The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) – Stephen King

Alright, Mr. King. You got me again. I didn’t realize how much stress and worry I was carrying around for little Trisha in this book until I reached the last page and shed my silent tears. Damn, this one reeled me in. Steering away from his the horror storytelling he’s best known for, though over…

Space: 1999 (1976) – Space Brain, and The Troubled Spirit

A Christopher Penfold script takes us farther out into the universe this week with Moonbase Alpha, in this story that first aired on 29 January, 1976. And in what seems to be a recurring theme throughout the first season, a member of Alpha is taken over by an alien presence, one that is a big…

Star Trek: Dwellers in the Crucible (1985) – Margaret Wander Bonanno

Before Star Trek V: The Final Frontier came along four years later with the concept of the Planet of Galactic Peace, Margaret Wander Bonanno presented a similar idea in her non-canon Star Trek novel, Dwellers in the Crucible, which finds its way onto the Book Shelf this week. Set before the events of Star Trek…

Doctor Who (Sylvester McCoy) – Survival

Sylvester McCoy’s final story, the close of Season 26, is the subject of this week’s review. Survival was written by Rona Munro, and aired in three parts from 22 November to 6 December, 1989. The story marks the final appearance of Sophie Aldred as Ace, and that of Anthony Ainley as The Master. Ace and…

A Boy and His Dog (1975) – L.Q. Jones

  Harlan Ellison’s classic novella comes to life in this adaptation that is my next stop on the Sci-Fi Chronicles book. Vic (a very young Don Johnson) is wandering the post-apocalyptic world, accompanied by his dog, Blood (voiced by Tim McIntire), with whom he can communicate telepathically. Together they navigate the barbarity, the cruelty and…