vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Another bunch of books finished since my last post.

    earlier books )
  1. The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi
  2. The Fiddle in Scottish Culture: Aspects of the Tradition by Katherine Campbell
  3. Voices of Scottish Librarians: The Evolution of a Profession and its Response to Changing Times edited by Ian MacDougall
  4. Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Volume 1: Terrorformer (graphic novel)
  5. Some of Us Just Fall: On Nature and Not Getting Better by Polly Atkin
  6. The Whisperwicks: The Labyrinth of Lost and Found by Jordan Lees


Of the newly finished ones, The Lantern of Lost Memories was a novel idea, and explored a serious subject, but was rather unbalanced in its few main sections, and frustratingly left some key questions unanswered. It did feel reminiscent of, though not as good as, the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series of books. It certainly fits into that genre of Japanese fiction.

The fiddle history book was clearly a repackaged PhD thesis, and full of interesting content, but often lacking sufficient analysis, or otherwise unbalanced. Somewhat frustrating to be honest. Though not so much as how unobtainable the book is today, having been originally printed in a very limited print run, and going out of print rapidly. I was lucky to be able to borrow it from my local library in Angus, sent over from their Forfar store.

More successful for me was the collection of working memories from librarians working through twentieth and early twenty-first century Scotland. I was most interested in their accounts of their working lives, revealing changes in library practice over time, but there were many other pages to wade through of earlier childhood experiences. I cherry picked the most relevant portions for me.

The Doctor Who graphic novel was a Twelfth Doctor and Clara one. But very disappointing. Too much tell and not show, and hefty info dumps mid way through each story, about things I couldn't bring myself to care about. It was also plagued by repeatedly splitting into multiple POVs, with muddy artwork not differentiating them clearly enough.

Polly Atkin's book was good, and overall I rated it 4/5. But it felt overlong to me, and often padded with lengthy digressions, which made it hard for this chronically ill person to keep reading and following. Though it was very interesting to hear her story, not least as the sister of a friend.

The first Whisperwicks novel was a children's book, telling the story of a child drawn into a mysterious steampunk-like world of magic and quests, and much danger. Felt very Harry Potter like, but original in its approach. I could certainly see me reading the sequel.
vivdunstan: The 15th Doc swirling round on the dance floor in his kilt (ncuti gatwa)
Sharing this for fellow Doctor Who, Discovery of Witches, or Born With Teeth play fans. Or anyone keen on literary history or who likes historical objects or the sixteenth century.

vivdunstan: (bernice summerfield)
Onto this story, after last time’s pivotal one. Going into major spoilers ... Beware! )

"SO WHAT?"

Sep. 29th, 2025 05:29 pm
vivdunstan: Dragon Aurora over Iceland (astronomy aurora)
Reviewing my planned structure for another academic journal paper, and laughing at the "SO WHAT?" I've typed prominently near the proposed conclusions. My late history PhD supervisor Charles McKean always asked that question often repeatedly. I'll have to make sure it's addressed earlier too!

And as I start to properly write this new academic journal paper about a German accordion player + tuner/repairer travelling extensively around mid/late 19th century Scotland (even to Orkney!), I wish I had a TARDIS and could go back in time and see one of his well-appreciated local performances!
vivdunstan: A vibrantly coloured drawn image of Matt Smith's Doctor, with sonic screwdriver raised in his right hand (eleventh doctor)
Just starting the second Eleventh Doctor boxset with audio companion Valarie. The Doctor isn't played by Matt Smith, but Jacob Dudman is doing a good job. And the first story is awesome.

vivdunstan: (bernice summerfield)
Onto another in this pivotal season of Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield audios spun out from 1990s Doctor Who novels, and it's definitely into spoiler space for this one.

spoilers )

vivdunstan: Photo of some of my books (books)
Still on operation reduce the piles of books around the house, giving most to charity. Managed to find 20 more books to donate in a couple of short bursts this evening and just now. Had set myself that target today. Plus a chunky limited edition OOP Big Finish Doctor Who boxset. Going to Oxfam's.

We still have far too many books I'm not using and won't be able to use even more as my neurological disease progresses. Would like to get some floor space back. At the moment too many places in our bungalow resemble my former PhD supervisor Charles's office, which was filled with book piles too!

Today's book grab was an eclectic range, including book history (journals and academic books), cultural history, roleplaying game books, and comic books. Some alarmingly chunky books among them! Can see a sense of progress in the study. But much more still to clear out. For another time.
vivdunstan: (bernice summerfield)
Onto another one, and this time one that's set in Ancient Greece, that sees Benny and Jason meet Socrates.

This feels like such a novel setting for the range, after a long run of futuristic (for us) scifi adventures. Benny and Jason used to have time rings that the Doctor gave them as wedding presents, though in this case I think they're using one or more time rings from the Braxiatel Collection. It's a shame these are not used more often. It's not even clear listening to this story why they've decided to use them this time, except it's on orders from Bev. And there's a strange cliffhanger at the end, which is also muddled. Though that's something that can happen a lot with this range, with confusing/under-written arc elements. Not least with the awkward split between the books/short stories and the audio adventures.

But that aside it's a refreshing and light-hearted adventure. Albeit with the threat of a devastating plague hanging over Athens ... Socrates is a superb quasi-companion for Benny, and there are lots of clever insights into Athenian society and democracy. It's particularly amusing when Benny dresses up as a man to go into the Assembly. And then Socrates dresses up as a woman ...

Jason's side plot works well, and it's just all round fun. I think this was maybe the first Benny audio that Scott Handcock wrote for Big Finish? If so it's a great start.

vivdunstan: A vibrantly coloured comic cover image of Peter Capaldi's Doctor, viewed side on, facing to the left, looking thoughtful (twelfth doctor)
Tuning in for a bit of Glastonbury earlier tonight, with Peter Capaldi coming on stage to duet with Franz Ferdinand! On the Other Stage starting at 17:59. Is on the iPlayer for UK folks.
vivdunstan: (fourth doctor)
Onto another Fourth Doctor audio. So much about this one gives me joy. And what a guest cast.

spoilers re some dialogue )

We're going into Broughty Ferry for my eye test tomorrow, and will be taking tons of Big Finish audios to Oxfams. Which is why I've been trying to get through some more of my backlog this week.

The main image is an orange-tinged one, featuring Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, Lalla Ward's Romana II, Celia Imrie's character, and a disturbing waxy figure at the bottom. All against a backdrop of cogs and wheels.
vivdunstan: (fourth doctor)
Another one featuring Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor and Louise Jameson's Leela. I laughed a lot at one early bit. Leela: "What is the name of this wet world Doctor?" The Doctor: "Well it's called Britain. Great Britain actually. But I think wet world is rather more apt."

The main image is a spooky grey-tinged one, featuring Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, Louise Jameson's Leela, and spectral hands reaching out from a strange lantern-like object
vivdunstan: (fourth doctor)
Continuing to catch up on my gargantuan Big Finish Doctor Who audio backlog.

This one is rather fun, and includes Liz Shaw's Mum as a quasi companion.

The main image is a spooky blue-tinged one, featuring Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, Louise Jameson's Leela, and three spooky looking nuns
vivdunstan: The 15th Doc swirling round on the dance floor in his kilt (fifteenth doctor)
Going to put these in a firm spoiler cut. Only read these when/if you have seen the episode.

spoilers )
vivdunstan: Some of my Doctor Who etc books (drwho)
Finally getting to this. Sacha Dhawan’s Master from the Jodie Whittaker era of Doctor Who. The first boxset, with 3 full cast audio stories.

vivdunstan: Tom Baker’s 4th Doctor with his best friend Sarah Jane Smith (sarah jane smith)
Was just pondering this. If I focus on a decade at a time, pulling out my absolute favourites, it would go:

1960s - Jamie (to be fair I haven't seen/heard all of this era of Who)
1970s - Sarah Jane and Romana I
1980s - Peri and Ace
1990s - nope, going to pass!
2000s - Rose and Donna
2010s - Amy and Clara
2020s - Ruby

And if I narrow those down to a top 3 favourite list:

1st - Sarah Jane
2nd - Romana I
3rd - Clara

Interesting that my favourite pre-dates my time watching as a Who fan. I only started watching as a youngster with Season 16 in 1978. I'd then see Sarah Jane Smith in K9 and Company, and "The Five Doctors". Then watched loads of her old stories before she returned to Doctor Who and got her own spinoff series.

Romana I was my first ever Who companion as a viewer. Great starting point!

And although Clara has her flaws, and annoys a lot of people, I really like her. There's a very "classic" feel to her, both as written and acted. So she definitely earns her place on my list.

From left to right: Sarah Jane Smith, Romana I and Clara Oswald
vivdunstan: A vibrantly coloured drawn image of Matt Smith's Doctor, with sonic screwdriver raised in his right hand (eleventh doctor)
Belatedly finishing listening to this first boxset, pairing the Eleventh Doctor (played by Jacob Dudman) with companion Valarie (played by Safiyya Ingar). This pair's stories slot in between TV's "The Snowmen" and "The Bells of St John", with the Doctor looking for Clara, but ends up travelling for a while with future cyberneticist Valarie, who also has super human strength, being part cyborg.

This pairing is great, and I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of their stories. The Eleventh Doctor feels written true to form. And yes, well acted, and sounding close enough. Valarie is a confident and brave companion, much better written than many of Steven Moffat's female companions. It's also a surprisingly emotive series of stories, really moving at times.

On the downside these audio boxsets are extremely expensive from Big Finish, even in download only form. I picked up a lower cost CD bundle before one of the boxsets went out of print on CD. You do get 3 stories in each of these boxes, and there are 4 boxes for the Eleventh Doctor and Valarie arc. So there's a lot of storytelling. And it's very imaginative and well done. But it's still a hefty investment. At least on CD there is something that can be sold on after, or in our case donated to charity for them to make a bit of money. But I would thoroughly recommend them as superb examples of Doctor Who audios.

vivdunstan: The 15th Doc swirling round on the dance floor in his kilt (fifteenth doctor)
Wow. And crikey.

I’m probably not going to post more detailed or spoilery thoughts. But basically I enjoyed that a lot.

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vivdunstan: Part of own photo taken in local university botanic gardens. Tree trunks rise atmospherically, throwing shadows from the sun on the ground. (Default)
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