and may be near impossible to get it right in depth.) The editing was not flash either, and while I am normally very tolerant, as I know only too well what can go wrong, there is a point where it becomes more of a problem. The story line keeps moving and holds attention. However, for me there was a structural defect. The ending appears to be going one way, then there is a sudden lurch. The problem for me is that the author does not really provide a cause. In the hands of someone like Tolstoi, this cause would be the focus of the story, but here the author takes an easy way out. This reduces it to a pleasant read, it holds interest, but it could have been somewhat more.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Clandestine: The CIA, a secret partnership, and an alliance to topple a Government; Author: Visit Amazon's Stella Francis Faulkes Page; Review: This is a thriller in which parts of the US government use a US labor movement to overthrow the dictatorship in Venezuela. The story basically follows Andy, who is to organize the public uprising, but Andy has problems because another part of the US government does not appreciate what is going on, and rather than request the Union to stop, they try something a little more violent. Faulkes claims to know a lot about the American Union movement (the use of "claims" is because I have no means of assessing the accuracy) and in my opinion, the book gets off to a bad start with a rather large amount of background information given by means of the "tell" style. For me, the first fifteen to twenty per cent of the book was hard going, and I think it would have been a lot easier if the author had got to the point much quicker through conversation. A lot of detail could have been omitted, or bled in through "show" later. The good news is, the writing does improve, and I think the author, having finished, should have thrown out the start and rewritten that. The characters were reasonably well-drawn, although not exactly appropriate for the tasks assigned. At first, this looks careless, but then one realizes that this exactly what might be expected if a Union movement starts engaging in this sort of activity with no real experience and training, so I give the author extra credit for this. The overall picture the book presents is a chilling account of the workings of a plutocracy. The cold dismissal of the rank and file membership by the Union leaders is unfortunately likely to be true, and one of the messages in passing is that if the low-paid want to improve their lot, they have to do more than just pay Union fees. It is this, and a number of other "unsaid" messages that for me raise this into the four-star class. It is an important piece of fiction. It is just a pity the writing is not more fluid.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: One More: A Solar Maximum Novel (The Solar Maximum World) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Lance Haynes Page; Review: Every now and again, the sun throws out a massive solar ejection, wherein huge amounts of plasma are ejected into space at serious velocities. The last one was in the second half of the 19th century, and it only caused modest damage to civilization. However, now we have a massively connected electric system, and massively moving charge generates a massive changing magnetic field, and such a field interacting with such wires generates huge charge surges. The story here begins with Richard in outback Nevada, looking for oil. Richard's life has tanked, largely due to his self-destruction following the death of one of his sons. Richard gets his samples, comes back to civilization, to find the US no longer has electricity. What we now find is Richard finding his real character, and we see Haynes' view of how modern US society would react to such a disaster. There were a number of really good people, but also a lot of scum. I cannot say more without spoiling. The author apparently wrote the start of the book based on his own life, and he was writing from the heart. This leads to a degree of unevenness, and every now and again some of the author's philosophy sneaks in, often in overly lengthy segments. Of course, what happens after the event is pure fiction, and for a while the story is really touching. Unfortunately, in my opinion anyway, the final climax goes on too long, and it needs some editing. Creating a gripping climax is a skill, and like adding spice top cooking, there is a certain amount that is great, but overdo it and it turns on itself. I think this was overdone in the climax. Nevertheless, apart from this blotch, the book has great emotional weight.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Darknet; Author: Visit Amazon's Matthew Mather Page; Review: A science fiction thriller, or a technothriller, take your pick. There are two strands to the story. In one, Jake finds himself in a hedge fund responsible for his boss's questionable financial dealings, and for a mafia boss's money Jake's boss has lost. The police are after Jake, the mafia is after Jake, and Jake has no idea why. Then Jake gets a letter from his friend Sean, which contains cryptic clues. Something really bad is going on. Meanwhile, in China, something similar is happening to Jin. Gradually, we learn how to make sense of Jake's cryptic clues, and Jin finally makes it to America, to get closer to Jake's problem, which eventually they learn is mediated through the darknet, another part of the internet where almost anything goes. Amongst further problems for Jake is an upgraded Murder Inc, where rewards are posted for assassinations. Jake and Jin are designated targets. The book is well-written, structurally sound, and moves with really quick action. The problem is novel, and more to the point, the attempted solution is rational, as is the response by the bad side. For me, there were only a few blemishes. The first is general; the evil side is so powerful and Jake and Jin have so few resources they both should die fairly early into the story. If Sean is going to send a letter, he should include a statement as to what the enemy really is. If a policeman stands five paces behind a bad guy with a pistol drawn and aimed, the bad guy either surrenders or is shot. It takes surprisingly little time to pull a trigger! Finally, the bad guys are so powerful that the ending needs something approaching deus ex machina to reach a conclusion. Nevertheless, this is a great story, well worth the five stars, and one of the clearly better thrillers I have read for some time.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Blood and Steel (Throne of the Caesars); Author: Visit Amazon's Harry Sidebottom Page; Review: This historical novel, the second of a series, is set in AD 238, when the Roman Empire is in deep trouble. Maximinus was emperor, and his policy was simple: double the pay of his soldiers. That, of course, needed more taxes, which contributes to the economic collapse in progress. Meanwhile there are continual wars on the borders, and threats of civil war at home. The Senate disapproves of the Thracian, and in North Africa the two Gordians are made Augusti. The major problem for the Gordians is they have no legions, and the only legion nearby turns against them. That is essentially the history this book tries to cover. The historical background is a little unclear, due to a lack of reliable knowledge. One major source is the "Historia Augusta" which is generally regarded as unreliable, but Sidebottom had to make do. In one sense, this helps the author, but unfortunately, no twisting and turning can make real sense of the two Gordians. As Sidebottom shows, Gordian II was no military genius, and even when he was in deep trouble, he made an absolutely fatal mistake that no real commander would make. What Sidebottom has given is at least a plausible account of what happened and why. There will be inaccuracies, but that is because now nobody knows what really happened in enough detail. In my opinion, this is an excellent account of what was a rather miserable period in Roman history, when Rome almost imploded. The book is well-written, and makes for fascinating reading. An excellent account of how governance can decay.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Banehunter; Author: Visit Amazon's Greg McLeod Page; Review: A sword and sorcery fantasy. The story opens with crumbling humanity as a sequence of monsters collectively called the Bane are ravishing the country, and only Graeme appears to be actively opposing them. His Lord sees nothing beyond his own ego, and he thinks his two children, Breanne and Arden, are useless. That is the unpromising start, but as the story evolves, signs of possible hope appear. Arden is indeed useless as a sword-wielder, but that is because if he knew how to use his talent, he would be a skilled mage. Breanne is given a useless trinket, except like a certain ring, it is anything but useless, but it is a danger to use. So the story evolves. It is a surprisingly well-structured story, with the good/evil battle gradually becoming more into balance as our heroes work out what they should be doing. It is well written and goes at a good pace, and is imaginative, with definitely non-obvious solutions to the problems the heroes face, and while there may be a bit of stereotyping, the characters have character. I have one grizzle: very occasionally at a crisis there are multiple outcomes, as if like a computer game the author did not like where that was going so there was a return to the last "saved" position. The author should really drop that as a technique. However, apart from that the general quality is really good.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Project Anan (Book 1 of the Energy Exchange Series) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Lionel Lazarus Page; Review: The basis of the story is that some advanced aliens arrive on Earth with the objective of first, getting help to repair/refit their ship, and second, taking 2,500 humans to be settlers on a new planet (the projects). The reasons for this are a little unclear, and no clues can be given without spoiling. A small party lands in Christchurch, New Zealand, and set out to hire project managers. This is such an unusual situation that to move the story on, the first contact scene is perhaps a little difficult to accept, and there are the occasional further scenes that seem to me to be perhaps a little nave and are presumably like that to keep the story going. There are some interesting scenes, one of which that struck me was the aliens trying to work out what to do when they ran into some road works, with various diversions etc. Even locals can have trouble with these sometimes. There are also some, but by no means too many, comments about the political/economic/environmental state of the planet and there are times when it becomes satirical. The style is easy to read, although while I am usually very tolerant of some issues of presentation, there were some editing issues. The story is essentially about these projects, and how humans could get along with the aliens, and to some extent there is a certain lack of tension in the story as the main problems to be dealt with are actually purchasing and engineering, as opposed to human conflict. The characters are a little one-dimensional, and that dimension tended to be to fit the plot. As regards background, that is a little ill-defined, but given that Lazarus apparently lives in Dublin, his portrait of the Christchurch area is not too bad. He has carefully avoided many of the traps of being specific. To summarize, it is easy to read, and given that this is book one of a series, and it is really about getting the series started, some of the problems I have raised are understandable.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Moscow Venture; Author: Visit Amazon's A. K. Celer Page; Review: This story is basically about an American company trying to set up a cellular phone system in Moscow through a company Sovcell during the very end of the Gorbachev era, and the overthrow and breakup of the soviet Union. John Baran is sent to Moscow to take the place of his predecessor, who died in mysterious circumstances of multiple strokes. The description of his arrival in Moscow is depressing, which raises the question, how accurate is it of Moscow at the time? Strictly speaking, I don't know, however, I was in Moscow about 12 years previously. Some of the description is eerily familiar. You need something done to a document before you can do anything, but the only place has nobody there. Work was something done when there was nothing better to do! The giant hotel is familiar, the woman sitting at a table on each floor, yes, and the oddity of the hotel restaurant set to feed hundreds, with only three tables actually in use. So, much seems correct. However, my hotel room was nothing like described. Certainly not huge, but adequate, comfortable, and clean. Missing from Celer's description was the bathroom problem no plugs. Celer does mention the rubber problem, though, with wipers taken from cars and locked away. Rubber things got stolen. Baran found only one indigestible item available from the menu; whatever I asked for, I got, and it tasted very good. Celer argues that Russia declined badly under Gorbachev; that may be true, but unless it is true, the Soviet system is unnecessarily slagged. More to the point, the story. Baran is trying to uncover corruption in the joint venture, and through that, how his predecessor died. From time to time he is attacked by various thugs, and as he begins to unravel the problem, the "coup" takes place. "Coup" is the word used, but it was actually the hardliners of the government. Celer's descriptions shows them to be incredibly inept, but, well, historically they were. The end of the book is rather odd because Baran now finds himself a spectator with world-changing events taking place right around him. Celer's description of this is quite good in the sense that Baran could do nothing but the emotional content here is flat. (I happen to know, because I was a similar spectator in Czechoslovakia in August, 1968). Celer can be forgiven for that, because without direct experience it is hard to get that right. On the other hand, prior to that, Baran's tactics seemed to be more "Bull in a China Store" type, and it is difficult to see why he would adopt that, or if he was preset for that, why he was given the job. Overall, this is a well-researched story with more or less credible action that moves at a good pace. While possibly overcooked, it gives a good account of WHY the Soviet system was doomed, although you have to think about it a bit because it is not entirely spelled out.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Reason for Existence; Author: Visit Amazon's Richard Botelho Page; Review: I am not sure why the title was chosen. The story is basically that humanity has a crisis. The various countries in the world seem to be going towards war, and within humanity there are a number off various alien races embedded, two of which have decided that they will catalyse humanity's destruction. There is another race that wants to stop this, and they too have embedded agents, one of which is the main protagonist, David Jordan. As the world heads increasingly towards destruction, the story has Jordan travel to meet various people to discuss what has gone wrong. In short, the book is essentially the author's philosophical thinking on what is wrong with current society, and why it is falling into chaos. (There is the premise it is.) As an example, one of the human experts believes it is due to the scarcity of resources, and evolution requires some to fight and control them. Another bases the argument on entropy: physics is sending the world into chaos. I have no problem with the author doing this, but I feel there should be a significant part in which something gets implemented, in other words, there has to be some doing as opposed to talking in the story. From my point of view, there were a number of problems. I cannot really see how Jordan talking to people can reasonably influence the outcome. He did make some useful guesses to subvert one act by the opposition, but the ending does not follow from such guesses. In my view, the arguments about entropy show a lack of understanding of the nature of entropy. Now a piece of SF can be excused for getting something like that wrong, but there is less excuse when it is central to the story. I also find it hard to fathom that if one alien race is trying to achieve something while another is trying to subvert it, the first cannot find anything more useful to do than have a philosophical discussion. I really want to promote authors who give the readers something to think about, but for me there are a few too many flaws in this.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Garan Divination; Author: Visit Amazon's C. A. Breheny Page; Review: Erin works in a pharmaceutical company evaluating the clinical trials for a new drug to cure pancreatic cancer. Apparently, Breheny has done this sort of work, and there is a sense of authenticity in the writing She is aged 35, is married to Dante who, while earning a good income is also paying off serious alimony to his ex-wife, and he is also looking after his daughter, or at least Erin is now. So things are not easy for Erin. Erin gets pregnant, and when she does, one evening she dreams of going back to the past to meet her very much younger father. She introduces herself as Erin, but then later finds out that she was named Erin because her father had met a young woman so called. It turns out that Erin is a dream traveller, who can travel to the past while asleep. The book is well-written, and reasonably well-structured if it is the first in a series. Much of the book is devoted to Erin being taught about dream travel from Garans, who appear to be a level up on the dream travel scale. Accordingly, the book has the problem of having a lot of information being given, and Erin doing a lot of learning. From experience in writing the first of a series, it is difficult to maintain momentum in the story, but Breheny does quite a reasonable job. The story is easily worth four stars, but the fact that Breheny avoided many of the obvious traps with this sort of story, and did so quite subtly, I have lifted it to five.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: An Angel Healed; Author: Visit Amazon's Annalisa Russo Page; Review: This is another book that does not fall easily into a genre. It is set in Chicago in the 1930s, it could be called a romance, and the heroine, Hope, has been suspected of murder, except there is no body. The book starts with an archaeological dig in Greece that finds two jewel encrusted bronze horses. It then switches to Hope, and flits between here and Rafe and his family. Hope is desperately poor, and is supporting a family. Rafe and family are rich, but Rafe has returned from Greece with malaria. I found the start of this book rather confusing. There are excellent descriptions of clothes and background, but the important facts tend to be skipped over. It turns out that Hope has rescued a young girl from a rapist and hit the rapist on the back of the head with a brick, and the rather corrupt police seem to think she killed him, so she has flitted from job to job, and regularly changed addresses. She is a novice reporter, and gets a job to interview Rafe's sister for her wedding, which brings her to the attention of Rafe, and eventually to a policeman. The ensuing romance is confused because Hope feels she has to escape. Anything more would spoil. My biggest criticism of this book is that the critical events are described through somebody telling what someone else told them. I would much prefer the scene to be shown. Russo seems to avoid action scenes, and for me, this is not good if a key part of the story involves a murder. If a character knows what happened, the author should show it. If nobody else believes her, show that too, as that brings in the tension. In some ways there is also too much there, because while there are a number of threads (and I like that) there are also loose ends. The character Rafe is also not quite believable: men tend not to want to deeply investigate their feelings, and when something critical needs to be uncovered, they are far more likely to blunder in and do something rather than brood. However, on the good side, the story is reasonably complicated and there are some very good descriptions of what life during the period was probably like. With a little more experience, Russo could be an author to watch.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Everyone Versus Everyone; Author: Visit Amazon's Arthur Jay Page; Review: This is a satirical comedy novella in which Arthur Jay realizes everything is not as it should be, and the tried and true way to fix this is to sue. If everything is not as it should be, obviously everyone suffers as a result, and since for Arthur it is everyone's fault but his, and because everyone is in the same boat, then obviously everyone should sue everyone. The writing is clear, there is a good comic element in places, and the book is brief, although as it is at the top of the price range for such ebooks, and it is very short, it could be considered overpriced. The concept is quite original and in places very amusing, and that lifts it, in my estimation. My problem with this book is the court presentation is essentially one-sided. Jay has the defender of everyone more interested in doing a crossword than doing his job, which might start out as amusing, but it has the unfortunate effect that the evidence that everyone is hurt soon becomes a non-contested whinge outlining what is wrong with current America. Jay has some good points, and he does this in a suitably light-hearted way, but for this novella to work, in my opinion, the other side has to do a lot more than crosswords. Jay has a great idea, he identified a good range of ingredients, he mixed them well, but then the cake was only half-baked.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The hope of Tibet; Author: Visit Amazon's Jos Vicente Alfaro Page; Review: This story is set in a district of Tibet at the time of Kublai Khan, and effectively describes one of the most important events in history. Whether it is true is another matter, and I am in no position to know. Basically, Kublai Khan has decided that his empire needs a religion, Marco Polo has arrived and is trying to convince him that Christianity is the way to go, and a Buddhist monk has tried to promote Buddhism. A leading Buddhist priest had died, and according to their beliefs, he will be reincarnated and at this time should be a boy of about 6 or 7 years old. The story follows two such boys who were orphaned when their parents died in a storm, and hence also shows life for the orphaned in Tibet at the time. The author has made an engaging portrayal of life on the edge (for Tibet was very poor and life was hard), of Buddhism, of young boys and the failings of adults, and in this has embedded some slightly supernatural events. An intriguing story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Last Bastion of Civilization: Japan 2041, a Scenario Analysis; Author: Visit Amazon's Andrew Blencowe Page; Review: This book announces it is a work of fiction, which is hardly surprising since it "predicts" the future. It is written in the form of a number of academic papers explaining how Japan became a superpower by 2041. The author highlights a set of things that he feels are wrong about the present, and warning, this is not politically correct, and he then explains how all these work to the advantage of Japan. Interestingly, I have written fiction that uses many of these and end up with the opposite conclusion, but that is how the future works we have no real idea what will happen. The strength of this book is it gives things to think about, and while I do not agree with the author's conclusions, on this ground I give him five stars. There are too few books that do this. However, I am going to reduce this to four stars because there are two faults that I am unhappy with. First, the formatting and editing is a little rough. The worst I saw was a frustrating sentence in which the second half was not there. These sort of things could have been fixed by elementary proof reading. The second was, if he is presenting these as academic papers, he should follow their rules. The most significant of these is that at the end of the paper, there should be a small section of conclusions, in which the author summarizes the points he was trying to make. Only too many of his chapters end with something almost new being introduced, and then left hanging. This is a clever book. I just wish a little more effort was made to highlight the points he was trying to make. However, if you want something to think about, don't pass this by.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: I Am Pilgrim; Author: Visit Amazon's Terry Hayes Page; Review: A genuinely fast-moving thriller that skillfully manages to keep up tension throughout the book. It has three major strands to the story: the hero, code-named Pilgrim, must prevent a major terrorist threat; there is the story of the terrorist, and how he became a terrorist; finally there is what is behind a murder that starts the story. The major strand, involving Pilgrim, is told in the first person. The story starts in New York, the terrorist story is situated in Afghanistan and various parts of the Middle East, and the major part of the story is set in Turkey, with excursions into Europe. The settings are all plausible (I have no idea how accurate they really are) and overall the story flows well. For me, there were problems. As an author, I know only too well the advice to start with something that grips attention. The murder strand really does that, but it then becomes difficult to see how it can fit in with the rest of the story, and basically it only does through forcing. It is essentially a separate story and I suspect it was put in there to get the exciting opening. There is a trick with a mirror; I am afraid scientifically that is just rubbish. The ending also makes little sense from a character point of view. Nevertheless, the overall excitement of the book means I give it a rare (for me) five stars.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Banished Threads (Volume 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Kaylin McFarren Page; Review: This is a romantic mystery thriller that starts with Gwen going to a cliff face in a storm and being pushed off, to her death. The next quarter of the book introduces a number of dysfunctional relationships and families, together with many descriptions and expressions of feelings. There are even two couples, both women pregnant, and neither knowing what to do next. In this respect this is more a woman's book, and I found this part somewhat over-written. As the book continues, something of a mystery develops, although part of the mystery is trying to work out what is going on. This is not helped by characters who do obviously silly things so as to get themselves in danger, and while there are some hazardous situations to keep the tension up, I found many of them to be too contrived. In the second half there is an art robbery, suggestions of a black widow, some kidnappings, in short now there is plenty going on. Some of the action scenes are quite well-written, but one or two of them descend into the clich type, and the last one, which involves the type of scene often seen, is resolved in what I consider an unlikely way. My personal view is that long introspective "will I, won't I marry X?" sits awkwardly in a thriller. However, it is well written, and if you want a thriller with plenty of emotional expression and introspection, this will be as good as most.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Deep Blue; Author: Visit Amazon's David Niall Wilson Page; Review: What is the reader supposed to take from this book? Interpreting it is the problem for the reader, and if you are looking for a book to test your ability to interpret what is going on, this may be difficult to surpass, at least with recent books. The book starts with a band whose members eventually seek the perfect blues song, but initially they are not terribly successful, as the players appear to be going through the motions. Then Brandt has an "experience" that sets him on the path to play the "perfect blues". What he needs is to express pain. We are told this many many times. When he seemingly does, he walks out on the band. The point of view changes to Synthia, and she acquires a similar desire and after a stunning performance, walks out on the band. Shaver is reluctant to leave, but eventually so does he, and eventually the band reassembles, most seeking pain, although Dexter seeks patterns. The book then switches to a hallucinatory/supernatural/religious seeking of relieving sin in a small California town of Friendly. Not that you actually see a lot of sin, but rather there is the question of a sineater. The obsessive search for "perfect music", for me, has been done much better by Thomas Mann, in Doctor Faustus. Mann ensures that we see the obsession from the outside, and he shows things happening. For me, too little happens, and besides introspection, in one part it take over two pages to drink a cup of coffee. I was not that engrossed with the musical description, and in one place Brandt goes from A minor to C, and this is written as if this is an achievement. Really? Apart from the pace and the introspection, and some fairly coarse language at times, it is reasonably well-written, although there were production errors, such as two words joined together with [missing symbol]. That happens a number of times. Accordingly, whether you want to read this book depends on what you are looking for. I am afraid I found it disappointing, and at times a bit disjointed.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Kiev Connection (Matti James Mystery series) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's M.A.R. Unger Page; Review: Matti James is one of those people who reconstruct faces from bits of corpses, and on the side, with a few other women, act as private detectives who try to solve the cases of the bodies she recovers. She has one other attribute: she sees and talks to "In-betweeners", which are effectively ghosts or spirits. This last part is a bit of an over-reach because the author does not want to spoil the mystery by giving clues too easily. Thus we have a victim appear to Matti, say "We need to talk" and then say next to nothing! At times the author also seems to let an event lapse, e.g. there is an explosion in a building and an explosion in Matti's car, but nothing significant follows. Actually, this is quite realistic and dead ends are most likely common in most investigations. Notwithstanding that, this is a reasonably well-constructed mystery set in Nevada with lots of things happening as bodies get found, including some Ukrainian hookers (hence presumably the title) some Ukrainian/Russian rich developers and an odd FSB agent. I found it to be written with plenty of movement while being very light on padding. The guilty parties emerge through accumulation of facts rather than the "killer clue" that nobody else picks up, and the story progresses logically. If you like crime dramas in the CSI spirit, this is well worth reading.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: American Blood: A Novel (Marshall Grade); Author: Visit Amazon's Ben Sanders Page; Review: This is an unusual thriller in that there are multiple points of view, although each chapter is told from one. The main character is Marshall, an ex-NYPD officer in witness protection in Santa Fe, NM, and who is in hiding from the mob, his having been an undercover agent. For no very well explained reason, he decides to go searching for a missing woman, and ends up being mixed up with some nasty criminal activity. For me, this part was somewhat vague, partly because of the switching between points of view, despite the fact that not a lot is really happening. A the book progresses, there tends to be a lot of talk about what has happened, but only too often, we don't actually see it happening. From my point of view, it was weak structurally because it is too difficult to work out what it is about, other than it is supposed to be a thriller. Notwithstanding that, the author does get action right; it tends to be quick and ugly, so when the author does show it, he shows skill. Having said that, the last major action scene annoyed me. The situation was too artificially constructed and shouldn't have happened, and then, when it did, it should never have ended the way it did, in other words that scene simply was not credible for me. The story is reasonably well-written and well-edited, as long as you don't mind a sequence of fragments, and as long as you are patient in finding out what is going on. The conversations are natural, and the story is fairly gritty. A fair holiday read as long as you don't want to think about it too deeply.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Face Of Our Father; Author: Visit Amazon's G Egore Pitir Page; Review: One issue with reviewing is that when you judge a book you also judge yourself, and maybe here I fail, but I found this book hard going. It starts with a prologue, and I found the prologue to be well-written and interesting, but later I found the prologue had nothing to do with the story, other than how a purse got buried in the sand. The story is based around three groups: a prince of the Saudi realm, a group of Afghanis who wish to terrorize the US, and a couple, Angie and Stu. Angie apparently wants to right wrongs to Islamic women, but she keeps this from Stu. Her mechanism is to keep a website. Come on. We have long periods of introspective contemplation when Stu wants to know what Angie is up to. Why doesn't he look up the website? But no, he hovers around the bedroom, wondering whether it would be dishonorable to peek into her files. Interspersed are long period of Angie in some introspective black hole. The problem for me with this is as the current action flits from scene to scene, we don't know how or why it happened. Too much tell, not enough show of the critical points. What we now find in the book are descriptions of moments in the days of the terrorists, with disconnected sequences of an attack on what seems to be a US base, and retaliation. The writing was good from the descriptive point of view, and the actual scenes were vivid, but how did they get from scene to scene, and more to the point, why were certain actions taken? We get long periods of introspection and back story about Angie and Stu, and misleading views of the Prince. At the end, Pitir shows he really can write. The scene where Stu flies is tense, and seems very realistic. It is just a pity that a pearl like this was not wrapped in so much sow's ear. If you like a story that digresses all over the place in the middle of something happening, with lots of descriptive back story to paint a picture, this book is really a rich tapestry. For me, I would rather there was much less concentration on the background of the painting, and much more effort into the foreground, i.e. what the story was about.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Wrong Side Of A Gun; Author: Visit Amazon's David Grace Page; Review: Virgil Quinn is a Californian based deputy US Marshall, and his specialty, as part of the US Marshall's Service, is to find felons. The story starts with Quinn apprehending a man, and when he finds out he is a serial killer, and his lawyer has managed to keep this part hidden, he confronts the lawyer in a particularly non-politically-correct way. Quinn has to be put out of sight, so he is shipped to help the Detroit PD with two cases they have found great difficulty with. At the same time, his wife and daughter disappear, and while he makes all efforts to find them, for once he fails. At the same time, in Detroit, he makes headway. What I particularly like about this book is that it is realistic. No breaks of outrageous fortune, but rather good solid police work, coupled with security camera footage etc. Quinn's major contribution over and above good police work is to put his mind in the mind of the felon, and work out what the felon is likely to do, given the circumstances. Also, Quinn and his other policemen seem human, which leads to a gripping story because you do not have to suspend disbelief. Highly recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Murder, Sometimes - A Jason Callahan Mystery (The Jason Callahan Psychic Detective Series Book 1) - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Patricia Lee Macomber Page; Review: The book could best be described, I suppose as a supernatural mystery. Jason Callahan is a private detective, and his first case (in this story, at least) involves someone selling baseball cards signed by the appropriate great player. The problem is, they were signed after the player died. OK, straightforward fraud, but when Jason confronts Benny, the seller, in the presence of Trina, who claims to be a psychic, Benny signs another card, claiming it is a ghost who is guiding his hands. The argument is, the signature is genuine as far as the player is concerned, but not the hand signing it. Now what? Jason is shown evidence that Trina is not a fraud, and in any case, Benny offers to fully refund if the person wishes. This is the prelude to a crime investigation. Who or what is responsible? Is it a person? Is it a ghost? The story is quite well-written, and it is original. My major criticism is that when Jason is given evidence he cannot refute, the next few scenes did not really gel with me. When it comes to the crime, there are some seriously original parts there, which I admit I did not see coming, and more to the point, they are obvious, so there was some well-disguised writing. The story is too slight for me, and there were plenty of opportunities to take this concept further. The author is apparently promising more, so, maybe some was saved up. The book is quite easy to read, and is quite entertaining. Good for a light vacation read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Shong Wars: Declaration (Book 1) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's George P Lung Page; Review: This is a historically-set fantasy. It is set in China during a later Mongol khanate, and largely follows Zhang, who is a sort of shong. The shong are largely a fantasy warrior class, with superhuman abilities and in most cases regard ordinary humans as slaves to be killed if not otherwise useful, but Zhang is not quite like that. Zhang is, compared with other shong, a rather indifferent warrior, and is ridiculed and bullied by many of the others, including his "brother", but he has the remarkable ability to heal himself. Zhang has been adopted by the king, and is a disappointment to him as well, and as a last chance, Zhang is set off on a quest to bring a young woman, Shen Hua, back to the king so he can give her to the Mongol Khan. To help him, he is given a party of six other shong, including Rein, who wants to kill him. There is the expected hacking and killing of supernatural beasts on the way, but when Zhang gets to Hua, Rein goes on a massive killing spree on any of the various peasants he can get his hands on, so Zhang rebels and tries to rescue Hua and the peasants, and with Shua, goes off on another quest, to get an artifact that will liberate demons. Presumably, the Khan wants this, so it has to be hidden from the khan. The writing is good, although the logic is a bit off. Why would anyone want to liberate evil demons. You might be evil, but why won't the demons attack you first, since you are closer. There are also no clear rules or limits to the shong power, and so it is difficult to get emotionally involved in the story. But if you want supervillains and much hacking, and some imaginative monsters, this could be for you. It is the start of a sequence, but it does have an ending, although the ending surprised me in that it actually ended. There seemed to be so little time left that I thought it would be a suspense ending. My view is more should have been made of the ending, more rules applied to the beings, and more attention to Zhang's thoughts. It is really only a 4 star book for those who do not care about the points I made above.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Brown Sugar in Minnesota (Cooper Smith) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Joe Field Page; Review: The basic story follows a young reporter named Smith who wants the story that will make his career, and he finds it, or it finds him, in the form of a major drug running racket. Brown sugar is pure heroin (although if it is brown it will not be completely pure); the opiates are smuggled to Chicago from Mexico, where it is refined and sent out to distributors. Smokey and Tank want to get into the action, and they will sell to the Indian reservations, where getting caught is somewhat less likely. The story follows Smith as he starts to unravel aspects of it, and then the story comes after him as the DEA find out about him, and Tank sets out to kill him. The story is well-written, and the characters act within believable skill sets, although the DEA might not be too impressed by the professionalism shown by the agents attributed to them. One flaw for me is that too much of the action is "off-screen"; it is almost as if the author does not have the confidence to write it. The story is somewhat slight and undemanding, and it is relatively short. A good read to fill in spare time.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: How to Fail at Life: Lessons For The Next Generation; Author: Visit Amazon's Mark Aspelin Page; Review: This is one of those "life coaching" books, which largely covers either quotes and interpretations from famous people, or anecdotes from the author's life. It starts off with the obvious: you fail through drink or drugs, then by being overweight and unfit, then it progresses to more philosophical thoughts. Some of the advice is, I feel, what might have worked for the author, but it is hardly the only way. Thus to lose weight, he advocates massive intakes of vegetable juice. Perhaps that will work, but there are other ways as well. His idea to run up a mountain and nearly have a heart attack does not appeal to this reviewer either. However, one piece of advice probably over-rides all others: if you want to succeed in life, work out what you want to succeed at, and get off the couch and do it. There are lots of quotes and advice on being happy, having fun, whatever. There is the obvious, such as, when planning, be realistic. That leaves an out for the book: if it does not work out, it was all your fault! Will the book help you? I don't know. I suspect it will help some, and be of no use to others. My guess is, if you feel you really need such a book, and you actually sort out the good advice as it applies to you, then it will. The book also has a sequence of questionnaires, and answering these truthfully might at least show where your problems lie.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Laugh 'til You Die: A Granite Cove Mystery (Granite Cove Mysteries) (Volume 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Sharon Love Cook Page; Review: The story follows Rose McNichols, a reporter for the Granite Cove Gazette, and who wants to be a stand-up comic. She starts at the Shady Nook Rest Home, and her jokes fail to get a laugh. However, she is saved by Mabel claiming someone has been murdered. Mabel is considered to be old and anything but reliable, and when the body is found under a bookcase that has fallen on her, it is considered an accident. Mabel claims the murderer thought this woman would have been her. What follows is something like the English TV show "Midsomer Murders"; the story is deeply embedded in village life, and when Mabel falls down some stairs, or was she pushed, Rose persists, after a fashion. The book really is not a ,mystery, but more a comic drama set in an American village scenario with a retirement home, rich people down at Hemlock Point, and the ordinary. While the murderer is found at the end, it is not really through Rose or anyone else solving it, and for me, the way it ended was disappointing. It was almost as if it got so far and the author thought she had better actually address the murders, because in the preceding ninety per cent of the book, there is little progress. There are good quirky characters, and rich descriptions, but the actual story is somewhat light. Good light-hearted fun, but not really a mystery.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Nostalgia from: A City Set Upon a Hill: Memories of Boarding School; Seven years ... seven damn good years; Author: Garfield "Garry" Whyte; Review: An unusual title, but nostalgia is most apt. The "city upon a hill" is Munro, what Whyte asserts is the best secondary school in Jamaica. He gives a very good description of the school's buildings and grounds, and also provides good coloured illustrations. He gives characterization of the teachers at the time (late1970s) and illustrations of how they behaved, and of the discipline, then finally he describes life experienced by the students. He does not say anything specifically about classes, other than they were there, but he gives a homework regime that I must admit was far in excess of anything I had. He describes a few "escapades" that are inevitable there were some inevitable fights, but basically he portrays the boys as well-behaved, and the school orderly. Sports are not seriously mentioned, apart from things such as broken windows arising from padda, a game that may have been unique to Munro. Also largely missing is an account of interaction between Munronians and the girls of nearby Hampton school, apart from mentions of the odd formal dance. The book is essentially an account of the school at the period, and not of personal involvement, and thus will have an important place in the history of the school, and of Jamaican education. For anybody else, it gives a picture of a small part of life for Jamaican boys of the period. With these limitations, it is hard to see what more could have been done, so if you have particular interest in Munro school, then this would be a five star book, but because I have specifically stated elsewhere many times that I do not give five stars to books of specific interest to a very limited audience, I have to keep to four (or go back and do a lot of rescoring). I was given a copy of this book in return for a fair review.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Scourge of Rome (Gaius Valerius Verrens); Author: Visit Amazon's Douglas Jackson Page; Review: "Scourge of Rome" has Gaius Valerius Verrens in the holy lands, at the time of the Jewish insurrection. Vespasian has left for Rome to take the purple, leaving his son Titus as commander in chief, and Titus needs a victory for his father. Verrens believes he is on good terms with Titus, but he badly needs to get away from the other son, Domitian, so Verrens is heading towards Jerusalem, when he runs into Tabitha, who in turn is a hand-maiden to the Jewish Queen Berenice, with whom Titus was to have, or was already having, an affair. What follows is an adventure revolving around the Jewish insurrection and the taking of Jerusalem, the siege being somewhat contracted in the story for story reasons. As far as I can tell, apart from one or two story liberties, the story is in reasonably good agreement with history, and while the characters are obviously fictional, apart from Titus and Berenice, they seem valid depictions of the times. There are one or two minor points where I could argue about authenticity, but overall this gives a very good historical adventure. It is well written, a good story, with vivid characters.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Past Imperfections (Matti James Mystery Series) (Volume 3); Author: Visit Amazon's M.A.R. Unger Page; Review: This is a cosy mystery, with more emphasis on the emotional interactions than with the actual mystery, and for me, the plot bore a certain resemblance to an Emmental cheese. It starts with Matti James being an associate of the Foothills Detective Agency, which is seemingly short of clients, when Layla Bourne, a famous actress, turns up, requests that she be a client, and announces that someone is trying to kill her. Now, I would have thought that the first thing a detective might respond to that is, "Why do you think that?" but for some reason the question is not asked, they talk about this and that, then Layla goes. Shortly after that, Matti is told that Layla Bourne died in a plane crash the week before. Wouldn't a famous actress being killed in a plane crash warrant some news coverage? And why would this Layla announce that her private jet was missing? Surely she would know it had crashed, irrespective of whether she is Layla? This sort of "difficult to believe" style continues thereafter, so don't think too hard when reading this. So the agency has something to investigate, but is anyone paying? Eventually, investigating the past of the various participants turns up, well, the answers. The writing style is easy to read and the story progresses logically provided you don't start asking, "but why didn't . . ?" In short, an entertaining and undemanding read, with pleasant characters on the "good side", and some bad ones on the other side. Then, additionally, there are some ghosts to add to the mix. There are some editing issues to annoy the nit-pickers, but they were unimportant for me. Perhaps I am more tolerant because I know how difficult they can be to remove, but seriously, I merely noticed them and kept reading.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: First Strike; Author: Visit Amazon's R.J. Patterson Page; Review: Brady Hawk is an ex SEAL, and is part of a black ops group set up by Senator Blunt. The legality of the group is somewhat questionable, as is the use of the word "group" because it appears that Hawk is the only agent in the field that is doing something vaguely useful. He also has a handler, Alex. Alex (female) is given a warning that Blunt's group is illegal and is going down. What follows is an action thriller about Hawk trying to stop a major terrorist group in Afghanistan. For me, the story had failings. The writing had some minor editorial issues regarding grammar and word usage, but it had major structural issues. To get tension, Hawk walks into a number of real problems that really should end the story. The way he gets really needs the author getting him out. In short it is lacking credibility. At one point, Hawk is shot, and then proceeds as if nothing had happened. The basic background and setting is top class; unfortunately, for me, too much simply had me shaking my head wondering why something else did not happen. As one last example, Alex has a lot of spare time and does some quite deep research on Hawk's parentage. Why not some effort at finding out what it was that led to the warning from the CIA? That just does not make sense to me. In short, an interesting story, lots of action, and probably quite enjoyable as long as you do not want it to make sense.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Vengeance Is Sacred; Author: Visit Amazon's Peter Healy Page; Review: This book is a historical romance set at the beginning of the twentieth century, with a touch of the supernatural. Paolo is a young farmer at the back of Naples, he gets offside with the Camorra, and he has to flee to the US, more or less settling in New Jersey, after having most of his money swindled out of him by the immigration officers on Ellis Island. However, he knows only too well that the Camorra will not leave him alone if they can find him, and crime and the eastern US at the time seemed made for each other. The supernatural part is that he is a Deva, a man with the ability to commune with nature, sometimes see the future, and sometimes heal people. When things are at a bottom, he helps Augie who is being attacked by an Irish gang, and finds Augie is part of the Black Hand. He meets Maria, which leads to the romance, and he gets to see the exploitation of the poor, the start of unions, and some other historical aspects, including the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. The book is clearly written, but it is heavy on description and introspection, with a lot of exploration of feelings. In my opinion, this was overdone, and at times it drags a little. I have no idea of whether the historical parts are correct, but there are some treatments of injuries where the medical parts will, in my opinion, be wrong for the period. The worst example was the use of antibiotics. Sorry, but they were not developed for another 30 plus years. There are also sections where Paolo "explains" his Deva powers "scientifically". This is OK as long as you read it in terms of someone grasping and not really knowing; do not read it as being scientific. Overall, the book is certainly interesting, and casts an interesting light on life of the new immigrants in New York at the time.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Kolymsky Heights; Author: Visit Amazon's Lionel Davidson Page; Review: A very well-written thriller, in which the main protagonist, Porter, takes on a mission to get information from a Russian research station in one of the remotest parts of Siberia that is so secret it does not officially exist. Porter is a language specialist, and apparently has a most unusual physique because he can convince Koreans he is a Korean, Evenks he is an Evenk, Chukchees he is a Chuckchee, and so on. His task is to get into the Siberian region, which is tolerably straightforward (at least compared with the rest), get to the research station, meet the person who will give him the information, and get out of Russia. The main reason I liked this thriller is that Porter does not do anything remarkable (except for the languages and appearance) and what he does is well thought out. The escape has the required tension, as his deception on entering is uncovered and the authorities are after him, even if, at first, they don't know why. My one reservation is the nature of the information. Why was that so secret? It has no military applicability that I could see, and it would be a serious scientific breakthrough. However, let's put that to one side. It was a seriously gripping read, and there is a bonus. Yes, there is, although probably unintentional, but nevertheless this makes me give it 5 stars, because there is more there for the reader. Here is the reader's chance to test their tactical ability. Porter really makes things exceptionally difficult for himself. Can you think of what would have made things so much easier? You must accept the given conditions and the given facilities. Have fun. And enjoy the book.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Super Sized Success: 9 Steps to Maximum Riches in Minimum Time; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Zander Page; Review: This is one of those "Improve Yourself" books that gives out a prescription for making your life super successful. Will it work? My guess is, it will depend. If you follow the prescription without deviation, it probably will, but therein lies the rub. First, the prescription is highly religious. You have to aim for the attributes of Christ. Yes, aiming is truly noble, but attaining is something then again. Further, in one section Linda requires you to be realistic in choosing your objective. I happen to agree, but it does leave subsequent failure open to the charge, you were not realistic. Also, as usual, you have to be careful in the use of the advice, and in particular is it alone relevant, or should you consider other things? As an example, she cites Wayne Gretzky, who said you have a 100% failure with the shots you did not take. If we want to go sporting, change to futbol, where you are more likely to score for the team with a great pass. There was also an example of where she had metastatic cancer, and she was "cured" despite foregoing chemotherapy. Again, this happened, and good on her, however, as a piece of advice, this is poor. I would hate to think some others forego chemotherapy, and then die. She was lucky in that the metastases were seemingly limited to one lymph node. Most are not. On the other hand, there is some very good advice regarding investing, and the book might be worth it for some just on that chapter. So, my impression is, the book is well written, well-intentioned, and it may very well help, and almost certainly will help those who are open to religion, and who do not expect the world to be at their feet.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Death & Rebirth of Cinema: MASTERING THE ART OF CINEMATOGRAPHY IN THE DIGITAL CINEMA AGE; Author: Visit Amazon's Harry Mathias Page; Review: The title is a shade misleading, as what the book really is is advice to young cinematographers. If that is you, the book is essentially a bible, or at least an extremely important refresher. If you are anybody else, it will be hard going, because it is largely devoted to detailed discussions of equipment, and if you are anybody else, the chances of your ever coming across any of this specialist equipment is rather slight. The death is presumably that of film. At the end, it mentions that Eastman Kodak is terminating film production, so while he states that digital is a solution looking for a problem, it will soon be the only way to make movies. The birth is of digital technology, and much of the book involves the showing of how the two are different, and the complications that are arising through the switch to digital. The early part of the book discusses in great detail equipment and how to use it, then later, ancillary equipment. I assume that this is authoritative, but the equipment part is also likely to date, and some will already have become redundant. He gives a discussion of light and lenses, and this is plainly given, and accurate. For the ordinary photographer, about a third of the book discusses light, and how to light subjects, and this will be worth the price of the book on its own. The writing is clear, although I was irritated at one point by an equation, of the form a = b/c. Simple! So why use something like LaTeX? There are a number of very interesting and useful examples of images to show the points, and some tables, some of these being somewhat difficult to read on a kindle. My grading is set by precedent; as I have explained previously, I have written a number of such reviews and early on I made a principle that I would never give more than four stars to a book with a very limited audience.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sabotage: A Reece Culver Thriller - Book 2; Author: Visit Amazon's Bryan Koepke Page; Review: Reece Culver and partner Haisley are driving up a remote Scottish road, heading for a fishing holiday, when they see a car drive off the road and into the sea, the driver having been shot by a sniper. Culver cannot stop himself from investigating. It turns out the driver had been a journalist investigating Draecon International, and had been heading to see Karl Rhodes, a Director of Draecon who happened to live in this region. So Culver goes to see Rhodes while Haisley goes to London to find out what he can about Draecon. What we find is an assassin has been hired to prevent . . . what? A mixture of a thriller and mystery, although the mystery ends about half way through. Koepke has written some of the best thriller scenes I have seen recently, so top marks there. The structure of the story is good, although there are some decisions made by Culver that seem more like being needed to get to the next scene than any rational reason. (Difficult to justify that without spoiling.) I was also disappointed in the way a major incident just disappeared about half-way through, and it was not really clear why the bad guys kept going, i.e. what were they trying to achieve. Thus there are a few issues that are disappointing, but the thriller writing is excellent, and I hope the author can remove some of the minor blemishes from his future writing.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Hotel Westend: A Mystery (Maitland Sisters Mystery) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Ashley Lynch-Harris Page; Review: The book starts with a number of people getting invitations to go to the Hotel Westend, although it is not clear why. Anyway, they turn up, and find they are connected one way or another to a murder twenty years before. Then there is something of an apparent repeat, and another murder, then another, and . . . This is a mystery in he classic style, where one of the guests decides to become an amateur sleuth. There is a slight weakness in the style, in that the book starts with the "Eye of God" approach, then it eventually lands more or less on the point of view of our sleuth, but it is not so clear, at least to me, what the sleuth ought to know about the beginning. It is much easier if we just follow the sleuth, the style adopted by Conan Doyle, and many others. The writing is easy to follow, there are a great number of irrelevancies and the odd red herring, and all in all it makes quite an enjoyable read. Difficult to grade, and because of the defects I gave it 4.5, but that is not allowed and as encouragement, the five.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Constant Guests; Author: Visit Amazon's Patricia Nedelea Page; Review: The author is apparently an academic, and this book is more a thinking person's book, which, I might add, I strongly approve. Besides writing such books, I am always on the lookout for them, and this does not disappoint, although it has the odd flaw. The start is a series of short chapters that really could be considered as elaborations of a single sentence. This one chapter could be summarized as, at the end of the first century an old man enters a cave with two scribes. You might guess now that the book has religious overtones, and you would not be wrong. Basically, the book comprises several interwoven stories, one of which, what the scribes in the cave wrote, we see very little. In fact, for most of the book I wondered why it was there at all. We see more of events in the 14th century that led to the first set of tarot cards. (Actually, the first set we know of apparently came much later, but that is beside the point.) This first set was more than a set of cards. The book is essentially a quest, but the quest morphs. We start with Isa (Isabel) learning her real mother is emerging from a coma. That she was not who she thought she was comes as a shock, but when she sees her mother, her mother tries to tell her something, and from then on Isa is pursued. Isa starts by wanting to know who her father was, but gradually the quest morphs into finding the tarot cards. This leads her to the clutches of two other groups also seeking them, and . . . The story is well written, once you get over the dislocated start, but I found that some of the characterization was either thin, or a little off in places. Thus Qwerty (an alias taken from a typewriter) does not really behave towards Isa as he is supposed to, and the opposition to Qwerty is, well, you will have to find that out for yourself. However, when a crisis is there, tension is required, characters should not lurch into long speeches explaining something that is irrelevant to the crisis. When reading, ignore thinking about free will, because the final parts do not make sense with regard to that. Still, this is an excellent effort, flawed only really through the extreme ambition, and well worth the read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Bulls of War (Chronicles of the Andervold Thrones, Book I) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's E. M. Thomas Page; Review: A fantasy world at a sort of medieval level, i.e. swords, arrows, and the start of explosives, the latter being from some sort of mineral. Thomas has created a truly magnificent world, and he includes a history as an added extra at the end that has little to do with the book, other than to show what the various factions have done in the past. Basically, there are several races that have been conquered, to some extent, by the Rokhs, when the latter have tried to make a just peace under a king. But the king has died, and some of the factions want war. The book is easy to read and progresses at a good pace. The descriptions are very good, the setting is excellent, but I have two reservations. The first is too much happens without explanation. Thus the replacement ruler is put there, but I would have preferred to be shown why he was chosen. The second is the last battle, which to me did not make a lot of sense. As an example. one side only has access to the explosives, they have time to prepare for the battle, but the explosives are left for the other side to get and use. Sorry, but that makes little sense. The book is clearly the first of a series, but it does have a sensible ending, even if it is obvious there is more to come.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Breakfast for Alligators: Quests, Showdowns, and Revelations in the Americas; Author: Visit Amazon's Darrin DuFord Page; Review: The record of a foodie taking a tour of the Americas, and concentrating on the more ordinary inhabitant. We don't see the great restaurants, but rather we get drinks in plastic bags, sometimes with a straw. In addition we get a few "gems" that most people will know nothing about, even if they had gone to that country. Thus food in New York comprised a burger eating competition. The book is well-written and the author has obviously enjoyed his touring. He has gone off the obvious places (although obviously New York is hardly "off the grid") and he has eaten all sorts of things. Unfortunately, food is basically a taste thing, and hence for me did not form the basics of a book. It was quite interesting, and the local colour was well done, and made up for the concentration on food. The book gives an interesting picture of a number of countries, and, of course, if you are a foodie, you are in for a treat.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Panacea; Author: Visit Amazon's Brad Murray Page; Review: I found this a rather difficult book to review and allocate stars because one's thoughts on it will depend on what you want from a book. The number of events is surprisingly small. What happens is there are a very few events that occur "on-stage" but they are told over and over again from different points of view, in increasing order of the person's ability to comprehend what is occurring. Each of these accounts are very well-written, but the early accounts are frustratingly short of knowledge, so the first half of the book is in part written in the style of a mystery, the mystery being what is going on? The events occur at significantly different times, and hence the story is sliced and diced, hopping across times at will. The chapters start with the time, and a date, but I am not convinced many readers will find that helpful. There are a lot of descriptive passages, each well written, but it is not always clear what their relevance is until much later, in which case their impact might have dropped away. The characters are well-drawn, except that towards the end, they start to act out of character. It is difficult to say much about the plot without spoiling, but at that risk, the panacea is something in the blood of one boy in a concentration camp, who did not get sick, and two families of children who survived the war who know about this. To summarize, here is a well-written story with a clever but somewhat thin plot that is worked to the fullest.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Modify Destiny; Author: Visit Amazon's Bill Higgins Page; Review: This novel largely focuses on a rather unexpected plot progression, so it is a little difficult to review without spoiling. The basic story involves Dave, who works for the CIA, and has once before seen a UFO. He is to go on a weekend camping, but instead, after an internet "discussion" with a man in Ramps, a small town in West Virginia, he switches because there has been UFO activity there. There have been UFOs seen, mutilated cows, possible abductions, and the authorities are doing what has to be done to keep this out of the public eye . . . Yep, a conspiracy is afoot! There is a chapter early on about Yellowstone as a supervolcano (which it most certainly is) and there are statements about how terrible the outcomes of such eruptions are. This is not exactly true. Taupo is a supervolcano, and a recent eruption, about 2,000 years ago, led to an estimate of over 1,000 cubic kilometers of ejecta. All recorded history at the time was in the northern hemisphere, and this massive event essentially went unnoticed. Mind you, when Yellowstone goes, and it will some day, the US will be extremely badly hit. Because the story is plot driven, there is not much more to say. The writing style is easy to read, and while the story seems to be going nowhere and there are some apparent irrelevancies, not so. Think of these as red herrings. The story is well constructed as far as Dave is concerned. There are one or two strands that are just dropped, and they should not have been, and there are one or two things that are logically wrong, but if you can overlook these, this is a well-put-together story. Despite the flaws I was sufficiently taken by it that, well, it gets five stars.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Modify Destiny eBook; Author: Visit Amazon's Bill Higgins Page; Review: This novel largely focuses on a rather unexpected plot progression, so it is a little difficult to review without spoiling. The basic story involves Dave, who works for the CIA, and has once before seen a UFO. He is to go on a weekend camping, but instead, after an internet "discussion" with a man in Ramps, a small town in West Virginia, he switches because there has been UFO activity there. There have been UFOs seen, mutilated cows, possible abductions, and the authorities are doing what has to be done to keep this out of the public eye . . . Yep, a conspiracy is afoot! There is a chapter early on about Yellowstone as a supervolcano (which it most certainly is) and there are statements about how terrible the outcomes of such eruptions are. This is not exactly true. Taupo is a supervolcano, and a recent eruption, about 2,000 years ago, led to an estimate of over 1,000 cubic kilometers of ejecta. All recorded history at the time was in the northern hemisphere, and this massive event essentially went unnoticed. Mind you, when Yellowstone goes, and it will some day, the US will be extremely badly hit. Because the story is plot driven, there is not much more to say. The writing style is easy to read, and while the story seems to be going nowhere and there are some apparent irrelevancies, not so. Think of these as red herrings. The story is well constructed as far as Dave is concerned. There are one or two strands that are just dropped, and they should not have been, and there are one or two things that are logically wrong, but if you can overlook these, this is a well-put-together story. Despite the flaws I was sufficiently taken by it that, well, it gets five stars.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Humanity's Way Forward (The Edge of the Known) (Volume 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Seth Mullins Page; Review: The title seems a little grandiose to me. The book is essentially about a rock band, The Edge of Unknown, that came from nowhere, then . . . Mustn't spoil! It is mainly written in the first person, from Brandon Chane, the lead singer, and who also makes speeches. The story has a lot of tell rather than show, and a lot of the book is devoted to Brandon's philosophies about whatever is going on. Thus early on he is getting over his early difficulties in life and of his father's death, so there is a lot of brooding over the meaning of life, etc, and what could have been. As the band moves on there is some interesting material on marketing rock bands, and so on. We get to a climax, and the build-up to this is inadequate it just appears, so we don't see why. What the author should have done, in my view, is have a number of incidents so that the climax has a sense of inevitability about it, where it makes some point, and where it arises through the character assets and flaws of those involved. As an example of what I mean, there are no scenes of real temptation. The book is easy enough to read, and is an interesting story, but for me it lacked depth where it mattered, and spent too much time on what is presumably Mullins' philosophy. This is apparently the third book in a series, but it works well as a stand-alone book, and while there is reference to the past, the references are complete in themselves and provide what information you need. If you happen to buy into the philosophy this will be a good read; if you don't, there is not enough there to compensate.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Pigeon's Tale; Author: Visit Amazon's S. A. Mahan Page; Review: This is a delightful fantasy, and even perhaps a scifi thriller, about a heroic pigeon, at first called Squeaker (presumably because all young pigeons were called that by other pigeons) then eventually Walter. Squeaker starts in a pigeon coop that is raided by a wildcat, and he sees his mother die in an attempt to save him. He escapes, and eventually finds other pigeons in a town, where he learns to scavenge food. He has to fly south to avoid the worst of winter, and after some adventures he adopts Kenny, a student, who takes him back to the ranch in Texas, where he gets the name Walter. Walter is intelligent, and learns to communicate by tapping on a computer keyboard, after being shown by Grandpa, an astrophysicist. The book shows through the pigeon some aspects of society, and the structure of religion (the pigeons have "The Great White Stork"). The story then starts to develop more fantasy, and, well, you will have to read that for yourself. It is well-written, imaginative, unexpected in places, and has a nice light touch. (See Margie pigeon go after cream puffs!) Probably oriented for young adult, but anyone with some young spirit should enjoy this.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles (Finding Billy Battles Trilogy); Author: Visit Amazon's Ronald E. Yates Page; Review: This somewhat remarkable book is described as faction, which author Yates states is a mix of fact and fiction. From that, I assume the major events are factual, but the details, such as actual conversations, are, perforce, imagined. William Battles had a remarkable life. This is book two in a trilogy, but since it is historical, it will not matter if you have not read the first one, as it deals with quite different parts of American history. At the start, Battles has left his five-year-old daughter in the hands of her grandparents (her mother died) and has headed for Indochina. On the way, he meets a German baroness who happens to have killed her husband and made off with secret documents German High Command relating to a possible German invasion of the US. Battles makes it to Indochina, and gets involved in a rebellion against the French; later he is involved in the end of the Spanish occupation of the Philippines, and the start of the US occupation. Back in the US, his daughter is kidnapped by a German, but Battles has a friend: Bat Masterson. We see a little of Bat's idea of law enforcement, then later there is an adventure in Germany. The story is well-written and proceeds at a brisk pace. As the title suggests, highly improbable, but seemingly it all happened. Interesting in its own right, but it also gives a remarkable look at the way America developed at the end of the 19th century. Well worth reading.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Stories of the Indebted; Author: Visit Amazon's Jorge P. Newbery Page; Review: This is a small collection of how a few people in the US got into horrible debt, and how Newbery helped them get out of it, mainly by not paying, and relying on the lenders not having their paper work in order, or more often, people who have bought up the debt at a huge discount and are trying to make a big profit. They probably do too, because while Newbery believes his procedure will solve the problem, it involves a lot of legal work, and most people will probably give in well before that. Besides that, it also looks at some of the financial tyranny imposed by the very rich, and accordingly gives a rather ugly view of some of the worst aspects of American finance. My main interest in this book was as a novelist looking to gather some information about the financially challenged, and in the end it is more a book in which Newbery is on a crusade to show people how they might be able to get out of paying their debts. My guess is this will only work in the US, because it depends on specific legal points, and given that the lenders will have cottoned on to previous legal deficiencies, it may not work now. It is amusing, pleasantly written, but I would caution about taking it as too reliable a procedure for getting out of debt.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dictator (Book Three) (Cicero Trilogy); Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Harris Page; Review: This is the third book of a trilogy, the other two being Imperium and Lustrum, and this is a review of all three. The three books account for the life of Marcus Tullius Cicero, and are written in the form of a biography by his ex-xlave Tiro. Cicero had an extraordinary life, and was a key person in some of the most extraordinary times of human history. So, besides being an account of the life of Cicero, it is also an account of the death of the real Res Publica. The books show the path Cicero took, of his love of the Res Publica, but equally it shows how, unlike Cato, Cicero was prepared to compromise and how, inevitably, through his variable associations and his lack of military support, he ended up as little better than a pawn in the power plays that were going on. The books are well-written, and while I cannot guarantee their historical accuracy, they give a very interesting and detailed picture of a very turbulent and corrupt period. Perhaps the one puzzle left after reading this book was why C. Julius Caesar was assassinated, as Caesar ends up seemingly the most capable and most forgiving character around. Perhaps a little more on the motives of the assassins might have been in order, but then again, maybe we shall never really know. If they merely wanted to avoid a dictatorship, why did they not have a follow-up plan?; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Impressions; Author: Visit Amazon's Dan Groat Page; Review: This is a collection of 55 short stories, and as a consequence, some are better than others. My concept of a good short story is that it should have a good sharp point at the finish. I was really impressed with some of the better ones, and they really made an impression on me. Some of the lesser ones, probably inevitably in such a collection, ended somewhat weakly, or occasionally, obscurely. The writing is generally good and Groat is good at setting up scenes. Overall, a good collection, and if you like short stories, this is a collection well worth considering.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: NO MANS LAND- HB; Author: Visit Amazon's Simon Tolkien Page; Review: This is the story of Adam Raine, whose father was a unionist looking for better conditions and hence a strike leader in late Victorian times, and when the striking failed and the mother died, Adam ended up in a poor house while the father tried to find something better. He succeeded, and ended up as a coal grader at a Yorkshire mine. The father then insisted Adam go to school and stay there, which immediately put him at odds with all the local boys of his age, as they were sent down the mine as soon as possible. As the price of coal slumps, the miners find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet, then there is an accident. In the resultant protests, things get out of hand and one strike leader torches Sir John Scarsdale's house, following which Adam's father dies trying to save the life of the baronet's mother. Accordingly, Sir John takes responsibility for the son's education. What the book does is to look at the class system of England at the beginning of the twentieth century through the eyes of a young man who is in one sense embedded in all of them, but belongs to none. The book is well-written, and we get excellent pictures of the various players, none of whom are really comfortable. Taxes are crippling the upper class, the economy is stagnating, and the variously flawed members of each class essentially never meet the flawed members of the other class. Then comes WW1, and the young men come together, more or less, under appalling conditions. Then comes the battle of the Somme, from the trench soldier's point of view. Then, finally, the war is over. My main problem with this book is when I try to answer, what is it about? The class system is obvious, and the dreadful social conditions, BUT when I say that, I have to look at the book's ending. This story really simply fades away. There is nothing wrong with that. Kafka was a master, and when he ended essentially nowhere, the message was, there is no ending to the issues raised. However, that does not really apply here, because the ending does not maintain the status quo, nor does it indicate that change is coming. Rather, the ending merely ends inter-character issues, and while there is an ending for those characters, it is almost as if Tolkien has forgotten why he started writing this book. It is well worth reading, but as indicated, I found the ending disappointing.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Expendable (Matti James Mystery Series) (Volume 4); Author: M.A.R. Unger; Review: Another cozy mystery set in Nevada involving the Foothills private detective agency, Matti James, and a couple of "ghosts". Matti is sent to what ends up being the scene of some sort of ritual set in an area of once were waterfalls, but is now very difficult access. There, in the centre of the ritual, is a skull with a railway spike embedded in it. Local indigenous tribes, Wiccans, and the local mob each want this skull to be dealt with in different ways, and are prepared to be violent to get their way, so Matti has to effectively go "underground", not helped when radiation measurements provide a link to Chernobyl. Thus the story ends up stirring up some of our politically correct procedures in a not particularly flattering way. The characters are consistent and well-drawn, and the writing is easy to read. In some ways, the story is a bit loopy, but it is fun. If you want a light holiday read, this is well worth your consideration.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Hole in Science: An Opening for an Alternative Understanding of Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Ted Christopher Page; Review: First, a caveat: I am a scientist, and maybe this review is lose lose for me. The Preface starts with a statement that scientists assert that consciousness is completely describable in terms of molecules and their activities. I know of no scientist who claims to know how consciousness works. The author seems to say that scientists believe consciousness is determined by DNA. That is wrong. The DNA is a plan for how the body will be assembled, and what the parts will do, but that is where it stops. The author points out that DNA determines colour blindness. True. The DNA determines the presence of the receptors in the eye and the nerve structure that relays messages to the brain, but it does not produce an image. How the brain interprets the image is something of a mystery. The book then produces a series of reports of "difficult to explain" phenomena. There are an enormous number of things we cannot explain, but that does not mean science is wrong; it merely means it has yet to say anything about it. One such example that struck me was a leopard and a cow began sleeping together. I don't think there is any obvious explanation for this, and the author did not provide one. As a general response, the author liberally uses the word "transcendental", but what exactly does this mean? The main point that the author seems to be making is that consciousness is something else external to the body (and that is reasonable, albeit unsubstantiated) but he then goes further and argues they are recycled through reincarnation. That, to me, is a serious further step, and while Christopher provides anecdotal evidence to support his postulate, it almost falls back to the "do you believe them"? Christopher cites remarkable people, including Einstein, but if reincarnation truly applies here, where are the earlier and later reincarnations? Einstein is in many ways unique. The book then more or less turns into a polemic on Buddhism. Christopher then suddenly comes back to the matter of the title using the example of David Bohm, who came up with part of the pilot wave interpretation of quantum mechanics, and was dismissed arrogantly by other physicists. Good stuff, but it did not last more than a couple of pages. To summarize this book points out quite a number of things about behaviour and human skills that are difficult to explain, but that does not mean they are mysterious. As a consequence, it tends to ramble across a lot of territory, however in general it fails to come to any conclusions, and apart from the two pages devoted to Bohm, it fails to show any hole in science, mainly because it does not focus on anything long enough to relate it to science.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Alien Abduction; Author: Visit Amazon's Irving Belateche Page; Review: Eddie is a journalist, down on his luck. He has not adapted to changing society, his finances are running on empty, his son wants to go to college, and his wife has medical bills that are beyond him. While tutoring, he learns the father of the boy he is tutoring has some extraordinary income. He tracks the father, and eventually learns the money comes from abducting young women for a couple of hours so an alien can harvest something from them. He wants in. The alien technology is a bit fanciful, and we have to assume the alien has huge amounts of money, despite the fact he (or she, or it) does not interact with humans other than to hire abductors. The story is written first person, but different chapters have different points of view, including from the alien. The concept is well constructed, although perhaps it spends a little too much time on the various roads of Los Angeles. The family conflicts and secrecy seem reasonable, although the optimism on recovery from pancreatic cancer is not. I found the writing where Eddie has to make his moral collapses a little less plausible, although in fairness such situations are really the most difficult of all to write, as the balance between wallowing and facing the facts of the decision are difficult. (Eddie did not strike me as a sociopath, so the writing does not get away with that one.) I found it easy to read, especially if you gloss over some things you might question, and it kept my attention, so a good holiday read if you want one.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Awakening: Bloodline Book One (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Tiera Rice Page; Review: This is a fair title. The plot is that a nineteen year old woman, Antanasia, realizes that she is not human, but rather a vampyre with special powers. The story is actually two stories, one in fifteenth century Wallachia, and one in modern New York, except they are effectively the same story, the second one seemingly a re-incarnated version of the first. The story more or less ends (with the obvious promise of more to come) with the heroine finally realizing who she is. The story is quote well written, but for me there were some plot problems. In each story, there are hordes of other vampyres after our trusty heroine. There are huge fight scenes, but when hopelessly outnumbered, our heroine fights on, rather than tries to escape, which is the only logical action. The fights give horrendous punishment, and while our vampyre can regenerate quickly, to me the punishments in the fights, and subsequent torture, are so horrendous that I no longer felt anything for the protagonist because I could no longer imagine what was going on. It was more a clinical list of damage than tension generating writing. This is really an example of where less is more.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Millennial Roadmap to a Rich Life: The Stress Less Guide to Succeed in Your Financial Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Jeremy Kho Page; Review: This is not a book on how to become ultra rich, or even rich, but rather a guide as to how to be comfortable throughout your life, and have a secure financial future, or at least as secure as you can reasonably expect. The book assumes you have an income that is sufficient for a reasonable lifestyle, and with some left over to invest. Not everybody has that, but the book initially shows the value of cutting out unnecessary expenditure and waste to make money available. Given that, the book first shows the value in saving, and secondly, how to read company accounts and decide whether a stock is worth investing in. If you follow the advice in this book, just about everybody who had enough income to manage the saving and investment step would be comfortable in their later life. Confortable means not having to worry about money. (For me, rich involves one to two orders of magnitude more money.) There is one catch not discussed. When investing in companies you need to keep an eye on their long-term prospects. As an example, a company that only made VHS tapes should have been culled quite some time ago. But, with that reservation, the book is clear, and it should work for you.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Dying Breed; Author: Visit Amazon's Peter Hanington Page; Review: A bomb goes off in Kabul, but there is a problem a man is wounded by the bomb, and subsequently shot. Carver, a worn out BBC reporter suspects there is a story here that will regenerate his flagging reputation. The BBC sends out two people to "support" Carver: a beginning reporter and a washed up drunken debt-ridden one. The Embassy in Kabul is not exactly helpful, and there are some seemingly important people getting in the road. Hanington has managed to write a good selection of characters, suitable for the task, and he has a good ability at description. All the makings of a good story, and to some extent it is, but for me there were problems. There was a tendency to pad, to include stuff of no relevance to the story, and a reluctance to drift into the deeper part of the story. This, and the wandering between sites, slowed the story. Some things do not quite ring true. Two American soldiers get killed in what is clearly associated with the events, and for some reason, the Americans have no interest. Come off it. American soldiers don't like their men being killed under suspicious circumstances involving so-called allies. The young reporter gets kidnapped, and seemingly this is going to lead to a climatic ending, but the ending relating to this has an element of deus ex machine, where the author suddenly winds things up in a way that to me made quite a bit of the preceding tension both irrelevant and difficult to understand. A well-written story, but for me, structural problems that spoilt the ending and left me a little disappointed.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Authority (The Charismatics) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Ashley R. Carlson Page; Review: This is book two in a fantasy series, and starts with Ambrose, the Duchess, escaping Legalia by travelling through some really bad country to meet other charismatics, which are people with special powers. Ambrose is an "authority", which means she has a special companion called an advocate, and Ambrose has been separated from her advocate, so there are two stories intertwined. First, the charismatics try to get assistance from other species with special powers to organize a rebellion in Legalia, and Roan, Ambrose's advocate, is trying to reunite with Ambrose, who does not even know whether he is alive. Thus the book is a mixture of "chase and escape" and "acquire as many allies as possible, even from possible enemies". The book is more or less self-contained, although it is sufficiently complicated that it is borderline stand-alone. Ashley Carlson is a strong advocate of "show, not tell", although show tends to be through conversation, and that means that information about the previous book comes through very slowly, and it is not always clear what is relevant. There is a bewildering number of special powers, and there is a list at the start to help the reader. For imagination, top marks. The descriptions are good, the characters are reasonably drawn (it is difficult to say "believable" when one can transform into a dragon) but at times the pacing is slow. Only too frequently, when they decide to do something, they have long conversations while setting about doing it. The two stories both end in cliff-hangers, and I am less enthused about that. I think a story should have an ending, even if it is clear there will be more.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Don't Go, Ramanya; Author: Visit Amazon's Rush Leaming Page; Review: Ramanya is a young Burmese who had revolted against the Military government of Burma (Myanmar) then decided this was getting him nowhere, so he fled to Thailand and became a Buddhist monk in Bangkok. There are two lesser characters: Michael, an American who has come to Bangkok to "escape" and has degenerated to a drunk, and Bob, a priest who has also become involved in Burmese revolts. Ramanya is told his family is alive, and he is invited to go back to a remote part of Burma and be with them. Bob and Michael accompany him, while Michael starts to recover. Bob has troubles with corrupt Thai police. So the main part of the book is simply a story of travel from Bangkok to a remote part of the border, in the dense jungle, to smuggle Ramanya across the border. The story is an interesting description about life in the various parts of Thailand, with detailed descriptions of the landscape, and of the people. Some might argue the descriptions are too long. From a plot point of view, it can be summarized as the trials and tribulations of Ramanya as he goes home while trying to avoid Burmese authorities and corrupt Thai police. It may be described as a thriller, but it really is not as it moves too slowly for that. The grading is based on the premise that what I have described is all the reader wants. If the reader wants more, then it is not there.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Confessions of a Neighbor; Author: Heather Nadine Lenz; Review: Ella is a seventeen-year-old Russian who has been on the run from the Russian mafia, or so her mother has told her, but it turns out her mother was a little insane. At the start, as far as she is aware, she is alone, her family all dead, and she works as a waitress while training to be a ballerina. She watches a neighbor through her lounge window, and sees the wife throwing crockery at the husband, and, silly girl, she gets involved. No more, or it would spoil. What we have is a slightly convoluted start (her sanity becomes questioned) then a sequence of events in which Ella seems to be the perpetual victim. A little more decisiveness and common sense would have saved a lot, but then no story. So we have a story of a young victim, and a growing up. The last third, when the book comes together, is quite clever and well thought out. The character of Ella is very well drawn, there are some villains that seem superficially charming, and the writing is clear, apart perhaps at the beginning. I would have preferred more clues as to why Ella did what she did. Still the story comes together quite nicely, and it is an interesting read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Junction; Author: Visit Amazon's Cody Schlegel Page; Review: Junction is the name of a small town in rural Midwest America, and the book follows the lives of many of the people around a thanksgiving day. The book is strong on character and we follow some rather dubious ones. Pot growing seems to be a major industry, and it thrives as long as the local Sheriff gets his cut. Then there is a suspicious growth in murder. An elderly woman, mother of some main characters, is mistreated in hospital. Characters spend a lot of time drinking beer, taking drugs, and just talking about anything. A brother of one is having a hard time as a police officer in the South when his squad gets murdered in a drug bust. So what is this book? It is not a mystery because there is nothing particularly mysterious, and it is not a thriller because the bad stuff tends to be described somewhat coldly, and the story moves on, although there is one part towards the end where it approaches the thriller category. There is little real plot; basically a number of things happen, many of them unrelated to each other, and the characters discuss them. About half-way through, there is a glut of murders, but the reader knows who does them, and nobody is trying to solve them in the classical detective way. It could best be described as a weirdly set piece of literary fiction. It is very well-written and edited, although there were a number of black marks, where towns or dates seem to have been redacted, and I really don't see the point of that. I confess that irritated me. The story does not really conclude, in part because at the end we are told part two is coming.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Double Fake, Double Murder (A Carlos McCrary, Private Investigator, Mystery Thriller Series) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Dallas Gorham Page; Review: Chuck McCrary is ex-police and now a private investigator and he gets a case an old friend, Jorge, from his police days has been charged with murder. The problem is, the evidence seems to be overwhelming. He was patrolling in the crime area just after midnight, the victim was a known drug dealer that all the police hated, Jorge had previously admitted that his gun had never left his possession, and the bullet that killed the victim came from Jorge's gun. I must confess when I got this far I was feeling somewhat depressed. There was no reasonable way for Jorge not to be found guilty, short of some deus ex machina type solution. But Chuck soldiers on, and does some normal police work that seems to get nowhere with his real case, then he gets accused of murdering one of the suspects. Hidden in amongst all this is the odd clue, for those who really appreciate mysteries. Meanwhile, Chuck has also found a witness, except that in the dark he did not see much, and worse, he is a run-away kid for whom the system has failed. Jorge's lawyer merely wants to plea bargain; being a public defender, she is overworked. Thus the public defence and the social services for children who are more or less abandoned by their parents are examined, and found wanting. Then, as you might guess, Chuck solves the crime, but to my pleasant surprise, the whole thing ended up quite reasonable, the crime was solved in an orthodox way without silly confessions but by putting together clues. Not only that, but it is well written. As mysteries go, this is way up with the best, and, as I noted, there is a social commentary relating to those for whom life has not been kind as an added extra. Highly recommended.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Best Seller; Author: Visit Amazon's Dina Rae Page; Review: This book is written in two streams. One involves a US General so taken by alien life that when he finds a Nazi concentration camp doctor doing experiments on trying to incorporate some allegedly alien DNA into fertilized eggs from camp victims, he loses his ethics and gets the doctor to the US. Then the General is put in charge of getting what he can from the Roswell incident. No, dear reader, in this book at least, Roswell was NOT a weather balloon. As the story progresses, the General's soul becomes increasingly hell-bound. The second strand is closer to the present and involves Maya Smock, a young woman who suddenly discovers she can write science fiction at a rate that is simply staggering. Trouble is, she can't get an agent. (Been there, done that!) However, she improvises and lands one seedy one with a technique not available to the likes of me. The book becomes a best seller, and Maya has trouble getting the agent out of her hair. The second strand is written first person, so you know what Maya is thinking. The book is well-written, although there is the odd editorial glitch. There were two German doctors that were brought either from Argentina or Germany take your pick! There are also some slightly unusual uses of prepositions. However, the structure of the book is masterful. The two strands are intertwined and develop at a rate where the relation between them becomes apparent at just about the right rate, and that is very difficult to do. Equally, empathy for Maya and anti-empathy for the General is somewhat nicely balanced, and that too is very difficult to do. For grading, I had a problem because the book does not end properly, and the very ending is more the start of the next book, while there was a very good opportunity for a proper ending that seems to be left for the next one. I really disapprove of this, but I was so taken with the good bits I shall swallow this particular dead rat.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Be First Or Be Dead: A hard-boiled, political, international thriller; Author: Visit Amazon's Nik Krasno Page; Review: The book starts with a warning regarding language and very soon starts with drunken sex, although the sex is not described, so it is not erotic or pornographic. The book follows Mikhail (Misha) Vorotavitch, a Ukrainian oligarch, as he finds that seven fellow oligarchs want everything he has. We have an action story with well-described action scenes, although at times the reader might well question how, with what is against him, Misha could conceivably survive. Equally, the seven seem ridiculously omniscient. Even the CIA with access to a SEAL team could not put the operations this seven mount within the time limits. One might also question, as these adventures go over a lot of Europe, what the European authorities are doing about so much of their stuff being blown up or bullet ridden. My personal view is authorities such the Swiss would be extremely irritated by these antics. Even in the Ukraine, surely somebody would notice and object to the stealing of major excavation equipment, and the continual flow of Euclid-style dump trucks getting rid of the rubble. Nevertheless it is fast-moving, and it paints a rather awful picture of honesty in Ukraine. It also paints a bleak picture of the corrupting power of big money. The character of Misha is well-drawn, although it seems he is in transition between a greedy ruthless oligarch, and a more liberal person. I found this uneven, and I felt it was as much the author speaking in the more liberal parts. Given that Krasno is not a native English speaker, the book is surprisingly well-written, although Chapter 2 is described as being written by Alex Shaw. The technical ending is clever, given that the situation appears impossible, but after that there is a further very abrupt "clip-on ending" that I did not see the point of. This is a very entertaining read, although not for the prudish, or those who object to foul language.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Successful Self-Publishing: How to self-publish and market your book in ebook and print (Books for Writers); Author: Visit Amazon's Joanna Penn Page; Review: This is a great check-list of things you can do if you want to self-publish a book. It covers just about everything the potential author will have to face, and in particular it offers useful advice on how to go about solving the problems. However, I have a reservation about "successful" in the title. From experience, a number of these things do not necessarily lead to success, in part because I do not believe there is any guaranteed way to get discovered in today's market place. Still, if you look at nothing else, this is the book to favour.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: What Casts the Shadow? (The Edge of the Known); Author: Visit Amazon's Seth Mullins Page; Review: The book is written in the first person, where Brandon starts as a young man still living at home with a drunken father, his mother having died, and with a young sister. Brandon and Tommy want to start a band, and the book covers their progress from nothing to their first tour. Brandon spends a lot of time thinking about the nature of being creative, the meaning of life, and basically the book spends a lot of space on philosophical questions, mainly of the relatively morbid strain. Brandon's life is lacking in bright spots, and given a chance, he is as likely to try and solve personal problems with violence. He spends a lot of time with counseling, and that too is philosophical, and also with the band playing, and the band between performances. I am far from convinced that the psychology and counseling advice are going to be useful for the general population, but they fit reasonably well with what the author is trying to portray. I also hope that readers do not carry away the thought that creative people are like this. Some may be, but many are not. The book is difficult to grade because for a very limited audience, it is probably illuminating, at least regarding this sort of life that is on the verge of mental breakdown at times, and would be worth five stars for someone wanting that, and being prepared to overlook the odd editing issue, but equally, if you have no empathy for this lifestyle then you probably should avoid the book. I am giving it four stars as a compromise for doing reasonably well for what may be a limited audience.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Covens of Elmeeria; Author: Miguel Lopez de Leon; Review: This is a fantasy story that follows a young princess, Nia, who happens to have some rather limited ability at magic and is the only child of the king, and hence heir to the throne of Elmeeria. Elmeeria is a garden kingdom surrounded by a massive wall, and it has a substantial army that is supposedly bigger than any from a rather surprising number of smaller kingdoms outside the wall. Immediately outside the wall in one direction is the Spectral Forest, within which is a significant witch's coven and a number of fantasy creatures. As might be expected, the wealthy and successful Elmeeria is a target for some of the other kingdoms, and trouble is inevitable. The background to the scenes are well described, and the world-building part is excellent. Even better, the author manages to convey empathy for Nia, and that is very difficult for a writer to do. The plot progresses nicely, and there is something of a battle towards the end. Battles are difficult to write, and my approach is, where possible, follow one character, but in this case, Nia is a protected observer. The author decides to give excerpts of the various protagonists in it, but for me, that started to get a bit repetitious. The alternative might have been to give Nia the role of observer, and hence follow how the battle was going. The writing is generally clear, and reads with a good rhythm so it is very easy to read. However, it does get a little verbose at times. One example: " . . . threw themselves into the infinite number of pressing matters that warranted their immediate attention." Yep, they had to get stuff done. A very pleasant read, suitable for young adult (for whom my grading is given) and for adults who are young at heart and not too critical.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Resort Isle: Detective Frank Dugan begins (Volume 1); Author: Paul B. Sekulich; Review: This is an unusual book in that it starts as a crime thriller, but some way in it switches to the politics of penal reform, then returns to the thriller. Frank Dugan is a young policeman whose family is murdered, criminals are arrested, but . . . This leads to the reform issue. One problem with a crime novel is it is difficult to review specifically without spoiling, but it should not spoil too much to note that the island of the title is to be used for hardened criminals, but unlike Alcatraz, this island is a hundred miles offshore, which is hardly swimmable. The waters are also shark-infested. Needless to say, as the novel proceeds, Frank runs into increasing difficulties. The writing is entertaining, the action sequences are well-written and plausible (assuming the background is there) and the plot has its surprises. My one big criticism is one of plausibility. Criminals commit crime, but they do so for a reason. In this novel, too many events happen without any seeming reason for me, and additionally, some of the crises are too contrived. People blindly walk into traps, even when they should suspect. One last example, which I hope does not spoil. An inspector is judging a boat for seaworthiness, and he knows the owner is coming soon to take it to sea. He finds a bomb placed in it. What would you do? There are many answers to this, but run away to get help, leaving no clues that the bomb is there should not be one of them. So, entertaining, an easy read, but don't think too much, and especially don't try to work out "clues", because by and large, you can't deduce from "why" questions. This is apparently a first try by Sekulich, and it is a fairly good first effort. If he keeps this up, he should try to make his events happen "because . . ."; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Red Notice: How I Became Putin's No. 1 Enemy; Author: Visit Amazon's Bill Browder Page; Review: This is quite an incredible story, yet apparently much of it is true, and indeed it would have to be true to have such a "pointless plot". The statement he was Putin's number one enemy is hardly likely; my guess is at best he was an irritant. Browder started life studying business, he wanted to "do something", and the first half of the shows how Browder discovered how to make money out of the collapse of Communism. He started in Poland with the job of restructuring an unprofitable company that built buses. The reason the company was in trouble was, apparently, the engines they used were useless. He never considered solutions such as importing diesel motors from West Germany. His solution: fire the staff when the bus company, when this was the only job in the village. Then he discovered that Russia was selling off its industries at bargain basement prices because Yeltsin had decided that capitalism was the way to go. In short, the first half of the book shows Browder to be a model Ferengi. Then the Russians strike back, and block his admission to Russia. Our Ferengi, however, has got his assets out to the West, and now starts an attack on the corruption of Russia. When you see how deeply it is embedded, you see how difficult it would be to eliminate. Eventually, he realizes he might have gone too far, and tries to get his friends out of Russia. One patriot refuses, and is arrested on trumped up charges, and we see the very depths of corruption of Russia. If nothing else, it shows how not to control a crisis. Various Russians flail around inventing all sorts of lies, false charges, such as accusing Browder of stealing tax money that they themselves have stolen. Unbelievable? Well, unfortunately, no. The evidence is too great, at least in parts. This is an appalling story of corruption of what was effectively a criminal country, where the judges, the police, anyone in power, was so deeply corrupt it was not funny. The book, if nothing else, shows how evil flourishes when corruption gets deeply embedded, and for that reason, it is a "must read".; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Judas Son of Simon; Author: Visit Amazon's Daniel Molyneux Page; Review: This book covers the ministry of Jesus through the eyes of Judas, and also how Judas got to be in that position; specifically he was requested by Caiaphas to gather information on this emerging religious leader. The book has a superb background from the Jewish point of view, and paints an excellent picture of what life in Israel was like at the time. I have also written a novel about a slightly later view of this time, and I know how much research was put into this. I am less convinced about the Roman point of view, which, admittedly, is ignored most of the time, but does come to the fore when Pilate comes into the picture. The book gives a very detailed account of what Jesus did, at least in the last year or so of his life. He explains clearly why Caiaphas felt that Jesus was such a problem, and he offers the point of view that it was not Jesus himself that was the problem. That is genuinely informative and most people will not know of it. He also offers an alternative interpretation of Pilate's role. (I am less convinced of this, but perhaps I am biased because I offered a different interpretation.) So, overall, from this point of view, the book was excellent. However, there were aspects that disappointed me. The first was the accounts of what Jesus did. This was told, almost as if by a preacher. There was no atmosphere about them. I know that is difficult, but the author elected to take up the challenge. This led to the next point. Jesus did a number of miracles, so what did the disciples do? They tended to argue about classification, e.g. whether Jesus was more like a Pharisee or an Essene. Surely when you see the impossible performed there would be a more emotional response? The next problem for me is that Jesus "explained" things to his disciples, but the explanations were more conundrums. The disciples seemingly never understood, and this is a problem because if Jesus wanted to found a religion, surely he would ensure his message was clear to those who wanted to listen. However, for me, the biggest disappointment was the thinking of Judas, especially at the end. Jesus told him he would betray him, several times. Such a "betrayal" was required by the prophesies, and if it did not happen, Jesus could not be the Messiah. If God required it, how could it be a betrayal? Even if you take the view that Judas was really evil, why would Judas believe that? He had, after all, convinced himself that Caiaphas was right, and however you interpreted it, Israel would be better off with Jesus being arrested. Finally, while I am usually very tolerant of flawed editing, this book goes too far. When one character has her name spelled differently in the same paragraph, one questions how well the book was read. There were many examples where words were left out, and there were even some howlers. Two examples: Judas, after getting married,; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Stones Don't Speak (Tall King's Country) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Gry Finsnes Page; Review: This book is the story of Ellen Langmo, a young Norwegian pianist, as she survives the first two years of the German occupation of Norway. Prior to the War, Ellen had studied under a Jew in Vienna, and became engaged to a German, Friedrich. As far as she knows, Friedrich has joined (or been "persuaded") to join the German army. She has lost contact with him, in part because he has been sent to the Eastern Front, and in part because she has returned to Norway. The book is really about how Ellen feels about the occupation. She wants to do her bit for the resistance, but she only does very little, such as reporting the odd piece of information she has overheard, such as when the Germans get her to play for them. The book is a description of conditions under the Germans, and of some of the dangers faced. Then her boyfriend returns, with the unlikely name of Freddie; he is a German soldier sent there because he speaks Norwegian. The book then becomes a sort of historical romance where Ellen has to choose between her previous love and her dislike for Germans. The book is descriptively written. In terms of plot is it slow moving. The character of Ellen is well drawn, although some of the others are less so. One thing that is missing is how Ellen survives, as she does not seem to have a regular source of income. It is also a little sad as the Norwegians take so much risk to send information to the English to help their invasion; the British are not going to invade Norway. The book gives a very clear picture of life in Norway at the time from the Norwegian point of view, and also gives some interesting descriptions of Norway itself. The book stops rather than ends.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Davenport House (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Marie Silk Page; Review: I am not quite sure how to classify this book. It is set in early America where the Davenports have a large estate and presumably plenty of money. The timing was around the first world war, and the whole social structures of Europe are collapsing, but the social divide in America was apparently untouched. The Davenports seem not to notice what is going on in the rest of the world, and maybe some of the wealthy did not. The book largely centres around Mary, whose main activity of the day, at least at the start of the book, is to go riding. However, the somewhat idyllic setting, at least for some, is to change. Mr Davenport has plans, but the change is not quite what is expected when he is murdered. So is it a mystery? Mary sees the library through a crack in a wall and sees her father with a knife in the back, her mother and the local doctor talking. Later, the local doctor asserts he died of a sickness, and when Mary protests, he heavily sedates her. However, Mary gets news to the police and . . . The story gives an interesting account of what the lives of the rich and idle were like, and that of the servants. It is reasonably well-written, except I have one criticism that could have made things easier to read. The story is written in scenes, like a movie, but in a movie, you see the scene change. In a book, what seems to happen is the story appears to lurch through different points of view. I would prefer a gap to occur when there is a major change of point of view. The speech is somewhat formal, as the author tries to make the speech sounds as if it came from that time; whether it is accurate, I have no idea. There is little change of speech for the servants, but maybe that is for the best, because trying to create a speech type often does not work because it is not natural. The author can get away with one type, but two would need considerable skill. I also thought the characters were unnecessarily dim. Thus the police come and hear two stories about the death: natural causes, knife in back. What should they do? Surely examine the body? They don't think of that, and that dimness is somewhat widespread, in other words, the story is forced into being difficult to swallow to gain suspense.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Complete SIFT Study Guide: SIFT Practice Tests and Preparation Guide for the SIFT Exam; Author: Michael Clark; Review: The stated purpose of this ebook is to assist people pass the test required to be an army helicopter pilot. As a caveat, I have no intention of sitting such a test to become such a pilot. So, why did I buy it? As an author of fiction, I am always interested in finding details of something I might use, and piloting a military helicopter is one such thing. Do not buy this for that reason; you will learn nothing of interest. The book is literally devoted solely to the test, and has essentially nothing about flying helicopters. The visual tests were, in my opinion, not reproduced with enough definition to be fair, and I questioned whether the author understood his the comprehension examples . Two of the tests seemingly involve the physics of flying heavier than air machines, and mathematics. The physics is essentially definitions and rote learning; in my opinion you will learn little, and I do not think the author understands it. It churns out the old Bernoulli equation, but in my opinion, if you are at the level assumed for some of the other parts of the chapter, this will tell you nothing. The simplest way of explaining lift is to argue from the law of conservation of momentum: if you "throw" air downwards, you get lift. Similarly, the maths section is fairly trivial. Maybe this book will assist passing the test, but I really doubt it will help you understand helicopters or the material the test is supposed to guide you through.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: The End: A Novelette of Haunting Omens & Harrowing Discovery; Author: Visit Amazon's Justine Avery Page; Review: This is a rather short book by Justine Avery, that follows Trevor through a week of his life. That sounds pretty bland, but I can't do much more without spoiling; just take it from me there is a lot more. Funnily enough, while the book has only 77 pages, I felt it was a little long at the start, while the end is effectively thrown in your face. The concept reminds me of E A Poe, and for me to relate a work to an author of that quality is probably the best recommendation I can give.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Law of Moses: Sam's Story; Author: Kwen D Griffeth; Review: This book is primarily about two men wrecked by the US Civil War. One is a man whose body is wrecked; the other, Sam Moses, is a man who has had everything taken from him by the war, but left his body undamaged. Sam is a Marshall, a gunman, and he wants to die, but he is not going to make it easy for anyone to kill him. That makes him the worst possible foe in a gunfight, because he has no nerves. He so loathes what he is that he has mounted an invisible shield to keep everyone else at bay. He despises himself and he despises everyone else. Then, just maybe, he starts to weaken. The book is an excellent character study, not only of Sam, but also of the other main characters. There is just the right amount of plot to keep it going, and Griffith writes clearly. My one criticism is of towards the ending. He makes a point, he makes it again, and again, then he tends to hit you over the head with it. But apart from that blemish, I found it to be really well worth reading.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Tenth Nail; Author: Kwen D Griffeth; Review: I am not sure how to classify this book. It starts with a prostitute being murdered in Alburqueque, so it is a mystery? Well, not really. It is more about the life of a police detective, Nate Burns, who doesn't get along with his Captain, which is verging on being a clich. Do no US police get along with their bosses? Nate is determined to get the villain, but he has no idea how, and he refuses to bring in the FBI, even when it is clear he is after a serial killer, and if there are clues, they will be outside his jurisdiction. The Captain seems to be incapable of doing the right thing here. Since he is getting nowhere, we need side issues, and the story provides them, so my guess is the book is mostly a character study, and Griffith is strong on character. The book is very readable, but the ending is off-stage as far as Nate is concerned and is more or less thrown in our faces. So from a structural point of view, I was not impressed. Good characters, somewhat random events to show them off, and some interesting commentary. I was particularly impressed with the section on the Dallas law firm and its primary lawyer. As long as you are not really looking for a mystery, this book is very interesting. On the negative side, it really needs some editing. As any who have followed my review policy will know, I am fairly tolerant of editing flaws, but this really goes over the boundary.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Pacifist; Author: Visit Amazon's Mehreen Ahmed Page; Review: This is a historical novel, set over three generations, but mainly in late 19th century Australia. The premise is that there is a gold nugget found by one miner that mysteriously comes and goes. Peter is a boy in a horrible orphanage and he escapes, and is taken in by Farmer Brown. The problem is Brown's farm is essentially owned by the orphanage. Brown can farm it, but must pay half his income to the orphanage. Brown has a daughter, Rosie, who has mental issues and ends up in the orphanage when she gets lost. Peter and Rosie eventually discover each other, but then finds that the conditions of the farm are maintained as long as Brown has descendants. So Peter goes off to get rich independently, by trying to find gold. We then get to see conditions in the Australian gold fields, and get introduced into further legal means to oppress the poor. Overall, I got the impression that the lives of the poorer people of the time was not particularly better than that of the convicts. The book is well-written, although in my opinion, somewhat overly descriptive, especially women's clothes and flowers. However, the logistics are a little vague. Thus there is travel between Byron Bay and Coff's Harbour. In those days, that should be a major travel event, but it just passes as if nothing. Leaving that aside, it should give an interesting view of what New South Wales was like in the late 19th century. There are a number of Australian terms there that may puzzle a "furriner", so a glossary might have been useful. Read it, and broaden your historical knowledge. I received a free copy in return for a fair review.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Thief in Law; Author: Visit Amazon's Michael Dirubio Page; Review: Michael Davidson is a high level thief, and the book gives an account of two heist projects he and his gang undertake: a jewelry heist in London where it is proposed to enter the vault through a back wall from a tunnel over Easter, and, led by his side-kick Graeme, a heist of large amounts of gold to be flown into Dubai. Apparently Michael's gang is heavily tithed by a branch of the Russian mafia, and Michael suspects that somewhere during these two heists, mobsters will simply kill his gang. What we then get is an extremely detailed account of the procedures of the heists. The London heist is certainly plausible, and something like that did occur in the not too distant past. I am less certain the Dubai heist methodology is plausible, and in my opinion there are several reasons why this should not work. Most I cannot comment on here without spoiling, but one example. A C-5 Galaxy is to approach Dubai and land. The heist involves a method of shutting down the inner two motors, forcing the aircraft to land short at an airstrip controlled by the thieves. Sorry, but the problem while landing is to lose potential energy without gaining kinetic energy; you have to slow to land, and the motors are usually throttled well back. A good pilot should be able to compensate for the power loss of losing two motors by upping the power to the two outer motors. Also, the proposed method to get two motors requires exceptional luck. But leaving that sort of criticism aside, the two main characters are quite believable (leaving aside the question, why are they thieves?) but I felt the Sydney character was somewhat less plausible, and was there for little more than some sex. The description of the heists are extremely detailed, and in particular the London heist, believable. The detail of the preparations are extreme, and actually take up most of the book, and in my opinion, perhaps too much. For me, the sequences of ordinary things that had to be done read a bit like lists, and for the size of the issue, the book had a remarkably low level of tension, helped in part by some fairly ordinary efforts by police, while the efforts of the Russian mobsters again were worse than ordinary. The plot, however, has an extremely clever ending. Editing, both structural and copy, and in particular punctuation, could have been done better. Overall, I found it extremely interesting in parts, but parts of the middle felt more like heavy going. My "first cut" grading was 3.5 stars, but had the editing, especially the listiness, been attended to, and Sydney behaved more in character (or been removed) I would have given it 5. Accordingly, I average up.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Ghostwalker (The Spiderlily Chronicles Book 1) eBook; Author: Visit Amazon's Nicole Martinsen Page; Review: A fantasy that follows a young mage girl Spiderlily grow up and endure severe pain while doing so. She dies, and is resurrected by Feyt, a sort of Goddess, but not exactly as a person either, but verging on becoming a ghostwalker. She sets out to do various things around the town of Lydia, wreaking havoc and . . . My first recommendation if you are thinking of this book, read as much of the beginning as you can. I found it comprises a lot of small scenes that jump around without putting anything in place. There are a number of characters, with various roles and abilities and at the beginning I found it a little bewildering. The writing is reasonably clear, and the world building was excellent. However, in my opinion, the whole needs strict structural editing. It is long, which I do not object to, but it is written in small scenes where characters give their opinions as to what is going on, and these jump around so continuity is difficult. The action itself is largely off stage; we learn about it through conversation, and only too often, different people have different opinions, and on top of that, they get introspective and repetitive. Accordingly, I felt the pacing was too slow. For me, it felt long, and note that Tolstoy is one of my favourite authors. I would have preferred the scenes to be more outlined prior to the action so we can see ourselves why the characters do things, and not be told later the character's interpretations. When we finally do see action on stage, so to speak, our ghostwalker sets out to do something, and is thwarted, but she never tried to do anything. It is one thing to fail, but credibility goes when intent is allegedly there, but nothing happens. To summarize, there is a lot of potential here, but a good editor would have done wonders to improve the story-telling technique.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: A Blazing Gilded Age: Episodes of an American Family and a Volatile Era; Author: Visit Amazon's Rich DiSilvio Page; Review: A novel of the late 19th century, mainly set around Pittsburgh, and should be especially interesting to those who like historical fiction. The United States is not especially law-abiding, and the age of the robber baron has struck. Marc Wozniak is a 12 yr old child, the son of a Polish immigrant, and has been working in an anthracite mine for minimal wages for two years. Then one day, there is an explosion, and his father is killed. The twelve year old has to look after his mother and two elder brothers, one of whom is chair-bound due to another mining accident. The owner of the mine, Archibald Huxley is simply greedy, but not exceptionally bright. He is not prepared to spend money on making his mine safe and there are numerous explosions, dead miners, etc. We follow Marc as he grows up, gets out of the mine and acts as an accountant, and tries to save his drunken brother, who wants revenge on Huxley, and to save Huxley's mine. The book follows Marc through to just before WW 1, by which time the government is stating to rein in the robber barons. In short, we follow one man through the industrialization of the US, and where it became a world power. The characterization is generally good for the major characters, although one wonders about Tasso, who seems to have no responsibility at all. The minor ones are just there. Some of the characters are real, thus Theodore Roosevelt and J P Morgan have relatively prominent parts, their characters are believable, but whether they are accurate I do not know. The setting is exceptionally clear, and makes you feel you know the age. The novel reads well, although there are places where a strand of story seems to be starting, but it goes nowhere. I would have preferred to see reasons why not. But all in all, this is a thought-provoking book that gives you something to think about unfettered capitalism. Something to think about gets my fifth star.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Digital Rabbit Hole: How we are becoming captive in the digital universe and how to stimulate creativity,; Author: Visit Amazon's Larry Kilham Page; Review: This book explores the effects of technology (which is taken by the author to mean the applications of computerization) on society, and takes this further into the future. He takes the position that everybody is obsessed with smartphones, particularly the young, and for his futuristic assessments, he assumes the older people will be either dead or non-functional anyway, which is essentially correct. But he also seems to assume that as the young age, they will not change. While some won't, I find that assumption strange. He now argues that with the smartphone you have the world's information at your fingertips. This may or may not be correct, but he skips the issue of how to find what you need. If it is something like a recipe for baking an apple tart, yes, that is easy, but if it something more difficult, good luck. As a test example, I tried to find data on a certain chemical bond. I got millions of hits, but not what I wanted until I gave up looking. The book is quite well written, it is clear, but it is somewhat opinionated. It does have a lot of references, but I believe they are chosen to support the author as opposed to enlighten because there was a shortage of contrary opinions. The author does, however, make a clear distinction between information and understanding, and if the reader takes that on board alone, it has done a good job. Difficult to grade because it depends on what you want; four stars is a bit of a cop-out on my part, maybe.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Children of the Empire: A Space Opera; Author: Visit Amazon's Lara Nance Page; Review: This is a cozy space opera. It starts with Min as a sort of child-slave washing gladiator clothes, etc, when the planet is attacked by Crogians lizard creatures. Min turns out to be a girl, she ties herself to gladiator who had looked after her the best, and they acquire a space ship and escape only to find she is more important than she thought. The story then continues as Min, now a princess, struggles to organize a defence against the lizards. There are plenty of events, and the author does a good job of ensuring that Min does not undertake ridiculous action for a young girl her main attribute is in returning to the planet she had been on and achieving her goals (or not as the case may be) by sneaking around and evading lizards. The story is well constructed, and well written. It is low on real action, and it tends to be underwritten as the end game approaches. Perhaps the biggest flaw is because the means of achieving goals are evasion, the story does not have a lot of tension. As I said, cozy, not action packed. If that is what you like, you should like this story.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Brainwalker; Author: Visit Amazon's Robyn Mundell Page; Review: An intriguing YA story that need not remain read only by the young. Both Bernard and his father are having trouble following the death of Bernard's mother. Bernard is simply rebellious and impulsive while his father, a physicist, is having trouble coming up with new ideas. A badly behaved Bernard is sent home in the middle of the day, and his father has to take him to work where, thanks to his misbehaving, Bernard gets into an accelerator, his father comes to rescue him, there is a wormhole generated, and Bernard enters his father's brain. OK, up until now, that is a bit on the silly side, but the author needs to get the story going, and it is no worse than Gulliver's Travels. There is a deal of subtlety here, and I wonder how much the average young reader will pick up about the brain. Some is obvious the two sites Reezon and Intuit, but I am less certain about much of the rest, and the occurrence of things like algae could be confusing. Still, this is a very interesting read, and the author should be congratulated on the originality, for which I give the fifth star.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Scalian Legacy; Author: Visit Amazon's Norbert Monfort Page; Review: The basic story is that of time travel. Scalians are aliens that have sent a probe back through a wormhole to the Amazon jungle, where their automated systems capture two humans, and a further one tries to rescue them by smuggling himself into the capsule. He then ends up 3000 years in the future, and finds the Scalians, who have been at was with humans, are intending to wipe out humanity. There is a bit of Scalian religion driving this, and . . . The writing style is simple and transparent, there are no great emotional incidents, and it is not very intense. It struck me that if the main protagonist was a teenager, this would be a great young adult story. For adults, it is a little, shall I say, immature. The plot, given the lack of intensity, is quite well thought out, and it is in part based on creating new time lines when the Scalians go back in time, and hence potential paradoxes, hence the "Victory before the war". Good light entertainment, but I think of more interest for the young adult market.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Frontier Incursion (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Leonie Rogers Page; Review: This is an SF fantasy and intended as YA, but it should be suitable for adult readers. Three hundred years previously, a space ship carrying settlers got into trouble and was forced to land/crash on the planet Frontier. The planet is not a kind one, and here Leonie Roger's world-building is extremely good. There are many vicious plants, vicious animals, terrible storms, but the humans somehow survive. Then we find the planet alters them. The people become bigger, faster, stronger, and usually exceptionally good at something. They also have starcats, and if you have any affinity for cats, you will like these 100 kg pets. The people try to keep their education, and one day, they hope to go back to the stars. They train scouts to explore the planet, but this seems unambitious as they are usually going over the same terrain. Their technology is back to the "bow and arrow" stage, and they walk, other than take loads in what is essentially an oxcart, pulled by the one local animal they appear to have domesticated (or has it been altered too?) The basic story is about the training of Shanna to be a scout, but when she is out on her first extended exploration, they come across a small alien shuttle that appeared to crash in the recent storm. Inside is a dead insectoid being (called a Garsal). It does not take long to work out these beings might be a danger to them. But what to do? That is the essence of the story (and of course what they do, but no spoiling.) The descriptions are quite spell-binding, and as a general rule, I do not like long descriptions, and as I noted above, there are numerous plants and animals described. The second good point for me is that occasional use is made of some of what they have found. The world building is somewhat at the expense of pace; the plot is simple and does not move exceptionally fast. This is also the first book in a trilogy, so naturally it leaves quite a bit for future volumes. However, it does have an ending, and also something of an introduction to what is presumably in the next book. The writing is clear, and the production sound. Shanna is in a group of such trainee scouts, and their characters do develop, although more so Shanna. This, for me, was one of the better fantasy type books I have read. The fifth star from me is because of the world-building, and the use made of it, which brings the story into a plausible whole.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pandora; Author: Visit Amazon's Joshua Grant Page; Review: A horror. A cruise ship has gone missing, effectively having disappeared for a week, then it reappears, but no messages come from it. A team is sent out to find out what has happened, but there is an immediate problem in that their helicopter crashes, which means they have no obvious way off the ship. The passengers are missing, the ship's radios do not work, then bodies are found. Something is killing whatever it meets and is not letting information out. Can't go any further without spoiling, except to say that our team spends a lot of time going hither and thither trying to evade monsters, they expend a lot of bullets, and see some fairly horrible monsters. The descriptions are reasonably gory/horrible, but that is what you expect in a horror. The writing and presentation are clear, some of the characters are plausible (some don't last long enough) and the scenario is well described. I had two issues that stop the fifth star. The prologue has foreshadowing of the horror. Sorry, but someone on a cruise ship will not "sense" problems. Unless he sees or hears something, he is on a cruise. The second is that some of the action is contrived to justify more horror. Two examples. You know about the horrors, you see something sitting there that does not make sense. What do you do? I would assume the worst. Second, you have just laid low a terrible monster, but you know they regenerate, so what do you do? Me, I would run (which is what the characters were trying to do anyway) but no, why not stand around doing nothing and have a conversation so as to let the monster have another go at you. Sorry, but that for me is too contrived. But for horror readers this may seem a bit irrelevant. If you like horror stories, this is well worth reading.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Stalker, My Love; Author: Visit Amazon's Zack Scott Page; Review: It is a little hard to describe this book properly. We have a small town somewhere in America, and one young woman, Rosalyn, appears to be missing. Her wrecked car is found where it had run off the road, there is blood, but it is seemingly not hers. A person who has been shot is found nearby, but it is not his blood either. The book is nominally a mystery, but it is not the sort that has clues. The local police seem to have the motto, "Bring in the usual suspects," except this is quite unusual, but they work their way through whoever they can find. One of them is someone who has been stalking Rosalyn, but he has an alibi. So what? Who cares about that? Writers are advised to give their characters flaws. Well, there is no shortage of flaws here. The real mystery about this story is how come there are so many totally inept people in one small town? They even bring in a hit man from somewhere else, and he is thoroughly inept! The writing is clear, the characters are well drawn, although not exactly likeable, the plot is so simple I cannot go further without massive spoiling. The rating I am giving it is not because I liked it, but because the writing has pictured a rather unlikeable situation very well.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: A Subtle Agency: The Metaframe War: Book 1; Author: Visit Amazon's Graeme Rodaughan Page; Review: The use of the word "subtle" in the title is a bit misleading. This is basically an action story with vampires (created about 5000 years ago), the order of Thoth and a secretive organization, both of which are nominally there to rid the world of vampires, but each one seems to be just as interested in getting rid of the other. The vampires are extremely powerful and are hiding in plain sight, so their two opponents have not been very successful over the 5000 years. The plot involves Anton Slayne, a student, who inadvertently invites a couple of vampires into his parents' house, and they kill his mother, abduct his father, but leave him alive. He runs (for no good reason), the police assume he is the killer, and after he has a few misadventures he runs into Gang, who runs "the Noodle House", and his daughter Li, both of whom are part of the Order of Thoth. Anton is trained and wants revenge. Rodaughan prioritizes action over character, the action comes thick and fast, the writing is clear, and he writes very good prolonged action sequences. He has also read some arms catalogues, and the array of weaponry certainly raises the stakes, although whether you could use that in a city and remain unnoticed takes a bit of swallowing. The major vampire is Chloe, she is one really nasty character, and I found it rather odd that the characterization in this book was strongest for the females. Although I doubt you will like her, you will at least understand what is driving her. It is also desirable to suspend belief, particularly in physics. At one stage, a vampire runs through the wall of a house. With the force necessary to smash standard framing, his chest bones should be fragmentized, but this is magic, and the rules are a bit unclear. The vampires are mainly active at night, but nobody things to have fluorescent lights that exactly mimic sunlight. Would that work? Who knows? This is the first of a series, and while it ends reasonably cleanly, it really leaves more questions than answers so there must be a lot more to this story. So if you want action, vampires, and do not want to think too deeply, you can't do much better than this. I have graded this on the basis that you may not want to commit to a series before reading the first book, and the grade refers to what I think it has reached at this stage. In many ways it reads like the introduction to much more. That much more may well be worth five stars, but at this stage, for me, it has yet to get there.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: An Officer and a Spy; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Harris Page; Review: This is a historical novel, in which Harris takes on the case of Alfred Dreyfus, who was convicted of spying by the French Army and sent to Devil's Island. Georges Picquart is promoted to Colonel and put in charge of the statistical section, which is effectively counterintelligence for the French army. What Picquart eventually discovers is that the level and quality of information heading to Germany remains the same, despite Dreyfus being removed. Dreyfus had persistently maintained his innocence, but being a Jew had seemingly drawn attention to him. Picquart becomes increasingly suspicious when he discovers the spying continues unabated. He becomes increasingly convinced that the French Army had the wrong man, especially when he discovers who is the spy. He gathers real evidence, and also evidence that Dreyfus was wrongly convicted. But the Generals are not the least interested, and do their best to block him. Seemingly it is better never to admit you might have been wrong than to actually catch the real spy. This is a character study as much as anything. It is claimed to be historically accurate, and as far as I can tell, it is. This is a top rate account of a true example of the consequences of faulty ego. It is also a warning of how justice can be abrogated once the wrong conclusion is reached that happens to be convenient, and when authorities accept it.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Jobs for Robots: Between Robocalypse and Robotopia; Author: Visit Amazon's Jason Schenker Page; Review: I was attracted to this book because Schenker has a good reputation as a futurist, but also because I have written science fiction stories in which robots play a big part in such economies. There are two extreme outcomes of robots/androids: utopia or apocalypse. Schenker thinks the future will lie somewhere in between, and as might be expected, he focuses mainly on economics. He points out that wherever it is more efficient to get a machine to do it, the machine will do it. I was particularly taken by his example of a machine kiosk that sells cupcakes. Yes, there will be jobs disappear, but more will appear. As an example, my name is Miller, but have no experience at milling flour. When I began work, the place I worked had a big typing pool. They do not exist now. However, there is a problem here that he avoids: he correctly notes future jobs will need more education, but what about those who fail, for whatever reason? He argues there is no utopia; people will still have to work, and his case is convincing. He also argues against the apocalypse, but with less certainty. Interestingly, he notes two issues that more or less match one part of my fictional causes of future disaster: government debt, in which I include his separate unfunded entitlements. He makes a strong case against UBI, and I think he is right. However, he avoids the issue of inequality, wherein the owners of machines are in a far better position than those who service them. He also avoids to some extent the problem of androids/machines acting against humanity's best interests. I argue in my fiction that there are two very simple things we can do to avoid catastrophe. Finally, he avoids physical/economic constraints, such as climate change and resource shortages. To summarise, the book is well written, it has cogent arguments, but in my view not complete ones. Is he right? Who knows? We shall have to wait and see, but this certainly gives you some ideas of what could happen. It is well worth reading because if you think something is missing, the way he argues shows you how to insert your concern.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Queen's Spy: The Tudor Mystery Trials (Tudor Mystery Trials Series); Author: Visit Amazon's Sam Burnell Page; Review: This is historical fiction, set in the times of the death of Edward VI and the turbulence leading to the succession of Mary I, and the dangers facing Elizabeth 1. The story mainly focuses on Jack, a bastard son of Fitzwarren. He has at least three half brothers, Robert, Harry and Richard who are legitimate, and probably some number of others like him. During the rather brutal attempt to get rid of Richard by Harry, Jack saves Richard and the two disappear off to France, only to re-emerge at the end of Edward's reign. Richard has to avoid Harry and Robert, as they want to kill him, and he has to choose sides in the struggle between those favouring Lady Jane Grey and those favouring Mary. Richard, not one to avoid risk, chooses both, and then adds Elizabeth. The problem then is to somehow stay alive. The story is exciting, and it paints an excellent picture of how Burnell believes life was like for the lower ranking upper class, and the common soldier class. (I say that because nobody really knows, but it looks convincing.) The plot structure is more or less set to some extent by known events, but he adds in some convincing extras as Richard, and to some extent Jack and some other soldiers do what they have to do to be convincingly on whoever's side is on top at the moment. There were some editing blemishes that pulled his back from a five star rating. I do not mind a reasonable number of typos, but there were some sentences every now and again that jarred for me. One example: [" . . . how's your head then?" Jamie said grinning after experiencing Jamie's capacity for drink.] When reading this, it was not exactly clear to me what the author was trying to say. The characters are well drawn, except I am not convinced that they were adequate for the difficult tasks they undertook and there were some occasional places where there was, for me, a little confusion as to exactly how whatever happened. Otherwise, an excellent book that appears to lead on to a following one.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Fifteenth Article; Author: Visit Amazon's Linda Wood Rondeau Page; Review: I once reviewed "America II Book 1 The Reformation" and the author, Linda Rondeau has apparently withdrawn that and republished it under the title "The Fifteenth Article", and has asked me to attach my original review to it. The major difference between this book and the previous one is that this has a better ending and, I gather, is not intended to progress as a series. I have modified my review slightly, but on the whole, the following are my comments on the first book. The genre is probably best described as Christian Dystopian, as the story involves the rebuilding of society after a catastrophic collapse. Such plots invariably have a struggle by the individual for something, but the something tends to reflect something seen as important by the author. Here, the recovery has advanced to the point where America is ruled by a Constitutional Government, which maintains a ruthless rule over its citizens in certain cities, the main one of which is America Prime. Some citizens have defected, essentially an act of treason, and have formed a Network in the outlands, land that has been neglected by the Constitutional Government because it was considered "unusable". The laws in America Prime are repressive, especially towards religion, and tend to be enforced with death as the main punishment, often delivered on the spot by enforcement officers. Life in the outlands is basic. The book opens with Bridget, the daughter of a Governor, attempting to smuggle religious icons for safe keeping in a desert hideaway, and she is being pursued by a single-minded enforcement officer. We then find that President Schumann is to be euthanized, to be replaced by Edwin Rowlands, a dictatorial person with a passion for utopia, at least his version of it. The book then follows the maneuvers of Rowlands as he sets about to take over the outlands, the way the outlands respond, how some seek religious freedom, and the political chicanery of people in various camps, sometimes in more than one camp. It seems civilization is headed for civil war, particularly after Rowlands' wife, Michael, defects. The political tensions and chicanery grow. The writing style is clear and progresses at a good pace. The author shows clear imagination, and it is definitely an interesting read.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Wallace Street: A hardscrabble neighborhood seeks revenge against a child predator; Author: Tess Devlin; Review: The blurb tells us that there is a child serial killer in this street of Chicago. However, the story is not a thriller, nor really a mystery. The crime part does not occur until well into the book, and I notice other reviewers have criticized the author for this. The reason it doesn't, in my opinion, is because this is not really what the book is about. The basic part of the book is a look at life in a run-down part of Chicago in the 1950s. Yes, a little girl is killed, then mutilated, but life must go on, albeit under a cloud. We see the difficulties of their lives, the rather mundane nature of their lives, and the intervention of the rather not particularly efficient police in their lives. The mayor wants someone caught; preferably the right person, but alternatively, something to make him look good. The problem for the police is the almost complete lack of clues. The mob also wants this person caught; his activities are bad for business. The mob, of course, is less interested in a fair trial, and far more interested in no recidivism, and, of course, if they are taking money for protection, they have to protect. The writing shows an intense picture of what life was like then. Of course, I have no idea whether it is a valid picture, but it feels right and it is self-consistent.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Songs of Insurrection: Legends of Tivara (The Dragon Songs Saga) (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's JC Kang Page; Review: A fantasy story, written in Chinese style. The Chinese culture comes up with somewhat unusual (to westerner's eyes) approaches, and in this case a major weapon is the ability to sing, which, if done properly, might put the audience to sleep, or might have them running around in a totally disoriented state. Another unusual aspect of this book is that while JC Kang is a man, the two major characters are girls, one of which is approaching womanhood. It is a little difficult to be sure, but I felt the characterization and the associated culture was rich and authentic for this sort of story. The setting is in a country that looks a bit like a mirror EW reflection of China. It has a Great Wall in the north, and while the country has been at peace for some time, two lords are murdered in full daylight, and it appears that there has been a considerable amount of smuggling relating to firepowder. Kaiya is a princess, about to be married off for political reasons, but she wants to learn the art of magic singing. Jie is a young female elf, only in her mid-twenties, and so definitely not a woman, but she has the ability to smuggle herself into places where she is not wanted. Overall a charming story.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Mortal Showdown; Author: Visit Amazon's Nik Krasno Page; Review: This book is what I would call an entertainment and it has to be considered in that light. The main character, Misha, is a hedonistic philandering Ukrainian oligarch worth many many billions. For some unspecified reason he has generated serious enmity from Koroblyov, a Russian who has an unspecified but very senior position within Russia, and he can wield all sorts of power. Early on, he arranges for Sasha, Misha's brother, to be kidnapped in broad daylight, his bodyguards "neutralized" and Sasha taken to Moscow. To me, there was a certain lack of reality in scenes like this; there is a sort of ho hum, so what attitude from all the authorities in various countries, so do not take this story too seriously and don't spend time thinking about what would not work. Don't stop and think! There are also moments where we get political philosophy, which are Krasno's opinions. Misha is on a rollercoaster ride that pauses only for booze and women while there are a number of Ukrainian oligarchs who want Misha's assets, and are prepared to do all sorts of sneaky things. Cause for revenge. Whatever else Misha is, a fine upstanding citizen he is not. I was hoping to get some idea of how Misha's oligarch qualities, but there are no business deals in the book, and Misha seems somewhat uninterested in anything related to money. He is also extremely careless, so my feeling here was that Misha's character, while rather well drawn in a way, was not really fit for purpose. Someone like that would never get rich or stay alive, although I suppose the story does involve his efforts to stay alive, and where his chances are minute, other than that he has the writer on his side. The last action scene is very well written, and although the chances of it actually leading to the desired ending is minute, while reading, you do not think about that, which is a tribute to Krasno's writing. A good entertaining read, and one that also paints a rather deplorable picture of Ukraine. Is Ukraine really as bad as that? Quite possibly.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Kilian: A Broken Prophecies Story; Author: Visit Amazon's S.A. McClure Page; Review: This is a fantasy novel about the young hero having to achieve three tasks that are seemingly impossible for anyone else. Apparently the world had eight creators, and these turn up in all sorts of ways, but they actually do surprisingly little, although they have imbued certain artifacts with magical properties. So the question is, how will Kilian achieve these tasks? It is particularly difficult because he does not know what they are. Apparently there is a prophecy about it all, which everybody seems to know except him. He is taken from his farm by Bluebeard, a sort of supernatural pirate, and he is given a magic axe. He then sets off, and spends two years getting trained (which fortunately we are spared) then the adventure starts. The world building in the story is superb, the characterization is very good but for me there was a deep problem. Basically, Kilian is a whining brat who listens to nobody and has no real ideas of his own. He stumbles around, and when trouble starts, the first thing he seems to do is to drop his axe, whine, and take severe punishment. In short, while he is a believable character, it is not a character that is fit for purpose. As he proceeds, the only reason he gets anywhere is that the author is on his side, and I find that annoying. This is particularly annoying because the author can write, but does not seem to realize that tension does not come from facing the impossible, but rather by facing the extremely difficult. If a bit more thought had been put into getting a bit of balance, and making the characters actions consistent with the aim of the plot, this would be a terrific book. As it is, it is a pleasant read, but not something to think about.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Voidstalker (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's John Graham Page; Review: Well into the future, humans have colonized space, and Gabriel, an enhanced agent for DNI (a sort of super military police force) is sent with a squad to investigate the possibility that JE Corporation is acquiring alien technology in some sort of laboratory on the moon Loki. Asther, Gabriel's wife, happens to work for JE Corporation, and there is a suspicion they have a mole. The world building is very good, and there are connections with excessive behaviour in modern society, for example Jezebel, Gabriel's mother, is a vulture capitalist. The writing style is clear and it holds the reader, and the characters are reasonably drawn, bearing in mind that Gabriel has been modified and trained to be unemotional. The plot is clever, and has surprises and some subtlety. For me, however, there were drawbacks. The most obvious one, and for spoiling reasons I cannot give examples, is the asymmetry in the prolonged action scenes. Gabriel and his squad are heavily armoured and consequently when they meet opposition, the opposition really can't do much about them, so we see them shoot up huge numbers. This means no real tension, which is a pity because Graham eventually comes up with an antagonist that really should generate tension. However, it has only a few pages of cameo appearance. To summarise, here there is someone who has a genuinely good imagination and can write. What he needs is to give a little more thought to balance and tension. I would also like to see a little more made of the connections with modern society. Graham can see them, so perhaps just bring them a little more to the front? Well worth the read, though. Get the balance right and it is easily five stars.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Inherit The Whirlwind: The Final Showdown Between Science And Religion; Author: Visit Amazon's D. R. Pope Page; Review: This book is really a religion/antireligion polemic. It starts off with a spearfishing expedition where the partner of one of the main characters is killed by a shark. We then move on to Professor Joseph Colliver who is working essentially to avoid death by taking memories and inserting them into clones. The connection here is vague. The lab is destroyed by arson, his daughter dies, and the Professor is going to try and restore her. An injunction is taken out to prevent him doing this, and what follows is a court case reported in a series of blogs, which is a rather novel way to write a novel. (Sorry about that!) What this degenerates to is a series of arguments about whether there is a God, and what the bible means. Interestingly, this is an injunction, and both sides seem to ignore the actual issue. The bible is irrelevant in many ways because it says nothing about this sort of issue, and in any case, an injunction has to deliver reasons why the action under attack should not be pursued. Also, the judge starts out by declaring bias for one side, and so the first move should be an appeal to a higher court to have him removed. The court procedures would never be let happen, so the whole thing is something of a parable or allegory, and at the end it becomes a sort of satire. The end more or less comes out of nowhere. The question then is, does it work? For me, I thought the author was too busy getting his own opinion over, with the result that the characters are really just posters. I was also disappointed by the ending, which went off on another tangent, and in my opinion, descended to the silly. As for the argument about science versus religion, I would dispute much of the science side. The proper argument, in my opinion, is they are separate and do not intersect in any way. Science has absolutely nothing to say about religion, and none of the physics quoted in the book made any point, and in general was to vague to be useful, or wrong.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Loreticus (Lost Emperor Trilogy); Author: Visit Amazon's J.B. Lucas Page; Review: This is a replacement review, for the reason outlined below. The original was in two parts. The first was about the story, and this is reproduced here: Loreticus is a spymaster for an empire at the sword-level of civilization, and the emperor has gone missing. Since it is the first of a trilogy entitled The Lost Emperor, you may well guess he is not going to be easily found. Various generals are lobbying for power, but is the emperor actually dead? Loreticus has to find a way of maintaining stability, and of stopping the generals from taking power, which would almost certainly result in economically ruining wars with neighbouring states. On top of this, there are zealots and thugs making life hazardous for the unwary individuals in the city. This is largely a story of political maneuvering, chicanery, in an empire in a state of decay. The world-building is excellent, and the characters are believable. The plot evolves slowly, and in detail. The story depends fairly heavily on ambience and the story is in general well-written and interesting. According to my notes, the story was worth 4.5 stars, but there were serious editing and formatting issues, and I suggested that the author should pull it, and get proper editing. I have since been informed that the author has had it so edited, and he sent me the output. The obvious formatting problems are also dealt with. This removes those concerns, hence this revised review, and returns the grade to 4.5 stars. As the author actually listened to me, I have averaged up.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SORCERERS' DYNASTY; Author: Stephen Perkins; Review: This is a fantasy set in the US more or less now, but in an alternative universe. However, that does not free it from being able to comment on some current social concepts, e.g. inequality is really well established with just about everything controlled by the Serenity Corporation, although not many realize this. Somewhere, beyond the icewall in the Arctic, there is the garden of Eden, and a river that conveys immortality, meanwhile the elder von Buren wants that, and for reasons unexplained, also wants to wipe out humanity. Law and order are in very short supply. Von Buren has plenty of helpers, although none of them seem to realize that they too have a rather poor future because von Buren prefers to kill rather than pay. However, all is not lost; the errant journalist Daniel Sheraton is out to uncover von Buren's schemes. The world building is highly imaginative, and the structure of the story is ambitious and wide-ranging, with several strands, although the final scenario does not really complete them. It is hard to explain without spoiling, but we have one strand that leads a major protagonist to the final scenario, and he should be able to do a lot, but he seems to be overlooked, and is presumably a spectator. There were the odd minor characters who did not seem to be well thought out. They changed, but I felt it was not through character development because it was unclear why. However, the major characters were reasonably well-drawn, and they were consistent, and easily identified. There is one further drawback to this story, and that is the punctuation. There are patches where commas are salt and peppered, and you should really totally ignore them. For the imagination, the ambition, and for someone who is prepared to write genuinely multistranded stories, I wanted to encourage with five stars, but the punctuation and the unsatisfactory bringing of the strands together reduced it to four.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Aftermath; Author: Joe Reyes; Review: This is a dystopia set in the US following a major unexpected missile attack that has wiped out most of civilization, and has left survivors to fend for themselves. About five years have passed, and all that has happened is that everybody is still basically trying to live off the remains, and are killing each other to get at the diminishing remains. Some groups have banded together to get security and have better fighting capability, and they seem to still have good medical supplies, but it is far from clear how this happens. Some are effectively roaming individuals, and some are in small groups. Once such group, called savages, have resorted to cannibalism. The world building is dark, it is reasonably detailed, but it is very limited in scope, leaving many questions unanswered. One example is that one group is running a train. Nothing wrong with that, but why don't some of the others inevitably see it and try to help restore civilization? The writing is easy to follow, and while I noticed another reviewer criticized it for "poor editing", in my opinion, while I did notice some places where a little correction would not have gone astray, it did not upset the rhythm of reading, so that did not worry me. Perhaps at this stage I should declare my own interest. I have written a book about going into such chaos, and one about emerging from it, but I have avoided the actual chaos itself. The reason so far include a fear of overdoing the gore, the difficulty of including a buried message, and the difficulty in wrapping it up. Reyes neatly avoids the first, and in some ways he understates everything, and as far as I can tell, there were no buried messages. However, I was not exactly satisfied with the ending. The story has a number of strands, and I like that, and I think Reyes did a very good job working out a way to bring them together for a good scene at the end, but then I felt he walked away from it too soon, and there were strands left dangling. Maybe he is planning a follow-up, but I felt there should have been better closure for the strands for the problems they faced in this book.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Matriarch Matrix; Author: Visit Amazon's Maxime Trencavel Page; Review: This is another book that is difficult to classify, but it is nevertheless very interesting to read. There are several strands, but most of them come together shortly in the future. More interesting is one strand that starts somewhere close to 10,000 BC, where giant "reindeer people" are preying on ordinary humans, taking them as sex slaves, in part because it seems the originals can no longer breed together. There is an implication these are alien people (but if so they should not be able to breed with humans either). Anyway, be that as it may, there are two gigantic artefacts that the humans acquire and take them away on a sledge towed by a number of aurochs. Not small these artefacts. The giants chase them, so they take a boat across the Black Sea. Not far enough away. That strand is united with the others in that the humans have somehow encoded their memories into their DNA, and while this rapidly gets diluted, it is possible that by accidental mating, it can get concentrated again. The plot now revolves around Peter and Zara accidentally having enough that if they have sex, the memories will come to the surface, and it will be possible to work out where these artefacts are buried. Now this could get pretty ordinary and pornographic, but the author gets around that problem by neatly having Zara having had a fairly terrible life at the hands of men, and she cannot stand men touching her. Zara is a Kurd, and her family suffered under Saddam, ISIS, and whoever. Alexander is a rich Russian oligarch, and he wants these artefacts found because he believes them to have great power. Meanwhile, Peter is made a totally weak character who is not really capable of doing very much. The characterization is excellent, there is a deep look at Kurdish/Yazidi culture (the accuracy of which I cannot vouch for) and there is also quite a bit of religion to think about. An excellent multistrand novel with quite a bit to think about, which makes up for a little loopiness in the plot. I note it has been rated in "Children's Books". I think it is too complicated and involves thinking that is too deep for children.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: SEEDS: The Journey Begins (Volume 1); Author: Visit Amazon's Cary Allen Stone Page; Review: This is apparently C A Stone's first venture into science fiction, although he has written a number of thrillers. It starts with SEEDS being an organization intent on colonizing somewhere else in the solar system. At first they intend to go to Mars but when it turns out that the Russians and Chinese are both going there, they change to Titan, a satellite of Saturn. Apparently politics are bad on Earth, and there is a small country threatening the US with nuclear weapons, and a rash President launches a pre-emptive strike, everybody lets fly, but SEEDS is up there and ready. The plot is very simple a space ship has been built, they go to Titan. You may say there must be more to it, and yes, there is a little, but not much. My major criticism of the book is most of it involves people standing around talking about testing something, they test it, and it is fine. Apart from going to Titan, and doing some fairly ordinary things, nobody does much other than talk about their wonderful technology so there is little character development. Instead, all these scientists talk about doing wonders and the whole reads a little like a hagiography, except about scientists. To give one incident (and since it only takes up about a page I do not consider this a spoiler) as they leave, with the world incinerated, the ISS fires a missile at them. They destroy the missile, then destroy the ISS, then go on to Titan. That is the emotional content of the incident. Totally unexplained is why the ISS has a missile, why they would want to shoot it at SEEDS, but even worse to me, there was no thought about contacting the ISS first and offering to save those there. Since the whole is largely talking about technology, I should point out there are no details, so no need to get scared off about that. However, equally I have problems with this. They will take 3D printers to make anything they need. Fine, but where do they get the raw materials? It states that Titan has lots of ice and rocky cliffs. No, everything at the surface will be ice. Titan has a density of 1.88, which indicates a bit over half ice, less than half silicates, but these will sink to the core. What you haven't got, you won't get, other than ice and volatiles. That is a minor detail, but it detracts. This is apparently the first book in a trilogy. I think it could have been condensed down quite a lot, and got on to something happening.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Maker; Author: Visit Amazon's D F Anderson Page; Review: This is described as a middle grade book, and follows the story of Nate, a young teenager who is having difficulties because his parents have separated, and he is addicted to making rather weird drawings. Suddenly, he is abducted by aliens, who have a transporter shaped like a tree, and which is piloted by an entity called Stik. It turns out he has the potential to be a "maker". What these aliens do is make whatever they need through drawing what they want on a special paper with a special pen, and some microscopic entities that are collectively known as mica get to work and make whatever the drawing wants. Nate has real talent, except in one way he does not seem able to control size. Sometimes, when he makes something that is really important, it is hard to see it. The problem? There are different aliens who are building a "worm" that will make sufficient damage to a planet that it will extinguish life. All life on Meer, and then on Earth, depends on Nate. No pressure, Nate! The book is written in easy to read first person, the text flows well, and I think it would be appropriate for young teenagers. The book is described as SciFi, but fantasy might be better.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dawn Of Affinity; Author: Visit Amazon's V.J. Deanes Page; Review: Part of the structure of this book is to get the reader to guess what is going on in detail, so there is only a little that can be said without spoiling. Basically, some time in the future, scientists have constructed sentient artificial intelligence and clones of humans, although knowledge of their existence is kept from the general population, in part because the making of them was illegal. Part of the story is about the rights of such clones and androids, and how they can fit in with society, including the society that knows about their existence. There is also a society for the elimination of any such androids and clones, not that they are publicly known to exist. The plot is quite imaginative, and the characters are consistent. This could be a really good book, but it falls short on some structural editing issues, and a few other editing issues. Only too often the author takes us to a cliff-hanging scene, but it lurches to something else without proper resolution. There are patches where the continuity is bad, and there are other scenes where it is not clear what happened. One example. There is a gunfight of sorts, our hero specifically fires once, and when the dust settles, both opposition are dead. Unfortunately, the writing at times is opaque, and I am not the sort of person who wants to be continually re-reading a section to work out what happened.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Stasi Child: A Karin Mller Thriller; Author: Visit Amazon's David Young Page; Review: In 1975 East Berlin, a young woman is shot in the back near the border with the West. The unlikely conclusion: she was shot by the West while escaping into the East. Oberleutnant Karin Mller of the Kripo is ordered to find out who the victim was. She is not to try to find out who was the killer. Or so she is ordered from Oberstleutnant Jger, of the Stasi. It takes very little imagination for Karin to work out this is a dangerous assignment. The Stasi would be as well placed to find someone's identity as anyone, especially since their reputation would quickly frighten most into cooperating. So why is she being asked? The only plausible reason is that the guilty party is a very senior and powerful part of the East German regime, and Jger is running a clandestine operation. Given that start, the story then progresses with commendable speed, and it most certainly keeps the reader engrossed. The characters are well drawn and the action sequences are well written. Interestingly, the research was very good, and some very interesting details were there, but not about the East that you would see. (I was in East Berlin in the late 1960s, and part of reading this was to bring back memories, but it didn't really.) My major criticism is that the plot does not really make sense. If you think about it, a very senior member of the East German regime would not kill someone that way because it draws attention almost immediately to those very limited number of people. But if you put that behind you, this is an excellent thriller, well researched, and one that highlights something of what East Germany was like.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Art of Cyber Conflict; Author: Visit Amazon's Henry J Sienkiewicz Page; Review: In this book, Sienkiewicz argues that the various problems we have on the internet, such as denial of service, hacking, theft of data, etc, is a form of conflict, and as such can be viewed in terms of The Art of War, by Sun Tzu. My first question here is, who was this nook written for? There are many parts of The Art of War that relate to offensive options (naturally, because someone has to launch an offensive campaign for there to be a war) but most computer users cannot launch such attacks because, leaving aside other difficulties, it would be illegal. Now that would not necessarily apply to the US Army, for which Sienkiewicz previously worked, nor for some other agencies such as the CIA, provided the US government ordered such action, but for the general user, that would be irrelevant. Then some of the advice is that when under attack, mobilize your legal department, your response team, and a number of others. Maybe a huge multinational might have such entities, the army and organizations like the NSA presumably would, but most others will not. Further, while much of what Sun Tzu wrote remains relevant for modern military conflict, with obvious modifications, the links with cyber conflict are, in my opinion, somewhat tenuous at times. The advice "Know thyself" is obviously relevant, but "Know thine enemy" is less so because most internet users have no means of identifying the attacker. The analogies with some other advice, such as to take the sunny side of high ground, were in my opinion, a little tenuous and were more made to support the thesis. However, the advice to examine your own potential weaknesses are obvious, and the advice to hire external skilled hackers to find what you miss has a clear significance. Some other advice, such as to insert a whole lot of false data is also an interesting approach. One thing that did not appear was something I put in one of my novels: take control systems offline. If they are only controlling equipment, why are they connected? The book offers a lot to think about, and the author has put a lot of effort into this. Early on there are very large lists of various definitions and terms, which is necessary but a little overwhelming at first.. The book then goes through the parts of The Art of War and Sienkiewicz links his thesis to what Sun Tzu wrote. The book does not give any specific advice because as the author properly points out, any attempt to do this would be useless because technology changes so fast. However, that leaves the reader with the problem of working things out for themselves. I should add as a disclaimer that I am an author and wrote one thriller involving hacking, and I purchased this book in the hope of gaining a deeper knowledge. I ended up with the conclusion that everything was too abstract to be useful to me. So, I suggest this is more a "general interest" book or a scene-setting book rather; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Seal of Secrets: A Novel; Author: Visit Amazon's William J. Cook Page; Review: This is a religious-based thriller. The essence of the plot is that for some reason Jack does a lot of free work at weekends for Chloe, who is divorced and has a daughter Kaitlynn. However, Jack has a dark past. He was a Priest and betrayed the seal of confession, which led to Raven going to prison. Raven wants revenge, and Chloe and Kaitlynn will be part of that. It is difficult to say more without spoiling. It is a very clever and intricate story, and much of the attraction for this book is to see the story of the past unfold. The writing holds the attention, and the pages turn themselves. Well done there. The action scenes are very well written, and the scene that closes the story is quite gripping. However, I do have some criticisms. The first chapter is a scene that ends in a cliff-hanger from much later in the story, then it goes back to start "how it got to there". I know a lot of TV stories do this, but I think it is both a technical clich now, and not a very attractive one. By and large the characters are well-drawn, particularly Chloe, and including minor ones like Indie, but (and it is difficult to explain this without spoiling) the emergence of Dove struck me as too abrupt, and it made too much of the rest difficult to swallow. Yes, it could have happened, but it needed a good deal more writing to convince me why it happened. A similar piece of "detail skimming" involved some police intervention. However, overall this is a highly entertaining book, and if you read it and don't worry about these niggling details you will find it quite enthralling.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sapphire of Souls (Fantastica); Author: Visit Amazon's M. R. Mathias Page; Review: This is a fantasy that follows a reasonably well-trodden path. The usual suspects are there: humans, elves, dwarfs, trolls, dragons, magic, magic artefacts, demons, etc. This is the first of a series, and we have a small party that sets out on a quest to find the sapphire of souls before a demon does, because this artifact in the hands of a demon would give it too great a power. The book also introduces a rather large number of characters. Our party travels through forested land and runs into expected difficulties, but the book also rises above the average by introducing different strands unconnected with the quest. There is political maneuvering by the demon and the odd king to get a war of conquest going, and there are old scores to settle by war, such as rock trolls trying to enslave dwarfs. The characters are reasonably well drawn, although some clearly have further development to come in future books. The writing is clear and the book is easy to read. The action sequences include some big battles, which are covered by a certain amount of hacking and chopping, and it rises above many such fantasies by killing off some characters that many writers would keep alive. The story has an ending, at least as far as the sapphire is concerned, but there is obviously more to come because the wars are really only getting under way, and, of course, the author announces there is more to come. It is apparently book 2 in the series, and I found no difficulty in not having read book 1. The book is an easily read undemanding entertainment.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Orphan X; Author: Visit Amazon's Gregg Hurwitz Page; Review: The basic concept of this thriller is that previously the US government had set up an "Orphan" program wherein young people with no relations or friends were trained up as special operations people. This was a program that was so "off the books" hardly anybody knew it existed. Eventually it had to be closed down, and so Evan, Orphan X, was unemployed but very very rich. (I had no idea the government was so generous!) For want of something better to do, he helped people in great difficulty, epsecially if some criminals, etc, were after them. He takes one such casen where a young woman is targeted for death by a gambling cartel for not paying her debts. The first two thirds of this story make up an excellent thriller. The writing is clear, the characters clear (we assume Evan is a given) and this looked like heading for five stars. However, the ending spoiled it for me. Here, it depends on what you want from a thriller. If you just want action, this ramps up to a frenzy. Ifyou want credible action, this book now dives. It is difficult to explain without spoiling but I shall give two examples from a major fight scene towards the end. Previously, Evan has had a knife in the gut. He stitches this up himself (hint: use superglue much better) but in this fight the stitches pull. Sorry, but having had abdominal surgery, I don't buy this. He is attacked by a man who is clearly an assassin, and Evan fires two shots from a 1911. The man stops these with his arms, and continues fighting as if nothing had happened. Sorry, but the only way a 0.45 calibre bullet could even be stopped by an arm is by the bone, and it would shatter it. He later stops himself falling by grasping the handle of a katana thatahd dropped over the side and lodged itself point inwards to a crack in the wall with sufficient strength to hold a man's weight. Physically, how? How did this happen? Hurwitz had built up some excellent action sequences, but then by coming to the end he must have felt he needed each sequence to outdo the last one. To summarise, if you want a thriller with lots of thrills, this is an exciting story. If you want a thriller in which the action is at least possible, and not throwing the laws of physics out the window for extra "tension", then I am afraid not so.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Orphan X: A Novel - Kindle edition; Author: Visit Amazon's Gregg Hurwitz Page; Review: The basic concept of this thriller is that previously the US government had set up an "Orphan" program wherein young people with no relations or friends were trained up as special operations people. This was a program that was so "off the books" hardly anybody knew it existed. Eventually it had to be closed down, and so Evan, Orphan X, was unemployed but very very rich. (I had no idea the government was so generous!) For want of something better to do, he helped people in great difficulty, epsecially if some criminals, etc, were after them. He takes one such casen where a young woman is targeted for death by a gambling cartel for not paying her debts. The first two thirds of this story make up an excellent thriller. The writing is clear, the characters clear (we assume Evan is a given) and this looked like heading for five stars. However, the ending spoiled it for me. Here, it depends on what you want from a thriller. If you just want action, this ramps up to a frenzy. Ifyou want credible action, this book now dives. It is difficult to explain without spoiling but I shall give two examples from a major fight scene towards the end. Previously, Evan has had a knife in the gut. He stitches this up himself (hint: use superglue much better) but in this fight the stitches pull. Sorry, but having had abdominal surgery, I don't buy this. He is attacked by a man who is clearly an assassin, and Evan fires two shots from a 1911. The man stops these with his arms, and continues fighting as if nothing had happened. Sorry, but the only way a 0.45 calibre bullet could even be stopped by an arm is by the bone, and it would shatter it. He later stops himself falling by grasping the handle of a katana thatahd dropped over the side and lodged itself point inwards to a crack in the wall with sufficient strength to hold a man's weight. Physically, how? How did this happen? Hurwitz had built up some excellent action sequences, but then by coming to the end he must have felt he needed each sequence to outdo the last one. To summarise, if you want a thriller with lots of thrills, this is an exciting story. If you want a thriller in which the action is at least possible, and not throwing the laws of physics out the window for extra "tension", then I am afraid not so.; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Battle Mage; Author: Visit Amazon's Peter Flannery Page; Review: This is a swords and sorcery book, it also a long book. No problem for me, but this is not for those who need to finish in 70 k words. It is also one of the best in this genre I have seen. The peoples of an imaginary continent are being invaded by the "Possessed", and they are anyone who has already been conquered and made possessed by a demon from Hell. The armies of the possessed must be faced by the armies of those who do not want their souls permanently in Hell, to be tormented forever. There is a catch. The armies of Hell tend to be led by demons, and only battle mages can deal with them. The story follows the fates of a group of young people as they have to flee their idyllic country village and go to the city of Wrath to train. We also follow Falco; a sickly youth who has the potential to be a battle mage. Think the "force" is strong with him, but he has no idea how to use it. The plot is a fairly common one: a young nobody must conquer his own shortcomeings, learn, and fight against terrible odds. If you can't see where this book is going, at least in general, after about a quarter of the way in, then you must have been living under a flat rock for most of your life but that is not the point. While there are some minor twists to the plot, the strength of the book lies in the way it is written. The world building is excellent, and the author manages to get the emotional content more or less right to hold the reader to feel for that character. Besides the characters to follow, there is a mix of charatcers in authorities. Some are noble, but only too many are self-centred, or corrupt in terms of honour. The writing is clear, and the story progresses at just the right pace to hold your attention, and at the same time to have the reader anxious to move on. The battle scenes are excellent, and because Flannery takes along so many characters, the scenes feel as if there is really a major battle, and by switching between characters, even though each character has a very narrow view of the battle, there is an overall picture. Quite a gripping read.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Robot and Automation Almanac - 2018: The Futurist Institute; Author: Visit Amazon's Jason Schenker Page; Review: I am not sure what this book was supposed to be. I got it to learn something about robotics, in part because as an SF author I need information on AI. What it turned out to be is a collection of small essays by very senior members of various companies involved in robotics. So, you may think, that would guarantee the good oil, right? Actually, no. What it guaranteed was a serious of essays that were effectively what these industry leaders thought were where their companies could make big strides. In short, it had the attitude of a sales brochure. I only noticed two statements that were negative. One was a real problem, namely interoperability. The problem is that if you have robots from two different sources, they will have completely different operational conditions. So a problem was identified, so what happened next? Move on. No solution. My personal view is there are a number of problems. One example is the poor woman run over by an autonomous vehicle in Arizona. I do not believe that robots are yet clever enough to be left on their own. On a somewhat lower level, I had my own issue, given that one chapter was praising the value of chatbots. I had to fix an iphone because the camera stopped working (still under guarantee) and it came back and I had to reload the various steps. I could not connect with my wifi, after about 7 efforts, so I try a chatbot. What happened? Well, first I had to find what overall subject I should ask about. Whatever I tried, the bot had no idea. (What actually happened was that next day I disregarded Einstein's dictum that trying the same thing again and expecting a different result was stupid next morning it worked.) So what did I get out of this? First, Chatbots are useless unless someone has loaded the answer to the specific question you ask, in the way you ask it. Second, equipment is unreliable. What happens to an autonomous car if the camera stops working, as it did on my phone? What happens if for some inexplicable reason, links between equipment fail? The book simply ignores any possibility that things could go wrong, and it reads more as if the authors are making pitches for finance. Sorry, but I see no value in this at all.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Duality of Time: Complex-Time Geometry and Perpetual Creation of Space (The Single Monad Model of The Cosmos) (Volume 2); Author: Visit Amazon's Mohamed Haj Yousef Page; Review: This is a difficult book to review because the first question is, who is it for? As will become evident, I am not sure. It starts with a summary of where this book is going, together with personal aspects of Yousef's journey. He has been infuenced by Sufi mysticism, he has been rejected by a number of modern physics journals, yet he promises to solve so much of the difficulties of modern physics. He then goes on to physics and philosophy from antiquity, and the author gives an interesting history, but comes up with some unexpected conclusions, such as the week is seven days long, corresponding to six spatial dimensions and time. (The six seemingly relies on negative values being different.) For me, the simplest explanation for the length of the week would lie, in my opinion, in the frequency of days the priests thought could be devoted to religion without ruining the economy. This is the first of many assertions that to me are not really demonstrated at all. Chapter 3 gives an airbrush account of modern physics and its problems. It establishes Yousef's credentials as knowing a reasonable amount about the topic, but in my opinion it is far to difficult for the non-physicist to follow, and if you can follow it, it is not offering anything you did not know already. Then the author starts on his theory, which seems to be based on Sufi mysticism. We see text like, it is the one, but not the one. The concept seems to be that everything is due to "The Monad", which is the one, but there are other monads. Motion is represented as the Universe being annihilated and recreated in extraordinarily short grains of time but everything in a slightly different position, from which it is claimed the Uncertainty Principle follows. How? There are only two velocities: zero and light speed, and anything else is some sort of quantum mixing. Time is discrete, because of this annihilation/creation, and there are upper and lower levels of time: the lower one is real, and the upper (where we are) is purely complex. What follows are a number of assertions that major problems are solved. However, there are problems here. This is used to solve the "homogeneity problem", which is why the Universe seems to be equivalent in all directions. The argument is that because of this annihilation/creation in the early Universe, preferred motion by any part in any direction was not allowed. My problem with that is it seems to deny all motion. Similarly, he makes quite quite a bit of being able to derive E = mc^2. The problem is, the real equation is actually E = (m^2.c^4 + p^2c^2)^1/2. He also explains how an electron and a positron annihilate into a photon. The problem is, they don't you get two (necessary to conserve momentum. The book then returns to mysticism. You get an account of alchemy, and then a descent into numerology. There are problems with the editing. The most glaring one involved a statement of the sort, the; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Dark & Day; Author: Visit Amazon's Israel Grey Page; Review: This is nominally aimed at young teenagers, but I think it is highly suitable for some older ones as lomng as they don't mind the nominal age of the protagonists. It is a fantasy set in a futuristic Earth in which, for sone reason (maybe a change of obliquity so that our current equator is at "dawn") half the planet is in perpetual sunight and the other half in dark. Jonothon Wyer lives not too deeply in the dark, he is hopelessly impeded by needing a machine to make his heart and lungs work, but if he can win a scholarship to Eies (the capital of the Dark) he will be fixed and will become a soldier fighting to defend the Dark. It appears the Dark and the Day each think the other wants to take over the other. Jono (the name he is generally called) gets the scholarship, but he also discovers something, and quickly becomes entangled with both sides. This is a cleverly written book, the plot contains a number of subtle characterizations of our modern society. The dark is evil, the light is good, but are they really? It is a book where the young reader has to re-evaluate conclusions continually. The major characters are well-drawn and in general behave in a believable fashion (there the occasional scene where what they do is totally plot required as opposed to being credible, though), there is a good fantasy element through weird machines and cyborg attachments, and at the end of many chapters, there is an illustration of what the author thinks the character looks like, to be seen after the reader has already made his/her decision. Well crafted. My only reservation is the length; whether young people are ready for 400+ pages is an interesting question.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Fever Rising; Author: Visit Amazon's KM Riley Page; Review: This is an action fantasy set presumably on Earth some time in the long future, where a very few Lords (Sirdars) control the population in large cities through Wardens, while at the bottom there are some ordinary people who we don't see. The main sort of entertainment seems to be based on the Roman concept of gladiatorial fights, where teams can hack other teams to bits, and then fight each other. The story focuses mainly on two of these fighters. Fighters come in three classes because they have special powers, and when pumped full of chemicals, even more, such as the ability to heal extremely quickly, unless the strike causes death. The story mainly follows one, a champion (for a time) who eventually starts to question the system and, well you can probably guess but I won't spoil. The story is well-written, and the action scenes prolonged and detailed, and thanks to this ability to heal quickly, serious blows don't stop the action. In many ways, it is written a bit in the style of a computer game, and it is very well done if you want this sort of thing. My major criticism is the story is a bit one-dimensional. The characters more or less do what their "type" does, there is no "life" outside the fighting, but as entertainment, don't let that distract you.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: EMPIRE PALADIN; Author: Visit Amazon's M. S. Valdez Page; Review: This book is a religious fantasy set in the times of the Holy Roman Empire about the early 13th Century. There were twelve primus paladins and a number of lesser paladins, who were holy warriors. (The name, paladin, apparently comes from the twelve foremost warriors in Charlemagne's court. The paladin was originally a government official, from the Latin, someone who lived on the Palatine hill, which in turn meant someone extraordinarily rich. The riches seem to be done away with in this story.) Anyway, the story here starts with a very skilled paladin fighting the forces of evil, only to learn that his home town has been attacked. He rushes back and finds his wife and children dead, and in a rant, he blames God. Lucifer hears his rant, and tempts him with the idea of having revenge on God by destroying God's creations, humanity, and as a tool, he finds he has the power to raise the dead. The reader has to accept certain magic, and the trick here is to ensure sufficient balance that the issue is a challenge, and I think the author does this reasonably well. Similarly, it is necessary to accept that the paladins have to follow certain dictates of the Catholic church, the concept of eternal fires in hell, and so on. Given that, the book flows quite well, provided you don't mind some fairly gruesome scenes. The author has included a little strategy and tactics before his battles, and while there is a lot of the inevitable smiting, the action scenes are quite well written. There are also some more subtle points about religion to think about, if so inclined. There is one fight scene near the end that actually is not very realistic, but you would have to know an awful lot about medieval fighting to pick this. In a sense, the setting is historical, but because of the magic, consider it a fantasy.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Moral Panic; Author: Visit Amazon's K.M. Ecke Page; Review: This book is difficult to review without spoiling, so the dewscription will be brief. Basically, ther eis an underground (literally) organization called Social Justice, that has noticed an alarming increase in human trafficking, and when they sent evidence to the police, the usual justice system more or less let these scum go free. So they embarked on vigilante justice, but as you might gather, this was not without problems. Tanner Moore has led a top quality team in data processing, he is fired, and kidnapped by Social Justice, where he discovers they are getting their evidence by hacking into the official surveillance system. He also learns what Social Justice is really doing. The book is well-written and easy to read, despite the implied technology. The characters are well-defined, and with obvious flaws for which they will pay. The situations are believable, and the book has some social messages for the reader to contemplate. The plot develops in an orderly fashion, with no leaps of faith, except that I question the very end, the so-called wash-up part, because ein my opinion, that would not be practical, but so what. By then the story is over, and perhaps we can suspend belieff for the odd loose end. A book that is enjoyable, but also offering some things to think about.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Serpent and The Wolf; Author: Visit Amazon's Joe Gregory Page; Review: A historical novel, with a touch of fantasy. Harald goes to hospital where his uncle Alex is in a coma, and presumably dying. He touches Alex' hand, and is thrown into some sort of dream wherein he lives through parts of three lives. He is first on a boat guided by a large wolf, and each time he lands the wolf indicates where he should go. In the first life, he follows Ulfr, a major Viking through a raid in England. He also sees a strange pale girl, and later finds she is Hel, goddess of death (although in real Norse mythology, Hel only takes those who die of sickness or old age to Hel, the same as our Hell. This was to encourage Norsemen to die in battle, presumably.) The second life he follows Lambert on the first crusade, and finally Dietrich Schmidt, a German sniper at Stalingrad. Leaving aside the slight misrepresentation of Hel, I thought the historical part was rather startling, so the author had done quite a bit of research. The Viking part was almost certainly also tainted by the "heroic" thinking assigned to Vikings; the reality of the Viking was probably somewhat more sordid. It was a well-written book, there was the occasional rather odd format problem but nothing that would spoil the reading, there was an overarching plot, and a twist at the end. All in all, I found it highly satisfying.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with books as follows:
Title: Ratha's Courage (The Named, Book 5); Author: Visit Amazon's Clare Bell Page; Review: Enjoyed reading this series hope to read more read more about Ratha and the named clan and more about Thisthle chaser; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Survivors #3: Darkness Falls; Author: Visit Amazon's Erin Hunter Page; Review: Enjoyed it very much,Can't wait for book 4 to come out. Was a little disappointed in the description of the Fierce dogs because I picture Dobermans and everyone knows that Dobies have long tails and floppy ears at birth.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Last Dogs: Dark Waters; Author: Visit Amazon's Christopher Holt Page; Review: Book two was great except when Boss claimed his breed came from Australia, The Australian Shepherd is a man made breed from the USA, The Australian Cattle Dog originates from Australia. But loved his Character and was sad when he passed. I got a Chuckle out of the Firehouse dogs the personalities of some of the Dals was funny.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Last Dogs: The Vanishing; Author: Visit Amazon's Christopher Holt Page; Review: Love the on going banter between Max, Rocky and Gizmo, Anyone who loves dogs would enjoy reading these books ^; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Guardians of GaHoole: The Rise of a Legend; Author: Visit Amazon's Kathryn Lasky Page; Review: Always enjoy reading about a Character and learning more about how they became apart of the story line thats all.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Twilight Howl; Author: Visit Amazon's JK Brandon Page; Review: Loved this book as well, Now every time I see Labs I think of Taser and Meatloaf, Taser the canine detective. ~laffin~; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Howling through Darkness; Author: Visit Amazon's JK Brandon Page; Review: I rated this book 5 star because it was so entertaining I couldn't put it down, Taser and Meatloaf kept me laughing through out the book, I hope there are other books in the future from JK Brandon; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Horses of the Dawn #1: The Escape; Author: Visit Amazon's Kathryn Lasky Page; Review: Was a little slow starting but was worth it , now to wait for the next one, and hope it continues; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Magic's Charm; Author: Edmond R Humm; Review: A very delightful read. The human characters seemed a bit weak in the story, The actions and thoughts of the dog Magic was fun.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: The Walking Dead, Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life; Author: Visit Amazon's Robert Kirkman Page; Review: I watch the TV series and thought I'd check out the comics and Fell in love with it. One complaint is after Volume 6 Amazon no longer had them in digital only paper back these little books can be read in a day so ordering them in paper back can get expensive I ordered from comixology but they run 14.95 a volume a 5 dollar difference so I will have to buy from a local book store just to avoid the shipping cost. But all in all these are fun to read but not for children due to the graphic and Adult nature; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Spirit Animals: Special Edition: Tales of the Great Beasts; Author: Visit Amazon's Brandon Mull Page; Review: It's nice to read about how the Great Beast came to be spirit animals and to learn how they had lived and died as great beasts; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Guardian Herd: Starfire; Author: Visit Amazon's Jennifer Lynn Alvarez Page; Review: LOVED this book. If you love horses and dream of unicorns and Pegasus this book is well worth the read; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Warriors: Dawn of the Clans #4: The Blazing Star; Author: Visit Amazon's Erin Hunter Page; Review: Very enjoyable can't wait to read the next book; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shoot First, Howl Later (Taser & Meatloaf) (Volume 7); Author: Visit Amazon's JK Brandon Page; Review: ABSOLUTELY Wonderful,; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Howl of the Wild (Howl Series) (Volume 8); Author: Visit Amazon's JK Brandon Page; Review: Enjoyed it immensely, Loved the interaction with both dogs and Humans; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Warriors: Secrets of the Clans (Warriors Field Guide); Author: Visit Amazon's Erin Hunter Page; Review: It's interesting to read how the Clans started.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Guardian Herd: Stormbound; Author: Visit Amazon's Jennifer Lynn Alvarez Page; Review: Very enjoyable to read, Would love to read about how the Hierarchy came about, And am waiting to read Book 3 of the Guardian Herd; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Guardian Herd: Landfall; Author: Visit Amazon's Jennifer Lynn Alvarez Page; Review: Love this book; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: A Shard of Sun (Song of the Summer King) (Volume 3); Author: Visit Amazon's Jess E. Owen Page; Review: Great Story, Hope to read many more. Bring on Book 4; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Wild Blood (Horses of the Dawn #3); Author: Visit Amazon's Kathryn Lasky Page; Review: Always enjoy reading; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Howl No Evil (The Howl Series) (Volume 9); Author: Visit Amazon's JK Brandon Page; Review: Another great book from JK Brandon, Taser and Meatloaf are delightful characters, love the stories through the eyes of dogs; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Warriors: A Vision of Shadows #4: Darkest Night; Author: Visit Amazon's Erin Hunter Page; Review: Love all the stories and back stories, the author keeps each book fresh and exciting. And I hate that I read them so fast.; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | amazon_books |
Given the interaction history of a user with movies/shows as follows:
Title: Apollo 13 (1995); Genres: Adventure, Drama, IMAX; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Pulp Fiction (1994); Genres: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: True Lies (1994); Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Dances with Wolves (1990); Genres: Adventure, Drama, Western; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Batman (1989); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Clear and Present Danger (1994); Genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Batman Forever (1995); Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Stargate (1994); Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Shawshank Redemption, The (1994); Genres: Crime, Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Outbreak (1995); Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: While You Were Sleeping (1995); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Crimson Tide (1995); Genres: Drama, Thriller, War; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Cliffhanger (1993); Genres: Action, Adventure, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Net, The (1995); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Braveheart (1995); Genres: Action, Drama, War; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Quiz Show (1994); Genres: Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Fugitive, The (1993); Genres: Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Silence of the Lambs, The (1991); Genres: Crime, Horror, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Schindler's List (1993); Genres: Drama, War; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Like Water for Chocolate (Como agua para chocolate) (1992); Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Romance; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Dead Man Walking (1995); Genres: Crime, Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Usual Suspects, The (1995); Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Much Ado About Nothing (1993); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Remains of the Day, The (1993); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Shadowlands (1993); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Taxi Driver (1976); Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993); Genres: Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Forrest Gump (1994); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Cry, the Beloved Country (1995); Genres: Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Madness of King George, The (1994); Genres: Comedy, Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Philadelphia (1993); Genres: Drama; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Leaving Las Vegas (1995); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Father of the Bride Part II (1995); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sabrina (1995); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Seven (a.k.a. Se7en) (1995); Genres: Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Legends of the Fall (1994); Genres: Drama, Romance, War, Western; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Firm, The (1993); Genres: Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Rob Roy (1995); Genres: Action, Drama, Romance, War; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Dave (1993); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Don Juan DeMarco (1995); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Piano, The (1993); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: True Romance (1993); Genres: Crime, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Client, The (1994); Genres: Drama, Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Casino (1995); Genres: Crime, Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Hoop Dreams (1994); Genres: Documentary; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Bullets Over Broadway (1994); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: When a Man Loves a Woman (1994); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ghost (1990); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: To Die For (1995); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Walk in the Clouds, A (1995); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Murder in the First (1995); Genres: Drama, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Boxing Helena (1993); Genres: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: What's Love Got to Do with It? (1993); Genres: Drama, Musical; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Waiting to Exhale (1995); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Smoke (1995); Genres: Comedy, Drama; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Paper, The (1994); Genres: Comedy, Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Brothers McMullen, The (1995); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Clockers (1995); Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Priest (1994); Genres: Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: How to Make an American Quilt (1995); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993); Genres: Comedy, Mystery; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Postman, The (Postino, Il) (1994); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Babe (1995); Genres: Children, Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Congo (1995); Genres: Action, Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Coneheads (1993); Genres: Comedy, Sci-Fi; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Jurassic Park (1993); Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: French Kiss (1995); Genres: Action, Comedy, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Specialist, The (1994); Genres: Action, Drama, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991); Genres: Action, Sci-Fi; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: American President, The (1995); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: I.Q. (1994); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Speed (1994); Genres: Action, Romance, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Mrs. Doubtfire (1993); Genres: Comedy, Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sleepless in Seattle (1993); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Bridges of Madison County, The (1995); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Home Alone (1990); Genres: Children, Comedy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Forget Paris (1995); Genres: Comedy, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Heat (1995); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: In the Line of Fire (1993); Genres: Action, Thriller; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Ready to Wear (Pret-A-Porter) (1994); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Last Action Hero (1993); Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994); Genres: Action, Comedy; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: River Wild, The (1994); Genres: Action, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Hackers (1995); Genres: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Assassins (1995); Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Three Colors: Blue (Trois couleurs: Bleu) (1993); Genres: Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Something to Talk About (1995); Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: In the Name of the Father (1993); Genres: Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Sliver (1993); Genres: Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995); Genres: Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Short Cuts (1993); Genres: Drama; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Age of Innocence, The (1993); Genres: Drama; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Love Affair (1994); Genres: Drama, Romance; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: Birdcage, The (1996); Genres: Comedy; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Lone Star (1996); Genres: Drama, Mystery, Western; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | movielens |
Given the interaction history of a user with products as follows:
Title: Dried Apples (1 Pound Bag) - No Sugar added; Brand: Superior Nut Company; Review: They come soggy/spongy. Not dried really. And they're made in China. In what world does it make sense to buy dried apples from China? Oops.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Trader Joe's Dried Fruit Just Mango Slices 6 ounces (Pack of 4); Brand: Trader Joe's; Review: Awesome mango slices, nom nom nom....they come in small packages bundled together. As advertised and delicious.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Old Wisconsin Turkey Sausage Snack Bites, 8-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 12)" />; Brand: Old Wisconsin; Review: The fat content is surprisingly high.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Kashi GOLEAN, Breakfast Cereal, Honey Almond Flax Crunch, Non-GMO Project Verified, 14 oz(Pack of 4); Brand: Kashi; Review: Something changed in the formula, they use more of those puffy things (puffed wheat of some sort?) and that makes it so much less crunchy and filling. Otherwise would give it 5 stars.; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Biltong Seasoned Dried Beef, Original Sliced, 8 oz; Brand: Braaitime; Review: I tried a bunch of different biltongs now, and this one is not great. Too vinegary.; Rating: 2.0/5.0 | amazon_Grocery_and_Gourmet_Food |
Given the interaction history of a user with hotels as follows:
Title: Eurostars Saint John Hotel; City: Rome Lazio; Review: This hotel was a great disappointment. Staff unfriendly, unhelpful and at times, rude. Dealt with Ramona for most of our stay and we were almost hoping that she would not be on duty every time we approached the reception desk. Booked twin room, but was given a double two nights in a row because of lack of availability. Hotel is clean, but sparse. No tea/coffee making facilities in rooms, drainage in showers very bad - water has nowhere else to go but over edge and onto floor, beds uncomfortable and overall - not a nice stay. I think an hotel can make or break a holiday and this one definitely broke it.........; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Oriel House Hotel; City: Ballincollig County Cork; Review: Great hotel in Ballincollig. Stayed in one of the suites and didn't want to leave!; Rating: 3.0/5.0
Title: The Riverside Park Hotel Leisure Club; City: Enniscorthy County Wexford; Review: Words cannot sufficiently describe this hotel.....Hotel itself is fantastic, spotlessly clean and in a great location next to the river Slaney. Every single member of staff were so helpful, friendly and always pleasant. Stayed 3 nights for a family wedding and all of the above contributed to a great & memorable event. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Enniscorthy........great for romantic break or a holiday with kids (great pool area for kids & adults). Beautiful food also with great variety on menus. A BIG thank you and well done to The Riverside Park Hotel!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Glengarriff Park Hotel; City: Glengarriff County Cork; Review: A great hotel and a great find. Stayed here during Easter and my only regret was that I wasn't staying for longer. Staff were lovely & helpful, rooms and hotel were spotlessly clean, food was fantastic. Will definately go back and stay for longer next time! Well done Glengarriff Park - a lot of hotels could learn from you!; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: The Old Cable Historic House; City: Waterville County Kerry; Review: Stayed here for one night and couldn't wait for morning to get out of there. Was met by what I presumed was the owner (he didn't introduce himself). Not very friendly or welcoming. House is unfinished looking - wires hanging from ceiling, awful smell of damp pervading the whole house. Does not look anything like it does on website. Was very tempted to sleep in my car. Worst place I have ever been in.; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Lakelands Farm Guesthouse; City: Waterville County Kerry; Review: Quaint but very clean. Lovely owners. Great views. Lovely place to get away from it it all but still close enough to Waterville. Great spot for fishermen; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Premier Inn Belfast City Centre Alfred Street Hotel; City: Belfast Northern Ireland; Review: Great hotel. Clean, comfortable & friendly staff. Great breakfast selection - including healthy stuff like seeds and berries for your muesli! Had dinner there for our entire stay as the food was so good. Will definitely use Premier Inn from now on.; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: No 1 Pery Square Hotel Restaurant Spa; City: Limerick County Limerick; Review: Stayed at this amazing hotel for a spa weekend with friends and we were all blown away by how fantastic it is. Everything, and I mean everything, is A1 about this hotel. One of us got very bad news from home on our second night there and the staff did their utmost for us. I cannot thank you enough. An absolute gem in Limerick. it's a great pity more hotels are not like this one. Hope to get back there again soon; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Grove House; City: Schull County Cork; Review: Lovely guesthouse with great atmosphere & unique character. Spotlessly clean, comfy beds and welcoming family. So lovely compared to soulless hotels! Great not to have tv in the room - just a great view of the harbour. tea & coffee facility in rooms would have been nice but no big deal.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Killarney Inn; City: Killarney County Kerry; Review: First impression on entering building was of cobwebs and dust in the hallway. Bedroom was no better - old fashioned, dirty, black mold in bathroom and smelt like student accommodation circa early 1990's! It was cheap and I guess you get what you pay for.....but surely keeping place clean isn't a big ask?; Rating: 1.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Colon Tuy; City: Tui Province of Pontevedra Galicia; Review: Stayed here before starting Camino Portuguese in Tui. Clean spacious rooms, friendly staff, central & close to starting point. Breakfast bit pricey at €11 so we stopped along route instead. Would recommend.; Rating: 4.0/5.0
Title: Dabarca Hotel Apartamentos; City: Pontevedra Province of Pontevedra Galicia; Review: Stayed here while on Camino Portuguese. 5 minute walk to old town. Rooms have additional lounge & kitchen area with utility room & bathroom. We were so delighted with the facilities and extra space, we felt like staying for the week! Spotlessly clean. Staff great. Would highly recommend; Rating: 5.0/5.0
Title: Hotel Rosalia; City: Padron Province of A Coruna Galicia; Review: I wish I could write a positive review for this hotel. I will, however, start on some of the positives. Hotel itself looks to be family run, is clean and spacious. The two women (sisters?) were friendly but two out of the three men working there were so unfriendly we actually felt unwelcome. Breakfast was an ordeal - waiter basically told us to get croissants (stale) from serving area and he gave us coffee. We saw him serving bread, cheeses rec to other tables- while chatting & being pleasant I might add. We said goodbye and thanked the older man on reception as we left and received no reply. Lovely quaint hotel but customer service really lets it down. We couldn't wait to leave; Rating: 2.0/5.0
Title: Pension da Estrela; City: Santiago de Compostela Province of A Coruna Galicia; Review: Stayed here on our last night of our Camino Portuguese. Centrally located near Cathedral and so cheap considering it's location. Very clean and staff so helpful and friendly. Probably needs repainting in some parts but for the service, price & location it's fantastic. Highly recommended; Rating: 5.0/5.0 | hotelrec |
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