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Post by lemming13 on Jul 5, 2011 11:31:19 GMT
Before anyone gets put off at the thought of the family-friendly movie version, I refer to Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's epic comics, which don't seem to have a thread and richly deserve it. The first mini-series, now available in collected versions as both regular and super-deluxe, concerns the League (consisting of Mina Harker, Allan Quartermain, Captain Nemo, Dr Jekyll and Hawley Griffin aka the Invisible Man) battling against Fu Manchu, who has stolen the only existing sample of Cavorite. They hand it over to the head of their employer who does sadly turn out to be Moriarty. They defeat him in an aerial battle over London. Definitely NOT material for families; for one thing they retrieve Griffin from a girl's school where he is masquerading as an incubus. But the story is richly embellished with an encyclopedic knowledge of classic and pulp literature, and concludes with a rather spiffing tale of Allan Quartermain, Randolph Carter, and Morlocks - Allan and the Sundered Veil.
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Post by lemming13 on Jul 5, 2011 11:14:46 GMT
You're not the only one there, John. Death by snoo-snoo, anyone?
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Post by lemming13 on Jul 5, 2011 11:13:34 GMT
Well, still some darned good stuff in there, and I'm glad to own it.
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Post by lemming13 on Jul 1, 2011 13:34:45 GMT
Thanks to nosferatu I have the Panther edition: The contents are The Hounds of Tindalos - the classic tale of drug experimentation and time travel. A Visitor from Egypt - an encounter between a museum curator and an eccentric Egyptologist The Refugees - whimsical tale of the little folk The Dark Beasts - a backwoods family are troubled by something nasty in the woods Census Taker - another whimsy about a man who appears to be shifting between realities A Stitch In Time - science fiction piece about an accidental rift in time Golden Child - a child and a tramp are hurled across space by a device created accidentally Bridgehead - time travelling invaders accidentally create their own nemesis Grab Bags Are Dangerous - satisfyingly creepy tale of a Christmas costume which proves unwise Second Night Out - horror story of a strange manifestation on board ship. A little repetitive here and there - Long's science fiction does seem to involve a lot of accidents and rather less imagination. But the horror stories are all rather enjoyable. My own favourite is second Night Out, which is short and with a grim and abrupt ending.
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Post by lemming13 on Jul 1, 2011 13:21:03 GMT
Aah! No! Not Marple! I'm sorry, but that's one thing that winds me up immensely, turning Aunt Jane into some pseudo-Yank cop show crap. Just because some audiences can't remember more than a single word for a title... MISS Marple. She is definitely and unrelentingly Miss. A gentleman of the period could comfortably go by surname alone, it was accepted, but the only females referred to by their surname with no title were servants and film stars. Anyway, nobody does it better than Joan Hickson (Margaret Rutherford is fun, but she only plays Margaret Rutherford).
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Post by lemming13 on Jul 1, 2011 13:14:44 GMT
I got the feeling that the ending was tacked on to a degree - there was insufficient build-up to the sudden outbreak of awesome powers. To be honest though I enjoyed the story I can't helping feeling it was 'improved' by an editor somewhere, and shortened; it seemed to me there were segments missing from the story here and there. Maybe that's just me, though, and it was deliberate understatement. There was a lot I liked, though - the cult of the Nameless itself is a fascinating concept, and the nasty little throwaways really make it a nice shudderer.
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 25, 2011 12:02:19 GMT
Ah! Now that does the trick. Time consuming nothing, dem, even a congenitally bone-idle bugger like me can manage that. Ta.
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 25, 2011 11:59:51 GMT
I don't know if that makes me happy, or sad...
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 24, 2011 10:54:24 GMT
Oh gosh, I hope no-one thinks I'm being picky about new threads being started - it's just that I'm a lazy bleeder and if there's already a thread about a book I've enjoyed, I much prefer not putting down the details and just jumping in on a conversation already under way. And if I'm humming and hawing about a book or an author it's handy to be able to suss out what other Vaulters think, but only if I can find a related thread. I have never been steered wrong on anything on here; even if I disagree about the best story or find a book not my cup of tea, I can usually rely on Vault to tell me what's worth a read at all. I only picked Sarban because he was in my mind because Chris posted up about the ebooks. Actually I think it might work if we have a sign-up thread somewhere and each pick an author to trawl for. I promise not to pick someone who only wrote one story
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 23, 2011 8:39:55 GMT
Plague of the Zombies (ah, Andre Morell, one of my favourite Hammer stars - and John Carson too, of course, and dear old Michael Ripper). And Attenborough's Tribal Eye series (actually not as far from the horror theme as you might think, especially when David appears in New Guinea traditional garb of bugger all but a bit of cloth to honour the ancestral spirits of a Melanesian tribe).
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 23, 2011 8:35:19 GMT
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 23, 2011 8:24:43 GMT
Terrific! I can't wait.
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 22, 2011 9:19:10 GMT
Another from nosferatu's box, this collection has been on my wants list for ages. There are some overlaps with The Black Gondolier collection I already have, but not enough to annoy, and there are some treasures in it. The Black Gondolier - near legendary tale of the true nature of oil, a story which seems to become more relevant and disturbing with time rather than less. Midnight In the Mirror World - a somewhat reclusive dilettante is haunted by a curious image which appears in a set of mirrors. I'm Looking For Jeff - a girl hanging around a bar is the subject of controversy; for one thing, some people don't even seem to see her... The Creature From Cleveland Depths - in my view, one that has possibly weathered worst of all these stories, this is a mixture of science fiction whimsy and grim dystopia in its tale of an invention meant to hep jog the human memory. The Oldest Soldier - one of Leiber's Changewar stories. A soldier who tells tall tales in a bar may not be such a liar after all. The Girl With the Hungry Eyes - a photographer's new subject has a very peculiar appeal, but there is something very odd about her. A Bit of the Dark World - a writer and psychologist shares a theory with his guests about the forces which lurk around mankind. My favourite of all the horror stories in this book, I think this one touches on some real primal fears within us all.
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 22, 2011 8:58:08 GMT
Before opening a new thread elsewhere about Fritz Leiber (I know there is one open but it's more of a query than a review/bibliography one, and I can't find another), I'm going to harass demonik again, little as our very hard-working friend deserves it, and ask for a section with an A - Z listing of authors and/or editors already featured around the Vault. It would help prevent the explosion of threads we're getting and stop people duplicating what's already up, and make it easier to find helpful stuff about authors and anthologies. I'd gladly volunteer to trawl sections, taking names and listing related threads, and I'm sure everyone else would too. We could all help to keep it updated by adding any new links we start to the lists, so once it was set up it shouldn't need an overhaul too often. How about it, dem?
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Post by lemming13 on Jun 22, 2011 8:43:52 GMT
Well, having just read this thanks to nosferatu, I'd be hard put to it to nominate a favourite - I enjoyed every single one hugely. If I really had to pick, though, then I'd probably go for Black Man With a Horn (partly because I can't help thinking of a certain Simpsons episode featuring Lisa and a black jazzman, which could have been vastly improved with a few tips from Klein ). All superbly crafted, though, and I'm really looking forward to The Ceremonies.
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