Little Gryphon

 

Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers

The Red Dwarf series, Book 1

Roc
Fiction, Humor/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi
Themes: Felines, Post-Apocalypse, Robots, Space Stories, Time Travel
****

Description

Through a series of misfortunes compounded by poor decision-making skills, Liverpudlian loser David Lister winds up as the last human being alive, three million years after he left Earth aboard the mining ship Red Dwarf. His only companions are: a holographic simulation of his dead supervisor and bunkmate, the neurotic mess of a man called Arnold Rimmer; a humanoid lifeform who evolved from Lister's pregnant cat, known only as Cat; Holly, the eccentric shipboard computer who isn't quite functioning at peak intellectual capacity after prolonged isolation; and the cleanliness-obsessed mechanoid Kryten, rescued from the wreckage of the Nova 5. Together, they navigate all manner of mishap and mayhem, all while Dave Lister secretly longs for a return trip to Earth... whatever it may hold for him.
Based on the British sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf.

Review

Grant Naylor is actually a compilation of Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, the show's creators. This book covers events in the series in a slightly different order, filling in time in between episodes and showing more of what happened before the series started. According to the authors, this is what they would've wanted to do, if they had a chance to go back in time and redo the show from Day 1. Some of it I would've liked to have seen, and some I think was better like it was when they filmed it. It's fun, but it drags in parts, and some of the material just plain worked better on TV. (How well this book will go over with someone unfamilliar with the BBC show, I cannot say, since I was already a fan when I bought it.)

 

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Better Than Life

The Red Dwarf series, Book 2

Roc
Fiction, Humor/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi
Themes: Felines, Post-Apocalypse, Robots, Space Stories, Time Travel, VR
****+

Description

When last we left the crew of the Red Dwarf, Cat, Rimmer, Lister and Kryten were trapped in the virtual-reality game called Better Than Life, a game so addictive that it was banned days after its release. The problem with the game is that it creates a world which gives you exactly what you most desire: not just fast cars and money, but what your subconscious heart of hearts really wants. Escaping traps of their own devising is only the first problem, as the ship negotiates white holes, stray ice planets, emotion-eating shapeshifters and a memorable trip through a singularity.

Review

I thought this volume moved a little more than the first book, and a whole lot more was altered from what the series showed. Maybe that's why I liked it better... it wasn't just a rehash of what I'd already seen, but moved in a new (or new-ish) direction. Anyway, that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. There was supposed to be a third book, not to mention an omnibus edition, but I never saw it on American shelves before the show (and my interest in it) deteriorated.

 

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