Fool Moon
by Jim Butcher (Penguin, 2001)
audiobook read by James Marsters (Buzzy Multimedia, 2009)
Another werewolf scenario where the beasties in question become slower than cows in the hero’s presence. Dresden himself is dishwater-dull but Marsters weaves some magic to make the no-frills prose sound half-decent and add a sense of profundity to his quasi-hardboiled musings.
Much Obliged, Jeeves
by P. G. Wodehouse (Barrie & Jenkins, 1971)
audiobook read by Dinsdale Landen (Bolinda, 2014)
Standard fare with many a trope revisited and little to distinguish it from preceding volumes. (A pleasantly diverting rehash!) Landen, though generally sound as a narrator, grows carried away when dishing out dialogue, often running it together, blending characters into one another.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
dir. Steven Spielberg (1989)
An action-upon-action film that flits between set pieces while info-dropping the archaeological points as perfunctorily as possible. The plots and puzzles don’t stack up, of course, and the Nazis are pantomime villains. Still, Sean Connery and Harrison Ford strike a diverting dynamic.
Teen Titans: Beast Boy
by Kami Garcia; ill. Gabriel Picolo (DC Comics, 2020)
A perfectly respectable exploration of school social pressures and YA problems, though Gar is a bit cringeworthy (ameliorated, thankfully, by Stella and Tank) and his Beast Boy aspect comes late on the scene. Picolo’s art captures the mood without over-cluttering the story.
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass
by Mariko Tamaki; ill. Steve Pugh (DC Comics, 2019)
A bleak origin story painted in washed-out tones with occasional, rebellious splashes of harlequin red. Harley’s capricious personality is played up for all it’s worth, ensconced within a more regular teen flightiness. The affected, fourth wall–breaking side-notes quickly outstay their welcome.
Footrat Flats, Gallery 2
by Murray Ball (Hachette, 2016)
A spaciously presented, 136-page hardcover that includes daily strips (four per page) plus whole-page standalones. While Wal and Cooch have their moments—for all his caricatured, lugubrious appearance, Wal emerges as a complex character—the dog-only strips tend to be rather cluttered.
When I Left Home: My Story
by Buddy Guy with David Ritz (Da Capo, 2012)
audiobook read by Mirron Willis (Blackstone, 2012)
Blues legend Buddy Guy tells his life story without affectation or self-aggrandisement, laying down priceless memories of the Chicago scene (particularly during the 1950s-1970s). Guy riffs sincerely on the sustaining power of the blues, expressing love and respect for his musical forebears.
The Railway Man
dir. Jonathan Teplitzky (2013)
After disguising its intent with a quirky, rom-com affable opening, The Railway Man slips into a mix of astutely played modern drama and harrowing WWII POW historical remembrance. The brutality of the latter seeds the emotional clout of Lomax and Nagase’s reconciliation.
The Dictionary of Lost Words
by Pip Williams (Affirm, 2020)
An historical novel woven around and through the decades-long compiling of the Oxford English Dictionary. Though Williams writes powerfully on the silencing of women, Esme’s story—a conduit for social commentary—is perhaps too beholden to facts to truly dazzle as fiction.
The Body in the Library
by Agatha Christie (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1942)
audiobook read by Stephanie Cole (Lamplight, 2015)
Significantly more engaging than the first Miss Marple novel (albeit still padded out and weighed down by tedious faux-comedic depictions of minor characters). Though Miss Marple herself proves a force to be reckoned with, Christie’s artful misdirection comes very close to cheating.