Should have been better
935989
I hadn't read Dick Francis in many years and looked forward to this one.  I was disappointed.  It was slow moving, the characters were dull and it was hard to keep any interest going.  The premise of race horses and their owners traveling across Canada with stops along the way for races sounded like fun.  Add to that the presentation of a murder mystery by a cast of actors and it could have been better.  Unfortunately, the characters were unlikeable and the action unbelievable.  I read to the end hoping it would get better.  It didn't.
2801799
it was sad, should have been better but it was okay. let me down at the end and the mom character needed more of a back bone and better parenting skills.
1310342
This book would have been much improved with a decent editing. There are grammatical errors and typos, but those are less distracting than the stylistic issues of dropping out of the POV and frequent mention of words or concepts completely out of line with the book's fantasy setting.

An unschooled sheepherder is the main character, told in first person, and reading him use the word "molecules" in a medieval story was rather jarring for example, as was revelation of details occurring after he had left a room.

The characters are interesting enough, and the journey they undertake is as well. However, for some reason the author chose to try to force in a half-dozen encounters with characters or historic figures in the last quarter of the book - from Robin Hood to Neanderthals to the Beatles - with little regard to plausibility or advancement of the plot. Those scenes and a rushed anti-climactic finale were much less enjoyable than the first two-thirds of the book.

The core story had potential; unfortunately the execution did not do it justice.
1457480
This story could have been much better than it was. There was too much tell and not enough show to the story. Not much character or world building at all. A good writer could have create a heck of a series of books with great characters and plots. This author is just in too much of hurry and doesn't bother to fill in all the holes. It's pretty much the bare bones of a story surrounding lots of sex. If she put half the time into fleshing out her stories as she does plotting sex scenes, she might actually do really well.
2536813
This could have been so much better. It has a wonderful premise, terrific characters that you will really care about. The location is fascinating. But some parts of this were almost painful to read. The transitions are so abrupt you could get whiplash. The police procedural portions are totally laughable. The bad guy attacks s cop. You take him down and never get questioned, Don't go to the station, collect no evidence, never file a report. The autopsy was a joke. Little hint for you cause of death will never be determined without an internal. Never. Yet there were so many great ideas in this novel, so many unrealized plot lines that would have added so much were just hinted at. I really see potential here and hope this author keeps trying.
3886468
Good story line and could have been a better book.  The writing wasn't that great, so I kept thinking how much better it would have been if it had been written by Robyn Carr or Sherryl Woods.  Maybe that's not fair, but still it just could have been better.  I will give this author another chance and hope that with another book she will improve.
4548524
Could have, and should have, been much better.  There is a need for a work like this, but with MAPS - lots of them - full-page, and in living color, please.  A pox on the editors for not giving us decent maps.
1768520
This book could've benefited from better editing. Some parts were exceptionally gruesome, needlessly so. Reminds me of a movie that editorial liposuction could have made more enjoyable, and more memorable.
4543069
I have to say that the movie could have been way better in many ways. The video,& the characters acting was poorly directed along with the writers decisions in what the actors do,& say. I agree in another review posted,that it seems as if it was done by students in all ways. This movie isn't very long-not counting the credits its roughly about 1hr 15min long. If the writing was done better along with the director and producers decisions in what the characters do,say,decisions made even,& the whole concept of the movie altogether. Though the concepts written in the movies description sounds like it would have been a decent,albeit,horror movie,but its a B- movie at best. Luckily at this point Im getting used to B- movies being made anymore,as theirs in my opinion,not many good movies made in the Sci-Fi,Horror,or Thriller type of movies I tend to like most,even other genres of movies released are beginning to be less and less great as well. Just the occasional good rating of movies are being made anymore.
  Though,I will say that I also have seen movies that are almost identical in story line,even what the actors do,yet sadly aren't remakes as we are beginning to also see done more often even. Some are well done and maybe even done better than the original(but not due to the fact we have CGI type of things available now),and some remakes are done just as bad when in the wrong hands & done by sadly done acting. Which is 1 of the reasons I decided to rate it 3 stars,even though it could have been better And scarier if it were in the right hands to of made the movie better. Granted I do take into account that the actors aren't all terrible,and sometimes I take into consideration they are being paid to be directed in the way that the directors & producers want them to. Makes me wonder how many actors over the years thatd done movies such as like this,& it ended up costing them possibly better careers in the movie business,all because they took a job to do movies that turned out really bad,with bad reviews,& cost them better chances possibly...
  Since this movie was a free one included w/Amazon Prime,it didn't cost me extra to watch,but the overall concept isn't bad and could have done more w/the plot behind the title and the movies beginning to at least show more into it,leading up to the present. Unless you have Amazon Prime as well,it won't cost ya extra to take a chance on maybe watching this movie,though I wouldnt pay more than $2,And thats pushing it for price honestly in even asking customers to pay more for such a short movie....
2372090
Alright, I must admit I did enjoy this movie. But I think it could have been better.
Imagine this:
A young, nubile blond girl in a skimpy bikini battles her reoccurring fear of drowning "to become one of the top surfers in the world".
Now replace:
"to become one of the top surfers in the world".
With this:
"only to be attacked by a huge shark, and her top falls off"
I think you will all agree that the movie would have been better off if Anne Marie had been attacked by a shark, or at the very least if the football guy had gotten VD.
1018595
The whole story was slow.  I was hoping he would be telling more about the scenery than about each shelter he stayed in.  Could have been better.
1672422
This could have been so much better.. If someone would have taken the time to narrate. It works good for back ground sound and a look up..
1759621
A good story that needed a good editor. The characters were not fully realized, and some segments were overblown; others, pointless.

I wanted this to be better, and with more editing advice, it could have been.
2000562
I thought this was a pretty good story, but like most of the reviews here stated....it could have been so much better if the author would have found  a good editor.
4701346
That is probably all right because this story is all about love and hate and the complex texture of the fine line between the two.  However, what I really hated was this could have, with a little editing, been a much better work.  It is a story that compels to a point, with characters you can care about. The  lack of belief in the children, the poorly developed personalities limit.  It shouldn't have been that way.
3725225
I picked up this book as I was intrigued by its basic premise; realistic or not, it fit the conspiracy/thriller genre well and hinted at being more literary than the average example. So I was pretty disappointed at the actual result. Three main problems that I had:

1. The overblown writing, where everything happens or is described in some superlative fashion. Not everything happens at the last second, or is the best, worst, most, or least of something.

2. I'd have liked more focus on the actual plotters, as the background was more hinted about than discussed in any way. The book could have really benefited from chapters detailing more of the past. I'd have loved a prologue involving Eisenreich and the Pope.

3. The book is way too long, especially when the main characters aren't that interesting.

It was a struggle to finish this, and I was thinking about giving up even when I was three-quarters of the way through. But I slogged through, and never quite got the payoff I'd hoped for in the ending.
3406773
I concur with the other reviewers - it needs more science to back up the tech.  Not much to it as a story.  Could have been much better.