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Winterhill: The Complete First Series
"You seem ridiculously keen to conjure up scenarios of death and disaster," Maddy said, rolling her eyes.
"That is rich, coming from the girl who won't stop accusing me of armed mutiny, sexual slavery and/or pathological intergalactic criminality," Winterhill retorted as she followed Maddy into the darkness.
The beautiful but enigmatic Rebecca Winterhill, a woman with no memories whatsoever, awakens in a cargo-hold aboard a luxury star-liner under the watchful gaze of the equally mysterious cyber-criminal and party girl Madagascar Talifero, who is on the run from her own family. They have precious little time to bond, as the mighty star-liner in question is about to be attacked by famished wraiths who feed on blood. And if they survive that, the rest of the universe is pretty dangerous too...
In all six episodes from this first series of new adventures, Winterhill and Maddy travel from one escapade to another, fighting space vampires, fleeing cyborg spider monsters, meeting alien megalomaniacs, art-collectors and, most terrifyingly, the Taliferos of Minerva, all the while keeping their eyes peeled in case there are any delicious cocktails to be sampled along the way.
Who is Winterhill? Why is Maddy a fugitive? And who is the silent figure spying on them both from inside their subconscious minds?
Perfect for fans of Doctor Who and Orphan Black comes this new SF series which has been hailed as "Thelma and Louise for the SF generation" and "really, really funny, well-paced stuff" by industry insiders.
Contains all six episodes from Series One: 'Death and the Demeter', 'Pipeline', 'The Stone of Tomorrows', 'The Taliferos', 'Artemis Falling' and 'The Ethers Tragic'.
"That is rich, coming from the girl who won't stop accusing me of armed mutiny, sexual slavery and/or pathological intergalactic criminality," Winterhill retorted as she followed Maddy into the darkness.
The beautiful but enigmatic Rebecca Winterhill, a woman with no memories whatsoever, awakens in a cargo-hold aboard a luxury star-liner under the watchful gaze of the equally mysterious cyber-criminal and party girl Madagascar Talifero, who is on the run from her own family. They have precious little time to bond, as the mighty star-liner in question is about to be attacked by famished wraiths who feed on blood. And if they survive that, the rest of the universe is pretty dangerous too...
In all six episodes from this first series of new adventures, Winterhill and Maddy travel from one escapade to another, fighting space vampires, fleeing cyborg spider monsters, meeting alien megalomaniacs, art-collectors and, most terrifyingly, the Taliferos of Minerva, all the while keeping their eyes peeled in case there are any delicious cocktails to be sampled along the way.
Who is Winterhill? Why is Maddy a fugitive? And who is the silent figure spying on them both from inside their subconscious minds?
Perfect for fans of Doctor Who and Orphan Black comes this new SF series which has been hailed as "Thelma and Louise for the SF generation" and "really, really funny, well-paced stuff" by industry insiders.
Contains all six episodes from Series One: 'Death and the Demeter', 'Pipeline', 'The Stone of Tomorrows', 'The Taliferos', 'Artemis Falling' and 'The Ethers Tragic'.
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 8, 2023
An adventure to read!
Winterhill is a space exploring, action packed, and monster filled novel with some comedy thrown in there to keep it light. The more you read the more you get hooked on the characters and their adventures as individuals and together. It’s addictively fun.
Winterhill is a space exploring, action packed, and monster filled novel with some comedy thrown in there to keep it light. The more you read the more you get hooked on the characters and their adventures as individuals and together. It’s addictively fun.
September 30, 2015
Rebecca Winterhill's life is a mystery - especially to herself, since she woke up in a crate in the cargo hold of a space cruise liner with no memory of who she is or how she got there. Before you can say "Fecky doo-dah" she is thrust into a battle against numerous monsters, psychotic madmen and denizens of the criminal underworld, alongside party girl, galaxy-class data pirate, information hacker and holder of a degree in Leisure & Tourism, Madagascar Taliferos. And Maddy has some secrets of her own...
The book is structured like the episodes of a TV series, with six complete adventures told in short bursts, plus prologues/epilogues to fill in some of the history of this universe that Mr. Martin has created and offer glimpses of things to come. The initial few tales might have simple and well trodden ideas at their core (undead space vampires, giant augmented spiders, a long lost jewel in a booby trapped temple) but they rattle along with nary a pause for breath and each one adds a nugget to the underlying narrative. Rebecca seems to have retained some important tactical skills deep in her memory (useful when you are trying to get away from a horde of rampaging Cyber Spiders) but nothing to give her a clue about where she comes from or why she can do what she can do.
Iain obviously knows his SF stuff. There are elements of some classic genre TV shows woven into the DNA of his stories - especially (as you would expect from a self- confessed fan) Doctor Who. The character names are also a treat, with several coming from SF film and television and novels. There may be some non genre literary ones in there too, but I'm nowhere near enough well read. Plus there are some nice Easter eggs to pick up on: certain crab-like creatures in an aquarium, an alternative name for a forest world, references to Polar bears and ghosts on a tropical island - it all adds to the fun. I did spot that absolute rotter Maxymylyan DeVere bears more than a passing resemblance to Judge Dredd character Devlin Waugh - although admittedly he himself is based on comedy film legend Terry Thomas so I could be seeing connections that aren't there. Although that bad guy with the goatee and the cylindrical spaceship?......Nah.
The background arc plot seeding throughout the stories is reminiscent of modern Doctor Who or perhaps Babylon 5. Indeed one could also say that there is a soupçon of River Song (or perhaps Lara Croft?) beneath the skins of Professor Rebecca Winterhill and the redoubtable Maddy - ready with a cunning plan or a suggestive quip whatever the situation. But you know what, when the stories are this much fun and the dialogue sparkles like Douglas Adams on a good day, any similarities, deliberate or unintentional are more that allowable. I'm inclined to think that Iain is similar in age to myself thanks to some nice references to UK kids TV shows and some vintage school playground banter, especially the classic of "Chinny reckon...Jimmy Hill" to indicate that someone might be telling porkies. That takes me back.
What the adventures of Ms Winterhill and her friends actually remind me of most - and this is a very good thing - is the tales of Slippery Jim DiGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat - who scampered his way through eleven novels from the pen of SF master Harry Harrison between 1961 and 2010. The first four novels are generally considered to be the best (well by me anyway) and Winterhill reads like those - full of capers, mis-haps, miraculous escapes from sudden death and suitably evil and esoteric alien menaces.
The book also doesn't outstay it's welcome - I managed to demolish the whole thing in under two days. It's bright, breezy and a great read. I don't want to say much more about the plot as it's far more enjoyable if you don't know what's coming. Crucially though this first set of Winterhill adventures doesn't resolve all the plot lines. Some important plates are left spinning and there is a humdinger of a cliffhanger to end on. Just who is the Tick Tock Man and what is his role in Rebecca's memory loss? I guess I'll find out (maybe) in book two...
The book is structured like the episodes of a TV series, with six complete adventures told in short bursts, plus prologues/epilogues to fill in some of the history of this universe that Mr. Martin has created and offer glimpses of things to come. The initial few tales might have simple and well trodden ideas at their core (undead space vampires, giant augmented spiders, a long lost jewel in a booby trapped temple) but they rattle along with nary a pause for breath and each one adds a nugget to the underlying narrative. Rebecca seems to have retained some important tactical skills deep in her memory (useful when you are trying to get away from a horde of rampaging Cyber Spiders) but nothing to give her a clue about where she comes from or why she can do what she can do.
Iain obviously knows his SF stuff. There are elements of some classic genre TV shows woven into the DNA of his stories - especially (as you would expect from a self- confessed fan) Doctor Who. The character names are also a treat, with several coming from SF film and television and novels. There may be some non genre literary ones in there too, but I'm nowhere near enough well read. Plus there are some nice Easter eggs to pick up on: certain crab-like creatures in an aquarium, an alternative name for a forest world, references to Polar bears and ghosts on a tropical island - it all adds to the fun. I did spot that absolute rotter Maxymylyan DeVere bears more than a passing resemblance to Judge Dredd character Devlin Waugh - although admittedly he himself is based on comedy film legend Terry Thomas so I could be seeing connections that aren't there. Although that bad guy with the goatee and the cylindrical spaceship?......Nah.
The background arc plot seeding throughout the stories is reminiscent of modern Doctor Who or perhaps Babylon 5. Indeed one could also say that there is a soupçon of River Song (or perhaps Lara Croft?) beneath the skins of Professor Rebecca Winterhill and the redoubtable Maddy - ready with a cunning plan or a suggestive quip whatever the situation. But you know what, when the stories are this much fun and the dialogue sparkles like Douglas Adams on a good day, any similarities, deliberate or unintentional are more that allowable. I'm inclined to think that Iain is similar in age to myself thanks to some nice references to UK kids TV shows and some vintage school playground banter, especially the classic of "Chinny reckon...Jimmy Hill" to indicate that someone might be telling porkies. That takes me back.
What the adventures of Ms Winterhill and her friends actually remind me of most - and this is a very good thing - is the tales of Slippery Jim DiGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat - who scampered his way through eleven novels from the pen of SF master Harry Harrison between 1961 and 2010. The first four novels are generally considered to be the best (well by me anyway) and Winterhill reads like those - full of capers, mis-haps, miraculous escapes from sudden death and suitably evil and esoteric alien menaces.
The book also doesn't outstay it's welcome - I managed to demolish the whole thing in under two days. It's bright, breezy and a great read. I don't want to say much more about the plot as it's far more enjoyable if you don't know what's coming. Crucially though this first set of Winterhill adventures doesn't resolve all the plot lines. Some important plates are left spinning and there is a humdinger of a cliffhanger to end on. Just who is the Tick Tock Man and what is his role in Rebecca's memory loss? I guess I'll find out (maybe) in book two...
June 27, 2015
A fun romp!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews