DWD's Reviews

A re-telling of the Arthurian legend Philip Reeve's re-telling of the Arthurian legend has a ring of truth to it, although he openly admits in his notes that this re-telling is based on nothing more than his own imagination and is not a product of new research. Intellectually, I appreciate his take on Arthur in Here Lies Arthur . I never have been a big fan of the Arthurian legend. To me it is too puffed up, too self-important. You would think that this re-telling - a re-telling that includes a not-so-noble Arthur being promoted by a story-weaving Merlin so that Arthur's legend can grow to the point where he can actually unite the Britons against the Saxons would appeal to me. All of the magic from the story is explained away. All of the legends are laid bare, exposed as frauds. And, the story loses all of its punch. It becomes nothing. Wonderful characterization fails to make up for the fact that Here Lies Arthur takes the magic from the story which,

While I agree with most of his premises...the delivery needs some work I'm an economics teacher with a firm belief that markets are the single most efficient way of creating wealth and that interfering with markets is a sure way to slow or stop the creation of wealth for all, not just for the elites. However, despite the sometimes eloquent prose, Donlan's A World of Wealth is merely a solid book, not a great one. Two issues cloud the book for me: 1) no footnotes, endnotes or even a bibliography. Instead, there is only an interesting list of recommended reading. I would not let my high school students get away with such shoddy scholarship, an editor of a magazine should know better. 2) Meandering text and incomplete arguments get in the way of his discussions of immigration and education. Too bad since there is some nice writing here. This one won't hurt the reader too much (scholarship-wise) but others do it better. A better introductory t

Okay, but not great detective fiction Richard Belzer Law and Order: SVU 's Richard Belzer tries his hand at fiction (with some help from mystery writer Michael A. Black) with I Am Not A Cop!: A Novel ,a bit of noir lit that reminds me of Robert B. Parker without all of the psychobabble but with more conspiracy theories and lots more political commentary. Belzer inserts himself as the main character in this interesting but tedious work. Belzer's acid wit comes to the fore throughout his personal investigation into the disappearance of a Ukranian-born friend. Belzer's multiple police contacts due to the TV show (ride-alongs, police advisors to make the language and procedures more realistic) and a simple assumption that he can figure out how to investigate crime in real life since he's done it so long on TV. At times it's interesting, at times it gets repetitive, especially with multiple passages similar to this one: "...when I get determi

Not the best Bosch book, which means that it is merely very, very good and not excellent Read by Dick Hill. 11 hours, 11 minutes. Connelly's Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch is named after a Renaissance painter who specialized in fanciful and gruesome visions of hell from high above and detailed looks at the tortures that it holds for its residents. Hieronymus Bosch is designed to be our guide through the modern hell of Los Angeles - at least that's the way it seems to the Hollywood Homicide Division. Fittingly, The Black Ice starts with Harry Bosch watching a wildfire burn part of the canyon below his home. His thoughts are interrupted with a radio call about a homicide and Bosch descends the mountain into the madness. A long, complicated case unrolls for Bosch as he goes against direct orders and privately investigates the presumed suicide of a narcotics and I will go no further so as to avoid spoilers. Michael Connelly Dick Hill read this installation of th

Strong start. Best Spenser novel in a while. Robert B. Parker  (1932-2010) By my count Rough Weather may be the 35th Spenser novel. As others have noted, the traditional elements of a Spenser novel are here - Susan and Spenser's deep discussions about Spenser's code of honor, Spenser and Hawk trading witty banter, Spenser pulling at the loose ends of the case until someone tries to kill him. It's a formula, but I like the formula. The book starts out differently and with much more action than is normal in a Spenser book and I'd give the first half 5 stars. But it eventually slows down to the point that I'd give the last half a mere 3 stars. Thus, the average score is the final score - 4 stars. Interestingly, Rough Weather is the only Spenser book that I can remember that actually mentions time passing as the series progresses. Spenser notes to Rita Fiore that she's been pursuing him for 20 years. Hawk and Susan also make some sort of

A cover band version that makes me wonder why not buy the real thing? When someone remakes a band's song I have to ask myself, "Why?" If the remake is a true remake (by that I mean that they re-interpreted the song, used different types of instruments, etc.) than I'm fine with a re-make. If it is just a cover of the same song - same instruments, same style of everything than I have to wonder why you'd bother to put it on a CD? This Tribute to John Mellencamp is basically a bar band's nicely done set of covers of most of Mellencamp's better-known hits. If this band was playing at my local bar I'd be happy with the quality of the singing and performing and be happy to spend the evening listening to some good covers and thinking about the real songs and singer. But, this is not an evening at a bar. Others have done re-makes of Mellencamp's work over the years. I happily own String Quartet Tribute to John Cougar Mellencamp a