Nimona started off as a free fantasy webcomic and has since been published in graphic novel form (only the first three chapters of the webcomic are still available for free). I read it back when it was a webcomic and remembered enjoying it. I was excited when I heard about the audiobook, but also wary. I mean, it's a graphic novel. How do you turn a graphic novel into an even halfway decent audiobook?

In the case of Nimona, it was turned into something like a radio play, complete with sound effects, a full cast, and a narrator filling in whatever the sound effects and dialogue couldn't get across. For the most part, I thought it was reasonably successful, although I still missed the artwork.

Let me back up a bit. Nimona stars Lord Ballister Blackheart, a villain who wants to cause trouble for the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics but who doesn't actually want to hurt anyone, and Nimona, his new sidekick. Nimona is a shapeshifter who thinks being a villain sounds cool, and she's overenthusiastic about her new job. She has a tendency to kill people if Ballister doesn't watch her and rein her in. Ballister's nemesis is Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin, the man who blew off his right arm.

When Ballister learns that the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics is involved in a project that may be poisoning the country's crops, he decides to intervene. The situation is complicated by Nimona's secrets and Ballister and Goldenloin's painful history

If the names didn't make it clear, there's a good bit of humor in this. I enjoyed Ballister's enthusiasm for the Science Fair, Dr. Blitzmeyer's complete obliviousness to anything that wasn't her area of research, and anything that poked fun at Goldenloin. The story did take a turn for the serious, though, when the full story of Nimona's past was revealed.

For the most part, the voice acting was pretty good. I was iffy about the casting decision for Goldenloin, but I loved the rest of the main cast. The attempt to have sound effects and narration fill in for the original story's artwork mostly worked, although I'm guessing that my past familiarity with the webcomic probably helped. That said, there were a few times when even I had a little trouble following what was going on, usually when Nimona was doing some of her more rapid-fire transformations.

Story-wise, the pacing was a bit weird. As much as I loved Ballister's reaction to the Science Fair, for example, that part came at an odd time in the story. Also, the ending was extremely unsatisfying. I can't remember if I had the same issue with the webcomic, but I recall a few extra illustrations that at least gave the illusion of more closure. And did the webcomic let readers at least know more about

All in all, this was better than I expected, but I'd probably still advise newbies to the story to start with the graphic novel and listen to the audiobook only if they love the original work and want more.

Rating Note:

This is my 3-star "I don't even know" rating. I'd probably have rated it higher if it hadn't been for the ending.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

I actually listened to the dramatisation from the BBC, which condenses this book down to a quite riveting hour long play. Very worth listening, but be quick, there's only a couple of days left. Thank you very much to Betty for posting about it. 

Set in the 1920's, in South London, three young men set about solving a problem at work that might see them lose their jobs, during a time when that would have been a very dire proposition. 

I really enjoyed this, it's quite sinister, and I can see why it's been described as having had a dramatic impact on crime writing in general (Forester being rather better known for his navy dramas than crime writing, I find that a shame). Rather than focussing on the crime, this is a psychological study of the criminal, and how he came to be. 

The narration is delicious, very sinister, but quite suitably so given the narrator gives himself a role in the story, and the other voice acting is top notch. I tend to find my concentration wanders during audiobooks, but this condensed, dramatised format, is just the thing, especially when I only have an hour or two spare, rather than 8 or 14.

I'm going to dig out a copy of this in paperback though, because there was a rather delightful passage in the middle about digging into the mechanics of the psychopath, but I can't find a copy of the quote.

I remember when I first stumbled across this book. I had heard of Dorothy Sayers, though my first encounter with one of her books was a translation of Dante. While I had heard of her I had never thought too much of her until I discovered that she was more than just a writer of detective fiction. I am not really a big fan of detective fiction, which I why I never really went looking for any of her works, but I was suitably impressed with her writings on Dante, that when I found this book I grabbed it. However, the guy behind the counter at the second-hand bookshop where I found this book was just as surprised to discover that this book was amongst his collection, and had hinted that if he knew that it was there then it would not have been for sale. Unfortunately, after I had picked it up, it was a little too late.

I recently discovered a 200 year old book on my bookshelf that I paid 10 quid for, only to discover that it was significantly undervalued (by about 50 quid). It makes me think about the idea of collecting old books. There is always discussions of what people can invest money in, and while there is the standard superfunds and the stockmarket, and even commodities like gold, one of the more exotic investment opportunities involves antiques and artwork. The trouble with that is that you need to have a good knowledge of such items to be able to successfully invest in them. It is no good buying a crappy painting by an unknown painter in the hope that in the future it may be worth a packet. It is also pointless paying the actual price for an antique in the hope of getting a 10% to 20% gain over a period of say ten years. If one is going to successfully invest in such items one needs to go by what I call the Warren Buffett method: look for something that holds value but is going at a discount because then a real gain can be made.

For example, with a 200 year old copy of Frankenstein you would be hard pressed to get change from $120 000.00. Buying it at that price is incredibly risky, because you are more likely to lose money than to make money. However, if you find a copy of the book for, say, $200.00 (very, very unlikely, particularly since the Antiquarian Booksellers are more than likely to have got to it before you) then purchasing it is a much more safer bet. As for me, I generally purchase books for interest, and based upon the author and the subject. I am more likely to pass over a 200 year of copy of Jane Austin's Persuasion than a 50 year old copy of H.G. Well's Time Machine. However, that is actually getting more unlikely the more interest I develop in old books.

Well, that diatribe above has little to nothing to do with this book, but I felt that with the adventure I had in buying this book I felt that I should make mention of a little interest that I have. Anyway, this book is based on a series of radio plays that were released on the BBC around Easter during the 1930's. The style is based on the old York Mystery Plays, where during the Middle Ages actinf troupes would travel the country visiting the towns and villages of England to perform what is termed as a cycle. This idea actually goes back to the ancient days when Bards would travel the country telling epic tales to the villages and towns that they visited. This is how scholars believe that the Odyssey and the Illiad came down to us.

I found the story enthralling, and it would have been really good to have actually been able to listen to the play as opposed to simply reading it off of the page. I find that a lot with many of the plays that I read. Watching them being performed, especially by a competent group of players, is much more entertaining than simply reading the play from a book. It is a shame that a lot of my favourite plays are simply no longer performed, and the one time I had an opportunity of seeing the plays in London (and Athens) I ended up missing out on them by a few days (I was really disappointed to discover that the Medea finished the day before I arrived in Athens, and the next play wouldn't begin until the day after I left).

As for the subject matter of the play I must say that many of us are already familiar with it, and in many cases it does not delve deeply into the ideas behind it. Much of the play is written more in the vernacular than the high flowing language that appears in many of the Bibles of the day (and even today). The thing is that Jesus spoke in the vernacular. Yes, he was interested in approaching and speaking to everybody, but his main purpose was, in his words, 'to seek and save the lost'. It raises the dilemma of who we should spend our time sharing the gospel with: the high born or the low born. Jesus mixed with both, but it seems from the gospels that the high born tended to react negatively to his sayings whereas the low born welcomed him. However, there were still many of the high born (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus) who understood him and committed themselves to him. One of the things we see in this play are the tensions between the members of the ruling elite, particularly with Nicodemus, who was a member of the Sanhedrin. They were the ones that pushed for his execution, however Nicodemus was left with a decision, and the implication from the Bible is that he threw his lot in with Christ.

As for me, I must admit that my evangelism of late has been a little non-existent. However, as I face a crisis of faith, I suddenly discovered friends who are not believers who get beside me to encourage me to stick it out. As one friend said, 'don't let a few tools force you to ditch your faith'. I have heard many Christians (including my father) slander non-believers, treating them as if they hate God and will do anything to undermine a Christian's faith. However my experience is that this is not necessarily the case. Many non-believers that I have met have respected, and even encouraged, my faith. In other cases, after having come to know me, they have developed a new found respect for Christianity. It makes me wonder even more since many Christians seem to treat evangelism as little more than a fishing expedition and simply do not take the time to actually build relationships with non-believers. I have discovered (and maybe it is one of my gifts) that it is the relationship that counts, and by offering a hand of friendship and kindness we can have a much greater impact than simply going in hammer and tongs.