Top Ten Tuesday: A Decade on the TBR List

The secret to immortality is to never run out of books on your to-be-read pile, right? At least, that’s what I tell myself when I look at the list of books that I’ve at one time or another added to this list.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) asks us to look at those books we’ve had on our lists for a decade or so but still haven’t read. So, here we go with my list.

1. About Time, The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who (Seasons 4 to 6) by Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood
2. Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovich
3. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
4. The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend by Glenn Frankel
5. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
6. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (I’d like to re-read all of the Holmes canon)
7. The Brightonomicon by Robert Rankin
8. Doctor Who: Fury from the Deep by Victor Pemberton (audiobook)
9. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (audiobook revisit of a book I read in high school)
10. The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

I wonder which one I will dive into first? Which one would you recommend move from my to-be-read pile?

Audiobook Review: Doctor Who and the Horns of Nimon by Terrance Dicks

Fan opinion on “The Horns of Nimon” is fairly divided — there are those who adore it and then there are those who consider it the low point of its era.

It’s been a hot minute since I rewatched the story and it’s not a Target adaptation that I have strong memories of either way. With the story coming out as an audiobook, it feels like this is the publisher trying to finish out the range with a novelization that isn’t regarded as one of Terrance Dicks’ more stellar efforts.

And yet, listening to this audiobook, I was immensely entertained and felt like I was hearing the story again for the first time. Now, this doesn’t mean this story has jumped into my top ten stories of all time, but listening to it and experiencing it for the first time in a decade or more, I found myself more than entertained by it. Dicks starts the story off with a prologue that establishes the rise and fall of the empire and the Nimon’s arrival with promises of glories to come if only the Sconons will follow the Nimon’s instructions.

If the entire novel had shown as much care as this early chapter did, this one might be remembered as one of the better entries by Dicks. Instead, from that creative high, we get a fairly straightforward adaptation of what we got on-screen (at least as far as I can recall). Your mileage will vary on which camp you fall into for this one — though I will admit that removed from some of the acting choices made by certain thespians in this story, the overall story and threat work a bit better (at least for this fan).

The audiobook is an interesting experience. Performed by Geoffrey Beavers (who is (apparently) the go-to reader these days if Jon Culshaw isn’t available), he makes some different choices than the actors who memorably brought this to life on screen. I will admit that not having Soldeed as over the top helps make him a more sympathetic figure (when you realize the Nimon is using him) and a bigger potential threat. Again, I could listen to Beavers read the take-out menu and he’d do a solid job on it, so I shouldn’t be too surprised that his work here is, once again, exemplary.

Listening to this, I find myself curious to revisit revisit “Nimon”. I’m working on a pilgrimage through classic Who and I’m a good chunk away from getting this one. But I will admit, part of me is really looking forward to it….

Review: Star Trek: Mutiny on the Enterprise by Robert E. Vardeman

My quest to read or re-read the Star Trek novels published in 1983 continues with Robert E. Vardeman’s Mutiny on the Enterprise. While I’d checked this one as read in the past, I couldn’t recall any details about it before or while reading it. This may be my memory trying to protect me from an extremely disappointing novel.

Mutiny on the Enterprise plays a lot like a late third-season episode of Star Trek. The characters and settings are all there but something seems just a tiny bit off.

Pulling into a starbase for repairs and R&R, Kirk and the crew are quickly informed that isn’t happening since the Enterprise is the least banged up ship in the quadrant. But the mission should be a fairly straightforward one, racing an ambassadorial trio to negotiate with the planets of Ammdon and Jurnamoria before war can break out and the Romulans can swoop in. Never mind that one of the ambassadors is a Tellarite, who wants to pick a fight at every turn with anyone who will speak to him.

So, the Enterprise heads off, but along the way, the crew encounters a derelict ship with a woman named Lorelai aboard. Beaming her on board only begins a lot of Kirk’s troubles — surprisingly few of them come from attempting to strike up a romantic relationship with Lorelai. (Though we are treated to numerous times when Kirk can’t stop thinking about her). Seems that Lorelai is committed to the cause of peace up to the point of never firing a phaser or photon torpedo, ever. She keeps warning the crew that if the Enterprise warps into the system with Ammdon and Jurnamoria, both sides will be at war before you can say “Beam me up, Scotty.”

Top Ten Tuesday: Will I Like It As Much the Second Time?

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) asks an interesting question: What books did you like the first time, but are concerned you wouldn’t like as much on the second or third time.

Rereading Ready Player One a few years ago for a book club, I did not enjoy it as much as I did the first time. On the other hand, Pet Semetary scared me as a young reader and scared me again upon reading it. Over the last decade, I’ve revisited several media tie-in novels that I consumed back in my younger days with varying results. Some held up, some didn’t.

1. Doctor Who: The Dying Days by Lance Parkin – The only eighth Doctor novel in the New Adventures range, I vividly recall multiple passages and being glued to the book. Year later, I wonder if it would be as memorable the second time.
2. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton – I read the original novel before the movie was released and was, thus, kind of disappointed by the movie. I wonder if reading it now with how much a part of pop culture the movies are would make it a different experience.
3. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell – Another book that held me back in the day and full of some vivid moments that are seared into my memory. Not sure it would be the same if I revisited it.
4. The James Bond and Jack Reacher novels – I’ve read multiple entries from both series and they’re enjoyable popcorn thrillers. I am not sure they’d necessarily hold up well to another visit.
5. Star Trek The Next Generation: Imzadi by Peter David – Another tie-in novel that I want to visit again but I’m not sure would connect with me in the same way it did the first time.

Doctor Who Audiobook Review: Planet of the Ood, The Time Monster, Attack of the Cybermen

Planet of the Ood by Keith Temple

As the modern Doctor Who Target novels continue, I find myself becoming more fascinated by why some stories are getting the novel treatment and others aren’t. I assume part of it is the time and willingness of the original episode writers to adapt their story for the printed page. So, while part of me wants to see RTD and Steven Moffat adapt some of their event scripts for the printed page, part of me is just happy to get new Target books to enjoy on audio.

Such is the case with Planet of the Ood, a story I immensely enjoyed when it was first broadcast but (like much of modern Who) I haven’t revisited since.

Introduced two seasons before, the Ood are given a bit more depth and backstory than we initially saw in “The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit.” Keith Temple’s script delves a bit more into the servitors of humanity, revealing the dark secrets and implications of their service to humanity. The story strengthens the Ood and takes the time to make observations.

As an audiobook, the story works well enough. Temple gives us character background and depth the supporting cast on-screen and a few little side narratives to underscore the central drama and conflict of the story. It’s not quite on par with the later Target novels under the seventh Doctor, but it does feel like the kind of solid world-building that Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke did in the early days of the Target range.

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 The Time Monster  by Terrance Dicks

One good thing about The Time Monster is it establishes that the Master coming up with half-baked plans isn’t necessarily something isolated to the Anthony Ainley version of the character.

This one regularly rounds out the bottom of many classic Who fan polls for the third Doctor’s era — and with good reason. And yet, for all its faults and foibles, there is actually a good story in here trying to get out.

It’s a shame it never quite does.

In many ways, it feels like Barry Letts and Robert Sloman wanted to emulate the success of The Daemons a season before. So, why not hit some of the high points of that one again? The Master is on hand with a plot to take over the world/universe and there’s the deconstruction of human mythology — in this case, it’s Greek mythology and the story of Atlantis and the Minotaur.

Honestly, it wouldn’t shock me to someday learn that the script was also some kind of bet among friends to see how many times they could slip a certain word onscreen and the BBC censors wouldn’t or couldn’t object. (The acronym for the device used to push matter through time and summon Kronos).

There’s even a bit of travel in the TARDIS for Jo, the potential for a time ram and more scenery-chewing than you can shake a stick at.

So, how does that all add up when it comes to the novel?

Unfortunately, not very well. I recall picking this Target novel up and then it languishing on my shelf. I’d try to read it only to feel completely disconnected from the story and ignore it for long periods. The same thing proves true of the audiobook, despite Jon Culshaw’s attempts to liven it up with his performance and imitation of the various characters. I kept chugging for isolated scenes like “the daisiest daisy” and UNIT troops meeting up with various armies ripped through time to take them on. But, it felt like this one took a lot longer for me to get through the running time (literally and figuratively as I listened to this while running).

I can’t help but wonder if Uncle Terrance wasn’t a huge fan of this one either, given that this comes from the later Target period when he could have had more time to fill in details and deepen the characters — something he does neither of here.

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Attack of the Cybermen by Eric Saward

I still have a lot of muddled feelings when it comes to Attack of the Cybermen. Part of me just can’t shake the feeling of being incredibly late to the party I felt when I first watched this one on KTEH all those years ago. I was relatively new to fandom, knew little to nothing about the history of the Cybermen, and was treated to four (US syndication) episodes that reminded me of this over and over again.

Attack works better when you realize what is being referenced in the story — whether it’s callbacks to the destruction of Mondas from the Cybermen’s original appearance to the Cyberemen lurking in the sewers from their last 60’s appearance. A lot of it ends up feeling like Eric Saward saying to audiences, “Ha, ha, I get to watch the lost episodes and you don’t.”

This is honestly a story where Doctor Who feels like its doing a lot of navel gazing and throwing in continuity for continuity’s sake.

And despite delays in seeing this one hit the printed page, the novelization of it doesn’t exactly help much. Saward spends a good bit of time creating character backstories for Charlie and various other players — but as with his recent Dalek adaptations, this just underscores the incredibly high body count of his stories. Saward seemed to take the wrong lessons from Robert Holmes returning to the series during Saward’s tenure as script editor. Holmes found a gruesome threat in the everyday or the seemingly safe. Saward just seems to find the grim and gruesome.

What Saward does well is keeping the plotlines on Earth and Telos fairly well separated. It’s only once events finish on Earth and we’re headed to Telos that he introduces those threads. But other than that, it’s a fairly standard adaptation of his/Paula Moore’s script for the printed page. And while Saward is willing to fill in some of the Cybermen’s history (we get another allusion to their role in Adric’s death), he doesn’t fill in enough to fully eliminate the feeling that if you haven’t seen the 60’s cyber stories (which few of us had at the time), you were missing a vital element of this one.

Disappointing them and still disappointing.

The same can’t be said for David Banks’ performance of this story. Banks did a solid job last year and his work here is nice, even if the audiobook doesn’t always add the Cybermen filters to various Cybermen.

Review: The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

A couple of years ago, I decided I’d read all the nominees for the Hugo Award from that year and see which novel I’d choose. This tradition continued for several years for me, with mixed results. After a while, it felt like certain novels were picked less for their merits and more based on who the author was. Get nominated once and it felt like you had name recognition to carry you for a couple of years, no matter whether your book was worthy of the award or not.

So, my annual project to read all the nominated best novels fell by the wayside. Until last year, when the short list came out, I decided to give it a try again (it helped that I’d already finished one of the novels from the year). Based on the list, I hoped to visit a few old friends again and maybe discover a new author or two that I could do a deep-dive into their works.

I’d read Scalzi’s entry and my local library had a copy of Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Spare Man easily accessible, so I started there. The idea of a Thin Man type of mystery set in outer space intrigued me and I found myself eager to dive in.

That enthusiasm lasted about fifty pages.

I am probably spoiled by how much I enjoyed Issac Asimov’s Robot novels and how well they straddled the line between mystery and science-fiction. But with The Spare Man, I found myself not engaged by the story, the mystery, or the continued setting. I couldn’t shake the feeling I get when I read a lot of Dean Koontz’s works — that feeling that I’ve read this before, even though I know it’s a new (to me) book.

It feels like this one was written on autopilot. There’s never any real hook for me and I never became invested in the central mystery enough or the main characters to feel invested enough to want to race to the finish. I finished more out of a sense of — well, I’ve come this far, might as well see where it all goes.

A disappointing entry from a usually reliable author.

Review: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

The moment Starter Villain introduced talking dolphins who swear like most thirteen-year-old boys who have discovered the f-word, it had me.

But given that leading up to that we’d had a funeral in which everyone showed up to make sure the deceased really was deceased (including stabbing the body) and cats who can communicate by typing out their thoughts, I guess you could pretty much say I was into John Scalzi’s novel early. It helps that his latest novel taps into the same absurdist fun as his Hugo-winning Red Shirts did.

After being laid off from his journalistic job, Charlie struggles to make ends meet as a substitute teacher while living in his deceased father’s home. After he’s turned down for a loan to purchase his local bar and run it, Charlie finds himself at loose ends, until he gets news that is rich uncle has passed away and wants Charlie to take over his business. What Charlie doesn’t know is that business is the villain business and Charlie’s uncle was a major player.

Oh yeah, and there are sentient cats who can communicate via keyboard and he’s got to negotiate a labor dispute with the dolphins who, again, like to swear a lot.

I found myself laughing out loud at multiple points during Starter Villian. And yet in the laughter, Scalzi takes time to make a few interesting points and observations about the world and the people we’re putting in charge of things, the state of technology, and multiple other issues I won’t necessarily delve too far into here. But what Scalzi does so well is entertain first and foremost — the scene where various wannabe villains present their evil plots and are either rewarded with the thumbs up or sent flying via a giant spring into the sea is just one example of this in a book packed full of them.

And in a world where it feels like far too many genre entries are going for a multi-book saga, it’s nice that Starter Villain can be enjoyed on its own. I wouldn’t necessarily mind spending more time with the various players in this story (again, the dolphins) but the novel wisely ties up everything by the time the final page is turned.

One of the more satisfying novels I’ve read lately and highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Collected Comic Review: The Amazing Spider-Man, Volume 2: The New Sinister

Celebrating 900 issues and sixty years of my favorite comic book character, this collection of three issues (two stories) from Amazing Spider-Man leaves me feeling confused and like something is missing.

The first issue is an overly long story in which something has kidnapped the Sinister Six and made one huge being with all their powers to take on Spider-Man. All this starts around Pete’s birthday and it feels like it should be more fun than it is. By what felt like the millionth page, I was just ready for things to end so I could move on.

Next is a story in which the Vulture’s granddaughter finds out he’s a bad guy and wants to cut ties with him. Instead of seeing this as a wake-up call, the Vulture blames Spider-Man and heads out on a vendetta to end his life. Meanwhile, Peter is interviewing to work at Oscorp and Norman Osborne, who may or may not have a few Spider-suit modifications and gadgets for him. Worlds collide. The cliffhanger with the Vulture smashing Spidey’s web shooters and then dropping him from way up in the sky would be better if we hadn’t seen this done to Spidey before. And while it’s fun to watch Vulture lose his cool, I can’t help but come away from this story feeling like I’m missing a lot of backstory.

I want to enjoy the comic book adventures of my favorite hero, but I begin to wonder if these comics are really written for me anymore

Audiobook Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: No Brainer by Jeff Kinney

It’s pretty much a No Brainer that I’m going to listen to each new installment in Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid series. At this point, I’m eighteen books in and there’s still enough in each offering that I enjoy spending a few hours with Greg Hefley and his family.

The eighteenth installment of the series is one of the most amusing in quite some time. With low test scores, a name from a notorious used-car dealership, and their claim to fame being the newly invented fudge dogs (a tofu dog dipped in chocolate), Greg’s middle school is facing budget cuts and possible closure. Kinny’s observations about school cutbacks and the faculty having to stretch the budget will amuse kids but adults will recognize an element of truth as they laugh along as well. This installment hits close to home and reality in a lot of ways.

Overall, a solid entry in the series.

Audiobook Review: Same Time, Next Year by Tessa Bailey

Looking for something light to ease me into the new year exercise regiment, I decided to give Tessa Bailey one last try with her novella Same Time Next Year.

All I can say is, three strikes and she’s out.

The premise of the novel is fairly decent — boy marries a girl for the sake of a green card and to continue pursuing his dreams in our fair country. Add in that both the boy and girl are both already attracted to each other and you’ve got what could be a fun take on certain rom-com tropes.

The devil is in the details.

Bailey gets so many details just absolutely incorrect — things that it would be easy to research via Google in less time than I’m taking to write this review. One particular detail that stood out (given the recent news) is the arrival of a certain swimsuit issue of a particular magazine. Bailey has it arrive in September after our two heroes have spent two months apart, pining for each other and getting all hot and bothered. This is one of many details that Bailey doesn’t quite get right or just overlooks at the service of her story, such as it is.

I suppose I could get past the little things if the big things all work. But the book falls apart there as well. Our heroes, Britta and Sumner tie the knot as a business arrangement. He gets to stay in America and try to get picked up for the NHL (because there’s no hockey in Canada…seriously, that’s the argument) and she gets a lump sum that she uses to buy into the local sports bar she works at because it has a sentimental attachment to her mom. And the crux of Sumner’s being allowed his green card all hinges on their assigned governmental assessor seeing them making out in the parking lot and deciding you can’t fake that kind of attraction.

If I hadn’t listened to this as an audiobook, I think I would have thrown it at the wall multiple times. I found myself switching to a podcast or two simply to escape the latest absurdity piled on top of an absurdity.

I get it — romance books probably live or die based on the level of attraction between the leads and just how far PG-13 or R-rated the author wants to take readers. This one definitely hits into the R-rated territory. But at some point, an author has to do his or her homework for fear of those little details taking a reader right out of the book. And it’s the little details that become a huge stumbling block for this one.