Friday Night Game Session Cancelled

It's Friday. Tonight would have seen a gaming session with the Friday players this evening.

However, that isn't going to happen tonight. Three of my five players are battling bad colds (coughing, chest pain, and a few other symptoms I'll not get into) and the other two players don't want to play without them, not even a board game or some such. The upshot is that gaming is off tonight.

I was quite looking forward to gaming with the Friday night players this evening, as I was going to continue on with the current adventure for The Troubleshooters RPG tonight, but that's not happening. Instead, I'll be taking it easy and just staying warm. Might watch something on tv or DVD.

Anyway, looking forward to running the game again in a couple or three weeks from now.

Remembering Gareth Hunt





Today is/would have been the birthday of actor Gareth Hunt.

Gareth Hunt would have celebrated his 83rd birthday today.

Alan Leonard Hunt, better known as Gareth Hunt, was a British actor best known for playing footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs and Mike Gambit in The New Avengers. Mike Gambit was a Major in the paratroopers, skilled in combat and with a trail of broken hearts behind him. I saw Gareth Hunt's performances in Upstairs, Downstairs and Doctor Who ("Planet of the Spiders") and a few other things - and some Nescafé tv commercials - but it was only with The New Avengers that I really got to see his acting skills. Mike Gambit was no John Steed, of course, but he brought some interesting new perspective to the series, was a good foil (and seeming romantic interest) for Purdey, played by Joanna Lumley, and had an interesting background that emerged in bits and pieces as the two series of 26 episodes went on.

Married three times, Gareth Hunt had three sons, was an avid golfer, and lived in Epsom, Surrey with his wife Mandy, until he died of pancreatic cancer on the 14th of March, 2007.

Thanks for your time in The New Avengers, Gareth.

Very sad that you are no longer with us.

Remembering Patrick Macnee





Today is/would have been the birthday of actor Patrick Macnee.

Patrick Macnee would have turned 103 years of age today.

While Patrick Macnee appeared on stage, in film, and in television in many different roles (you can check them out using the link above or this one), he will always be remembered for his role as John Steed, the gentleman spy in the tv series The Avengers and The New Avengers. He was perfectly cast in the role, and it was a defining moment in the actor's career and in television history. His trademarks in the role of Steed were, of course, his bowler hat and the umbrella(/sword cane). Interestingly, although it traditionally was associated with London "city gents", the ensemble of suit, umbrella and bowler had developed in the post-war years as mufti (civilian dress) for ex-servicemen attending Armistice Day ceremonies.

I will always remember Steed's bowler and brolly.

Thanks for all the great television and film memories. You are sorely missed.

Happy Birthday, SteveR!

Today is my friend, spross's birthday!

While I'm not at liberty to say how old he is, other than the fact that he's over 50 (ah, what the heck... he actually turns 56 years old today), SteveR's been a pretty good friend to me over the years. I've known spross since the 1980s, and while we've had our ups and downs, he has always been there for me. So I want to thank him for his friendship and support over the years, and the many hours of (mostly) enjoyable gaming and the like we've spent during all this time. (Perhaps one of these days he'll do up a journal entry about how we met and all and our first gaming experience, but for now...)

Happy Birthday, Steve! :) Hope the coming year brings you happiness, health, prosperity, and warm winds at your back.

Have a great day, Steve! :)

Books Read in January, 2025

2025. The new year. Another year to see what my reading for the year will be like.

Thus, as is my standard usage of my blog space at or near the beginning of the month, I present the listing of my January, 2025 reads.


*****
Books Read in January, 2025

Aurora Borealis Bridge by Jane Lindskold

Matter by Iain M. Banks

Doctor Who: The Massacre by John Lucarotti

Doctor Who: The Ark by Paul Erickson

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker by Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman

Doctor Who: The Gunfighters by Donald Cotton

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (r)
*****

And that was the start of my reading for 2025. This was a pretty good month of reads, with a good mix of new reads and a single re-read, and a bit of something to scratch my tastes in various forms of speculative literature. While this month was a slightly above average month in terms of the number of reads, the quality of the books and material read was also rather high as well. Regardless, my bookcases are still stacked with a pretty large To Read Queue (TRQ). The books I enjoyed the most were:

Aurora Borealis Bridge by Jane Lindskold
Can it get any stranger? Absolutely!
When Peg, Meg, and Teg were first summoned to Over Where, vast and varied life experience (along with wide reading choices) helped them adjust to a world where they were the only humans, magic was real, ships could fly, and reincarnation was a confirmed fact. In the company of the "inquisitors," Xerak, Grunwold, and Vereez, the three newly appointed mentors rediscovered the Library of the Sapphire Wind, and, within it, revelations that transformed the young people's pasts into a vast tangle of lies and half-truths. But there are still questions to be answered. Before they are done, Meg the retired librarian, Teg the archaeologist-turned-mage, and the multi-talented, ever surprising Peg will deal with kidnappings, betrayal, arcane artefacts, romantic intrigues, and the inescapable reality that past lives cast long shadows. Together, the three mentors and their young allies will uncover the startling truth about what lies on the other side of the Aurora Borealis Bridge — a truth that holds the secret of Over Where, and that will change all their lives forever.

This novel is the second book in the Over Where series, though in some ways it feels as if these two books are just one large novel split by the publisher into two volumes. In Library of the Sapphire Wind, three young (twenty-something?) people in the world of Over Where are searching for something; in our world, we would call this a "quest." Grunwold, Vereez, and Xerak are each considered a "holdback" in their world because something in their life is "holding them back" from finally growing up and becoming adults. Going to a sacred site known as Hettua Shrine, the three use magic to summon help, and get the three Earth women from our world, Earth, as mentors to aid them. Meg Blake ("Meg"), Peg Gallegos ("Peg"), and Tessa Brown ("Teg") are all older women, each of whom has an interesting variety of skills and knowledge that help the three Over Where "inquisitors" with their searches. While Grunwold's holdback, his father dying from a baffling disease, is addressed and taken care of in the first book, Aurora Borealis Bridge continues the story. Here, Vereez is looking for her lost sister (actually her daughter, given up for adoption four years ago), but Xerak also gets his turn. He is technically still an apprentice, since he's not seen his master in over a year, Uten Kekui having vanished one day for reasons that Xerak doesn't fathom at all. For the most part, the first book in the series and the first half of this second volume are very much young adult in both prose style and feel. I was somewhat taken aback at some of the events and themes of the first part of the book, and figured that Vereez's search for her daughter would take up this second book and the search for Xerak's master would require a third book of its own to resolve. However, Vereez's quest to find her daughter occupies only the first half of Aurora Borealis Bridge, with another couple of sub-plots thrown in for good measure, and the second half of the novel concerns Xerak's search for Uten Kekui - and so much more. Once Vereez's quest is resolved, and the search for Uten Kekui begins, the novel abandons its young adult feel, the search for Xerak's master becoming more complicated. There is a lot of talk about magic, the nature of reality, the origins of Over Where and how it relates to the Earth that the three mentors come from, and other stuff that I won't discuss here. But the novel, especially the second half, sheds more light on Meg, Peg, and Teg. (And yes, I'll admit the three names of the mentors bugged me no end for the first novel, but I now find myself more easily able to deal with them and the differences between the characters.) While each of the women has a good deal to do in this novel, it is Teg who really shines here, and she has a nice story arc in this volume. It should come as no surprise to the reader that this book links the world of Over Where to our own Earth. Author Lindskold borrows heavily from faerie tales and fantasy stories such as The Chronicles of Narnia. The way in which the two worlds are linked was interesting (I'm not going to go into any details here, as it's something of a neat plot with twists all of its own, so no spoilers! :) ), though in a lot of ways I would have preferred them to have separate histories, but I did like the manner in which Christian history was sort of re-written (sort of how The Golden Compass did as well) here. In many ways, Aurora Borealis Bridge is an improvement on the first book. There are new characters that come into play, acting as both catalysts for the growth and development of the three inquisitors [Grunwold, Vereez, and Xerak], but also serving to complicate their lives, shed more light on various aspects of the Over Where, and even have a profound influence on the three Earth women [Meg, Peg, and Teg]. The various fantastic creatures and the setting itself are expanded upon, providing more eye candy for the reader's imagination, but most importantly, author Lindskold gives a solid origin story to Over Where that is satisfying and pretty well thought out. The novel ends in a manner that ties up some important plot points and elements, at the same time leaving the door open for further stories in this world (or pair of worlds?). I highly recommend this book.


Doctor Who: The Massacre by John Lucarotti
The TARDIS lands in Paris on 19th August 1572. Driven by scientific curiosity, the Doctor leaves Steven in order to meet and exchange views with the apothecary, Charles Preslin. Before he disappears, he warns Steven to stay out of 'mischief, religion and politics'. But in 16th Century Paris, it is impossible to remain a mere observer, and Steven soon finds himself involved with a group of Huguenots. The Protestant minority of France is being threatened by the Catholic hierarchy, and danger stalks the streets of Paris. As Steven tries to find his way back to the TARDIS, he discovers that one of the main persecutors of the Huguenots appears to be - the Doctor.

This book is the novelisation of The Massacre, the fifth serial of the Third Season of Doctor Who and the twenty-second serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his companion, Stephen Taylor, also introducing the new companion of Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet (at the very end). This novelisation is penned by John Lucarotti, based on the television serial (teleplay) by John Lucarotti. The Massacre is one of the Hartnell Doctor serials that is completely missing, all recordings of the story having been destroyed for reasons of the BBC saving tape storage for other programmes. While John Lucarotti wrote the television serial and the novelisation as well some 20 years apart, the novelisation is much closer to what Lucarotti envisioned for the serial than the television screen version that was shown. Doctor Who: The Massacre is overflowing with historical information about an important era that many have unfortunately forgotten, and the reader will not be able to help but learn something new from this story and its novelisation. While this story is set during a time of religious bigotry between the Protestants and Catholics, the temptation to take sides and to be preachy was resisted very nicely by writer John Lucarotti. Though clearly written with sympathy for the Protestant/Huguenot viewpoint, as they were in fact the victims of the mass slaughter of the titular Massacre, the novelisation does a terrific job weaving the complex political gyrations that occurred on both sides that led to the eventual tragedy, despite efforts to unite Catholics peacefully with their Huguenot brothers and sisters. The Catholic King Charles, distraught over his fallen Huguenot comrade Admiral de Coligny, is particularly touching in this context, especially if the reader believes that the King's mother was behind the assassination plot and that Charles himself eventually was convinced to condone de Coligny's ultimate demise. The ridiculous in-fighting between countrymen who essentially have the same core religious beliefs but differ over the infallibility of the Pope in the Holy See is shown to be both comical and horribly sad. The reader feels like another of the Doctor's companions, as the frustration increases over why the two sides can't just get along and the fear mounts while the countdown to the slaughter advances. The end result is that through subtlety and masterful writing, Doctor Who: The Massacre delivers a gut-punching reminder to modern audiences of how far we've come and how much work we still have yet to do. The story resonates in so many ways with things occurring in the world today that, to be honest, the television serial and this novelisation deliver a powerful lesson on both religion and politics that apply even in the world today. That said, the reader should be warned that this story does not spell things out, and it is complex, with as many characters and historical references as a Dostoevsky novel despite its relatively short length. Readers, whether interested in the history of the matter or not, are encouraged to do a little research on their own on this period to get a better feel (and more realistic) and appreciation of what is happening. This is a hallmark of the truly great educational story, and Doctor Who excelled at these kinds of stories during its early years, before pseudo-historical tales became the norm for the series later on. The Massacre and its novelisation both respect the intelligence of its audience, younger or older. This story is the first Doctor Who serial to feature a duplicate role for the Doctor (if one discounts the robot copy the Daleks created in The Chase), wherein another character looks like the Doctor, but it will not be the last. This happens again in Troughton's Doctor's The Enemy of the World, and in Tom Baker's Doctor's Meglos (sort of). In The Massacre, the First Doctor never actually meets the Abbot of Amboise, but author Lucarotti's original script and the novelisation has the two meeting and this sequence of events leads to the death of the Abbot that will result in the events of the title of the story. The confusion that the First Doctor and his doppelganger in the Abbot causes is wonderful in the novel, especially how the Doctor's companion, Steven Taylor, reacts to their presence and his own confusion and doubts as to which is which. This also allows the novelisation to showcase the differences between the First Doctor and the Abbot (something that William Hartnell relished in the television serial) and also brings the fanatical aspects of the Catholics into focus during the story. Simply marvellous. From the point of view of the First Doctor's companions, Doctor Who: The Massacre is interesting in two ways. First of all, Steven Taylor comes across as an intelligent young man, confused by the role the Doctor is playing as the Abbot of Amboise (and which of them he is at any given time), and deals with his coming to grips with the terrible events that are about to occur on the historical date of the infamous Massacre. Sadly, the iconic confrontation between Steven and the First Doctor at the story's conclusion is removed from the novel altogether, and this is a shame really because... While Steven does spend a good deal of time with Anne Chaplet during the novel, Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet never shows up at the end of the book. When the TARDIS lands in the present day in the television serial, Anne isn't saved and Steven intends to leave because of the Doctor's callous attitude, but when Dodo comes aboard, he stays because she looks like Anne (and is a direct descendant of hers). The novelisation has Anne and her family sent off to Picardy to escape religious persecution. Which raises another point. The story is bookended with a Prologue and an Epilogue in which at some point in the future, the Time Lords talk with/question the Doctor about the events of his visit to France during this tumultuous time and some of the events found in the television serial, but not the book, are dealt with. Bookended, so to speak. While different and somewhat interesting, this leads to the novel feeling somewhat more light-hearted in certain respects. Overall, Doctor Who: The Massacre is a somewhat different re-imagining of the original story, by the author. While not a replacement for the original televised serial, the reader will be rewarded with some fascinating history, some set pieces, some wonderfully colourful prose, and a meeting of the Doctor and his double, the Abbot of Amboise, that did not happen in the television serial. The book expands upon the television serial in multiple areas so that where the program seemed sparse, the novelisation fills in the gaps. This has its drawbacks as well as its advantages. It is a wonderful novel that can be somewhat boring to read in places by readers without a historical bent, but this is an excellent novelisation of a lost Doctor Who serial. I highly recommend it.


Doctor Who: The Ark by Paul Erickson
It is ten million years in the future, and the Earth is about to plunge into the Sun. A gigantic Space Ark has been launched to take the last of humanity to a new life on the planet Refusis. Accompanying the Humans on their journey are the Monoids, strange reptilian creatures from an alien world. When the TARDIS materialises on board, the Doctor and his companions are greeted with suspicion which soon turns to open hostility when Dodo inadvertently infects the Ark's crew with a long-forgotten virus. It is an accident which will have a terrible effect on mankind, an effect which will last for seven hundred years...

This book is the novelisation of The Ark, the sixth serial of the Third Season of Doctor Who and the twenty-third serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his companions, Stephen Taylor and Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet. This novelisation is penned by Paul Erickson, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Paul Erickson. One of the fascinating things about Doctor Who over the decades is the fact that with the ability to time travel, the Doctor and his companions very rarely if ever have an adventure somewhere and then return to that same place at some point into the future to see what the events they were originally involved in have influenced the future. The only ones that really stand out are the two Peladon stories in the Third Doctor period and the Mara serials from the Fifth Doctor period. With that said, the First Doctor serial The Ark is the first tale that explores this particular side of time travel in Doctor Who, but does so in the *same* serial rather than in two different stories. The TARDIS arrives on a vast spaceship millions of years in the future, with new companion Dodo infecting the ship with a cold, with neither the Humans nor Monoids having any immunity to the bug. They then return to the Ark some seven hundred years later to find the disease and their interference has had dire, unexpected consequences. Doctor Who: The Ark was written by Paul Erickson, who wrote the serial teleplay with his wife of the time, Lesley Scott, and is a very workman-like adaptation of the television serial. It is very different than the televised serial in some regards. The story is effectively divided into two parts, the first part dealing with the Doctor, Stephen and Dodo arriving on the Ark and Dodo's inadvertently infecting the population with the common cold, and the second half of the story concerning their return to the Ark after 700 years and the change in roles for the Humans and Monoids and the matter of the destination planet of Refusis. Author Erickson's prose in the novel is decent enough, but there are a few things that struck me here. The First Doctor's characterisation was a bit shaky at times, and his use of the "old chap" terminology was out of keeping since Hartnell's Doctor didn't use that as one of his catchphrases. One great addition here was that in this section of the book there are subtle hints of a coming Monoid revolution that the Doctor notices, but which are overlooked by the humans on board. Stephen Taylor came across as somewhat more belligerent and argumentative than in his earlier appearances, but this was due to the maturing of the character into a foil for the Doctor. The additional material found in the novelisation that was not in the serial was a welcome sight, as the novelisation could have been somewhat boring. In the first half of the story, there is a lot more time spent on the development of the cure for and the distribution of the cure to the infection, notably with the First Doctor roaming and rambling into different terrains and climates on the ship. This works well in the sense that it gives the Ark a much more vast and credible size than a BBC studio could provide, but has the Doctor doing the same thing (in a variant form) in each location, making it feel like padding to get the book's page count up. The characterisation of Zentos in the book is somewhat erratic in comparison to the television serial version. In the broadcast version, he is staunchly against the Doctor for the whole thing but here in the novelisation he comes across as a supporter of the Doctor for a short period before flipping back to homicidal antipathy. This just wasn't all that believable. The second half of the serial novelisation, what I think of as the Refusian section, is also more interesting than the televised version. There is quite a bit of additional material in this part of the book, and the Doctor's new companion, Dodo, benefits the most in this section as it gives her quite a bit more to do. Dodo shows up in this novelisation as the newest companion, with no real idea of how she came to be aboard the TARDIS, as her introduction to the series in the previous novel, Doctor Who: The Massacre, was omitted. The Refusians, a race of advanced, invisible beings, are a terrific idea, but visually in the serial not a lot could be done with them really at the time (due to budgetary concerns), and Doctor Who: The Ark brings them to life much better than the serial ever did, even giving two of the Refusians names: Charles/Charlie and Mary. The sequence with Dodo playing tennis (!!) with Mary is a delight to read, and actually brings more character to Dodo than I recall her having in the serial itself. Furthermore, the novelisation's second half gives a lot more rationale for the Monoids turning on each other, and makes the climax of the book a much better read when it comes down to it. That said, the Monoids aren't particularly convincing in their enslavement of the Humans, and it shows clearly in the novelisation a bit. I had forgotten just how bloodthirsty the climax of the serial was, as the Monoids wipe each other out in a firefight, and in the novelisation, Erickson gives into the Ian Marter style of making the fighting even more vicious on the written page. However, here this worked and was quite effective in what it accomplished. Overall, Doctor Who: The Ark is a good novelisation of a standard serial from the Hartnell years, but is a little overly preaching at times and has a conclusion that seems just a bit too pat. When the Humans and Monoids are being restored from their miniaturisation and cold storage from the trip on their arrival on Refusis, the Doctor's encounter with one of those who was "punished" with miniaturisation early in the first half of the novel is a nice moment, in which he tells the young man to go out and live his life [on Refusis] as was intended. Some might argue that it's just a "feel good" moment that didn't make it into the last episode of the serial, but this reader kind of liked it. This novelisation is an interesting one, if only in terms of dealing with the consequences of the TARDIS landing and what the crew do on both the Ark and later Refusis, and makes for interesting read. I recommend this book to potential readers, but with the caveat that it may not be to everyone's taste.


Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
IN SPACE EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU SING.
A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented by the remnants of civilisation. Something to cheer up everyone who was left. Something to celebrate having escaped total annihilation by the skin of one's teeth, if indeed one has skin. Or teeth. Something to bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, understanding, and the most powerful of all social bonds: excluding others. Once every cycle, the great galactic civilisations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix: part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part - a very large, but very subtle part - continuation of the wars of the past. The powerful species that survived compete in feats - not of orbital combat, but of song, dance, and/or whatever facsimile of these can be performed by various creatures who may or may not possess, in the traditional sense, feet, mouths, larynxes, or faces. And if a new species should wish to be counted among the high and mighty, if a new planet has produced some savage group of animals, machines, or algae that claim to be, against all odds, sentient? Well, then they will have to compete. If a species fails, they will be quickly exterminated by the powers that be so as to avoid another costly and annoying Sentience War. It's a mercy, really. One must always think of the greater good, after all. This year a bizarre and unsightly species has looked up from its muddy, planet-bound cradle and noticed the enormous universe blaring on around it: humanity. Where they expected one day to reach out into space and discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of grave aliens, they have found glitter. And lipstick. And pyrotechnics. And electric guitars. Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes, a somewhat dubious, mid-00s Brit-pop sensation fallen on hard times and harder luck, have been chosen to represent their planet on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of Earth lies in their ability to rock.

The first book in the Space Opera series. I don't even know where to begin with reviewing this book. So I'm going to keep this review...short. I'll start by saying that this is the first book that I've read from author Valente. I'm not sure whether I'll read any more Valente books, but I have to say that this book was entertaining and frustrating at the same time, and I'm not even sure that I got all the humour of the book even though I laughed heartily several times. When it comes down to it, the theme of this book is a line that is oft repeated during the course of the novel: "Life is beautiful. Life is stupid." The novel is wonderful in its own way. It's packed to the gills with glam and snark, and a butt load of heart-wrenching brutal honesty wrapped up with a bow of sex, aliens, and rock 'n roll. One can definitely equate this book with he Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the author even acknowledging that book/series influence on this novel. The sheer amount of delightful rock 'n roll trivia and snark reminded me of Rob Reid's Year Zero, but this was a better book. Think about all the aging Glam Rock stars who have had their best days long ago being catapulted into galactic society in a sing-off with the stakes being the fate of the Human race. But you know, time lag. You can't use the recent stuff and most of the old stuff is either hopeless or dead. Who's left? The Absolute Zeroes. hehe One is dead and the other two are impoverished, and yet they have to sing for their lives and the fate of the human race against all the biggest stars in the galaxy. Because, after all, Life is Beautiful and Life is Stupid. But at the same time, I find this book to be overwritten. In many ways, Space Opera tries way to hard, and though it succeeds for the most part, I found that almost every sentence had a punchline, every description came with a footnote (with actual footnotes) story. That said, the book is very creative, with a very unique and original concept with author Valente spending a lot of time fleshing out the details. it seemed very stream of consciousness in style and feel, and some (a lot!) of the paragraphs were one sentence that gave me a headache at times. Still, some pretty neat ideas all told. Every page is full of awesomeness, glam, and utter despair. Meeting all these poor alien saps and their quirky fucked up lives and kinks is half the fun, but by far, the best character here is Decibel Jones. He's so early Bowie and aging rock star and a whole ball of fucked up, himself. :) And the end of the book? I will just say that it's a shit show and a light show and a half! Ziggy Stardust has *nothing* on this. Overall, this is a novel that I think isn't meant for everyone, and I'm not quite sure who to recommend this book to. If you like the works of Douglas Adams, you may like this or be appalled at the attempt to be like Adams. If you like your science fiction straight forward, this is not for you. If you like your comedy extremely outlandish and have the patience to deal with hundreds of pages of nonsensical dialogue, this might just be the book for you!


Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker by Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman
Somewhere outside space and time there waits the Celestial Toymaker, an enigmatic being who ensnares unwary travellers into his domain to play out his dark and deadly games. Separated from the security of the TARDIS, the Doctor is forced to play the complex trilogic game with the evil magician. Meanwhile, Dodo and Steven must enter into a series of tests with, among others, the schoolboy Cyril and the King and Queen of Hearts. If they lose, they are condemned to become the Toymaker's playthings for all eternity. For in the malevolent wonderland that is the Celestial Toyroom, nothing is just for fun...

This book is the novelisation of The Celestial Toymaker, the seventh serial of the Third Season of Doctor Who and the twenty-fourth serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his companions, Stephen Taylor and Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet. This novelisation is penned by Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Brian Hayles. The story of The Celestial Toymaker original script is a story in itself, as outlined in the forward in the book. While the script is credited to Brian Hayles, a *lot* of stuff happened afterward, and it's a testament to all involved that the story is as good as it is given everything that went wrong back in the day. The novelisation contains extra sections which had to be cut from the original broadcast story. I enjoyed reading this book. It's relatively faithful to the original, and the extra bits are slotted in seamlessly. I like that Cyril is less annoying in the novelisation than in the television serial. In many ways, Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker, Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman's adaptation of television serial, is only marginally better than the broadcast material. It obviously paints on a broader canvas, as it's not limited to very obvious studio sets and the lumbering dolls are more viscerally horrific than anything that appeared in the television serial. However, it doesn't fix the serial's core problems, even those relating to production. For example, the novelisation still removes the Doctor from the story by making him invisible and even silent (as if not having Hartnell on hand were a literary problem also). Perhaps having him more active in the novelisation would have allowed some explanation of the dreadfully undramatic trilogic game, which is even less interesting in prose form. Steven and Dodo have some moments, since their sections are overall improved by the theatre of the mind, but the reader still can't really care about a world where anything can happen and the characters are consistently breaking the rules as explained. It's just "surreal" nonsense, which on television, at least had the virtue of being visually interesting. Just nonsense on the page, really. One thing that I like about this story, which the novelisation doesn't really enhance or expand on, are the fascinating ideas that tend towards the metaphysical, and reference other similar beings as the Toymaker. However, the actual scenes and characterisations in the book don't back up or expand on these ideas as well as they should. The Toymaker definitely could have been more developed in the novelisation, but Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker doesn't engage in any of that, sadly. This story, in both the serial and novelisation forms, does show that Steven and Dodo don't really work all that well together as a pair of companions. They grate on this reader as a whole in the story, and the novel seems to accentuate this. That said, the Doctor is not as present in the book as he was in the serial, but is handled well enough. Some of the side characters, such as the King and Queen of Hearts, Missus Wigg and Sergeant Rugg, are interesting and somewhat more developed here, and it can be somewhat sad reading about them, depending on how one interprets their backgrounds. One thing that has always annoyed me about the story, and the novelisation does nothing to alleviate that, is that it's stated that this is not the Doctor's first encounter with the Toymaker, that he and his companions already defeated the Toymaker once. But which companions of the First Doctor? And when did this happen? A story that definitely needs to be told in the tv series itself, methinks. :) Overall, Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker is a fine book; it's difficult to judge next to the serial itself, given that it is largely missing from the BBC archives. While the titular Toymaker doesn't get a lot of page time and there's no exploration of the character's background or personality on the page, the novelisation is a quick read, relatively good fun, and while Steven and Dodo get to do a lot of stuff, even if it's repetitive, it's a good enough read and is a book that gives readers a glimpse at one of the more intriguing stories of the Hartnell Doctor's third series of tales. I recommend this book.


Doctor Who: The Gunfighters by Donald Cotton
Back in the gun-totin', hard-hittin', fast-shootin' days of the Old Wild West, when outlaws ruled the land and the good guys stayed off the streets, a troupe of travelling players - Miss Dodo Dupont, Steven Regret and the mysterious Doctor (Caligari) - moseyed into the town of Tombstone one October afternoon. Their method of transportation was a mite peculiar, though. After all, a police box materialising out of thin air sure ain't the usual way to enter a sedate town like Tombstone... And when the Doctor and his pardners meet up with Wyatt Earp and the notorious Clanton brothers, they soon find out that the scene is all set for high noon at the O.K. Corral.

This book is the novelisation of The Gunfighters, the eighth serial of the Third Season of Doctor Who and the twenty-fifth serial overall, featuring the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, and his companions, Stephen Taylor and Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet. This novelisation is penned by Donald Cotton, based on the television serial (teleplay) by Donald Cotton. What can I say about this story? The Gunfighters is one of those Doctor Who serials that fans either love or hate. It's not one of the serials from William Hartnell's time as the First Doctor that's all that good to begin with, and unfortunately, the old saying that "The horses get the best lines" in this story is further evidenced by Donald Cotton's adaptation of his pwn television serial. Seeking a cure to a toothache (caused by one of the sweets that the Toymaker gave Dodo in the previous serial), the Doctor lands the TARDIS in the Wild, Wild West, around the time of the historic gunfight at the OK Corral. Before long, the Doctor, Stephen and Dodo are caught up in cases of mistaken identity and the events leading up to the infamous gun battle. On the printed page, author Cotton is freed from the limitations of a television budget and allowed to let the story roam a bit more freely. One of the things I was grateful for is that in the novelisation, the reader is not subjected to the infamous "The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon" other than at the beginning of the story. (In the televised serial, it was present throughout the four episodes, and really spoiled the seriousness of the story itself.) The novel does tend to ramble a bit, and while some of the asides are humourous, it tends to fall flat at times. Author Donald Cotton, who also wrote the original script, displayed a terrible grasp of the history of the American West, but a playful willingness to attempt the style of the dime novel's overblown prose. As a result, half of the humour in the book comes from the Clanton brothers and their attempts at literary phrasing, and the other half from the near-slapstick versions of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and others. As with his previous novelisations of series serials (Doctor Who: The Romans and Doctor Who: The Myth Makers), Doctor Who: The Gunfighters is narrated by another character, in this case "Doc" Holliday, whose story is told by reporter Ned Buntline. This is much more successful than Cotton's previous efforts as the result is mostly a third person narration (since Buntline wasn't actually present at the events) with lots of character, and judgements on the people and events that took place, making for an entertaining read. The tale brings to life various characters from the O.K. Corral story, including "Doc" Holliday himself, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Johnny Ringo, the Clanton family, Big Nose Kate, etc.. Although it's classified as one of the early historical adventures, it's much more of a satire of the American Western genre, and perhaps even of the British perception and portrayal of it. The dialogue and descriptions are over-the-top, and author Cotton allows himself free reign in adding some wild elements to his original version. There are some funny dramatic scenes, but I suspect that it was more tailored to a British sense of humour than what readers of non-British origins can/could appreciate. The characters are a little caricatured, which fits with the style of narration, but this wasn't all that jarring during the reading of the book. The reader is also able to keep track of which character is which because of their exaggerated characteristics, and that was certainly more easily done than when watching the television serial. Author Cotton does a marvellous job of portraying Wyatt Earp's hypocritical posturing as a Baptist deacon, including marvellous dialogue where he uses imagery and speech reminiscent of the King James Version of the Bible. Some of the best moments in the entire novel revolve around this affectation of Earp's (who while a Baptist deacon in real life, was also known to "cheat" at Faro at the Oriental Saloon (where he owned a part interest) and to have lived with more than one prostitute as his common-law wife, not to mention allegedly living in a brothel long enough to be arrested with his brother Morgan and the "girls") and how it affected his relationship with Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday. With Earp's historical reputation, it was rather unsettling to hear him describe Doc Holliday's common-law wife (and prostitute/saloon owner) Big Nose Kate as a "Jezebel of Babylon," considering the common-law wives (and prostitutes) with whom he lived. That said, the other characters from the Wild, Wild West come to life in this novelisation as well. The novelisation takes care of that anyway. Most of them have easily identifiable schticks (some of which, like Johnny Ringo's love of the Classics, are historically true, but weren't seen in the television serial)), so even the dialogue is improved. Cotton also makes the TARDIS crew much more active, especially in the finale where, in the serial, history just took its course with the TARDIS crew only bearing witness. Oh, and the novelisation actually does explain why the renowned shootist Doc Holliday was using a shotgun at the O.K. Corral. Well, sort of. Okay, so it was really the First Doctor, but the confusion of characters called "Doc" something or other and wearing frock coats could happen to anyone. :) Overall, Doctor Who: The Gunfighters is an enjoyable read, though the story is not one of the better ones from William Hartnell's time as the Doctor. However, it is refreshingly different due to author Cotton's approach to novelising his own serial. If the reader gets into this book expecting a fun, comedic story rather than a deep, thought provoking one, this book will be fine entertainment. It is an interesting read of a much maligned Doctor Who television serial, but will not be to everyone's taste. However, I recommend this novelisation for its historical (no pun intended!) elements and as a Doctor Who serial.


Overall, I managed to read 8 novels, 0 RPGs and RPG products, 0 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in January. Since this is the start of the year, it brings the year total in 2025 to a set of numbers that look like this: 8 books, 0 RPGs and RPG products, 0 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels.

Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)

Game Registration for CanGames, 2025

I received my notification from CanGames (2025) that they are looking for GameMasters, and the link to the form for submitting games for the convention. This has come really late this year, given it's the beginning of February and the convention is the long Victoria Day weekend in May. Just about three months away. I have my doubts about the convention, but plan to attend this year and so I drew up plans for what games I want to run, which adventures I want to run, and how many sessions.

I'll be submitting two games to run at CanGames 2025 this year. I'll be running two sessions of The Troubleshooters RPG and one session of the Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game at the convention. Once I've got confirmation from the convention about the running times for the games, I'll be blogging that information up here, you can be certain. :)

CanGames 2025 will be taking place at the Rideau Curling Club over the Victoria Day weekend, May 16th - 18th, 2025, here in Ottawa. Am looking forward to the convention this year. Can't wait! :)

Getting Ready for Sunday Afternoon Gaming

It's another cold day in the Ottawa valley with seasonal temperatures, a bit of a breeze outside and somewhat sunny skies with occasional periods of overcast skies. There's going to be a lot of snow falling starting in the late afternoon and into early Monday morning. The temperature is going up to a high of -8oC today (though the wind chill will be around -14oC. I am very tired, as I didn't sleep well last night, my jaw is still hurting from the dental work on Wednesday, and am in a lot of pain on my right side. Not to mention I just feel...cold. Regardless, I shall survive the day.

I wasn't sure about gaming today, because of the potential snow storm later on, but both players have told me they're coming out for the game session. I'll be gaming with the Sunday afternoon group today; the players should be arriving within the next hour or so. The players are quite looking forward to gaming this afternoon. I'm looking forward to gaming today, but as mentioned am somewhat tired.

The players will be starting to play a campaign of The Troubleshooters RPG this afternoon, starting over from scratch with a Session Zero. Quite looking forward to running the game this afternoon, and should be fun. This will be the first game session for the Sunday group in 2025, as things just didn't work out for them to meet up and play in January. Really looking forward to this, as are the players. :)

In the meantime, I need to get my act together for the day and get ready to run the game. Then relax for a few moments.

Have a good day, folks. :)

Remembering Elisabeth Sladen

For those who are fans of the Doctor Who series and the actress...

Today is the birthday of Elisabeth Sladen.


elisabeth_sladen.jpg


Or at least it would have been. Elisabeth Sladen died on April 19th, 2011 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 65. She would have been 79 today.

Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress. She became best known as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who, appearing as a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprising the role many times in subsequent decades, both on Doctor Who and its spin-offs, K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures. While I first saw Elisabeth Sladen in Doctor Who in her iconic role, I saw her in other appearances, such as Gulliver in Lilliput (1982) and Alice in Wonderland (1986), and a few other things she appeared in.

While Sarah Jane Smith ranks up there in my top 5 Doctor Who female companions (I'd never call her an assistant!), what struck me about the actress and her character was that she was independent, strong-willed, never really became a boring character, and evolved from a nosy journalist whom the Pertwee Doctor met to a true friend (and even in love with!) of the Tom Baker Doctor. She was never the helpless female character (though she got into enough trouble and captured often enough), and marked the first of the more modern companions that was seen in the series at the time.

I will always have fond memories of Elisabeth Sladen and Sarah Jane Smith.

You are missed!

The Start of February

It's Saturday morning. The first of February. A new month.

The weather outside is pretty much overcast, very cold at just around -16oC. Not expected to go higher than that, and there is a forecast of snow flurries for most of the day. Needless to say, winter isn't really over (heck, it's just beginning) here in Canada yet, and February is a month that is usually cold and very, very snow-filled, but I'm hoping that it's not too bad this time around.

I'm very happy to see the back side of January, as to be honest, last month was not a good month for me health-wise, and the weather inconsistency did not help with my overall health. My mouth is still a bit sore and irritated from the dental surgery from last week) and my right shoulder and arm are not very good; I've also had some bad pain in my left arm and wrist, my feet are hurting, and I've got general aches and pains from the dampness/coldness that is the weather these days. My personal life and finances are something of a mess after the events of last month.

I'm just hoping that this month is better than last month, particularly health-wise. While the early part of January was decent for the most part, the last 20 days of the month were some of the most miserable I've spent in a while and not a good sign for the 2025 ahead.

I don't have much else to say today, as I'm in quite a bit of pain and have a few things I need to get done before the evening.

A Busy Medical Week

It promises to be a difficult week ahead.

Aside from the weather forecast with plenty of snow, my week is going to be taken up with lots of medical stuff.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, I have to go for my blood work and urine tests at the Riverside Hospital in preparation for next week's appointment at the Diabetes Clinic. I would have gone for the tests at the end of the week, but I've got other medical stuff ahead (see below), and the nurse at the Diabetes Clinic confirmed that my blood glucose levels would be significantly higher if I were to have the tests done then. Fortunately, I'll save some money on cab fare in this regard, as spross has agreed to take me for the tests before he goes to work in exchange for a good breakfast out afterwards. :)

Wednesday sees me at the dentist for an appointment to finally fix the broken tooth that I've had since early to mid-December. The tooth broke a bit more yesterday, so it's a good thing I've finally got the appointment for dental surgery. The hope is still that the dentist will be able to save the tooth, rather than have to extract it, even though that will cost me a lot more money to get done. We'll see how that shakes out. The dentist's office is all the way downtown, so the cab fare for both trips will run me close to $80. Such fun!

And finally, on Thursday I get the pleasure of visiting the Ottawa General Hospital and having another bone density scan. I hate this procedure, mostly because of the radioactive dye that they give me as part of the test, since it make me nauseous and a bit ill for a couple of days afterwards. Still, such is life.

Good thing I've got nothing planned for Friday. I'm going to need to take the day off to just relax and sleep and relax some more. :)