The Literary Reflection, IV

Every few months, we put up some mini-reviews of books read in the interim, usually as an alternating post with 'On The Book Piles'. Here we go again...


'Dragon' by Clive Cussler (1990)

It's rather derivative, has exposition so clunky that you could use it to dig mine tunnels, and has some of the most blatant fan service you can find in bestsellers. Despite all that, it sort of works, which is a galling thing to admit! Not recommended in any way, but kind of fun.

'Star Trek: Ishmael' by Barbara Hambly (1985)

One of my favourite 'Star Trek' novels is actually a cross-over with a 1960s sitcom and I didn't know it for decades. Decades! Yes, for all that time that I thought it was a quaint and wittily written time travel story that embedded Spock in the early days of Seattle, I was ever so slightly in the dark. It's still one of the best minor 'Star Trek' novels that I've read, and gets a strong recommendation. It also has stealth mathematics, and excellent use of teaspoons. No-one said this blog ever had to make sense! It was a cross-over with 'Here Come The Brides', which still boggles the mind. That show featured Mark 'Sarek' Lenard!

'The Complete Father Brown' by GK Chesterton (1911-1935)

In many ways this deserves a post all its own, but in others it becomes unclear what to write. There are such clear parallels between the relationship between Chesterton and Brown with that between Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, that it could overwhelm the whole point of writing. The 'Father Brown' stories are excellent, truly excellent. Much as with Holmes, the last few sets become a lot more inconsistent, partly due to frustration on the writers' parts, but they're always a step above the average of mystery stories. Very good. We never do learn much about Father Brown himself, though, and his capacity for being on the scene when crimes take place rivals even that of the infamous Jessica Fletcher from 'Murder, She Wrote'. In the last set of stories, Chesterton crosses the line and lectures much more than previously, but at least it's good material to push, and is very relevant to today.

Assorted 'Star Trek' adaptations by James Blish (1967-1977)

Blish had a knack for taking those episodes of the classic show, and writing prose versions of exactly the right length and quality. He fixed most of the third season with his versions. This time up, there was 'Bread and Circuses', a hybrid version of 'The City On The Edge Of Forever', with elements of the Harlan Ellison story added in, and 'By Any Other Name'. That last one is an unlikely touch stone, isn't it, but somehow it always pops up.

O.