The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Other Stories / Washington Irving

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Other Stories

(category: collection)
by

Washington Irving

published by Dover Publications in 2008
(stories were written between 1820 and 1824)
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

When I spotted this book in the library I thought, it's about time to read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The name and basic concept were familiar -- from the Disney cartoon. I had never seen more than excerpts from the cartoon but neither had I read anything of the original story. I prefer to read; here was my chance to catch up with a classic.

Sleepy Hollow is quite fun: a view into life in a particular part of early America, characters exaggerated but with some sympathy, humour that may have faded with age. Several of the other stories are written in a similar style (though mostly with less humour). Slow reading due to the somewhat convoluted writing style of the time. A nice appreciation of the beauties of Nature.

Some of the stories are, in fact, essays: descriptions and opinions rather than plot and character. The Mutability of Literature, written in 1820, is fascinating -- for its relevance to today.

In Mutability, Irving has a conversation with an old book. They discuss the way in which books -- ideas and literature -- fade with time, as people stop reading those older books. Why do these old books get forgotten? Because they are replaced -- in the reader's attention -- by new books. Irving points out that this process has sped up since the invention of the fast-printing, movable type, printing press. And what is happening today? Instant "publishing" via the Internet, causing yesterday's ideas to be overwritten, faster than ever. An interesting insight into today, from almost 200 years ago!

I enjoyed each story but could only read them slowly. The wordy style combined with the difference from my usual fare, slowed me down. There are still five stories unread but I have reached the limit of allowed library borrowing. It's disappointing -- I really would like to find out what is in the final stories -- but this good book will now return back to the library.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Viscous Circle / Piers Anthony

Viscous Circle

(category: science fiction)
book 5 of Cluster Series by

Piers Anthony

published by Grafton Books in 1982
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 5 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Anthony likes to take a play on words -- and work it to death. Viscous circle, a planet of doughnut -- circular -- aliens, discussion groups where the circular aliens form a circle for exchange of ideas. Ah well, it can be entertaining.

Viscous Circle presents a simple yet perfect civilisation: no nasty thoughts, no lies, no fighting, no fear of death because their heaven -- the "viscous circle" -- is so perfect. Humans, of course, come in to spoil it all. Only the hero -- a human mind transferred into a doughnut body -- can save the aliens. First, he falls in love with a female alien (then cements the bond with circle sex). He tries to teach the pacifist aliens to fight back, but they die rather than fight. Only the hero can save the day, and he is willing to die to do it.

But wait a moment: isn't that the plot of Avatar?!

Avatar was accused of plagiarism... of various stories. Viscous Circle can be added to the list of possible inspirations. In fact, the "military human spies on aliens, falls for alien girl, sympathises with alien culture, fights against human evils" plot is very, very standard in science fiction. And in fantasy. And in any other genre where bigger, social issues are explored. Just add Viscous Circle to the list of stories where one human sees the light and protects the innocent aliens against the rest of (evil) humanity.

Apart from that, the book offers very little. Take a bunch of doughnuts who fly along magnetic lines of force. Explore and explain what this will do to their lifestyle. Add doughnut sex and human sex. Leaven with perfect pacifists and evil invaders... It's an Anthony fable pushing his own ideas of right and wrong.

Speaking of which... Anthony seems to feel that both of these civilisations offer full equality of the sexes. Then he tells us how every female, in every race of the galaxy, is a conniving schemer, intent on gaining flattery and top quality sperm. The "perfect" doughnut aliens also have internal contradictions. Their stated aim is to gain as much knowledge as possible, then die, so that their knowledge can be absorbed back into the unified, after-death consciousness. Yet they show no interest in seeking knowledge outside their own group of planets.

At the end is an Anthony, I-am-always-right author's rant: interesting but strange. On the interesting side, this seems to have been his his last SF novel before he switched to fantasy (well, to fantasy with some SF). Interesting. But it doesn't make this book any better than, "adequate".

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Storm Front / Jim Butcher

Storm Front

(category: fantasy)
book 1 of Dresden Files by

Jim Butcher

published by Orbit in 2000
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 8 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Magic in modern-day Chicago... The hero is a wizard in the private eye mold: tough, honest, fair, put-upon. And he's a gentleman who wants to protect the innocent. It doesn't hurt, that the innocent are often incredibly attractive young women. For even more emphasis on Dresden's nice-guy image, one of the attractive women is protecting her two adorable children... Mind you, there are also a lot of young, attractive women who are involved in the sex trade.

I like the fit of magic into modern Chicago. There are magic-user rules which -- in general -- protect non-magic users. When these rules are broken, Karrin of the Chicago police gets very upset. Dresden helps Karrin solve magical murders, while protecting Karrin from magic threats. Not everyone uses magic but there are still strong though minor roles for the non-magicians. One very minor character is a policeman: he is scruffy, cynical, dislikes Dresden -- but is still recognised as being an extremely intelligent cop. See the positive in everyone!

Meanwhile, Dresden meets, argues with and fights against all sorts of magical creatures and forces. These are sort of familiar but uniquely interesting -- characters who are interesting, helpful, scary, threatening -- without being too outlandish. Lots of action, solid plot, good characters, mystery to be resolved, life-threatening climax followed by a happy ending. Enjoyable. Very!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

New Moon / Stephenie Meyer

New Moon

(category: fantasy, romance)
book 2 of Twilight by

Stephenie Meyer

published by Atom in 2006
Nick read a new book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 8 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Another great romance! Okay, I've also labelled it as a fantasy but romance is the main theme: Bella still has to remind herself to breathe when she is kissing Edward. There are hints that this love may be even more; that Bella and Edward are linked at some mystic level of conjoined souls; that there is some physical requirement for proximity, that the two will physically collapse if their love is not requited.

Still, any reader of romances knows that that is all true of any pair of true lovers.

I did feel that New Moon was shading into "horror" but it's a relatively light touch. It is, however, definitely "fantasy". Twilight could almost have been pure romance: tweak here, minor rewrite there, make Edward an innocent member of a Mafia family, the fantasy could have been downplayed even further. New Moon depends on the fantasy element: if Jacob was able to put on a suit and tie and become an FBI agent, the book would just not be the same.

You could almost see these first two Twilight volumes as being chapters one through four of a single novel: first, introduce Bella and Edward, then introduce Jacob and the Volturi. Next volume will -- I hope -- build up the conflict, to be resolved in volume four. I look forward to it!

An aside on the Volturi: They live in a castle, in the walled Italian town of Volterra. Top of a mountain, cramped town with narrow streets, car park outside... Is this the same town that was visited -- at great peril -- by the hero of The Genesis Code? Or is Italy just littered with these closed-in, closed-off towns of mystery...

I was surprised, in New Moon, at how small a role was played by vampires. My mistake: I had understood the books to be about vampires but the fantasy scope is much broader than that. I enjoyed meeting Jacob and his friends; I appreciated the heartbreak of his one-sided love -- with no expectation (for the reader) that Bella would ever love him in return. His brave acceptance that he is suddenly no good for Bella -- then he is dropped, without ceremony, when Edward returns to Bella's life. Ah! young love! Oh! the pain!

New Moon is every bit as good as Twilight. Perhaps even better... I had been wondering just where the author could go with the human/vampire love story. My wondering has been more than satisfied. I look forward to reading books three and four... but not immediately. There is, after all, a limit -- be still, my beating heart! -- to the level of tormented romance which I can handle at any one time.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

The Dwarves (Die Zwerge) / Markus Heitz

The Dwarves
(Die Zwerge)

(category: fantasy)
by

Markus Heitz (translated by Sally-Ann Spencer)

published by Heyne Verlag in 2003
English translation published by Orbit in 2009
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 9 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

From one point of view, this is just a good fantasy novel. What sets it apart is... the point of view. This is the only book that I have read where the dwarves are the central characters. Sure, every fantasy quest has men, elves, hobbit equivalents... and dwarves. And yes, the dwarves are tough, loyal, etc. Then there was the LoTR movie, where Gimli suffered the ignominy of being cast as comic relief. Now -- at last -- a book where dwarves are treated as more than just quest-group fillers.

The dwarves of The Dwarves are real characters: They have history, depth, emotions -- and variety. Good dwarves and bad, honest and sneaky, leaders, tradesmen and fighters. Yet all are distinctly dwarves, as distinct from men and elves. And -- my own preference -- the good guys are good and the baddies are obviously bad. (Though it does take a while for the good guys to recognise, or to prove, the badness of some of the baddies.)

A rip-roaring fantasy adventure, with plenty of close calls and good luck. (Meaning that even I can see that a more miserable author could have made life even more difficult for the heroes.) Enjoyable from start to finish, with happy endings all round, as the final plot twists are revealed.

My only problem was with the language. This book was written in German, as Die Zwerge. The English translation is excellent -- just different to English as I expect it. I can't even put my finger on it, it just causes my reading to stumble, occasionally. Once I realised that I really was reading a German book translated to English, I relaxed and read happily to the end. And hope that it is not really The End: I look forward to finding out what evil is lurking in the west...

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A blog reader asked me if The Dwarves was suitable for children. Specifically, an eight-year-old who enjoys reading long fantasy books. This is my reply:

I would say that book one (The Dwarves) is okay for children. Let your son know that the book is translated from German (unless he is reading in German?!). It may interest him if he notices the occasional not-quite-common-English phrasing. Best point, book one is "complete" -- happy endings all round, just a strong indication that a further story will follow.

The second book (The War of the Dwarves) is *not* a children's book. Too much violent death, too many plot threads, too many characters to follow, not as good a book as the first. I've not read the third.

So... Get hold of The Dwarves, book one, for your son. But don't get either of the follow-up books. In my opinion :-)

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes & documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Breville Stratus / kettle

Breville Stratus

(category: kettle)
by

Breville

We bought a new kettle, in 2009

Agamedes' opinion: 5 out of 10

It's a cord-free kettle. It boils water. There's not much more, on the "plus" side... So let's consider the facts which make me dislike this kettle.

This kettle is supposed to turn itself off when the water boils. How long are you willing to wait? It boils, and boils and boils... Full, vigorous roiling & boiling... Then, finally, it will turn off. Sure, it works -- eventually. I would prefer to see a kettle which boils and then turns itself off. Then there's the lid. Press a button and the lid pops open -- barely. There is a spring but the spring is far too weak. If the lid is going to open, it should open all the way. As it is -- if you want to fill the kettle from the tap -- you press the button and then manually lift the lid the rest of the way.

Oh yes, there is one more "plus": If you lift the kettle off its power supply, it does switch off. So if you lift up, pour hot water, put it back on the base -- the kettle will not continue to heat. That's a sensible safety precaution.

But with a dodgy lid and slow-to-react cut-off, I will be looking for a better kettle, next time.

Addendum (June 2010)

Remember the slow turn-off when it boils? And the weak spring helping to open the lid? (I hope you remember... It's what I wrote about, just a few paragraphs above this...)

There's yet another problem... the catch to hold the lid closed, is too weak.

When the kettle boils -- it boils on and on. Long past the point at which a person would have said, this kettle is boiling, turn off. There is plenty of time for the steam in the boiling kettle to build up pressure. That steam pressure -- forces the lid open!

If you let the kettle boil -- expecting that the auto-shut-off will automatically shut it off -- then the lid may pop open. It pops fully open -- the steam pressure has more power than the worthless lid-opening spring.

Worse yet: with the lid now open, the kettle will not stop boiling. So the kettle will boil on... and on... and on. Presumably, till it boils down, catches fire, burns the house down and starts a repeat of the Great Fire of Wherever-you-live.

Look, I would love it if you followed the link to Amazon, bought a kettle (or anything else) and earned me a small commission. And yes, the link is to a Breville kettle. Just make sure that what you buy is better than a Breville Stratus.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Ardor / Lily Prior

Ardor

(category: fantasy)
by

Lily Prior

published by ecco / Harper Collins in 2004
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 6 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

More a fairy-tale than a fantasy... Mysterious woman follows her instincts to go to a new place -- following a sort of "that direction feels right" internal compass. The new village is full of over-the-top eccentrics who plot, overact and fall madly in love. Even the mule -- the story-teller -- is in love. With a human. The Tuscany countryside matches the excitement, with wild abundance, rich & fertile stock & crops, an extreme drought, followed by a thunderous storm to break the drought. Finally, most issues are resolved, lovers pair off -- not necessarily as expected -- and the mysterious woman leaves town. A cheerful fantasy of Spring rites. An easy-reading fantasy for fun and enjoyment.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Superman: True Brit / Kim "Howard" Johnson et al

Superman: True Brit

(category: fantasy)
by

Kim "Howard" Johnson et al

published by DC Comics in 2004
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 5 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

This is a comic. An "illustrated novel" would be being polite. I suspect that it intends to be "humour" as much as fantasy, but it fails. It could be "social satire" -- with the message shovelled on like manure. Perhaps its message is aimed at avid readers of the tabloid press, which is a prime target of the "social satire". Overall, this comic is just a little bit ugly.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

The Green Trap / Ben Bova

The Green Trap

(category: thriller)
by

Ben Bova

published by Forge / Tom Doherty in 2006
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 5 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

This is a thriller based on a scientific breakthrough. A cheap and easy process for the production of hydrogen means that the oil/energy industry will be ruined. Energy moguls want the new information suppressed. They are supported by the politicians in their pockets. Scientists succumb to pressure, lust and greed. Only the hero --an unworldly, friendless scientist -- wants to release the new knowledge to the world. Past half-way and some terrorists appear. They hate Russia and want to release the cheap hydrogen technology so that Russia -- earning heaps of money from its oil -- will be financially ruined. "At last!" I thought, "Some people who know what they are doing!" The concept of this book is fine; the characters are ridiculous... For example: as soon as there is a physical threat, the hero completely forgets about the personal alarm which he carries.

Strangely enough, though, my main criticism of the book is in the use of email... The secret of the hydrogen extraction process is on CDs. The hero puts it all into a zip file and sends copies to friends. The baddies then steal the PCs from the friends -- and believe that they now have every single copy of the data! Good grief! Look in "Sent mail"... look on any server between sender and receiver... download another copy of the email... Once sent, it's almost impossible to remove all copies of an email -- yet the baddies think that they can steal a few PCs and destroy all of the evidence! The stupidity of the main characters made this a difficult book to enjoy. The misunderstanding of email and the internet are an embarrassment.

Come to think of it: The new hydrogen extraction process is done by genetically modified bacteria. Everyone is fighting to control the notes which explain what was done. Meanwhile -- the bacteria are happily sitting in a tank, growing, breeding and producing hydrogen. Who needs the notes on their creation?!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Summer Knight / Jim Butcher

Summer Knight

(category: fantasy)
book 4 of The Dresden Files by

Jim Butcher

published by Orbit in 2005
Nick read a Library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 8 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Did I enjoy this book? Well, I finished reading it. Wondered a bit about the various characters, trying to sort out who was who... then read the book again. Yes, I enjoyed it... the second time, too ! This is only the second Dresden book that I have read; I would like to read the entire series. It seems to me that Summer Knight is slightly darker than Small Favour. In this earlier book (Summer Knight) the hero Harry Dresden is suffering guilt, for imagined failings from earlier books. This book brings him through the guilt; the later book has less emotional baggage. Summer Knight is excellent fun, with a cast of likable characters. Even the villains are not simply evil for the sake of it. Well, not all of them, anyway. Dresden is a wizard with strong and developing powers. He is also a nice bloke. As he says, "For me, chivalry isn't dead; it's an involuntary reflex." I suspect that this book scored high in part because I was in a mood where I needed "a good read"... but is is still, definitely... a good read.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

The Green-Eyed Monster / Peter O'Donnell

The Green-Eyed Monster

(category: action)
book 7? of Modesty Blaise by

Peter O'Donnell
(illustrated by Enric Badia Romero)

published in newspapers in 1970
published in book form by Titan Books in 2005
Nick read a library book, in March 2010
(and previously in The West, certainly two of the three stories)

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

You're either a Modesty Blaise fan... or you're not. I am -- and I enjoyed each of the three stories in this book. It seems that the artist -- Romero -- was new to Modesty Blaise, so they started him with a simple plot: based around a troupe of dancing girls trapped in an Arab harem... Riiight... I wonder if the harem theme is why I can't remember reading that story before... Too many harem outfits to be published in The West!?

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Create Cards & Calendars using your own Digital Photos / Graham Davis & Adam Juniper

Create Cards & Calendars using your own Digital Photos

(category: self-help)
a book from Reader's Digest by

Graham Davis & Adam Juniper

published by The Ilex Press in 2007
Nick read a library book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Have you ever sat there, staring at folder after folder of great photos, wondering what to do with them all? Getting them organised into albums could be a start... Using just a few for cards & calendars is another great idea. This book tells you how. Sort of. It provides a CD of templates plus instructions for use. The instructions are based around use of Photoshop Elements. What you end up with, is a basic introduction to Photoshop -- with a specific task, to make it interesting. I've used PE (Photoshop Elements) and thought, this is great! A bit later I thought, but so what? I want an album of photos to show to friends & family. They want to see photos of what we look like, where we've been... not a small number of artistic works of art. All I want is crop & brighten. But a one-off card or calendar, using PE on just a small number of photos -- that seems worthwhile. And this is the book to get you started. Follow the straightforward instructions. Use the well-designed templates. Have some fun with PE. And end up with cards & calendars which will impress friends & family. As a PE tutorial with a definite purpose -- this is one of the best books that I have seen.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Dragonspell / Katharine Kerr

Dragonspell

(category: fantasy)
book 4 of Deverry by

Katharine Kerr

published by Grafton Books in 1990
Nick read a library book, in March 2010
(and before, in May 2002)

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

Another entertaining book in the Deverry series. There are obvious loose ends, promises and situations for more books... but this book does form some sort of conclusion. In book one (Daggerspell) a man made a mistake and vowed to correct it. Four hundred years later -- in the fourth novel -- that mistake has been corrected. Meanwhile, heroes & villains have come and (sometimes) gone, empires explored, revolutions stopped -- or possibly just delayed -- and children with strange potential have been born. Is this the end? No way! This is an entertaining book, though the main adventure is almost independent of the dynastic "over-theme" of the entire series. One great bonus -- especially having just read The edge of the world -- this one book has a beginning, a middle and an end! On the down-side... I'm glad that I skipped books 2 and 3. I suspect that I would have been annoyed at their diversions from the overall dynastic theme.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Understanding Total Quality Management / John Macdonald

Understanding Total Quality Management

(category: management) by

John Macdonald

one of the series, (management) in a week
published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1993
Nick read a library book, in February 2010

Nick's rating: 5 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

A handy little guide to TQM. Not so much a text as an overview. It's like an MBA: tells you enough to know when to call what sort of expert. As with TQM itself, there is a rosy optimism, an expectation that management and staff can overcome their limitations and all work harmoniously together... Near the start of the book, various standard definitions of "quality" are given. There is no mention that the various definitions contradict each other... a standard oversight in TQM texts. In the section on "tools", the limitations of the book become more obvious. A few tools are mentioned but with no useful explanation of their use. A sample "measurement chart" stands out, as a fine example of incomprehensibility. The book is a handy little guide to some of the ideas but no more.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Larkin about in Ireland / John Larkin

Larkin about in Ireland

(category: travel)
by

John Larkin

published by Hodder Headline Australia in 2002
Nick read a 2nd hand book, in April 2009

Nick's rating: 3 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

The author appears to hate Australia. He also seems hates his family. By the time I had struggled through half the book -- and he had barely reached Ireland -- I was sick of his insults and negative views of, well, everything. This is definitely not a travel guide to Ireland. It's just nasty rubbish.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Daggerspell / Katharine Kerr

Daggerspell

(category: fantasy)
book 1 of Deverry by

Katharine Kerr

published by GraftonBooks in 1986/93
Nick read a library book, in February 2010

Nick's rating: 8 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

I was reading The Road, which -- as far as I had read till then -- was solid misery... and I turned to Daggerspell to stop the feelings of despair. So I may be biased. But I certainly did enjoy this book! Sword and sorcery, heroic good guys -- and gals -- and a promise of greater things in the future. The story covers a group of "etheric doubles" -- souls -- who follow their "wyrd" -- or fate -- by being reborn until they get things right. It was hard to remember who was who (whom?!) in each of the three incarnations in the book; they had different names and only one or two mentions of their "original" characters. (If only I'd known about the cross-reference at the end of the book!) So, I simply accepted that each adventure was somehow related -- and enjoyed the final one, where there was a more happy conclusion. Good enough, I thought, to look forward to finding more books in the Deverry series.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

The Edge of the World / Kevin J Anderson

The Edge of the World

(category: fantasy)
book 1 of Terra Incognita by

Kevin J Anderson

published by Orbit in 2009
Nick read a new book, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 6 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

About half way through this book I began to think, Will anything ever happen? Yes, there were people getting in trouble, getting almost out of trouble, getting killed... but so what? Then I realised what was missing: plot! Yes, there was quite a bit happening but it was hard to believe it -- because there was no coherent thread; it was leading... apparently... nowhere. Ten different people having ten different adventures, in a shared world. (When I say "adventures", well, some chapters could be summarised as, "This character carried on what they were doing in several previous chapters.") To be fair, it was fairly interesting. Luckily, however, there were no characters who I really cared about: people tended to be killed suddenly. But who cared? There were no characters that I even liked, not even amongst those who survived to the end of this book. There are two major civilisations, the "Europeans" and the "Arabs". They go to war due to a series of accidents -- a good point to be made -- and the war escalates due to the unthinking religious intolerance on both sides. Each side then sets out to explore the world -- with the main aim of finding more people to draw into their war. What a miserable premise for exploration! What's worse, the explorers act like a bunch of kids on a picnic: minimum planning, no backup resources, no guards in the isolated desert camp, no disaster planning... The problem is, this is not a novel. It's a soap opera -- with no main characters, no key objectives, no single challenge to be overcome. Just a lot of inter-related threads with the only possible end to a thread being the death of every character involved. Though if further books are still selling, I can see the children stepping forward to avenge imagined wrongs against their parents. If you want to fill in some time with light entertainment, read this book. If you want a novel -- with plot and characters and logic and conflict and resolution -- try something else.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

movie: A Day at the Oasis

A Day at the Oasis

(category: movie: Comedy Romance?)
by

Beckett (writer) & Lethbridge (director)

Produced by Caffeine Pills Productions in 2010
Nick was invited to the movie premiere, in March 2010

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

It's difficult to know what to think, when your own son directs a movie. Sure, it'll be "okay" -- we trust Tim's judgement, and he seems satisfied that the movie is okay. But what will we say, if there are major flaws? More important: it's neither science fiction nor fantasy, so will I be interested at all?!

Yet even as the titles roll, I am reassured. This will be, a good movie!

Here's this dweeb, fussing about, preparing for a speed dating session. Interspersed with titles written with chalk on a blackboard -- no expense spared:-) There are a few good chuckles, right from the start.

The other characters appear, in dribs and drabs: it's clear that this speed dating will not be a huge success. Dorks, dweebs, drongos. Miserable or shy or stupid or rude or loud... or all of the above. But -- as we find out -- all are lonely. Not at all people you would be afraid to meet in a dark alley. Just people who you would cross the road to avoid, to avoid the prospect of uncomfortable conversation. And the movie brings us to understand, sympathise with, almost like, all of them.

This is our son's second movie. The first was made by friends and family, purely amateur involvement. It came from a statement, after watching a "professional" movie, that, "We could do better than that!" And they did! This second movie began with a friend with a script. As far as I know, the writer, producer, director, editor... all have "real", other jobs. Actors, film crew, various others, are a mix of professional, semi-professional and amateur.

The actors do great work, bringing their characters to life. At first I am embarrassed, particularly by the man in charge, as he fails to bring life to the meeting. Then I am brought to understand and appreciate: at least he is trying. Others come out of their shells, or let us know that they really are okay human beings, still inside their shells.

Technically... I am not qualified to judge. It looks good, it sounds good, it all flows well. The movie is a straightforward story of a group of possibly ordinary people, learning and growing. A strength of the movie is that we grow to understand, possibly even like, these ordinary people. (Even if we would still cross the road to avoid speaking with them!)

Best of all -- to my way of thinking -- there is a happy ending!

I was going to rate this movie as eight out of ten. But wondered if I was perhaps biased. And finally decided, a rating of seven leaves room for the next movie... to be even better!

Movie Update

June 2010: A Day at The Oasis has been accepted for a film festival: Revelations Film Festival. There is also an written interview by FTI, the Film and Television Institute -- and an interview with the Director on ABC TV News.

Read, watch, listen, enjoy. And -- if you can -- see Oasis at its Festival screening!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.