Cruising

New cap & tourist map of Saint John, NB, Canada

Well, here's a break from all the media review stuff.  I was on vacation!  My in-laws are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year, and my wife & I are celebrating our 10th.  My in-laws threw a bash, took us and other in-laws on a cruise.

My in-laws were accommodating.  I get motion sick far too easy, and my daughter has shown a tendency toward car sickness, though she has been much better since we gave her sea-bands and lollipops on long drives.  I also didn't want to deal with a airplane transfer with kids in tow, so my in-laws arranged for a short cruise (4 days) that left from Boston.

We had one stop - at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.  We took a brief 'trolley' (bus) tour of the city.  Mostly historic highlights.  Interesting bits - like the two Hollywood connections - both Donald Sutherland and Louis B. Mayer grew up in Saint John - about as far from L.A. as you can get.  (I didn't realize until he said it, but our driver/guide sounded a lot like Donald Sutherland.  So, if you're wondering what kind of accent Sutherland has, it's Saint John, I guess.)

Saint John, from the top (mini-golf) deck of the ship

I liked Saint John, though we only saw it from the tour bus.  The kids were too tuckered out to try walking around downtown and back to the ship.  We bought a few souvenirs at a catch-all tent at the disembark.

Robert E. Howard's Savage Sword still on the radar

Although I have not been as blown away by Dark Horse's Robert E. Howard's Savage Sword as I would like, I am still interested in continuing on.

Issue #6 has been pushed out multiple times.  I checked the Dark Horse site yesterday, and now it is pushed to October 2013.

Savage Sword #6

But, I did also spot that #7 is on the schedule.  Granted it is scheduled for November 2013 (my birthday, in fact.)  But if #6 is so backed up, I wouldn't expect #7 until next year.

Savage Sword #7

Horseclans

I am constantly on the prowl for backlisted books getting the e'books treatment.  Today I thought of Robert Adams' Horseclans series.  I'd read the first two novels but never got back to the series.

It appears they were recently (October 2012) made e'available - at least, on Kindle.

That's the good news.  The bad news is .. well, the cover art could be a lot better.

The Coming of the Horseclans

I know - it's just an ebook - but I still like to see some thought and artistic effort applied to the covers.

Remember when it looked like this?

Also good news; unlike some other series that are back that I feel are overpriced, they're holding the Horseclans e'books to $4.99.  Still probably cheaper to find the used paperbacks, but really not a bad place to start.  Maybe there will be some sales in future.

On the wishlist for now.

Kindling a thought

Throwing this out there;

So, here's a thought I had today.

Sometimes I notice an Amazon listed Kindle edition goes missing (sometimes, it just changes and I re-search for it.) But, in this case let's say the e'book is no longer carried by Amazon.

Now, I own a copy from before.

If I "remove from device" can I still expect to be able to pull that title back from my Amazon archive, or are they totally reliant on their current stock and contracts?

I know of one such e'book, at least. I have it on my Kindle, but they don't list it now.

In my account, I still see the option to deliver from my library to my device of choice, but I wonder if that would get an error?

(Just to be safe, I'm still copying my Kindle content manually to my own backup!)

Wondering...

Dreamland

Doctor Who: Dreamland

This was a pleasant surprise.

I'd bought this one a while ago, just because I'm a completist - I piggybacked it on some Amazon order or other.  I spotted it in my Doctor Who Annex and decided to finally watch it.

The Doctor stops at an American roadside diner for a bowl of chili.  Rather than food, he comes face to face with an alien artifact, large bug aliens, MIBs, Roswell aliens, U. S. military conspiracy, Area 51 and a flying saucer or two.  He makes friends, defeats enemies, and saves the Earth - again!

The CGI animation is stiff and no-frills - which is a bit odd when you have access to CGI.  But,  a few minutes of hearing David Tennant as the Doctor (again) made me put aside any misgivings about the visuals.  This a fun story, and as much as Matt Smith's current run as the Doctor has been enjoyable, seeing something 'new' from Tennant was pure joy, even if his face was animated by a computer.

The DVD set also comes with a bonus disc of the Greatest Moments specials that featured highlights and interview snippets from cast & guest stars.  They were a fun review of the Eccleston and Tennant years (minus the last specials from Tennant.)   Of course, I wish it had been a full retrospective back to the original series - especially when delving into old foes.

It made me & my wife want to re-watch the current (2005-) series all over again.

recent reads; comic capsules

Thanks to the iPad, I've been tearing through comics lately.  In addition to many single issues (some of which have added series to my wishlist, some which have not) I've read a few collected arcs.

Superman Beyond: Man of Tomorrow

Superman Beyond is new digital exclusive title from DC, though this collected edition was available in trade paperback (which is how I read it.)  Set in the Batman Beyond universe/timeline, the focus here is on an older Superman in the future.  He has recently come out of "retirement," and must face a new era without the friends and family who used to keep him centered.  Battling Lex Luthor (and Luthor's post-death plans,) future super-cops gone rogue and alien oppressors, Superman squares off against the future and his own misgivings & doubts.  I think there was a lot of good going on here, and I plan to continue on with the series - as well as adding Justice League Beyond and Batman Beyond to my wishlist, too.

Neozoic

Welcome to a world where dinosaurs never died out.  Mankind live in fortress-cities reminiscent of feudal Japan.  When the big, hungry lizards come calling, it's time to call out the Predator Defense League - experts in ways to kill T-Rexs and other nasties.  This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it is still an enjoyable dino romp with politics and religion in the mix.  One complaint is the art-style which is fine but occasionally I felt faces looked too much alike and I lost context a few times on close-ups.  Red 5 Comics just started up a 4-issue sequel, which I will probably be reading in the future.

Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand

Hellboy is a hero, but what heroes inspired Hellboy?  Well, Lobster Johnson was one.  A pulp/noir fighter of crime & evil, Lobster dispatched the baddies with a claw-mark burned in their foreheads.  When mobsters playing Indian (Native American) ghosts try to stir up New York City, Johnson is determined to get to the bottom of things.  But, the occult trappings might be more than trappings, as mobster-fighting leads to deeper, darker things.  This is great, fun stuff.  If you like Hellboy and/or pulp adventures, this will satisfy.

King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword

While Dark Horse uncoupled from the faithful Conan adaptation wagon with their (IMHO) horrible and loose Conan the Barbarian main title, it seems maybe they were hedging their bets by producing some excellent King Conan titles.  The Phoenix on the Sword was the second tale directly adapted from Robert E. Howard under Dark Horse's own King Conan series (as opposed to Marvel reprints.)  (The Scarlet Citadel was first, and The Hour of the Dragon starts soon.)

This is truly excellent.  The adaptation is faithful, though bookends have been added.  The artwork pops off every page.  It is as detailed as the old black-&-white The Savage Sword of Conan, but in full, glorious color.

Stunning artwork.  Faithful adaptation of Robert E. Howard's original story.  Couldn't ask for anything more!

note: I believe all these titles are available in trades (Neozoic was recently reprinted,) or digital through Comixology and/or Dark Horse.

The Doctor vs. the Daleks

Doctor Who
Lucie Miller (4.9) & To The Death (4.10)
8th Doctor Adventures
Big Finish (audio-plays)

In the last quarter of last year, Big Finish ran quite a few sales on their Doctor Who line of audio-dramas if you went the download route.  I had some of the initial CDs, but lost track for a while.  It seemed like a good time to get back into it.  Being a Whovian, having the CDs as collectibles is always tempting, but the downloads were priced very low at sale time, so I skipped the CDs (also saved shelf space at home.)

Lucie Miller and To The Death are two parts of a single tale that closes out the 8th Doctor's 4th Big Finish series.  (The numbering is a little confusing because Paul McGann also had many 8th Doctor Adventures in the main release line before they spun him out specifically.)

Anyway.  The Daleks are back.  Back on Earth.  Back in the 21st century.  Lucie Miller, the Doctor's off-and-on again companion for most of this season is trapped, crippled by a disease unleashed by the Daleks before their invasion.  The Daleks are following a very familiar pattern.  Susan - the Doctor's granddaughter - is exiled on Earth and she notes it is the same as before - referencing the television serial, The Dalek Invasion of Earth.  And the Doctor has failed to answer desperate summons from his friends and family.