Other Reviews by sidestep 11

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  Time's Fool
  A review of Time's Fool
  by sidestep on 03/21/2008
  What a heartbreaker. I could not stop reading after the opening scene. I guess I just love literate, vibrant characters, lucid description, and a great, though sad story. So sue me for a snob. There is so little I can criticize, but here goes: I am not literate in French, so Elise's line in the first scene, and John's response, are lost on me, and I feel left out. I can... What a heartbreaker. I could not stop reading after the opening scene. I guess I just love literate, vibrant characters, lucid description, and a great, though sad story. So sue me for a snob. There is so little I can criticize, but here goes:
  I am not literate in French, so Elise's line in the first scene, and John's response, are lost on me, and I feel left out. I can make my way through German, but you give us a translation there anyway.
  
  As despicable as Michael is, he is the one character who has no arc to speak of, i.e., even though he is sent to Coventry by the rest of the family, he seems to be the same greasy pig he was in the beginning. It's too easy to demonize our enemies, as a casual look at our history reveals, and as nasty a bastard as he is, maybe showing him as a little more of a human being would be in order.
  
  Elise is a real piece of work, selfish to the end. Does she have any emotion that John can touch? I feel so sorry for John, who at the end has not even a little bone tossed to him, except her cruel honesty. He is almost too good. Does he ever get angry with Elise?
  
  One nit to pick: on page 86, Chad's speech ending "...should be (of?) you."
  
  I would love to see this movie made. read
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  Lightshockers
  A review of The Lightshockers
  by sidestep on 01/22/2008
  Lightshockers is a sci-fi thriller and a page-turner. My attention never drifted, all the way to the last page. The characters are vivid, and real, as is the dialogue. The sci-fi elements, i.e., the optitrophic drug, and more importantly, the supposed ability to read a person's memory, and display it pictorially on a monitor screen are the two hard sells. I can buy into... Lightshockers is a sci-fi thriller and a page-turner. My attention never drifted, all the way to the last page. The characters are vivid, and real, as is the dialogue. The sci-fi elements, i.e., the optitrophic drug, and more importantly, the supposed ability to read a person's memory, and display it pictorially on a monitor screen are the two hard sells. I can buy into the drug, but the memory reading hardware is less believable, particularly since the setting is the present day. But maybe I'm just being picky. It wasn't till I was finished that I realized I didn't really understand what Clayton was there for, except to kill Bobby. The government spooks were appropriately spooky, and in these times, too believable for comfort. The ending was for me a little lightweight. I wanted to see more vindication for Gloria, and a little elaboration on the rogue agents. All in all, I'd love to see this movie made. read
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  Herbie Lucid
  A review of HERBIE LUCID GETS A NEW MUSE (II)
  by sidestep on 12/13/2007
  I certainly understand writer's block -- there just isn't any way to explain it to someone else. That being said, I would like to know more about what makes Herbie and his girlfriend Wanda tick. He seems likable enough, but I don't detect an inner life; the same with Wanda. He is an alcoholic, but we don't get any reason for it, just that he is, and his episodes of being... I certainly understand writer's block -- there just isn't any way to explain it to someone else. That being said, I would like to know more about what makes Herbie and his girlfriend Wanda tick. He seems likable enough, but I don't detect an inner life; the same with Wanda. He is an alcoholic, but we don't get any reason for it, just that he is, and his episodes of being dry, then falling off the wagon seem to go on and on and on. Wanda is fighting her own battle with trying to get tenure, which seems to me, having spent a little time in academia, hard to believe -- she has an MFA, and is tryng for tenure in an English department, up against 3 Phds. That is truly wishing on a star. I wish there were more compelling action. read