Movie and book tie-ins: Embrace them!

Basically, I love a good tie-in whether it's a film based off of a book or a book that was written based off of a movie. Book tie-ins are a great way to delve further into the characters and learn more details about scenes that are blink-and-you-miss-them. In this post, I'll be looking at both variants.

For starters, let's take a look at Star Trek Into Darkness which was written after the movie of the same name was released. For die-hard Trekkie fans, this is definitely a book that you want to pick up. It was so good that I never wanted it to end. For those who haven't seen the film (or who aren't really into Star Trek at all), this is the story of how one man came into his own when pitted against a ruthless adversary who by all accounts was unbeatable. James Tiberius Kirk is the newly appointed Captain of the USS Enterprise but at this stage he's definitely still wet behind the ears and he makes mistakes which come with very big consequences. At the same time, the reader is introduced to a character with motivations that are not immediately apparent and it is uncertain exactly what type of a person he actually is (his identity is in question as well). There is conflict, intrigue, heroism, tragedy, and courage on every single page.  Go forth and read it!!

I was feeling a bit introspective after reading Star Trek Into Darkness so I picked up Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. I had watched the film a few years ago and thought it was deeply moving and therefore picked up the book on which it was based. However, at the time I was backlogged with books for school (remember those days, guys?) and it got relegated to my bookshelf. I am so glad that I'm reading it now. I can already tell that I'm going to have to pick up some more of Gilbert's works. Her writing really speaks to me. This is actually her story of how her life transformed through faith in God and in herself. She traveled for a year to immerse herself in three very different cultures in order to discover what it was that she really wanted from life and how she could be happy. This was after a lot of personal tragedy in her life had made her re-evaluate everything and she was basically starting over from scratch. It's not a depressing book though. No, it's actually uplifting in all the best kind of ways. She spent four months in each place where she focused on completely different things. In Italy, it was all about pleasure aka food. In India, she turned her attention to God. In Indonesia, I think you can guess what she focused on. ;-) I'll be updating you guys with my progress soon!

Doctor Who Haul Pt 2: The Review

I'm going to try to do this without giving any spoilers which means these will most likely be quite short. Let's get this party started! ::confetti floats through the air::

Doctor Who: Enemies of War by George Mann
The (Great) Time War rages on and entire planets are destroyed in the crossfire. The Time Lord who no longer believes he deserves the moniker 'The Doctor' crash lands on a planet ravaged by the Daleks. He meets a member of the resistance named Cinder and the two of them race against the clock, i.e. the Time Lords (see what I did there?) back on Gallifrey and the Daleks, to stop mass genocide. For those of you who wanted more background on the War Doctor that was introduced in Day of the Doctor then this one is definitely for you.


Doctor Who: The Crawling Terror by Mike Tucker
A quiet English village set in the present day is re-visited by the monsters of WWII. (Yet another book which mentions Alan Turing and his exemplary code-breaking skills by the way.) The Doctor and Clara land in Ringstone but they initially think that they've arrived at the wrong point in time...that is until they see the dead body caught in a giant spider's web. What exactly is going on in this little town that could create larger-than-life insects and arachnids? It might take more than just a bit of cleverness to work this one out (in fact it might take a little bit of time travel). If you're scared of bugs then I would recommend you stay far away from this one. :-D


Doctor Who: The Blood Cell by James Goss
I have to admit that I found this one rather chilling. I suppose that's because the entire story takes place in a prison that was built on an asteroid far out of reach of any neighboring civilizations. The Doctor is Prisoner 428 and he is definitely causing a ruckus amongst the Guardians and especially with the Governor himself (the Warden). He insists on escaping his cell and wandering wherever he pleases. Even when the Custodians (creepy faceless robots) are dispatched to dissuade him (I'm being delicate here) from breaking the rules, he persists in saying that there is something very wrong inside the prison. Actually there's something very sinister indeed occurring within the walls which keep everyone out...and everyone (and everything) inside.


Doctor Who: Silhouette by Justin Richards
An adventure with Jenny, Madame Vastra, and Strax (plus The Doctor & Clara)!! I do have to say that these are absolutely brilliant characters that I'm happy to see in a book adaptation. They have so much versatility and they're so different from one another that it keeps the story moving along at a wonderfully brisk pace. In this book, there are mysterious murders being committed throughout Victorian London and at first they don't seem to be interconnected except for one thing: the victims all visited the Carnival of Curiosities. What does origami, rage, and a man with a silver topped cane have to do with one another? Ah but you'll have to read this one to find out!!



So there you go! I hope that this kind of formatting worked for you. I had a lot of fun immersing myself in the Doctor Who Universe for the last week to read all of these. :-) Next up is another sci-fi adaptation but of a film this time: Star Trek Into Darkness by Alan Dean Foster. If you've ever read a book based off of a film (such as Star War) then you know that a lot of details are fleshed out in the novel which make the entire world seem more tangible and real. I'm hoping for that in this book. I read the adaptation for the first movie in the new universe franchise and it was really good so I have high expectations for this one. Stay tuned for that review!

Doctor Who Haul Part 1

I recently acquired 4 of the newest Doctor Who novels (one of which was mentioned in my last post). As per usual, when I get my hands on Doctor Who novels I tend to go on a bit of a binge and so...I'm just going to read all four of these really quickly and review them for you all in one big post.

A quick little blurb on each of them to whet your appetite.

Doctor Who: Enemies of War by George Mann
The War Doctor faces not only the Daleks and their newest weapons but also his own people in his quest to put an end to the Great Time War once and for all. However, he doesn't have to face them completely alone. He has a new companion named Cinder and she's determined to stay by his side no matter what dangers they face. She might change her mind when she sees exactly what the Daleks are creating...

Doctor Who: The Crawling Terror by Mike Tucker
The Doctor (#12) and Clara land in a sleepy little village town called Ringstone in Wiltshire. At first, The Doctor believes the TARDIS made a mistake and landed them at the wrong time in history. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the past has caught up to the present when giant insects and arachnids start terrorizing the villagers and all means of escape are cut off by massive spider webs...

Doctor Who: The Blood Cell by James Goss
When will people learn that there's really no point in trying to keep The Doctor locked in a cell? The most dangerous criminals are sent to a prison housed on an asteroid far removed from all colonized worlds. The Governor starts to suspect there is more than meets the eye regarding this 'Doctor' who keeps trying to escape and he might be right because after his arrival the murders begin...

Doctor Who: Silhouette by Justin Richards
When mysteries which seem to have no connection whatsoever (a locked room murder, a boxer killed by an undertaker, The Carnival of Curiosities, and a rich industrialist) end up being inextricably linked who could possibly put all of the pieces together? This is a case for The Doctor, Clara, Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax! Is anything really what it seems?

Are you guys ready?

True freedom is felt in the heart

I discovered from reading The Orphan Master's Son that I know precious little about North Korea. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that I know a whole lot more after having read this book. (Yes, I know it's fictional but a good majority of it is based on the realities of that country and its people.) I have to admit that it was slow going at the beginning. I didn't feel the push to keep going that I usually do when reading something that is really interesting to me. However, this wasn't because the characters lacked depth. I think it stems from what I mentioned at the top of this post: I was completely in the dark about North Korea and found it hard to connect. I have since done some research into the topic on my own and I am blown away by the mastery of Adam Johnson. This is a story of a man without identity. His true self is stripped away again and again by those in power. He is not the master of his own life...and yet...His spirit will not fully submit. For the entirety of this novel, I was waiting for this man's redemption because his suffering was so great and so complete that I felt that it was unfair that he not get his happy ending. I can't say if I was rewarded at the end or not because to do so would rob you of the experience yourself. If you enjoy contemporary historical fiction and/or have an interest in a part of the world that to me has always seemed shrouded in mystery (and really it still is) then this book is for you.

The only thing better than a Star Trek novel is a Doctor Who novel and the next book up for review is one of the latter! I'm going to be reading Doctor Who: Engines of War by George Mann and its main protagonist is THE WAR DOCTOR. (As you may be able to tell from the CAPS, I'm slightly excited.) The story centers around The Great Time War and The Doctor's interactions with the people of the planet, Moldox, who are being rounded up by the Daleks (hiss boo his). I don't want to say anymore because I fear I'll give away something truly important to the story line but I can't wait to review this one for you guys!!