February Books

Trying to keep to my monthly posting of the books I've read.  You'll see a few Doctor Who books this month. I found an unopened pack of Classic Who novelisations

7.  Queen Mary - James Pope-Hennessy
I'm not a big one for non-fiction but this biography was utterly fascinating. The previous summer, I read quick reference book about the history of the kings and queens of England and Scotland because I felt that my knowledge of our royal history was very limited.  Thus, when I discovered this condensed book based on Queen Elizabeth's grandmother, I was intrigued.  It was an utterly fascinating read to find out about Princess Mary of Teck and the tragedy of her almost marrying the previous heir to the throne but then marrying his brother, the new Heir presumptive (I didn't know that term either). It was so intriguing hearing snippets of correspondence from her life and seeing how she coped with war and changes with a lifetime that spanned from Victoria's time up to our present queen's time.  Of course, the Palace asked Hennessy to write this biography but even with any bias, I get the impression that the previous Queen was an interesting and much-loved character. Imagine having to cope with your son abdicating (almost unheard of in English history).  It was very, very readable and engaging and I'd consider putting aside my dislike of non-fiction to read other biographies by Pope-Hennessy.

8. Star raker - Donald Gordon
I do love retro books set in the past that deal with technology and thus comparing it to our own day. This book deals with a new Supersonic jet which is supposed to travel above the speed of sound. It is the dream of Sir Iain who's company makes vessels. He has become obsessed with making Star raker come true. He's secured a government deal to produce them once safety tests have been done BUT just as it seems his dream is about to come true, Star Raker appears to have a lethal flaw- it seems to give people fatal cancer or tumours who have travelled a certain amount in it.  It becomes up to the daughter of Sir Ian, Fiona (who is a cancer researcher0 and the test pilot Keith Hamilton, to try and discover what it is within Star Raker is causing the cancer.

This was SUCH an exciting book- you kept puzzling over what it was that was causing the cancer and worrying about Fiona and Keith as they tried to figure it out, whilst worrying how long their health would hold out.   I confess to having no possible idea what was causing it and that was nail-bitingly addictive to read.  There is an interesting relationship aspect to the book in that Fiona is the last surviving child of her Father, his having lost his Son and wife and the relationship is not the most functional one- Fiona is always trying to somehow win her Father's approval when he would rather ignore her.  There were some nasty government officials in the story whose characterisation was well constructed as I felt an utter loathing for them.

9.  The girl who circumnavigated fairyland in a vessel of her own making - Catherine M Valente

This was another of those charity shop purchases that you pick up purely because of the quirky title. I am a sucker for anything involving Fairyland but I assumed it was a kid's book. Apparently it is classed as YA so whoop, whoop, I finally read my first YA book!
This had a real Dorothy in Oz feel to it with the unexpected and imaginative places that our main character September meets but written with a real Terry Pratchettesque imagination and humour but a real sense of Lewis Carrol's Wonderland too.  It had a bit of darkness to it that made me imagine it adapted into a film directed by Tim Burton.  I constantly found myself marvelling at the ingenuity and imagination of Valente as I read on. The Green Wind invites September to come to Fairyland with him and his leopard and it was all rather whimsical and bizarre at first but then I got used to her writing and loving it.  I loved the idea of her wearing the Green Wind's green smoking jacket which seems to have a life of its own and thoughts of its own. I liked the horrid descriptions of the Marquess, the nasty ruler of Fairyland- but what is her secret??
I was delighted to discover that this is not the only book in the series so I look forward to finding more.

10.  Doctor Who and the Daleks - David Whittaker
I've seen the TV version of this book which was the very second Doctor Who serial back in the early 60's with William Hartnell but I haven't see it for at least 6 years so I was rather hazy on it. The writing is excellently done except for inexplicably, this novel pretending 'The Daleks' was the first Doctor Who story- er no, that was 'An unearthly child'- it made Iain not a science teacher and he didn't know Barbara, the other companion of the Doctor. These novelisations were usually written a year or so after they aired on TV and were adapted slightly (the books tell you about what was changed which I find helpful). Apart from that, this was a great novel which got across cliffhangers and alien landscapes very well. I found it exciting to read. If you wanted to compare Classic Who to New Who, this would be a good one to read.

11. Doctor Who and the Crusaders - David Whittaker
This William Hartnell Doctor Who story I had not seen (except for 2episodes) as it is one of the deleted Doctor Who stories which the BBC have lost forever.  It was one of the historical Who stories which I loved about early Doctor Who because it wasn't apocalyptic- it was just the Doctor and his companions getting accidently involved in history.  Here, they arrive in the Holy lands just as King Richard is being ambushed by men of Saladin.    The Doctor's companion Barbara is captured along with a knight who pretends to be King Richard to allow the King to escape by a very nasty piece of work who continues to be awful throughout the book- definitely what you'd imagine ISIS would treat people like whereas King Saladin is a gentleman and as a King should be, who does not  treat people so badly but is a wise ruler who is trying to protect his land from invasion.   The book is spent with the Doctor, Susan and Ian trying to get back Barbara. The Doctor and Susan (his grand-daughter) are not so active in the story, largely being detained at King Richard's court whilst Ian (knighted by King Richard!!!!) goes to rescue Barbara.   This was an exciting novel and I wish I could've seen it on TV!

12. Doctor Who and the Cybermen - Gerry Davis
Again,this was another deleted Doctor Who adventure, this time from the 2nd Doctor, Patrick Troughton's era and it was exciting. I like having the backstory which you don't get in the TV series and the thoughts of the characters which you have to try and guess or interpret from their words.  It is set on the Moon where a Gravitron is in control of the weather on Earth- the Cybermen want to take over it so they can conquer the Earth to take as their new home. There is lots of excitement and mystery as they try to fathom what the virus is that is taking down members of the science team. Of course, they suspect the Doctor and his companions Ben, Polly and Jamie as they've arrived newly there.

13. Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen - Terence Dicks
Another 2nd Doctor adventure, this one only has 1 episode still in Existence and it is one I would love to see. The villains of the piece are the Yeti, controlled by 'The Great Intelligence'.  I was confused reading this as a NEW Who villain was called the Great Intelligence and it seemed very, very similar to the New Who one except for creating the Yeti rather than the Snowmen and the nightmare men and I'm confused why no one in New Who literature has drawn the comparisons between the two and asked if it is the same villain???
Anyway, the story is set in Tibet in the mountains where a monastery of Tibetan monks is being attacked by the Yeti.  The Doctor turns up to see the leader of the Monastery to return their Ghanta which he took care of 300 years ago for the monks,  He's very surprised to discover that whilst the monastery welcome him, he's not trusted as an English Scientist convinces them that he's attacked people as the Yeti.  The book is very exciting as we discover the spiritual leader from 300 years is still alive- but controlled by the Great Intelligence.  What are they building in the secret cave??
What are the Yeti doing?

14. Agent 6 -  Tom Rob Smith
I purely picked this up from the Staff Room bookshelf as I had to go to orchestra and I can't stand tube travel without a book (a journey without a book is wasted time). It tracks Leo, an member of the Secret Police in Soviet Russia in the 1950's. It begins with his finding a diary in someone the KGB is investigating. We learn about his being part of the secret police and events involving an American singer with Communist sympathies coming to Moscow. 15 years passes and then Leo's now wife and adopted daughters are off to America for a peace concert .  His youngest daughter being secretive and by the time she gets to America, we know that something is seriously wrong and she is involved in something that will go horribly wrong for the family.  The novel then jumps another 7 years and jumps more. You get the impression there is some jumping- there is and it is a little bit annoying in that I felt that we weren't getting to the reason of why the 'horribly wrong in America' event happened and finding out who and why. Yet the remaining events in the book are very exciting. I really did enjoy the book and we got to the denouement in the very end but it was a long time coming. It was very nail-biting and I really wanted to keep reading but I did feel it was a BIT annoying!!!

Have you read any good books so far this month or year?

xxx