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David McK (3587 KP) rated Alien: Out Of The Shadows in Books
Jun 16, 2019
So, Alien: Out of the Shadows.
Or, more precisely, the audiobook version of it, since that's the one I read (listened to?), picking it up as part of an audible trial where it was presented as, essentially, a series of podcasts.
Set between the events of the original Alien and it's sequel Aliens (the one with a 'S' at the end) and starring Ellen Ripley (or her sound-alike), you might wonder how Ripley never once mentioned the events of this at all in any of the later films.
You might wonder it, but it is explained away towards the end of this.
The story starts with her escape pod being picked up by the mining vessel Marion, a mining vessel orbiting the planet LV178 but which - just prior to picking Ripley up - has been knocked out of its orbit and had its communications array damaged by a shuttle coming up from the planet: a shuttle crewed by miners from that planet, and that has picked up some unwelcome guests.
What follows is a series of events and encounters, with the surviving members of the crew being picked off one by one as they attempt to find a way out of their predicament.
And, I have to say, the actress voicing Ripley sound amazingly like her, while Rutger Hauer is also suitably menacing in his role, while the background beeps and whirrs and hisses etc all add to the atmosphere.
It's also no surprise that this won an 'Audie award for excellence in production' in 2017.
Or, more precisely, the audiobook version of it, since that's the one I read (listened to?), picking it up as part of an audible trial where it was presented as, essentially, a series of podcasts.
Set between the events of the original Alien and it's sequel Aliens (the one with a 'S' at the end) and starring Ellen Ripley (or her sound-alike), you might wonder how Ripley never once mentioned the events of this at all in any of the later films.
You might wonder it, but it is explained away towards the end of this.
The story starts with her escape pod being picked up by the mining vessel Marion, a mining vessel orbiting the planet LV178 but which - just prior to picking Ripley up - has been knocked out of its orbit and had its communications array damaged by a shuttle coming up from the planet: a shuttle crewed by miners from that planet, and that has picked up some unwelcome guests.
What follows is a series of events and encounters, with the surviving members of the crew being picked off one by one as they attempt to find a way out of their predicament.
And, I have to say, the actress voicing Ripley sound amazingly like her, while Rutger Hauer is also suitably menacing in his role, while the background beeps and whirrs and hisses etc all add to the atmosphere.
It's also no surprise that this won an 'Audie award for excellence in production' in 2017.
David McK (3587 KP) rated Alien: River of Pain in Books
Jul 21, 2019
The second (or is it third? Audible has it 2nd, but I've also seen it called #3? Maybe 3rd produced, but 2nd set?) of - currently - 3 canon Alien novels, this takes part largely alongside the early parts of the movie Aliens, cutting back and forth between Ripley and the inhabitants of the colony of Hadley's Hope.
Remember I said alongside the start of Aliens? To put that into context, this is - largely - filling in the gaps in the movie, between the point at which Ripley's escape pod is picked up, and the arrival of the Marines (and Ripley, and Burke) to that colony, after all communication with it is lost. As such, there are several scenes in here which are lifted straight from that movie, with some - slightly - expanded upon.
It also gives a reason why Newt is the only survivor found hiding in the air-ducts ("They mostly come at night. Mostly"), why there's Alien Face-huggers in jars in the colony, why the marines are so hyped up when we first meet them in the film (they're just back from R&R), and even why Newt's family went out prospecting in the first place.
Worth a read/listen? Yes, although I have to say that there are elements of this that reminded me quite a bit of the 90s comic/novel "Aliens: Nightmare Asylum" - especially in some of the characters - and that it just seems weird, now, that the presence of Marines on the planetoid, pre Ripley and co, are never mentioned at all!
Remember I said alongside the start of Aliens? To put that into context, this is - largely - filling in the gaps in the movie, between the point at which Ripley's escape pod is picked up, and the arrival of the Marines (and Ripley, and Burke) to that colony, after all communication with it is lost. As such, there are several scenes in here which are lifted straight from that movie, with some - slightly - expanded upon.
It also gives a reason why Newt is the only survivor found hiding in the air-ducts ("They mostly come at night. Mostly"), why there's Alien Face-huggers in jars in the colony, why the marines are so hyped up when we first meet them in the film (they're just back from R&R), and even why Newt's family went out prospecting in the first place.
Worth a read/listen? Yes, although I have to say that there are elements of this that reminded me quite a bit of the 90s comic/novel "Aliens: Nightmare Asylum" - especially in some of the characters - and that it just seems weird, now, that the presence of Marines on the planetoid, pre Ripley and co, are never mentioned at all!
I'm calling my chimp Clarence.
Not that long ago, I picked up the sequel (for want of a better word) of this on Audible, as part of their 30 day trial. That was The Silent Guides, and largely wasn't really all the relevant to me. However, it did have a short section in which the author summarised his previous work (this), enough to arouse my curiosity.
After finishing it, I still had some credit left, so thought I would pick that earlier work.
So, what is the Chimp Paradox? Basically, it's a metaphor: Dr Steve Peters has us imagining our minds as (largely) split into 3: The 'Computer' where we store experiences and information, the Chimp (who always acts first and is the emotional part of our mind) and the Human (or us, the more logical part).
This work then provides more details on each of these, and on how they affect our day-to-day life along with theories and suggestions on how to improve said day-to-day life through (and I quote) 'managing our chimp'.
This, I felt, was more relevant to me and my circumstances than the later work (which I picked up first): there were elements in this where I could find myself going "oh, that's an idea … maybe I'll do that …" or "oh, right, I see what he's getting at here …".
Maybe not life changing or the be-all-to-end-all, but it does have some useful suggestions, yes (it's just a pity that Steve Peter's voice is a bit monotone!)
Not that long ago, I picked up the sequel (for want of a better word) of this on Audible, as part of their 30 day trial. That was The Silent Guides, and largely wasn't really all the relevant to me. However, it did have a short section in which the author summarised his previous work (this), enough to arouse my curiosity.
After finishing it, I still had some credit left, so thought I would pick that earlier work.
So, what is the Chimp Paradox? Basically, it's a metaphor: Dr Steve Peters has us imagining our minds as (largely) split into 3: The 'Computer' where we store experiences and information, the Chimp (who always acts first and is the emotional part of our mind) and the Human (or us, the more logical part).
This work then provides more details on each of these, and on how they affect our day-to-day life along with theories and suggestions on how to improve said day-to-day life through (and I quote) 'managing our chimp'.
This, I felt, was more relevant to me and my circumstances than the later work (which I picked up first): there were elements in this where I could find myself going "oh, that's an idea … maybe I'll do that …" or "oh, right, I see what he's getting at here …".
Maybe not life changing or the be-all-to-end-all, but it does have some useful suggestions, yes (it's just a pity that Steve Peter's voice is a bit monotone!)
Invasion 14: A Novel
Book
Based on personal experience, survivor testimony, and documentary research, Invasion 14 portrays the...
Karl Hyde recommended Inside Out by John Martyn in Music (curated)
ClareR (5916 KP) rated The Sandman (Audible Original #1) in Books
Sep 6, 2020
Well. Flipping heck. I’m a huge fan of the graphic novels, so I was both hesitant and wildly excited (it’s confusing to be me sometimes) when this popped on to my radar. Of course I preordered it off Audible, I’m not completely daft, and just in time for our holiday in Scotland. A nice, seven hour drive from Chester to the Black Isle (near Inverness - it’s beautiful there, by the way) and time well spent listening to this.
The cast was excellent: James McAvoy as Morpheus/ Dream/ The Sandman (they’re all the same person), Michael Sheen as Lucifer, and a host of other excellent voice actors: Rio Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, Samantha Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, Andy Serkis and Miriam Margolyes. There are more actors, and they were all wonderful. It was ALL wonderful - it stuck faithfully to the original graphic novels, and Neil Gaiman narrated wonderfully ( I know I need a thesaurus, but ‘wonderful’ is THE word!). Whatever that man touches is golden, it seems to me.
Can you tell I liked it? Actually, I LOVED it. I usually fall asleep on long car journeys (I get terribly car sick, and I don’t drive 🤷🏼♀️), but I stayed awake for the whole time - and didn’t feel sick at all (even during the gory bits!).
The most potentially exciting part for me, is that it says ‘#1’. So I’ve set up my waiting post (I have to work out what that is exactly. I see it as a mental waiting room).
I can’t wait!!
The cast was excellent: James McAvoy as Morpheus/ Dream/ The Sandman (they’re all the same person), Michael Sheen as Lucifer, and a host of other excellent voice actors: Rio Ahmed, Kat Dennings, Taron Egerton, Samantha Morton, Bebe Neuwirth, Andy Serkis and Miriam Margolyes. There are more actors, and they were all wonderful. It was ALL wonderful - it stuck faithfully to the original graphic novels, and Neil Gaiman narrated wonderfully ( I know I need a thesaurus, but ‘wonderful’ is THE word!). Whatever that man touches is golden, it seems to me.
Can you tell I liked it? Actually, I LOVED it. I usually fall asleep on long car journeys (I get terribly car sick, and I don’t drive 🤷🏼♀️), but I stayed awake for the whole time - and didn’t feel sick at all (even during the gory bits!).
The most potentially exciting part for me, is that it says ‘#1’. So I’ve set up my waiting post (I have to work out what that is exactly. I see it as a mental waiting room).
I can’t wait!!
ClareR (5916 KP) rated Miss Benson's Beetle in Books
Dec 5, 2020
Miss Benson’s Beetle is an absolute delight, and completely unexpected! I have other Rachel Joyce books on my bookshelf, but I haven’t read them yet (this will be remedied!), so I wasn’t expecting the quirky, moving book that I listened to on Audible.
It must have been very unusual for a woman in 1950 to up sticks and travel to the other side of the world, searching for a beetle that might not even exist. And the fact that she does this with no prior travel experience, not knowing the language at her destination, and with very basic equipment, made me feel that Margery Benson was even more courageous. I loved her companion, Enid Pretty, too - although I think Margery really struggles with her huge personality (despite her diminutive size) for a large part of the book. Enid is confident where Margery is unsure, loud where Margery is quiet - and she teaches Margery the importance of female friendship.
In the wings is an ex-prisoner of war who had been held captive by the Japanese. He suffers from PTSD and a tropical disease, and there is a feeling of constant unease that he will do something to harm Margery or Enid. I felt so sorry for him though. He really wasn’t in a good place mentally or physically throughout.
This book is a story of courage, trials and tribulations, tragedy, and joy in the small things in life (not just beetles!) and I loved it. It’s a book with a lot of laughter and a good helping of tears.
It must have been very unusual for a woman in 1950 to up sticks and travel to the other side of the world, searching for a beetle that might not even exist. And the fact that she does this with no prior travel experience, not knowing the language at her destination, and with very basic equipment, made me feel that Margery Benson was even more courageous. I loved her companion, Enid Pretty, too - although I think Margery really struggles with her huge personality (despite her diminutive size) for a large part of the book. Enid is confident where Margery is unsure, loud where Margery is quiet - and she teaches Margery the importance of female friendship.
In the wings is an ex-prisoner of war who had been held captive by the Japanese. He suffers from PTSD and a tropical disease, and there is a feeling of constant unease that he will do something to harm Margery or Enid. I felt so sorry for him though. He really wasn’t in a good place mentally or physically throughout.
This book is a story of courage, trials and tribulations, tragedy, and joy in the small things in life (not just beetles!) and I loved it. It’s a book with a lot of laughter and a good helping of tears.
BrainWave Dream Inducer ™
Lifestyle and Music
App
7 Advanced Binaural Dream Induction Programs in One App! Dream Inducer combines soothing ambient...
The Physics of the Dead
9.0
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What do the dead do when they can't leave...and don't know why? The afterlife doesn't come with a...
Science fiction
There aren’t many books that make me laugh out loud, but The Split did just that - and more than once. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a book with much to laugh about. I mean, Ally is dumped by her girlfriend who is already seeing someone else, she’s having a career crisis after managing to escape teaching, and she moves back in with her dad in Sheffield - which is a long way from London. At the last minute, Ally impulsively takes the cat - Emily’s cat. I think this surprises Ally too, as the cat doesn’t seem to like anyone, least of all Ally.
So not the cheeriest subject, but the way it was written - and the narration by Imogen Church - was what made me empathise with Ally. And the situations Ally found herself in were so relatable. I felt really mean laughing at her and Jeremy going out for their first few runs, but they were hilarious (and I’ve been there too!).
I even found myself talking to Ally (should I own up to this, and the fact that I was wearing headphones at the time?!), and was helpfully reminded by the 17 year old, that telling a fictitious character not to email her ex-girlfriend was pretty pointless. I stand by what I said though!
I loved this book, and it brightened my day for a week of dog walks and (the dreaded) dinner preparation!
Recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus for my original e-copy (even though I listened to it on Audible!).
So not the cheeriest subject, but the way it was written - and the narration by Imogen Church - was what made me empathise with Ally. And the situations Ally found herself in were so relatable. I felt really mean laughing at her and Jeremy going out for their first few runs, but they were hilarious (and I’ve been there too!).
I even found myself talking to Ally (should I own up to this, and the fact that I was wearing headphones at the time?!), and was helpfully reminded by the 17 year old, that telling a fictitious character not to email her ex-girlfriend was pretty pointless. I stand by what I said though!
I loved this book, and it brightened my day for a week of dog walks and (the dreaded) dinner preparation!
Recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus for my original e-copy (even though I listened to it on Audible!).