Anne M. Marble

Sweet Torment for Mystery Lovers, Mar 5 2002

This novel has stayed on my mind ever since I read it. It's so frustrating that Dickens died before completing this novel. On the other hand, the fact that this classic British mystery was never finished has created a great opportunity for literary critics and mystery lovers alike to try to solve the mystery for themselves. We'll never know who Dickens really had in mind as the murderer, or if indeed there was a murder after all. That's a huge loss. But it's a great ride for readers to try to make up their own minds.

I still haven't made up my mind about who did it. Sure, there is a very obvious suspect in Jasper, but that doesn't mean Dickens thought he did it. Some people have… Read more

This is fun!, May 13 2001

This book manages to combine military SF, comedy (both slapstick and wordplay), satire, class wars, cloning, and genetic engineering with a little romance and still come out swinging. These collaborators can really, well, collaborate.

The hero is the sole human survivor of his platoon. Chip is trapped behind enemy lines ("way behind enemy lines" as one chapter title puts it). His compatriots are genetically engineered "rats" and bats. Imagine if Shakespeare's comical secondary characters were forced to spend time in close quarters with rebellious Irish poets, and you get the general idea of the chaos.

Mix with the daughter of a wealthy shareholder, her alien tutor,… Read more

Great Concept, but "Tell a Friend" Feature Has a Flaw, Sep 17 2000

When I started reading this book, I was ready to be suspicious of the concept of the ideavirus. I downloaded it because it was free, and that made it attractive to me. As I read the book, though, I realized that the ideas are common sense. It hit home the first time I signed up for PayPal -- one of the best examples of an ideavirus.

In fact, now that I have read "Unleashing the Ideavirus," I can spot mistakes made by Internet-based companies. For example, companies that change the rules in midstream are doomed to lose business.

While Seth Godin loves the idea of the "Tell a Friend" feature, I think it has one flaw he forgot to address. Some people are afraid… Read more