Sam

@samfromohio.bsky.social 🦋 • Joined 23 days ago

🏳️‍🌈 and 🏳️‍⚧️ safe. Fuck X, fuck M*sk, and fuck T**mp. “My parents birthed me to become this.” - Arin Hanson

Library

Reviews

Doctor Who: The Curse of Davrosby Jonathan Morris(1 ⭐)

“Napoleon lost at Waterloo because The Doctor talked him into throwing the battle in order to defeat the Daleks” has to be the dumbest fucking idea I’ve ever heard.

Doctor Who: Earth Aidby Ben Aaronovitch(2 ⭐)

If you want to hear Doctor Who doing a comedic parody of Star Trek, go listen to Bang-Bang-a-Boom. That one’s actually funny.

Doctor Who: Prison in Spaceby Dick Sharples(1 ⭐)

In the mood for some bad old 60s sexism? Then this pile of shit is for you! Proof that just because a story is lost doesn’t mean it needs to be found.

Doctor Who: Farewell, Great Macedonby Moris Farhi(1 ⭐)

What could possibly justify making this story 3 hours and 39 minutes long?

Doctor Who: The Silver Turkby Marc Platt(3 ⭐)

It’s not poorly done at all, but… “Mary Shelley meets the Cybermen”? Bit obvious, innit?

Doctor Who: The Witch from the Wellby Rick Briggs(1 ⭐)

The worst Doctor Who trope is when the Doctor is held prisoner by an unreasonable moron of an interrogator, and the worst embodiment of that trope is the Witchfinder.

They Bloom at Nightby Trang Thanh Tran(5 ⭐)

One of the bleakest YA novels I’ve ever read.

Doctor Who: Mission to Magnusby Philip Martin(0.5 ⭐)

If they were really going to put this dogshit on TV, it's not wonder the season was cancelled!

Stand on Zanzibarby John Brunner(5 ⭐)

Absolutely brilliant. Very highly recommended.

Sin City Volume 1: The Hard Goodbyeby Frank Miller(5 ⭐)

A great example of when Frank Miller knew how to write, draw, and not be completely insane.

Doctor Who: Kiss of Deathby Stephen Cole(1 ⭐)

The problem with this story is not that kisses don’t work on audio. The problem is that the writing is terrible, the story is ludicrous & padded all to hell, and the guest cast is way too over the top. The whole thing comes off like a mean-spirited parody written by someone who hates Turlough.

Doctor Who: Demon Quest, Part 4: Starfallby Paul Magrs(1 ⭐)

Any time Doctor Who tries to feature Americans (especially New Yorkers) it’s so cringe you could almost collapse into a singularity of regret.

Doctor Who: Timewyrm - Apocalypseby Nigel Robinson(2 ⭐)

Typical Nigel Robinson story: bland characters, thin plot, and simplistic writing. Just dull as all hell.

Doctor Who: Demon Quest, Part 4: Starfallby Paul Magrs(1 ⭐)

Any time Doctor Who tries to feature Americans (especially New Yorkers) it’s so cringe you could almost collapse into a singularity of regret.

Doctor Who: The Nightmare Fairby Graham Williams(2 ⭐)

It’s probably a good thing this wasn’t made for TV. If they had actually broadcast the Sixth Doctor frantically playing some awful ‘80s TV version of a video game, the show might not have survived long enough to get a Seventh Doctor.

Gallifrey: Spiritby Stephen Cole(1 ⭐)

The only thing more annoying than characters being patronizing towards Leela is characters trying to imitate her.

Doctor Who: Max Warpby Jonathan Morris(2 ⭐)

Hard to get through. If I wanted to hear an arrogant bigoted dickhead bitch about liberals and women drivers, I’d call my father occasionally. I go to Doctor Who to get away from all that.

Doctor Who: The Great Space Elevatorby Jonathan Morris(4 ⭐)

I particularly liked how the day is saved by everyone getting covered in foam. Nice to see that element of the Troughton era make an appearance.

Doctor Who: Enemy of the Daleksby David Bishop(5 ⭐)

I wish more Big Finish stories had a kick-ass soundtrack like this one.

Doctor Who: The Ultimate Adventureby Terrance Dicks(1 ⭐)

Awful. One of the worst Doctor Who stories ever made. I’d rather listen to Minuet in Hell on repeat.

Doctor Who: Renaissance of the Daleksby Christopher H. Bidmead(1 ⭐)

DNF 1/3rd of the way through. Couldn’t stand one more second of the awful dialogue, offensive characters, or half-baked plot. If I were Christopher H. Bidmead, I’d have taken my name off the story entirely just to avoid the embarrassment.

Doctor Who: The Clockwise Manby Justin Richards(4 ⭐)

Great. Really nails the feeing of a Series 1 story.

Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Doomsday Manuscriptby Justin Richards(2 ⭐)

Shockingly bad. Every beat of this story relies on Bernice being either naïve, ridiculously trusting, or just stupid. Anyone with half a brain could see the “twists” coming a mile away. The only good thing I can say about it is that the Nazi villain gets a satisfying comeuppance.

Doctor Who: The Land of the Deadby Stephen Cole(1 ⭐)

Dreadful.

Doctor Who: The First Doctor Adventures, Volume 1by Matt Fitton(2 ⭐)

It's a shame I can't rate the two stories individually. The Destination Wars is actually pretty good (aside from the Master actor), but The Great White Hurricane is just shit. Terrible American accents, a ham-fisted "we're all the same" plotline, and a "forgive your abuser" ending combine to make one of the worst stories BF has ever produced.

Quadriphobiaby Alan Ryan(3 ⭐)

Ryan does a good job copying the styles of all four stories, for both good and bad. The western and the detective story were 4 stars, but the gothic “romance” and jungle adventure were hard to get through.

Hard Spellby Justin Gustainis(5 ⭐)

A clever genre mash-up of hard-boiled detective story & the supernatural; think Dragnet meets The Dresden Files. Definitely recommended.

Age of Miraclesby John Brunner(3 ⭐)

More simplistic than [b:Stand on Zanzibar|41069|Stand on Zanzibar|John Brunner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360613921l/41069._SY75_.jpg|2184253], and it noticeably runs as fast as it can to end at 300 pages. Still, an enjoyable story, an interesting mystery, and a hopeful ending lead me to recommend it. You won't find the deep moral questions and crazy lingo of <i>Zanzibar</i>, but you will find a nice little story.

Fairy Taleby Stephen King(4 ⭐)

The wound left behind by a good book is so deep and painful, I can hardly believe I subject myself to this. It’s probably why I’m more of a collector than a reader. Fortunately, it heals quickly, and every new book holds the potential for the same highs.<br/><br/>I know that isn’t really a review of Fairy Tale. That’s how the ending left me feeling. Still says a lot, I think. Go for it if you can handle it.

The Searingby John Coyne(0.5 ⭐)

What a dumb piece of shit. I don’t know which part is worse: the orgasms, the representation of autistic people, or the writing. It reads like a first draft that went straight to the printer.

X, Yby Michael Blumlein(2 ⭐)

I read this because Grady Hendrix recommended it. That was a mistake. A “psychosexual thriller” that isn’t particularly thrilling or sexy. It doesn’t deliver on the tortured relationship promised in the summary until 200 pages in, then just meanders to an unsatisfactory conclusion. Great for people who love to ask, “Is this going anywhere?”