Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 8, 1990 TAG: 9004080304
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Since "The Whole Earth Catalog" was first published in the late 1960s, special source catalogs have become an entertaining method of learning where to find more information on almost any subject. "The Air and Space Catalog" is a well-written, well-produced member of the catalog family. It is divided into four sections - astronomy, aviation, space flight and weather.
The editors have compiled pages and pages of where-to, how-to and why-to information on such diverse subjects as radio telescopes, boomerangs, paper airplanes, kites, amateur weather stations, computer flight simulators, hang gliding and how to become an astronaut. The text is concise, the pictures are beautiful and the information is seductive. For those who teach their children at home, this catalog is an invaluable sourcebook. - LARRY SHIELD
Other People's Money By Arthur Lyons. Mysterious Press. $17.95.
Arthur Lyons is one of the best practitioners of the California detective novel. His stories tend to be more realistic than most. He pays careful attention to the details of the profession and his plots stay firmly within the limits of possibility. "Other People's Money" is not his best novel - the characters are not as complex as some he has created and the mystery is not as intricate - but the book is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Lyons' hero, Jacob Asch, becomes involved in tracking down a fabulous treasure of Turkish antiquities that may or may not be fakes. Millionaires, museums, assorted nefarious types and several sly doublecrosses are also involved. The action is a little confusing at times because some of the supporting characters tend to blur together, but Lyons pulls it all together in a real corker of a conclusion. Recommended. - MIKE MAYO
Book page editor
Play Dead By Harlan Coben. British American Publishing. $19.95.
A golden couple is married - Laura Ayers, supermodel turned super-entrepreneur, and David Baskin, a Boston Celtics superstar. On their honeymoon in Australia, David vanishes and apparently drowns. Laura, the shocked and grieving widow,returns to Boston and to a series of unexplained murders and unanswered questions.
That pretty much sums up "Play Dead," Harlan Coben's first novel. Are the major characters believable? No. Is the dialogue realistic? No. Is the plot well constructed? No. Did I feel exploited by the twists and the surprise ending? Yes. But, did I read the novel in a couple of sittings? Yes. "Play Dead," disappointing in style and structure, is still suspenseful and, yes, enjoyable. - JUDY KWELLER
The Execution of Justice By Frederick Durrenmatt. Translated from the German by John E. Woods. Random House. $17.95.
Anyone familiar with Durrenmatt's play, "The Visit," knows to expect sinister pessimism in his works. However, that Durrenmatt will not prepare readers for the Machiavellian overtones of his latest novel. Brilliantly conceived, "The Execution of Justice" falls short of expectations but is still powerful enough to hit hard and to make us wonder if justice is too blind.
One day, Dr. Issak Kohler, prominent citizen of Zurich, walks into a restaurant and, in full view of scores of witnesses, shoots and kills a professor. Convicted and imprisoned, he later hires a seedy young lawyer, Spat, to investigate the crime as though someone else were the culprit. Spat, needing money but feeling he is involved in a pact with the devil, accepts the charge but later retreats. He adopts drinking as his way of life and then begins to plot the correct and proper justice to mete out to Kohler.
The satire, too bitter to be funny, continues through an epilogue in which we learn that Spat's plan has failed, leaving him the victim of his own good intentions. And readers are left unsatisfied, wondering why Durrenmatt's tale ends not with a bang but a whimper. - LYNN ECKMAN
by CNB