November3

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Reading this book is like picking a scab.  You want to see what's inside, but then you wish you'd left it alone............

The writing is ok, the characters are ok.

The plot is entirely unbelievable.  The protagonist is supposed to be an archaeologist.  He finds half a dozen King-Tut-sized sites in the few-weeks span of this one book, and has an unlimited amount of money -- best equipment, including jet planes and helicopters and fully-equipped boats, and huge organization, with offices (and minions) here, there and everywhere.

I could forgive the fantasy aspect of "way (WAY) more money than is ever explained," and I could probably even forgive the fantasy aspect of making at least one HUGE find every place he goes (multiple sites, in multiple countries, in a week's time....).

I cannot forgive the horrendous archaeological misbehavior.  I don't know a whole lot about archaeological practice, after one (1) online class.  But I do know that you don't take ANYTHING apart on the spur of the moment.  I do know that EVERYTHING needs to be extremely carefully documented.  I do know that you don't take ANYTHING apart without photographs, drawings, and careful recording of all data collected.  Every brick, and, assuredly, every artifact.

I do know that a real archaeologist would never, ever, move things without proper documentation, and would never, EVER, take anything away from a site without all of that documentation.

I can't forgive that no documentation takes place (unless he thinks the bad guys will get there before he has time to loot the site).

I can't forgive that he and his minions take apart walls, and touch, and move, anything they feel like touching and moving (with no documentation).  (And when that touching destroyed an ancient artifact, I was the only witness who was appalled.........................)

I really can't forgive that he takes whatever he wants with him when he leaves a site.  He always has an excuse (the bad guys want to destroy the site, perhaps), but his behavior is absolutely contrary to everything I learned (and absolutely contrary to anything that makes sense for proper behavior on the part of people whose goal is to learn everything they can about the past).

I was horrified to read the bit about the author in the back of the book and learn that he is supposedly actually an archaeologist.  For any author to tacitly encourage anyone who finds something from the past to excavate without permission or documentation, and then take anything they like from the site, is way more than bad enough.  For that author to be an archaeologist, as it claims after the end of the book?  Much worse.  MUCH worse.  Shame on him.  I won't be reading anything else he has written.

Definitely NOT recommended.



Cleansing breath..............

Waking on.  The color is getting duller.  It's still easy to find leaves that are bright, but the trees are getting duller.  And barer.....................

Some trees are still bright, like this Japanese maple.  Doesn't it look nice with the gingkos?

Camouflage.

Soaking up every bit of color, against the coming of the dull monochrome..............

Same leaves, new angle.............

I didn't arrange any of these...........

And end-of-October/beginning-of-November look at the Rat House.  My better half wondered where they store all this stuff.  Good question.  This is boxes and boxes full of stuff.....

I bet this rat is two feet long, nose to base of tail.

Even Mickey gets into the act.

Didn't see Tink until this was on the big screen.......  That's Mickey's ear, bottom right.

One small part of the small-rat section.  These are about 3" from nose to base-of-tail.

We are talking hundreds and hundreds of rats, here.  Not to mention all the skeletons.  A lot of work, let alone a lot of storage space. 

I'm glad they are giving the neighborhood a bit of personality.  This is a pretty staid area......

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