Edmund JorgensenBesprekingen

I don’t often make comparisons to other books, but there really is no other way to explain this book, it comes across as combination of Catch-22 and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The story is set on a luxury cruise liner in space with its own rather interesting bureaucracy. When Jeremiah Brown’s inheritance falls through, he is forced to work on the ship to pay for his fare. During the last week of the voyage he is subjected to many passengers with their own, rather intriguing motivations.

Free review copy-LT Member Giveaway.

Uncle Leo loved his ferrets more than nephew Jeremiah Brown. That ended Jeremiah’s financial arrangement for his relativistic cruise invoking the clause for imminent default. Fortunately for Jeremiah, he will only have to work the tens days until the trip concludes. The catch is if he does not get at least an average rating from the guests, he will have to work an additional two years. What follows is a comical look at guest services and event planning that seems to go on a longer than the ten days. Odd guests with problems, mysterious happenings, and some not so behind the scenes romance threatens Jeremiah’s rating. A character mix with enough action to make it an interesting read.

The more I read this book the more I wanted to like it. Sadly the second part never really came to fruition. The premise of the book is quite enjoyable, but like the ride taking place on the Einstein I felt like this book lasted forever.½

Let me start by saying Speculation will probably be on my top 10 list at the end of this year, if not right at the top. I have gone back and re-read parts this week in preparation for this review for Novel Publicity Tours, though I really wanted to have a full in-depth read done with a pile of notes, a medical emergency prevented me from doing so. So based on my initial read of this book, of which I have a feeling even knowing how the question of will he chose what is in the envelope or the 10 million dollars I will read this many times in the years go come and follow this author forward in his career. Another great Novel Publicity find for me! Now my review!

Speculation begins with a mention of a law office and goes of on the mystery of a missing friend. Then steps into the death of another friend, and then facing the choice of 10million or an envelope, as I shared with you last week in my Teaser Tuesdays. By the end you are left with your mouth hanging open, speechless and wanting to call your mom and tell her, READ THIS NOW! (Which of course I did in fact it was only 99 cents so I sent it to all of the friends whom I had emails for over in her book club, I have gotten thank you’s and a message on my voice mail going “KRISTINE LOUISE….” “What Madre, it was only 8 bucks, go read it you guys have no excuse)=

So three relationships, two of which are ending due to loss of life and a missing person. One which is his wife. All of which our main character Andrew met in college. Those of us who have been to college know the friends we make there tend to be for life. College is the proverbial primordial soup of our adulthood. We meet, make and find those of like mind, same interests, same philosophies or those that mesh with our own world. We also meet people who no matter if they are like us or not, just fit into the puzzle we are still trying to piece together that will carry us through. We are building our ethical framework for our world builds, our careers and in many instances, lets face it most, our core groups and binding relationships.

Our protagonist is a philosophy professor and the three mentioned above he met at college a decade before. He met his true love, Cheryl and married her and Sothum and Buddy who ended up being part of a great legacy of friendship. You could say he found his soul and his core being and based his life choices because of the relationships and experiences of college, as again many of us do. Sothum, Buddy and our main character Andrew are part of a group they formed called “The Three Wise Fools” I won’t go into one of my famous derailed tangents and describe what specifically a club at college is, because it has special nuances and most of the time there are no secret decoder rings, handshakes or hazing. Most of the time it is over coffee, or tea in this story, at a favorite booth in a restaurant that won’t kick you out after an hour or six. This is a necessary ingredient of the aforementioned soup!

Ultimately it carried me along for another one of those incredible rides and adventures which is the core of a good story. What makes this an exceptional book and exceptional piece of literature is the author’s ability to weave and build a character. His use of heavy allegory, but not as intense as Melville but never as light as a popular read, gives us nicely rounded characters from the first chapter on. With each flash back to college or years back after college building up each in our own mind, completely separate people who we come to love, loath or love to loath at times, be annoyed with and just enjoy! This book is all about relationships and exploring, this book is for people that like to engage in thinking and puzzles. It has none of the fantastical aspects used in so many tales these days, be it a book, movie or TV show. So no explosions, no clandestine meetings between spies from other countries or the death of hooker in Spain. Though these characters are just as interesting in my opinion. Without being religious this is a philosophical, religious/theological mystery, an intellectual thriller. Perhaps what Kant would call his bubblegum reading. (Hmm wonder what flavor Kant would choose?) But you do not need to have read Kant or be an academic to enjoy this, just someone who likes beautifully engaging and expertly stated prose with just enough allegory to make you go “Ohhhhhhh”. Each section has you bumping to another emotion, delving down another avenue of experience.

From this…

“Death Waits for all of us–as everyone who has not just had someone die is quick to remind us…(Location 572- Speculation – Kindle Version)

To this…

Southum’s speech was a litle ironic but also quite beautiful, quoting Woody Guthrie that for him to talk about marriage was like “a cowboy talking about the sky…” (Location 588- Speculation – Kindle Version)

Or perhaps this…

“Pain like light, comes in different wavelengths. Life’s smaller injuries and discomforts, like microwave radiation, inflict their hurt without delay. You feel it instantly when you realize you have been shorted a dollar at the grocery store, or cannot find a seat on the subway or get soaked by the water splashed up by a passing car” (Location 1709 - Speculation – Kindle Version)

So what is this book about? I have pondered how to write this review about a book that appears to be about choices when perhaps it could be read to be the solving of the mystery of a missing friend or the possible hidden message in the pile of papers from the boxes Sothum left to Andrew. Perhaps it really is a cruel joke being played at the expense of a friend who is mourning over the two parts of this trio of fools. Definitely it is about relationships and how no matter how much they change throughout the years of your life, ultimately they stay the same. Speculation makes you think about your own values, and questions which carried with us having fed since our brain started thinking and pondering about them years ago. It is a grand and masterfully wrought book traveling through a sea of experiences layered with every day drinking of coffee to esoteric inner conversations of those pesky “what ifs”. In the end it is about all these choices and loyalties making or breaking the tried and true in Andrew’s life. What and who will he choose? Go grab a copy now and find out!

This is not the kind of book I usually read, but a will that gives you a choice of $10 million or the contents of a sealed envelope? Who can resist that? I enjoyed the ride, as well as the craft went into it. Even some interesting bits about applied encryption, sort of.

Andy, Slothum and Buddy were philosophy students and friends during their university days. Andy became a philosophy professor, Slothum became a fabulously wealthy software developer, and Buddy wrote a very well-received book before becoming a "celebrity" author--never writing another book, but always on the circuit with a beautiful woman on his arms.

When Slothum dies, his will leaves Andy the choice of $10 million or a sealed envelope with unknown contents. While I would have taken the $10 million, Andy, the philosopher, (to the dismay of his wife) has to figure this out. What was Slothum thinking? Andy sees this as the ultimate puzzle--what did Slothum predict he would do, and what did Slothum put into the envelope based on what Slothum thought Andy would do. Andy begins to examine Slothum's papers and life to help him answer the question. There is much discussion of philosophy, including the philosophical puzzle, Newcomb's Paradox.

In the course of his search, Andy discovers that Buddy has disappeared from the face of the earth. Buddy's mother thinks he has committed suicide, but Andy reasons otherwise:

"He was just the sort of man who could have begun composing a suicide note and so lost himself in admiration of his own prose, style and depth of feeling, become so overwhelmed by the pathos of his situation, that he forgot entirely that he had intended to do away with himself."

So the book is well-written, with an interesting premise, but it ultimately fell flat for me. I found myself reading just to find out what was actually in that envelope, which bothered me more than the questions of what choice Andy would make and why, where Buddy was, and what Slothum's motives were.½

If you are a thinker and love a debate this book is especially designed for you. The author will challenge your beliefs, emotions and ask questions about your own existence.

The story is brilliantly written and in following the quest for the clues in order to make the correct decision, the author causes intrigue and keeps the reader on his toes in the way he uses the philosophic questions to reach or solve the problem.

When one of his friends has gone missing and the other one is dead, the dead friend leaves two envelopes marked A and B. Envelope A contains $10 million but we are unaware of what is in envelope B, if he takes envelope A then envelope B is destroyed and he will never know what is in it, if he takes envelope B he will lose the $10 million, so his quest begins.

Trying to use his dead friends logic to find out what is in envelope B, the author starts to challenge your own judgement, why and how did we get here, what do we believe in and what would your decision be. The use of examples on how we think and react to the question posed shows us as humans why we are all individuals and think differently.

Being interested in thinking outside the box, this book was a dream for me to read and when I asked my family what they would do I received different answers which then sparked an interesting debate. So this book is not only a good read but stimulates a lot of provoking thoughts and conversations. A well thought out read for you to enjoy.

I was gripped by Speculation. The main character inherits three boxes of extremely miscellaneous papers and ten million dollars. As an alternative, he can give up the ten million dollars and take an envelope whose contents is unknown. He has his entire life to decide, and his wife begins to fear that he may take that long to make up his mind. I am trying very hard not to hint at the plot, because this is a book in which the uncertainty is key – I strongly recommend not asking anyone to explain the plot before you read it.

One of the things that adds tension beyond the actual events is that with such a premise, one cannot know where the author is going with the story. Perhaps he just going to take the money and read up on investments. Perhaps his wife is going to get fed up with his breaking his promises to finally decide and leave. Or, at any time, the character could take the envelope, find a map inside, and hire Long John Silver and company for a perilous trip to Treasure Island (if Stevenson hadn't already done that.) Reading on the Kindle added to the effect because, although I know what percentage of the book I've read, I don't really have a handle on how many “pages” are still left for a surprise. The papers are another source of alternate possibilities: do they contain clues, or are they just static?

One of the great strengths of the book is the ability of the author to develop characters. The husband and wife and their marriage are beautifully done. Two of the secondary characters, including the deceased, whom we meet in flashbacks, are rather irritating, and yet so interesting and well drawn that they add to the interest of the story rather than being off-putting.

Recommended for people who like intellectual puzzles.

This book lives up to its title. It's mystery of sorts-- no murder, but a disappearance-- and of course the big mystery of the plot is what's in the envelope that Andrew Wrangles' best friend left him in his will, an envelope he won't get to open unless he forgoes the 10 million dollar bequest that was also in the will. Speculation has some of the "why are we here?" sort of questions in it, too. Wrangles, the protagonist, is a professor of philosophy, so it's no surprise that a lot of the dialog focuses on philosophical questions like "Is there a God and can you prove he exists?"

The characters are very well drawn, each with backstory and motivations of his/her own. I especially loved the old lady who lived alone and narrated everything she did. She wasn't a major character but she illustrated how well the author did at creating three dimensional characters.

I really liked the cover, too. But I won't reveal the ending. That would ruin everything!