I was hooked on this wonderful sci-fi audio from the word go. The narration is gripping plus the background music is haunting and atmospheric. The historic feel and the characters are marvellous. As the plot began to unfold, the story got better. It all leads to a fabulous climax and I would recommend this to any War of the Worlds fan. A splendid sequel. Learn more. Click: The Day of the Martians
I had no idea of the paranormal path this story was going to take. I thought it would be something along the lines of social etiquette of the Victorian age. A little like Pride and Prejudice was to another time in history. I was delighted with the more dark aspect of what this story is about, began to dawn on me. I was soaking up all the dialogue of the artist and his friend talking about this exceptional looking young man who was to be the subject matter of the artist's attention.
Then the chat about how Dorian wished he could be like the painting forever and would never grow old and lose such looks. Then the whole thing began to take its sinister course. Fabulous!
For escapism, this was a story that I did not want to end. I wanted to live with Lorna Doone in the happy ever after. I'm not usually one for romance. But Lorna knocked me out. She was heaven in my mind's eye. I was John Ridd and I would win her whatever it took. The story takes place in England at the around the time of King Charles II reign. Therefore the English civil war is over and the restoration time has begun. It then goes on over the years as John Ridd and Lorna Doone grow to adults.
The Doones are a displaced and rouge Reiver clan from the borderlands of Scotland and England. They are disowned by other aristocrats but they still have social standing in parts of high society. They are now in the south west of England living on Dartmoor. For almost eighty years the rogue clan has been on the run. They raid the surrounding hamlets and live like bandits. Because of their social standing, the English peasants or farmers can't get the local magistrates to confront the Doone clan.
Everything comes to a climatic consequence. It spans about a twenty year period with lots of trials and tribulations. This is a splendid read for anyone who likes historical adventure and romance. A smashing tale.
I read this when it first come out. I had not long read Watership Down and Duncton Wood. Therefore, I was on a little roll with animal stories. If my memory serves me correctly, I think it is set in Kent during a warm summer. Kine is a Weasel living happily until a group of vicious mink invade the territory of the weasels. If you liked Watership Down, Duncton Wood or Tarka the Otter, I think you would enjoy this colourful tale too. I would certainly recommend it.
I read this a long time ago. It was in my school's library and the front cover caught my attention. There were a few human visitors on board a boat. A rowing boat if my memory serves me correctly. In the background was a floating round spaceship. A sort of lifeboat from which the boatmen had left. There were tentacles thrusting up out of the water and they were about to attack the boatmen. I was captivated by space travel and dreamed of adventure on other worlds. The cover flicked the switches so I borrowed it from the library. I remember the book focused on twin boys. They had telepathic connections. One could go on the adventure to distant stars while one stayed home. The travellers could communicate by telepathy. As the ship got further away from Earth travelling in excess of light speed etc. The time lapse increases as the twins communicate. What seems like a day or two on board ship becomes months back on Earth. Lots of other concepts too. I remember I enjoyed the adventure when the travellers explored the new world they come across. Also coming to the part that the front cover depicted.
The Wonderful Science Fiction Story - Dune by Frank Herbert.
I've seen the 1984 movie and the TV series of the sci-fi novel Dune. I enjoyed them both, but there is something lacking in both. This futuristic world needs to be made with stronger attention to certain details from the book. It can never be squeezed into a three-hour slot either. Therefore, a movie would not work, in my humble opinion. In the early 1970s decade, a famous Chilean/French film director began to lay down plans for a fabulous adaptation of this story.
This film director is called Alejandro Jodorowsky. He had some fabulous ideas, but the budget was huge. To get many of the people he wanted for the characters, he needed a huge sum of money. This was just to pay the actors. The artistry to be employed too was a breathtaking financial scale. Some of these actors included Orsen Wells as the terrible Baron Harkonnen. Also the famous Spanish Artist Salvador Dali as the Emperor. There was also a role for Mick Jagger among others. The designs were from sci-fi artists like H.R. Giger and Chris Voss.
The paymasters at Hollywood pulled the plug on the budget. They could not afford to take a chance on the story being so long. Yet it needed to be. The pay cheques of some of the actors. Far too excessive, especially for Salvador Dali. He was rumoured to want $100,000 an hour. The grand project died on the drawing board after $2, 000,000 was squandered on concept art and other various clips. I think it would have been a spectacular undertaking, but director Jodorowsky priced himself out of the project.
He seems bitter about it to this day. He complains of the colonisation of the planet's film industry by Hollywood. Perhaps he has a point. However, his no expense spared and extravagant approach to the making of Dune was perhaps too far-reaching and eccentric. It's a shame because some of the artwork looks fantastic.
He should have tried to use less decadent people than Orsen Wells or Salvador Dali.
This was a thrilling story. Having read War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, I did not expect anything else would surpass. I thought The Invisible Man would be corny, but to my delight, it was so wonderfully presented. A gripping tale with characters that are better developed than those in his other good novels I have mentioned. The lead characters in the WOTW and TM had certain anonymity about them. The Invisible Man's written character seemed much more up close and personal.
The story takes place at an Inn in an English village during the time of late Victorian Britain. The local village people are nosey rumour mongers who find the strange bandaged man a bit of an odd fellow who keeps himself to himself. From here the wonderful plot begins as we gradually learn of the invisible man and the growing intolerance towards his desperate need for isolation and secretive studies. I thoroughly enjoyed this fabulous tale and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys SciFi or even horror.
