What's The Blog About, Alfie?

We are avid fans of literature, good literature. We prefer great writing, we'll settle for very good work, but we cannot abide anything less. We will stop reading a book if the author demonstrates mediocrity, writes incompetently, or, worse yet, simply loses our interest. That said, we will always give you our honest opinions about the books we've listened to on Podiobooks.com. We'll tell you why the great ones are great, and why the forgettable ones should be avoided.

We hope, when we've reviewed enough, you will come to this blog to see if a particular book is worthy of your time. We plan to be frank. You have come here to elicit our opinion and we shall not disappoint. Additionally, we hope this blog becomes a resource for PB.com authors to read honest and objective reviews of their efforts; no smoke blown-up the butt at any time. We have observed over time that reviews left on an author's site or iTunes are basically of two types. The first is the pie-eyed-hyperbolic-praise version of a review by a real fan. While excellent for the ego of said author, this form of assessment aids neither the potential listener nor the writer's development. The second type is the snarky-hit-and-run-slap-in-the-face negative review which may contain the kernel of an insight, but is actually significantly less valuable than the first type. Ours will be decidedly neither polar extreme. We will be as fair and complete as possible. An unavoidable off-shoot, indeed a desirable off-shoot, the clever reader will quickly appreciate is that we will undoubtably be squewering a few sacred-cows. If that happens, please keep in mind the fable of The Emporer's New Clothes and the fact that we would not review them in a less-than-stellar manner if they did not deserve it.

Our reviews are not placed on PB.com, iTunes, or any other public site. We do not wish to embarrass or ridicule any particular authors. Many of the authors are our friends, or at least were up till they read our review. We dearly appreciate that each PB.com author has poured their creative guts out for all to see with very little chance of monetary reward. This is not easy. We will not generally say anything but positives on public sites as we, in our alter ego, want the authors, even the poor ones, to have their moment in the bright-shiny sun. At the very least we want them to be happy little fish in their little ponds.

Finally a term defined, a dreaded term, one you wish never to see, one which strikes despair in the heart of any author - WSRH. This is short for "We Stopped Reading Here". Background. Our less than sainted father was a college English professor. When grading essays and term papers, especially freshman courses, we observed him many a cruel time to slash across the page with his red pen. Just below the horrific line, he would write, "I stopped reading here... F." Clearly, papa was a professor, not an editor, so he was an I while we are, well, a we. Hence, ISRH transforms into WSRH. However you begin it, it is not a good thing. Avoid writing something which earns WSRH, you will not be happy with yourself.

Your comments on our comments are most welcome. You may be as frank as we are. Contrary opinions, supported by rational argument not finger-wagging, will help the prospective PB.com readers find the books which are right for them. Bottom line: our comments plus your comments, along with author rebuttals, will in the end benefit us all, and help PB.com listeners choose wisely.

Based on the success of this blog, we have started a Forum where you can share your insights and reviews. The more information and discussion, the better informed we will all be.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Spirit Blade - A Spiritless WSRH


We are disillusioned.  This time it is not simply with the paucity of quality podiobooks, but with us.  We fear we are appearing to you, our beloved and devoted reader, as negative-Nellies.  But, as our good friend Bill Shakespeare reminds us often, the fault lies not in ourselves but in our podiobooks  [okay, Mr. or Ms. Picky-Picky the quote is: “The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves if we are underlings.” from Julius Caesar, but our paraphrase was witty, which counts for something].
Back to point.  We must pass-along our latest WSRH.  This one pulls this dreaded label onto itself for the usual reasons, plus an honestly haunting one which we are pained - truly pained - to have to announce.  Spirit Blade (SB) is apparently a "cinematically" produced audiodrama one must purchase to enjoy.  The website is http://www.spiritblade.net/ .  Before, good friend, you go there and invest in a copy, please complete the reading of this post - then decide.  The plot hook was interesting enough, sort of.  The Christian Bible translated into an action adventure.  Man versus demons, God and the fallen, big guns and swords - the typical teenage boy genre, but inoffensively - at first.  To cut-to-the-chase, as even we, the loquacious one, do not wish to draw this out.  We desire not to speak in excess on a topic which is not worth the investment of too much time.  We listened to many episodes before bailing.  We were off-put by the preachy-preachy-preachy writing.  The action was unrealistic - clever raillery during mortal combat - that type of drivel.  We were formulating the necessity to dispense a WSRH for those elements alone, when a truly darker, and hopefully incorrect impression struck us.  The author seemed to be advancing a very bigoted and exclusionary theological lesson in the story.  In fact, we are certain he was.  Religion is integral the the human experience.  We are piously religious ourselves.  Religious intolerance, dogmatism, and rejection of all other religions is, however, in a word, offensive.  The proof of our contention is simple, powerful, and irrefutable.  When the thousands of fanatics who assault the human spirit and belittle themselves with their ignorance blab their venom and condem all others to Hell, we remember Isaiah 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD."  We reject out-of-hand anyone's opinion when their delusions extend to knowing the will and the ways of God.  The Beatles said it completely: "Love is the answer."  In the immortal words of Sergeant Hulka, spoken in the sacred text of Stripes: " Lighten-up, Francis."  'Nuff said.
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