Doctor Who: Mind of the Hodiac
by Russell T Davies & Scott Handcock (Big Finish, 2022)
This two-parter is rather too long for what it offers, though the female-centric plot is welcome and Colin Baker is once again a delight. Davies and Handcock capture the Sixth Doctor’s personality, yet (as usual) have him largely superfluous to the resolution.
Black Doves
by Joe Barton (Netflix, 2024)
Standard spy thriller material—the plot builds to a point where let-down and exposition prove inevitable—but elevated by Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, top-notch actors who add depth in the gaps beyond dialogue and direction. Well worth a holiday season binge.
Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
by Steven Moffat; dir. Farren Blackburn (BBC, 2011)
“This hammock has developed a fault.” With his childlike enthusiasms and underlying vulnerability, the Eleventh Doctor is tailor-made for holiday specials. This one is a near-perfect concoction of whimsy, adventure and rousing Christmas miracle. Holly Earl and Matt Smith are both brilliant.
Chess: Master the Moves
by Leonard Barden; ill. G. Domenech (Chancerel, 1977)
A bizarre if collectible primer aimed at beginners but intelligible only to experienced players, its wisdom delivered through fine-detailed comic-strip illustrations where mediaeval knights discuss strategy, and condescending coach Steve wows chess groupie Sonya (and then an entire harem!). Oh, the 1970s…
Rumpole for the Defence
by John Mortimer; audiobook read by Bill Wallis (Bolinda, 2016)
originally “Regina v. Rumpole” (Allen Lane, 1981)
Seven further trials, adapted from the 1980 BBC Radio series (plus one Play for Today). Behind Rumpole’s cynical bluster and his numerous personal and professional setbacks, Mortimer offers up ingenious case studies in legal defence. Bill Wallis’s audiobook reading is superbly Rumpole-like.
The Secret of Moon Castle
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1953) [Armada, 1991]
![Book cover: “The Secret of Moon Castle” by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1953) [Armada, 1991]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Blyton_Secret-Moon-Castle.jpg)
Blyton’s ‘Secret’ series ends with a bit of a whimper. The villain is unambiguous and the mystery entails a nebulous mining scheme that, Scooby-Doo style, would have remained hidden if not for his trying to scare the kids off with manufactured spookery.
Maid Marian and her Merry Men, Series 1
by Tony Robinson; dir. David Bell (BBC, 1989)
One-of-a-kind children’s comedy with a penchant for slow-rapped beatbox scene-setting (courtesy of Danny John-Jules). Episodes rattle along through a gamut of small-scale absurdisms, over-the-top, self-aware characters, corny anachronisms and genuine wit. Tony Robinson brings Blackadder vibes as the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham.
The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin (Ace, 1967)
audiobook read by George Guidall (Recorded Books, 2017)
Accomplished prose, meticulous worldbuilding. The Left Hand of Darkness won Nebula and Hugo Awards, and on the strength of its pioneering contribution to feminist SF, who can argue? The plot, however, is far from riveting—a slog for readers and characters alike.
The Wombles: Beautiful Boating Weather
by Elisabeth Beresford (Hodder Children’s Books, 1998)
A slight (14-page) picture book adapted by Elisabeth Beresford from the 1997 TV series (itself derived from her MG novels)! The Wombles prove as loveable as ever, the pictures here being taken directly from the show, but there’s nothing of independent merit.
Artemis Fowl
by Eoin Colfer (Viking, 2001); audiobook read by Gerry O’Brien (Puffin, 2013)
The fairy world is imaginatively realised and affords a new set of (magical) parameters within which Colfer can manifest Artemis’s ingenious criminal scheming. O’Brien’s audiobook reading goes some way towards papering over such writerly cracks as blatant tell-don’t-show and one-dimensional, stereotyped characters.