Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: promise

  • A Promise Of Eternity

    A Promise Of Eternity

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    Once a year Award winning Australian composer Jim Ottaway releases an album of exquisite music based in the New Age Electronic fields of composition. His work is eagerly awaited and never fails to enchant.

    A Promise of Eternity is once again a gem of an album with the first track, Path of Destiny, a lovely melodious composition, slightly reminiscent of the sounds of the early 1960’s captured in ethereal format. Towards the end there is a distortion of sounds which on any given day, could be easily considered as a gathering of extra-terrestrials enjoying the moment in time.

    A gentle song is delivered in the beautiful Shadow Dreams, a piece that wafts across time and space to transport the mind to another realm as in dreams; beautiful, dreamy and absolutely delightful.

    Once again, the suggestion of a beat from yesteryear is present in the catchy Horizons Beyond, an uplifting song with many layers of lightness within the complex layers. This is a song full of hope and enjoyment with a very, very nice acoustic climax.

    Moving further down the track listing you come to the downright funky Dancing in Shadow and Light, a step away from his usual deep, melodic compositions and a track which has, dare one say it, has an excellent dance groove.

    The absolutely beautiful A Promise of Eternity is Ottaway in a gentle, reflective and introspective mood. Elegant, with hints of a more formal construction washed with subtle undertones, this is one seriously enchanting piece that allows the mind to drift gently into a place of peace and relaxation.

    Light Dawns is on the album twice; listed at number 3, Light Dawns (re-imagined) is a dreamy and relaxing song encouraging a sense of voyaging through time and space to discover another world. As the final track on the album it once again offers a deeper, but still gentle vibe, with which to return to this mortal coil and continue on knowing there is a gentle promise of eternity to be found.

    In many ways A Promise of Eternity sees Ottaway at play, having some fun in his studio, digging deep into his vault to create some catchy, upbeat melodies. Throughout the twelve tracks there are those which are pure ambient new age, whereas others have a distinct element of the years of Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. Overall a fantastic collection to relax into and enjoy.

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  • A Promise of Ankles: A 44 Scotland Street Novel

    A Promise of Ankles: A 44 Scotland Street Novel

    Welcome back to 44 Scotland Street with A Promise of Ankles during a time of small change as the characters we all have grown to love over the years carry on with the very everydayness of their lives. A small amount of excitement is created at the end of the steeply descending street in the New Town, as there is to be new residents in the ground floor flat at number 44 Scotland Street, which has Dominica MacDonald using her binoculars discretely to try and find out who the mysterious new tenants could possibly be, much to the amusement of her husband Angus Lordie.

    But meanwhile, and not to be overlooked, there are still nasty little flies mixed in with the harmony of 44 Scotland Street, as the Duke of Johannesburg seems to have gone missing and Irene arrives and decides that even though she no longer lives with Stuart, Bertie and Ulysses, she has the right to dominate their every breath, causing must distention in the small family group.

    Stuart finally believes that after the disaster of his life with Irene he may finally have found love, which as it turns out was not to be and Bertie finally gets to be part of a very precious dream; that of going to Glasgow for a whole month with his best friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson on a school exchange.

    Olive and her faithful acolyte Pansy are still tormenting Bertie, Matthew is facing great change in his Gallery as Pat has been offered a once in a lifetime position in Paris and to top it all off, Angus Lordie and his friend, while out walking Cyril, come across a human skull, but not a normal skull, which after much discussion could possibly be a very ancient skull, possibly Neanderthal, which creates great consternation.

    Matthew and Elspeth are also talking about change and how they can keep James, their treasure of an au pair, who somehow magically manages to get the triplets to behave like three normal little boys without any apparent effort, a making Elspeth’s life and by default Mathews so much easier.

    Big Lou has to face up he the fact that change must come to the Cafe if she is going make decent money, which results after some hurt feelings, with James, the Duke of Johannesburg’s nephew and cook extraordinaire, introducing some amazingly  innovative treats made with bacon, which the customers old and new are seriously appreciating.

    Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiorie di Montagna is till uttering wise, well intentioned words of wisdom to all she can. Life, as always rolls timelessly along amongst the residents and their friends, as the sun continues to rise and set on 44 Scotland Street as they all gather, with the addition of new friends, at a dinner party to celebrate the last days of summer; an annual event hosted by Domenica and Angus.

    Once again, old friends are met, time moves steadily on and we all gain a little wisdom as the Promise of Ankles unfolds, gently, seamlessly and in a most elegantly enjoyable fashion, courtesy of the master of words Alexander McCall Smith.

    Perfect summer reading.

  • The Museum of Broken Promises

    The Museum of Broken Promises

    The Museum of Broken Promises as a title is instantly captivating, and even more so, when the reader discovers that, in the story, such a building exists. One begins to think and wonder about the person who instigated this museum, and why. What were the stories behind the exhibits that it contains? The train ticket, the baby teeth, the bridal veil….one can only imagine their history and past.

    This story is so much more than the museum, however. It is a time slip story which moves from Paris to Prague and to Berlin. It is partly set during the time of the Communist rule in Czechoslovakia and is very informative of the horrendous conditions which were imposed on the population.

    The main character is Laure, whose father was English and Mother French. She moved to Paris after her father’s death and was employed as an au pair for a Czech family living in Paris. Life is good here, but she is informed by the father that the family has to move to Prague, and they want her to accompany the children.

    It is in Prague that the young woman discovers the horror and the restrictions of everyday life under such a devastating regime, where being followed is the norm, and suspicion is in the very air. As she is wandering around Laure discovers a puppet theatre.

    All of the stories that are told could be seen to have a suspicious element, and what better way to encourage bravery and resistance than through puppet stories. There is also a very rebellious musician who Laure becomes involved with. She becomes aware of the dangers of this friendship after a violent confrontation.

    Later in the story we find Laure back in Paris with enough money to buy an old building which she converts into the Museum. Her own exhibit is a train ticket, and at the end of the story the riddle of the ticket unfolds.

    The story is well written, with wonderful descriptions of the sights and sounds, of both Prague and Paris. The atmosphere and tension are remarkably well crafted, as is the wonderful sense of freedom in Paris. The characters are complex and their behaviour almost understandable.

    As for the actual museum, the concept is still a great idea and the ever-changing collections something to reflect upon.

  • On the Other Side

    On the Other Side

    Life is a journey best undertaken with a large dose of naiveite, as the pathway is not always as expected, with life’s twists and turns often containing bitter sweet moments of lessons learned, changes accepted and pure joy, all waiting to be discovered.

    Over the past five years pianist Cathy Oakes has experienced much of life’s emotion, now reflected in her new album On The Other Side.  Each of the pieces have been created in acceptance and respect to the many aspects of her journey over the past years and offer a wonderful, gentle, reflective perspective on a journey followed by all.

    Beginning with the heartfelt song Hymn for Peace, this track sets the standard for all the pieces to follow. The beautiful From This Day is in celebration of the marriage of her son. Kessia’s Waltz, a lovely jaunty little piece, is dedicated to her granddaughter Kessia, which comes with an inbuilt smile or two.

    The intriguing title Puddle Dance brings with it a range of images; from small children in galoshes jumping in puddles with joy and gay abandon, lost in the moment of time, to adults enjoying a special moment when they to do the same things, snatching a moment from their childhood. A lovely fun piece.

    In remembrance of friends who have lost loved ones in is the immensely beautiful Lullaby from Afar, a piece which delights and enchants with its simple melody; a dedication and offering of pure love to the small children, whose lives were all too short.

    A longer piece is the once again reflective Ripples On The Water, written in contemplation of the effect of throwing a rock in a still pool of water; the ripples continuing on long after the impact is felt. Used as a metaphor for the actions taken in life and the effect this can cause, this sombre and deeply mediative song this is a piece to be enjoyed slowly and at leisure.

    Be Still My Soul is a nicely presented medley of the hymn It Is Well With My Soul and Be Still My Soul, penned in memory of, and favourites of, her mother Trellis McIntyre and precious friend Rhonda Hanson.

    Concluding a journey of healing and acceptance is the title track On The Other Side created in homage to her mother’s last words shared, ‘Don’t worry baby. I’ll see you on the other side.’; a piece of acceptance, healing and reverence.

    Overall this solo piano work is an absolute delight, best enjoyed when the mood is right for reflection, acceptance, moving on and signing off on so many of the emotions felt and experienced on life’s most intriguing journey – yours!

     

     

  • A Promise to Kill A Clyde Barr Novel

    A Promise to Kill A Clyde Barr Novel

    Clyde Barr is back in trouble again, no matter how hard he tries to lead a quiet and simple life, trouble with a capital ‘T’ seems to come calling. How hard can it be to stop and help an old man on the side of the road who looks to be in pretty bad shape, as he is slumped against the steering wheel of his pick-up truck?

    Not that hard:, but this simple act of kindness finds him becoming embroiled in some serious business on the Indian Reservation he just a happens to be passing through on his horse, heading towards the Mountains to do a little hunting and fishing, while he clears his head and gets life back into perspective.

    He makes the decision to take the old man into the local hospital where his daughter Lawana is the Doctor. On the way into town he begins to see things are not as they should be as groups of bikers, with no affiliation to the Ute Reservation seem to be hanging about looking for trouble.

    The problem is the more Barr learns about what appears to be going on in the run down village, his desire to help the underdog comes crashing back, once again plunging him, along with the old man, his daughter Lawana, grandson Taylor and the townsfolk, into a nightmare that seems to have no end.

    In true Barr style, there are no prisoners taken as he sets out to get to the bottom of what it is that makes this run-down, out of the ways place so important that the townspeople are being held hostage.

    As the days pass the tensions in the small town rise to killing levels, and when Lawana and Barr accidently discover what they consider is the cause of the problems, they immediately placing not only themselves, but everyone in the town in the utmost danger, as the Reapers and their cohorts will stop at nothing to discover where the ‘payload’ has gone.

    As a second book from this new author it maintains the suspense and edge of danger created in his first novel Nothing Short of Dying when Clyde Barr burst onto the scene, a modern day hero with a soft heart, who simply can’t say no to danger.

    Barr has as his own indomitable style, a set of lethal skills honed in the jungles of today’s world and a love of supporting the underdog, no matter where he may be found.

    Get set for another riveting, page turning adventure as Barr does eventually manage to win the day, get the girl, but once again decides to move on into the unknown, looking and seeking for what, he knows not!

    Fantastic!