Before Timothy Zahn’s final entry in his Thrawn trilogy was released in 1993, the Expanded Universe continued to grow, with the launch of a series of young adult titles, the first being released in June of 1992. A very short novella, the story is set a year after the events of The Return of the…
Category: The Book Shelf
Icebreaker (1983) – John Gardner
Ian Fleming’s 007, James Bond, is back in action in the next novel by John Gardner, like his two previous tales, they move fast, and while filled with action beats, and moments, seems, overall, to be a smaller scale than the films that were happening at the same time. This time around, with the barest…
Star Trek: The Great Starship Race (1993) – Diane Carey
Space, the final frontier… My travels with the Enterprise this week take place during the original five year mission as the Federation starship is invited to take place in a race sponsored by a newly discovered species who is to join the United Federation of Planets. But while the ships are gathering there is another…
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (2018) – Michelle McNamara
Halfway through the HBO docu-series, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, I knew I had to read the source material, and learn more. Written by Michelle McNamara, a brilliant true crime writer, who passed before the book could be published, or the book’s subject caught, sentenced and jailed. As captivating as the series was, the…
What To Watch When (2020) – Christian Blauvelt, Laura Buller, Andrew Frisicano, Stacey Grant, Mark Morris, Eddie Robson, Maggie Serota, Drew Toal, Matthew Turner, and Laurie Ulster
The latest book from DK Canada has already found pride of place in my collection. Right next to my television. In a compendium that should prove as essential to the digital age, as TV Guide was to the cable era, What to Watch When should meet the requirements of helping you work on your bingeing…
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (1992) – Timothy Zahn
In 1992, Timothy Zahn took us back into the slowly expanding universe of Star Wars with the second book in his Thrawn cycle, following on the heels of the previous year’s Heir to the Empire. Continuing the story that is set five years after The Return of the Jedi, the heroes of the rebellion are…
For Special Services (1982) – John Gardner
John Gardner’s second 007 novel, updating Ian Fleming’s James Bond for the 1980s, is on the book shelf this week, and delivers the crisp, solid, sex and violence filled thrill ride we’ve come to expect from England’s top spy. This story, set largely in America, sees the return of Bond’s old nemesis, SPECTRE, with the…
Star Trek: Shadows on the Shadow (1993) – Michael Jan Friedman
Set shortly after the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Shadows on the Sun explores some of the backstory of Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, a character that has become one of my favourites over the years. It’s interesting, as a child, and teen, Kirk was always the character for me. But as I…
Mindhunter (1995) – John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
John Douglas is the man who became the lead FBI profiler just when the word was beginning to come into practice in the late 70s, through the 80s, and with author Mark Olshaker he takes us inside some of his cases, and the work he has done over the decades. There are some truly horrifying…
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (1991) – Timothy Zahn
1991 saw something incredible happen, for the first time since 1983, we were given a new Star Wars story, the beginning of a new trilogy, with the characters we knew and loved. This was an absolute stunning idea, that there could be more adventures. It shouldn’t have been, Star Trek had books for decades. Author…
Licence Renewed (1981)- John Gardner
In the early 80s, the estate of Ian Fleming reached out to author John Gardner to continue telling stories about James Bond, 007, and to perchance, bring him into the 80s. This involved a bit of a retcon moving the events of the previous novels from the 50s/60s to the 60s/70s. Gardner’s first effort, Licence…
DC Comics Cover Art (2020) – Nick Jones
Neal Adams. Jack Kirby. George Perez. Alex Ross. Dave Gibbons. Amanda Conner. Jim Lee. John Byrne. The tip of the iceberg on a long list of distinguished and exceptional artists who have created iconic images through the years for DC Comics, aiding in the transition of the medium from being seen as ‘just for kids’…
