"Stranger in a Strange Land", by Robert Heinlein

Novel, 1961

Epic story of the return to Earth of the Man from Mars and how he fares with and influences power and religious structures. This is a fairly tough read, with plenty of outdated, corny dialogue and a very male orientated outlook, but beyond all this and the occasionally uncomfortable hyper-enthusiasm for free love, there are some interesting ideas, blistering satire against the excesses of capitalism and more besides. If there's some cod philosophy, at least there's some thinking and provocation, and the wavering undercurrent of order versus anarchy is compelling.

"Too Many Targets," by John Peel and Dave Rogers

Novel, 1990

Brisk fiction for Avengers fans, bringing the whole set of main protagonists - Steed and all his partners - from each of the 1960s series. There's a familiar, reborn protagonist as well. Fans will probably either despair of the canon being mucked about or delight in the retro implausibility of what is, after all, an old and always fantastically tongue-in-cheek series. For all these reasons, it's hard to critique; this is a book pretty much solely driving a plot which fairly adeptly juggles characters and situations which work better on screen.

"Suffragette," directed by Sarah Gavron

Movie, 2015

Really solid, likeable, worthy though somehow flat film about the women's suffrage movement leading up to Emily Davison throwing herself in front of the King's horse on derby Day. There was, however, a lack of a spark in the telling of the story, as if any disrespecting of the narrative or misrepresentation of any of the characters would have caused the movie to collapse into itself. So, a little plodding in places. A good film overall and a good way of finding out about the movement, just perhaps a little 'safe' and 'staid'.

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"Locke," directed by Steven Knight

Movie, 2013

A concept film where, really, there's barely any concept and virtually no action, just a man in a car, driving in the night and talking to people, desperately trying to keep his world from unravelling. And that's it. The chances of this being a good film may appear slim, but it really works tremendously well. Inevitable plaudits have to go to an excellent performance by Tom Hardy, although the script and pace are also magnificent. Not a comfortable watch and not for everyone, but this is really compelling stuff.

"Macbeth", directed by Justin Kurzel

Movie, 2015

A film which turns the play on its head, from a pacy plot which builds tension, to something pushing style at the expense of substance and in shortening the running time, makes the whole thing drag. An achievement of sorts. While there are some interesting ideas, including the battle scenes, the whole piece feels like a series of disjointed moments and there are times when the director's vision and cinematography go into overdrive and swamp everything else. Not the greatest introduction to the Bard.

"The Drop", directed Michaël R Roskam

Movie, 2014

While this is a film with huge potential for failure - a slurring method acting loner, rescued dog etc. - this slow burner builds a tense and twisting plot and genuine foreboding atmosphere. There's also a refreshing straightforward setting and story telling with no artsy tricks, crushing soundtrack or CGI, just the goings on in a bar, its assistant manager and people orbiting him. Slow and glorious for it, even if the pooch occasionally gets tiring.

"I Live Under a Black Sun," by Edith Sitwell

Novel, 1937

Based on the lives and loves of Jonathan Swift, who is here painted as an arrogant consumer of the lives of the two women who love and who almost literally, bodily nourish him. While the novel occasionally judders along, and while it sometimes feels as if the reader is expected to know more about Swift than the layman might, this is a compelling tragedy, with some poetic description which is staggering in its beauty and evocation. A bit a mixed bag, overall, but largely effective in holding the reader's attentions and sympathies.