Wasting So Many Words On A Book I Disliked???????

Kill Dress by John Young


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
KILL DRESS...is killing me..no mean feat for such a short book (70 pages)

I know that many people have a burning desire to write novels..i also know that most of those people have neither the skill nor the talent to pull it off. I also know how important is the Editor's job in any Publishing foray.
This poor book displays a serious lack of editing..and not much Skill...evidenced by a lack of "Paring Down"..Mr Young should heed the adage "less is more' regarding description...and the constant repetition..of action...was distracting, to say the least

this would have made a good short story (pared down by half) in whatever passes for Pulp Magazines, nowadays.

which brings me to the STORY itself...that of a glam/sexy dress with the ability to so confuzzle men that they will kill to possess the wearer...SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS gone Naughty, Nasty, & Vengeful....Girls just want to have fun and get back at the Dogs/Insensitive men in their little lives.....woot woot.....and i didn't mention the Voodoo overtones..or the shrill Feminist "we have the right to dress as we choose..if men can't take it...that's their problem" 11th hour angle......or the Serial Killer lurking in the wings.

too much here..none of it developed..A short book that should have been shorter........Run, don't walk, from it's spell
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To repeat: BRAIN CANDY ALERT!

The Green and the Gray by Timothy Zahn


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Brain Candy Alert!

First, take two alien peoples (Greens & Grays), living seriously underground in NYC for decades who are about to re-stage the Armageddon of their collective past. The only way to Stop The War? The sacrifice of a 12-year-old girl (Melantha Green)....but wait, not everyone favors this move so the girl is abdu.....spirited away at the 11th hour....leaving many unhappy folks, some bent on Revenge

Next, take one Yuppie couple with a creaky marriage, on the way home from a tense "night out"...who are handed said girl at gunpoint and told to "Take her. Protect her"...and the games begin. Because everyone and his brother is on the lookout for the non-sacrificial lamb.

With all this potential for Urban mayhem....let's not forget the NYPD....enter Detective Fierenzo.

Then add some car chases, convoluted subway rides, Hammerguns, Shrieks that can be deadly....at least two abductions..a country idyll that is anything but...allusions to Greek and Norse Mythology....A Romeo & Juliet angle that's "oh so sweet"...Evil Meanies...treachery in the ranks...and an ending that seemed a bit tame to me....Peace is Declared and God Bless Us Everyone...Like i said...Brain Candy!!

I have not read anything else by Mr Zahn, but i get the impression that this was a departure for him, from Hard Sci-Fi..I found the Hard angles herein a bit far-fetched...thought this one was more a Police Procedural with Alien overtones. Since it was published in 2004..the shadow of 9/11 was ever-present..but did not detract from a pleasantly wild ride.

Brain Candy
4 Stars

Why Bother???

Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I wish i could give a serious review of this book....alas! i cannot

5 Stars for the Story Premise....Isaac Newton's career at Cambridge University....as a Mathematician & an Alchemist....such Potential!

2 Stars for the actual delivery...i disliked the Narrator/Narrative Device...bloodless/soulless to a fault...

My apologies for the mess that showed up here yesterday. I had a friend posting my Review, but she copied from my Rough Notes, instead...there will be a coherent Review...as soon as...again, i am sorry for the "drivel"

Romance Lite....anyone?

Reasons by Tracy Fabre


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Romance/Romance Lite is not my Genre of choice, but i received a copy of this book from the Author...i owe a review..

Our protagonist, Delphi Brent, survived a hit-and-run accident at age 17...ten years later she is set to visit old family friends before starting a new job.However...the facts of the accident have been a close-kept family secret..and the family she is visiting?...one of the sons was driving the fatal car. Here comes a Summer to Remember!!! All goes fairly well until Delphi develops a serious Jones for the younger surviving son, Tam (the actual younger son perished in the same Accident).....and stumbles upon said Fatal Car, shrouded in a barn....i know, Soap Opera City....right? Right..but Delphi is a spunky gal with a sassy mouth and the requisite angst of anyone trying to forge ahead in life. I just wish she hadn't been such a Mush-Head toward Tam....but then, i'm no romantic...

I liked the character in this book....no real Caricatures and nary a Devil or Angel in the mix...the Spirituality was more Human than Godly..and if Jesus was present he was probably waiting in the wings to see how the story played out.

If Romance is your thing..this might be for you. The story does not devolve into Soft Core Porn.....but neither is it Message-ridden. since i try to read outside of my own Genre Boxes at least once a year..i have to say i enjoyed this without going into sugar-shock...and my gorlfriends who Do like Romance are already asking to borrow the book. Go figure...it's a good story with believable characters....nuff said

3 Stars (i liked it)