Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?
THE VASE
A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis
Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.
Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.
Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?
Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Good Writing is Key
It's when the writing suffered during the third season, that's when the plug was pulled on the series. Sure there were some good episodes in the third season, a couple really great ones, but overall the writing suffered and the show ended. Of course we all know what happened next. From reruns, a new generation fell in love with Star Trek, and then the movies came back with the original cast.
But the movies sucked. I was astonished at how horrible the first one turned out. You would think with an opportunity to reclaim a place in Sci Fi annals, they would put their best foot forward, but no. They rehashed an old plot, and played up a romanctic angle with some newbie character, and thought it would fly.
Sure the audience came, after over a decade of waiting, and the success of Star Wars, they were bound to come. But the bottom line was it was a lousy movie, a lousy plot and lousy writing. In my opinion, all the Star Trek movies were bad, and that goes for the latest reboot, too.
Don't even get me started on the Next Generation show. Yuck.
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