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...they appear (not to the nephew of course, only to the reader) to tell the tale. Why does Davies do this? Well, it's kind of clever and amusing at first. And the use of these two characters could be forgiven if they weren't used in such an amateurish way. Throughout the novel they interrupt every once in a while to explain the most recent occurrence in the life of Francis Cornish. "If you wish to talk of Chance', said the Daimon Maimas. 'But you and I know how deceptive the concept of Chance--the wholly random, inexplicable happening...

Author: By Victoria G.T. Bassetti, | Title: A Poorly Cast Spell | 1/13/1986 | See Source »

This is really too amateurish. These two creatures engage in rather uninspiring debates on chance and pity and forgery. It's rather a let down, for, if anything, Davies is a master in creating these philosophical debates. Davies is a rennaisance man whose erudition usually shines through his novels in an enchanting rather than imposing way. So it's a shame to see this talent wane in this novel. For in his other novels the magic of the devils and angels lives in the characters who understand and discuss their own magic. In separating the daimon and angel from Cornish...

Author: By Victoria G.T. Bassetti, | Title: A Poorly Cast Spell | 1/13/1986 | See Source »

Some of these criticisms may seem petty, but in sum, they create a clear picture of a production with a fair script and great actors that somehow comes out looking very amateurish. The oft pretentious HRDC mainstage shows are indeed put on by college students, but they usually achieve professional quality, even brilliance at times. They have in the past at least shown themselves capable of avoiding the high school style mistakes that haunt this production...

Author: By T.m. Doyle, | Title: Agony and Ecstasy on the Mainstage | 11/14/1985 | See Source »

...putative heroes of these two bloodbaths--the kid who cried vampire too much and the I-eat-steal-wontons tough cop in Dragon look and feel so ... phony. More to amateurish acting in Fright Night and more to Mickey Rouke's pretentious acting in Dragon, both movies convey that condescending sense of cinematic closed-captioning for the slow...

Author: NO WRITER ATTRIBUTED | Title: Honesty Is Occasionally a Virtue | 9/26/1985 | See Source »

...outset, the final stage was an amateurish hit-or-miss affair. The coqueros were content to ship cocaine into the U.S. via "mules," who would coat their stomachs with cod-liver oil or honey, then swallow the cocaine wrapped in condoms. If they were lucky, they could flush the drug out once they were over the border. Soon enough, however, the cocaine czars could afford to send bulk shipments into the U.S. in their own DC-6 aircraft or by high-powered speedboats. By 1983, indeed, the system was running so efficiently that the market was glutted with cocaine...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: Fighting the Cocaine Wars | 2/25/1985 | See Source »

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