On Online Reviews

Firstly, it’s worth noting that the majority if this post is really a reaction to the news story I was lucky enough to participate in for the local CBS affiliate.  I’m not really writing this for anyone’s benefit except my own because it’s something I’d like to remember and the only way I’ll remember it is to actually write about it.  So without further preamble, the link to the story:

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/indiana/whats-the-truth-the-money-behind-online-reviews

So in general, the topic is one that’s near and dear to my heart.  I’ve been avidly (read that: obsessively) reviewing books on Amazon for about … well, apparently almost a year.  In everyday non-review-related life I’ve said that honesty is a great gift to give someone.  If someone is doing something offensive or just plain wrong then the best thing you can do is tell them about it so they can stop doing it and offending everyone else in the universe.  It’s a hard thing to do but ultimately, at least in my opinion, it’s the correct “golden rule” behavior.  This is the concept that I try to carry into the book review process.  If someone is spending their precious free time pumping out books that are abominations to the English language… well, I’m going to say so.  Not everyone is intended to be a writer and perhaps that author who is slaving away on a 15th novel that’s of no use to anyone would make a wonderfully fine sculptor instead.  It’s never my intention to be cruel but I’m certainly not going to lie to someone and tell them they have a good book when really…. well, they’d be better served to take up professional cookery.

Starting from that general viewpoint, when WISH-TV approached me to do an interview on the topic of online reviews, I was exceedingly nervous about the prospect.  Let’s face it, I’m a computer programmer by trade.  The absolute last thing I want to do is anything that could even remotely be viewed as ‘public speaking’.  Nevertheless, a few factors acted to sway me enough to get in front of a camera and the foremost I credit to the interviewer herself.  Before actually sitting down with someone from the press I didn’t think much about who these people are or what they do for a living.  If asked, I would have simply assumed that they get in front of a camera and read off cue cards.  What else is there to it?  Talking to Teresa Mackin on the phone, however, I realized the finesse that’s required in this job as they get people to open up and talk about themselves.  As I talked to her on the phone that first day, I found myself blabbering on endlessly about the review process and going on and on rather effortlessly.  She said at one point that she’s “not intimidating” and as it turns out she’s quite expert at drawing out her interview prospects.  If she can get me to blather on like that then she can get anyone to.

The other part of the process that people don’t see, but that is ludicrously important, is the contribution of the guy running the camera.  Again, if you’d asked me a month ago what a TV cameraman does I would have said, rather ignorantly, “that he runs the camera.”  As it turns out, Teresa and her cameraman work as a wonderfully cohesive team.  Of course his primary responsibility is to run the equipment and get the visuals and audio but he’s also a key part of the interview process.  At one point Teresa turned to her camera operator and asked him if he had any questions.  I was surprised to hear her do this but his question set me off on a response that I felt especially passionate about and went on with for quite some time.  Simply put, the cameraman isn’t just running the camera.  He’s contributing key input to the whole interview process.  In closing on the interviewers, I was thoroughly impressed by the whole process.  In a way (well, ok, in every way) I’m jealous of just how much interesting news they must get to see first hand; these two are the sort of people for whom you’d buy dinner any day of the week just for the interesting stories that will no doubt result.

The last thing to cover is my reaction to this whole thing.  Being especially self-conscious, I refuse to watch the video.  When it aired, I got texts and emails from half a dozen people but personally I’ve not seen it and don’t plan to.  Perhaps it’s something akin to Teller (of Penn and Teller) who won’t speak on camera but I just don’t want to see myself on video.  It’s like I’m breaking through some freakish wall and seeing myself as others see me. Totally uncomfortable with that.  That said, I have to smile at the print version of the story.  I’ll admit that in general I tend to be rather hyperbolic in my use of language.  So when I saw myself quoted as saying “The books I’ve reviewed, I’ve tried to be devastatingly honest” I see my own personality loud and clear.  Based on that quote though, it’s clear to me why my inbox hasn’t been flooded with authors who want me to review their books.  ’Devastating’ isn’t exactly an adjective that anyone actively seeks out.

To sum up, it’s over.  I did this interview about a week and a half ago and waited on pins and needles for it to come out.  In some ways I’m glad it’s over.  On the whole though I’m glad that my only real public entry into the mainstream news was one in which I stood up for simple honesty and integrity.  I’m no Abe Lincoln, but I feel fortunate that the little bit of the world that knows me from this story knows that I just tell it like it is.  I’m not sure what better legacy one could have.

Alright.  Back to the reviews!

 

Always Watching by Chevy Stevens

Always Watching by Chevy Stevens

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As is the usual preamble, I received this book for free via the courtesy of a GoodReads giveaway. Despite that kind consideration, I will proceed to be abundantly honest about it.

The story is told from the viewpoint of a respected psychiatrist who didn’t have such great luck with raising her daughter. Early in life our protagonist barely escaped the influence of a vicious spiritual cult and now must struggle to bring the leaders of that cult to justice while balancing the needs of her drug-addicted and exceedingly remote daughter.

First and foremost with any book is to attempt to categorize it into a handy bin so that readers know whether they have any interest in the concepts at all. In general, suspense novels fall into two major categories. The first is the forensic bin, all about blood splatters and footprints. The second is more emotional, in which we hear in detail how the characters feel and react to situations. This book is a subtle blending of the two, but the forensic side, rather than being focused on the physics of the crime scene, delves into the psychology and motivations of the characters involved. While many thrillers are “ripped from the headlines”, this novel is “ripped from the DSM” (DSM = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for those among the uninitiated.)

Steven’s characters, and her protagonist especially, are vivid and touching. One can easily imagine a mother, a thousand mothers, going through the same heart-breaking disconnect that her main character does as she tries to balance her professional life, her search for justice and her love for her daughter all at once. All in all it’s a brilliantly rendered episode in this character’s life.

The only remotely negative thing I would say is that it does tend to go on a bit. About three quarters of the way through I found my mind wandering. The real power of the novel peters out after a while and only the hope for a conclusion can bring the reader back around. On the whole though this is a rather weak complaint and one that I make only in the attempt at SOME sort of balance between positive and negative.

In summary, “Always watching” is … well, I’ll dispense with the usual cliched terms. It grabs your attention well and keeps it quite thoroughly. The author obviously did her homework and it shows in this well-written and true-to-life novel of life in a oppressive spiritual cult and one woman’s quest to stop the abuse. Top notch!

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Ten Thousand Heavens by Chuck Rosenthal

Ten Thousand Heavens by Chuck Rosenthal

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book free of charge in a LibraryThing giveaway. Despite that kind consideration by the publisher, I give my candid feedback below.

In a nutshell, the book is fundamentally Watership Down, but with horses. A troubled horse finds a connection in her new trainer and their lives become inseparably intertwined.

On the positive side, the author does a reasonable job of viewing the world through the eyes of these noble and intelligent creatures. While I’m not a horse person myself I can see how his portrayal of the inner workings of their minds might not be far off the mark. They are, I suspect, smarter than we give them credit for and do have mental lives more complex than we dare to speculate about.

Sadly, the negative side of the book far outweighs any equine insight by the author. After a reasonable start at an intimate character sketch of two species, the author endeavors to conceive a plot which is at the same time maudlin, beyond any reasonable credibility and much better suited to a childrens’ novel. The use of profanity, which adds nothing to the book, sadly ruins it for consumption by the young adult market, however.

In summary, this is a child’s story written for an adult audience that will be left with eyes rolling. It reminded me strongly of the “Land Before Time” series of movies that my now teenager enjoyed so much when she was a small child. It is this reviewer’s opinion that the book should be cleft in twain. One half can stand alone as the story of a relationship between a man and his horse without need for contrived plot lines. The other half can entertain children with its story but divest itself of all the unnecessary adultness.

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Pale Horses by Jassy Mackenzie

Pale Horses by Jassy Mackenzie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As usual, I received this book via a GoodReads giveaway and therefore paid nothing for it. Despite that very kind consideration by the publisher, I give my candid opinions below.

Placing this book in a tidy nutshell, this is a classic ‘who-dun-it’ set in South Africa. A woman is dead, ostensibly killed in a base jumping accident. The worried boyfriend has engaged the services of the esteemed Jade to find the real killer before the cops come along and pin it on him.

The setting adds somewhat to the novel as we get a small smattering of local color and culture one wouldn’t expect in a more western-focused novel. Our author does a great job of misdirection and the ending is anything but the typical. I’m not a particularly regular reader of this genre but this veered off in a direction I didn’t really expect at the outset. Mackenzie’s rendering of character is vivid and her descriptions of violence or wonderfully graphic, though tasteful and used only when necessary.

The downside here is that at times her novel seems a bit preachy and struggles to make a political point. While I agree at least in part with her assertions, the tactic she uses is at times overly blunt-force.

On the whole, for fans of the suspense genre, this is a reasonably amusing series. The unique geography sets the book apart from most and the storyline doesn’t fall into the usual predictable track. This is no Agatha Christie, but it’s a fair start towards that standard.

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Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova

Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As usual, I received this book for nothing from a GoodReads giveaway but despite that kindness I give it my candid opinion below.

Our author’s submission is one of those that tries to be two things at once, cross-selling you on a bit of neuroscience in the context of Sherlock Holmes as favorite fictional genius. The basic format boils down to something like this:

* Quote from a Sherlock Holmes story
* Here’s what Holmes did that was so genius
* Here’s what Watson, mental midget, did. [explanation of psychological foible or misapprehension Watson succombed too]
* Don’t be like Watson; here’s how you can think more like Holmes

As a pattern, it’s not bad. Assuming the reader is a fan of Holmes, it’s a fairly good gateway to the headier topics of Neuroscience and Psychology.

Personally, I found the whole thing rather cloying. I’ve read a dozen books on this topic so the slow and easy introduction to the science was rather annoying and ponderous. I found myself skimming over the quotes and introductory banter to find the real meat of what she was trying to get at.

So in summary, a good introduction to the topic if you’re a fan of Holmes. If you’re past the introductory stage though, best to look elsewhere. There really is a lot of noise and at the end of it the material covered is done more incisively in other popular works on the topic.

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From Muhammed to Burj Khalifa: A Crash Course in 2,000 Years of MIddle East History by Michael Rank

From Muhammed to Burj Khalifa: A Crash Course in 2,000 Years of MIddle East History by Michael Rank

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First and as always, this arrived on my doorstep for free, this time courtesy of a GoodReads giveaway. Despite that very kind consideration, I will review it with absolute and dispassionate candor.

When I signed up for this book I didn’t read the description very closely and I expected a large, hardcover book that would take a few weeks to slog through. Honestly I was rather excited at the prospect so when this teeny thing showed up I was a bit put off. To its credit, it certainly is brief. No topic, no matter how complicated, takes more than 2-3 pages to be laid out in its entirety. It’s simple, readable and accessible to anyone over the age of 12.

On the negative side of things, I would have been horrified had I paid for this. While it is simple, it is also in need of some editing. At the beginning particularly there are several simple typos and at one point it seems that a page might be missing. Further, the text is SO boiled down that one begins to doubt the veracity and completeness of what is being presented. This is a great overview but a rather terrifying one. The back of the book says, “by end you’ll know as much as you would after a year-long college course.” I’d feel really bad if I took a two-semester course on Middle-Eastern history and this was all I got out of it.

In summary, this is about as much history as you could pack into an hour of reading. Informative to be sure, but disappointing to anyone wanting something with a bit more meat on it.

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The Iron Duke by L. Ron Hubbard

The Iron Duke by L. Ron Hubbard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As usual, I received this book for free in a LibraryThing giveaway. It’s also worth noting that I’m not typically a fan of the audio book genre so when this one showed up at my doorstep I was not disappointed but I was a bit out of my usual familiar literary format.

On the positive side, the whole thing is professionally and crisply presented. Rather than being a mere narration of the text of the novel, the presentation features half a dozen or more voice actors, sound effects and musical score. It’s really more of a radio play than an audio book. Those nostalgic for the golden days of radio may get their fix here.

On the negative side, the story was nothing special. This is merely pulp which has as its primary draw the fact that there’s so much of it rather than any thought-provoking novelty. Hubbards story is rather predictable and cliche but for those who are fans of the pulp genre, that’s entirely to be expected. Also, some of the voice characterizations were entirely over the top, but again, that’s in line with the radio dramatization tradition. I just wouldn’t want to be buttonholed by some of these gents at a party.

In summary, a well appointed vocal adaptation of a less than stellar work of writing. There’s no great depth to be plumbed here for readers but I suspect that’s what most fans are looking for so have at it with gusto.

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