Review by LadyPudu -- Heaven and Earth by Arturo Riojas

[LadyPudu]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Heaven and Earth" by Arturo Riojas.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Heaven and Earth by Arturo Riojas is a science fiction book which addresses the problem of cadmium poisoning. The book has two parts to it – an alien themed fiction part, and a nonfiction part addressing cadmium poisoning. The author explains that his aim was entertain whilst informing his readers. Whether he achieves this or not, I will leave to readers to decide for themselves. All I can say is that I learned a lot I did not know from it!

Aliens from the planet Treretum are on a mission to collect data from our planet earth. The data they are interested in includes information n the level of our planets toxicity and how it affects our human behaviour. They discover the adverse effects that metal poisoning has on human health and, when looking at the bigger picture, human society. These aliens realize that those in power know about the root cause of these problems but choose not to address it for selfish purposes. The Treretumians decide it is time to step in.

The cadmium poisoning facts at the end of each chapter were interesting and well structured. It did not feel like reading a science textbook. Mr. Riojas presented his facts in an easy to read, informative way. He also gives practical advice on how to combat the problem of cadmium poisoning. He gives tips on what foods to avoid and what foods to stock up on.

The alien themed story was unoriginal. Many of its subplots were borrowed from other existing stories. I became bored with the book. The end of the book was completely unsatisfying. It made me wish that the author had rather just focused on writing a nonfiction book presenting his well-researched cadmium poisoning facts. I think the author tried to present what he thinks is wrong with society through this alien themed story. I agree with a lot of the things he pointed out. If only the story was more interesting.

The way the book is written, aside from the weakly executed plot, made reading it a long drag. The dialogue between characters was stiff and did not feel natural. Characters were one dimensional and noncomplex, the good were presented like they are perfect, the bad were presented as purely bad and stupid, all except one character. The characters could have been more interesting. I could not relate with a single one. Again I emphasize that the author should have just written a nonfiction book. Because of this I’m going to rates this book 2 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to those who would like to learn about cadmium poisoning and its deadly effects.

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Heaven and Earth
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[Manang Muyang]

This is scary. How many of us are voluntarily imbibing poison?

Thanks for sharing your learnings, LadyPudu.