A rather weak offering from Mr. Pournelle. It reads either like a novella that's been padded to book length, or like a truncated novel.
Thi...moreA rather weak offering from Mr. Pournelle. It reads either like a novella that's been padded to book length, or like a truncated novel.
Things happen that ought to have consequences, but don't. Scenes that read like foreshadowing turn out not to foreshadow anything. And then, just when things are starting to get interesting, it...ends.
It does bear a slight resemblance to the Heinlein juveniles - with the noteworthy difference that none of Heinlein's protagonists ever (view spoiler)[got laid (hide spoiler)].(less)
"Movies"? At least two were made from this book: A Christmas Story, which is the one everybody knows ab...moreI liked the movies better.
"Movies"? At least two were made from this book: A Christmas Story, which is the one everybody knows about; and The Great American Fourth of July (and other disasters), a TV movie shown on PBS back in the late 1970s / early 1980s.
(My wife long ago wearied of hearing about the latter; fortunately, she doesn't read my book reviews, so it's safe to mention here.)(less)
Perhaps I would have enjoyed this novel more had I read it in 1987. It hasn't aged well.
The Kindle edition ends with a rather tedious essay,...morePerhaps I would have enjoyed this novel more had I read it in 1987. It hasn't aged well.
The Kindle edition ends with a rather tedious essay, using six times as many pages as necessary to explain the vast cultural significance of Neuromancer. Skip it.(less)
Unorganized. Unperauasive. The author trots out Hitler, Manson & Speck every few pages, as examples of people too evil to live. It got tiresome after ...moreUnorganized. Unperauasive. The author trots out Hitler, Manson & Speck every few pages, as examples of people too evil to live. It got tiresome after a while.
Mildly interesting interviews with convicted murderers - who do think about the morality of their actions; they just reach different conclusions than the rest of us.
(What is my position on capital punishment? I haven't said. It's not relevant to my opinion of this book.)(less)
Not much plot, or even narrative: just tiny chunks of text strung together, with a few dozen poorly-drawn cartoons thrown in. Random people do random ...moreNot much plot, or even narrative: just tiny chunks of text strung together, with a few dozen poorly-drawn cartoons thrown in. Random people do random things for no discernible reasons, and then - suddenly - it's over.
Thirty years ago, I read most of Vonnegut's books & really liked them all. Now, having been so disappointed by Bluebeard and Breakfast of Champions, I'm reluctant to revisit any of the others.(less)
Quite a few clunkers in this collection - especially the last one, "Dead Man's Run," a bizarre mishmash of murder mystery and cross-country ...moreQuite a few clunkers in this collection - especially the last one, "Dead Man's Run," a bizarre mishmash of murder mystery and cross-country running. It had so much completely irrelevant and uninteresting detail about running, plus scene after scene of characters running, that it reminded me of the Monty Python sketch about Neville Shunt, railroad-obsessed writer of murder mysteries.
I hope the 29th Annual Collection is better.(less)
I begin to suspect the Kindle editions of Churchill's WWII history were a rush job: sloppy formatting, inept ocr, and nobody bothered to proofread the...moreI begin to suspect the Kindle editions of Churchill's WWII history were a rush job: sloppy formatting, inept ocr, and nobody bothered to proofread them.(less)
I haven't read either of Greg Mortenson's books, and I haven't given any money to his charity. So I really don't care whether he is - as accused by th...moreI haven't read either of Greg Mortenson's books, and I haven't given any money to his charity. So I really don't care whether he is - as accused by the rather truculent Mr. Krakauer - working a variant of the tv-evangelist scam: tugging heartstrings to open wallets.
It's all a bunch of he-said, he-said anyway.(less)
Not so much an investigation into the Kennedy assassination as a narrative of the author's obsession with the Kennedy assassination - in particular, w...moreNot so much an investigation into the Kennedy assassination as a narrative of the author's obsession with the Kennedy assassination - in particular, with Victoria Adams, who watched from the fourth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
Given the real focus of the book, critiquing the author's investigative skills is probably unnecessary. Suffice it to say that he's unorganized, and not very good at evaluating testimony (nor at reconciling conflicting testimony from multiple sources).
The quest for JFK's death certificate made me laugh. It wasn't where it should have been: stolen by the conspirators? Later, it turns up mixed in with some unrelated papers: hidden there by the conspirators? A footnote suggests that the conspirators couldn't just destroy the death certificate, because that would be a federal offense.
The conspirators had already murdered the President. Why would they be afraid to shred a piece of paper?
JFK conspiracy theories are a rabbit-hole down which I refuse to jump. I won't be reading any more books like this one.
P.S. Mr. Ernest has been known to do a little ego-surfing now & then. If you publish negative comments about his book, there's a chance he'll show up to argue with you.(less)
I'm a bit conflicted. On the one hand, The Day After is reasonably well-written; on the other, it's about zombies, a concept (weak to begin with) so t...moreI'm a bit conflicted. On the one hand, The Day After is reasonably well-written; on the other, it's about zombies, a concept (weak to begin with) so thoroughly strip-mined lately that there's nothing new to say about them.
The other stories...each is a brief meditation on a single image: overhearing a conversation that's only half in English; playing poker; etc.
But I shouldn't complain too much about a book that provided an hour or two of reading for only $3.(less)
1. Counterfeiting is a means of redistributing wealth, to the counterfeiter from the poor sap stuck holding the note when ...moreLet's see now...
1. Counterfeiting is a means of redistributing wealth, to the counterfeiter from the poor sap stuck holding the note when it's discovered to be worthless.
2. Fractional-reserve banking is counterfeiting, since it creates something that looks like real money but isn't.
3. Individual banks can't get away with fractional-reserve banking for very long, because other banks - or the other banks' customers - will attempt to redeem the (unbacked, worthless) bank notes, and drive the bank into insolvency.
4. The Federal Reserve was created by J. P. Morgan and other financial bigwigs to 'cartelize' the banking industry, so there'd be nobody outside the system to redeem the unbacked bank notes.
5. The Federal Reserve should be abolished, and the U.S. should return to the gold standard.(less)