A Certain Magical Index: The Movie – The Miracle of Endymion
dir. Hiroshi Nishikiori (2013)
This feature-length anime offers a suitably grand-scale plot playing out within the Certain Magical/Certain Scientific universe. Unfortunately, there’s rather too much bitsy interplay between established characters, and not enough focus on newcomers Arisa, Shutaura, and Ladylee Tangleroad, whose stories actually underpin events.
The Key to Rondo
by Emily Rodda (Omnibus/Scholastic, 2007)
audiobook read by Edwina Wren (Bolinda, 2010)
A manifestly competent tween quest fantasy that does most things right, if perhaps leaning a little too heavily into established fairytale elements. When betting on opening chapters (against those of, say, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone), put your money on Rodda.
Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead
by Mark Gatiss; dir. Euros Lyn (BBC, 2005)
A pronounced example, early in the format, of everything happening too fast. While Dickens and Gwyneth are good value, and there’s depths to plumb in Eccleston’s Doctor’s fair-weather avuncularity (a domineering temper simmering behind the goofy grin), it all just rattles by.
ChäoS;HEAd
by Toshiki Inoue; dir. Takaaki Ishiyama (2013)
12-part anime adaptation. Chaos;Head captures the disturbing essence of a shut-in’s societal withdrawal and delusions, yet alienates viewers by heaping on too many layers of unreality (especially as protagonist Takumi Nishijo remains a wet dishmop with zero personality beyond jejune inner monologuing).
Arne Dahl: Many Waters
dir. Tova Magnusson (SVT, 2012 / BBC, 2013)
[subtitled] [originally “De största vatten”]
![TV poster: “Arne Dahl: Many Waters” dir. Tova Magnusson (SVT, 2012 / BBC, 2013) [subtitled] [originally “De största vatten”]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Arne-Dahl_Many-Waters.png)
Disappointing as a self-contained story. Kerstin Holm (Malin Mases Arvidsson) is left by herself to silently emote while the rest of A-group dabble in their own personal problems and the plot threads grow increasingly tangled… leaving the original murder more than half-unexplained!
Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, Volume One
by CRC Payne; ill. Starbite (DC Comics, 2023)
Slice-of-life vignettes featuring Batman and his various children living together at Wayne Manor. Very low-key humour, leaning less into high-powered escalation and more towards superhero teens living regular lives. Clear art, polaroid storytelling. Bat-Cow and Alfred the cat share a nice moment.
The Closest Thing to Crazy: My Life of Musical Adventures
by Mike Batt (Bonnier, 2024); audiobook read by Mike Batt (Nine Eight Books, 2024)
An engaging account of Batt’s long career in the volatile world of songwriting, performance and music production. Whereas many autobiographies skew heavily towards the early years and then drop into a perfunctory void, Batt provides even coverage most of the way through.
Where He Can’t Find You
by Darcy Coates (Sourcebooks Fire, 2023)
audiobook read by Reba Buhr (Black Owl Books, 2023)
Dark yet not too gruelling. The protagonists might sound ever-so-slightly young in the audiobook reading, but their personalities emerge strongly and the characterisation is unusually convincing for YA. Reba Buhr’s narration employs an open, honest immediacy in carrying off the speculative horror.
Once Upon a Time in London
dir. Simon Rumley (2019)
Thematically sound overall but the relationships are murky and the shifting dynamics blur into an endless reel of dog-eat-dog gangster violence. While of more interest than the leads, the female characters are less well documented historically and thus, lamentably, have been relegated.
42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams
ed. Kevin Jon Davies (Unbound, 2023)
An unwieldy coffee-table book better suited to selective delving than cover-to-cover consumption. Lesser-known Adams projects are skimmed over, yet the dogged facsimilation of original documents both gobbles up space (especially when paired with typewritten transcripts thereof) and results in some eye-straining arrangements.