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Wonder Woman by Nancy Holder (2017)

While travelling visiting family this past Spring, I found this book in a used book store. It’s a sad fact that movie-tie-in novelizations aren’t being done any more, except for those aimed at younger kids. I hadn’t realized this one had come out, and Nancy Holder is a veteran of many adaptations. I really enjoyed her work in the Buffyverse.

As I expected, this is a solid telling of the story. What I usually love about novelizations is that they are done from a final script which often has more details than make it into the film. Sadly, I didn’t learn anything “new” from this one. I enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed reading the book after not having seen the movie in many years. It was a nice diversion on a dreary Fall day.

When I stop to look over what I have collected over the years that’s comics-related, I have a surprising amount of Wonder Woman books. I am going to add this one into the collection.

Peacemaker Season 2 (2025, HBO Max)

I have not been a huge fan of the character of Peacemaker in the comics. Like Harley Quinn, I really didn’t see the fuss until there were some changes and growth in the character. I didn’t like Peacemaker in the movie Suicide Squad and I only watched about an episode and a half of season one of the show.

With James Gunn now the lord and master of DC TV & movies, I figured I would give S2 a look as I was reading that events would tie into future storytelling. I’m glad I did. I think John Cena has done a really good acting job with the character, and like Harleen Quinzel, Christopher Smith is actually pretty interesting. The supporting characters each have something compelling or interesting about them as well.

There are a couple of elements from DC storytelling that get set up in S2, so I am glad I watched. While I’ve read most everything of the big storylines from DC in the last 40 years, most times when watching a show it just gives me a ‘ping’ that something is coming from comics source material. Thank goodness for the internet to help refresh my memory!

One warning about this series is that the language, situations, and visuals (nudity, sex, violence) can be extreme and it’s definitely not a show for most kids younger than late teens.

The internet already tells me James Gunn has said there are no plans for a season three but that the characters and setups matter to other projects. It’s going to be quite the ride to see what Gunn picks from to make his DC Universe.

The “Seafort Saga” on Audiobook (Audible)

I started listening to book one (Midshipman’s Hope) in November 2024 and finished with book seven (Children of Hope) at the end of September 2025. These are long books, between eighteen and twenty-four hours. Vikas Adam narrated five books, Jed Drummond one, and Josh Hurley also just one. Truth be told, they all had flaws that irritated me. Adam had several grating pronunciations that Hurley also used. All mispronounced words; Drummond had the fewest.

The “Seafort Saga” is one of my favorite novel series, but I have to admit that it was extremely painful to listen to at times. You just want to slap the characters for being prideful or for adhering to the very strict moral code that the space Naval Service adheres to.

Even though it would lengthen them even more, I would love to hear at least the first three redone as “full cast” audios with multiple voices. There were times that the narrators just weren’t up to the varied voices and book five (Voices of Hope) that deals with ‘transpops’ (think New Yorkers with a degraded slang speech) almost gave me a headache at times to listen to.

I have mixed feelings about this set. I acquired each book over time with months of getting Audible deals, so it didn’t cost me a lot, but I wish it could be done by a better studio.

Meeting David Feintuch at BucConeer (56th WorldCon and my first) in 1998 was an amazing afternoon that cemented my love of SF fandom. I just wish the audiobooks left him a better legacy.