S. P. Moses

Well written and pleasingly concise book on story structure..., 2 May 2013

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)

While sometimes I didn't follow every intricacy of what the author was trying to get across, I did find my understanding of story structure grew greatly. Without conscious effort I am now analysing stories I consume to see whether they fit the three or five act structure. While much of this book is theoretical, it is easy to apply it in a practical way to your own storytelling. What this book has done is help prevent me from getting stuck. By understanding how a story is formed, I know what sort of act, scene or beat should go next.

I found the prose style of Into The Woods was much less irritating than that of Save the… Read more

Classic BBC Sci-Fi Sound Effects lacks expected Proustian rush..., 30 April 2013

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)

I suspect that the audience for this CD is small, but dedicated. This is a classic album of 70s and 80s BBC sci-fi sound effects, remastered for the 21st Century with original notes and artwork. The CD itself is primed for maximum nostalgia, with a print that mimics the look of the vinyl on one side. The notes and artwork are replicated from the original, but due to the shift in size from vinyl to CD they are squashed and hard to read in the original format. Thankfully the text is printed in a larger and more readable font inside the booklet.

The quality of the remastering is high. I can't imagine sitting and listening to this CD all the way though. Despite being a big fan of… Read more

Thought-provoking, but ultimately frustrating..., 14 April 2013

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)

I don't feel qualified to review this book, being far from the author's intellectual equal. Some bits I followed, I was lost during other bits. I love the idea of the antifragile, things that grow from disorder, but I wouldn't feel confident trying to explain further than that.

The author's style is simultaneously engaging and irritating. Some authors come across as pleased with themselves, such as Alain de Botton, but are still engaging and inspiring. Nassim Nicholas Taleb gives the impression that he doesn't care what other people think of him, which is admirable in some ways, but can spill over into contempt for the reader.

I suspect this is the sort of book that… Read more