Raymond Benson’s second 007 novel was an adaptation of the second Pierce Brosnan film, Tomorrow Never Dies. And while he seems to have some trouble adapting some of the more over the top action beats of the film, his take on the story actually works really well, and is one of the strongest film adaptations…
Category: The Book Shelf
Umboi Island: A Creature X Mystery (2022) – J.J. Dupuis
Three Creature X novels in, J.J. Dupuis comes across as a more relaxed and confident author this time round. And while the monster aspect of the story is mostly sidelined to cater to a jungle adventure, Dupuis does some worldbuilding as Laura Reagan continues her television series on cryptozoology, introduces a possible new ongoing villain,…
Battlestar Galactica 11: The Nightmare Machine (1985) – Glen A. Larson and Robert Thurston
It’s been a while since I checked in with the Galactica, and we’ve now left the episode adaptations behind and moved on to original stories. So, in 1985, long after the original series ended, as well as the short-lived 1980 continuation, Thurston and Larson give us new Galactica. And it’s not a winner. In fact,…
Beneath Her Skin (2021) – C.S. Porter
Nimbus Publishing, under its Vagrant Press, brings a new voice, C.S. Porter to the mystery genre, with their first novel, Beneath Her Skin, a lean, brisk, thriller. With the sub-title A Kes Morris File, one can assume that this will be Porter’s first foray into a series around their creation of Kes Morris, a female…
Inhibitor Phase (2021) – Alastair Reynolds
Orbit Books was kind enough to invite me back to Revelation Space with Alastair Reynolds’ latest novel set in that far flung universe. And once again, he proves himself not only a solid storyteller, but able to constantly meld high space opera with hard-edged sci-fi. The novel, though well able to stand on its own,…
Fletch’s Moxie (1982) – Gregory McDonald
Fletch is back! In the fifth book of the series, Gregory McDonald brings investigative reporter, and accidentally wealthy, I.M. Fletcher to Florida, where he has been summoned by his on again off again romance with actress Moxie Mooney who is on location shooting a truly horrible movie. During prep for an on-camera interview, her manager…
The Hardy Boys: Hunting for Hidden Gold (1938/1963) – Franklin W. Dixon
It’s been awhile since I checked out a Hardy Boys tale, so I happily dug back into them this week, moving on to the fifth volume in the long running series, and the further that I got into this one, the more I realized, this one is a western. Frank and Joe hardy fly out…
Leviathan Falls (2021) – James S.A. Corey
After nine, incredible, addictive, imagination-inspiring, novels, The Expanse series comes to an end with Leviathan Falls, and just like the books before it, it was so easy for me to fall back into the story, recalling where my beloved characters, Amos, Alex, Naomi and Jim were, remembering the new names that gave been added to…
Lord Edgware Dies (1933) – Agatha Christie
Murder most foul! Three of them in point of fact, but don’t be fooled by the image on the cover of the book, none of them are committed with a pistol! It’s been awhile since I read an Agatha Christie mystery, other books came along, and I knew her library of work would wait patiently…
Star Trek: Discovery – Wonderlands (2021) – Una McCormack
Una McCormack delivers another engaging Trek novel, and having firmly cemented herself in the role of my favorite Star Trek author, I dug into this one, Wonderlands, now available from Simon & Schuster through their Gallery Books imprint, with abandon. It’s 3188. Commander Michael Burnham has been catapulted some 900 years into the future, as…
