And here I am doing a rewatch of the film . It's been a long time since I read the Hornblower books (I liked them), but I was a kid when I first read them but had seen the Peck movie beforehand. I'm giving Girls with Razor Hearts by Suzanne Young a go.
Interesting, @USS Firefly, that you say that Hornblower isn't your kind of book, since it and Lensman are the primary influences of Star Trek.
Maybe my English isn't good enough. But In my opinion it has too much technical details, which trew me out of the story
Midshipman Hornblower is not a good starting point for Hornblower. Yes, chronologically it's the first, but it's essentially a short story collection and a kind of dull one. I usually recommend published order for the first time through Hornblower, particularly the core trilogy, so Beat to Quarters. Ship of the Line, and Flying Colors. This is Hornblower at its most Star Trek-like, and they're enjoyable novels.
I just finished a reread of Star Trek: Quarantine by John Vornholt. Maybe I missed it, but did they explain why everyone was making such a big deal out of Torres in the mixed-species area of Helena? Are humans and Klingons particularly prized genetically?
Finished Lost Scenes. Reading the Hoka omnibus. Slowly. Hoka lit is best taken in small doses. Too easy to overdose on silliness when it's this concentrated. Started Tom Kelly's book on the development of the LM.
10) THE BURGLAR WHO LIKED TO QUOTE KIPLING by Lawrence Block. An early one from Block, a Bernie Rhodenbarr story from 1979, in which Bernie is hired to steal a unique Kipling volume, only to end up drugged and waking with a gun in his hand next to a corpse. Obviously, not being a murderer or gangster type character, Berni sets about finding out who hired him, who did the murder, and what’s going on, before the cops get him. It’s one of those things that feels a bit weird because it’s set in what’s the modern day within my lifetime, but before the internet or cellphones. That always feels weird. Bernie’s an engaging character, as is his lesbian sidekick, and overall was light snappy fun. 10A) I should also mention I’m in the middle of FROM HELL by Alan Moore, but that’ll take for ages cos the font in the dialogue bubbles is small and strange even though the book’s the size of a paving slab. So I can only really read it in broad sunny daylight, and can’t shove it in a pocket..
i think the mix was found to be rare? not recalling particularly but in any case all hybrids were central to the story i read my first hornblower books (so long ago i cant recall much) while i was simultaneously reading through Patrick O'Brian's series - with the added plus of having the movie version of Far Side of the World available. basically it was primed environment to enjoy age of sail works
I really should read the Hoka stories at some point. I'm familiar with the concept... Spoiler ...and the ending of Peter David's The TARDIS at Pooh Corner has Doctor Pooh becoming UNIT's scientific advisor for the Brigadier, who happens to be a Hoka. I interviewed Eddie Campbell a couple of years ago about From Hell, and we had a nice discussion about the book. I have mixed feelings on From Hell, though. As an exploration of the Victorian world and how it gave birth to the modern age, it's a fascinating piece of work. As a Jack-the-Ripper story, the theory of the case Moore builds the story around (the Royal Conspiracy plus Masons plus Sir William Gull) makes it almost impossible to take seriously. (The film adaptation focuses on the latter, and yes, it's the absolute stupidest theory of the murders, but it's done well enough that I like the film on its own terms.) For a graphic novel I have mixed feelings on, though, I have bought it four times -- Kitchen Sink's single black & white issues, the trade paperback collection, IDW's Master Edition (which colorized it and gave Campbell a chance to go back and fix some art errors), and the hardcover of the Master Edition -- not to mention Campbell's Companion volume. I don't have a problem! I can quit any time!
Hmm. The TARDIS at Pooh Corner. O . . . . . . . . k. While I was on PAD's site, I went to his home page. I would say that the Trump-and-tribalism (wouldn't THAT be an interesting name for a role-playing game!) situation has improved a little since his October 20 post (right up front on his home page). But only a little. Two weeks ago tomorrow, something happened at the Printing Museum that has led me to add a line to my Linotype demonstration spiel, when I invite the visitors to fill out slug request forms for their souvenir slugs. I normally ask the visitors to "Please keep it clean: we are a family museum." A middle-aged woman handed me a slug request: "Let's Go Brandon." I blinked. I know it's a far-right code phrase. I know what it's a far-right code phrase for (and some weeks ago, I wasted a lot of time looking for some far-right candidate named "Brandon," before I stumbled onto it being a code phrase). I'm not convinced the woman who requested it knew what it meant. Which may be one reason why I didn't find it a lot more difficult to resist the temptation to give her an entirely different sort of "slug." As of last weekend's Boy Scout Merit Badge Day at the Museum, it's now "Please keep it clean: we are a family museum. And please, no partisan politics, right or left."
Yeah, you can tell from the first couple of chapters it's going to take that long-discredited line, which is irritating. The movie... I started watching a few years ago, and found it so incomprehensibly shite, yet also pretentious and boring, that I gave up after about 20 minutes...
AMAZING FANTASY #1000 -- celebrating Spider-Man's 60th anniversary. With a new, semi-autobiographical story by Neil Gaiman no less.
Cool. We’ve got those in my library media center collection (I’m a high school media specialist). Have you already read the first one, Girls with Sharp Sticks? (The series goes Girls with Sharp Sticks, Girls with Razor Hearts, Girls with Rebel Souls.) —David Young