Alternative 3 / Ken Mitchell

Alternative 3

category: thriller, author:

Ken Mitchell

original copyright 2003

read in December 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

The book began slowly.

Oh dear, I though, another Nazi-who-survived-the-war thriller. Not that I can remember reading any others... but it does seem that the top Nazis were really tough to kill. Like zombies, really: they seem to be... ended, yet as soon as you turn your back -- they're back.

Anyway, Alternative 3 is not another Nazi-who-survived-the-war thriller.

After a somewhat boring introduction -- the backstory -- we meet the hero of this book. And then the fun begins!

A nerd hero, with extreme hacker skills. Watched by his parole officer. Watching as several friends and acquaintances are destroyed by the group behind a major conspiracy... By that I mean, destroyed by the people who want their existence to be hidden behind a wild conspiracy "theory"...

The hero is not a true nerd. Sure, he can hack into any system... Just give him a safety pin to short-circuit a public phone line and within minutes he'll have cracked into the NORAD site and be using NORAD radar to track the real Santa... Yet despite these skills, he gets the girl. He could have had the other girl. And he can pedal mutant bikes across deserts and security fences.

This is the hero that we all want to be... smart, sneaky and successful with women. (Feel free to replace "women" with "men", as appropriate.)

Once Alternative hits its stride, it is non-stop fun. About as believable as any over-the-top conspiracy theory. (In an end-of-book author's note, Mitchell writes that he used conspiracies straight from the internet. It's not just "the truth" that's out there...) Although, interestingly enough...

By the end of the book, we still don't know -- for sure -- how much of the conspiracy theory is "true". Sure, there's a cover-up. Sure, there's advanced technology. But is the entire "theory" correct? We never find out...

As with any conspiracy-based thriller, the story is in the battle for survival. So as not to strain the reader's willing suspension of disbelief, thrillers end with a valid reason why the unmasked conspiracy is still not widely known... The usual method is, to destroy all evidence.

Was it Michael Crichton who spent an entire book discovering a tribe of intelligent apes -- only to have every single one of them destroyed in the final chapter? With every trace of their homes also -- conveniently -- destroyed? That's the typical, weak, wrap-up of the major conspiracy uncovered / major discovery made style of book. And it's weak as water.

It's like a standard old style sit-com. It doesn't matter what happens during the episode. As long as the visible situation at the end is exactly the same as the situation at the start.

With Alternative 3, Mitchell avoids that weak ending.

Not that I'm entirely happy with the ending!

The book ends well. Loose ends wrapped up, plot twists satisfactorily explained. It's just that I would have liked the hero to make a more positive statement!

The first few chapters -- backstory to the conspiracy -- are hardly necessary. Then the hero successfully survives all that the baddies can throw at him. But really, his efforts have not changed the conspiracy status quo. At the end of this book -- we have returned to the start of the episode.

For my own satisfaction I like to think that... soon after the final chapter of this book... the hacker hero will get further into Alternative 3. Perhaps he will take it over. And steer it from the path of evil, to the path of niceness and good...

Apart from that... apart from my desire for the hero to do more that survive... it's a good book. (Perhaps I want the hero to do more that just survive, simply because I like him?!) Really quite a good book.

Just a tiny bit unbelievable (btw, that's intended as humourous irony). A few weaknesses... A previous reader of my copy of the book has circled the sentence where petrol is used to refuel a diesel vehicle... A question as to how many people are knowingly involved in the secondary conspiracy... and how was it all funded.

All that is nit-picking.

Read it, enjoy it.

And wonder what all those indestructible Nazis will get up to next...

..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.

PissWeakly: the Index

The Redemption of Althalus / David & Leigh Eddings

The Redemption of Althalus

category: fantasy, author:

David & Leigh Eddings

original copyright 2000

read in December 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 5 out of 10

This is a book that you simply cannot put down.

I made the mistake of putting it down. Which gave me time to think: this book is a load of rubbish...

It was easy reading, though nothing much was happening. As long as I kept on reading -- with my mind in neutral -- I was happy with the book. It was only when I stopped to think, that I realised that I was not enjoying it.

That was about a third of the way in. By half way I was struggling. Lightweight froth, ridiculously weak plot, too much talk and not enough action.

Page 279 of 693 and I have given up.

Redemption is a moralising child's fable. Where the child should be a tweener girl with religious inclinations and a leaning towards simplistic romance. Perhaps that child would enjoy the book. As a parent I would prefer my children to not read such nonsense.

The two main characters start to kiss. This is getting a bit hot, thinks the man. Perhaps we shouldn't, says the woman. Okay we won't, says the man. And that's that.

If you think that that's a bit... childish?... then you really don't want to meet the cat... She's soooo cute and cuddly and how could anyone possibly resist her... Fine for a while but eventually grates on the nerves.

Then there's the moralising. It's not too long but it's regular.

One character will suggest something. Another character will explain that that's wrong, immoral, not nice. The first character will agree. It's not character development, it's morality lessons for the reader.

Perhaps the authors have not heard that authors should show rather than explain.

On the positive side: This is, "A new single-volume epic". I appreciate that. I am rather sick and tired of fantasy books that just have characters from previous volumes carrying on with previous actions. If an author doesn't know how to end the story -- perhaps they should go back to authors' school.

If you believe that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is essential reading for every child then your children should also be forced to read The Redemption of Althalus. Perhaps Redemption also includes someone being sacrificed. On the bright side, the characters in Redemption are not as creepy as those in the Wardrobe. They are simply so nice, so clever, so always correct and so good... that they make you cringe.

Enough.

Perhaps, too much.

..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.

PissWeakly: the Index

Unseen Academicals / Terry Pratchett

Unseen Academicals

category: fantasy, humour, author:

Terry Pratchett

book 37 of Discworld
original copyright 2009

read in December 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10: really quite good

Yet another Discworld book... Many of the same old characters... Still a lot of fun!

Actually, there are more new characters than old. At least, more story built around the new characters. Which is good. For a while, Discworld seemed to be in a bit of a slump, with familiar characters -- admittedly in new adventures -- but acting largely as expected.

Going Postal was an earlier return to form... Well, a return to a new start, with many new characters... Anyway... Going Postal has been made into a movie. Perhaps (I think to myself) because Going Postal has a story which can stand alone.

Unseen Academicals can also stand alone.

Yes, there are several well known wizards of Unseen University. Ridcully's character has become somewhat more realistic, Ponder Stibbons has developed his career and the Dean has changed jobs. Rincewind has a cameo role -- in his usual put-upon style -- but he is now accepted as a regular staff member of UU. The wizards have more depth to their characters.

The non-academic staff of UU has also made an appearance. Many of these characters are new. (To me, anyway. Perhaps they did appear in books that I have not yet read?) These newly-revealed people -- plus a few from outside UU -- play the key roles in Academicals.

The writing style has also changed.

I complained about the hopeless loser role of Rincewind in The Colour of Magic. Now the characters are strong... almost super strong. Nutt the dribbler (see below) is -- to not give too much away -- more than he seems. As he develops his self-confidence, he becomes almost unstoppable... Perhaps even unstoppable, forget the "almost".

Other characters also assert themselves. Which adds up to a totally unbelievable story which is all, perfectly... believable. Believable, that is, given the inherent magic of a world which rides on the backs of elephants which stand on a rather large turtle.

So the characters assert themselves. Far more than in earlier books. The magic is more visible. Even if it is restricted in order to avoid full-on magic wars. And the social commentary is more direct.

The social commentary is hard and direct. Which is fine because it does not in any way detract from the entertainment. In Monstrous Regiment (from memory; I read it long before I began these reviews) the satire is slathered on with a trowel. Hammered home with a sledge hammer. This is not a problem with Academicals.

The satire is strong but not intrusive. The message that everyone deserves to be treated fairly is... well... perhaps slathered on a bit thickly. Yet it does not detract from the fun of the story.

And the societal activity which is the target of this book? It's football... Or soccer, to some.

Which brings me back to Nutt the dribbler.

How do you get those wax candles with the spooky shapes of dribbled wax down the side? You hire a candle dribbler, of course! Which links nicely -- perhaps subtly -- I almost missed it :-) -- to the theme of the book. Which is soccer.

An excellent book in an excellent series. With no-one cast as a hopeless loser. Unless he really deserves it...

..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.

PissWeakly: the Index

Passion for Distance / Julia Thorn

Passion for Distance

category: "other", author:

Julia Thorn

original copyright 2011

read in December 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

What can I say?! A woman runs 100 marathons and writes a book about it... If you are interested in marathons -- read the book and set your target.

If you are not interested in marathons -- this book is still interesting. It's light and easy to read. There is no pressure to get the reader to follow the author into running around the world. It's just a series of linked anecdotes, backed by some explanation of why the author would run so many marathons...

And the answer is...

Why not?!

Some people collect stamps. Some people go bushwalking. Some people run marathons. Some day I may write a book called, "Our 100 Rogaines".

Julia Thorn presents her achievement -- and the steps on the way -- as just something that she did. Interesting, challenging, more varied than you would expect. No sense of a life-long desire to do something both difficult and memorable... Running 100 marathons is just something that she has done.

I do like the way that Thorn approaches her races. She is not out to win at all costs... She is there to take part.

An early target was to run a marathon in each Australian state. Later, she wanted to set a personal best of three and a half hours. That's a good time but nowhere near Olympic standard. Having achieved that standard -- she stopped.

Not stopped running, but stopped trying to go fast. Thorn is happy to compete. She is not driven to win. This is a good example for anyone, in any sport: take part, enjoy.

That said, her training and approach to running are far more dedicated than my own! Thorn casually refers to taking part in several ultra-marathons; some day I would like to just survive an ordinary marathon. She doesn't train too hard, just a few runs a week an five minutes per kilometer. That rate is, for me, just a (so far) impossible dream.

The book makes you believe that it is possible to move beyond our sedentary limits. The training, the participation, the effort are all described as requiring just a little bit of dedication. Scale the target to your own level -- and you can do it!

My own target is to enter and complete just one marathon. Passion for Distance makes me think that it may be possible. It also makes me think -- reading between the lines -- that it will be difficult -- for me.

Not so much an inspirational book... More a book that celebrates what one woman has done. And that gives the reader an idea of what is possible -- if it's what you want to do.

..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.

PissWeakly: the Index

Crossfire / Nancy Kress

Crossfire

category: science fiction, author:

Nancy Kress

original copyright 2003

read in December 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

It's an interesting idea: humans caught in the crossfire of an alien war. I read the book and enjoyed it. But it is not great.

At least -- that's my opinion.

The characters are varied and well presented. Different views, different approaches to solving their problems. I find it all a bit annoying.

I like a book with a "hero". Or, at least, a strong author's view of what should be done. Crossfire presents a more realistic view, with people doing their best and hoping that it is good enough. Realistic characterisation? Or just booooring...

The author does seem to prefer the non-violent, sit-thinking-in-the-sun, vegetable aliens. As opposed to the shoot-on-sight, violence-is-the-answer, animal aliens.

But why?!

There should be room in even one universe for both dreamers and doers. Some of the human characters object to the war-stopping solution of turning the doers into enforced dreamers. The objectors argue that this is evil. It's more than that.

It seems that the animal aliens appeared, and started killing the vegetable aliens. Okay, that's bad. Did anyone think to ask why? Apparently not.

Are the animal aliens just naturally vicious? Was there a cultural misinterpretation of some initial vegetable action? Did the vegetable aliens do something so utterly horrible -- in the eyes of the animal aliens -- that vegetable puree is the only satisfactory response?

None of the characters even consider "root causes" of the conflict. After a thousand years of war, with no conclusion in sight, no-one even considers that, perhaps, there could be some room for negotiation. No, it's a straight case of exterminate or be exterminated...

I find that very disappointing. I also find that it weakens my acceptance of the actions of all the characters. The characters see only what is presented to them. They are given options that will effectively exterminate one alien race or the other. The humans do not try to look for a more acceptable outcome.

The crossfire idea is good. The human response is weak. I'd prefer a more imaginative response from the humans. And the humans are too fixed in their personal viewpoints to be particularly interesting.

Still, it's an interesting book. And perhaps there is a follow-up book, where the humans actually solve the alien crisis, rather than simply choosing which race to exterminate...

..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.

PissWeakly: the Index

Battlefield Earth / L. Ron Hubbard

Battlefield Earth

category: space opera, science fiction, author:

L. Ron Hubbard

original copyright 1982

read in December 2011 (and before, many years ago)

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

It's a simple plot: man rides horse out of his decaying, primitive village, goes on to rule the universe. A standard plot for space opera... Although, perhaps, with some twists.

My own standard for space opera is Doc Smith, the Lensman and Skylark series. In the Skylark series an Earth genius, with support from his multi-billionaire best friend, invents and builds a spaceship. He then goes on to rule the First Universe. (His arch-enemy ends up ruling the Second Universe. Doc Smith seemed to realise that the arch-enemy was a more interesting character than the somewhat saccharine hero.)

Battlefield Earth sets an even greater challenge for the hero. Yes, he is a genius but he has to learn everything -- other than how to ride a horse and kill a wild bear with a club -- from his evil captors. Having learnt everything, he utterly destroys those evil captors...

And aren't they just sooo evil! Evil and stupid! Evil, stupid, all-powerful and sooooo easily fooled by our hero!

You really have to read this book with your critical faculties switched off. The characters are cardboard. Racial stereotypes are, well, stereotyped. If you're not a good guy then you're ugly, stupid and easily defeated.

Switch off your politically correct thinking -- and enjoy!

This is space opera at its best -- or worst. It's an enjoyable romp across Earth, then across the universe. (Across the sixteen universes, actually...)

Battlefield is a book to be read and enjoyed, without too much thinking. If it were written today it would be slammed as one-eyed, racially abusive nonsense... Or would it?! I shudder to think how bad the recent movie could have been...

The book is a product of its time, the less-PC eighties.

Speaking of which...

Television last night had "The Grumpies Guide to the Eighties". Clever people paid to froth at the mouth about various topics, with "the Eighties" being last night's topic. And Battlefield Earth is a product of those Eighties...

Having freed Earth, the hero is called upon to guarantee its survival. To do this, he must impress the alien races who threaten to re-invade. The hero dresses in the best that Earth can provide:

He dons his rainbow-reflecting, skin-tight, muscle-emphasising zoot suit. Think... Freddie Mercury, if only he had access to such glittery material.

The hero has his hair done, to the ultimate of dashingly heroic impressiveness... and it's a mullet.

Ah well. Fashions change. But "good" space opera is "good", "forever"...

===

21apr21: I read it again.. enjoy it again -- though I must admit that I start skimming towards the end.

This is still an enjoyable... load of rubbish. Ridiculous. Unbelievable. And still enjoyable.  Though this time, I may return my copy to the second-hand bookshop :-)

..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.

PissWeakly: the Index

Change Your Thinking / Sarah Edelman

Change Your Thinking

category: self help, author:

Sarah Edelman

original copyright 2006

read in Feb 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

"I'll be depressed forever." If that's you -- then get some professional help. That is one clear and helpful message from this book. Beyond that...

The back cover of this book sets the scene with that "depressed" statement. It then says that, "Change Your Thinking is the bestselling practical and reassuring guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviour." I can't speak for the "bestselling". I can accept the rest of that claim... Note that I wrote "accept" and not "support" -- I am no expert in this field.

As I read the book -- an hour or so each evening on a too-long stay away from home -- I found that it was reassuring. I'm not a person to slavishly follow. I prefer to question and restate. Yet just reading this book did make me think, my life is not too bad at all...

And now -- dredging my memories of ten months ago -- I still carry a positive opinion of this book. From what I remember:

There are explanations of various types of "bad thinking". You experience a minor setback and you see a major disaster. Check what you see and it may fit one of the books standard misconceptions. Now write down a more realistic view of what has just happened... More realistic and probably (hopefully!) more positive.

The aim is to see your life as it is. Perhaps not through rose-tinted glasses. Certainly not through the dark grey glasses of depression.

Depression?

Depression is a clinical state. There are professionals who specialise in treating depression. Change Your Thinking offers help for people with severe depression -- with the clear proviso that, if symptoms continue, see your doctor... The author is selling help, not a snake oil panacea. It's an honest and sensible approach.

I'm not a slavish follower. I didn't do the exercises, I just read the book. It was still worthwhile.

The book explains why we can get into the habit of being negative. It explains the loose thinking by which we make mountains of misery out of the minor molehills of life. Understand your loose thinking and you can gain a better perspective.

Apply the exercises and you should get even more benefit.

And as the book tells you -- if you are still depressed, see a professional.

All good advice.

..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.

PissWeakly: the Index