Book Description
From the author of the cult classic The Fuck-Up comes a vicious new tale of art, drugs, love, and death on the Lower East Side.
Orloff Trenchant is a painter who sells books on West 4th Street in Manhattan and is obsessed with mastering his craft. Desperate for cash, Or agrees to take a commission no one else will touch: he has three weeks to carve a headstone for a recently deceased restaurateur -- a Chinese takeout box. As Or attempts to make his deadline, he navigates among a toxic mix of fellow artists, struggling gallery owners, bloodsucking art dealers, his politically active friends, and a haunting addict poet whose life is more out of control than Or's own.
Nersesian's prose is sparkling and hypnotic in this brutal and comic story that will make you wonder if life and art are two different things.
Customer Reviews:
A More Mature Bohemian Novel.......2005-03-18
CHINESE TAKEOUT by Arthur Nersesian is yet another bohemian story by the master of the downtown New York City novel. If you've read his other books you would know what I mean. The pacing of CHINESE TAKEOUT is a bit slower and more polished, more mature and disciplined than his previous works, particularly The F**K-UP and DOGRUN, yet entirely enjoyable. Yes, it's gritty, a bit grim (as bohemian stories usually are) but I also found it quite funny at times and much more realistic and detailed, less cartoonish than his other, more manically paced works. This is a good, character-driven novel -- melancholy, yet endearing somehow. I guess I can't help but root for the underdog. And if you ever tried to make it as an artist -- either as a painter or as a writer, you will really appreciate this novel. Trying to be an artist in America is a subversive act! And, at every turn, you will be PUNISHED for that choice! That's really what his novel is saying. To quote the Clash: "You have the right to free speech ... as long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it!"
Also recommended: DOGRUN by Nersesian (if you haven't read it), THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez -- which really knocked me out!
Channelling Bukowski.......2004-12-15
I am presently working my way through the fiction of Arthur Nersesian but chose to review Chinese Takeout having found it to be the most fully realized version of this author's conception of how unrecognized artists struggle to survive their art in downtown New York City. Nersesian, whose prose frequently reminds me of the late Charles Bukowski's best writing (Women, Post Office), devotes each novel to a different art form. The Unlubricated, for example, takes up the craft of stage production and acting while Dogrun's protagonist is an aspiring writer. Chinese Takeout is about a painter-sculptor and is marvelously evocative of the bohemian studio scene within which the book's 'hero' circulates while trying to scrape out a subsistence living. Nersesian himself is a very painterly writer whose febrile imagination provides an endlessly entertaining and poignant storyline. This aspect of his talent insistently propels one through the pages of Chinese Takeout but it is the undertow of the writing, the uncompromising exploration of love in all its most irrational manifestations, that distinguishes this writer and separates him out from the crowd. I rarely read a book which galvanizes me to seek out the entire literary output of an author but I was hardly finished with The Unlubricated before I secured copies of Nersesian's five other novels. They all investigate similar terrain but from distinct vantage points. They are each, in their own way, a joyous excursion into a sequestered world of youthful abandon.
Terrible pretentious arrogant.......2004-11-20
It's been said better elsewhere. Why spend time with unlikeable and unsympathetic characters. The writing is boring...tedious, overly explanatory. I don't like being "told" by the narrator what each person is about and what each event signifies...I like making my own conclusions.
A waste of time.......2004-08-18
Without exaggeration, one of the most inept, mediocre novels I've ever read. If you were just given the manuscript without knowing that it was a published novel, you would think that it was a first draft, written by a high school student. The prose is flat, the characters unsympathetic, the metaphors obvious, there's not one genuine, natural moment in the entire story, and the attempts at poetic imagery reek of a stylist obtuse enough not to realize how utterly bland and uninspired his work is. This author's a tourist. If you cherish your time as much as I do, don't waste it on this.
Thanks for wasting an afternoon of my life........2004-07-19
I hated this book two pages in. The narrator is a pretentious, boring jerk, just like the novel itself. If you're looking for something original, interesting, or thought provoking steer clear of this "novel".
Book Description
Miriam Beckstein has gotten in touch with her roots and they have nearly strangled her. A young, hip, business journalist in Boston, she discovered (in The Family Trade ) that her family comes from an alternate reality, that she is very well-connected, and that her family is too much like the mafia for comfort. In addition, starting with the fact that women are family property and required to breed more family members with the unique talent to walk between worlds, Miriam has tried to remain an outsider and her own woman. She started a profitable business in a third world she has discovered, outside the family reach (recounted in The Hidden Family). She fell in love with a distant relative, but he died saving her life.
Now, however, in The Clan Corporate, Miriam may be overreaching. And if she gets caught, death or a fate worse is around the bend. There is, for instance, the brain-damaged son of the local king who needs a wife. But they'd never make her do that, would they?
Customer Reviews:
Boring and Wooden.......2007-10-06
I am a big Charles Stross Fan, and enjoyed the first two books in this series. This book drags, and seems like one big setup for the next book. Mirium doesn't do one interesting thing in the whole book, and hardly seems like the same character. Skip it.
An important 'bridge' to the Merchant Princes series.......2007-09-24
Let us be honest, this series is not Stross at his finest. His other books like Iron Sunrise, Singularity Sky, Accelerando, Glasshouse and The Atrocity Acrhives are far more creative and cutting edge stories. Nevertheless, I find this Merchant Princes series readable and this book in particularly I found sufficent to keep my interest. Without a doubt book three is a bridge book for the series, but it is one that cannot be skipped since allegiances in the storyline switch and what appear to be important characters for next book(s) are introduced.
What a huge disappointment!.......2007-09-13
Where to start? Well, this book picks up where The Hidden Family (Book 2 in the Merchant Princes series) leaves off... and does nothing. It just sits there boring as heck.
First off, it is almost as if another writer has taken over the series. This new writer has decided that Miriam was far to interesting, too active and too successful in her first two books, so now she will undergo a radical personality change and sit around and learn etiquette (slowly) on a backwards world while allowing others to run her businesses for her.
Regardless of whether it can be explained logically (the author attempts to do this somewhat) it is just plain boring and not why I am reading the series. I am reading the series because I enjoy reading about a winner, who is rebellious and sees ways to improve the system and goes out and ACTS ON those ideas and succeeds with those ideas and conquers her foes and doubters and ignores their objections and demands that she fit into the system.
But Miriam becomes complacent and boring. That is the worst thing that an author can do - make the main character boring.
Furthermore, much of this book centers on new characters back in the boring USA. The excitement of this series is to be found in the two alternate universes and their new and interesting scenarios. I already KNOW what the USA is like and what boring DEA agents and policemen are like. On the other hand, New Britan is interesting, and dark and watching Miriam walk all over and all around the government there is interesting and fun.
Reading about her submission to the clan and her inaction is boring.
So I gave this two stars - basically for the same reason that the primary reviewer stated - because you have to read it to get to the next book in the series. I hope it returns to the original ideas quickly.
Not bad! Not bad at all.......2007-09-12
I haven't read the prequels, but I really enjoyed this book. The concept is an interesting one and the main character, Mirriam, is sooo believable. As is the dialogue (sp?) between her and her relatives and friends. I do wish that it had been laid out better though. Having the story switch between Miriam's and Mike's (with Mike's storyline taking place three months before Miriam's) was pretty confusing.
Wait for Book 4.......2007-09-03
As others have said, this book makes no sense without the first two. It is not a stand-alone novel, and not much actually happens in it. It is clearly a bridging device between books 2 and 4. I'd guess that, once the entire series is out, book 3 will be seen as the weakest and could probably have been edited down to a much smaller section of a larger novel.
I recommend you wait for book 4 and then buy 3 and 4 together. That way you might have something to read.
Customer Reviews:
Good adaption, decent story, hooray!.......2005-09-14
A good old Target Novel. I love how quick everyone is to kill the Doctor in the "enlightened" society that is Gallifrey. I hate to admit it, but the best part is the last bit. A chase around Amsterdam between the Doctor and Omega in the style of Benny Hill finishes this literary masterpiece. Chalk another one up for Terry Dicks!
Evil Time Lord.......2005-06-06
Next up in the never ending stream of evil doers who wish to conquer the universe is none other than a Time Lord. The Doctor must again save the day, and he has Nyssa as his companion in this one. Tegan, a prior companion also makes an appearance and at the end it seems as though she will also be again joining the Doctor in his travels.
The Doctor finds himself summoned to Gallifrey and sentenced to death for a crime he had nothing to do with. After getting that little problem taken care of, he must stop a banished Time Lord from stealing the Matrix. All in a days work I guess when you are the Doctor.
A well paced book and a quick read.
Strange plot from Amsterdam.......2001-01-01
A shadowy meeting on Gallifrey, backpackers seeking cheap accommodation in Amsterdam, and a strange force invading the TARDIS mark the beginning of a story which sees the return of an old foe and substantially threatens reality as we know it.
This story is the first of the twentieth season of Doctor Who, and like every story of this season features something from the Doctor's past. This story acts as a sequel to one of the stories in Doctor Who's tenth season, but sadly an imperfect sequel.
Like any story set, to whatever extent, on Gallifrey, it looks backwards at the Time Lords history. I certainly welcome the return of Borusa, the Doctor's old teacher, who is now President of the Time Lords. Borusa is a very strong character (and events in 'The Five Doctors' have always seemed out of character to me) who enlivens the stories in which he appears.
The story is interesting enough, but could have been better if it was either no a sequel to an earlier story, or if it had been more consistent with that story. There is also some strange physics, which seems largely to justify setting the Earth portion of the story in Amsterdam. Terrance Dicks adaptation is quite straightforward, but it is a pity he didn't try to include additional bits to make it more consistent with the earlier story.
Doctor Who: Arc of Infinity.......2000-10-29
Omega, one of the greatest Time Lords, was believed to have been destroyed by the matter/anti-matter explosion in The Three Doctors. But suddenly someone has stolen the Doctor's bio=print from Gallifrey and the Doctor is forced to return to his home planet to save himself and the Time Lords. A good adventure that shows us a rare early glimpse at Gallifrey.
Book Description
The Doctor is in trouble. He has his own race to win. Stuck in a parallel dimension, pursuing the mysterious Sabbath, he must unravel a complex plot in which he himself may be a pawn. Following the only lead, the TARDIS arrives on Selonart -- a planet famed for the unique, friction-nullifying light water that covers its surface. A water that propels vast, technological yachts across its waves at inconceivable speeds. All in all, an indulgent, boastful demonstration of power by Earth's ruthless multi-stellar corporations. Is Sabbath's goal to win the race? Who is Bloom, the enigmatic Selonart native? As the danger escalates, the Doctor realises that he is being manoeuvred into engineering his own downfall. Is it already too late for him?
Customer Reviews:
The Pace-Eater.......2004-09-01
Due to a variety of reasons, I found myself with a long gap between the publication of this book and my eventual perusal. During that pause, Internet opinion had pretty much decided that THE INFINITY RACE was a hugely disappointing clunker at the end of what had been a breathtaking and fantastic year for the Eighth Doctor Adventures. So, when I did start reading this book, it was with some slight trepidation. At first, it appeared that my anxiety was misplaced. The beginning drew me in, tempted my appetite and consistently impressed me; I couldn't fathom why it was receiving such negative press. But by the time I got to the end, I found that the book had fizzled somewhat. While it's certainly not what I would consider terrible, it does seem to be lacking a certain something that would raise this book above the level of ordinary.
The story opens with an invitation of sorts left over from the previous EDA (Justin Richards' TIME ZERO). Sabbath lures the Doctor and friends to one of the biggest races in the galaxy: a regatta situated on the ocean-planet Selonart (a name that I was certain was a joke or a reference to something else, but I have so far failed at figuring out what that is). These competitions reach a galaxy-wide audience, in part because of the strange properties present in the oceans of this world. The water is mostly frictionless and "light", and specially designed ships can travel on the seas at speeds unheard of on Earth.
The special attributes of the water on Selonart allow Simon Messingham to delve into some hard science-fiction concepts, though thankfully he doesn't dive in too deep. Messingham produces some good old-fashioned nautical adventuring without too much in the way of distracting technobabble. The opening sections that take place primarily on the yachts are genuinely thrilling and exciting. Messingham's skills of being able to construct a good horror sequence (which were on display on the underrated and creepy THE FACE-EATER) are put to good use in these portions, giving us some sharp and unsettling prose.
Many people have commented on the narrative voice(s) used in this book, usually saying that they found it distracting or unpleasant. My reaction was the complete opposite. I loved the actual process of reading this book. The jokes were funny, the action sequences executed smoothly, and the plot was laid out competently. But yet, I'm still not exactly sure why everything didn't seem to feel quite right by the end. I'd been drawn in to the narrative, but not into the rest of the story. I found the actual sentences and paragraphs to be deceptively adept at getting me to keep turning the pages. And I can't deny that the storyline of the book was similarly impressive and interesting. But somewhere along the line, Messingham lost my interest.
The characters are another aspect of this book that I can't say that I loved or hated. There's enough material present for me to want to keep reading about them, but there's not quite enough for me to say that they were three-dimensional characters in their own right. That said, the narrative first-person switches to Fitz and Anji's viewpoints were extremely well done. I really would like to see more of this sort of thing in the Doctor Who books. The companions are almost always designed to be our identification points, so it's nice to get inside their heads once in a while. Messingham does a terrific job at keeping the characters distinct, consistent and genuine. Even as I find myself growing weary of Fitz, books like this one make me want to see the current team go on together for a long time.
Ultimately, I can indeed say that I found THE INFINITY RACE to be a vaguely decent read. As in Messingham's previous EDA, his prose did a wonderful job of building tension within individual scenes. Unlike that book however, the whole just didn't quite hang together enough for me. Given all that I liked about this book, I really should have enjoyed the total experience more than I did -- but I didn't. And it's a shame, because there's much here to appreciate.
Water, water, everywhere...and a universe to save to boot!.......2004-08-28
Alternate universes always have a strike against them from the very start, especially if it's a universe that's destined to either revert back to the normal universe our heroes inhabit or destined to be destroyed. Why should we care about these incidental characters that the author is inventing when what happens to them won't really matter that much? It's even more of a problem in a continuing series, because the "universe" the main characters inhabit is consistent from book to book, making the alternate universe even more disposable than it normally is. The Infinity Race is an alternate universe novel. The events of Time Zero have caused the universes to diverge, so this is not a spoiler. Messingham has succeeded in making a book with characters that we somewhat care about, though the fact that the main characters keep hammering home the alternate aspect of their location makes it hard at times. Thus, Messingham manages to squeeze a pretty good book out of the whole concept.
The planet Selonart. A world that's almost all ocean, crystal clear waters shining in the sunlight. It's also home of the Trans-Global Regatta, which is "the ultimate sporting event in the universe!" Multi-stellar corporations from all over the Earth Empire enter sailing ships into this race for interstellar prestige...and lots of money, of course. But the mysterious Sabbath has his own agenda for the race. One that may wreak havoc on the timelines. The water on Selonart has unusual properties of propulsion, but they also have other mysterious properties. The Selonart colonists seem to be greatly affected by them, so the corporations put them to use on their sailing ships. But Sabbath has other plans for them. The Doctor and his companions land on Selonart and must not only stop these plans, but figure out what they are, before it's too late. For the Doctor, and the rest of the universe.
The Infinity Race is told in an unusual format. There is the normal third-person narrative, but there are also alternate journal entries from Anji and Fitz telling their part of the story, with the occasional piece by Bloom, the main Selonart native character. The Bloom entries are interesting because we see the change that comes over him as events happen. His entries start out with very broken English, making them a little difficult to read. They slowly get better as time goes on and things come to a head. He's also the most interesting character in the entire book, and it's neat to see the transition he goes through. The other Selonart natives, however, aren't anywhere near as interesting and do more to illustrate Bloom's character than anything else.
Anji and Fitz get a lot of characterization through their entries, and it's probably the best these two characters have been written in quite a while. The entries reflect their personalities perfectly, with Fitz displaying bravado but admitting to himself when he's really scared of what's happening. Anji starts out lamenting being pulled from her normal life that she had tried to get back to in Time Zero, is never afraid to point out when the Doctor's being a git, and finally comes around as she decides that what they're doing is necessary. What's most interesting about her sections is when the Doctor asks her to stay behind and talk to the governor and find Fitz. When she can't do either one, her frustration screams off the page, and her fear when the riots start is almost palpable. Sometimes the breezy way they write is a little irritating, especially when they get self-referential. They talk about endless corridors and how the seemingly never-ending "capture, escape, capture again" sequence happens again. But overall, these sections were quite good.
The Doctor is his normal dynamic self, which is nice to see. His interactions with Sabbath are wonderful, with both men being well-characterized. Their dialogue crackles as they argue the merits of their respective positions. The Doctor is adamant that Sabbath's plan not only can't work, but will destroy everything. The only unfortunate thing in The Infinity Race is that Sabbath takes on a couple of bad Master habits (the Master is an old enemy of the Doctor's). He rants and he raves, and he has an ambiguous fate that looks really bad but isn't deadly enough that he won't come back sometime.
Other incidental characters are more hit and miss. The governor is way over the top, and while that may have been intentional, it didn't make him any less annoying. Some of the other characters are better, but they are perfunctorily killed off, without any real purpose, after they've been around for a while. Messingham also suffers from the "let's introduce a character and give him some character detail just so we can kill him off" syndrome. It's a cheat to wring a little bit more emotion out of the reader, and it annoys the heck out of me.
The more I liked some of the characters, though, the more that the constant references to alternate universes annoyed me. I was beginning to like a couple of them, and I didn't want them not to "matter." My mind wanted to prevent me from investing too much caring into them because they would ultimately disappear, even if they didn't actually "die." That's the sad part of the book. Ultimately, it was an enjoyable read, and I'm glad I did. Give it a shot.
David Roy
Customer Reviews:
I still don't get it........2004-04-06
I loved this book. Perhaps, it's one of the best pieces of original Doctor Who fiction ever put out. I still after, (how long was my previous review?) don't see why so many WHO fans cop out & start screaming "parallel universe" when something original like this comes along.
Maybe it's because I never got the biography of the first Doctor in those years before he left Gallifrey (does anyone seriously want to own up to knowing that? Marc Platt sit down) Maybe because I read too many Doctor Who stories as individual stories amongst a very flexible cannon (an attitude that is thankfully the one that exists now at Big Finish and BBC Books). Maybe I thought this story was too damn good to leave out of the "all-sacred cannon".
This isn't Star Trek, people. This is Doctor Who, let's be above this whole parallel universe loop-hole (Inferno, withstanding) BUT, if you want to feel that way fine. I just can't be convinced otherwise. This is cannon, official first Doctor, ages before he left for Totter's Lane.
The most important point I can make though is this is Lance Parkin at his finest. Eloquent, exciting and just that damn GOOD. Any WHO fans, casual or those who want to jump shoulder deep into this parallel vs. Cannon debate should buy this book immediatley. One of the greatest ever.
The greatest Doctor Who story of them all?.......2003-11-24
Since this is the month that Doctor Who turns forty years old (who's bringing the whoopee cushion to the Doctor's birthday party?), I decided to look back to the last anniversary year that was evenly divisible by five. The thirty-fifth anniversary was celebrated by the release of THE INFINITY DOCTORS by Lance Parkin (his first effort for BBC books). I can't remember the last time that the thirty-fifth anniversary of anything was celebrated, but if we indeed must celebrate every fifth anniversary of the series by a special release, we could do a lot worse than to have releases of the quality on display here.
THE INFINITY DOCTORS starts with a passage that's more than a little reminiscent of the beginning of Paul Cornell's TIMEWYRM: REVELATION. But, tellingly, it's not just a rehash of that earlier piece of prose; it takes that reference and directs it in a new and equally good direction. And throughout much of this story, there are elements that are, if not borrowed, at least seem a little bit familiar. But that isn't a criticism. In fact, it's a bonus. It's got enough references to the past to fulfill its role as an anniversary romp, while managing to tell an original enough story to prevent a complete wallowing in nostalgia. It's a fine line to walk, one that gets more difficult with every passing divisible-by-five year anniversary. I'm frankly surprised that it's still possible to get away with it.
THE INFINITY DOCTORS is painted on a huge canvas. The background to the story involves a High Councilor of Gallifrey known as the Doctor who is organizing a peace treaty between the Sontarans and the Rutans, two races who have been locked in combat for countless millennia. The power of the Time Lords has plucked two representatives of those races from an appropriate period in history and the Doctor is working as an arbiter. But, naturally, things are not going as planned. A slight blip on the Time Lord equivalent of a radar screen spells consequences and disaster, not only for their world, but for all worlds everywhere.
There's a line one can draw from Terrance Dicks, to Robert Holmes, to the Cartmel Masterplan, to here. Each took what fictional facts were known about the Doctor's people, threw away the bad, and expanded the rest. Terrance Dicks turned the creators of the TARDIS into Gods. Robert Holmes kept their great powers and jettisoned their God-like status, making them into squabbling academics. The Cartmel Masterplan built upon the legends and the fragments of the Old Time of Gallifrey, based almost entirely on Omega's speeches in THE THREE DOCTORS and the recording of the history of Gallifrey that Engin plays in THE DEADLY ASSASSIN. It ignored all the boring and awful stories that had been built up in the current day Gallifrey (it's interesting to note that in the three years of Andrew Cartmel's script editorship, modern Gallifrey appeared on screen exactly zero times).
THE INFINITY DOCTORS plays a similar game. Virtually the whole foundation of Parkin's Gallifrey is based on those hints and stories that displayed the best that Gallifrey had to offer, and it conveniently ignores those bits that make a discriminating fanboy shudder. So, we delve heavily into the stories of the Old Times, but we have not a mention of the Time Tots. The result is a "set on Gallifrey" story as they should be told, with mystery, excitement and power, not as they were told during the Graham Williams and John Nathan-Turner eras, which featured less than satisfying adventures.
Now before I get completely overwhelmed by talk of Gallifrey, Time Lords and all that jazz, I should talk about how the book works as a standalone story. THE INFINITY DOCTORS feels epic. Not just because it features The Return Of You-Know-Who (Again), but because of its subject matter. We have a book with effective and powerful prose. It starts slow and steady, which makes the later conflicts appear that much more menacing.
I have fond memories of my first reading of THE INFINITY DOCTORS. It was the book that got me back into the world of Doctor Who novels after a double-whammy of the book license switchover and a horrendous lack of free time conspired to pull me away. THE INFINITY DOCTORS may not be the greatest Doctor Who story of all time (though it's damn close, the only minor problems are slight authorial indulgences that the editor should have curtailed), but it might be the most representative. It's got everything: time travel, old enemies, world building, an intriguing plot, devious and enjoyable characters, and the fate of the universe at stake. It even throws in some rarer elements, but makes them feel perfectly at home (by this, I mean the romance; who would have guessed that it could turn out so well in a Doctor Who story?). This is the single anniversary story that you could give to a non-fan and have he/she both understand it and enjoy it. If I were to be trapped on the proverbial deserted island with my pick of only one Doctor Who story to take with me, then I can only say that THE INFINITY DOCTORS would make a very strong case for being that selection.
This month, the fortieth anniversary month, the Doctor Who release is either THE DEADLY REUNION by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks, or THE SCREAM OF THE SHALKA by Paul Cornell, depending on what your medium of choice is. Call it a hunch, but I seriously doubt that the fortieth anniversary will be celebrated in as progressive or as satisfying a manner as the thirty-fifth was.
Why doesn't anyone else understand this story?.......2003-08-30
This is NOT a story about "our" Doctor. Rather, it is a parallel universe story. Otherwise, the (Third) Doctor's meeting of Omega in The Three Doctors makes no sense. However, the big deal of this story (which no one else but me seems to realize) is this is the origin of "our" Master. He is the Magistrate scooped out of the parallel universe and brought to "our" Doctor's universe. The shift changed him to evil just as it did Soran in the parallel universe. (It also explains why "our" First Doctor did not quite recognize the Master in The Five Doctors.) Open your eyes, people!!!!!
Respectfully Disagree.......2003-06-18
Not to sound argumentative with my fellow Whovians, but there really is not anything to suggest that this story does NOT take place within the Doctor Who universe. Every cannon-guide I've looked at places this story as years & years before An Unearthly Child. I read the book from that perspective & found it to be a great fleshing out of the Doctor's still enigmatic origins, adding texture & substance, yet still retaining the mystery.
The Doctor Who universe is just too big, & let's face the continuity is harder than physics to figure out, so I don't see the point in squabbling over this "parallel universe" stuff. The pre-TV Doctor stuff is WIDE OPEN & this story, (which like everything else Lance Parkin has written, is AWESOME!!) should be considered part of that frontier.
Disappointing.......2002-12-20
Uses continuity, yet doesn't use continuity, ends up a mess. Some bits will only be of interest to Who fans - the origin of the Sontarans and the retinal scanner trick were very good, but much of the rest will annoy many people - the doctor and Omega relationship was just a rehash of the Three Doctors and Arc, but because its 'a different universe' there was no reference to those stories. In the end I didn't care about the Doctor or any of the other characters
Average customer rating:
- Portal to Infinity: A Good Key to Fandom
- A good book.
- Quite humorous; a fun book!
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Portal to Infinity: An Independent & Unauthorized Guide to BBCtv's Doctor Who
Keith C. Bradbury
Manufacturer: Authorhouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Television
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Guides & Reviews
| Television
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Doctor Who
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
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ASIN: 1414043074 |
Book Description
Doctor Who, the longest running science fiction series ever created (1963-1989), is one of the greatest television programs ever to come out of Great Britain. In the United States, the show became increasingly popular in the 1980's with a solid run on many PBS television stations. Its popularity is worldwide as the series has spawned countless toys, books, audio adventures, and merchandise throughout the globe.
The show features countless planets and aliens, including those fanatical Daleks, a race of xenophobic aliens bent on conquering the universe. So incredible is the Daleks' appeal, they even have their own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary and they have made their way onto a UK postage stamp as one of the enduring icons of the 20th century.
Customer Reviews:
Portal to Infinity: A Good Key to Fandom.......2004-04-02
"Portal to Infinity," edited by Keith C. Bradbury, is one of a number of books to evaluate "Doctor Who," the British science-fiction television show, from the fan's perspective. The book is an easy read, moving from Bradbury's own opinions about the merits of each episode to comments from his own selected "panel" of fans. While some fans appear to have had inside access to the reviews and voice an opinion a bit more frequently than others, Bradbury strives to present as balanced a view to each story as possible. Readers are free to make up their minds about whom to believe with each story. The cover is attractive; though the artwork is not the strongest selling point of the book, it supports the theme admirably. Most valuable are the useful fan reviews and the noteworthy scoring system for each show. The book covers all seven television actors, the Paul McGann made-for-TV movie, and various independent, non-canonical, or spin-off productions. Overall, a strong book, worthy of other publications about the famous BBC drama. Highly recommended.
A good book........2004-02-24
I liked this book; the reviews were what viewers actually thought, rather than being more like the "high brow" material you get in some program guides.
Quite humorous; a fun book!.......2004-02-18
This is a fun Doctor Who review book. No, there are no long lists of cast and crew members names (although they are occasionally referenced in the reviews), but it is quite fun to read the numerous comments of the various people involved in making this book. The 10 star rating system is nice; you can watch an episode and see if you agree with the editor (or see if anyone else in the book agrees with him). Easy to read. Worth owning!
Book Description
An open and engaging survey of the theology of church in its biblical roots, its historical development, and its setting in today's complex world. Building on the work of leading historians, sociologists, and theologians, Sanks has produced a coherent and lively synthesis. As an overview of the church in its many aspects, both human and divine, this work has few rivals. Veterans as well as beginners will profit from these pages.--Avery Dulles,S.J.
Customer Reviews:
A good look at the Catholic Church from a non-Catholic.......2000-05-04
This book was a required text for a course on Church history. It was eye-openning for me in a historical sense. Being a post-Vatican II Catholic of the seventies, I learned a lot about Vat II and other counsels. I especially liked the insights that were personal and not just historic.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Theological Studies, published by Theological Studies, Inc. on December 1, 1993. The length of the article is 600 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Salt, Leaven and Light: The Community Called Church.
Author: George H. Tavard
Publication:
Theological Studies (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 1993
Publisher: Theological Studies, Inc.
Volume: v54
Issue: n4
Page: p761(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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