Dark Thoughts at Noon
by Timothy Zahn (Analog, December 1982)
A diverting enough novelette, more workmanlike than mesmerising. Zahn has a knack for layering a speculative development onto regular society and then postulating pitfalls and repercussions. In this instance, though, the telepathic protagonist has little say in the outcome of his misadventure.
The Thirteen Problems
by Agatha Christie (Collins Crime Club, 1932)
audiobook read by Juliet Stevenson (HarperCollins, 2022)
This first collection of mysteries shows Miss Marple well-suited to the short form. Some of the stories are better than others, some crimes more ingenious, but Christie usually plants enough clues to have the reader exclaim, “Oh, of course!” at the end.
Making History
by Stephen Fry (Hutchinson, 1996)
audiobook ready by Stephen Fry and Richard E. Grant (Penguin, 2021)
A cleverly conceived, assiduously researched but poorly paced take on the classic ‘Kill Hitler’ time alteration tale. Fry writes in a conversational style and displays an undoubted gift for off-the-cuff storytelling. As a novelist, however, his expressiveness manifests too often as waffle.
The Making of Red Dwarf
by Joe Nazzaro (Penguin, 1994)
Behind the scenes of Red Dwarf Series VI, especially ‘Gunmen of the Apocalypse’. After three months spent shadowing the production, Nazzaro wrote a stunningly dull (though mercifully short) exposé, bland as tofu. If not for the photographs, no-one would ever read this.
No Wind of Blame
by Georgette Heyer (Hodder & Stoughton, 1939)
audiobook read by Ulli Birvé (Bolinda, 2014)
The (supposedly ingenious) murder doesn’t occur until Heyer has spent one third of the book establishing a turgid and disagreeable dramatis personae. Inspector Hemmingway appears only three fifths of the way through and, though a lively protagonist, cannot stem the stultifying tide.
Death at Victoria Dock
by Kerry Greenwood (Poisoned Pen Press, 1992)
audiobook read by Stephanie Daniel (ABC, 2011)
Stephanie Daniel’s audiobook reading lends vivid personality to all the characters; Greenwood’s depiction of interbellum Melbourne society suggests considerable research; yet Phryne herself has become more goddess than investigator. She is adored and feared to the extent of encountering too little resistance.
Mortimer’s Cross
by Joan Aiken (Harper & Row, 1983)
audiobook read by Judy Bennett (Bolinda, 2015) [as part of the 3-in-1 collection ‘Mortimer’s Cross’]
![Book covers: “Mortimer’s Cross” by Joan Aiken (Harper & Row, 1983); audiobook read by Judy Bennett (Bolinda, 2015) [as part of the 3-in-1 collection ‘Mortimer’s Cross’]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Aiken_Mortimers-Cross.jpg)
A lively middle-grade adventure, Dahl-like in tone but with a more adult vocabulary suggestive of Mortimer’s origins (being read aloud on Jackanory). Bennett’s enthusiastically British- and Welsh-accented audiobook narration does capture the spirit, but it’s a shame to forego Quentin Blake’s illustrations.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
by Alan Garner (William Collins, 1960)
audiobook read by Philip Madoc (Naxos, 2007)
A dour quest fantasy for children, lent solemnity (if not consequence) by its very real sense of landscape—rural Cheshire—and in the audiobook by Philip Madoc’s Welsh inflections and portentous, almost reverent reading. Though trials are faced, nothing much actually happens.
Bodies from the Library 2: Forgotten Stories of Mystery and Suspense by the Queens of Crime and other Masters of Golden Age Detection
ed. Tony Medawar (Collins Crime Club, 2019)
audiobook read by Philip Bretherton (HarperCollins, 2019)
A collection of unpublished or obscurely published and never before reprinted detective stories from some famous names in the genre. While these include pieces featuring, respectively, Gervase Fen and Lord Peter Wimsey, most of these tales have gathered dust for good reason.
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
by James Tiptree, Jr (Arkham House, 1990)
SF Masterworks Edition (Gollancz, 2014)
A 500-page collection of dark, dreamy, dense, often dismal short stories. Tiptree (aka Alice Sheldon) wrote challenging SF that juxtaposed male POVs with uncensored, damning depictions of how men treat women. Plenty of big ideas. Highly regarded though not always pleasant reading.