Russell Atkinson's Blog, page 84
January 17, 2017
Word Puzzles
I do like my eggs scrambled…
Image courtesy Universal U-click
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January 13, 2017
Our Ignorant Newsies – Len Ramirez edition
Last night Len Ramirez of KPIX news reported on a neighborhood that became completely surrounded by water from the recent flooding, in essence temporarily becoming an island. He described it as “landlocked.” Sorry, Len, that’s the exact opposite of what you meant. Landlocked means completely surrounded by land with no access to navigable water, like, say, Nevada or Mongolia. What you meant was enisled.
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January 7, 2017
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
My rating: 4½ of 5 stars
A private jet goes down in the water somewhere between Martha’s Vineyard and Teterboro Airport. Scott, a painter and recovering alcoholic, is a last-minute addition to the passenger list, invited by Maggie, the wife of the wealthy news network owner whose company leased the jet. In addition to that executive’s family, other souls on board include their two small children, a money manager under investigation for laundering money for North Korea and others, a former Israeli war hero turned security expert, a pilot, co-pilot, and a beautiful flight attendant. Scott and the 4-year-old son survive in the water. Scott, who was also a standout swimmer in high school, must try to save himself and the boy despite a dislocated shoulder. He begins to swim, towing the boy.
The beginning of this book is riveting. Scott survives, that much we can predict from the opening, but who else does? Why did the plane go down? Weather was fine other than a low fog. The pilots were experienced and the plane had a good safety and maintenance record. We meet Gus, an investigator from the NTSB, and O’Brien, a jerkwad FBI agent. More bodies are found. Relatives come out of the woodwork. The post-truth news hounds descend.
This thriller borders on being great. The middle begins to drag a bit as the life stories of all the characters are brought out in a touch too much detail. The characters begin to take on cliched depictions. The NTSB guy is sympathetic and professional. The FBI guy is arrogant and suspicious. Cunningham, the cable news anchor, a sort of mix of Larry King, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O’Reilly, is a lie-mongering viper. As we get closer to learning what actually happened, the pace quickens and suspense builds again. The ending does not come as a surpise since there are plenty of clues leading to it along the way, but it satisfies the hungry reader. Although the book is not perfect, it’s a solid four and half stars. I recommend it for those who enjoy thrillers.
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January 6, 2017
A Will to Die Cliff Knowles Mystery #7
The seventh book in the Cliff Knowles Mysteries series is now for sale on Amazon as both Kindle and paperback. You can also order the paperback at my Cliff Knowles Mysteries site.
San Diego is renowned for its sunny weather and beautiful beaches, but it has its dark side. It is the location of one of the largest mass suicides in American history. Thirty-eight members of the Heaven’s Gate cult left their bodily “vehicles” hoping for their souls to be taken aboard an alien space ship traveling behind the Hale-Bopp comet. Now, decades later, it looks like an offshoot cult is following the same pattern. One of the victims is the sister of private eye Cliff Knowles, a sister he hasn’t seen in years. He has trouble accepting the conclusion of the police that it’s a suicide. His investigation turns into a bittersweet family reunion when he comes to know his disabled niece whom he last saw when she was an infant. He’s determined to see justice done for her sake.
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December 28, 2016
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is told mostly in the first person, but not always from the same point of view. The scene switches from Jenna’s world to Ray’s (the Detective Inspector in charge of the hit and run case that resulted in the death of a boy). These two primary characters have their relationship problems (in their own worlds, not with each other). The setting switches from Bristol to a small Welsh village. There are a couple of big surprises in store.
What I liked the most about this story was the authenticity with which the writer treated the police work. Her twelve years working in the British justice system shows – and all for the best in my opinion. Although I know the U.S. federal criminal justice system thoroughly, the British system is quite different, a difference I found fascinating at times.
The ending is a bit too predictable and the characters just a tad too cliched for my taste, but all in all it was an engaging story that kept me wanting more. I listened to the CD audio version and enjoyed the accents. The actors, both male and female, are very good.
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December 25, 2016
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Few books can be summarized in two words, but this one is an exception: Lovable curmudgeon. That’s Ove and that’s the whole book. It’s well-written, blending humor and heartbreak. I enjoyed it despite its patent manipulative writing. The characters were all caricatures: Ove who could fix everything and physically overpower or intimidate anyone, his wife who could turn the most incorrigible juvenile delinquent into a Shakespeare scholar, the bureaucrat who was completely insufferable in every way.
I was irritated at times at this overwriting, and that probably dropped it a star in my rating, but I also have a more serious objection. Suicide, or attempted suicide, is not an appropriate subject for a whimsical or humorous tale, in my opinion. My family has been touched tragically in this way on more than one occasion and I can tell you it is the exact opposite of funny. This subject was introduced early in the book and I probably would have stopped reading at that point had the book not been the subject of my next book club meeting. Still, I’m glad I did keep on, because the plot moved on, as I knew it must, with most of the book remaining, and it really did bring some smiles and tugs at the heartstrings toward the end.
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December 15, 2016
So …
A new verbal tic has appeared — “So …” I’m not sure how or exactly when it came to be, but I’ve recently noticed that people now begin the answer to almost every question with “So….” I hear this when people are interviewed on the local news. I hear this from panelists on radio shows or podcasts like “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” or “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.” (That’s an interesting juxtaposition of shows, by the way.)
There’s something different about this one. Most of the verbal tics that have appeared in recent years have originated, or at least spread widely, by teenagers. I’m referring to “like,” “I mean,” “all” and similar annoying monstrosities as in “He’s like so stupid. I mean he’s all like ‘Why’d you do that?’ and I’m like ‘Whadda ya mean?'” Another one that bugs the hell out of me is the use of an objective case pronoun (or two) for the subject of a sentence as in “Me and him couldn’t agree.” Generally adults don’t fall prey to these.
This new one, however, seems to have taken hold in educated adults. At least it’s only at the beginning of each sentence and not scattered throughout, which makes it slightly less annoying. It still makes the speaker sound like an airhead, though. As a writer, I find it useful to identify these verbal tics so that I can immediately convey the idea that a character is stupid, lazy, or both by having them talk this way.
The word “so” has an actual meaning, several, in fact. As a conjunction it usually implies causation. “It was cold outside so I put on my coat.” As an adverb it suggests the extreme, similar to the word very, as “It’s so hot today,” but usually it implies causation in that use too, since one expects that phrase to be followed by a “that” phrase. “It was so hot that I had to remove my coat.” It can correctly be used as the answer to a question where that causation is implied. “Why did you put on your coat? So that I wouldn’t be cold.” But it’s not a general space filler. For example, “Q: Tell us a little about yourself. A: So, I grew up in New York …” I hear this constantly now and if you do it, you sound stupid, at least to word nazis like me. I’ve discovered I’m not the only one who has noticed this and deplores it, so, no, it’s not just me. It’s #SoAnnoying to a lot of people.
December 14, 2016
Google Ngram Viewer Christmas wishes
In my cryptography hobby I often use Google Ngram Viewer to try to guess what words might fit before, after, or even in the middle of a phrase. A few years ago I wrote a story using its predictive ability. I decided to try it again with a Christmas theme and the results are set forth below. Here’s how it works: I fed it the first four words of each sentence followed by an asterisk (e.g. Santa Claus is coming *). The Ngram Viewer responds with the most frequent words to follow that phrase in the millions of books it has scanned. I add the most frequent one to the end and remove the one at the beginning and repeat. So each word is produced by the previous four words. I rather arbitrarily chose where to stop and place a period so as to make a full sentence. So here’s the result.
Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year and many of them are not even aware of the existence of the world. Santa Claus is coming to town to see the doctor and the patient are in the same position as the first of the two. Joy to the world the first example of a new type of society that is not only a matter of time.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.
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December 12, 2016
December 10, 2016
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Unrelenting” according to the blurb from Sue Grafton on the cover; I agree 100% I absolutely devoured this non-stop suspense thriller. Every page brought a new twist. Detective Rasbach is on the right track, but the track keeps changing. You’ll have to hold your head with both hands to keep it from spinning. There’s a confession. There’s a murder. Neither of those bring a resolution to the mystery.
Baby Cora is kidnapped while her parents are next door. All the character have flaws, we find out, but does that make them kidnappers? Both parents left Cora alone. Anne had too much to drink. Marco flirted with the sexy neighbor outside on the porch. The babysitter canceled at the last minute, but she used to fall asleep with her earbuds in. Would she have even been able to stop the kidnapper? Then we find that Marco and Anne both have secrets they’ve been keeping from each other.
This book has all the best qualities of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. Will Cora be found alive or dead? Will she be found at all? You won’t find out until the very end.
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