Review: Doctor Who: Shada: The Lost Adventure by Douglas Adams

Doctor Who: Shada: The Lost Adventure by Douglas Adams by Gareth Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I heard about this book from a coworker and subsequently got it out from the library.
I will state two things right away: I have not seen much Classic Who, and I have only been through the Hitchhiker's Guide for the first time within the past year or so. I blame this on my upbringing (too full of other wonders, but sadly lacking in the Science Fiction department). So I come at this novel without the baggage of childhood adoration, and cannot vouch for it against those who do.
That disclaimer made, I found in it the same whimsy and delightfully madcap qualities that I associate with Douglas Adams. As a new Whovian, I was continually fascinated by the presence of multiple Time Lords. I've known for years that I really ought to watch some stories with Romana in them, and now I'm doubly determined to do so.
I reserve the final star for books that I cannot live without (or at least, I intend to do so in future, I'm not sure that I've been entirely consistent on my ratings in the past), and I'm not going to award that honor to this book, but I do recommend it and got grouchy whenever I had to put it down. I even gave up some napping opportunities in order to keep reading, and that's a high accolade!
I did get frustrated at Clare's character from time to time. I know that not all characters are supposed to be perfect (that would be boring), but it really irks me to have females shouting empowerment in the workplace and then falling into passive, waiting roles when it comes to romance.



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Review: Naked Heat

Naked Heat by Richard Castle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



A fictional book written by a fictional character. I enjoyed it at about a three-star level, but that was only because I watch Castle. Because I already had the majority of characters and settings in my head, I read the book as if I were watching an extended episode of the show. I was able to glean nuance from having seen it in previous episodes, so I knew what a glance between Ochoa/Esposito/Jon and Raley/Ryan/Seamus looks like (book character/TV character/actor) and I'm not convinced that the writing alone could have conveyed all that depth.
I did, of course, enjoy all the levels of meta. There was a beautiful reference to the character that the actor who plays the character that wrote the book (upon whom the main character is based) played in a different show. I wanted to try writing that all out without directly naming anybody to see how convoluted it got (with names - the book references Malcom Reynolds, who was a character on Firefly played by Nathan Fillion, who plays Richard Castle who supposedly wrote this book, which contains a thinly-veiled self character named Jameson Rook).
I was tickled to see the "author's note" from Richard Castle at the end of the book thanking both the Castle-show characters and the actors who play them (as well, I'm guessing as producers and writers, but I don't know their names well enough to recognize them). Reality and fiction merge!!
I might read another, but I won't go out of my way to do it.



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Review: The Magicians' Guild

The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I really, REALLY want to give this book three and a half stars.
Started this one as an ebook checked out from the library because it was available and I was experimenting with reading on my phone. When it looked like it had potential, I requested a paper copy from the library, which I just zipped through in about a day and a half.
Probably if it reminds me of half a dozen of my favorite authors' works at different points, it's a book I like, right? It was engaging and amusing and entertaining. I liked the world and look forward to reading more in it. At the same time, because I kept getting these echoes of other authors, it didn't quite feel original. And I have to say, while renaming common objects to emphasize that it's a fantasy world is a tool that works, it feels like a weaker prop than giving us the rules and substantial differences. So a spider is a faren, so what? What I'm interested in is how the Magician's Guild works and the laws of magic. Or if a faren has some features that set it apart from a spider in unexpected ways, then I'm interested, but if it's just a spider by a different name? Feels more contrived than convincing.
I am glad that the foundation was well laid for more intrigue, but the main plot of this book wrapped up tidily. It was a nice balance between series of books which are hardly related and those which are more continuations of each other than separate stories.
Which books did it call to mind? I was reminded of [a:Tamora Pierce|8596|Tamora Pierce|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1209044273p2/8596.jpg]'s Circle of Magic books very strongly, a bit of [a:Philip Pullman|3618|Philip Pullman|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1196023994p2/3618.jpg]'s Sally Lockhart books (mostly the parts to do with running and hiding in the slums of London), [a:Kate Constable|273399|Kate Constable|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1243719545p2/273399.jpg]'s Chanters of Tremaris trilogy, a bit of [a:Maria V. Snyder|445303|Maria V. Snyder|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224476079p2/445303.jpg], with a touch of [a:Scott Lynch|73149|Scott Lynch|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1332432746p2/73149.jpg], and oh, hell, just a whiff of [a:Patrick Rothfuss|108424|Patrick Rothfuss|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351307341p2/108424.jpg]. You'd think with so many flavors I love, this book would have grabbed me more strongly. I'm not saying I didn't like it, just that it wasn't in the league with some of those (especially Scott Lynch and Pat Rothfuss), so I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't absolutely stellar. Not a diet version of those books I love, but a slightly-reduced-fat version. I do look forward to reading more by this author. Certainly on a level with Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic books, which I have had as a go-to fun fantasy since I first read them... so long ago that I can't remember when.
You may note that I left [a:J K Rowling|6566055|J K Rowling|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg] off the list of feel-alikes. Despite having an unexpected power in an unlikely youngster as the focal point of the story, this book was entirely different from the Harry Potter series. Not as much world-building, despite taking place in a different reality. The magic is much less important to the story, and isn't explored as much as at Hogwarts. Maybe we'll get to more of that in future books. I think that the author's writing will develop some polish and she clearly has some excellent ideas.



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