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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Doctor Who: Christmas on a Rational Planet in Books
Nov 30, 2020
I first read this book once, back in 1999. I had not revisited again until two weeks ago. This review is based upon my re-reading it.
First, let me just write that this is clearly one of the more effed up New Adventures you will ever read. The things I witnessed within were horrible and chilling in a number of ways, far more so than I recall them being when I first read the book!
For those not aware, this was Lawrence Miles' (or, as some like to refer to him as, "Mad Larry") first published DW work. The seeds are planted, offering us glimpses at ideas, like Grandfather Paradox, which will be elaborated on further in his Eighth Doctor Adventures ALIEN BODIES and INTERFERENCE BOOKS 1 & 2.
Yes, as many have commented, his writing is not as polished or focused as it would be later in his career. However, that is not to say that it's rubbish or worthy of being snubbed. There are some damned good ideas here, both abstract and otherwise. The book requires a lot of focus, but it was worth it in the end.
I miss the writing that DOCTOR WHO used to have. Nothing in the 2005-onward NuWHO stories can hold a candle to this! And at least the Doctor's companions weren't all following him with lust-filled, puppy dog eyes like they were in the current stories!
If you are looking for something WHO-related, with a bit more bite and a whole lot more to tickle your brain, look no further than CHRISTMAS ON A RATIONAL PLANET!
First, let me just write that this is clearly one of the more effed up New Adventures you will ever read. The things I witnessed within were horrible and chilling in a number of ways, far more so than I recall them being when I first read the book!
For those not aware, this was Lawrence Miles' (or, as some like to refer to him as, "Mad Larry") first published DW work. The seeds are planted, offering us glimpses at ideas, like Grandfather Paradox, which will be elaborated on further in his Eighth Doctor Adventures ALIEN BODIES and INTERFERENCE BOOKS 1 & 2.
Yes, as many have commented, his writing is not as polished or focused as it would be later in his career. However, that is not to say that it's rubbish or worthy of being snubbed. There are some damned good ideas here, both abstract and otherwise. The book requires a lot of focus, but it was worth it in the end.
I miss the writing that DOCTOR WHO used to have. Nothing in the 2005-onward NuWHO stories can hold a candle to this! And at least the Doctor's companions weren't all following him with lust-filled, puppy dog eyes like they were in the current stories!
If you are looking for something WHO-related, with a bit more bite and a whole lot more to tickle your brain, look no further than CHRISTMAS ON A RATIONAL PLANET!
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Saving Meghan in Books
Jun 21, 2019
Meghan Gerard is sick. There is no rational explanation for why she keeps getting sick. She has seen countless doctors and she has no diagnosis. Is she making herself sick, is her mother making her sick? What is going on in this girl's life that is making her body shut down. After finding a doctor that may have finally found out what is wrong with Meghan, other doctors are convinced that it's all in her head or her mother is experiencing Munchausen by proxy. What is real and what is psychosomatic?
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I was really looking forward to this book. For me it started off a little slow. Building up the the point of interest. Can you imagine what you would do if your child was sick and there was nothing you could do make them better? What if YOU were accused of being the reason why your child was sick? For the Gerard family, Meghan's health is at the focus of everything. Her parents, Becky and Carl, blame each other for Meghan's problems as well.
Even though the first part of this book started off slowly, it did pick up toward the end. Then I devoured the rest of it, staying up late to finish. I had no idea how this story was going to end up and for that it boosted the star rating.
Who is to blame for Meghan's health? Is it Becky, her mother, who was forced as a child to lie and cheat the system saying that her mother was ill in order to continue to receive disability checks. Is it Carl, the father who thinks that Becky is just too smothering and needs to give Meghan a break from all the doctor visits. Or is is Meghan herself, finding ways to keep the attention on herself? The reality is very shocking.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I was really looking forward to this book. For me it started off a little slow. Building up the the point of interest. Can you imagine what you would do if your child was sick and there was nothing you could do make them better? What if YOU were accused of being the reason why your child was sick? For the Gerard family, Meghan's health is at the focus of everything. Her parents, Becky and Carl, blame each other for Meghan's problems as well.
Even though the first part of this book started off slowly, it did pick up toward the end. Then I devoured the rest of it, staying up late to finish. I had no idea how this story was going to end up and for that it boosted the star rating.
Who is to blame for Meghan's health? Is it Becky, her mother, who was forced as a child to lie and cheat the system saying that her mother was ill in order to continue to receive disability checks. Is it Carl, the father who thinks that Becky is just too smothering and needs to give Meghan a break from all the doctor visits. Or is is Meghan herself, finding ways to keep the attention on herself? The reality is very shocking.
ClareR (6062 KP) rated The Foundling in Books
Jan 14, 2020
Gothic historical fiction - just my cup of tea!
The Foundling is set in Georgian London, and is packed full of secrets. No-one in it appears to be telling the truth.
Bess Bright, a hawker of shrimps on London’s streets, leaves her newborn, Clara, at the London Foundling Hospital with every intention of reclaiming her when she is older. When Bess does return having saved the money to pay for the care her daughter has received over the last six years, it’s to discover that Bess Bright has already claimed her baby the day after she left her. So someone has taken her daughter.
In a much wealthier part of London, a widow is persuaded by her doctor to take on a nursemaid for her daughter. The widow rarely leaves her home, and doesn’t let her daughter play outside. The child’s only time outside is the journey to church at the Foundling Hospital every Sunday. The new nursemaid, along with the doctor, convince the widow that she should allow the child some times outside to play, and some fresh air.
This is just the tip of the iceberg though. The widow is a complex, damaged character who tries to hide from her past - but as secrets have a habit of doing, hers catch up with her. The nursemaid is instrumental in this.
The descriptions in this book are all so vivid - I was transported into the contrasting world of Georgian London and those who lived in poverty living alongside (streets away from) those who lived with unmentionable amounts of money. The oppression in the widows household was overwhelming: claustrophobic, even.
I loved everything about this book - I loved the gothic, suspense-filled atmosphere, and spent a large part of the book with my heart in my mouth!
Another wonderful book by Stacey Halls, and one I’d highly recommend reading!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for the reading AND the listening experience (I loved the narrators on the audio book!), and Stacey Halls for reading along, too!
Bess Bright, a hawker of shrimps on London’s streets, leaves her newborn, Clara, at the London Foundling Hospital with every intention of reclaiming her when she is older. When Bess does return having saved the money to pay for the care her daughter has received over the last six years, it’s to discover that Bess Bright has already claimed her baby the day after she left her. So someone has taken her daughter.
In a much wealthier part of London, a widow is persuaded by her doctor to take on a nursemaid for her daughter. The widow rarely leaves her home, and doesn’t let her daughter play outside. The child’s only time outside is the journey to church at the Foundling Hospital every Sunday. The new nursemaid, along with the doctor, convince the widow that she should allow the child some times outside to play, and some fresh air.
This is just the tip of the iceberg though. The widow is a complex, damaged character who tries to hide from her past - but as secrets have a habit of doing, hers catch up with her. The nursemaid is instrumental in this.
The descriptions in this book are all so vivid - I was transported into the contrasting world of Georgian London and those who lived in poverty living alongside (streets away from) those who lived with unmentionable amounts of money. The oppression in the widows household was overwhelming: claustrophobic, even.
I loved everything about this book - I loved the gothic, suspense-filled atmosphere, and spent a large part of the book with my heart in my mouth!
Another wonderful book by Stacey Halls, and one I’d highly recommend reading!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for the reading AND the listening experience (I loved the narrators on the audio book!), and Stacey Halls for reading along, too!
David McK (3692 KP) rated Quantum Leap: Too Close for Comfort in Books
Sep 22, 2024 (Updated Sep 22, 2024)
"Theorising that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home…”
That's the intro from the original, 1990s, show (as opposed to the more modern 2020 reincarnation).
Why am I posting the above?
Because this novel itself is from the 90s, long before Dr Raymond Song or any of the newer bunch, and so focuses on the original Leaper Sam, and his hologrammatic observer Al.
It was also obviously written whilst the show was still on air (or, at the very least, not long after it ended), and very much could have been a episode of that original show, which was far more episodic in nature than the newer version.
Here, Sam finds himself in the body of a college graduate in what-I-believe-to-be the early 1990s, leasing a room from a college professor who is very much into the whole Men movement of the era, so much so that said professor does not even realize when his family life is falling down around him.
Being the early 1990s, this is far too close to the timeline from which Sam leaps (1999), with Al Calvacci also involved here both as Sam's hologram, and as an actual person who Sam encounters as a member of Dr Wales encounter group. Hence the title 'Too Close for Comfort', which can be construed in multiple different ways!
That's the intro from the original, 1990s, show (as opposed to the more modern 2020 reincarnation).
Why am I posting the above?
Because this novel itself is from the 90s, long before Dr Raymond Song or any of the newer bunch, and so focuses on the original Leaper Sam, and his hologrammatic observer Al.
It was also obviously written whilst the show was still on air (or, at the very least, not long after it ended), and very much could have been a episode of that original show, which was far more episodic in nature than the newer version.
Here, Sam finds himself in the body of a college graduate in what-I-believe-to-be the early 1990s, leasing a room from a college professor who is very much into the whole Men movement of the era, so much so that said professor does not even realize when his family life is falling down around him.
Being the early 1990s, this is far too close to the timeline from which Sam leaps (1999), with Al Calvacci also involved here both as Sam's hologram, and as an actual person who Sam encounters as a member of Dr Wales encounter group. Hence the title 'Too Close for Comfort', which can be construed in multiple different ways!
This book could not have come at a better time. As newly diagnosed with diabetes II, my doctor told me that I needed to closely follow a low sugar and low carb diet. Who knew that a combo like this would not only help me to start shedding pounds, but also improve my health (my energy level has increased) and well-being. Elviira’s book has helped me to look at the foods that I have been eating and find healthier more satisfying alternatives. I like that the recipes are easy to follow and mostly uses items that I can find at the local grocer. This is not a diet, but a lifestyle change that is good for you!
I received an ebook copy from NetGally in exchange for a fair review.
I received an ebook copy from NetGally in exchange for a fair review.
Erika (17789 KP) rated Captain Blood (1935) in Movies
May 20, 2018
Captain Blood is absolutely, one of my favorite films. I actually own it in HD and it's always on my tablet to watch while I'm traveling.
Captain Blood is based upon the book by Rafael Sabatini. Sabatini has written some great books that have also been made into movies, such as Scaramouche and The Sea Hawk. Errol Flynn plays the main character, Peter Blood, who was a doctor during the English Revolution. Blood is arrested and sent to the colony of Jamaica because he was perceived as a traitor. Blood escapes with other slaves (not a spoiler, seriously, this film was made in 1935), and becomes a pirate. Pirate adventures occur, and once Blood's name is finally cleared, it is a happily ever after. The last scene is probably my favorite in the entire movie.
Captain Blood is based upon the book by Rafael Sabatini. Sabatini has written some great books that have also been made into movies, such as Scaramouche and The Sea Hawk. Errol Flynn plays the main character, Peter Blood, who was a doctor during the English Revolution. Blood is arrested and sent to the colony of Jamaica because he was perceived as a traitor. Blood escapes with other slaves (not a spoiler, seriously, this film was made in 1935), and becomes a pirate. Pirate adventures occur, and once Blood's name is finally cleared, it is a happily ever after. The last scene is probably my favorite in the entire movie.
This book could not have come at a better time. As newly diagnosed with diabetes II, my doctor told me that I needed to closely follow a low sugar and low carb diet. Who knew that a combo like this would not only help me to start shedding pounds, but also improve my health (my energy level has increased) and well-being. Elviira’s book has helped me to look at the foods that I have been eating and find healthier more satisfying alternatives. I like that the recipes are easy to follow and mostly uses items that I can find at the local grocer. This is not a diet, but a lifestyle change that is good for you!
I received an ebook copy from NetGally in exchange for a fair review.
I received an ebook copy from NetGally in exchange for a fair review.
Adjusting the Contrast: British Television and Constructs of Race
Sarita Malik and Darrell M. Newton
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Through contextual and textual analyses, this title explores a range of texts and practices that...
Sybil: The True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Separate Personalities
8.8
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A controversial cult classic, Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber is the extraordinary story of a woman...
What's Your Poo Telling You?
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With universal appeal (everyone poos, after all), this witty, illustrated description of over two...