My pick of the blog this month comes from a Kindle
edition, now not owning one of these I had to read the book using the
downloaded app, you can get it for iphone, ipads and computers. This is the
first e-book I’ve actually read. Although, call me old fashioned if you like,
still prefer the physical book I’m sure I’ll be reading others in the future.
Jack and the Lad
By Mickey Mayhew
Kindle Books
Meet Jack and Jamie, the Woodfield twins, although
you would not think it to look at them, brothers yes but Jack you would assume
was the much older brother. Jack is fit, muscular and well educated doing his
degree, Jamie is slight, more immature and struggles to read and sells second
hand books on the market. Neither really
gets on. The Woodfields are a large, old family that date back to the days when
witchcraft was rife. Set in Barking, Essex and the surrounding area the story
pulls a lot from the history of the area, some artistic licence, as well as the
modern day setting. As a local to the area I found it particularly
entertaining.
If all the family issues aren’t enough, and the
Woodfields are a large colourful family, then the cloud that hangs over the
alpha male of the family in the guise of a sex crazed spirit gives the moments
of comedy a much darker twist especially as the book rides to the dramatic
cliff-hanger in this supernatural romance that spans generations.
Come on Mr Mayhew, don’t make us wait too long for the next part.
Hammer House of Horror -
Countess Dracula
By Guy Adams
978-0-09-955386-1
This Hammer’s take on the legend of the woman who
became known as Countess Dracula from the middle ages who bathed in virgin
blood to maintain her youth.
Lifted to Hollywood, where a failing former silent
film star tries to regain her youth and career, well you can practically guess
the rest.
Wordsworth Classics -
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Merry Men & Other Stories
By R.L. Stevenson
978-1-85326-061-2
The main story in this collection I remember very
well as I had an abridged LP recording read by Tom Baker when I was very much
younger, and from the moment I read the opening line, ‘Mr Utterson the lawyer
was a man of rugged countenance...’ I could hear Tom’s voice in my head as I
read the full story. This is another of
the timeless tales that gets reinvented from time to time, dramatised in many
ways leaving you thinking you know the story but not quite. It is only when you
read the original do you truly get the despair of Doctor Jekyll and the
addiction that Mr Hyde became.
Robert Louise Stephenson investigated the dark side
of human nature in some of the other stories in this collection, two of which
are very heavy in dialect making them difficult to read. For me none of the
other tales came close to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in this collection.
http://www.wordsworth-editions.com
Bernice Summerfield
from Big Finish
The Weather on Versimmon
By Matthew Griffiths
978-1-84435-618-8
The Slender-Fingered Cats of Bubastis
By Xanna Eve Chown
978-1-84435-635-5
Filthy Lucre
By James Parsons & Andrew Stirling-Brown
978-1-78178-114-2
These three novels are designed to accompany some
of the recent audio adventure releases, fitting in between box sets. This is
the 2011 reboot of the Bernice range, the four available box sets being Epoch (Sept 2011), Road Trip (Feb 2012),
Legion (Sept 2012) & New Frontiers (April 2013).
I listened to the audios before reading the books,
so I was already aware of some things before starting the books, however that
did not really matter the books can be ready separately, although some
understanding of the characters from the audios is recommended.
For me the first was no so inspiring, I felt the
The Weather on Versimmon was a story that had been done before and better. An
ancient collection of cultural significance is buried on Versimmon, there are
those that want it opened up and those that don’t. The result a lot of running around trying to
work out who are the good guys and who aren’t.
The Slender-Fingered Cats of Bubastis that some say can be seem
from space however told quite a different story and here the characters from
the audio came back to life. I could hear Lisa Bowerman’s voice as I read
Bernice’s quips. Indeed here the main players Bernice, Ruth and Jack all
capture the audio characters a lot better. The story has the right amount of craziness
that fits a Summerfield adventure along with the suspense to keep you wanting
to know just if they really can pull it off. The library of the future says
Bernice will write a book of poetry and have it published in a week’s time, but
first she must find a missing girl, and possibly save a site of historic
significance from the scariest so called archaeologist of all time.
Filthy Lucre – Once again Bernice is in trouble, but then it wouldn’t
be an adventure if she wasn’t. This one is slightly more complicated in that
you’re not quite certain about the sequence of events until the end, as the
chapters start to jump back and forth between what you think is the current
time with Bernice and co in trouble on a hijacked freighter to periods she
spends with the tycoon of the new vegetable crispy chips company and his
passion for archaeology. A good rendition of the characters, including Brax,
again you can hear the original voices as you read. I don’t mind stories that
switch time period, I do it myself, but I would like to be able to know clearly
which order events take place in, which are flash backs and which are current.
Where they fit in:
The Slender-Fingered Cats of Bubastis accompanies Legion
Filthy Lucre accompanies New Frontiers
 |
| Afternoon tea with Miss Marple |
The Complete Miss Marple Radio Dramas
By Agatha Christie
Staring June Whitfield as Miss Marple & Cast
978-1-4084-6849-4
BBC Audio Go
June Whitfield stars as the interfering busy body
Miss Marple, the old girl with a taste for murder, as created by Agatha
Christie in these radio adaptations originally produced for BBC Radio. A full
supporting cast brings each of the twelve adapted stories to life and keeps you
hooked as the mystery becomes all the more perplexing and all the while Miss
Marple is determined to keep it simple.
I’ve never actually read any of the books myself, I
really should do. The police come of worse that the Yard do in Conan Doyle’s
Sherlock Holmes, for their complete bewilderment and often bumble around being
told to clear off by some of those they want to question – that is if a doctor
has not got there first and administered a sedative to keep the suspect from
being questioned.
Oh, and if anyone offers you a drink say no, there
is bound to be cyanide in there.
