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Post by dem bones on Jun 7, 2020 12:13:06 GMT
£1 each at Sclater Street this morning. Turns out the Bride already has decent copy of the Harris Ripper book and there was a already a In Search of Dracula malingering on shelf of shame. But just to see some dear old friends healthy and back trading made for a special occasion. Couldn't help but notice that a number of regular stalls are missing, while the market along Brick Lane itself has yet to return. Maybe next week ...?
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Post by humgoo on Jun 7, 2020 15:24:00 GMT
But just to see some dear old friends healthy and back trading made for a special occasion. Thanks a lot for posting this. This is heartening. Looking forward to seeing your report next week!
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Post by kooshmeister on Jun 8, 2020 22:49:32 GMT
While toying with (finally) getting the Krull novelization, I randomly noticed a killer whale novel called Cachalot by Alan Dean Foster, who also did Krull. I've read a lot of Foster's movie novelization work but never (really) any of his original stuff, so I figured I'd give it a go.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 8, 2020 23:10:58 GMT
While toying with (finally) getting the Krull novelization, I randomly noticed a killer whale novel called Cachalot by Alan Dean Foster, who also did Krull. I've read a lot of Foster's movie novelization work but never (really) any of his original stuff, so I figured I'd give it a go. I read this as a teenager and am curious to hear what you think of it. For now, all I will say is that at the time I thought it was OK.
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Post by kooshmeister on Jun 9, 2020 2:59:41 GMT
I'll definitely let you know when it arrives and I can thumb through it.
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Post by andydecker on Jun 9, 2020 10:33:34 GMT
I've read a lot of Foster's movie novelization work but never (really) any of his original stuff, so I figured I'd give it a go. Back in the day I enjoyed his Pip & Flinx novels. The Tar-Aiym-Krang and so on. His comic fantasy I avoided, though.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 9, 2020 11:26:24 GMT
Back in the day I enjoyed his Pip & Flinx novels. The Tar-Aiym-Krang and so on. His comic fantasy I avoided, though. Back in the 1980s, I also read the novelizations Foster wrote for the Star Trek animated series along with his Star Wars novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye. I remember liking the latter for its setting, a swamp planet littered with the remains of ancient civilizations. A few years ago I tried reading Bloodhype and couldn't finish it.
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Post by cromagnonman on Jun 9, 2020 11:54:08 GMT
Back in the day I enjoyed his Pip & Flinx novels. The Tar-Aiym-Krang and so on. His comic fantasy I avoided, though. Back in the 1980s, I also read the novelizations Foster wrote for the Star Trek animated series along with his Star Wars novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye. I remember liking the latter for its setting, a swamp planet littered with the remains of ancient civilizations. A few years ago I tried reading Bloodhype and couldn't finish it. I remember quite enjoying Splinter of the Mind's Eye back in the mists of time too. A swamp planet setting, a light sabre due, someone gets their arm sliced off and topples down a big hole. And then a year or so later I saw The Empire Strikes Back and I went "hey, wait a minute...."
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Post by kooshmeister on Jun 20, 2020 10:05:38 GMT
So, thumbing through the opening chapters of Cachalot has proven interesting. We get a nice setup of what I assume to be the main threat, complete with an opening kill, as well as some hints about what the titular ocean world is all about. Twice-bitten former (?) water polo star Mustapha Ali is out fishing on the dock of one of Cachalot's many man-made floating settlements - think the place(s) we see in Waterworld but decidedly more sophisticated and high-tech, less " Mad- Max-on-the-water" - when something big begins appearing in the murky depths beneath him. We don't find out what exactly happens to Mustapha or anyone else in this facility 'cause, dang it, Foster's got a mystery to preserve. We do learn that whatever it is, it ain't good, considering the supply vessel arriving to bring trade goods finds the whole place destroyed; nothing but debris floating on the ocean's surface. Cut to marine biologist Cora Xamantina (who apparently lacks a PhD, as everyone calls her "Ms.") arriving on Cachalot via shuttle with her extremely taciturn daughter Rachael. I'm at present a little unclear on Rachael's age. She is apparently old enough that clearly grown up fellow passenger Merced is allowed to basically hit on her without much response from Cora beyond some eye-rolling, and yet she pretty much behaves like a moody tween. She's a musician. Specifically, she plays something called a neurophon which is an instrument that causes emotional responses or something. She isn't supposed to be futzing with it during the descent down to the surface of the planet, as it could theoretically distract the pilots or mess with their instrumentation and cause them to crash, but not only doesn't Rachael give much of a shit, neither does her mother. Cora's too busy smouldering in disapproval over this guy Merced showing an interest in her daughter... but not enough to actually, y'know, intervene in the conversation. She tells herself it's because that if she does, Rachael will talk to Merced more just to spite her, but, still, I dunno, this strikes me as bad parenting, especially if Rachael really is too young to be traveling by herself (as I can't think of any other reason why Cora would be dragging her along; it's obvious there's not much love lost between the two). There's no real land on Cachalot, at least nothing above the water. However, there are shallower areas of sea where installations and even entire towns and cities can basically be built on stilts, and it is to one of these, rather than a free floating facility like the one that got destroyed in the prologue, that the shuttle carrying the Xamantinas is bound. Upon arrival, they're greeted by a liaison from the marine research facility, Sam Mataroreva. As they disembark from the ship, it turns out that Merced is, surprise, surprise! - also a marine biologist of some sort, and bound for the same lab as Cora and her daughter! Ho-ho! What're the odds? Well, in fairness to Foster, surprisingly good, especially since, now that I think about it, Merced approached Rachael and not the other way around, and the way he explains himself makes sense; he recognized Cora even she didn't recognize him, and, besides, Sam seems to know him. Cora remains slightly suspicious of the guy. But still not suspicious enough to, y'know, actually insinuate herself between her daughter and the guy. Incidentally, Sam is consistently referred to by his long-ass surname, Mataroreva, but "Sam" is easier to type, so, eh. As the group heads the main part of the stilted city, Rachael continues being kind of vaguely irritating by messing with her neurophon, even though Sam starts getting antsy about it and begins politely suggesting that she stop it. Being young and rebellious, she doesn't, and apparently the tones produced by neurophons can affect animals as well as people since her music (or, rather, just her aimless plucking) causes a rather violent reaction in a kind of amorphous, octopus-like thing called a toglut that lives under the sand in shallow areas of Cachalot much like the one the group is currently passing over to reach the center of town. The thing erupts out of the water and does a Free Willy over the walkway. Although they're ordinarily not aggressive, apparently they are dangerous in some manner, considering that Sam's response to this is to unclip a kind of phaser thing from his belt and shoot at it as it passes overhead. It splashes down in the water on the other side and swims away just as a group of what I take to be local security, led by a woman named Tarii, comes running with guns. Sam assures them that the threat is over, and it is pretty much decided that maybe Rachael out to give the music a rest for a while, allowing the group to proceed to their destination without further incident. So far I quite like it.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jun 20, 2020 12:14:41 GMT
Your notes brought back many memories of this book, Mr. Meister. Cut to marine biologist Cora Xamantina (who apparently lacks a PhD, as everyone calls her "Ms.") arriving on Cachalot via shuttle with her extremely taciturn daughter Rachael. I'm at present a little unclear on Rachael's age. She is apparently old enough that clearly grown up fellow passenger Merced is allowed to basically hit on her without much response from Cora beyond some eye-rolling, and yet she pretty much behaves like a moody tween. It may be that writing young woman isn't Foster's strong suit. Incidentally, Sam is consistently referred to by his long-ass surname, Mataroreva, but "Sam" is easier to type, so, eh. You ain't seen nothing yet when it comes to long character names, I promise. So far I quite like it. That bodes well, given that you haven't even encountered the most entertaining characters in the book.
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Post by kooshmeister on Jun 21, 2020 2:05:01 GMT
You ain't seen nothing yet when it comes to long character names, I promise. God help me.
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Post by jamesdoig on Jul 3, 2020 22:20:08 GMT
Couple of recent finds, mostly from the Vinnies shop which for some reason has a huge amount of books at the moment - hard covers $2, paperbacks $1: Found this yesterday and started reading it straight away - 40 pages in it's a fun read that mentions loads of movies I've never heard of, though muchj of it is really just a survey - Blood on Satan's Claw gets 9 lines: Also from Vinnies. Tragically the cut-out paper Godzilla is missing: An occult detective anthology with common stories, designed for kids judging from the cover: This was $5 in the cheap basket at a local 2nd hand bookshop. I've never systematically bought them, but this one looks pretty good:
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Post by Swampirella on Jul 3, 2020 23:36:52 GMT
An occult detective anthology with common stories, designed for kids judging from the cover: Great cover on this one!
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Post by helrunar on Jul 4, 2020 1:35:39 GMT
By another "coincidence," I've been attempting to organize (and weed) my personal media collection. Tonight I found an adaptation of a Manly Wade Wellman story, "Rouse him not," which aired as an episode of an odd, very short-lived 1988 series, Monsters. The author of the screenplay is listed as "Michael Parry"--according to the IMDB, identical to Mike or Michel Parry. I had no idea he'd written screenplays, but there are a few lines in his entry there.
Died aged only 67... when one is less than a month away from one's 62nd birthday, well... that seems awfully young!
H.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 4, 2020 12:08:03 GMT
An occult detective anthology with common stories, designed for kids judging from the cover: Great cover on this one! Agreed, it's silly but fun. I find it interesting how the term "ghost-breaker" seems to have been more common than "ghost-buster" until a certain 1984 film came along.
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