(Original Review, 1980-07-26)
Although Clarke was far ahead of his time in regard to synchronous communications satellites, even here he missed a few beats. Although I have not read his science article detailing the suggestion, his early fiction always had the satellites MANNED. He did not foresee the fantastic reductions in size of electronics (semi-conductors were yet to be invented) or their corresponding increase in reliability.
If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.
Today’s stop is for Sharon Karaa ’s Accidents Happen. We will have info about the book and author,and a great giveaway. Make sure to check everything out and enter the giveaway.
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If I asked you what Death would look like, you’d probably go for something along the lines of an angry skeleton wearing a monk’s robe and carrying a very sharp farm implement with which to rip your soul from your body—am I right? Maybe he’d even have glowing yellow orbs where his eyes should be and speak with a voice that comes from his toes and goes right through you, despite the fact he doesn’t actually have a larynx or any vocal chords to speak of. And he’d have a strange obsession with egg-timers. In fact, apart from the angry bit, he was nothing like that. Life was a bitch, but if Tabitha Brownlee was to be believed, Death was an alcoholic megalomaniac with a penchant for single malt and eyebrows that met in the middle. The problem was, that he alone had the power to put her soul back into her body and evict the son of a bitch who’d taken her place.
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Sharon Karaa is a mass of contradictions but two facets of her character have always battled for supremacy; her logical self (let’s call him Frank, he’s male, I know that makes no sense but hey, this is my story!) and her artistic side (lets her call Misty).
Until recently, Frank won every battle, forcing Sharon into a life based on most probable outcome and to give him his credit, it has led to a fairly comfortable if rather boring life, so far. Then Misty took up kick boxing and gave Frank a good kick in the goodies.
Sharon was first published at the tender age of fifteen. Flush with success, she waited another umpteen years before making the decision to become an independent author and publish her first book, The Last Challenge, in 2014. Since then, she has published a further three books and is polishing her next offering ready for publication in the next month. Sharon writes comedy because she needs something in her life she can laugh at other than herself.
Sharon lives with her husband in a little village in the North East of England. She doesn't have a cat.
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It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis, author; Grover Gardner, narrator The time is 1936. The Depression is a nightmare memory which has changed the mood of the country. There is political unrest, a charged atmosphere of distrust for government officials, anger at rich corporate giants, and a general somber malaise is hanging over America. Political candidates represent the people’s fears, and one in particular appeals to their emotions by stressing the idea of helping “the forgotten man”. Although there are those that find his diatribes unbecoming, because of his racist and anti-Semitic remarks, there are more who seem to be glomming on to his message of hope and equal, economic opportunity for those who feel left behind. Socialism, Fascism, Communism and Capitalism are on the radar of all voters. Which ideology will be chosen in this country overrun by opinion and nationalism, where certain groups of people are being vilified and ostracized and others praised as more worthy? Each major party accuses the other of wrongdoing, of being fascists. In the novel, Hitler is becoming more popular in Europe and in America where FDR is facing a myriad of other Presidential pretenders. When the Socialist Brezelius Windrip defeats him and is elected President, there is disbelief. Soon, all Hell breaks loose as he begins to change the face of the country. He wants to give everyone $5000 a year as a minimum, standard wage, (but he doesn’t. He makes promises to promote health care and provide free education. He offers pipe dreams that cannot be fulfilled, and when he is swept into office, with a country divided for and against him, he merely eliminates his detractors using his volunteer band of supporters called Minute Men. He immediately arms and begins to pay them. They eagerly remove those who defy him, by any means they choose. Congress and the Supreme Court Justices are arrested. The M.M.’s, as they are called, are thugs who indiscriminately and gleefully used their power to brutalize and abuse those who formerly had power over them. Windrip used old venerable institutions of education as prisons and created concentration camps. By eliminating those that would not acquiesce to his demands, by putting them into work camps or murdering them after using barbaric methods of torture to get them to confess to crimes or rethink their positions, he gained more and more power. Rebellion was almost impossible as it was easy to suppress. When some well known and respected citizens were arrested and killed for no apparent reason, few protested lest it happen to them too. Racist and anti-Semitic laws were passed. If one disobeyed, arbitrary punishment and horrific methods of torture were used. Windrip’s minion’s brutality rivaled Hitler’s. As people came to their senses, realizing that no one was safe from the whims or wrath of these ill equipped leaders and military men, some attempted to rebel. Journalists began to realize that they might have helped this man get into office and they tried to remedy the situation with editorials. They were quickly silenced, arrested and/or eliminated. No opposition was tolerated. An underground effort formed to help victims of the brutality escape from the country, but the borders were well guarded. Some got to Canada, which was predictive of a time decades later when resisters of the Viet Nam War crossed the border. Soon, there was unrest at the highest levels of government. After a little over two years, Windrip was betrayed and overthrown by his friend and confidante, Secretary of State Lee Sarason. A month later, Sarason was murdered by the new Secretary of State, Dewey Haik who took over and consolidated power even further and was even more ruthless. What kind of a country would the United States become after all was said and done? Which group would emerge victorious? Who were the culprits causing so much dissidence in the country and suspicion of the government? Was it the rich, the corporations or the ignorant who were hungry for power and equality even though they actually were not prepared to handle the authority given without abusing it? Sinclair Lewis never really provides an answer. The book condemns Fascism and Communism but really does not offer a better alternative when it ends, leaving the resolution of the rebellion unfinished. The book was prescient since WWII and its atrocities were not in full swing when it was published. Still, there must have been more of an awareness of Hitler’s vicious policies than I had believed, because many forms of cruelty and maliciousness used by Hitler were arbitrarily practiced in the concentration camps of Lewis’ imagination. Most of the current reviewers are saying this book describes a political climate like our own today, and they proclaim it laid the groundwork for the election of Donald Trump, a President they do not support. It is a well documented fact that the media is biased against him because of his unsophisticated and often immature retorts to their criticisms; also the publishing industry, as well, falls into that category of progressives who do not approve of his election. It is also a fact that these very same people supported one of his opponents, overwhelmingly. This opposition seems to be largely responsible for creating the same atmosphere today, that Lewis wrote about in 1935. They call for resistance to the President for the same behavior they are even more guilty of and are therefore hypocrites, hiding behind an emotional appeal to people who wish to remain ignorant, in the same way as Lewis’s characters did, at first. That said, anyone who followed our recent election would realize that Bernie Sanders, the Socialist Senator who represented Vermont, was more closely related to Berzelius Windrip than Donald Trump. Sanders offered free education to all and wished to impose a mandatory salary for everyone, as well. However, Sanders was against the power of big corporations, so in that way he veered from Windrip who used them to further his agenda. Sanders wanted to represent those who felt they were getting short changed. Trump wanted to represent those who were being ignored. The continued practice of presenting only negative views, without addressing anything positive about the President’s achievements, may very well set the stage for something like “It Can’t Happen Here” to actually “Happen Here!”, especially if people remain complacent or simply behave like lemmings, taking as doctrine the false statements made, simply because they fit their narrative. The book was excellent, but the reviews seem contrived in order to promote the particular political point of view of the reviewer, namely the progressive or socialist one of the extreme left. Just like in the book, our own cast of characters is blown this way and that by the different politicians and their speeches. Our most powerful and famous personages use their bully pulpit to make wild accusations, often without any basis in reality, just because they can’t deal with, or simply refuse, t,o accept the facts. Could someone, like Windrip slowly commandeer power by eliminating individual choice, speech and freedom? The media today has taken to pointing fingers at Trump to make him appear frightening. If they continue to sow dissent and discontent, perhaps there could be someone like that, but it isn’t Trump. His agenda is in no way like that of Windrip’s. Still, it is horrifying to contemplate how easily and quickly a country could be corrupted by a leader who harbored hateful, despotic plans and who had the support of a ready military organization behind him/her. Occasionally, it felt like there was a bit too much dialogue in the audio version, so I believe that, the book should be read in print in order to get the most out of it.
...haven't sat down to read or write this month. There's a partial reason.
Since I'm new here, you wouldn't know that I lost my sweet kitty a few weeks back. He was nearly 18 and it broke my heart to let him go. So on a random Friday, my daughter and myself walked the dog in a completely different route because I needed to drop something into the mailbox.
This little angel, found us and followed us all the way home. He was so skinny--starving--and so thirsty that he could barely produce a meow. Naturally I scooped him up, brought him inside and fed him. After eating his fill, we gave him a bath and after he dried, a flea treatment.
After he realized that he was safe, he passed out as only a kitten can.
After the heartbreak of losing Paw-Paw, hubby and I both agreed we would not add to our furry family. It was too hard and we still have a kitty and a dog who will break our hearts in the future. But what were the odds that I would be walking that way, on that day, at that time with my daughter?! Everyone kept saying it was fate, that someone sent him to us, that I was supposed to find him--well, he found us. And after a lot of tears, hubby agreed that he would stay.
He's not mine per se. My oldest daughter has claimed him and plans to take full financial and physical responsibility of him once she starts her job. But we rescued him from certain death, just as we did for our Paw-Paw nearly 18 years ago.
It only took a day for him to get used to Chevy.
He and Leeloo are taking a little longer, but they are making good progress.
When he found Paw-Paw's favorite nap spot and adopted it as his own, I broke into tears. Not quite ugly crying, but it was a near thing. My sweet boy sent him to us! It's the only thing that makes sense to me. And I'm so happy. He could never replace my Paw-Paw, but he's helping to mend my broken heart.
He has his first vet appointment on Friday and as long as they don't tell us something is seriously wrong with him (which I doubt they will), he is now a part of our family. Chevrolet Nova and Leeloo Dallas now have a new partner in crime. I introduce to you, Korben Dallas.
It Could Happen tells the story of three friends, a misfit triad who really, according to High School's rules, shouldn't have anything to do with each other. You have Henry, the jock, who above all else is a pleaser. You have Brody, an adrenaline junkie/rich boy. And then there is Danny, emo dude with bad taste in men.
NOW, there is a hint at the beginning that Henry is having 'thoughts' about these friends of his, but he doesn't say anything as he doesn't want to upset the status quo. Brody is the one who never thought of them as anything other than friends, but once he makes his mind up, he's willing to give it a go. And Danny - Danny is the one they do it for, to save him from himself and his inability to stay away from people that are 'bad' for him. However, he is usually the first one to disappear, even though he is the only one who was actually "out". Henry and Brody weren't out, in Brody's case they didn't even consider that they liked males that way, but Brody doesn't have any issues with showing public affection. It is Brody though who ends up alone as Henry deals with a personal crisis, and Danny is of the opinion that if Henry doesn't want you, neither do I.
The premise of this story is a good one, and one that I thought I would thoroughly enjoy. I think the thing that detracted it for me was the lack of connection or why are they doing this with the main characters. Apart from looking after Danny, there seemed to be no other reason, really. And, I'm afraid to say, the second thing for me was the style of writing. For me, Brody's was the only clear 'voice', whilst Henry with his My Life just became annoying. Danny you didn't really hear much from, apart from a few lines of beautifully written poetry. On the whole, I did enjoy this book, but it felt a tad disjointed to me. A lack of cohesion between the main characters.
If you are looking for a three-way M/M/M story, and you want something that is a bit different, then I heartily recommend you give this one a go.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
@XpressoTours, #LGBTQ+, #New_Adult,#Romance, 3 out of 5 (good)
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