E Mason

Only the sneaky octopus was at all interesting

Revisado: 03-16-25

Uneven, confusing character development; ploddingly long story when the plot was clear. Thank heaven for the amusing night-stalking octopus. I rejoiced when I finally got to the end of this book.

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B- maybe even C-+

Revisado: 10-06-23

I am reading / listening to this book because it is a selection in my girl friends’ club. Otherwise, I would never finish it.
The writing is under-graduate level at best. Trite phrases that would have been red-inked out of a freshman’s essays appear regularly. There is no sophistication of grammar. The past imperfect seems to be unknown.
The history of the Pearl Brewery and San Antonio is interesting, but Di Maio’s story-telling lacks an elevated skill. She inserts contemporary comments and points of view into a past of more than 100 years.
Her main focus seems to be soft sex which is sometimes embarrassing and often awkward.
Her lack of grammatical expertise makes one doubt her editor’s knowledge as well.
The reader mispronounces many usual words - Genoa comes to mind immediately - and it is almost agony to continue to listen to her errors.
On the whole, I would recommend finding another source of information about the Koehler couple, San Antonio in the early 20th century, and the Pearl Brewing Company. Don’t bother with “The First Emma.”

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Horse could have been a riveting unfolding of a lost story

Revisado: 05-12-23

Sadly Brooks’ choices to insert contemporary political drama into an unknown piece of racing history and art ruined this book for me. Gratuitous emotional manipulation was not necessary. Far better to have unfolded the factual story and let the readers interpret how they felt about how people had been treated in the past.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Historically Accurate Fiction of the Very Best Type

Revisado: 05-12-23

Brilliantly written and gorgeously read. What a complete joy. The Japanese names are confusing so I wrote them all down during the first 5-6 hours of the story. Thereafter the unfolding drama and cast of characters was clear. Clavell wraps up the intensely complicated chess game between warlords in an immensely satisfying way. One would not have thought it possible.

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Books with agendas

Revisado: 01-17-22

Although an incredibly gripping thriller with an unsuspected ending, The Last Flight has annoying preachy moments and several plot inconsistencies that, one supposes, the author and editors thought readers would overlook in their haste to quickly turn the pages. I would, however, recommend the story, as the negatives are usual for current publications. The Audible version is completely fine.

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