Fugitive From Time
by Philip E. High (Hale, 1978)
High’s novels were too often marred by instalove and sparse, wince-inducing female representation. His wellspring of SF ideas, however, cannot help but fire the imagination. Fugitive From Time is a fever dream of implacable alien menace, anti-war imagery and humanity’s metamorphosic coming-of-age.
The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage
by Enid Blyton (Methuen, 1943)
The first Five Find-Outers novel works well as a standalone, though lacking the assuredness and personality of later volumes. As Blyton feels her way, many elements of this great series emerge in nascent form. Only Fatty’s disguises (and latterly Ern) are missing.
The Prime Minister’s Brain
by Gillian Cross (Oxford University Press, 1987)
A worthy sequel to The Demon Headmaster. The subverting of free will looms once again as a terrifying middle-grade threat, to be countered by a group of (argumentative, bickering) friends all of whom bring different attributes and foibles to bear. Addictive reading.
The Red House Mystery
by A. A. Milne (Methuen, 1922); audiobook read by Bill Wallis (Bolinda, 2015)
Wodehouse without the humour. Milne takes some time to work his way into this murder mystery, almost as if he’s envisaging it as a play rather than a novel. A good read once it gets going, especially as performed by Bill Wallis.
Star Quest: Terrorsaur!
by Terrance Dicks (W. H. Allen, 1981)
Dicks concludes his Star Quest trilogy with a fast-moving but inconsequential adventure. The young protagonists are reunited with their friends from the first book and defeat the same enemies—hapless space supremacists—thanks to some guff about a possibly sentient planet-wide ecology.
Doctor Who: Illegal Alien
by Mike Tucker & Robert Perry (BBC, 1997); audiobook read by Sophie Aldred (Bolinda, 2016)
Blandly written and at least twice as long as it needed to be. Great chunks of the story involve treading water, running around pointlessly, and building up characters (both major and minor) that turn out to be nothing more than gross stereotypes.
The Ragamuffin Mystery
by Enid Blyton; ill. Gilbert Dunlop (Collins, 1959)
The final ‘Barney’ mystery is a fast, pleasant read, set in Wales and introducing another memorable animal (a goose named Waddle). Although there’s a sense of adventure, the children trip along rather than detect, and have too much access to adult help.
Doctor Who: Planet of Evil
by Louis Marks; dir. David Maloney (BBC, 1975)
The overlooked classic of the Tom Baker years. Planet of Evil makes the most of its premise, combining a nuanced script with tight direction and some seriously good acting (particularly from its leads). Roger Murray-Leach’s alien jungle set constitutes a series highpoint.
Invader on my Back
by Phililp E. High (Hale, 1968)
When it came to SF ideas, High supped from the horn of plenty. Yet his prose here is amateurish, his grammar appalling, and his depiction of women beyond cringeworthy (even for the time). An alien invasion narrative in dire need of editing.
The Peanuts Gang
by Charles M. Schulz (Hodder & Stoughton, 1979)
A slim volume showcasing one Sunday comic per A4 page. While Peanuts has more life in colour (the characters’ stock outfits evince a surprising number of variations!) the selection of strips is narrow and over-magnification leads to a dotty sort of pixilation.