Beastly Bones

By William Ritter

In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, R.F. Jackaby, are called upon to investigate the supernatural.

First, members of a particularly vicious species of shapeshifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens. A day later, their owner is found murdered, with a single mysterious puncture wound to her neck. Then, in a nearby Gad’s Valley, dinosaur bones from a recent dig go missing, and an unidentifiable beast attacks animals and people, leaving their mangled bodies behind. Policeman Charlie Cane, exiled from new Fiddleham to the valley, calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer.

This sequel to “Jackaby” is just as oddly cute as the first book. This book centers more on Abigail than Jackaby, however, and has a more definite young adult book feel to it. I enjoyed the first book because it was quirky and reminded me strongly of Doctor Who with the unconventional protagonist of R.F. Jackaby, who I’m convinced we will never know his actual first name (Coincidence? I think not). Abigail is fine as a narrator, but she does start to grate on my nerves a little in this one. She can be a little too contradictory in nature. She’s described as an independent thinker, but she also comes across as being slow. I understand that it can be difficult to write giving the reader more information than the characters have, but if not handled very well it makes the characters seem stupid when they aren’t. I wish the book focused a little more on the mystery of Jackaby. There are a lot of blanks to fill in with him that I would like to know about. It was rather disappointing to see this turn in plot for the series and I’m hoping that it won’t be exclusively about Abigail. She is slotted as the book’s ‘everyman’ that the reader will be able to identify with, but Jacaby is so much more interesting that it’s because of him that I’ll keep reading. While I didn’t like this sequel as much as the first, I still plan on reading the next book which is about another interesting character, the original owner of Jackaby’s house, the ghost, Jenny.

I give this a 3 out of 5

Jackaby

By William Ritter

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion—and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R.F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary—including the ability to see supernatural being. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A Serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police—with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane—deny.

When a book touts that it is Doctor Who meets Sherlock Holmes, I just can’t pass that up. Two of my favorite things combined? I have to at least read it so I can say whether that claim was founded or not right? Well Watson, let me relate to you my findings based upon the facts: This book had supernatural creatures, well, at least according to Jackaby himself, who seems to be the only one able to perceive these creatures; hence a lot of people think he’s bonkers. It has a companion-like narrator who introduces us to the strange Jackaby and his world of ghosts and goblins. It has hints of romance, vampires, werewolves, ducks that do the filing, and more. The fun thing about the character Jackaby is that he doesn’t care what others think, he has better things to worry about, and he’s totally oblivious to the fact that he’s looked at as insane. It’s very reminiscent of Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor. Once I made that connection I was having a blast. Before I made this connection I did not like Jackaby. It was weird and felt off-putting, but the second I pictured Matt Smith I was gung-ho and in for the long haul. As for comparing this to Sherlock Holmes, I was a little less enthused about that comparison. There were only two reasons I could see where they were coming from: It’s set in Victorian times, and there are mysteries to solve. I never could really picture Sherlock Holmes anywhere near this story though. Regardless, I still had such a ball reading this that I immediately searched out when the next book would come out (September 22). I admit that if I weren’t such a massive Doctor Who fan, I probably wouldn’t have liked this as much as I did, because I wouldn’t have gotten the pacing and humor as readily. It’s an acquired taste. But oh the fun I did have, and look forward to September!

I give it a 4 out of 5

The Silent Stars Go By

By Dan Abnett

The winter festival is approaching for the hardy colony of Morphans, but no one is in the mood to celebrate. They’re trying to build a new life on a cold new world, but each year gets harder and harder. It’s almost as if some dark force is working against them. Then three mysterious travelers arrive out of the midwinter night, one of them claiming to be a doctor. Are they bringing the gift of salvation or doom? And what else might be lurking out there, about to wake up?

Being the enormous Doctor Who fan that I am, how could I not try out at least one novel about the Doctor and his companions? This is a novel featuring 11^th doctor (Matt Smith) and companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams. I was pretty impressed with Dan Abnett’s version of the very popular television characters, I was able to hear their voices with most of the dialogue, especially Rory. This is a fun little Christmas on an alien planet story featuring (of course) a perilous adventure and a new civilization of people who need…a Doctor. You’ve got good aliens, and bad aliens, a mystery to solve in order to save everyone, and the Doctor being his crazy genius self. It was great fun to read and I enjoyed reading a story about the Doctor that was new and viable as a story I could see on the TV screen.

It gets a 3 out of 5 for average (which is great when you consider that this is a novelization of a television show)

And just in case you haven't seen any Doctor Who, this is a favorite clip of Matt Smith's Doctor. It's when he first becomes the doctor and he can't quite get the right food to help him regenerate properly...