Tag: Books

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

Rating: 5 / 10

When Michael Crichton died in 2008 it was a sad moment for all of his fans. I expressed concern back then that his estate might try to go down the Robert Ludlum path of churning out ghostwritten novels. That seems to be a real possibility now.

I got my (hardcover) copy dirt cheap – for just £4 – at a sale at WH Smith. That’s insanely cheap; cheaper than even on Amazon or the Kindle ebook version. Pirate Latitudes isn’t a ghostwritten novel, at least, that’s what HarperCollins tells us. It was a ‘finished’ novel found on Michael Crichton’s computer by his assistant / agents after his death, and it was decided that it would be published posthumously. It’s a period novel, set in 17th century Jamaica – an English colony at the time. The plot is of a band of ‘privateers’ who scheme to plunder a damaged Spanish galleon that’s stranded on an island to enrich English coffers.

Here’s the thing – when you read a Michael Crichton novel, you expect a journey teeming with information melting effortlessly into breakneck speed action. Crichton accomplished that effect in every novel of his so far – and thus, Pirate Latitudes feels like an unfinished, hastily edited novel. It feels like the first draft of a novel, with a straightforward (not typical Crichton) narrative and depthless characters.

I still remember reading his novel Eaters of the Dead (another pseudo-historical novel) and I was completely blown away by it. Eaters of the Dead was inspired by Beowulf, one my favourite among the classic epics, and was exquisitely crafted to match the tone of a traveller from distant lands fighting alongside Vikings. Pirate Latitudes, on the other hand, is an equally long novel but strangely unsatisfying.

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Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About by Mil Millington

Rating: 9 / 10

Mil Millington gained a cult following on the Internet with his website thingsmygirlfriendandihavearguedabout.com, talking about crazy anecdotes of arguments he’s had with his girlfriend. The book isn’t a collection of those anecdotes; it’s a novel with a proper story along the same premise as his website. Mil Millington’s alter-ego Pel Dalton is a confused university library employee who tries to comes to grips with a control-freak German partner (and her unstable understanding of British culture) while dealing with ancient graves, buried nerve gas, and international crime syndicates at work. This novel is every bit as crazy as it sounds and there are guaranteed laughs every step of the way.

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Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Rating: 6 / 10

The title might lead you to believe this book discusses ‘bad science’ in general. It doesn’t. The Guardian columnist Ben Goldacre sticks to what he does best – tearing apart the frauds in the British medical industry methodically using statistical analysis and scientific reasoning. Think Freakonomics for medicine. Nevertheless, if you got mislead by the title you might end up disappointed.

There’s one chapter everyone should read, which couldn’t go into the first edition of the book. That chapter has since been released in full for free download. The chapter is about how the South African government systematically denied that HIV causes AIDS, went to great measures to stop AIDS awareness (going as far as saying anti-retroviral drugs were actually causing AIDS), and suggested afflicted patients to eat African herbs as a ‘cure’. Chilling how in this day and age, things such as this can happen.

My rating of Buried Alive by Roy Hallums: 7 / 10

Buried Alive is the story of Roy Hallums, an American civilian (albeit ex-military) contractor who was kidnapped while working in Iraq and spent almost two years in captivity. The very material that is covered means that you will be reading about a unique experience. How many people can claim to have been kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents, and lived to tell the tale?

Reading the book is a breeze; I wrapped this up within a few hours. The narrative is in first person and flows quite easily. Hallums stays away from any sort of political commentary and focuses solely on his experience – which makes it so much more engaging for the common reader. It does feel at times that this conversational style of narrating events get in the way by becoming too wordy, but on the whole I felt that it makes the book better. I think though that the book has not been written by Hallums himself, as it mentions a ‘Audrey Hudson’ – so there’s a possibility that the book might be ghostwritten. The resilience of Hallums is beyond question though, for someone to be able to endure so much for such a long period.

Hallums speaks of the work that we was doing in Iraq, how he came about to be kidnapped and then about his time in captivity. At times, the narrative switches to how his family coped with the crisis. With these sections, you understand the pain of a family that is left in limbo – but at the same time the rational part of you understand why, for instance, media outlets did not give as much coverage as families in that situation would want, or why the government would’ve tried to kept things secret.

The only part that I felt lacking was the conclusion, which I feel was a bit rushed compared to the amount of print dedicated the events before rescue. Maybe it’s because of the timing of the book or a personal call on part of the author, but reading about how he coped post-event would have been interesting.

A unique book and a quick read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.