Author Archive: NealeMonks
Mars by Rod Pyle (book review).
Mars is the planet most like the Earth in terms of environmental conditions and the one that holds most tightly to popular imagination. When HG Wells published his ‘War Of The Worlds’ in 1897, scientists couldn’t quite resolve surface details through the telescopes of the time and some believed they could see canals criss-crossing the […]
The World Of Dinosaurs by Dr. Mark Norell (book review).
It wasn’t that long ago that everyone ‘s idea of what dinosaurs looked like was limited to comparisons with the slow, sluggish reptiles of today. Robert Bakker and the Dinosaur Renaissance began transforming them into the dynamic animals we saw in ‘Jurassic Park’. But as alert and agile as these new dinosaurs seem, they’re still […]
Sam Kills Christmas by Thomas Ridgewell, Dorina Herdewijn and Eddie Bowley (book review).
‘Sam Kills Christmas’ is a strange book and, while marketed as a children’s book, it’s not one to be handed out to youngsters without a degree of forethought. While this reviewer’s four year-old certainly listened with due attention and appreciated the twist at the end, she found a lot of it a bit too dark […]
Edgar Allan Poe: Ghastly Tales From The Master Of The Macabre (book review).
It’s probably impossible to overstate the influence of Edgar Allan Poe on popular fiction. To pick two celebrated examples, the weird tales of H.P. Lovecraft and the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ stories of Arthur Conan Doyle have obvious precursors among the works of Poe and, if you follow these lines of descent through to the present day, […]
H.P. Lovecraft: Uncanny Tales of Cosmic Horror and Unspeakable Terror (book review).
There have been any number of Lovecraft anthologies over the years, evidence if it were needed of his enduring popularity and influence on weird fiction. But when it comes to describing Lovecraft’s writing, the fact is that he ranged across several different genres, from straightforward fantasy through the supernatural and finally into what ultimately became […]
H.G. Wells: The Collection by H.G. Wells (book review).
H.G. Wells is perhaps the classic late Victorian Science Fiction writer. But while some of his novels remain quite familiar, his shorter stories have unfortunately been overlooked. It is therefore very pleasing to find that this anthology not only includes his four most famous novels and novellas, but several of the more highly regarded short […]
Laddertop Books 1-2 by Orson Scott Card, Emily Janice Card and illustrated by Honoel A. Ibardolaza (graphic novel review).
At the same time as this reviewer was working his way through ‘Laddertop’, the British digital channel ‘Film On Four’ was holding a ‘Studio Ghibli’ season. The reason I mention this is that those films are famous for involving pre-teen girls as their central characters, something mainstream filmmakers have often found difficult. Historically, that’s also […]
So Say We All, The Oral History Of Battlestar Galactica by Mark A. Altman & Edward Gross (book review).
Of all the recent reboots of classic genre television shows, ‘Battlestar: Galactica’ is probably the one that has prompted the most reflection and discussion. What had been essentially a TV-budget ‘Star Wars’ knock-off was turned into a pointed critique of American society post-9/11. But while that’s the commonest comparison drawn between the two shows, the […]
The World Of Lore Volume 1: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke (book review).
It’s not uncommon for blogs and podcasts to be turned into books, but such publications aren’t always successful. A case in point is Aaron Mahnke’s ‘The World Of Lore’, a book based upon what is an undeniably successful podcast. Not only has the ‘Lore’ podcast run to over ninety episodes, it has even been adapted […]
Tank Girl: Gold by Alan Martin and Brett Parson (graphic novel review).
Few British comic book characters are as well known as Tank Girl, the eponymous heroine of a series that has been rumbling on now for over 30 years. In her way, she’s become a symbol of a certain strain of counter-culture feminism within British society, representing perhaps women who are sexually liberated and physically forceful. […]
