en-US Wed, 05 Mar 2025 09:27:20 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 202496066 By the internationally acclaimed author of Cursed Bunny, in another thrilling translation from the Korean by Anton Hur, Your Utopia is full of tales of loss and discovery, idealism and dystopia, death and immortality. “Nothing concentrates the mind like Chung’s terrors, which will shrivel you to a bouillon cube of your most primal instincts�� (Vulture), yet these stories are suffused with Chung's inimitable wry humour and surprisingly tender moments, too �� often between unexpected subjects.

In ‘The Center for Immortality Research��, a low-level employee runs herself ragged planning a fancy gala for donors, only to be blamed for a crime she witnessed during the event, under the noses of the mysterious celebrity benefactors hoping to live forever. But she can’t be fired �� no one can. In ‘One More Kiss, Dear��, a tender, one-sided love blooms in the AI-elevator of an apartment complex; as in, the elevator develops a profound affection for one of the residents. In ‘Seeds��, we see the final frontier of capitalism’s destruction of the planet and the GMO companies who rule the agricultural industry in this bleak future, but nature has ways of creeping back to life.

Chung’s writing is “haunting, funny, gross, terrifying �� and yet when we reach the end, we just want more�� (Alexander Chee). If you haven’t yet experienced the fruits of this singular imagination, Your Utopia is waiting.]]> 256 Bora Chung 1915829011 Leila 3
My personal favourite was the zombie apocalypse tale �� The End of the Voyage, I really liked the twist ending.

The titular Your Utopia was a bitter sweet look at what happens to robots when humans are gone. I also liked the ecological tale ‘seed�� �� looking at human greed and stupidity from the POV of advanced plants. A very Ordinary marriage tells of what happens when a man finds out his wife is an alien, and a song for sleep was another look at the frailty of humanity from the POV of an AI elevator. Maria Gratia plena �� based on a news story about an abusive cop who killed his wife and family when they tried to leave him �� tries to look at the justification for a criminal. The opening story looks at immortality and how its not as wonderful as you might think.

My least favourite of the anthology was the autobiographical ‘to Meet Her�� which follows an old woman and her dream to meet her trans heroine. In terms of narrative, and in comparison to the other far more fantastic stories presented here, while this has a slightly futuristic setting it feels like a slice of life piece and did very little for me as a short story. A very disappointing note to end on I felt.

Overall though I enjoyed this �� It has a strong female voice and I really liked the varied points of view, machine, plant, old, young, man, woman. I wasn’t blown away as I was with Cursed Bunny, but there was more than enough to hold my interest.
]]> 3.75 2021
author: Bora Chung
name: Leila
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: afterlife, ai, aliens, anthologies, cyborgs-robots-androids, different-narrative-perspectives, ecological, eternal-life-age-extension, feminist-fantasy-sci-fi, immortals, korean, lgbt-interest, sci-fi, zombies, plant-people, asian-fiction
review:
A different, but no less fascinating anthology from the author of Cursed Bunny. The majority of the stories here are science fiction and look at the human condition through different lenses.

My personal favourite was the zombie apocalypse tale �� The End of the Voyage, I really liked the twist ending.

The titular Your Utopia was a bitter sweet look at what happens to robots when humans are gone. I also liked the ecological tale ‘seed�� �� looking at human greed and stupidity from the POV of advanced plants. A very Ordinary marriage tells of what happens when a man finds out his wife is an alien, and a song for sleep was another look at the frailty of humanity from the POV of an AI elevator. Maria Gratia plena �� based on a news story about an abusive cop who killed his wife and family when they tried to leave him �� tries to look at the justification for a criminal. The opening story looks at immortality and how its not as wonderful as you might think.

My least favourite of the anthology was the autobiographical ‘to Meet Her�� which follows an old woman and her dream to meet her trans heroine. In terms of narrative, and in comparison to the other far more fantastic stories presented here, while this has a slightly futuristic setting it feels like a slice of life piece and did very little for me as a short story. A very disappointing note to end on I felt.

Overall though I enjoyed this �� It has a strong female voice and I really liked the varied points of view, machine, plant, old, young, man, woman. I wasn’t blown away as I was with Cursed Bunny, but there was more than enough to hold my interest.

]]> 1566338
Dirk Gently has an unshakeable belief in the interconnectedness of all things, but his Holistic Detective Agency mainly succeeds in tracking down missing cats for old ladies. Then Dirk stumbles upon an old friend behaving bizarrely - and he's drawn into a four-billion-year-old mystery that must be solved if the human race is to avoid immediate extinction.

Harry Enfield stars as Douglas Adams' much-loved psychic sleuth, with Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), Andrew Sachs (Fawlty Towers), Jim Carter (The Golden Compass), and Olivia Colman (Peepshow).]]> 4 Douglas Adams 1405677430 Leila 4
This full cast BBC dramatization pulls out all the stops with Harry Enfield, Billy Boyd Andrew Sachs and Olivia Coleman amongst its star cast.

The plot is frankly nuts, featuring everything from missing cats, an alien cyborg monk, time travel, Dodos, Coleridge's inspiration and how a salt cellar gets inside a several thousand year old pot - will appeal to Dr. Who fans.

Characters are great fun and what really makes this - the thoroughly unlikeable yet fascinating Dirk, his long suffering receptionist and of course the harassed hero who thinks he's a murder suspect.

Love it.]]> 3.79 1987
author: Douglas Adams
name: Leila
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/07
date added: 2024/07/06
shelves: audio-books, comedy, crime, cyborgs-robots-androids, sci-fi, sf-comedy, time-travel, paranormal-investigators, favourite-audio-books
review:
This is kind of a SF Sherlock Holmes murder mystery written with the satirical humour that only Douglas Adams can create. This first Dirk Gently is wonderfully silly fun and being a Coleridge fan particularly funny in it's explanation of why Kubla Khan is so short.

This full cast BBC dramatization pulls out all the stops with Harry Enfield, Billy Boyd Andrew Sachs and Olivia Coleman amongst its star cast.

The plot is frankly nuts, featuring everything from missing cats, an alien cyborg monk, time travel, Dodos, Coleridge's inspiration and how a salt cellar gets inside a several thousand year old pot - will appeal to Dr. Who fans.

Characters are great fun and what really makes this - the thoroughly unlikeable yet fascinating Dirk, his long suffering receptionist and of course the harassed hero who thinks he's a murder suspect.

Love it.
]]> 9732198
On the eve of disaster, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set fourth on a final voyage to the legendary Time Tombs on Hyperion, home to the Shrike, a lethal creature, part god and part killing machine, whose powers transcend the limits of time and space. The pilgrims have resolved to die before discovering anything less than the secrets of the universe itself.]]> 473 Dan Simmons 0575099437 Leila 5
We follow 7 pilgrims who have been selected by the Shrike Church to visit the Time Tombs on the planet Hyperion: we have a priest, a soldier, a poet, a scholar, a private detective, a Consul (polititian) and the captain of a giant tree ship called Yggdrasill, who all decide to tell their tales on the epic journey to These mysterious tombs and their terrifying guardian the Shrike, referred to by its religious followers as The Lord of Pain. None of the pilgrims worship the Shrike or have any notion of why they've been selected.

The six stories are fascinating and varied. I think my favourite is still the opening priest's tale which is truly SF horror at its finest involving a missionary priest who encounters a bizarre cult. The soldier's tale tells the rise of a middle eastern butcher and his love affair which a woman who is more than she seems. The poet's tale changes style and looks at the creative process and the greed of publishers as our poet tries to creat his own epic Hyperion (Keats' unfinished epic) The scholar's tale is a bit The curious case of Benjamin Button looking at someone who reverse ages. We go very bladerunner in the Private Detective story where our female detective is hired to investigate the murder of an AI/Android recreation of the poet Keats. And the Consul's tale looks at the fall of Earth and the ecological devastation of the new Hegemony. The Captain does not get to share his tale because he disappears - possibly murdered, and this flirts with a SF whodunit, but then veers in another direction entirely.

Critics of Hyperion hate the open ending and all the loose threads:
The novel closes as the pilgrims reach their destination - we never find out the secret of the Time Tombs or the Shrike. We don't find out what happened to the Captain. We don't find out why they were selected, who is behind their journey or what their purpose is. There are three powers at play - the Hegemony (Humanity) The AI's (reminding me of Banks' Culture) and the Ousters - Who seem to have originated from the humans that opposed the Hegemony and evolved as a seaparate race. We never really find out the secret manipulations and plots of any of these and yet there's enough meat here to be utterly fascinating.

Personally I didn't care that we don't find out all the answers. The characters are so rich and the stories so absorbing that I was perfectly happy just exploring the world of Hyperion without being spoonfed a detailed plot. I loved this from the literary and mythological references to the glut of sci-fi tropes that feel virtually reinvented here. A sci-fi epic classic. Believe the hype.]]> 4.29 1989
author: Dan Simmons
name: Leila
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1989
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/16
date added: 2024/05/17
shelves: ai, alien-infiltration-bodysnatchers, colonisation-of-planets, cults, cyborgs-robots-androids, different-narrative-perspectives, dystopian-future, ecological, endings-i-love, epic, eternal-life-age-extension, futuristic, futuristic-law-enforcement, human-robot-romance, interesting-narative-structure, literary-fiction, metaphysical-dark-fantasy, monks, portals-gateways, post-apocalyptic, quests, sci-fi, sf-classic, sf-masterworks, space-opera, time-manipulation, whodunit-murder-mystery, writer-protagonist, hugo-award-winner, sf-horror, parasites
review:
Possibly one of the most ambitious Sci-fi novels to date - This fuses The Canterbury Tales and Keats poetry in an ultra futuristic setting trying to explain the problem of evil. Wow springs to mind, because this totally pulls off its lofty ideals and is a damn page turner to boot.

We follow 7 pilgrims who have been selected by the Shrike Church to visit the Time Tombs on the planet Hyperion: we have a priest, a soldier, a poet, a scholar, a private detective, a Consul (polititian) and the captain of a giant tree ship called Yggdrasill, who all decide to tell their tales on the epic journey to These mysterious tombs and their terrifying guardian the Shrike, referred to by its religious followers as The Lord of Pain. None of the pilgrims worship the Shrike or have any notion of why they've been selected.

The six stories are fascinating and varied. I think my favourite is still the opening priest's tale which is truly SF horror at its finest involving a missionary priest who encounters a bizarre cult. The soldier's tale tells the rise of a middle eastern butcher and his love affair which a woman who is more than she seems. The poet's tale changes style and looks at the creative process and the greed of publishers as our poet tries to creat his own epic Hyperion (Keats' unfinished epic) The scholar's tale is a bit The curious case of Benjamin Button looking at someone who reverse ages. We go very bladerunner in the Private Detective story where our female detective is hired to investigate the murder of an AI/Android recreation of the poet Keats. And the Consul's tale looks at the fall of Earth and the ecological devastation of the new Hegemony. The Captain does not get to share his tale because he disappears - possibly murdered, and this flirts with a SF whodunit, but then veers in another direction entirely.

Critics of Hyperion hate the open ending and all the loose threads:
The novel closes as the pilgrims reach their destination - we never find out the secret of the Time Tombs or the Shrike. We don't find out what happened to the Captain. We don't find out why they were selected, who is behind their journey or what their purpose is. There are three powers at play - the Hegemony (Humanity) The AI's (reminding me of Banks' Culture) and the Ousters - Who seem to have originated from the humans that opposed the Hegemony and evolved as a seaparate race. We never really find out the secret manipulations and plots of any of these and yet there's enough meat here to be utterly fascinating.

Personally I didn't care that we don't find out all the answers. The characters are so rich and the stories so absorbing that I was perfectly happy just exploring the world of Hyperion without being spoonfed a detailed plot. I loved this from the literary and mythological references to the glut of sci-fi tropes that feel virtually reinvented here. A sci-fi epic classic. Believe the hype.
]]> 25137474 Anarchy is never far from the streets of Mega-City One, but a sudden spate of ferocious block wars takes Justice Department by surprise - what could be behind this outbreak of utter insanity that's threatening to destabilise the metropolis? When Dredd discovers the cause, it will leading an even greater nightmare - one that will see millions perish in a nuclear holocaust...]]> 0 John Wagner Leila 3
This is one of the biggest Dredd arcs and sets the scene for the next 30 years. There's the biting satire on things like Cold War fears that we've come to expect and tonnes of explosive action. However this isn't as sophisticated as some of the other Dredd stuff out there. I did like the tiny snippets of comedy - like Dredd's house-robot and land lady coming to search for him in the middle of battle.

Great fun.]]> 4.41 1981
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1981
rating: 3
read at: 2015/03/01
date added: 2024/05/15
shelves: 2000ad, america, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, military-sf, post-apocalyptic, satire, sci-fi, telepaths-empaths, russia
review:
This contains the 1982 stories Block Mania and the Apocalypse War - Orlock a Russian agent puts a chemical into the water supply of Mega City One turning everybody into war hungry hysterics. While the judges are busy pacifying the riots Soviet forces attack.

This is one of the biggest Dredd arcs and sets the scene for the next 30 years. There's the biting satire on things like Cold War fears that we've come to expect and tonnes of explosive action. However this isn't as sophisticated as some of the other Dredd stuff out there. I did like the tiny snippets of comedy - like Dredd's house-robot and land lady coming to search for him in the middle of battle.

Great fun.
]]> 25137451 In Mega-City One the authorities reveal the latest development in law enforcement: robot Judges built to serve, protect and - where necessary - execute. But for one particular street Judge this is a step too far, and when the Mechanismo models start malfunctioning it's up to Dredd to take them down!]]> John Wagner Leila 4
Since the character of Dredd himself is fairly robotic, this particular arc highlights his humanity in the face of true 'mechanismo' which I thought was a nice touch. I also like all the pop culture references: Robocop (the father of one of the civilians is named Peter Weller), Short circuit (Number 5 is alive!), cyborg, terminator... its all here and deliberately tongue in cheek.

The artwork is bold and brightly coloured which contrasts with the dark subject matter and bloody violence - making the gunfire seem even more explosive.

As well as the main robot judge arc there are a couple of bonus stories. S.A.M (self arming munition) is a brilliant piece of satire on bureaucracy (almost worthy of Brazil) - In my opinion this one's the highlight of the whole volume. There's also another bonus 'safe hands' in which new medical droids start killing their patients because they think that death is best for human happiness.

While this one's not all that morally ambiguous - more old school Dredd, there's still tonnes to enjoy, its bloody, its fun and its very tongue in cheek. ]]> 3.91 1993
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2015/02/19
date added: 2024/05/15
shelves: 2000ad, america, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, sci-fi
review:
Another great Judge Dredd instalment though lacks the edge of "America" - In this one, much to Dredd's annoyance, Chief Judge McGruder initiates the scheme of robot judges. 10 units, programmed based on Dredd's personality, are sent into the field with, as expected catastrophic results.

Since the character of Dredd himself is fairly robotic, this particular arc highlights his humanity in the face of true 'mechanismo' which I thought was a nice touch. I also like all the pop culture references: Robocop (the father of one of the civilians is named Peter Weller), Short circuit (Number 5 is alive!), cyborg, terminator... its all here and deliberately tongue in cheek.

The artwork is bold and brightly coloured which contrasts with the dark subject matter and bloody violence - making the gunfire seem even more explosive.

As well as the main robot judge arc there are a couple of bonus stories. S.A.M (self arming munition) is a brilliant piece of satire on bureaucracy (almost worthy of Brazil) - In my opinion this one's the highlight of the whole volume. There's also another bonus 'safe hands' in which new medical droids start killing their patients because they think that death is best for human happiness.

While this one's not all that morally ambiguous - more old school Dredd, there's still tonnes to enjoy, its bloody, its fun and its very tongue in cheek.
]]> 38736966 258 Alan Grant Leila 4
Big Robots (bit Mortal Engines, where some of the City Blockks turn out to be giant robots)
Wiierd (a bit strange days - with a murderer killing people in VR)
Biophyle (An eco terrorist unleashes killer plants)
The House of Vyle (A haunted house whodunit)
The Trip (Anderson gets exposed to a mind enhancing drug and has to stop an evil cult)

All really strong stories which deepen Anderson's character - The fall out from Big Robots is quite devastating. While Boo Cook's depictions of Anderson vary quite a bit I thought the artwork was pretty good and enhanced the stories.

I've always been a fan of Anderson - I find her far more empathetic than Dredd, and I love the fact that she's a strong, comptant woman who isn't overtly sexualised - Okay Okay we do get a tight fitting uniform and some obvious superheroine positioning - You're never going to escape to target audience of 2000AD being male, but there's a realistic quality to Anderson too - she ages, she kicks ass and she shows real emotion.

An excellent showcase for the character and very female friendly. Really enjoyed this one.]]> 3.58
author: Alan Grant
name: Leila
average rating: 3.58
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/15
date added: 2024/03/17
shelves: 2000ad, anthologies, computer-games-vr, cults, cyborgs-robots-androids, drugs, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, killer-plants-and-plant-people, living-buildings, moving-cities-buildings, murderers-serial-killers, mutants, post-apocalyptic, psychics-precogs-seers-and-oracle, satire, sci-fi, strong-women-in-comics, telepaths-empaths
review:
Colour Psi Judge Anderson anthology containing:

Big Robots (bit Mortal Engines, where some of the City Blockks turn out to be giant robots)
Wiierd (a bit strange days - with a murderer killing people in VR)
Biophyle (An eco terrorist unleashes killer plants)
The House of Vyle (A haunted house whodunit)
The Trip (Anderson gets exposed to a mind enhancing drug and has to stop an evil cult)

All really strong stories which deepen Anderson's character - The fall out from Big Robots is quite devastating. While Boo Cook's depictions of Anderson vary quite a bit I thought the artwork was pretty good and enhanced the stories.

I've always been a fan of Anderson - I find her far more empathetic than Dredd, and I love the fact that she's a strong, comptant woman who isn't overtly sexualised - Okay Okay we do get a tight fitting uniform and some obvious superheroine positioning - You're never going to escape to target audience of 2000AD being male, but there's a realistic quality to Anderson too - she ages, she kicks ass and she shows real emotion.

An excellent showcase for the character and very female friendly. Really enjoyed this one.
]]> 209567567 it's first series ever!]]> 22 Shintaro Kago Leila 5
It's a 22 page full colour one-shot, sting-in-the-tail introduction to Kago's first multi-volume 'epic' which is being published in English in 4 volumes (2023-2025)

We follow a female amputee with parasitic prosethics on a sexual odyssey through a distopian, bio-tech future of ultra-violence and promiscuity.

Think a hentai cross of Duuna and Aeon Flux with the art style of Moebius. In terms of visual style it feels far less Japanese and more European - It would make a great addition to Heavy Metal, but would need some serious content warning - Not for the squeemish - This is totally all fiters off, no holds barred - Even the furniature and vehicles have sex in this. Its weird, freaky and provocative - If that's your thing, this delivers in spades, but its never going to be everyone's cup of tea. Personally it blew me away.]]> 4.15
author: Shintaro Kago
name: Leila
average rating: 4.15
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/06
date added: 2024/03/06
shelves: freaky-sex-scenes, weird, bio-tech-living-ships, body-horror, breeding, comics, controvertial, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, erotic-horror, fetish-kink, heavy-metal-magazine, hentai-adult-manga, horror, horror-manga, japan, manga, parasites, satire
review:
WOW - This is certainly a contender for one of the freakiest and weirdest manga I've ever encountered.

It's a 22 page full colour one-shot, sting-in-the-tail introduction to Kago's first multi-volume 'epic' which is being published in English in 4 volumes (2023-2025)

We follow a female amputee with parasitic prosethics on a sexual odyssey through a distopian, bio-tech future of ultra-violence and promiscuity.

Think a hentai cross of Duuna and Aeon Flux with the art style of Moebius. In terms of visual style it feels far less Japanese and more European - It would make a great addition to Heavy Metal, but would need some serious content warning - Not for the squeemish - This is totally all fiters off, no holds barred - Even the furniature and vehicles have sex in this. Its weird, freaky and provocative - If that's your thing, this delivers in spades, but its never going to be everyone's cup of tea. Personally it blew me away.
]]> 38219632 Gordon Rennie Leila 2
The second half of this collection features the horror parodies of Harke and Burr - Whilest some of the humour is a bit obscure, I really liked the cinematic references and Dean Ormston's very stylish art - The hybrid Hel/Bride of Frankenstein android is glorious in Grief Encounter and the vampire Hamster Horror is a blast.

Didn't feel there was much cohesion to the volume as a whole - Angel gang and Harke and Burr being vastly different in tone, style and setting - Dredd and the Judges hardly feature at all and this doesn't merit being in a Judge Dredd Collection - It would have been better suited to the 2000AD collection rather than the Judge Dredd one.

Still its worth reading for the Harke & Burr stuff and some bits are quite fun. ]]> 2.74
author: Gordon Rennie
name: Leila
average rating: 2.74
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/02/18
date added: 2024/02/18
shelves: 2000ad, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, vampire, mummies, cyborgs-robots-androids, post-apocalyptic
review:
Despite the title - It's only the first half of this that focuses on the redneck Angel Gang - Honestly that's no bad thing - I'm not their biggest fan, I find them very one dimensional. Quite enjoyed Pizen Impossible however, the solo Fink story where he has to kill a clone of Elvis but gets hampered by a spider hybrid woman.

The second half of this collection features the horror parodies of Harke and Burr - Whilest some of the humour is a bit obscure, I really liked the cinematic references and Dean Ormston's very stylish art - The hybrid Hel/Bride of Frankenstein android is glorious in Grief Encounter and the vampire Hamster Horror is a blast.

Didn't feel there was much cohesion to the volume as a whole - Angel gang and Harke and Burr being vastly different in tone, style and setting - Dredd and the Judges hardly feature at all and this doesn't merit being in a Judge Dredd Collection - It would have been better suited to the 2000AD collection rather than the Judge Dredd one.

Still its worth reading for the Harke & Burr stuff and some bits are quite fun.
]]> 11300667 Book by Jeffrey Lord 223 Jeffrey Lord 0523404352 Leila 2
Blade's having trouble in the real world suffering from boredom and satyriasis - he's hooked up with a dancer called Viki but she's failing to satisfy him. Never fear though for a trip to an X-Dimension is just around the corner! J and Lord Leighton, Blade's bosses, the spy-master and mad scientist attempt to send him back to one of the worlds he's already visited and fail, bringing forth an ape man instead. Blade has to bond with Ogar the apeman and then gets sent to his homeworld to explore. Ogar doesn't last too long alas, he gets eaten by a giant reptile. never to be seen again. Yup, you guessed it, it's yet another world of barbaric splendour - What a surprise!

This one is like a reversal of the planet of the apes, crossed with Edgar Rice Burroughs. There are rogue bands of apemen called Api who roam the countryside and rape women from the human community ruled by the Jedds. Blade rescues a girl called Ooma and she becomes his new love interest. The sex scene isn't as hilarious as some in the Blade series, but does include phrases like 'her rough-walled grotto' and their 'fricative sum' and he forces her to sleep nearer the fire so in the event of an enemy raid they 'would be apt to attack Ooma first' - charming!

After outwitting the Api and making false promises, Blade goes back to Ooma's village. He leaves her to infiltrate the palace of the Jedds and after the empress dies takes power as their messiah. He marries the new child-empress who is only 10 year's old but apparently going on 30. There's an evil vizier Nizra who tries to betray Blade to the Api. Poor abandoned Ooma gets raped and murdered. Blade however fights the Api and wins, imprisoning the villain.

In a super-rushed ending a race of robots ruled by a giant brain are brought in. Blade is blackmailed into removing a tumour from the ruling brain but gets transported home mid operation. The epilogue back in the real world follows a very drunk J trying to commit suicide because of his guilt over what's been done to Blade. A random policeman talks him down. And J seems happy that they managed to cure Blade of this mysterious plague that had been wiping out some of the Jedds - another minor plot.

As with all the Blade books you can tell its penned by multiple authors - we've got spy fiction, SF, Fantasy all mis-mashed together, badly. Blade only has 3 women in this one which is a bit of a poor show for Blade and this one's a lot less sexy and violent - None of the women turn evil or insane either.

Overall I found this one a bit lacklustre and dare I say... dull. And despite the fact that women in this dimension age rather quickly, having his conquests age 14 and 10 feels all kinds of wrong.]]> 2.00 1971
author: Jeffrey Lord
name: Leila
average rating: 2.00
book published: 1971
rating: 2
read at: 2017/03/24
date added: 2024/01/04
shelves: barbarian-amazon-fantasy, pulp-fiction, alternative-dimensions-realities, cyborgs-robots-androids, ape-men, planet-stories, richard-blade, spies
review:
This fifth instalment of the Richard Blade saga is the weakest so far and really quite dull and restrained in light of the previous 4 books.

Blade's having trouble in the real world suffering from boredom and satyriasis - he's hooked up with a dancer called Viki but she's failing to satisfy him. Never fear though for a trip to an X-Dimension is just around the corner! J and Lord Leighton, Blade's bosses, the spy-master and mad scientist attempt to send him back to one of the worlds he's already visited and fail, bringing forth an ape man instead. Blade has to bond with Ogar the apeman and then gets sent to his homeworld to explore. Ogar doesn't last too long alas, he gets eaten by a giant reptile. never to be seen again. Yup, you guessed it, it's yet another world of barbaric splendour - What a surprise!

This one is like a reversal of the planet of the apes, crossed with Edgar Rice Burroughs. There are rogue bands of apemen called Api who roam the countryside and rape women from the human community ruled by the Jedds. Blade rescues a girl called Ooma and she becomes his new love interest. The sex scene isn't as hilarious as some in the Blade series, but does include phrases like 'her rough-walled grotto' and their 'fricative sum' and he forces her to sleep nearer the fire so in the event of an enemy raid they 'would be apt to attack Ooma first' - charming!

After outwitting the Api and making false promises, Blade goes back to Ooma's village. He leaves her to infiltrate the palace of the Jedds and after the empress dies takes power as their messiah. He marries the new child-empress who is only 10 year's old but apparently going on 30. There's an evil vizier Nizra who tries to betray Blade to the Api. Poor abandoned Ooma gets raped and murdered. Blade however fights the Api and wins, imprisoning the villain.

In a super-rushed ending a race of robots ruled by a giant brain are brought in. Blade is blackmailed into removing a tumour from the ruling brain but gets transported home mid operation. The epilogue back in the real world follows a very drunk J trying to commit suicide because of his guilt over what's been done to Blade. A random policeman talks him down. And J seems happy that they managed to cure Blade of this mysterious plague that had been wiping out some of the Jedds - another minor plot.

As with all the Blade books you can tell its penned by multiple authors - we've got spy fiction, SF, Fantasy all mis-mashed together, badly. Blade only has 3 women in this one which is a bit of a poor show for Blade and this one's a lot less sexy and violent - None of the women turn evil or insane either.

Overall I found this one a bit lacklustre and dare I say... dull. And despite the fact that women in this dimension age rather quickly, having his conquests age 14 and 10 feels all kinds of wrong.
]]> 18185144 221 Carlton Mellick III 1621051005 Leila 4
I adored this one. It's nicely gothic and freaky - The characters are quirky, I liked Polly with her green hair and anitlers - nicely rendered on the cover. I liked the transition from gothic horror to sci-fi and the changes in tone from squick dark horror to an oddly upbeat ending.

Big thumbs up - And a great example of why Carlton Mellick is my favourite Bizarro author. ]]> 4.36 2013
author: Carlton Mellick III
name: Leila
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2023/06/17
date added: 2023/06/18
shelves: bizarro-fiction, weird, sf-horror, sci-fi, mutants, post-apocalyptic, body-horror, cyborgs-robots-androids, insects, hybrids
review:
Another CM3 masterpiece of bizarro fiction. Polly and her brother Tick have lived their entire life in the nursary looked after by Robot Nanny Warborough - They long for the day when their parents will come and get them. However when Nanny breaks down, the food machines go on the blink and the children at school mysteriously glitch or disappear, Polly, Tick and new baby Leech must leave the nursary and explore the Quicksand house...

I adored this one. It's nicely gothic and freaky - The characters are quirky, I liked Polly with her green hair and anitlers - nicely rendered on the cover. I liked the transition from gothic horror to sci-fi and the changes in tone from squick dark horror to an oddly upbeat ending.

Big thumbs up - And a great example of why Carlton Mellick is my favourite Bizarro author.
]]> 10305433
Watched over by liquid guards, the Mercurials, the Doctor's only company at the heart of the sun is his assistant 'Daphne' �� the latest in a line of android helpers. But rebel eyes have their eyes on the sun, and its lonely controller �� and are prepared to risk even a galactic cataclysm to secure the Doctor's release...]]> 0 Eddie Robson 1844354822 Leila 2
My low score comes from the story itself - Its always hard to do a completely fresh alien Who story. Its very easy for a listener to picture a Dalek, cyberman, Sontaran or Zygon because we have a frame of reference - Here we have Mecurials, mercinaries made of mercury. Being audio there's very little description and I had a hard job 'picturing' this in my mid, despite the excellent voice talent - everyone sounded.... well human.

This is a completely alien world - no time travel/historical point of reference either and honestly it's not very Who-y. The Doctor's been imprisoned in the heart of a sun condemed to maintaining its systems and while he could escape, he's curious as to why he's there and needs to stop the sun becoming a weapon. I applaud this for its originality and scope, however I just felt this would have been far better as a TV episode where we could appreciate the world building and aliens better with a visual context. Its not a bad story, but just doesn't feel very Who. ]]> 3.42 2011
author: Eddie Robson
name: Leila
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at: 2023/02/26
date added: 2023/02/26
shelves: 8th-doctor, aliens, audio-books, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, big-finish, dr-who, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, cyborgs-robots-androids
review:
The production and voice cast on this, as with most Big Finish audios are top notch - Blue's Antony Costa guest stars here and he's really good. Sheridan Smith also gets to strut her stuff playing two different androids; Chloe & Daphne as well as returning as Lucie Miller.

My low score comes from the story itself - Its always hard to do a completely fresh alien Who story. Its very easy for a listener to picture a Dalek, cyberman, Sontaran or Zygon because we have a frame of reference - Here we have Mecurials, mercinaries made of mercury. Being audio there's very little description and I had a hard job 'picturing' this in my mid, despite the excellent voice talent - everyone sounded.... well human.

This is a completely alien world - no time travel/historical point of reference either and honestly it's not very Who-y. The Doctor's been imprisoned in the heart of a sun condemed to maintaining its systems and while he could escape, he's curious as to why he's there and needs to stop the sun becoming a weapon. I applaud this for its originality and scope, however I just felt this would have been far better as a TV episode where we could appreciate the world building and aliens better with a visual context. Its not a bad story, but just doesn't feel very Who.
]]> 60433186 "I SAW IT. A DAZZLING WORLD ...YES, ANOTHER WORLD."

"I'M SURE I SAW A WORLD THAT WAS NOT THIS ONE."

Four people intent on killing themselves meet through the suicide website Black Paradox: Maruso, a nurse who despairs about the future; Taburo, a man who is tortured by his doppelganger; Pii-tan, an engineer with his own robot clone; and Baracchi, a girl who agonizes about the birthmark on her face.

They wander together in search of the perfect death, fatefully opening a door that leads them to a rather bizarre destiny...]]> 208 Junji Ito 1974728633 Leila 4
It's typically Ito - Freaky weird body horror springing from a simple concept. It's like Ito stumbled upon the origin of the word Pylorus and thought what if that opened a real gateway.... I tend to prefer Ito's longer stories and thought this one was pretty good.]]> 3.91 2009
author: Junji Ito
name: Leila
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/02
date added: 2023/01/02
shelves: horror-manga, junji-ito, portals-gateways, weird, manga, clones-doppelgangers, cyborgs-robots-androids, body-horror, cosmic-horror
review:
Four people who met on a chatroom meet up to commit suicide. One girl is so anxious she thinks something terrible is coming and wants to avoid it, one guy keeps seeing his own dopelganggar, one guy had an android made in his image and thinks he's no longer necessary and the last woman who has a severely disfigured face believes her reflection isn't her. Suicide is at first averted when they encounter their other selves. Then three of them bottle but the robotics scientist succeeds then comes back vomiting up a mysterious gemstone - We then find out that just he crossed into the spirit realm his body reflects this and his Pylorus (literally the gatekeeper of the body linking the stomach and the duodenum) has become a portal to the spirit realm....

It's typically Ito - Freaky weird body horror springing from a simple concept. It's like Ito stumbled upon the origin of the word Pylorus and thought what if that opened a real gateway.... I tend to prefer Ito's longer stories and thought this one was pretty good.
]]> 8077667
There’s no escape from Nevermore, whose raven-like robot jailers serve to demonstrate Uglosi’s macabre obsession with the works of the 19th century horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. An obsession that might yet lead to the premature burial of everyone on the planet’s surface �� wreathed in the mist they call the Red Death!]]> 0 Alan Barnes 1844354776 Leila 2
This one's not bad exactly, but it suffers from a new companion finding her feet, both the doctor and audience reeling from Lucie's departure and a rather dull story. Though I do like the cat that gets into the TARDIS and mucks up the navigation. ]]> 3.31 2010
author: Alan Barnes
name: Leila
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2022/10/28
date added: 2022/10/29
shelves: 8th-doctor, audio-books, big-finish, cat-shape-shifters-and-catpeople, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, time-travel, edgar-allan-poe, gothic, mutants
review:
Harping back to the Hinchcliffe era this fuses Who and gothic horror. I don't know what it is but while I think mixing Who and British gothic is amongst the best there is, mixing Who with American gothic just never seems to work quite as well (I'm thinking of things like the 6th Doctor: The Lovecraft Invasion, fusing two of my favourite things Lovecraft and Who and coming up wanting) The same is true of this one - how can a Who story centred around Poe with robot ravens and a mutant shapeshifting cat be anything other than awesome? And yet its pretty forgettable. I'm not warming to companion Tamsin, but then Lucie Miller is pretty much an impossible act to follow. Sheridan Smith set the bar and the later 8th Doctor Adventures are really suffering for her loss.

This one's not bad exactly, but it suffers from a new companion finding her feet, both the doctor and audience reeling from Lucie's departure and a rather dull story. Though I do like the cat that gets into the TARDIS and mucks up the navigation.
]]> 8077666
No experience necessary.

No time wasters, no space wasters please.]]> 0 Eddie Robson 1844354768 Leila 3 Since Lucie left we find the Doctor (McGann) interviewing for the post of companion. The candidates get more than they bargain for having to deal with giant robots.

This one's not bad. I really really miss Lucie, but I thought the core concept of the Doctor actually interviewing for companions was great fun. ]]> 3.72 2010
author: Eddie Robson
name: Leila
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2022/10/28
date added: 2022/10/28
shelves: 8th-doctor, audio-books, big-finish, dr-who, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, cyborgs-robots-androids, vampire
review:
In at nutshell Doctor Who does The Apprentice.
Since Lucie left we find the Doctor (McGann) interviewing for the post of companion. The candidates get more than they bargain for having to deal with giant robots.

This one's not bad. I really really miss Lucie, but I thought the core concept of the Doctor actually interviewing for companions was great fun.
]]> 12224530 215 Philip K. Dick 1407230026 Leila 5
This is such a vivid post-apocalyptic world and you can picture it clearly with its synthetic animals, and people trying desperately to make a living. It looks at the nature of 'life,' humanity and asks lots of very complex questions about religion and ethics. I love how the androids debunk Mercerism, and yet Deckard finds faith... or does he. I like the paranoid, noir feel as well as the satire and bizarre images that linger in the mind long after the novel is over.

This is the first Philip K. Dick novel I've read but certainly won't be the last.]]> 3.98 1968
author: Philip K. Dick
name: Leila
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1968
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/03
date added: 2022/08/26
shelves: cyberpunk, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, favourite-books, futuristic-law-enforcement, made-into-film, post-apocalyptic, prize-winning-fiction, sci-fi, sci-fi-film, sf-classic, human-robot-romance, ai, philip-k-dick, bloomsbury-100-must-read-sf
review:
Often high-tech futuristic novels are hard to get into for me, focusing on the technology and the plot rather than character. I was pleasantly surprised by Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep because it was compulsively readable, easy to follow with developed characters, yet did not stint on the more philosophical aspects.

This is such a vivid post-apocalyptic world and you can picture it clearly with its synthetic animals, and people trying desperately to make a living. It looks at the nature of 'life,' humanity and asks lots of very complex questions about religion and ethics. I love how the androids debunk Mercerism, and yet Deckard finds faith... or does he. I like the paranoid, noir feel as well as the satire and bizarre images that linger in the mind long after the novel is over.

This is the first Philip K. Dick novel I've read but certainly won't be the last.
]]> 1913598 309 Iain M. Banks 1841490954 Leila 2
It follows Culture agent and game player extraordinaire Jurnau Morat Gurgeh. Bored with his comfortable life in the culture he allows himself to become manipulated and gets sent out to play the most complex game ever created against the Empire of Azad - where the prize is Emperorship if you can stay alive long enough.

Nothing much happens at all - the action (the final game) all takes place in the last 1/4 of the book - but is so slow! Gurgeh introduced. Gurgeh gets sent to the Empire, Gurgeh plays the Game. Everything explodes. Gurgeh goes home. The end. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen.

To be fair there are some superb horrific scenes - which elevates this from a one to a two star rating. The hunt turned my stomach and the depiction of the Azad culture with its three sexes (Male, Female, Apex) and its face for the masses and then the secret cruelty for the ruling elite - reminded me of David Cronenberg's videodrome - Fascinating and sickening. The Culture clash and world building is definitely this novel's saving grace.

The other issue I really struggled with in this one was character. Horza in Consider Phlebas is sympathetic and 'human' - In fact I warmed to all the characters in that one - which was very much from a human POV. Even the aliens were likeable. I can't think of a single character in Player I liked or was rooting for, Gurgeh is thoroughly unlikable from the outset - And while he does change I never sympathised with him, except to see him as preferable to the Apices of Azad. This one's from the Culture POV which is alien in its own right and i failed to find any real point of emotional connection with the characters or the story. Other than perhaps the old house drone Chamlis I had no sympathy for the machine minds and actively hated the manipulative Mawhrin Skel.

I think perhaps a lot of the subtleties went over my head because I really couldn't see any point to this at all. The idea of games as real life worked far better in things like Ender's Game. The allegory was largely lost on me - I have no idea what lesson Gurgeh learned (other than perhaps to appreciate what he has, and that games are dangerous) and I was left with a feeling of 'is that it?'

Memorable for the horror sequences, but over all this one did very little for me.]]> 4.15 1988
author: Iain M. Banks
name: Leila
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1988
rating: 2
read at: 2022/07/26
date added: 2022/08/26
shelves: ai, aliens, allegorical, iain-banks, sci-fi, cyborgs-robots-androids, gender-bender, intergalactic-games, bloomsbury-100-must-read-sf
review:
I'm clearly missing something. Pretty much across the board I've heard rave reviews for The Player of Games and I have to confess I really struggled with it - it's rare for me to take over a month to read a single book that isn't a tome, but this one did.

It follows Culture agent and game player extraordinaire Jurnau Morat Gurgeh. Bored with his comfortable life in the culture he allows himself to become manipulated and gets sent out to play the most complex game ever created against the Empire of Azad - where the prize is Emperorship if you can stay alive long enough.

Nothing much happens at all - the action (the final game) all takes place in the last 1/4 of the book - but is so slow! Gurgeh introduced. Gurgeh gets sent to the Empire, Gurgeh plays the Game. Everything explodes. Gurgeh goes home. The end. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen.

To be fair there are some superb horrific scenes - which elevates this from a one to a two star rating. The hunt turned my stomach and the depiction of the Azad culture with its three sexes (Male, Female, Apex) and its face for the masses and then the secret cruelty for the ruling elite - reminded me of David Cronenberg's videodrome - Fascinating and sickening. The Culture clash and world building is definitely this novel's saving grace.

The other issue I really struggled with in this one was character. Horza in Consider Phlebas is sympathetic and 'human' - In fact I warmed to all the characters in that one - which was very much from a human POV. Even the aliens were likeable. I can't think of a single character in Player I liked or was rooting for, Gurgeh is thoroughly unlikable from the outset - And while he does change I never sympathised with him, except to see him as preferable to the Apices of Azad. This one's from the Culture POV which is alien in its own right and i failed to find any real point of emotional connection with the characters or the story. Other than perhaps the old house drone Chamlis I had no sympathy for the machine minds and actively hated the manipulative Mawhrin Skel.

I think perhaps a lot of the subtleties went over my head because I really couldn't see any point to this at all. The idea of games as real life worked far better in things like Ender's Game. The allegory was largely lost on me - I have no idea what lesson Gurgeh learned (other than perhaps to appreciate what he has, and that games are dangerous) and I was left with a feeling of 'is that it?'

Memorable for the horror sequences, but over all this one did very little for me.
]]> 823528 What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over 200 years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common?

Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza �� not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge).

To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) �� or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

'A THUMPING GOOD DETECTIVE-GHOST-HORROR-WHO DUNNIT-TIME TRAVEL-ROMANTIC-MUSICAL-COMEDY-EPIC'
- The author]]> 248 Douglas Adams 0330301624 Leila 3
The story is frankly nuts - but I love the idea that a ghost would gravitate towards a time machine as a way to right past wrongs.

No Hitch Hiker's Guide, but lots of fun. ]]> 3.90 1987
author: Douglas Adams
name: Leila
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1987
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/08/26
shelves: crime, cyborgs-robots-androids, paranormal-investigators, comedy, sf-comedy, sci-fi, satire, time-travel, ghosts, aliens
review:
Here's a novel which I think works far better in audio or TV than on the page. It's a truly bizarre blend - Adams pitched it as 'a thunping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time-travel-romantic-comedy-epic' In anyone elses hands this would be utterly absurd, but Adams pulls it off, just about. I love the character of Dirk and it's his strength of character that holds this together. I think Stephen Mangan in the BBC series is probably the closest rendering in terms of the novel. Samuel Barnett in the more recent adaptation feels more like a mischievious fairy, I think the character needs more grounding in the real world and I quite like the cynical, penny pinching, but clearly brilliant anti-Holmes.

The story is frankly nuts - but I love the idea that a ghost would gravitate towards a time machine as a way to right past wrongs.

No Hitch Hiker's Guide, but lots of fun.
]]> 6480677
From their high spire, looking out over silent streets and empty plazas, the Assemblers are waiting for the day when the humans arrive. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting...

When the TARDIS brings the Doctor and Lucie to the Haven, it seems like Assemblers' long wait might be over. Living beings! Without batteries! Protocol be praised!

Except �� they're headed for the lower levels. They don't want to do that. That's where the Cannibalists live. And if the Cannibalists catch them �� well, they won't be living beings much longer...]]> 0 Jonathan Morris 1844353982 Leila 3
Sheridan steals the show and gives a very human connection point to what is quite an alien story. Other voice cast includePhil Davis and Phil Jupitus. It's a lot of fun for a robot story that doesn't feature Daleks, Cybermen or Vocs. Very much a stand alone this doesn't offer much in the way of character development or expansion of the who verse but still, the evil cannibalists are ace. ]]> 3.55 2009
author: Jonathan Morris
name: Leila
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/29
date added: 2022/07/29
shelves: 8th-doctor, ai, audio-books, big-finish, dr-who, cyborgs-robots-androids, sci-fi, tv-tie-in
review:
The Doctor and Lucie end up on a robot space station - where evolution has produced various types of robot - Servos (good droids that look like vacuums and live for protocol), Cannibalists (evil droids) who kill and repurpose other robots for their own survival, Minerva, the space station operating system, and one unique robot who composes poetry in his spare time.

Sheridan steals the show and gives a very human connection point to what is quite an alien story. Other voice cast includePhil Davis and Phil Jupitus. It's a lot of fun for a robot story that doesn't feature Daleks, Cybermen or Vocs. Very much a stand alone this doesn't offer much in the way of character development or expansion of the who verse but still, the evil cannibalists are ace.
]]> 11259833
The robot transport ship Lorelei has a cargo of over 157,000 robots on board, all deactivated. So even if there were any truth in the rumour of that massacre, there'd still be no danger. Surely, there wouldn't...

But then, the Doctor witnesses a murder.]]> 0 Nicholas Briggs Leila 3
It's not a bad story, it's just that having heard the marvellous 'Sons of Kaldor' which does a similar thing, in half the length and much more innovative in its use of the source material, this one comes as a teeny bit of a disappointment. Partly it's down to McCoy being the Doctor - I'm biased, hands up, Tom Baker is THE Doctor for me. I find McCoy's smugness and secretiveness a little annoying at times, particularly here. I like the twist that it's a human killer rather than the robots, who turn out to be innocent, but the whole insane human behind it all... its just a rehash of Robots of death.

The highlight is the casting of Nicola Walker - she plays med tech. Liv Chenka and takes on the companion role since McCoy is flying solo in this one. She's smart, curious, capable but has a real likeability factor - great emotional range and her voice is well suited to audio. This is her first appearance in the Who world and I really hope that Big Finish realise what a gem they have and cast her in subsequent stories. Liv would make a great companion for real, rather than being simply a guest star. Dan Starkey more recognisable as a Sontaran also deserves credit here as Cravenet - he's a great comic character actor and adds some real fun here.

This does a great job of re-evoking the Robots of Death universe, production values are excellent and I do like that this offers up new characters rather than rehashing Uvanov/Toos/Poul/Taren Capell. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it's not quite as amazing as I'd hoped. ]]> 3.91 2011
author: Nicholas Briggs
name: Leila
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/12/02
shelves: audio-books, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, chris-boucher-universe, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, insane-characters, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, plot-twists, big-finish, 7th-doctor
review:
So this audio is a direct sequel to one of my favourite classic Who stories - Robots of Death, but with Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor instead of Baker. It begins on a robot transport liner where the Doctor is listening to the 'facts' of events on Sand-miner 4 (ROD) before a similar scenario occurs - members of the crew are being bumped off and security footage shows it to be a robot doing the killing.

It's not a bad story, it's just that having heard the marvellous 'Sons of Kaldor' which does a similar thing, in half the length and much more innovative in its use of the source material, this one comes as a teeny bit of a disappointment. Partly it's down to McCoy being the Doctor - I'm biased, hands up, Tom Baker is THE Doctor for me. I find McCoy's smugness and secretiveness a little annoying at times, particularly here. I like the twist that it's a human killer rather than the robots, who turn out to be innocent, but the whole insane human behind it all... its just a rehash of Robots of death.

The highlight is the casting of Nicola Walker - she plays med tech. Liv Chenka and takes on the companion role since McCoy is flying solo in this one. She's smart, curious, capable but has a real likeability factor - great emotional range and her voice is well suited to audio. This is her first appearance in the Who world and I really hope that Big Finish realise what a gem they have and cast her in subsequent stories. Liv would make a great companion for real, rather than being simply a guest star. Dan Starkey more recognisable as a Sontaran also deserves credit here as Cravenet - he's a great comic character actor and adds some real fun here.

This does a great job of re-evoking the Robots of Death universe, production values are excellent and I do like that this offers up new characters rather than rehashing Uvanov/Toos/Poul/Taren Capell. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it's not quite as amazing as I'd hoped.
]]> 25137473
An unusual delivery is made to the Grand Hall of Justice, a package that will force Dredd to lead a mission into the Cursed Earth and into the darkest recesses of the history of the Judges and Mega-City One...]]> 0 John Wagner Leila 3
Within this framework we learn of Dredd's origin as a clone of Fargo and also get an exploration into the days of the last president of the USA - the nuclear war, creation of the mutants and the current law enforcement system.

Vital for any Dredd fan. This one's really visual and its almost like a movie unfolding before your eyes. Loads of action and back story but lacks much of the humour of other Dredd stuff. Although there are moments like Dredd facing off against the president:

President: They say the cream always rises to the top!
Dredd: I heard it was scum.

The scope of this is very ambitious, to tell Dredd's origins hinted at in previous arcs, show us the origin of the universe AND give character development but this pulls it off with ease.

We also get a seasonal bonus story "The spirit of Christmas" where Dredd almost gets sentimental, plus a gallery of cover art and sketches. A worthy edition to any Dredd collection.]]> 4.28 2005
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2015/03/08
date added: 2021/09/28
shelves: 2000ad, america, christmas, clones-doppelgangers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, mutants, post-apocalyptic, satire, society-falling-apart
review:
The body of the father of law enforcement Eustace Fargo has been stolen and its up to Dredd and a team of judges to get it back.

Within this framework we learn of Dredd's origin as a clone of Fargo and also get an exploration into the days of the last president of the USA - the nuclear war, creation of the mutants and the current law enforcement system.

Vital for any Dredd fan. This one's really visual and its almost like a movie unfolding before your eyes. Loads of action and back story but lacks much of the humour of other Dredd stuff. Although there are moments like Dredd facing off against the president:

President: They say the cream always rises to the top!
Dredd: I heard it was scum.

The scope of this is very ambitious, to tell Dredd's origins hinted at in previous arcs, show us the origin of the universe AND give character development but this pulls it off with ease.

We also get a seasonal bonus story "The spirit of Christmas" where Dredd almost gets sentimental, plus a gallery of cover art and sketches. A worthy edition to any Dredd collection.
]]> 8935689
Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.]]> 467 Iain M. Banks 1857231384 Leila 4
Still after yet another recommendation I decided to give Consider Phlebas a go and for the most part I was hugely impressed - It's really easy to read, and I didn't feel bogged down by the tech or concepts at all. It's full of really rich characters and reads like a good space opera. I also loved the literary references (the title coming from T.S Eliot's The Wasteland) and the philosophy and allegory there behind the scenes. There are some fabulous vignettes in this - I loved Horza's encounter with The Eaters - for some reason Marlon Brando in the 1996 The Island of Dr. Moreau popped into my head - Its just such a great visual and blackly comic sequence. I also really liked the Damage game sequence and this idea of these insane people playing their games in the most dangerous and extreme places possible.

What I think let this down for me was the ending - Published in 1987 this is early in Banks' career in what i call his nihilistic period - The Wasp Factory and Walking on Glass are dark and nihilistic indeed and some of that bleakness filters into this - But here I don't know, after following and struggling with these characters for some 450 pages, I really grew to like them and so their eventual fate is a real kick in the teeth, and it left me feeling that there really is no point - a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

I hear that it's a lot richer when read in the context of the other culture novels which I shall certainly check out, once I've recovered from the trauma of this one. Because other than the bleak ending this was great - amazing world building, pacy writing, rich characters and fascinating ideas.]]> 3.86 1987
author: Iain M. Banks
name: Leila
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2021/09/24
date added: 2021/09/24
shelves: ai, aliens, allegorical, cyborgs-robots-androids, different-narrative-voice, futuristic, iain-banks, nihilism-bleak-endings, sci-fi, space-opera, space-pirates, unexpected-deaths, face-dancers-and-body-morphs
review:
I've always been a bit put off reading the culture novels, even though I love Banks' non-genre novels and the sci-fi genre in general because they are so often lumped in with William Gibson, whose novels I have never managed to finish. I've always been under the preconception that these are going to be tech-heavy 'serious' sci-fi - and my preference has always been space opera.

Still after yet another recommendation I decided to give Consider Phlebas a go and for the most part I was hugely impressed - It's really easy to read, and I didn't feel bogged down by the tech or concepts at all. It's full of really rich characters and reads like a good space opera. I also loved the literary references (the title coming from T.S Eliot's The Wasteland) and the philosophy and allegory there behind the scenes. There are some fabulous vignettes in this - I loved Horza's encounter with The Eaters - for some reason Marlon Brando in the 1996 The Island of Dr. Moreau popped into my head - Its just such a great visual and blackly comic sequence. I also really liked the Damage game sequence and this idea of these insane people playing their games in the most dangerous and extreme places possible.

What I think let this down for me was the ending - Published in 1987 this is early in Banks' career in what i call his nihilistic period - The Wasp Factory and Walking on Glass are dark and nihilistic indeed and some of that bleakness filters into this - But here I don't know, after following and struggling with these characters for some 450 pages, I really grew to like them and so their eventual fate is a real kick in the teeth, and it left me feeling that there really is no point - a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

I hear that it's a lot richer when read in the context of the other culture novels which I shall certainly check out, once I've recovered from the trauma of this one. Because other than the bleak ending this was great - amazing world building, pacy writing, rich characters and fascinating ideas.
]]> 17275646 96 Carlton Mellick III 1621050394 Leila 3
Our nameless hero wanders through a fleshy landscape: It seems the Earth has transformed into a (living?) being and we are just parasites upon it. He finds all the other humans have disappeared and he meets a metal woman he takes as his wife. But then he encounters a society of Themrocs and they eat his wife which he allows simply to fit in. They are ruled by a permanently depressed God. Meanwhile the last bastion of human civilization exists in the Themroc's basement.

As with all CM3 works, it's startlingly original, fabulously nightmare-ish using poetic language to evoke smell, touch and taste. The bio-setting is amazing. My problem with this is its lack of plot - it simply meanders and if it was making any sort of point it eluded me - It feels like a dream fragment. The main character isn't sympathetic. He's utterly reactionary, spineless and allows the only really likeable character (his metal wife) to be killed.

The ideas buzzing in this are great; it deals with the afterlife, a post apocalyptic? future and human alienation, but it frustratingly never really gets to grips with any of these. Still there's lots to enjoy for Bizarro and it does deliver in spades what the title promises: A Teeth and Tongue Landscape. Just not much else. ]]> 4.06 2006
author: Carlton Mellick III
name: Leila
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2021/08/01
date added: 2021/08/01
shelves: bizarro-fiction, novella, weird, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, freaky-sex-scenes, parasites, surreal, innovative-language-use
review:
Teeth and Tongue Landscape is another surreal nightmare committed to prose.

Our nameless hero wanders through a fleshy landscape: It seems the Earth has transformed into a (living?) being and we are just parasites upon it. He finds all the other humans have disappeared and he meets a metal woman he takes as his wife. But then he encounters a society of Themrocs and they eat his wife which he allows simply to fit in. They are ruled by a permanently depressed God. Meanwhile the last bastion of human civilization exists in the Themroc's basement.

As with all CM3 works, it's startlingly original, fabulously nightmare-ish using poetic language to evoke smell, touch and taste. The bio-setting is amazing. My problem with this is its lack of plot - it simply meanders and if it was making any sort of point it eluded me - It feels like a dream fragment. The main character isn't sympathetic. He's utterly reactionary, spineless and allows the only really likeable character (his metal wife) to be killed.

The ideas buzzing in this are great; it deals with the afterlife, a post apocalyptic? future and human alienation, but it frustratingly never really gets to grips with any of these. Still there's lots to enjoy for Bizarro and it does deliver in spades what the title promises: A Teeth and Tongue Landscape. Just not much else.
]]> 2431989 256 David Bischoff 1852864621 Leila 3
Indeed, it's not bad and reads like it could easily be an episode of the show. The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a geology study team headed by an old ex-girlfriend of Picard's. The Away Team find the whole science team dead except for Dr. Adrienne Tillstrom who is unconscious in a coma and her son Mikal, also unconscious. They bring the two survivors back to the Enterprise, but also traipse in quite a bit of mud. This 'mud' is in fact a silicate life-form which attaches itself to the hull of the Enterprise and proceeds to grow. It likes its new home and is very very hostile to organic beings. The problem gets so bad that Star Fleet order the Enterprise destroyed and Picard and his crew are against the clock to either communicate with or destroy this new entity threatening their ship.

There's a secondary plot strand revolving around Troi & Data's attempts to help the daughter of two Enterprise crew members, Penelope an autistic teenager with a huge crush on Mikal.

I thought the characterization in this was great and it focuses on a wide range of the Enterprise crew: Picard, Geordi, Crusher, Troi, Data, even Riker & Worf get some nice moments. There's one point in the novel where Star Fleet demand the final destruction of the Enterprise and we get a chapter dedicated to the personal logs of each of the characters in turn, giving us their thoughts on the matter - their reactions are a perfect reflection of their characters.

The story is solid and a good vehicle for the characters. I really liked the sequence where Geordi and his team go out onto the hull and get attacked, seemingly by the hull itself! Nicely visual - would have looked excellent on screen.

Over all this one is just like watching a standard episode of TNG - It's not amazing - other than giving Picard a love interest, it doesn't really develop the characters beyond the limitations of the show and the story, while good isn't Trek at its most groundbreaking. However it is a fairly decent spin off novel and for those who are tired of watching TNG re-runs for the umpteenth time and want more this one is a perfectly adequate addition.]]> 3.35 1993
author: David Bischoff
name: Leila
average rating: 3.35
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/06/04
shelves: sci-fi, space-opera, star-trek-tng, star-trek, telepaths-empaths, tv-tie-in, cyborgs-robots-androids, ai, aliens, amnesia-plots
review:
David Bischoff is a very familiar name in genre fiction having penned all the Space Precinct novels as well as contributing to Alien, AVP, The Crow, Farscape, Seaquest DSV and the novelizations of The Blob, Gremlins II, Hackers and Some Kind of Wonderful - While I've never found his writing particularly great, his stories are usually good, very much in keeping with their shows and he usually gets the characters spot on, so I thought I'd check out his entry in the Star Trek TNG universe.

Indeed, it's not bad and reads like it could easily be an episode of the show. The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a geology study team headed by an old ex-girlfriend of Picard's. The Away Team find the whole science team dead except for Dr. Adrienne Tillstrom who is unconscious in a coma and her son Mikal, also unconscious. They bring the two survivors back to the Enterprise, but also traipse in quite a bit of mud. This 'mud' is in fact a silicate life-form which attaches itself to the hull of the Enterprise and proceeds to grow. It likes its new home and is very very hostile to organic beings. The problem gets so bad that Star Fleet order the Enterprise destroyed and Picard and his crew are against the clock to either communicate with or destroy this new entity threatening their ship.

There's a secondary plot strand revolving around Troi & Data's attempts to help the daughter of two Enterprise crew members, Penelope an autistic teenager with a huge crush on Mikal.

I thought the characterization in this was great and it focuses on a wide range of the Enterprise crew: Picard, Geordi, Crusher, Troi, Data, even Riker & Worf get some nice moments. There's one point in the novel where Star Fleet demand the final destruction of the Enterprise and we get a chapter dedicated to the personal logs of each of the characters in turn, giving us their thoughts on the matter - their reactions are a perfect reflection of their characters.

The story is solid and a good vehicle for the characters. I really liked the sequence where Geordi and his team go out onto the hull and get attacked, seemingly by the hull itself! Nicely visual - would have looked excellent on screen.

Over all this one is just like watching a standard episode of TNG - It's not amazing - other than giving Picard a love interest, it doesn't really develop the characters beyond the limitations of the show and the story, while good isn't Trek at its most groundbreaking. However it is a fairly decent spin off novel and for those who are tired of watching TNG re-runs for the umpteenth time and want more this one is a perfectly adequate addition.
]]> 24358652 540 Alejandro Jodorowsky 159465106X Leila 4
One of the ways it does this is with the quirky narrative technique. The multi-generational saga is relayed to us via two robots with a kind of C3PO/R2D2 comedy double act going on. If you're familiar with MST3K that's also in the same kind of vein. So these droids are the servants of the current metabaron 'No Name' and pass the time awaiting their master's return by one droid telling the other of the metabaron's history. This mixes up the pace - we go from the lol comedy of the droids to seriously dark space opera including incest, mutilation, sacrifice and death - I quite like the fluctuating tone it makes things interesting. The narrators are also significant and I won't give you spoilers, however we do get a twist I did not see coming which makes these two integral parts of the saga - they are not just a random narrative technique.

Gimenez' art isn't as breathtaking as some of Jodorowsky's other collaborators (I'm a big fan of his work with Moebius and Beltran) however its still good. I particularly love the supra-lice ship and it's vampiric queen - fans of organic ships (like Lexx and Moya etc) are going to love this.

Like any prequel/history spanning several generations, the metabarons is a bit repetitive and pretty dark (each generation having to die). It also fails to make any real point other than to lead us up to the present. As a narrative its not as interesting as say Incal or Megalex which is why it only gets 4* However It is still brilliant - The characters are all wonderfully well developed and this does an excellent job of exploring their psyche, Its also twisted, dark and set in a fully realised SF universe ranking up there with the greats.

Fans of Dune, The epic of Gilgamesh and of course European comics and Heavy Metal Magazine really aren't going to want to miss this.]]> 4.16 2003
author: Alejandro Jodorowsky
name: Leila
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2020/07/19
date added: 2021/05/20
shelves: alien-invasion, aliens, allegorical, alternative-dimensions-realities, animal-people, ape-men, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, eastern-mysticism, epic, european-comics, favourite-graphic-novels, gender-bender, graphic-novels, heavy-metal-magazine, incest-themes, insane-characters, insects, jodoverse, satire, sci-fi, space-opera, technology-horror, omnibus-editions, warrior-hero, patricide, bio-tech-living-ships
review:
The metabarons came about after Jodorowsky's ambitious project to film Frank Herbert's Dune failed. As such quite a bit of the Dune essence bleeds through into this SF epic: The mysterious Epyphite reminded me a bit of spice and we have the twisted agenda of the whore priestesses - who are basically the Bene Gesserit, this also has all the politics, barons and psychic powers you associate with Dune. However the Metabarons goes beyond it's origins into something uniquely its own.

One of the ways it does this is with the quirky narrative technique. The multi-generational saga is relayed to us via two robots with a kind of C3PO/R2D2 comedy double act going on. If you're familiar with MST3K that's also in the same kind of vein. So these droids are the servants of the current metabaron 'No Name' and pass the time awaiting their master's return by one droid telling the other of the metabaron's history. This mixes up the pace - we go from the lol comedy of the droids to seriously dark space opera including incest, mutilation, sacrifice and death - I quite like the fluctuating tone it makes things interesting. The narrators are also significant and I won't give you spoilers, however we do get a twist I did not see coming which makes these two integral parts of the saga - they are not just a random narrative technique.

Gimenez' art isn't as breathtaking as some of Jodorowsky's other collaborators (I'm a big fan of his work with Moebius and Beltran) however its still good. I particularly love the supra-lice ship and it's vampiric queen - fans of organic ships (like Lexx and Moya etc) are going to love this.

Like any prequel/history spanning several generations, the metabarons is a bit repetitive and pretty dark (each generation having to die). It also fails to make any real point other than to lead us up to the present. As a narrative its not as interesting as say Incal or Megalex which is why it only gets 4* However It is still brilliant - The characters are all wonderfully well developed and this does an excellent job of exploring their psyche, Its also twisted, dark and set in a fully realised SF universe ranking up there with the greats.

Fans of Dune, The epic of Gilgamesh and of course European comics and Heavy Metal Magazine really aren't going to want to miss this.
]]> 3484579
The inhabitants of the quiet seaside town of Thorington in Suffolk are living the same day over and over again.

What's so special about the 1st of September 1991? Why haven't the villagers noticed that the same song has been number one for years? And just where on Earth has the sea disappeared to?

The Doctor and Lucie must solve the mystery before the 'visitors' return...]]> 0 Jonathan Clements 1844353044 Leila 3
1st off Autons are a very visual enemy and don't work too well in audio. I am pleased this didn't go down the cliched route, rehashing what has gone before: Describing people being attacked by plastic items would be tedious in audio. However I fear this moved a bit too far from the Auton concept - There's no way you would mistake an Auton for a human, they look like plastic mannequins. And yet... the Doctor and Lucie and all the Uzbek soldiers believe they are human. I know these are autonomous autons, but I don't quite get the new appearance.

Secondly one of the biggest strengths of the Auton/Nestene consciousness is its basis in Lovecraft - Anyone who's seen the TV spin off series Auton will note the elder god like Nestene (heck we even get tentacles in Spearhead from space) but we get none of that here. And instead of a nice creepy Suffolk town (again very Lovecraft) it turns out to be oil mines in Uzbekistan and we get this whole plot about the autons wanting to preserve the oil because its the basis for plastic. Having the Nestene Consciousness as a signal was a bit of an anticlimax.

The story also didn't give the Doctor much of a chance to shine. Lucie had a slightly more interesting role, connecting with the missing Auton girl Sally. But I don't know, the Doctor himself isn't very dynamic here.

Overall I was disappointed with this one - production vales are great and the cast do a good job with what they have, however the story is a missed opportunity and this isn't a great vehicle for the Doctor. I love the fact that it features Autons, but honestly it doesn't feel very, for want of a better word... Who-y.]]> 3.65 2008
author: Jonathan Clements
name: Leila
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/18
date added: 2021/04/19
shelves: audio-books, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, time-travel, big-finish, 8th-doctor, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, suffolk-local-interest
review:
The Doctor (Paul McGann) and Lucy (Sheridan Smith) take a trip to the seaside. They end up in a deserted Suffolk village where everything seems to have stopped in 1991. Absolutely adore the set up here and not just because, since I'm a Suffolk girl, it's of the local interest. It's really creepy. And when you start bringing in Autons and autonomous ones at that, you think creepy central - sadly not the case and it soon goes downhill, largely due to the plot.

1st off Autons are a very visual enemy and don't work too well in audio. I am pleased this didn't go down the cliched route, rehashing what has gone before: Describing people being attacked by plastic items would be tedious in audio. However I fear this moved a bit too far from the Auton concept - There's no way you would mistake an Auton for a human, they look like plastic mannequins. And yet... the Doctor and Lucie and all the Uzbek soldiers believe they are human. I know these are autonomous autons, but I don't quite get the new appearance.

Secondly one of the biggest strengths of the Auton/Nestene consciousness is its basis in Lovecraft - Anyone who's seen the TV spin off series Auton will note the elder god like Nestene (heck we even get tentacles in Spearhead from space) but we get none of that here. And instead of a nice creepy Suffolk town (again very Lovecraft) it turns out to be oil mines in Uzbekistan and we get this whole plot about the autons wanting to preserve the oil because its the basis for plastic. Having the Nestene Consciousness as a signal was a bit of an anticlimax.

The story also didn't give the Doctor much of a chance to shine. Lucie had a slightly more interesting role, connecting with the missing Auton girl Sally. But I don't know, the Doctor himself isn't very dynamic here.

Overall I was disappointed with this one - production vales are great and the cast do a good job with what they have, however the story is a missed opportunity and this isn't a great vehicle for the Doctor. I love the fact that it features Autons, but honestly it doesn't feel very, for want of a better word... Who-y.
]]> 4673234 Welcome to Max Warp! Broadcasting live from the Sirius Inter-G Cruiser Show. Hosted by outspoken columnist and media personality Geoffrey Vantage, with spaceship-guru-extraordinaire O’Reilley and daredevil pilot Timbo ‘the Ferret��.

When a test flight of the new Kith Sunstorm ends in disaster, the Sirius Exhibition Station is plunged into a web of murder and intrigue. Someone �� or something �� is trying to re-ignite a war between the Varlon Empire and the Kith Oligarchy.

As the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance, only two investigators, the Doctor and Lucie, can hope to uncover the truth.

So strap yourself in, engage thrust, and prepare for... Max Warp!]]> 0 Jonathan Morris 1844353052 Leila 3
The Doctor (McGann) takes Lucie (Sheridan Smith) to Max Warp - The Intergalactic version of Top Gear; test-driving space ships. Presenter Timbo "Ferret" (Blue's Duncan James) is killed in a crash and it appears to be murder. Max Warp is an important race-relations joint venture between two alien races - The Varlon and the Kith,as part of the peace process after bloody war. But when, after Timbo, the Kith ambassador gets assassinated it seems that someone wants to rekindle hostilities. It's up to the Doctor to play detective and find out who.

This one's very much for the 'boys' - Who and Top Gear together is, I'm sure many fans dream. I didn't feel that Lucie had much of a chance to shine and Vantage's misogyny - while very much part of his character annoyed me I'm sure as much as Lucie.

Still this one's a great deal of fun. I like the idea of the Doctor as detective (Robots of Death and Talons of Weng-Chiang, being two particular favourite episodes) and the intergalactic space rally does make a colourful backdrop. Voice cast are as ever fantastic, some great use of accents here and you can tell everyone's having a blast. Not my favourite, but pretty good. ]]> 3.60 2008
author: Jonathan Morris
name: Leila
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/17
date added: 2021/04/18
shelves: 8th-doctor, aliens, audio-books, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, big-finish, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, movie-or-tv-set, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, whodunit-murder-mystery
review:
Doctor Who does Top Gear in Space meets Agatha Christie.

The Doctor (McGann) takes Lucie (Sheridan Smith) to Max Warp - The Intergalactic version of Top Gear; test-driving space ships. Presenter Timbo "Ferret" (Blue's Duncan James) is killed in a crash and it appears to be murder. Max Warp is an important race-relations joint venture between two alien races - The Varlon and the Kith,as part of the peace process after bloody war. But when, after Timbo, the Kith ambassador gets assassinated it seems that someone wants to rekindle hostilities. It's up to the Doctor to play detective and find out who.

This one's very much for the 'boys' - Who and Top Gear together is, I'm sure many fans dream. I didn't feel that Lucie had much of a chance to shine and Vantage's misogyny - while very much part of his character annoyed me I'm sure as much as Lucie.

Still this one's a great deal of fun. I like the idea of the Doctor as detective (Robots of Death and Talons of Weng-Chiang, being two particular favourite episodes) and the intergalactic space rally does make a colourful backdrop. Voice cast are as ever fantastic, some great use of accents here and you can tell everyone's having a blast. Not my favourite, but pretty good.
]]> 2041218 0 Eddie Robson 1844352625 Leila 3
I just found the story a bit of an anti-climax after the blindingly good part one. I love the Timelord politics but found the rest a little rushed, particularly the defeat of the cybermen. Also I found the cybermen's dialogue a little hard to decipher in places. The pace isn't as good on this half either - great chunks of exposition and then action. The whole series has been gearing up to the revelation of just why Lucie was in Timelord protective custody and to discover it was a case of mistaken identity is a bit of a damp squib.

Other than that though this is pretty good. Highlight is probably the Doctor's conversations with the cybermen: the scene where he claims to always champion the underdog, but will make an exception in the case of the cybermen, is pure Who gold. The writing on this one is really good. Voice cast and production values are top notch. Katarina Olsen really comes into her own as the Headhunter - Going off with Karen at the end leaves the perfect opportunity for a spin-off series or fodder for fanfiction - I for one would love to see what they get up to. Its also a nice resolution to the Doctor/Lucie relationship. They kind of hated each other at first, thrown together through the machinations of the Timelords. But by this episode there's a sort of mutual respect and they can choose to be companions, or not...

Over all I've been hugely impressed with the 8th Doctor Adventures, they're among the best Who audios out there and even the weaker ones have kept my attention.
]]> 4.07 2007
author: Eddie Robson
name: Leila
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2021/01/07
date added: 2021/01/08
shelves: 8th-doctor, audio-books, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, big-finish, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, time-travel
review:
As a season finale this isn't bad at all; a story featuring cybermen, the Doctor being badass, Timelords being devious and the unforgettable Lucie Miller being her exuberant sarky self.

I just found the story a bit of an anti-climax after the blindingly good part one. I love the Timelord politics but found the rest a little rushed, particularly the defeat of the cybermen. Also I found the cybermen's dialogue a little hard to decipher in places. The pace isn't as good on this half either - great chunks of exposition and then action. The whole series has been gearing up to the revelation of just why Lucie was in Timelord protective custody and to discover it was a case of mistaken identity is a bit of a damp squib.

Other than that though this is pretty good. Highlight is probably the Doctor's conversations with the cybermen: the scene where he claims to always champion the underdog, but will make an exception in the case of the cybermen, is pure Who gold. The writing on this one is really good. Voice cast and production values are top notch. Katarina Olsen really comes into her own as the Headhunter - Going off with Karen at the end leaves the perfect opportunity for a spin-off series or fodder for fanfiction - I for one would love to see what they get up to. Its also a nice resolution to the Doctor/Lucie relationship. They kind of hated each other at first, thrown together through the machinations of the Timelords. But by this episode there's a sort of mutual respect and they can choose to be companions, or not...

Over all I've been hugely impressed with the 8th Doctor Adventures, they're among the best Who audios out there and even the weaker ones have kept my attention.

]]> 2041222 0 Eddie Robson 1844352617 Leila 4
I loved this one from start to finish. The production values are top notch and as ever the voice cast do an amazing job - Roy Marsden voices the 'evil?' mastermind here and is really convincing. The story is tight and well plotted and the pace on this is excellent with mysteries being unfolded slowly to keep you guessing right to the last. The fusion of hard sci-fi (alien battles) and real world mundane (office satire) works especially well and reminded me a little of things like Ender's Game and Wargames. McGann is great as the Doctor in this one and there are lots of shades of grey - by the end your heart is in your mouth as you realise just what the Doctor has done...

Great story and integral to the series arc, good character development, excellent production values and it is very 'Who-y' bringing in Cybermen at the end. At the top end of Dr. Who spin-off fiction. Highly recommended.]]> 4.09 2007
author: Eddie Robson
name: Leila
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/06
date added: 2021/01/07
shelves: 8th-doctor, aliens, audio-books, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, big-finish, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, favourite-audio-books, sci-fi, time-travel, tv-tie-in, living-buildings, amnesia-plots
review:
Now this is more like it! The mysterious headhunter caught up with Lucie in the last episode, and kidnapped her. Now Lucie finds herself working in an office in Telford with no memory of how she got there. The data she is inputting has far more significance than she realises. The Time Lords send the Doctor to get her back....

I loved this one from start to finish. The production values are top notch and as ever the voice cast do an amazing job - Roy Marsden voices the 'evil?' mastermind here and is really convincing. The story is tight and well plotted and the pace on this is excellent with mysteries being unfolded slowly to keep you guessing right to the last. The fusion of hard sci-fi (alien battles) and real world mundane (office satire) works especially well and reminded me a little of things like Ender's Game and Wargames. McGann is great as the Doctor in this one and there are lots of shades of grey - by the end your heart is in your mouth as you realise just what the Doctor has done...

Great story and integral to the series arc, good character development, excellent production values and it is very 'Who-y' bringing in Cybermen at the end. At the top end of Dr. Who spin-off fiction. Highly recommended.
]]> 2041263 0 Eddie Robson 1844352595 Leila 4
The voice cast are fantastic on this. Sheridan Smith goes without saying - I love her portrayal of Lucie and she's such a wonderful contrast to McGann's slightly serious take on the Doctor. Timothy West and Nerys Hughes play the old couple and are both brilliant - but the other two couples are equally as engaging. Really good characters in this one - The Doctor and Lucie are actually overshadowed by the guest cast for a fair bit of this. However the Doctor comes into his own in the end, I love stories that touch on the Doctor's darker side and I thought this did a very good job on that front.

So big thumbs up from me - This embraces the show's LTBT fanbase; the subtle relationship with Drew and Hayden is quite sweet. It shows off the Doctor's dark side. It has really interesting and well developed supporting characters. I liked the weaving in of the Classical myth of Phobos, and this has a cool and interesting setting.

On the down side it is a tiny bit choppy, and it isn't particularly 'who'-y until the end; it doesn't feature any classic Who monsters or mythos. Otherwise though, I thought this was great. ]]> 3.39 2007
author: Eddie Robson
name: Leila
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/05
date added: 2021/01/05
shelves: 8th-doctor, aliens, audio-books, dr-who, mars, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, time-travel, lgbt-interest, lgbt-supporting-characters, gay-sci-fi-and-fantasy, cyborgs-robots-androids, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, big-finish
review:
Phobos took me slightly longer to get into than the previous 8th Doctor adventures, because at least to start with it jumps about a bit between various sets of characters, and is a completely alien setting; but don't let that put you off because this is another cracking story. Its set on Mars' moon Phobos in a leisure resort for 'Drenies' adrenalin junkies - We have the Doctor and Lucie Miller, Old man Kai and his girlfriend Eris who seem to run the place, Amy and Fahl a pair of lovers in hiding because Fahl's species object to interspecies marriage, and a couple of 'Drenies' Drew and his crush Hayden. There's a mysterious monster attacking the tourists - but when the Doctor unmasks the monster and it's manipulator something far darker is revealed.

The voice cast are fantastic on this. Sheridan Smith goes without saying - I love her portrayal of Lucie and she's such a wonderful contrast to McGann's slightly serious take on the Doctor. Timothy West and Nerys Hughes play the old couple and are both brilliant - but the other two couples are equally as engaging. Really good characters in this one - The Doctor and Lucie are actually overshadowed by the guest cast for a fair bit of this. However the Doctor comes into his own in the end, I love stories that touch on the Doctor's darker side and I thought this did a very good job on that front.

So big thumbs up from me - This embraces the show's LTBT fanbase; the subtle relationship with Drew and Hayden is quite sweet. It shows off the Doctor's dark side. It has really interesting and well developed supporting characters. I liked the weaving in of the Classical myth of Phobos, and this has a cool and interesting setting.

On the down side it is a tiny bit choppy, and it isn't particularly 'who'-y until the end; it doesn't feature any classic Who monsters or mythos. Otherwise though, I thought this was great.
]]> 11254594 168 Grant Morrison 0785155376 Leila 2 Main line up: Wolverine, Jean grey, Cyclops, Beast, Professor X, Emma Frost.

Jean has caught Scott in his psychic affair with Emma Frost and gone postal. Next thing we know Emma's been murdered - her diamond form shattered and Beast heads the time to solve the puzzle (both of whodunit and putting her back together) - Beak confesses saying he did it to protect the secret of his offspring with Angel, but it turns out that Angel pulled the trigger but she was being psychically manipulated...

The second plot follows Wolverine (Weapon X) and Fantomex (Weapon XIII) as they head a solo mission to the Weapon Plus program and confront Weapon XV... Sabretooth makes a little cameo. And Wolverine coerces a depressed Cyclops to join them.

Not particularly keen on this one. The Jean/Cyclops/Emma Frost melodrama is somewhat wearying. I personally can't stand the manipulative Miss Frost, but Scott and Jean don't come off any more likable here.

The Wolverine origins story is OK, but I'd much rather he had another X-Man in tow (such as Nightcrawler) as a foil rather than the enigmatic Fantomex and off his game Cyclops - there was some nice interaction with Sabretooth, but on the whole I'm missing the banter and sense of fun.

The most interesting scenario in this volume is the Beak/Angel pregnancy simply because you've got to wonder what the offspring of a dinosaur birdman and a human fly woman are going to turn out like!

Wasn't over enamoured of the artwork, particularly in the Wolverine arc.]]> 3.98 2003
author: Grant Morrison
name: Leila
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2003
rating: 2
read at: 2014/04/13
date added: 2020/12/29
shelves: cyborgs-robots-androids, graphic-novels, marvel, mutants, x-men, sci-fi, superheroes, gifted-super-powers
review:
Graphic novel, collecting together New X-Men #139-145.
Main line up: Wolverine, Jean grey, Cyclops, Beast, Professor X, Emma Frost.

Jean has caught Scott in his psychic affair with Emma Frost and gone postal. Next thing we know Emma's been murdered - her diamond form shattered and Beast heads the time to solve the puzzle (both of whodunit and putting her back together) - Beak confesses saying he did it to protect the secret of his offspring with Angel, but it turns out that Angel pulled the trigger but she was being psychically manipulated...

The second plot follows Wolverine (Weapon X) and Fantomex (Weapon XIII) as they head a solo mission to the Weapon Plus program and confront Weapon XV... Sabretooth makes a little cameo. And Wolverine coerces a depressed Cyclops to join them.

Not particularly keen on this one. The Jean/Cyclops/Emma Frost melodrama is somewhat wearying. I personally can't stand the manipulative Miss Frost, but Scott and Jean don't come off any more likable here.

The Wolverine origins story is OK, but I'd much rather he had another X-Man in tow (such as Nightcrawler) as a foil rather than the enigmatic Fantomex and off his game Cyclops - there was some nice interaction with Sabretooth, but on the whole I'm missing the banter and sense of fun.

The most interesting scenario in this volume is the Beak/Angel pregnancy simply because you've got to wonder what the offspring of a dinosaur birdman and a human fly woman are going to turn out like!

Wasn't over enamoured of the artwork, particularly in the Wolverine arc.
]]> 908613 Chronological Placement
This story takes place after the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie and after the Eight Doctor's adventures with Charley Pollard.]]> 0 Steve Lyons 1844352552 Leila 4
In this story they land on a post apocalyptic planet where the last survivors are desperate to leave but all the exodus ships have left filled with all the upper classes. The Daleks hear their distress call and offer their services....

The voice-cast on this is top notch. McGann/Sheridan Smith are superb together but the rest of the voice cast includes Anita Dobson, Kenneth Cranham and Haley Atwell (Marvel MCU's Agent Carter) and Nicholas Briggs doing the Daleks - What a line up!

Loved it.]]> 3.97 2007
author: Steve Lyons
name: Leila
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/17
date added: 2020/12/20
shelves: 8th-doctor, aliens, audio-books, daleks, dr-who, favourite-audio-books, sci-fi, time-travel, tv-tie-in, post-apocalyptic, big-finish, cyborgs-robots-androids
review:
This is the first of the 8th Doctor Adventures and introduces Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith) one of the greatest companions ever. I love the unusual way she appears too - she's witnessed something (but she can't remember what) and The Time Lords manifest her into the Doctor's Tardis as a sort of witness protection. We've had the Time Lords providing companions before - Romana (I) and this can be quite a nice dynamic because it provides a clued up foil to the Doctor - not just some wide-eyed everyman marvelling at all the weird and wonderful - Lucie Miller's a nice fusion of the two, slightly clued up but still human enough to wonder at everything, which gives the audience a point of connection.

In this story they land on a post apocalyptic planet where the last survivors are desperate to leave but all the exodus ships have left filled with all the upper classes. The Daleks hear their distress call and offer their services....

The voice-cast on this is top notch. McGann/Sheridan Smith are superb together but the rest of the voice cast includes Anita Dobson, Kenneth Cranham and Haley Atwell (Marvel MCU's Agent Carter) and Nicholas Briggs doing the Daleks - What a line up!

Loved it.
]]> 908620
Chronological Placement

This story takes place after the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie and after the Eight Doctor's adventures with Charley Pollard.]]> 0 Steve Lyons 1844352560 Leila 4
There's very little I can criticise. Sheridan Smith is an amazing companion, McGann is on top form and the rest of the cast are fantastic (Anita Dobson, Kenneth Cranham, Hayley Atwell) Nicholas Briggs does the Daleks and while he's always awesome I have to give extra credit to this one because there are two types of Dalek and we only have his voice talent to tell them apart and he manages to pull it off.

Great story as well. Dalek civil war! This two parter gives a real treat for Who fans - It's got all the classic Who elements and top notch production values.

Recommended.]]> 3.92 2007
author: Steve Lyons
name: Leila
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/18
date added: 2020/12/20
shelves: 8th-doctor, aliens, audio-books, big-finish, daleks, dr-who, favourite-audio-books, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, time-travel, body-swap, cyborgs-robots-androids
review:
Following directly on from part one, we learn that Martez isn't dead and has transferred his consciousness into the body of his assistant Asha Gryvern (Hayley Atwell) - Not only was he experimenting first with corpses and then live human subjects, but also a crashed Dalek ship and its deceased crew. He's created a new hybrid race of Daleks and summoned the Dalek rescue vessel to marvel at his ingenuity and we presume embrace their new brothers. However The Daleks, like the Nazis are all about racial purity and see this new race as an abomination. So begins a Dalek civil war with the Doctor and companion Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith) caught in the crossfire!

There's very little I can criticise. Sheridan Smith is an amazing companion, McGann is on top form and the rest of the cast are fantastic (Anita Dobson, Kenneth Cranham, Hayley Atwell) Nicholas Briggs does the Daleks and while he's always awesome I have to give extra credit to this one because there are two types of Dalek and we only have his voice talent to tell them apart and he manages to pull it off.

Great story as well. Dalek civil war! This two parter gives a real treat for Who fans - It's got all the classic Who elements and top notch production values.

Recommended.
]]> 50780098
"It’s a funny thing, livin�� a ‘life or death�� life. Fightin�� monsters. Seein�� alien planets and spaceships and stuff. Thinkin�� about it�� it’s sort of addictive."

It’s been several months since Lucie Miller, Blackpool’s mouthiest, landed up travelling through time and space in the company of the Doctor, the last living person to believe that frock coats are acceptable apparel.

They’ve met Daleks on Red Rocket Rising, Cybermen on the planet Lonsis and alien monsters eating glam rockers at a service station just off the M62. But their greatest adventures are yet to come��

1. The Dalek Trap by Nicholas Briggs

The thing about black holes is, they’re big and they’re black and they’re deadly, and you’d have to be mad to go anywhere near them. Because anything that falls inside a black hole ends up crushed in the singularity.

Unfortunately, the Doctor just went mad, or so it seems, and flew his TARDIS beyond a black hole’s event horizon, causing him and his companion Lucie Miller to end up marooned on a planetoid just inside the event horizon. Along with a Dalek saucer�� and something else. Because this is no ordinary black hole��

This is the Cradle of the Darkness.

2. The Revolution Game by Alice Cavender

It’s Lucie’s birthday, and her birthday treat awaits. But whatever she’s expecting, it’s not what she’s getting on the colony world of Castus Sigma in the year 3025: ringside seats for the interplanetary Retro Roller Derby �� sponsored by Heliacorp, “turning sunlight into gold��!

It’s more than just a game, though. For the competitors, it’s a matter of life or death �� a New Life with Heliacorp, or a living death on Castus Sigma.

Or, on this fateful day, a very actual death. Because there are strange creatures living out on the plain, beyond the colony. Creatures with every reason to want to sabotage the games. Creatures with a grudge.

3. The House on the Edge of Chaos by Eddie Robson

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Lucie to a vast house on the planet known as Horton’s Orb. The only house on Horton’s Orb, in fact. Outside its outsized windows there’s nothing. No land. No sea. No sky. No life. Just an endless expanse of static.

Inside the house, there’s an upstairs and a downstairs �� servants below, gentlefolk from the finest of the house’s families above. Alas, there are altogether too few eligible ladies on the upper floors these days. Meaning there’s a vacancy for Miss Lucie Miller, single and unattached��

Outside the house, the static howls on. Except now, the static wants to get in.

4. Island of the Fendahl by Alan Barnes

The Fendahl is the death of evolution, the horror that lies in wait at the far end of the food chain.

The Fendahl is death itself.

And the Fendahl is dead. The Doctor destroyed it many years ago, in another incarnation, when he encountered it in a place called Fetchborough.

But if the Fendahl is dead�� how can it live again, on the remote island of Fandor?]]> 0 Nicholas Briggs 1787037401 Leila 4
My biggest disappointment however is the lack of connection between the other two stories. If you look at some of the other linked Who stories (such as the Nest Cottage saga for example) there are common threads in all and a logical progression. In the last story here there's mention that all The Doctor's random destinations are in fact points on a giant intergalactic pentagram - which is awesome! I just wished that there was more connection to show this and maybe the shadow of the Fendahl festering in the background. Sadly this anthology is very episodic and the stories are vastly different from each other (all brilliant mind you)

The only other thing I didn't like was the remix of the Dr. Who theme. Otherwise this is at the top end of Big Finish's Doctor Who range and a real treat for fans.

Recommended. ]]> 3.90 2019
author: Nicholas Briggs
name: Leila
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/08
date added: 2020/12/09
shelves: 8th-doctor, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, audio-books, aliens, chris-boucher-universe, colonisation-of-planets, daleks, cyborgs-robots-androids, domestic-staff-masters-servants, dr-who, druids-wicker-men-paganism, sci-fi, time-travel, tv-tie-in, occult, living-buildings, insects, favourite-audio-books, anthologies, big-finish
review:
This audio series was a whisker away from 5* All four stories are excellent, production values are high and the cast are brilliant. Sheridan Smith is everything you could ask for in a companion and the perfect foil to McGann's slightly more serious portrayal of the Doctor. The Dalek Trap/Island of the Fendahl make a great combo featuring some of the best classic Who monsters.

My biggest disappointment however is the lack of connection between the other two stories. If you look at some of the other linked Who stories (such as the Nest Cottage saga for example) there are common threads in all and a logical progression. In the last story here there's mention that all The Doctor's random destinations are in fact points on a giant intergalactic pentagram - which is awesome! I just wished that there was more connection to show this and maybe the shadow of the Fendahl festering in the background. Sadly this anthology is very episodic and the stories are vastly different from each other (all brilliant mind you)

The only other thing I didn't like was the remix of the Dr. Who theme. Otherwise this is at the top end of Big Finish's Doctor Who range and a real treat for fans.

Recommended.
]]> 56044713 Nicholas Briggs Leila 4
Lots of other ships it would appear have also been sucked into it over the years, we focus on one in particular, a colonization 'ark' helmed by two comedic crewmen Raz and Jik who combine forces with the Daleks to send a distress call to the Doctor. I love the irony of the Daleks calling to the Doctor for help, and the fact that it's his fault they are trapped.

The Doctor (McGann) and companion Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith) enter the black hole, but something clouds the Doctor's mind turning him into basically a zombie, and in order to free everyone he has to merge with a mysterious entity referred to as the 'darkness'.

This one held me spellbound from start to finish. The story is incredibly clever if you know your 4th Doctor episodes, you'll have a good idea how things are going to pan out. It's excellent fan service, giving us Daleks and classic episode references. Its also really well produced - the voice cast are fantastic. Sheridan Smith is amazing as Lucie Miller, as a companion she has the instant likability factor we haven't really had since Rose Tyler. She's funny, sarcastic and the perfect every-woman foil for the Doctor. The Doctor really takes a back seat in this one, he's outshined by his companion, the supporting cast and the Daleks! However he is a mind controlled zombie for quite a lot of the time....

I was hugely impressed with this audio, the weakest thing about it is the re-mixed theme tune which I hated. But then I really am an old-skool Who fangirl. Otherwise massive thumbs up, a brilliant start to a promising series.]]> 3.00
author: Nicholas Briggs
name: Leila
average rating: 3.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2020/11/24
date added: 2020/12/07
shelves: aliens, alternative-dimensions-realities, audio-books, dr-who, favourite-audio-books, chris-boucher-universe, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, time-travel, time-manipulation, cyborgs-robots-androids, 8th-doctor, daleks, big-finish, authors-or-cast-i-have-met
review:
A Dalek research ship observes the Doctor hurling something into the Canthares supernova, (and if you know your classic Who, some of you might have an inkling just what this might be) The fan-girl in me was cheering hugely from the premise of this one. The (unidentified - at least for the point of this story) object causes the supernova to become a black hole and the Daleks get sucked into it.

Lots of other ships it would appear have also been sucked into it over the years, we focus on one in particular, a colonization 'ark' helmed by two comedic crewmen Raz and Jik who combine forces with the Daleks to send a distress call to the Doctor. I love the irony of the Daleks calling to the Doctor for help, and the fact that it's his fault they are trapped.

The Doctor (McGann) and companion Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith) enter the black hole, but something clouds the Doctor's mind turning him into basically a zombie, and in order to free everyone he has to merge with a mysterious entity referred to as the 'darkness'.

This one held me spellbound from start to finish. The story is incredibly clever if you know your 4th Doctor episodes, you'll have a good idea how things are going to pan out. It's excellent fan service, giving us Daleks and classic episode references. Its also really well produced - the voice cast are fantastic. Sheridan Smith is amazing as Lucie Miller, as a companion she has the instant likability factor we haven't really had since Rose Tyler. She's funny, sarcastic and the perfect every-woman foil for the Doctor. The Doctor really takes a back seat in this one, he's outshined by his companion, the supporting cast and the Daleks! However he is a mind controlled zombie for quite a lot of the time....

I was hugely impressed with this audio, the weakest thing about it is the re-mixed theme tune which I hated. But then I really am an old-skool Who fangirl. Otherwise massive thumbs up, a brilliant start to a promising series.
]]> 56202082 Eddie Robson Leila 4
Another Superb instalment in The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller.
The story is excellent and just like watching an episode. Shades of House on the Borderland here with a splash of the movie Brazil and maybe a bit of The littlest Stranger. Its such a bizarre cocktail that works surprisingly well.

The cast are across the board fantastic. Sheridan Smith is an excellent companion, McGann is on top form as The Doctor and the supporting cast are all great as well. Production values are high and as I said earlier this one really is like watching an episode, everything is so easy to visualize I was spellbound again for the entire story, my attention never wandering once.

The one thing I didn't like on this was the remix on the Dr. Who theme, I am a bit of a purest there, but otherwise I loved this one. Its a lot better than many of the recent TV episodes, boasting a fascinating story and a truly great cast.

Recommended.]]> 4.00
author: Eddie Robson
name: Leila
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2020/12/06
date added: 2020/12/07
shelves: 8th-doctor, audio-books, authors-or-cast-i-have-met, dr-who, cyborgs-robots-androids, favourite-audio-books, lesbian-fantasy-sci-fi, lgbt-interest, lgbt-supporting-characters, living-buildings, sci-fi, time-travel, tv-tie-in, colonisation-of-planets, domestic-staff-masters-servants, big-finish
review:
The 8th Doctor and companion Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith) end up on a planet in the process of being terraformed for colonisation. However something has gone wrong and most of the planet has been taken over by a sinister and murderous static. All the colonists live in a huge house - like something out of Upstairs Downstairs - With 300 aristocrats above stairs and thousands of workers and robots below, all engaged in extending and repairing the house, Presided over by Darius Horton, the (Lord and Master) head of the household. Everyone knows their place and must not break order or the static will get through and kill them. But when the daughter of the house is a lesbian, and the son in love with a heating engineer below stairs you know things are going to go very wrong....

Another Superb instalment in The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller.
The story is excellent and just like watching an episode. Shades of House on the Borderland here with a splash of the movie Brazil and maybe a bit of The littlest Stranger. Its such a bizarre cocktail that works surprisingly well.

The cast are across the board fantastic. Sheridan Smith is an excellent companion, McGann is on top form as The Doctor and the supporting cast are all great as well. Production values are high and as I said earlier this one really is like watching an episode, everything is so easy to visualize I was spellbound again for the entire story, my attention never wandering once.

The one thing I didn't like on this was the remix on the Dr. Who theme, I am a bit of a purest there, but otherwise I loved this one. Its a lot better than many of the recent TV episodes, boasting a fascinating story and a truly great cast.

Recommended.
]]> 20415153
In a world where all the fictions ever written coalesce into a rich mosaic, it’s 1975. Janni Dakkar, pirate queen of Lincoln Island and head of the fabled Nemo family, is eighty years old and beginning to display a tenuous grasp on reality. Pursuing shadows from her past—or her imagination—she embarks on what may be a final voyage down the vastness of the Amazon, a last attempt to put to rest the blood-drenched spectres of old.

With allies and adversaries old and new, we accompany an ageing predator on her obsessive trek into the cultural landscape of a strange new continent, from the ruined city of Yu-Atlanchi to the fabulous plateau of Maple White Land. As the dark threads in her narrative are drawn into an inescapable web, Captain Nemo leads her hearse-black Nautilus in a desperate raid on horrors believed dead for decades.

Through the exotic spectacle of an imagined South America, Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill steer their fifty-year-long Nemo trilogy to its remarkable conclusion, borne upon a RIVER OF GHOSTS. -- a 56-page full-color hardcover, 6 5/8�� x 10 1/8��, co-published by Top Shelf and Knockabout.]]> 56 Alan Moore 0861662334 Leila 3
Nemo, now an elderly grandmother believes than Ayesha has resurrected and sets off on one last voyage to put an end to her nemesis. The Nautilus crew think she is senile, but humour her anyway....

Again the majority of references in this one are so obscure they went over my head. The main body of plot revolves around Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965). I did spot Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS, Stepford Wives, Desperate Dan, Bond (Bloefeld & Scaramanger) and The Creature from the Black Lagoon and one off Jokes for Them! and Godzilla, but the rest too obscure.

I like Nemo in this one, She really is a force to be reckoned with.

While the Nemo series is quite fun, its sadly nowhere near as good as LXG in its heyday. ]]> 3.61 2015
author: Alan Moore
name: Leila
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/31
date added: 2020/10/31
shelves: graphic-novels, h-rider-haggard, lxg, alan-moore, sci-fi, strong-women-in-comics, steampunk, cyborgs-robots-androids
review:
Set in 1975, River of Ghosts concludes the Janni Nemo LXG spin off series.

Nemo, now an elderly grandmother believes than Ayesha has resurrected and sets off on one last voyage to put an end to her nemesis. The Nautilus crew think she is senile, but humour her anyway....

Again the majority of references in this one are so obscure they went over my head. The main body of plot revolves around Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965). I did spot Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS, Stepford Wives, Desperate Dan, Bond (Bloefeld & Scaramanger) and The Creature from the Black Lagoon and one off Jokes for Them! and Godzilla, but the rest too obscure.

I like Nemo in this one, She really is a force to be reckoned with.

While the Nemo series is quite fun, its sadly nowhere near as good as LXG in its heyday.
]]> 12356148 Survivors in Space is the last of five linked stories written by Paul Magrs.

1 CD. 1 hr 2 mins.]]> 2 Paul Magrs 1408468891 Leila 3
To be honest, I found this one a bit of a disappointment. As you expect its the show down between humanity and the serpentine alien foe the Shishtari coming to get their egg back. The Robotovs, led by the now adult Alex step in to save the say and we get a snake robot shoot out. I loved the idea of the 2nd Doctor being an 'evil' clone but otherwise this feels a little lacklustre.

The Robots from the Robots of Death universe are far more interesting than the Robotovs and the Fendahl is a far more frightening serpent foe than the Shishtari. This does feel like Margs ripping off Chris Boucher and coming up with something less somehow. Its also far less freaky and imaginative than the previous 2 Nest Cottage sagas, which makes it a disappointing note to end on.

Still Tom Baker is awesome and I adore Susan Jameson as Mrs. Wibbsey making this one fun and entertaining, just not as dark or interesting as some of Magrs' other stories. ]]> 3.74 2011
author: Paul Magrs
name: Leila
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/30
date added: 2020/10/30
shelves: 4th-doctor, aliens, audio-books, clones-doppelgangers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, sci-fi, time-travel, snakes-and-snake-people, paul-magrs
review:
This is the final episode in the serpent crest quintet, and concludes the whole of Paul Magrs Nest Cottage saga (Hornets Nest, Demon Quest, Serpent Crest).

To be honest, I found this one a bit of a disappointment. As you expect its the show down between humanity and the serpentine alien foe the Shishtari coming to get their egg back. The Robotovs, led by the now adult Alex step in to save the say and we get a snake robot shoot out. I loved the idea of the 2nd Doctor being an 'evil' clone but otherwise this feels a little lacklustre.

The Robots from the Robots of Death universe are far more interesting than the Robotovs and the Fendahl is a far more frightening serpent foe than the Shishtari. This does feel like Margs ripping off Chris Boucher and coming up with something less somehow. Its also far less freaky and imaginative than the previous 2 Nest Cottage sagas, which makes it a disappointing note to end on.

Still Tom Baker is awesome and I adore Susan Jameson as Mrs. Wibbsey making this one fun and entertaining, just not as dark or interesting as some of Magrs' other stories.
]]> 17618631 56 Alan Moore 086166230X Leila 3
I much preferred this to the previous volume. The the characters are more sympathetic and the references are far more obvious: (Dr. Caligari, Mabuse, Metropolis, as well as Haggard, Verne, Melville etc..) It's still a tad pretentious, the Germans all speak German and none of it is translated, and there's a bit in French as well which I found frustrating.

Still Nemo is far more human in this one, and it really is very strong on female characters: Janni Nemo, her daughter, Ayesha, Hel from Metropolis... the Nemo/Ayesha sword-fight is great.

This one's quite fun and I thought O'Neill blocky, linear art style suited the retro-futurism aesthetic of this one really well. ]]> 3.51 2014
author: Alan Moore
name: Leila
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/30
date added: 2020/10/30
shelves: ww2, sci-fi, steampunk, strong-women-in-comics, lxg, graphic-novels, alan-moore, cyborgs-robots-androids, h-rider-haggard, literary-team-ups, jules-verne, babes-with-blades
review:
In this second LXG Nemo spin off we travel to 1941 where Nemo and her beloved Jack mount a rescue of their daughter and son in law captured by Nazis.

I much preferred this to the previous volume. The the characters are more sympathetic and the references are far more obvious: (Dr. Caligari, Mabuse, Metropolis, as well as Haggard, Verne, Melville etc..) It's still a tad pretentious, the Germans all speak German and none of it is translated, and there's a bit in French as well which I found frustrating.

Still Nemo is far more human in this one, and it really is very strong on female characters: Janni Nemo, her daughter, Ayesha, Hel from Metropolis... the Nemo/Ayesha sword-fight is great.

This one's quite fun and I thought O'Neill blocky, linear art style suited the retro-futurism aesthetic of this one really well.
]]> 11994129 The Broken Crown is the second of five linked stories written by Paul Magrs.

1 CD. 1 hr.]]> 1 Paul Magrs 1408468867 Leila 4
They encounter a draconian rector with a strange teenage ward who wanders around with a paper bag on his head. People start going missing and the doctor investigates.

This one is very slow build and subtle. After robot Russians, cyborgs and snake aliens in "Tsar Wars" the simple, "Lady Audley's Secret" inspired story here is an abrupt change of pace. It's excellently told however, Tom Baker is as ever a fantastic narrator, but you also have Terrence Hardiman as the Reverend for added gravitas. I love the visual images this evokes - the boy with the bag over his head and the mysterious egg: 'precious thing' with all the souls inside put me in mind of the urn from 'The Devil's Rain.'

Have "Aladdin Time" on hand as this does end on a cliff-hanger when the Dr and Wibbsey enter the egg and are transported into a fantasy dimension where they are stranded...]]> 3.64 2011
author: Paul Magrs
name: Leila
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2020/10/29
date added: 2020/10/29
shelves: audio-books, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, paul-magrs, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, insects, 4th-doctor, insane-characters, time-travel, aliens, victorian-setting, dragons
review:
2nd in the 5 part Dr. Who series "Serpent Crest" by the wonderful Paul Magrs. - This follows directly on from the previous story yet is vastly different. Fleeing from the Robotovs, The Doctor (Tom Baker) and companion Mrs. Wibbsey travel through a wormhole back to Hexford, but accidentally end up in 1861 instead of present day.

They encounter a draconian rector with a strange teenage ward who wanders around with a paper bag on his head. People start going missing and the doctor investigates.

This one is very slow build and subtle. After robot Russians, cyborgs and snake aliens in "Tsar Wars" the simple, "Lady Audley's Secret" inspired story here is an abrupt change of pace. It's excellently told however, Tom Baker is as ever a fantastic narrator, but you also have Terrence Hardiman as the Reverend for added gravitas. I love the visual images this evokes - the boy with the bag over his head and the mysterious egg: 'precious thing' with all the souls inside put me in mind of the urn from 'The Devil's Rain.'

Have "Aladdin Time" on hand as this does end on a cliff-hanger when the Dr and Wibbsey enter the egg and are transported into a fantasy dimension where they are stranded...
]]> 11665652 Tsar Wars is the first of five linked stories written by Paul Magrs.

1 CD. 1 hr 8 mins.]]> 1 Paul Magrs 1408468859 Leila 3
Not bad at all, this does what Dr. Who does best mixing history (Romanov Empire) with sci-fi (robots) and coming up with something wacky and fascinating. It successfully juggles all the separate elements, but for me wasn't as compelling as the previous Hornet's nest series. Its also not nearly as freaky and scary, this is out and out sci-fi in a galaxy far far away.... It's wonderfully visual and felt just like I was watching a TV episode. Will delight Dr. Who fans both old and new, but isn't the best Dr. Who story out there.]]> 3.56 2011
author: Paul Magrs
name: Leila
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2020/10/29
date added: 2020/10/29
shelves: audio-books, dr-who, paul-magrs, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, cyborgs-robots-androids, insects, 4th-doctor, aliens, time-travel
review:
The Doctor (Tom Baker) and Mrs. Wibbsey open the door expecting carol singers and get abducted by robots who take them to the court of the Robotovs where the Tsarina mistakes the Doctor for Grigori (Rasputin) and believes he is the only one who can save her cyborg son. The boy is a symbol that humans and robots can co exist but is also a pawn in Grigori's dangerous game being played with a deadly alien foe....

Not bad at all, this does what Dr. Who does best mixing history (Romanov Empire) with sci-fi (robots) and coming up with something wacky and fascinating. It successfully juggles all the separate elements, but for me wasn't as compelling as the previous Hornet's nest series. Its also not nearly as freaky and scary, this is out and out sci-fi in a galaxy far far away.... It's wonderfully visual and felt just like I was watching a TV episode. Will delight Dr. Who fans both old and new, but isn't the best Dr. Who story out there.
]]> 43697474 96 Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri 8865275669 Leila 3
So an amnesiac incarnation (clone?) of Druuna appears in 16th century? America. She befriends an Indian who is killed by what look like Conquistadors. Druuna escapes by mustang and a spider mutant erupts from the chest of the dead Indian. The rest of this is a bit of a quagmire - A different incarnation of Druuna is with a ghostly remnant of Schastar watching the other Druuna on the plains she jumps into a portal and the two Druunas come face to face uniting 'body' and 'memory'. Robot Gizmo also comes into this world as Druuna's comedy companion. She goes to a village, encounters a male Indian (a version of Will?) who wants her and one of his jealous wives (a version of Terry) who throws her the severed head of his last mistress. We run into the conquistadors again but she escapes into a mutant building where she meets the professor and a 3rd version of herself he calls 'soul' - we learn that there were two doctors - one infected, And it seems that most of the clones in this universe are hosts for these mutant tentacle aliens. Druuna leaves in search of uninfected humans.

This also features a bonus section of sketches and inks, showing earlier drafts.

So what can I say about this one? Far less sex and kink than all the other Druuna graphics - there's one scene of whipping, but on the whole its very tame compared to the stories where she keeps joining random orgies.

Serpieri began his career drawing westerns and gets to use that here - with the Americans Indians, horses and New World setting. This does make a nice change of pace and its great to see Druuna riding proud and free. I like the obvious New World metaphor: Being both the new world setting and a new world/beginning for Druuna.

I also love the alien/mutant parasite idea - It's a bit puppet masters meets alien.

The whole clones and dimensions aspect, though confused the hell out of me. While I far prefer the sci-fi settings, this latest Druuna isn't bad. Art as ever is beautiful and this manages to rehash what's gone before (repeated characters, themes and scenarios) and yet bring something fresh to the table with the new world stuff. ]]> 3.37 2018
author: Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
name: Leila
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/28
date added: 2020/09/29
shelves: ai, alternative-dimensions-realities, amnesia-plots, america, clones-doppelgangers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dreams, dystopian-future, erotic, erotic-horror, european-comics, galactic-girls, graphic-novels, guilty-pleasures, heavy-metal-magazine, mutants, mythopoeic-fiction, native-americans, post-apocalyptic, plagues-viruses-and-epidemics, sci-fi, space-opera, telepaths-empaths, tentacles, weird, fantasy-art, parasites, alien-infiltration-bodysnatchers, aliens
review:
I've missed #8 Clone and #0 Anima which are now frustratingly hard to find in English. However I still think that 'come from the wind' is rather confusing in terms of Druuna story arc and hands up I confess that I really wasn't sure what the hell is going on in this one.

So an amnesiac incarnation (clone?) of Druuna appears in 16th century? America. She befriends an Indian who is killed by what look like Conquistadors. Druuna escapes by mustang and a spider mutant erupts from the chest of the dead Indian. The rest of this is a bit of a quagmire - A different incarnation of Druuna is with a ghostly remnant of Schastar watching the other Druuna on the plains she jumps into a portal and the two Druunas come face to face uniting 'body' and 'memory'. Robot Gizmo also comes into this world as Druuna's comedy companion. She goes to a village, encounters a male Indian (a version of Will?) who wants her and one of his jealous wives (a version of Terry) who throws her the severed head of his last mistress. We run into the conquistadors again but she escapes into a mutant building where she meets the professor and a 3rd version of herself he calls 'soul' - we learn that there were two doctors - one infected, And it seems that most of the clones in this universe are hosts for these mutant tentacle aliens. Druuna leaves in search of uninfected humans.

This also features a bonus section of sketches and inks, showing earlier drafts.

So what can I say about this one? Far less sex and kink than all the other Druuna graphics - there's one scene of whipping, but on the whole its very tame compared to the stories where she keeps joining random orgies.

Serpieri began his career drawing westerns and gets to use that here - with the Americans Indians, horses and New World setting. This does make a nice change of pace and its great to see Druuna riding proud and free. I like the obvious New World metaphor: Being both the new world setting and a new world/beginning for Druuna.

I also love the alien/mutant parasite idea - It's a bit puppet masters meets alien.

The whole clones and dimensions aspect, though confused the hell out of me. While I far prefer the sci-fi settings, this latest Druuna isn't bad. Art as ever is beautiful and this manages to rehash what's gone before (repeated characters, themes and scenarios) and yet bring something fresh to the table with the new world stuff.
]]> 630150 de Druuna, la aventurera espacial por excelencia
que no tiene nada q ue envidiar a la bellísima
Barbarella. Aventuras espaciales, alienígenas,
grandes naves y sexo, mucho sexo...]]> 62 Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri 1882931696 Leila 4
Druuna has lost her memory, she doesn't even know who she is. She wanders through this nightmare scape of mutant insects and freaky hybrids looking for answers. There's such a fusion of influences, which if you're a SF junkie like me just puts a huge smile on your face: Alien, Dune, Ghost in the Shell, there are these freaky hooded guys with glowing eyes reminding me of Jawas (Star Wars) and the cyborg will is very reminiscent of the Cybermen from Dr. Who. Story doesn't really make much sense, but honestly I didn't care, the artwork is just that good and Druuna's world so fascinating that you get drawn in regardless. It's like reading an erotic and super freaky dream.]]> 3.46 2000
author: Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
name: Leila
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/21
date added: 2020/09/22
shelves: ai, alternative-dimensions-realities, courtesans-prostitutes, cyborgs-robots-androids, dreams, drugs, dystopian-future, breeding, clones-doppelgangers, erotic, erotic-horror, european-comics, favourite-graphic-novels, freaky-sex-scenes, galactic-girls, graphic-novels, guilty-pleasures, heavy-metal-magazine, plagues-viruses-and-epidemics, mutants, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, space-opera, spiders-and-spider-people, technology-horror, tentacles, telepaths-empaths, weird, amnesia-plots
review:
This 7th Druuna adventure is easily my favourite - There's less gratuitous sex and more horror. The art is phenomenal in this one as well. Druuna has never looked sexier, but it's actually the monsters, and the eerie bio-mechanical post apocalyptic landscapes that make this stand out.

Druuna has lost her memory, she doesn't even know who she is. She wanders through this nightmare scape of mutant insects and freaky hybrids looking for answers. There's such a fusion of influences, which if you're a SF junkie like me just puts a huge smile on your face: Alien, Dune, Ghost in the Shell, there are these freaky hooded guys with glowing eyes reminding me of Jawas (Star Wars) and the cyborg will is very reminiscent of the Cybermen from Dr. Who. Story doesn't really make much sense, but honestly I didn't care, the artwork is just that good and Druuna's world so fascinating that you get drawn in regardless. It's like reading an erotic and super freaky dream.
]]> 630149 64 Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri 0878162240 Leila 4
In Carnivora, Serpieri has captured an erotic nightmare in graphic form. It kicks off with pregnancy horror as pregnant Druuna is captured and given a Caesarean by some terrifying mutant doctors. She wakes up only to be gang-raped by a group sadistic mutants who morph into monster-form mid coitus. She wakes again to be sent on a mission by Shastar her dead boyfriend. He united with the mind of Lewis (God) to become a telepathic being of pure energy and has now merged again with the rescue ship's computer. Druuna runs into the other female officer Terry and they discover the most of the crew is being slowly cocooned and consumed by tentacular mutant bio-matter - Then they run into Terry and Roger and we learn that the Terry with Drunna is in fact a mutant clone. Indeed the mutating bio-mass can clone anyone and just like in Blade Runner the replicants have no idea they are not the real deal.... In order to prove Druuna is not a replicant she is sent to be tortured and gang raped by mutants Prolats who apparently will kill replicants instantly but only rape humans. She escapes only to seduce the ship's captain but then he encounters his clone and gets consumed by mutant bio-slime.

Shastar appears again for some much needed plot exposition after all the sex and death and sex. So the ship is on the border of a mirror universe/chaos Lovecraft dimension which seems to be where the mutants have come from and the replicants are our negative selves. The solution which makes no sense to me is to break through the barrier into the other dimension which will apparently make the ship time travel back to before any of this happened. The world is reset but the doctor lands a philosophic bomb shell for the ending asking if they had in fact failed and were all replicants and just don't know it....

I'm not quite sure what to say to this one. The art is as ever amazing and I have to say that perfect as she is, Druuna is overshadowed by the freaky mutant body horror which is fantastic. There's loads of sex, and weird body horror and it really is an erotic nightmare in book form.

Druuna's ignorance, nativity, frequent nudity, sex scenes and enjoyment of gang rape are a bit wearing and offensive for female readers. However I loved the horror element of this one which is ramped up and I also loved the whole replicant story line and sucker-punch ending, plus the glorious art goes without saying.]]> 3.76 1992
author: Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
name: Leila
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/18
date added: 2020/09/18
shelves: alternative-dimensions-realities, clones-doppelgangers, courtesans-prostitutes, cyborgs-robots-androids, dreams, dystopian-future, erotic-horror, erotic, european-comics, freaky-sex-scenes, galactic-girls, graphic-novels, guilty-pleasures, heavy-metal-magazine, metaphysical-dark-fantasy, mutants, plagues-viruses-and-epidemics, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, sf-horror, telepaths-empaths, tentacles, weird, time-travel
review:
If Bladerunner was crossed with The Thing and filmed as a porno you'd get a close approximation of this latest instalment of the Druuna saga.

In Carnivora, Serpieri has captured an erotic nightmare in graphic form. It kicks off with pregnancy horror as pregnant Druuna is captured and given a Caesarean by some terrifying mutant doctors. She wakes up only to be gang-raped by a group sadistic mutants who morph into monster-form mid coitus. She wakes again to be sent on a mission by Shastar her dead boyfriend. He united with the mind of Lewis (God) to become a telepathic being of pure energy and has now merged again with the rescue ship's computer. Druuna runs into the other female officer Terry and they discover the most of the crew is being slowly cocooned and consumed by tentacular mutant bio-matter - Then they run into Terry and Roger and we learn that the Terry with Drunna is in fact a mutant clone. Indeed the mutating bio-mass can clone anyone and just like in Blade Runner the replicants have no idea they are not the real deal.... In order to prove Druuna is not a replicant she is sent to be tortured and gang raped by mutants Prolats who apparently will kill replicants instantly but only rape humans. She escapes only to seduce the ship's captain but then he encounters his clone and gets consumed by mutant bio-slime.

Shastar appears again for some much needed plot exposition after all the sex and death and sex. So the ship is on the border of a mirror universe/chaos Lovecraft dimension which seems to be where the mutants have come from and the replicants are our negative selves. The solution which makes no sense to me is to break through the barrier into the other dimension which will apparently make the ship time travel back to before any of this happened. The world is reset but the doctor lands a philosophic bomb shell for the ending asking if they had in fact failed and were all replicants and just don't know it....

I'm not quite sure what to say to this one. The art is as ever amazing and I have to say that perfect as she is, Druuna is overshadowed by the freaky mutant body horror which is fantastic. There's loads of sex, and weird body horror and it really is an erotic nightmare in book form.

Druuna's ignorance, nativity, frequent nudity, sex scenes and enjoyment of gang rape are a bit wearing and offensive for female readers. However I loved the horror element of this one which is ramped up and I also loved the whole replicant story line and sucker-punch ending, plus the glorious art goes without saying.
]]> 630152
Originally published in 1990 by Bagheera Editeur, Paris; this edition as seen in Heavy Metal magazine.]]> 60 Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri 1879450976 Leila 3
An external spaceship encounter an asteroid that is of course 'the city' (a far distant, totally mutated future version) where Druuna has been kept alive by God (Lewis) who has joined forces with her dead boyfriend Shastar (whom Druuna shot and killed last volume) . My head hurts already!

The captain of the ship manipulated by Lewis' telepathic powers has visions of divinity and a compulsion to visit the asteroid and rescue Druuna, whom he falls for. We get some wonderful Escher images and weird bio-tech fusion as the city/ship morphs and time seems to morph as well - we get deserted landscapes and suddenly an almost western like desert town where the sadistic inhabitants capture and rape Druuna trying to breed her, (but being Druuna after a few token protests she's perfectly content to be gang-banged and is begging for more). She escapes their clutches only to be raped? seduced? by Lewis/Shastar hybrid (i think) who fluctuates between being a mutant tentacle blob and then a hunky fantasy lover. Druuna finally gets rescued by the captain and escapes the city but fears she might be pregnant, but with what?

The biggest reason to check this out is Serpieri's stunning artwork. Druuna is feminine physical perfection (and if you are a fan of the female bottom, Druuna's is lovingly displayed on almost every page). I also have to mention the amazing tentacle/eyeball bio-horror and post-apocalyptic wasteland setting which really is amazing.

However the non-temporal plot and quasi religious and philosophy babble make this a real struggle to understand. It's very much like an erotic horror nightmare where nothing makes much sense. I'm also still not totally comfortable with the glorification of rape and Druuna's uninhibited sexuality - She's very much a male fantasy without much substance other than her physical attributes.

Still the artwork truly is beautiful and I love this bizarre and freaky universe, which make this series a true guilty pleasure.
]]> 3.69 1990
author: Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
name: Leila
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/17
date added: 2020/09/17
shelves: courtesans-prostitutes, cyborgs-robots-androids, dreams, drugs, dystopian-future, erotic, european-comics, freaky-sex-scenes, galactic-girls, graphic-novels, guilty-pleasures, heavy-metal-magazine, mutants, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, space-opera, telepaths-empaths, tentacles, weird, breeding, metaphysical-dark-fantasy, philosophy, time-manipulation
review:
I have to say that I really struggled with the plot of this one. It reminded me a bit (in essence more than style) of Aeon Flux with its mix of philosophy, dystopian future setting, weird dreamy time jumping and sexy brunette heroine.

An external spaceship encounter an asteroid that is of course 'the city' (a far distant, totally mutated future version) where Druuna has been kept alive by God (Lewis) who has joined forces with her dead boyfriend Shastar (whom Druuna shot and killed last volume) . My head hurts already!

The captain of the ship manipulated by Lewis' telepathic powers has visions of divinity and a compulsion to visit the asteroid and rescue Druuna, whom he falls for. We get some wonderful Escher images and weird bio-tech fusion as the city/ship morphs and time seems to morph as well - we get deserted landscapes and suddenly an almost western like desert town where the sadistic inhabitants capture and rape Druuna trying to breed her, (but being Druuna after a few token protests she's perfectly content to be gang-banged and is begging for more). She escapes their clutches only to be raped? seduced? by Lewis/Shastar hybrid (i think) who fluctuates between being a mutant tentacle blob and then a hunky fantasy lover. Druuna finally gets rescued by the captain and escapes the city but fears she might be pregnant, but with what?

The biggest reason to check this out is Serpieri's stunning artwork. Druuna is feminine physical perfection (and if you are a fan of the female bottom, Druuna's is lovingly displayed on almost every page). I also have to mention the amazing tentacle/eyeball bio-horror and post-apocalyptic wasteland setting which really is amazing.

However the non-temporal plot and quasi religious and philosophy babble make this a real struggle to understand. It's very much like an erotic horror nightmare where nothing makes much sense. I'm also still not totally comfortable with the glorification of rape and Druuna's uninhibited sexuality - She's very much a male fantasy without much substance other than her physical attributes.

Still the artwork truly is beautiful and I love this bizarre and freaky universe, which make this series a true guilty pleasure.

]]> 3360723
Originally published by Dargaud Editeur, France; this edition as seen in Heavy Metal magazine 1988.]]> 62 Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri 0878162232 Leila 3
I found this one a bit more misogynistic than the previous volume and felt rather uncomfortable at the glorification of rape and Druuna's attitude. Saying that the artwork is stunning - Drunna really is perfection in female form and the post-apocalyptic landscape of tentacles, wires, mutants and robots is terrifically realised.]]> 3.45 1990
author: Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
name: Leila
average rating: 3.45
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/15
date added: 2020/09/16
shelves: graphic-novels, courtesans-prostitutes, cyborgs-robots-androids, drugs, dystopian-future, erotic, european-comics, galactic-girls, guilty-pleasures, heavy-metal-magazine, mutants, plagues-viruses-and-epidemics, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, space-opera, telepaths-empaths, tentacles, towers
review:
This instalment opens with a fantasy seduction scene with Druuna on a beach with a hunky lover Lewis who we soon learn is the head (god) in the previous volume, telepathically projecting a dream. He sends Druuna on a quest to destroy Delta. his rival, by destroying his tower power base. Druuna winds her way through an ever morphing landscape, encountering lots of sadistic rapists and mutants who want to have sex with her and then kill her before finally reaching her goal. But she begins to question who is the real villain - Delta... or Lewis?

I found this one a bit more misogynistic than the previous volume and felt rather uncomfortable at the glorification of rape and Druuna's attitude. Saying that the artwork is stunning - Drunna really is perfection in female form and the post-apocalyptic landscape of tentacles, wires, mutants and robots is terrifically realised.
]]> 630154
In a plague-ridden city where humans degenerate into hideous mutations, a beautiful woman makes an astonishing discovery that sends her racing to prevent her world from destroying itself.

From the pages of Heavy Metal comes Volume One of a riveting Druuna adventure!]]> 62 Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri 0878162224 Leila 4
She goes on a quest and we get a matrix like finale where we discover just how small "the city" really is - it's a space-ship where humans are used as batteries and the priests are insane robots....

The biggest selling point is of course Serpieri's stunningly beautiful art. Druuna is perfection in female form, however the rest of the artwork is great as well and makes this bizarre post apocalyptic world peopled with mutants and diseased crazies really come alive.

A lot of this kind of work is eroticism for the sake of titillation and no story to back it up, but I have to say, being a massive SF fan, I really did like the story and universe here. Sure Druuna gets naked at every opportunity and is often imperiled involving mutant tentacles but there is a plot and some nice quasi- religious themes so prevalent in European graphics - she basically meets god and gets enlightened.

Fans of Gwendoline, Barbarella, Galaxina, Stella Star, Vampirella and the films of Lloyd A. Simandl will fall in love with Druuna - She's a sexy innocent in a world of monsters, weird cults and freaky technology. The perfect poster child for Heavy Metal.]]> 3.83 1985
author: Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri
name: Leila
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at: 2020/09/13
date added: 2020/09/15
shelves: ape-men, courtesans-prostitutes, cyborgs-robots-androids, drugs, dystopian-future, erotic, european-comics, freaky-sex-scenes, galactic-girls, gender-bender, graphic-novels, guilty-pleasures, heavy-metal-magazine, mutants, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, space-opera, telepaths-empaths, tentacles
review:
Imagine if the Matrix and Hardware were a porn movie and you get an inkling of Morbus Gravis - The unforgettable Druuna is an uninhibited beauty surviving in a post-apocalyptic city by using her voluptuous body and feminine charm to get what she needs. In this volume that's drugs which help her mutating boyfriend Shastar from turning into a tentacle monster. Shastar while lucid urges her to discover the truth about the city and it's ruling priests -

She goes on a quest and we get a matrix like finale where we discover just how small "the city" really is - it's a space-ship where humans are used as batteries and the priests are insane robots....

The biggest selling point is of course Serpieri's stunningly beautiful art. Druuna is perfection in female form, however the rest of the artwork is great as well and makes this bizarre post apocalyptic world peopled with mutants and diseased crazies really come alive.

A lot of this kind of work is eroticism for the sake of titillation and no story to back it up, but I have to say, being a massive SF fan, I really did like the story and universe here. Sure Druuna gets naked at every opportunity and is often imperiled involving mutant tentacles but there is a plot and some nice quasi- religious themes so prevalent in European graphics - she basically meets god and gets enlightened.

Fans of Gwendoline, Barbarella, Galaxina, Stella Star, Vampirella and the films of Lloyd A. Simandl will fall in love with Druuna - She's a sexy innocent in a world of monsters, weird cults and freaky technology. The perfect poster child for Heavy Metal.
]]> 25155422 The Metabarons recounted the extraordinary saga of the genealogy of the galaxy’s ultimate warrior. But his ancestors also had ancestors. And far from being noble warriors with an inflexible code, one will discover they were in fact disloyal, vengeful pirates born out of brutality and war. From legendary creator Alexandro Jodorowsky and artist Das Pastoras, and for all of those who dreamt of a sequel to The Metabarons comes instead the origin tale of their first ancestor, Dayal de Castaka.]]> 120 Alejandro Jodorowsky 1594651086 Leila 3
Another great installment, widening the scope of Jodorowsky's epic (a saga to rival that of Dune and Game of Thrones). This gives us more generations and backstory, but it is very much 'more of the same' - Not necessarily a bad thing, I love the metabarons! But it doesn't give me anything 'new' or original. It also lacks the satire and humour that peppers much of the Jodoverse. Still good and a nice addition to the metabaron mythos but not amazing. Das Pastoras artwork is the same, its solid, fits the story (and thank heaven we are spared Janjetov's eyebrows!) but nothing here made me breathless as some of the other artwork in the Jodoverse.]]> 3.45 2014
author: Alejandro Jodorowsky
name: Leila
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2020/01/01
date added: 2020/08/23
shelves: graphic-novels, european-comics, heavy-metal-magazine, jodoverse, sci-fi, space-opera, space-pirates, cyborgs-robots-androids, epic, allegorical, dystopian-future, incest-themes, warrior-hero
review:
This is the prequel to the Metabarons epic saga - leading to the marriage of Otto Von Salza (where the Metabarons starts) - We learn the secret of the Castaka clan, how they get the bird spirit and discover Epyphite. So this one takes us back even further, giving 3 more generations in the metabaron lineage - It is an epic tale of war, rape, patricide, space piracy set against a backdrop of a bigger conflict (Technopriests vs the technologically backward, warring clans)

Another great installment, widening the scope of Jodorowsky's epic (a saga to rival that of Dune and Game of Thrones). This gives us more generations and backstory, but it is very much 'more of the same' - Not necessarily a bad thing, I love the metabarons! But it doesn't give me anything 'new' or original. It also lacks the satire and humour that peppers much of the Jodoverse. Still good and a nice addition to the metabaron mythos but not amazing. Das Pastoras artwork is the same, its solid, fits the story (and thank heaven we are spared Janjetov's eyebrows!) but nothing here made me breathless as some of the other artwork in the Jodoverse.
]]> 29382042 64 Alejandro Jodorowsky 1594651639 Leila 3
I'll start with the artwork - The art here is by two artists Travis Charest and Zoran Janjetov - for the most part it's fine, nowhere near as weird and exciting as some of Jodorowsky's other collaborators, but gets the job done. However for no reason I can fathom Janjetov has given No-Name the most ridiculous eyebrows you've ever seen. It's really off putting I kept thinking they should detach and crawl off somewhere. It makes this very comedic which is at odds with the very serious tone of this one.

The deadly seriousness of this instalment is another failing. One of the major selling points of the Jodoverse is its biting satire and ability to mix philosophy, comedy and tragedy - here the comedy is almost completely absent other than those ridiculous eyebrows. There are some moments that want to be comic such as "Your time has come you evil puddle of puke!" but it just jars against the philosophy-babble and slaughter.

The plot of this one is an allegorical quest narrative. On the surface No-Name is sent by the 8 Intra-sleepers (dream shifters) to find 4 sacred weapons: Praxis - the sword with a soul, the Omnigraal, the Transpineal eye (a mystical microchip) and I'm unsure what the 4th one is - the end of this seems to indicate him becoming a weapon, but whether this is the 4th one or whether he finds something else in a later story I'm unclear.

He fights and defeats a load of monsters: leodactyl (flying lion hybrids) lizard men, radio-active gelatin, space dragons, space leeches, dead ancestors and finally himself and the 8 want him to defeat the Hulzgemins 'vampires of the mind' who have accidentally bled through using their dream channels - though we don't actually see their defeat in this volume.

As well as the physical journey we have No Name's spiritual one to find enlightenment - He gains a soul (Praxis) Heart (the omnigraal) and brain (Transpineal eye) and there;s lots of philosophy running through this:

The Gautama Siddharta quote "If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha. If you meet your father, kill your father. Only live your life as it is, Not bound to anything.�� is really prevalent here - He kills his own father literally in flashback but then he slaughters his own family again in his dealing with the Transpineal eye.

There are also a lot of other metaphysical ideas and mythology at play - we have the Omphal - the beating heart of the Ennead (universe) - Omphal referring to the Greek Omphale? I quite like that metaphor because No-Name can be read as a Hercules figure at the whim of the universe, just as Herc was the slave of Omphale. And the Ennead reminds me of the Aeneid - the epic about a character who goes on to found Rome - and our story here is about a cypher character who attains great power, suffers loss and looks set to change the universe. The section where he cuts through the labyrinth to forge ahead to his goal is reminiscent of Alexander the Great and the Gordian Knot - And lets not forget he fights Dragons and gets possession of the omnigraal (holy grail). The Transpineal Eye is in Trafalghar alluding to Napoleon and Trafalger - So there's a whole mish-mash of heroes and epic quests thrown into this with a heavy dash of philosophy. While I applaud that I just didn't feel this one was quite as successful at mixing its different homages to create something suitably unique and new.

There are also a couple of bits I didn't quite 'get' - The defeat of the Transpineal Eye - it clones various things including No-Name and finally his ship - but I'm really unclear on its defeat - I think he gets the ship to send out a false image that the clone copies and destroys itself - but its so rushed and unclear! just as anticlimatic is the ending - Is he the 4th weapon? It leaves this very open for sequels and feels unfinished.

This one is very much for fans and part of an ongoing saga. It's not the best introduction to the Jodoverse, but still, if you like the Metabarons quite enjoyable.]]> 3.52 2008
author: Alejandro Jodorowsky
name: Leila
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/30
date added: 2020/08/23
shelves: alien-invasion, aliens, allegorical, alternative-dimensions-realities, cyborgs-robots-androids, dragons, dreams, dystopian-future, epic, european-comics, graphic-novels, heavy-metal-magazine, jodoverse, magic-sword, metaphysical-dark-fantasy, sci-fi, space-opera, warrior-hero, reptile-people, quests, eastern-mysticism, hybrids, philosophy
review:
After the Dune-esque epic 'Metabarons' this addition to the Metabarons saga comes as a big disappointment, I'm sad to say.

I'll start with the artwork - The art here is by two artists Travis Charest and Zoran Janjetov - for the most part it's fine, nowhere near as weird and exciting as some of Jodorowsky's other collaborators, but gets the job done. However for no reason I can fathom Janjetov has given No-Name the most ridiculous eyebrows you've ever seen. It's really off putting I kept thinking they should detach and crawl off somewhere. It makes this very comedic which is at odds with the very serious tone of this one.

The deadly seriousness of this instalment is another failing. One of the major selling points of the Jodoverse is its biting satire and ability to mix philosophy, comedy and tragedy - here the comedy is almost completely absent other than those ridiculous eyebrows. There are some moments that want to be comic such as "Your time has come you evil puddle of puke!" but it just jars against the philosophy-babble and slaughter.

The plot of this one is an allegorical quest narrative. On the surface No-Name is sent by the 8 Intra-sleepers (dream shifters) to find 4 sacred weapons: Praxis - the sword with a soul, the Omnigraal, the Transpineal eye (a mystical microchip) and I'm unsure what the 4th one is - the end of this seems to indicate him becoming a weapon, but whether this is the 4th one or whether he finds something else in a later story I'm unclear.

He fights and defeats a load of monsters: leodactyl (flying lion hybrids) lizard men, radio-active gelatin, space dragons, space leeches, dead ancestors and finally himself and the 8 want him to defeat the Hulzgemins 'vampires of the mind' who have accidentally bled through using their dream channels - though we don't actually see their defeat in this volume.

As well as the physical journey we have No Name's spiritual one to find enlightenment - He gains a soul (Praxis) Heart (the omnigraal) and brain (Transpineal eye) and there;s lots of philosophy running through this:

The Gautama Siddharta quote "If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha. If you meet your father, kill your father. Only live your life as it is, Not bound to anything.�� is really prevalent here - He kills his own father literally in flashback but then he slaughters his own family again in his dealing with the Transpineal eye.

There are also a lot of other metaphysical ideas and mythology at play - we have the Omphal - the beating heart of the Ennead (universe) - Omphal referring to the Greek Omphale? I quite like that metaphor because No-Name can be read as a Hercules figure at the whim of the universe, just as Herc was the slave of Omphale. And the Ennead reminds me of the Aeneid - the epic about a character who goes on to found Rome - and our story here is about a cypher character who attains great power, suffers loss and looks set to change the universe. The section where he cuts through the labyrinth to forge ahead to his goal is reminiscent of Alexander the Great and the Gordian Knot - And lets not forget he fights Dragons and gets possession of the omnigraal (holy grail). The Transpineal Eye is in Trafalghar alluding to Napoleon and Trafalger - So there's a whole mish-mash of heroes and epic quests thrown into this with a heavy dash of philosophy. While I applaud that I just didn't feel this one was quite as successful at mixing its different homages to create something suitably unique and new.

There are also a couple of bits I didn't quite 'get' - The defeat of the Transpineal Eye - it clones various things including No-Name and finally his ship - but I'm really unclear on its defeat - I think he gets the ship to send out a false image that the clone copies and destroys itself - but its so rushed and unclear! just as anticlimatic is the ending - Is he the 4th weapon? It leaves this very open for sequels and feels unfinished.

This one is very much for fans and part of an ongoing saga. It's not the best introduction to the Jodoverse, but still, if you like the Metabarons quite enjoyable.
]]> 35011785 212 John Wagner Leila 3
We also get Brit Cit Babes - undercover vice squad trying to bring down a slavery ring. Now I really don't like Steve Sampson's art on this, but it has a very strong story by John Wagner and some engaging characters - which go a long way in making up for the very stylised art.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this - we get to see the Dredd-verse from a different perspective and while it is very down to earth, simple cop/criminal stories (that would work perfectly well without the 2000AD trappings) - it tells them with flair and engaging characters.]]> 3.44
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.44
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2017/05/14
date added: 2020/08/23
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, mushroom-people, cool-criminals, dystopian-future, fungus
review:
Anthology following undercover Wally Squad judges - The majority of this comprises of the Lenny Zero stories - Zero's an undercover judge who turns criminal and takes the money from a crime Lord to run off with his beloved gf, only to find out she is SJS. He then becomes a criminal with a grudge against judges and the Crime Lord who wants his head for ripping him off. If you like things like the Stainless Steel Rat and cool heist movies you're going to love Lenny Zero. Zero's 7 is a fun heist story full of double-crosses. Not much here you haven't seen before, but its fun, fast and shows another more human side to the judges.

We also get Brit Cit Babes - undercover vice squad trying to bring down a slavery ring. Now I really don't like Steve Sampson's art on this, but it has a very strong story by John Wagner and some engaging characters - which go a long way in making up for the very stylised art.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this - we get to see the Dredd-verse from a different perspective and while it is very down to earth, simple cop/criminal stories (that would work perfectly well without the 2000AD trappings) - it tells them with flair and engaging characters.
]]> 305672 Just as Ultimate Spider-Man reinvented and reinvigorated Marvel's flagship character, Ultimate X-Men promises do the same for comics' most popular super hero team. Streamlining the mutant heroes into a manageable core group, this non-stop saga action and intrigue takes place in a continuity recognizable to fans of this year's blockbuster smash X-Men movie. Ultimate X-Men is the perfect choice for anyone who can't get enough of the X!

Collecting: Ultimate X-Men 1-6]]> 160 Mark Millar 0785107886 Leila 3
Marvel girl has short hair and ends up in bed with Wolverine, Beast's hair is turned blue accidentally and Magneto is far crueller to Professor X than their past, cannon history would warrant. It also seriously messes up the ages of the characters.

The line up here is Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Iceman, Colossus, Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Professor X who all meet for the first time. Villain line up is Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Toad. The story pits them against sentinels who of course Magneto reprograms to serve him.

The art is probably the best reason to check this series out. Really disliked the butch look of beast, but otherwise thought the artwork was great. What I particularly loved was the subtleties in the artwork - things like Beast chasing a bus and an advert of "Beauty and the Beast" in the background.

Give me classic X-Men any day. We love the characters and their stories for a reason. Still this series is interesting. ]]> 3.79 2001
author: Mark Millar
name: Leila
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2015/08/09
date added: 2020/08/06
shelves: graphic-novels, marvel, mutants, telepaths-empaths, sci-fi, x-men, cyborgs-robots-androids, superheroes, gifted-super-powers
review:
The premise behind this series is to introduce the X-Men to a new/younger audience. It's tossed out the standard cannon and taken the X-Men characters in their teens and given them a completely clean slate. While that gives plenty of new opportunities it's also an outrage to classic marvel fans.

Marvel girl has short hair and ends up in bed with Wolverine, Beast's hair is turned blue accidentally and Magneto is far crueller to Professor X than their past, cannon history would warrant. It also seriously messes up the ages of the characters.

The line up here is Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Iceman, Colossus, Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Professor X who all meet for the first time. Villain line up is Magneto, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Toad. The story pits them against sentinels who of course Magneto reprograms to serve him.

The art is probably the best reason to check this series out. Really disliked the butch look of beast, but otherwise thought the artwork was great. What I particularly loved was the subtleties in the artwork - things like Beast chasing a bus and an advert of "Beauty and the Beast" in the background.

Give me classic X-Men any day. We love the characters and their stories for a reason. Still this series is interesting.
]]> 31981 144 Joss Whedon 0785117598 Leila 4
Add to this some alien menace: we have Ord from the Breakworld who believes Colossus is going to bring about the end of his civilisation and the disgruntled newly sentient AI Danger who has a huge grudge against the X-Men... The only people that can stop them: SWORD led by the sociopath Agent Brand and the remaining new X-Men, the only two of any use being precog Blindfold and Hisako - Armour.

WOW there is SO much going on here! The Hellfire Club, Cassandra Nova, Ord and his kill the x-men, save the world mission, Danger and sentient Shi'ar tech, Emma Frost's betrayal, Every single one of the x-men's own personal demons.... Way to go Joss Wedon to weave such an ambitious and busy plot and to keep it readable and emotionally engaging.

There's a lot here to like - It's a strong story for most of the female characters (and refreshing to see other female X-Men than Storm, Jean Grey and Mystique getting lots of attention) Very interesting take on Emma Frost - I hate her as a character usually, but I like the way this splits her into two: Emma Frost & The White Queen - And she really does do evil well, though she's nowhere near the level of Cassandra Nova.... It's also really good for some of the minor female characters: Hisako in particular - she's just there most of the time and I had no idea what her powers were - but here she kicks some ass. I quite like Blindfold too. And for the otherside... the angsty goth Negasonic Teenage Warhead.

OK there's so much packed into this its not as witty and fun as a lot of other X-Men stuff, but it's an engaging story with good character development and decent art.
]]> 4.23 2007
author: Joss Whedon
name: Leila
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/07
date added: 2020/08/06
shelves: x-men, wolverine, telepaths-empaths, superheroes, marvel, graphic-novels, mutants, aliens, cyborgs-robots-androids, strong-women-in-comics, gifted-super-powers
review:
Collecting together Astonishing X-Men #13-18 this volume really kicks into gear as The Hellfire Club make their move. Every one of the team is manipulated and taken out: Beast devolves, Wolverine becomes a coward, Cyclops comatose, Colossus goes Berserk and then conks out. Most touching is Kitty, she finally gets together with the newly resurrected Colossus and then the Hellfire club give her years of false memories where she has a son, Michael who is imprisoned and she has to mount a rescue. Only thing is its not really Michael she's setting free...

Add to this some alien menace: we have Ord from the Breakworld who believes Colossus is going to bring about the end of his civilisation and the disgruntled newly sentient AI Danger who has a huge grudge against the X-Men... The only people that can stop them: SWORD led by the sociopath Agent Brand and the remaining new X-Men, the only two of any use being precog Blindfold and Hisako - Armour.

WOW there is SO much going on here! The Hellfire Club, Cassandra Nova, Ord and his kill the x-men, save the world mission, Danger and sentient Shi'ar tech, Emma Frost's betrayal, Every single one of the x-men's own personal demons.... Way to go Joss Wedon to weave such an ambitious and busy plot and to keep it readable and emotionally engaging.

There's a lot here to like - It's a strong story for most of the female characters (and refreshing to see other female X-Men than Storm, Jean Grey and Mystique getting lots of attention) Very interesting take on Emma Frost - I hate her as a character usually, but I like the way this splits her into two: Emma Frost & The White Queen - And she really does do evil well, though she's nowhere near the level of Cassandra Nova.... It's also really good for some of the minor female characters: Hisako in particular - she's just there most of the time and I had no idea what her powers were - but here she kicks some ass. I quite like Blindfold too. And for the otherside... the angsty goth Negasonic Teenage Warhead.

OK there's so much packed into this its not as witty and fun as a lot of other X-Men stuff, but it's an engaging story with good character development and decent art.

]]> 31975 152 Joss Whedon 078511677X Leila 4
There's a lot going on in the background series arc wise (we have a 'cure' for mutation on the cards, SWORD wanting to wipe out the x-men due to an alien prophesy, The hellfire club wanting domination...) but it also has an interesting 'stand alone' story about the Danger Room becoming sentient due to a mutation in the Shi'ar technology. I've always liked the concept of buildings coming to life and here it's handled really well.

There's a nice cameo of the Fantastic Four and some good character exploration. We have a scene where you see Colossus, Wolverine and Kitty attack the monster de jour - but what's really fun are the individualised thoughts of the characters - Kitty on her relationship with the newly returned Colossus, Colossus on telepathy and Wolverine wanting a beer - the script and little asides are just fun.]]> 4.19 2007
author: Joss Whedon
name: Leila
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/03
date added: 2020/08/06
shelves: aliens, cyborgs-robots-androids, graphic-novels, living-buildings, marvel, mutants, sci-fi, superheroes, telepaths-empaths, x-men, wolverine, gifted-super-powers
review:
Despite being far from my fav X-Men line up (here it's Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Colossus, Kitty Pryde) - The early volumes of Astonishing X-Men are pretty strong, largely I think down to Joss Whedon's writing and solid, detailed art by John Cassaday.

There's a lot going on in the background series arc wise (we have a 'cure' for mutation on the cards, SWORD wanting to wipe out the x-men due to an alien prophesy, The hellfire club wanting domination...) but it also has an interesting 'stand alone' story about the Danger Room becoming sentient due to a mutation in the Shi'ar technology. I've always liked the concept of buildings coming to life and here it's handled really well.

There's a nice cameo of the Fantastic Four and some good character exploration. We have a scene where you see Colossus, Wolverine and Kitty attack the monster de jour - but what's really fun are the individualised thoughts of the characters - Kitty on her relationship with the newly returned Colossus, Colossus on telepathy and Wolverine wanting a beer - the script and little asides are just fun.
]]> 7955900

Astonishing X-Men #31-35]]> 120 Warren Ellis 0785131698 Leila 3
While this is far from my favourite line up (Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Storm and Hisako... nope I still don't have a clue what use she is lol) I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Its two strengths being great art and a rather good story.

When the premise is mutant hybrids from dead cells - I was expecting resurrection of past X-Men but this subverted my expectations - instead we get hybrids from classic enemies - The Brood, Krakoa, Sauron, Sentinels - huge thumbs up to the nod and wink to Classic X-Men stories. The dialogue is punchy and I like the interactions between the characters. I also loved the villain and his reason for setting up this elaborate attack which made a nice change from usual plans of world domination or alien invasion. Artwork is great and I thought Storm (although she had very little to do) looked the best I've seen her in ages - The female characters weren't completely over sexualised either - If I have to have Emma Frost it's nice not to have her boobs knocking me out on every page!

As X-Men graphics go, this one's solid throughout. ]]> 3.37 2010
author: Warren Ellis
name: Leila
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2016/09/04
date added: 2020/08/06
shelves: graphic-novels, x-men, mutants, cyborgs-robots-androids, eugenics-genetic-engineering, marvel, sci-fi, superheroes, telepaths-empaths, wolverine, gifted-super-powers
review:
An unknown enemy has got hold of Beast's research and is creating mutant hybrids from the cells of dead mutants to attack the X-Men.

While this is far from my favourite line up (Wolverine, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Storm and Hisako... nope I still don't have a clue what use she is lol) I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Its two strengths being great art and a rather good story.

When the premise is mutant hybrids from dead cells - I was expecting resurrection of past X-Men but this subverted my expectations - instead we get hybrids from classic enemies - The Brood, Krakoa, Sauron, Sentinels - huge thumbs up to the nod and wink to Classic X-Men stories. The dialogue is punchy and I like the interactions between the characters. I also loved the villain and his reason for setting up this elaborate attack which made a nice change from usual plans of world domination or alien invasion. Artwork is great and I thought Storm (although she had very little to do) looked the best I've seen her in ages - The female characters weren't completely over sexualised either - If I have to have Emma Frost it's nice not to have her boobs knocking me out on every page!

As X-Men graphics go, this one's solid throughout.
]]> 703792
Collecting: Ultimate X-Men 21-25]]> 144 Mark Millar 0785110895 Leila 4
This one introduces Kitty Pryde into the Ultimate universe. But she's really got her work cut out with Cyke and Wolverine at each other's throats over Jean, who with Phoenix pressing ever closer is seriously off her game.


I love how its revealed that the mysterious billionaire benefactors of the X-Men are in fact the Hellfire club who have been manipulating behind the scenes to get a Jean.

I also love the idea that the 'woman' Beast has been secretly chatting to online in in fact Blob pumping him for information.

Solid art, and a strong story. Great stuff.]]> 3.66 2003
author: Mark Millar
name: Leila
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/17
date added: 2020/08/06
shelves: cyborgs-robots-androids, graphic-novels, mutants, marvel, telepaths-empaths, x-men, occult, superheroes, gifted-super-powers
review:
Another dark instalment for the now very fractured Ultimate X-Men who are recovering from the death of Proteus, the severe injuries of Iceman (from the previous volume).

This one introduces Kitty Pryde into the Ultimate universe. But she's really got her work cut out with Cyke and Wolverine at each other's throats over Jean, who with Phoenix pressing ever closer is seriously off her game.


I love how its revealed that the mysterious billionaire benefactors of the X-Men are in fact the Hellfire club who have been manipulating behind the scenes to get a Jean.

I also love the idea that the 'woman' Beast has been secretly chatting to online in in fact Blob pumping him for information.

Solid art, and a strong story. Great stuff.
]]> 39859429
A vast city lies under the shadow of colossal, ancient tombs, the identity of their builders lost to time. In the streets of the city something is preying on the inhabitants, something that moves faster than the human eye can see and leaves unimaginable horror in its wake.

Tsutomu Nihei’s dazzling, harrowing dystopian thriller is presented here in a single-volume hardcover edition featuring full-color pages and foldout illustrations. This volume also includes the early short story “Digimortal.”]]> 418 Tsutomu Nihei 1974702642 Leila 3
The problem is the fragment of the "story" - Something like this needs a lot of explanation and an actual story. This has neither - It's more like a dream... or nightmare - while events are presented in a linear fashion and sort of follow, there's zero explanation or set-up to put this in context.

If you're familiar with anime you can extrapolate some sense - it puts in mind things like Gilgamesh and Evangelion with the battling Gauna/Angels - but there's no sense of morality here. It would be so nice to have somebody to root for - white Gauna = good, Black Gauna = evil, but if there was such a good vs evil battle going on it eluded me - both seem equal in their devastation. This also lacks character development which would have given this some grounding.

Its such a shame - I like the concepts this plays with, the artwork is gorgeous and I think it has the potential to be an excellent series but as it stands it's like a fragment of a dream that fails to be fully realised. ]]> 3.57 2005
author: Tsutomu Nihei
name: Leila
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2020/07/30
date added: 2020/07/31
shelves: manga, horror-manga, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, technology-horror, tentacles, weird, cyborgs-robots-androids
review:
The selling point for this is the artwork - It mixes freaky weird horror manga (up there with the best) with deserted post apocalyptic decaying city-scapes that are almost a character in their own right and battle scenes between black and white Gauna which are a cross between mechs and the xenomorph from alien. The characters too, are nicely detailed and interesting. It looks glorious.

The problem is the fragment of the "story" - Something like this needs a lot of explanation and an actual story. This has neither - It's more like a dream... or nightmare - while events are presented in a linear fashion and sort of follow, there's zero explanation or set-up to put this in context.

If you're familiar with anime you can extrapolate some sense - it puts in mind things like Gilgamesh and Evangelion with the battling Gauna/Angels - but there's no sense of morality here. It would be so nice to have somebody to root for - white Gauna = good, Black Gauna = evil, but if there was such a good vs evil battle going on it eluded me - both seem equal in their devastation. This also lacks character development which would have given this some grounding.

Its such a shame - I like the concepts this plays with, the artwork is gorgeous and I think it has the potential to be an excellent series but as it stands it's like a fragment of a dream that fails to be fully realised.
]]> 22716593 Hollow Earth to King of Fear--the entire war on frogs in four volumes!]]> 448 Mike Mignola 1616556226 Leila 4
Kate gets sucked into an alternate dimension trying to get a grimoire which could resurrect Roger. We meet Devon who later joins the team.

Abe continues to piece together his past, he encounters his old society of Oanes buddies - who have trapped their bodies in diving suit robots, and plan to transfer their consciousness into newly grown bodies. They also have a mummy upstairs - Panya, who looks like she is also set to join the team, but for god or ill, only time will tell, she certainly has secrets galore.

Johann reveals his tragic love story - how he fell in love with the ghost of one of his clients. He acquires a human body and goes AWOL, just when he's most needed, to explore pleasures of the flesh.

Liz is plagued by visits from the mysterious and cryptic Chinaman and has a breakdown so as to be almost catatonic.

The team encounter a wendigo, Daryl who fascinates Captain Daimio, which compliments the biggest plot arc of this volume - The transformation of our troubled captain.

I loved this volume, it is really strong on character and doesn't shy away from tragedy - characters die and don't come back, heroes fail and breakdown at crucial moments. Add to this the threat of a Lovecraftian apocalypse, villains and beasts galore and you have a highly engaging series that manages to hold its own, even without the iconic Hellboy.]]> 4.46 2012
author: Mike Mignola
name: Leila
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/28
date added: 2020/05/28
shelves: alternative-dimensions-realities, ancient-egypt, cosmic-horror, curses, cyborgs-robots-androids, dark-horse, dreams, esp, eternal-life-age-extension, fish-men, frogs-toads-and-frog-people, ghosts, golems, graphic-novels, hellboy, lovecraftian, metamorphosis, paranormal-investigators, psychics-precogs-seers-and-oracle, pyrokinetics, steampunk, superheroes, supernatural, wendigo, mummies, magicians-mediums-stage-shows
review:
Oddly, despite being in the omnibus 'Plague of Frogs' series, this 3rd volume doesn't feature the frog monsters - That threat is firmly on the back-burner. It's alluded to, through Liz' Lovecraftian-apocalyptic dreams, but otherwise we know the frogs are out there, but really not the focus of this, instead we turn inwards for character development and some new team members.

Kate gets sucked into an alternate dimension trying to get a grimoire which could resurrect Roger. We meet Devon who later joins the team.

Abe continues to piece together his past, he encounters his old society of Oanes buddies - who have trapped their bodies in diving suit robots, and plan to transfer their consciousness into newly grown bodies. They also have a mummy upstairs - Panya, who looks like she is also set to join the team, but for god or ill, only time will tell, she certainly has secrets galore.

Johann reveals his tragic love story - how he fell in love with the ghost of one of his clients. He acquires a human body and goes AWOL, just when he's most needed, to explore pleasures of the flesh.

Liz is plagued by visits from the mysterious and cryptic Chinaman and has a breakdown so as to be almost catatonic.

The team encounter a wendigo, Daryl who fascinates Captain Daimio, which compliments the biggest plot arc of this volume - The transformation of our troubled captain.

I loved this volume, it is really strong on character and doesn't shy away from tragedy - characters die and don't come back, heroes fail and breakdown at crucial moments. Add to this the threat of a Lovecraftian apocalypse, villains and beasts galore and you have a highly engaging series that manages to hold its own, even without the iconic Hellboy.
]]> 1482241 293 Philip Reeve 0439979439 Leila 4
Its REALLY dark for a children's book however with an unprecedentedly high death toll - I won't spoil it by saying who lives but lets just say there are very few survivors. I haven't been this shocked at the end of a novel since Veronica Roth's Allegiant! ]]> 3.95 2001
author: Philip Reeve
name: Leila
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2018/12/06
date added: 2020/05/14
shelves: ai, childrens, allegorical, coming-of-age, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, endings-i-hate, london, made-into-film, post-apocalyptic, prize-winning-fiction, sci-fi, sci-fi-film, steampunk, technology-horror, unexpected-deaths, urban-fantasy, young-adult-sf-fantasy, human-robot-romance, fantasy-films, moving-cities-buildings
review:
I adore the steampunk universe this is set in with the peripatetic predator cities rolling across the world eating smaller towns. A great metaphor and wonderfully visual. The story on this one is equally strong with some really interesting characters. Love scarred Hester Shaw and her disturbingly obsessed Stalker shrike.

Its REALLY dark for a children's book however with an unprecedentedly high death toll - I won't spoil it by saying who lives but lets just say there are very few survivors. I haven't been this shocked at the end of a novel since Veronica Roth's Allegiant!
]]> 15829616
When an old friend of Blake’s �� believed to have been murdered five years earlier by the Federation �� is discovered alive in a labour camp on Sigma Minor, the rebels decide to mount a daring rescue attempt. But the talented cybernetic engineer Blake once knew is a shadow of his former self. His memory has been wiped, his family are prisoners of the Federation, and his name is inextricably linked to a sinister project known only by a codename: Archangel. 

Archangel: an ultra-secret experiment so dangerous, so horrific, so terrifying that it was shut down by the High Council and ordered never to be reopened�� until now. ��

This time, death may be the Liberator crew’s best option.]]> 224 Scott Harrison 1781780226 Leila 4
Again this is a really high quality story with a plot that unfolds just like an episode of the show. You really do feel like you could be watching this one.

The characters are all on point: Avon, Servalan, Blake, Vila... Heck even Jenna gets a little bit of action. My only niggle is the complete uselessness of Cally - She is utterly wasted in this one and I feel that is really bad oversight. We're dealing with a group of cyborgs who communicate telepathically - there's some suggestion of a hive mind and we certainly get chunks of them interacting mentally with 'the program' - Cally is the ideal choice to play a central role here - she could communicate with them, heck at least sense their consciousness but that idea doesn't ever get used.

Other than that though, I really liked this. I particularly love the nature of the project - the next step up from mutoids seems very plausible and the possible application of fusing them with ships... is a concept I find fascinating.

The continuity/B7 universe is solid in this as well. We get a mention of Jenna's friend Virna who crops up in the Liberator Chronicle 4.2: Epitaph, and we get a Gauda Prime Blake epilogue in which he encounters and helps Katri Tam. This one feels very Blake's 7 not only in good depiction of character, but in the representation of the Federation, technology and the nature of the project.

Lastly I also like the way this is written - we get various flashbacks 'artefacts' from different perspectives, and cut scenes which help the pace and make it feel even more like an episode script.

So far I'm highly impressed with the Big Finish B7 spin off range, it's of much higher quality and consistency than a lot of other sci-fi show tie-in fiction. It rarely feels rushed and you get the feeling that the writers are as much fans of the show as the readers. Archangel is a good example. ]]> 3.62 2012
author: Scott Harrison
name: Leila
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2020/04/20
date added: 2020/04/20
shelves: big-finish, blakes-7, cyborgs-robots-androids, sci-fi, space-opera, tv-tie-in, dystopian-future, technology-horror
review:
Set in Series B (after the death of Gan) the remainder of the B7 crew (Blake, Jenna, Avon, Vila & Cally) investigate rumours of a mysterious Federation project called Archangel.

Again this is a really high quality story with a plot that unfolds just like an episode of the show. You really do feel like you could be watching this one.

The characters are all on point: Avon, Servalan, Blake, Vila... Heck even Jenna gets a little bit of action. My only niggle is the complete uselessness of Cally - She is utterly wasted in this one and I feel that is really bad oversight. We're dealing with a group of cyborgs who communicate telepathically - there's some suggestion of a hive mind and we certainly get chunks of them interacting mentally with 'the program' - Cally is the ideal choice to play a central role here - she could communicate with them, heck at least sense their consciousness but that idea doesn't ever get used.

Other than that though, I really liked this. I particularly love the nature of the project - the next step up from mutoids seems very plausible and the possible application of fusing them with ships... is a concept I find fascinating.

The continuity/B7 universe is solid in this as well. We get a mention of Jenna's friend Virna who crops up in the Liberator Chronicle 4.2: Epitaph, and we get a Gauda Prime Blake epilogue in which he encounters and helps Katri Tam. This one feels very Blake's 7 not only in good depiction of character, but in the representation of the Federation, technology and the nature of the project.

Lastly I also like the way this is written - we get various flashbacks 'artefacts' from different perspectives, and cut scenes which help the pace and make it feel even more like an episode script.

So far I'm highly impressed with the Big Finish B7 spin off range, it's of much higher quality and consistency than a lot of other sci-fi show tie-in fiction. It rarely feels rushed and you get the feeling that the writers are as much fans of the show as the readers. Archangel is a good example.
]]> 76781 198 Ray Bradbury 0435123734 Leila 4
My favourite story is the Veld which stands up extremely well today - Bradbury's vision of technological obsession is remarkably accurate and the ending is chilling. We also have themes of racism, space madness, the search for god, revenge, escape from oppression, killer children, robot doppelgangers.

Reading this you can certainly see why Bradbury is regarded as the King of SF.]]> 3.70 1951
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Leila
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1951
rating: 4
read at: 2016/10/08
date added: 2020/03/01
shelves: aliens, anthologies, cyborgs-robots-androids, sci-fi, mars, sf-classic, ray-bradbury, alien-invasion
review:
For the most part the Illustrated man feels like a continuation of the Martian chronicles - It's a series of short sting-in-the-tail stories each corresponding to a tattoo on the illustrated man. The 1st and last stories are fantastic but grounded in the 'real' world whilst the other 14 are very much SF (outer space, rockets, martians etc) which is why this only gets 4* instead of the 5 I gave the Martian chronicles - because I don't feel that the wrap around quite fits the Martian stories - when you start this it feels more like tales of the unexpected but swiftly veers into Martian territory which is a little disconcerting - it's not saying that ALL the stories aren't brilliant... which they are, it's just not quite so thematically tight.

My favourite story is the Veld which stands up extremely well today - Bradbury's vision of technological obsession is remarkably accurate and the ending is chilling. We also have themes of racism, space madness, the search for god, revenge, escape from oppression, killer children, robot doppelgangers.

Reading this you can certainly see why Bradbury is regarded as the King of SF.
]]> 13558493
This time, Marshal Grinmal and his belligerent cohorts are ready for them. This time, they'll make no mistakes. This time, Chief Scientist Tyngworg has not just one plan, but a back-up plan, and a back-up back-up plan worked out...

With the Doctor a prisoner on the Kraals' radiation-blasted home planet of Oseidon, only his companion Leela can save the day �� alongside a most unlikely ally.]]> 0 Alan Barnes 1844356175 Leila 2
Oh dear. What a let down! For inspiration this picks up themes from The Android Invasion (1975) The portal leads to Oseidon where a bunch of Kraal and their android minions invade - but it's all a ruse to divert the attention from the Master's real plans....

The plot is over-complicated with android doppelgangers all over the place and unmaskings worthy of Scooby-Doo. I could deal with that if it was a good story but sadly it's a bit lame - This is The Doctor and his nemesis the Master! - there's so much fodder here for wit, out manoeuvring each other and the Doctor showing off his intellect with a worthy opponent - I didn't feel that at all here. The Master's plot bored me and I just wasn't feeling the electricity between our two Timelords.

Trail of the White Worm was so good because of its source material - throwing in Hammer, Lair of the White Worm and adding the Doctor to make something new and exciting. There's no myth or literary references in the Oseidon Adventure - it's all Who, and Who at it's most alien - While it's true to cannon without the outside references it weakens audience connection somehow. This is hard sci-fi where as the better Who stuff is a hybrid of horror, drama, fantasy with SF elements.

Saying that it's not awful - as ever the cast do a decent job. I liked the voices of the Kraal and Baker goes without saying. I think i was most disappointed in The Master who wasn't nearly evil or insidious enough. The biggest highlight are the pop culture references - like the colonel's demands to shut down the BBC and abolish free school milk. And there's a comedy gem at the end where it's revealed that the horse that's been stolen by the Kraal is in fact Shergar. That made me giggle.

Overall though - meh. Sadly one of the weaker Tom Baker audios and such a let down after part 1.]]> 3.49 2012
author: Alan Barnes
name: Leila
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2019/10/06
date added: 2020/03/01
shelves: aliens, audio-books, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, 4th-doctor, big-finish, alien-invasion
review:
This is the sequel to the wonderful 'Trail of the White Worm' and picks up from the cliffhanger of The Master opening a wormhole to let in a hellish alien invasion.

Oh dear. What a let down! For inspiration this picks up themes from The Android Invasion (1975) The portal leads to Oseidon where a bunch of Kraal and their android minions invade - but it's all a ruse to divert the attention from the Master's real plans....

The plot is over-complicated with android doppelgangers all over the place and unmaskings worthy of Scooby-Doo. I could deal with that if it was a good story but sadly it's a bit lame - This is The Doctor and his nemesis the Master! - there's so much fodder here for wit, out manoeuvring each other and the Doctor showing off his intellect with a worthy opponent - I didn't feel that at all here. The Master's plot bored me and I just wasn't feeling the electricity between our two Timelords.

Trail of the White Worm was so good because of its source material - throwing in Hammer, Lair of the White Worm and adding the Doctor to make something new and exciting. There's no myth or literary references in the Oseidon Adventure - it's all Who, and Who at it's most alien - While it's true to cannon without the outside references it weakens audience connection somehow. This is hard sci-fi where as the better Who stuff is a hybrid of horror, drama, fantasy with SF elements.

Saying that it's not awful - as ever the cast do a decent job. I liked the voices of the Kraal and Baker goes without saying. I think i was most disappointed in The Master who wasn't nearly evil or insidious enough. The biggest highlight are the pop culture references - like the colonel's demands to shut down the BBC and abolish free school milk. And there's a comedy gem at the end where it's revealed that the horse that's been stolen by the Kraal is in fact Shergar. That made me giggle.

Overall though - meh. Sadly one of the weaker Tom Baker audios and such a let down after part 1.
]]> 49729705
Adapted and illustrated by Trina Robbins in cooperation with Tanith Lee.]]> Trina Robbins Leila 4
The story is a simple coming of age tale about 16 year old plain Jane who falls in love with Silver, a robot troubador and runs off with him escaping her mother's shadow. Trina's bold simple art sets it off beautifully and its so refreshing to have a SF romance by women, for women - this really does not fit into any graphic novel niche. Love the character on this - Jane is very real and flawed having all the doubts and insecurities a normal 16 year old would.

This new hardback edition is gorgeous. Not only a wonderful, glossy re-print of the long out of print story but lots of bonus content too. Highlight for me was Trina's earlier attempt at adapting Lee (Exercise in Gold being the dream sequence from Don't Bite the Sun) - This featured in Heavy Metal 2 #9 (1979) and I thought I was going to have to go through my Heavy Metal back issues to find it, when lo, it's in the bonus material. There are bios of Lee, Robbins as well as Gail Simone, Storm Constantine and Collen Doran (who also did the wonderful cover art for this edition), and essays from Lee and Constantine plus background on the graphic itself.

Fans of Tanith Lee and the history of women in comics are going to want to check this out. I was rather impressed. ]]> 4.00
author: Trina Robbins
name: Leila
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2019/07/14
date added: 2019/12/22
shelves: tanith-lee, coming-of-age, cyborgs-robots-androids, favourite-graphic-novels, feminist-fantasy-sci-fi, graphic-novels, heavy-metal-magazine, human-robot-romance, lgbt-supporting-characters, music-musicians, sci-fi-romance, sf-female-authors, strong-women-in-comics, ya-romance, young-adult-sf-fantasy, tragedy
review:
This re-print of the Trina Robbins' 1985 graphic novel adaptation of Tanith Lee's novel is everything you could ask for.

The story is a simple coming of age tale about 16 year old plain Jane who falls in love with Silver, a robot troubador and runs off with him escaping her mother's shadow. Trina's bold simple art sets it off beautifully and its so refreshing to have a SF romance by women, for women - this really does not fit into any graphic novel niche. Love the character on this - Jane is very real and flawed having all the doubts and insecurities a normal 16 year old would.

This new hardback edition is gorgeous. Not only a wonderful, glossy re-print of the long out of print story but lots of bonus content too. Highlight for me was Trina's earlier attempt at adapting Lee (Exercise in Gold being the dream sequence from Don't Bite the Sun) - This featured in Heavy Metal 2 #9 (1979) and I thought I was going to have to go through my Heavy Metal back issues to find it, when lo, it's in the bonus material. There are bios of Lee, Robbins as well as Gail Simone, Storm Constantine and Collen Doran (who also did the wonderful cover art for this edition), and essays from Lee and Constantine plus background on the graphic itself.

Fans of Tanith Lee and the history of women in comics are going to want to check this out. I was rather impressed.
]]> 12388013
Taren Capel's legacy is unleashed, and death stalks the streets. As Uvanov fights for his career and life, Paullus contacts a force which could be the salvation of the people of Kaldor -- or their destruction.

With Carnell gone, Iago is the only one who can save the city from its fate -- but to do that, he must sacrifice everything...

Kaldor City - Checkmate uses characters and concepts from Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker to tell an apocalyptic tale of subterfuge and revelation.]]> Alan Stevens Leila 4
To begin then we have Uvanov, Iago and Landerchild trying to sort out the mess of Taren Capel's 2nd Robots of Death fiasco. But while it was the focus of the last instalment, here it plays a very minor role and everything is more or less under control. There is something much darker afoot, hinted at in Carnell's farewell speech suggesting an ancient evil.

So remember the skull from Death's Head? Well it's the same skull from Image of the Fendahl and the Church of Capel are in fact the cult of 12, led by poor, mad Ander Poul (now under the name Paullus) who've got their heart set on Justina as the host for their god. The Doctor if you know your Who, beat the Fendahl by tossing it into a supernova. However now it's back - the supernova having made it stronger. Initial thoughts - we're all doomed. There's no Doctor around and hell if a supernova couldn't kill the damn thing... Kaldor City is done for! Now we all know Chris Boucher likes dark and unexpected endings - I still haven't recovered from Blake's 7, but this.... well now.

There are some really unexpected deaths, the highlight being the confrontation between Cotton and poor Rull in hospital. Amazing writing and such great black humour. We also get a 'this town ain't big enough for the both of us' showdown between Iago and Blayes (interestingly NOT Carnell who has fled) - up to this point it's 5* OMG this is awesome but then it all goes to the weird. And I'm still struggling to piece it all together.

So with no obstacles the 12 succeed this time around in resurrecting the Fendahl. Everything's fucked. The Blayes/Iago shoot out went down. I think Blayes got killed (but I'm not 100% sure) and Iago lies bleeding to death when Justina now the core of the Fendahl comes to him. Because Justina truly loved Iago she offers to let him time-travel back in time, which he does, to the point in Occam's Razor where he's objecting to Justina's painting. Here he shoots Justina (presumably to stop the Fendahl before it can manesfest) but then Carnell turns up and kills Iago. WTF?!

So the main upshot is that there is no escaping the Fendahl (a metaphor for evil and the darkness of the human soul?) and whatever you do you're fucked I think. But I'm struggling to work out why/how Carnell kills Iago and hell what happened to Carnell (I mean last we saw he ran away) - If you infer that Carnell is Stael from IOTF (note both were played by the same actor) then perhaps he died to become part of the Fendahl? In which case his presence might enable some sort of 'letting go' before absorption sort of thing for Justina and Iago - If Iago is able to shoot Justina then he doesn't love her - so she is able to give up and embrace the darkness. Iago is defeated by Carnell the only character to offer him serious challenge, so he too is forced to give up and embrace the darkness... Maybe. I'm reaching here. Honestly, the ending really left me scratching my head.

Other than the truly bizarre ending I have to say that the Kaldor City audios are amongst the best Who audio adventures out there - They are consistently good with witty writing, complex plot and an amazing voice cast - Paul Darrow and Brian Croucher really are amazing here - Normally with linked Who stories you get some weaker ones but not so here, all 5 stories are all brilliant and incredibly clever, sometimes perhaps even too clever. Everything is included for a reason and really challenges the listener. It expects its fans to be intelligent and to piece things together and make all the right inferences. In some cases perhaps it's a tad too subtle and ambiguous but that is part of it's genius.

Highly recommended and I think these will get better the more times you listen, because once you know the basic plot, you can start looking for the clues that were there right from the very beginning.]]> 3.76 2003
author: Alan Stevens
name: Leila
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/14
date added: 2019/12/08
shelves: aliens, audio-books, blakes-7, cool-criminals, crossovers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, dystopian-future, endings-i-don-t-understand, favourite-audio-books, occult, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, time-travel, villain-antihero-protagonist, weird, assassins, plot-twists, signed-by-author-or-cast, unexpected-deaths, chris-boucher-universe, worms, cosmic-horror
review:
This is the last of the 5 main, linked Kaldor City audio books based on Doctor Who: Robots of Death, sequel novel The Corpse Marker and Blake's 7 'Weapon'. This draws all its threads and characters together into one jaw dropping finale which brings in another Chris Boucher Dr Who: Image of the Fendahl. It is super involved and complicated and you need a very good grasp of all the source material and what has gone before to even begin to fathom this one - but if you are a massive Who Geek then this really does do justice to its fans, it's subtle, clever and downright genius for the most part.

To begin then we have Uvanov, Iago and Landerchild trying to sort out the mess of Taren Capel's 2nd Robots of Death fiasco. But while it was the focus of the last instalment, here it plays a very minor role and everything is more or less under control. There is something much darker afoot, hinted at in Carnell's farewell speech suggesting an ancient evil.

So remember the skull from Death's Head? Well it's the same skull from Image of the Fendahl and the Church of Capel are in fact the cult of 12, led by poor, mad Ander Poul (now under the name Paullus) who've got their heart set on Justina as the host for their god. The Doctor if you know your Who, beat the Fendahl by tossing it into a supernova. However now it's back - the supernova having made it stronger. Initial thoughts - we're all doomed. There's no Doctor around and hell if a supernova couldn't kill the damn thing... Kaldor City is done for! Now we all know Chris Boucher likes dark and unexpected endings - I still haven't recovered from Blake's 7, but this.... well now.

There are some really unexpected deaths, the highlight being the confrontation between Cotton and poor Rull in hospital. Amazing writing and such great black humour. We also get a 'this town ain't big enough for the both of us' showdown between Iago and Blayes (interestingly NOT Carnell who has fled) - up to this point it's 5* OMG this is awesome but then it all goes to the weird. And I'm still struggling to piece it all together.

So with no obstacles the 12 succeed this time around in resurrecting the Fendahl. Everything's fucked. The Blayes/Iago shoot out went down. I think Blayes got killed (but I'm not 100% sure) and Iago lies bleeding to death when Justina now the core of the Fendahl comes to him. Because Justina truly loved Iago she offers to let him time-travel back in time, which he does, to the point in Occam's Razor where he's objecting to Justina's painting. Here he shoots Justina (presumably to stop the Fendahl before it can manesfest) but then Carnell turns up and kills Iago. WTF?!

So the main upshot is that there is no escaping the Fendahl (a metaphor for evil and the darkness of the human soul?) and whatever you do you're fucked I think. But I'm struggling to work out why/how Carnell kills Iago and hell what happened to Carnell (I mean last we saw he ran away) - If you infer that Carnell is Stael from IOTF (note both were played by the same actor) then perhaps he died to become part of the Fendahl? In which case his presence might enable some sort of 'letting go' before absorption sort of thing for Justina and Iago - If Iago is able to shoot Justina then he doesn't love her - so she is able to give up and embrace the darkness. Iago is defeated by Carnell the only character to offer him serious challenge, so he too is forced to give up and embrace the darkness... Maybe. I'm reaching here. Honestly, the ending really left me scratching my head.

Other than the truly bizarre ending I have to say that the Kaldor City audios are amongst the best Who audio adventures out there - They are consistently good with witty writing, complex plot and an amazing voice cast - Paul Darrow and Brian Croucher really are amazing here - Normally with linked Who stories you get some weaker ones but not so here, all 5 stories are all brilliant and incredibly clever, sometimes perhaps even too clever. Everything is included for a reason and really challenges the listener. It expects its fans to be intelligent and to piece things together and make all the right inferences. In some cases perhaps it's a tad too subtle and ambiguous but that is part of it's genius.

Highly recommended and I think these will get better the more times you listen, because once you know the basic plot, you can start looking for the clues that were there right from the very beginning.
]]> 1102167 0 Dan Abnett 1405677082 Leila 2
As well as the usual Torchwood crew (Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto) we have a new member - James. He's super talented, popular and really uninteresting. His presence also prevents any character development of the main cast. Ianto, gets hardly any time whatsoever. The only character who really comes into play in this one is Gwen who ditches Rhys and starts a passionate affair with James - now that's not out of character - I mean she does have an affair with Owen in the show - it's just again rather dull and we don't get enough reaction either from Rhys or the rest of Torchwood about the imprudence of such a liaison

I could cope with lack of character if the story was gripping - but it's not - it' all over the place. We begin with an alien artefact that drives people mad and turns out to be a 4 dimensional puzzle that has little to do with anything. Then we have another mysterious artefact in Torchwood's possession that has remained inert since Victorian times and has suddenly started making noises so there's a fruitless investigation into that. There's also an alien mechanized soldier which is unearthed, a salesman using an alien artefact to pull off confidence tricks as well as a parallel storyline about alien Mr. Dines who is some sort of bodyguard. Most of these strands are unrelated - The mech, the confidence trickster and the puzzle - are completely unrelated to anything. It makes this very disjointed. Indeed I really lost interest in the middle of this one.

The ending, is actually not bad but it is too little too late, because the rest of the story isn't particularly good to do justice to the twist. Eve Myles reads this but again, not my favourite narrator, she doesn't have the animation of some of the male cast members - or perhaps it's just the heavy Welsh accent I find less engaging.

Overall this one's OK but there are far better Torchwood stories out there.]]> 3.06 2007
author: Dan Abnett
name: Leila
average rating: 3.06
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2015/10/04
date added: 2019/12/06
shelves: aliens, audio-books, cyborgs-robots-androids, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, paranormal-investigators, torchwood, big-finish
review:
I had a hard job getting into this one.

As well as the usual Torchwood crew (Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto) we have a new member - James. He's super talented, popular and really uninteresting. His presence also prevents any character development of the main cast. Ianto, gets hardly any time whatsoever. The only character who really comes into play in this one is Gwen who ditches Rhys and starts a passionate affair with James - now that's not out of character - I mean she does have an affair with Owen in the show - it's just again rather dull and we don't get enough reaction either from Rhys or the rest of Torchwood about the imprudence of such a liaison

I could cope with lack of character if the story was gripping - but it's not - it' all over the place. We begin with an alien artefact that drives people mad and turns out to be a 4 dimensional puzzle that has little to do with anything. Then we have another mysterious artefact in Torchwood's possession that has remained inert since Victorian times and has suddenly started making noises so there's a fruitless investigation into that. There's also an alien mechanized soldier which is unearthed, a salesman using an alien artefact to pull off confidence tricks as well as a parallel storyline about alien Mr. Dines who is some sort of bodyguard. Most of these strands are unrelated - The mech, the confidence trickster and the puzzle - are completely unrelated to anything. It makes this very disjointed. Indeed I really lost interest in the middle of this one.

The ending, is actually not bad but it is too little too late, because the rest of the story isn't particularly good to do justice to the twist. Eve Myles reads this but again, not my favourite narrator, she doesn't have the animation of some of the male cast members - or perhaps it's just the heavy Welsh accent I find less engaging.

Overall this one's OK but there are far better Torchwood stories out there.
]]> 25084892
The Turing Test by Simon Guerrier
Starring Paul Darrow as Avon and Michael Keating as Vila
Avon and Vila go undercover at a top secret research establishment.]]> Simon Guerrier Leila 5
So Avon poses as an android and Vila his creator in order to infiltrate a bunch of scientists who are working on creating (basically Cylons) for the Federation. Here Avon encounters 14, a female android almost as human as he is machine, and he is moved to rescue her only the scientists have built in a fail safe that means she'll die if she leaves the complex.

Avon fans are not going to want to miss this one. Paul Darrow has a voice I could listen to forever and he is on top form as the main narrator here - Michael Keating is also great as Vila - although his role isn't as integral, this story really is all about Avon. Like 'Rumours of Death' this one is beautifully tragic and really deepens Avon's character.

Excellent story, superb narration, I really can't fault this one.]]> 4.24 2011
author: Simon Guerrier
name: Leila
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/15
date added: 2019/12/06
shelves: audio-books, cyborgs-robots-androids, blakes-7, favourite-audio-books, sci-fi, space-opera, tv-tie-in, human-robot-romance, big-finish
review:
In Blake's 7 Avon is referred to as a machine and prizes logic very highly indeed. This Story runs with that idea mixing in the Turing Test which asks whether a robot could fool someone into thinking it's a woman.

So Avon poses as an android and Vila his creator in order to infiltrate a bunch of scientists who are working on creating (basically Cylons) for the Federation. Here Avon encounters 14, a female android almost as human as he is machine, and he is moved to rescue her only the scientists have built in a fail safe that means she'll die if she leaves the complex.

Avon fans are not going to want to miss this one. Paul Darrow has a voice I could listen to forever and he is on top form as the main narrator here - Michael Keating is also great as Vila - although his role isn't as integral, this story really is all about Avon. Like 'Rumours of Death' this one is beautifully tragic and really deepens Avon's character.

Excellent story, superb narration, I really can't fault this one.
]]> 22368987
Jenna wants her revenge, but that must wait. Blake needs her to pilot the Liberator to Stellidar Four, where he has a small window of opportunity to solve the mystery of a new Federation device.

It’s a daring plan. And it could be the beginning of the end for the Liberator crew.]]> Peter Anghelides 1781782733 Leila 3
Jenna and Cally have a separate adventure on a different planet - going after the officer who killed Jenna's father which turns out to be a ploy by Travis.

The voice cast do a wonderful job and make the most of what is at best a mediocre story with far too many missed opportunities. Travis is superbly villainous and as much as I far prefer Stephen Grief in the role Brian Croucher does OK - with such a distinctive voice, he works well in audio and really gets a chance to shine in this story.

This one's still engaging and a fun B7 adventure, just a biy lacklustre after what has gone before.
Have Cold Fury on hand as this one leaves you on another clifhanger.]]> 3.95 2014
author: Peter Anghelides
name: Leila
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2019/10/09
date added: 2019/12/06
shelves: audio-books, blakes-7, cyborgs-robots-androids, sci-fi, space-opera, tv-tie-in, big-finish
review:
After the stunning Battleground/Drones I can't help feeling deeply disappointed with this 4th B7 audio. In terms of continuity it picks up the thread that the Federation have a computer to rival ORAC - FEDORAC and Blake and Avon go in search of it. I was so excited by this idea because the implications are terrifying. Sadly the pay off is really lame - Fedorac is nothing more than a mirror reflecting the information that Orac has sent through Federation channels. The idea of mirrors is further explored as Blake, Avon and Villa are subjected to a psychotropic drug on the automated planet. Blake sees Travis, Avon sees Blake and Villa meets himself - core idea here is awesome but again fails to live up to expectation. This part of the story relies heavily on technology that isn't explained in enough detail and the character elements just fall a bit flat.

Jenna and Cally have a separate adventure on a different planet - going after the officer who killed Jenna's father which turns out to be a ploy by Travis.

The voice cast do a wonderful job and make the most of what is at best a mediocre story with far too many missed opportunities. Travis is superbly villainous and as much as I far prefer Stephen Grief in the role Brian Croucher does OK - with such a distinctive voice, he works well in audio and really gets a chance to shine in this story.

This one's still engaging and a fun B7 adventure, just a biy lacklustre after what has gone before.
Have Cold Fury on hand as this one leaves you on another clifhanger.
]]> 38095506
Reviving the robot’s Kaldoran commander from hibernation, the travellers discover that they’ve found themselves in the middle of a civil war. The ship was hunting the Sons of Kaldor, an armed resistance group working with alien mercenaries to initiate regime change on their homeworld.

But now the Sons of Kaldor may have found them. The Doctor and Leela will have to pick a side. Or die.]]> Andrew Smith Leila 4
Absolutely adored this one. It's an excellent follow up to Robots of Death picking up lots of threads from the classic episode and taking things in new and interesting directions. The most interesting being the robots themselves - in ROD they are the villains and this completely turns that on its head as they become the unlikely heroes. The Founding Families have created an oppressive regime in Kaldor City very similar to the Federation in Blake's 7 - which ties in very nicely with the spin off audio series Kaldor City and has a very Chris Boucher feel.

It's a cracking story, well paced and with top notch production values. I like how we get a whole set of new characters in the ROD universe and this doesn't bring in Taren Capel (Humanity be in him) or Uvanov or any of the other original characters (not that I don't love them to bits, but we've seen them in Corpse Marker and Kaldor City so it's really great to get something fresh.) Rebben Tace is an excellent new villain and I liked poor Commander Lind and the new alien slave force that the sons of Kaldor are using instead of Robots.

This universe is so rich and there's a great deal of potential here to explore - the future of the evolved robots, the history of the founding families, what happened to make them switch to robots.

Fans of Robots of Death are really going to love this one. I was highly impressed with it. ]]> 3.85 2018
author: Andrew Smith
name: Leila
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/12/03
date added: 2019/12/06
shelves: audio-books, favourite-audio-books, ai, chris-boucher-universe, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, 4th-doctor, big-finish
review:
This 'sequel' to Robots of Death has The Doctor (Tom Baker) and Leela land on a grounded airship outside Kaldor City. There has been a revolution in Kaldor City and a faction of humans descended from the 20 founding families calling themselves 'The Sons of Kaldor' have taken power and are hunting down and killing all robots. The airship was damaged in a skirmish and the human crew all killed except the captain who is in suspended animation, leaving the robots to run the show. On their own they have adapted and become sentient and definitely don't want to die at the hands of the zealous sons of Kaldor.

Absolutely adored this one. It's an excellent follow up to Robots of Death picking up lots of threads from the classic episode and taking things in new and interesting directions. The most interesting being the robots themselves - in ROD they are the villains and this completely turns that on its head as they become the unlikely heroes. The Founding Families have created an oppressive regime in Kaldor City very similar to the Federation in Blake's 7 - which ties in very nicely with the spin off audio series Kaldor City and has a very Chris Boucher feel.

It's a cracking story, well paced and with top notch production values. I like how we get a whole set of new characters in the ROD universe and this doesn't bring in Taren Capel (Humanity be in him) or Uvanov or any of the other original characters (not that I don't love them to bits, but we've seen them in Corpse Marker and Kaldor City so it's really great to get something fresh.) Rebben Tace is an excellent new villain and I liked poor Commander Lind and the new alien slave force that the sons of Kaldor are using instead of Robots.

This universe is so rich and there's a great deal of potential here to explore - the future of the evolved robots, the history of the founding families, what happened to make them switch to robots.

Fans of Robots of Death are really going to love this one. I was highly impressed with it.
]]> 18666118




The only other people who know the truth are the three survivors from that Sandminer - and now they are being picked off one by one. The twisted genius behind that massacre is dead, but someone is developing a new, deadlier breed of robots. This time, unless the Doctor and Leela can stop them, they really will destroy the world.





An adventure featuring the Fourth Doctor, as played by Tom Baker, and his companion Leela]]> 288 Chris Boucher 1849907595 Leila 2
The plot is very involved and convoluted and if you have little knowledge of Robots of Death and the concept of a psycho-strategist then this is going to make no sense whatsoever. It is not a DW adventure you can pick up and enjoy as a general fan and indeed it fails utterly as a stand alone. It is very much an episode of the larger multi-media whole (TV: Robots of Death/B7 Weapon, Audio Books: Kaldor City).

The narrative structure is ghastly. We follow 7 separate sets of different characters - The Doctor/Leela and her new ally Padil/Poul/Uvanov/Toos/Carnell/Robot SASV1 and we have a multitude of minor characters as well, various techs, members of the 20 aristocratic families, and a load of anti-robot rebels - trying to juggle the cast as we weave back and forth between the different stands is a nightmare. This reads like a screenplay - there's very little description and we get loads of cut scenes - we'll leave characters and then rejoin them somewhere else and you have to infer a great deal. (eg we leave the Doctor and Con being hemmed in by robots at one point and Con breaks the nose of their master. Next time we see them the Doctor and Con are in a cage.... eh? You just have to imagine the scene in between). You'll also in some cases get explanation after the fact - like there being a trap in a docking bay laid for Poul yet we only learn later on why the robots assumed he was going to be there.

The plot itself is over-complicated and unsatisfying. Part of this is down to the dreadful structure and writing style but the story itself is also problematic - I had so many questions I kept a notebook on hand and of my 10 questions I had by the end of the novel, only 3 were really answered. You also have so many different secret agents, conspiracies and betrayals that you question every single character's loyalties - so as well as keeping track of the characters themselves you're also trying to work out who's working for whom and what their motivations are. Great in an ongoing series. In a novel... MAJOR HEADACHE! And I have to say that with many of the minor characters... I just didn't care. It's like oh so this minor aristo's a villain.... oh ok.

As well as awkward writing, the editing is poor and really gets bad towards the end as if the editor didn't even bother with the last couple of chapters. Carnell becomes Carnel, Camel and even Capel/Cappell in a couple of instances (which is another character entirely) It set me to giggle every time he's referred to as Camel.

Such a shame because the premise and source material are amazing. I also have to give this credit for superb characterisation and some excellent dialogue.

This also evokes the Robots of Death setting remarkably well. I love the universe and tensions and this also brings out lots of Boucher's signature themes:
�� The fallibility of human memory
�� Fear of Technology
�� Paranoia, secret agents, spies and mistrust
�� Aristocracy vs the herd
�� Psycho-strategist, puppet-masters, conspiracy & manipulation
�� Population control and suppression
�� Robot with a split personality (like in DW: Face of Evil)


I also like some of the role-reversals here -
Uvanov working with robots
Taren Capel being the god of the anti-robot rebels
The Doctor being mistaken for Taren Capel

If you are a really in depth Who geek who knows the source material then you are really going to appreciate this one, even if the narrative is all over the place, character and world building are top notch. If you just fancy picking up a random Who novel however, this really is not a good one to go for.]]> 3.33 1999
author: Chris Boucher
name: Leila
average rating: 3.33
book published: 1999
rating: 2
read at: 2019/10/30
date added: 2019/12/06
shelves: blakes-7, crossovers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, how-did-this-get-published, sci-fi, time-travel, tv-tie-in, technology-horror, chris-boucher-universe, 4th-doctor
review:
Now I'm a massive fan of both Doctor Who and Blake's 7 and Chris Boucher's TV work in particular. I think Robots of Death is a masterpiece so you can imagine my excitement at a sequel, written by Boucher and bringing in Blake's 7 elements (here the character of Psycho-Strategist Carnell from the B7 episode 'Weapon' and the hint that the world here is part of the B7 wider universe). However I can't help being rather disappointed with the result.

The plot is very involved and convoluted and if you have little knowledge of Robots of Death and the concept of a psycho-strategist then this is going to make no sense whatsoever. It is not a DW adventure you can pick up and enjoy as a general fan and indeed it fails utterly as a stand alone. It is very much an episode of the larger multi-media whole (TV: Robots of Death/B7 Weapon, Audio Books: Kaldor City).

The narrative structure is ghastly. We follow 7 separate sets of different characters - The Doctor/Leela and her new ally Padil/Poul/Uvanov/Toos/Carnell/Robot SASV1 and we have a multitude of minor characters as well, various techs, members of the 20 aristocratic families, and a load of anti-robot rebels - trying to juggle the cast as we weave back and forth between the different stands is a nightmare. This reads like a screenplay - there's very little description and we get loads of cut scenes - we'll leave characters and then rejoin them somewhere else and you have to infer a great deal. (eg we leave the Doctor and Con being hemmed in by robots at one point and Con breaks the nose of their master. Next time we see them the Doctor and Con are in a cage.... eh? You just have to imagine the scene in between). You'll also in some cases get explanation after the fact - like there being a trap in a docking bay laid for Poul yet we only learn later on why the robots assumed he was going to be there.

The plot itself is over-complicated and unsatisfying. Part of this is down to the dreadful structure and writing style but the story itself is also problematic - I had so many questions I kept a notebook on hand and of my 10 questions I had by the end of the novel, only 3 were really answered. You also have so many different secret agents, conspiracies and betrayals that you question every single character's loyalties - so as well as keeping track of the characters themselves you're also trying to work out who's working for whom and what their motivations are. Great in an ongoing series. In a novel... MAJOR HEADACHE! And I have to say that with many of the minor characters... I just didn't care. It's like oh so this minor aristo's a villain.... oh ok.

As well as awkward writing, the editing is poor and really gets bad towards the end as if the editor didn't even bother with the last couple of chapters. Carnell becomes Carnel, Camel and even Capel/Cappell in a couple of instances (which is another character entirely) It set me to giggle every time he's referred to as Camel.

Such a shame because the premise and source material are amazing. I also have to give this credit for superb characterisation and some excellent dialogue.

This also evokes the Robots of Death setting remarkably well. I love the universe and tensions and this also brings out lots of Boucher's signature themes:
�� The fallibility of human memory
�� Fear of Technology
�� Paranoia, secret agents, spies and mistrust
�� Aristocracy vs the herd
�� Psycho-strategist, puppet-masters, conspiracy & manipulation
�� Population control and suppression
�� Robot with a split personality (like in DW: Face of Evil)


I also like some of the role-reversals here -
Uvanov working with robots
Taren Capel being the god of the anti-robot rebels
The Doctor being mistaken for Taren Capel

If you are a really in depth Who geek who knows the source material then you are really going to appreciate this one, even if the narrative is all over the place, character and world building are top notch. If you just fancy picking up a random Who novel however, this really is not a good one to go for.
]]> 23482843




The Doctor and Leela arrive on the planet Kaldor, where they find a society dependent on benign and obedient robots. But they have faced these robots before, on a huge Sandminer in the Kaldor desert, and know they are not always harmless servants��





The only other people who know the truth are the three survivors from that Sandminer �� and now they are being picked off one by one. The twisted genius behind that massacre is dead, but someone is developing a new, deadlier breed of robots. This time, unless the Doctor and Leela can stop them, they really will destroy the world…]]> Chris Boucher 1785290479 Leila 3
This is still an overly complex plot with far too many characters, not enough story and a lame pay off. However the audio version really helps bring this alive hence the extra star.

World building and character are excellent and I love the widening of the Robots of Death microcosm to include Kaldor City and of course the hint that it is part of the Blake's 7 universe.

I struggled a bit with the Carnell sections, it's really not until the end when his plot is revealed that you finally understand what's going on - but I didn't feel his character came across strongly enough. Or maybe it's just he's overshadowed by The Doctor, Leela, Toos, Uvanov, Poul, Con, Padil who are more easily accessible.

I have to wonder if this would have worked better as a full cast radio drama, however it's still well worth a listen for Robots of Death and Kaldor City fans. ]]> 3.09 1999
author: Chris Boucher
name: Leila
average rating: 3.09
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/12/06
shelves: audio-books, blakes-7, crossovers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, sci-fi, time-travel, tv-tie-in, technology-horror, chris-boucher-universe, 4th-doctor
review:
David Collings (Chief Mover Poul) reads Chris Boucher's sequel to Robots of Death. He does a pretty decent job with the material and being audio this gets rid of all the editorial mistakes to be found in the novel itself.

This is still an overly complex plot with far too many characters, not enough story and a lame pay off. However the audio version really helps bring this alive hence the extra star.

World building and character are excellent and I love the widening of the Robots of Death microcosm to include Kaldor City and of course the hint that it is part of the Blake's 7 universe.

I struggled a bit with the Carnell sections, it's really not until the end when his plot is revealed that you finally understand what's going on - but I didn't feel his character came across strongly enough. Or maybe it's just he's overshadowed by The Doctor, Leela, Toos, Uvanov, Poul, Con, Padil who are more easily accessible.

I have to wonder if this would have worked better as a full cast radio drama, however it's still well worth a listen for Robots of Death and Kaldor City fans.
]]> 1491713 168 Ron Goulart 0425086844 Leila 2
So here I am expecting a sexy pulp romp about a buxom and deadly space pirate - something like Raven or Silverglass in space. Alas from the first page I'm disappointed... because Galaxy Jane isn't even a minor character, she's not in this at all! The connection is that a film is being made about the sexy space pirate.

The story itself follows hack journalist Jack Summer and the wannabe reporter Vicky who just happens to be the bosses daughter. They are on the film set investigating rumours of the smuggling of zombium (the galaxy's drug of choice).

The story is very poor and the ending rushed. The characters are cardboard and predictable. The writing is very sparse too which hardly helps - there's barely any description and nothing is explained. This is a world peopled with animal like aliens but other than naming them: catmen, apemen, lizardmen, toadmen, birdmen and the odd one off reference to fur or feathers you don't get any description at all. This feels like a script - which would be acceptable if this was the novelization of a movie but it isn't and sorry but describing an explosion as "Kaboom! Kachow! Karoom! Whump! Whump!" might be ok in comics or script but not in a novel.

Really disappointed with this in almost every respect. Thank goodness it has a lightening pace and is blessedly short.]]> 3.02 1986
author: Ron Goulart
name: Leila
average rating: 3.02
book published: 1986
rating: 2
read at: 2015/05/18
date added: 2019/11/30
shelves: cyborgs-robots-androids, comedy, galactic-girls, pulp-fiction, sci-fi, sf-comedy, aliens, boris-vallejo-cover, animal-people, movie-or-tv-set
review:
They say never judge a book by its cover and never was a truer word spoken when reading Galaxy Jane. Hands up, I admit it, I bought this one for the gorgeous Boris Vallejo cover art and the title Galaxy Jane - BV being one of my favourite artists and Barbarella my favourite film, the fact that it's written by Ron Goulart (vampirella, Battle Star Galactica) surely didn't hurt.

So here I am expecting a sexy pulp romp about a buxom and deadly space pirate - something like Raven or Silverglass in space. Alas from the first page I'm disappointed... because Galaxy Jane isn't even a minor character, she's not in this at all! The connection is that a film is being made about the sexy space pirate.

The story itself follows hack journalist Jack Summer and the wannabe reporter Vicky who just happens to be the bosses daughter. They are on the film set investigating rumours of the smuggling of zombium (the galaxy's drug of choice).

The story is very poor and the ending rushed. The characters are cardboard and predictable. The writing is very sparse too which hardly helps - there's barely any description and nothing is explained. This is a world peopled with animal like aliens but other than naming them: catmen, apemen, lizardmen, toadmen, birdmen and the odd one off reference to fur or feathers you don't get any description at all. This feels like a script - which would be acceptable if this was the novelization of a movie but it isn't and sorry but describing an explosion as "Kaboom! Kachow! Karoom! Whump! Whump!" might be ok in comics or script but not in a novel.

Really disappointed with this in almost every respect. Thank goodness it has a lightening pace and is blessedly short.
]]> 12386009
Strange times have come to Kaldor City. A long-vanished prophet speaks again; a plot is uncovered hinting at corruption among the Founding Families. Even the robots on which the city depends might hold secrets that no one dares imagine.

Carnell must pit himself against an unseen adversary in a game which may bring him face to face with the dead...

Kaldor City: Taren Capel uses the characters, situations and settings that appear in Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker to tell a sinister tale of awakening evil.]]> Alan Stevens Leila 4
It's incredibly involved, and you need to have a good knowledge of the source material (Robots of Death, Corpse Marker, the previous Kaldor City audios and Blake's 7 Weapon) but if you do, you'll really appreciate the excellent writing and plotting, weaving all the characters and threads together.

So Iago finally makes his move against Carnell. I particularly like the chess imagery in this one - Carnell has programmed a Voc 31 with Taren Capel's profile and plays chess against him - the game mirroring all the strategies and characters in the series.

Whilst this one is pretty plot heavy there are some nice character moments - Justina going to Carnell for romantic advice (she's in love with Iago and wants him to love her in return) and Cotton (the wonderful Brian Croucher) who gets to arrest Landerchild. And lets not forget Iago/Uvanov - I do so love how they try and manipulate each other.

Definitely not a stand alone, at first I found this one a bit less interesting than the earlier tales but by the end it really comes into its own.

Recommended. ]]> 3.78 2003
author: Alan Stevens
name: Leila
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/13
date added: 2019/11/20
shelves: assassins, audio-books, blakes-7, cool-criminals, crime, crossovers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, dystopian-future, favourite-audio-books, sci-fi, signed-by-author-or-cast, tv-tie-in, villain-antihero-protagonist, chris-boucher-universe
review:
This 4th Kaldor City audio is a worthy sequel to Doctor Who: Robots of Death, detailing the second phase of Taren Capel's plan. OMG does this end on a mighty cliff-hanger so have 'Checkmate' on hand!

It's incredibly involved, and you need to have a good knowledge of the source material (Robots of Death, Corpse Marker, the previous Kaldor City audios and Blake's 7 Weapon) but if you do, you'll really appreciate the excellent writing and plotting, weaving all the characters and threads together.

So Iago finally makes his move against Carnell. I particularly like the chess imagery in this one - Carnell has programmed a Voc 31 with Taren Capel's profile and plays chess against him - the game mirroring all the strategies and characters in the series.

Whilst this one is pretty plot heavy there are some nice character moments - Justina going to Carnell for romantic advice (she's in love with Iago and wants him to love her in return) and Cotton (the wonderful Brian Croucher) who gets to arrest Landerchild. And lets not forget Iago/Uvanov - I do so love how they try and manipulate each other.

Definitely not a stand alone, at first I found this one a bit less interesting than the earlier tales but by the end it really comes into its own.

Recommended.
]]> 12385965
Kaldor: A city of robots on a world of robots. The Board runs the Company, and the Company runs the planet. Nothing happens in Kaldor City without the Board’s approval. So how come its members are dying?

Company Chairholder Uvanov is faced with an escalating problem: political allies and enemies are being killed and nobody knows who will be next or why. Even Carnell, the ex-Federation psycho-strategist, is at a loss to provide an explanation.

One man may hold the answers-- a man who crossed the border into Kaldor City six hours ago: Kaston Iago, a man with a past and maybe an agenda. A man with the skills to set everything right.

Kaldor City - Occam's Razor uses characters and concepts from Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker to tell a dark, aggressive tale of ultraviolence and political intrigue.]]> Alan Stevens Leila 4
So we're in the DW: Robots of Death Universe, generally speaking after Chris Boucher's sequel novel Corpse Marker (well Uvanov is Firstmaster Chairholder now. However you really do have to ignore the fact that Carnell was defeated and absconded with tail between his legs and just imagine he's back working for Uvanov.) The planet is an isolated world, in the wider Blake's 7 universe and we have to assume that the Company is, if not 'officially' run by the Federation, at least infiltrated by Federation personnel. In B7 terms I guess this is likely after the last series and you have to imagine Avon survived, absconded to Kaldor City, changed his identity to Kaston Iago and became an assassin.

So in keeping with Robots of Death, this is another murder mystery with Uvanov at the heart. Bodies of key board members (of the 20 ruling families) are turning up dead in front of Uvanov (one on his desk, another sent to him through the post....) He turns to psycho-strategist Carnell to help him solve the case. The obvious suspect is assassin Iago (Paul Darrow) who happens to be on holiday in Kaldor City. However after Uvanov's military fail to bring him in, Iago confronts Uvanov privately and tells him he's innocent. He offers to help solve the case. You then get this tense rivalry between Carnell and Iago as the body count rises and they try and work out whodunnit.

The highlight of this is the interplay between Carnell and Iago. I love how they constantly try and out plot each other. Darrow is amazing as Iago, not only does he have a voice I could listen to forever and razor sharp dialogue, but his suave and cynical character is like Avon... only Avon gone to the bad which is how you imagine the character might well have gone after events in the last episode.

The voice cast do a superb job with this and the dialogue is brilliant. It is very dialogue heavy and less reliant on special effects as many of the other Blake's 7 and Who audios. I don't think that's a bad thing but it does take a little while to get into.

It's rather refreshing that although this is set in the Robots of Death universe the story doesn't really centre around robots at all but very human characters and motivations. This also brings out lots of Boucher's signature themes:
�� People not being who they seem
�� Assassins
�� Paranoia, secret agents, spies and mistrust
�� Aristocracy vs the herd
�� Psycho-strategist, puppet-masters, conspiracy & manipulation
�� Population control and suppression

Really looking forward to the rest of this series. I loved this one.]]> 3.67 2001
author: Alan Stevens
name: Leila
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/08
date added: 2019/11/20
shelves: audio-books, blakes-7, crossovers, cyborgs-robots-androids, crime, favourite-audio-books, dr-who, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, villain-antihero-protagonist, signed-by-author-or-cast, murderers-serial-killers, assassins, cool-criminals, dystopian-future, plot-twists, chris-boucher-universe
review:
If you're a Blake's 7 and Dr Who fan - the Kaldor City audios are an absolute treat.

So we're in the DW: Robots of Death Universe, generally speaking after Chris Boucher's sequel novel Corpse Marker (well Uvanov is Firstmaster Chairholder now. However you really do have to ignore the fact that Carnell was defeated and absconded with tail between his legs and just imagine he's back working for Uvanov.) The planet is an isolated world, in the wider Blake's 7 universe and we have to assume that the Company is, if not 'officially' run by the Federation, at least infiltrated by Federation personnel. In B7 terms I guess this is likely after the last series and you have to imagine Avon survived, absconded to Kaldor City, changed his identity to Kaston Iago and became an assassin.

So in keeping with Robots of Death, this is another murder mystery with Uvanov at the heart. Bodies of key board members (of the 20 ruling families) are turning up dead in front of Uvanov (one on his desk, another sent to him through the post....) He turns to psycho-strategist Carnell to help him solve the case. The obvious suspect is assassin Iago (Paul Darrow) who happens to be on holiday in Kaldor City. However after Uvanov's military fail to bring him in, Iago confronts Uvanov privately and tells him he's innocent. He offers to help solve the case. You then get this tense rivalry between Carnell and Iago as the body count rises and they try and work out whodunnit.

The highlight of this is the interplay between Carnell and Iago. I love how they constantly try and out plot each other. Darrow is amazing as Iago, not only does he have a voice I could listen to forever and razor sharp dialogue, but his suave and cynical character is like Avon... only Avon gone to the bad which is how you imagine the character might well have gone after events in the last episode.

The voice cast do a superb job with this and the dialogue is brilliant. It is very dialogue heavy and less reliant on special effects as many of the other Blake's 7 and Who audios. I don't think that's a bad thing but it does take a little while to get into.

It's rather refreshing that although this is set in the Robots of Death universe the story doesn't really centre around robots at all but very human characters and motivations. This also brings out lots of Boucher's signature themes:
�� People not being who they seem
�� Assassins
�� Paranoia, secret agents, spies and mistrust
�� Aristocracy vs the herd
�� Psycho-strategist, puppet-masters, conspiracy & manipulation
�� Population control and suppression

Really looking forward to the rest of this series. I loved this one.
]]> 12385976
Someone is spinning a web. Links are forming between one man's need for violence and another's desire for power; a desert ore processing station and a long dead enemy of the state. Someone, maybe everyone, is being manipulated. Carnell is the obvious culprit, but who is the psycho-strategist working for, and what could their motive possibly be?

Kaldor City - Death's Head uses the characters, situations and settings that appear in Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker, to tell a complex tale of sex, money and death.]]> Chris Boucher Leila 4
An assassin tries to kill Uvanov with the skull of Taren Capel coated in poison. The plot fails because the assassin gets poisoned himself before Uvanov touches the skull. He thought he was safe having taken an antidote only to find that he's been betrayed. Uvanov's bodyguard, assassin Kason Iago (the awesome Paul Darrow) offers to investigate, but Uvanov feels he may be compromised since he's screwing his PA, the woman who let the poisoner in....

Character on this is brilliant and there are some razor sharp lines of dialogue. Paul Darrow steals the show, but then when doesn't he? Kaston Iago, (Imagine if Avon was a villain) is such a great character, smart, suave manipulative and deadly. I love conversation where Uvanov reveals Iago has placed a bug in the hair of his lover, PA Justina - when questioned about the possibility of her brushing it out, he says deadpan, "I didn't say it was on her head...." you just think OMG you calculating bastard!

The rest of the voice cast are good too - I love Brian Croucher as Cotton, probably far more than I ever loved him as Travis (I always thought Stephen Grief had better presence) but as the somewhat dim but ever amusing Cotton, Croucher does a great job. The introduction of far too bright Blayes is cool also, I hope she appears in subsequent stories.

The structure on this one's a little odd, with Carnell like a Greek Chorus. I think I'd have preferred him more involved in the action although it does kind of work and certainly ties in very well with the ending as you finally discover just how many strategies are in play.

I'm not sure how this works as a stand alone or if you're unfamiliar with the source material, however if you're a huge B7 and Who geek, this series is like a dream come true. It's super involved with quite twisted and brilliant characters trying to outmanoeuvre each other.

Highly recommended. ]]> 3.58 2002
author: Chris Boucher
name: Leila
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/10
date added: 2019/11/20
shelves: assassins, audio-books, blakes-7, cool-criminals, crime, crossovers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, dystopian-future, favourite-audio-books, murderers-serial-killers, sci-fi, signed-by-author-or-cast, tv-tie-in, villain-antihero-protagonist, chris-boucher-universe
review:
While perhaps not as tight in terms of plot as Occam's Razor there's still a huge amount to praise in this second Dr.Who (Robots of Death)/Blake's 7 (Weapon) crossover audio.

An assassin tries to kill Uvanov with the skull of Taren Capel coated in poison. The plot fails because the assassin gets poisoned himself before Uvanov touches the skull. He thought he was safe having taken an antidote only to find that he's been betrayed. Uvanov's bodyguard, assassin Kason Iago (the awesome Paul Darrow) offers to investigate, but Uvanov feels he may be compromised since he's screwing his PA, the woman who let the poisoner in....

Character on this is brilliant and there are some razor sharp lines of dialogue. Paul Darrow steals the show, but then when doesn't he? Kaston Iago, (Imagine if Avon was a villain) is such a great character, smart, suave manipulative and deadly. I love conversation where Uvanov reveals Iago has placed a bug in the hair of his lover, PA Justina - when questioned about the possibility of her brushing it out, he says deadpan, "I didn't say it was on her head...." you just think OMG you calculating bastard!

The rest of the voice cast are good too - I love Brian Croucher as Cotton, probably far more than I ever loved him as Travis (I always thought Stephen Grief had better presence) but as the somewhat dim but ever amusing Cotton, Croucher does a great job. The introduction of far too bright Blayes is cool also, I hope she appears in subsequent stories.

The structure on this one's a little odd, with Carnell like a Greek Chorus. I think I'd have preferred him more involved in the action although it does kind of work and certainly ties in very well with the ending as you finally discover just how many strategies are in play.

I'm not sure how this works as a stand alone or if you're unfamiliar with the source material, however if you're a huge B7 and Who geek, this series is like a dream come true. It's super involved with quite twisted and brilliant characters trying to outmanoeuvre each other.

Highly recommended.
]]> 12385996
Terrorism is on the increase and-- amidst a media frenzy-- hostages are being taken. The Church of Taren Capel are fighting back and nobody in Kaldor City is safe. Who is behind the cult's remarkable success, and what is their next target? Most importantly, when it comes to politics, who really has the most to gain?

Kaldor City - Hidden Persuaders uses characters and themes that appear in Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker to tell a gripping tale of corruption and media manipulation.]]> Jim Smith Leila 4
Weakest thing about this one is the plot and trying to get your head around who's working for whom. Just who's side is Blayes really on? I'm still uncertain... Uvanov believes she's working for him, Landerchild thinks she's working for him, the Tarenists think she's working with them and behind it all.... psycho-strategist Carnell though he definitely seems to be slipping....

The highlight is character (and performance). Massive Paul Darrow fan and he is awesome here. Iago's interaction with Uvanov is priceless - I love the scene where he asks for leave of absence for compassionate leave and Uvanov calls him the least compassionate man he's ever met:

"You'd shoot an orphan in the face to win at musical chairs during a children's tea party"

Brian Croucher is at his funniest yet as Cotton follows Iago's schedule to the letter - which happens to include screwing Justina (for at least 30 minutes) - Her reaction when she opens the door and finds Cotton is comedy gold.

It's astonishing how sympathetic Iago is as a character - I mean this guy shoots innocent hostages, goes awol to assassinate someone who's pissed him off, has sex pencilled into his daily schedule and yet.... you can't help but root for him. Partly it's the voice and maybe a little bleed through from Avon - but it's also his wit and ruthlessness pitted against the villainy of the other characters. Writing is excellent!

If you like character, dialogue, dark intrigue and manipulation you should definitely check out this series. It is super involved but personally I loved it. ]]> 3.53 2002
author: Jim Smith
name: Leila
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/11
date added: 2019/11/20
shelves: audio-books, assassins, blakes-7, cool-criminals, crossovers, crime, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, favourite-audio-books, sci-fi, tv-tie-in, dystopian-future, signed-by-author-or-cast, villain-antihero-protagonist, chris-boucher-universe
review:
So in terms of timeline, this one's a direct sequel to Chris Boucher's Robots of Death sequel novel 'Corpse Marker' - We begin with Uvanov & Landerchild attending the funeral of ex-First-master Pitter, and neither seem too cut up about it. The main plot centres around Blayes (whom we met in Death's Head) she's defected it would seem and has joined a band of Tarenist terrorists about to attack an oxygen plant. Uvanov is further hindered by the fact that he's had to take on Cotton (Brian Croucher) as his bodyguard whilst Iago takes a leave of absence, ostensibly to visit his sick mother....

Weakest thing about this one is the plot and trying to get your head around who's working for whom. Just who's side is Blayes really on? I'm still uncertain... Uvanov believes she's working for him, Landerchild thinks she's working for him, the Tarenists think she's working with them and behind it all.... psycho-strategist Carnell though he definitely seems to be slipping....

The highlight is character (and performance). Massive Paul Darrow fan and he is awesome here. Iago's interaction with Uvanov is priceless - I love the scene where he asks for leave of absence for compassionate leave and Uvanov calls him the least compassionate man he's ever met:

"You'd shoot an orphan in the face to win at musical chairs during a children's tea party"

Brian Croucher is at his funniest yet as Cotton follows Iago's schedule to the letter - which happens to include screwing Justina (for at least 30 minutes) - Her reaction when she opens the door and finds Cotton is comedy gold.

It's astonishing how sympathetic Iago is as a character - I mean this guy shoots innocent hostages, goes awol to assassinate someone who's pissed him off, has sex pencilled into his daily schedule and yet.... you can't help but root for him. Partly it's the voice and maybe a little bleed through from Avon - but it's also his wit and ruthlessness pitted against the villainy of the other characters. Writing is excellent!

If you like character, dialogue, dark intrigue and manipulation you should definitely check out this series. It is super involved but personally I loved it.
]]> 12388044
Eighteen months after her final confrontation with Iago, Blayes awakes to find Kaldor City in quarantine and herself on a Storm Mine in the Blind Heart Desert. Her companions are three strangely familiar figures, a vengeful spirit -- and a robot with a dangerous secret.

Trapped in a claustrophobic, dreamlike environment, the former terrorist must now undertake a journey which may end in the destruction of her world... or its beginning.

Kaldor City - Storm Mine uses characters and concepts from Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker to tell a mindbending tale of discovery and transformation.]]> Daniel O'Mahony Leila 1
So it's set 18 months after Checkmate. Blayes wakes up on a storm mine with no idea how she got there. Everything's off - firstly she should be dead (although Checkmate doesn't say that conclusively so maybe she survived) she's never visited a storm mine, the crew look and sound familiar but aren't Uvanov, Toos, Poul etc... but like dream versions of them. Iago her murderer is with her and yet nobody else can see/hear him.... As Blayes (and the audience) try and work out what's going on and who's telling the truth the story moves to some form of evolution but like everything else is so ambiguous it could mean anything. The whole thing seems to centre around the subtle difference between the phrase 'we are all in this together or we need to pull together' -

So the most plausible theory is that Blayes is inside the Fendahl Gestault and this is all a construct leading to her (and thus humanity's) final assimilation? And perhaps Iago is a representation of ego and trying to subvert this. There's loads of eastern mysticism and philosophy references - the fact that the storm mine repeats in a figure eight loop (symbol of infinity) :

"When you set out upon a journey, kill everyone you happen upon: kill your friends and your parents and your children, should you meet them on the road. Kill the topmasters, the firstmasters, and the holy men; only that way can you become free. Only when you have killed everyone will you become truly enlightened." Almost word for word the teaching of Zen Master Linji Yixuan ( If you meet your parents, kill your parents. If you meet your kinfolk, kill your kinfolk. Then for the first time you will gain emancipation).

It would be so nice if this was as straightforward as that - but it isn't. I'm none the wiser whether this enlightenment is a good or bad thing. And we also have issues of evolution and the creation of AI.

There is so much packed in here and so much ambiguity that I don't think it's even possible to come up with a definitive interpretation. I really really struggled. I think what disappointed me most is the possibility of hope which is kind of the antithesis of what Checkmate seemed to imply - and as with the ending of Blake's 7 I just love Chris Boucher's sucker punch endings - so this philosophical mire in my opinion ruins what had been up to this point an amazing series. Paul Darrow makes this listenable and there's so much information relevant to the Kaldor City universe, useful for fan-fiction and heck just understanding the world here that despite being an incomprehensible mess does sadly make storm mine useful.

Overall though this truly made my head explode and I'm no closer to understanding that I was at the end of checkmate.
]]> 3.23 2004
author: Daniel O'Mahony
name: Leila
average rating: 3.23
book published: 2004
rating: 1
read at: 2019/11/19
date added: 2019/11/20
shelves: ai, allegorical, alternative-dimensions-realities, assassins, audio-books, blakes-7, crossovers, cyborgs-robots-androids, dr-who, dystopian-future, endings-i-don-t-understand, hell, philosophy, sci-fi, signed-by-author-or-cast, surreal, technology-horror, time-travel, tv-tie-in, weird, chris-boucher-universe, worms, eastern-mysticism
review:
Now I'm a massive fan of the other Kaldor City audios and the whole Chris Boucher universe - DW: Robots of Death/Image of the Fendahl/Blake's 7 - Weapon. Admittedly Checkmate got a bit weird towards the end but I loved the super dark ending and the inclusion of the Fendahl. Storm Mine however.... What the heck?!!! MY HEAD HURTS!!!!!

So it's set 18 months after Checkmate. Blayes wakes up on a storm mine with no idea how she got there. Everything's off - firstly she should be dead (although Checkmate doesn't say that conclusively so maybe she survived) she's never visited a storm mine, the crew look and sound familiar but aren't Uvanov, Toos, Poul etc... but like dream versions of them. Iago her murderer is with her and yet nobody else can see/hear him.... As Blayes (and the audience) try and work out what's going on and who's telling the truth the story moves to some form of evolution but like everything else is so ambiguous it could mean anything. The whole thing seems to centre around the subtle difference between the phrase 'we are all in this together or we need to pull together' -

So the most plausible theory is that Blayes is inside the Fendahl Gestault and this is all a construct leading to her (and thus humanity's) final assimilation? And perhaps Iago is a representation of ego and trying to subvert this. There's loads of eastern mysticism and philosophy references - the fact that the storm mine repeats in a figure eight loop (symbol of infinity) :

"When you set out upon a journey, kill everyone you happen upon: kill your friends and your parents and your children, should you meet them on the road. Kill the topmasters, the firstmasters, and the holy men; only that way can you become free. Only when you have killed everyone will you become truly enlightened." Almost word for word the teaching of Zen Master Linji Yixuan ( If you meet your parents, kill your parents. If you meet your kinfolk, kill your kinfolk. Then for the first time you will gain emancipation).

It would be so nice if this was as straightforward as that - but it isn't. I'm none the wiser whether this enlightenment is a good or bad thing. And we also have issues of evolution and the creation of AI.

There is so much packed in here and so much ambiguity that I don't think it's even possible to come up with a definitive interpretation. I really really struggled. I think what disappointed me most is the possibility of hope which is kind of the antithesis of what Checkmate seemed to imply - and as with the ending of Blake's 7 I just love Chris Boucher's sucker punch endings - so this philosophical mire in my opinion ruins what had been up to this point an amazing series. Paul Darrow makes this listenable and there's so much information relevant to the Kaldor City universe, useful for fan-fiction and heck just understanding the world here that despite being an incomprehensible mess does sadly make storm mine useful.

Overall though this truly made my head explode and I'm no closer to understanding that I was at the end of checkmate.

]]> 29967759 64 Unknown Leila 2
The features are all hard science space facts (based on available data from the 70's) and pathetically I could answer very few of the quiz questions, so that gives you an idea of the difficulty level here - The puzzles just aren't that fun, compared to the silliness of last volume. Again we get a simple boardgame at the back which has things like "Attack by Travis!" win advance. Which at least has a marginal B7 connection.

There are 5 illustrated stories:

�� Planet of No Escape
�� Museum Piece
�� Sabotage
�� A Task for Bondor
�� Red for Danger

Which are, while not great, at least in the spirit of the show and in which the characters are acting to type. The first two are probably the best - 'Planet of No Escape' has the crew going back to Cygnus Alpha to effect a jail break and I love how they actually get in the way. Museum Piece is also interesting - The crew are on the hunt for an information gathering satellite to stop it getting into the hands of the Federation. It gets found by robot archivists of a space museum and Avon & Blake get made into a tableaux there and have to be rescued. Nice idea even if not handled as well as it could be. Sabotage has Vila discover a couple of cryogenically frozen chemists specialising in making weapons. A Task for Bondor has Blake try and get a retired freedom fighter back into action and Red for Danger has the crew fall into another trap devised by Travis. Illustrations are serviceable but not great.

So this one's ultimately forgettable. The stories are fine, if abrupt, but honestly not that great. I feel a distinct lack of Servalan who, so integral to B7 is bizarrely absent. Other than the Federation guard on the back cover there are no photos from the show whatsoever, and there are no interviews/features or anything remotely connected to the cast or crew. Bit disappointing really.]]> 3.14 1979
author: Unknown
name: Leila
average rating: 3.14
book published: 1979
rating: 2
read at: 2019/10/17
date added: 2019/10/17
shelves: annual, anthologies, blakes-7, sci-fi, space-opera, tv-tie-in, cyborgs-robots-androids
review:
This 2nd Blake's 7 annual is more adult that the 1979 one and the stories are more in keeping with the show. However it's still not great.

The features are all hard science space facts (based on available data from the 70's) and pathetically I could answer very few of the quiz questions, so that gives you an idea of the difficulty level here - The puzzles just aren't that fun, compared to the silliness of last volume. Again we get a simple boardgame at the back which has things like "Attack by Travis!" win advance. Which at least has a marginal B7 connection.

There are 5 illustrated stories:

�� Planet of No Escape
�� Museum Piece
�� Sabotage
�� A Task for Bondor
�� Red for Danger

Which are, while not great, at least in the spirit of the show and in which the characters are acting to type. The first two are probably the best - 'Planet of No Escape' has the crew going back to Cygnus Alpha to effect a jail break and I love how they actually get in the way. Museum Piece is also interesting - The crew are on the hunt for an information gathering satellite to stop it getting into the hands of the Federation. It gets found by robot archivists of a space museum and Avon & Blake get made into a tableaux there and have to be rescued. Nice idea even if not handled as well as it could be. Sabotage has Vila discover a couple of cryogenically frozen chemists specialising in making weapons. A Task for Bondor has Blake try and get a retired freedom fighter back into action and Red for Danger has the crew fall into another trap devised by Travis. Illustrations are serviceable but not great.

So this one's ultimately forgettable. The stories are fine, if abrupt, but honestly not that great. I feel a distinct lack of Servalan who, so integral to B7 is bizarrely absent. Other than the Federation guard on the back cover there are no photos from the show whatsoever, and there are no interviews/features or anything remotely connected to the cast or crew. Bit disappointing really.
]]> 26715111 124 Alejandro Jodorowsky 1594651388 Leila 4
This features a variety of artists, styles and stories ranging from cautionary tales, philosophical fantasy to space satire. Loyal Khondor is one of the episodes used in the TV series and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. Loved the episode/story but Pascale Alixe's art isn't as good as some of the other pieces in here, I found the characters quite ugly.

Master of Destiny Is the other episode from the TV series and one of the highlights here - fabulous art by Adi Granov and a really fun sucker-punch ending.

My favourite though Is the first story Invasion - I have a huge weakness for SF featuring races of giant insects and I loved the plot twist and Igor Baranko's art.

The Guilt is really fun satire and I also liked the vampire tale Eucharist Sun.

If you like Heavy Metal Magazine and this type of European SF-Satire comics then Screaming Planet is a wonderful addition - even the weaker stories leave you thinking.]]> 3.28 2006
author: Alejandro Jodorowsky
name: Leila
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/15
date added: 2019/08/15
shelves: aliens, allegorical, anthologies, cyborgs-robots-androids, dreams, dystopian-future, european-comics, fantasy, graphic-novels, guys-with-wings, heavy-metal-magazine, dragons, cautionary-tales, insects, jodoverse, made-into-tv-series, metamorphosis, priests, princesses, psychics-precogs-seers-and-oracle, satire, sci-fi, vampire, vampire-graphic-novels, mutants
review:
Anthology of Jodorowsky's Metal Hurlant stories - The core of a planet becomes a screaming comet after it is forced to destroy its inhabitants - It's infinite sorrow touches a few sentient beings on various worlds as it passes by - Each of the stories features someone 'enlightened' by the comet.

This features a variety of artists, styles and stories ranging from cautionary tales, philosophical fantasy to space satire. Loyal Khondor is one of the episodes used in the TV series and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. Loved the episode/story but Pascale Alixe's art isn't as good as some of the other pieces in here, I found the characters quite ugly.

Master of Destiny Is the other episode from the TV series and one of the highlights here - fabulous art by Adi Granov and a really fun sucker-punch ending.

My favourite though Is the first story Invasion - I have a huge weakness for SF featuring races of giant insects and I loved the plot twist and Igor Baranko's art.

The Guilt is really fun satire and I also liked the vampire tale Eucharist Sun.

If you like Heavy Metal Magazine and this type of European SF-Satire comics then Screaming Planet is a wonderful addition - even the weaker stories leave you thinking.
]]> 525371 250 Saiko Takaki 1569708274 Leila 2
Takaki's art is a mixed bag - location and landscape are great but I'm not too keen on characters, particularly Doris who has been overtly sexualised - she's top heavy and really slutty, saying to D at one point "I don't care who has their way with me!" - although that's blatantly untrue since she doesn't want either Greco or Magnus! Really don't like her face with the dark ringed eyes.

D is OK but sadly will forever be compared to the original art of Yoshitaka Amano and found wanting. It lacks the ethereal quality and beauty.

I guess this does an admirable job of condensing the novel into graphic form, but due to the nature of the beast, things do happen VERY abruptly and absolutely nothing is explained. I found myself having to re-read panels to try and work things out.

This is easily the worst introduction to the world of D and indeed Kikuchi in general - I'm not sure how much sense it makes as a stand alone and it fails to capture all the pop culture references and quirkiness that I so love. If you love the anime.... or the novels, then this is useful as a refresher and it's not... terrible, but it is disjointed and focuses too much on action and not enough on character.]]> 4.10 2007
author: Saiko Takaki
name: Leila
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2019/08/15
date added: 2019/08/15
shelves: cyborgs-robots-androids, hideyuki-kikuchi, made-into-anime, manga, post-apocalyptic, vampire, vampire-films, vampire-hunters, vampire-manga, japan
review:
This manga adaptation of the first Hideyuki Kikuchi Vampire Hunter D novel is a bit of a hybrid of the book and the film. Some characters are vastly different however - Greco is hideous, Rei Ginsei has been given a complete pretty boy makeover.

Takaki's art is a mixed bag - location and landscape are great but I'm not too keen on characters, particularly Doris who has been overtly sexualised - she's top heavy and really slutty, saying to D at one point "I don't care who has their way with me!" - although that's blatantly untrue since she doesn't want either Greco or Magnus! Really don't like her face with the dark ringed eyes.

D is OK but sadly will forever be compared to the original art of Yoshitaka Amano and found wanting. It lacks the ethereal quality and beauty.

I guess this does an admirable job of condensing the novel into graphic form, but due to the nature of the beast, things do happen VERY abruptly and absolutely nothing is explained. I found myself having to re-read panels to try and work things out.

This is easily the worst introduction to the world of D and indeed Kikuchi in general - I'm not sure how much sense it makes as a stand alone and it fails to capture all the pop culture references and quirkiness that I so love. If you love the anime.... or the novels, then this is useful as a refresher and it's not... terrible, but it is disjointed and focuses too much on action and not enough on character.
]]> 25432022 160 John Wagner Leila 5
We also get two bonus stories - First, Escape from Atlantis, in which two organ-leggers try and make a break for it in the undersea complex of Atlantis, but they hadn't banked on Dredd's determination.

My personal favourite is the bitingly satirical "Bad Mother" Which takes on Big Brother/I'm a celebrity - 10 of the most annoying celebrities are sent to a camp in Mongolia where they have to vote each other off to be executed until Dredd crashes the party. All the celebs are easily recognizable and this one's absolutely brilliant.

Also included is a gallery of cover art and an essay on vigilantism in the Dredd universe.

After America this is my favourite Dredd anthology to date.]]> 4.00 2007
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2015/04/12
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, satire, dystopian-future
review:
The first two stories - Mandroid and Mandroid: Instrument of War look at the nature of vigilantism in the Mega City Universe - Slaughterhouse, injured in war is made into a cyborg. After his wife is kidnapped and his son murdered he becomes a vigilante and Dredd has to take him out. Like "America" this takes the tragedy of an ordinary family to tackle some really tough subjects - here what a fighting man does when the law fails him because its hands are tied. This is beautifully handled and we never lose sympathy with Slaughterhouse, because Dredd understands him.

We also get two bonus stories - First, Escape from Atlantis, in which two organ-leggers try and make a break for it in the undersea complex of Atlantis, but they hadn't banked on Dredd's determination.

My personal favourite is the bitingly satirical "Bad Mother" Which takes on Big Brother/I'm a celebrity - 10 of the most annoying celebrities are sent to a camp in Mongolia where they have to vote each other off to be executed until Dredd crashes the party. All the celebs are easily recognizable and this one's absolutely brilliant.

Also included is a gallery of cover art and an essay on vigilantism in the Dredd universe.

After America this is my favourite Dredd anthology to date.
]]> 26110069 - Beyond the Call of Duty (Progs 1101-1110)
- Return of the Assassin (Progs #1141-#1147)
- The Trial (Progs #1148-#150)
- Trial of Strength (Progs #1151-#1152)
- War Games (Progs #1153-#1159)
- Endgame (Progs #1160-#1164)]]> John Wagner Leila 4
The next three stories have Soviet agent Orlok return to take Dredd into custody to account for the genocide of East Meg 1 - Another great epic that really blurs the line of hero and villain with two very similar characters on opposite sides and Judge Anderson caught in the middle!

Wasn't so keen on the last story in this which has Nero Narcos take over Mega City with his army of mechs. The story is OK, but a very mixed bag of art, and some of it frankly hideous.

I'd probably only give the Necros stories 3/5, but the epic stories at the beginning of this deserve higher - Dredd at its most exciting and epic.

]]> 3.95 2015
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/16
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, graphic-novels, futuristic-law-enforcement, telepaths-empaths, dystopian-future
review:
Absolutely adored the 1st half of this. Beyond the call of Duty has DeMarco get a new promotion and request Dredd (on whom she has a major crush) to work the streets under her to help her settle in. This one's particularly strong and looks at the price of being a good judge.

The next three stories have Soviet agent Orlok return to take Dredd into custody to account for the genocide of East Meg 1 - Another great epic that really blurs the line of hero and villain with two very similar characters on opposite sides and Judge Anderson caught in the middle!

Wasn't so keen on the last story in this which has Nero Narcos take over Mega City with his army of mechs. The story is OK, but a very mixed bag of art, and some of it frankly hideous.

I'd probably only give the Necros stories 3/5, but the epic stories at the beginning of this deserve higher - Dredd at its most exciting and epic.


]]> 26150489 0 John Wagner Leila 4
The main story deals with surf champion Marlon 'Chopper' Shakespeare as he escapes from the ISO cubes of Meg-City to head to OZ for the 10th annual super surf championship. Dread hot on his heels.

Whilst Down Under Dredd discovers the Judda - A group of fanatical Judge clones - the private army of ex-Judge & geneticist Morton Judd.

I love the way these two strands weave together giving a multi-layered look at the notions of Justice and order.

Chopper is a wonderful expression of personal freedom and rebellion which contrasts with Old Stoneyface's Draconian I am the Law then he in turn is contrasted by the Judda who show the true meaning of extremism.

Can sum this one up in a single word. Epic. ]]> 4.23 2015
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/23
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, clones-doppelgangers, cyborgs-robots-androids, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, dystopian-future
review:
This is one of the more epic Judge Dredd Mega collection works containing one complete 25 instalment story: OZ.

The main story deals with surf champion Marlon 'Chopper' Shakespeare as he escapes from the ISO cubes of Meg-City to head to OZ for the 10th annual super surf championship. Dread hot on his heels.

Whilst Down Under Dredd discovers the Judda - A group of fanatical Judge clones - the private army of ex-Judge & geneticist Morton Judd.

I love the way these two strands weave together giving a multi-layered look at the notions of Justice and order.

Chopper is a wonderful expression of personal freedom and rebellion which contrasts with Old Stoneyface's Draconian I am the Law then he in turn is contrasted by the Judda who show the true meaning of extremism.

Can sum this one up in a single word. Epic.
]]> 25651362
Lone Wolf!

The far-eastern mega-metropolis of Hondo City os ruled as much by tradition as it is by Justice Department. Codes of honour still prevail, and none more so than in former Judge-Inspector Shimura - once an upright lawman, now he is ronin, a masterless outcast, rejecting the system he once represented and striking out lone against the criminals he finds at every level of society...

Scripted by Robbie Morrison (Doctor Who, Downtown) and featuring the art of Colin MacNeil (America), Simon Fraser (Nikolai Dante) and more, Shimura is a kinetic slice of SF excitement, where the customs of feudal Japan meet 22nd-century technology!]]> 200 Robbie Morrison Leila 2
We also have mutant versions of Japanese mythological characters - oni and Lady Shi is a snake demon hybrid - these were really cool and I wish had featured more predominantly.

The stories are a real mixed bag as well, in both colour & b/w. I quite liked transcendental assassin (probably the most satirical of the stories), dragon fire and the harder they come, but there are some real oddities in here as well like Shimura angels of death set in Texas 1867 that feels more like preacher than Dredd and Ronin Breed the story about a horse which is very random.

Wasn't particularly fond of the artwork either on this volume.]]> 3.25 2004
author: Robbie Morrison
name: Leila
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2004
rating: 2
read at: 2015/06/29
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, asian-mythology, cyborgs-robots-androids, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, japan-yakuza-samurai, mutants, japan, dystopian-future
review:
This has been my least favourite of the Judge Dredd mega collection to date. Dredd himself only features in two stories, one of which, (Web) I didn't like at all. The volume focuses on Shimura an ex-judge of Hondo City and now Ronin. While he's a decent enough hero, this lacks the humour and satire that is present in much of the other 2000AD stories I've read. It's dark, bloody and violent, but there's not much else. There are loads of references to Japanese cinema - Tetsuo, seven samurai, Kurasawa to name a fraction, but the problem is its just name dropping without the substance or satire to back it up - being a huge fan of Japanese cinema this really disappointed me. You have a character called tetsuo and yet no cyborg bikes or anything - which considering the cyberpunk possibilities of the Hondo-City setting is a big disappointment.

We also have mutant versions of Japanese mythological characters - oni and Lady Shi is a snake demon hybrid - these were really cool and I wish had featured more predominantly.

The stories are a real mixed bag as well, in both colour & b/w. I quite liked transcendental assassin (probably the most satirical of the stories), dragon fire and the harder they come, but there are some real oddities in here as well like Shimura angels of death set in Texas 1867 that feels more like preacher than Dredd and Ronin Breed the story about a horse which is very random.

Wasn't particularly fond of the artwork either on this volume.
]]> 25382928
Scripted by the likes of John Wagner, John Smith and Robbie Morrison, and featuring the art of Jim Murray, Nick Percival, Ron Smith, PJ Holden and more, this volume contains the never-before-reprinted series Holocaust 12 and Brit-Cit Brute alongside classic Dredd thrillers!]]> 200 John Wagner Leila 3
We begin with Skyfall and Storm Warning featuring the Holocaust Squad - a motley group of no-hopers who get sent out to mop up messes nobody else will clear up - Every mission there's a good chance they may not make it back - rather liked both these stories and the artwork is probably my favourite in the volume.

Next we have several stories featuring Brit-Cit Brute, Arthur Conan Newt - took me a while to get into these - its fun larger than life satire but doesn't have the depth of some of the other stories - when you've just seen soldiers trying to deal with suicide missions having someone electrocuted by rubber incontinence pants is somewhat trivial in comparison.

We then shift to a couple of b/w strips - Wynter and Father Earth - which again change the tone. Wynter set in the arctic and fairly serious, Father Earth ok, but the Little Shop of Horrors ending a little silly.

We then jump to colour again with Debris where Dredd has to tackle the last block for hoarding supplies - wasn't too keen on this one at all.

The volume ends with Warzone in which Dredd has to pursue a criminal into a warzone and teams up with a squad of veterans.

This one's a really mixed bag - overall its still pretty good but its not as cohesive as other volumes. But it's still Dredd and if you love the 2000AD universe its thoroughly enjoyable, just not the best out there.]]> 2.72 2015
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 2.72
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/04/26
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, military-sf, post-apocalyptic, satire, sci-fi
review:
This anthology is probably the weakest of the Mega Collection to date - It's quite disjointed featuring many stories and many different art styles.

We begin with Skyfall and Storm Warning featuring the Holocaust Squad - a motley group of no-hopers who get sent out to mop up messes nobody else will clear up - Every mission there's a good chance they may not make it back - rather liked both these stories and the artwork is probably my favourite in the volume.

Next we have several stories featuring Brit-Cit Brute, Arthur Conan Newt - took me a while to get into these - its fun larger than life satire but doesn't have the depth of some of the other stories - when you've just seen soldiers trying to deal with suicide missions having someone electrocuted by rubber incontinence pants is somewhat trivial in comparison.

We then shift to a couple of b/w strips - Wynter and Father Earth - which again change the tone. Wynter set in the arctic and fairly serious, Father Earth ok, but the Little Shop of Horrors ending a little silly.

We then jump to colour again with Debris where Dredd has to tackle the last block for hoarding supplies - wasn't too keen on this one at all.

The volume ends with Warzone in which Dredd has to pursue a criminal into a warzone and teams up with a squad of veterans.

This one's a really mixed bag - overall its still pretty good but its not as cohesive as other volumes. But it's still Dredd and if you love the 2000AD universe its thoroughly enjoyable, just not the best out there.
]]> 25457692 This Is Mutie Country!

A deadly plague developed during the brutal 'Great Germ War' has reached the futuristic metropolis of Mega-City Two, located on the West Coast of the USA. Charged with delivering a life-saving vaccine to the citizens of the disease-ridden city, Judge Dredd and a small crew of Judges, war droids and the lawbreaking biker, Spikes Harvey Rotten, must travel a thousand miles across the radioactive wasteland known as 'the Cursed Earth.'
It is a near-impossible journey - hate-filled mutants, rampaging monsters and crazed war robots populate the hellish stretch of terrain. Many men have attempted to cross it and most have failed. But Judges are more than normal men and Judge Dredd is the best Judge there is!]]> 0 Pat Mills Leila 4
This one is very episodic - there are 25 stories in the Cursed Earth arc, 21 of which are incorporated into this volume (The satirical Burger Wars stories have not been included for copyright infringement.) Stories are a mixed bag, from rather daft to deeply moving. I particularly like the character of Tweak who sacrifices himself to save his planet, but comes to trust Dredd - very much the hero of this anthology. Take Dredd out of Mega City One and he becomes a black and white hero, bringing justice to the lawless.

I also rather liked the dinosaur stories featuring T-Rex Satanus - The concept is Jurassic Park 12 years before Michael Crichton came up with the novel - Hmmm wonder if he's a Dredd fan? But of course after the bomb hits dinosaurs roam the earth...

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Yes its a little fragmented and the morality is very simple here - its hero Dredd kicking ass, its a rip-roaring, post apocalyptic roadtrip with some brilliant characters.]]> 3.87 1978
author: Pat Mills
name: Leila
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1978
rating: 4
read at: 2015/05/17
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, america, cyborgs-robots-androids, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, mutants, post-apocalyptic, satire, sci-fi, telepaths-empaths, dinosaurs, dystopian-future
review:
Mega City 2 are suffering from the plague 2T(fru)T and mega city 1 have made an antidote but can't cross the cursed Earth no-mans land to get it there. Judge Dredd is their only hope. Teamed up with 2 other judges and punk criminal Spikes Rotten he must drive across the post apocalyptic desert to administer the much needed antidote and save the population. The cursed earth throws everything in his path: red-necks, mutants, dinosaurs, robot vampires and even aliens!

This one is very episodic - there are 25 stories in the Cursed Earth arc, 21 of which are incorporated into this volume (The satirical Burger Wars stories have not been included for copyright infringement.) Stories are a mixed bag, from rather daft to deeply moving. I particularly like the character of Tweak who sacrifices himself to save his planet, but comes to trust Dredd - very much the hero of this anthology. Take Dredd out of Mega City One and he becomes a black and white hero, bringing justice to the lawless.

I also rather liked the dinosaur stories featuring T-Rex Satanus - The concept is Jurassic Park 12 years before Michael Crichton came up with the novel - Hmmm wonder if he's a Dredd fan? But of course after the bomb hits dinosaurs roam the earth...

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Yes its a little fragmented and the morality is very simple here - its hero Dredd kicking ass, its a rip-roaring, post apocalyptic roadtrip with some brilliant characters.
]]> 30306828 248 John Wagner Leila 4
P.J is a curious mix of the Joker, Hannibal Lecter with a dose of Adrian Mole - Yes he's a mass murderer but because we see things from his POV, we have a certain sympathy and fascination with him as he runs rings around the Judges. There's a curious innocence about him which comes across with the abysmal spelling and grammar of his confessions. I also love how unrepentant he is - he has no qualms about confessing everything each time he is caught.

There really aren't any weak stories in this one - the art's consistently top notch including some of my favourite artists: Henry Flint & Carlos Ezquerra. John Wagner is also at his satirical best, giving some wonderfully witty scripts. This one's an absolute delight from start to finish. Great fun.]]> 4.24
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/30
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, insane-characters, graphic-novels, satire, villain-antihero-protagonist, murderers-serial-killers
review:
P.J Maybe is one of my favourite characters from the Dredd universe and this volume is essential, charting his career from his first murder as a school-boy to his mayorhood.

P.J is a curious mix of the Joker, Hannibal Lecter with a dose of Adrian Mole - Yes he's a mass murderer but because we see things from his POV, we have a certain sympathy and fascination with him as he runs rings around the Judges. There's a curious innocence about him which comes across with the abysmal spelling and grammar of his confessions. I also love how unrepentant he is - he has no qualms about confessing everything each time he is caught.

There really aren't any weak stories in this one - the art's consistently top notch including some of my favourite artists: Henry Flint & Carlos Ezquerra. John Wagner is also at his satirical best, giving some wonderfully witty scripts. This one's an absolute delight from start to finish. Great fun.
]]> 30306850 254 John Wagner Leila 4
All I can say is hurry up and film this one - it has everything: emotion, action, great villains. Recommended. ]]> 3.84
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.84
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/26
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, sci-fi
review:
Second of the 2 part mega city epic looking at Nero Narcos' plan to bring down the judges. This one is essential to any Dredd fans. It's totally epic in scope, has great depth and manages to maintain snippets of biting satire. Much prefer this one to Doomsday for Dredd as Orlock doesn't feature - although of course the events of East-Meg are hinted at in the background. Galen DeMarco features heavily and presents a very human side of things.

All I can say is hurry up and film this one - it has everything: emotion, action, great villains. Recommended.
]]> 33825935 206 John Wagner Leila 4 3.62 2014
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2017/01/15
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, satire, cyborgs-robots-androids, insects, dystopian-future
review:
This Dredd anthology follows the Banzai Batallion a squad of mini pest control robots who want nothing more than a garden to maintain and more often than not end up taking care of pests of the human variety. Loved this one - the stories range from satirical to quite sad and the idea of a green space makes a fantastic contrast to Mega City's usual urban sprawl.
]]> 32953805 240 John Wagner Leila 3
This isn't as strong or interesting as some of the other epic Dredd arcs but its solid and features flying sand sharks :) Artwork from Ezquerra and Hairsine fits the story but again isn't my favourite.

This volume also includes an essay on the chief judges - their history, historical basis and gives a very useful chronological table. ]]> 3.56
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.56
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/11/11
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, sci-fi, dystopian-future
review:
Following Mechanismo, Wilderlands takes up Chief Judge McGruder's attempts to re-instate a programme of robot judges. Dredd is arrested and sentenced to Titan. McGruder decides to take Dredd herself but makes a detour to the newly discovered 10th planet in our solar system, Hestia - Sabotage of unknown origin leaves their ship stranded and McGruder seriously injured. Dredd and Castillo must take control, survive both a hostile planet and unknown saboteurs and find a way to alert Mega City One of their plight.

This isn't as strong or interesting as some of the other epic Dredd arcs but its solid and features flying sand sharks :) Artwork from Ezquerra and Hairsine fits the story but again isn't my favourite.

This volume also includes an essay on the chief judges - their history, historical basis and gives a very useful chronological table.
]]> 32064725 236 John Smith Leila 3
The stores are a vert mixed bag ranging from the complex noir - Breathing Space to the totally ridiculous Land Race.

The last story Killer elite - where a psycho gathers the worlds most notorious and prolific killers and sets them against each other is rather good and Dark Side pitting Dredd against a zombie clone is also rather fun.

There's little here we haven't seen before but its all enjoyable and shows the versatility of the Dredd universe. ]]> 3.34
author: John Smith
name: Leila
average rating: 3.34
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/09/25
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, anthologies, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, insane-characters, murderers-serial-killers, satire, sci-fi, graphic-novels, set-on-moon, telepaths-empaths, trip-to-moon
review:
This Judge Dredd anthology centres around Luna 1 colony on the moon - Its like MC1 in a bubble where everything is magnified - crime, criminals and the lawmen.

The stores are a vert mixed bag ranging from the complex noir - Breathing Space to the totally ridiculous Land Race.

The last story Killer elite - where a psycho gathers the worlds most notorious and prolific killers and sets them against each other is rather good and Dark Side pitting Dredd against a zombie clone is also rather fun.

There's little here we haven't seen before but its all enjoyable and shows the versatility of the Dredd universe.
]]> 31135168 Having employed blackmail and coercion in order to topple the balance of power within the Justice Department, the tyrannical head of the Special Judicial Squad Judge Cal has managed to secure the position of Chief Judge. The crazed Cal has enlisted the help of an army of reptilian alien mercenaries known as the Kleggs, appointed his pet goldfish as deputy Chief Judge and framed Judge Dredd for murder in order to maintain power. But Dredd is the kind of Judge who doesn't go down too easily and together with a rebel army made up of other Judges and citizens, prepares to fight back.
Can Judge Dredd succeed against all odds and defeat Judge Cal before he destroys the entire population of Mega-City One?]]> 224 John Wagner Leila 4
Being a Classics nut I absolutely love this one. Cal is a thinly veiled Caligula and there are lots of parallels - like him making his favourite pet (here a fish) his second in command. Dredd's speech impeded robot Walter is also on hand giving some great comedy.

The other story in this one is Helter Skelter in which Cal and a bunch of Classic Dredd villains come from alternative dimensions to kill Dredd as this is the only reality in which he still lives. Quite a clever story and a wonderful homage to old skool 2000AD.

A must for Dredd fans.]]> 4.04 1995
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/14
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, alternative-dimensions-realities, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-ancient-world, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, insane-characters
review:
Cal former head of the SJS becomes chief Judge and begins an insane reign of terror causing Dredd to rise up and storm the hall of justice!

Being a Classics nut I absolutely love this one. Cal is a thinly veiled Caligula and there are lots of parallels - like him making his favourite pet (here a fish) his second in command. Dredd's speech impeded robot Walter is also on hand giving some great comedy.

The other story in this one is Helter Skelter in which Cal and a bunch of Classic Dredd villains come from alternative dimensions to kill Dredd as this is the only reality in which he still lives. Quite a clever story and a wonderful homage to old skool 2000AD.

A must for Dredd fans.
]]> 31569408 224 Alan Grant Leila 4
WOW this story is really epic and packs so much in such a small space. We have Psyconauts, nanobots, killer robot dogs, and all manner of philosophy and spirituality going on (Death, Shiva, Satan all appear) - the references this draws on are as varied as the story - everything from Hamlet and the Beatles to Stingray, Nirvana and the philosophies of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer.

Judge Anderson is the perfect character for this story as well - open-minded, strong, capable and a far more 'human' figure than Dredd.

Philosophy, biting satire and a story involving Judge Death and the Sisters - great stuff. Love it. ]]> 3.98
author: Alan Grant
name: Leila
average rating: 3.98
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/08/28
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, alternative-dimensions-realities, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, fountain-of-youth-immortality-quest, satire, shinigami-reapers-death-gods, society-falling-apart, strong-women-in-comics, telepaths-empaths, dreams, eternal-life-age-extension
review:
Psi-Judge Anderson is in a coma after her last encounter with Judge Death. Her consciousness travels to parallel dimension and possesses a teenage girl - She meets Death and the Sisters when they were human and has a shot at stopping them before it all begins. She fails. And we learn that it was all a ploy to infect her with the half-life virus which spreads mayhem throughout the big Meg.

WOW this story is really epic and packs so much in such a small space. We have Psyconauts, nanobots, killer robot dogs, and all manner of philosophy and spirituality going on (Death, Shiva, Satan all appear) - the references this draws on are as varied as the story - everything from Hamlet and the Beatles to Stingray, Nirvana and the philosophies of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer.

Judge Anderson is the perfect character for this story as well - open-minded, strong, capable and a far more 'human' figure than Dredd.

Philosophy, biting satire and a story involving Judge Death and the Sisters - great stuff. Love it.
]]> 31569463 216 John Wagner Leila 4
Darren Dead - the undead escapologist and now TV personality on the hunt for a killer panda murdering members of the magic circle is no less insane, but still fun. And the other stories range from poignant (zombies) to stupid (night of the rad beast) - great range in this volume both in terms of tone and artwork - Ian Gibson's punky 80's look on the Sardini stuff is a perfect counterpart to the satirical story and I was also really impressed with the gothic art of Shaun Thomas on Bob Zombie - Scouse of 20,000 Horrors - the story itself was paper thin but the artwork was arresting and the dialogue was fun.

Overall really enjoyed this volume - it's nice to have a break from Ol' Stony-Face that isn't Anderson or Wally Squad - if you like 2000AD at its most satirical, check this out.]]> 3.67
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.67
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/04
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, graphic-novels, futuristic-law-enforcement, satire, cyborgs-robots-androids, weird, dystopian-future
review:
This volume looks at life after death in the Big Meg. The majority of stories here follow Olympic Human Taxidermist Jacob Sardini. With such a wacked out concept as Olympic Taxidermy I was expecting this to descend into farce but it didn't at all. Sardini comes across as dignified and sympathetic and the stories are the right side of weird when the satire just works.

Darren Dead - the undead escapologist and now TV personality on the hunt for a killer panda murdering members of the magic circle is no less insane, but still fun. And the other stories range from poignant (zombies) to stupid (night of the rad beast) - great range in this volume both in terms of tone and artwork - Ian Gibson's punky 80's look on the Sardini stuff is a perfect counterpart to the satirical story and I was also really impressed with the gothic art of Shaun Thomas on Bob Zombie - Scouse of 20,000 Horrors - the story itself was paper thin but the artwork was arresting and the dialogue was fun.

Overall really enjoyed this volume - it's nice to have a break from Ol' Stony-Face that isn't Anderson or Wally Squad - if you like 2000AD at its most satirical, check this out.
]]> 30750646 202 Mark Millar Leila 2
Frankenstein Division is equally daft - a cyborg Frankenstein creature is created by the Sovs out of all the Sov agents Dredd killed - it escapes before it's homicidal tendencies can be curbed and goes after Dredd. I dislike the Sov stuff in general but this one is really silly.

The final story in this volume is Death Aid which is easily the best of the bunch here. Garth Ennis is at his satirical best - with a tale of the Hunter's club going on a charity sponsored massacre. It's still fairly black and white - Criminals vs. Lawmen, but its rather fun with plenty of action and black humour.

Overall this is quite fun, but lacks the depth of a lot of other Dredd stuff out there.]]> 3.06
author: Mark Millar
name: Leila
average rating: 3.06
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2016/07/03
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, insane-characters, murderers-serial-killers, satire
review:
Inferno tells the story of ex-Judge Grice who breaks out of prison on Titan with one goal: to Kill Dredd and wipe out the judges. I found this one rather silly and 2 dimensional - Grice is a pantomime villain - a cross between Hitler and Nero who's only motivation is to kill Dredd and watch the world burn. Dredd is equally as cardboard here - he is the law and nothing more. The story is full of action and fun one liners but it lacks depth and the art is very same-y.

Frankenstein Division is equally daft - a cyborg Frankenstein creature is created by the Sovs out of all the Sov agents Dredd killed - it escapes before it's homicidal tendencies can be curbed and goes after Dredd. I dislike the Sov stuff in general but this one is really silly.

The final story in this volume is Death Aid which is easily the best of the bunch here. Garth Ennis is at his satirical best - with a tale of the Hunter's club going on a charity sponsored massacre. It's still fairly black and white - Criminals vs. Lawmen, but its rather fun with plenty of action and black humour.

Overall this is quite fun, but lacks the depth of a lot of other Dredd stuff out there.
]]> 36562795 192 John Wagner Leila 3 First we have the Judge Child Owen Krysler exiled to Xanadu who resurrects Mean Angel and influences poisoner Angel Fink to attack Dredd and Hershey.

Next precogs predict a great calamity in 2120 so Dredd and Anderson time travel into the future to discover all the judges turned into vampires and a giant mutant version of Krysler terrorising the city. Not only that but he's killed future Dredd and resurrected him as a zombie causing a Dredd vs. zombie Dredd face off.

Nice solid Judge Dredd. Art is pretty average but consistent throughout and the stories are great fun and thematically merge together really well to merit being collected together in a single volume - I love the Angel gang so its always fun to see them and the Judge Child epic is, while never amazing exciting enough to maintain my interest.

Dredd is fairly 2 dimensional here and there isn't a great amount of satire that make the best stories stand out, but this is still good solid Dredd and thoroughly entertaining. ]]> 3.32
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.32
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2018/10/28
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, mutants, psychics-precogs-seers-and-oracle, telepaths-empaths, time-travel, vampire, vampire-graphic-novels, zombies
review:
A continuation of the Judge Child arc:
First we have the Judge Child Owen Krysler exiled to Xanadu who resurrects Mean Angel and influences poisoner Angel Fink to attack Dredd and Hershey.

Next precogs predict a great calamity in 2120 so Dredd and Anderson time travel into the future to discover all the judges turned into vampires and a giant mutant version of Krysler terrorising the city. Not only that but he's killed future Dredd and resurrected him as a zombie causing a Dredd vs. zombie Dredd face off.

Nice solid Judge Dredd. Art is pretty average but consistent throughout and the stories are great fun and thematically merge together really well to merit being collected together in a single volume - I love the Angel gang so its always fun to see them and the Judge Child epic is, while never amazing exciting enough to maintain my interest.

Dredd is fairly 2 dimensional here and there isn't a great amount of satire that make the best stories stand out, but this is still good solid Dredd and thoroughly entertaining.
]]> 36040383 206 John Wagner Leila 3
Good, solid Dredd with a mixed bag of art and stories]]> 3.45 2017
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2017/11/27
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, futuristic-law-enforcement, insane-characters, graphic-novels, anthologies, satire, dystopian-future, cool-criminals, cyborgs-robots-androids
review:
This anthology takes stories that centre around Mega City 1, showing that the big meg is as much a character in 2000AD as its human inhabitants - We go from out and out satire such as 'finger of suspicion' (where a guy who got his finger stuck in a pipe now can't help giving the judges the finger) and 'borrowed time' (where the judges chase a man with an overdue library book for 12 years) to more poignant and serious stories - the highlight being the touching 'bury my knee at wounded heart' about an old man who breaks the law in order to bury his wife. The other highlight here is UnAmerican Graffiti which is a welcome return of Marlon 'Chopper' Shakespeare as an extreme Graffiti artist.

Good, solid Dredd with a mixed bag of art and stories
]]> 36040445 244 John Wagner Leila 4
The other story in this one is Dead Ringer - Dredd again on a quest to hunt down the clone of a comatose foreign president. Again he has all sorts of adventures including getting addicted to drugs, and fighting off horny Amazonian women.

Great fun from start to finish and I really like how well the two stories fit together. I also like all the homages - Dune, Lovecraft, 2001, Gulliver's Travels... it's all here done 2000AD style.]]> 3.64 1991
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2017/12/04
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, cyborgs-robots-androids, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, telepaths-empaths, post-apocalyptic, mutants, drugs, frogs-toads-and-frog-people, satire, clones-doppelgangers, dystopian-future
review:
The majority of this volume contains the titular - The Judge Child in which Dredd goes on an epic quest to locate a pre-cog mutant child who has been prohesised as the saviour of MC1. He has a whole host of adventures on the way including being sold into slavery, shrunk by a travelling salesmen, encountering a Lovecraftian toad god, a latter day Pharaoh garbage king, and of course battling the Angel gang. While these tales are very episodic, the end is always in sight - find the child who bears the mark of the Eagle. It's great satire and I really like Dredd here because although he is the hero he doesn't always come across so saintly - his treatment of poor Lopez and his irrational hatred of his moustache is really harsh.

The other story in this one is Dead Ringer - Dredd again on a quest to hunt down the clone of a comatose foreign president. Again he has all sorts of adventures including getting addicted to drugs, and fighting off horny Amazonian women.

Great fun from start to finish and I really like how well the two stories fit together. I also like all the homages - Dune, Lovecraft, 2001, Gulliver's Travels... it's all here done 2000AD style.
]]> 35702002 198 Dan Abnett Leila 5
With Wahammer's Dan Abnett at the helm of the story, aided by Colin Macneil's gorgeously detailed artwork you know this is going to be Military SF at hits best and indeed it is - We have lots of robots, giant apes and explosions to satisfy married with a tight plot and a moving human element.

I love how this portrays the Justice system as complete bastards. With the Dredd stories you see the Judges as anti-heroes often, a necessary evil - or they are used in a satirical, overblown manner. Here we get to see a different side - how implacable they can be.

The other thing I love about this are all the movie homages - Ever 70's and 80's SF film is pillaged in here somewhere from Outland to Planet of the Apes - It's just fun.

Love this one from start to finish - the art style does change half way through - we lose some of the amazing detailed greywash I presume because it was too time consuming. 2nd half is different, but fitted the story and the only complaint is if you compare it against the earlier half which just blew me away. Tragic military SF with sympathetic characters and a great story. What's not to love?]]> 4.00 2017
author: Dan Abnett
name: Leila
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2017/11/19
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, aliens, ape-men, cyborgs-robots-androids, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, military-sf, sci-fi, tragedy, telepaths-empaths, dystopian-future
review:
Insurrection remains one of my favourite 2000AD stories not to feature Judge Dredd - so we have Luther an off world mining colony commander who declares war on the Judicial system over a matter of justice: The Meg refused to send troops to help defeat an alien threat, forcing him to enfranchise his staff of robots, mutants and uplifts (genetically modified apes) - when the war is won, the Justice system refuses to acknowledge the miners as citizens. Luther is forced to declare a war he knows he cannot win as a point of honour.

With Wahammer's Dan Abnett at the helm of the story, aided by Colin Macneil's gorgeously detailed artwork you know this is going to be Military SF at hits best and indeed it is - We have lots of robots, giant apes and explosions to satisfy married with a tight plot and a moving human element.

I love how this portrays the Justice system as complete bastards. With the Dredd stories you see the Judges as anti-heroes often, a necessary evil - or they are used in a satirical, overblown manner. Here we get to see a different side - how implacable they can be.

The other thing I love about this are all the movie homages - Ever 70's and 80's SF film is pillaged in here somewhere from Outland to Planet of the Apes - It's just fun.

Love this one from start to finish - the art style does change half way through - we lose some of the amazing detailed greywash I presume because it was too time consuming. 2nd half is different, but fitted the story and the only complaint is if you compare it against the earlier half which just blew me away. Tragic military SF with sympathetic characters and a great story. What's not to love?
]]> 35498129 John Wagner Leila 3 3.28
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.28
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2017/08/13
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, america, anthologies, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, mutants, post-apocalyptic, satire, time-travel, cannibals, aquatic-were-animals-and-hybrids
review:
Cursed Earth anthology that pits Dredd against a variety of foes from Dune Sharks to Cannibals to Worshippers of spider gods and redneck mutant Ratfink Angel. It's good solid Dredd if a bit two dimensional. Artwork's a mixed bag but I was pretty impressed with Callum Alexander Watt's bold, bright style on the time-travel story Fog on the Eerie. Over all this one is pretty middle of the road for Dredd tales - there's nothing drastically bad here but equally nothing that particularly stands out.
]]> 35505000 272 Mark Millar Leila 2
The anthology then verges into B/W for the more serious Samizdat Squad - A team of Russian misfits go into no hope situations and kick ass. Styles and stories are quite mixed here. But I did like the transparent pygmy cannibals - invisible until they've eaten someone, the Baba Yaga mode on the tank and the telepathic Brothers Karamatzov - the characters are quite interesting, far more so than the actual stories.

Bonus features are also quite interesting - we get a history/timeline of East Meg in the Dredd-verse and original character and story notes for the Samizdat Squad.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the Soviet stuff in general but I thought this one hummed along merrily enough.]]> 2.70
author: Mark Millar
name: Leila
average rating: 2.70
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2017/09/18
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, cyborgs-robots-androids, eugenics-genetic-engineering, mutants, post-apocalyptic, telepaths-empaths, russia, dystopian-future
review:
The bulk of this anthology is the Red Razor stories - Law enforcement in East-Meg 2, where brain altered criminals become judges. Its very silly but fun - the East Meggers love all things American and have a cult of Elvis which get upset when some American Elvis fans try and steal their venerated corpse. We have a talking horse, OAP KGB, Cyborgs, Killer plants and irradiated mutants. Dredd makes a brief appearance as he has to step in and save the day at one point. It's all larger than life silliness, but not without charm.

The anthology then verges into B/W for the more serious Samizdat Squad - A team of Russian misfits go into no hope situations and kick ass. Styles and stories are quite mixed here. But I did like the transparent pygmy cannibals - invisible until they've eaten someone, the Baba Yaga mode on the tank and the telepathic Brothers Karamatzov - the characters are quite interesting, far more so than the actual stories.

Bonus features are also quite interesting - we get a history/timeline of East Meg in the Dredd-verse and original character and story notes for the Samizdat Squad.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the Soviet stuff in general but I thought this one hummed along merrily enough.
]]> 35176492
Scripted by an incredible line-up of writers including John Wagner (A History of Violence), Alan Grant (Batman), Dan Abnett (Aquaman), Si Spurrier (The Spire), Al Ewing (Mighty Avengers) and more, featuring the stellar art of Vince Locke (Deadworld), Dean Ormston (Black Hammer), Jon Davis-Hunt (The Wildstorm) and John Ridgway (Hellblazer) amongst others, these shiversome stories are only to be read with the lights on and the doors locked!]]> 232 John Wagner Leila 3
Like with all anthologies of this type its a complete mixed bag with a huge range of different artists and writers. Stories range from killer teddybears to haywire robot scout leaders. Lucifer himself even makes an appearance.

Highlights for me:
Build a better mousetrap - the artist here is the wonderful Jackademus - and the story has some nice satire but also really makes you think.

The Shadow over James Block - an obvious Lovecraft homage this one's about as supernatural/weird as the anthology gets sadly, not wanting to step into Devlin Waugh or Anderson territory... still being a big Lovecraft fan I really enjoyed this one.

Also really enjoyed the incredible teatime torture show - a satire on reality tv gameshows, Who do the voodoo that you do - never mess with a voodoo priest - you'll come to a very sticky end! And slay it with flowers which reacquaints us with Father Earth who's remains it seems are just as deadly...

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this - the stories are fairly short, so even if there are some that aren't quite as engaging you quickly move on to the next story. ]]> 3.77 2017
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2017/06/11
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, anthologies, aquatic-horror, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, horror, murderers-serial-killers, museums, mutants, lovecraftian, killer-plants-and-plant-people, satire, time-travel, voodoo, weird, zombies, cyborgs-robots-androids, cool-criminals, dystopian-future
review:
Anthology of Tales of the Crypt style sting in the tail horror stories set in the Dredd universe, but with Dredd himself playing a very minimal role. Its kind of Tales from the crypt meets warehouse 13 - the majority of stories springing from an artefact in the Black museum.

Like with all anthologies of this type its a complete mixed bag with a huge range of different artists and writers. Stories range from killer teddybears to haywire robot scout leaders. Lucifer himself even makes an appearance.

Highlights for me:
Build a better mousetrap - the artist here is the wonderful Jackademus - and the story has some nice satire but also really makes you think.

The Shadow over James Block - an obvious Lovecraft homage this one's about as supernatural/weird as the anthology gets sadly, not wanting to step into Devlin Waugh or Anderson territory... still being a big Lovecraft fan I really enjoyed this one.

Also really enjoyed the incredible teatime torture show - a satire on reality tv gameshows, Who do the voodoo that you do - never mess with a voodoo priest - you'll come to a very sticky end! And slay it with flowers which reacquaints us with Father Earth who's remains it seems are just as deadly...

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this - the stories are fairly short, so even if there are some that aren't quite as engaging you quickly move on to the next story.
]]> 34681447 200 John Wagner Leila 4
This one is Dredd at its finest - plotty, satirical and ironic with top notch art. P. J. Maybe is one of the best characters in the Dredd universe - both humorous and an evil genius. I love how despite being a mass murderer he is also probably the best mayor the city has ever had. Pit him against the corrupt judge Sinfield and you have a tense and exciting conflict before you even add Dredd and the mutant issue into the equation.

This one kicks off with a few shorts first to introduce the mutant issue - particularly liked invitation to a hanging. All are solid though get overshadowed by the following main Maybe/Sinfield arc.

Overall I adored this one from start to finish.]]> 4.18
author: John Wagner
name: Leila
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2017/04/17
date added: 2019/06/17
shelves: 2000ad, america, cyborgs-robots-androids, dystopian-future, futuristic-law-enforcement, graphic-novels, murderers-serial-killers, mutants, satire
review:
Dredd's been relegated to the Cursed Earth to oversee mutant resettlement issues. Meanwhile back in MC1 - Sinfield is acting chief judge having drugged his predecessor out of office and is undoing all the mutant legislation Dredd introduced. He comes unstuck however when he threatens Mayor Ambrose who is none other than the psychotic mass murderer P J Maybe. Maybe tries to assassinate Sinfield and Dredd is on the case - a wonderful irony since he has cause to hate Sinfield more than anyone.

This one is Dredd at its finest - plotty, satirical and ironic with top notch art. P. J. Maybe is one of the best characters in the Dredd universe - both humorous and an evil genius. I love how despite being a mass murderer he is also probably the best mayor the city has ever had. Pit him against the corrupt judge Sinfield and you have a tense and exciting conflict before you even add Dredd and the mutant issue into the equation.

This one kicks off with a few shorts first to introduce the mutant issue - particularly liked invitation to a hanging. All are solid though get overshadowed by the following main Maybe/Sinfield arc.

Overall I adored this one from start to finish.
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