Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: diamonds

  • When Eternity Touches Time

    When Eternity Touches Time

    Master of Electronica Jim Ottaway is back with his 2020 work When Eternity Touches Time, a most intriguing as always and interesting, slightly more mellow offering than his past releases which have been totally spacy, space travel oriented, other than the tribute album  Beautiful Desolation which saw Ottaway at his zenith in a completely different emotional place to his usual style.

    Mellow, captivating and a stunning example of electronica in its purest form, the tracks simply merge effortlessly into one another, allowing the gentle, reflective and all-encompassing vibe to waft gently and elegantly into the atmosphere.

    Gentle and peaceful, the music created is full of a rather elegant charm which captures the emotions on an almost subliminal basis, there and yet not there, almost mystical in influence as you drift throughout the clouds in search of something unknown, but once again familiar.

    Sharpe clear notes set the structure for Diamonds in the rain, a thoughtful, clean captivating journey of the much-needed rain as it is sought; a lovely segment of ‘clapping sticks’ has been created as possibly representative of the diamonds of raindrops hitting the parched earth as a life giving blessing.

    One of the true beauties of electronica is that there is no set definition of how the music is perceived and understood. The titles of the tracks are the only indicator of what the composer considered as his muse when creating the elements on synthesizer, mixing the alchemy later in the studio, fine tuning the pieces to be as perfect as possible.

    When Eternity Touches Time, the tenth track and signature piece of this twelve-track collection has an almost reverent overtone; slow, chunky with a lovely rich timbre, before a higher, faster melody is introduced, offers a very different vibe to the other more relaxed pieces. A truly captivating composition.

    Just when relaxation is at its emotional peak the intriguing and almost dysfunctional piece Isolated Realms comes into play; perhaps a reflection of the difficult and challenging times in which we live. A wonderful melody runs throughout the piece which holds it together in a somewhat typical Ottaway-ish style before relaxing once again and for the final composition, into a fully-fledged spacy elegance once again, returning a sense of surreal ingenuity to the atmosphere.

    A quote from the man himself sums the work up beautifully and makes the perfect final chord to an outstanding, elegant and deliciously enjoyable series of compositions.

    ‘The skies‘ – the heavens… the heavenly realms.
    Beyond the skies… the quintessential limit. (J. Ottaway)

  • A Very Murderous Christmas

    A Very Murderous Christmas

    Although this may be a bit late for the Festive season, that is unless someone gave a you a copy, A Very Murderous Christmas is an anthology from the best of the best, classic Crime writers as they set out to place a damper on the festivities of Christmas, by creating some seriously wonderful plots all based around murder of the “most foul”, as Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot would state.

    All short stories, the plots range from murder on a snow bound train, to plots that go terribly, mistakenly, well maybe, wrong. Ruth Rendell’s Loopy rubs shoulders with Arthur Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr’s the Adventure of the Red Widow, Rumpole and the Old familiar Faces comes to the festivities courtesy of John Mortimer, while Morse grapples with a wonderful little mystery created by Colin Dexter.

    Favourites abound thought this ten-story collection to collated to entice, entertain and puzzle the mind as to why anyone would choose a time that is meant to be full of mulled wine, comfort, joy and feasting to even a score, or to create murder and mayhem; or could this really be considered as the perfect time to create murder!

    Great reading at any time, this anthology adds a fresh new twist to the meaning behind Christmas giving, which is also suitable to be read at any time of the year, not just at Christmas time!

  • The Mysterious Mr Jacob: Diamond Merchant, Magician and Spy

    The Mysterious Mr Jacob: Diamond Merchant, Magician and Spy

    This narrative history about Alexander Jacob has been well researched, and paints a realistic picture of the times in India. It is set in the late 1800s and is intense in the detailing of the people, places, politics and the British authority. Central to the story is the amazing achievements of Mr Jacob, who arrived as a penniless child in Bombay. The story would be intriguing enough, but add to it the largest diamond in the world, and a transaction that went horribly wrong, and our curiosity is aroused.

     As Alexander grew, he knew he had to embrace every opportunity that came before him. He dabbled in magic and mysticism and eventually became a gem trader. It was here that he began to make serious profits, selling gems to the British and also the Indian Nizam. Mr Jacob became a confidante of Viceroy’s and Maharajas, and was eagerly sought after by the elite society of the time. Those people who knew him, all thought of him as mysterious, charismatic and enigmatic.

     In the summer months when life was challenging on the plains, the gem trader followed the wealthy and the British to Simla. This cool village in the mountains was the perfect spot for Mr Jacob to set up in the bazaar, as well as visit the British aristocracy and the wealthy Indian rulers, showing his wares. He became familiar with both groups, and often had information for the British about the movements and directions of Indian troops, as well as becoming a trusted gem dealer.

     When the largest diamond in the world came into Alexander’s possession, the fabulously wealthy Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to buy it. But the transaction went horribly wrong. The Nizam accused him of fraud, which created a very public trial in the Calcutta High Court, and made headlines around the world.

     When he died the Times of London wrote that the “Wonderfully diversified stage of India has seen no more romantic and arresting figure in our time than that of Mr A.A.Jacob. …he had unrivaled knowledge of precious stones, a wide knowledge of Eastern life, language, art, literature, philosophy and occultism.”

     The detailed notes and bibliography at the end of the book confirm the large number of sources the author consulted to make this an in depth, and accurate look at a truly remarkable man.