Book Review: Wild Horses

Just finished reading Wild Horses by Dick Francis. I’ve read this book, three times? It might be one of my favorites but if you asked me, what did you think about Wild Horses, I wouldn’t know it by name. I always remember it the second I read the first page. The story begins with a man dying next to the protagonist, Thomas Lyon, and telling Thomas about his greatest sin. The rest of the book is spent with Thomas uncovering that sin. It’s an interesting story in that it attacks the mystery from two different angles. There is the past mystery, and the mystery going on around Thomas as he films a movie about horse racing. Whenever I read it I think about a large rake or boom being dragged along the muddy bottom of a lake revealing things best left covered.

I tagged a few of my favorite lines:

I liked this first passage for its simplicity. It’s just one line, but it describes so much about what Thomas’ intentions are and why he is doing the things he does in the book.
“Conjurors never explained their tricks. The gasp of surprise was their best reward.”

The first part of this line isn’t anything to shake a stick at, but the last four words grabbed me.
“More people came, apparently plain-clothes policemen. Betty and I retreated to Dorothea’s sitting room where again, comprehensive chaos paralyzed thought.”

Loved this description of one of the suspects. Who wouldn’t want to be a person happy with little?
There was an obvious self-contentment in his whole personality. He had the weathered complexion and thread-venied cheeks of an outdoors man, his eyebrows dramatically blond against the tanned skin. Blue eyes held no guile. His teeth looked naturally good, even and white. No tension showed in his long limbs or sturdy neck. I thought him no great brain, but one of nature’s lucky accidents, a person who could be happy with little.

Some might think this description of a sun rise a bit ham-handed, but Francis inserts this into his usually utilitarian prose and it makes it more interesting.
“Faint horizontal threads of clouds were growing a fiercer red against the still gray sky and as he busied himself with camera speed and focus, the streaks intensified to scarlet and to orange and to gold, until the whole sky was a breath-gripping symphony of sizzling color, the prelude to the earth’s daily sping toward the empowerment of life.”

Thought this description of this aging professor and his room remarkable, particularly the length of that first sentence and the last line of that sentence . . . “and a brass Roman-numeraled clock ticking away the remains of a life.”
I was becoming accustomed to him and to his crowded room, aware now of the walls of bookshelves, so like Valentine’s, and of his cluttered old antique walnut desk, of the single brass lamp with green metal shade throwing inadequate light, of rusty green velvet curtains hanging from great brown rings on a pole, of an incongruously modern television set beside a worn old typewriter, of dried faded hydrangeas in a cloisonné vase and a brass Roman-numeraled clock ticking away the remains of a life. The room, neat and orderly, smelled of old books, of old leather, of old coffee, of old pipe smoke, of old man.

Francis throws in some ideas about his belief in having a strong fantasy life, a positive thing in his view.
“A good strong fantasy life, I’d guess, saves countless people from boredom and depression. It gives them a feeling of being individual.”

I’m biased I know, but I’d read this again in a heartbeat and will. Great hook, great plot, great story lines.

Nota Bene

Uh oh. This is a good note to self. If you want to be a published and well known spy thriller novel, probably best NOT to plagarize. The whole article, Spy Thriller: 'An Instant Classic' Vanishes Amid Plagiarism Charges by Jefferey A Trachtenberg (here), is well worth reading but I've quoted (not lifted!) segments below.

The Hook

The book is a thriller about an elite CIA agent chasing a shadowy international group of assassins. But Tuesday, publisher Little, Brown & Co. recalled all 6,500 copies of the novel on the grounds that passages were "lifted" from other books. One sharp-eyed observer says he had identified at least 13 novels with similar material.

The Proof

One example, noted by spy novelist Jeremy Duns, is this passage from "Assassin of Secrets": "Then he saw her, behind the fountain, a small light, dim but growing to illuminate her as she stood naked but for a thin, translucent nightdress; her hair undone and falling to her waist—hair and the thin material moving and blowing as though caught in a silent zephyr." The same sentence appears precisely in "License Renewed," a James Bond novel by John Gardner, a search of Google Books shows.
Although not in and of itself damning, this next passage is enough to nail the coffin down.

On the first page of chapter one of "Assassin" is this paragraph: "The boxy, sprawling Munitions Building which sat near the Washington Monument and quietly served as I-Division's base of operations was a study in monotony. Endless corridors connecting to endless corridors. Walls a shade of green common to bad cheese and fruit. Forests of oak desks separated down the middle by rows of tall columns, like concrete redwoods, each with a number designating a particular work space."

In the book "Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency" by James Bamford is this: "In June 1930, the boxy, sprawling Munitions Building, near the Washington Monument, was a study in monotony. Endless corridors connecting to endless corridors. Walls a shade of green common to bad cheese and fruit. Forests of oak desks separated down the middle by rows of tall columns, like concrete redwoods, each with a number designating a particular workspace."

YOW! Why do folks do this. There are things that I read from my favorite authors that I might want to mimic. For example, in Three for the Chair by Rex Stout, Archie uses a characters mannerisms to describe the character, but he does it in a clever and funny way (see more here) but I wouldn't dream of actually cutting and pasting the entire section into my book.

Not a big fan of plagarism. Avoid it at all costs!

Not a Great Start, But Seems Like It Will Be A Fun Book

I've just started the Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson and I just have to say that it's a good thing I read a good review of it (here) if only cause the first line didn't thrill me into wanting more.

"Citizens, gather round your loudspeakers, for we bring important updates! In your kitchens, in your offices, on your factory floors-wherever your loudspeaker is located, turn up the volume!"

Now, the second paragraph is where he starts the appetite whetting both for Kim Jong Il propaganda and some humor.

"In local news, our Dear Leader Kim Jong Il was seen offering on-the-spot guidance to the engineers deepening the Taedong River channel. While the Dear Leader lectured to the dredge operators, many doves were seen to spontaneously flock above him, hovering to provide our Revered General some much needed shade on a hot day. Also to report is a request from Pyongyang's Minister of Public Safety, who asks that while pigeon snaring season is in full swing, trip wires and snatch loops be placed out of reach of our youngest comrades. And don't forget citizens: the ban on stargazing is still in effect."

Who could crack a smile at the doves hovering to provide shade.

Glasses Fetish

A while back I posted about glasses and the fact that I now have to wear glasses. One of my co-workers, a marketing lady, she saw a picture of me without my glasses. I was playing golf and took them off for a moment. She didn't even recognize me! Glasses are such a huge factor in how people look. What I know about myself, and have known for quite some time, is that people with glasses are far more attractive. 

No it's true. It gives faces more character. There's more to see. There's more to attract. There's fashion to the face. Check the images above, and the ones below. Tell me I'm wrong. 

I've picked just a few people to compare and contrast. And nope! I'm not showing that picture of me in my glasses again. I don't have the chops that these gals have. 

Eva Mendes, no one can say she's not beautiful. And yet, with glasses she's a stunner. Rashida Jones, cute, with a great sex appeal, and yet you throw on the glasses, and she's an immediate fox. 

Then Julianne Moore. I have no thing for ginger's . . . but I do have a bit of a thing for gals with green eyes. Gals with blue eyes? Well, it's far more than a thing at that point. Throw some specs on those peepers and green-eyed Julianne Moore is a complete a smoke show! And that pic up there  . . . it has horrible lighting, but I think it makes my point. 

My own roommate had glasses when we met. Since then she's gotten Lasik. I like pre-Lasik roommate more!

What's funny is that I have always had a glasses fetish. I had a girlfriend once who refused to ever let me see her in glasses. I think if she had I might have run away with her for the rest of my life!

Need vs Want

I've written about this before, . . . probably many times. . . but it's a huge part of my life, and a major theme in the novel I'm currently pecking away on in my Reedsy account. I have a good clip going, got some momentum, and Reedsy hooks you up with an editor, so hopefully, this time, I won't get reviews that say "could really use a professional editor."

But I'm writing about Need vs Want. I wrote earlier that men want to be needed and women need to be wanted. I think I wrote about this in terms of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The way that men and women communicate, and fail to communicate and the challenges and problems that grow from that. 

One Last One?

For a long time I kept alive a series of posts,  . . . poems and lines that I found via other sources mostly, that helped me deal with different aspects of my life and challenges I was going through. I logged them all under the rubrick of Evershade Posts (see HERE). 

I know I've recently closed down this thread but there always comes that time that you see that perfect post for a thread, and it doesn't matter if it's no long-running or not, you realize it has to be added.

Summer Wind in Winter?

Apparently my pseudonym is Molotov Scotch Tale. I mean, she could be my clone. We think the same things. Anyone who follows these posts would know that she has been a big part of these Evershade posts (see HERE). 

This first is from her. 

Exactly my State of Mind

As a part of the ever growing series with the Evershade label (see HERE) are these next few, I have to say these are pretty close to what I'm feeling, eerily close. 

This first is a quickie, from Patti o'Malley, who I have never reposted before. But it's quick, easy, and feels about right. 

Series Continues Forward

So, this series continues to grow . . . why? Well, first I love these lines. It's a good thing to find these little gems and appreciate them. Secondly, they help me figure things out in my own life. They resonate with me and linger, sometimes they emanate other light and other understandings. 

Regardless, it used to be that Great White North was my best sourse for these Evershade posts (see HERE), but lately it's been Molotov Scotch Tale. 

The Series Continues

So the series continues (see HERE), the evershade labeled posts keeps moving forward. This time thanks in large part to Top Shelf Bourbon Elf (again). 

First, from MolotovScotchTale (a great profile name), ther is this that is simple. 

More for the Series

 Here are a few more for my ever growing "Evershade" series (see HERE). 

These came by way of all my friends on the Twitter and on Reddit. Again, I think they're worth capturing. 

Seems a Bit Short (and Spooky)

Something remarkable happened. I got an apology from someone and it was wholly inadequate. Like meteorically unimpressive. I was thinking about it and and wondering what to respond or think about it ultimately, when I ran into a Seinfeld clip that summed it up perfectly.

What's funny is that it wasn't just summed up perfectly about how to think about it . . . it was the EXACT SAME APOLOGY! It was spooky infact.   

More and More

To continue the Evershade series (see HERE) I now offer these!

First, another simple and quickie, from Purple. Similar to the simple ones from before.

want to hold on . . .

BUT . . 

 . . . will let go

Always Collecting More

 I'm always out there trying to find new quotes, phrasings and lines that help me make sense of things. I put them here in my Evershade series (see HERE). It's my one sop to poetry. 

This first is from missing piece. 

Actions Speak

 

We Look Away the First Hundred Times or More

 

A New Fount of Passages

I'm following a new person and you want to talk "Zounds!" This gal is zounds in terms of the passages that are worthwhile that she posts. I can't keep up. Just this morning there was: 

Some lessons sting long after others . . .  we long to savor each memory  . . . but you, were my most foolish.

Interesting Way to See Love and Life

As I mentioned the other day, I'm in the midst of reading a novel set in the 16th century (see here, no, it's not Outlander), and I ran across this passage that hit me. This is between two women at a party looking out over the crowd. One, Margery, is young and being forced to marry someone she doesn't love. The other, Susannah, is older and settled in her ways. 

"Do you love him?"

She hesitated again, and Margery could see that she was torn between discretion and compassion. "I shouldn't answer that."

Complicated or Easy?

 Lately I've been struggling to find the mot juste, so to speak in songs, movies, and in writing (see here, here, here, here, and here). The turn of phrase above is apropos considering today's installment. This comes from Emily in Paris, a silly show that I happened to watch as I was doing other things, and I only found mildly compelling because I spent a year in a French-speaking country as a foreign exchange student. If you weren't a foreign exchange student to Europe as a kiddo, you might struggle to find the series interesting. Just saying.

Love those Covertly Deep Songs

 I rarely listen to country music. I find there are two or three typs of country music. There are those that are treacly and stupid. Then there are some that are formulaic and you can't tell them apart from the song you heard just the song before. 

Then every now and then there are those that hit you deep in the heart. These are the songs that make you think that country music writers and singers are the true troubadours of our society. They make you think deeply about past loves, and current ones. Maybe you begin to think about future loves and potential losses.