Tag: writing

Book Review: The Man Of Bronze Finds Gold…Or Does He?

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Sea Magician by Kenneth Robeson features an early version of a superhero known as Doc Savage. This series was written for a couple of decades in the mid-twentieth century and is probably one of the earlier versions of a superhero.

Doc Savage is a super genius with super strength and throws himself unhesitatingly into the fight against evildoers. Of course, he has the color of bronze and is immensely powerful. He is one of those protagonists who seems so virtuous and powerful that he runs the risk of being rather boring.

In this little volume, Doc Savage is investigating the disappearance of one of his associates when he learns of an invention that apparently produces gold from seawater. It begins with the hapless assistant looking into tales of a specter resembling King John lurking around a marsh in England known as the Wash. Doc Savage finds a troubling conspiracy is afoot and many people are needing rescue before the end of this caper is in sight.

This was a pretty fun diversion, although I am not sure I am going to be going out of my way to collect this series. I doubt this will be the last Doc Savage adventure I enjoy.

There is some enjoyment to be found in this short novel, but that may be more due to the stirrings of nostalgia it evokes. The author is apparently a pseudonym because it seems a certain Lester Dent was the main writer of the novel series. The series does have a somewhat interesting publication history, which I discovered in Wikipedia.

I didn’t really dislike the novel, but I had some trouble with staying interested due to Doc Savage not really having any interesting quirks or flaws. Sometimes, a hero’s weaknesses can make the story a little more compelling although there is a risk of that indulgence being overdone.

I will say there is a certain richness in the prose that is often missing from more recent works that I appreciated.

In spite of my reservations which I expressed here, I didn’t hate this one or the concept. I may try a few more in the series as I come across them as I peruse the used bookstores.

Before all of that, I have plenty of other unread volumes to go through. The next selection will be Nelson DeMille’s The Gold Coast.

Book Review: The Dirt On Mrs. Dart

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Dirt is an interesting crime novel from the late Stuart Woods and features Stone Barrington, who is a somewhat strange combination of attorney and private investigator.

This is a pretty lengthy series which is still continuing with the aid of ghost writers. This particular novel was written by the man himself and published in 1996.

A syndicated gossip columnist named Amanda Dart is being harassed by faxes that expose some of her extracurricular activities. Her reputation is on the line, and Amanda isn’t used to being the one on the receiving end of embarrassing revelations. She turns to Stone Barrington for some help in identifying the perpetrators. Barrington is an ex-police detective who retired early and joined the legal profession. He now works somewhat unique cases for a law firm and does well. Stone contends with some dangerous people to help his seductively headstrong client, but he is certainly no stranger to trouble. An old friend gets murdered during the investigation, and Stone is even more motivated to run these miscreants down.

The plot itself is pretty compelling. Amanda Dart is certainly not in a panic about her situation, but she is kind of hard to sympathize with. Barrington is pretty sharp and fairly interesting as a lead character, but there isn’t that much to make him stand out in the pantheon of fictional detectives.

I am not sure if this is a regular component in a Stuart Woods novel, but I was caught a bit flat-footed by the gratuitous sex going on, particularly at the beginning. At the risk of coming off as a bit prudish, I found some of these scenes a bit jarring and distracting. I think Woods would have done better to allow more to be left to the imagination.

Even Barrington was displaying some remarkably poor judgment when it came to a couple of these liaisons.

As far as writing style, Woods is competent with his prose. It’s an easy read but not so much so that it seems insulting.

Other than the random sex scenes, there is not much that I will find memorable about this particular literary venture.

A couple of months ago, I was in a bookstore where a signing was occurring, and I went ahead and bought one from a local writer. I think it’s time to allow author Tierney James to introduce me to a An Unlikely Hero.

Big Finish Audio Review: The Doors To Dark Gallifrey Should Remain Closed, But Where’s The Fun In That?

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Big Finish Productions begins a new trilogy of Dark Gallifrey audio plays with The War Master: Part One with David Warner and Lisa Bowerman an alternative Unbound Doctor and Professor Bernice Summerfield. James Goss is the writer with Scott Handcock serving as director.

The supporting cast is comprised of Jason Forbes, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Tariye Peterside, and Homer Todiwala.

Bernice Summerfield is traveling with a Doctor from another reality. Warner has previously played this version in a series called Doctor Who Unbound. Benny is intrigued by the prospect of unlocking the secrets of something known as Dark Gallifrey, however she and the Doctor have yet to discover a familiar adversary also has his eyes on the same prize.

This play is somewhat interesting, but it’s a little confusing on the first listen since it basically unfolds backwards. Bowerman and Warner are a good match since they are both so experienced as actors. Bowerman has been around Big Finish pretty much since its kickoff in 1999. Warner is just British acting royalty at this point. This was apparently one of his last projects since he died in 2022.

The performances were solid, but it’s hard to really understand what is going on due to the method of experimenting with basic storytelling. Trying to tell a story backwards just seems to work a little better on a more visual medium.

Derek Jacobi has yet to make an appearance in this first installment of the trilogy, but I am looking forward to his entrance.

I found this to be an underwhelming start. but not because of the caliber of performances. I just don’t like too many mental gymnastics going on in just trying to follow a plot.

Anyway, the sound effects are fine. The other actors seem to be well-considered in their casting. The technical demands are admirably met.

Hopefully, the next installment will have more Jacobi, and Warner’s take on the Doctor will become more engaging for me.

Book Review: A Cannibal In Vegas

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Neon Prey is a thriller from John Sandford that sounds more thrilling than it turned out to be for me. It’s another in his long-running series featuring Lucas Davenport, who is now a US Marshal on the hunt for a killer who actually feasts on human flesh.

A freelance enforcer for organized crime named Clayton Deese skips out on bail after a job that goes wrong for him. During the search, bodies are discovered on his Louisiana property. It is discovered that Deese is also a cannibal and on the run. Lucas Davenport and his team of United States Marshals join in the manhunt which almost gets him killed. Deese is traced to Las Vegas with his group of miscreants, and he turns out to be cleverer than Davenport anticipated.

I have read some Sandford novels before, but I had a hard time getting into this one. I think part of my problem is that nothing feels all that distinctive about Davenport. He’s just another determined cop who maintains his cool no matter what. I did respect that he sort of didn’t dwell on the injury he suffers in the first part of the novel that took him months to complete his recovery. He just basically got back into the fray once he got himself back in shape.

Sandford is an efficient writer, but nothing really pops off the page for me. Even the reprehensible cannibal didn’t really keep my interest. I was just ready to finish the thing and move on to the next book.

Anyway, Sandford has his devotees, and that’s fine. I may return to his works, but it will be a while. I may just prefer his other well-known protagonist, Virgil Flowers. Anyway, this was a disappointing port of call in my unending literary journey.

I will return to a more classic crime novelist who wrote a novel that had two pretty good screen adaptations. I am about to revisit Cape Fear by John D. MacDonald in its original presentation.

Big Finish Audio Review: Wilde Times For Jago & Litefoot

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Jago & Litefoot Series Four continues the audio adventures of the intrepid investigators of the macabre in Victorian London and is entertaining enough which is to be expected from Big Finish Productions. Christipher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter return to the microphones as Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot alongside a pretty good guest cast and strangely familiar voices in four episodes directed by Lisa Bowerman.

The guest cast is comprised of Victoria Alcock, Christopher Beeny, Elizabeth Counsell, Alan Cox, Mike Grady, and Terry Molloy. Bowerman also returns to her role as the barmaid Ellie Higson. I also can’t forget to mention that Louise Jameson and Colin Baker are the extra special guest stars.

Jago in Love by Nigel Fairs is the first episode, and the title sort of gives away what happens. Jago, Litefoot, and Leela have taken a holiday to Brighton where Jago falls for a music hall singer named Abigail. There is something tainting this romance as a strange pair of men have followed them. Also, there is another strange presence in the shape of Professor Claudius Dark, but the professor may be an old friend with a different face.

This one is a pretty good setup for the arc the other episodes are going to take. The strange pair of Mr. Hardwick and Mr. Kempston are kind of intriguing as shadowy, menacing figures.

Overall, the episode is not really great, but it gets the job done with setting up the other mysteries which confound Jago and Litefoot.

Beautiful Things by John Dorney has Jago and Litefoot encounter one Oscar Wilde, played by Alan Cox. Litefoot seems to have some grudge against Wilde, but he cannot indulge that since there are bodies turning up that need his expertise. Leela, played by Louise Jameson, is also there to assist, and the audience catches another glimpse of the peculiarly familiar Professor Dark.

This one was pretty good and an obvious riff on Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey. Dorney is certainly one of the more reliable contributors to Big Finish Productions and continues that track record with this one.

Matthew Sweet gives us another “trapped on a train” adventure with The Lonely Clock. Leela and Ellie get more involved in trying to save Jago and Litefoot before time runs out in more ways than one.

This one was a little hard to follow at times, but the performances as ever are compelling enough for me to forgive any plot holes. Also, Professor Dark is finally revealed at the end to have a much more familiar and welcome identity. Since it’s Colin Baker in the role, we can all surmise what that really is.

Finally, it is the great Justin Richards who ends this set with The Hourglass Killers. Leela, Jago, and Litefoot are joined by a certain wandering Time Lord and an old friend of, well…practically everybody here. The true enemy is revealed, and the stakes are even higher for well…practically everybody.

Anyway, this is a bit of a collection for the longtime Doctor Who fans and could be accused of being a bit self-indulgent, however it is written well enough to enjoy the ride.

Colin Baker pretty much is guaranteed to deliver an energetic and compelling performance, and his enthusiasm is just as strong as in this set as one would come to expect. I also marvel at the ingenuity of the writers who come up with how to present Jago’s preposterous affinity for alliteration in his dialogue. Anyway, this is one spinoff series that seems to have a deserved legion of fans among us Big Finish consumers.

Not every scene was as clear as I would have preferred, but it’s still a fun journey. One should also extend a bit more grace when it comes to audio performances. That medium is probably one of the trickier ones to pull off for those who write and produce them, and these four writers still did more than come through for this particular listener.

Book Review: Trouble In Cypress County

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Long Lavender Look is a decent novel written by the revered crime writer John D. MacDonald and features his best-known protagonist, Travis McGee. It was first published in 1970.

Travis McGee is a salvage consultant with a peculiar tendency to get involved in murder investigations. He lives in a houseboat called The Busted Flush in Florida and just has a talent of falling into dire peril involving greed, corruption, and murder.

This story begins when McGee and his friend, Meyer, are returning home from attending a wedding when a scantily clad woman darts across a darkened road right in front of his car, causing them to end up in swamp water upside down. As McGee and Meyer make their way to civilization, they are accosted by someone in a truck passing them taking shots at them. When they make it to the authorities, they find themselves arrested for the murder of a guy in Cypress County who was apparently involved in an armored truck heist some years prior. McGee finds himself in the middle of a complicated web of corruption where he is not sure who he can trust as he fights to clear his name and return home.

First of all, I will say that I will likely be revisiting this author’s works again, but MacDonald does require some patience because he is a bit wordy. His exposition at times slows down the story and kind of makes it a bit of a chore to get through.’

I do appreciate that MacDonald does display an impressive eloquence in his prose for what is classified as a hard-boiled crime novel. The friendship between Meyer and McGee has its charm as well. I had heard of Travis McGee for years but did not really know much about this series. I do like the set-up MacDonald has created for him. For example, The Busted Flush seems to be a great name for a boat.

MacDonald is generally considered one of the great ones in this genre, and I can understand how he gained that acclaim even though I struggled a bit with this one. I suspect that I have spent too many years with writers who are much more abrupt and simple in their prose to fully appreciate MacDonald’s writing style.

Once again, I may not be doing myself any favors by starting well into the middle of a series. MacDonald has numerous standalone novels, which I will also likely explore, but I doubt this will be my last effort to hang with Travis McGee.

I wish this particular novel hooked me more, but I am not ready to throw in the towel in my exploration of the works of John D. MacDonald.

My next read is going to take me further back in time to another legendary suspense writer named Daphne Du Maurier, who is most famous for the novel Rebecca. I thought I would be introduced to this author’s works by way of Jamaica Inn.

Big Finish Audio Review: On The Isle Of The Dead, Morbius Lives Again

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Dark Gallifrey: Morbius Part Two is the continuation of a trilogy of audio dramas from Big Finish Productions that seems to be a very promising and poignant piece of entertainment. The series explores various Time Lords from Doctor Who and delves into the history of their home planet and their roles. The warlord known as Morbius appeared in the television series during the Tom Baker era, and now we get a taste of his history.

The story is written by Tom Foley and directed by Samuel Clemens. Samuel West is in the title role with Mina Anwar, Rachel Atkins, Justin Avoth, Mark Bonnar, Andrew French, Janet Henfrey, Lara Lemon, and Hywel Morgan making up the rest of the cast.’

The Gallifreyan battleship known as the Proteus has crashed into a realm known as the Isle of the Dead. The crew members find themselves in more peril than they understand when an old enemy thought dead is about to be resurrected. Captain Argento, played by Rachel Atkins, finds herself facing down doubts from her crew and her own health concerns. Meanwhile, the cult of Morbius is awaiting the return of their idol, and the galaxy is in the direst of jeopardies.

I don’t normally enjoy much Doctor Who that doesn’t feature the Doctor, but this is becoming rather fascinating. West has played Morbius in some previous audio plays, so it makes sense to continue to have him stretch himself a little further. West does a great job.

The story is actually supposed to remind the audience of the old sea adventures. The crew of the Proteus aren’t pirates really, but the mannerisms of the characters sort of put forth that vibe. Big Finish almost always gets the casting right, and this adventure is no exception. I kind of find the first mate, Mr. Middlewitch, a rather compelling character. Hywel Morgan has that role and just seems to relish it. I also think the name Middlewitch is kind of cool.

Anyway, I will soon be listening to the third and final episode of this ongoing series. Dark Gallifrey has delivered on an intriguing premise, and I am fascinated to hear the fate of the crew of the Proteus.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Puccini, Iceland, And The Mara

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Deadly Strangers is the latest Doctor Who audio boxset from Big Finish Productions to feature the always welcome return of Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, and the three stories contained within are eclectic and engaging. The director is Ken Bentley. Jaye Griffiths and India Fisher accompany the Time Lord as Lady Audacity Montague and Charlotte Pollard, respectively. The guest cast in each story are predicably well-chosen. As usual, I will proceed with a few brief comments on each story.

Matthew Jacobs gets things rolling with Puccini and the Doctor. Tim McInnerny portrays the celebrated musician Giacomo Puccini, who wrote the famous opera, Madama Butterfly. The Doctor is not alone in being an extraterrestrial interested in the arts created by humanity. A mysterious and beautiful woman named Tura will change the lives and forms of those who are unable to answer her riddles. What is meant to be a mere visit to appreciate beautiful music and meet one of the minds who create it turns into another attempt by the TARDIS crew to protect the Earth from another dangerous alien presence.

McGann has lost none of his energy in his performance as the Doctor. Jaye Griffiths proves to be a welcome addition to this team. Charlotte is forced to grapple with some intense feelings for the Doctor. Both of the current companions perform wonderfully in their roles. Audacity is certainly one of the better recent creations from Big Finish.

The ploy itself is pretty interesting because Princess Tura, portrayed by Tania Rodrigues, turns out to be quite as malevolent as she first seems. Jacobs takes his audience on a pretty compelling and complicated examination of love.

It’s an interesting story that creates a nice blend of fantasy and a glimpse of history and culture. Not a bad start here.

Women’s Day Off by Lisa McMullen brings the Doctor, Charley, and Audacity to Iceland, 1975 where the women are on strike, but a young girl is terrified of her own powers that she cannot quite control.

Once again, another alien visitor is trying to get home, but he has an important component to find, and the girl known as Kyla may know something about that.

Molly Harris and George Watkins are included in the guest cast and prove to be quite effective, which is the usual result for Big Finish casting.

The title of this set is a little perplexing since the alien visitor once again turns out to be a likeable fellow. It is a bit of a departure that no one wants to actually conquer the Earth and subjugate everyone, however McMullen does make this suspenseful regardless.

The women’s strike in Iceland is an actual historical event but not a well-known one, so it was nice to receive a little nugget of knowledge I didn’t have before.

It’s a pretty good episode that is well-performed even if the stakes are relatively low for a Doctor Who tale.

Finally, a dangerous interloper appears in The Gloaming by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle which completes this set. Gloaming is a luxury sleep clinic which orbits a dead world and contains rich Sleepers in suspended animation. A dark presence the Doctor has encountered before has entered their dreams of the Sleepers and threatens to take over the Time Lord’s friends. The Mara has escaped from the dark places of the inside once again.

This was a strong finish for this set. The Mara is a delightfully mischievous and deadly opponent for the Doctor, and it was great to have it back. Hopefully, the Mara are used sparingly because the rarity of their appearances makes their delicious malevolence a treat.

The final episode is my favorite, but the whole set really works well. Audacity is a recent addition to the gallery of companions, and she has grown on me quite a bit. Audacity Montague is an aristocrat from the Regency era of England, and Griffiths seems to have the perfect voice for someone of that origin.

Paul McGann is as effusive and charming as ever as the Doctor. Charlotte Pollard is one of the early Big Finish companions, and India Fisher still easily finds that voice after two decades of playing her.

Big Finish has another jewel with this one. Three pretty solid stories with a formidable TARDIS team make Deadly Strangers one of the better ones to start off the 2025 releases.

Book Review: A Strange Professor With A Strange Mind

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The House of Love and Death is the third intriguing novel by Andrew Klavan to feature Cameron Winter, a college professor with a dangerous path and something he calls “a strange habit of mind”. Winter has the sort of imagination where he can place himself in a horrific crime scene and mentally dissect it with more detail than most people could fathom. Winter currently works as an English professor at a university; however, he was once a government operative who manipulated others into their own demise.

Klavan has an interesting set-up in these Winter novels. The good professor has been seeing a therapist. The book is usually divided into four parts. The beginning of each section reveals a first-person narrative as Winter discusses some aspect of his troubling past with this therapist. The subsequent chapter will then chronicle the therapist’s reaction to what she has just heard and how she guides Winter into some personal epiphany.

Winter also has the peculiar tendency to insert himself into cases that intrigue him uniquely. This time, a family just outside of Chicago had been shot, and their house was set on fire. Some details of the matter bother Winter enough to motivate him to a closer look at the situation where he finds supposedly well-respected people engaging in some pretty shady and lascivious behaviors. Although there are some dangerous people coming to light by Winter’s investigation, they have little idea that Winter himself could very well be more dangerous than they imagine.

This is the third and most recent novel in this series. Klavan has set a pretty predictable pattern on how his plots unfold. There is quite a bit of imagination when it comes to this story. I am getting to know Cameron Winter a little better, and he is an interesting and likeable character, although it’s a little far-fetched. Winter is described as basically being ethereally handsome, which makes him a little hard to picture in the mind’s eye. The relationship between Winter and his much older therapist sometimes seems just a little odd and distracting. There is nothing really inappropriate going on there, but there are some thoughts being revealed which are not quite as professional as expected at times. Still, the therapist seems to have some pretty sharp insights herself which does make her interesting to this reader.

I think I am starting to understand this “strange habit of mind” concept a little better. Klavan isn’t really trying to convey that Winter has some sort of supernatural ability, but that this gift is more of a strange sort of deduction and imagination. Klavan isn’t likely going to be considered to be some master of the mystery genre, but he manages to tell a pretty compelling tale. Also, I am already looking forward to following Cameron Winter’s next caper.

I think it’s time to revisit 221 B Baker Street with the help of author Frank Thomas, who has tried his hand at continuing the exploits of Sherlock Holmes. In 1980, Thomas managed to get Sherlock Holmes and the Sacred Sword on the shelves, and a copy has recently found its way to my hands..