Fire Dancer by Victor Kelleher

Fire Dancer
Victor Kelleher
1996, Penguin, Ringwood
0670871117
307p.

Josie and Ivan are two adolescents from the near future who are on a time travel holiday when they become stranded in the past. They must learn to survive in the wilderness with a tribe of Neanderthals.

This was a very interesting premise and I like Kelleher's exploration of time travel theory and the nature of time. However, at times, it felt a little too much like it was trying to be educational from a historical viewpoint ... it seemed to read like a documentary about Neanderthals and their life.

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The Island of the Colour-Blind by Oliver Sacks

The Island of the Colour-Blind
Oliver Sacks
1996, Pan Macmillan, Sydney
0330358871
226p.

This is two books in one - the first is about Sacks' journey to a small Pacific island where a high percentage of the population is totally colour blind; the second is about Guam where a neurological disease causes muscular weakness.

I expected this to be more about the neurology and science of the diseases, but it read more like a travel diary which just happened to centre around a neurologist's study travels. It was interesting to read about these places and conditions which I'd never heard about before but I would have liked a little bit more in-depth.

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Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton

Doctor Who and the Zarbi
Bill Strutton
1965, 1984, Target, London
0426113241
174p.

The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki are drawn to a planet with strange bug-like creatures who appear to be under the control of an outside force. The TARDIS cannot leave the planet until the team uncover the mystery of the planet.

This is a novelisation of one of my favourite classic episodes of Doctor Who. In the TV show I love how the Zarbi keep bumping into the cameras, and the rather effeminate voices of the Menoptera. I enjoyed the read, though it seemed to take forever to get through.

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