Quatermass' Book Reading Blog 3: Revenge of the Sequel

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Book 49...

REVIEW: Dragonball, volume 12 by Akira Toriyama


I have to admit, despite its silly and shallow pretensions, I actually like the Dragonball saga. It often combines silly humour with strong martial-arts action, and while never particularly deep, it is, at least, very entertaining. But while I have read most of the manga covering the events of Dragonball Z, I am yet, until now, to start the part of the original manga Dragonball that introduces a villain who would change the face of Dragonball forever, the evil demon, King Piccolo.

Tenshinhan may have abandoned the evil of his master, the Crane Hermit Tsuru-Sen'nin, but he doesn't intend to lose to Goku in the Tenka'ichi Budokai tournament. Even so, when the tournament ends, a new terror visits upon Goku and his friends. Kuririn (Krillin) is murdered. Goku, pursuing the demonic creature who killed his best friend, is left for dead by the creature. Kame-Sen'nin (Master Roshi) knows who the being behind this is, the evil demon king known only as Piccolo. Piccolo intends to collect the Dragonballs, but more than that, he intends to murder the strongest martial artists to prevent himself from being sealed away, ever again...

I think that this is the point, in particular, that Dragonball became a much darker work. While people have been killed before in the series, this is the first time a main character is killed, and Krillin's death is treated quite well, even in light of the properties of the wish-granting Dragon Balls. In fact, Goku almost immediately leaves on a reckless attempt at revenge that almost costs him his life.

While Dragonball does use humour quite well, I think that the darkness that this volume adds to the situation in a good way. Despite his ridiculous name and wizened appearance (in comparison to his later appearance), Piccolo is established very early on as a credible threat, and his battle with Goku towards the end of the volume, while short, is quite hard-hitting.

While still a fairly shallow series, we have three distinctive plotlines in the story. Besides Goku and his travails, encountering the rotund samurai Yajirobe, we also have Piccolo and his minions tracking down both the Dragon Balls and the martial artists, as well as Goku's friends tracking down the Dragon Balls as well as discussing a way to deal with Piccolo for good.

Nothing too deep, but this is still a good example of entertaining manga. This volume of Dragonball promises a better and darker story that would come to fruition much later...


8/10

First words: All right!!

Last words: I hate getting killed!

Book 50 is a Milestone in more ways than one...

REVIEW: CryoBurn by Lois Mc Master Bujold


Back in July early this year, I read the first omnibus book of the Vorkosigan Saga, Cordelia's Honour. Now, just before Christmas, I come to the last Vorkosigan Saga book. In just under six months, I have read pretty much the entire Vorkosigan Saga, with the exception of one short story, and the framing story for an anthology which I have already read the short stories therein. But those are trivialities. The latest Vorkosigan Saga book, CryoBurn, may not prove to be the last Vorkosigan Saga book of all, but should it be, it is an excellent denouement.

When a cryogenic freezing consortium makes plans to expand into Barrayan territory, Miles Vorkosigan, Imperial Auditor for Emperor Gregor Vorbarra, is sent to investigate on the cryogenics world of Kibou-Daini. Nearly kidnapped by a rogue group of activists, Miles is forced to find shelter with the dispossessed of Kibou-Daini, only to find that the cryo-corps have got a lot to hide and a lot to lose...

Not long ago, I watched a Doctor Who story for the first time in years. Revelation of the Daleks, beneath its grim humour and violence, had some commentary on what would realistically be done with frozen people. In that story, the unfortunates were not being revived even when cures for diseases had been found because they'd be in a position to threaten those currently in power (and that's discounting what Davros did to the bodies). CryoBurn, while not taking the same view, does go down a not dissimilar path of the cryogenic dead being more use to the living frozen than thawed.

While science fiction does get some deserved flack for homogenising the cultures of various planets, Bujold does try to attempt to rationalise how the economy of such a planet would work, and what happens to the dispossessed. Not only that, but a very cunning way for the cryocorps (in other words, cryogenics corporations) to stay in control, by controlling the votes of their frozen clients, is revealed very early on, with the even bigger secret, potentially devastating to the cryocorps, revealed later on.

While not quite as large scale a tale as, say, Diplomatic Immunity or Komarr, CryoBurn is still an epic, and also has the most action in recent Vorkosigan Saga books, which is ironic, as it is seven years since the events of Diplomatic Immunity, and Miles is starting to age, even if he doesn't show it. The death of two beloved characters in the novel really hits home that the times are changing.

There is also three major viewpoints that the novel goes through. While Miles himself obviously is a viewpoint character, so is his bodyguard, Armsman Roic, and a young Kibou-Daini boy, Jin Sato. The resulting shuffle remains fresh, especially as we look at Miles through the eyes of others.

What is lacking about CryoBurn...I lack terms to describe. It's a very good book, with the twists well constructed, but somehow, I didn't feel that there was enough personal peril for Miles after the very beginning of the story. And I feel that some more immediate concern against Barrayar rather than the vague economic takeover of Komarr possibility would have been better. This feels a little too much like a leisurely stroll than a hectic adventure.

These are mere quibbles, albeit strong ones. CryoBurn is an excellent book, and should this be the end of the Vorkosigan Saga, it would be a good one.


9/10

First words: Angels were falling all over the place.

Last words: (Censored for spoilers)

Book 51...

REVIEW: Dragonball, volume 13 by Akira Toriyama


Once more, I come to the Dragonball manga, continuing what could be called the King Piccolo Saga, easily the darkest story arc of the original Dragonball series. Now the jokes are giving way to a darker side of the story, one that will continue into Dragonball's successor, Dragonball Z.

Despite the best attempts of Kame Sen'nin to seal Piccolo with the Mafu-ba and Chaozu's attempt to alter Piccolo's wish on the Dragonballs, Piccolo regains his youth and former power. Now three more are dead: Kame Sen'nin died from the Mafu-ba's draining power, and both Chaozu and Shenron, the Eternal Dragon, are dead by Piccolo's hand. While Tenshinhan works to master the Mafu-ba to try and seal Piccolo again, Goku and Yajirobe are heading to Karin, who may be able to help. But his solution, the Super Holy Water, is a deadly toxin that has killed everyone who has used it so far, but if Goku survives, he may just become stronger. And he must hurry. Piccolo has supplanted the King of the world as a king of evil, and intend to launch a reign of terror...

While there is less humour prevalent in this volume than in previous volumes of Dragonball, this is by no means a bad thing. Indeed, while the gags are by no means completely absent, they work well even with the darker storyline. The death toll from Piccolo's reign is mounting. (To use their anime dub names instead of the manga translations) Krillan is already dead, and now, so is Master Roshi and Chiatozu. Tien seems set to follow them.

The fight between Goku and Piccolo towards the end of this volume seems rather reminiscent of the battles he would later undergo in Dragonball Z. In fact, the latter work became so formulaic that to read it here, with young Goku, is at least somewhat fresh. A similar process (Goku nearly gets killed, but recovers, does some training/gets a power-up MacGuffin, heads back and faces off against enemy in more evenly matched battle) was used earlier, when Goku faced Taopaipai/Mercenary Tao, but here, it feels more like what would become used (and even overused) in later stories of the same work.

Here, I also learn more about some of the pieces of Dragonball folklore that I was a little sketchy about, like when did senzu beans become healing medicine, and how did Yajirobe first come to live at Karin's tower?

Dragonball, as ever, remains shallow, but highly entertaining. It's a good martial arts action manga, and does exactly what it says on the tin. Don't expect too much, and you will enjoy it.



8/10

First words: The other five Dragon Balls are heading in our direction!!

Last words: So much power...with such a light swing...! !

Book 52...

REVIEW: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Most of my prior acquaintance with Terry Pratchett's works has been through the Discworld series (his latest, I Shall Wear Midnight being reviewed in this very book-reading blog), while my acquaintance with Neil Gaiman has mostly been through the Sandman comics. For some time, I have had in my possession their collaborative work, Good Omens, and have finally gotten around to reading it.

Millennia ago, there was Aziraphale, the Angel of the Garden of Eden, and Crawley, a demon, the Snake who tempted Eve. Nominally enemies, these two have become friends of a sort who like humanity and all its follies. However, Aziraphale and Crawley, now Crowley, are caught up in the mechanisms designed to bring about the advent of the Antichrist, and the end of the world. A series of unfortunate events lead to the Antichrist being raised by the wrong family, in the same village as Anathema Device, the last descendant of Anges Nutter, a witch who had written the only accurate (if useless in any way but in retrospect) book of prophecies ever in the history of humanity, and whose book has details to the end of the world...

I'll be honest. Compared to the Pratchett norm, Good Omens doesn't exactly click with me. I doubt that this is the fault of his co-writer, Neil Gaiman. I think that this is because Pratchett is writing urban fantasy, something that Gaiman is more used to.

The story, while interesting and entertaining enough to hold my interest for the time I was reading it, seems to have just a little too much going on in too short a period of time. Don't get me wrong, there were excellent concepts, like the Antichrist living the life of a normal child, the odd couple pairing of Aziraphale and Crowley, and the whole Agnes Nutter prophecy thing. But this book seems to have a really bad case of kitchen sink syndrome. In addition, too many of the jokes, unfortunately, fall flat.

Do not mistake this for a bad book, however. The wit and style is great, and there is no noticeable join between the styles of the two authors, the characters are excellently thought-out, and the concepts are very good. There are far worse books on the market, and Good Omens does enough things right to raise it above average. But as a collaboration between two of the most noted authors in fantasy fiction, it could have been much, much better.

If you're a fan of Pratchett or Gaiman, give it a whirl. Even if you're not, try it anyway. You might enjoy it.


8/10

First words: It was a nice day.

Last words: ...for ever.

Book 53...

REVIEW: The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway


Every now and again, I stumble across a work of fiction that makes me wonder what psychoactive substances the author or authors were partaking of while writing this. Very rarely, I will ask the further question, 'where can I get some of it?' I have to admit that Nick Harkaway's debut novel, The Gone-Away World, is one of them.

The world has been devastated by an apocalyptic war, where special bombs called Go-Away Bombs have been used, and the unintended fallout, the Stuff, has caused a strange devastation. The narrator and his friend Gonzo are members of a troubleshooting squad who are commissioned to put out a fire in the Jorgmund Pipe, the only means of keeping the Stuff at bay. But, as always, there is more to this situation than meets the eyes, with ninjas, mimes, monsters, and a global conspiracy...

Post-apocalyptic books are not quite my go, most of the time, but having heard of the concept of The Gone-Away World, I decided to give it a chance. Which is just as well that I did. While the storyline and its implications are very dark and serious, there is always an underlying tone of sardonic humour, reminiscent, slightly, of Terry Pratchett if he was a member of Generation Y.

Reviewing The Gone-Away World is difficult, as the story is so filled with spoilers that to give away some vital plot points would be to spoil the surprise of the book. However, I will try. Let's just say that the weapons of mass destruction that caused the world to end up like it did is an extremely unusual one, and an extremely inventive one, even if the concept has been used before in science fiction, albeit not quite in this manner.

The characters are often interesting, and their interactions, while a little hard to follow, are entertaining. One of the least spoiling subplots is the ongoing feud between a clan of kung-fu martial artists (amongst whose number include the protagonists) and an antagonistic group of ninjas, and while this may seem extremely gratuitious, such is the way the book is written that you barely notice.

The plot, while sometimes a little hard to follow (at least half the story is a flashback, and some things only become clear in retrospect), is excellent, creative, albeit in a pop culture conglomeration way (in other words, a creative mixture of things you would think have been done to death in pop culture), and even funny. You may not laugh, but you will smile, more often than not. The story knows when to be serious, though, and the apocalyptic effects of the Stuff is chilling to think about.

Overall, The Gone-Away World is a complex and entertaining read. Try it. It'll take a while for it to click, but it is all the more rewarding for it.


9.5/10

First words: The lights went out in the Nameless Bar just after nine.

Last words: 'Yes.'

LOL, that is humor that would be funny enough to be a runner up to the joke in Monty Python's And now time for something completely different.

Well, that was the thought that went through my mind when I was thinking about it. The Gone-Away World is pretty far out, although it was probably written while the author was sober. It's too high concept to have been written while under the influence, although Dave Stone's Doctor Who novel Sky Pirates! seems to have been written while under something.


Book 54...

REVIEW: Dragonball, volume 14 by Akira Toriyama


While manga does not hold the biggest place in terms of my favourite genres, it does have a large place, partly because many of them cross genres with the same regularity that one crosses the street. Dragonball, although it could be described simply as a martial arts epic, is also a comedy, a science fiction-fantasy story, a Bangsian work, and a soap opera all in one. In this, one of the last volumes of the original Dragonball saga before it transitioned into Dragonball Z, we begin to see the foreshadowings of the future.

Goku's fight with Piccolo begins to become desperate as Piccolo resorts to dirtier tricks and Goku becomes severely injured. Goku prevails against Piccolo, barely, but his quest to revive the Dragon Balls will take him on a journey to meet Kami, the being otherwise known as God. Surprises await in store, as Goku is groomed to fight a new threat, the son of Piccolo...

The end of the battle against King Piccolo is excellent, with both sides becoming desperate, and how Goku wins is nothing short of amazing. And while the identity of Kami may seem old hat to those familiar with Dragonball Z, to a readership who had just read through the Piccolo saga, his resemblance to Piccolo would have been as startling to them as it was to Goku. The reason revealed for Kami's non-action against Piccolo is also reasonable, given the context.

The volume doesn't end with Piccolo's death and the reveal of Kami's identity, but rather with the third (and final in the original Dragonball manga) Tenka'ichi Budokai martial arts tournament to feature in the series. Regulars to the tournament Kuririn and Yamcha make it, as does Goku's new rival and friend Tenshinhan, but so does two old enemies, and another face whose identity, I am sure, will be revealed in the next volume.

While not complex or deep, Dragonball does not claim to be anything other than entertainment. It is good for action and comedy, for unambiguous battles between good and evil. It is enjoyable and fun action, nothing more, and nothing less.


8/10

First words: Heh heh heh...

Last words: And so the lottery ended and the match opponents for the ominous 23rd Tenka'ichi Budokai were decided!

Book 55...

REVIEW: The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross


Having read the first vook in his Laundry series, a perverse mixture of espionage thriller and cosmic horror story, and the post-human extinction book Saturn's Children, I felt that I could try the next book in the Laundry series. I wasn't so sure that I would like it, but as it so happened, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise after all...

Bob Howard isn't the physical kind of secret agent. He's more of a technowhiz who knows how mathematics and computer programs can summon unnameable horrors from beyond, working for the Laundry, a British secret organisation designed to try and prevent such incursions. But he is roped into a mission to investigate billionaire Ellis Billington, who seems to intend to raise an eldritch weapon known only as 'Jennifer Morgue' from the depths. Magically entangled with American Black Chamber agent Ramona Random, who herself is bound to her masters even strongly than Bob, Bob must make his way through a world which is becoming strangely familiar, and full of cliches...

If the previous novel, from what I have read, was a pastiche of the Len Deighton-style espionage thrillers, then this one is so clearly like James Bond, take away the Lovecraftian elements, and that's what you get. While at first this element of the plot is ridiculous (this is, after all, meant to be a serious work), the explanation for this actually makes perfect sense, even if, at times, some parts of the plot do not.

Of course, the story that I am referring to here is The Jennifer Morgue. This edition also has a short story, Pimpf, which is fairly short and sweet, and doesn't overstay its welcome, thankfully, given that it involves eldritch infestation of MMORPGS. This subject matter could make or break a story, and so while it would make a good subject for Stross to return to at a later date, the way it is done is good enough.

The characters are amongst the more interesting in The Jennifer Morgue. Bob Howard himself makes, as usual, an interesting and sardonic narrator, and is always willing to reveal his lack of knowledge or confidence in how to deal with the situation. His love interest, Dr Dominique 'Mo' O'Brien, plays a moderate but vital role in the story. And Ramona Random, being not entirely human (something that isn't that big a spoiler, given how she addresses Bob throughout the novel, not to mention that the revelation about her true nature comes before the halfway mark), is the most interesting of the new characters, given her tragic backstory behind her acerbic attitude.

The Jennifer Morgue overstays its welcome somewhat, but it is still capable of showing that it is possible to combine humour (albeit sardonic humour), an espionage thriller, and the works of HP Lovecraft. It's got a little bit of everything, and may just entertain you.



8.5/10

First words: The guys from the "A" and "B" crews have been sitting on their collective ass for five weeks, out in the middle of nowhere.

Last words: (Censored due to spoilers)

Book 56...

REVIEW: Dragonball, volume 15 by Akira Toriyama


With this volume (not the last volume of the original Dragonball saga, but the second last), I can finally say that I have read every volume of the original Dragonball saga. From when Goku met a teenager called Bulma, all the way to his climactic fight with the son of the evil demon, King Piccolo. It's been a fun ride, and a funny ride, through one of the most popular action mangas of all time.

The 23rd Tenka'ichi Budokai gets underway. In the first round, it is Tenshinhan versus his vengeful former teacher and brother of his master, Taopaipai, revived as a cyborg. In the second round, Goku must fight against a young woman who claims to be his fiancee, but who is she? The third round sees Kuririn and Piccolo's reincarnation fighting it out, with Kuririn set to give even Piccolo a few surprises. And the fourth round, the last before the semi-finals, sees Yamcha pitted against the apparently lucky amateur fighter Shen, who is not whom he appears to be....

As I have said before, Dragonball is far from deep. The stories and characters are not present to be taken seriously per se, except when things get right down to the nitty-gritty of the battles. If there are themes, then they are of loyalty, friendship, tenacity, and morality. But they don't get in the way of the martial arts action storyline.

Here, we start to get the last plot threads falling into place linking Dragonball with Dragonball Z. Here, Goku and Chi-Chi, for the first time in years, are united and married, in such a surprising way, I'm surprised that the marriage lasted as long as it did. We have Tenshinhan severing ties with his master and his former teacher.

Of course, by now, some of the cliches are beginning to show. Yamcha, as he was in previous tournaments, is out in his first public match, although considering the calibre of his opponent this time, it's just as well, and Yamcha gives it his all.

Exciting battles and humour does not make for a deep series, but it certainly makes for an entertaining one. Now that I have read all of Dragonball's original saga, I am content.


8/10

First words: I see...

Last words: What's goin' on with those two...?

Book 57...

REVIEW: Star Wars: Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry

I'm not really fond of Star Wars. I mean, I like it and all, but I am not a major fanatic. So, beyond the movies, reading Splinter of the Mind's Eye as a teenager, and one or two video games, I haven't really experienced much of it. I decided, after some roaming on TV Tropes, to try one book from the Star Wars Expanded Universe, because the concept was an intriguing one...

This is the story about how the Death Star was built, and how it was destroyed. It is a story of how lawmakers, lawbreakers, prisoners and psychopaths ended up together on a devastating battlestation. There's Darth Vader, Moff Tarkin, and Admiral Motti, who all have their own opinions, and purposes, for the Death Star. There is Nova Stihl, an imperial stormtrooper with excellent martial arts skills and hidden Force sensitivity. There is Tenn Graneet, who was the man who pulled the lever to destroy Alderaan. Twi'lek bartender Memah Roothes, who takes up an offer to own a bar on the Death Star when her old one burns to the ground. And Dr Uli Divini, a doctor who's been in the service since the Clone Wars. We know what happens to the Death Star in the end. But now, we know the fact that not all of those on the Death Star were monsters...

I have to admit, this actually puts an interesting new perspective on the events involved in the Star Wars movies, particularly A New Hope. Regardless of what is considered canon by Star Wars fans, this is actually an interesting book in what it manages to link between the prequels and the original trilogy. The characters in A New Hope, particularly, were mostly archetypes, and to see some of them fleshed out, and some of the logistics as to how something like the Death Star would actually work brings it above the single-function doom fortress that it was in the film.

While the characters are all, to a certain degree, interesting, I found three characters who actually had interaction with the movie characters of most interest. Dr Uli Divini treats Princess Leia after her torture at the hands of Darth Vader, and is himself the victim of a conscription order that has forced him to remain in the military until his death. Nova Stihl is one of the stormtroopers who pursues Han, and has an unsuspected Force sensitivity that causes him to be affected by each use of the Death Star. And Tenn Graneet was the man who pulled the trigger, and was the man saying, just before the Death Star blew, "Stand by, stand by".

There are a few complaints I do want to make. Many of the characters involved are really cliches with a few extras bolted on, and while telling the events of A New Hope from an Imperial perspective is an interesting concept, I don't think that the authors did quite enough. With a little more time, it could have been taken to the next level. Instead, what I got was basically as far as some cliches can go. It's done well, but it is still a little disatisfying.

Not that this is a bad book at all. Quite to the contrary. Even if you are not a die-hard Star Wars fanatic, this may still be an interesting book to look at. It may even surprise you.


9/10

First words: The alert siren screamed, a piercing wail that couldn't be ignored by any being on board with ears and a pulse.

Last words: His Master would not be pleased.

Book 58...

REVIEW: The Making of Avatar by Jody Duncan and Lisa Fitzpatrick

I'll be perfectly honest: I have not watched Avatar all the way through. The movie wasn't my thing, with me having grown weary and cynical of any movie with an overtly environmental message. Not to mention the fact that the story has been done and better in previous movies and books (Dune springs to mind). But Avatar's technical achievement impressed me in how it managed to blend CGI characters and make them further approach reality. This was why I waited until the special edition DVD came out, and this was why I decided to purchase The Making of Avatar book.

People who wish to write making-of books, please take note. While The Making of Avatar is by no means perfect, it certainly gets a hell of a lot right. The glossy photographs impressed me, and while glossy photographs by no means impress me all the time, they certainly contribute a hell of a lot to the overall feel. The presentation, for the most part, feels right, if sometimes a little more balanced towards images rather than text.

Of course, the text itself was excellent, detailing the process of how Avatar got made and put on-screen by James Cameron, heading a team of a wide variety of talents. One major plus in this regard was that, unlike the DVD documentary and a few other Avatar-related materials (like the Pandora handbook I reviewed earlier last year), it doesn't shove the environmental themes in your face. I feel having environmental themes being shoved in my face is rather like the road safety ads I have to endure: those behind it are preaching to the converted as far as I am concerned, and re-emphasising it is only going to turn me off and cause existential angst.

However, I do have to admit that the text could have been somewhat more substantial, particularly when it came to both the cast and the conception of the Na'vi language. A screenplay wouldn't have gone astray either, although this has actually been made available for free on the internet, and more preproduction artwork wouldn't have gone astray, instead of interminable pictures of actors in motion capture suits.

These are more nitpicks than anything, really. This is a very good book about a groundbreaking movie, about the technical achievements involved, and the people behind the colossus that is the highest grossing film of all time in the US and Canada (barring inflation).


9/10

First words: Sometime in the late 1970s in Orange County, California, James Cameron painted a picture of a tall, slender blue girl standing in a field of magenta grass.

Last words: That's the magic of venturing into the impossible.

It does get tiring to hear such political propaganda over and over ubiquitously doesn't it?

My thoughts on Avatar was that it combined the movies Pocahontas and Ernest Goes To Camp. Special effects seems to be the mainstay of too many modern movies, while the budget for writing scripts that actually display the use of one's ability to think seems to be too often nonexistent.

Actually, James Cameron wrote the script himself.

But yes, it does get tiring. At least in Futurama, they make their green aesops funny (Crimes of the Hot is a supreme example).

Book 59...

REVIEW: The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross


Having read the first two installments of the Laundry series by Charles Stross, I thought that they were pretty entertaining fusions of spy fiction and cosmic horror stories. They even had a level of sardonic humour about them, unusual in cosmic horror stories. But now, in this third installment, things are really starting to happen...

Bob Howard is happily married to Dr Dominique 'Mo' O'Brien, but their work for the Laundry is a trial on the relationship. Things get worse when Bob's boss, the enigmatic Angleton, sends Bob on a mysterious errand that ends with the death of a civilian. Soon afterwards, Angleton disappears, and Bob and Mo are attacked by agents of a cult that wants to revive N'yar lath-Hotep. All of this ties to the Fuller Memorandum, and the horrible truth about Angleton's nature...

Although always dark, this book makes the series much darker, with the ending being alluded to from the beginning. But it is still a gripping read. Although a more straightforward story than The Atrocity Archives or The Jennifer Morgue in some ways, it also focuses on the characters who are at the heart of the series more.

Bob Howard's sardonic tones become ever more weary and depressed in this, and after what he goes through, I can't blame him. Mo plays an excellent role, having evolved from the damsel in distress (of sorts) from The Atrocity Archives and the wild card concerned for Bob in The Jennifer Morgue into a competent agent. And finally, Angleton plays a much stronger role that finally reveals what was long since strongly implied since the beginning of the series.

The writing and characterisation is neater than in previous books (or maybe I am just warming to Charles Stross' style), and there is less seemingly accidental connections between certain story threads. It is also much more absorbing than either The Atrocity Archives or The Jennifer Morgue.

It does still have some problems with both consistency and a certain dryness in writing, and although the dark direction the story takes is welcome, it does come at the expense of much of the sardonic humour of the Laundry series.

But this is an excellent book, nonetheless. It ends on a dark note, but ultimately as hopeful a one as anything set in a Lovecraftian universe can be. And even though Stross has further books in the series planned, this would be a decent enough conclusion that I would be satisfied.


9/10

First words: There can be only One True Religion.

Last words: And when he arrives, I'll be waiting with a shotgun.

Book 60...

REVIEW: Batman Forever by Peter David, from the screenplay by Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler, and Akiva Goldsman


The Batman films were really my introduction to the character, and while the first two Tim Burton-directed films were my favourites (until Christopher Nolan came along with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight), I did enjoy Batman Forever, I have to admit (I was a kid at the time). And although I cringe at many of the aspects of the film nowadays, there is still enough to commend it as entertaining. I decided, as a bit of filler until the Lifeline Bookfest came along, to read the novelisation.

Bruce Wayne, and his vigilante alter-ego, Batman, has his hands full trying to protect Gotham City from various threats. There is Two-Face, the disfigured psychopath who was once Harvey Dent, one of Batman's allies. There is Edward Nygma, the deranged genius and stalker of Bruce Wayne, who, when his idol snubs his new invention, becomes the Riddler. But there are more than villains impeding Batman. There is Dr Chase Meridian, a psychiatrist whose interest in Batman, and Bruce Wayne, that extends beyond the professional. There is Dick Grayson, whose destiny will either bring him into conflict with Bruce, or into alliance. And Bruce Wayne is being plagued by dreams, of a long-repressed guilt that may have serious repurcussions on whether he will continue his mission as Batman.

I have read a few of Peter David's novelisations, of Hulk and Iron Man. I enjoyed them somewhat, and was pleasantly surprised to be entertained by this, a much earlier work than either. In this novelisation, David, while adding some touches of his own (including how Edward Nygma first became obsessed with Bruce Wayne, and how Batman first met Harvey Dent), also derives many elements from sequences that were filmed, but cut, including the significance of the dream sequences, and a theme that Batman was in danger of devolving into a brutal killer.

We also get clarifications that weren't in the movie as screened, such as how the Riddler actually tracked Two-Face to his lair, and more foreshadowing of the prototype Batsuit. We also have a more satisfying conclusion. I won't spoil the plot elements, but let's just say that what happens to Two-Face in the end is better than what was put into the movie. And Two-Face is shown to be less of a campy ally to the Riddler and more as a potentially treacherous one with a mind (or rather, two) of his own.

While this novelisation does much to expand on the original movie, the style of writing, while entertaining, is not quite as satisfying as it should be. With a little bit of effort, it could have really broken the ceiling on tie-in novelisations. And while the tone is more serious than the movie proper, there is no disguising the smell of wasted potential in both the original screenplay and the novelisation.

That being said, Batman Forever is an entertaining, above-average novelisation. It won't give you deep, philosophical insight, although it does have a certain psychological edge to it, and it certainly makes you wonder how much better the movie could have been.


8/10

First words: The rain poured down in sheets, with such ferocity and intensity that it didn't seem as if it were originating from the skies.

Last words: The darkness opened up to them, and they were gone.

Book 61...

REVIEW: Tales of HP Lovecraft by HP Lovecraft, edited by Joyce Carol Oates


It is undeniable that one of the biggest influences on horror and science fiction as we know it today is one Howard Phillip Lovecraft, whose obscurity during his life is now amazing, compared to how powerful his works are today. Having read At the Mountains of Madness previously in this book-reading blog, I have decided to read more of his stories.

The universe is filled with frightening horrors and terrors. From a kind of living colour, to the mysterious being known as Cthulhu, from the strange residents of the town of Innsmouth, to madness-inspiring ruins in Antarctica, there is much that can cause fright, madness, and death...

This collection contains the short stories and novellas The Outsider, The Music of Erich Zann, The Rats in the Walls, The Shunned House, The Call of Cthulhu, The Colour Out of Space, The Dunwich Horror, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and The Shadow Out of Time. Given that I have already read At the Mountains of Madness, I will confine my review to those I haven't read, as well as the introduction and other parts of the book.

Compared to the slowly-moving but atmospheric At the Mountains of Madness, the other stories in this collection move at a fairly decent pace. Most of the short story are decent and atmospheric horror stories, but until we get to The Call of Cthulhu, they do not always grab my interest. But all the stories in the collection from The Call of Cthulhu onwards grab my interest fairly consistently. All of those latter stories belong to the Cthulhu Mythos proper, with the apparent exception of the still good The Colour Out of Space.

Each tale is of an alien terror, each with its own merits, but several of them, in particular The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror, and The Shadow Over Innsmouth, have one unifying flaw that repels me from them. It is not the horror or terror that repels me from these stories, but the blatant and strong racism and xenophobia. In The Call of Cthulhu, the human antagonists are black or coloured. In The Dunwich Horror, an albino woman gives birth to a monstrous son. And in The Shadow Over Innsmouth, we learn about the horrid effects of interbreeding between humanity and an aquatic race, one which was born of Lovecraft's own abhorrence of racial interbreeding.

This strong undercurrent of xenophobia repels me, but it is not enough to fully detach me from the primary purpose of Lovecraft's work, which is to entertain and thrill. And that these stories do well. It is hard, even, to classify a couple of these, namely The Colour Out of Space, and The Shadow Out of Time, as anything but science fiction, albeit science fiction stories with a strong horror element. There is also an intriguing introduction, a brief but interesting autobiography, and a brief article by Lovecraft himself on how to write.

If you can overlook the blatant xenophobia and old-fashioned language, then you can't do much wrong by deciding to have a peruse of this. Of course, horror fans will probably appreciate this more, but it is certainly an intriguing introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos.



8.5/10

First words: Unhappy is he to whom the memories of childhood bring only fear and sadness.

Last words: (Deleted for spoilers)