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The Einstein Pool
When prominent physicist Daniel Bose has a near-death experience, he converts from atheism to Christianity and joins a group of Catholic physicists investigating claims of the paranormal on behalf of the Vatican.
One of his assignments takes him to a small town in northern Thailand to investigate a powerful local witch who is rumored to dispatch her enemies by means of retroactive abortion – she travels backwards in time and kills their direct ancestors, thereby ensuring that they will never be born in the first place. Dr. Bose gradually comes to realize that the tale he has somehow fallen into revolves around a passionate young Laotian beauty and a 3,000-year-old manuscript written in modern English.
One of his assignments takes him to a small town in northern Thailand to investigate a powerful local witch who is rumored to dispatch her enemies by means of retroactive abortion – she travels backwards in time and kills their direct ancestors, thereby ensuring that they will never be born in the first place. Dr. Bose gradually comes to realize that the tale he has somehow fallen into revolves around a passionate young Laotian beauty and a 3,000-year-old manuscript written in modern English.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2014
2 people want to read
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December 4, 2015
Jake Danger’s “The Einstein Pool” is a super quick 118-page read about the globetrotting Vatican priest Dr. Daniel Bose who is also a physicist that debunks miracles (how ironic, as he says, and I agree!). He is philosophical in his thoughts, for that is apparent in the early stages of the book. Alongside a “token atheist”, a former friend who is militant, as well as others, “The DeBunkeroos” are apparently this book’s version of the Mythbusters.
With the story starting off with Dr. Bose rolling down the river, smelling the scents of the jungle while sipping on some Laotian whiskey WITH an 8-YEAR-OLD BOY who is proficient in nautical matters, they cruise down a river while taking in the sights and sounds of Laos while seeking the Pakbeng Fountain of Youth. Taking place in the year 2035, our protagonist is led by two guides, one of whom speaks English, to a small home where its well possesses “magical water”. Noticing how it is no cleaner than the rest of the water that he has seen, the good doctor has taken three samples and tucked them away for future research.
Speaking of which, doing research into the story and thinking about things that were said, it makes me wonder how faithful religion truly is when it comes to miracles and certain practices. Some of the most pointed items in the story within the realm of religious practices, is the updated definition of child abuse to include religious indoctrination, a priest who drinks and… (how can I say this?) explains how in priesthood that temptation should not go beyond certain limits (to an extent, I understand: we were born HUMAN, NOT Religious). At the same time, contradicting conversations are abundant within this book. Specifically, Religion vs. Science (How is a former Atheist who is also a Physicist, is now a Priest? That IS explained in the book).
Secrecy is paramount to the DeBunkeroos, for if any of their information gets out to the general populace, disastrous results may occur.
The story is written in the journal mode, which is a pretty preferential method of writing personally. In writing in this fashion, you can get the feel of the person’s mindset as well as point of view that is telling the story. Usually, writing in first person is a bit difficult, especially when you have to pay attention to your tenses.
As always, an extra pair of eyes go a very long way when it comes to proofreading.
Misplaced commas, missed comma opportunities, and spacing issues are seen throughout this read.
Page 3:
“According to nearly a hundred eyewitnesses, on the day of the find a tomb was discovered nearly 200 feet underground.“
Suggestion:
“According to nearly a hundred eyewitnesses on the day of the find, a tomb was discovered nearly 200 feet underground.“
Page 3:
“The find attracted attention because radiocarbon dating has consistently indicated that the manuscript itself dates from the 16th century B.C.E. even though it is handwritten on modernstyle paper.“
Suggestion:
“The find attracted attention, because radiocarbon dating has consistently indicated that the manuscript itself dates from the 16th century B.C.E.: even though it is handwritten on modernstyle paper.“
Page 3 (lack of spacing with the colon):
“Subsequent investigations were able to uncover no previous breach of the tomb:in fact it was filled with a considerable amount of valuable jewelry that surely would have been taken by any previous entrant.“
Page 3 (Oxford comma opportunity):
“Furthermore, it is written in American English and describes places, events and technologies that no ancient writer could have known about.“
Suggestion:
“Furthermore, it is written in American English and describes places, events, and technologies that no ancient writer could have known about.“
Page 54 (misused word: managing vs managed):
“I finally managing to sputter “Ni hao”, a Chinese greeting.“
With the intriguing storyline that is contained within the covers of this story, it also has its gratuitous share of missed chances in the realm of editing. With those glaring errors, it takes away from the overall presentation of The Einstein Pool; making the experience of reading this book a bit frustrating as you mentally correct each missed opportunity.
I am NOT saying that this is a bad book: that is far from the truth. I actually liked it, yet it needs an extra set of eyes in order to pick up on the opportunities that can make this book into a very good read.
With the story starting off with Dr. Bose rolling down the river, smelling the scents of the jungle while sipping on some Laotian whiskey WITH an 8-YEAR-OLD BOY who is proficient in nautical matters, they cruise down a river while taking in the sights and sounds of Laos while seeking the Pakbeng Fountain of Youth. Taking place in the year 2035, our protagonist is led by two guides, one of whom speaks English, to a small home where its well possesses “magical water”. Noticing how it is no cleaner than the rest of the water that he has seen, the good doctor has taken three samples and tucked them away for future research.
Speaking of which, doing research into the story and thinking about things that were said, it makes me wonder how faithful religion truly is when it comes to miracles and certain practices. Some of the most pointed items in the story within the realm of religious practices, is the updated definition of child abuse to include religious indoctrination, a priest who drinks and… (how can I say this?) explains how in priesthood that temptation should not go beyond certain limits (to an extent, I understand: we were born HUMAN, NOT Religious). At the same time, contradicting conversations are abundant within this book. Specifically, Religion vs. Science (How is a former Atheist who is also a Physicist, is now a Priest? That IS explained in the book).
Secrecy is paramount to the DeBunkeroos, for if any of their information gets out to the general populace, disastrous results may occur.
The story is written in the journal mode, which is a pretty preferential method of writing personally. In writing in this fashion, you can get the feel of the person’s mindset as well as point of view that is telling the story. Usually, writing in first person is a bit difficult, especially when you have to pay attention to your tenses.
As always, an extra pair of eyes go a very long way when it comes to proofreading.
Misplaced commas, missed comma opportunities, and spacing issues are seen throughout this read.
Page 3:
“According to nearly a hundred eyewitnesses, on the day of the find a tomb was discovered nearly 200 feet underground.“
Suggestion:
“According to nearly a hundred eyewitnesses on the day of the find, a tomb was discovered nearly 200 feet underground.“
Page 3:
“The find attracted attention because radiocarbon dating has consistently indicated that the manuscript itself dates from the 16th century B.C.E. even though it is handwritten on modernstyle paper.“
Suggestion:
“The find attracted attention, because radiocarbon dating has consistently indicated that the manuscript itself dates from the 16th century B.C.E.: even though it is handwritten on modernstyle paper.“
Page 3 (lack of spacing with the colon):
“Subsequent investigations were able to uncover no previous breach of the tomb:in fact it was filled with a considerable amount of valuable jewelry that surely would have been taken by any previous entrant.“
Page 3 (Oxford comma opportunity):
“Furthermore, it is written in American English and describes places, events and technologies that no ancient writer could have known about.“
Suggestion:
“Furthermore, it is written in American English and describes places, events, and technologies that no ancient writer could have known about.“
Page 54 (misused word: managing vs managed):
“I finally managing to sputter “Ni hao”, a Chinese greeting.“
With the intriguing storyline that is contained within the covers of this story, it also has its gratuitous share of missed chances in the realm of editing. With those glaring errors, it takes away from the overall presentation of The Einstein Pool; making the experience of reading this book a bit frustrating as you mentally correct each missed opportunity.
I am NOT saying that this is a bad book: that is far from the truth. I actually liked it, yet it needs an extra set of eyes in order to pick up on the opportunities that can make this book into a very good read.
November 9, 2014
From jbgarner58.wordpress.com:
As continual readers of this blog know, a starving author/reviewer like me will eat any meal put before his table. A man has got to eat, right? Sometimes big meals, sometimes small meals, sometimes good meals, sometimes bad. Every once in a while, though, I eat a meal that is a bit confusing, that dances between the lines of good and bad, big and small, and leaves me a bit puzzled.
The Einstein Pool is such a meal.
However, before we tuck into our plates and figure this out, let’s do the usual ‘ground rules’ thing:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre.
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
The Einstein Pool in terms of length is short. Though I don’t have a word count, it is maybe less than 100 pages and squarely in the novella category. However, it blithely delves into a lot of deep concepts and big theory about science, the divine, and the interactions there of, giving it a certain mental heft that outweighs the short page count. Here, the flavors of the book really zing in my mouth and I found myself biting into those sections with gusto, even if I had to stop for a few moments to digest certain concepts. In fact, some of them were familiar spices similar to some I had used in Indomitable and the rest of The Push Chronicles.
So you can see where I found some very good flavors in this mix. What hit me as bad and somewhat confusing were a pair of characters near the end of the book that honestly sounded a bit too similar to a Chick Tract. While I wanted to tune out those horrible flavors as simply being the opinions of some fictional characters, they resonated a bit through the protagonist’s actions. Likewise, the events of the book seemed to back up everything those characters said as being fact and completely prophetic, lending a weird credence to their words that tasted foul on my tongue.
As far as the actual writing style and pacing, overall Mr. Danger presents a breezy and quick pace. The main character is well-characterized but I feel there is a paucity of dialogue in spots. While this can be understandable as the book is written in the style of a first-person journal, it leaves some of the supporting characters feeling a bit thin. Though set in the near-future, there is almost nothing unfamiliar presented and the few bits of near-future technology won’t require any deep explanation and Mr. Danger pays the right amount of time and attention to detail for that and to flesh out the foreign land where most of the book takes place. My copy had a few minor formatting errors, but nothing that made it unreadable in any sense.
So how do all of these at-times contradictory ingredients mix-up and come out in the final consumption? The Einstein Pool must succeed in the end, simply because I read it in one continual sitting, with no desire to turn away save for the small sections noted above (the Chick Tract part, as it is engrained in my head). The main story, though, is filled with fascinating questions for the main character to discover and with a nice cliffhanger ending. I’m a sucker for cliffhangers. Still, it’s not perfect. Many of the minor characters could deserve far more fleshing out to make them compelling, especially the main love interest and the current antagonist and that detracts from the total taste of the book. At the end though, if you’re interested in a sci-fi near-future yarn with a healthy dose of religion and philosophy mixed in, you won’t go wrong with giving this novella a spin.
FINAL VERDICT: **** (Light but heavy, with a lot of pleasing, thoughtful flavors and a few parts that turned my tongue)
As continual readers of this blog know, a starving author/reviewer like me will eat any meal put before his table. A man has got to eat, right? Sometimes big meals, sometimes small meals, sometimes good meals, sometimes bad. Every once in a while, though, I eat a meal that is a bit confusing, that dances between the lines of good and bad, big and small, and leaves me a bit puzzled.
The Einstein Pool is such a meal.
However, before we tuck into our plates and figure this out, let’s do the usual ‘ground rules’ thing:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre.
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
The Einstein Pool in terms of length is short. Though I don’t have a word count, it is maybe less than 100 pages and squarely in the novella category. However, it blithely delves into a lot of deep concepts and big theory about science, the divine, and the interactions there of, giving it a certain mental heft that outweighs the short page count. Here, the flavors of the book really zing in my mouth and I found myself biting into those sections with gusto, even if I had to stop for a few moments to digest certain concepts. In fact, some of them were familiar spices similar to some I had used in Indomitable and the rest of The Push Chronicles.
So you can see where I found some very good flavors in this mix. What hit me as bad and somewhat confusing were a pair of characters near the end of the book that honestly sounded a bit too similar to a Chick Tract. While I wanted to tune out those horrible flavors as simply being the opinions of some fictional characters, they resonated a bit through the protagonist’s actions. Likewise, the events of the book seemed to back up everything those characters said as being fact and completely prophetic, lending a weird credence to their words that tasted foul on my tongue.
As far as the actual writing style and pacing, overall Mr. Danger presents a breezy and quick pace. The main character is well-characterized but I feel there is a paucity of dialogue in spots. While this can be understandable as the book is written in the style of a first-person journal, it leaves some of the supporting characters feeling a bit thin. Though set in the near-future, there is almost nothing unfamiliar presented and the few bits of near-future technology won’t require any deep explanation and Mr. Danger pays the right amount of time and attention to detail for that and to flesh out the foreign land where most of the book takes place. My copy had a few minor formatting errors, but nothing that made it unreadable in any sense.
So how do all of these at-times contradictory ingredients mix-up and come out in the final consumption? The Einstein Pool must succeed in the end, simply because I read it in one continual sitting, with no desire to turn away save for the small sections noted above (the Chick Tract part, as it is engrained in my head). The main story, though, is filled with fascinating questions for the main character to discover and with a nice cliffhanger ending. I’m a sucker for cliffhangers. Still, it’s not perfect. Many of the minor characters could deserve far more fleshing out to make them compelling, especially the main love interest and the current antagonist and that detracts from the total taste of the book. At the end though, if you’re interested in a sci-fi near-future yarn with a healthy dose of religion and philosophy mixed in, you won’t go wrong with giving this novella a spin.
FINAL VERDICT: **** (Light but heavy, with a lot of pleasing, thoughtful flavors and a few parts that turned my tongue)
November 28, 2015
Again, I am confronting another book which makes it hard for me to sum up my thoughts as there really isn’t much to say about it.
Nevertheless, as always, I will give it my best shot. I will start with the premise.
Daniel Bose has a near-death experience which prompts him to convert into Christianity and then join a Catholic physicists group who investigate claims of paranormal activity for the Vatican.
While on assignment he goes to Northern Thailand to look into, what some people claim to be, a mighty witch, who is said to get rid of her foes by destroying them even before they are born. Rumor has it that she travels through time killing their family and in that way making sure they are never even born.
It is in this element that the title of the story is born; “The Einstein Pool“.
The tale is set in the not so distant future, during the year 2035. The story is compressed with loads of quantum physics, scientific theory and religious philosophy which ultimately blurs the lines between religion and science.
To me, that’s a fascinating idea, and a theme which I absolutely love. With that said, I will dive into the pros and cons.
Pros:
1. The storyline is fantastic. So, I give merit to the author in that regard as the narrative somehow reminded me of “The DaVinci Code”.
2. The characters were well portrayed and authentic, particularly the main character, Daniel Bose. It isn’t often that you see an atheist turned believer.
3. Most of the science was well researched which attributed to the believability factor.
Cons:
1. Truthfully, I only have one real con (the other one is more a matter of opinion) and that is the need for an editor. Unfortunately, the story had some instances in which the sentence structure needed tidying up. Also, the misuse of comma made for a rocky read. I’m convinced that had the book undergone a good round of editing with a professional it would’ve been ten times better.
2. Now, the second con—which is strictly a matter of opinion—is the cover. I truly wish the cover of this book had been more attractive, so as to lead more readers to it.
So, if the author takes the time to go over the book with a professional Editor and perhaps looks into getting a Professional Graphic Designer, I don’t see any reason why this book won’t take off. Well done.
Survey Says:
My true rating is 3.5 stars, however that translates into 4 stars here.
Nevertheless, as always, I will give it my best shot. I will start with the premise.
Daniel Bose has a near-death experience which prompts him to convert into Christianity and then join a Catholic physicists group who investigate claims of paranormal activity for the Vatican.
While on assignment he goes to Northern Thailand to look into, what some people claim to be, a mighty witch, who is said to get rid of her foes by destroying them even before they are born. Rumor has it that she travels through time killing their family and in that way making sure they are never even born.
It is in this element that the title of the story is born; “The Einstein Pool“.
The tale is set in the not so distant future, during the year 2035. The story is compressed with loads of quantum physics, scientific theory and religious philosophy which ultimately blurs the lines between religion and science.
To me, that’s a fascinating idea, and a theme which I absolutely love. With that said, I will dive into the pros and cons.
Pros:
1. The storyline is fantastic. So, I give merit to the author in that regard as the narrative somehow reminded me of “The DaVinci Code”.
2. The characters were well portrayed and authentic, particularly the main character, Daniel Bose. It isn’t often that you see an atheist turned believer.
3. Most of the science was well researched which attributed to the believability factor.
Cons:
1. Truthfully, I only have one real con (the other one is more a matter of opinion) and that is the need for an editor. Unfortunately, the story had some instances in which the sentence structure needed tidying up. Also, the misuse of comma made for a rocky read. I’m convinced that had the book undergone a good round of editing with a professional it would’ve been ten times better.
2. Now, the second con—which is strictly a matter of opinion—is the cover. I truly wish the cover of this book had been more attractive, so as to lead more readers to it.
So, if the author takes the time to go over the book with a professional Editor and perhaps looks into getting a Professional Graphic Designer, I don’t see any reason why this book won’t take off. Well done.
Survey Says:
My true rating is 3.5 stars, however that translates into 4 stars here.
December 8, 2015
In this strange tale, a physicist, Dr. Daniel Bose goes to Thailand to investigate incidents of witchcraft on behalf of the Vatican. The witch is known as Kittykat and she has the nasty habit of going back in time to prevent anyone she dislikes from being born by murdering an ancestor.
Along the way, the character engages in a televised debate over religious beliefs with a colleague named Bogans. This seemed odd to me, as I cannot wrap my head around why such a thing would be televised, but I digress. It’s a fantasy short story, after all.
Bose finds himself going to a brothel to investigate the disappearance of a working girl that Kittykat is said to be responsible. He meets Viraphone, a girl that works at the establishment, and he enlists here help as interpreter. Later in the story, he falls in love with her, and finds he needs to protect her from Kittykat.
There’s not much more to say about this one, as it is a short story and I don’t wish to give anything away. I would say it’s reasonably well-written, with the only real complaint being a slew of missing commas that slow the reading process. The subject matter is really not within my realm of interest, but I must admit, it held my attention well.
This all being said, I give “The Einstein Pool” seven out of ten stars. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a decent read.
Along the way, the character engages in a televised debate over religious beliefs with a colleague named Bogans. This seemed odd to me, as I cannot wrap my head around why such a thing would be televised, but I digress. It’s a fantasy short story, after all.
Bose finds himself going to a brothel to investigate the disappearance of a working girl that Kittykat is said to be responsible. He meets Viraphone, a girl that works at the establishment, and he enlists here help as interpreter. Later in the story, he falls in love with her, and finds he needs to protect her from Kittykat.
There’s not much more to say about this one, as it is a short story and I don’t wish to give anything away. I would say it’s reasonably well-written, with the only real complaint being a slew of missing commas that slow the reading process. The subject matter is really not within my realm of interest, but I must admit, it held my attention well.
This all being said, I give “The Einstein Pool” seven out of ten stars. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a decent read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews