Mike Schultz

Jane and the End

Revisado: 11-17-23

My only disappointment with this story is that it is short. I suppose that is to be expected as Jane is very ill. There will be no balls, plays, or dinner parties to add length. But, that's OK. The author leaves us with an afterword, and you can hear how tired and sad she is from the tone of her voice.

Thank you Stephanie, for sharing Jane's voice with us. I'd like to think of Jane and Lord Harold being together at last in the afterlife.

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Mostly Good

Revisado: 05-06-23

The bulk of the story was good, although it relied a little too much on coincidence for my taste. Also too much on ESP too. It's a bit rich that a person who uses ESP to help her solve cases, was helping to prosecute frauds. Finally, the case with the young girl that opens the story could have just been left out. it wasn't really well developed. Then there's what happened with the MG at the end. That also appears to have been irrelevant.

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A Lovely End

Revisado: 02-20-23

This is a lovely end of the Jane Austen mysteries series. The mystery to be solved was excellent, as always. I don't want to dig too deep into it as I will give away the ending, but I will say that as opposed to "Barque of Frailty" where the victim is murdered in almost the first chapter and we never actually get to meet her, I was beginning to think that there wasn't going to actually be a murder in this book, just a mystery. The actual murder doesn't happen until around 3/4 of the way in.
This book sees the return of Raphael West and brings some romance to what would otherwise be a sad ending to this series of books.
However, the book also includes the Cassandra. I believe that is it is the first time that Cassandra has an extended presence in these books. Usually she is disapproving of Jane being involved in a murder, or has been shipped off to a relation to take care of children, or is recovering from an unfortunate carriage accident. But, we get to see Jane and her sister actually spend some quality time in this book.
I was in a bit of suspense as I knew that this book was near the end of Jane's life, but there seemed like there was enough time before her death to squeeze in one more mystery, but Barron makes it clear that this is the last and pens a touching end to the series.
I have said this before, but I am not a big fan of the Jane Austen novels, but I am a big fan of these Jane Austen mysteries. We get to learn something about Jane's life, the time that she lives in, and the Napoleonic wars to boot. Perhaps I'll listen to Jane's actual novels next and will appreciate them more.

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Very historical

Revisado: 01-21-23

This book is just steeped in historical detail. The MacGuffin of the Waterloo Map was so interesting that I began to think it was a real thing, although a quick search online revealed nothing about it. The story is like a le Carre novel, although I suspected who the culprit was early on.

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Another great character study

Revisado: 12-08-22

The mystery here, although it is very good, is just a vehicle for the interesting characters.

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An Excellent Story

Revisado: 10-19-22

This story is a bit grittier than others. But the scene of them getting ready for the ball is quite humorous. Fortunately, Elisha knew what to do!

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A "Brief" History of Black Holes?

Revisado: 09-28-22

I once was told that I couldn't tell a story without rewinding past the beginning and getting a running start. Dr Becky does this in spades. Each chapter starts with an idea, and rewinds a few hundred years to give the background for it. So, as a person who loves context, I sincerely love what she has done in this book, although I don't listen to current music, so I missed every Taylor Swift reference which is fine with me.

As an added bonus, I got to listen to Dr Becky's wonderfully expressive voice. It's not like I was listening to her read this book. It was more like sitting across the table from her and just listening to her talk.

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Is there Beauty in Physics?

Revisado: 09-08-22

This is not a complaint about the narrator, but I wish Dr. Hossenfelder was the narrator.

The main issue in this book is if we can use some sort of definition of Beauty to guide scientific research. Throughout history, people have proposed how the universe works and it is up to experiments to prove or disprove the explanation. It has usually taken many years to create an experiment to do that. Currently however, the cost of creating experiments is so high, it seems prudent to pick proposals that will successfully be confirmed. The criteria that is used to guide this process is the explanation's beauty.

Doctor Hossenfelder interviews many of physics best minds to ask if we should allow this to be our guiding principle.

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Hail Mary, Full of Grace

Revisado: 08-16-22

As with The Martian this story is mostly one problem solving description after another. I'm not sure all of them were worth the effort and it gets tedious after a while. There are a few solutions that I had trouble believing or understanding. Fortunately, there is some actual story that made it worth the time spent listening to the book.

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Be careful reading stories from your childhood

Revisado: 07-09-22

I remember reading this story when I was in high school and really enjoying it. For me, high school was the early 70's, so the book was only out for about 10 years at the time.

I must admit that, listening to it again so many years later, I am now very surprised with the references to God in it. There was also a particular scene that I was moved by, and I looked forward to hearing it again, but alas, it never came. I guess I boiled this book down to, "I like it", and then discarded the details.

So, I guess I'm going to say that I'm now a bit disappointed in the story. The sole purpose of it seems to be to rescue Meg's father. There is a cautionary tale about the dangers of totalitarianism, but it doesn't strike a blow against it. What are very powerful beings as Mrs. What's it and company doing enlisting, nay kidnapping, three children and putting them into danger, if the children aren't part of some larger plan to overcome the evil? I can see Meg and Charles Wallas having a vested interest in rescuing their Father, but why drag Calvin into it?

So, I'm guessing that I am guilty of trying to fit this story in a box, and I should take it as it is. Still, I prefer to have a story with a place that it is going, rather than wandering around until the author simply says "I don't know what happens next" and stops writing.

I suppose all the God references put me off. I don't think that they contributed to the story and could have just been left out. But, if we took out everything that doesn't contribute to the story, we wouldn't have much story left.

Anyway,, if you read this book as a young adult and are reading it again much later, be aware that you have probably matured a lot in the meantime.

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