|
On this page you'll find the
sensational sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King, the
sequel to Gwendy's Magic Box, by Richard Chizmar, and the second of
Eric Saward's "lost" Dr Who novelisations, Revelation of the Daleks -
all perfect Christmas gifts. Doctor Sleep is one of the Stephen King
books I read again regularly, at least once a year, and this brilliant
film tie-in version from Hodder & Stoughton is absolutely stunning,
a must-have!
Book
of the Month - Stephen King: Doctor Sleep
Published
by Hodder & Stoughton 19th September 2019

'By the end of this book your fingers
will be mere stubs of their former selves . . . King's inventiveness
and skill show no signs of slacking: Doctor Sleep has all
the virtues of his best work' - Margaret Atwood, New York Times
An
epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill
the millions of hyper-devoted readers of The Shining and
wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King
canon.
Following
a childhood haunted by terrifying events at the Overlook Hotel, Danny
Torrance has been drifting for decades.
Finally,
he settles into a job at a nursing home where he draws on his remnant
'shining' power to help people pass on.
Then
he meets Abra Stone, a young girl with the brightest 'shining' ever
seen. But her gift is attracting a tribe of paranormals. They may look
harmless, old and devoted to their Recreational Vehicles, but The True
Knot live off the 'steam' that children like Abra produce.
Now
Dan must confront his old demons as he battles for Abra's soul and
survival...
I have a core of Stephen King books I'm happy to
read over and over
again, beginning with IT, followed by The Stand, and of course the Dark
Tower series. There's also 11:22:63, Salem's Lot, Insomnia, Bag of
Bones, and the four Holly Gibney titles. And now there's Doctor Sleep,
which is the sequel to The Shining and follows the supernatural
adventures of a grown-up Danny Torrance. I don't re-read The Shining
that much, perhaps once in any ten years, but Doctor Sleep has been a
fall back read several times now, and I never tire of it. The
burgeoning relationship between Abra and Danny is terrific. I find
Doctor Sleep a far more easier read than The Shining - there are no
groups of youngsters in it, as with It, although we do follow the
progress of
Abra through kindergarten and early adolescence, which is when things
start to get really interesting. I've read reviews of the Ewan McGregor
film, and realise at once that when it's out on Blu Ray, I shall have
to watch it on my own as my wife is not a huge fan of Stephen King
movies, more's the pity. She will happily watch Salem's Lot, but then
there is no gore in it. And as she's an Idris Elba fan, she's happy to
watch The Dark Tower, which I thought a very good adventure film but
didn't really capture the essence of the seven-volume fantasy
blockbuster. Doctor Sleep is a tale of good vs evil, but it also
contains scenes of child abuse and murder which could make for
uncomfortable reading, although in King's expert hands these scenes
move the story along
at a terrific rate. This sensational new edition of Doctor Sleep
obviously echoes that famous scene from The Shining, and the story is
one of King's finest, in my opinion.
Doctor
Who: Star Tales
Published
by BBC Books 5th December 2019

‘Even
though they’re gone from the world, they’re never gone from me.’
The
Doctor is many things – curious, funny, brave, protective of her
friends...and a shameless namedropper. While she and her companions
battled aliens and travelled across the universe, the Doctor hinted at
a host of previous, untold adventures with the great and the good: we
discovered she got her sunglasses from Pythagoras (or was it Audrey
Hepburn?); lent a mobile phone to Elvis; had an encounter with Amelia
Earhart where she discovered that a pencil-thick spider web can stop a
plane; had a 'wet weekend' with Harry Houdini, learning how to escape
from chains underwater; and more.
In
this collection of new stories, Star
Tales takes
you on a rip-roaring ride through history, from 500BC to the swinging
60s, going deeper into the Doctor's notorious name-dropping and
revealing the truth behind these anecdotes.
I
love the new Doctor Who and look forward to the new series which must
start soon after Christmas, surely? In the meantime, you can console
yourself with this brilliant set of new original short stories in a
book with a stunning cover. In it, the new Doctor is reminiscing with
Yaz et al about her past encounters, and each story is set in a time
when the doctor was a different incarnation to Jodie Whitaker. This is
premium science fiction, not just for Doctor Who aficianodos but also
for lovers of the science fiction and fantasy genre.
H
G Wells: The War of the Worlds
Published
by Alma Classics 21st April 2017

When
an army of invading Martians lands in England, panic and terror seize
the population. As the aliens traverse the country in huge three-legged
machines, incinerating all in their path with a heat ray and spreading
noxious toxic gases, the people ofthe Earth must come to terms with the
prospect of the end of human civilization and the beginning of Martian
rule.Inspiring fi lms, radio dramas, comic-book adaptations, television
series and sequels,The War of the Worlds is a prototypical work of
science fiction which has influenced every alien story that has come
since, and is unsurpassed in its ability to thrill, well over a century
since it was first published.
ABOUT
THE SERIES: Alma Evergreens is a series of popular classics. All the
titles in the series are provided with an extensive critical apparatus,
extra reading material and notes. The texts are based on the most
authoritative edition (or collated from the most authoritative editions
or manuscripts) and edited using a fresh, intelligent editorial
approach. With an emphasis on the production, editorial and
typographical values of a book, Alma Classics aspires to revitalize the
whole experience of reading the classics.
Alma
Classics first published their edition of The War of the Worlds a
couple of years ago, but with the BBC TV series due to finish today, I
approached my contact at Alma and he was happy to oblige. My knowledge
of the book had been confined to the film starring Gene Barry, set in
the USA and at a time far removed from the original Victorian setting
that Wells wrote about. "Far removed" is a that can be used to describe
the film as well, because it really bears no relation to the novel at
all. The same can be said of the Tom Cruise blockbuster, which had
better special effects (obviously), but deviated from the story right
from the opening scenes. At the time of writing this review, I am a few
hours away from watching the first episode of the new series, (17th
November, Sunday BBC1 at 9:00pm) and from what I have seen in the
trailers that have already been shown, I am hopeful.
The book is a
pioneering treatise on the subject of alien invasion, and is generally
accepted as the first science fiction novel of any real import. Written
at a time when it was thought that lines that were visible on the
Martian surface might be man made, and that there was a real
possibility the planet might be inhabited, Wells as the narrator of the
story (but not called Wells, obviously) accepts that the object they
thought was a meteor has come from Mars and that the creatures that
emerge from it and begin to destroy everything and everyone in their
path are evidence of a superior race of beings from Mars.
It is typical
of Wells's narrative style and typical of fiction writing at the time.
Wells's descriptions of the riotous fleeing of the people of London
from the onslaught of the Martians is interspersed with his younger
brother's own experiences (his brother is the eldest of the two of them
in the BBC TV adaptation, and holds a higher office in government), and
for me this is the strongest part of the narrative, with the panic, the
violence, the death, the carnage being amongst the finest descriptions
of such events in science fiction. By the way, the image of the front
cover above in no way does the book justice. It is jet black and
stunning. I know there are plenty of copies of The War of the Worlds
available, including Penguin Classics, Wordsworth Classics etc., but I
love the stylised illustration on Alma's edition, and I do firmly
believe this edition will stand out in the crowd. There is much to
enjoy in the TV adaptation - Amy has a far larger part to play than is
the case in the book, which is a good thing, in my opinion; and much of
the story has been changed for dramatic effect. But with the Gene Barry
and the Tom Cruise Hollywood versions being so far removed from the
original story as to be nonsense, really, this adaptation remains true
to the story for large parts of it, and is hugely enjoyable. The
special effects are stunning, amazing, the sets are brilliant, and the
acting is fine.
As a non-smoker, I was disappointed to see a brief sequence in which
Eleanor Tomlinson took a drag on a cigarette then stamped it out. This
was unnecessary. We all know that huge numbers of past populations all
around the world used to smoke, and smoking was endorsed by the medical
profession for some strange reason. Better to make a programme in which
one can assume that people smoked but to leave it out in the interests
of public health, surely? I don't recall seeing anyone smoke during the
whole of Sanditon's eight week run, and it wasn't missed. It was
missing entirely from Episode three of His Dark Materials which
preceded The War of the Worlds, and the brief scene added nothing to
the story in last night's first episode. Having studied The First Men
in the Moon for GCE O Level back in the early 1960s, I was familiar
with Wells's work, and have a copy of The Time Machine (again Alma's
brilliant edition) on my shelves. It and The War of the Worlds are far
and away the best of Wells's output, both of them stellar examples of
the very earliest science fiction. The TV adaptation will put Wells in
the forefront of science fiction again, which is where it was in 1898,
the original date of publication. But if you really want to experience
the power of Wells's story, you must read the book.
The scsnes of death and desolation described by the storyteller are
prophetic and pre-empt the horrors and the carnage of the First World
War, and yet the reader is left in no doubt that this havoc is caused
by an alien invasion by extra-terrestrials and not by man's inhumanity
to man. The ultimate demise of the Martians by human biology is
similarly prophetic of the demise of John Wyndham's triffids by salt
water in the 1950s. Wells's The Time Machine, written three years
earlier, in 1895, established him at the forefront of the new Science
Fiction genre, of which Jules Verne was probably the only other notable
exponent. The War of the Worlds cemented Wells's position of eminence
and confirmed him as the true father of science fiction, the genre that
later sdaw authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur C Clarke and
Ray Bradbury take on the fictional histories of the Red Planet. The War
of the Worlds is superlative science fiction and Alma's edition is the
one to have.
As a footnote to this review, I have to tell you that I searched for a
TV tie-in edition on Amazon and found a Kindle edition with an
illustration from the adaptation that shows Eleanor Tomlinson and Rafe
Spall fleeing from the Martians. For some unfathomable reason, The BBC
have chosen not to issue a paperback copy of this edition. I know that
the BBC are not the force they used to bem having been taken over by
Rupert Murdoch and right-wing politics, but surely they could release a
paperback to axccompany the TV series? Having said that, I'm not really
all that surprised. The BBC has plummeted to the bottom of
organisations you respect and rely on for right thinking and reporting.
They are not to be trusted any longer, and the people running it have
taken so many wrong turns in recent years it's difficult seeing them
being able to drag themselves back up now.
You will find five brilliant Alma Classics in this issue of Books
Monthly. Alma Books publish a number of "new" classics each month.
Right now, if you sign up to receive a new book each month, you can get
yourself a free Alice in Wonderland tote bag - there are 6-monthly and
12-monthly subscriptions available, for £30 and £60 respectively. The
12-monthly subscription is by far the best option, as it would normally
be £117, and you get a free book at Christmas. Here's an idea, why not
give your loved one a subscription as one of their Christmas gifts? For
full details of Alma's amazing offer, click here.
On the Alma Christmas page you'll also find several special offers on
various collections, such as Children's classics, Jane Austen, Charles
Dickens, Gothic Horror Classics, H G Wells etc., etc. There are some
amazing deals on the page, so why not check it out while you're
searching for Christmas gifts. The H G Wells collection is particularly
good value at £7.98, reduced from £19.96, and includes The War of the
Worlds, The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Invisible
Man - a stunning selection of pioneering Science Fiction to start off
or to enhance your collections. Clicking on either of the images below
will also take you to Alma's Christmas offers page...
 
Richard
Chizmar: Gwendy's Magic Feather
Published
by Hodder & Stoughton 19th November 2019

A CASTLE ROCK NOVEL WITH A FOREWORD BY
STEPHEN KING
Something evil has swept into the small
Maine town of Castle Rock on the heels of the latest winter storm.
Sheriff Norris Ridgewick and his team are desperately searching for two
missing girls, but time is running out to bring them home alive.
In
Washington D.C., thirty-seven-year-old Gwendy Peterson couldn't be more
different from the self-conscious teenaged girl who once spent a summer
running up Castle Rock's Suicide Stairs. That same summer, she was
entrusted - or some might say cursed - with the extraordinary button
box by a mysterious stranger in a black suit. The seductive and
powerful box offered Gwendy small gifts in exchange for its care until
the stranger eventually returned, promising Gwendy she'd never see the
box again.
Gwendy
has never told a soul about the button box - not even her husband. But
one day the button box shows up without warning and without the man in
the black suit to explain what she is supposed to do with it. The
curious reappearance of the box, along with the troubling
disappearances in Castle Rock, leads Gwendy home again...where she just
might be able to help rescue the missing girls and stop a dangerous man
before he does something too terrible to contemplate...
From
New York Times bestseller Richard Chizmar comes Gwendy's Magic Feather, a breathtaking
novel that asks whether our lives are controlled by fate or the choices
we make... and what price we might have to pay for those choices when
we reach for the things we most desire. Prepare to return again to
Stephen King's Castle Rock, the sleepy little town built on a bedrock
of deep, dark secrets, which is about to awaken from its quiet slumber
once more.
I
loved the original novella, Gwendy's Magic Box, but it's always a
distraction when you have two writers to contend with and you have no
way of knowing which one wrote which bit, in my opinion. Gwendy's Magic
Feather I'm much more comfortable with, because it's solely the work of
Richard Chizmar, and it's great. Gwendy (inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow
and Wendy from Peter Pan, according to Stephen King!) is now a
congresswoman, on vacation back in Castle Rock. It's 1998, and a
Trump-like president is vilified and ridiculed throughout the book,
which really shows what King thinks of Trump, of course, and shows him
up to be a dangerous president, just as Trump is, of course.
Gwendy partakes freely of the magic chocolates, and uses them to cure
her
mum's cancer. She also has "moments" of clarification and extreme power
which she uses to good effect. Excellent fantasy, totally believable -
I think Richard Chizmar has made this series his own. I'm tempted to
say "who needs Stephen King", but having recently re-read Doctor Sleep,
the answer is that I do... of course!
Eric
Saward: Revelation of the Daleks
Published
by BBC Books 14th November 2019

Beware
the hands that heal.
The
Doctor and Peri land on the planet Necros to visit the funerary home
Tranquil Repose – where the dead are interred and the near-dead placed
in suspended animation until such time as their conditions can be cured.
But
the Great Healer of Tranquil Repose is far from benign. Under his
command, Daleks guard the catacombs where sickening experiments are
conducted on human bodies. The new life he offers the dying comes at a
terrible cost – and the Doctor and Peri are being lured into a trap
that will change them forever.
At
last, the only classic-era Doctor
Who adventure
never to be novelised is here, and by the author of the original
script, Eric Saward.
It's
certainly not too early to be thinking about Christmas, and this second
of Eric Saward's novelisations of his own Doctor Who screenplays makes
the perfect gift both for Doctor Who fans and for lovers of good
science fiction. I forget which doctor had Peri as a companion (was it
Peter Davison or Colin Baker, perhaps?) because by that time I'd lost
interest in the programme and had to wait for the first female doctor
to reignite my interest. Anyway, this is vintage Doctor Who at its very
best, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rebecca
Roanhorse: Star Wars Resistance Reborn
Published
by Century 7th November 2019

Beware
the hands that heal.
In
this pivotal prequel to Star
Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the heroes of the Resistance―Poe
Dameron, General Leia Organa, Rey, and Finn―must fight back from the
edge of oblivion.
The
Resistance is in ruins. In the wake of their harrowing escape from
Crait, what was once an army has been reduced to a handful of wounded
heroes. Finn, Poe, Rey, Rose, Chewbacca, Leia Organa―their names are
famous among the oppressed worlds they fight to liberate. But names can
only get you so far, and Leia’s last desperate call for aid has gone
unanswered.
From
the jungles of Ryloth to the shipyards of Corellia, the shadow of the
First Order looms large, and those with the bravery to face the
darkness are scattered and isolated. If hope is to survive, the
Resistance must journey throughout the galaxy, seeking out more
leaders―including those who, in days gone by, helped a nascent
rebellion topple an empire. Battles will be fought, alliances will be
forged, and the Resistance will be reborn.
It's
this Christmas that sees The Rise of Skywalker come to the screens as
the last of the Skywalker tranche of Star Wars films, and Rebecca's
"Resistance Reborn" is set just before it in the Star Wars timeline.
Poe and his associates, Karé, Snap, Leia, Finn, Rey and Chewie are on a
mission to recruit people (and planets) to resist the growing dominance
and power of the First Order. I've always found that the Star Wars
books with the best dust jackets make for the best Star Wars read, and
this one proves my point. When the covers are dull, or avant garde, or
just plain bad, the books aren't that good. The dustjacket for
Resistance Reborn is stunning, and Rebecca's story is as good as any
Star Wars I've read, with the notable exception of Kenobi, which
remains, for me, the greatest Star Wars book of all time, eclipsing
even the original story its creator, George Lucas. Fantastic read!
The
small print: Books
Monthly, now well into its 22nd
year on the web,
is published on or slightly before the first day of each month by Paul
Norman. You can contact me here.
If you wish to submit something for publication in the magazine, let me
remind you there is no payment as I don't make any money from this
publication. If you want to send me something to review, contact me via
email at paulenorman1@gmail.com and I'll let you know where to send it.
|
|
Menu
Home Page
Fiction books
Children's Books
Alma Classics
Bloomsbury Children's Books
Nonfiction Books
Pen and Sword Books
Email me
Here is my pick of
the month: this month's "must-reads":






|