Ian Mathie (Author of Bride Price)

Ian Mathie made a comment on Courage to Change — Powerful writing about addiction, wrapped in a superb story

"Pre-publication review - Don't miss this book!

Sylvie Nickels never disappoints, getting right to the core of things and dealing with nitty-gritty matt...more Pre-publication review - Don't miss this book!

Sylvie Nickels never disappoints, getting right to the core of things and dealing with nitty-gritty matters in a sensitive and experienced way. Her latest offering, Courage to change, is perhaps her most powerful book yet and deals with the demons of addiction.
Don’t be put off by the subject matter. It is unrolled gently and revealed within the framework of a beautifully crafted story about a young girl’s emergence into adulthood in the shadow of her father’s alcoholism. Besides holding you with the story, Courage to change explores the emotional strains and rejections this scenario can so often cause, looking at things from multiple perspectives as it illustrates the resulting strains on family life. As her story progresses, we see the young heroine, Nikki, struggling to deal with her own development and nascent relationships whilst beset the confusion of her father’s fall into the clutches of drink and her mother’s self preserving rejections. We follow her first uncertain forays into adult life and see a familiar cycle creep in.
It takes tremendous life experience together with a deep understanding of the frailty of human personality and behaviour to imagine a story like this. Yet it is something so many of us must have encountered, at least in passing, and ignored. To describe the patters, the behaviours and the feelings so intimately and with such clarity takes writing of the highest calibre and this is where Sylvie Nickels really shines. Her books always draw you in; they involve you in her stories so that you feel part of them and at the end you are invariably left wiser than you were before.
For anyone looking for a good story, Courage to change is one. For any parent seeking to understand their children’s responses to family problems, this book offers insights. And to anyone facing addiction, either directly or as a collateral casualty, it offers hope. Sylvie doesn’t preach but the hand of understanding she offers is well worth taking hold of, even if she offers no magic cures.

A superb book for group reading as it offers so much to discuss from characters, to plots to life issues and social problems.(less)"

Ian Mathie rated a book 5 of 5 stars

Courage to Change
by Sylvie Nickels (Goodreads Author)

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Ian Mathie rated a book 5 of 5 stars

According to Luke
by Rosanne Dingli (Goodreads Author)

recommended for: All who like a gripping tale, art lovers, mystery readers, other writers

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Brilliant and controversial

According to Luke by Rosanne Dingli really is a book you should read. As a mystery it is superb, well crafted with innumerable convolutions and complexities in a plot that could change the world.
She proposes a theory which...more Brilliant and controversial

According to Luke by Rosanne Dingli really is a book you should read. As a mystery it is superb, well crafted with innumerable convolutions and complexities in a plot that could change the world.
She proposes a theory which could rock the Catholic Church to its foundations far more than Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code and could inspire change undreamed of for two thousand years because its fundamental hypothesis is so plausible. For anyone approaching Christianity and the Catholic Church for the first time it provides solid evidence that is denied by established doctrine and yet makes complete sense. The evidence offered and the masterly way in which it is revealed and presented makes Dingli’s theory all the more possible in a way that is reinforced by the devious machinations of those who would conceal and refute its essence.
Starting in a laboratory where an old religious icon is undergoing restoration, the tension mounts swiftly. There is enough technical detail to let the reader know that she really does know what she is talking about, whilst not enough to detract from the important message of the story. The story swiftly moves on to other locations, building the tension as it goes and adding layers of complexity to the mystery which gets deeper as it unfolds.
Her portrayal of the various characters and illustrations of the political manoeuvring that goes on in the Catholic hierarchy are beautifully illustrated and the whole lot is set in a mobile but very well researched series of locations. At the same time her characters are very real as individual people, with emotions and attitudes we can all identify and share.
Her research has been impeccable and detailed, enabling Dingli to use her considerable descriptive powers to bring locations to life. These include the sounds and smells of Venetian canals and plazas with the angelus playing Ave Maria, the incense laden atmosphere of beautifully described churches in Italy and Malta, narrow lanes the an isolated dead end of a Maltese jetty, together with the windswept starkness of an ancient monastery on the Syrian plateau.
Through these places she moves like chess pieces a collection of characters, each with their own talents and dilemmas, who mesh together in a well crafted way that enables the reader to share their joys and agonies, fears, and successes from an intimate perspective.
According to Luke is compelling reading from the very beginning to the last page and well worth reading more than once. This is suspense writing at its best, worthy of great acclaim(less)

Ian Mathie rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Out of Sync
by Belinda Nicoll (Goodreads Author)

read in April, 2013

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Belinda Nicoll knows how to keep a reader’s attention as she relates her life’s unusual progression in ‘Out of Sync’. Yet this is no agony tale, nor is it an exercise in catharsis and self discovery as memoirs often tend to be.
From the incongruity of...more
Belinda Nicoll knows how to keep a reader’s attention as she relates her life’s unusual progression in ‘Out of Sync’. Yet this is no agony tale, nor is it an exercise in catharsis and self discovery as memoirs often tend to be.
From the incongruity of a happy multi cultural childhood f South Africa during the apartheid years, to carving a good career in a competitive industry, and going against the prevailing conventions by marrying ‘the enemy’, Belinda set her life up to be something of a roller coaster. The way she shares each adventure makes for fascinating reading, interspersed as the different phases are with snapshots of politics and world events that were affecting her environment at the time. Expatriated by her husband’s chase up the career ladder, she found the American Dream is not all it’s cracked up to be. This might have been a disappointment that put off less determined folk than Belinda and her husband, but her perseverance and adaptability demonstrate resilience and adaptability that few can aspire to. From each plunge into disappointment, caused most often by her husband’s career, she rises again, phoenix like, to take on new locations and new challenges, emerging at the end as a most able and proficient writer and life coach.
There is fun and a pure delight in life throughout this memoir, along with things that will make you rail against petty injustice. She opens windows on the life limiting bureaucracy that reveals the ‘’Land of the Free’ to be far more constrained than its protagonists would have you believe, whilst at the same time she comes to terms with the status quo and makes a very successful transition to become part of it.
At odds with Saint Exupéry’s ideal of lovers looking together in the same direction, Belinda and her husband often found themselves being pulled in opposite directions. Throughout, however, bound by intense love and some interesting shared spiritual principles, they rode the roller coaster to create success in their lives whilst still retaining a strong sense of their origins.
This is a memoir worth reading more than once.(less)

Ian Mathie wants to read

The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression
by Angela Ackerman (Goodreads Author)

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Ian Mathie liked Sharon M.'s review of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression:

" Every author should have this book near at hand. You probably know that readers relate most strongly to stories with lots of emotional expression, but you may not know how to do this beyond occasional statements like "She had never felt so angry."... " Read more of this review »

Ian Mathie rated a book 5 of 5 stars

Camera Obscura
by Rosanne Dingli (Goodreads Author)

read in February, 2013

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Rosanne Dingli never disappoints. With Camera Obscura she has again produced a novel that must rank among the best of mystery thrillers. As is typical of this extraordinary writer there are several different tales, both compelling in different ways....more Rosanne Dingli never disappoints. With Camera Obscura she has again produced a novel that must rank among the best of mystery thrillers. As is typical of this extraordinary writer there are several different tales, both compelling in different ways. These are interwoven in a complex network of links held together by mystery, intrigue, skulduggery of the highest order and two compelling love stories which draw the reader ever onward.
Starting with a crash, when the glass roof of a café in Freemantle collapses injuring a pretty girl, the element of mystery takes hold from the beginning as a press photographer who witnessed the event comes to the rescue. He discovers an immediate and intense attraction, which he cannot ignore, for the girl he rescues. Before he can find out more about her the girl vanishes, leaving him bereft and unsettled. When, out of the ether, she contacts him clearly needing help but offering no explanation of what or why she vanished, he feels compelled to respond. With his domestic life in turmoil, Bart abandons everything and sets off in pursuit to find Minnie, but she keeps vanishing after only the most fleeting of contacts. Mystery and threat begin to intensify as on each occasion Bart becomes aware of a shadowy figure in a van who is always nearby when he catches up with Minnie.
Into all this Dingli introduces another story about Bart’s father who vanished when he was seven. His mother, Iris, with whom his relationship has always been uncomfortable, has told him too many conflicting tales and he needs to find the truth. A letter from a mysterious woman in Malta announcing his father’s demise leaves Bart torn between following this lead to solve the greatest mystery of his life and responding to another appeal for help form the mysterious and alluring Minnie.
His decision moves the action across the globe from Western Australia to France. Landing in Paris in the aftermath of a dramatic plane crash, he is drawn onward to the dingy commercial port of Le Havre. Rough action mixes with tender and intense love scenes as Bart and Minnie finally get together. But the pressure is always there and they are soon driven onwards, landing in Malta where the plot becomes even more entangled. With moving and philosophical flashbacks when Bart is given his late father’s journals, he begins to discover his past and build the missing relationship with his father. All the time the mystery of Minnie keeps revealing tantalising scraps of unsettling intrigue and possibly criminal activity. Other fascinating characters join the dramatis personae, embellishing the whole thing and racking up the tension with murder, mystery and missing artworks.
The way Dingli builds her players is so compelling one feels they could be people one knows. At the same time she has a capacity for mystery that compels the attention as she wraps each element in a web of artistic interest and cultural detail. The villages and social life of Malta come alive through her descriptions, such that one can almost feel the warm breeze off the Mediterranean, smell the scent of flowers in the gardens and hear the clamour of people going about their daily lives in the narrow streets. Besides delivering beautifully told mysteries, and her trademark car chase, this book is descriptive writing at its best. Her attention to detail, insights into human behaviour and the emotional turmoil felt by her characters put Dingli in the forefront of modern mystery writing.
As a reader you have to apply your brain with this book, but it is so very well worth the effort. Camera Obscura is a must read book.(less)

Ian Mathie rated a book 4 of 5 stars

Wheels of Fortune
by Ian G. Watson

read in November, 2012

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A delightful pedal through wild Ontario.

The Wheels of Fortune, by Ian G Ian Watson

One might be forgiven for thinking that Wheels of Fortune was sequel offering by Jerome K Jerome following his success with Three Men in a Boat, for it features three m...more A delightful pedal through wild Ontario.

The Wheels of Fortune, by Ian G Ian Watson

One might be forgiven for thinking that Wheels of Fortune was sequel offering by Jerome K Jerome following his success with Three Men in a Boat, for it features three men on a cycling tour of Ontario’s Kawartha Lakes region in the year of our Lord 1900. There is initially some similarity between Jerome’s and Ian Watson’s writing styles as the narrator offers humorous comments on daily life and sapirations, his companions’ attributes, abilities and foibles and many other things as the three set out by train from Toronto to the starting point for their tour. Their wives and families of two of them, meanwhile, go elsewhere for a lakeside vacation with the expectation that their husbands will join them later. As the story gets going the vein of clichéd humour becomes intermittent, although Watson interjects occasional humorous inferences and anecdotes throughout.
Having said all this, this book offers the reader a surprisingly good story. There are numerous interesting characters, many of whom turn out to be different from how they first appear, and all of whom fit together well to provide an entertaining and interesting cast. The cycling adventures of the three principals are, at times, slightly laboured and slapstick, but this fits with the essentially light hearted approach of the book.
The encounter between Reggie, the only bachelor among the cycling trio, and Sarah, a most accomplished lady they encounter and fall into business with en route, provides romantic interest. Perce, a slightly enigmatic banker and other married member of the trio, provides an element of mystery, whilst at the same time the reader develops a slight feeling of sympathy for the apparent ineptness of the narrator, Lance. Continually slapped down by Reggie calling him an ass, he demonstrates an endearing lack of abilities in almost everything he attempts, He does, however, come into flower towards the end with the discovery of some rock crystals that have world changing potential. Sadly, when the family are reunited at the end of the cycling tour, his puritanical spouse is unable to see the importance of his discovery yet he remains undismayed.
Deliberately dated in its style, Wheels of Fortune is a beautiful parody on modern enterprise culture, with all its attendant rogues, wheeler dealers, specialists, peripheral players and chance encounters. It is easy reading and highly entertaining, and a good book for a wet winter weekend by the fire.(less)

Ian Mathie made a comment on Boyd Lemon's review of The Rescuer's Path

"This sounds like one to put on my reading list. Thanks for the recommendation Boyd."

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	Bride Price 4.8 of 5 stars 4.80 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2011	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Man in a Mud Hut 4.71 of 5 stars 4.71 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2011	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Supper with the President 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2011	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Man Of Passage 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2006	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dust of the Danakil 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Keep Taking The Pills: An Anthology From The Transplant Ward by Ian Mathie (Goodreads Author), Barry Gurbutt (Illustrator) 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dust of the Danakil by Ian Mathie 2.0 of 5 stars 2.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Man in a Mud Hut 0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2011	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Ian Mathie made a comment on Courage to Change — Powerful writing about addiction, wrapped in a superb story "Pre-publication review - Don't miss this book! Sylvie Nickels never disappoints, getting right to the core of things and dealing with nitty-gritty matt...more "
13 de Jun 08:11
Ian Mathie rated a book 5 of 5 stars Courage to Change by Sylvie Nickels (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13 de Jun 08:04
Ian Mathie rated a book 5 of 5 stars According to Luke by Rosanne Dingli (Goodreads Author) recommended for: All who like a gripping tale, art lovers, mystery readers, other writers	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Brilliant and controversial According to Luke by Rosanne Dingli really is a book you should read. As a mystery it is superb, well crafted with innumerable convolutions and complexities in a plot that could change the world. She proposes a theory which...more
13 de Jun 08:03 · see review
Ian Mathie rated a book 4 of 5 stars Out of Sync by Belinda Nicoll (Goodreads Author) read in April, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Belinda Nicoll knows how to keep a reader’s attention as she relates her life’s unusual progression in ‘Out of Sync’. Yet this is no agony tale, nor is it an exercise in catharsis and self discovery as memoirs often tend to be. From the incongruity of...more
10 de May 06:53 · see review
Ian Mathie wants to read The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24 de Abr 06:26
Ian Mathie liked Sharon M.'s review of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression: " Every author should have this book near at hand. You probably know that readers relate most strongly to stories with lots of emotional expression, but you may not know how to do this beyond occasional statements like "She had never felt so angry."... " Read more of this review »
24 de Abr 06:26 · see review
Ian Mathie rated a book 5 of 5 stars Camera Obscura by Rosanne Dingli (Goodreads Author) read in February, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Rosanne Dingli never disappoints. With Camera Obscura she has again produced a novel that must rank among the best of mystery thrillers. As is typical of this extraordinary writer there are several different tales, both compelling in different ways....more
21 de Feb 07:20 · see review
Ian Mathie rated a book 4 of 5 stars Wheels of Fortune by Ian G. Watson read in November, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A delightful pedal through wild Ontario. The Wheels of Fortune, by Ian G Ian Watson One might be forgiven for thinking that Wheels of Fortune was sequel offering by Jerome K Jerome following his success with Three Men in a Boat, for it features three m...more
21 de Nov 03:02 · see review
Ian Mathie made a comment on Boyd Lemon's review of The Rescuer's Path "This sounds like one to put on my reading list. Thanks for the recommendation Boyd."
19 de Nov 03:23 · see review

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