Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World (Volume 2)

04. March 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Classics, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Literary Fiction, Mystery, NonFiction, Russell, Science Fiction, Steam-punk, Teen Books, Thriller/Suspense

Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World (Volume 2) by Win Scott Eckert, read by Russell Stone, on 01/30/2013

The two volumes of “Crossovers” are a fascinating and highly enjoyable read for anyone interested in the interactions between various pulp, mystery, adventure, and science fiction characters with each other and real people throughout history.  The premise of the book was inspired by SF writer Philip José Farmer’s “Wold Newton” concept which he developed in the 1970s:  a “radioactive” meteorite crashed near Wold Newton, England, in 1795 and affected several carriages full of people who were passing by.  Their descendants became highly intelligent and powerful heroes (or villains) such as Sherlock Holmes, Professor Moriarty, Dr. Fu Manchu, Doc Savage, Lord Greystoke (Tarzan), and many more.  Farmer wrote popular and detailed biographies of Tarzan and Doc Savage in which he explored the family trees of many “Wold Newton Family” characters.  Over time, the concept has been expanded and continued by Win Scott Eckert and others to become the “Crossover Universe.”  Mr. Eckert has done a fantastic job of compiling references to literary heroes who have met each other (or “crossed over”) and had adventures together, and thus co-exist in the same fictional universe. Volume 1 covers the dawn of time up through 1939, and Volume 2 covers 1940 into the far future.  (Mr. Spock himself claimed Sherlock Holmes as an ancestor of his!)  There are 2000 entries in this chronology and 300 illustrations. Reading these two books is fun and will send you scurrying to find many of the stories and books that are referenced.

Crossovers-2 cover

Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World (Volume 1)

08. February 2013 · Comments Off · Categories: Biographies, Classics, Drama, Fairy Tales and Folklore, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Horror, Informational Book, Literary Fiction, Mystery, NonFiction, Paranormal, Russell, Science Fiction, Steam-punk, Teen Books, Thriller/Suspense, True Crime, Westerns

Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World (Volume 1) by Win Scott Eckert, read by Russell Stone, on 01/08/2013

Crossovers-1 cover

The two volumes of this book are a fascinating and highly enjoyable read for anyone interested in the interactions between various pulp, mystery, adventure, and science fiction characters with real people throughout history.  The premise of this book is inspired by SF writer Philip José Farmer’s “Wold Newton” concept which he developed in the 1970s:  a “radioactive” meteorite crashed near Wold Newton, England in 1795 and affected several carriages full of people who were passing by.  Their descendants became highly intelligent and powerful heroes (or villains) such as Sherlock Holmes, Professor Moriarty, Dr. Fu Manchu, Doc Savage, Lord Greystoke (aka Tarzan), and many more.  Farmer wrote popular and detailed biographies of Tarzan and Doc Savage in which he detailed the family trees of many “Wold Newton Family” characters.  Over time, the concept has been expanded and continued by others into the Crossover Universe.  Win Scott Eckert has done a fantastic job of compiling references to literary heroes who have met each other (or “crossed over”) and had adventures together, and thus co-exist in the same fictional universe.  Volume 1 covers the dawn of time up through 1939, and Volume 2 covers 1940 into the far future.  Reading these two books is a fun and highly addictive experience!

 

The Unnaturalists

22. October 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: Angie, Fantasy, Fiction, Steam-punk, Teen Books

The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent , read by Angie, on 10/16/2012

The Unnaturalists is an unusual book. It is a mix of fantasy, magic, history and steampunk. It is set in New London where 600 years ago the people where sucked through a portal into this new world. Along with the people, buildings from various periods of time were also sucked through. The world they landed in had many creatures who the people called unnaturals. They hunt the unnaturals and use them to fuel their world.

Vespa Nyx is the daughter of the head of the Museum in New London. She wants nothing more than to work in the Museum and become a Pedant but there are no female Pedants in New London. Syrus is a Tinker who lives with his clan in Tinkerville, a collection of old train cars. He has the gift of being able to understand the unnaturals when no one else can. Pedant Hal Lumin is a mysterious character who seems to always come to the aid of Vespa and Nix. We then learn that Vespa is a witch, probably the last witch and Hal and the Architects, a heretic group who practices magic, want her to help heal the world. Vespa, Hal and Syrus struggle to figure out what is going on with the captured unnaturals and tinkers in the refineries that power the city. What they discover shakes them to the core and makes them realize how evil their world really is. Of course there is one who wants to destroy everything and he needs Vespa to do it.

The concept of this book was awesome; I loved the idea of combining steampunk and fantasy and magic. I actually really liked the characters of Vespa and Syrus; they were well fleshed out and had a lot of dimension. However, the world building really suffered in this book. It was a fascinating world but it seemed like there were a lot of things unexplained or just plain improbable. I wish Trent had spent a little more time building a logical world in addition to all the time she spent on her story.

Phoenix Rising

08. September 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: Science Fiction, Steam-punk, Tracy

Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris, read by Tracy, on 09/08/2012

Before there was British Intelligence there was The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Apparently during the Victorian era in London there were a lot of peculiar things going on. This book is a sort of cross between Indiana Jones, Warehouse 13, Burn Notice and James Bond. Eliza D. Braun is a spy who carries a lot of weapons and wears a bullet proof corset. She rescues Wellington Books, the chief archivist at the Ministry, from the evil Sophia. Since Eliza is too fond of blowing things up and can handle a gun their boss Doctor Sound feels she needs some quiet down time helping Books in the archives. The authors of this book must’ve had a lot of fun writing this steam-punk adventure. So many gadgets and robots to develop and even coming up with the  agent named Bruce Campbell. I’m not sure if they named him after the famous Sci Fi actor Bruce Campbell but that’s who I thought of right away. Even though Eliza and Wellington are complete opposites they find that they work well together out in the field chasing the Phoenix society. Can’t wait to read the next book.