Looking forward to your final take on the audiobook. From what I can gather, folks either love it or hate it. Thanks to you and Michael, Tim powers is now on my radar.
I actually have an ebook of The Dracula/Holmes book that Steve Donoghue sent me. Now that you reminded me I have to read it. My TBR is ruined again! It’s all your fault!
I've been thinking of reading The Anubis Gates for years. I guess I should get off my duff and see if there is a digital version of it. I know I have a paperback version, but those pesky small letters are too challenging for my eyesight these days. I read the Homes Dracula Files years ago and found it a really fun read. Saberhagen did a whole series of stories about Dracula. I think 5 or 6 books of which I enjoyed. All I can say without using spoilers is that it's probably a different version of Dracula than you are accustomed to. In the first story, The Dracula Files you get Dracula's version of the origin story from Dracula's point of view. That view is quite different than Stoker wrote.😉😉😉
@@GrammaticusBooks Dracula Tapes. Seriously, Saberhagen wrote an entire mythos around the logical inconsistencies around Bram Stoker's seminal novel, and went hog wild with his imagination. You need the Dracula Tapes to make sense of Saberhagen's changes to the mythology. 🤓
I've enjoyed your videos! Have you considered highlighting a new book, written in an older style, once every month or so? I bought several books from DMR Books (I have no affiliation in any way) and enjoyed them. The books are a throwback to the days of Robert E. Howard and Aston Clark Smith.
Tim Powers is great. Anubis Gates was one of the first Powers books I read back in the 80s. What a great writer! Nice guy too. I've met him many times at conventions. Great guy, and incredibly funny.
@@GrammaticusBooks For my money Drawing of the Dark is Tim Powers best book. Read it, The Anubis Gates and others in the 80's when they were just out. But then ( and this reflects only my taste, nothing about the quality of his writing ) Tim declined.
Great video as always. So I’m waiting to read all the Titan Comics Conan til possibly Cimmerian September, Im buying them all on preorder from my local comic shop as they come out. I’d really appreciate next month when the next release of Savage Sword 2 comes out you to do a follow up (spoiler free of course) of the second comic vs the first as I know you were critical of the artwork, hopefully they remedy the B&W contrast, thanks!
I own exactly one Keith Laumer book, and it's not a Retief novel. You have me intrigued by the Retief series, though, as I didn't know It was about a space diplomat. As the son and grandson of diplomats, the concept seems very interesting! BTW, the "Dracula" guy on the cover looks a bit too old to be a 3rd Secretary...😂
Yeah, not sure what's going on with that cover Luiz! Interesting background you have there as well. I think you'd find Retief a fun read. It's satire/humor set in a light SF universe.
Take a look at Laumer. If you like fast moving twisty stories that are written for light entertainment only you'll enjoy most of his stuff. If you want hard science with all the stars in the correct orbits and stuff like that don't bother with him.
@@randycosgrove3608 Oh, sure, I get that impression from that one book of his that I have. Fun stuff. Stopped caring about the 'hard science' bit long ago, fortunately.
@@randycosgrove3608 And Bolo! The Annals of the Dinocrome Brigade... In one short story, a lone Bolo charges the massed ranks of the enemy supertanks, all guns blazing, and wins the battle. His smoldering, radioactive wreck is brought back, and he's asked why that suicidal charge at the end. The sentient machine answers slowly, as its circuitry goes dark due to the massive radiation damage... "For the Honor of the Regiment..." 😳😳😳
Interested to hear your thoughts on Pournelle's "the Mercenary". I love this book which is set in the same universe as Mote in God's Eye but centuries before the 2nd Empire. Interesting because it sets the stage for the formation wars and 1st Empire. Military science fiction with the emphasis on military. Enjoy!
@@GrammaticusBooks And try to find King David's Spaceship. It is awesome by itself, but best of all, some of the characters our protagonist meets are talking about the Expedition to the Coal Sack, by the MacArthur. 😳😳😮
Anubis gates, featuring Scooby Doo and the ScoobyGang! Another excellent video G. I went through a Tim Powers phase in the late 80s, and I remember particularly liking two pirate novels he did. I think later in his career, his focus was on espionage novels with a little bit of fantasy, but I did not keep up with him.
I just finished the second in that series 'The Holmes-Dracula File'. It was excellent! And I recently learned there are ten in the Saberhagen Dracula series. Good stuff Alvin!
The only Tim Powers book I have read is DECLARE. It's a history of the CIA with supernatural touches. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I suggest reading THE COMPANY by Robert Littell which is another "history" of the CIA. It is a novel in the real world without supernatural events. It is an interesting comparison to read them one after the other just for fun.
I highly recommend reading the Dracula Tapes before hitting the Holmes Dracula File. First of all, Van Helsing was an ignorant, superstitious fool. Direct transfusions to Lucy without regards to blood type?! When blood typing was already known, in this point in history? Were they trying to kill her? Seriously, you'll learn that the REAL hero is our protagonist, Vlad Tepes, and this chronicles the wonderful romance between our beloved Prince of Transylvania, and his great love, Mina Harker. 😂🤣😈😛 I commend your taste. Jerry Pournelle is an excellent author, and the CoDominium is a marvelous setting. The CoDominium led to the First Empire, and after the fall of the First Empire, the Second Empire led the expedition to the Coal Sack. John Christian Falkenberg helped found the Spartan Hegemony, which gave birth under Lysander the Great, to the First Empire. Then of course, the Sauron cyborgs attacked Ararat... 😮🫣. I recommend the Prince omnibus, to get a good feel for the full sequence of events, and the necessary backstories. 😉 And, of course, you're blaming the French. 😂🤣 May I recommend the more obscure Heinleins? I am not a fan of Time Enough, but prefer his earlier, more obscure books... Door into Summer, Time for the Stars, Double Star, Methuselah's Children, Podkayne of Mars (the original ending, please!) Red Planet, Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Space Cadet, and the vastly underrated Waldo and Magic. Sorry, you got it wrong. 😂 According to Wikipedia, you're reading Heinlein's Requiem, one of the best short stories he's ever written. Afterwards, go pick up the Man Who Sold the Moon, for the full backstory. Good book. 😉
Looking forward to your final take on the audiobook. From what I can gather, folks either love it or hate it. Thanks to you and Michael, Tim powers is now on my radar.
Loving Tim Powers KDJ! And looking forward to Drawing of the Dark!
I actually have an ebook of The Dracula/Holmes book that Steve Donoghue sent me. Now that you reminded me I have to read it. My TBR is ruined again! It’s all your fault!
Glad to help out! …. I think you’ll like it. I’m only in the first 50 pages but so far so good.
I've been thinking of reading The Anubis Gates for years. I guess I should get off my duff and see if there is a digital version of it. I know I have a paperback version, but those pesky small letters are too challenging for my eyesight these days.
I read the Homes Dracula Files years ago and found it a really fun read. Saberhagen did a whole series of stories about Dracula. I think 5 or 6 books of which I enjoyed. All I can say without using spoilers is that it's probably a different version of Dracula than you are accustomed to. In the first story, The Dracula Files you get Dracula's version of the origin story from Dracula's point of view. That view is quite different than Stoker wrote.😉😉😉
I’m going to take that as a thumbs up on The Dracula Files Steven!
@@GrammaticusBooks And take another thumbs up from me. Love that book and the other books Saberhagen wrote about Dracula.
@@GrammaticusBooks Dracula Tapes. Seriously, Saberhagen wrote an entire mythos around the logical inconsistencies around Bram Stoker's seminal novel, and went hog wild with his imagination. You need the Dracula Tapes to make sense of Saberhagen's changes to the mythology. 🤓
I've enjoyed your videos! Have you considered highlighting a new book, written in an older style, once every month or so? I bought several books from DMR Books (I have no affiliation in any way) and enjoyed them. The books are a throwback to the days of Robert E. Howard and Aston Clark Smith.
That’s always a possibility Zulda!
Another ‘Anubis Gates’ convert! Nice! For Tim Powers books, I would also recommend ‘On Stranger Tides’ and ‘The Stress of Her Regard’.
Thanks for the tips Justin! I’ll keep an eye out for those.
Excellent suggestions, sir! Might I also recommend Declare. The cold war setting, spycraft and supernatural elements make for quite a combo!
@@Henri79 I just bought Declare recently on Kindle sale. I'll give it a shot later. 🙂
@@User_Un_Friendly Nice! Hopefully you'll like it!
Tim Powers is great. Anubis Gates was one of the first Powers books I read back in the 80s. What a great writer! Nice guy too. I've met him many times at conventions. Great guy, and incredibly funny.
Fantastic that you were able to meet him Angus! And it's always good to hear an author is a nice person as well as a talented writer!
In SFO in the 80s I bought my SF used for as little as
.25. Yes, I'm that old & still love Niven best....
A quarter a book! Those were the days!
The older Nivens are the best. Protector, a World out of Time. I can't even read the Fleet of Worlds. 😵😖
I hadn't heard of ' Drawing of the Dark', but it sounds just my sort of thing, so thanks for that. Still in print, too.
It does sound interesting Para!
@@GrammaticusBooks For my money Drawing of the Dark is Tim Powers best book. Read it, The Anubis Gates and others in the 80's when they were just out. But then ( and this reflects only my taste, nothing about the quality of his writing ) Tim declined.
And it's about....BEER!!! 🍺🍺🍺
@@randycosgrove3608 I'm looking forward to reading it.
Great video as always. So I’m waiting to read all the Titan Comics Conan til possibly Cimmerian September, Im buying them all on preorder from my local comic shop as they come out. I’d really appreciate next month when the next release of Savage Sword 2 comes out you to do a follow up (spoiler free of course) of the second comic vs the first as I know you were critical of the artwork, hopefully they remedy the B&W contrast, thanks!
I will definitely review issue 2 of Savage Sword and compare them!
I own exactly one Keith Laumer book, and it's not a Retief novel. You have me intrigued by the Retief series, though, as I didn't know It was about a space diplomat. As the son and grandson of diplomats, the concept seems very interesting! BTW, the "Dracula" guy on the cover looks a bit too old to be a 3rd Secretary...😂
Yeah, not sure what's going on with that cover Luiz! Interesting background you have there as well. I think you'd find Retief a fun read. It's satire/humor set in a light SF universe.
Take a look at Laumer. If you like fast moving twisty stories that are written for light entertainment only you'll enjoy most of his stuff. If you want hard science with all the stars in the correct orbits and stuff like that don't bother with him.
@@randycosgrove3608 Oh, sure, I get that impression from that one book of his that I have. Fun stuff.
Stopped caring about the 'hard science' bit long ago, fortunately.
He wrote the Bolo series. Excellent, every one. I'm recommending the Star Treasure and Glory Game. He's excellent, overall. 😉
@@randycosgrove3608 And Bolo! The Annals of the Dinocrome Brigade...
In one short story, a lone Bolo charges the massed ranks of the enemy supertanks, all guns blazing, and wins the battle. His smoldering, radioactive wreck is brought back, and he's asked why that suicidal charge at the end. The sentient machine answers slowly, as its circuitry goes dark due to the massive radiation damage...
"For the Honor of the Regiment..." 😳😳😳
Those bookstores sound amazing. I feel your pain with accidentally picking up the French edition of a book.
I miss that be able to pawn it off my son who took French!
Dracula has met Sherlock Holmes and Batman, two of the world's greatest detectives. That's not a lot, but it is more than most people have met...
It’s certainly more than I’ve met!
Ooh i picked up a copy of The Anubis Gates the other day. Sounds great!!
It’s very good Scavenger!
Interested to hear your thoughts on Pournelle's "the Mercenary". I love this book which is set in the same universe as Mote in God's Eye but centuries before the 2nd Empire. Interesting because it sets the stage for the formation wars and 1st Empire. Military science fiction with the emphasis on military. Enjoy!
Jerry Pournelle, military sci-fi, and The Mote in God's eye backstory, I'm guessing it's going to be pretty darn good!
@@GrammaticusBooks West of Honor, Go Tell the Spartans...if you've read David Drake, or David Weber, you'll feel right at home.
@@GrammaticusBooks And try to find King David's Spaceship. It is awesome by itself, but best of all, some of the characters our protagonist meets are talking about the Expedition to the Coal Sack, by the MacArthur. 😳😳😮
Anubis gates, featuring Scooby Doo and the ScoobyGang!
Another excellent video G.
I went through a Tim Powers phase in the late 80s, and I remember particularly liking two pirate novels he did. I think later in his career, his focus was on espionage novels with a little bit of fantasy, but I did not keep up with him.
Sounds like Powers covered quite the number of genres Sleepy! I'll definitely read the Drawing of the Dark and then see where I'm at with him.
Fred Saberhagen has a series of books with Dracula as the protagonist. I highly recommend them.
I just finished the second in that series 'The Holmes-Dracula File'. It was excellent! And I recently learned there are ten in the Saberhagen Dracula series. Good stuff Alvin!
Just a question. Have you read/reviewed the Jack L Chalker series Midnight at the Well of Souls? One of the best I have read.
I have not read that one Alan. But now I know to keep a look out for it!
While I loved his books in college, looking back, the body mutations disturbs me now. 😮
Looking forward to some future reviews on some of these, especially The Drawing of the Dark. And that brotube romance movie video 🤭
I'll probably start in on Drawing of the Dark right after I finish the Holmes-Dracula File.
A lot of Powers is kind of a colonoscopy -- a look up his own nether regions and recycled themes. The best of Powers is Declare.
I’ll have to keep an eye out for Declare tanks.
The only Tim Powers book I have read is DECLARE. It's a history of the CIA with supernatural touches. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I suggest reading THE COMPANY by Robert Littell which is another "history" of the CIA. It is a novel in the real world without supernatural events. It is an interesting comparison to read them one after the other just for fun.
Good tips Rick! I’ll work my way through Drawing of the Dark then see if I can find Declare.
The audiobook for DECLARE is also excellent.
I will have to check that out. Thanks
I highly recommend reading the Dracula Tapes before hitting the Holmes Dracula File. First of all, Van Helsing was an ignorant, superstitious fool. Direct transfusions to Lucy without regards to blood type?! When blood typing was already known, in this point in history? Were they trying to kill her?
Seriously, you'll learn that the REAL hero is our protagonist, Vlad Tepes, and this chronicles the wonderful romance between our beloved Prince of Transylvania, and his great love, Mina Harker. 😂🤣😈😛
I commend your taste. Jerry Pournelle is an excellent author, and the CoDominium is a marvelous setting. The CoDominium led to the First Empire, and after the fall of the First Empire, the Second Empire led the expedition to the Coal Sack. John Christian Falkenberg helped found the Spartan Hegemony, which gave birth under Lysander the Great, to the First Empire. Then of course, the Sauron cyborgs attacked Ararat... 😮🫣. I recommend the Prince omnibus, to get a good feel for the full sequence of events, and the necessary backstories. 😉
And, of course, you're blaming the French. 😂🤣 May I recommend the more obscure Heinleins? I am not a fan of Time Enough, but prefer his earlier, more obscure books... Door into Summer, Time for the Stars, Double Star, Methuselah's Children, Podkayne of Mars (the original ending, please!) Red Planet, Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Space Cadet, and the vastly underrated Waldo and Magic.
Sorry, you got it wrong. 😂 According to Wikipedia, you're reading Heinlein's Requiem, one of the best short stories he's ever written. Afterwards, go pick up the Man Who Sold the Moon, for the full backstory. Good book. 😉
Agh! You are correct User! Requiem was the short story I finished right before starting ‘Forgetfulness’ by “Don Stuart”. Great comments User!