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.
Blade
dir. Stephen Norrington (1998)
A dark, oddly persuasive vampire/superhero film. Wesley Snipes could so easily have come off as faintly silly, yet doesn’t. Stephen Dorff and his crew walk a similar line, leaving Kris Kristofferson and N’Bushe Wright to add just the right touch of authenticity.
The Secret Mountain
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1941); ill. Dylan Roberts (Armada, 1965)
Writing during the Second World War, Blyton sends her young protagonists on an escapist and rather improbable African adventure. A book notable for its more-or-less non-condescending attitude towards the native boy Mafumu and a rare positive depiction of foreigners (Ranni and Pilescu).
The Librarians, Season 3
(TNT, 2016-2017)
A prime example of season-spanning story arcs hobbling a programme. In developing and resolving an epic Good versus Evil scenario across only ten (shortish) episodes, the writers cram bits of Apep/DOSA into every standalone plot, robbing these of breathing room and substance.
The Black Archive #65: The Myth Makers
by Ian Potter (Obverse Books, 2023)
A deeply researched study in authorship. Potter debunks production myths, compares iterations of text, and reconstructs the development of The Myth Makers from commissioning to recording. While the detailed biography of writer Donald Cotton is especially welcome, numerous typos undermine the scholarship.
Witness for the Prosecution
dir. Billy Wilder (1957)
Film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s play. The ending still works but Wilder fritters away much of the buildup by stitching in a comedy subplot involving Sir Wilfrid and his private nurse (notwithstanding that Elsa Lanchester won a Golden Globe for this performance).
Skinwalker
by Faith Hunter (Roc, 2009)
audiobook read by Khristine Hvam (Bolinda, 2014)
Jane Yellowrock is very appealing as a character (if more consistent in her sass than in her skillset). The narrative never disappoints in the moment; yet Hunter leaves nothing out, and the minutiae of the hunt obscure a clumsily threaded big picture.
Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon Planetarium Experience
(NSC Creative, 2023) Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, 10 March 2024
The classic album played in its entirety, synchronised with a specially rendered visual extravaganza of space scenes and psychedelic sequences projected onto the planetarium’s skydome. The immersive experience makes one reflect and appreciate, 50 years on, just how innovative Dark Side was.
Foundation, Season 1
(Apple TV+, 2021)
A remarkable series that takes Asimov’s action-light scenario and dry-cornflake characters and adapts them into a highly visual, absorbing SF story (albeit still rather abstruse and slow to gain traction). The programme’s success stems from its reinterpretation of various protagonists as female.