Author: A Good Reed Review

Is a single world order possible?

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By Ande Jacobson

Every so often, particularly when things get very chaotic around me, I think about the world I want to live in. In my recent short story, Humans are Weird, I explored how the Earth, and specifically how humankind might appear to an intelligent extraterrestrial species studying us. Humankind is a single species. Over time, largely because of our tribal nature, we’ve developed multifarious cultures that often put us at odds with one another and more importantly at odds with our continued survival as a species. As Yuval Noah Harari discusses in his book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, we’ve built our societies based on fictional common myths that we all buy into at some level. These myths allow cooperation on a large scale, but they also form the basis for significant exclusion. I see the moves toward exclusion in the news, on social media, even in conversations among my friends as we collectively think about the world around us. Continue reading →

The Morrows and a murder

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By Ande Jacobson

A Rule Against Murder is the fourth Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (of the Sûreté du Quebec) story by Canadian author Louise Penny first released in 2009. In Canada, the title was originally The Murder Stone which gives more away about the mystery from the outset. This time Armand and Reine-Marie are enjoying an anniversary trip to the luxurious Manoir Bellechasse, an inn in a lovely forested location not far from Three Pines. They had planned to enjoy the scenery and each other’s uninterrupted company in the peaceful old-world setting. The only other guests are the Finneys – a large, wealthy, multigenerational family there for their own celebration of sorts. Early on Irene Finney, the matriarch of the Finney family, and her adult children get the entirely wrong idea about the Gamaches thinking that Armand is a lowly shopkeeper, and Reine-Marie is a cleaning women when they misinterpret something that the Gamaches say in casual conversation. The Finneys are awaiting the wayward sibling and his wife, who surprisingly turn out to be Peter and Clara Morrow from Three Pines. Peter and Clara arrive the night before a statue of Irene’s first husband, Charles Morrow, is to be unveiled. It turns out that Bert Finney is Irene’s second husband, but her children (Thomas, Julia, Peter, and Marianna) are all Morrows. Continue reading →

Sensitive ears? Watch out!

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By Ande Jacobson

Two times of the year are tricky for those of us with sensitive ears, at least in the United States. July 4th and year end pose a particular conundrum. Why? Fireworks abound, and when that happens sudden loud noises are inescapable. While most of my friends and family love fireworks displays, I have tried hard to avoid them throughout my life. I have memories of childhood Fourth of July celebrations where I spent most of my time with my fingers in my ears trying to find a quiet place to avoid the cascading booms from the almost continuous array of firecrackers, “safe and sane” family fireworks, and of course professional fireworks displays. No matter the source, those sudden loud noises caused me pain. In an odd turn of events, our family dog was nonplussed and would often curl up and sleep in the midst of it all despite her keen hearing. She was an odd dog. Continue reading →

Can somebody be literally scared to death?

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By Ande Jacobson

The Cruelest Month is the third Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (of the Sûreté du Quebec) story by Canadian author Louise Penny. Penny has kept a pace of one or two Gamache mysteries a year since she started the series, and this one was first released in 2008. As usual, the murder requires some setup through the first quarter of the book, and when it comes it hits hard.

Easter is fast approaching, and Three Pines has a visitor – a psychic named Jeanne Chauvet with a surprising history. She’s staying at the B&B where all visitors tend to stay, and Gabri is beside himself with excitement. He convinces Jeanne to lead a séance at the B&B on Good Friday, an activity she ostensibly hadn’t planned on as she had other plans for her time in the village. Still, Gabri is her host at the B&B, so she eventually acquiesces and holds an informal ceremony that night after most of the villagers had spent the afternoon hiding wooden eggs for the upcoming Easter egg hunt. There’s a story behind the wooden eggs that’s nicely covered in the book. For now, suffice it to say that Three Pines has some interesting creative traditions. Continue reading →

Humans are Weird

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By Ande Jacobson

I am an observer not of this world, though most of the life forms that inhabit this planet have no knowledge of my existence which is probably a good thing. I’m here to observe and report back whether Earth is receptive to a cultural exchange with our world. So far it’s clear that none of the life forms from this world would yet be able to reach ours on their own although sometimes an early exchange can prove beneficial to all concerned. Sadly, from my observations thus far I’m inclined to recommend against such an exchange at this time. While the life forms on this planet pose no direct threat to us, our presence would greatly complicate the situation for the life forms on this planet and would undoubtedly change the course of their development. Continue reading →

The Camel Club’s final case

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By Ande Jacobson

Hell’s Corner, released in 2010, is the fifth and final book in David Baldacci’s Camel Club series. As mentioned in a prior essay, the Camel Club is a ragtag team of eccentrics who are attuned to and intent on exposing and correcting our government’s missteps. John Carr, AKA Oliver Stone, leads the group and is a former government-trained assassin from a highly secret (and fictional) branch of the CIA.

At the outset of the story, Stone is pulled back into the government fold, though not as a Triple Six assassin since that division no longer exists. He has other skills that they desperately need, so the president makes him an offer he that cannot refuse. Stone has been living off the grid for the last thirty years or so, constantly looking over his shoulder because even his own government has been after him. After his recent retaliatory actions to remove his two biggest threats it actually has a valid reason to pursue and eliminate him. The president recognizes his value despite Stone’s sometimes rogue behavior, so he offers him the opportunity to work on a high stakes case. If successful, the president promises that he’ll allow Stone to live out the rest of his life in peace. Stone agrees and is due to embark on a grueling training course after which he’ll be put back in the field on a case he really isn’t expected to survive. Continue reading →

A most ungraceful exit

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By Ande Jacobson

A Fatal Grace is the second of Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache stories. It was first released in Canada as Dead Cold in 2006. Although it takes several chapters before the primary murder of interest occurs, Armand Gamache ends up back in Three Pines again. For a small village outside of Montreal, Three Pines might rival Cabot Cove in Maine for the most murders per capita, and this is only one of the murders being investigated by the famed Chief Inspector this time. He has two investigations going on. The primary case occurs on Boxing Day in Three Pines and involves his full team. The secondary case is one involving the murder of a homeless woman in Montreal that occurred a few days earlier though most of his team is unaware of the Montreal murder. He keeps that case close to the vest as it is a recent one that he’s investigating on the side for a friend with the Montreal Metropolitan Police. Gamache is a Chief Inspector with the state police – the Sûreté du Quebec, and he and his wife (Reine-Marie) have a Boxing Day tradition of combing through the cold cases brought by Marc Brault of the city’s force while Brault does the same with some of Gamache’s more stubborn cases. Why such a recent murder would be a cold case intrigues Gamache. As for the trade, new sets of eyes could sometimes break the logjam. Continue reading →

The pine cone mystery

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By Ande Jacobson

For over 25 years, a giant pine tree that was rooted at the apartment complex next door loomed over the back half of my townhouse. It also sprawled over a large portion of the common area behind my building. That tree was monstrous. In addition to a constant flow of pine needles and twigs covering my roof year around, it dropped pine cones onto my roof that sometimes startled me out of a sound sleep. Many of those pine cones would eventually either roll off the roof onto the patio or fall there directly from the tree. That tree threatened to drop limbs which could make stormy nights especially daunting. Fortunately when limbs did fall on occasion, they fell into our common area, and our HOA would eventually have them cut up and hauled away. A few months ago, the apartment complex next door brought in a tree service to cut down that tree and turn it into mulch. It had been sick and posed a danger to people at both the apartments and our townhouse development. Continue reading →

Everyone needs a very nice box

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By Ande Jacobson

The Very Nice Box is a quirky, sensitive first novel by Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett, released in July 2021. Gleichman and Blackett’s debut novel deftly takes on social stigmas, office peculiarities, loss, grief, relationships, and happiness wrapped up in an engaging story filled with humor and unexpected twists that keeps readers on the edge of their seats anxious to find out what happens next. The story centers on Ava Simon, an able engineer who leads a design team for STÄDA, a company in Brooklyn somewhat reminiscent of IKEA providing a wide range of heavily branded products meant for functionality above all else. These products are fashionable and cover almost every area of furnishing and function a person could need for their home, office, and personal care. Ava designs an essential furnishing that everyone needs – boxes. Her passion project is to design and build The Very Nice Box, something destined to become one of STÄDA’s signature products. Continue reading →

Next to Normal is coming to SCP

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By Ande Jacobson

Sunnyvale Community Players opens their production of Next to Normal on Saturday, 22 April 2023. Performances run Fridays – Sundays through 14 May 2023. This rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2010. The show is notable for being one of the first to deal with the serious issues surrounding mental health in American society and in particular in suburbia. Awareness through art can be powerful, enlightening, and healing, and this show makes a strong statement. The plot surrounds a family dealing with mental illness and the effects that it has on all of them through looks inside their hearts and minds. Despite outward appearances, they are all deeply affected in some unexpected ways. The characters are genuine and sympathetic, and the challenges they face from society at large and the medical community come vividly to life on stage through the music and stories told through song. Continue reading →