The second volume in the Illuminae Files, Gemina, is not only an excellent follow-up instalment in this vibrant and exciting Young Adult series, it is also highly entertaining science fiction and space opera. The first book, told through IM and audio transcripts, descriptions of video surveillance, was brilliant, fun, and probably a game-changer in the…
Category: The Book Shelf
Star Wars: Rogue One – The Ultimate Visual Guide (2016) – Pablo Hidalgo
Can you believe that we get a Star Wars movie every year now for the next foreseeable future? That time between Star Wars and Empire, and then Jedi, seemed interminable growing up. The wait between Jedi and Menace was even longer, and soured many a viewer, and while Awakens was a fun ride, not everyone…
20 Years of Tomb Raider (2016) – Meagan Marie
Lara Croft has been around for twenty years. And, I have to say, she looks better than ever. Since her first appearance in the game-changing, well, game, Tomb Raider in 1996, Lara Croft has made a name for herself in the action adventure series that centred around, an admittedly cartoon-like interpretation of a beautiful woman,…
Star Wars: Catalyst – A Rogue One Novel (2016) – James Luceno
This weekend, new names will be added to the Star Wars cinematic universe, those of Orson Krennic, Galen, Lyra and Jyn Orso. But Star Wars readers get to know these characters already, through James Luceno’s new canon novel Catalyst. Set during the closing years of the Clone Wars and those following it, as the Rebellion…
The DC Comics Encyclopedia (2016) – Alan Cowsill, Alex Irvine, Steve Korte, Matt Manning, Stephen Wiacek and Sven Wilson
When I was a kid, growing up on various military bases around the globe, I didn’t know a lot about superheroes, or comic books. My knowledge was constrained to Star Wars (and the occasional, troubled Star Trek title), Superman and Batman. My knowledge of the DC Comic Universe wasn’t much greater. I knew about Supes,…
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980) – Douglas Adams
Sometimes you need a good laugh, and Douglas Adams never disappoints. Picking up where the first book finished, Arthur Dent, Ford, Trillian, Zaphod and Marvin are looking for a bite to eat. They are famished after everything they have just gone through, and Arthur still wants a good cup of tea. But things are never…
James Bond Encyclopedia: Updated Edition (2014) – John Cork and Collin Stutz
Bond, James Bond. One of the most iconic lines in film history, and this week’s Book Shelf visit with DK Canada lets me revisit it in the most indepth way I’ve ever done. I’ve shared some of my encounters with 007, my introduction to the classic films, my first attempt at getting a Bond book,…
Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary – Updated and Expanded (2014) – Jason Loborik, Neil Corry, Jacqueline Rayner, Andrew Darling, Kerri Doughtery, David John and Simon Beecroft
This week’s DK book is going to get a lot of use from me in the upcoming months, as I dive into the rebirth of Doctor Who (I’m almost done with my run through the original series as I write this). DK Books and the BBC have come together to create this very beautiful visual…
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) – Douglas Adams
After re-watching the movie earlier this week, I thought it would be nice to go back and read the original novel (based on the BBC radio play penned by Adams) and go travelling with Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect again. This book first came into my hands decades ago, in the early 80s when I…
Star Trek: The Tears of the Singers (1984) – Melinda Snodgrass
Before she was tapped to join the writers of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Melinda Snodgrass penned this non-canon classic Trek novel, that is one of the best ones I’ve rad to date. There is an ecological element to the tale, music, and alien life plays a major part, and not only are Kirk, Spock…
The Mind Reels 