Of Books and Movies

Let's see what have we read or watched recently?

Doctor Who - (the movie) 1996 - I was all set to hate this.  See being part of a cult following means that you must have decided opinions.  On everything.  I've been a Whovian since college and for me it is the Fourth Doctor (Whovians all discuss the various incarnations of our favorite character by their place in the overall sequence.  One only refers to the actor when speaking with those from outside) portrayed by Tom Baker.  He of the wild hair, the big hat and the signature long scarf.  I quite like the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors as well.  But this is the only appearance of the Eighth Doctor (he appears in some radio programs, novels and comics but those are regarded with a tiny bit of disdain by the mainstream Whovian).  The Eighth Doctor never had a TV series which makes him unique.  It also makes him one of the least known of the Doctors.  So I had no idea what to expect.  What I discovered was yet another Doctor that I quite enjoyed.  Paul McGann does a really nice job.  The Companions, Dr. Grace Holloway and Chang Lee, are quite acceptable as well.  The interiors of the Tardis are everything I could hope for.  We even get a brief moment with the Seventh Doctor right at the beginning of the movie.  The down side are primarily the performance of Eric Roberts as the rival Time Lord The Master.  Roberts chews the scenery to a degree that makes William Shatner look like Laurence Olivier.  And right at the beginning there is this stupid parallel with the 1930's movie "Frankenstein" that is pointless and heavy handed.  I would certainly recommend the movie to any Whovian.  Newbies to the world of the Doctor should certainly bring along an interpreter.

Books

Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny - I've been a long time fan of Zelazny's so I grabbed this at the library.  It's an interesting look at the concept of an archetypal road, one that extends between all timelines and the people who can wander it.  The book spends more time in the specific story line of the main characters and less on exploring the concept of the Road itself.  Which is too bad.  That would be my only complaint.  Good short read.

Two Audiobooks during my drive back and forth from Newark NJ:

Bad Company by Jack Higgins - Another story of Sean Dillon, Brigadier Ferguson, the Salters and the rest of the cast of regulars.  Dillon ends up having to rescue the Brigadier from a castle in Germany.  Higgins doing what he does.  I always enjoy these books.

The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon -  Seen the movies (at least part of both) but never read the book.  There's a long middle section that I found a little dull to be honest.  It just seems like the whole idea that the main character has been primed to be a subconscious assassin gets dropped without a trace.  Just seemed to go on for a long time without really moving the story forward.  The beginning and the end are pretty good however and Condon creates one of the most vile characters I've ever come across.  I'll let you discover who it is for yourself.  Not bad at all.

And a couple e-books, both sci-fi and both of them available free:

Fallen Angels by Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven and Michael Flynn - I did a quick review of this already.  Liked it a lot.  End of world story as a new Ice Age arrives and the society that grows because of it.

Berserker Throne by Fred Saberhagen - Part of Saberhagen's long story arc concerning the robot destroyers called the Berserkers.  The story follows the "discovery" of some Berserkers left behind and inactive and the human who gains control of them.  Good stuff.