Tony’s Comments (group member since Dec 19, 2018)

Tony’s comments from the Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy group.

You're not the only one Robin. I enjoyed it and thought it was starting some really interesting storylines when it gone canned.

I do recall having a couple of class excursions to see movie versions of Shakespeare - one version of Hamlet that was pretty boring (lots of Hamlet standing in a corner and feeling sorry for himself) and the Polanski version of Macbeth (which was great, but pretty graphically violent for a bunch of 14 year olds - for 1972 anyway).

We had a different Shakespeare every year (Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear), and a variety of more modern plays like The Crucible. I really don't recall any poets we covered, other than Yeats and Henry Lawson, although I know we did some. Novels were similar to what has already been mentioned, I don't recall any Dickens (although we probably did some), but we did cover a number of Australian novelists such as Patrick White (so boring!!). Definitely did Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Lord of the Flies. The only SF I recall was Brave New World, 1984, and The Black Cloud - there was no fantasy.

I have started reading The Age of Heroes: A Historical Sci-Fi Epic, a novel based on the premise that the gods of the Bronze Age were actually aliens. While certainly not an original premise, I will see what the author is able to do with it.

I have finished Druidess. It was good, but as I choose to read the books in chronological order, rather than publishing order, it seemed clear that this book was written as a prequel to the Gates of Eden series - there are things which weren't completely clear that I think would have been to someone who had the other books.

Also, it fills the Urban Fantasy slot in my Bingo, which actually completes my first row - I've filled 60% of the slots, but this is the first row or column completed.

I have started reading Druidess

I have finished At the Midway and it was better than I expected, but it is ultimately a giant monster book.

Robin wrote: "Slightly tangentially but related. Apocryphally (and I don't know if it's true) the reason comic book characters often have alliterative names like "Peter Parker" and "Lois Lane" is because of the ..."

It's certainly true that comic book writers worked on multiple books at the one time - and still do, so ease of remembering names could be true. I think the Stan Lee story is a Stan Lee urban myth though. When you consider that the Superman stories are full of LL characters - Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lex Luthor, Lori Lemaris, Lightning Lad, and more - and many of them were before Stan started in comics (and, to the best of my knowledge, Stan Lee never worked on Superman comics).

Michelle wrote: "Please let us know how this book is, Tony! I live in the Hampton Roads area that's mentioned in the blurb."

I'm about a third of the way through so far and I'm enjoying it, although I feel the author is sometimes providing a bit too much background on some of the characters. And I expect some readers may be a bit distressed by the somewhat graphic descriptions of whaling.

I have started At the Midway, which is a pre-World War I battleships vs sea monsters story, and will also fill the Free book bingo slot.

I have finished Natural Twenty, which finishes the Tomb of Malevolent Evil trilogy. The final book is not quite as strong as the first two, but provides a satisfying, although unsurprising ending.

I have finished The Walking Dead, Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars. There are 19 volumes in the collected series, plus several spin-offs, so I will probably take a break for a while before I continue.

Interesting premise. I think I've only read 3 or 4 of the books on their list, although I have read books in almost every category they listed that aren't on their list.

Sarah J Maas is very popular for YA fantasy and Terah Edun writes YA fantasy with a fair chunk of romance thrown in. For more adult fantasy, there is plenty to choose from - Trudi Canavan, Sara Douglass, Brandon Sanderson and, of course, the one author to rule them all - Tolkien 😁

I finished Cast of the Die. It's a solid middle book in the trilogy and I will be going on to the third book. Also, as one of the characters in the party is a bard, it fills the Musician slot in my bingo.

Andrea wrote: "Finished the Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation, Vol. 1 trilogy, a cute prequel as to how Jareth becomes the goblin king. There are more Labyrinth graphic novels which I can borrow ..."

There is a Kickstarter currently on for a reprint of the complete Labyrinth graphic novel collection -

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

I only have about 50 pages left in Cast of the Die, the second book in the Tomb of Malevolent Evil series, so I should finish that tonight. I have finished The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye and have started The Walking Dead, Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us. I was surprised to find how quickly the TV show diverged from the source material, although I can understand the reasons for some of the differences.

Without giving any spoilers, I would strongly recommend that you watch Raiders of the Lost Ark (if you haven't already) before you watch Dial of Destiny.

I started on the second book in the Tomb of Malevolent Evil series - Cast of the Die

Connor wrote: "Just started Karl Edward Wagner's Dark Crusade and am thoroughly enjoying it so far. K.E.W.'s brand of brutal and bloody Sword and Sorcery is one I enjoy way too much. Kane is beyond ..."

I have read the Kane series a few times. I do enjoy his writing.