Clearly made on a punishingly low budget, and the vision of the future is occasionally a bit wonky from a modern perspective, but the five episodes written by series creator Chris Boucher are some of the best, most intelligent, wittiest and most cynical SF ever broadcast by the BBC. The other episodes not so much: everything gets a bit campy and there are a lot of national stereotypes on display. (Plus, the theme tune has been called the worst in TV history, and most of the incidental music is rubbish too.) Even when it's not particularly good, it's always trying to do something a bit different, and David Calder is consistently excellent as Spring. Not the first nor the last SF or fantasy show to be cut loose by the BBC before it had a chance to realise its potential.
From Night Flak to Hijack: It's a Small World
Reginald Levy and Alex L. Schiphorst
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This is the autobiography of Reginald Levy, a British pilot who reached a total of 25,090 flying...
Spoonfuls of Honey: A Complete Guide to Honey's Flavours & Culinary Uses With Over 80 Recipes
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Just as honeybees are found all over the world so are recipes that use their honey. Caribbean jerk,...
Britain's Railways in Transition 1965-75: All Change
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Steam's final fling was almost over. The early teething troubles with Britain's new fleet of main...
Awix (3310 KP) rated The World in Winter in Books
Sep 5, 2019
What makes the book a bit problematic for a modern reader is that some of the attitudes in it feel uncomfortably close to outright racism - it almost feels like a cautionary parable about what would happen if the traditional colonial roles were reversed and Africans were in a position of power over Europeans. That the book is a product of the era when the British Empire was dissolving is obvious, and the racial attitudes do impact on the story - protagonist and antagonist form an alliance at the end, despite a long history of bitter conflict between them, simply because they are both white men and the alternative is to allow Africans to dominate the UK. While the book should be considered in the context of its time, it still leaves a very sour taste in the mouth, quite unlike any of the author's other books.
Advanced English <-> Persian Dictionary
Reference and Education
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Get the full power of "Advanced English Persian Dictionary", the world's most comprehensive...
Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street
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What do the $350 million Ford Motor Company disaster known as the Edsel, the fast and incredible...
Tracing Your Ancestors Using DNA: A Guide for Family Historians
6.0
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DNA research is one of the most important and rapidly advancing areas in modern science and the...
Why the Beach Boys Matter
7.0
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via Edelweiss "The musical, historical, and cultural argument for the centrality of the Beach...
Music criticism music history surf rock surf music pop music
Merissa (13585 KP) rated A Lightness in My Soul in Books
Jan 18, 2021 (Updated Aug 7, 2023)
Just like the British evacuated their children, so did the Germans, although not everyone was put into homes, but camps instead. This is a heartbreaking and harrowing tale, told in the first person, as Arthur goes to a KLV camp. You stay with him as he begins to question just what is going on, then the Americans arrive, and you stay with him in the aftermath of that.
The conditions Arthur has to face are very well-written, managing to give the reader the horror and hopelessness of the situation without making it gruesome or unnecessarily violent.
For anyone with an interest in the history of WWII, especially if you are interested in the German perspective, then this is definitely one for your bookshelves. A one-sitting, engrossing read highly recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 18, 2021