The Quatermass Book Marathon Blog: Seventh Heaven

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Book 36...

REVIEW: The Sandman, volume 10: The Wake by Neil Gaiman et al


Now, I come to the last volume of The Sandman. It has been a journey of many years, wading through Neil Gaiman's famous series. But will the ending, showing the aftermath of Dream of the Endless' death, live up to what has happened so far?

Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, is dead. But in his place is Daniel Hall, son of the woman who caused Dream's end. As he comes to grips with the fact that he is now Dream, and begins reviving the Kindly Ones' victims, the funeral and wake for his predecessor begins. Friends and foes alike come to mourn Dream, and his family, the Endless, make their farewells...

The story is merely wrapping up the last loose ends of the series, and is a rather touching work, albeit not quite up to the heights attained by The Kindly Ones. There are three additional stories after the actual Wake story: one that looks at Hob Gadling, an immortal recurring character in the series, another at an otherwise unknown Chinese character, and one showing Shakespeare writing his last play, The Tempest, for Dream at the end of Shakespeare's career. The stories are good, and are, in the end, a decent ending to the series.

There is a large cast of characters here, all to say their peace about Dream's passing. I find it a pity that Daniel Hall wasn't developed longer, as he is an intriguing Dream. Hob Gadling and Shakespeare in their respective stories are also fascinating. The artwork, while variable, does suit the stories.

The Wake is the last in the series of The Sandman, and while not the best, it still continues the high standards of the series right to the end.


9/10

First words: And it came to pass that a messenger was sent out to each member of the family.

Last words: (Not included due to spoilers.)

Book 37...

REVIEW: Game On: The History and Culture of Videogames edited by Lucien King


Not long ago, I attended the Game On exhibition when it came to Brisbane. It was an intriguing look at the history behind video games, and I wish that I spent some more time at it. But I managed to get a hold of a companion book that was released to accompany the exhibition, and I have read it, and now prepare to review it...

Game On's companion book is a collection of essays about the history of video and computer games, detailing not only the origins of this medium, but also many aspects of the cultural impact of games, as well as key elements of the games themselves. Character design, violence, and stories are all discussed in this volume.

I have to confess that Game On, while glossy and interesting, seemed rather piecemeal and lacking in substance to me. This is more to do with the fact that it is an illustrated essay book rather than a slightly more serious and scholarly work. That is not to say it isn't scholarly, only that it lacks a certain amount of substance.

That being said, its scope is broad, and there is enough to interest video game fans. There are some tidbits about video game history that may surprise some, and there are some interesting analyses of games. I just wish it was more substantial.

Game On, then, is a glossy and colourful, and certainly informative piece of work. I just wish it was more substance over style.


8.5/10

First words: We are now in the fifth decade of the history of videogames.

Last words: The line between play and combat has never become less clear; before long we may well see the final collapse of the wall that divides the real from the imaginary.

Book 38...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Wheel of Ice by Stephen Baxter

Previously, I read my first Stephen Baxter book fully for the first time. Admittedly, The Long Earth was cowritten with Terry Pratchett. But now, Stephen Baxter joins a line of well-known British authors who have recently written novels based on Doctor Who, including Michael Moorcock, and Dan Abnett, whose entries (Rise of the Terraphiles and The Silent Stars Go By) I have read and reviewed for this book-reading blog. This one, however, is unusual in that the celebrity writer is actually writing for an older incarnation of the Doctor, the Second, to be precise, so if nothing else, the book will be relatively novel...

The TARDIS is drawn to a hole in time near Saturn, and end up some time in the 21st Century, not long after the T-Mat incident involving the Ice Warriors, but still in companion Zoe's past. On the Saturnian moon of Mnemosyne, a vast artifical structure, nicknamed the Wheel of Ice, has been set up by Bootstrap Incorporated, to mine minerals, including the valuable bernalium. But due to consumption of resources, even children have to work, giving rise to rebellious undercurrents in the residents of the Wheel of Ice. Mysterious incidents of theft and sabotage have plagued this colony for some time, and Bootstrap's representative, Florian Hart, is beginning to tighten the screws. The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe arrive, and, of course, are treated with suspicion. But the children of the Wheel of Ice know that the incidents are caused by mysterious 'Blue Dolls'. What are the Blue Dolls? What links them to a long-dead civilization, and a threat to the solar system itself? And between the viciously autocratic Florian and the mysterious Arkive, can the Doctor prevent disaster?

While the story is very much a modern one, and further muddies the waters of Doctor Who's already turbid continuity (the story is set after The Seeds of Death, but claims that The Wheel in Space, Zoe's debut story, takes place after this story from normal time's point of view), it is nonetheless an enjoyable one. The links with previous and future stories are welcome, if slightly obsessive, it is an excellent melding of what I have seen in Baxter's style and the mythos of Doctor Who, and it's a complex story that nonetheless feels like it could have been done if they had the budget. It feels vaguely like a story that Malcolm Hulke and Gerry Davis would have collaborated on.

The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe all feel like they would have been on the screen perfectly, with Jamie getting an unusual but fitting subplot with him falling in with the rebellious children of Mnemosyne. He shows the mixture of the constraints of his past as well as his adaptability to the future, with his conversations with Glaswegian AI MMAC funny. Zoe and the Doctor are a little less developed, but excellent all the same. Other characters are good, but the major standouts are the villainous Floriana Hart, the cheerful Glaswegian AI MMAC, as well as Josephine and Phee Laws.

While not perfect, The Wheel of Ice is actually excellent. More classic series stories should be written, and if they can be as high quality as this one and Gareth Roberts' novelisation of Shada, then that is great.

9.5/10

First words: Resilience.

Last words: 'What's that?'

Book 39...

REVIEW: Game Over: Press Start to Continue by David Sheff, with additional material by Andy Eddy


Not long ago, I read a fairly recent and whimsical, but informative history of Nintendo, called Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. Having enjoyed it, I decided to go and look at one of the books that informed that one, David Sheff's Game Over, albeit in the last, 1999 edition with new material by Andy Eddy. But how would I find this predecessor to the later book?

Game Over tells the story of the history of Nintendo from its beginnings as a playing card company to the Nineties, when its dominance of the video game industry was being challenged by Sega and Sony. Throughout, its business practises, good and bad, are laid bare, and how it treats others in the industry.

While Super Mario, with some notable exceptions, was a more glowing tribute to Nintendo (and is more up-to-date), Game Over, while not completely scathing, is somewhat more critical, showing more detail to Nintendo's less admirable practises. There is significant overlap between the two, with incidents and people shared between the books, and the main differences are attitude and perspective. Game Over is not flattering to Nintendo, but is not a fully searing indictment.

However, the book is far more informative and indepth than Super Mario. In the end, it's enjoyable, and certainly something of an education on the video games industry in Japan and in America, as well as attitudes to Japanese companies in America. We have the stuff about the Universal lawsuit against Nintendo over Donkey Kong, and Nintendo's apparently shoddy treatment of developers. It is an intriguing and educating book.

Game Over, while a bit scathing of Nintendo, is nonetheless an informative book with merits of its own. It's certainly something every video game fan should read, if they can't get a hold of Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America.

9/10

First words: Most people think video games are kids' stuff, and it is true that in "Super Mario Bros. 3," mushrooms give super strength, enemies have names such as Morton Koopa Jr., and a pudgy, suspendered hero jumps on the heads of Little Goombas.

Last words: 'I'm sure I'll miss that part of it.'

Book 40...

REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises by Greg Cox, from the screenplay by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan, and the story by Christopher Nolan and David S Goyer

One of the films I eagerly awaited last year was the concluding film to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, based on the popular Batman comics. I enjoyed the film, despite some disquieting aspects to it, and so it is natural that I come to the novelisation, to see if there is anything further that could be gained from it...

Eight years ago, Batman took the blame for the murders Harvey Dent perpetrated, and Bruce Wayne hung up the cowl, it seems, for good. And after putting away a number of criminals under the Harvey Dent Act, Commissioner Gordon is soon to be retired. But events are conspiring to bring darkness back to Gotham City. The disaffected are still in the streets, including thief Selina Kyle, aka The Cat, and they wait in awe, fear, and hope of a coming storm that will bring a revolution. But the storm's name is Bane, a feared masked mercenary who has taken control of the League of Shadows, the organisation Bruce Wayne was trained by, and whom he tried to stop from destroying Gotham. Bane has come to finish the job Ra's al Ghul started. Bruce has many allies, old and new, but betrayals and destruction will come to Gotham, and even Batman may not be able to stop them this time...

The story is an excellent one, albeit with some rather right wing emphases that do disturb a little. However, the story is ultimately one of a triumph of good over evil, and order over chaos. It's a faithful reproduction of the film, and while there's only a few noticeable differences, the prose does enhance it beyond the usual novelisation. Just not far enough. There were one or two plot holes from the film that could have been plugged that weren't.

The characters have not as much depth as they could have been for the novelisation, but they are interesting nonetheless. More depth is given to Selina Kyle, but on the other hand, Tom Hardy's jarringly jolly performance as Bane is absent from the page, which isn't a good thing, surprisingly, as I came to enjoy Hardy's performance. Depth is also given to John Blake, and the other characters are given a smattering, if at all.

The Dark Knight Rises, then, is a very good novelisation of a very good film. A pity the author didn't take the opportunity to add more depth to the characters or address the plot holes, but hey, there you go.


9/10

First words: "Harvey Dent was needed."

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 41...

REVIEW: Death: At Death's Door by Jill Thompson, based on The Sandman: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman

Having already finished reading the main storyline of The Sandman, my mind turns to spinoffs. Quite by chance, I found a copy of a spinoff manga-style comic, based on the events of the fourth Sandman volume, Season of Mists. But would it be anywhere near as good as the original series?

A meeting between the Endless ends in chaos when Desire taunts Dream about the lover he had imprisoned in Hell long ago. But while Death chastises Desire, she points out to Dream that Desire had a point, that he did something really unjust. Dream resolves to amend this injustice, but Death soon finds out that Dream's actions have the strangest consequences. Hell has been closed by Lucifer, the key handed over to Dream, and while Dream deals with the various factions struggling over the key to Hell, Death must deal with the damned who have been freed from Hell. Assisted and even hampered by her sisters Delirium and Despair, Death has to deal with not only the newly released damned, but also the people still dying...

One thing that has to be said about this book is that it lacks most, if not almost all, of the intellectual depth of The Sandman. This is disappointing, after the brilliance of Neil Gaiman's writing, and does drag the book down. It's also not much of a story, to tell the truth, which is really more like a comic farce about Death, Despair, and Delirium's increasingly frantic efforts to try and deal with a bad situation. But the comic has plenty of good, if somewhat stereotypically manga-style humour, which although feels out of place in the universe of The Sandman, is still enjoyable. And the story still feels like it could have taken place during the events of Season of Mists, as an abridged version of the events of that story are shown in concert with the main story.

The characters aren't quite what they are like in The Sandman, being a little too manga-esque, with the exception of Dream, who fits the world, and Delirium, who is perfectly written. Death is a little too cheerful, even for her perky goth persona, and Despair is a little less of the sullen, apathetic creature I saw in The Sandman. The artwork is manga-esque to the extreme, but has its own charm at times, and it's intriguing to see the events of a major arc of The Sandman done as a manga.

Death: At Death's Door is disappointing in that it lacks the depth of most Sandman stories, not to mention the overly manga-esque feel. But it is an entertaining work, if nothing else.


8/10

First words: I told him not to do anything stupid!!

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 42...

REVIEW: Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess by Phil and Kaja Foglio


In a previous book-reading blog, I read a most unusual novel. Agatha H and the Airship City was a rare creature in that it was a novelization of a webcomic series, specifically the first three volumes of Girl Genius. For this book-reading blog, I have come to the next novel in the series, recently released, based on the next three volumes...

It is a world ruled by mad scientists. Agatha Clay has just learned that she is the last of the famed Heterodyne family, and has escaped imprisonment at the hands of reluctant dictator Klaus Wulfenbach. Joining a travelling show and managing to fake her death when an unfortunate coincidence occurs, she finds herself amongst strange company indeed. The circus has many secrets, but when they arrive at Sturmhalten, they find even more. Agatha is soon to learn the truth about her heritage in the worst possible way, as she gets caught up in the machinations of Sturmhalten's ruler, Prince Aaronev, and his children, the handsome and manipulative Tarvek, and the vicious Anevka, who interacts with the world through a clockwork robot...

The story of Girl Genius is an excellent and sprawling one, with significant world-building and a lot of humour. While nowhere near perfect, the story is a very entertaining one, and this novel builds on the precedent of the previous one, and expands the world of the story, and clarifies various points that weren't as clear in the comic.

The characters are as they are in the webcomic, and are all entertaining and as well fleshed-out as one can expect. One also gets a few things that weren't as clear in the comic. Agatha is an interesting protagonist who is still coming into her own abilities, while Klaus Wulfenbach is a complex antagonist (one cannot call him a villain at all). Some characters are a little two-dimensional (many of these for comic reasons), and others are ridiculously complex (Tarvek springs to mind).

Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess would be a worthy addition to any Girl Genius fan's library. And even if you haven't seen it, if you think you'd like steampunk books, then give it a try.


9/10

First words: The sun had set, the sideshows had closed, and now the crowd waited expectantly.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

8.5
9
9
9.5
8.5

You sure know how to pick 'em

My points system is somewhat biased, but I also tend to pick books that I know that I will enjoy. 8.5 is average for me, or at least the 'big average'. Only averagely entertaining is 7.5.

Anyway, next review on the way: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

Book 43...

REVIEW: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman


One writer that I have come to enjoy in recent times has been Neil Gaiman. Although I had read much of his work before his well-publicised Doctor Who episode, of late, I have decided to catch up on many other works. Having finally completed reading his famous comic series The Sandman, as well as his children's book Coraline, I have decided to try another of his children's works, The Graveyard Book, an unusual take on Rudyard Kipiling's famous work...

A mysterious man called Jack murders a family, missiong only the adventurous infant boy, who is found and taken in by the Owens, a pair of ghosts living in a nearby graveyard. The Owens and the mysterious Silas agree to bring up the boy to protect him from Jack, and the murderous organisation he is part of. The boy, Nobody 'Bod' Owens has many adventures both inside and outside the graveyard, but sooner or later, he will have to confront his past, as it intersects with his future...

I have never read the original book of The Jungle Book, having only distant memories of watching the Disney film, so I have come to The Graveyard Book with few prejudices or expectations, save for that Neil Gaiman has written a good book. And to be fair, he doesn't disappoint. Gaiman is a dab hand at mixing the macabre with the fantastic, and this feels like this could be done by Tim Burton as a film. The story (or rather stories, as it is a collection of stories) are not particularly deep, but they are enjoyable and well-written, and my only real complaint is that with murder and macabre things present, this feels more like a book for older children.

Bod is an intriguing protagonist, who we follow as he grows up. Silas is himself an intriguing mentor to Bod, as is Miss Lupescu who puts a whole unexpected spin on the nature of...what she is. Jack is a menacing antagonist, but otherwise, most of the other characters are more functional than believable, save for the Lady on the Grey, a typically Gaimanesque take on Death who nonetheless is fairly different and yet similar to Death of the Endless from The Sandman. Oh, and the two schoolchildren that Bod has to deal with are rather frighteningly modern.

The Graveyard Book, then, is typically high quality Gaiman. It's certainly better than Coraline, which is itself surprising, and is, while not typical kids' fare, still very good.


9/10

First words: There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.

Last words: (Not included due to spoilers.)

Book 44...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: Falls the Shadow by Daniel O'Mahoney


The book-reading blogs, as I have noted before, are a good means to try and read books that I haven't managed to get around to, though I have been meaning to. And amongst this number are a lot of Doctor Who books from my personal collection. One of these, that I have had on and off in my collection for years but never read was Falls the Shadow...

The TARDIS is drawn off-course by a mysterious force, and is now stranded at Shadowfell, an estate owned by Professor Jeremy Winterdawn, a man obsessed with experiments in interstitial time. But this is very much a house of horrors, where blood-sucking plants and masked madmen are the least of the obstacles the Doctor, Ace, and Bernice Summerfield will encounter. For Winterdawn's experiments have attracted the attention of a pair of evil entities who intend to remake reality in their own image, and they're utterly psychotic and capricious. And their origins have something to do with a mysterious grey man who is observing events. With the Doctor trapped in interstitial time, Bernice dying, and Ace fighting a woman from a world that never was, who can save the cosmos from the evil Gabriel and Tanith?

Falls the Shadow is an unrelentingly bleak storyline. It's an intelligently conceived one, and at times, it's a little too intelligent for its own good. Some parts of the plot are a little too hard to follow. Indeed, this, plus the theme of a house of horrors makes it not unlike the TV Doctor Who story Ghost Light. Unfortunately, it is too dark and too clever by half, making it a little alienating. However, there are some good concepts, particularly when Cathedral is revealed.

The Doctor and his companions are pushed to their very limit, and are perhaps too dark, I believe, for this point in the New Adventures. Nonetheless, they are good, and indeed, so are many of the other characters, even if they are, for the most part, unrelentingly dark. Tanith and Gabriel are unusual villains in that they relish their psychopathic evil, while the grey man could almost be the Doctor himself, albeit of another race. Truman, Cranleigh, and Page are the more noteworthy characters besides these.

Unfortunately, due to the bleak and rather overly clever writing, Falls the Shadow is only somewhat average by my standards. It's a good book, but seems more like psychological horror than Doctor Who.


8.5/10

First words: Qxeleq would have screamed, had she a mouth.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 45...

REVIEW: Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations by John Ryan et al


Of all the things I could have branched out to in this book-reading blog, a Lonely Planet guide does seems like an oddity. After all, travel books are hard to review without actually travelling. But in this case, I will make an exception. I decided to try a book on the subject of micronations, and see where it takes me.

Micronations are newly established nations that are founded for facetious or even serious reasons, and are generally smaller than the norm, sometimes being only as small as a flat! The Lonely Planet guide to micronations is a firmly tongue-in-cheek, but still serious enough examination of these, from the famous Hutt River Province of Western Australia, founded by a farmer, to Lovely, a country that occupies the London flat of comedian Danny Wallace.

I think in the end that this book, short as it is, is more about the novelty and humour value inherent in many of these micronations. It does have a serious enough air in that it demonstrates how you can gain access to these micronations, but there could have been a little more information, I feel, although the level of humour is just right.

This review is about as small as a micronation, and so I have to say that the book is average by my standards. But give it a whirl, you might get a bit of a giggle, and it is interesting.


8.5/10

First words: Everyone in the world shares a common bond.

Last words: Not much is known about the Principality of Voodice, except that it refuses to tax its citizens and claims to have diplomatic representations with the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Book 46...

REVIEW: The Ultimate History of Video Games by Steven L Kent


In what will probably be the last video game-related history book that I will read and review for this book-reading blog, I have decided to go for a more general book, rather than one focused on Nintendo. While Game Over didn't completely exclude the rest of video game history, it did focus on Nintendo more than anything else. So I come to what is rather pompously titled The Ultimate History of Video Games, and I have to wonder how well it would live up to its name.

The Ultimate History of Video Games tells the story not just of video games, but of the amusement machines of the early 20th century and how they evolved into pinball machines and computer and video games. The book covers up to the turn of the millennium, just as the PlayStation 2, the XBox, and the Gamecube come into play.

As with Game Over, unlike Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America, this book is a more serious book, but unlike Game Over, it has a less critical slant, being more of a history treatise. This doesn't mean that it is dry or uninteresting, despite some lingering on subjects. It discusses the history of gaming machines that preceded video games, as well as the surprisingly early efforts (Pong was not the first video game by any means).

The book is interesting, but there are a shade too many quotes from interviews cluttering up the text for my liking. These quotes merely recap, in the words of the people involved, the events already being discussed in the main text. I don't know why they are in the book, unless it's for padding. This brings down the enjoyment of the book, which is well-written, but not particularly entertaining.

The Ultimate History of Video Games, while not quite living up to the name, is still a good book in many regards. It's certainly a good book to add to the library of a video game fan, if they can find it.


9/10

First words: In 1972, my physical education teacher took the class to a bowling alley in Kalihi, on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Last words: To put it another way, the game never ends.

Book 47...

REVIEW: Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild edited by George RR Martin


While A Game of Thrones was my introduction to George RR Martin's novels in general, it was far from the first work of his that I read. I had read the mosaic novel series known as Wild Cards, edited by Martin, and pulling together the talents of several SF authors to create an alternate universe where superheroes are real. However, to date, I have only read the first two books in the series (in my first book review blog back in 2009, actually), Wild Cards and Aces High. With the third book, Jokers Wild, I sought to rectify that...

September 15, 1986. Forty years after the Wild Card virus was released over New York City, and changed the world forever. Wild Card Day is a curse and a boon, but it seems that this year's Wild Card Day will be the wildest ever, and not just because of celebrating Aces and Jokers. The intangible thief known as Wraith has just stolen some very important notebooks from the Vietnamese crime lord Kien Phuc, and he is willing to go to any lengths to get them back. Meanwhile, the Astronomer, still smarting over his defeat at the hands of the Aces of New York, plots his revenge, determined to ruin the lives of anyone he considers his adversary...

I gave the original Wild Cards a high score, and its sequel a lower one, but I dunno whether it's because my standards are falling or not, but I have to say that this story, despite, like Aces High, being a more straightforward story rather than an anthology, is at the level of the original book. The story is an enjoyable one that, while not as background rich as the first book, is nonetheless an entertaining yarn, albeit a dark one of revenge and retribution.

The characters are good, but not really stellar. However, we get a good look into the heads of many of them, complex characters that don't come anywhere near superhero and, with the exception of the Astronomer, supervillain. They're good enough, and serve the functions of the story admirably, though there are a few improvements that could be made.

In the end, Jokers Wild is a fine addition to the Wild Cards series, and I hope to read many more in the future.


9/10

First words: There is Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Carnival in Rio, Fiestas and Festivals and Founders' Days by the hundreds.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers.)

Book 48...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: Legacy by Gary Russell

While the Peladon stories of Doctor Who retain prominent places in some fans hearts, I am not so enamoured. The first story was good, but not astounding, and the second plodded and had many faults. Even so, there is no denying their influence and the cultural depth of those stories. A return to Peladon was inevitable for the series in spin-off media, and it's for that reason that I finally complete the New Adventures novel Legacy...

Long ago, in his third incarnation, the Doctor twice visited Peladon and helped save it from disaster. He also saved the Pakhar from the Ancient Diadem, a living artifact that had plunged them into war. But the Diadem was never destroyed, and now, in his seventh incarnation, the Doctor learns that it has been found, and that a master criminal who took the alias of Alec has tried to steal it, only to flee to Peladon. The Doctor and Bernice follow at the request of the Federation Chairman, accompanying the Ice Lord Savaar, whom the Doctor finds hard to trust. And Peladon itself is in danger of becoming a tourist trap, something that King Tarroll is ambivalent about, and his High Priestess, Atissa, is livid about. Ace, meanwhile, is sent to track down the Diadem, but it has been stolen by associates of Alec. Who has Alec disguised himself as on Peladon? Will there be a coup d'etat on Peladon? And can the Doctor and Bernice trust anyone?

Legacy wallows in nostalgia, with many links to the past for the series, but this is by no means a bad thing. Indeed, Legacy is a wonderful continuation to the Peladon stories, as well as placing it within the context of Doctor Who stories, past, present, and future. The world-building and story and characters work well, although the Diadem subplot seems slightly tacked-on, compared to the rest of the plot (though it does drive the plot), and Ace, unfortunately, gets little to do. And I would have thought that the Doctor would have gotten over his issues with the Ice Warriors.

The characters are all fine, if not done to perfection. The Doctor and Bernice are done well, as is the Ice Lord Savaar. Taroll continues the tradition of rather wet and weak Peladonian monarchs, albeit having more conviction, while Atissa, while having understandable motives, is more extreme than her predecessors. Alec and his alias are believable, and Alpha Centauri is very much like he/she/it was on screen.

Legacy, while nowhere near perfect, is an excellent continuation of the Peladon stories, and will have a fine place in any fan's collection. And even then, non-fans might like it as well, if only for the good story and world-building.


9/10

First words: The storm ripped its way through the almost never-ending darkness that encircled Peladon.

Last words: Merely recuperating.

Book 49...

REVIEW: The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross


Having read the first three books in Charles Stross' Laundry series, I was awaiting the next one with bated breath. This fusion of spy fiction, Lovecraftian horror, and sardonic humour had kept my attention, and the third one, while dark, was excellent. But would the next in the series, The Apocalypse Codex, keep the standards up?

Bob Howard is one of the top agents for the Laundry, the branch of the British Secret Service that deals with horrors from beyond space and time as we know it. Ever since an incident that had him being bonded with his boss Angleton (who is himself an extradimensional entity), Bob has spent time recovering. But now he's back on duty, and he's assigned a strange job: to manage a pair of operatives who do not, officially, work for the Laundry. Penelope Hazard and James McTavish are independent paranormal operatives used when the Laundry needs extra deniability, and with the charismatic American televangelist Pastor Schiller influencing the Prime Minister of the UK, that deniability is needed. Bob Howard has to make his way through what is his most secretive assignment yet, one that will take all his skills, and those of Hazard and McTavish, to resolve...

This book feels close to the second in the series, The Jennifer Morgue. Bob is thrown into a situation where he knows little of what is expected of him (some of it deliberately) and faces off against an American foe, while the American equivalent of the Laundry is involved somehow. This is something of a generalisation, but even so, The Apocalypse Codex feels more lighter (without losing its seriousness) than the previous book, The Fuller Memorandum. In some ways, this is a good thing, as the tone is less bleak and more entertaining. On the other hand, there are less revelations (such as Angleton's true nature in The Fuller Memorandum). The story is less convoluted and more straightforward, which is better for entertainment value at least, and the ending is quite a good one, or as good as it can get in the Laundry series.

Bob is, as usual, a wonderfully sardonic narrator trying to get through his mission alive and sane. The characters of Penelope Hazard and Johnny McTavish are good and intriguing, though I feel a certain amount of depth could have been added. It's a pity Angleton and Mo don't get more page space this time around, and the villain, Schiller, is a good one, but seems a tad too cardboard for my liking.

The Apocalypse Codex, then, continues the high standards of the Laundry series. I look forward to the next one...


9/10

First words: Things are getting better: It's been ten months, and I only wake up screaming about once a week now.

Last words: "And may whichever god you choose to believe in have mercy on your soul."