"Liked it, wouldn't experience again."

 In my review of Future's Edge last week, one of the compliments I paid was that it was a book I would want to re-read, rather than one of those I would read once, but never really pick up again either in a hurry or ever again. And that led me indirectly to remembering other things I had read, watched, played, listened to once but never again. Similar to my list of sci-fi movies, I'll go through bits of media I've experienced and thought "liked it, wouldn't experience again".

*Alex Rider series (2000-?????): This is an instance that could have gone in my "saw film first" post, as I saw the rather bonkers Stormbreaker film, wondered what Anthony Horowitz's original book was like, and have loathed the film since because...reasons. But ultimately I don't think I'll ever be returning to or re-reading these titles. They have a place for me in my formative reading, and the third novel Skeleton Key is one I recall fondly (also pretty dark, read with caution). But I suffered burnout when I was bought the next three novels after Skeleton Key, when they became...large. By the time I reached the opening fifth of Scopia, I dropped the series and haven't returned. I may well be part burnout, part changing tastes in my habits of reading.

The Roman Mysteries (2001-2009): Caroline Lawrence's series, while principally aimed at children, was a very fun read for me. The Thieves of Ostia was one of my first exposures to a realistic depiction of the Roman world that wasn't extremely grim and bloody. I still remember the second book The Secrets of Vesuvius vividly, contrasting the reunion of a fractured family against the destruction of Pompeii in 79 CE. I finished The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina and started The Enemies of Jupiter before feeling I was growing tired of it. It wasn't just that I was growing up and my fiction tastes were changing, but that getting two books out of order, The Sirens of Surrentum and The Beggar of Volubilis, put me off as this is a series you need to read in order. Again, like the Alex Rider books, it was a combination of factors.

*The Fly (1986): I was FAR too young when I first saw this classic body horror, and the bit that's always stuck in my mind is the final fifteen minutes or so, when the scientist undergoes his final transformation into a disgusting human/fly hybrid, and (dancing around spoilers here) makes a desperate attempt to continue living. Unlike the 1958 film which I've seen multiple times, with both being based on a 1957 short story by George Langelaan, David Cronenberg's film otherwise feels very flat compared to other roughly equivalent sci-fi horror titles like Alien or Predator or even The Thing from what I've heard. It holds little interest for me beyond the incredible practical effects in that final quarter hour, and I have little to no wish to rewatch it in full. I can see the "good" bit on YouTube if I want.

The Big Country (1958): There are very few "Westerns" that I actually like (the Support your Local duology, Hallelujah Trail and select Eastwood titles are those I do). Most Westerns immediately turned me off for reasons I couldn't pinpoint for years. Those reasons are ultimately to do with the racial, gender, sexual and historical propaganda the medium continues to peddle in most instances. Not all, but most. The Big Country feels like the exemplar of what I don't like about the medium, outside most of the John Wayne corpus. It's just so long, and so...generic White America. I know that's harsh, but it's also true. I get the appeal, and there are some standout bits, but generally....eh. If this is supposed to a definitive Western, I'll go find a non-definitive one.

Dishonourable mention goes to Avatar, which against my better judgement I saw more than once and I wish I hadn't because it's...not good. Heck, I wrote a whole book in my Cluster Cycle explicitly as a deconstruction of its premise and structure. Plenty of people seem to love it, but as we're seeing in America, just because people shout about something a lot doesn't mean it's a good thing.

Review; Future's Edge by Gareth L. Powell

 A little while ago, I gave a recommendation to this latest sci-fi novel by Gareth L. Powell, Future's Edge. Now I've read the thing in full, I can give a full review for what this platform is worth. This review is based on a copy of the paperback edition, releasing 25 February (I somehow got a copy over a fortnight early). So...is it worth reading?

The story principally follows Ursula Morrow, an archaeologist with two major issues in her life: an alien organism from an artefact that has bonded with her on a molecular level and rendered her invulnerable to injury, and being one of a small number of humans who escape Earth when it is attacked by a hostile alien force dubbed the Cutters. When an old flame turns up, she is drawn into a search for the artefact that infected her, as there is a chance it may be the key to turning the tide against the Cutters before they wipe out both humanity and other interstellar species under threat from a systematic genocide.

The story is neither simple nor overly complex, and is quite pacy. If I'm being blunt, the premise and overall set-up isn't anything truly groundbreaking. I was seeing constant parallels to sci-fi works including Titan A.E. and Dead Space, but the real quality lies in its writing and characters. Ursula is instantly likeable and relatable, and the predicaments she finds herself in are both outlandish and grounded. The supporting cast is also entertaining, from her ship captain ex-lover Jack to "Chris", the AI persona of his ship the Crisis Actor (one of the best-written AI characters in a long time, I might add). The writing also solidly portrays the desperation of a species being hunted to extinction, and other aspects I won't be touching on because spoilers..

I'll also say that this is a great place to jump into Powell's work. I may be wrong, but there don't appear to be any explicit continuity links with earlier sci-fi series, just a commonality of theme. Is it a repeat read? Not immediately, but definitely eventually. I have some issues with its ending, but that's more down to personal taste than overall quality. There are books I read once then never really touch again (Leviathan Wakes and Battle Royale spring to mind), so that I want to re-read this is a mark of its quality. I wouldn't say no to a continuation of this universe and these characters. Especially Ursula, as she is an entertaining protagonist.

8/10

(This has no impact on my score, but the paperback copy I received had some minor printing errors caused by crumpled pages and small typos. These are purely mechanical and do not impact my opinion of the story and writing quality.)

When you see the movie first...

I was born in 1994, the era of not just two or three, but at least six different mediums of storytelling. There's books obviously, but also radio, film, television, the stage, and the youngest format: video games. When something is a success in one area, it's become a certainty that it will be transposed into another, either through a media expansion or an adaptation. And as I had specific dyslexic problems which prevented me from reading text properly, and not much of a "gamer", I encountered those two mediums through film and television. So I'll go in order with five adaptations that I saw/heard/experienced, how I felt at the time, and what I think now I've encountered the original.

*Pride and Prejudice (1995): We saw this on the OG broadcast, it was part of my early television life through our VHS recordings, and I think it still stands as THE best Austin adaptation of the period, if not of all screen time. It accurately adapts the novel's content and a vast chunk of its dialogue while trimming some of the original book's fat. That book, while still a great and insightful read over 110 years after its authorship, can wander a little and be a chore if you're not cued into some of the social aspects Austin is satirising.

*Lord of the Rings (2001-2003): I'd never encountered Tolkien's fantasy classic until now, except as an intimidating cover of a compilation of all three books in type so small I could barely read three words together of the old-fashioned prose. I remember enjoying the films as they released, and I still consider the Extended Editions as definitive fantasy experiences which did the impossible: they turned a rambling and often tiring narrative into a digestible sweeping epic, cutting out inconsequential or bumbling episodes (Bombadill, the wild men or whoever they were) and giving added prominence to other female characters (Arwen, Eowyn) without breaking the narrative. I'm not a huge Tolkien fan, he's too traditionally Nordic for my tastes, but I will always have a liking for the movies. When I've the time.

(I won't comment on The Hobbit, as that could've been nicely told in one film)

*Murder Must Advertise (1979): The radio version of what has ended up being my favourite out of Dorothy L. Sayers' seminal detective series is still sound. BBC Radio tends to be sound with its adaptations of sometimes extremely complex stories. But there are some where the book, and even the 1973 television version, trumps it. For one thing, Miss Meteyard was completely butchered, going from a spunky copyeditor to one of the secretaries, and some parts of the contrast that the book is built on between the undercover Wimsey, the employees of Pym's Publicity, and the "Bright Young Things" was sadly lost in translation. Still a descent introduction, but it feels like an incomplete package.

*Blithe Spirit (1940): I remember this being a kind of background staple of my mid-teens, as I found the writing delightfully funny. I didn't know anything about the original play's author Noel Coward, but this interpretation of his ghostly black comedy still ranks high for me. I will say the ending change feels a little unnecessary, there is some rearrangement or rewriting for the sake of the filmic presentation, and some of the American censorship it got was just idiotic (though we might be entering a new era of that sadly). But after having listen to several full performances of the play Blithe Spirit, this film holds up as a solid adaptation and a great piece of entertainment in its own right.

*Lara Croft - Tomb Raider (2001): I saw this by accident on live TV, when I knew nothing about the gaming and cultural phenomenon that was Lara Croft, and...it's okay. It's very much carried by Jolie's performance in the role and how sassy the writing is. I was bought the sequel a few years later, and while the story is much worse, the chemistry that exists between the two leads--right up to its somewhat tragic conclusion--has stuck with me for years. The games are different, especially since they changed continuity so much. Heck, I made a whole video on Croft for a reason. But I don't regret watching this. Lara Croft was my introduction to both strengths and weaknesses of female leads.

Recommendation: Future's Edge by Gareth L. Powell

 I'm not the best at keeping up with contemporary fiction, genre or otherwise. I admit it, it's a failing of mine. But if I like the premise of something, I'll generally pick it up out of curiosity. Thus it was for the paperback of Gareth L. Powell's latest sci-fi novel Future's Edge. And I'm liking what I'm reading.

This isn't going to be a review, but rather a brief recommendation from going through the early stages, which in my experience tend to set the tone for the book as a whole. It has a compelling heroine, and a tone that seems to be walking the tightrope between grim and funny. And there's a slow, measured build-up of world building (repetition, I know) that eases you into things. This doesn't feel like an overwhelming drop into the deep end. There is also a method of switching perspectives using different text styles as well as different POVs, which is handy.

When I have time, I'll enjoy reading it in full. Also, confession time, but I also have Powell's other works in Kindle form, but if there's one thing guaranteed to make a book stuck in my permanent backlogs, it's having it in Kindle form.

The copy I got was a paperback through Forbidden Planet. Technically the paperback isn't due out until the end of this month, but I got lucky. I admit, I may not read this in time for a timely review. Many others have done that already, and far more coherently than I usually can. And so...yeah. Good read, recommend.