Author 'Nathan Burgoine posted this simple, direct method of not getting paralyzed by the prospect of having to write reviews. The Three-Sentence Review is, as he notes, very helpful and also simple to achieve. I get completely unmanned at the idea of saying something trenchant about each book I read, when there often just isn't that much to say...now I can use this structure to say what I think is the most important idea I took away from the read and not try to dig for more.
Think about using it yourselves!
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LIQUID RULES: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik
Rating: 3* of five
The Publisher Says: This fascinating new book by the bestselling scientist and engineer Mark Miodownik is an expert tour of the world of the droplets, heartbeats, and ocean waves that we come across every day. Structured around a plane journey that sees encounters with substances from water and glue to coffee and wine, Liquid Rules shows how these liquids can bring death and destruction as well as wonder and fascination.
From László Bíró's revolutionary pen and Abraham Gesner's kerosene to cutting-edge research on self-repairing roads and liquid computers, Miodownik uses his winning formula of scientific storytelling to bring the everyday to life. He reveals why liquids can flow up a tree but down a hill, why oil is sticky, how waves can travel so far, and how to make the perfect cup of tea. Here are the secret lives of substances.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: As popular science, this is on the "populist" end of the scale. The framing device wore very thin for me, but I can definitely see the appeal for those less interested in the science part than in the popular part. Information those readers are otherwise extremely unlikely to encounter, they can be convinced to absorb in this winsome, relatably amusing tone.
My rating is meant to convey a warning to my fellow amateurs of science: Not meant for us! Our kids/grands/niblings who need an inducement to get some contact with the idea of science that very definitely does NOT feel in any way like Education are its audience.
Mariner Books (non-affiliate Amazon link) offers it in Kindle Unlimited free to read, or $9.99 in either trade paper or purchased Kindle edition.
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Edison vs. Tesla: The Battle over Their Last Invention by William J. Birnes
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Thomas Edison closely following the alternative physics work of Albert Einstein and Max Planck, convincing him that there was an entire reality unseen by the human eye. This led to the last and least-known of all Edison’s inventions, the spirit phone. His former associate, now bitter rival, Nikola Tesla, was also developing at the same time a similar mysterious device. Edison vs. Tesla examines their quest to talk to the dead.
Edison’s little-known near-death experience formed his theory that animate life forms don’t die, but rather change the nature of their composition. It is this foundational belief that drove him to proceed with the spirit phone.
Tesla monitored Edison’s paranormal work, with both men racing to create a device that picked up the frequencies of discarnate spirits, what today is called EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon). Both men were way ahead of their time, delving into artificial intelligence and robotics.
Although mystery and lore surround the details of the last decade of Edison’s life, many skeptics have denied the existence of the mysterious spirit phone. The authors have researched both Edison’s and Tesla’s journals, as well as contemporary articles and interviews with the inventors to confirm that tests were actually done with this device. They also have the full cooperation of the Charles Edison fund, affording them access to rare photos and graphics to support their text. Edison vs. Tesla sheds light on this weird invention and demonstrates the rivalry that drove both men to new discoveries.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Many thoughts about this read. I took time to think them through before opening my "mouth."
Pseudoscience is a curse on the communication of solid, evidence-based old-fashioned science on multiple axes. It dazzles and fascinates almost all of us some of the time. When disproved, it reduces trust in and willingness to listen to the real stuff among the credulous. OTOH, it prevents real scientists from investigating "out there" stuff that could possibly result in real advances of human knowledge.
I read this book waiting for something about Edison and Tesla's rivalry to enter the chat, specifically about Edison's factual and swept under the rug "spirit phone" experiment. Barely got Tesla at all, though his appearances always fit the premise. I felt, however, that the stretch from the spirit telephone to discussing AI's existential threats was waaay over the top, and in any case, is outdated in its parameters...things are a lot worse than they thought.
I *did* learn interesting trivia about The Force and Spiritualism as they interrelate.
Skyhorse Publishing (non-affiliate Amazon link) offers hardcover copies for $9.99 and Kindle editions for $16.99, Use The Force to divine which one they want you to buy.
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Vulgarian Rhapsody by Alvin Orloff
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: A whirlwind tour of San Francisco’s fabled queer bohemia in the waning days of the 20th century, as the city’s budget bon vivants work to save their eccentric lifestyles in the face of tech gentrification by LAMBDA award finalist Alvin Orloff.
Harris, San Francisco’s most annoying gay barfly, doesn’t mean to be bitchy, passive aggressive, or insulting. But he’s so bedazzled by his own critical brilliance he feels morally obliged to share his scathing opinions with the world at any and every opportunity. This irritates no one more than his roommate, Maxine, an avant-garde transsexual cabaret singer. When she overhears him badmouthing her on the phone she flies into a rage and expels him from their apartment.
This crisis couldn’t come at a worse time. The year is 1999 and the “dot com” boom has rendered cheap housing nonexistent, and Harris, who works as a part-time telemarketer, is—as usual—low on funds. Will he be able to convince one of his eccentric, semi-dysfunctional friends with a rent-controlled apartment to let him move in?
Vulgarian Rhapsody immerses readers in a fading bohemia of queer dive bars, drag clubs, and countercultural cafes. The book’s narrator (a longtime frenemy of Harris who’s every bit as snarky and annoying as he is) tells the story with sadistic relish and an ironist’s eye for the absurd. Anyone feeling sickly from too many uplifting stories of personal empowerment, precious coming-of-age tales, or sugarcoated romances will find the perfect antidote in this hilariously acidic comedy of manners. A must-read for fans of Brontez Purnell, Philippe Besson, and Ryan O’Connell.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Have you ever wondered what would happen if Armistead Maupin had written Tales of the City in the 1990s, focused it on the (non-existent) lovechild of Truman Capote and Sylvia Miles, and done it when he was coming off a meth binge? Just me, then?
This is what would've happened...this bitter acerbic slacker story about a San Francisco as gone, as forever and irretrievably gone, as my New York is. So this is swingin' for my sweet spot, nostalgia plus perspective multiplied by anger at the heedless waste of it all.
I had to stop at three-and-a-half stars because, as I was reading bits aloud to Rob on a Zoom, he kept saying, "that's really obscure" and "why do you think that's funny, exactly?" So it's aimed at me, but the blast radius is quite small.
Three Rooms Press (non-affiliate Amazon link) asks a piddling $9.99 for a Kindle edition. Go, fellow oldsters! Buy!
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Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: She helped her brothers soar… but was the flight worth the fall?
It all started with two boys and a bicycle shop. Wilbur and Orville Wright, both unsuited to college and disinclined to leave home, jumped on the popular new fad of bicycle riding and opened a shop in Dayton, Ohio. Repairing and selling soon led to tinkering and building as the brothers offered improved models to their eager customers. Amid their success, a new dream began to take shape. Engineers across the world were puzzling over how to build a powered flying machine—and Wilbur and Orville wanted in on the challenge. But their younger sister, Katharine, knew they couldn't do it without her. The three siblings made a pact: the three of them would solve the problem of human flight.
As her brothers obsessed over blueprints and risked life and limb testing new models on the sand beaches of North Carolina, Katharine became the mastermind behind the scenes of their inventions. She sourced materials, managed communications, and kept Wilbur and Orville focused on their goal—even when it seemed hopeless. And in 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled, sustained flight of humankind.
What followed was the kind of fame and fortune the Wrights had never imagined. The siblings traveled the world to demonstrate their invention, trained other pilots, and built new machines that could fly higher and farther. But at the height of their success, tragedy wrenched the Wright family apart… and forced Katharine to make an impossible choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
From internationally bestselling author Tracey Enerson Wood, Katharine, the Wright Sister is an unforgettable novel that shines a spotlight on one of the most important and overlooked women in history, and the sacrifices she made so that others might fly.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: Author Wood wrote The President's Wife, review linked, and now takes on another woman His-story (get it?) has chosen to ignore. The structure, using all three Wright siblings' voices, conveys the tragedy of the story so much better than an omniscient narrator could.
Historical fiction about overlooked women is almost always tendentious. This book is no exception. I will say that the facts are given prominence, but the act of betrayal by Orville during the story that costs Katharine her due place in the limelight made me so goddamned mad I had ro put the book down for a week. I won't spoil what it was...if I got furious, you should too.
And you readers who like the modern trend of recentering women in our history definitely should read this one. I won't rate it more highly because I'm not fond of the triumphalist tenor of the Kitty Hawk flight in our discourse. This is a corrective only to a part of that story.
Sourcebooks Landmark (non-affiliate Amazon link) wants $8.99 for the Kindle version.
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Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff
Rating: 3.25* of five
The Publisher Says: When two hardscrabble young boys think they’ve committed a crime, they flee into the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Will the adults trying to find and protect them reach them before it’s too late?
It’s the summer of 1994 in Claypot, Wisconsin, and the lives of ten-year-old Fischer “Fish” Branson and Dale “Bread” Breadwin are shaped by the two fathers they don’t talk about.
One night, tired of seeing his best friend bruised and terrorized by his no-good dad, Fish takes action. A gunshot rings out and the two boys flee the scene, believing themselves murderers. They head for the woods, where they find their way onto a raft, but the natural terrors of Ironsforge gorge threaten to overwhelm them.
Four adults track them into the forest, each one on a journey of his or her own. Fish’s mother Miranda, a wise woman full of fierce faith; his granddad, Teddy, who knows the woods like the back of his hand; Tiffany, a purple-haired gas station attendant and poet looking for connection; and Sheriff Cal, who’s having doubts about a life in law enforcement.
The adults track the boys toward the novel’s heart-pounding climax on the edge of the gorge and a conclusion that beautifully makes manifest the grace these characters find in the wilderness and one another. This timeless story of loss, hope, and adventure runs like the river itself amid the vividly rendered landscape of the Upper Midwest.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: There's a religious-nut mother involved, so of course I had to read the book. To my disappointment, she is not vilified.
It's like that Leif Enger guy (So Brave, Young, and Handsome) or Per Petterson (Out Stealing Horses) was writing with Kent Haruf (Our Souls at Night); these comps ought to tell you what I thought of the book.
Ecco Press offers a trade paperback for $13.59, and if any of the named writers are your jam, go now!
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Black Sheep: A Space Opera Adventure (Flight of the Javelin #1) by Rachel Aukes
Rating: 3.25* of five
The Publisher Says: Fifteen years into a twenty-year voyage, war veteran Captain Throttle Reyne is looking forward to taking a break from dealing with malfunctions, glitches, and the hassles of monitoring a thousand colonists in cryo-sleep.
But when her colony ship breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Throttle and her crew must leave the colonists behind to search for help. They find a ship that's not only missing a crew… it's clearly not from their star system.
It's the discovery of a lifetime. All they need to do is tow the mysterious vessel back to their colony ship for further study and Throttle won't ever have to work again. One problem. While they're away, the colony ship is stolen—with the colonists still on board.
Throttle gives chase to a lawless star system on the outer rim. To get their colonists back, they must take on the pirates and ganglords who will do anything—and sell anyone—to make a buck.
They play dirty. But Throttle and her crew play dirtier.
Strap on your restraints and experience the start of this new space opera thrill ride. It's perfect for fans of Jay Allan, Jennifer Foehner Wells, and Star Wars.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: Disabled woman very much in charge of a colony ship. A lot is made of her disability not holding her back...she's a gifted pilot, a stellar markswoman, a natural leader who inspires her crew to tremendous efforts and loyalty...but also shows her relishing zero-gee time as it lets her be free from her mobility devices. That's lovely, small piece of character development and world-building...we went to space, but can't fix everything...that I really liked.
The pace is good, the story is solid (though her error that costs the crew their passengers/cargo is a bit out of character), the prose is serviceable-plus but not dazzling or superior. I couldn't get the final mile to loving it. I do like it...I think Tales of the Ketty Jay or Firefly is a better comp than Star Wars...but I'll read the next one.
She wants $4.99 (non-affiliate Amazon link) for a Kindle, or it's free to read on Kindle Unlimited.
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Countess by Suzan Palumbo
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: A queer, Caribbean, anti-colonial sci-fi novella, inspired by the Count of Monte Cristo, in which a betrayed captain seeks revenge on the interplanetary empire that subjugated her people for generations.
Virika Sameroo lives in colonized space under the Æerbot Empire, much like her ancestors before her in the British West Indies. After years of working hard to rise through the ranks of the empire’s merchant marine, she’s finally become first lieutenant on an interstellar cargo vessel.
When her captain dies under suspicious circumstances, Virika is arrested for murder and charged with treason despite her lifelong loyalty to the empire. Her conviction and subsequent imprisonment set her on a path to justice, determined to take down the evil empire that wronged her, all while the fate of her people hangs in the balance.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: I wouldn't call it a "romp" but it was a lot of fun to read a lesbian space opera/revenge fantasy with a very prominent anti-colonial slant that does not slacken its pace for a moment. The long, lingering sadomasochistic bit about The Count of Monte Cristo's imprisonment is entirely absent; these things are causally linked. Very enjoyable, Caribbean-inflected setting was probably my very favorite difference from most all the other SFF I've read.
Revolutionary fun! Strongly recommended for young firebrand lesbians! Old white people like me might feel a bit attacked...we are...but, well, is that really a surprise?
ECW Press (non-affiliate Amazon link) only wants $4.99 for a Kindlebook. Well worth it!
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This space is dedicated to Nancy Pearl's Rule of 50, or "the Pearl Rule" as I've always called it. After realizing five times in December 2021 alone that I'd already Pearl-Ruled a book I picked up on a whim, I realized how close my Half-heimer's is getting to the full-on article. Hence my decision to track my Pearls!
As she says:
People frequently ask me how many pages they should give a book before they give up on it. In response to that question, I came up with my “rule of fifty,” which is based on the shortness of time and the immensity of the world of books. If you’re fifty years of age or younger, give a book fifty pages before you decide to commit to reading it or give it up. If you’re over fifty, which is when time gets even shorter, subtract your age from 100—the result is the number of pages you should read before making your decision to stay with it or quit.
So this space will be each month's listing of Pearl-Ruled books. Earlier Pearl-Rule posts will be linked below the current month's crop.
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The Aging of Aquarius: Igniting Passion and Purpose as an Elder PEARL RULED @ 21% by Helen Wilkes
Rating: 2* of five
The Publisher Says: Live your passion and purpose and change the world as an empowered elder.
Your career has wound down, the kids have moved, and your schedule is clear...for the next 30 years. In your youth, you cared about people and planet earth, and you had grand visions of changing the world. At some point, those passions and that sense of purpose got buried under diapers and the 9-5.
Still, that old you remains alive. Now, with the rest of your life ahead, you can be the change and make this next stage of your life the most powerful yet. But where to start?
Helen Wilkes, a retired professor and activist, takes readers on an inspiring journey to find renewed purpose in retirement. Along the way she helps readers navigate the transition to a post-work identity by fanning the embers of lost passions and developing new interests. Whether you are drawn to gardening clubs, to social justice issues, political campaigning, ethical investing, or creativity through the arts. The Aging of Aquarius offers inspiration, practical steps, and extra resources to help reignite your passion, your sense of purpose, and to effect real change in the world as an empowered elder.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Not the audience for this...I'm disabled, live on a pittance, not facing a crisis of sudden rudderlessness. I took exception to the cluelessly chirpy and determinedly upbeat tone. Remember Cher slapping Nic Cage in Moonstruck?
This felt the same way: well-meant, but tone-deaf and unhelpful.
New Society Publishers (non-affiliate Amazon link) offer the Kindle edition for $13.49, the paperback about the same...but donate that money to Harris's political campaign and get a real return on your investment.
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Iron, Fire and Ice: The Real History that Inspired Game of Thrones PEARL RULED @ 31% by Ed West
Rating: 1* of five because it's so infuriating what they did to this book!
The Publisher Says: Have you read everything George R.R. Martin has every written? Do you know what in Game of Thrones is based in real history?
A young pretender raises an army to take the throne. Learning of his father’s death, the adolescent, dashing and charismatic and descended from the old kings of the North, vows to avenge him. He is supported in this war by his mother, who has spirited away her two younger sons to safety. Against them is the queen, passionate, proud, and strong-willed and with more of the masculine virtues of the time than most men. She too is battling for the inheritance of her young son, not yet fully grown but already a sadist who takes delight in watching executions.
Sound familiar? It may read like the plot of Game of Thrones . Yet that was also the story of the bloodiest battle in British history, fought at the culmination of the War of the Roses. George RR Martin’s bestselling novels are rife with allusions, inspirations, and flat-out copies of real-life people, events, and places of medieval and Tudor England and Europe. The Red Wedding? Based on actual events in Scottish history. The poisoning of Joffrey Baratheon? Eerily similar to the death of William the Conqueror’s grandson. The Dothraki? Also known as Huns, Magyars, Turks, and Mongols.
Join Ed West, as he explores all of Martin’s influences, from religion to war to powerful women. Discover the real history behind the phenomenon and see for yourself that truth is stranger than fiction.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: History is not boring, y'all! Teaching it as a means to pass a standardized test is an outrage, a disservice to our youth, and disrespectful to our ancestors! There is nothing boring in this book. Accurate within my (and Wikipedia's) scope of factual knowledge, to boot.
I have to tell a personal story here. Aeons ago I was a literary agent, and thus would get books from publishers who hoped I'd bring them something fresh and wonderful if I knew what kind of publishing they were doing. I read a book a friend passed on to me that was a reprint from a UK house; no one knew it was uncorrected proofs, and failed at every step in the process of making the book...and there are many!...to go through it page-by-page looking for errors.
The bound book was unreadable for all the errors.
That is what happened here. I could not force myself to finish what was shaping up to be a fun read.
Seriously...don't.(non-affiliate Amazon link if you do anyway)
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So You Had to Build a Time Machine PEARL RULED @ 28% by Jason Offutt
Rating: 2.25* of five
The Publisher Says: Skid doesn’t believe in ghosts or time travel or any of that nonsense. A circus runaway-turned-bouncer, she believes in hard work, self-defense, and good strong coffee. Then one day an annoying theoretical physicist named Dave pops into the seat next to her at her least favorite Kansas City bar and disappears into thin air when she punches him (he totally deserved it).
Now, street names are changing, Skid’s favorite muffins are swapping frosting flavors, Dave keeps reappearing in odd places like the old Sanderson murder house—and that’s only the start of her problems.
Something has gone wrong. Terribly wrong. Absolutely *$&ed up.
Someone has the nastiest versions of every conceivable reality at their fingertips, and they're not afraid to smash them together. With the help of a smooth-talking haunted house owner and a linebacker-sized Dungeons and Dragons-loving baker, Skid and Dave set out to save the world from whatever scientific experiment has sent them all dimension-hopping against their will.
It probably means the world is screwed.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: Humor is hard to review. What works for you, what makes you clutch your sides and shriek loud enough to scare the dog, might leave me in a curled-lip-and-stink-eye mood. And of course vice-versa.
My one and only note in the Googledoc I use to keep such things dates from May 2020. It reads, in its entirety, "BLECH". What was "BLECH"? Who was "BLECH"? Why was any of it "BLECH"? Come on past me, cough up the deets you gorram Reaverbrain!
Crickets. (I can, to be fair, see why I wanted it in 2020 as COVID choked the land. Hence the weird rating.)
CamCat Books (non-affiliate Amazon link) only wants $4.99 for a kindle edition. *shrug*
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The Secret of Lillian Velvet (Kingdoms and Empires #5) PEARL RULED @ 33% by Jaclyn Moriarty
Rating: 3* of five
The Publisher Says: Lillian Velvet lives a very lonely life with her cold and remote Grandmother. That is, until her tenth birthday, when she is given a pickle jar of gold coins, along with a note with clear instructions: don't go out, don't open the door for anyone, and don't spend all your coins in one day.
What happens next seems impossible. The coins whisk Lillian away to a different time and place. There she meets a small boy in a circus about to be crushed to death; a lively family, each member in a distinctive form of mortal danger; a boy with a skateboard; and a girl who can Whisper. And a web of dangerous magic closing tight around it all.
Why is Lillian here? How is she supposed to help these new friends? And—most importantly—what happens if she fails?
An exciting tale in the magical Kingdoms and Empires world, where seemingly disparate elements are spun until all is revealed as one delicious, tantalising whole.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: What on Earth is this?! How HORRIBLE the treatment of this child was. How awful for people to *pretend*to*die* and leave a child to be "raised" by a stranger whose identity is also a lie.
I gave up because I was really pissed, but really felt silly for reacting this way to book five in a series aimed at middle school kids. I know kids all think they're changelings/adopted/not really related to these muggles in their house. Permaybehaps the series reader, inside the tharget audience, will purr like a lynx at this story.
Levine Querido (non-affiliate Amazon link) offers Kindle editions for $8.99.
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AFTER THE FLYING SAUCERS CAME: A Global History of the UFO Phenomenon by Greg Eghigian
Rating: 3* of five
The Publisher Says: Roswell, 1947. Washington, DC, 1952. Quarouble, 1954. New Hampshire, 1961. Pascagoula, 1973. Petrozavodsk, 1977. Copley Woods, 1983. Explore how sightings of UFOs and aliens seized the world's attention and discover what the fascination with flying saucers and extraterrestrial visitors says about our changing views on science, technology, and the paranormal.
In the summer of 1947, a private pilot flying over the state of Washington saw what he described as several pie pan-shaped aircraft traveling in formation at remarkably high speed. Within days, journalists began referring to the objects as "flying saucers." Over the course of that summer, Americans reported seeing them in the skies overhead. News quickly spread, and within a few years, flying saucers were being spotted across the world. The question on everyone's mind was, what were they? Some new super weapon in the Cold War? Strange weather patterns? Optical illusions? Or perhaps it was all a case of mass hysteria? Some, however, concluded they could only be one spacecrafts built and piloted by extraterrestrials. The age of the unidentified flying object, the UFO, had arrived.
Greg Eghigian tells the story of the world's fascination with UFOs and the prospect that they were the work of visitors from outer space. While accounts of great wonders in the sky date back to antiquity, reports of UFOs took place against the unique backdrop of the Cold War and space age, giving rise to disputed government inquiries, breathtaking news stories, and single-minded sleuths. After the Flying Saucers Came traces how a seemingly isolated incident sparked an international drama involving shady figures, questionable evidence, suspicions of conspiracy, hoaxes, new religions, scandals, unsettling alien encounters, debunkers, and celebrities. It examines how descriptions, theories, and debates about unidentified flying objects and alien abduction changed over time and how they appeared in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Russia. And it explores the impact UFOs have had on our understanding of space, science, technology, and ourselves up through the present day.
Replete with stories of the people who have made up the ufology community, the military and defense units that investigate them, the scientists and psychologists who have researched these unexplained encounters, and the many novels, movies, TV shows, and websites that have explored these phenomena, After the Flying Saucers Came speaks to believers and skeptics alike.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: I didn't abandon this read, exactly; I went stochastic instead. I hopped around, absorbing the stories I so look down on being carefully and fairly examined as though they might be reality.
The author's intent is not to weigh in on that subject but to examine the global phenomenon of UFOlogy in a sociopolitical context. He is successful. He is even-handed. Scrupulous in reporting not editorializing.
I'm not: I've seen a UFO with a companion (hi Donna!) and, as fascinating as it was, it was well within reality's confines. It was really, really interesting as witness my very clear memory of it rising fifty years later. It wasn't aliens. I've got zero tolerance for this quasi-religious bunch of nutters.
Oxford University Press (non-affiliate Amazon link) asks $15.99 for a Kindlebook. I'd check it out of the library myownself; but if your looney old bestie from the gym's fallen into the cult, it could help for you to see some of the likely reasons why.
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VILLAINS AND VICTIMS: The Global Drug, Terrorism and Organised Crime Conundrum PEARL RULED @ 6% by Robert Tennant-Ralphs
Rating: 1* of five
The Publisher Says: Drug policies adopted by governments, treatments offered for addiction, pain and mental problems by the medical world combine in a relationship that negatively affects the world’s most vulnerable people. Villains and Victims: The Global Drug, Terrorism and Organised Crime Conundrum exposes how this unchallenged negative symbiosis influences the human seemingly unrelated policies act symbiotically to increase addiction, organised crime, radicalisation, and ultimately terrorism. At first it was an unintended chain, but the evidence suggests much of it is now deliberate. The public needs to be made aware of the harm the policies are causing.
For over a hundred years, the knock-on effect of the world’s ineffective drug laws and drug substitution policies contributed to the deaths of millions of people. Unless the regimes that cause this are changed, governments will continue to misguide us, pharmaceutical firms make huge unethical profits, and doctors will not offer the best treatments for drug addiction and alcoholism. This means millions more men, women, and children will continue to suffer and die from their effects, as well as from terrorist attacks and organised crime.
For example, at the 2022 World Cup in Dubai, Morocco’s football team won the hearts of millions of underdog lovers, but there is other sides to Morocco that are far less loveable.
At the same time as a handful of Moroccan’s were taking pride of place in Dubai, in Brussels and Amsterdam, court cases were taking place that charged several of their countrymen with some the worst crimes of the 21st century. If, as expected, these men on trial are found guilty, they will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Although each crime was despicable, because the Belgian and Dutch cases are for different crimes, the judges and juries will not be made aware of an important The acts they committeed of deadly terrorism in Brussels in 2016, and the organised crime murder in Amsterdam in 2021, are closely connected. Complex, well-hidden, interrelated reasons are behind them, so, the common factors that frequently lead Moroccans to commit such atocities are unlikely to be realised. As these include this century’s Barcelona, Brussels, Paris, London, Madrid, Marrakesh, Casablanca and 9/11 terrorist attacks, numerous murders by Moroccan mafias in Europe, and 1,659 Moroccans joining ISIS, it is essential to understand this and the reasons. Otherwise, policies will not be put in place to prevent more of the same.
But putting yesteryear’s culprits behind bars would only be a temporary fix. It would not prevent like-minded Moroccans or others with similar hatred committing such crimes in the years ahead. For every drug addict in every country, it is the root cause that must be addressed before they will stop anti-social behaviour. So, it is the causes and solution that is the focus of Villains and Victims. A Moroccan Drug and Terrorism Conundrum.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: Read that book description. That, with some padding, takes this to over 100pp of, politely, heartfelt but poorly sourced outraged shouting. The crisis he points to is real. I suspect he's onto something with the sources of the very real, and growing, problem. The synthesis of his argument does not hang together.
Not recommended.
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The Lady Vanishes PEARL RULED @ 23% by Ethel Lina White
Rating: 3* of five
The Publisher Says: The ingenious classic thriller behind Hitchcock's famous film, set on a steam train travelling across 1930s Europe and boasting “intrigue, mystery, and spine-chilling horror” (Saturday Review)
First published as The Wheel Spins in 1936 and adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock in 1938, Ethel Lina White’s The Lady Vanishes established the author as one of the greatest crime writers of the Golden Age.
After a summer holiday in a remote corner of Europe, the glamorous socialite Iris Carr is looking forward to returning to the comforts of home. But having stayed on at the resort after her friends’ departure, Iris now faces the journey home alone. On the train to Trieste, she is pleased to meet a kindly governness, Miss Froy, and strikes up a conversation. Iris warms to her companion, and is alarmed when she wakes from a sleep to find that Miss Froy has suddenly disappeared from the train without a trace. Worse still, she is horrified to discover that none of the other passengers on the train will admit to having ever seen such a woman.
Doubting her sanity and fearing for her life, Iris is determined to find Miss Froy before the train journey is over. Only one of her fellow passengers seems to believe her story. With his help, Iris begins to search the train for clues to the mystery of the vanished lady at the center of this ingenious classic thriller.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: I am old enough to have seen this film on Saturday-afternoon TV in my kidhood. I liked it fine. I still like it fine.
It shows its age, though, as much as I show mine. Creaky turns of phrase, deeply offensive-to-21st-century norms stereotypes and assumptions, and the fidelity of Hitchcock's adaptation all conspired against my finishing the read. Still worth your time and cash if you've never read a Golden-Age writer of top caliber, haven't seen the film multiple times, or are deeply curious about how good work turns sour with time through no fault of its own.
Pushkin Vertigo (non-affiliate Amazon link) thinks $9.99 is the right price. Not quite so sure, me.
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