The Quatermass Book Reading Marathon Blog: Taking the Fifth

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I don't think you're too generous come to think of it, I think you know what you thought of a book but you just don't seem to "get" the numbers. 6s and 7s mean that you liked/loved it but 8s, 9s and 10s really should have blown your grey matter out the top of your head with how good they were. The system you got right now works, I personally would drop all the scores by two.

Actually, 6.5 means a mediocre work. Like Twilight.

I'd personally have the score dropped by 0.5 for 7.5 and 8 scores, 1 for 8.5 scores, and maybe 0.5 for most 9 scores. However, my 10 scores stand.

Book 47...

REVIEW: Angels & Demons by Dan Brown


Long, long ago, well before I decided to do the first of the book-reading blogs, I read Dan Brown's famous novel The da Vinci Code. Controversial and, some would say, misotheistic and/or inaccurate, it was nonetheless an engrossing read to a certain degree. But I found myself more interested in the book preceding The da Vinci Code in the series of novels starring Robert Langdon, Angels & Demons. So, finally, I got around to reading it...

Havard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to the CERN facility in Switzerland to help the CERN authorities find out who murdered Dr Leonardo Vetra. Vetra and his daughter, Vittoria, were conducting research into the events which created the universe, so that they could reconcile science and religion. But in the process, they created antimatter, and someone has stolen a whole gram of the destructive substance, enough to level a good chunk of a city. And due to the battery on its shielding, in 24 hours, it will. What is worse, Leonard Vetra's body was branded with an ambigram that points the finger at the Illuminati, an ancient organisation that has a vendetta against the Vatican. And sure enough, Langdon and Vittoria are brought to the Vatican, where the antimatter is hidden, and eventually manage to notify the late Pope's camerlengo, Carlo Ventresca, who agrees to help them. But the four Papal candidates or preferiti have gone missing, kidnapped by those behind the antimatter theft, and they are to be murdered at the four locations of the Illuminati's Path of Illumination. It's a race against time, not only to stop the antimatter from exploding, but also to save the four preferiti. But are the Illuminati really behind this plot? Or is there another enemy behind it?

I'll be frank. Angels & Demons is an engrossing ride that sweeps you along and leaves you little time to think. Which is just as well, because at times, there are very major stretches of belief, particularly one noteworthy incident later in the book. But anyone attacking Angels & Demons as misotheistic have got it wrong. From the beginning, if there is a positive theme to be gained from it, it is that religion and science should be able to be reconciled without destroying the essence of one another, despite the prejudices of two key characters. It has to be said that Dan Brown's skill as a writer is not his research ability, but, at times, his ability to make us believe in all he writes down, even when it may not be necessarily correct (like things about antimatter or the Italian translations given).

Character seems to be where Brown falls down a little. Robert Langdon is an enjoyable main character, an intellectual hero who nonetheless manages to get himself out of some very physical scrapes, and Vittoria Vetra is an interesting enough heroine, although she lacks a certain substance at times. The camerlengo Carlo Ventresca is an intriguing character, enough to remain consistent. But the others seem to be far less nuanced and complex. I have to complain in particular about the Hassassin. Pre-9/11, he would have seemed too stereotypical evil-Muslim. Even after 9/11, he seems that way, and for that reason, he seems too simplistic, even for a villain, or rather, henchman. There's no nuance to him bar sadism and misogyny, and it is satisfying to read his demise, but not satisfying to read about his character.

All in all, Angels & Demons was very entertaining, but it is, despite its claims and credentials, a bit light on intellectual meat. Even so, it is not the misotheistic tract some people believe that it is, and you can do worse than read it.


8.5/10


First words: Physicist Leonardo Vetra smelled burning flesh, and he knew it was his own.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Thanks to the Lifeline Bookfest, I have a number of books to read for this and (if necessary) later blogs. Two of them will probably be the next books read: the first Ciaphas Cain novel, For the Emperor, and the Doctor Who New Adventures novel, Return of the Living Dad.

In addition, I'm still waiting on the arrival of the last two volumes of Transmetropolitan that I ordered.

Book 48...

REVIEW: Anno Dracula by Kim Newman


I have seen Kim Newman on occasion on various documentaries on DVDs I own, particularly those of Doctor Who. And for some time, I have heard of his alternate history novel cum Victorian fiction mish-mash, Anno Dracula. Having finally obtained it from my library, I have read it through and finished it. So, what was it like?

The year is 1888. The place, Victorian England. Dracula has vanquished his foes, and married Queen Victoria, becoming Prince Consort and effective ruler of the British Empire. Vampires are spreading everywhere in all classes of society, and anyone may be imprisoned or executed without trial. In this environment, Dr Jack Seward, a former opponent of Dracula, begins to murder vampire prostitutes in Whitechapel. Geneviève Dieudonné, a vampire much older in actual age if not apparent age than Dracula, is unwittingly working at a hospital for vampires with Seward. And she is appalled by the carnage, not just that done to the vampire prostitutes, but also that caused by Dracula and his cronies against humans. She's not the only one to take an interest in the murders, though. Charles Beauregard is an agent of the Diogenes Club, a secret society loyal to the Crown, and his engagement to the vain Penelope, cousin of his first deceased wife, is interrupted so that he may track down the killer. Meanwhile, unrest is building up as a result of the murders. Soon, London is a powderkeg, and a single spark may be all that's needed to set it alight...

The story brings me to mind of Alan Moore's graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In fact, like Moore's work, you'd either need to be a Victoriana fanboy, or else go onto Wikipedia to spot all the references. And while this is not necessary to enjoy the work, the story feels almost like it was bolted together out of cliched characters and settings. Of the main characters, two are wholly original. This is by no means a bad book, and it has some excellent prefigurings of the world today (Anno Dracula was written in 1992, but it prefigures post-9/11 society) and an engrossing, if not quite exciting story. There is certainly atmosphere, and its take on the Jack the Ripper murders is intriguing. But it does leave one wanting.

The characters range from excellent to decent. Most have been poached from either fiction written or set in Victorian times, or else based on real personalities at the time. It is the two main characters, the original ones that are more intriguing. Geneviève Dieudonné is a complex vampire who has no illusions about her nature, but struggles to do good for both humans and vampires. She is certainly the best written and most intriguing character of the novel. Charles Beauregard is more of a gentleman adventurer/spy archetype with less nuances, but is still entertaining, though his fiance Penelope (in all likelihood, intentionally) comes off as shrill and selfish. Jack Seward's crusade as Silver Knife/Jack the Ripper is well-documented, and he actually comes across as somewhat sympathetic to a degree, at least until he goes mad. But some characters are a disappointment, and after being a strong, unseen presence for the majority of the novel, Dracula's reveal at the end is rather disappointing, and it's a pity he didn't get staked.

All in all, Anno Dracula is a Victoriana fanboy's wet dream, but to others, it is a decent, but lacking horror novel filled with Victoriana. The original inspiration was a superior work, but this one, if you enjoyed Dracula, shouldn't be neglected.



8.5/10


First words: Dr Seward's Diary (Kept in phonograph).

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

I just recently bought a copy of Anno Dracula, after hearing for years about how good it is, but I haven't started reading it yet. I'm kind of afraid to, to be honest. The huge size of the book, along with the knowledge that it includes so many pre-existing characters, makes me fear that it'll be a self-indulgent pile of fan fiction tripe.

My interest in both Dracula and Sherlock Holmes is obsessive, to the point that I bought copies of The New Annotated Dracula and The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes (these are huge hardcover books that devote thousands of pages to trivia and minutiae, and cost me over $100), but I don't venture into much more Victorian English fiction. A few of the more popular works by Stevenson, Wells, and Wilde, and that's about it. And is Wikipedia correct in saying that Anno Dracula features characters from Oliver Twist, The Lone Ranger, Carmilla, Varney the Vampire, The Night Stalker, The Most Dangerous Game, Martin, Blacula, 'Salem's Lot, and Dark Shadows? Good lord.

I'm glad to hear that Dracula is more of a background presence than an up-front one. I just hope the book doesn't make him out to be a romantic anti-hero. Why so many novelists and filmmakers feel a need to do this baffles me. Remember when villains were allowed to just be evil? I like my vampires to be the Stoker and Nosferatu type, a total plague that needs to be eradicated, not something that's in any way desirable, which is why I avoid pretty much all vampire fiction written within the last 50 years.

I also bought a copy of Newman's The Hound of the D'Urbervilles, which focuses on Sherlock's nemesis Professor Moriarty and his right hand man Sebastian Moran. And then there's Shadows Over Baker Street, which puts Holmes in the Cthulhu Mythos. No stories by Newman in that one, but there's one by Neil Gaiman that's supposed to be good.

It is rather self-indulgent, but whether it's tripe is another matter.



I didn't catch all the references, though I did spot Adam Adamant from the TV show Adam Adamant Lives! and Hentzau from The Prisoner of Zenda.




Dracula is pretty much evil incarnate in Anno Dracula. He cruelly keeps the Elephant Man as a servant, he's turning the UK into a police state, and that's not counting what he does to Queen Victoria. But while your argument is valid, I think you do some recent vampire fiction a disservice. Let the Right One In was, while extremely disturbing, an excellent book, and it makes no bones of the terrible things Eli does to stay alive.




A Study in Emerald? I believe that it's available online. In fact, here it is available in PDF format from Neil Gaiman's own website:

http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/ex ... merald.pdf


Anyway, I'm not sure what the next one will be. However, I do have some options. I mentioned the Doctor Who New Adventures novel Return of the Living Dad by Kate Orman, and the first Ciaphas Cain novel, For the Emperor. I have also just obtained some new Doctor Who books that might be on the soon to be read list, including The Face of the Enemy and The Wages of Sin by David A McIntee, and The Devil Goblins from Neptune (what a bizarre title!) by Martin Day and Keith Topping. And I hope to get the last two Transmetropolitan volumes before the end of the week.

Glad to hear it.



Don't worry, Let the Right One In hasn't gone unnoticed by me. That's why I was careful to qualify the statement with "pretty much." I'm aware that there is indeed some good vampire fiction out there these days which focuses on horror instead of sappy romance, but I don't think anyone would argue when I say that the latter is much more prevalent than the former. The most popular vampire fiction for the last few decades has been the Anne Rice variety, which has nothing in common whatsoever with the kind of vampires I like.



Yeah, that's it. I was a little disappointed to see that the book version doesn't replicate the PDF version's illustrations.

The romance in Let the Right One In is rather sweet, if disturbing on so many levels. It'd be sappy (in a good way, mind) if it weren't for those disturbing aspects.

And keep in mind that Anno Dracula has Geneviève Dieudonné, a good vampire (or as good as a vampire could be in the work). She's aware that a vampire is a parasite upon humanity, and considers Dracula to be a delusional megalomaniac for thinking it's his right to dominate humanity. She also considers Dracula's bloodline to be corrupted, and those turned by him far more violent (she was turned about fifty years before Dracula by a much different vampire) than those of other bloodlines. That being said, there is at least one occasion where she very nearly loses herself to bloodlust. But she's the most human and humane of the vampires, despite her age (put it this way, she fought alongside Joan of Arc), or probably because of it.

There's also a Doctor Who novel, probably hard to get nowadays, which has vampires as villains. While they're still complex characters, they are also the villains, and while you can feel sympathy for some of them, they're still trying to cause havoc and destruction. It's called Goth Opera by Paul Cornell. I haven't read fully it's prequel, Blood Harvest by Terrance Dicks, but both can be read as standalone works. In fact, in Goth Opera, Nyssa is bitten by a vampire, and struggles to deal with a vampiric nature coming forth.

There's one aspect of Stoker's book which seems to have been lost, even in fiction that portrays vampires as evil: the idea that once you die and rise as a vampire, you're no longer who you used to be. Your soul is gone and evil has pretty much taken over. It's not just a case of good people turning evil because they can't control their bloodlust. Stoker would never write a scene in which a vampire resists the urge the kill and feed because they find it morally repulsive. His vampires seem more like today's zombies, only they retain their intelligence and their bodies don't decay. I wish that modern vampire fiction would retain this, since it strengthens the idea of vampirism as something truly horrifying, but I'll take what I can get in the world of Anne Rice and Twilight.

Speaking of Anne Rice, I'm going to be reading Interview with the Vampire soon. But I'm not going to be reading another Stephanie Meyer novel. Twilight wasn't abysmal, but it was pretty damn mediocre, and I'm not sure I want a purple prose overdose again .

If you're going to have a purple prose overdose, just read Lovecraft. His sluggish writing has a better payoff.

I wouldn't call his writing style purple prose. It's drier than the Sahara and is very old fashioned. But one cannot dispute his ability to create an atmosphere.

Book 49...

REVIEW: Ciaphas Cain: For the Emperor by Alex Stewart (as Sandy Mitchell)


Having started on the series with one of the latest books, The Emperor's Finest, I have, quite by accident, found the first of the Ciaphas Cain books (set in the grim and dark Warhammer 40,000 universe), and read it. I wanted to try and read whatever books in the series I could find, wondering whether the first one was typical of the series, or whether the prior books were better or worse. For the Emperor, the first in the series, but set after The Emperor's Finest chronologically, may hold the key to whether I continue to read this series...

Amberly Vail, Inquisitor and associate of famous Commisar Ciaphas Cain, has elected to begin editing his memoirs, memoirs that dispel, in Cain's mind at least, the popular image of him being the Hero of the Imperium of Man. Interspersed with Vail's own comments and extracts from other works, we see how Cain struggles to unite two disparate military companies the 301st and the 296th (now combined into the 597th), and manages to stop a mutiny without resorting to executions. But Cain is to be sent to the isolated world of Gravalax, along with the newly merged 597th company of Valhallan troopers, in order to investigate a possible incursion of Tau. The Tau are willing to negotiate with the Imperium, but somebody is intending to disrupt the process, and cause a destabilising conflict...

Like the previous one, this story is entertaining without being truly spectacular. There's some more interest in this, as Cain has to dance around the problems in the military companies as well as when he finds out about Amberley Vail, but the structure of the story is not unlike The Emperor's Finest. This is by no means a bad thing, and the story is entertaining enough on its own merits, but it is still rather singular, and those unfamiliar with the Warhammer 40,000 universe may be a little at sea.

The characters this time around are a little more interesting, with Amberley Vail taking a larger role, and being one of the few characters to see through Cain. Cain himself seems less cowardly (although certainly with a strong self-preservation instinct) and more pragmatic than Flashman or Blackadder, the characters he is supposedly based on, but there's no real change from the character as written in The Emperor's Finest. The Tau are interesting, but not really written about enough (though given the xenophobic viewpoint of the Imperium, that might be the reason), and the mutineers aren't given quite enough characterisation. However, Jurgen and the Valhallans are, if not spectacular, decently written.

All in all, For the Emperor was a decently entertaining story. Not an improvement over The Emperor's Finest, but hey, it's an entertaining enough story. And that's what counts.


8.5/10


First words: Editorial Note:

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 50...

REVIEW: Transmetropolitan volume 9: The Cure by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson and Rodney Ramos


For this book reading blog, I have managed to read most of the Transmetropolitan series of graphic novels. Now, finally, I have the last two volumes, and I am ready to finish the story I started reading last year. But how well will the series stand up after the stellar eighth volume? Time to find out...

Spider Jerusalem is in a race against time. President Gary 'the Smiler' Callahan's attempts to kill him are bad enough, but now Spider has a degenerative illness that will, in all likelihood, render him mindless. But he is determined to bring down the Smiler, and with his assistants Channon and Yelena, along with rogue feedsite owner Lau Qi and Yelena's father Oscar Rossini, he begins his crusade. A violent interrogation of cult leader Fred Christ reveals the true extent of the Smiler's depravity, and what part Fred played in his rise to power. But while Spider is making headway in his own investigation, his former editor, Mitchell Royce, has managed to recover a copy of Spider's evidence against the Smiler. With evidence old and new, Spider and his assistants track down the last surviving Transient prostitute to have serviced the Smiler, Liesl Barclay, who has managed to revert to a human appearance by taking a cure. But while Spider manages to find her first, the Smiler's men aren't that far behind, and soon, the Smiler is about to change the game for the worse. Will the Smiler win? Or will Spider receive help from an unexpected quarter?

You get the sense by now that the conflict between Spider Jerusalem and the Smiler has entered the end game in this dark but intelligently written series. While not as game-changing as the previous volume, and not really as good, it is still better than the usual run of books, prose or graphic novel. So it still remains as entertaining and engrossing as it was before, although the political satire is a little less prominent in this story, and it's certainly less satisfying than the previous volume.

Spider becomes increasingly violent throughout this novel, interrogating (admittedly dickish, at best) cult leader Fred Christ with a chair leg ("Do not offend the Chair Leg of Truth. It is wise and terrible" is nonetheless one of many darkly funny lines in that sequence) and shooting an assassin with a real gun rather than with a bowel disruptor, and he is also starting to get even more erratic than he did while under the influence of drugs. Channon and Yelena are good, as usual, but we have some unexpected moments of defiance of the Smiler from both Mitchell Royce, Spider's former editor, and Robert McX, a prominent reporter seen throughout the series, and the question he gives the Smiler at the end makes the Smiler look truly appalled for the first real time, a sight to behold.

The ninth, and penultimate, volume of Transmetropolitan maintains the high standard I have come to expect from the series, and while a bit of a comedown from the previous volume, is nonetheless a good one. I can't wait to read the tenth, and final volume, and bring the story to a conclusion.


9/10


First words: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 51...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: Return of the Living Dad by Kate Orman


Nowadays, it's getting harder and harder to obtain the New Adventures and Missing Adventures spin off Doctor Who novels, and so I have to scour bookshops and the Lifeline Bookfest in order to have a good chance of getting any. The recent Bookfest has managed to get me a number of those books that I wanted, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the New Adventures story (written by fellow Aussie Kate Orman) Return of the Living Dad. So, how would I find this book?

During an archaeological dig with her husband Jason Kane, Bernice Summerfield is approached by a former colleague of her father's. Admiral Isaac Summerfield was a notorious coward who apparently deserted a space battle against the Daleks. Determined to find out the truth, Bernice tells the Doctor to take her back to that fateful battle. To her surprise, Isaac Summerfield was attempting a flanking move, but ended up drawn into a rift in time, ending up in England in the 20th century. The Doctor, Bernice, Jason, Rozlyn Forrester, and Chris Cwej follow, ending up twenty years after Isaac was stranded. It is 1983, in the sleepy village of Little Caldwell, where Isaac has been helping out aliens and time travellers who end up drawn to the rift in time. But many aliens in Isaac's group are suspicious of the Doctor, known for trailing death and destruction in his wake. And when an alien disappears, along with the TARDIS, tensions begin to mount. Between a rogue government agent and an alien military lunatic, the Doctor and Isaac Summerfield have their work cut out for them. But can Bernice trust her own father? Or is Isaac up to something?

The story in this book feels, rather like..., slapped together out of two separate storylines. The storyline about the rogue C19 agent feels like it was added from another work to beef up the wordcount. It's not like it doesn't fit, but it's slightly out of tune with the rest of the book, and it drags it down somewhat. And while this was written well before Torchwood, it is not dissimilar in terms of themes, though it might be closer to Sanctuary in another way.

But the core of the story is the characters. In particular, the relationship between Bernice and her father, which I expected to be stronger. But it's still satisfying, if not very much so. The Doctor is the same as he often is in the New Adventures, although it's interesting to see him getting successfully with the sensation of an excellent cup of tea. The other companions and characters are functional, and while the main villain is rather dangerous, he's also, in a way, rather pathetic.

All in all, Return of the Living Dad is a flawed but still good story in the New Adventures canon. Hard to get, but certainly worth the effort to try and get for any true Doctor Who fan.


8.5/10


First words: Once upon a time there was a hermit.

Last words: Their names fit really well together, don't you think?