Sparks in a Cold War
by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
in “Future Wars” ed. Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff (Daw, 2003), 66-88.
Despite some deft skerricks of SF worldbuilding, this is mostly just a straightforward anti- big game hunting tale, of only tangential relevance to the anthology (or its own title). Having competent and morally compromised female antagonists is a welcome point of difference.
Placebo: Soulmates Never Die
(Live in Paris, 2003), dir. Russell Thomas
Plaintive and powerful, though the songwriting heart is often buried beneath unnecessary layers of thrash, and the video direction cuts about in a determinedly schizophrenic manner, refusing to settle—a shame, as the twenty-one tracks very much stand in their own right.
Squeeze Box
by Philip E. High (New Worlds, March 1959)
reprinted in “Isaac Asimov’s Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction Invasions” ed. Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg & Charles G. Waugh (Roc, 1990), 350-364.
Workmanlike prose, artless storytelling, humanity triumphing (abruptly and at extreme odds) through dint of doughty everyman qualities and British wartime fortitude recrudescing at a species-wide level. Though lacking finesse, this alien invasion short story neatly captures High’s knack for imaginative SF wish-fulfilment.
The Monsters
by Robert Sheckley
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1953; reprinted in “Perilous Planets” ed. Brian Aldiss (Futura, 1980), 104-114.
A slight tale, which Sheckley narrates from the casually parochial perspective of non-human protagonists, thus making the serious point that ‘humanity’ (or ‘normalcy’ in general) is very much species-centric. The prose is suitably lighthearted, the species differences artfully whimsical in their extremity.
Valérian and Laureline: Heroes of the Equinox
by Jean-Claude Mézières & Pierre Christin (Hodder Dargaud, 1985)
[from “Les Héros de l’équinoxe”, 1978]
![Graphic novel cover: “Valérian and Laureline: Heroes of the Equinox” by Jean-Claude Mézières & Pierre Christin (Hodder Dargaud, 1985) [from “Les Héros de l’équinoxe”, 1978]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Valerian_Laureline_Heroes-Equinox.jpg)
Laureline is mostly sidelined, and even Valérian is relegated to fourth billing, a mooching Lucky Luke-type working through his imposter syndrome behind three SF-styled ideological archetypes representing Hindu mysticism, socialism, and aggressive capitalism. There remain some nice artwork intricacies and storytelling finesses.
King of Thorns
by Mark Lawrence (Harper Voyager, 2012)
audiobook read by Joe Jameson (HarperCollins, 2012)
Jorg Ancrath remains a quintessential antihero, redeemable (if at all) only through dint of his brutal self-honesty and the reader’s lingering hope that he might come good. Lawrence also affords him the appeal of fighting, mostly with his wits, against impossible odds.
Dexter: New Blood
(2021-2022)
The relocation to Iron Lake sees Dexter both reborn and reduced, preserved on ice. Despite a chilling new adversary and the well-realised dynamic of his father-son relationship, the denouement itself feels rushed, forced through where an episode’s worth of unravelling lay untapped.
#ifdefDEBUG + ‘world/enough’ + ‘time’
by Terry Pratchett
in “Digital Dreams” ed. David V. Barrett (New English Library, 1990), pp. 77-93.
Portable reality overlays. Knowledge/reality loss. Humans existing as data/virus. Deliberately murky in the execution? Perhaps somewhat ahead of its time conceptually, but Pratchett rather loses himself in the attempt to present an everyman voice (while still being a bit Pratchett-like and clever!).
Wrinkly Tin: The Story of Corrugated Iron in New Zealand
by Stuart Thomson (Steele Roberts, 2005)
Beautifully titled, suitably nostalgic. A curious blend of historical and technical information, with the text given a little too much prominence. (Several photos would have benefited from a more wholehearted embracing of the coffee table book design ethos.) Don’t read the poems.
Wallander, Series 2
(BBC Four, 2009-2010) [Swedish, subtitled]
![TV poster: “Wallander, Series 2” (BBC Four, 2009-2010) [Swedish, subtitled]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Wallander-02.png)
13 feature-length episodes. The Swedish setting makes for a point of difference but doesn’t inoculate against plot contrivances. While trainee officers Isabelle (Nina Zanjani) and Pontus (Sverrir Gudnason) are good value, Wallander himself (Krister Henriksson) is a study in awkward, ineffectual doddering.