And now the conclusion

All good things must come to an end and so...I finished Purgatory's Key which is the final installment of the Legacies trilogy which you may recall me mentioning a few times (this post and this one just in case). Firstly, if you haven't read either Captain to Captain or Best Defense and you want to avoid spoilers then I'll say this: I very much enjoyed this trilogy and I think you should read it. If you want a bit of most likely spoiler-y info then stick around because I'm about to spill some beans. Okay, I hope all of those still reading are ready to be spoiled... To catch you up a bit, there was a device called the Transfer Key which was found by the original crew of the Enterprise when captained by Robert April. This device was concealed on board the starship and the secret of its existence and power was passed down from captain to captain (and to their First Officers). One of these keepers of the secret wanted to use the Key to travel to another universe and find her lost comrades. (Three cheers for Una!) The Romulans wanted the Key because they saw it as the ultimate tool to tip the balance of power in this universe to their favor. Meanwhile, the Klingons were meeting with the Federation (with the help of Ambassador Sarek) to discuss terms to ensure peace between the two entities at the behest of the Organians (pesky people). Those on the other side of the veil in the other universe must contend with conditions that are much different to the ones that govern our universe in their bid to return home. As you might have guessed from the title, the Key is a powerful tool that for those on the wrong side of it means a kind of hellish instrument. The conclusion to the trilogy was everything you'd want from a sci-fi adventure set in the Star Trek universe. If you're looking for a way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this amazing show then you can't go wrong with picking up the Legacies series. 9/10


**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

I've gotten used to Klingons with forehead ridges

As I mentioned when reviewing Captain to Captain, a trilogy has been written by a collection of authors to honor the 50th anniversary of Star Trek which originally aired on September 8, 1966 (I'm writing this entry on September 8, 2016 which is quite apropos.). The Legacies trilogy continues with Best Defense written by David Mack. **There will be spoilers ahead if you haven't read the first book in the trilogy. I highly suggest you do so because it's an awesome story arc. If you don't want to be spoiled then I'll just say three words to describe this sequel: Tension, determination, and frustration. That should be enough to whet your appetite.** Captain Una has successfully used the Transfer Key to find her way to the alternate universe where her shipmates have been stranded for the past 18 years. However, it's not a simple locate and reconvene at the portal type of situation. There's something not quite right about this world... Meanwhile, Kirk and Spock are trying to retrieve the Key itself from the Romulans who stole it with the use of a spy on board the Enterprise. Without the Key they will be unable to rendezvous with Una and in the wrong hands the Key would be a formidable weapon. Amidst all of this chaos, Ambassador Sarek reaches out to the Enterprise to come to his aid in the peace talks which are taking place between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. As you can imagine, things are not exactly smooth sailing for our favorite space explorers. If you couldn't tell, I'M LOVING IT. The conclusion to the trilogy should be up soon as I started it this morning. :-)

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Throwing myself into different worlds

I'm in the middle of quite a few series at the moment. The main reason for this is because I enjoy letting myself fall completely into different worlds where I can sit back and enjoy. (For example, I reread the entire Harry Potter series over the last month and it was a wildly indulgent and marvelous affair.) Yes, I have many books sent to me for review that I'm horribly behind on but sometimes I find myself somewhat burnt out by reading things that I haven't necessarily just picked up for the sheer heck of it. At first, I thought to do all of these in huge masterposts but since I'm in different places in each of these I thought I would do them each individually and see how that goes. :-)


Today's book is the beginning of a trilogy that was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. It's a collaborative process so each book has a different author and a somewhat different style of writing. Captain to Captain by Greg Cox opens up the Legacies series with the story of Captain April of the starship Enterprise on a mission to a planet called Usilde where things are not going well for the native inhabitants. An artifact is taken from the planet and is stowed onboard the Enterprise...but no one knows of it except Captain April and his first officer, Una. This secret is passed down from captain to captain until the reader reaches the present day Captain Kirk and Commander Spock. There's malevolent aliens, covert operations, and above all the exceptional crew of the NCC-1701. This is the setup book which explains exactly what the mysterious object is and what its used for as well as introducing us to a figure which rivals Spock for keeping calm in a harrowing situation. This is Star Trek sci-fi at its best. What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of such a magnificent show?!


**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Welcome to a new year of reading!!

For my first entry in the new year, I am pleased to review a book by one of my heroes, Jane Goodall. In The Shadow of Man is the story of a young girl studying wild chimpanzees. When I first learned of Goodall's work I was at college and trying to figure out exactly what I would do with a Bachelor's in Anthropology. After that particular Primatology lecture I was convinced I had found my path. Clearly I didn't follow in her footsteps but that doesn't mean that I'm not still fascinated by these magnificent creatures. I think that's one of the greatest things about her (and this book). She shares her enthusiasm and her passion for chimpanzees on every single page and invites the reader to get a glimpse of what it was like on those first days when she couldn't get within a hundred feet of the animals she was meant to study. She takes you through several years of her work at Gombe in Tanzania and details what she learned in that time. For example, she witnessed chimps not only using tools but making them which is something that most scientists were convinced only humans could do. You come to know these chimps which she named (it was easier to remember and therefore easier for taking notes) and by the end you're sad to say goodbye to them. Also, she didn't skimp on the pictures which were fantastic or on the endnotes which were packed with appendices (stages of development, facial expression and calls, weapon and tool use, diet, chimpanzee and human behavior) replete with drawings, a bibliography, index, and information on the Jane Goodall Institute. I could talk a lot more about this book (and indeed I ran on a bit more than I meant) but I want to leave some for you!

Now here is where my geek begins to show. Some of you may be aware that last year marked the 50th anniversary of the British sci-fi show Doctor Who. What you may not know is that I LOVE THIS SHOW. Therefore, it wasn't a hard decision when I saw a 50th anniversary special featuring David Tennant's Doctor I had to pick it up. The title is (aptly) Beautiful Chaos and was penned by Gary Russell. Ugh the back cover has something written there which I must share:

The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Collection.

Eleven Classic Adventures.

Eleven brilliant writers. One incredible Doctor.

And that pretty much sums up why I'm a Whovian. *sigh* Okay back to the book. This is a Donna Noble (and Wilf!) special which means it's going to be packed full of laughs and most likely missteps. However, after reading the short description it wouldn't seem that's the case. There's an ancient evil heading toward Earth and it is not happy. UH OH. I can't wait to review this one for you all!!

Since I haven't reiterated this in awhile I'll say it here. If you want me to review a book that you were thinking of reading OR if you want a recommendation please don't hesitate to comment. Your feedback is ALWAYS appreciated (and greatly looked forward to I promise!). Have a great one!!