The Scorpion
By James A. Anderson
This book was recommended to me, although not my favorite genre – a thriller by Canadian author, James A. Anderson. It is self-published through CreateSpace, and weighs in at roughly 40,000 words.
What it’s about: A terrorist plans to attack North America as intelligence agencies from around the world frantically work to track him. The Toronto Daily Express and their reporters are right in the middle of the action.
Look/design: The front cover shows a newsstand display, full of foreign papers – which gives an insight into the arena around which the story revolves. The back contains a terse blurb about the story and author – both very economical and to the point. The cover certainly matches the story, and the bright orange text boxes catch the eye. I can’t find anything to gripe about – score: 20/20.
Editing/formatting: I had to be really picky to find any faults. The layout was excellent, but I think it would have been easier to read if the font had been a little larger and the line spacing closer. This also would have made the book thinner (and possibly a little cheaper to purchase). As far as editing goes, there were very few mistakes or typos, and a minimum of grammatical errors, and most would probably be classified as language usage differences across the border. I only make note of it for American readers.
My main complaint is that the right margin was not justified, although the excerpt in the back and the author’s note were. I prefer to see justified text, but found it strange to see the inconsistency. For that and the line spacing mentioned in the previous paragraph, one point was deleted: 19/20.
Story/content: The story takes you inside a newsroom during a particularly busy time. Not only do we follow the main story, but we’re further involved in several sub-plots – an ethical debate over a young girl’s life, a wedding, a cancer story, a murder trial, and it also details many differences between post-911 security of the US and their northern neighbors. I got a little lost and kept wondering how all these events tied together, but finally realized you’re actually being treated to an insider’s look at everyday life in a newspaper – from the mundane to the electrifying incidents which make up real life. It is evident Mr. Anderson has a lot of insider experience, and his terse, spare writing style is perfect for reporting the facts.
I still felt the side stories kept the main plot from being as compelling as it should have been. Some of them almost had more depth than the terrorist threat. I subtracted five points for that flaw. I also thought the ending was wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly, and would have liked to have seen more drama invested in the chase and conclusion. Three more points were slashed. Final score: 52/60.
Summary: Although it’s not my style or favorite genre, this is still a great read, and I would recommend to any fans of thrillers. Mr. Anderson’s excellent writing, descriptions, and design earned him a total score of 91/100.
By James A. Anderson
This book was recommended to me, although not my favorite genre – a thriller by Canadian author, James A. Anderson. It is self-published through CreateSpace, and weighs in at roughly 40,000 words.
What it’s about: A terrorist plans to attack North America as intelligence agencies from around the world frantically work to track him. The Toronto Daily Express and their reporters are right in the middle of the action.
Look/design: The front cover shows a newsstand display, full of foreign papers – which gives an insight into the arena around which the story revolves. The back contains a terse blurb about the story and author – both very economical and to the point. The cover certainly matches the story, and the bright orange text boxes catch the eye. I can’t find anything to gripe about – score: 20/20.
Editing/formatting: I had to be really picky to find any faults. The layout was excellent, but I think it would have been easier to read if the font had been a little larger and the line spacing closer. This also would have made the book thinner (and possibly a little cheaper to purchase). As far as editing goes, there were very few mistakes or typos, and a minimum of grammatical errors, and most would probably be classified as language usage differences across the border. I only make note of it for American readers.
My main complaint is that the right margin was not justified, although the excerpt in the back and the author’s note were. I prefer to see justified text, but found it strange to see the inconsistency. For that and the line spacing mentioned in the previous paragraph, one point was deleted: 19/20.
Story/content: The story takes you inside a newsroom during a particularly busy time. Not only do we follow the main story, but we’re further involved in several sub-plots – an ethical debate over a young girl’s life, a wedding, a cancer story, a murder trial, and it also details many differences between post-911 security of the US and their northern neighbors. I got a little lost and kept wondering how all these events tied together, but finally realized you’re actually being treated to an insider’s look at everyday life in a newspaper – from the mundane to the electrifying incidents which make up real life. It is evident Mr. Anderson has a lot of insider experience, and his terse, spare writing style is perfect for reporting the facts.
I still felt the side stories kept the main plot from being as compelling as it should have been. Some of them almost had more depth than the terrorist threat. I subtracted five points for that flaw. I also thought the ending was wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly, and would have liked to have seen more drama invested in the chase and conclusion. Three more points were slashed. Final score: 52/60.
Summary: Although it’s not my style or favorite genre, this is still a great read, and I would recommend to any fans of thrillers. Mr. Anderson’s excellent writing, descriptions, and design earned him a total score of 91/100.
