Jago and Litefoot by Andy Lane. (Doctor Who character's Spin-off.)

Jago & Litefoot: Series 1 by Andy Lane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Does anyone remember two characters form Tom Baker's Doctor Who story - The Talons of Weng Chiang?

The One Fly in the Ointment.

My only beef about these audio delights is the ridiculously high price that is charged for them if you are not a member of Audible. I have the monthly credit membership thing going with Audible. But £52.49 for an audiobook is far too much. I am certain this would put many people off. But my one credit monthly membership secured it and the others will do so on other future credits. Getting that gripe off my chest, I can begin.

Their names are Jago and Litefoot from Doctor Who's Talons of Weng Chiang. I do like to give some spin-offs tales a try. Especially Doctor Who. These first set of stories of Jago and Litefoot are absolute peaches. I've been listening while working. My job is very rural and I can function while listening.

There are four tales in all. Each about an hour and ten minutes. Each one, as said, is very entertaining. The dark humour between the theatre manager Jago and Professor Litefoot is colourful. An amusingly overindulgent use of splendid words makes for gorgeous dialogue. The Victorian characters have become a double act investigating strange phenomena problems after their brief and dangerous adventure with the Doctor and Leela.

What follows in the Jago and Litefoot association is a general all-round romp of sinister and diabolical fun in Victorian London. The spooky tales are wonderful modern-day penny dreadfuls set in the time when penny dreadfuls were two a penny (Well on some stalls perhaps.) SciFi, strange phenomenon pulp stories. Each diabolical tale oozes with atmosphere and is very exciting. I have now listened to all of series one. My favourite being number three (The Spirit Trap).

Has anyone else listened to Jago and Litefoot? Does anyone remember the characters from Doctor Who? If yes to either question, what do you people think?

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All Hail The Eyeballs in the Sky!

I remember reading a British cartoon strip. I think it was in the Daily Mirror and I was working at the Royal Mail in London. I would often read various newspaper funnies. One such strip was the Eyeballs in the Sky. It was an off-shoot story of The Perishers and was by Maurice Dodds and Dennis Collins.

The Perishers cartoon strip had four children who had this old dog called Boot. When the family went on holiday Boot stayed back at the house. One of the dog’s little delights was to wonder to the garden rock pool and stare down through the still water at the pond life that lived below. The crab creatures would stare up at Boot and wonder. All these tiny living things could see was Boot’s eyes and nose. Eyes that peered down from Heaven. Consequently, this society of crabs fashioned a religion around the phenomenal appearance of the Eyeballs in the Sky. Religious crabs preached that there was life beyond the Pooliverse, etc. There were also scientist crabs who tried to discredit the Eyeballs in the Sky as being non-existent. The stories became on going with loads of splendid innuendo jokes. How so many stories could be invented from Boot the dog staring into the rock pool was an absolute delight.

I never wanted The Perishers to come back from holiday. Like the little crabs, “All hail the divine Eyeballs in the Sky.” Boot the dog would cause all sorts of mayhem and deep philosophy among the tiny creatures and walk off with his own oblivious thoughts. Usually leaving upheaval of biblical proportions in the rock pool.

Edgar Rice Burroughs - A Princess of Mars. (John Carter)

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wonderful escapism in this first of the series. John Carter is our hero. A Southern American gentleman from Virginia. He is accidentally passed through an astral porthole in the year of 1865. He awakes naked on the surface of Mars. From here on, we are taken on a magical fantasy adventure. On Mars, John Carter is rather strong due to the planet's weaker gravity. He can jump 100 plus yards into the air when the occasion demands. There is a gorgeous Princess of human appearance, giant green Martian nomadic warrior people who are 15 foot in height. They have four arms and move from one ancient derelict city to another. These places are deserted ruins of a bygone humanoid race. The Redmen are human in appearance and are called human. They have big sky ships etc. It is all fun fantasy stuff. Some would call it pulp. Perhaps it is. But I would say it is very enjoyable.

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The Big Closet Science Fiction Geezer.

Closet Science Fiction Geezer. 

I'm a total geek when it comes to science fiction. I'm a closet sci-fi buff. My friends and workmates know nothing about this aspect of me. Perhaps some of them are like me too? I would not know. I indulge more in this field of interest via the web. There are always other folks on this wavelength via the web. 

My wife is tolerant of these little excesses. I love Doctor Who. I've loved it since I was a kid. I remember the show from William Hartnell. I can remember many stories that are lost from the archives. I loved to be spooked by the Daleks. These wonderful bad guys. All our excesses of badness are poured into the Daleks. These pathetic looking pepper pots that defy the logic of fear. 

I just love the whole concept of them. Over the years we have created ways to give these bad guys excuses for being masters of the universe and looking pathetic. Now they can simply levitate up stairs. We have not quite worked out the lavatory plunger for a hand, but I'm banking on a ball of kinetic energy that glows from the sucker. It can work complex controls and all. - lol!

The web is a delight for people who enjoy Doctor Who and the spin-offs that might emerge from the retro sci-fi show. Some of these invented spin-off stories keep that old retro feel. Almost like the off-shoot annuals and comics of the 1960s decade.

I've stumbled across something called Big Finish. These are serious of audio adventures of retro TV shows etc. Among them are a large selection of Doctor Who stories. This collection is growing. You can experience new adventures of bygone Doctors and companions.  

I have downloaded and enjoyed a number of these. I have barely dipped my toe in this ocean and have listened to some very clever stories. Among them is a spin-off set of stories known as 'Dalek Empire.' There are a large number of these tales and I have only listened to the first set of 'Dalek Empire' stories. The plot moves over a series of years. It involves conquest and invasion etc.

Very entertaining and great to listen to if one works outdoors as I do. I would highly recommend this well written and wonderfully presented audio story. It has a great retro feel with actors that inject a great atmospheric feel through dialogue etc. 

Doctor Who: The Genocide Machine by Mike Tucker

Doctor Who: The Genocide Machine by Mike Tucker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wonderfully atmospheric. A real trip down memory lane too. Sylvester McCoy's Doctor with Ace. A clever story of a grand and extra special library on an outback planet. The whole presentation of this story is splendid. The Daleks are after all the knowledge they can get and have a diabolical plan to get at such desired things. If you are a Doctor Who fan, I would highly recommend this one. Splendid fun.

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Book Sales Become More Encouraging Each Month.

Over the past four months, I have enjoyed a steady sales pattern. Very rarely do I get a blank sales day. However, of the four books published, only one is enjoying these sales rates. I am very pleased with the one book, but I would like it if others sold as well.

Yesterday I sold nine books on Kindle and two on Smashwords. I hope I can maintain and grow this improving sales rate. The interest in the old pastiche science fiction novel has been very encouraging. 

Doctor Who: Spare Parts by Marc Platt - For the sci-fi Geek Geezers.

Doctor Who: Spare Parts by Marc Platt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very entertaining audiobook. A Big Finish product. The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davidson) and his companion Nyssa land on the planet of Mondas. Doctor Who fans will know that Mondas was Earth's twin planet with a humanoid race living upon it. They are, of course, Modasians. The last remnants of Human/Mondasians are living under curfew. Each night squads of Cybermen come out to collect the last people for the processing factories. This was a Genesis of the Cybermen story and very compelling. If you are a Doctor Who fan, then this story is a must. Primitive Cybermen like those in the last William Hartnell story are rather chilling as they patrol the back streets of a dying civilisation in the last throws of extinction. Slowly person by person, being converted into the unfeeling and coldly logical Cybermen.

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Abora Invasion Earth by Michael Nicolson (My Goodreads Review)

Abora Invasion Earth by Michael Nicolson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A humanoid looking race of aliens arrives on Earth seeking sanctuary. Their homeworld is dying. The British Prime Minister of the year 2070 decides to allow a settlement in the Highlands of Scotland. These humanoid looking aliens are like Nephilim giants from biblical myth. Some of the aliens have more sinister requirements. Much to the dismay of most alien settlers and completely unacceptable to the local population. Instead of looking at the sheep and cattle as livestock some of the aliens see the smaller humans as a source of protein. In some ways, the story reminds me of some of the Edmund Cooper style science fiction books I often read. Well worth reading.

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A New Meaning to Heavy Metal.

I saw this clip on LinkedIn. I had to download and use on this blog. It reminds me of an old science fiction Brit flick from the 80s. I think it was called Hardware. The film had this demented killer robot in it. It was a b flick really, but I think it had a cult appeal to it. There was a cameo appearance of two Eastenders soap actors in the film. They played father and son in the soap opera and they played a father and son roll in the science fiction movie too. 

These heavy metal dudes bring an ominous yet compelling look of dystopian horror. Despite the music, there is a gruesome appeal.

Flawed Gods by Mrs Angela B Mortimer (My Goodreads Review)

Flawed Gods by Mrs Angela B Mortimer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A very entertaining sci-fi/fantasy story. It all starts off in the city of London. We are introduced to an office worker named Doella. She looks human and acts human. She is also drop dead gorgeous! She is really a supernatural Godlike being who lives among us incognito. She is long-lived and knows of many times. Her race is known as the Varans. They are engineers and build civilizations and help steer evolution. The Varan project planets are Earth-like. Humans are their children to be guided. These project/colonies are scattered across the universe. The Varans can travel to them swiftly and can move within a protective bubble when needed.

The story quickly moves to Doella being abducted and then eloping with an escaped Varan prisoner from another world and dimension. They embark on a pilgrimage of adventure and we visit other humanoid worlds in various stages of evolution and decay. They are being pursued by other Varans who wish to bring them back to the homeworld and answer for wrongdoings etc.

The story becomes more colourful and mildly erotic as the capricious crusade progresses. One adventure turns into another as our super titan god people meet other super races. There are Humans developing in all types of strange society and another super-being known as Sark. He is a Hyclos. Before long, Doella has a selection of devoted male concubines that adore her as she does them. Some can control their jealousy while others can’t. Doella always seems to have a way of mollifying them as they can communicate feelings telepathically.

Dragons come into the story too. It is very entertaining and splendid science fiction with telepathy often used to communicate and mind melding to explain experiences. Some of the worlds are like fantasy landscapes with grand castles etc. It all makes for some splendid escapism. For me, Doella is an unflawed Goddess in Flawed Gods.

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Shadows Against the Empire by Ralph E. Vaughan (My Goodreads Review)

Shadows Against the Empire by Ralph E. Vaughan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great Steampunk adventure set in an alternative British Empire with advanced steam-driven machinery and airships. We follow the adventures of Captain Folkestone and his Martian accomplice, Sergeant Felix Hand. The British Empire is policing colonies on Mars and Venus in the year of 1882. It's a wonderfully weird and wacky adventure of a retro sci-fi world from our past. An alternative British Empire in a bizarre space age. The image of Victorian machinery (iron and steam) in a space-age dreamed of by people with futuristic imaginations of the late 19th and early 20th Century. H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burrows type Sci-Fi. A story of ancient Dark Gods known to Martians and Venusians from their entwined pasts yet not to Humans who are newcomers building empires and colonies upon both planets. The restless natives of these colonised worlds are resurrecting taboo old Gods. Those that must not be spoken of. Their aim (The Dark Gods) to destroy the alternative British Empire of 1882 and bring vengeance upon humanity. Only the dashing Captain Folkestone and Sergeant Hand can thwart the evil as they travel on a quest from Mars to Venus following leads where humanoid and reptilian Venusians live. Plus some work back on Earth, in London, by Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector Ethan Slaughter as he searches among London's immigrant population of Chinese, Laskers, Martians and Venusian workers in a quest for secrets of the Dark Gods too.

Great adventure for all fans of Steampunk Sci-Fi where even Victorian London's back streets are awash with inter-planetary multi-culturalism. The whole story moves well with its wonderful alternative Victorian feel combined with retro steam-powered machinery from a mythical, dreamed of, age.

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Aliens from Mars - Would You Believe Such Things?

1. Did you enjoy the dreadful thought of the War of the Worlds Tripod Fighting Machines from Mars?

2. What About the War of the Worlds 1953 Radio Broadcast?

3. Or the Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds Musical?

Science Fiction Lovers Indulge This Thought.

Imagine, if you will, how it would have been to be a Victorian sailor from retro British times of 1898. You are on board HMS Thunder Child and the ship is picking up strange semaphore messages from the shore stations. Invaders from Mars are striding about and destroying the entire fabric of our nation. Would you believe such outrages things? The entire ship would be alive with speculation and disbelief. These sailors were destined to see three Martian fighting machines and confront the colossal edifices in battle.

Aboard H.M.S. Thunder Child, the crew are blissfully unaware of the savage terror. Only the new Captain knows and only upon the journey, at sea, do the crew begin to learn the unbelievable news from semaphore stations.

1. What would you think of such news?

2. Would you believe such things as aliens from Mars?

War of the Worlds pastiche

Britain in 1898.

The Martians really came and this is the alternative history of that dreadful event. Join the crew of HMS Thunder Child as she prepares to embark upon her doomed voyage, before her demise and courageous battle with three Martian tripod fighting machines at the River Blackwater in the county of Essex, England, UK.

Captain McIntosh and his brave crew can hardly believe the semaphore messages sent from the shore stations. The news is so uncanny and fantastic that none can accept the stories of Martians falling from space. All hands of HMS Thunder Child must keep a dreadful appointment with destiny as they cruise towards the dire outcome awaiting them.

The War of the Worlds first terrified audiences in book form in 1898, as the first-person narrative tells us the adventures of an unnamed protagonist and his brother as Martians invade Earth. But there were other characters with stories to tell.

See the retro science fiction story from a whole new perspective and read: 

THE LAST DAYS OF THUNDER CHILD 

By 

C.A. POWELL.

THE MARTIAN FREE ZONE! AS THE ANGRY SHIP'S GUNS BLAZE AWAY! #WarOfTheWorlds #adaptation #scifi #adaptation #paperback #Kindle #KindleUnlimited THE LAST DAYS OF THUNDER CHILD https://buff.ly/2t3kQTH  https://amzn.to/2MpcRJl