Flash Gordon: The Lion Men of Mongo
I read this because I read the 80s novelisation by Arthur Byron Cover and loved it to death, and also because I was curious as to how this version would hold up in comparison. I wasn't disapointed. It was a fun read and had some truly wonderful moments, the little copper robot being just one of them. These novels were based on a cartoon strip that appeared in newspapers way back in the 30s, drawn by Alex Raymond, whose name is credited on the cover. The actual author's name only appears inside however, a 'Con Steffanson'. It's not high-brow literature by any stretch but rather a fun, fast-paced adventure in a futuristic place as imagined a long time ago(I'm referring the 30s strips the novel is based on rather than the 1974 publication date of the actual novel). It really does hold up well though, a good part of the reason for that being that Flash Gordon was always going to be a pulp-style sci-fi adventure and so fits in quite well with other pulp-style sci-fi no matter when they were written, pulp is still pulp after all whether it was written 100 years ago or 1 year ago.
I loved it, for what it was. It's a good deal less cheeky than the 80s novelisation(Dale, a swinger? Are you sure? OMG!) but I was expecting that anyway, not because it was published in the 70s of course, but because it's based on that 30s cartoon strip I was talking about, so if they're going to base it on that and stick to it as best they can then I suppose there's going to be that air of innocence about it.
OK. I liked it more than I thought I would. It was very enjoyable and had some very cute moments, and whats more, there are 6 in the series that I know of so I'm looking forward to reading the rest.
Very good.
Ace in the Hole (Wild Cards)
This is one of the 'mosaic' novels that rather than being written by numerous authors in the form of short stories that are then edited together, are written by one or two authors with a definite story-line, much more like an ordinary novel. I prefer the numerous authors and their short stories though.This one was set around a political campaign, which I wouldn't normally be interested in at all if it wasn't for the various characters. The Jokers and Aces that fill the pages of these wild card novels are just wonderful and this is what held my attention and to be honest, what always holds my attention with these books, even if the story isn't to my liking per se.
The next book was originally a part of this one but they felt it would be too long to publish as one novel, and I have to say, I think I agree with them. Apparently it follows the investigation into the murder of Chrysalis who was one of my favourite characters and whom I shall miss terribly now.
A good read. Looking forward to the next one more though, even though it is another 'mosaic' novel.
Very good.
When We Were Heroes: A Tor.Com Original
Having read the first five wild cards novels and half way through the sixth, I was looking forward to this short. I wasn't disappointed. It's a very poignant story about loss of privacy and regret and about living with secrets that are thrust upon you rather than chosen. I love the way this is written. You can feel the lump in your throat growing as the story unfolds. Wonderfully done. Highly recommended.
The Axeman Cometh
Not quite sure why this is supposed to be read in one sitting. I did this but could have quite happily had the same experience reading it over several sittings. Anyway, it was well written, just ever so slightly strange in places, but not nearly as weird as I was led to believe. It is a very good read. Much better in fact than I was expecting it to be, but if I were recommending it to others to read, I'd skip all the hype I've seen in other reviews and in fact at the beginning of the book itself and simply read it when and how you would normally do with any other book, because when all's said and done, it really is just another book. Well written and interesting. I liked it.
I'd read more of his stuff.
The Conquering Sword of Conan (Conan of Cimmeria, Book 3)
I've really enjoyed these 3 volumes of Conan stories. There have been the more average stories amongst them all, but on the whole all 3 volumes have been a delight. This 3rd volume had some great stories and I know I'm going to miss Robert E Howard's Conan. I'll look forward to re-reading a lot of the stories from these volumes at various points in the future. I've seen it said that this 3rd volume is the best, and maybe it is, but to be honest after having read all three I'd be hard put to choose between them.A great read, just like all the rest.
Dungeon World
The thing I like about Dungeon World over other systems is that it puts the fiction first. Everything that happens must be justified by the fiction. The checks and dice rolls are specifically designed to move the story forward and nothing that happens therefore is a dead end. I particularly like this idea given the fact that I only ever play solo, so any mechanic that drives the fiction is akin to a miracle as far as I'm concerned.This book is filled with all kinds of advise, a lot of it you'll have come across many times in many other core books but some of it will lead you to an entirely new way of thinking. For example, when you roll the dice here, you're rolling for the consequences to your actions rather than just to see if you succeed. This means that there is always a narrative consequence to every action. It's kind of like a continual accumulation of fiction that results from each and every situation, and this is a true godsend when it comes to attempting solo play.
Very informative. Makes a change to see something really and truly different from an rpg core book.
John Dies at the End
I really expected to like this one. I'd seen a review that likened our to the same sort of humour as we saw in 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', but was very much disappointed. I love a bit humour.Life's too serious so you need a good but of silliness now and again our you'd go mad I think, but this just struck me as a little too puerile for my liking. Hitchhiker's had a reason for the humour, and it worked well with the characters and within the storyline. 'John Dies At The End' seemed to be trying too hard to be funny, and even though there were some amusing moments, they seemed very childish and caused me to groan as much as I was amused. There may come a time where I'll be more in the mood for this type of thing, but if that time comes I could see myself picking up Hitchhiker's again our one of the many Discworld novels rather than attempt to plough through this.
Left me disappointed after reading only 10%, which is very unusual for me. I always try to give any novel 25% before quitting, but on this occasion I just couldn't do it.
BLOTT ON THE LANDSCAPE
I really enjoyed this. I've read a couple of the Wilt novels before now but never did get round to reading this. I didn't even see the t.v. series either, so I came to it with a clear view as it were. I wasn't disappointed. There are a lot of novels that inspire reviews along the lines of 'laugh out loud' and so on but rarely do they actually deliver, but this one does. The characters are wonderfully English, even though one of them isn't, and simply draw you into their lives with such ease. I really enjoyed this and look forward to continuing this journey through the world and imaginings of Tom Sharpe. Very enjoyable, and very funny.
Night in the Lonesome October
This was very interesting. An air of the slightly strange or weird pervades this novel from start to finish. It's about a man who's girlfriend, Holly, has left him, and so he takes to going on long walks at night whence he encounters various weird and wonderful characters and ends up getting himself into all kinds of trouble after his current squeeze, Eileen, gets herself kidnapped by her former boyfriend.Some very well written characters here too. Casey was a particular favourite. She's a strange one, with an unusual night life and a personality that draws you in and just makes you want to pull her close and keep her safe. I've tried Laymon's novels before and found them a little superficial, the kind of novel you'd read between finishing one serious, engrossing novel and beginning another. Kind of like a little snack in between the main courses.
Anyhow, I enjoyed it very much. It was just strange enough to really keep you interested but not too way out there to annoy. The characters were well defined and interesting and the story was engrossing enough. It does tend to tip along at a relatively slow pace though, although this does feel very much like it was designed in rather than just the way it turned out, and I do think this pacing worked quite well for the type of story that was being told.
Was it horror? Yes, but more on the strange, subtle end of the spectrum. And I liked it.
Flash Gordon
This was much better than I'd thought it would be. I don't remember the movie but I'm sure I must have seen it way back when. It's a great adventure in the heady realms of pulp sci fi, with all the ingredients that you would expect being present, and a few more that you might not. Turns out Dale is a bit of a swinger, or was until she split with her boyfreind because he was taking it a little too seriously, a little further than she was entirely comfortable with. Well, who'd have thought it. Dale, a swinger. Each to their own I suppose. It just came as bit of a surprise when I first read it is all.So, you all know the story. Flash and Dale are taken at gunpoint to the planet Mongo by Dr Hans Zarkov where an evil dictator and all-round madman called Ming rules with an iron fist. They join forces with the locals and overthrow him. Oh, and Ming's daughter betrays him and helps them too, but I'm not spoiling it for anyone here of course because the story's so well known.
I loved the little extra details that really made this novel that bit more special. The description of Zarkov's rocket ship with it's fancy fins and little flashing bulbs on the control console for example were just a delight.
The moments of sarcasm from Dale, and the hints here and there regarding Ming and his daughter, Aura. These moments really added something special to this novel and make me want to track down the movie now so that I can re-live those moments on screen, although I doubt Dale's more intimate revelations are part of the movie version.
Anyway, a very enjoyable read. Some unexpected moments, and the tongue-in-cheek pulpiness is just priceless. Highly recomended.
Raiders of Gor (Gorean Saga Series #6)
**SOME MINOR SPOILERS, THOUGH NOT MANY AND I CAN'T BE ARSED TO GO THROUGH AND SEEK THEM OUT INDIVIDUALLY SO I'M TACKING THIS ON THE FRONT HERE INSTEAD!**.
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Volume 6 of The Gor Chronicles and we see Tarl Cabot the great warrior originally of Earth becoming first a slave, then a pirate and a captain, and finally an admiral. It's all rather exciting stuff as Tarl assumes an alter ego, namely Bosk of Port Ka, which apparently is much like Mos Isley(from Star Wars) in that it is a veritable hive of villany and scum and pirates and so on. Oh, and it's also home to those great and respected slavers who 'know well how to treat their slave girls'. Well, you can't argue with that then can you really?
So Bosk, as he now is chooses slavery over death and mopes about it a good deal afterwards and generally goes around feeling sorry for himself. Meanwhile he enslaves the woman who originally made a slave of him and then proceeds to treat her like less than nothing until, of course, he falls in love with her. He does that a lot it seems, almost to the point of falling for a different slave girl in each book. What gets me more than anything about this is that he was originally supposed to be searching for and rescuing his very first lover who's name I now forget due to him being so prolific in the treating-them-like-the-lowly-slaves-they-are-then-falling-for-them-department. Nobody's expecting him to become a monk while he searches for her of course but you'd think he might think upon her from time to time. In fact the only time he seems to think about her or even mention her at all is generally as an afterthought appended to end of the book, usually in the last page of so.
Anyway, I expected this one to be very heavy on the mistreatment of slaves since that's basically what the cover blurb hints at, and also because a number of the reviews I've read seem to have been complaining about just that. I can't say I felt it to be particularly harsh with reagards to slaves, certainly no more so than almost any of the other books in this series so far, and in fact a good deal less than one or two.
So, another rollicking good adventure on Gor. I liked it well enough, although it's not my favourite so far by quite a margin. I think that honour is still held by the first book in fact.
Very enjoyable, though not quite so much as the others. Still very good though.
The Shining
I read this because of the sequel that's due out later this year. Very much the same as the film except the ending which I won't tell you about, you'll just have to go read the book, it's actually entirely different and a much more satisfying ending in my view.The slow creep of madness and ratcheting up of desperation and terror is felt much more deeply over the course of the novel than the film I thought. I really enjoyed this.
Excellent stuff. Can't wait for Doctor Sleep.
The Brentford Chainstore Massacre (Brentford Trilogy)
Very funny, as usual. I always enjoy these novels. I feel I know the characters so well by now too. This was one of the better ones too, which is saying a lot because they're all good anyway. This ones about Poole and O'Malley attempting to get their hands on a large amount of coin, as they say from the Millennium funding committee, or some such body. Also involved in the shenanigans is a Doctor who clones two boys from the blood of Jesus on the Turin Shroud and yet another attempt to renovate The Flying Swan to the constant disgust of the locals.
Just switch off your brain and go along for the ride.
Wonderful stuff.
The House
I was a little concerned when I read my first Edward Lee novel, that he was an author that might be mistaking hooliganism and thuggery for horror. That novel was called 'The Bighead' and it was about an inbred human so I gave him the benefit of the doubt because the violence and degradation and so on actually fit quite well with the story and characters, but then we come to 'The Pig and The House' and I begin to wonder if our Mr Edward Lee has nothing else to offer but that thuggery and purposely in-your-face violence. So I picked up this next novel. A novel that got rave reviews. I thought if I was to get a really good horror novel from Mr Edward Lee then this must be it. So, it seems to be about a man forced to make extremely hard-core pornographic videos for the mafia to pay off a debt. All very well you might think, but where's the horror? Oh don't get me wrong, after passing the 20% mark in what is actually the first of two novellas there's been plenty of disgusting activity and plenty of scenes that seem to be saying 'look at how disgusting I can make this bit', but apart from that nothing that I recognise as 'horror'. It's horrible, yes. It's certainly disgusting, yes. But it isn't what I recognise as horror.
Maybe I gave up on it too soon. Maybe the real horror story kicks in a little later. Or maybe it's just a vile progression of violence and scenes intended to further disgust the reader, I don't know really, and I've no real desire to find out now. I'll just point out at this juncture that I always give any novel a good try before ditching it as wasting my time. The 20% mark seems fair as far as I'm concerned. If after reading 1/5th of the novel it hasn't got any better then I feel fully justified in casting it aside.
I'm going to try one more before I give up on Mr Lee. I've read a synopsis of a novel called 'Flesh Gothic' which sounds like it could be quite interesting, so I'm going to give that one a go.
Suffice to say, this one turned my stomach, but for reasons other than those I was looking for. The part of it I read didn't impress me at all and makes me wonder how it got so many great reviews.
Not good. A complete waste of my time. Try something else.
The Big Head: Author's Preferred Version
This book is very violent for a greater portion of it's length and contains an inordinate amount of sexual assault, to the point that at about the 3/4 point I began to wonder if this was less a horror novel and much, much more just the author's violent, unnatural, hooligan-like mind spewed out on paper. But the final part of the book, towards the very end in fact, put paid to that when it all comes together quite well and really does stand up well as a good, solid horror novel.I won't spoil the ending by telling too much here, but suffice to say if you can stomach the seemingly endless parade of extreme violence, and almost entirely extreme sexual violence at that, then your efforts will be well rewarded come the end.
One thing that didn't sit well with me at all however was the fact that the priest gets dragged down to hell at the very end. This happens because he's apparently committed a number of sins in his life, almost entirely in his youth in fact. So let me get this straight now. A priest does some inadvisable things, some very bad things in fact and none of the good things he does for the entire rest of his life make any difference to anything as far as his god is concerned. Nothing he has done has atoned for anything. And, more importantly, the intention behind both the bad and good things he's done has no impact on his final judgement in the end. He's going to Hell anyway no matter what! Well... that's everyone in the entire world then, surely? I really hope the author's view of life after death is very, very wrong on that one then.
Also, I'm pretty sure women don't have Adams Apples. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm not. That's just me being a bit picky though.
All in all it is a great book. Well written and with characters that you really want to care about, it's undoubtedly very, very violent in just about every way you can think of and a fair few you almost certainly haven't, but then if you've read anything about this author then you were probably quite aware of his writing style anyway.
I liked it a lot, even given the priest bit at the end.
Excellent stuff, on the whole.
Assassin of Gor: Chronicles of Counter Earth Volume 5
Another great read from John Norman. This one has Tarl Cabot pretending to be an assasin. It's a swift page turner, the story being helped along a good deal with the usual vignettes of slave-girls being used and abused to varying degrees. He falls for yet another girl, Elizabeth Cardwell, who was abducted from Earth by 'The Others', a rival group to 'The Priest Kings' and whom he eventually frees(of course). His original love, Talena, gets but a passing mention at the very end along the lines of 'damn, I still didn't find her', which is no great surprise really when you consider he wasn't looking for her in the least. Still, at least he's got himself another little (ex)slave-girl in Elizabeth, or Vella as she's called on Gor.
Very easy to read. Can't put them down once I've started, even though there's stuff mixed in there that should really be considered quite important but is simply glossed over or mentioned as an afterthought at the end(see above).
Looking forward to #6 - Raiders of Gor now.