Who Speaks For the Damned is a recent entry into the mystery series featuring Sebastian St, Cyr, Viscount Devlin by C.S. Harris. It is June 1814, and the Viscount Devlin has now been married for a while. His son is getting a little bigger. Sebastian’s domestic situation has yet to dampen his drive to help out if an interesting murder goes down in London.

Nicholas Hayes was an offspring of the deceased Earl of Seaworth, however that did not keep him from being convicted of murder and sent off to Botany Bay. He was thought to have died as well, but he actually escaped his exile and returned to England with a child. He may have returned for revenge against four men instrumental in framing him for murder or he may have evidence of his innocence. Either way, he does end up getting murdered with a sickle stuck in his back. The mysterious child he had been seen with has disappeared into the city. Sebastian has to resurrect the facts of a case eighteen years old and is once again a thorn in the sides of several fellow members of the aristocracy. He has some help from his wife and surgeon Paul Gibson. Once again, he is warned off by his ruthless, cunning father-in-law. It’s a new case but with many familiar obstacles. Sebastian remains as determined and unruffled as ever. as he starts piecing together the last several years of Hayes’ life.

C.S. Harris used to put Sebastian through some earth-shattering personal upheavals, however it has been a while since she has knocked her protagonist for a serious loop. In some ways, I don’t mind, but the stories are getting a little predictable. There is still plenty to enjoy for the dedicated mystery reader. Harris does blend her tale nicely into the historical events of the time. The war with Napoleon has come to an end, and the British government returns to the usual business of empty platitudes and crushing taxation.

Harris proves to be a competent writer, yet there is not much that stands out other than Sebastian’s elegant machismo. Harris seems to be getting a little formulaic. The sparring between Sebastian and his wife’s father is fun, but not much has happened lately for the two to really go at each other. I am not sure what sort of upheaval I would want for the pugnacious viscount, but it does appear that Sebastian is due for one.

The book overall is a fine addition to the series, but it’s another situation where there is not much when it comes to new land being uncovered.

Speaking of probably too familiar territory, time to take some short trips in the TARDIS. Several years ago, Gary Russell compiled a collection of Doctor Who short stories for a volume entitles Short Trips : Repercussions.

The War to End All Wars is a Doctor Who audio play from Big Finish Productions. It is an episode from the range known as The Companion Chronicles. Simon Guerrier wrote the script which has Peter Purves reprising his role of Steven Taylor. This audio play was also directed by Lisa Bowerman. Alice Haig is the guest actor playing the role of Sida, a young woman who listening to a story that influenced Steven to give up his throne some years after he left the Doctor to help rule a world that needed a firm yet compassionate ruler.

Steven tells the story of the TARDIS taking him, the Doctor, and Dodo to a world they learn is designated Comfort with an unending war, which is a rather uncomfortable irony. The Doctor has disappeared, and Dodo and Steven are forced to fight in a war that seems to have no cause. Steven learns that the war is part of a cruel system where victory or defeat is impossible.

This is one of the better episodes in this range. Purves give a pitch perfect performance here. His interpretation of the First Doctor, originally played by William Hartnell, is quite compelling as usual. The Doctor doesn’t appear all that much in this story, but I was impressed enough with Guerrier’s skill here to not sweat that much. Guerrier basically weaves two stories together because the audience learns that Steven was no longer a ruler, but there is an interesting twist to what would be his present day circumstances.

Guerrier has contributed a lot to Doctor Who and has plenty of Big Finish plays under his belt. He is a steady, interesting writer anyway, but this episode really showcased his talent and imagination a bit more than the rest. Well done, Simon Guerrier and Peter Purves!

Stranded 2 is a Doctor Who audio boxset from Big Finish Productions. Ken Bentley is in the director’s seat as Paul McGann leads the cast as the Eighth Doctor. He is joined by a cast that includes Nicola Walker, Hattie Morahan, Rebecca Root, Tom Price, and Tom Baker. There are four episodes that make up this collection.

The TARDIS had been immobilized in 21st century London. The Doctor, Liv Chenka, and Helen Sinclair have taken refuge in the Time Lord’s house on Baker Street. The house has become a charming little apartment complex, and the Doctor has become a reluctant landlord as he attempts to repair his TARDIS. At the end of the previous set, the TARDIS regained the ability to travel through time, however the manual says it should travel through space as well. So the Doctor has a bit more work to do, however the dangers haven’t left him alone to work.

Matt Fitton starts off the set with Dead Time. The Doctor, his companions, and a couple of the Baker Street residents take the TARDIS very far into the future where there is no other human being. There is an artificial intelligence waiting to cause some problems. This turned out to be a pretty decent kick off for this set. The characters split up a bit. One of the characters is a transgender woman named Tania Bell, who knows more about the Doctor than she should. Of course, Tania is played by a transgender actress named Rebecca Root. The Doctor and Tania have some interesting interactions. Doctor Who often indulges in double acts. Anyway, this one was competently written. As usual when it comes to Big Finish, the performances and post production effects really helps.

UNIT Dating is written by Roy Gill. The Doctor needs to borrow some equipment from a prior incarnation who was still the scientific advisor for UNIT in the 1970’s. The audience gets to hear the origin of the relationship between two gay old men who reside in the Baker Street house. These two old guys met while they were working with UNIT. Jon Culshaw reprises the character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who was originally played by the late Nicholas Courtney. David Shaw-Parker and Jeremy Clyde play these two fellows. The story was a little intriguing because the Doctor’s presence in his own past was causing reality to shift around the couple, and memories were no longer adding up as they should. I kind of lost interest in this one.

Baker Street Irregulars is written by Lisa McMullin. The Doctor has a couple of sisters in the TARDIS has they travel back to the Second World War. Liv and Tania have a bomb to defuse as they work out some bumps in their relationship. The sisters learn what their grandmother was up to during the war,. This episode was better. There was a pretty engaging spy thriller at the heart of it.

Finally, the set concludes with John Dorney’s The Long Way Home. The Doctor and his friends are about thirty years in the future facing a mysterious interrogator. Meanwhile, the man known as the Curator is getting to know a young girl who has noticed the regular disappearances of a blue police box. This was actually the best episode in this series. Tom Baker returns as the Curator and is as compelling as usual.

This particular set was pretty mediocre in a lot of ways. The writers are trying to do some character exploration here, which I don’t usually mind. I am intrigued enough to purchase the two upcoming sets in this series. This is the series where Big Finish pretty much just goes woke. The Doctor being stuck in a house as a landlord is sort of an entertaining idea, but I am ready to have him more fully mobile. There is still some interesting story ideas here, and I look forward to seeing how this all concludes, however I doubt this will become a favorite era for me.

The Canceled Czech is a thriller by Lawrence Block and was first published in 1966. This one in a series of novels featuring American super spy Evan Tanner. I hadn’t heard of him either until I came across this little piece in an used bookstore.

Tanner is handsome. clever, and good with the ladies. It is not clear what agency he works for. He seems to be some kind of freelance troubleshooter. Tanner has one unique characteristic which could could either drive him mad or come in handy at times. He apparently suffered a war injury that robbed him of the ability to sleep. He has to incorporate some meditation and relaxation exercises to help keep his faculties together.

Evan Tanner is engaged to take a trip to Czechoslovakia to bring a Nazi war criminal back to America. His allies are a group of Jewish operatives and an overly amorous female Nazi. He gets the target out of jail, but he has to keep him alive until he can make it back to the States. Since this is a Nazi, Tanner also has to avoid the temptation to take matters into his own hands and even the score for those lost in the Holocaust.

I haven’t read much of Block’s works, I am aware of his stature in the realm of crime fiction. I am not sure this is one of his better efforts. I didn’t find Tanner all that interesting, and the German woman’s nymphomania just seemed a bit farcical. This really felt like a James Bond knockoff.

I did appreciate the setting, and Block does have a fairly engaging prose style. To be fair, this was in Block’s early years. I probably just like his other protagonist, Matthew Scudder, better.

It’s not a terrible book. and it’s not a terrible idea to read Block. I just hoped this would have engaged me more than it did.

I think for the next literary port of call will be early nineteenth century England where Viscount Sebastian St. Cyr indulges his curiosity in the macabre and investigates the murder of a man thought to have died years before at Botany Bay in Who Speaks for the Damned by C.S. Harris.

The Back to Front Murder is a new Sherlock Holmes novel written by Tim Major. This is another in the range presented by Titan Books.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are engaged by a young female mystery writer when a man she was following, imagining how she would kill him as a means of researching her next book actually ends up dead. He apparently was poisoned after drinking from a water fountain near an art gallery that he frequented. The writer uses a male pseudonym in order to keep making her preferred living. Holmes starts to unravel a much more complicated history of the deceased that has roots in Paris.

First of all, the title is just awful. Th plot itself shows some creativity, which is a good start. I just thought the characters came off as somewhat flat. I didn’t find the client all that interesting or sympathetic. Major seems to have the germ of a good story idea, but he somehow falters in the execution. I am grateful that Major managed to avoid the tendency of other Holmes pastiche writers to have some curse or wayward spirit at the heart of this. The book got a bit more interesting as Holmes was approaching the solution. There are some flashback chapters that reveal the victim’s history that were not badly presented. I guess the idea is for these writers to emulate the style of Arthur Conan Doyle, but Major just appears to miss that mark. I will conclude on a positive note that Major does show some promise in his basic story idea and in that he is at least a competent writer. Maybe his next Sherlock Holmes contribution will show some improvement.

The next literary indulgence from the ever growing stack is Lawrence Block’s The Canceled Czech.

The Batman is the latest superhero DC film featuring Gotham’s caped hero. Matt Reeves is the director and also co-wrote the script with Peter Craig. Robert Pattinson dons the cape and cowl and leads a pretty impressive cast. The cast includes Zoe Kravitz, John Turturro, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell.

The mayor of Gotham City is murdered and a riddle is left for Batman to ponder. Other members of Gotham’s elite class are targeted by the Riddler. Batman also has an uneasy alliance with catlike vigilante named Selina Kyle. He learns some family secrets connected to the gangsters. The Penguin is the number one henchman of Carmine Falcone, so the audience gets to see another version of another classic villain. The Riddler has also set in motion a plan that will kill more than just a few power players in the city.

This absurdly long film turned out to be a little better than I had heard, but it has more than a few cracks. There was very little humor or lightness that was a bit more prevalent in some of the previous films. Part of the problem here is that this version of Bruce Wayne was so much more brooding than originally depicted. Batman is motivated by basically avenging the murder of his parents, however there was still a separation between Wayne and his Dark Knight persona. Wayne has usually been at least approachable and charming. There was none of that in Pattinson’s portrayal here. Pattinson did not put forth much of an effort to produce a different voice when in costume, and I was fine with that decision. The Batman actor producing a growling whisper or whatever to disguise his voice can be a bit distracting, and it was nice to be able to hear all of the dialogue for once. The film also didn’t need to be three hours long.

Some of the other cast members were pretty compelling. Turturro is almost always fun to watch, and he came through here as usual. The design of Gotham City teetered on the edge of being a bit garish in its griminess, but I ended up rather impressed with some of the imagination brought to life. When Dano was finally unmasked, I ended up rather approving of his casting as the Riddler. Serkis plays the loyal Wayne butler, Alfred Pennyworth, and he is fine.

The film ended up not being a complete mess, but I enjoyed many of the previous iterations better.

Edgar Allen Poe’s The Oval Portrait is a supernatural film released in 1972. Rogelio A. González was the director with Enrique Torres Tudela adapting this into the screenplay. The cast includes Wanda Hendrix, Barry Coe, and Gisele MacKenzie.

Apparently, this movie also has been known as One Minute Before Death. Basically, there is a haunted painting, and the dead woman doing the haunting is able to take over the body of a living woman. There is also a tragic love story at the heart of this thing. There is also a strangely obsessed man with a taste for necrophilia or something pretty damned close to it. No need to worry though; it doesn’t get that graphic.

Most movies I review in this blog tend to leave me with mixed reactions. If any of my very few readers were really waiting for the day I came down decisively on a clear verdict for a film, that day has arrived.

This thing was abysmal. Almost nothing worked here. Some of the set design was fine, but it needed to go with a better cast. There was no clear motivation for many of the characters to be in this supposedly spooky house. There was this one irritating tune drilling itself into my psyche. The acting was terrible. Everyone was annoying or just outright nuts. I only sat through it to give it a fair review. Plus I wanted to be my fair in my disgust. I like a good ghost story, but this film completely failed to deliver.

The ability and opportunity to vent about this is scant consolation. Anyway, my point is made. There is little reason for anyone to subject themselves to this grotesque disappointment.

American Gods is a modern day fantasy novel from the fertile imagination of Neil Gaiman. It was first published in 2001, so it may not be all that modern. There is actually a blend of various genres here, and it is a long book. There are longer books out there, but is still a somewhat daunting length here.

The fellow named Shadow is just released from prison and is looking forward to a joyous reunion with his wife when he is informed that she was just killed in a car accident alongside his best friend. And the suspicions that may raise in anyone reading this blog would probably be correct. Anyway, Shadow is then recruited to be a driver and errand boy for an enigmatic con man named Mr. Wednesday. Wednesday turns out to be more than that, however, and Shadow finds himself in the company of various people with strange powers. He also learns a little something about his own origins along the way. Just because Shadow’s wife is dead does not mean that she isn’t looking out for him. Shadow is also about to become central in an upcoming war between some familiar gods in new guises.

Gaiman and his works are pretty highly regarded among the fantasy/sci-fi fans. Much of the acclaim is well-deserved. This novel is not without some originality. Gaiman’s writing flows pretty easily, but it manages to do so with a distinctive elegance at times. There are times, however, when the book really feels longer than necessary. Writers who churn out 750 page volumes take that risk, and my interest waned and sputtered a few times on this journey. His lead character does manage to stay compelling enough to keep me willing to hold on. This is my first time reading this author’s work so thoroughly, although I have been familiar with the name for some time. The novel does remain interesting enough for me to generally encourage others to give it a go. It’s one that does require some patience and a willingness to forgive the doldrums within the plot. I still found the experience to be worthwhile and am by no means deterred from checking out other works by Neil Gaiman.

Any further exploration of the works of Neil Gaiman will resume at a later date. Next up, I will be reading and examining a new Sherlock Holmes novel from Titan Books. Tim Major adds his voice to the various pastiche writers keeping the master detective supplied with new adventures with The Back to Front Murders.

The Seventh Doctor: The New Adventures Volume One is a Doctor Who audio boxset released by Big Finish Productions. Sylvester McCoy stars as the Seventh Doctor. He is joined by Yasmin Bannerman and Travis Oliver as Roz Forrester and Chris Cwej. Roz and Chris worked as futuristic police officers known as Adjudicators and were first introduced in the novel range known as The New Adventures. There are four audio episodes contained in this set, and all were directed by Scott Handcock.

The first writer in this collection created Forrester and Cwej all those years ago was Andy Lane, who kicks off the set with The Trial of a Time Machine. The TARDIS may be responsible for a fatal crash in the time vortex and is tried on the planet Thrantas where a mysterious magistrate is able to see through all of time and space. Forrester and Cwej look for evidence to determine the true cause of the collision as the Doctor is left to defend his oldest friend in a system where guilt and innocence have a troubling flexibility. This turned into a somewhat confusing yet somehow still fascinating tale. McCoy is quite good as usual. Lane shows some creative agility here with presenting a creature with unusual abilities that could prevent the Doctor from liberating his beloved TARDIS.

Vanguard is the second story and is written by Steve Jordan. The TARDIS crew is split up by a war that is fought with the aid of enormous robots. Sara Powell, Connor Calland, and Jacob Dudman are included in the guest cast. The story was fairly good, but I can’t say that I found it remarkably engaging. The performances were solid enough as expected, however the other episodes were a bit more intriguing.

Alan Flanagan continues the journey here with The Jabari Countdown. The guest cast includes Franchi Webb, Leonie Schliesing, and Rupert Young. The Doctor and his companions are trapped on an island with a group of mathematicians during the Second World War. The group finds an alien puzzle that must be solved in order for their lives to be spared. This was much better, but I like tales taking place in isolated settings with alien threats lurking in the shadows. There are a couple of surprises when it comes to characters’ backgrounds. Not al of these twists I found to be that interesting. Overall, this story was quite good.

Tim Foley brings it home with The Dread of Night. The Doctor and his two companions take shelter from the rain in a house where a pair of sisters are mourning a loss, and most of the servants are gone. A ghostly presence waits in the shadows, but the Doctor suspects that is much more than a mere ghost. Melanie Kilburn, Rhian Blundell, and Elaine Fellows make up the guest cast. Although the haunted house motif almost always hooks me, I thought this one was actually genuinely good. Foley came up with a strong finish to this collection.

The set overall did not hit it out of the park for me, but I was glad to have gotten it. Only one story really failed to keep my attention as well as the others. I am not sure that I found Forrester and Cwej to be all that engaging as companions, at least not on audio. I liked them better on the printed page. The impish familiarity of McCoy is still the strongest draw in this one. I found this collection to be mostly quite enjoyable, but I doubt that I would miss these two companions if they were not revisited. I do know that I would miss the Seventh Doctor though, so hopefully Big Finish has big plans for that particular incarnation.

Death on the Nile is a mystery film directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Michael Green is the scriptwriter who adapted the novel written by Agatha Christie. All kind of notable actors are gathered here. Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Emma Mackey, Russell Brand, Dawn French, Sophie Okonedo, and Letitia Wright are included in the sizable cast.

The film starts off with a rather unnecessary prologue with Poirot serving in the Belgian army during the First World War that supposedly explains the inspiration for his distinctive mustache. Many years later, Poirot is witness to an announcement of engagement at a jazz club in London. Six weeks later, the man is married to the previous fiancée’s friend who is a heiress. The first bride-to-be has been following the happy couple and appears to be gearing herself up r some kind of drastic action. Poirot joins the celebration aboard a ship sailing along the River Nile. Then the guns start firing, and the corpses start appearing. Poirot’s vacation comes to an end, and his investigative instincts are reignited.

The performances are fine, and the whole thing is shot beautifully. The sets are great, and the costume designer have the works deserves a standing ovation. Unfortunately, the alterations in the script are not necessary. Of course, there are changes in the ethnicity in some of the characters, which isn’t too surprising these days. Fortunately, the talent and charisma of both Okonedo and Wright does help make that decision less obnoxious That piece doesn’t quite annoy me as much as this business of Poirot’s past trauma and this silliness surrounding the reason for his ludicrous facial hair.

I was pleased that the basic plot was still recognizable. I had watched another version of this story which starred David Suchet, who is still my favorite Poirot actor. It has been a while since I read the novel though. I may have to revisit that one soon.

Much of the film is still enjoyable, but it is not without some fairly significant flaws and questionable creative decisions. I basically had one of my usual mixed reactions. In the end, I was pleased to have the works of Dame Agatha Christie presented to some new audiences. It falls short of any real cinematic greatness, but it does manage to avoid being a disaster.