1940-50 (collected 1950) / Audiobook / 253 pages / USA
****
Charmingly retro and remarkably relevant for their vintage, today's sci-fi is still riffing on these philosophical, foreboding and occasionally funny tales. They also have practical value as troubleshooting guides for how to carefully phrase instructions during the brief period where we're still in control.
Faves: 'Reason,' 'Little Lost Robot,' 'Evidence.'
Worsties: 'Runaround,' 'Liar!,' 'The Evitable Conflict.'
1998 / Audiobook / 345 pages / UK
***
This Wolfeian slow-burning sci-fantasy would be a jarring interlude if you were exclusively following Banks' space opera, but it's a nice expansion of his broader palette, especially since the regular Culture books haven't exactly been gripping me. Now back to the madness, I guess.
Tony Rayns, In the Mood for Love
2015 / Ebook / 96 pages / UK**
Like a procrastinating student seeking escape in displacement activities as the deadline looms, a Wong Kar-wai superfan and insider is seemingly so troubled by the short page count he's allocated to fit everything in that he wastes almost half of it on completely pointless synopsis to spite himself. The rest briefly covers the aesthetic and production and dabbles in symbolism, but much of that didn't exactly need pointing out either.
2018 / Ebook / 320 pages / UK
****
Robin Ince attempts to discover, via covert autobiography, what makes comedians tick, while repeatedly reminding us that the pathetic data available is inadequate to draw any conclusions.
Martin Popoff and guests, Iron Maiden: Album by Album
2018 / Ebook / 256 pages / Various****
A bunch of Iron Maiden fans, some more famous than others, one of whom was actually in Iron Maiden, natter away through the comprehensive discography. There's some interesting trivia and streamlined band history along the way, like you'd find in other books, but it's mainly just people's worthless, enjoyable opinions about stuff. Even the bad albums get their fair shake.
