Currently reading
Perfect Strangers
The Happiest Refugee: A Memoir
The Captain's Daughter
The Trader of Saigon
Someone: A Novel
The Wolves of Midwinter
A Killing of Angels
Gravity of Birds Pb
The Return
The Twenty-Seventh City
Sherlock Sam and the Alien Encounter on Pulau Ubin (Sherlock Sam, #4)
Local writers (especially children writers) should be encouraged but 4 books in quick succession before the year is up has certainly degraded if not diluted the potential of this children series.Characterisation in this 4th book seems to be lacking and the name-dropping of certain food/location and now with quotes from scientist just loses the plot for me. And is starting to grate on my nerves. A serious case of over-reaching and chewing more than one can swallow.
Who is Sherlock Sam? He seems to be a construct for the authors to project whatever ideas they have and a signpost to whatever location in Singapore they can place him in - Queenstown? Punggol? Wild boars in Jurong next?
This series started on a promising note (stable family with robot) but with every ever-increasing index page and every multi-cultural character thrown in it to widen its international market appeal the plotting/content is starting to sound preachy and touristy.
Quality control is needed to bring back Sherlock Sam before he gets wiped out on the Wave House on Sentosa (oh yes, I am sure there's a book in that geographically)
Sherlock Sam is starting to sound like a avatar for the Singapore Tourism Board for children.
