Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier (Victor Gollancz, 1938); audiobook read by Anna Massey (Bolinda, 2014)
As the newly wedded narrator—tellingly unnamed—struggles to find her place in the shadow of her husband’s deceased first wife, Rebecca, the upper crust splits apart and a slow-burning plot takes hold, the writing as beautiful and alluring as Manderley itself.
The Time Mercenaries
by Philip E. High (Dobson, 1969)
The anachronistic juxtaposition promises much—a submarine crew, fighting instincts still intact, is resurrected to defend a future civilisation of genetically ordained pacifists from alien invasion—but the premise is too quickly cast aside; the captain and his men become largely superfluous.
Three to Conquer
by Eric Frank Russell (Avalon, 1956)
Russell selectively breeds two SF storylines — alien body snatchers and telepathic outsider — to produce a memorable invasion tale, told in the manner of hardboiled detective fiction (itself melding lone wolf with FBI manhunt). Cited for possible adaptation during Doctor Who’s planning stages.
Doctor Who: Fury From the Deep
by Victor Pemberton (Target, 1986)
Having opened on a well-staged cliffhanger, Pemberton proceeds with a workmanlike retelling of this lost serial, contented more or less to prosify his own script. Off-screen as on-, his only feat of note is the puckish metatextualising of Doctor Who’s screaming companion.
The Doctor Who Audio Annual
(BBC, 2017)
Presented in chronological order (First to Sixth Doctors) and read mostly by erstwhile companions, this collection of stories from the old Doctor Who Annuals has a nostalgic appeal, capturing the tone of each era. Little surprise though that the authors were uncredited.
Mulliner Nights
by P. G. Wodehouse (Herbert Jenkins, 1933); audiobook read by Jonathan Cecil (Chivers, 2011)
The stories in this collection read somewhat like unused subplots from Wodehouse’s Blandings Castle and Jeeves & Wooster novels, but in their upgraded state fairly dazzle with insouciance. Wodehouse riffs masterfully on his favourite topic (thwarted engagements), his prose wild and expressive.
Use of Weapons
by Iain M. Banks (Orbit, 1990); audiobook read by Peter Kenny (Isis, 2013)
A grand, sweeping, poetic SF novel, abstruse at first but gradually taking form as its two narratives (one told start-to-end, the other end-to-start) take shape and interweave. Disorientation becomes nebulous understanding becomes full engagement as Banks drives towards a cleverly concealed denouement.
Biggles Flies North
by W.E. Johns (Oxford University Press, 1939); abridged audiobook read by Michael Palin (BBC Radio 4, 1981)
Biggles is effortlessly heroic and cool under pressure (if not always quick on the uptake). His mission of mercy to Canada’s Fort Beaver leaves no doubt as to the good and bad guys. Michael Palin captures the Boy’s Own spirit of adventure.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
by J K Rowling (Bloomsbury, 1997); audiobook read by Stephen Fry (ABC Audio, 1999)
Enid Blyton for the new millennium. After a slow start—and notwithstanding some exaggerated stock characters—Rowling unleashes her fearsome imagination to bring us Hogwarts and Hagrid, Quidditch and quiddities. Stephen Fry’s narration brings welcome verve whenever the text loses its magic.
Enter a Murderer
by Ngaio Marsh (Geoffrey Bles, 1935); audiobook read by James Saxon (BBC, 1995)
Inspector Alleyn presents as an intriguing juxtaposition of acerbic professional and chummy old boy. His offsider, the journalist Nigel Bathgate, is an adequate Watson, but the mystery—an actor’s on-stage murder—loses something in being told from a blend of third-person viewpoints.