"Great Feuds In Science" by Hal Hellman
James C. Rocks [2016-03-29]

 The scientific endeavour is assumed an "unending march of science" by many but, in truth, no one claimed it as such. But why? Why does science, a purely human endeavour, give us real answers whilst religion only pretends to? In discussing some of the most famous feuds in science the author throws light on the true motivations and petty jealousies of scientists throughout history. In cleverly revealing the kind of sarcasm and abuse competing scientists would often throw at each other he puts to rest the idea that science is infallible whilst reflecting on today's media battles between evolutionists and fundamentalists.

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"Soldier of the Republic" by Ben Slythe
James C. Rocks [2016-03-29]

A review of "Soldier of the Republic", the debut novel by Ben Slythe. The book might be classed as military science fiction, is well-written and engaging demonstrating the author's excellent grasp of both military organisation and historic battles.

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The Continuing Journey Of A New Author, An Introduction
James C. Rocks [2016-03-01]

 The Continuing Journey Of A New Author, An Introduction
This article briefly introduces me, my work, my background and my website. It outlines (at time of writing) my progress towards the publishing of my first and second novels in "The Abyssal Void War" series and briefly mentions other things to be found here including reviews and opinion pieces.

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"The Jesus Mysteries", Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy
James C. Rocks [2016-02-01]

 Despite being an atheist, I had always accepted the existence of a man called Jesus Christ as actual but Freke and Gandy's "Jesus Mysteries" forced me to re-evaluate my view. Although I did not believe Jesus was the son of any god, I had envisaged him a s real, perhaps a Jewish leader, perhaps a "freedom-fighter", perhaps wise, perhaps soft-spoken and the kind of man around which legends are built ... a kind of early-day Robin Hood if you like. In their book, the authors reveal the mystery religions, whose various dying & resurrecting godmen they refer to as "Osiris-Dionysus", as showing a great degree of similarity in their multi-level teachings that were interpreted more literally by the uninitiated and allegorically by the initiated.

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"The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking
Ben Slythe [2015-07-07]

 A review of Stephen Hawking's, "The Universe In A Nutshell" by my friend and fellow author, Ben Slythe in which he outlines why it is that he enjoyed the late, great Stephen Hawkings' then latest book. In it he outlines how the book, presented with lots of pictures and plenty of whitespace around a great deal of amusing and interesting information, is mostly successful in attempting to explain the universe to the general public.

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Battlestar Galactica, Fourth & Final Series Finale
James C. Rocks [2010-01-01]

 Battlestar Galactica, Fourth & Final Series Finale

An absolutely appalling ending to a series that had once held so much promise, as it came back to bite us in the "ass" in the worst possible way. There are a lot of people out there who still like BSG and despite its brilliant start, I'm not one of them. I kid you not, if you love good TV, good storytelling, the way I do the ending of this series will make you spit, swear, stomp and generally want to smash things.

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In Appreciation of E E 'Doc' Smith
James C. Rocks [2010-01-01]

 In Appreciation of E E 'Doc' Smith
From the "Lensman" series, through "Skylark" and, a rarity these days, even some of his standalone novels, I have read a lot of Edward Elmer Smith's (better known to his fans as "Doc") material. Yes, he had his flaws, most notably his politics (though they were probably a feature of the times as much as anything else), but he had his strengths too. E. E. "Doc" Smith was a brilliant writer, not so much in a literary sense, but one capable of writing science fiction that spanned solar systems, galaxies and universes. Though his philosophies represented a bygone age, his technology was imaginative and carried me, as a young boy, into realms I had never before visited. There have, undoubtedly, been writers of his calibre (and far better) since but I am not sure anyone ever had as much scope in their stories.

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Giving Something A Fair Review
James C. Rocks [2009-01-01]

 Giving Something A Fair Review
I've seen enough reviews in my lifetime to realise that reviewers are often heavily swayed by their emotions and, whilst there will always be an aspect of personal preference, I felt some sort of objective method of comparison was necessary. This article outlines the self-developed method I now use and the categories I use to do them and all of the reviews on this site follow this method. I gave this idea some thought and my intent to create a consistent approach to reviews that is entertaining yet that little bit more objective.

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Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
James C. Rocks [2006-01-01]

 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
I first saw "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (1981) on the BBC and instantly loved it whilst somehow managing to hate the fact that Arthur never took that damned dressing gown off. This review compares the much loved 1981 BBC TV version of The Guide to the more recent 2005 film version.

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Quotes

It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it!

Elwood (The Blues Brothers, 1980)

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