Monday Musings – A Marvel Comics Super Special

Having recently talked about my love of the movie tie-in novelization, I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t dive into the equally enjoyable Marvel Super Specials that often adapted those same movies, and brought them to life panel by panel – sometimes with stellar art, sometimes not, but always worth collecting. I remember…

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Metamorphosis (1990) – Jean Lorrah

Jean Lorrah, who had previously penned Survivors for The Next Generation book series delivered the first Giant Novel in the Star Trek line. Once again, it focuses on Data. Sure Data was an interesting character, but the rest of the Enterprise-D crew gets the short-shrift in this story. But that may be a blessing for…

Blood Fever (2006) – Charlie Higson

The end of James Bond’s first year at Eton is almost here, and the young boy, still thirteen, is working to figure out what to do with his summer holidays. His Aunt Charmain endorses his choice to go on a school trip to Sardinia, with the caveat that if it gets too dull, he can…

Monday Musings – The Movie Tie-In Saga

I’ve always been an avid reader. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have at least one book on the go. And, I loved my movies. When I was a kid all the way up through the end of high school I was a devout fan of the movie tie-in book….

Star Wars: Ambush at Corellia (1995) – Roger MacBride Allen

It’s been awhile since I traveled to a galaxy far, far away. That being said, it’s surprising how quickly I fell back into the storylines and these versions of iconic characters. Originally published in 1995, this story, the first installment in The Corellian Trilogy is set 18 years after the Battle of Yavin. Allen has…

Lost Man’s Lane (2024) – Scott Carson

Scott Carson delivers a book I just couldn’t put down with Lost Man’s Lane. Combining nostalgia for the end of the 20th century with a twist of supernatural thriller, the tale is a coming-of-age story that is by turns frightening and beautifully told. Marshall and his mom are living their lives in quiet Bloomington. When…

SilverFin (2005) – Charlie Higson

The Young Bond series gets underway with SilverFin written by Charlie Higson, with the blessing of the Ian Fleming Foundation. It’s a curious idea. By giving us a young James Bond, you’d think the stories are meant to appeal to young adult readers. But the stories themselves are in keeping with the literary James Bond…

Never Flinch (2025) – Stephen King

I love the character of Holly Gibney, so anytime King wants to put her in another story, I’m there for it. And he did just that with Never Flinch. And if Holly is there, you know some of her friends will be around – Barbara, Jerome, Izzy. Holly, and the readers, soon find themselves dealing…

To Be Taught, If Fortunate (2019) – Becky Chambers

The last (for now) Becky Chambers book for me to read was her first. Again, it’s too short, but it hints at the wonders to come in her Wayfarer Series and Monk and Robot books. The story follows a foursome of Earth explorers as they explore strange new worlds. Well four of them anyway. And…

Alien: Out of the Shadows (2014) – Tim Lebbon

It’s been a long time since I picked up an Alien novel. I dug the Alien 3 novel based on the original script by William Gibson, and before that I read Alan Dean Foster’s adaptation of Aliens bach when it first came out. But I was eager to dig into the universe again, I was…