I dread writing the following. I know how much an author puts into a book and how hard it is to get one to sell. I hope to enjoy each one I choose, whether it be a simple thriller or a novel of literary substance. It is rare, but I have given up on a couple of books I sensed were not going to please or enlighten. I wish I'd abandoned Catherine Coulter's
Power Play, the 18th edition in her popular FBI series. I stayed with it to find out how the main story line and the subplot would turn out. The latter features an interesting villain able to instantly hypnotize people to do his bidding. Other than that and the fact that it was a fast read, I was not engrossed but merely tolerating its shortcomings. Except for a couple of instances, the dialogue, particularly the banter, does not seem genuine, and the main narrative is dragged out. It could/should have been much shorter and tighter. The epilogue's sole purpose seems to be the setting up of another book. That said, I realize she may have been writing with her most faithful readers in mind. I had nothing invested in the characters before I began the book and left it feeling the same way. In fairness, I render Coulter's awesome stats as a counterpoint to my view. She's had 42 consecutive
NY Times best sellers. 1182 readers have rated the
Power Play at Amazon, forging to an impressive consensus of 4.5 of five. Published in 2014, it is still selling, ranked 41,228th at last check, no small feat, as there are at least 13 million titles listed. I rate
Power Play one star. Of all the thrillers I've read the past decade, it is by far the weakest. If I ranked any as low as two, it was only once. Fortunately, my opinion will not harm her. I hate being negative about a writer's work. It makes me feel traitorous and guilty. Next time I sense a similar dislike, I'll abandon ship.
There's an extensive article in today's
NY Post on the nightmare that is Manhattan traffic. Here are two interesting facts from it: Average speed - 8.2 MPH; there are 87,000 vehicles registered by the Taxi & Limousine Commission; in 2010 the number was 51,000.
Here's more art from Romanian-born Andu T. Soare:
My thanks to the woman who bought
We the People, a pictorial, the floating book shop's only sale of the day. Thanks also to Angelo, Matt and Dave, who stopped to chat for a while. relieving the boredom.
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
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