Rating: 
Summary: Tries to do far too many things at once
Review: "Death Qualified" is a very interesting and ambitious book--in fact, interesting in too many different ways, and ultimately, too ambitious.It's a human drama about young adults and middle-aged people facing their conflicts and unfulfilled needs; cheating spouses, parents estranged from their grown children, etc. It's a murder mystery. Who killed the long-lost husband in the woods? His estranged wife? Unseen enemies? An unlucky shot from a hunter? It's a courtroom drama. Naturally, the defense attorney was once the lover of the prosecutor. Defense keeps hammering at an angle that can never be proven, and the prosecutor contests her every step. Will an innocent woman go to jail, and her kids be left without the care of parents? It's a science fiction thriller. What was the pathbreaking experiment that went horribly wrong, and whose lives did it plunge into a nightmare of insanity and murder? This part gripped me the most, but it isn't really explained until about the last 50 pages. Finally--and improbably--it's got a dash of "Celestine Prophecy." This part might be OK for atmosphere, but to use it to wrap things up is completely unnecessary and almost adds a note of unintended comedy. To me, the best thing about it is that the author uses poignancy to heighten the sense of horror and dread that builds throughout the novel. The poignancy and the horror combine to make this more than just a formula novel or an airplane book. I almost stopped reading before about 20 pages, because at that point, the author was writing too much like a city dweller who kept having to remind herself that if you don't live in LA, Chicago, or New York, you've got to talk "folksy." Fortunately, that distraction soon passed. However, the author should have avoided another distraction--that of giving characters last names like Dinesen and Belloc. If you're going to do that, you might as well name the local garage owner Cal Dickens and the local court stenographer Jenny Hemingway. In any case, the author is telling 4 or 5 interesting stories, but they never really quite come together. Still, the book gives you something to chew on.
Rating: 
Summary: Confusing and depressing
Review: I feel compelled to be the first to enter a negative review for this book. I generally like books that invite the reader to learn more about a related or tangential subject, but I found the descriptions of the Mandelbrot images extremely difficult to fathom. It left me feeling like an outsider and rather skeptical of the effects attributed to the images. And while I am often pleased and excited by surprise endings or "twists", I found this one (don't want to give anything away) very distressing. I do have to give it 3 stars for an engaging plot and great human interest, but a lot of it left me cold, or chilled.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing and depressing
Review: I feel compelled to be the first to enter a negative review for this book. I generally like books that invite the reader to learn more about a related or tangential subject, but I found the descriptions of the Mandelbrot images extremely difficult to fathom. It left me feeling like an outsider and rather skeptical of the effects attributed to the images. And while I am often pleased and excited by surprise endings or "twists", I found this one (don't want to give anything away) very distressing. I do have to give it 3 stars for an engaging plot and great human interest, but a lot of it left me cold, or chilled.
Rating: 
Summary: An engaging read!
Review: I found the book's beginning a bit boring, but soon found myself caught up with the story and wondering what was coming next. About halfway through the book, I didn't want to put it down! Wilhelm is a great storyteller, and knows how to create believable characters that have all the emotional complexity of 'real' people. She subtly introduces events or ideas that eventually turn the story a different direction, and when a new surprise happens, the reader later thinks, "Ach! I should have seen that coming!" Too many mysteries are either predictable in their storylines and endings, or too unbelievable, but not so with this one. I didn't expect the ending, and though I appreciate that she didn't tie eveything together in a nice little bow, I am hoping for a sequel, of sorts, to find out what happened with a few things.... such as with Celsy and Travis, and also, is what I think happened with Mike really what did happen... or is there another story to continue there? Much research obviously went into the book: legal and forestry related research, theories concerning mandelbrots, fractals and altered perceptions, and more. The book was not only entertaining, but educational.
As an Oregonian, it was interesting to see many local issues included in the book: the timber industry vs. environmentalism, gay rights/acceptance, etc. Wilhelm manages to include issues and lean towards leading the reader to her opinion about them, but not in the preachy, dogmatic manner that is so often seen elsewhere. Conclusion: A very well done book--engaging, intelligent and quite interesting, too!
Rating:
Summary: Chaos theory, mind alteration, and courtroom drama
Review: I really liked this book. Kate Wilhelm's lawyer, Barbara, is a believable strong woman. The plot was intriguing. It tweaked my curiosity about chaos theory. The computer technology was clearly 80s technology but the idea of altering the mind by the patterns on the computer screen was echoed in an article in the news today. The ending was startling and insidious. I prefer happy but I will give up a lot for good plot, good character development, and new ideas. I liked the setting! I live in the area and she really captured the stillness of the woods and the peaceful water sounds of the river. I recommend this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Slow
Review: It took me forever to read this book. Usually I finish a good mystery in a couple of days. The book never engaged me,so when I finally learned "who did it", I just didn't care.
Rating:
Summary: Slow
Review: It took me forever to read this book. Usually I finish a good mystery in a couple of days. The book never engaged me,so when I finally learned "who did it", I just didn't care.
Rating:
Summary: Tedious Read
Review: The author, in her attempt to provide evocative and thought-provoking perceptions of the Chaos theory, supplies the reader instead with a tedious and hard-to-follow story. The characters are stilted, and Barbara Holloway's sudden and intense affair with a mathematics professor is frankly unbelievable. It casts the lawyer into the role of a teenager with a crush. Also, it appears that Wilhelm loathes descriptive narrative of her characters; a concise description of Holloway is not given in any of the Holloway books. Being unable to bond with the characters creates a lackluster and confusing tale.
Rating:
Summary: good characters, weak resolution
Review: the book was very well written and interesting as it went along, but the end was very disappointing. I don't want to give it away, but it was hard to believe.
Rating:
Summary: Best murder mystery I have ever read
Review: Wow, what a book. I could not put it down. Besides being written by a fellow Oregonian the story takes place near my birth place making it even more interesting. Kate Wilhelm is an awesome storyteller. She keeps you hanging on every word from the beginning of this book to the end...And speaking of ending - what a surprise you are in for. :-) Read this book if you don't read anything else.
| 
