Xenon's Seventh Circle

I have run out of Lucifer. Again. This keeps happening. Even worse, they had to take a shooting break due to Covid, so now there's a looooong break until the rest of season five. No fair, 2020.

But! All is not lost, because I have this: ( Click for picture )

A favourite for Day Nine. This is The Dinosaur Hunters by Deborah Cadbury, the story of the early days of palaeontology, and the characters (and they were characters!) who first realised what dinosaurs really were (and marine reptiles, as Mary Anning is covered to some degree). It's a great tale, and it's really well written, which ought to make it appeal to fans of general history, as well as of palaeontology. I challenge anybody not to grow fond of Gideon Mantell, the doctor with a sideline in dinosaur bones, or William Buckland, the church minister struggling to reconcile his beloved religion with the evidence of his own eyes. There's even a hissable villain in Richard Owen, passionate enemy of evolution, who spearheaded the opening of the Natural History Museum, but tried to destroy Gideon Mantell, and tried to twist the truth to match his decidedly non-scientific beliefs. Good stuff.

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Day Seven's book isn't very well known, which seems a shame. It's called The Eclipse Of The Century, and it's by Jan Mark, whose books I used to read when I was a little kid (she used to specialise in children's adventures, but later started to write for older people as well). It's a bit hard to describe the plot, but as well as being something of a journey of self-discovery, it riffs off the old Russian folk tale of Lieutenant Kije (if you're a fan of M*A*S*H*, you might be more familiar with their version, Captain Tuttle).

It's a very uninteresting cover! It was a book that I didn't want to stop reading though, and I really should read it again some time. Goodness knows how many hundreds of years it's been between times.

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Day Five is The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake, a sprawling, Gothic tangle of a book, just like the sprawling, Gothic castle in which most of it takes place. Gormenghast is an old ruin, inhabited by the last few remnants of a once much grander community. Their every movement is bound up in carefully catalogued tradition - a terrifying weight of tradition that imprisons everybody. Glorious language and imagery, let down only a little by the third part, which was written when Peake was ill. I recommend it, but I can't claim that it's cheerful!

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Look, I've managed Day Three! Now if only I could manage to do this daily, I might finish the meme before the lockdown ends. (In August.)

Book Three is The Crow Road, by Iain Banks. A very prolific author (he also wrote sci-fi as Iain M Banks, so seemed to produce two books for everybody else's one), I do find his output a bit hit or miss, but this one I absolutely love. I first met it as a BBC adaptation in the nineties, watched at university on my tiny black and white. Tried the book some time later, and it was great too.

The series is out on DVD. I'd recommend both.

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dimity_blue challenged me to post the covers of ten books that I like, so here goes with number one. I had thought that the choosing would be the hard part, but apparently it's the making myself post bit that is. Brains I has none.

But this is book one. It's called A Brief History Of Everyone Who Ever Lived, and was written by Adam Rutherford, a doctor specialising in genetics. It's a history of the human race told through genes, showing the interconnectedness of humanity, and also covering how we know what we know. Basically, if you're at all interested in genealogy, you ought to read this book. It's very accessible, often quite funny, and very interesting.

The cover:

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I keep forgetting to do this - and when I don't forget, I never seem to have the time. But I have watched things! And some of them aren't Lucifer. For one thing, how good is Doctor Who at the moment?! I'm delighted with the new series. Jodie Whittaker feels more like the Doctor that I grew up watching than any of the other New Series takes on the character. No "lonely god" nonsense. No super-powerful being. Back to being a cosmic hobo (albeit a really, really clever one). I like her gang lots, I like the group dynamic, and I'm having fun. Also, they don't seem to be trying to make each episode BIGGER than the last, and the music hasn't annoyed me once yet. It's remembered that it's only supposed to be incidental, and not a constant cacophony of howling voices. Huzzah. So I am happy about all of that.

Also, the other day I happened to look at a TV guide for the first time in about three years, and I saw that a channel called Talking Pictures TV were showing a 1954 film called It Should Happen To You. Not a very well known film, but it was Jack Lemmon's first big role, and it also starred Judy Holliday. So obviously I had to record that. I watched it at the weekend, and it was daft and entertaining, and very 1950s. Judy Holliday was wonderful. She's almost unknown now, which is terribly sad. Primarily a Broadway star, she only made a few films, because she died young. She really lights up the screen though. She's magnetic - and with a great singing voice too. I first saw her in Bells Are Ringing (1960), the film version of one of her Broadway hits. She stars in the film with Dean Martin, and I very much recommend it if it ever comes up on TV. Anyway, It Should Happen To You gave her a good opportunity to shine, and raise more than a few smiles.

My beloved Top Of The Pops repeats have hit a low point - Chris de Bleurgh at number one forever with Lady In Red. Impressively, it's even worse than I remembered. And, just to make things even worse, they let him sing it live, just him and his piano. Seriously, it's what the fast forward button was invented for; although the iPlayer doesn't really do fast forward. They should look into that, just in case he's ever in the charts again. More seriously, all this means that we've arrived in August of 1986. I'm starting secondary school any time now. This is extremely disconcerting. Some things you really don't want to live through again, even obliquely.

Not reading much lately. I've been sorting through some books to see what I can get rid of, so I've been sort of re-reading a few old ones. Currently half reading Shadowmancer, by GP Taylor. It's definitely going in the jumble box!

Mostly though, I'm still watching Lucifer. Loving season three. It got an increase in episodes, and they decided to use them by going old school, and doing a bunch of standalones. It gives the support cast more of a chance to shine, and they've come up with some brilliant little detours from the main plot. The field trip to Las Vegas was wonderful, and there was also a fun flashback episode, showing Lucifer's arrival on Earth, pre-series. The internet doesn't seem to enjoy it all nearly as much as I do, as not every second of every episode is spent focused on The Ship, but whatever. I don't think I'll ever understand modern telly viewers.

I'll leave you with some Lucifer fanvids, as I found a vidder on YouTube who makes awesome ones. Probably some mild and non-specific spoilers (or possibly whacking great ones, depending on your outlook), so approach with caution if you're thinking of giving the show a go. Or just watch them anyway, as they're brill.

Bring Out The Bad (a compilation of the show's sillier side, as well as some drama):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysjYrEIruuw

A Little Wicked (a celebration of the glory that is Maze):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wu5Q0SW0yk

I Like Trouble (in which there is trouble):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmXhGaeH8IE

I really have to watch something, so that my Media Monday can actually be media-y again, instead of just books. Maybe Doctor Who will come back soon. I mean, there's Agents Of SHIELD, obviously, but I don't tend to talk about that. Stuff blows up, Coulson is cool, alien ray guns, boom. Although wouldn't Elizabeth Henstridge make a good Doctor? Yeah, I know - 90% of my f-list don't know who she is! But trust me, she'd be great.

Anyway, books. I'm currently reading something called The Outcasts Of Time, by Ian Mortimer. He usually writes non-fic, and is the author of the excellent Time Traveller's Guides series, amongst one or two others. This is his first foray into fiction, and is basically a time travel adventure. In practice it's a thinly disguised history text book, but I don't mind that: a time travel adventure with a shedload of accurate historical detail is no bad thing. It's an odd one though. In a nutshell, it's about a man living each day ninety-nine years after the last, after making a deal with someone or something, in order to escape the plague. Given the odd complexity of the set-up, and the fact that it appears completely without reason or logic, I can only assume that the Master is behind it all. I fully expect some goateed sniggering on the final pages.

I do quite recommend this one. It's written both in the first person and in the present tense, two literary conventions that I generally loathe, but I'm not minding too much. It's amiable enough, it's very readable, and the historical detailing is lovely. The plot is a bit thin - John arrives somewhere, examines his surroundings and meets a few people, and then hops forward another ninety-nine years - and there's the ever present issue of quite why anybody would set him at his time-hopping in the first place. But it's as good a way as any to read some social history; and maybe there'll be an explanation for it all eventually (I'm still betting on the Master). If you fancy a time travel adventure (and who doesn't, at least occasionally?), you could do a lot worse. That doesn't exactly sound like effusive praise, I know, but it's a first attempt at fiction, and I don't think he's trying to be the next Michael Crichton or Isaac Asimov. I'd prefer a bit more plot, but I'm happy with what it is. If you like his other books, it's a pretty fair bet that you'll like this.

I also read a book called Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, which is a history of humankind. Quite provocative, very readable, and roughly the size of a small country (about five hundred pages). I'm glad I waited for the paperback! Very good, anyway. Not as easy a read as the above, perhaps, but worth it.

And now I'm off time-travelling again. Next stop, 1941!

How is it nearly the end of the month? Where did January go? Only yesterday there was Christmas stuff all over the place, and now it's all Easter eggs everywhere.

I haven't done one of these posts in ages, I don't think. It's probably not going to be much of one now, either, as I haven't really watched a lot. I am reading rather a good book at the moment though. It's called A History Of Ancient Britain, by Neil Oliver, and apparently it accompanies some TV series which I'd not heard of. Nicely jaunty book, anyway. I've not got very far with it - we're just coming out of the last Ice Age - but it's very promising. I suspect it's a few years old though, as Oliver says that he doesn't agree with his fellow historians' idea that modern humans and Neanderthals interbred at all, whereas we now know that they did. It's all there in the Northern European genome. Doesn't mean that it was a starry-eyed romance of course, but it clearly did happen. And that's my reading.

On the watching front, I've been enjoying (mostly!) the 1980s Top Of The Pops repeats on the iPlayer. It was 1984 for most of last year, and we've just started 1985. Last week somebody dumped a whole load of 1981 episodes there though, so I spent Sunday chain-watching about a billion of them (all right: five). 1981! That pretty much marks the time when I first got into proper TOTP watching: Shaky and Adam Ant all over the Top Ten; a very young Spandau Ballet and the Duranies; blasted Chas and Dave, and their interminable rabbits. The Cure just did their first appearance. And every other song in the top twenty being a John Lennon one. Gods, it was all so long ago!

And that's that. Other than festivids going live! festivids, hurrah (and thank you to thisbluespirit, as I always forget to keep an eye open for it). My favourite one this year is a rather nice Ladyhawke one here. It's not a very well known film, unfortunately, though it does have something of a cult following on the internet. It's based on an old European fairy tale, about a pair of lovers separated by a magic curse - she's a hawk by day, and he's a wolf by night. And there are swords, and a very big horse. The vid does a nice job of capturing the spirit and the visuals, and is very nicely done.

I think that's it now. I'm off to boil the kettle.

Nicked off liadt, mainly because I have to post more, or I might just forget how.

Your main fandom of the year?

In the sense of fandom meaning something that you take an active part in, other than merely watching the source material, none. I don't seem to do that anymore. I do belong to a Doctor Who forum, but I only hang out in the bits where nobody ever talks about the show, because fans are frequently best avoided. Since the IMDb forums were decommissioned, I haven't really done a lot of fandoming at all.

Your favourite film watched this year?

It might have to be Guardians of the Galaxy II (2016) by default, simply because I can't remember watching any other films this year. I did watch Scared Stiff (1953) and Living It Up (1954), to celebrate Dean Martin's hundrdth birthday back in June, but those were rewatches, and I'm not sure they count.

Your favourite book read this year?

Ooh, tough one. I'm split three ways. Possibly West With The Night, by Beryl Markham, a beautifully written memoir of the early days of commercial flight in Africa, or possibly Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford, a brilliant story set in the early days of the European settlement of North America, or perhaps Ivory, Apes & Peacocks, by Alan Root, a wonderful memoir about the early days of wildlife filming, mainly in Africa. Really not sure I could choose. Early days seems to be a theme, doesn't it!

Your favourite album or song to listen to this year?

Who Built The Moon?, by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, is definitely my album of the year, in terms of new stuff. Last.fm tells me that the album I've listened to most this year is Queen's Greatest Hits I, and that the song I've listened to most this year is Gerry & the Pacemakers I Like It. Neither of which exactly screams 2017!

Your favourite TV show of the year?

Tough choice between The Gifted (new for this year), and Lucifer, which I think was last year's winner. The former is still getting going, so the latter probably wins again. Agents Of SHIELD is very good again this year, but I'm not voting for it until somebody turns a sodding light on.

Your best new fandom discovery of the year?

The Gifted. Great series. Looks certain to be axed, apparently (now there's a surprise). Meantime it's terrific though, with a fine cast.

Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?

Maybe Guardians of the Galaxy II. I enjoyed it, but it pales in comparison to the first film, mostly because they have this great gang, and they split them up for most of the film. The bits with Rocket and Groot were brilliant, but the stuff with Peter and his father dragged. Still a good film though, mostly.

Your fandom boyfriend of the year?

Baby Groot. Baby Groot may be the greatest thing ever to happen to film.

Your fandom girlfriend of the year?

A tough one. I think Maze from Lucifer won last year, and she probably wins again, even though she was off filming something else for much of the first half of the present season. AWOL or not, she's Maze. Not only would it be hard for anybody to beat her, but if they did, she'd kill them and me in pretty short order. And with a really funky knife.

Your biggest squee moment of the year?

I believe we covered this extensively last year, but I Do Not Squee. However, Baby Groot. Because Baby Groot. Doing absolutely anything. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g94CPc3nb4Q

The most missed of your old fandoms?

Sleepy Hollow :(

The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?

None that I can think of. There's nothing that tempts me, I don't think.

Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?

New New Who, I guess. Chibbers and Thirteen both. I like Moffat, but it should be good to have some new blood, and although I like Capaldi a lot, I don't know that he's been used especially well. It's a constant strength of the show that it allows for big change, and this feels like the right time for some of that change. Of course, it might all go horribly wrong, but we shall see!