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.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Shaman, Healer, Heretic - Bedazzled Us Good

  We are, as you have undoubtedly gleaned, not easy please. We are tough but fair.  This euphemism, of course, signals that we are hard-headed and closed minded, full of both ourselves and free, unsolicited opinions.  Our point is, being not pleased with the banal and insipid places us in a sad place - we frown a lot when we read books, observe art, or listen to podcasts.  Seems like there'd be a simple formula to follow.  A) An author has talent.  B)  An author has something to say.  C) An author takes the time to offer-forth their vision in a well produced user-friendly box with a ribbon on top.  A + B + C = We Smile.  Seems simple enough.  Ah well, again, we loquaciously digress.  Our sentinel point is that the simple formula for podcast success is simple and written above for all to see.  We are smiling big-time over M. Terry Green's (MTG) outstanding application of this principle with Shaman, Healer, Heretic (SHH).  We were heretofore unfamiliar with her writing, and this is her virginal-podcast effort, so we were completely uncertain what to expect.  You know how, when you're strolling down some idyllic beach, and you stoop-over to pick up a shiny pebble, only to find this free gift is a wondrous crystal?  Yeah, that's us and this podcast.  What a gem!

Here's her tag:

         
An Olivia Lawson, Techno-Shaman Novel
Even for a techno-shaman, a kachina in the bedroom isn’t exactly part of the drill. When Olivia Lawson wakes to find one towering over her, she panics. A Hopi god visiting the real world isn’t just wrong–it’s impossible.
Or is it?
Soon Olivia learns that the kachina is the least of her worries. As she struggles to save her clients, clashes with other shamans, and fends off the attacks of real-world vigilantes, Olivia finds herself in the destructive path of a malevolent ancient force intent on leaving the spiritual realm to conquer this one.
Left with few options, Olivia is forced to defy centuries of shaman prohibitions. As she and her allies risk everything in their bid for survival, Olivia ultimately learns that the rules are there for a reason and that breaking them has a terrible cost.



NARRATION:  Wonderful!  There, we're done and may move on.  Details, you prod us?  Oh yes, we are a critic, not a fan blog.  So, we have to applaud both MTG's gumption and prowess.  As a first time podcaster it is easy to be intimidated, hence compounding one's inexperience, to produce a podcast which is, at least at the start, shaky.  Trust us, we know this from personal history.  But, wow, MTG hits the ground running like a journeyman (Ah, journeywoman for you New Ager's out there - all right?).  Confident, clear, flawless narration.  Just what the critic ordered.  Well above and beyond expectations in this category.  We award her a full 20 points here.

 EDITING/TECHNICALS: This, again can be a tough area for the neophyte.  Unless the podcaster is fortunate enough to bring to the table prior skills, we the listening public are all too often subjected to a grating learning curve.  Ms. Green does this aspect well indeed.  No editing glitches (we hate easily excised faux pas - we really do), finger-nail-on-chalkboard transitions, or inaudible overdubs.  Clean and simple.  Moreover, the simple style compliments the text.  A simple, straight-forward production behooves the tale.  In a world were the competition spend big money and achieves cinematic-levels, we approve of MTG's choices in SHH.  We award 17 point.  We must leave a few points off in deference to those do tackle the highly complex productions and do it well.

ORIGINALITY OF STORY: Two words come to our lips: fresh and delightful.  In a literary world sullied by vampire-osis and zombie-mania, sword-play, and facile magic, SHH is truly unique.  Unique is nice - we like unique.  It is tinglingly fun to follow an author when they choose to pursue the path-less-traveled and see how and where they will go.  Uncharted waters are treacherous for good reason.  We were abundantly pleased with MTG's progression.  To tell a cohesive story, MTG suspended but one disbelief, that shaman are rather commonplace and use electronic gadgets to visit the Multiverse.  Past that assumption, the action is logical, and the course of our journey is deliciously unanticipatable.  Strong work indeed we say, MTG!  A full 20 points for this grouping.

QUALITY OF WRITING: Text or podcast, this is where the rubber-meets-the-road.  SHH is, we can endorse up-front, very well written.  Early San Francisco art critic Gelett Burgess once said, "I don't know anything about art, but I know what I like."  Well said, fine sir!  So it is with writing.  MTG conducts her prose in a straight-forward, unpretentious, and fluid manner.  She weaves a complex tale of seemingly disparate threads with a smooth and pleasing hand.  There were a few points where a more polished effort might have been called for, but these odd-transitions and hum-moments were blessedly rare.  We sight, by way of examples, how a suspicious Livvy never wondered why the paramedic just seemed to be there so conveniently, or what was happening to beasts released by the ne'er-do-well shaman after their cameo, or the lack of details as to how Livvy found her lost friend, during the climax.  But these were minimal wrinkles, far over-shadowed by the richly told tale.  A strong 17 point here.

WOW FACTOR: Wow factor's abound in SHH.  The precious Easter eggs of happiness push this work well onto the next level.  Most impressive was the research and expertise Ms. Green displayed.  Her knowledge of ancient lore and practice was stunning.  We mean, who knew from zygurrat - right?  The panoply of gods and spirit-helpers, legends and belief systems is spell-binding - which is, in the end, appropriate for a novel about shaman, n'est-ce pas?  A wowfully full 20 points here, if you please!

EXTRA CREDIT: For being so skillful as a newbie, so knowledgeable, and - dare we say it - so darn cute, we allow 3 extra credit points to MTG.

TOTAL:  A resounding 97! Get out there and treat yourself to this little gem, you'll be glad you did.

M. Terry Green's webpage:  http://mterrygreen.com/ 

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 26, 2012 at 7:17 PM

    Greetings, Anonymous, and many, many thanks! I'd noticed a distinct uptick in the podcast statistics and finally saw a link that originated here. Most of all, I want to thank you for your very kind words. But almost as importantly, I want you to know the positive impact they have on a novice podcaster such as myself. It's the kind of review that makes a second podcast possible. Thanks again and happy listening! Terry

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 28, 2012 at 12:30 PM

    We are, like most super-heroes, glad to rally to the aid of others, Ms. Green.

    ReplyDelete

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