Customer Reviews

Rules of the Stream

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While I've always loved horses and love to ride, this book was my introduction to the world of showing horses. Everything in the book was written in a way that was easy to understand. The book did NOT read like some frilly novel steeped in fantasy. It was very real to me and grabed me right into the world the authors had created. I'm really looking forward to the next book by these two. I certainly hope that they haven't put their pens to rest. The only problem I did have was having to put the book down to go to work. I wish I had started it on the weekend.

I couldn't put it down. The conclusion was a complete suprise.

I couldn't put this book down. I loved all of the details involved in showing horses. In some of the chapters I felt like I was actually in the barn with them. I highly recommend this book to anyone, horse lover or not, for a good story.

Very cleverly crafted horse story. It really gives the reader just what he and she need, to get to know the horse. Some mild profanity, but not excessive. Some violence. Some implied sex. This book is probably not for those under 15.

I loved the way the story played out in this book! Completely unexpected turns--I could not put the book down. Great job building the characters. I feel like I know them. Waiting for the second book in the series....

Having now read "Rules of the Stream, I can only assume that the five-star reviews came from close friends of the writers, and that no one with any editing experience contributed to the work. What could have been a good novel suffers from all the flaws I find in the work of my eighth grade creative writing students: poor spelling and grammar, shallow plot development (sudden events out of sequence) pointless characters inserted to resolve plot difficulties (instant romance) and--the worst--telling everything in excruciating detail. SHOW, DON'T TELL is the first principle of drawing a reader into the story. The few times the authors managed to show, they told, too. I believe the authors have made a sincere attempt at a good story, but all I could think while reading it was how I itched to edit and how simply the novel's problems could have been resolved had the authors taken a basic writing course or read a writing book. I will be using this book (at least to get something for the high cost) to show AND tell my students how a good concept can fail.

I loved everything about this book but the title. It has little to do with fishing. I would strongly hope that this "coming of age" novel replace "Catcher in the Rye" as required reading. Hard reality hits time and again,like the flooding of the river. One can only clean up the mess, then begin again.

Life on a show horse farm isn't easy, and this is an accurate rendition. Indeed the relentless grind of chores may be rewarded with agonizing show nerves, disappointment, and dispair over bad rulings. Rarely, everything comes together, and one has the ride of a lifetime when spirits soar and join. Recognition, with awards to commemorate the ride, can be even sweeter.

This novel is about many sorts of love, and several sorts of showing that love. If the book can get the readership it deserves, it should be among the timeless classics. I logged on, hoping to find more books by this talented team.

This was a good book. It kept my interest although a little slow getting started. There were several typographical and geographical errors in the book, however, it was a good read. The insight on the Quarter Horse industry was well done.

"Wine, Dine and Death Down Under" takes the reader on an exciting international adventure involving a mysterious murder in the Australian outback, and introduces a Sherlock Holmes for the 21st century, Chet Lake.

Multiracial, multicultural, multilingual, and multitalented, Chet Lake is an urban planning consultant of Native American, African-American and Mexican-American background who speaks Spanish, French, and Arabic. Born in Oakland, California, Lake was a star athlete at Oakland Tech and later at UC Davis -- where he majored in economics and anthropology -- enjoys the Napa Valley and Chez Panisse, sometimes sports an Oakland A's baseball cap, and maintains his offices for urban planning consulting in a location on the Oakland-Berkeley border.

But that's just Chet's storefront and day job. Under the cover of overseas consulting, Chet is an operative on foreign missions for the CIA, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the State Department. Danger is no stranger to this urban planner.
Chet's undercover work brings him to the Australian wine country, where an old, multi-million dollar wine fortune has become the center of family infighting, international plotting, and murder. The twists and turns of the plot are ripped from today's headlines, mixing the old, traditional world of the Australian outback with the new, dangerous world of biowarfare and terrorism.

Through Chet's eyes, the reader experiences situations loaded with racial and sexual tension that often span different classes and cultures. In these situations, Chet Lake is a maestro. Mustering to his advantage his varied educational and professional experiences and training along with his multifaceted personal background, Lake moves like a chameleon across cultures and classes. That skill, combined with his familiarity with and access to modern spy technology, gives Chet a remarkable ability to navigate situations that would confound others.

Again and again, the Chet Lake character delights the reader with his ability to solve difficult problems in unconventional ways.