NEW TRAILER

Another source of SQEE!

Prequel

Today, the BBC released the first prequel to season six episode one "The Impossible Planet."

Original State: An Eleventh Doctor one-shot

“Doctor, does the TARDIS have a laundromat?”
“Amy, the TARDIS has a swimming pool, library, greenhouse, sickbay, study, fifteen bathrooms, as well as a secondary control room and kitchen. It’s so big even I have trouble keeping track of the rooms inside.”
“Yes, but does it have a laundromat?” Amy rolled her eyes. “Laundry…that thing you do with filthy clothes. Where is it?”
“Past the library, fourth door on the—“The Doctor stared at his hands for a moment. “Left. Left is good. I like the left. I had a friend once who saved the world by turning left.”
Amy left the Doctor to mumble on about directions and beetles and coffee as she dragged the bag behind her. Somehow, she was able to find her way through the maze of doors to a room with two glass doors, each the size of a fridge, on the interior wall. Dials below the door were labeled in strange circular hieroglyphs. “The one on the left is the washer—I think,” she decided.
She threw some items inside, shut the door, and pressed a green button. A moment later, it pinged. “That was quick,” she exclaimed, reaching for the door.
“Baaa….” A pink nose prodded her hand. Amy jumped back as a shabby ewe wobbled forward. It stepped through the door, approaching her.
“DOCTOR!” Amy screamed. “There’s a sheep in your washing machine!”
Holding his sonic screwdriver before him, the Doctor ran into the room. “Amy, what—“ He looked down on the sheep. “Amy, what happened? I thought you were looking for a washing machine.”
“I was.” Amy crossed her arms.
“This is the mechanical regression machine. It restores deficient equipment by returning the parts to the original states. So it must have taken your clothing and restored it to the earliest consistent state. Must have had something wool in there--“ he glanced inside the box. “As well as synthetics and cotton.”
“Doctor,” Amy stared at him. “Great, now we have a sheep in the TARDIS. “
The Doctor bent over and began scratching the sheep on the head. “Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.”
Amy shook her head and walked out to find a replacement outfit from the wardrobe room. The Doctor’s song echoed behind her. “Its fleece was white as snow….”

--fanfic wouldn't let me post, so I decided to post this here

Dragons of the Valley

The second in a new series by Donita K. Paul, Dragons of the Valley continues in the same world as her DragonKeeper series, but on another continent.Because I haven't read the first one, I found it difficult to keep up with the cast of characters.
The plot was not as well-done as the DragonKeeper Chronicles, and harder to follow. On the other hand, I did enjoy some of the characters, especially the bafflingly verbose Lady Peg. I think I'd have a higher opinion if I had read the prequel, The Vanishing Sculpture, but my knowledge of her previous sculpture definately helped keep track of it all.
Three and a half stars of five.


A link to read the first few chapters is availible at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400073405.


I recieved a free copy of this book from WaterBrook's Blogging for books program, but wasn't required to write a positive review.

The Fight of Our Lives

It's hard to believe, but it's been almost ten years since 9-11. In those years, America's resolve to face terrorism has faltered and bogged down in a tangle of political correctness.
The subtitle of this book "Knowing the Enemy, Speaking the Truth, and Choosing to Win the War Against the Radical Islam," summerizes the contents very well. The authors support their claims with quotes from popular media and provide a vision for Americans.
Three out of five stars.
Note: I received a free copy of this book through Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program, but was not required to give a favorable review

Urchin and the Rage Tide

For fans of Redwall and other animal fantasy, I highly recommend M.I. McAllister's series The Mistmantle Chronicles. The series focuses on Urchin, a foundling squirrel with strange coloring, but he quickly learns that it's what you go on doing that counts.
Unfortunitely, Urchin and the Rage Tide seems to be the last book of the series. Without giving away spoilers, I will say that McAllister takes what could be a cliched ending and twists ones heart at the fate of characters we've come to know, love, and cherish.

The Ale Boy’s Feast: The White Strand of Auralia’s Colors

Publisher’s Blurb
The king is missing.
His people are trapped as the woods turn deadly.
Underground, the boy called Rescue has found an escape.
Hopes are failing across The Expanse. The forests, once beautiful, are now haunted and bloodthirsty. House Abascar's persecuted people risk their lives to journey through those predatory trees. They seek a mythic city - Abascar's last, best hope for refuge - where they might find the source of Auralia's colors.
They journey without their king. During a calamitous attempt to rescue some of his subjects from slavery, Cal-raven vanished.
But his helper, the ale boy, falling through a crack in the earth, has discovered a slender thread of hope in the dark. He will dare to lead a desperate company up the secret river.
Meanwhile, with a dragon's help, the wandering mage Scharr ben Fray is uncovering history's biggest lie - a deception that only a miracle can repair.
Time is running out for all those entangled in The Auralia Thread. But hope and miracles flicker wherever Auralia’s colors are found.



My ReviewAssuming you have read the previous three books, The Ale Boy’s Feast is a marvelous conclusion to the series. The wonderful descriptions and relatable characters return in full power, but the ending comes with a peculiar twist. Without giving away any spoilers, I will say that it reminded me of Ted Dekker’s novel Red, when one bit of information turned my whole perspective upside down.
One element of this surprise came from chapter eleven of Raven’s Ladder, “The Six Tricksters.’ Krawg’s story becomes an important plot device, a hint of things to come. While I already enjoyed that story, I can now read it with greater appreciation and understanding.
Jeffrey Overstreet is an amazing author, and I am sad to see this series come to an end. Overall, I give this book and the entire series five out of five for its brilliant imagery, unique plot, and amazing characters.
Note: I received a free copy of this book through Waterbrook Media’s Blogging for Books program, but was not required to give a favorable review.