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Iris Wildthyme (Obverse Books) #4
Iris: Abroad
Iris: An adventuress. Iris: An explorer. Iris: Abroad.
From the Nile in the thirties to Texas in the seventies, from spirit visions at the Little Big Horn (Casino, Bar and Grill) to a potentially painful colonic in space, Iris and Panda are fresh back from their holidays, knackered, skint, and burned the colour of a Bloody Mary. Thank God they can sit back now, tip the sand out of their Crocs, sort through their photos, and decide which versions of their history stories they like best...
From the Nile in the thirties to Texas in the seventies, from spirit visions at the Little Big Horn (Casino, Bar and Grill) to a potentially painful colonic in space, Iris and Panda are fresh back from their holidays, knackered, skint, and burned the colour of a Bloody Mary. Thank God they can sit back now, tip the sand out of their Crocs, sort through their photos, and decide which versions of their history stories they like best...
- GenresShort StoriesDoctor Who
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 16, 2018
Another anthology featuring our favourite Adventuress, Iris Wildthyme, and her trusty companion, Panda.
This time, the theme is holidays, although I can't say I felt that holiday theme all the way through - not that this is a reflection on the stories, just I suppose one's interpretation on a theme might well be widely varied!
We are treated to a wide variety of ideas,styles and tones, some very engaging, some struggling to be so, but all in all a fun read.
But, at the end of the day, all I need from an Iris story is for it to make sesnse and for the characters of Iris and Panda to be captured well.It's a bit bit of a mis-step for me if I cannot 'hear' Katy Manning and David Benson's voices as I read - which I can report, all the stories achieved these.
I do very much enjoy these short story collections.
The only thing for me, is that I really fancy a few longer tales. There are, in fact, two novels by Paul Magrs himself, one of which will be the next Iris book I will be reading, and this should deal with my issue.
But, yeah, with most of her stories being very short, there is very little chance of character development, or of a story becoming at all grand in scale, epic, or trulymomentous.
(I wonder if it would be a venture that Obverse books would see as worth their business while to put out a full Iris novel now and then?).
Anyway, this book did one thing that I always see as a good sign in an Iris book: many moments where I will enjoy a sentence or interaction between Iris and Panda, that I simply must re-read out loud, trying to ape their manners. (I have Iris done, but Panda's is still elusive, just so you know).
Perfect book to read when you are generally feeling low, as their raucous behaviour certainly takes you away from all that.
I would say that there are definitely days when we (Doctor WHo fans, that is) would happily trdae in their lives for a life lived on the TARDIS, adventuring with whichever (or any!) Doctor that happens to reside in it, but, to be honest, we'd all much prefer to live with Iris and Panda on their bus, right... ?
I don't even know what Blue Nun tastes like.
This time, the theme is holidays, although I can't say I felt that holiday theme all the way through - not that this is a reflection on the stories, just I suppose one's interpretation on a theme might well be widely varied!
We are treated to a wide variety of ideas,styles and tones, some very engaging, some struggling to be so, but all in all a fun read.
But, at the end of the day, all I need from an Iris story is for it to make sesnse and for the characters of Iris and Panda to be captured well.It's a bit bit of a mis-step for me if I cannot 'hear' Katy Manning and David Benson's voices as I read - which I can report, all the stories achieved these.
I do very much enjoy these short story collections.
The only thing for me, is that I really fancy a few longer tales. There are, in fact, two novels by Paul Magrs himself, one of which will be the next Iris book I will be reading, and this should deal with my issue.
But, yeah, with most of her stories being very short, there is very little chance of character development, or of a story becoming at all grand in scale, epic, or trulymomentous.
(I wonder if it would be a venture that Obverse books would see as worth their business while to put out a full Iris novel now and then?).
Anyway, this book did one thing that I always see as a good sign in an Iris book: many moments where I will enjoy a sentence or interaction between Iris and Panda, that I simply must re-read out loud, trying to ape their manners. (I have Iris done, but Panda's is still elusive, just so you know).
Perfect book to read when you are generally feeling low, as their raucous behaviour certainly takes you away from all that.
I would say that there are definitely days when we (Doctor WHo fans, that is) would happily trdae in their lives for a life lived on the TARDIS, adventuring with whichever (or any!) Doctor that happens to reside in it, but, to be honest, we'd all much prefer to live with Iris and Panda on their bus, right... ?
I don't even know what Blue Nun tastes like.
February 6, 2015
For me this has to be the strongest collection of Iris Wildthyme adventures. The theme for this anthology (as the title suggests) is holidays, and Iris' holidays are bizzarer that most!
Annabel Regina is a highlight in the anthology for me, something about Iris shopping in Tesco's just seems right. But despite that, it just won't top The Midnight Washerwoman. A notable mention in this anthology is the appearance of everyone's favourite President George (Dubya) Bush. Just on the basis of that really should make you want to buy it!
The wonderful nature of Iris Wildthyme's adventures is that you don't need to have read previous anthologies to enjoy this one. Neither do you have to even know what it's all about, the wonderful writers of these anthologies just bring you along for the ride. Personally for me, this should be the jumping on point for those who wish to try out an Iris Wildthyme anthology. It was for me, and I really struggle to think of even a moment when just one of the stories went dull, even for a sentence!
Annabel Regina is a highlight in the anthology for me, something about Iris shopping in Tesco's just seems right. But despite that, it just won't top The Midnight Washerwoman. A notable mention in this anthology is the appearance of everyone's favourite President George (Dubya) Bush. Just on the basis of that really should make you want to buy it!
The wonderful nature of Iris Wildthyme's adventures is that you don't need to have read previous anthologies to enjoy this one. Neither do you have to even know what it's all about, the wonderful writers of these anthologies just bring you along for the ride. Personally for me, this should be the jumping on point for those who wish to try out an Iris Wildthyme anthology. It was for me, and I really struggle to think of even a moment when just one of the stories went dull, even for a sentence!
January 8, 2011
Extremely enjoyable selection of short stories, with only a couple of misses for me. Indeed I suspect that this is probably the strongest Obverse collection of Iris and Panda short stories yet, probably helped in no small part by the suitability of the book's theme for the characters' adventures. My favourites in this collection were The Midnight Washerwomen by Scott Handcock, Panda on Ice by Richard Salter, Couch Potatoes by Scott Liddell, and The Best Holiday Ever by Ian Gregory.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews