Rating: 
Summary: What happened to SOME of the old reviews?
Review: About a month ago, I placed my comments on this site after reading this book. Needless to say, my review was not full of praise like some others, but it was clear that I had read the book and had some valid criticisms. However, a number of reviews following mine said I didn't know a great book when I read one and what did I know since I didn't write a book and even insulted me personally. Anyway, my review and a rebuttal (and others' references to it) have been removed. Do bad reviews get dropped after awhile to "goose" the overall ratings and boost sales? For the record, the story has potential, but it gets very predictable at times and it good be a lot better written.
It would be very discouraging if honest reviews were regularly purged. Anyone know what gives??
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Summary: Is He a Doctor or a Writer?
Review: From the title of this book to the storyline, I loved The Blackbird Papers. Dr. Ian Smith has proven that he is masterful at more than one profession. I'm a fast reader, anyway but when a book is really good, I can finish it even more quickly. I completed his book in just over two hours and I think I was absorbed with every page. That murder scene had me boiling with anger. I was not only mad at the murder, but I was mad at Dr. Smith for writing it in. That's the sign of a great book and a great writer. Hope to see more books by him in the near future.
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Summary: MUST BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: I bought this book with a couple of others a few days ago and I picked this to read first and couldn't stop turning the pages. The synopsis is below:Professor Wilson Bledsoe is returning from a party celebrating his latest honor when he encounters a broken-down pick-up on the secluded country road to his home. He instinctively stops to help, calling his wife, Kay, to let her know he'll be late. When the delay stretches to hours, Kay frantically contacts the local police and Wilson's younger brother, Sterling, an FBI agent in New York. The next day, the discovery of the Professor's body with a vicious racist epithet carved into his chest leads to the quick arrest of two loathsome white supremacists. Sterling, however, is not quite ready to buy into this pat solution. A look around his brother's lab and brief interviews with his students, colleagues, and the college's distinguished president pique his curiosity about Wilson's current project, a nearly completed paper on the mysterious deaths of hundreds of local blackbirds. But Sterling's search for answers takes a dangerous turn when a security tape sent to Quantico for enhancement incriminates the agent himself. I don't want to ruin the story from here. Read it and you'll join me and everyone else in believe that this a great book and this author has the goods!!!!!
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Summary: Excellent Summer Read!
Review: I finished this book at 2:50am and it was well worth the time I spent enjoying it. This was my first book (suspense thriller) in this genre so I must admit, I had a few preconceived notions about the book...but after the first few pages...I found myself not being able to put the book time. It's a definite page turner and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The book is very well written (in my opinion) and I love the descriptions used by Ian...which in some cases were bits of humor as well. I figured early on who MIGHT be the killers in the novel but even with thinking I knew, the way in which the book is written, kept me very much interested and reading. Ian, you did a GREAT job...and to think this is the 1st fiction novel you've done. I know we will hear more from you and Sterling...so please keep writing. Never mind the negative reviews and cruel remarks posted..it's obvious that amazon does not monitor the reviews anymore so anybody and anything can post/be posted. I enjoyed your book as I've read..others have too. In life, you will always have haters...let them be your motivators. Keep writing Dr. Ian.
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Summary: Fast Paced, And Absolutely Wonderful
Review: I saw the author Ian Smith interview on a late night show - The Tavis Smiley show. He didn't build up the book, just answered the questions as much as possible without giving away the plot.
I received the book August 27th. From the moment I opened the book, I couldn't wait to read the next page to see what was going to happen next.
I loved the entire story with the twists and turns of the plot. I finished the book Sunday evening. Even letting out a couple of audible gasps towards the end. I was happy to see an African-American detective on the case. In the real-world they are in existance, so why not in writing too?
I hope to read more from this author, soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful first novel
Review: I used to watch Dr. Smith all the time when I lived in NY so when I heard that he'd written a novel, I couldn't wait to pick it up. It's a great story and did not disappoint. Strong characters, interesting and unexpected locale and nothing seemed unlikely. I can't wait to see Sterling Bledsoe in another novel.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
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Summary: Bird Call
Review: Ian Smith's debut novel is quoted as being "fresh", "exceptional", and "riveting". I was expecting a fast-paced page turning read. The Blackbird Papers, described as a thriller/mystery, did not turn out to be all that I anticipated. The plot was very good but not executed in a way that excited me as a reader. Many of the clues throughout the story were too easy for Sterling to find. If he needed certain information, he found it. I always look forward to curling up with a good thriller but quarter of the way through I knew who the 'crooked' charactars were. Needless, to say that took away from the climax. No real suprises. Execution aside, I commend Ian Smith for conjuring up such a great plot and getting his first novel published.
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Summary: No Blackbirds jumping out of this pie
Review: Ian Smith's first attempt at writing fiction, is just that, a good first attempt. By in large the characters are predictiable as is the story line. There's nothing new except for the fact that the main characters are black. There are a few interesing twists at the end of the story, but for the most part the book rings of a made for TV movie. I can easily see Denzel Washington in the part of Sterling and a James Earl Jones type as Wilson, as seen in flash backs. I predict the story will eventually make the silver screen or video market. It certainly will not make a best seller list.
If you are on a flight and have some time on your hands THE BLACKBIRD PAPERS is an ok read to pass the miles. It was refreshing to see black characters who are intelligent and successful, but for the most part this is a so/so detective story with some racial overtones which disappear after the first few chapters. Past that, the characters are about as black as Clarence Thomas.
As is common in contemporary literature, environmental issues are the key to the story with the pro environmental side versus big business thrown into an academic setting. There is even a Native American twist. But there just weren't any surprises.
Sterling is a classic of the detective/police officer/FBI agent type. They all live in disorganized apartments, have a series of women, fast cars, bend the rules when they feel like it and deal with issues in their past. When some of Sterling's past issues are revealed one comes to realize that in the real world Sterling would not have qualified as an FBI agent. But with all such characters, their sorted past makes them who they are. Smith used a traditional and well worn cookie cutter to create Sterling, but just colored the cookie brown. Smith found other well worn cookie cutters for most of the other characters: the local police, the old friend in the FBI, the professor who was his mentor, old girl friends, etc.
I commend anyone who write a completed work of fiction and gets it published. It's not an easy task. The author has an impressive resume and background and I am sure that is the reason the book was published. From a lesser personage, I doubt if a major publisher would have taken a second look at this rather mediocre and predictable work.
Rating: 
Summary: A Laughably Awful Piece of Crud
Review: If I ever doubted that Amazon reviews were bought and manipulated by the author or publisher I sure don't now. This book is so awful I could not stop laughing at the (unintentionally) ridiculous writing as I read it aloud to my wife on a long car trip. Every cliche and elementary writing blunder and embarrassment is exhibited on virtually every page. Read the credits and the jacket and you know why this book was published: connections, connections, PC mania and chutzpa. Certainly not anything to do with talent. It's beyond depressing to see publishing resources expended on this kind of puerile garbage when the country is full of superb writers gathering stacks of rejection slips from publishers hungry for nothing but pathetic trash like this that they think they can sell to gullible morons. Save your money.
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Summary: One of the Most Intriguing Works To Date!
Review: There is something about The Blackbird Papers by Ian Smith that I found methodically fascinating and refreshing and different from today's trends in literature. I was captivated from beginning to end and hope this one makes it to the big screen. I love mysteries, and the motive for bizarre bird killings and a surprise murder from the beginning were justified. The Blackbird Papers is one of those must read books.
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