"The Crystal World," by JG Ballard

Novel, 1966

Catastrophe novel, in which the African jungle and everything in it crystallises and takes on an eerie suspension, which feels like death. There are plenty of pleasing and striking passages in this book and potency through the involvement of priests, diamond minds, crocodiles, leper colonies and the like, though the overall narrative power suffers, slightly, through the relentless strangeness. A prescient read for those looking for ecological disaster, though it's tricky following and engaging with the full cast of characters.

"High Rise", directed Ben Wheatley

Movie, 2015

If setting this dystopian drama in the 1970s is slightly puzzling, then it's a detail in a film which builds effectively before snapping and ratcheting the tension and the incidents. By no means a comfortable watch, this is a blatant and not-so-subtle piece, but one which really gets its hooks in and lays on an effective moral story. Some comic moments and some which are stark, though overall, this is a hugely effective, watchable movie.

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