The Quatermass Book Reading Marathon Blog: Taking the Fifth

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Book 52...

REVIEW: Transmetropolitan volume 10: One More Time by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson and Rodney Ramos


At last. Since starting it last year, I have been working my way through the graphic novel series known as Transmetropolitan, one of the few series I can be bothered to actually buy and read. Having followed the misadventures of extremely unconventional journalist Spider Jerusalem since the very beginning, in order, I was eager to see its end. But would the denouement be a good one? Or would it disappoint me?

Gary 'the Smiler' Callahan, President of the United States in the far future, has declared martial law on the City in an attempt to get rid of Spider Jerusalem, rogue journalist and his nemesis. And finally, it seems that Spider's example is about to be followed by the journalists of the City, stifled for too long by the Smiler's policies. A massacre of protestors on a university campus in the City is broadcast, first by the Hole, the feedsite that Spider has associated with, and then by the media of the US. Spider's allies help him in any way that they can, and soon, Spider learns that even the City will finally rise up against the Smiler. But the Smiler, even as he loses his control over the country, is determined to kill Spider. And the stage is set for a confrontation, one that, even if Spider survives, thanks to the degenerative illness in his brain, he may not be able to enjoy his victory...

This graphic novel not only has the last six parts of Transmetropolitan, but also a collected series of prose works, purportedly extracts from Spider's column. The story, as I expected it to, comes to a satisfying conclusion, with an epic battle of wits between the Smiler and Spider that ends with Spider completely outwitting the Smiler. The concluding strip, set some time afterwards, is an excellent one, without giving too much away, although in retrospect, it does have uncomfortable connotations with the life of Spider's inspiration, Hunter S Thompson. The prose works, I Hate It Here and Filth of the City, add more to the background of Spider's psychology, and while most of it is stuff you can glean from his words in the comic, there are some surprising revelations, such as Spider revealing that, despite his outward attitude, he actually respected Yelena quite early on because she hated him and made no attempt to hide it. It's not quite at the level of Dirge, the eighth volume of the series, but the story is very good anyway. It just seems to be tied up just a little too quickly for my liking.

Spider, in this point in the series, is on the offensive, and despite the I-Pollen poisoning affecting his brain, he still manages to show that he has a plan to bring down the Smiler. The Smiler's true colours have been revealed long ago, but they are truly revealed when he echoes a phrase his predecessor used, though his predecessor added that he was joking: "When the President does it, it isn't a crime." Channon and Yelena all get time in the spotlight, but especial kudos should go to other characters. Oscar Rossini gets to give the people sent to arrest him an epic putdown, Mary the cryogenic journalist manages to really help Spider, the journalists of the City grow some balls to fight the Smiler, and even the Smiler's aide, after being put upon by her boss, has a neat revenge. And finally, we have Detective Newton in an epic takedown in the nick of time.

All in all, the tenth volume of Transmetropolitan is the epic, if somewhat fast, finale I was expecting, with some added bonuses. And so ends a chapter of my reading life...


9.5/10


First words: The White House press office is closed today, following both the President's dramatic decision to enforce martial law in the City--

Last words: The Word would like to dedicate FILTH OF THE CITY to them, with thanks and in the devout hope that it doesn't take too many years of intense therapy and surgical procedures for them to recover from the experience of working for Spider Jerusalem.

I may end up finishing this soon. I lack the motivation to read more books at the moment.

This thread is still alive. I'm currently reading a Doctor Who novel with a weird, B-Movie-esque name. It's called The Devil Goblins from Neptune. Yes. Really.

Book 53...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Devil Goblins from Neptune by Keith Topping and Martin Day


After Virgin Publishing's licence to publish original Doctor Who fiction expired, the BBC chose not to renew it, instead deciding to take over the publishing of the two series of novels themselves. The New Adventures became the Eighth Doctor Adventures (as well as Virgin publishing another set of New Adventures, featuring not the Doctor, but former companion Bernice Summerfield), while the Missing Adventures became the Past Doctor Adventures. The first of the Past Doctor Adventures was the rather bizarrely named The Devil Goblins from Neptune. Despite the very B-Movie-esque title, is it a good book?

A meteor shower witnessed by hippies. A strange mass breaking up in the Earth's atmosphere without causing harm. A series of deaths in the countryside. UNIT believes that there is a connection, but a group of Russian soldiers try to kidnap the Doctor as he begins investigating, the CIA have sent an agent to sabotage UNIT, and a British Rocket Group probe has been sent to Neptune. There's more than one conspiracy going on, but who is a friend, and who is a foe? What are the creatures known as the Waro? Can anyone be trusted, even in UNIT? With the devil goblins of Neptune preparing to wipe the planet out, the Doctor, Liz, and UNIT will be hard pressed to stop them...

Despite the dodgy name, the actual story, such as it is, is quite excellent. There is a labyrinthian set of circumstances, where friend and foe, initially, are blurred. We get the feeling that this is pretty much the real world, despite the alien invasion thing happening and a Neptune probe sent in 1970 or so. We learn about the fact that the exiled Doctor now attends a gentleman's club in London, that UNIT has branches everywhere, including the USSR (which is at the crux of part of the story), and the UNIT personnel are made to be human beings, and not just nameless soldiers and cannon fodder. There's even some nice nods to the Doctor's past and future in an early chapter, when he speaks to Trainor.

The characterisation is less impressive, but still decent. More is given on the pasts of Liz Shaw and the Brigadier, and both Mike Yates and Benton get good screentime (although both of them go through a lot). The Doctor is as he is on the TV, and while Jon Pertwee isn't one of my favourites, the authors capture his essence fairly well. Of the new characters, only Captain Valentine Shushkin, a female officer of the Soviet branch of UNIT, and Professor Trainor impress me at all. The CIA agent Thomas Bruce is just a one dimensional thuggish spy, and the main villain, Viscount Rose, doesn't even have his motive explained except somewhat half-heartedly by the Doctor, later. The Waro are functional as a deadly alien enemy, but have less depth than the Daleks. They achieve their purpose, which is to terrify and be a credible threat, but they aren't much more than a threat.

All in all, The Devil Goblins from Neptune is a good story, let down by some dodgy characterisation. It may be hard to get nowadays, but go ahead and try it. Don't let the title fool you.



9/10


First words: A steady drizzle fell from a gunmetal-grey sky against the pale buildings of Gorkiy.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 54...

REVIEW: The Joker by Daniel Wallace


I have to admit that I am not much of a mainstream comics fan. I do enjoy some manga, and some various odds and ends of more mature comics like Transmetropolitan, or Watchmen. But if I had to choose my single most favourite comic, from the mainstream, in the world, then I would probably choose Batman. Why? Well, the titular hero has no superpowers. He's just at the peak of physical and mental condition (and keeps trying to push himself beyond it), and there's a moral ambiguity to him when he is best written. And of course, one of my favourite villains is his arch-nemesis the Joker. After all, I reviewed both The Killing Joke, and Joker, two key graphic novels about the Joker, in previous book-reading blogs. So maybe it's time that I come to a book all about the infamous Clown Prince of Crime...

The Joker is simply a pictorial work that details the history of the Joker, and how he stands in relation to Batman, the other villains of Gotham, and indeed the rest of the DC Universe. And not just in the comics medium, but also what he was like in the television series, the various animated series, and in film. The book is illustrated with artwork and panels from the comic strips, screenshots and photos from the relevant sources.

The actual content, while interesting, is rather on the sparse side for someone who wants a little meat on the bones. This drags the score down somewhat. Even so, it is informative, I am sure, to someone who is a fan of Batman and the Joker, though I am not sure whether that the info within isn't already known to said fans. However, they might appreciate some things, including a substantial introduction from Mark Hamill, the former Star Wars actor who also brought the Joker to life in the animated series.

This is very much a pictorial work, with images from many parts of the DC Universe, many of them interesting, and all of them relevant to the current topic of discussion. This glossy book is presented well, if nothing else. But we see parts of the Joker's first story, the various versions of his origin, his various incarnations in print, or on screens big and small.

Overall, this book is a grand, glossy work that is more style than substance. Even so, it is still a pretty damn good book on Batman's most infamous foe, the Joker.


8.5/10


First words: "Without Batman, crime has no punchline!"

Last words: As the Dark Knight's legend evolves throughout the twenty-first century, it seems that a bat will forever remain locked in combat with a clown.

Book 55...

REVIEW: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice


Vampires seem ubiquitous in fiction of late. Popularity seems to come and go in waves ever since Bram Stoker wrote the most famous work of vampire fiction, and one of the definitive Victorian horror novels, Dracula. But today's surge of vampire literature, marked by the Twilight books, the Darren Shan series, and Let the Right One In, is merely the most recent. Vampire fiction became notable with another author, Anne Rice, whose Vampire Chronicles define many of the works around today. I have decided to read the first, and perhaps most famous, of these, Interview with the Vampire...

In the modern day, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac tells his story to a young reporter. He tells the tale of how he grew up in New Orleans, and how he became a vampire at the hands of Lestat. While Louis struggles with his vampiric nature, Lestat revels in it, and the two clash. Eventually, Lestat gives Louis a vampire daughter, Claudia, who, turned at five, can never grow up. From New Orleans to Eastern Europe, and then to Paris, Louis' journey is one filled with hope and despair, love and fear. But is his humanity his greatest weakness as a vampire, or his greatest strength, or both?

I have to confess, the way that the interview framing device was done brings the story down in tone, as I am unused to the peculiar formatting. And there is a certain tediousness in the tone of the writing too. Not to mention that one can see more of what would eventually be used in Twilight, a mixture of romance and angst that nonetheless is better done than in that work. And the narrative, singular though it is, is interesting enough to keep my interest, and they at least bother to explore the themes of what immortality is like for a vampire, and what existential problems go with it. It's just less entertaining than I would have liked.

Louis is a good character, but his actual voice, as noted above, is rather tedious to me. Lestat is a delight as a very Byronic anti-hero, if you can even call him an anti-hero in this book. But he is entertaining. Claudia is disturbing, and while her character is interesting enough, I much preferred Eli from Let the Right One In in terms of showing how a child vampire would deal with immortality. The other characters are mostly functional, but not really contributing much to the storyline, though the concept of a sort of Grand Guignol theatre featuring vampires is an interesting one.

All in all, Interview with the Vampire was decent enough, and it's streets ahead of Twilight, but it doesn't reach the heights of Anno Dracula, Let the Right One In, or the original Dracula. Vampire lovers will probably lap it up, but I had a feeling of dissatisfaction after reading it, a desire for something meatier...


8/10


First words: 'I see...' said the vampire throughtfully, and slowly he walked across the room towards the window.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)


I'm currently reading a biography of Caligula, a Doctor Who novel called The Face of the Enemy, and the latest Song of Ice and Fire book, A Clash of Kings. I hope to make the latter my latest book read, as I am about a third of the way through.

Book 56...

REVIEW: A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin


Earlier in this book-reading blog, I began my journey into the fantasy world of George RR Martin, reading the first book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. A Game of Thrones blew me away by the sheer complexity of the storyline and characters, and I enjoyed it, despite the rather unhappy ending of that particular installment. So would I enjoy the next book in the series, A Clash of Kings?

The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros have been plunged into civil war. Already, Robb Stark, eldest son of the executed Ned Stark, and Renly Baratheon, the youngest brother of the now deceased former king, oppose his teenaged heir, Joffrey Baratheon, secretly the incestuous lovechild of the dead king's wife, Cersei Lannister, and her brother, Jaime. But the lord of the Iron Islands, Balon Greyjoy, has declared himself king as well, and Renly's older brother Stannis, helped by the mysterious sorceress Melisandre, has declared all out war against every other claimant. As Westeros tears itself apart under fighting, the dwarf Tyrion Lannister becomes the adviser of Joffrey, and must make preparations against Stannis' invasion. Catelyn Stark becomes witness to Melisandre's dark powers. Arya Stark must contend with refugee status and captivity, while her sister struggles within a gilded cage. The crippled Bran Stark begins to dream wild dreams that may not be dreams but reality. Jon Snow, now part of the Night Watch, joins an expedition beyond the Wall, and finds that someone is uniting the wildlings there into a force that may threaten Westeros. And across the sea, Daenerys Targaryen, now possessed of the last three dragons in existence, must contend with the fact that many covet her dragons. The War of the Five Kings has begun, and the cost will be high...

Compared to A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings feels filled with more incident than the intrigue that I had enjoyed in the first book. This is not to say that it isn't top-drawer writing. Far from it. The story is engrossing enough to be enjoyable all the way through. But one begins to see where the story sags as it progresses. There is still substantial intrigue and character development, but not quite at the startling level of A Game of Thrones. A Clash of Kings feels more like a book where the story is in transition, and certainly ends with more up in the air than in A Game of Thrones. And some storylines are not done enough justice.

Even so, it is the characters that make this novel. Despite the large number, Martin does a good job of juggling them. While there is less character development than there was previously, what there is is good all the same. Tyrion Lannister is a welcome viewpoint character, and we begin to feel more substantial sympathy for Sansa Stark than we do in A Game of Thrones. Stannis Baratheon is an unusually singular character who is nonetheless aware of his own singular nature, and repulsive as he is, he is still more honest than most other characters in the series. I find myself wishing more and more for the comeuppance of Cersei Lannister and her son, Joffrey, though Cersei is also given some moments to be kind to her deformed brother. Jon Snow's chapters are less interesting than before, and while Arya's arc is interesting, it is cut off just before things get really interesting.

I enjoyed A Clash of Kings. Not as great as its predecessor in the series, but it's nonetheless enjoyable. I look forward to the next books in A Song of Ice and Fire, and hope that it will stay at a level of fairly high quality for some time to come.



9/10


First words: The comet's tail spread across the dawn, a red slash that bled above the crags of Dragonstone like a wound in the pink and purple sky.

Last words: I'm not dead yet.

Book 57...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Face of the Enemy by David A McIntee


During the first few years of Jon Pertwee's tenure as the Doctor, he was only able to go to another world either by accident while tinkering with the TARDIS console (Inferno, The Claws of Axos), or when the Time Lords allowed him to (Colony in Space, The Curse of Peladon, The Mutants). Although some of his absences were brief enough, some might have taken a longer time. So what would happen if there was a problem with the Earth while the Doctor was away? This book, The Face of the Enemy, shows what happens...

While the Doctor and Jo are on a trip to Peladon, the Brigadier has to deal with a number of strange incidents. An experimental plane has crashed, covered in traces of radioactive material, and inside is the corpse of a government minister who is still alive and well elsewhere. A robbery has targeted the accounts of the currently imprisoned Master, and his accountant, Marianne Kyle, has turned against him. And a government minister has ordered the experimental plane destroyed. With the Doctor away, the Brigadier is assigned Ian Chesterton and his wife, Barbara, former companions of the Doctor, as advisors. When Ian determines that the plane did not get damaged on Earth, they decide to find the one person who might be able to tell them: the Master. But the Master isn't interested in helping UNIT unless he gets his freedom. And when Kyle attempts to assassinate the Master, the Master escapes, only to later offer his help to UNIT. Why would the Master offer his help to UNIT? What conspiracy is Kyle behind that involves replacing people with doubles who are not alien, but human? And what does this have to do with the Inferno project, long since abandoned? UNIT, the Master, Ian and Barbara need to find the true face of the enemy, an enemy that has infiltrated the highest ranks of society...

Like some Doctor Who stories, The Face of the Enemy is very much a continuity splurge. Besides bringing the first human companions of the Doctor, Ian and Barbara back, this story is also a sequel to Inferno. We also have links to the canon of the novels, with one plot point being a reference to David A McIntee's own The Dark Path, which detailed the origins of the Master. This continuity splurge will probably alienate the casual reader, but the way it is done will certainly excite any Doctor Who fan. Unfortunately, the plot is rather singular, and the villains' plan, for all their evil and brutality, doesn't come off as threatening enough after a certain point.

The characters are what sell the story, and we get a glimpse into the minds of many characters from the series proper. Not just the Brigadier, but also characters like the Master, who is almost the protagonist of this story (for once), and Ian and Barbara, whose life following their travels with the Doctor is shown. Ian even shows some insight into the Master's character, with even the Master being surprised, and Ian gets many dark moments when he believes that Barbara is dead. There's even an origin for Harry Sullivan, showing how he first got involved with UNIT. The other characters are fine enough, but not outstanding.

The Face of the Enemy, then, is an interesting novelty. It's a Doctor Who novel version of a Doctor-lite episode, and while not quite impressive, certainly manages to get above the norm.


9/10


First words: The British field office of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce at Denham didn't look any different from any other well-maintained stately home in the Home Counties.

Last words: 'Just routine.'

Book 58...

REVIEW: Caligula: A Biography by Aloys Winterling, translated by Deborah Lucas Schneider, Glenn W Most, and Paul Psoinos


Caligula, perhaps the most infamous of the Roman emperors. Madman, sadist, hedonist, and monster. Perhaps the best known portrayal of the man was in I, Claudius, and its adaptation, with John Hurt as the deranged emperor. But was he truly insane? Or was there a method to what others thought was madness?

Aloys Winterling, Professor of Ancient History at the University of Bassel, sets out in Caligula: A Biography, a very different hypothesis. Positing that many of the historical accounts were warped by people who wished to tarnish the reputation of Caligula, he uses what he can to determine that, while Caligula was a brutal tyrant, he was far from sane. Indeed, he was a cynical, perceptive man who had a damaging childhood, and a very jaded view of power, along with a brutal attitude to the fawning of the aristocracy.

When I saw this book, quite by accident, in the library, I had to admit to being intrigued. I had read I, Claudius, as well as many other books on Roman emperors (including a rather sickening one whose anecdotes seemed geared for the ghouls who watched the rather grotesque 1979 film on Caligula's life), but to find a book that portrayed Caligula as sane and brutally reacting to hypocrisy was an intriguing one. I found the book an interesting, if dry, treatise on this theory, and certainly one that had me re-evaluating the picture in my head of the infamous emperor. He was still a tyrant, just a sane and ruthless one.

The book itself is written for a general audience, but while interesting enough, the writing style is still rather dry, though whether that is Winterling's own writing style, or something caused by the translators, I do not know. And not being a historian, I am not sure how much of Winterling's arguments hold water, although they are at least moderately compelling, compared to the standard line about Caligula.

While I'm not sure whether any of you might wish to seek this work out, I can assure any people with a moderate interest in history will find it intriguing enough. Whether it reflects reality or not is another matter.



8.5/10


First words: Caligula, the man who was Roman emperor from AD 37 to 41, started out as a tyrannical ruler and degenerated into a monster.

Last words: If Caligula, who had dared aspire to founding a monarchy in plain view in Rome, was condemned posthumously as a "madman", then Claudius, who had tried to spare the aristocracy, was known after his death as a "fool".

For anyone still following this thread, I am currently reading the next A Song of Ice and Fire book, A Storm of Swords. At my local bookshop, it has been split into two volumes, but as it is actually one book, I will be reviewing it as such. I have finished the first volume, and will be starting the second very shortly...

Book 59...

REVIEW: A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin


Having devoured the first two books in the fantasy series known as A Song of Ice and Fire, I wondered how I would find the next book in the series. In the bookstore I frequent and purchase from, A Storm of Swords is split into two parts for its paperback edition: Steel and Snow, and Blood and Gold. I decided, instead of reviewing these parts separately, I would read them as one whole, as the author intended. And it is just as well, for things are afoot in Westeros...

The battle for King's Landing is over, but the War of the Five Kings is far from concluded. While Stannis Baratheon regroups after his defeat, the Lannisters tighten their grip, with the capricious boy king Joffrey now to be wed to Margaery Tyrell, and Sansa Stark is now to be wed to the disfigured and embittered dwarf Tyrion Lannister, who is losing his loyalties to his power-hungry family. Across the sea, Daenerys Targaryen is searching for an army, but there is treachery within her ranks, with more than one source. At the Wall, Jon Snow is forced to infiltrate the wildlings massing to attack the Wall, but it is no easy task to convince their leader, a former Night Watch soldier called Mance Rayder. Arya Stark, fleeing from the Boltons, ends up in the company of men formerly loyal to her father, but now outlaws who may end up ransoming her. Bran Stark flees for the North after the fall of Winterfell. Catelyn Stark may have made a mistake in releasing Jaime Lannister in exchange for Sansa and Arya's freedom, but her son, Robb Stark, king of the North, may have made an even worse one, forfeiting an arranged marriage and insulting allies. And as Jaime Lannister is escorted to King's Landing by the warrior woman Brienne of Tarth, he is forced to rediscover what little honour he has left, and the truth about how he became the Kingslayer may shock the honourable Brienne to her very core. The game of thrones continues, and soon, there will be many more losers...

Hoo, boy. After the intrigue of the first book, and the battles and claims of kingship of the second, it was nice to get back to some nice and juicy intrigue. While the story in A Clash of Kings was excellent, it was less substantial, more like an action film than a drama by comparison to A Game of Thrones. Here, there's more drama and human interaction. It's not as paradigm-shattering as A Game of Thrones, and thus scores less (also partly because some storylines, like those at the Wall and those involving Bran, are less interesting than before), but it's still good. What's more, fans of the series so far will get their hearts broken, and then leap for joy. Good people die, and so do a number of people who had it coming. I shall not spoil who gets killed, but those that had it coming have very satisfying deaths.

Of all the characters in this book whom the tale is told through, perhaps the most interesting are the Lannister brothers, Tyrion and Jaime. Tyrion is always a delight, one of the few relatively moral characters in the series, but in this book, he is put through some very tough times. So too is Jaime, whom we learn is less of a bastard in this book, and had a much better reason for slaying the Targaryen king than earlier mentioned. He even begins a long, hard road to redemption, and while his redemption isn't yet completed, we see that there is something more to him than cockiness and an incestuous relationship with his sister. Another welcome new addition is the chubby and timid Sam Tarly, who gets a moment to shine. We also have other interesting viewpoints from established characters like Catelyn Stark and her daughters, as well as Daenerys Targaryen. All the characters are, to one degree or another, fascinating, and it is also interesting to see some develop. Not just Jaime and Tyrion Lannister, but Sansa Stark, Sandor Clegane, Sam Tarly, and even the sorceressMelisandre, who shows herself to be a far more nuanced presence than the somewhat malevolent-seeming entity from A Clash of Kings.

If not quite a return to the dizzying heights of A Game of Thrones, A Storm of Swords nonetheless manages to trump its immediate predecessor. It's certainly kept me hooked on this marvellous piece of fantasy fiction and very human drama.


9.5/10


First words: The day was grey and bitter cold, and the dogs would not take the scent.

Last words: Up into the air he jerked, kicking and twisting, up and up and up.

Book 60...

REVIEW: iDrakula by Bekka Black


It seems that a sizeable proportion of the books I have been reading for these book-reading blogs have been vampire fiction. Ranging from Bram Stoker's genre-defining classic Dracula, to the intriguing alternate history Wold Newton book Anno Dracula, from the disturbing but sweet romance of Let the Right One In, to the rather more insipid and mediocre romance of Twilight. So just to fill a hole betwee books, I decided to read a modern take of the first Dracula novel, iDrakula...

18 year old New York student Jonathan Harker has been sent to Romania to close a real estate deal with the enigmatic Count Dracula when his friend, Renfield, is committed. But things aren't always what they seem. While Harker struggles to escape from Dracula's castle, his fiancee, Mina Murray and a pre-med student called Abe van Helsing must discover what lies behind Renfield's madness, and what this has to do with the worsening condition of Mina's friend Lucy...

In theory, once you get past the gimmicky bit of Dracula being told through emails and text messages, it is actually an excellent idea to modernise Dracula this way. After all, the original novel was told in the Victorian equivalent: through letters and diary entries. Unfortunately, in execution, it doesn't go so well. The plot jumps from plot point to plot point, with many unanswered questions and plot holes left between the texts and emails. There's some interesting additions, mind you, mostly character based, and there's some decent modern commentary on what would have to be done to fight a vampire, but this story stinks to high heaven of wasted potential. It's perfectly readable and to a small degree enjoyable, but somewhat mediocre, and shallow thanks to the text message sections.

The characters should be familiar to those who have read the original, and of all of these, Lucy and Renfield are perhaps closest to their original versions. However, Harker in this is a womaniser, and the effects this has on his relationship with Mina is interesting, but otherwise comes as melodramatic. Van Helsing doesn't seem to have much personality beyond 'nice guy', and it's a pity that, unlike the original, he doesn't have some knowledge of vampire lore. Unfortunately, while Mina is given a little more of a kick-ass attitude, she somehow feels a little more shallow than in the original. And Dracula himself appears far less than he should for such a central character.

iDrakula is thus a dumbed-down Dracula for attention-deficit Gen Y readers. It is readable and, if you can disengage a little, enjoyable, but really, read the original. You're doing yourself a grave disservice if you read this mediocre piece of work first.


6/10


First words: Text message from Jonathan Harker to Mina Murray.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 61...

REVIEW: Psyren, volume 1: Urban Legend by Toshiaki Iwashiro


As an Aspie, I like to stay within my comfort zone with many of the things that I read and watch. But on occasion, I stumble across a series more or less by accident that I wish to try out. I decided, after some consideration, to try the manga series Psyren, on a whim. But would the whim pan out?

Ageha Yoshina is a delinquent with a good heart, willing to solve people's problems through physical violence for ten thousand yen. But the problems of a friend from his elementary school, the icy Sakurako Amamiya, may be more than he can handle. She has been disappearing for long periods of time, and with mysterious injuries. Ageha soon finds out that it is linked to the mysterious urban legend of the Psyren Secret Society, and their monstrous, enigmatic envoy, Nemesis Q. Finding a mysterious phone card related to Psyren, Ageha finds himself attacked by false police, and then transported into a desolate, monster-filled wasteland. What does this wasteland have to do with Psyren and Sakurako? And where exactly is this wasteland? The answers prove to be more disturbing, raising ever more questions...

Okay, it's a nice story and all, but it feels like it has been done before. Urban legends leading to adventures...it's pretty much a dead horse trope, done over and over ad nauseum. This isn't to say that the story is bad. It's just too familiar, and in any case, within this volume, there isn't much time for the story to really gain momentum. Here, it just seems to be setting the scene for what story there is to follow. There's some nice humour (and some rather more cringe-inducing humour), but the whole thing feels a little stitched together.

Ageha seems rather stereotypical: a delinquent with a heart of gold, although the rather sadistic comedy elements of his home life do add a little something. So too does Sakurako, although she feels less stereotypical than Ageha. Nemesis Q is a wonderfully bizarre design that does credit to Toshiaki Iwashiro's skills as an artist, and as far as enigmatic, possibly malevolent entities go, it works well enough. Of the other characters, they all seem, at this point, just there to be functional. This is by no means a bad thing, it just cheapens the story somewhat.

All in all, the first volume of Psyren was below average entertainment, not quite grabbing me enough to want to get the next volume. I might consider reading the next volume, if I have nothing better to do, but I wonder whether there will be any improvement...


7/10


First words: What gives?

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

If I can drum up the motivation, the next book will probably be Doctor Who: The Infinity Doctors by Lance Parkin.

Book 62...

REVIEW: Blindsight by Peter Watts


James Nicoll, a reviewer, once said "Whenever I find my will to live becoming too strong, I read Peter Watts." To date, I have only read one of Watts' books, the dark but good book Starfish, the first book of the Rifters trilogy, though I have also read his short story The Things, an unusual take on The Thing, written from the Thing's point of view. Dark and depressing, but intelligently written, they proved to be interesting enough for me to try his first contact novel, Blindsight...

In the late 21st century, technology has advanced rapidly, but society is trying to keep up. Suddenly, the Earth is surrounded by thousands of alien objects that burn up as quickly as they appear. It seems that not only is humanity not alone in the cosmos, but it has been noticed. Unable to get the attention of the aliens, humanity sends out a motley crew: Siri Keeton, an information interpreter with half his brain and all his effective empathy gone, Susan James, a linguist with multiple personalities artificially induced, Amanda Bates, soldier with a past, and Isaac Szpindel, a biologist with a ridiculous amount of mechanical augmentations. All led by a vampire, Jukka Sarasti, a human predator whose species was revived from extinction. And even then, all that might not be enough to deal with the aliens that await them at journey's end...

If there is one thing that cannot be denied about Watts' writing, it is that it is intelligently written. He even gives references for the real scientific concepts (even if later they have been disproven) that he includes in his books. I think that there are two primary problems with Watts: he writes a little too intelligently, meaning that you have to have a scientific background in the first place to enjoy these books at all, and he writes so bloody depressingly. He also uses some pretty high concept discussion of intelligence, and while less compelling than Blindsight, I felt that Solaris, a book with a similar theme about alien intelligence, had less talking down to the reader. This is not to say that Watts writes in a patronising manner. He just wants you to catch up any way that you can.

Leaving aside Watts' writing style, which is an acquired taste but not a bad one at all, I feel that the characters were written for two reasons: to both fulfill functions on the crew, and to basically make sure that the Theseus ship was docked at the good station Dysfunction Junction. They all had fairly believable personalities, but they didn't seem to have the development of the characters from Starfish, despite the fact that the cast of characters seemed smaller. It seemed more like a freakshow this time around than the various abused, abusers, and psychos of Starfish. They do their job well enough, but they don't exactly hit all the right marks.

Blindsight was an interesting contrast to the other alien intelligence novel I enjoyed, Solaris. Each has their own respective merits and faults. Blindsight is a rather chilling insight into the nature of intelligence and sentience, and it makes you wonder whether this is what alien life is really like, out there. It's the mark of a good book that, even if the ending is a downer and it makes you feel like sh**, it still leaves a mark on you, and makes you think.



8.5/10


First words: It didn't start out here.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 63...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Infinity Doctors by Lance Parkin


The thirty-fifth anniversary of Doctor Who wasn't celebrated in any particularly spectacular manner, to my knowledge, as the show had long since been cancelled. But it did get acknowledged. In November, 1998, a book was released by BBC Books' Doctor Who novels range. This was the oddly titled The Infinity Doctors, by Lance Parkin. Having never actually read it before, I wondered how it would turn out...

Gallifrey, homeworld of the Time Lords, and of the Doctor. For years, he has been a Councillor of the High Council, and has arranged a controversial peace conference between the Sontarans and the Rutans. But even as these two belligerent races arrive for what may be futile peace talks, trouble is brewing. Someone is trying to steal mysterious artifacts from the archival vaults. Newly invested Time Lady Larna, a friend of the Doctor's, learns from a Technician about a mysterious Effect of space and time, only for said Technician to be murdered. And a mad Time Lord raves about the second coming of an ancient Gallifreyan god. The Doctor and Larna, struggling from within the Byzantine politics of Gallifrey, try to find out the answers. But decisions will be made, temptations will cage them, and an evil power will be unleashed across the universe...

The story is deliberately ambiguous as to which Doctor this is. It could be the first (albeit unlikely), or a later incarnation of the Doctor, or (most likely in my opinion) it's set in a parallel universe. Even so, it's suitably epic for an anniversary celebration story, with the future of the universe at stake, although I expected a little more complexity in the story. This is less of a conventional Doctor Who adventure and more, at first, a political story. And it wasn't clear at first what the point of the keys that were nearly stolen were for.

The Doctor is recognisably the Doctor, though written in such a way that you can't tell the precise incarnation. However, he does make at least one questionable decision that seems slightly out of character, although it is only made worse by another. Omega is an interesting choice for a villain, and while not developed as well as he could be, he is still more interesting than he is in the other stories he appears in. Of the other characters, the only ones notable are Larna, a sort of love interest for the Doctor, who's a decent character and Time Lady, while the Magistrate, being possibly an alternate or future Master, makes an intriguing ally for the Doctor.

All in all, The Infinity Doctors is an epic story let down by some characterisation and some story aspects. Not bad at all, and certainly suitable, but I feel that it could have been better, somehow.


8.5/10


First words: Each snowflake melted as it batted into the thick walls of the Citadel, but still they came, like an invading army.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)