Running Hot / Nick Lethbridge

Running Hot
... and POD Publishing

category: science fiction, humour, author:

Nick Lethbridge

original copyright 2010,
read in December 2010 (and before, quite a few times)

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

Less a novel, more a short story. The first published fiction from a promising author. Running Hot could be the start of an exciting new career.

Could this reviewer suffer from bias? Could it be that the author is too willing to provide a positive review for his own work? Read the book and find out :-) Spend less than one US dollar (the minimum price that could be set) and there may be more books to follow!

Online Publication

It was an interesting exercise in online publishing... Over several days, Agamedes examined the offerings of three, very different publishers.

Lulu

Lulu has a huge range of books for sale and a huge range of self-publishing options.

Unfortunately, the range of offerings makes it difficult to find a simple process. Admittedly, I'm currently suffering from very slow internet response times. This made it very difficult to try and retry various possibilities. Loading to Lulu is currently on hold -- until my response time is back to normal.

Nevertheless, the Lulu process is far more complex than the website claims. There are large gaps in explanations. The extensive support and help information is too disorganised to be of much help for a first-time publisher.

I received an error message -- possibly an indirect result of slow internet response; I may have missed some vital instruction. But the error message did not tell me what error had been detected!

An email arrives. "We're sorry but we've encountered a problem..." No indication of the type of problem. No help at all, other than to tell me that I failed.

On the other hand:

Lulu offers a wide range of printed publications: books, calendars, photo albums, all different sizes and shapes. And, almost as an afterthought, ebooks. The emphasis is on POD (print on demand) hardcopy. Much of the support documentation would (probably) make more sense to an expert in format, layout and printing.

For the "pure" author -- a person with words and ideas but no publishing experience -- Lulu is very complex. On the other hand, Lulu offers plenty of for-a-price expertise, in all the essential areas past the initial committing of words to paper.

Lulu offers free-up-front POD publishing for those willing to start with a struggle. Plus expertise at a cost. I started with Lulu because a published author named it and uses it. I will go back to Lulu -- to try again, with faster internet response! -- to prepare a hardcopy. For vanity, for friends, perhaps even for sale.

Smashwords

In just a few hours, I had a ebook ready for publication on Smashwords. Just a short story (Running Hot) but a complete novel would have taken not much longer.

If ebooks are the way of the future then Smashwords is a good way to get there.

I found Smashwords via a link from Lulu... A series of helpful posts in response to authors' questions; one post lead to the poster's own website... Social marketing :-)

One of the best features of Smashwords is -- there is an easy-to-follow guide to publication! Download the Style Guide, follow it from beginning to end, publish online.

Most of the style guide is an explanation of how to format your document for an ebook. (Essentially, clear all formatting and keep it simple.) Add a cover, load text and cover, publish.

It really is -- almost -- that simple. It did take me a few tries to correct some strange formats, in text that I had to add at the last minute, beyond the story itself. The corrections and republishing were simple and the process was easy to follow.

As an ebook publisher, Smashbooks encourages simplicity. No need to lay out text to fit a physical page. Format all text to be free-flowing and flexible. The website process -- and the instructions -- are are simple as the ebook format.

I will return to Smashwords for future ebooks. I expect that the process will be even simpler, the second time around.

Xlibris

I spent just a short time with Xlibris. There is an Australian office, an Australian presence, I always like to try local.

It took a while to find out just what Xlibris is offering.

The website is very strong on marketing... By that I mean, lots of promises of success but the actual product takes a while to identify. I was especially annoyed when I was asked to provide full name and contact details -- in the expectation of getting a guide sent to me -- and the guide was just a download from the website.

Still, the guide did clear up what Xlibris offers: pure vanity publishing.

Nothing -- as far as I can tell -- is free, with Xlibris. They are selling proofreading, formatting, marketing... all the services which a professional author requires. But the author pays for it all.

Nothing wrong with that. Plenty of books are overlooked and ignored by publishing houses, books which deserve to be published. It would be nice, however, to have a clear(er) statement of services on the website.

Having entered my contact details, I had a phone call the next day. The caller was friendly, I was friendly, I received more information via email. Xlibris services are not what I want.

Summary

If you want a lot of help -- at a professional level -- Xlibris and Lulu both offer comprehensive services, at a price. Lulu also offers DIY publishing, for those with the time and inclination to struggle through a very steep learning curve. For pure ebook publishing, Smashbooks is quick and easy.

And I have no idea whatsoever about the market reach of any of those sites.

..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.

The Timewaster Diaries / Robert Popper (as Robin Cooper)

The Timewaster Diaries

category: humour, author:

Robert Popper (as Robin Cooper)

book 3 of Timewaster
original copyright 2007,
read in December 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 5 out of 10

Take a lot of lightweight cliches. Mix with cliche characters. Believe that the cliche stupid hero is actually funny. Serve as a Timewaster.

The hero invents all sorts of things. These could be cliche clever and working, a la Doc in Back to the Future. Or they could be ridiculous and not working, a la Timewaster. I find that this perpetual and unadmitted failure is sad rather than funny.

The hero fails to fix the bathroom door. Until the day when he is trapped in the bathroom so finally gets round to it. Sad and thoughtless. And cliched.

The hero lies to his wife about his efforts to clear a bird from the attic. Sad and thoughtless and stupid. And cliched. Seinfeld, for example, is about people whose first and automatic response to trouble is to lie about it.

The hero has been fired for writing thousands of letters using employer resources during work time. Sad and thoughtless and stupid and dishonest.

Then there's the Simpsons cliche: The hero is sad, stupid, mean, thoughtless and dishonest -- but his wife loves him, despite all his faults.

It's an easy book to read. It provides lightweight entertainment. Just don't think to closely about the underlying pathos.

..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.

Vitals / Greg Bear

Vitals

category: science thriller, author:

Greg Bear

original copyright 2002,
read in December 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

When I wrote my first review for a thriller I did not really know what a "thriller" was. I categorised Criminal Conversation as action and thought, near enough... But now I am writing my eleventh thriller review and I have a better understanding of the genre.

In my defence, I had not read many thrillers even before I began PissWeakly Reviews. With Vitals I believe that I am beginning to understand the genre. Here's how it works:

• Hero notices that people around him die suddenly and violently. Yes, always him, never her.
  
• Despite being a very ordinary guy / genius / scientist / ex-marine / test-pilot / husband... the hero escapes one or more attempts on his life.
  
• Hero discovers the (possible) existence of a super-secret, all-powerful organisation (SSAPO-1) which rules the world using money, influence, violence and some ancient yet all-powerful secret. Conspiracy theory... to the max.
  
• Hero is helped by life-long best friends who betray him because they are secret organisation plants.
  
• Hero gains support from quiet people who were always there but seemed to be so very, very ordinary.
  
• At least one very ordinary quiet person turns out to be a member of a super-secret, all-powerful organisation (SSAPO-2) which is dedicated, in secret, to defeating SSAPO-1.
  
• Hero is weakened beyond human endurance yet he endures. He then gets isolated from SSAPO-2 and single-handedly defeats SSAPO-1.
  
• In a final, post-climactic chapter the hero -- or perhaps just the reader -- realises that SSAPO-1 was not completely defeated.
  

And there you have the plot of Vitals. And of The Tenth Chamber. And of The Husband... and most of the others. (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo misses one or two steps; The Girl who Played with Fire is closer to the genre.)

Vitals does up the ante in terms of unbelievability. It's a "scientific" thriller -- so I've categorised it as both thriller and science fiction. And it's the scientific unbelievability which is way up there... If you find that the "science" is just too fantastic, feel free to label this book as fantasy thriller.

It is an entertaining book. Read it to happily pass the time. Just don't expect it to be a really good book. Oh, and while you read it, enjoy some of the stylistic essentials of the thriller genre...

• Brand names will be dropped. Regularly.
  
• The author will make several statements which highlight what's wrong with the world. What's wrong as well as the existence of SSAPO-1, that is.
  
• The plot must be complex.
  

Did Ian Fleming start the trend? James Bond was always driving brand-name cars, drinking brand-name drinks, eating at always expensive and now-famous-by-association restaurants... Now it's an essential element of the thriller. Including Vitals.

Then there are the statements of author opinion. Highlighting a problem which has nothing to do with the plot. A statement which simply emphasises the cleverness of the author.

For example:

White America, with so shallow a history, was always looking for affirmation from more rooted cultures.

Wow! So Black America never looks to Africa, Yellow America never looks to Asia, Red America never refers to its previous life in tepees? Goodness, what a clever insight! A clever insight into the unthinking blandness of Bear's analysis, anyway.

And then, there's the requisite of plot complexity... And Bear has outdone himself.

There are twists and turns. Gradual revelations. Even more hidden secrets. Traitors and turncoats at every twist and turn...

'How do you know whether or not they'll be [traitors],' I asked...
'I appreciate your concern...' [replies the SSAPO-2 agent]...

... and he changes the subject. Having built up a complex and all-pervasive system of SSAPO-1 treachery -- Bear has no answer to the way in which SSAPO-2 will detect traitors.

Oh well.

For those who like to know what the book is about, turn to the Epilogue. In an open admission that the plot is difficult to follow, Bear allows his hero to explain what just happened. Although there are still gaps, in both plot and explanation.

Perhaps you should save time. Just read the Epilogue. It's about as clear as the rest of the book. Quicker to read. And with less unbelievable science.

An entertaining book. Switch off your good sense, and maybe enjoy 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.

Young Einstein / movie

Young Einstein

category: movie, humour, starring (etc):

Yahoo Serious, etc

released in 1988,
watched in 1989

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

Never heard of Yahoo Serious? Nor had anyone else, when this movie was first released. Not that we've heard much of him since, either...

Young Einstein is an enormous amount of fun. Splitting the beer atom, indeed! Good Australian humour plus some great music and occasional social commentary. A great effort with an entertaining new (then) star.

Watch the movie -- but avoid the rather awful Ned Kelly follow-up. Einstein worked. Keep the good memories...

..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.

The Chanur Saga / C.J. Cherryh

The Chanur Saga

(Chanur's Venture & The Kif Strike Back)

category: science fiction, author:

C.J. Cherryh

books 2 & 3 of The Chanur Saga
original copyright 1985 & 1986,
read in December 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

Warning: This is not a novel!

What? Not a novel?! Why not?!

Chanur's Venture is one volume of a longer novel. Venture is not complete in itself; it has no real conclusion. The Pride of Chanur was a novel; it stood alone -- beginning, middle, climax, end. Yes, Venture follows closely on Pride -- and depends on Pride for its logic -- but Pride can be read, by itself, as a satisfactory novel.

Venture ends with a desperate cliffhanger. There is no conclusion.

No worries, I thought. I am, after all, reading a book of three volumes: Pride, Venture and Kif.

But blow me down! Even The Kif Strike Back does not end!

So if you want to know how the heroines get out of their ever-increasing difficulties... make sure that you have Chanur's Homecoming ready to hand. And perhaps, even Chanur's Legacy. Who knows how long Cherryh can stretch out this money-spinning franchise...

It really annoys me that writers and/or publishers can print what is really an incomplete story -- with no warning on the cover.

I have no trouble with The Pride of Chanur, a standalone book which leaves us wanting more. I have no trouble with Harry Potter where we knew -- right from the start -- that there would be seven books. And in any case, each of the seven is a complete adventure on its own.

I strongly object to an author and/or publisher who lies -- through omission -- to the reader. Here is a published novel, they say. And fail to tell us that the so-called "novel" is just the first instalment of a much longer story. If we -- the readers -- want to know how the heroines get out of the cliffhanging chaos -- we have to pay more. And... possibly... more again and again.

That said, the two books make for good reading. It's still hard to follow what's happening. Though the captain regularly takes several pages to explain the plot to the crew and to us. So it's not quite as confusing as Pride.

Good books. Good characters and character development. Lots of action. And even more, lots of complex fuge and subterfuge. Which the poor reader struggles with. Just as much as do most of the characters.

..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.

The Pride of Chanur / C.J. Cherryh

The Pride of Chanur

category: science fiction, author:

C.J. Cherryh

book 1 of Chanur
original copyright 1982,
read in December 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

Aliens, aliens, aliens... The Compact is a loose arrangement of alien races willing to trade with each other. Now, the first human has entered Compact space.

From there, you expect the human to make friends, save lives, initiate new trade routes and, possibly, lead at least one alien race to victory. Well -- wrong!

One of the the alien races -- the hani -- provides the heroes. The sole human is a catalyst, a cause of much of the action, but with minimal involvement. Almost like a treasure which starts arguments, causes troubles, then is returned to its rightful owner.

The Pride of Chanur is a story of aliens, with one human catalyst. The hani have space travel and politics. And the politics are at least as important as the space travel. Not that this makes the book any less "science fiction" because the politics are, of course, alien :-)

Pride is an action-packed adventure, yet the main theme is the decisions made by the hero. With a growing theme of, the development of the Chanur family within the hani race. The hero recognises that the current hani approach to politics is, perhaps, not the best; this leads to a small shift in attitude, for the hero. (Strictly speaking, for the heroine. Major hani characters are female; the no-space rule for males is one of the problems recognised by the ... heroine.)

I wonder if the heroine's new understanding will spread to other hani, as the book series continues? Since I'm reading a three-in-one volume, I'll soon find out...

Back amongst the action -- and the politics -- this book can be hard to follow.

At many points I'm left wondering, What's happening? The action and interest continue on but the detail is confused. Perhaps Cherryh -- or her editor -- has also noticed this...

I've already read a chapter or three of the next book. In book one (Pride), all characters suffer physical effects from using the warp drive. In the second book, we are given a reasonable explanation as to why. I just hope that this extra clarity will extend to other aspects of the story!

But that's a minor quibble. The book has depth, breadth, good characters and an exciting plot. There is enough to keep any reader... any reader who likes the sort of book that I like... enjoyably entertained, right to the end.

With a solid and satisfactory ending. Though I still hope that the human will come back in book two, and possibly do something beyond being a catalyst.

Although, truth to tell, the hani are interesting enough. The Pride of Chanur is a story of unique people who have to deal with a strange alien. And that alien just happens to be a "human".

..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.

Cowl / Neal Asher

Cowl

category: science fiction, author:

Neal Asher

original copyright 2004,
read in December 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

Time travel... Going back in time to affect the present... Multiple timelines, all possibilities exist somewhere, so who really cares... Asher has overcome the pointlessness of these battles through time. Sort of...

Sure, every possibility has happened. If you think that you have won -- another timeline exists where you have lost. Asher adds another dimension to time travel: Some (most?) timelines will slip down the probability slope and eventually fade away. So -- in Asher's time travel tale -- there is a definite benefit to being on the "winning" timeline.

Thank goodness for that!

So we have a book about a battle across time. A book which does have a point, because the winners can actually win. And there are interesting characters who fight and grow and survive. All up -- a good book, well worth reading.

With an interesting insight into technique and the way in which a writer develops technique.

Cowl is published just two years before the other Asher books which I have read. (Follow the author label below this post, or jump straight to Prador Moon or The Voyage of the Sable Keech.) In Cowl, the adventure is there, the excitement is there, the plotting is there. The everyday acceptance of improvements to the basic human, already there. But there is an occasional stilted phrasing, occasional explanation where demonstration would have been better.

Cowl reads -- occasionally -- like an author's early book. Perhaps it is? I'll check, once my uninfluenced opinion has been written.

I do hope that Cowl is one of Asher's first books. I will then be correct in saying, this book is good -- and the author will be even better, once he has mastered some of the more subtle techniques of effective writing...

..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.