Sonia

A good story and some flawed writing, 7 Nov 2008

This novel contains two stories. One is set in Southern France in the Middle Ages, and evolves around Ala�s, a young woman whose father is a member of a secret society and who is a guardian of one of three books related to the grail. As the threat of war with the north becomes larger, he confides in her, and asks her to deliver a message to his leader in case something happens to him in his duties.
The other story takes place in modern day France. Alice Tanner, a volunteer at an archaeological excavation stumbles upon a mysterious cave with strange engravings, a sign of a labyrinth, some ancient artefacts and two skeletons. Her find triggers a chain of events that bring more trouble… Read more

A skeleton of a book, 7 Nov 2008

The Zigzag Way is a short novel about a young man who follows his scientist girl friend to Mexico, in order to get inspiration for his writing. When in Mexico, he comes across Dona Vera, a haughty European woman, that runs a anthropological research centre in Mexico and holds a grudge against the past mining companies and workers in the region. This encounter prompts Eric to search for his family's mining past, particularly his paternal grandmother.

After finishing this book I was confused. It seems like the story had only just begun. I was expecting to learn more about Eric and his choices, and particularly why he was reaching out to the past, but the author did not elaborate… Read more

Tactics, tactics, and more tactics, 7 Nov 2008

A very interesting board game in which the player's tactics, rather than luck, are crucial. The goal is for each player to build their own Alhambra by building different types of adjacent buildings.
Each player receives money cards to pay for the buildings. On the center of the table four buildings are put up for sale, each in a different currency. In one turn a player can choose to either take money cards or buy a building. A player can only buy a building if they have at least the amount of money that the building is worth in the currency that is required. If the player buys a building with the exact amount that it's worth he or she gets another turn. After a player is done the empty… Read more