Review by Major -- Heaven and Earth by Arturo Riojas

[Major]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Heaven and Earth" by Arturo Riojas.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Heaven and Earth by Arturo Riojas

Mister Riojas has a message to deliver. He wants to tell us that we are all being poisoned by cadmium, due to, amongst other things the widespread use of it in fertilisers.
This would have been all well and good, if he had simply delivered a paper on the subject, using his obviously extensive research. He chose not to go down that avenue.

He also wants to tell us a science fiction story, a complex yarn encompassing thousand of years in which ancient Mayas flew jet aircraft and visiting aliens constructed the pyramids. This would also have been alright if he had chosen to do that.

Unfortunately for the reader mister Riojas chose not to do either of the above and as a result he ends up doing neither, because what he has done is mercilessly and clumsily mashed the two projects together in what becomes a confusing jumble of two very different books.

We begin with a fiction, containing aliens with unpronounceable names and then a sudden switch to the beginnings of a scientific article. Once again before we can settle into a specific reading mode we switch back to a novel in which all the characters are new and bare no apparent relation to the those in the first chapter first.

This would not have been so bad if they had tied in - in say chapter four, but by then mister Riojas has started two more novels, or the beginning of them and interspersed them with yet more science that becomes repetitive and begins to lack for entertainment.
How many times do we need telling that we are all being poisoned and are going to die of cancer as a result?

Mister Riojas also starts one chapter in the present tense and then suddenly switches to the past. One or the other would be fine and show a certain writing style, but to switch mid chapter is simply just weak writing. He also switches scenes mid chapter instead of simply staring another, excused by a row of squiggly lines!

So, what we have here is two or three books mercilessly thrown into one big melting pot and the resultant message or messages are lost due to confusion. Were he to edit the two/three books and make them more accurately written, then the reader would have some chance of making sense of it all and actually getting some enjoyment from his efforts.

1 out of 4 stars (Poor)


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Heaven and Earth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Major's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Manang Muyang]

Hi, Major. It seems that your first review project was a disappointment. No worries. There are better books out there waiting for you.

Keep writing. I like your "merciless" humor.

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

And its so unfortunate because his research was, as you said, extensive. Its also a very serious matter which concerns all of us. Thank you for the very honest review, like Miriam said, I hope you enjoy the next book you review.

[Alice Heritage]

In the circumstances, I appreciate the way you kept the criticism constructive. I believe even an amateur editor could spot tense inconsistencies. These poor books really show how important editing is.

[Major]

Hi, Major. It seems that your first review project was a disappointment. No worries. There are better books out there waiting for you.

Keep writing. I like your "merciless" humor.

Of course there are and thank you for the encouragement.
Not all reviews are going to be good and I thought long and hard before making mine so negative. All is ultimately subjective however and I was totally honest and hope others see that.
If anyone disagrees with my assessment they have every right, so to do.

-- July 23rd, 2017, 11:17 am --

And its so unfortunate because his research was, as you said, extensive. Its also a very serious matter which concerns all of us. Thank you for the very honest review, like Miriam said, I hope you enjoy the next book you review.

Thank you, I do too.

-- July 23rd, 2017, 11:20 am --

In the circumstances, I appreciate the way you kept the criticism constructive. I believe even an amateur editor could spot tense inconsistencies. These poor books really show how important editing is.

That's a very good point about editing, I suspect that if a book is self published, that very little editing is done.

[Alice Heritage]

That's a very good point about editing, I suspect that if a book is self published, that very little editing is done.

Right, because publishing houses have to maintain standards. I have done beta reading for a self-published author and spotted some errors then; the author was also going to get an editor to go through the whole thing. Maybe some writers are good at checking their own work but some self-published authors really do themselves no favors by trying to cut corners.

[The Researcher]

Oh my God! It looks like a very poor and confusing attempt of trying to deliver so many messages in a book. You gave it the correct rating. I would have done the same. All the more, i am never interested in reading books on subjects that the book covers.