The Art of Jean-Pierre Rampal

The Art of Death

Advantages: Good second half, some interesting details
Disadvantages: Clunky plot, a bit meandering

halfway through it was much better. The main character is Adelia - "The Mistress of the Art of Death" - i.e a forensic pathologist. Her struggle to conceal her profession is quite prominent in the plot as female doctors were unusual in the twelfth century. She is helping Simon of Naples discover the killer through the clues left on the bodies of the victims. I found this quite interesting although I'm not sure how realistic it would be in the twelfth century. The plot does wander a bit as it is so concerned with Adelia and her origins and training. The character of Rowley (the King's so-called tax inspector) is ok but the romance seems to have been thrown in as a bit of an afterthought and didn't add anything to the story for me. Mansur and Gyltha offered some light relief as the servants as did Gyltha's grandson Ulf. Simon of Naples was ...

mogdred1 27.01.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin

Art Attack?

Advantages: Keeps the action going.
Disadvantages: Unoriginal, poor performances.

74. Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992) This all feels a little like déjà vu, especially after watching American Ninja 3. Once again there is a fighting tournament in a tropical location. This time Rio De Janeiro. An American kickboxing champion, David Sloan, arrives with his sensei, Xian, in tow. On first sight Xian looked a little like Lee Van Cleef, or maybe that was the spectre of 1984 TV series Master Ninja repeating on me. Either way, it helps signify that this was the tale end of a long running era of budget American martial arts films and television shows. The first classic cliché comes quickly when the hapless heroes are mugged by a small Brazilian boy, Marcos, and his sister, Isabella. Naturally, after a long chase through the back alleys of Rio and the kicking of same random thugs, they befriend the knife wielding ...

ThePolarOne 10.12.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Kickboxer 3 - The Art Of War (DVD)

The Art (Of Forgetting A Clothes Peg)

Advantages: Centrally placed with reasonable room rates. Nice staff. Well furnished
Disadvantages: Area never totally quiet - get a room at the back. No immediately obvious disabled facilities

When I wrote about my experiences in Lisbon a few months back, I was taken to task for spending too much time describing the hotel, so this time, things are going to be a little different. With a distinct sense of trepidation I'm going to write about a hotel as a stand-alone item for the first time ever, quaking at the thought of my opinion being compared to one by Ciao's very own 'unpaid hotel inspector', Uncle Bill's nephew himself, Richada! I've just got back from 5 very enjoyable nights in Athens (and the days weren't bad either!). Part of what made it enjoyable was our stay at The Art Hotel, Marni Street 27, Athens. To be honest, it would be difficult to describe how to get there from the airport as we'd pre-booked a taxi, which ended up stuck in horrendous Monday night traffic, made worse by an obliging perfectly ...

BNibbles 28.10.2007 (30.11.2007) · Read full review
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Review of Art Hotel, Athens