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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I thoroughly enjoyed about 80% of this then (for me) it seemed o lose its way a bit, not mention needing a flow chart to keep track of all the characters and who they actually we're and wern't. It's more a 3.5 than a 3 and someone with a younger mind than me will undoubtedly find the end much less confusing!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Alex Kingston herself. Wonderful performance! I love audiobooks that have sound effects
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Convoluted.... That is the word that best describes this whole situation. I know, I know, it's Doctor Who so of course it has to be convoluted but this one is on another level.
So this is a book written by Alex Kingston who played River Song in the TV show. So far so good, she knows the character well. This is also book about River Song writing a detective novel featuring her own alter ego Melody Malone (who was a character in the episode "The Angels take Manhattan" - the one where Rory and Amy get angel-ed back in time to 1930s New York and get stuck there unable to be rescued and then have to live out their lives from then on). Melody Malone is a pulp-fiction private detective in the best gumshoe style, a classy dame and all round kick-arse femme fatale.
River decides the best place to get some peace and quiet to write her novel is back in her cell in Stormcage in the 52nd century but a little quirk of the ventilation system leads her to speaking with a new prisoner, Ventrian. Ventrian is in prison for finding a device that gives ultimate power but also corrupts your soul at the same time. After accidentally (sort of) destroying lives and worlds he realised that it had to be hidden and destroyed but only got as far as hiding it before being caught. Now there are very bad people wanting to get their hands on it. In between chapters of River and Ventrian, we get Melody Malone in the book River is writing chasing a missing artifact for her client. People are dropping dead all over the place and the ruby Melody is said to be cursed!
As the book progresses things get a bit, well, meta would be the right word. As the device Ventrian is hiding mixes fiction and reality and Melody and River meet face to face in both real life and the fictional world of Melody Malone while moving between 30BCE, 1939CE (real and fictional). We have perspective change from Melody to River and back again. Melody becomes a cat and also River's twin sister. So like I said at the start, it is convoluted.
There is one point where I think Kingston herself got confused because Melody mentions how she has spent so much time in the New York Library researching detective novels but Melody is a detective and it should be River is researching.
This is one for the fans.
So this is a book written by Alex Kingston who played River Song in the TV show. So far so good, she knows the character well. This is also book about River Song writing a detective novel featuring her own alter ego Melody Malone (who was a character in the episode "The Angels take Manhattan" - the one where Rory and Amy get angel-ed back in time to 1930s New York and get stuck there unable to be rescued and then have to live out their lives from then on). Melody Malone is a pulp-fiction private detective in the best gumshoe style, a classy dame and all round kick-arse femme fatale.
River decides the best place to get some peace and quiet to write her novel is back in her cell in Stormcage in the 52nd century but a little quirk of the ventilation system leads her to speaking with a new prisoner, Ventrian. Ventrian is in prison for finding a device that gives ultimate power but also corrupts your soul at the same time. After accidentally (sort of) destroying lives and worlds he realised that it had to be hidden and destroyed but only got as far as hiding it before being caught. Now there are very bad people wanting to get their hands on it. In between chapters of River and Ventrian, we get Melody Malone in the book River is writing chasing a missing artifact for her client. People are dropping dead all over the place and the ruby Melody is said to be cursed!
As the book progresses things get a bit, well, meta would be the right word. As the device Ventrian is hiding mixes fiction and reality and Melody and River meet face to face in both real life and the fictional world of Melody Malone while moving between 30BCE, 1939CE (real and fictional). We have perspective change from Melody to River and back again. Melody becomes a cat and also River's twin sister. So like I said at the start, it is convoluted.
There is one point where I think Kingston herself got confused because Melody mentions how she has spent so much time in the New York Library researching detective novels but Melody is a detective and it should be River is researching.
This is one for the fans.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A fun book. Campy and silly with enough references and Easter eggs to make me smile. Can't wait to read it again knowing the ending and pick up on all the clues I missed.
4 stars
Funny, sometimes chaotic and filled with Wibbly Wobbly timey Whimey stuff; The Ruby's curse is a wonderful action packed mystery, with a hint of historical fiction and some fun but never too heavy references to the main Doctor Who Story.
From the very first moment she walked onto Doctor Who, River Song has been one of my absolute favourites of the show. She is funny, badass and just all around awesome. So when I found another book focusing on her story, I had to have it.
The ruby's curse combines River's own life with that of Melody Malone, the fictional detective she made up on the show, as they both set out to find an object many others are after as well.
The writing is well done, balancing well between River's own life and the fictional 1939 New York. It interweaves the similar elements well, but in the end the combined stories do become somewhat chaotic. We get more insight into River as a person and get a bunch of fun references to the Whoniverse, without laying it on to thick. This results in a book which even somewhat casual viewers of the show could possibly enjoy as well.
Funny, sometimes chaotic and filled with Wibbly Wobbly timey Whimey stuff; The Ruby's curse is a wonderful action packed mystery, with a hint of historical fiction and some fun but never too heavy references to the main Doctor Who Story.
From the very first moment she walked onto Doctor Who, River Song has been one of my absolute favourites of the show. She is funny, badass and just all around awesome. So when I found another book focusing on her story, I had to have it.
The ruby's curse combines River's own life with that of Melody Malone, the fictional detective she made up on the show, as they both set out to find an object many others are after as well.
The writing is well done, balancing well between River's own life and the fictional 1939 New York. It interweaves the similar elements well, but in the end the combined stories do become somewhat chaotic. We get more insight into River as a person and get a bunch of fun references to the Whoniverse, without laying it on to thick. This results in a book which even somewhat casual viewers of the show could possibly enjoy as well.