Martin Miles

Dismal little volume

Reviewed: 20-03-24

Despite the title, this is not really a book about the practical business of meditation, although towards the end you will find rather esoteric and hair splitting material peripheral to actual meditation.
I was personally involved in the early 80's with the then Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, and read a lot of material about dirty dishevelled beggars going around the country, finding disciples and giving them some ineffable teaching that defied putting into words. A story in this book. about such an old rogue who, after many years, strikes his disciple in the face with his shoe, and claims thereby to pass on deep knowledge is not untypical.
The later chapters suggest that the author, subsequent to the writing of this book, came out from under his tree, smelled the coffee and took on a wider vision.
I am not today a Buddhist, but have undoubtedly benefitted from studying with Western Buddhists 40 years ago.
If, as the author of the afterward implies, this approach to Buddhism benefitted from the work and life of this teacher, then I am grateful to him.
But, in all honesty, if you are looking for a practical manual on meditation in action in the modern world this is emphatically not it.
As an aside, the narrator, despite his obvious commitment to the project, is uninspiring, with a boring and low energy presentation.

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Inconsequential

Reviewed: 05-11-23

Well written, but sadly nothing much to say. The subject matter would doubtless have been bracing to live through, but as fiction reads as a series of anecdotes with disappointing conclusions. Useful treatment for insomnia.
The reader did his best, but deserved better material. Maugham has certainly written much better than this.

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A Dismal collection

Reviewed: 12-09-22

There are no laughs here. No smiles. No satisfaction of a neat but unexpected ending. It is almost unrelenting misery. Stick to Wells' better known works if you are looking for that sort of thing.

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Harry Barnet triumphs again

Reviewed: 11-09-22

The 3 Harry Barnet books form a trilogy, but each is a self contained story. I listened to the first and the third and then this, the second book. All of them highly enjoyable, and each a very different plot involving different problems to be solved in different ways. Viz Dan Brown books, each with virtually the same plot, and all inferior to Goddard's work here.
Not only are the texts a joy and a delight, but the narrator is perfect, and the same across all 3 books. He interprets the pace and moods of the books accurately, and brings a broad spectrum of characters and accents to life.
In summary, this is very good.

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Astonishing scale of invention

Reviewed: 07-09-22

Set in the distant future, where everything is strange, and yet somehow familiar, this is a fully realised space opera fantasy somewhat after the style of Harry Harrison (think "Stainless Steel Rat"). The narrator, who is also the author, makes the whole enterprise seem casual and as though the words had just occurred to him - this makes the experience even more satisfying, yes, very like Douglas Adams best work. When you add the electronic voice effects, ambient sound effects and music, the experience clearly resembles the Hitch Hiker's Guide - although the humour is used more sparingly and is of a more adult nature. If Radio 4 broadcast this as is it would pick up many awards and probably end up on TV, in cinemas and on streaming services.
Get it now, before everyone else is talking about it.

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15 year old material

Reviewed: 25-08-22

There is nothing here less than 12 years old, with an average 15 years. The magazine is published monthly, because science is a dynamic process. As a result, the articles here are definitely behind the curve. For some of the more forgettable articles this is OK, but the only really interesting items here relate to broadly medical issues, where the best information seems to change daily. So, what is the current authodoxy on hydration, on taking supplements etc? You won't find it here.
Worse, much of the content will be of absolutely no interest to you. Fair enough if you are reading a physical book, just go on to another article. However, if this is playing in the background as you do something else you may not want to break off to find something interesting.
The only practical or worthwhile thing I found here was how to deal with a jelly fish sting - although I shall probably never need it. If you think you might, then this is the book for you.

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Another winner with the unlikely hero, Harry

Reviewed: 19-08-22

For those of us of a similar age to Harry and co at the time of publication, this is a genuinely life affirming story. If he can come through these events, then we can cope with whatever life throws at us.
Beyond this, the plot is no more unlikely than any other thriller and the characters are particularly well realised. The narrator, as in the previous stories in this series, brings the whole thing to life, such that you feel that you know the characters and understand their situation.
A very good read

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Desperately depressing stories. Avoid

Reviewed: 17-08-22

I have managed to wade through most of these stories, with a growing sense of grim frustration. I honestly believed that popular fiction was intended to entertain. This collection contains little but dross, which at no point aspires to such lofty heights. One story - Lebensraum - is apparently an allegory of the rise of nazism. What on earth is this terrible thing doing in this collection? The Dean Koontz story is simply about the tragic consequence of a religious father's abuse, and is also well outside the terms of reference of this collection. I can say nothing of the Val McDermid story, as the narrator (who actually has a beautiful voice) seems to have decided to play the male voices for laughs, but the humour was lost on me. Like so many others, I was unable to listen beyond the first minute or two. If only Ms McDermid herself could have been prevailed upon to narrate. Perhaps she was made aware of the company her story would be keeping and refused.

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The explanatory text to the film

Reviewed: 17-08-22

First of all, this book suffers on occasion from the author's tendency to verbosity. This is especially so in the final section, where the film degenerates into random colours and noise for far too long. NB I saw the film on its original theatrical release, and I understand that the worst of this meaningless passage may have been edited out. Sadly, Clarke's verbal equivalent of mere noise is retained.
That said, the book gives a very full account of the lives of the primates, and the impact on them of the Indian ("Indian"? No, obviously "unequal" No!!!! Obelisk - the autocorrect on the Fire tablet is rubbish, and needs to be watched like a hawk).
This section alone justifies the book, as the film draws out only the appearance of violence rather than what builds up to it.
The rest of the book gives a generally satisfying account of events, and does its best to justify the belief that the book is always better than the film. Even such an iconic film? I couldn't possibly comment

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Utterly immersive

Reviewed: 16-08-22

I don't read historical fiction, and I've no idea how this came to be in my library. I can only assume that Alexander Seaton's God caused it to be so. I find myself now totally suspending disbelief about everything herein - especially regarding the fact that I was actually in 17th century Scotland witnessing the events recounted here. Aye, this is powerful stuff, lassie! Sorry, a wreath of sea must seems still to have settled in the corners of the room.
You might question the relatively slow pace of the narrative, or the use of mechanisms (no, Fire tablet, archaisms!) alongside more current language. However the pace and the language are perfectly chosen to convey a feeling of the time and, indeed, the thought processes of the first person narrator.
A most impressive piece of work, leaving wanting more from both this author and this excellent reader

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