Monday Book Pick: The Monster in the Mist
The Monster in the Mist (A Chronological Man Adventure) by Andrew Mayne
Executive Summary: Steampunk version of Doctor Who, with a bit of other pulp references tossed in. I give it a thumbs up for being a fun read and definately worth the $0.99 for the ebook download. It’s the first in a series, with the second book also out in the wild. The hero is clearly based on the 11th Doctor, who only travels forward in time. He spends long periods in storage beneath a building he owns in Boston, coming out only when the clockwork computer that monitors events decides that there is something worth cracking him out of cold storage. This time, it is a rash of disapperances in the fog that brings him out in 1890. He even has a companion. A young woman who maintains the office and keeps up on current events. The hero Smith, just Smith, also has a warehouse of gadgets that would make Doc Savage proud, but he won’t show up for a few more decades.
William Shatner is back!
Ok, William Shatner never really left. The man best known for his Role as Captain James T. Kirk, of the Starship Enterprise, is 80 years old and still rocking.
He has a new album out, Seeking Major Tom is space themed collection featuring his return to his cool defining cover of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin hit Rocketman.
The people who helped lay down the tracks, complete with bumpers of actual space radio traffic & cuts from Shatner’s version of Major Tom, is amazing. Johnny Winter, Lyle Lovett, Steve Miller, Brad Paisley and Peter Frampton plus a bunch of others.
It really is a fun album, and Shatner’s unique vocal talents stand out on tracks like Mr. Spaceman, Space Cowboy, and She Blinded Me with Science.
Check it out!
Friday B-Movie Pick: X-Men First Class
If you knew nothing about the X-Men and just wanted to see an action comic book superhero movie, this would have been a decent movie. Of course, they did the standard tossing to the wind of decades of history generated by the X-Men comics. Given that, it was almost painful to watch. Some of the things they did to the Marvel Universe was on par with the fictional soap opera, The Sun Also Sets, making Montana Moorehead the daugther of Maggie.
Sunday SciFi: Traveller
The classic SciFi RPG is Traveller. Originally released in 1977 by GDW (Games Designer Workshop) and written by Marc Miller.
It consisted of three little black books:
1. Characters and Combat
2. Starships
3. Worlds and Adventures
That’s it and it was all you needed to get started. Define your character, how to get to other planets, and what you find once you get there.
Oh there was more, GDW published additional rule books, adventures, and other supplements, including two reworkings of the rule set. Those were MegaTraveller and Traveller: The New Era.
Steve Jackson Games put out a licensed version for their GURPS rules, and Mongoose Publishing is producing books with that LBB (Little Black Book) feel.
I’ve enjoyed Traveller for a lot of years, and it has a very rich and detailed game history that you can use or ignore as you desire.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Cowboys and Aliens
The title pretty much sums the plot. OK, more like Cowboys vs. Aliens. Daniel Crag and Harrison Ford lead the Cowboy (and Indian) forces against the aliens. Both play hard, tough men who have a softer side, that few ever see. Plenty of action, including good special effects. This is a fun action flick that should have done better in the theaters.
Friday B-Movie Pick: 2009 Lost Memories
Good South Korean SciFi action flick. An alternate history story where a small group of Japanese change history so Japan was on the winning side of WWII. A side effect of that was Korea being part of the greater Japanese empire, and not an independent country. A “Korean” investigator working for the Japanese National Police Force stumbles on this secret and goes down that rabbit hole! Good action flick well worth the rental.
Monday Book Pick: Knox’s Irregulars
Knox’s Irregulars by J. Wesley Bush
Nice bit of Military Science Fiction. It has powered armor, drone attacks, high tech aircraft and down and dirty partisan Guerrilla warfare.
Quote of the Day
I will not brew decaf. Decaf is the mind-killer. Decaf brings the little sleep that leads to total oblivion. I will embrace my caffeine. I will brew beverages and let them flow through, and when they are gone, I will remain…alert.
Good April Fools Day Stuff
Think Geek has stepped up to the plate again, with my two personal favorites being:
Star Trek Inflatable Captain’s Chair
Technomancer Digital Wizard Hoodie
Pure geeky crunchy goodness.
Here is the video of the Technomancer hoodie in action. Just because I think it is cool.
Google also hits it out of the park with Gmail Tap.
Monday Book Pick: The Steampunk Detective
The Steampunk Detective by Darrel Pitt
A light hearted hat tip to Sherlock Holmes, with a thinly disgusied WWI vet operating in a Steampunk 1920s. The author includes characters and references from multiple sources of the Holmes era, including Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The detective’s young ward, an orphaned high wire artist, is a references to Bob Kane’s best known character’s first sidekick. There have been a bunch of books lately that float on sea of historical and literary references, ranging from the extremely well done (the Anno Dracula) series, to bizarre shock lit (The Adventures of Ned the Seal). The Steampunk Detective falls somewhere in the middle of that. This book can be read by young teens (or younger), where the other two would not be a good choice for young audience.