Steven’s Comments (group member since Jan 02, 2014)

Steven’s comments from the Mount TBR 2014 Challenge group.

And now I'm going to have a cup of tea and kick back and...probably start reading another book.

Happy New Year all y'all!

Essential Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 3 by Stan Lee and John Romita

Onward and upward for Spidey here -- there's still a truckload of angst for poor Peter, but his love life is sort of looking up and he's getting to be more independent even when being Spider-Man sucks up all of his time and energy. Romita's artwork brings a new vitality to the series, I think, and this seems to have galvanized Lee a bit.

Quite the enjoyable trip down memory lane.

#150 - Glass Empires by various

A trio of Star Trek "Mirror Universe" tales. The first is set during the reign of Empress Hoshi, in the Enterprise era. The second follows Spock after the events of "Mirror, Mirror." The third is set during the TNG era, with Picard as a trader/archaeologist operating as a double agent within the Cardassian regime. They're okay for what they are, but they lack the spark that would make for compelling reading.

#149 - Weird Tales: 101 Weird, Strange, and Supernatural Stories Vol. 6 by various and assorted

In some respects this series can easily be classed as shovelware -- essentially cramming a seemingly random selection of stories into one bulging volume, with no real sense of order (the closest it comes is the grouping of several stories by a single author) or theme, aside from the vague "weird tales" notion. Science fiction, fantasy, and horror all rub shoulders herein, with stories coming from a span of a couple of hundred years and a bewildering variety of sources. While there are authors who are very familiar to me, there are more I've never heard of.

Much of the material included is excellent, although much is fairly terrible (there's some science fiction here that makes the Perry Rhodan tales look brilliant) and at least as much is more or less mediocre.

#148 - Sayonara, streetcar by Ralph Forty

A interesting book about the streetcar systems of Japan -- but not the major systems, such as the one in Tokyo. Rather, Forty's brief here is to cover all of the smaller systems, the little rural routes, and so on. Sadly, at the time the book was written, most of these smaller systems had ceased operation, leaving only photographs and basic documentation behind.

#147 - Riding the Bullet by Stephen King

A young man hitchhiking to visit his ailing mother finds himself riding with a dead man...or so it seems. Or was it a dream? Either way, the end result is not so good. The story rests mainly on the characters, and the protagonist is just kind of ordinary....

#146 - The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley

Huxley's epistle on the effects of mescaline, both a journal of his experiments with it and a meditation on its effects on a philosophical and spiritual level. In many ways a precursor to the coming of LSD and its application by psychiatrists prior to Timothy Leary's attempt at using it for a worldwide spiritual awakening.

#145 - Essential Monster of Frankenstein, Vol. 1 by Gary Friederich, Mike Ploog, and various others

Starts out as a sequel to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and goes through a roaring rampage of revenge phase, at which point the monster runs into Dracula, and things go downhill from there. Fairly simple stuff from a story-telling viewpoint, and might be considered radical in terms of tone if the Warren books hadn't already trod that ground thoroughly by the time this appeared.

#144 - The Sky Devil by L. Ron Hubbard

More two-fisted adventure pulp antics from Hubbard, as a pilot finds himself fighting for his life in the middle of a Middle Eastern desert. Cheerfully problematic in all kinds of cultural ways, so very much of its age. The audio version tries very hard, but really doesn't succeed in grabbing the attention.

#143 - The Clockwork Woman by Claire Bott

Part of the Time Hunter series that spun off from the Telos hardcover Doctor Who books, and less science fiction or fantasy than historical fiction that happens to have an automaton at its center. An odd book, but intriguingly written.

#142 - DC Universe Presents, Vol. 1: Deadman/Challengers of the Unknown by Paul Jenkins, Dan DiDio, and various

Two stories presenting updated takes on Deadman and The Challengers Of The Unknown (who were something of an inspiration originally for the Fantastic Four.) Of the two Deadman gets the better outing, but only because the Challengers tale is warmed over tripe and only part of the tàle to boot.

#141 - Where Time Stands Still by Dayton Ward

Split across two time periods, this Starfleet Corps of Engineers book is actually a sequel to the "Time Trap" episode of the Star Trek animated series, and includes a character from the Marvel Comics spin-offs for good measure. An okay read.

#140 - Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

The first of the Stephanie Plum holiday books, set during a very hectic Christmas period as Stephanie Tries to track down the errant Sandy Claws and winds up with the handsome but strange Diesel as a mysteriously-powered sidekick.

Frothy, thin, but fun if you're in the mood for broad comedy. The family scenes are a particular highlight.

#139 - The Radioactive Camel Affair by Peter Leslie

THRUSH has stolen an amount of uranium and is shipping it across the Middle East via camel train heading for the Sudan. Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin are sent to get it back, and find out what THRUSH is planning. Leslie does a decent job of catching the voices of the characters, although the book itself is decidedly more dark than many of the episodes were, given that it delves into Arab massacres of Africans.

#138 - The Making of Return of the Jedi by J. W. Rinzler

A quite gratifying tome, this, which details the maniacal production of Return Of The Jedi, driven by Lucas not wanting to repeat the problems of Empire while wanting to outdo the first two films in every aspect -- which resulted in some boundary-breaking visual effects work. All the same, many things went awry, from 20th Century Fox being recalcitrant about the distribution deal and demanding the right to make their own sequels, to Carrie Fisher's increasingly erratic behaviour, a director who seems to have been hopelessly out of his depth and hopelessly pressured by Lucas, to Lucas himself secretly in the throes of a divorce proceeding brought by his then-wife, Marcia.

Rinzler does a fantastic job of both clinically laying out the details, almost day by day, and imparting a sense of the passion and desperation involved in the production. Lucas would abandon Star Wars for the best part of fifteen years after this, until renewed interest brought him back to do the Special Editions, and then the prequels.

I'd be delighted to see Rinzler do a book about the post-revival efforts, frankly, and eventually something on the new efforts. Given the amount of work involved, though, I suspect Rinzler himself would rather not...!

#137 - Alien Cargo by Theodore Sturgeon

An excellent selection of Sturgeon stories.

#136 - Zombie Lover by Piers Anthony

Appropriate title and theme, as the story shambles around in circles, occasionally falling into a thicket of truly bad puns.

#133 - Doctor Who: The Perpetual Bond by Simon Guerrier
#134 - Doctor Who: The Forbidden Time by David Lock
#135 - Doctor Who: Ferril's Folly by Peter Anghelides

I sometimes wonder if Big Finish are burning out -- the Doctor versus commodity traders would suggest it. More two-hander stories, with varying levels of performance and generally flat writing.

#131 - Doctor Who: Tales from the Vault by Jonathan Morris
#132 - Doctor Who: Council of War by Simon Barnard

Two stories featuring companions and associates ofcthe Doctor. The first is a themed anthology while the second features Sergeant Benton going undercover at the behest of Three. Okay, but nothing special.

I'm still going, with a final push for the summit -- curiously enough, last year I hit 150 on December 16th, and added to the count after I got out of the ICU. This year I'm only at 130...which is what happens when new acquisitions, library books, and rather hefty volumes get into the mix (seriously -- one of the e-book anthologies I bought last year is 2500 pages.) I have several books closing on the finish line, and with a bit of dedication might just make it.

So, 130 miles out of 150.

And now I fall over for a bit so I can get back to this after dawn breaks over the desert. Wheeee!

Dec. 31st edit: *falls over*

There's something to be said for flitting between books throughout the year; it makes it easy to make a mad dash by just cycling through things that just need to be finished off. Mind you, tackling some shorter works also helped, especially as they balanced out the mammoths I inflicted on myself.