I have started catching up with what Big Finish have been doing with Susan.
There's two stories in the set and I liked both of them.
Family was a strong theme to pick, mothers and sons the first time, more complicated with teachers students guardians etc the second.
They're talky and resolved in a way that fits Susan.
I felt like I could see the resolution a ways in advance both times but seeing people react emotionally to it was a lot of the point.
I gave it 4/5.
I have no idea when my sleep cycle wants to be and my sleep watch reckons I've had 4 hours sleep in the last 24 so detailed thoughts are not resolving.
This set gave me the sort of adventures I hoped it would when I bought it, so, is good.
There's two stories in the set and I liked both of them.
Family was a strong theme to pick, mothers and sons the first time, more complicated with teachers students guardians etc the second.
They're talky and resolved in a way that fits Susan.
I felt like I could see the resolution a ways in advance both times but seeing people react emotionally to it was a lot of the point.
I gave it 4/5.
I have no idea when my sleep cycle wants to be and my sleep watch reckons I've had 4 hours sleep in the last 24 so detailed thoughts are not resolving.
This set gave me the sort of adventures I hoped it would when I bought it, so, is good.
Tags:
I haven't been sleeping great for a bit
and I keep falling asleep when I put a Doctor Who audio on, despite not falling asleep for all the other hours I tried,
and I realised it's just
the Doctor is here
anxiety goes way down.
... then of course there's Daleks or some such and I jolt awake again so as sleep methods go it needs some work, but, kind of helpful?
Also I am relistening ones with a Big Finish Master and he's just... for reasons unknown even to me he reminds me of the time way back in high school when we did work experience outings and one was at the golf course and a manager explained to us the Rules of Hospitality Work? And then challenged us to find one single thing Wrong with his place! And we found Many quickly. Like this voice isn't giving ultimate evil, it's giving possibly adding a payment meter to a hospital car park. I am... not enthused.
But my days proceed correctly, Nice Walks happen as scheduled, and May is a great month for Flowers, so that's very nice. Iris flowers are excellent, they are Purple or Yellow or White, and some of them have a Pattern, and they are very good to look at. Ducks are also good.
i just look forwards to getting more hours of sleep in a row quite soon.
and I keep falling asleep when I put a Doctor Who audio on, despite not falling asleep for all the other hours I tried,
and I realised it's just
the Doctor is here
anxiety goes way down.
... then of course there's Daleks or some such and I jolt awake again so as sleep methods go it needs some work, but, kind of helpful?
Also I am relistening ones with a Big Finish Master and he's just... for reasons unknown even to me he reminds me of the time way back in high school when we did work experience outings and one was at the golf course and a manager explained to us the Rules of Hospitality Work? And then challenged us to find one single thing Wrong with his place! And we found Many quickly. Like this voice isn't giving ultimate evil, it's giving possibly adding a payment meter to a hospital car park. I am... not enthused.
But my days proceed correctly, Nice Walks happen as scheduled, and May is a great month for Flowers, so that's very nice. Iris flowers are excellent, they are Purple or Yellow or White, and some of them have a Pattern, and they are very good to look at. Ducks are also good.
i just look forwards to getting more hours of sleep in a row quite soon.
My first thought was
oh, Doctor Who has tieflings now
and then my second thought was
hmmm, people with horns can refer to antisemitic caricatures
so my third thought is
that is going to add a layer of complication to the interpretation then.
The Eurovision but in space setup did do the thing of showing a lot of silly and then landing on politics and protest. I liked that. Taking it seriously amid the camp and confetti canons.
And the Hellions were at least a bit complicated, not all same same like the goblins.
( Read more... )
I realise I am under a spoiler cut but I keep on being vague about the Big Reveals and then realising there is no degree of vague that is vague enough, so, Watch The Episode First, there is surprises.
( Read more... )
And now I'm distracted enough I'll stop writing this because I forgot if I was going anywhere in particular.
I liked the episode. I watch TV with the sound pretty much off and the subtitles on so there's a whole layer to this one I mostly wasn't getting, but Noise is Difficult, so.
I think it did good with setting and characters.
oh, Doctor Who has tieflings now
and then my second thought was
hmmm, people with horns can refer to antisemitic caricatures
so my third thought is
that is going to add a layer of complication to the interpretation then.
The Eurovision but in space setup did do the thing of showing a lot of silly and then landing on politics and protest. I liked that. Taking it seriously amid the camp and confetti canons.
And the Hellions were at least a bit complicated, not all same same like the goblins.
( Read more... )
I realise I am under a spoiler cut but I keep on being vague about the Big Reveals and then realising there is no degree of vague that is vague enough, so, Watch The Episode First, there is surprises.
( Read more... )
And now I'm distracted enough I'll stop writing this because I forgot if I was going anywhere in particular.
I liked the episode. I watch TV with the sound pretty much off and the subtitles on so there's a whole layer to this one I mostly wasn't getting, but Noise is Difficult, so.
I think it did good with setting and characters.
Tags:
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beccaelizabeth May. 16th, 2025 04:29 am)
beccaelizabeth May. 16th, 2025 04:29 am)I didn't even mean to start a new game, I just wanted to look something up and once it was loaded I fiddled with the difficulty settings and set it to normal numbers of enemies and normal damage and just basically 1 or standard or normal all up and down, plus the toggle that says enemies can do extra things. You'd think there was a difficulty level called All Normal Standard, but no, it is between two, Daring and Core https://pathfinderwrathoftherighteous.wiki.fextralife.com/Difficulty . And yet it is so so much easier than Core. I don't know what their math is like but there's half the enemies I've come to expect. It's ridiculous.
I should go back to the actual achievement getting run on Core, but it's just annoyingly difficult, while this is achievable.
I did not intend to stay awake this late but I played from the beginning through to Defenders Heart, about a third of the marketplace, Daeran, Camellia, and finishing Starward Gaze. And this is the first time since Neatholm that my characters have slept if you don't count passing out. So I should sleep now too.
I should go back to the actual achievement getting run on Core, but it's just annoyingly difficult, while this is achievable.
I did not intend to stay awake this late but I played from the beginning through to Defenders Heart, about a third of the marketplace, Daeran, Camellia, and finishing Starward Gaze. And this is the first time since Neatholm that my characters have slept if you don't count passing out. So I should sleep now too.
Preview
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retro_icontest Round 26 - somein30 - All Things Random .
( See the icons here. )
20 misc. fandom icons for
retro_icontest Round 26 - somein30 - All Things Random .( See the icons here. )
(beccaelizabeth May. 14th, 2025 12:45 am)
beccaelizabeth May. 14th, 2025 12:45 am)Once again a box that is difficult to give a star rating because it's three very different things.
I gave it 4/5 but am tempted to take half a star off that. ( Read more... )
They're good stories for what they're trying to do but I feel like it's hard to be in the mood for the three in a row.
I gave it 4/5 but am tempted to take half a star off that. ( Read more... )
They're good stories for what they're trying to do but I feel like it's hard to be in the mood for the three in a row.
Tags:
The front of this book has a mini essay on pronunciation and several pages listing all the names of characters.
I needed this.
I spent so much time referring back to this.
The names being so unfamiliar to me added to the effect of being dropped in to a strange culture or two at the deep end, so that's nice, that's part of what the character has going on, that's a thing one could reasonably desire to induce the reader to feel.
( Read more... )
I think I only slightly like this pretty well written book.
But I put that next to my tendency to read franchise stuff forever - all things are Doctor Who all my life, and most things are Pathfinder for years now - and I think this effect of being landed in a world and having to figure it out amidst great confusion is exactly my least favourite thing about reading new stuff.
I think people who want a world plunked on them from a height and to have to figure it all out from clues are going to like this a lot better than I do.
I needed this.
I spent so much time referring back to this.
The names being so unfamiliar to me added to the effect of being dropped in to a strange culture or two at the deep end, so that's nice, that's part of what the character has going on, that's a thing one could reasonably desire to induce the reader to feel.
( Read more... )
I think I only slightly like this pretty well written book.
But I put that next to my tendency to read franchise stuff forever - all things are Doctor Who all my life, and most things are Pathfinder for years now - and I think this effect of being landed in a world and having to figure it out amidst great confusion is exactly my least favourite thing about reading new stuff.
I think people who want a world plunked on them from a height and to have to figure it all out from clues are going to like this a lot better than I do.
Tags:
I have been finishing things and then going on to the next thing without writing them up, which today bothered me enough to go fetch the stack back here and write about them.
Doctor Who: Origin Stories
Difficult to give a rating. I think I decided on 3.5/5 stars in the end. The stories vary a lot.
The one about Vastra was very good indeed and I would give it a 5 as a short stand alone.
Same for the one about Kate and her mother and relationship with her father. Covered a lot of significant stuff for the page count.
The rest suffer rather from having to tidy up before they go. ( Read more... )
Glad I read it, not sure I'm happy how much shelf space it will take vs how many pages of it I actually liked.
Doctor Who: The Legends of River Song
I gave this one 5/5. It was going to be 4.5 but when I asked myself what more I would want from River Song published fiction I didn't think of much so I gave it a 5.
It's five shorter stories in one book, and among the Doctor Who running around saving things it manages to hit some strong emotional bits. River and children, or River and predestination paradox. A character that believes they've got a hard deadline. More than one character not recognised as a person by others, just shaped to someone else's design. And where the last story leaves her is also mean, but in a way that underlines canon and how rough it was on her.
I love stories with River, she's such an interesting character, and this set were great.
Big Finish Audio: The Diary of River Song: The Orphan Quartet
Another 5/5
Having said I love River, I am a bit behind on listening to her Big Finish stories. I think to start with I didn't want to run out, and this is the last under this series name. But there's more now with a different name so still some to listen.
These stories had a lot about love and loss and being left behind, not just by the Doctor, but by family, mothers and their children, trying to balance letting go and feeling lost.
I'd have more detail to say if I'd written this right after I listened.
I don't remember much about the Excise Men. I feel like it did a clever plot about forgetting so this might be thematic on my part. It hit me in the feels the least, but it was good plot.
Harvest of the Krotons really worked. I remember loving everything with Jackie and River together. A friendship I would not have thought of but they work, and River has a perspective that's helpful for empty nest Jackie Tyler.
oh hey, free excerpt on Big Finish is this ep https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-diary-of-river-song-harvest-of-the-krotons-excerpt-2925
It seemed to strike a balance between having fun with gossip magazine characters and valuing Jackie's perspective. She's so distinctive for DW she goes great with a lot of characters now I think about it.
Dead Man Talking was powerful stuff, made more so because I didn't guess when it was set until it told me, and then a lot of things clicked like cold water. Strong story.
The Wife of River Song is an excellent story. I particularly liked ( Read more... ) The story covered a lot of strong emotional ground, leaving and being left, not leaving and being called in like River calls the Doctor, lots of echoes and issues and feelings. I do recommend it. Trigger warning though, ( Read more... ).
UNIT Incursions
I listened to this one for the story The Power of River Song. There was not as much River Song in it as I was in the mood for, and I didn't feel like I knew the UNIT characters well enough to get any layers of meaning going.
Picking up the 8th box set in a series as your first listen will do that though.
I gave it 3.5 stars at the time, but it has some good ideas and I'd probably like it better if I was here for the main characters.
The last one I was going to review I can't right now remember if I reviewed it before, and the journal search isn't working for me at the minute. Also I don't think the bit where I fell asleep in the middle was the story's fault. So I'll leave it be. It's more fun telling about the good ones.
Many good ones exist and here are several.
Doctor Who: Origin Stories
Difficult to give a rating. I think I decided on 3.5/5 stars in the end. The stories vary a lot.
The one about Vastra was very good indeed and I would give it a 5 as a short stand alone.
Same for the one about Kate and her mother and relationship with her father. Covered a lot of significant stuff for the page count.
The rest suffer rather from having to tidy up before they go. ( Read more... )
Glad I read it, not sure I'm happy how much shelf space it will take vs how many pages of it I actually liked.
Doctor Who: The Legends of River Song
I gave this one 5/5. It was going to be 4.5 but when I asked myself what more I would want from River Song published fiction I didn't think of much so I gave it a 5.
It's five shorter stories in one book, and among the Doctor Who running around saving things it manages to hit some strong emotional bits. River and children, or River and predestination paradox. A character that believes they've got a hard deadline. More than one character not recognised as a person by others, just shaped to someone else's design. And where the last story leaves her is also mean, but in a way that underlines canon and how rough it was on her.
I love stories with River, she's such an interesting character, and this set were great.
Big Finish Audio: The Diary of River Song: The Orphan Quartet
Another 5/5
Having said I love River, I am a bit behind on listening to her Big Finish stories. I think to start with I didn't want to run out, and this is the last under this series name. But there's more now with a different name so still some to listen.
These stories had a lot about love and loss and being left behind, not just by the Doctor, but by family, mothers and their children, trying to balance letting go and feeling lost.
I'd have more detail to say if I'd written this right after I listened.
I don't remember much about the Excise Men. I feel like it did a clever plot about forgetting so this might be thematic on my part. It hit me in the feels the least, but it was good plot.
Harvest of the Krotons really worked. I remember loving everything with Jackie and River together. A friendship I would not have thought of but they work, and River has a perspective that's helpful for empty nest Jackie Tyler.
oh hey, free excerpt on Big Finish is this ep https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-diary-of-river-song-harvest-of-the-krotons-excerpt-2925
It seemed to strike a balance between having fun with gossip magazine characters and valuing Jackie's perspective. She's so distinctive for DW she goes great with a lot of characters now I think about it.
Dead Man Talking was powerful stuff, made more so because I didn't guess when it was set until it told me, and then a lot of things clicked like cold water. Strong story.
The Wife of River Song is an excellent story. I particularly liked ( Read more... ) The story covered a lot of strong emotional ground, leaving and being left, not leaving and being called in like River calls the Doctor, lots of echoes and issues and feelings. I do recommend it. Trigger warning though, ( Read more... ).
UNIT Incursions
I listened to this one for the story The Power of River Song. There was not as much River Song in it as I was in the mood for, and I didn't feel like I knew the UNIT characters well enough to get any layers of meaning going.
Picking up the 8th box set in a series as your first listen will do that though.
I gave it 3.5 stars at the time, but it has some good ideas and I'd probably like it better if I was here for the main characters.
The last one I was going to review I can't right now remember if I reviewed it before, and the journal search isn't working for me at the minute. Also I don't think the bit where I fell asleep in the middle was the story's fault. So I'll leave it be. It's more fun telling about the good ones.
Many good ones exist and here are several.
Tags:
.