It is readable with interesting flaws
926871
I read it, so it is good enough. But it has a construction flaw. 50 pages of people saying "What do you think happened? I don't understand what happened," then a small clue, then 50 pages of "what do you think happened" again and again does not make a mystery.
The good side of this is that everybody has a reason to lie, the bad side is that it is just about too many liars.
1495321
The book is fun to read but it has some quite obvious mistakes that any lore nut will notice.  Besides that, the plot seems forced on occasions. It is obvious that the book, rather than being meant to move forward the plot, was written to bring new players/readers up to speed on the current lore, and so what happens seem to have no rhyme or reason other than giving info on past lore. Even still, the book is good and fun to read and it does a great job at building up hype for the upcoming expansion.
3147225
The story is fine. It's a well-organized thriller, well-paced and reasonably plausible. So, if you're looking for something to distract you, this is fine and even reasonably enjoyable. The characters have consistent and plausible motivations; even the villain is fairly well-drawn.

But the writing itself leaves a good deal to be desired. This isn't to say it's incompetent: aside from a few problematic details (inconsistent use of dialect, a few odd bits of usage/spelling, describing a character as in her '50s instead of her fifties), the story is told in good standard English, and even sounds decent read aloud. But anyone looking for a well-written (as opposed to well-*structured*) novel will cringe at the multiple violations of the "show, don't tell" rule. Here's two examples from Chapter 10, describing diner owner Chris:

"Chris was in his mid-twenties, but didn't seem old enough to have a child. Especially a dead one. Usually when folks had kids, they had a haggard look about them. As though they were simply aging faster or had grown up in a way that was impossible for those who were childless. Chris didn't."

This is lousy prose: the fourth sentence isn't a sentence, and the fifth leaves it momentarily unclear what the "didn't" is meant to refer to. But it's actually a good use of "show, don't tell". Chris is *shown* to have something unusual about him, and we are left in suspense as to whether he doesn't have the haggard look because he's unusually resilient or confident, or because he's some kind of sociopath. So, kudos. But then a couple of pages later, we have:

"He was dressed nicely in a crisp navy button-down shirt and black slacks. His face was, as always, fresh-shaven and, even in the distance, his strong cologne cut through the usually-comforting aromas of brewing coffee and frying bacon.
"Chris was always well dressed, more so than the rest of them. Maybe it was to take some emphasis off of his lazy eye which was so out of harmony with the other I it was difficult to tell exactly what he was looking at."

The first paragraph works: it's actually kind of a neat detail to have his cologne cut through comforting aromas, because it still further insinuates that there might be something creepy about him. But the second paragraph is a real flagrant violation of the rule. We should be *shown* his lazy eye and the discomfort Haley feels, even though she knows him well and likes him, because she just can't quite tell what he's looking at. Instead, the author draws the conclusion for us, *telling* us why Chris dresses well.

The novel is rife with this sort of violation: usually, this is the sign of a novice writer, or someone who isn't confident, or someone who's working much too quickly. But again, if you're just reading for story, there are way worse self-published novels you could be reading. If you're reading for the pleasure of reading, you're going to cringe a lot, which is a pity, because you might miss a good story.
374419
There are a few grammar issues, a couple of "scenes" that were hokey, but all in all, a decent book.
1665092
The book is fun to read.  Overall the book is OK, but there are some issues.  The most obvious and clearly objective issues relate to the maps:

Page 58 has a map that indicates that there was a place in the middle of Nicaragua called Fort San Juan, which is not discussed in the text so it isn't evident why anyone bothered to place it on the map.  However, there was no such place in the middle of Nicaragua.  There is an interesting place in Nicaragua on the San Juan River at the southern border of Nicaragua called the Fortaleza del Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepcin, which is very interesting in the history of pirates.  The story of the castillo is much more interesting than many of the other things in the book.

The map on page 132 labels Nicaragua as Honduras.

The map on page 156 indicates that Belize is located where Bluefields, Nicaragua is located.  There are arrows on the map to and from this falsely labeled Belize.  One doesn't know whether the arrows are correct and the label is wrong or whether both the arrows and the label are wrong.  There is text that goes with the location in question, which also indicates that the place in question is Belize.  Belize is not even next to Nicaragua.  In fact, it is not next to any country that is next to Nicaragua.  Does this really matter?  Maybe not to most people, but it certainly does matter to anyone who has lived in Nicarauga or Belize and especially to anyone who has lived in Bluefields, which has Dutch piracy in its history and which history would have been a valuable addition to the book.

Because of these errors in the maps, it is evident that the facts in the book were not checked carefully and so the credibility of the book as a whole is called into question in spite of the otherwise good reputation of the author.

Although there are picture credits in the book, there are no references.
4740581
A little convoluted in parts and too predicable, but still not a bad read
1723576
Some of the writing is too heady and academic for me, and probably for most readers.
But one nice thing about a book of collected essays, such as this one, is that the reader can skip around and read what interests him or her. And there is certainly some interesting reading here.
I'm a fan, and the book has served to deepen my understanding of the band and the music.
2573886
It's an interesting concept for a historical novel, sharing the story of Lady Jane Grey, teenaged queen of England for only a few days before being confined to the Tower and eventually beheaded.  What events brought her to that point?  What kind of person was she?  The author tries to answer some of these questions while entertaining the reader.  In general, I think she did better at entertaining than at answering those questions.

In general the read was enjoyable, but there were some significant negatives:

1) There is a gratuitous rape scene with explicit descriptions.  It's speculation as to whether such a thing occurred, but even if it did, it could easily have been handled by seeing her in the morning bruised and bleeding.  This was a big negative for me.

2) The use of a large number of 1st-person narrators, approximately 10 (though the vast majority of the narration is confined to a smaller number).  Every few pages the point-of-view changed to someone else, all speaking in the 1st person and not always well distinguished in voice.  You have to be careful to look at the section header to know who is talking.  I think it would have been better if the list had been narrowed down a bit, or perhaps to have used a 3rd person omniscient narrator.

3) The language was quite modern at times.  Turns of phrase that it's quite obvious were not from the time period.

As for answering the questions about Lady Jane Grey, the author does very little to make it clear what is pure speculation, what is educated guesswork, and what is established from source material from the time period.  Beyond the basic framework of the succession of the throne from person to person, there was very little I knew that I could accept as truth.  I feel there should have been an extended author's note or chapter end notes making it clear where this all came from.  I wanted to be entertained, but I wanted to know what was truth, what was fiction, and what was leaning one way or the other.

Overall, I'd say to pass on this book.  In the end, I think it falls short both in the categories of history and fiction.
194617
from reading a few pages,it seems a good book.
2601751
a very  enjoyable  and  readable  overview of  the  author's  insights  into  eastern meditation.  a  highly  personal  accounting  of  the  author's  exploration  of  eastern  meditation ;  since  it  is  so  idiosynractic;  it  lacks  a  coherent  organization  and  a  balanced  over view  of  Zen  and  Dzogchen.  yet  ,  despite  that  caveat  it  is  still  a  readable  good  start  for  any one  put  off  by the  insscrutable  orient. its  incohherent  format  will  confuse  those  unfamilar  with  eastern  meditation. Suffers  from  poor organization and  little  information  about zen  or dzogchen  that is  not  idiosyncratically  the  author's  experiences and  conclusions. Thus  for  a  beginner  i'd recommend  a  book  that  provides  an  overview  that  goes  beyond  one  man's experience.  having  given  that  caveat;it  still  is a  readable start  to one  man's  experience  of  the  "mysterious  East.' So  i'd  recommend  this  in  conjunction  with  a  better organied  and  less  personalized  overview;  so  i'd  recommend  supplementing  it  with a  better organized  overview  that  aren't  so  much  one  man's  views.
2437631
The story line is interesting and understandable.  The main character is well established, well known, and has unquestioned respect in a small, close nit community.  Then some things happen to undermine his status.

He makes a mistake, there are undermining rumors, he suffers some public humiliation and his self confidence, self respect, self image and public image, thereby suffer damage.  He has to over-ride his new self-doubt and set out to re-establish his reputation and himself as a man of honor in this small community.  His plan is simple, but things don't go too smoothly.  It's both humorous and it's bloody.

The author successfully achieved a consistent and unique vernacular for the main character including a lot of what I assume is local street terminology from an area in Great Britain.

However, by the same token it was sometimes difficult for me to catch the meaning of what was being said without going back and re-reading, being unfamiliar with some of the language and its structure.  There was more than a little terminology which lost me until further on with increased context.

It wasn't my cup of tea, but I'm sure many will enjoy.
2923682
This is a "readable" novel but I think most will see that it could have been done much better, given the elements of the plot.
1216639
This book is exceptionally readable and provides a good background for people who are interested in the Ottoman Empire.  The personalities of the major Sultans and Grand Viziers come through via Kinross's vivid descriptions and character analysis.  However, there are some major gaps in the work.

Kinross is at his strongest when describing the Ottoman advance into Europe, which ultimately ended with the second siege of Vienna.  Even as the Ottoman successes were rolled back by the European powers he is clearly in his element.  Much of what he has written regarding the Balkan campaigns and the rise of Balkan nationalism has relevance to the current conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.  Moreover, Kinross also does an admirable job of describing the major reform movements and internal battles of the Ottoman Empire, particularly after 1700.

However, there are major weaknesses in the work.  First, Kinross spends precious little time examining the Asian and African conquests by the Ottomans and the patterns of rule established in places like contemprary Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.  These are issues that anyone reading in the post 9/11 world would likely have found particularly interesting and relevant to understanding today's events.

Similarly, Kinross spends little time examining social institutions, especially the Caliphate that resided in Istanbul until its abolition by Ataturk.  Again, what happened with regard to Islamic belief in the Ottoman Days is a critical component of the rise of Islamic radicalism in the 21st century.

Kinross's writing regarding the 19th and 20th centuries is largely derived ultimately from European sources, particularly diplomatic traffic from the various European ambassadors posted to the Sublime Porte.  These dispatches tend to overexaggerate both the power of the European states as well as the backwardsness of the Turks, to the detriment of his writing on the final days of the Empire.  Indeed, the final two chapters regarding the collapse of the Sultanate are the most unfulfilling, reading like a term paper rushed to conclusion to meet a deadline.

Overall, these comments should not distract from the fact that the book is generally well written and for the most part covers the major events of Ottoman history well.  It is just a shame that given the obvious aptitude Kinross had for writing that he could not have compiled a more comprehensive work.
3588406
I enjoy history, and as a result I mostly enjoyed this book.  Unlike history textbooks, this novel makes the subject interesting.  However, there are some drawbacks.  My first issue was that the book leads you to believe that the majority of the book will be a first-hand account of James Madison's experience during the constitutional convention (based on the fact that the opening of the book has someone interviewing Madison), but it is a third-person account of the events.  Once I got past that, I enjoyed the book.  There were some editing issues where quotes from different characters weren't separated or a conversation included more than 2 people and it wasn't always clear who was talking.  The book was well written despite some minor editing problems.
719497
I rate it 3 stars because:
1. Story is interesting but not great.
2. Lots of grammar issues.  I don't know if the book was written with the issues on purpose or not.
3. Misspelled words - many of them.

It is readable and is a fair way to pass the time.
2132260
I thought this would be a useful introduction for my grandson to the world's premier city and it is certainly interesting as far as it goes but I found it had a rather flawed editorial. Each spread takes a particular year in the life of the city and hangs the text and illustrations round the chosen theme. Up to 1906: Ellis Island this makes sense but the remaining seven spreads seem rather arbitrary. 1930: Highs and lows; 1939: World's Fair; 1967 Pop and protest; 1969: Return of the Apollo heroes; 1975; Times Square; 2001: Ground zero and the last one Today: Modern NYC. The subjects for 1967, 1969, and 1975 are hardly momentous events that shaped the city. Where is the Wall Street crash, the subway system, politics and the UN, culture and the Museum of Modern Art? These seem more relevant than some of those in the latter part of the book.

The English author Richard Platt has written similar children's city titles which I assume are in the same format as this one with the main illustrations produced by an Italian studio. I thought these were interesting and quite competent especially those that require a lot of detail work. The pages contain plenty of historical facts presented in caption form or as items arrowed into the illustrations, which are mostly a bird's eye view.

It seems to me the book's format (choosing a particular year) rather dictates the content of the pages and this precludes events in other years that could be of importance in the history of the city but don't get a mention.

***LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
415534
The book is interesting and gives credible information about that time period.