Revenge of the Librarians
by Tom Gauld (Canongate, 2022)
Catchy title but really a book about writers. Gauld’s cartoons evince a minimalist style and gentle, erudite satire focussing on literary reworkings and the (stubbornly flawed) creative process. Gauld’s humour is rarely laugh-out-loud but his style and introspective commentaries are consistently diverting.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Ghostbusters
by Erik Burnham & Tom Waltz; ill. Dan Schoening (IDW, 2015)
Ho-hum. There’s nothing wrong with this multiverse crossover, as such, but neither set of protagonists benefits greatly from the interaction. The Turtles do ninja things. The ghostly menace is a bog-standard Class 7, contained as per usual. Murky art, underlit action scenes.
Agaton Sax and the Scotland Yard Mystery
by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, 1969)
from Agaton Sax och det gamla pipskägget (Albert Bonniers Forlag, 1961)
![Book cover: “Agaton Sax and the Scotland Yard Mystery” by Nils-Olof Franzén; ill. Quentin Blake (Andre Deutsch, 1969) [from Agaton Sax och det gamla pipskägget (Albert Bonniers Forlag, 1961)]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Franzen_Agaton-Sax-Scotland-Yard-Mystery.jpg)
Agaton Sax is at his masterful best in this MG detective/action romp. The crime is sensational and the Boss makes for a worthy criminal adversary (with suitably inept gang). The scramble-talk, however, becomes a little tiresome when not used for comic effect.
The Portable Door
dir. Jeffrey Walker (Stan, 2023)
A remarkably lush feature-length adaptation of the eponymous novel (though Benjamin Speed’s score is a little too overt in pushing the quirky fantasy angle). Leon Ford’s screenplay captures the spirit. Patrick Gibson and Sophie Wilde turn their everyman characters into genuine protagonists.
The Librarians, Season 4
(TNT, 2017-2018)
Freewheeling and creative. A decent end to a series that made productive, playful use of history and magic. The season-spanning plot arc is less obtrusive this time, allowing individual stories to flourish (though at twelve episodes everything still feels a bit rushed).
The Secret of Killimooin
by Enid Blyton (Basil Blackwell, 1943); ill. Eileen A. Soper (Armada, 1965)
Another memorable piece of wartime escapism, the children venturing this time to Prince Paul’s homeland. Peggy and Nora are sidelined (becoming nigh interchangeable) but, in mitigation, the hero and most competent person in the story proves to be the blind goatherd Beowald.
The Santa Klaus Murder
by Mavis Doriel Hay (The Bodley Head, 1936)
audiobook read by Gordon Griffin & Anne Dover (Soundings, 2015)
A country house snoozefest with a thoroughly uningenious murder, virtually no actual investigation, a disagreeable cast of characters more pusillanimous than suspicious, and one of the most insipid detectives (Colonel Halstock) in genre history. Griffin’s audiobook reading conspires to add melodramatic hand-wringing.
Flights of Fancy: Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution
by Richard Dawkins (Apollo, 2021); audiobook read by the author (Clipper Audio, 2021)
A short though surprisingly unfocussed account of human aeronautical design (minimal detail) and of how creatures of the natural world achieved flight through evolution. The parallels, needless to say, suggest that natural selection amounts to its own continuous (if unthinking) drafting process.
Monolith
dir. Matt Vesely (2022)
High-quality Australian production with almost no budget (staged like a play, with only one actor physically present). While Lily Sullivan carries off the disquieting intrigue and psychological unravelling centred around her character, the narrative nosedives disappointingly from supernatural mystery into ambiguous metaphor.
Lost Girl, Season 1
(Showcase, 2010)
Like Warehouse 13 (but with adult content), Lost Girl establishes a premise with limitless potential both for supernatural mystery investigations and for incidental humour (liberally deployed). In this first season alone, Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) firms as one of TV’s great sidekicks/support characters.