I Love a Mystery Companion by Martin Grams

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Sammy Jones
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Joined: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:26 am
Location: Covington, GA

I Love a Mystery Companion by Martin Grams

Postby Sammy Jones » Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:48 am

I must say that I was very pleasantly shocked and surpirsed when I saw this book was available, and I immediately placed an order for a copy.
Upon receiving it, I was not disappointed. The book gives a very thorough and complete history of one of the greatest radio programs of all time: I Love a Mystery.

The book is not without its flaws. It seems that little time was spent in proofreading, because enjoyment of the book is marred by many typographical errors. While these are easy to spot, and usually of a very minor nature, sometimes they are downright confusing. In one instance, paragraphs were placed out of order.

Also, the book suffers from a lack of organization. While the general history seems to run in a chronological fashion, sections titled "Continuity Problems" or "Writing the Scripts" are peppered throughout, making their placement in the middle of program synopses confusing.

Please do not be discouraged by these errors. This is a very fine and informative book; Martin Grams should be commended for his excellent research and presentation of material that has been awaited by ILAM fans for half a century. Let us hope that these errors (especially the typographical ones) will be corrected in future editions of the book.

Monsterwax
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Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:31 pm
Location: Tallahassee, FL
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Re: I Love a Mystery Companion by Martin Grams

Postby Monsterwax » Sat May 22, 2010 11:21 am

Thanks for scoop! I, for one, appreciate brutally honest reviews like yours. It sounds like you're saying this is a very good book, even though it could have been better. I sometimes get the impression that Grams is in a hurry to get his books published so he can go on to the next title, and your review supports that theory. His books are often padded with reprints of logs and such (sometimes taking up half the book. (The Inner Sanctum book for example.)) I like having the logs, but when you're paying $30 to $45 or so for a book, your expect more original research or content than a lot of log reprints. (Or a lower price, but I realize the author doesn't always have control over that aspect.) I'd rather have one really good book on one series, than five so-so books on five different series. I think when you see the number of books published during the same compressed period of time, it also leaves one with the impression the writer was focussing more on quantity than quality. Still, he's doing more for the hobby than most everyone else, and for that, I'll always be appreciative.

Gosh, whenever one points out the flaws, they seem to stand out much more than the positives. Reading this, you would probably think the books are not good, and that's certainly not the case. I read and enjoy all of them I can get my hands on! I just feel a little let down when the writing stops about half way through and the rest of the book is made up on log reprints.


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