Interesting read, major flaws..
344495
A fascinating look into the world of Jesus. But, ignores or discounts the vast materials that conflict with his thesis.
1235204
I thought it was a very good book.  I found it very enjoyable to read.  I also thought that it provides a lot to think about.

However, I didn't give it 4 or even 5 stars, because it has major flaws.

For one thing, at least in the Kindle edition, the author doesn't cite any references.

More seriously, a lot of the author's statements are just wrong.

For example:

In chapter 10 'The Darwin Wars', it's stated,  "Chris Organ from Harvard University and his colleagues carried out the first successful extraction of DNA from a 65 million year old Tyrannosaurus rex ..."  Well, no actually, it was collagen protein.  DNA is so fragile that around 100,000 years remains its limit for recovery.  The only reference to dinosaur DNA and Chris Organ I can find is his observation that the lacunae in fossil T rex bone (which previously contained the bone cells, osteocytes, are smaller, so therefore the osteocytes were smaller, so therefore the nuclei were smaller, so therefore the genomes were smaller (with less 'junk' DNA)-like contemporary birds (there might be one or two 'therefores' too many).

In the very same chapter, it's stated, discussing Kennewick Man the 9,000 year old remains found in Washington state,  "There is now compelling evidence to suggest that the earliest inhabitants of North America did in fact come from Europe (the vicinity of Spain, as it happens)" sometime around 20,000 years ago".  Again no; extraordinary claims (humans managed to cross the Atlantic, in a glaciation, and then crossed the entire North American continent?) need extraordinary proof.  The alternate interpretation that Kennewick Man more closely resembles the Ainu of northern Japan and came from there is more plausible.

In chapter 5 'The Ancestors That Still Haunt Us', in a discussion about Indo-European languages, it's stated " ...  Finnish and Hungarian, both of which derive from the invasions by Mongolian peoples, the latter most famously associated with Attila the Hun and his chums".  Again no;  Hungarian (and Finnish and Estonian) are derived from an Ugric language of western Siberia 3,000 years ago.  Nomads, but not Mongolian.

The book would have been considerably improved if someone else had read it before publication and checked the 'facts'.  The errors don't damage the authors arguments seriously, but I'd advise that I'd check any 'facts' proffered before using them, particularly if they seem difficult to believe.
940203
This was an interesting read, one that for a non-fiction book moved along at a fast clip.  the descriptions of the smokejumper's life are visceral and b/c they are writted so close to the action by one who is in the action, they really take you right into the fire line.  There is a good deal of description about the smokejumpers' culture as well, the bravado and loneliness, which i thought took a glorified (deservedly so) profession and demystified some of its elements.
a major problem with the book, enough to lose probably one and a half stars (if there were halves) is the love story the author attempts to weave in and out of the piece.  It seemed as i was reading it, an add-on, a nod to the movie adaptation or an attempt to capture more women(?) in his audience.  and if not that, then represented the authors' own preoccupation with finding the woman who will understand him.  this was a bit too much and didn't seem true to the rest of the project.
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.
1752683
i listened to the mp3 audio book version.

it's definitely an interesting book with a good plot. the main character is quite likable and i sympathize with him. a man as a CEO who has to reduce the work force in a Michigan city isn't a position everyone wants to be in. in addition he is faced with a murder at the beginning of the book... the ending is a little unexpected...

it has many flaws though... first the writing feels kine of childish... too often the author tried to create a real-life environment for the reader but his effort, at least too me, often fails miserably... i feel he was also writing for a cinema scene...  I didn't know fully understand why the father had to mutter 'no hiding place' when facing the gun at the beginning of the book. the main character, though likable, often behave so stupidly that almost made me hate him... all this said, this was still an interesting book to me as it kept my attention.
2069044
Beyond the Summerland is not a bad book by any means. The basic story is interesting and has potential, and L. B. Graham's efforts to create a compelling world are well done. The world feels immersive with a distinguishable history and Graham does a good job of making the world seem persistent and fleshed out.

The book, unfortunately, bogs down with several major problems. The first and most glaring of these, at least for me, was the seeming lack of editing. There are several instances of verb confusion and agreement, structure problems, and in one spot the narrative even drops perspective from third person to first (but only for one sentance). Many sections seemed rough and unpolished as if they were simply written and not edited or proofread. I generally don't have a problem when a book has a problem or two, but the sheer amount of problems in this one really destroyed the experience for me before I had a chance to enjoy the story.

The second problem, which also may have easily been corrected had the book been properly edited, is the quirky and predictable dialouge. The characters say their lines effectively enough to make their points, but the dialouge often seems forced and simple. It gave me the feeling of a elementary school play where the kids have memorized their lines, but you are very aware that what you are hearing is not natural conversation.

The third major problem is a lack of dimension. The characters are very predictable and follow cookie cutter style paths once their roles in the story have been defined. Emotions are unrealistic with characters forming strong emotional attachments with seemingly little reason or interaction. It seemed to me that the author wanted to move the story along without a true commitment to defining why characters feel the way they do about each other. Descriptions of feelings are simple as are the descriptions of the characters motives. Many elements of the plot unfortunately suffer from the same rushed feeling without really explaining why things are happening or the rationale behind major events and decisions.

Definitely does NOT live up to the hype of being anything like Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia. I think that it could have at least grown closer to this standard given the proper time and rewriting, but in its current form it fails miserably when compared to these classics. Overall I would recommend this book if you are looking for an easy, light fantasy read. The book could definitely do with some major editing and the plot suffers from several big holes, but as a quick diversionary read it is a good book.
2147183
Four stars for the story and characters...One star for editing. It's an interesting and engaging story...However, this book needs a good editor or at the very least a proof reader. Self published books, especially Kindle self published books often have structural and grammatical problems but in this book grammar and syntax are practically nonexistent making it difficult to enjoy a smooth read. Paragraphs and identifying which character is speaking are frequently undefined and I found myself having to reread many sentences and passages making the book a choppy read and extremely distracting. This book actually reads as if it is a first draft begging to be polished and completed. There is much redundancy, missing words, duplicate words, etc. Scenes do not smoothly segue and I'm often lost as to where the scene is taking place. That being said, the story as historical literature is very interesting with a good plot and I can easily see a series developing from this first book. The main character and the "ghost", if she is a ghost in the true definition, are developed enough to create a connection with the reader and I would love to know more about both of them. Lastly, although this is not a YA book but could be enjoyed by YAs, I do not find value for the "f" word and even though there are very few instances of it in this book, I would drop it entirely for any future books if this is to become a series. At 99 cents it is still worth the money.
4334080
This book was well written with active interesting characters, and had a great premise, but suffered from some serious flaws, especially in the pacing.  My last review was deleted for being too long or perhaps giving spoilers, so this one will be brief and lack plot points:

1.  The premise is wildly unrealistic for several reasons, but chiefly the idea that the Bible is a completely forgotten tome within just a couple generations of apocalypse is ludicrous considering everything else that is remembered (such as baseball, solar-cell technology, etc.).

2.  The over political/religious commentary of the author, somehow blaming Dick Cheney, of all people, for sowing the seeds of destruction of the world, is not realistic, offensive to some, and sophomoric at best.

3.  Worst, though, the pacing is horrible.  There are four storylines, only two of which intersect and then only near the end.  There are enormous jumps in the plot at a couple points that leave the reader confused and which lose the connection with the otherwise compelling characters.

4.  The "revelation" once again in a Terry Brooks book is not revelatory at all.  The twist not only is easy to see coming but it's totally uninteresting.  And I'll just say that I can't stand the name "gypsy morph" which is clearly a play on the words "gypsy moth" which is, like naming a growling dog "Cheney," churlish and unimaginative.

I hope the next couple books are better.  I really liked some of Brooks' other writings, but I'll wait to hear how the whole series ends before buying books 2 or 3.
4402821
I was engaged in the story right from the start and was intrigued to find out what happened next. The main character was well drawn. However, there were a few prescient facts central to the narrative that were wrong, over looked, or misused...
SPOILERS
1. The door opening: how the door opens is glossed over completely.

2. The electric fence: With electrified fences. only some wires are electrified and only work on animals and humans with no tools and guards watching them. with the resources at hand, a medical doctor and savvy author could have easily circumvented it.

3. The Well: Given that they have hacked apart anything wooden, it is really not plausible that they would have neglected to hack apart the table to discover the well. Even if you buy that, her jumping into the well when she had a perfectly good flashlight to see the ladder is just stupid. Yes she was hungry and a bit out of it, but she had the presence of mind to use the flashlight in the first place and noted the shadows in the well. just stupid.

4. The zookeeper. Puh-leez! A random, really rich, survivalist, wack-job psychiatrist?!?! Oh, and she gets caught. Oh, and she kills herself. crap carp carp. Now, had it been her mother, THAT would have been a cool twist. A very disappointing ending to what, fire the most part, was a good read. I guess the author hit bored or in a rush. Regardless, crappy ending.
3410283
While I enjoyed reading this book, I feel it suffered from several deep flaws. The author apparently loves India and is fascinated by it, but seems to have conducted research by following her nose rather than vigorous investigation. Her introduction implies that the bulk of the book is based on conversations with one or two people whom her friends told her were knowledgable. Unfortunately, the statements she makes about Vastu guidelines and even Ayurvedic medicine guidelines (which she spends a chapter on) are inconsistent with other books on the subject, and I can only conclude that this is due to her ad-hoc investigative work. A comment she made about Western science might work for illustrative purposes here: at one point she states that "all scientists accept that the world is made of five basic substances--earth, air, fire, water, and spirit." Clearly her 'insight' into Western science is flawed, as scientists disavowed that notion long ago, and my impression from comparing this book to more authoritative sources on Vastu, Ayurveda, and Yoga, is that her research into those subjects is just as "off." (Vastu and Ayurveda propose that earth, air, fire, water and spirit are key substances, but that's certainly not the position of Western studies.)

Despite those flaws, it was an enjoyable read and I found myself looking forward to the final chapter titled "Appeasing the Gods - Appeasing Your Soul" which she said would give us tips for restoring balance, even when you've committed a cardinal Vastu sin, such as having a kitchen in the southwest corner of your house. Unfortunately, this chapter consisted of two parts. The first, which said to simply "choose an appropriate color" to remedy the problem, listed the colors of the rainbow without indicating which to use when, other than a "choose what feels good to you" approach (in which case the book is completely irrelevant--if that's what you're going to do anyway, there's no point in reading the book). The rest of the chapter was acceptable from certain points of view--she talks about the Indian gods and how to make an offering to them in order to balance the energies--and while that is appropriate for certain people, I personally do not want to make offerings to a god who committed incest with his daughter (according to the author). While I understand some people's inclination to do so, he is not part of my personal spirituality, and I feel that her book presented no other options than to make offerings to placate these gods who are not mine, or simply "pick a nice color that makes you feel good."

If you're planning to build a new house, this book is probably as helpful for you as most others (unless you're bothered by the fact that most experts in other books disagree with her), and if you're into the Hindu religion, I think it could be quite helpful for you. But if you're looking for a way to bring peace into your not-ready-for-a-complete-remodel house without worshipping Hindu gods, I'd recommend you look elsewhere.
105924
Though I'm finding the book an entertaining read, it has major flaws:

1.  Instead of arguing a point via using a theoretical framework or considering alternatives,  Arnett falls into this "some might say" rhetoric that more or less allows him to inject his own opinion into what he's seeing without completing the argument.  Heavy metal lyrics include themes of alienation, "some might say" that listeners take these lyrics literally.

2.  As another reviewer pointed out, studying "metalheads" is problematic.  Arnett does differentiate heavy metal from hard rock by lyrical themes, musical progressions, but he doesn't discuss the difference between "metalheads" and "heavy metal fans."  This difference is crucial.  A lot of people might listen to Metallica, Megadeth, or Slayer for fun, they might play heavy metal songs on Rock Band, they might find the lyrics transgressive, funny, weird, whatever.  This does NOT make them socially alienated individuals-- it makes them fans of music and popular culture.  The "metalheads" that Arnett interviews and his selection methodology for interviewing them pretty much sets up the fact that he's going to be looking at the very tail end of the curve as far as obsessions with heavy metal music goes.  I would suggest that the psychological alienation of the "metalheads" in the book have much less to do with anything inherent in the music and a lot more to do with obsessive behaviors.
4913378
This book is a very interesting read.  Almost everyone that I know likes to gossip or at least exchange some tid-bit of "insider" knowledge about a topic. Mr. Bower may very well have the knowledge and insight on the subjects that he 'outs'.  The main problem that I have is that all of the subjects he speaks of, have passed on and cannot rebut, no pun intended, his assertions.  His assertions seem incongruent with time, virility, longevity et al. for a man his age.  Maybe that basketball player, or that porno star that claim 10,000 conquests could be true but, personally I think that the number of dalliances with male and female partners that he claims in the book may be an exaggeration of his prowess.  Hell, I couldn't do it and I consider myself to be, or at least did, pretty prolific in that area.  I would like to have some corroboration before I buy into his story.  It's a fun book.  Although If you wanted to pass on some scandalous and possibly incorrect scurrilous information, I'd take it with a grain of salt.
3377009
Potential spoilers here!

Despite the flaws listed, I found The Reform Artists very compelling and could not put it down. The author shows impressive knowledge of legal procedures and the head-games often involved in civil litigation. The reasons why I cannot, alas, give it more than three stars are:

1. The ending's a bit too easy for my tastes. After being locked into the tension of the earlier chapters, I expected something a little less squeaky-clean and happily-ever-after for the protagonist.

2. While the majority of the novel is quite focused, certain passages are disconnected fromi.e., the prologueor completely irrelevant toi.e., all of Chapter 20--the rest of the story. Certain characters are introduced, presumably to play an active role in the story. . .but many of them dont. It seems that more and more publishers these days could care less about working with their authors in the area of practical editing. As long as a book sells, who cares, right?

3. Though its understood to be a secret and shadowy organization that apparently has wholly altruistic interests in leveling the playing field for individuals faced with assaults on their liberties, the organization that comes to Marty Silkwoods aid is less than believable, the stuff of fantasy in a novel that attempts to be realistic. I also found it hard to believe that a thick-skinned CPA like Marty would be so immediately willing to accept the existence of such an organization, much less trust its intentions. The "reform artists" seem too good to be true, and they are.

4. Marty and Katy--particularly the latter--do not seem exactly real. Some backstory on their past life together would have helped. Also, the fact that the parents of two young children will remain completely estranged from one another is not given the weight it would have in real life.

5. There is some very convincing dialogue, but a lot of the narrative is flat, without much spontaneity. Much is needlessly and clinically over-explained; ex: He was glad they could enjoy this activity together (Chapter 31).

6. The whole problem of false allegations of spousal abuse is presented as being entirely due to cheating, conniving, unstable wives. While there is some acknowledgment that some and probably most such allegations are true, this aspect may prove very alienating for many female readers. Another point: Though its less common, men have also been known to seek restraining orders against estranged wives (sometimes for exaggerated or entirely bogus reasons).

Oh, well. As a thriller intended solely for light entertainment, this book succeeds pretty well. Those looking for anything deeper or more convincing, however, will probably be disappointed.
1378533
I did enjoy this book, found it to be a compelling story, but had several frustrations:

 The first chapter was overwritten, but it leveled out with some great prose thereafter.
 How old was the feral girl?  Didnt find out for many chapters.
 What era was it? Didnt find out until some technology was used several chapters in (it felt like the 20s or 30s and felt that way all the way through. Thats partly my own sheltered upbringing; hard to believe people live like that today).
 What ethnicity were the main characters? Black, white, something else? Never could tell.
 Some actions were so over-the-top it was crazy and seemed out of character.

Despite these issues, I was drawn through the story. I do feel a historical setting would have made some of the confusion go away. Im guessing the concern was that human trafficking is a problem now, but it was also a problem back then, just not as publicized.

Dont get me wrong; this was professionally written, it just needed an equally professional editor to catch these issues.
4502458
While the Age of Tolerance is an interesting read, it fails one of the key tests for any novel of alternate history...that of plausibility.

Before I delve into the implausibility, let me outline a few of the strong points here. While nobody's going to confuse Reinsford with Eric Ambler, or Alan Furst for that matter, Age of Tolerance is a fast-moving, enjoyable read that reaches a certain poignancy towards the end. More importantly, it serves as important reminder of the implacable nature of what Hitchens calls Islamafascism and nicely satirizes the "useful idiocy" of its apologists.

However, this books is implausible along a number of dimensions.

1. Reinsford seems to have let his Republican partisanship get in the way of his novelistic judgement. He accurately describes what American policy would have been had the President and his top advisors been drawn from The Guardian or the Middle Eastern studies department at Columbia University. However, there's a big differences between each of those organizations and the Democratic Party's Presidential wing. Al Gore campaigned to GW Bush's right on foreign policy in 2000, calling for larger defense budgets and making noises about a "humble" United States.  He was radicalized later, after he believed that the 2000 election had been stolen from him, which would not haver occurred in Reinsford's scenario. In short, it's inconceivable that President Al Gore would have failed to take aggressive military action against the Taliban in 2001. And he would have been impeached if he had not.

2. Which brings us to a second point of implausibility. Enslaved to plot mechanics, Reinsford ignores the feedback loops in American politics, allowing his novel's leftists to over-reach and over-reach without political consequences. Much of the country (sadly) seems to think President GW Bush is too liberal on immigration, yet President Gore can openly reshape American demographics via his "Pillars" program, without causing an electoral apocalypse? President Hillary Clinton can, in effect, create concentration camps for hundreds of thousands or millions of abortion opponents, without destroying her presidency? She can stand by and let Palestinian fanatics slaughter Israelis without tearing apart the Democratic party? Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, and other relatively hawkish, pro-Israel Democrats didn't throw a fit?

3. Reinsford's depiction of the media is just as unrealistic as his depiction of politics. He implies that once cable network manages to enable America's slide into Sharia law by manipulating the news. Putting aside that CNN isn't any where near so biased as Reinsford implies (though the Guardian and other European outlets certainly are), one does wonder where rest of the press are? The range of media venues available today (Fox News, MSBNC, blogs, the Atlantic Monthly) make it impossible for any news organizations to shape (or manipulate) the debate as, say, the NYT, Time and CBS News might have in 1968.

In short, while the Age of Tolerance is a horror story, it's not a plausible one. So what would a truly scary scenario look like.

Age of Tolerance makes an interesting comparison to "Prayers for the Assassin," in which the northern US succumbs to Islamic domination after nuclear terror attacks on NY and DC, blamed on the Jews, spark a civil war.

Plausibility would probably require a the catastrophic event (both larger than 9/11 and blamed on a scapegoat) posited by "Prayers for the Assassin" followed by years of political authority gradually slipping from democratic, liberal institutions to Islamic radicals (as described in "Age of Tolerance")

James
4258700
On one hand I enjoyed this book and read through it in a very short time. On the other hand...The author and the book want to present themselves as technologically advanced and accurate. I know quite a bit about flying / aviation and therefore I was surprised at the gross errors I read whenever helicopters / aircraft / weapon systems were mentioned (I could cite a whole bunch of examples but that's not the point). Kind of makes you wonder if the guy has ever seen the inside of a jet fighter or knows the *basics* of helicopter flight. And if these references are full of mistakes, it makes you think that the rest of the story is just as poorly researched / founded.

Kinda disappointing really.
4147455
After hearing the author on a radio program, I immediately got my hands on this book.  I wanted to love it.  It tells a compelling story, but the writing and editing are so awful that it was a major distraction from the theme, and made it much harder to read than it should have been.

Positive elements: It's a pretty quick read, and the parts of the book dealing with forensic evidence actually move along almost like a thriller.  The examination of dust, pollen, linen, and means and effects of crucifixion are pretty well presented.

Negative elements: The writing style is frustratingly repetitive.  Quite often a sentence is repeated, even without significant variation of vocabulary or word order. Sometimes even whole paragraphs are repeated for no real purpose other than to fill up pages. For example, on page 101 is a paragraph labeled "Legend of King Abgar," without attribution.  The very next section, "Eusebius the Historian," starts off with basically the same paragraph, only this time attributed to Eusebius.  An example of sloppy editing is found on page 180, where the last paragraph in the section "The Rise and Fall of the Iron-Oxide Theory" has nothing to do with iron oxide, and obviously belongs as a conclusion to the previous section, "Is the Shroud a Painting?"  These problems of writing style are much more evident in the sections dealing with the history of the shroud, perhaps where the author felt on less sure ground.

For some reason, the author then returns to scientific evidence to discuss the infamous carbon-14 tests of 1988.  Here the confidence level picks up again.  Although a careful examination might shake that confidence: On page 160 is the section "Carbon-14 -- What is it?" where we read that C-12 and C-13 are "stable atoms, that is, atoms likely to hold on to their electrons."  Radioactive stability has nothing to do with electron affinity, but with the likelihood of the atomic nucleus (where there are no electrons) holding together.  It is neutrons that distinguish isotopes, not electrons.

On a final technical note, the author points out that the blood type on the shroud is AB. According to sources, this blood type did not exist until about 700 AD.  Also, according to Barrie Schwortz of the original STURP research team, as blood ages, its enzymes decay such that eventually ALL stains test as group AB. In other words, just because the blood on the shroud tests AB, that's no indication that Jesus' type was AB. Iannone probably should have known this.

Overall, it's an enjoyable book with a compelling argument.  Iannone fairly points out dissenting arguments.  It just could have been better written.