In addition to the successful novel series, Ian Fleming also wrote several short stories telling tales of the British Agent. As part of James Bond's 50th Anniversary, the podcast Now Playing is reviewing all of the James Bond films and we at Books & Nachos are looking at all of Fleming's original Bond novels and short stories. In this episode, join Brock as he reads and reviews two short stories from Fleming's For Your Eyes Only short story collection -- The Hildebrand Rarity and Quantum of ...
Sep 21, 2012•18 min
Goldfinger, the third James Bond film, is often seen as the quintessential Bond movie--the one where all the elements came together to form the James Bond formula. But in print, Goldfinger was Fleming's seventh novel, the British agent is investigating smuggler and game cheat Auric Goldfinger. Similar in many ways to its theatrical part, Stuart reviews the original novel and compares it to the big screen counterpart. As part of James Bond's 50th Anniversary, the podcast Now Playing is reviewing ...
Sep 14, 2012•26 min
Most people were introduced to James Bond in Dr. No, the first Bond feature film. However, Dr. No was Ian Fleming's sixth Bond novel, picking up after the author had seemingly killed the super-spy in the previous book. Much like the film, Dr. No is working with Russians to disrupt American rocket tests. But is the truism that the book is always better the case, or No? As part of James Bond's 50th Anniversary, the podcast Now Playing is reviewing all of the James Bond films and we at Books & ...
Sep 07, 2012•17 min
Bond has stopped several evil plots in his first four novels, and now the Russian General of SMERSH wants revenge for Bond's meddling. They not only want to kill Bond but first they need to ruin his reputation. With two henchmen sent to do the deed, Bond is facing his biggest challenge yet! As part of James Bond's 50th Anniversary, the podcast Now Playing is reviewing all of the James Bond films and we at Books & Nachos are looking at all of Fleming's original Bond novels and short stories. ...
Aug 31, 2012•20 min
In Bond's fourth literary outing, the spy has to come to the states to take on a group of American gangsters. If that sounds beneath Bond, he agrees with you in this book! With very little resemblance to the theatrical adaptation, Diamonds Are Forever takes Bond undercover as a diamond smuggler. As part of James Bond's 50th Anniversary, the podcast Now Playing is reviewing all of the James Bond films and we at Books & Nachos are looking at all of Fleming's original Bond novels and short stor...
Aug 24, 2012•16 min
Moonraker, the James Bond film, is a black mark on 007's film history--a shameless Star Wars rip-off that takes Bond to the final frontier. But in the original Ian Flemming novel, Moonraker is a much more Earthbound tale pitting Bond against Drax, a nuclear arms manufacturer. As part of James Bond's 50th Anniversary, the podcast Now Playing is reviewing all of the James Bond films and we at Books & Nachos are looking at all of Fleming's original Bond novels and short stories. In this episode...
Aug 17, 2012•13 min
James Bond versus Mister Big, the Voodoo Baron of Death. This fight is a classic part of the Bond movie franchise, but while it was the eighth Bond film it was actually the second Bond story written by Ian Flemming, released in 1954. Now as part of James Bond's 50th Anniversary, the podcast Now Playing is reviewing all of the James Bond films and we at Books & Nachos are looking at all of Fleming's original Bond novels and short stories. In this episode, join Stuart as he reads and reviews L...
Aug 10, 2012•15 min
James Bond first appeared not in Dr. No, but in Casino Royale, Ian Fleming's novel about a British spy on a mission to beat a Russian in a game of cards that has life or death stakes. Now as part of James Bond's 50th Anniversary, the podcast Now Playing is reviewing all of the James Bond films and we at Books & Nachos are looking at all of Fleming's original Bond novels and short stories. In this episode, join Stuart as he reads Fleming's first Bond work.
Aug 03, 2012•17 min
When special agent Trevor Byrne investigates the hasty approval of an experimental AIDS cure, he uncovers a plot by genetics lab DNAY to unleash a deadly toxin on the world. With millions of lives at stake, and time running out, can Trevor stop DNAY before it's too late? Listen to the latest Books & Nachos podcast to hear Steve review this thriller novel. Review copy provided courtesy of the author.
Aug 01, 2012•11 min
Spoiler Alert! This podcast discusses many key elements of Batman: The Killing Joke. The Killing Joke, published in 1988, was a hit among comic fans but when Tim Burton praised the Alan Moore penned comic while doing press for Batman in 1989 it went mainstream. Now, almost twenty-five years later, Moore's story of the Joker giving Commissioner Gordon one bad day continues to be analyzed, discussed, and cited as one of the best examples of the superhero comic. Now, inspired by Now Playing Podcast...
Jun 11, 2012•29 min
H.G. Wells saw the future of modern warfare when he imagined meteor showers bringing bellicose Martian tripods down upon unsuspecting Victorian England. Stuart In LA has known The War of the Worlds through its many offshoots - the infamous 1938 Orson Welles radio broadcast, the 1953 Hollywood disaster movie, the 1980's syndicated TV show, and the Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg remake currently being reviewed for special donors at NowPlayingPodcast.com. But he's never read the 19th Century original ...
Jun 02, 2012•23 min
Spoiler Alert! This podcast discusses many key elements of Batman: Year One and Batman: Year Two. After DC had a Crisis on Infinite Earths it was time to revisit and revamp the origins of many of their core superheroes, including the Batman. Written by Frank Miller one year after his acclaimed The Dark Knight Returns series, Year One looks at both Batman and Commissioner Gordon during their first year fighting crime in Gotham City. This arc provided a grounded take on the Batman origin, and woul...
May 31, 2012•38 min
Steven Spielberg swore he'd never film a follow-up to his most popular and personal work - the 1982 sci-fi fantasy E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. But in 1985, the director did grant children's author William Kotzwinkle approval to publish an account of what happened to the adorable alien being after he left Elliott on Earth. As a companion to the current NowPlayingPodcast.com special donation podcast, Stuart In LA reviews E.T: THE BOOK OF THE GREEN PLANET and takes in the wonders of a never-before-...
May 29, 2012•18 min
Spoiler Alert! This podcast discusses many key elements of The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Batman was a campy comic character best known for his 1960s TV series and the Batdance until 1986 when Frank Miller reinvented the character in The Dark Knight Returns, a 4-issue limited comic series telling the tale of an older, retired Batman in an alternate version of the DC universe. Now, inspired by Now Playing Podcast's Batman movie retrospective series, the dynamic duo of ...
May 24, 2012•1 hr 5 min
As a companion to the current NowPlayingPodcast.com ALIEN donation drive, Stuart In LA takes fans of the franchise into the extended universe of the comic books and novels that serve as an alternative sequel to the James Cameron film ALIENS. Now Ripley will get her revenge as the series concludes in a four issue color comic book entitled EARTH WAR, later novelized as FEMALE WAR. Will the plan to capture a telepathic alien Super Queen lead to the extinction of all xenomorphs on Earth? And how exa...
May 18, 2012•23 min
As a companion to the current NowPlayingPodcast.com ALIEN donation drive, Stuart In LA takes fans of the franchise into the extended universe of the comic books and novels that serve as an alternative sequel to the James Cameron film ALIENS.The retrospective continues with second installment NIGHTMARE ASYLUM - a four issue color comic book later adapted into a novel by Steve Perry. Hicks and Newt escape an Earth overrun by aliens only to find themselves enlisted in an experimental military outfi...
May 09, 2012•14 min
As a companion to the current NowPlayingPodcast.com ALIEN donation drive, Stuart In LA takes fans of the franchise into the extended universe of the comic books and novels that serve as an alternative sequel to the James Cameron film ALIENS. The retrospective kicks off with graphic novel ALIENS: OUTBREAK and prose novel ALIENS: EARTH HIVE - companion works that chronicle the way HR Geiger's fearsome extra-terrestrial overruns a planet. Have the authors and illustrators conceived of a more deserv...
May 03, 2012•22 min
Despite three feature films and fifty years of comics, to many people the words "The Incredible Hulk" recall a vivid memory of Lou Ferrigno fully made up in green body paint. The role that made the bodybuilder famous, The Hulk has always been a part of Ferrigno's life. As a young child, Ferrigno was inspired to bodybuild by the Hulk in comics, and in the Marvel movies Ferrigno provides the voice of the green giant. But in 2003, to tie into his cameo appearance in Ang Lee's Hulk film, Ferrigno's ...
Feb 29, 2012•18 min
Prepare the Chianti and fava beans. Books and Nachos is having a month long meal with author Thomas Harris and his seminal creation Dr. Hannibal Lecter. As a companion podcast to the current movie review series over at NowPlayingPodcast.com, Stuart In LA is cracking the spines on the four novels that inspired the five films to feature the caged cannibal. The 2006 novel Hannibal Rising delves into the memory palace of Lecter's mind to unlock the secret traumas that drive his thirst for vengeance ...
Nov 01, 2011•26 min•Ep. 28
Prepare the Chianti and fava beans. Books and Nachos is having a month long meal with author Thomas Harris and his seminal creation Dr. Hannibal Lecter. As a companion podcast to the current movie review series over at NowPlayingPodcast.com, Stuart In LA is cracking the spines on the four novels that inspired the five films to feature the caged cannibal It took more than a decade for writer Thomas Harris to cook up Hannibal - the sprawling 1999 novel that finds Lecter evading capture in Italy to...
Oct 19, 2011•29 min•Ep. 27
SomeTHING awoke in our collective imagination when science fiction writer John W Campbell posed the question "Who Goes There?" in his 1938 novella about a chameleon space invader discovered beneath the Antarctic ice. The classic tale of intergalactic deception has paranoid themes and horrific imagery that continues to replicate on film: The Thing From Another World (1951), John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), and today's new The Thing prequel. As a companion to the current NowPlayingPodcast.com do...
Oct 15, 2011•14 min•Ep. 26
Prepare the Chianti and fava beans. Books and Nachos is having a month long meal with author Thomas Harris and his seminal creation Dr. Hannibal Lecter. As a companion podcast to the current movie review series over at NowPlayingPodcast.com, Stuart In LA is cracking the spines on the four novels that inspired the five films to feature the caged cannibal. Before he was winning Oscars and chewing up the silver screen, Hannibal Lecter appeared in the 1988 novel The Silence of The Lambs to help a fe...
Oct 11, 2011•26 min•Ep. 25
Prepare the Chianti and fava beans. Books and Nachos is having a month long meal with author Thomas Harris and his seminal creation Dr. Hannibal Lecter. As a companion podcast to the current movie review series over at NowPlayingPodcast.com, Stuart In LA is cracking the spines on the four novels that inspired the five films to feature the caged cannibal. Our first course of Lecter is Red Dragon, the 1981 crime novel that introduced the iconic serial killer to the world and serves as the source m...
Oct 05, 2011•23 min•Ep. 24
Under the best of circumstances, novelizations of films add a bit of depth to a screenplay, but anyone who's seen the film Jaws: The Revenge knows these are not the best of circumstances. As a companion to Now Playing's Jaws Movie Review podcast series, Stuart in L.A. is here to review the novelization of this much-maligned film. While author Hank Searls certainly had an unenviable task turning this screenplay about a shark seeing revenge against the Brody family, was his conversion from script ...
Apr 22, 2011•13 min•Ep. 23
In 2004 Decipher Trading Cards launched the WARS Card Game, a game based on their previous Star Wars TCG. With a background story written in part by Michael Stackpole and John Howe, WARS was immediately embraced by gamers, yet not successful enough to continue making card sets beyond 2005. However the story behind the WARS universe continues now with this first Novella, Healers and Hunters by Nathan P. Butler. As most people have likely never heard of WARS, is it a worthy read? Listen as Arnie f...
Apr 13, 2011•14 min•Ep. 22
You've seen the movie, but have you read the bestselling book of Jaws? While many things are similar, the differences may surprise you! In partnership with Now Playing's retrospective of the Jaws movies, Stuart is back on Books & Nachos exploring the source material that inspired the original summer blockbuster movie!
Mar 30, 2011•15 min•Ep. 21
In partnership with Now Playing's retrospective of all Philip K Dick screen adaptations, Books & Nachos explores the source material that inspired the movies and transformed the science fiction genre for a whole generation of readers. This week Stuart takes a look at "The Adjustment Team", the short story from 1954 that inspired the Matt Damon/Emily Blunt romance THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU.
Mar 05, 2011•12 min•Ep. 20
In partnership with Now Playing's retrospective of all Philip K Dick screen adaptations, Books & Nachos explores the source material that inspired the movies and transformed the science fiction genre for a whole generation of readers. This week Stuart takes a look at "The Golden Man", the short story from 1953 that inspired the Nicholas Cage action thriller NEXT.
Feb 26, 2011•12 min•Ep. 19
In partnership with Now Playing's retrospective of all Philip K Dick screen adaptations, Books & Nachos explores the source material that inspired the movies and transformed the science fiction genre for a whole generation of readers. This week Stuart takes a look at "A Scanner Darkly", the 1977 novel that inspired the psychedelic Keanu Reeves/Richard Linklater animation movie.
Feb 19, 2011•16 min•Ep. 18
In partnership with Now Playing's retrospective of all Philip K Dick screen adaptations, Books & Nachos explores the source material that inspired the movies and transformed the science fiction genre for a whole generation of readers. This week Stuart takes a look at "Paycheck", the short story from 1953 that inspired the Ben Affleck/John Woo action movie.
Feb 12, 2011•13 min•Ep. 17
