The Quatermass Book-Reading Marathon Blog: Going Fourth

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Book 15...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Bodysnatchers by Mark Morris


After Virgin Publishing's right to publish original Doctor Who stories expired, BBC Books took over, with, like Virgin, two distinct series of books. One of them looked at new stories for past Doctors, while the other continued the adventures of the Eighth Doctor, who only appeared in one televised adventure. So, early on in the run of these novels is a gruseome tale set in Victorian London...

The Doctor and Samantha 'Sam' Jones land in 1894 London, only to shortly encounter a man fleeing for his life from, he claims, the very devil himself. The man is promptly consumed by a giant monster, and the Doctor and Sam, in order to corroborate their identities, turn to the Doctor's old friend, pathologist Professor Litefoot. There is evil at work, for bodies are being taken from their graves for a purpose only businessman Nathanial Seers seems to know, and Seers has much changed, for the worse. Having encountered an old friend in Litefoot, it also seems that the Doctor is about to face an enemy he has faced before, one that can shift its shape and has organic technology. The Zygons have arrived in London, and they have plans for the Earth...

I have to admit, I did enjoy Terror of the Zygons when I watched it. They were an interesting creature, the Zygons, and it had an interesting theory regarding the Loch Ness Monster. But I have to wonder, was another story involving them that necessary? Still, as stories go, The Bodysnatchers isn't too bad. A bit staid and more reliant on graphic descriptions than necessary, and the title, although pivotal initially, becomes a little less relevant (unless you count the Zygons' shape-shifting abilities). The story, disappointingly, is rather simple at the end, although there is an examination of the Doctor's supposed moral superiority, when he makes a couple of fatal mistakes, and it is certainly an entertaining-enough romp.

The characters are perhaps most disappointing. The Doctor and Sam's relationship seems dangerously close to the point of collapse, and the Doctor seems to get knocked unconscious a ridiculous amount of times (he even acknowledges it as a 'friend', so to speak), but is otherwise fairly decent. Sam's okay, but a bit feisty and too willing to deconstruct the Doctor's heroism. George Litefoot makes a welcome return, and feels like the same character from The Talons of Weng-Chiang. The Zygons are decently written, with some intriguing new revelations about their culture (with one particular point explaining away neatly why the Zygons won't listen to the Doctor's reasonable offer to help them).

While not bad, The Bodysnatchers is only above average for a Doctor Who novel. It's one mostly for the fans of the show and for fans of Victoriana. But try it if you can...


8/10


First words: By rights the man in the corner of the room should not have been there at all.

Last words: 'Mind you, in this universe anything is possible.'

Book 16...

REVIEW: Soul Eater volume 3: Rip off the pitch-black SOUL by Atsushi Ohkubo


It's perhaps worth noting that I get a lot of the books that I read and review here from my local library, and availability often dictates what I can review. I managed to get the first three volumes of the Soul Eater manga from the library, though further volumes are on order and not in the system. So, I conclude my foray into the franchise, after a decent first volume and a rather average second one, with the third volume. Would it fare any better?

After the encounter with Crona and Crona's living weapon Ragnarok, Soul has been incapacitated, suffering from strange dreams due to contamination with the black blood from Ragnarok and Crona. While Maka waits anxiously for Soul's recovery, unaware that the nurse treating him, Medusa, is actually a witch, Death the Kid and Black Star investigate the legendary weapon Excalibur, only to find that not everything about the weapon is what it seems. Then, Black Star and his weapon, Tsubaki, head to a village where Black Star's ninja tribe is hated, in order to hunt down a dangerous kishin who Tsubaki knows all too well. And finally, Medusa the witch has her plans for Soul, not to mention the other Meisters and their weapons, but finds herself opposed by two other witches, who are sure that Medusa will bring about the destruction of all witches. But can they succeed in stopping the malevolent witch? Or does Medusa have some really sinister tricks up her sleeve, tricks that she is willing to use on her own kind?

After the disappointment of the second volume, I feel that either the author is raising his game, or else I am warming more to the franchise. The former seems more likely, as there is an attempt to bring more fresh humour into the series (the weapon Excalibur being a case in point), but also some more serious drama. In a two-part story, the focus is on the pasts of Black Star and Tsubaki, and we learn why they actually partner with each other, doing a lot to redeem the character of the supremely irritating Black Star and giving Tsubaki, usually quite demure, a time to shine. We also learn a little more about the witch culture, and one of the witch characters, Eruka Frog, seems to be the right mix of a comical, unassuming appearance and rather strong willpower, even if, in the end, her efforts against Medusa prove ultimately futile. The story is really little more than unsophisticated popcorn, but we finally start to see the beginnings of something more complex, and it is certainly entertaining.

The artwork, as usual, is dark and macabrely funny, suitable to Soul Eater's style of humour. In fact, it still seems appropriate, even when not appearing in a dark and grim place, such as the village Black Star and Tsubaki enter, as well as the realm within the Uncanny Sword later within that story. The design of the new characters is interesting as well.

Overall, the third volume of Soul Eater was an improvement on its predecessors. Pretty good for what it is, it shows potentially good things for the future of the series...


8.5/10


First words: .........

Last words: ...I wanna see a good comedy.

Book 17...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: Sting of the Zygons by Stephen Cole


So, ironically enough, not long after I have finished one Doctor Who spinoff novel involving the Zygons, I have now read another. The first, Mark Morris' The Bodysnatchers, was a more horrific story set in Victorian London and taking place during the Eighth Doctor's travels, while this one, Sting of the Zygons by Stephen Cole (who cowrote the very excellent Doctor Who novel The Ancestor Cell), is set in Edwardian times and taking place during the Tenth Doctor's travels with Martha. How would the latter compare against the former, then?

In the Lakes District in the north of England, a strange beast has been wreaking havoc. The ghost of a little girl haunts the area. When the Doctor and Martha arrive, they encounter Victor Meredith, who is joining a hunt for this beast, a hunt that King Edward VII intends to join later. Based at the estate of naturalist Lord Haleston, the Doctor soon finds out that another of the beast's kind, dead at the lake shore, is a Skarasen, which means that the Zygons are not far away. And they have probably taken the forms of humans in the area. But these Zygons are different: they are desperate, they are in danger, and as the Doctor discovers, that is when they are at their most dangerous...

The biggest difference between this story and The Bodysnatchers can be summed up quite simply: Sting of the Zygons is more entertaining. Mark Morris, the writer of the earlier work, was more of a horror writer, and while horror remains part of the arsenal of Doctor Who stories, it felt a little out of place. However, Stephen Cole knows how to write for the series perhaps better, as both the admittedly bleak The Ancestor Cell and this book shows. This actually feels right and could even be a television episode, and the Zygons are very well used and characterised, with their motives and motivations more sympathetic.

The Doctor and Martha are written fine, as are the rest of the characters. Nothing spectacular, but one is kept guessing as to who is being imitated by Zygons, and the Zygons themselves are portrayed in a more realistic and even sympathetic light than in The Bodysnatchers. On the whole, this story seems like a much better vehicle for the Zygons than The Bodysnatchers, and even the Skarasen is better used as a plot device.

If there is a fault for Sting of the Zygons, it is one that quite a few Doctor Who original novels have. They basically read like novelised television stories, with characters placed here and there to move the plot along, and the plot itself is rather singular. Fast-paced and entertaining, but still not as sophisticated as some of the New Adventures and Missing Adventures novels.

Still, Sting of the Zygons is an interesting contrast to The Bodysnatchers, and of the two novels, is by far the most superior in entertainment value. This is not to denigrate The Bodysnatchers, but if I had to recommend either one of these, I'd go for Sting of the Zygons.



9/10


First words: The beast appeared with a shrieking roar.

Last words: 'The more impossible, the better!'

Book 18...

REVIEW: Neon Genesis Evangelion, volume 12 by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto


One of the most traumatising films I have ever watched (and voluntarily, at that) was the movie conclusion of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Dark, bleak, horrific, and unrelenting, The End of Evangelion, while more definitively conclusive to the series than the original finale and answering more questions, was nonetheless one of the most disturbing experiences of my life. With the manga series finally approaching the end, and with volume 12 set to be either the penultimate volume, or else not far removed from it, it has arrived at the events of The End of Evangelion, and covers most of the first half. But will this story be any better than the movie?

SEELE has ordered that the Japanese government storm NERV, kill all the personnel inside, and capture the Evas. Desperate to save the lives of the pilots, Misato orders the comatose Asuka be put into Eva Unit 02 as her best defence, while she looks for Shinji and Rei. But it is Gendo, using the powers of Adam's body he ingested, who saves Shinji, and tells him exactly what he wants, and why. With the JSSDF massacring everyone inside NERV HQ, the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Sohryu. But can they muster up the will to fight, even in the light of overwhelming odds? Will the Eva Series, vast monstrosities that are autopiloted Evas, succeed in killing all who oppose SEELE? And can anyone stop the plans of both SEELE and Gendo Ikari? The end draws near, but whether it is the end of the world, or the end of the plans of those who wish for Godhood, remains to be seen...

Damn. After the initial foray into the storyline of The End of Evangelion (and with a much better version of an infamous scene involving Shinji and Asuka in a hospital, redeeming Shinji as a character in the process) in the previous volume, it is now that we begin to see not only differences, but improvements. While many aspects are as horrific as the movie (unarmed and clearly unwilling to fight NERV personnel being gunned down ruthlessly, even sadistically, by JSSDF soldiers), there are also many marked improvements, including a much more detailed explanation about how the Angels came to be than even the movie stated.

Neon Genesis Evangelion's strength has been in its characters, and while still rather dark, you actually begin to feel hope that, maybe, things will be different this time. Misato's handling of Shinji is much better, and indeed, Shinji's angst seems a little more manageable and even understandable. Misato even gets a rather better end than she did in the movie. Gendo Ikari's full motives are finally revealed, and while it is chilling to hear both his nihilism and his jealousy for Shinji, it is actually a relief to finally have his motivation completely out in the open, making us both detest him and pity him, but it helps us understand him after so long, and the fact that he saves his son, despite telling him openly that he is jealous of him (for Yui's affections, specifically), is something to behold. And Asuka finally realising where her mother was this whole time is, if anything, more heartwarming than in the film.

The artwork seems to be ramping things up, managing to take its cues from The End of Evangelion without being slavish to it. This is typical of the manga series, but it's particularly noticeable here. But it is excellent, well done, and a tribute to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto.

The faults to this are really that one, this is a continuing manga series, and new people to this are going to be left in the dark, and two, there seems to be too much action to too little story. Most of the story is taken up with action sequences involving either NERV versus the JSSDF, Asuka in Unit 02 versus the JSSDF, or Asuka versus the Eva Series. But even what little storyline is revealed overshadows most of these complaints, as they supplement, or even replace, that which has gone before. And the tone, somehow, feels much more optimistic than The End of Evangelion, simply because of what is happening that feels different. The characters now feel like they are not beyond redemption.

I personally can't wait for the next, and possibly final volume of the manga version of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Perhaps there is going to be a happy ending after all, even if it's going to be earned in blood, sweat, and tears...



9/10


First words: GYAAH!!

Last words: Mom...

Book 19...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The King's Demons by Terence Dudley


In my Doctor Who review blog (which can be found here), I recently watched (for the first time) the intriguing but rather thin two-part pseudohistorical story, The King's Demons. However, I was yet to read the novelisation by the television writer, Terence Dudley. So, having the book in my possession, I decided to read it, and compare notes. This, as it turns out, may have been a mistake...

March 4, 1215. King John is at the castle of Lord Ranulph Fitzwilliam with his champion, Sir Gilles Estram, intending to get more money out of the nearly bankrupt lord, or else dishonour him. During a joust between Estram and Fitzwilliam's son, Hugh, the TARDIS arrives. But the King and Estram seem unsurprised, with the King proclaiming the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough to be his demons. Invited to the castle, the Doctor realises that the King should be in London to take the Crusader's Oath, and something is very wrong. What has happened to the King? Who really is Estram? And can it be that someone is trying to interfere with the signing of Magna Carta?

The television story was interesting, but rather average by Doctor Who standards, and filled with historical inaccuracy. I was hoping that the novelisation would actually expand the plot enough so that it would be more interesting, as well as address some of the more egregious historical stuff-ups. Unfortunately, not only does it turn out to be not the case, but the novelisation is in fact worse. I know that the novelisations are, technically, children's books, but I would have thought that by this time in the Target Books run, they would have been a little more sophisticated, especially one story that was in dire need of expansion.

Terence Dudley's prose is decently interesting enough, with good use of language, and he even manages to expand on the motives of some characters, as well as add little touches to scenes that needed some clarification, as well as saving the life of a character who dies onscreen. However, this is marred by Dudley's refusal to elaborate on why King John is supposedly a good man who wanted Magna Carta as much as the barons did. His characterisation of the Doctor is actually mildly appalling, making him not only more flippant and superior than he is onscreen, but also rather chauvinistic if not actually misogynistic. He seems far more exasperated by his companions than he often seems to be onscreen, and Tegan's characterisation suffers. Maybe Dudley was somewhat misogynistic himself. It might explain something of why he wrote Tegan the way he did.

The King's Demons isn't that bad, but it's a rather disappointingly average book which has masses of squandered potential. A disappointing novelisation that grates, but is still an averagely entertaining book.


7.5/10


First words: The King tore the meat from the bone with his teeth and grunted his way through the mouthful of food with satisfaction.

Last words: 'London Airport.'

Book 20...

REVIEW: The Sandman volume 5: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman et al


I came to the Sandman series of graphic novels some time ago, when I was beginning to branch out with my interests. However, I stopped with the fourth volume of the series, along with the Death spin-off graphic novels. Now I have come back, but this high concept series isn't always to my taste. Would A Game of You be to my taste, or not?

Barbie is a young woman with a rich fantasy world in her dreams. But those dreams have become invaded by a malevolent entity known as the Cuckoo, and its servants are trying to murder her. While Morpheus receives word of one of the dreamworlds collapsing, Barbie's friends and acquaintances, including pre-op transwoman Wanda, the enigmatic Thessaly, and the couple Hazel and Foxglove, must embark on a dangerous mission. But can they save the fantasy world of Barbie's dreams, and Barbie herself?

The Sandman is a very high-concept series, but it also juxtaposes it with rather disturbing imagery, and there is quite some disturbing imagery, particularly with Narnia and Lewis Carrol-esque anthropomorphic fantasy animal characters dying messily, and Thessaly cutting an adversary's face off and his tongue out and nailing it to a wall to interrogate the adversary. And while this is part and parcel, it's this combined with the obscurity of the storyline and the mostly absent titular character of Morpheus that brings it down in my estimation. The art is good, but grotesque at times.

The characters are varied and interesting, but I wonder if Neil Gaiman was really out to write provocative characters in the lesbian couple of Hazel and Foxglove and the pre-op transwoman Wanda, or was just using provocation for the hell of it. The former was in all likelihood his intention, but the latter seems to come across. However, they also have lovely resolutions to their character arcs. Thessaly is an interesting creation, as is the Cuckoo, though I feel they should have been explored better, considering.

Perhaps it's because I've been away from the series for so long, or perhaps it's my natural aversion to the grotesque, but while A Game of You is good, it's dragged down to average by a sometimes hard to fathom plot and one too many grotesqueries.


7.5/10


First words: "What will we do, Prinado?"

Last words: And that's all.

Book 21...

REVIEW: The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh


Doctor Who has often been inspired by other works, but while these usually extend to other science fiction and even horror works, occasionally, the inspirations for other stories is a little more mundane. Revelation of the Daleks, which I recently reviewed in my Doctor Who review thread, was one such story, inspired, in part, by Evelyn Waugh's satirical novella The Loved One. But will this expose of the American Way of Death and those working for it be as entertaining?

Dennis Barlow is an English poet living in Los Angeles, working as a pet mortician, while his uncle works for a movie studio. When the studio abruptly dumps him, Barlow's uncle commits suicide. While making arrangements for the funeral, Barlow makes his way to Whispering Glades, an indulgent necropolis with something for everyone. There, he meets the enchanting but naive Aimee Thanatogenos, who detests the pet funeral business Barlow works for, and Mr Joyboy, an expert embalmer who desires Aimee's love. A love triangle is brewing, one that will end in disaster...

The Loved One calls itself an 'Anglo-American Tragedy', but it's more of a tragicomic satire with what at the time must have been the darkest of comedy. As a novella, it is rather short, and its characters not always as well-developed as I would have liked. Dennis Barlow, ostensibly a protagonist, is actually rather hypocritical as time goes on, Aimee Thanatogenos comes across as shrill, and Joyboy is a rather tragic figure who lives with his mother.

And yet, despite some shortcomings and a longer time to get to the plot, this is actually quite a good book. One can see where Eric Saward not only got his characters for his Doctor Who story, but also the satirisation of the funeral business that appears in Revelation of the Daleks. The Loved One mocks all that is cheap, shallow, and superficial about the funeral business, and while most of the venom is directed against American society (via the funeral business for both animals and humans, the movie industry, and so on), British society, especially British expats living in America, also come under withering scorn as well. Darkly funny and tragic, at the same time. The language is rather flowery, but works given the darkly comic atmosphere.

In the end, while not as impressive (to me) as the story it inspired, The Loved One is nonetheless a very pleasant surprise to me personally. Darkly funny and interesting, it makes me wonder about our ways of death.


8.5/10


First words: All day the heat had been barely supportable but at evening a breeze arose in the west, blowing from the heat of the setting of the sun and from the ocean, which lay unseen, unheard behind the scrubby foothills.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

BTW, the next book will probably be The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov. I'm almost finished.

Book 22...

REVIEW: The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov


In all my time reading science fiction, I have never read the works of Isaac Asimov. God knows I've had plenty of opportunity, but I've never really availed myself. However, my interest in his works grew over time, and eventually, I decided to dip a tentative toe into one of his best-known works, and certainly one of the first to deal with the laws of robotics. This, then, is one of the first and most successful meldings of science fiction and mystery: this is The Caves of Steel...

Three thousand years into the future, and almost all of humanity left on Earth are living in gigantic domed cities, caves of steel that hold large metropolises. Many of the inhabitants haven't seen the outside world. Many of them wouldn't cope, given strong agoraphobia. However, tensions are rising with a group of colonists from other worlds colonised by humanity, the Spacers, apparently intending to introduce robots into society. But robots have no real legal status. They are just machines. But when prominent Spacer Roj Sarton is murdered, in all likelihood by a native City dweller, Police Commissioner Enderby is forced to share the investigation with the Spacers. He assigns Elijah Baley, who, detesting robots, is not happy when the Spacer he has been assigned to work with is a robot, R Daneel Olivaw. But the investigation into Sarton's death is soon turning nasty. Medievalists, people who wish to return to a life without the domed Cities, and who are violently opposed to robots, seem to know where Elijah and Daneel are. The Spacers have an agenda of their own. And soon, Elijah cannot trust anyone, not his family, not his colleagues, and not even his new partner...

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way, first. The Caves of Steel is frankly old-fashioned. I mean, seriously, would a plainclothes police officer's strongest expletive be "Jehosophat!", hmm? And there are quite a few old-fashioned words and terms, not to mentioned scientific knowledge marching on (like what would qualify as overpopulation, given the current state of affairs), and there aren't enough clues, I feel, as to the true identity of the murderer, unless you really pay attention. That is a fault shared by standard mysteries, though.

That all being said, The Caves of Steel, despite the old-fashioned terms and dated science, is a surprisingly timeless book. Despite the short length, it manages to pack in character and rather surprisingly realistic politics between the City dwellers, and the colonist descendants known as the Spacers. The characters of Elijah Baley and R Daneel Olivaw are interesting enough, as are the various other characters. There is even some background to life in the City (pretty much stated to have grown out of New York), such as a delinquent game called "running the strips".

The mystery itself has enough twists and turns, and actually is a good example of a mystery in a science fiction setting. Asimov apparently wrote this as a response to John W Campbell's assertion that mystery and science fiction were incompatible genres, due to being able to invent things that the reader may not know about. As Asmiov proved, this is not necessarily the case, with one clue more or less stated from the beginning, even if its significance doesn't become apparent until much later, and plenty of red herrings. This is still, at heart, a detective story with recognisible features.

The Caves of Steel was an excellent first foray into the world of Asimov for me. An old book, but still a relatively fresh one, old-fashioned trappings aside.


9/10


First words: Lije Bailey had just reached his desk when he became aware of R. Sammy watching him expectantly.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)


Just for a bit of added value, in case anyone is still following this thread, here is a compilation of clips I found on YouTube. The BBC did an adaptation of The Caves of Steel in 1964, with Terry Nation (the man who created the Daleks, Survivors, and Blake's 7) adapting it. Unfortunately, the play no longer exists, except for a few excerpts. And yes, that is Peter Cushing playing Elijah Baley.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3HXyJhXpPo[/youtube]

Now, for any of those still reading this, my next book will probably be Agatha H and the Airship City, the first Girl Genius novelisation, and I am hoping to read and review High Rise by JG Ballard.

If you read and liked Ender's Game, try the book Ender's Shadow. It is a parallel to Ender's Game, though it is told from the point of view of Bean, one of Ender's lieutenants.

Another good series that I'm not sure if you have read is the Dragonriders of Pern novels by Anne (and later her son, Todd) McCaffrey. They are set on the planet Pern, and are full of many mad adventures. If you go for any of that series, try the first written (Dragonflight) or the first chronologically (Dragonsdawn). Both will give you very unique perspectives on the world of Pern. A good site about the Dragonriders of Pern can be found here.

I haven't finished Ender's Game. I've lost the motivation to read it. I may come back to it later, but not now.

As for Anne McCaffrey, I have read some of her books, particularly Acorna: The Unicorn Girl, Sassinak, The Ship Who Sang and The Ship Who Searched, but I have no desire to read the Pern series.

Please don't make recommendations in this thread. I have recently posted a thread for such things, and I am specific about recommendations in that. If you post a recommendation here unsolicited, it is more than likely that I'll reject it, and last time that happened, the person got shirty.

Actually, I do want a recommendation from you, which I will also post in the recommendations thread. What Isaac Asimov books would you recommend after The Caves of Steel?

Book 23...

REVIEW: Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil and Kaja Foglio


I only came into the Girl Genius comics relatively recently, and have actually enjoyed myself with this steampunk fantasy series about the adventures of Agatha and her motley companions. But although I enjoyed the webcomic, I found that I was reluctant to get the printed graphic novels, partly because of the cost. However, the Foglios have seen fit, for reasons of their own, to release a novelisation of the first three volumes of the Girl Genius series: Agatha H and the Airship City. But is it any good?

The time is a time when mad scientists rule the world. Badly, for the most part. Europe is now mostly under the iron fist of Baron Klaus Wulfenbach, a pragmatic tyrant. His former allies, the adventure-seekers Bill and Barry Heterodyne, have disappeared, apparently while trying to fight the mysterious being known only as the Other. And young Agatha Clay is a student at Transylvania Polygnostic University. She's clumsy, she gets frequent headaches, she can't build anything worth a damn, and yet, Dr Beetle, the Tyrant of Beetleburg, favours her. But a chance encounter with some thieves, followed by an explosive confrontation between Wulfenbach and Beetle, sets Agatha unwittingly on a course to discover her destiny. For Agatha has the Spark, the essence of mad genius all mad scientists have, and the thieves stole the one thing keeping it in check. One of the thieves is mistaken for a Spark, and Agatha for his lover, and they are both taken to the vast airship of Castle Wulfenbach. There, Agatha meets the intimidating Von Pinn, talking cat Krosp, and Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer. But Agatha's time may be running out. Wulfenbach's son, Gilgamesh, knows Agatha has the Spark, and while Gil may be the one of the few allies Agatha has, Agatha herself may set off a chain of events that threatens to bring Baron Wulfenbach's empire down, just by existing...

I'm actually surprised at how well the comics actually translated to written prose. Indeed, the story is, at times, enhanced by this. Nuances that may have been hard to pick up in the comic are stated outright, and we even have background to many of the characters, who are often well-developed (even the main antagonist, Baron Wulfenbach, is not actually a full villain, openly expressing disgust at having to rule Europe for its stability). The humour doesn't come across as explicitly as it does in the comic, though this may be due to the immediacy of the comic's visual representation compared to written prose.

The story is certainly explained not only well enough for beginners to the Girl Genius universe to pick up what needs to be learnt, but also may give some surprises to old hands at the series. It's also sufficiently self-contained, given that it covers the first three volumes, up to Agatha's escape from Castle Wulfenbach, so while it ends with Agatha in mid-flight from Castle Wulfenbach, it still has a relatively conclusive note, enough for the purposes of this book.

If this book has any faults, well, it's partly the fact that steampunk may not necessarily be for everyone. It is also the first in a series, a series which is still continuing in webcomic form and without all the answers, and so some things in the book to a non-fan, such as why Agatha seems to be able to command the revenants and Slaver Wasps, remain obscure. The prose itself doesn't seem to live quite up to the excitement promised in the motto (ADVENTURE! ROMANCE! MAD SCIENCE!), although really, this is a minor quibble. The Foglios' strength is more in the comic medium rather than in the literary, and even then, their writing has a verve and pace to it that, while not as frenetic as it promised, is still good.

Agatha H and the Airship City, then, is a good introduction for the casual reader into the world of Girl Genius. Not for everyone, but you could do worse than reading this interesting and even funny story.


9/10


First words: In a small clearing, an intricate device of glass and metal tubes scanned the night skies.

Last words: "Let's go cause some trouble."

Book 24...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Gunfighters by Donald Cotton


During the William Hartnel years of Doctor Who, a number of historicals were written with a certain touch of comedy about them. The Gunfighters by Donald Cotton was one of them, adding a touch of comedy (not to mention some historical inaccuracy) to the events at the OK Corral. Although I am yet to watch this story (though it won't be far off, that day), I have managed to obtain the novelisation...

Ned Buntline, enterprising journalist, has tracked down Doc Holliday, dying of tuberculosis, to a sanitorium, and asks him about some inconsistencies in the accounts of the gunfight at the OK Corral at Tombstone. The former gunfighter and dentist agrees to tell all, telling the story about how the Doctor, along with his companions Steven and Dodo, arrive in Tombstone. The Doctor, in dire need of a dentist, finds Holliday, while Steven and Dodo, delighted to be in the Old West and trying to find accomodation, end up at the Last Chance Saloon. There, the Clanton brothers and gunman Seth Harper, planning to kill Holliday for Holliday's killing of Reuben Clanton, and they are sure that the Doctor that Steven and Dodo speak of is Doc Holliday. And Holliday himself is about to contribute to that, using the Doctor as a decoy. What follows is a series of misunderstandings, escalating into death, as events spiral towards the inevitable: the gunfight at the OK Corral...

I'm not sure that the framing device of this novelisation is necessary, but it's probably better than the Ballad used in the actual story (which I heard becomes irritating). That being said, this story, while a little singular (it is a novelisation of a Doctor Who story, and they're not known for complexity), is enjoyable and with lashings of sardonic observation on both sides of the Tombstone dispute.

The characters are entertaining too, with touches that, I think, were added to the novelisation. Johnny Ringo, instead of just being a thug, is one who wishes to better himself by reading the classics, spouting Latin phrases and loose (but still accurate) translations of them and Ike Clanton has a tendency to spout mangled metaphors. There's even a darkly amusing incident where the Doctor accidentally shoots and kills two gunfighters at the OK Corral, while shooting Doc Holliday's dentist sign in revenge for Holliday's trickery against him.

Not the best, but still a fairly good and entertaining novel, something that can easily be used to kill time with. The Gunfighters may not be historically accurate or complex, but it's good enough.


8.5/10


First words: The Sanatorium at Glenview Springs, Colorado, was never a place you'd visit for your health: but, at least, the management could arrange for you to die there in some sort of comfort; which is better, to my way of thinking, than meeting your Maker in some gun-loud back alley, without the benefit of booze.

Last words: And I can't say I'm the least bit surprised.

Next, I'll be reviewing Brother Termite. I have also gotten back into reading Little Dorrit.

Book 25...

REVIEW: Brother Termite by Patricia Anthony


I have to admit, I never actually watched Avatar. In fact, the main reason why I bought the 3-disc special edition of the movie was to watch the special features, as I was more interested in how James Cameron actually made the movie. In a sequence where they discussed Cameron's development of the facial motion capture system, they showed a clip from Brother Termite, a short film showing a Grey alien interacting with a human. At the time, I thought it an original script, but I later found out that it was actually a novel that Cameron had optioned. So when I stumbled across the novel, I decided to try it...

The USA has been effectively controlled by aliens for over a century, since the time of Eisenhower, and one of them, Reen-ja, is Chief of Staff to the current president, Jeff Womack. And he controls Womack, while his race make plans, not only for the fate of their own species, but that of humanity. But Reen is troubled when things start to go wrong, when his fellow Cousins begin to disappear, and one of them appears to be plotting against him, claiming that his fraternisation with humans is making him impure. And humans seem to be preparing a plot of their own, and even gradual sterilisation and a viral doomsday weapon may not be able to stop them...

Patricia Anthony manages to succeed not only in creating an intriguing world, but also one where the protagonist, while indubitably of extremely doubtful morality, is still sympathetic. Reen's race intends to wipe out humanity by degrees while using human genes to strengthen their own, and yet, probably because the novel is wirtten from his point of view, and so masterly, that you still feel for him, despite all that happens. The characters are interesting, if a little thinner than I would like, and some of the history isn't stated as explicitly as I would personally like.

While the story is a good one, there were times when I was at a loss to understand some parts of it, and while much of it does get explained in the end, I have to wonder whether my lack of comprehension has to do with my style of reading, or with Anthony's writing. And the plot is a little singular, in the end, for something that is meant to be about political intrigue.

All in all, though, Brother Termite was a diverting read and an intriguing one. It has a rather depressing outlook and ending, but it is still good.


8.5/10


First words: The bulletproof glass in the Oval Office windows cast a gloom over the day, the sort of greenish pall associated with bad storms.

Last words: You are.

Book 26...

REVIEW: Claymore, volume 1: Silver-eyed Slayer by Norihiro Yagi


I'm not that much of a manga fan. I mean, I like some manga and anime, but I don't go out of my way to read every one in a particular genre. Juts if something catches my eye, I have a look-see. So while I have heard of Claymore for some time, it has taken me until now to actually try it out. But was it worth it?

In a world beseiged by human-eating monstrosities called Yoma, an organisation has created hybrid warrior women dubbed 'Claymores' by the populace. Despite their frail-looking bodies, each of them hides a powerful warrior. The Claymore known as Clare is dispatched to a village that has a Yoma hiding in the family of local boy Raki. Impressed by the girl's abilities, Raki follows the young warrior. But Claymores hide even more secrets than Raki dare suspect...

Okay, as stories go, there aren't really many hints of anything big to come. I know that there are, but as far as volume 1 is concerned, it is just a rather thin adventure story. An enjoyable one, mind and with nice, if thin on the ground, characters (though already we're getting hints of depth for the otherwise emotionless Clare), but still not as promising as it should be. It seems more introductory than meaty.

The artwork is decent, though most of the faces appear to be variations on a theme rather than having any true variety. However, the illustrations for the battle are excellent and filled to the brim with action. And the landscapes are good.

Overall, Claymore was enjoyable, but I was left wanting, especially by the story. This volume, the first, seems more about world-building than anything else. Perhaps subsequent volumes will be an improvement.


8/10


First words: GRAH!

Last words: ...THAT is our reason for being.