Daughters of the Storm, by Kim Wilkins

Known for her dark fantasy, Kim Wilkins’ earlier novels build on European legends to create dense and interesting tales that feature strong female protagonists and combine romance and adventure with an edge of menace. Daughters of the Storm is a disappointment, the characters thinly drawn and the plot boring and sometimes ludicrous. His five floral daughters spirit the king from the palace and imprison his wife without anyone noticing; who is governing the country? None of the characters is likeable, least of all the five sisters at the centre of the tale, which makes the story a hard slog. It seems a classic case of early success guaranteeing publication of later novels without adequate editing. This almost-500 page tome reads like an early draft that needs a lot of work. The ending clearly sets up for a sequel; whether anyone would want to read it is a big question.

Be Frank With Me, by Julia Claiborne Johnson

This gripping and unusual tale of a nine-year-old genius conjures up the ghosts of Harper Lee and J D Salinger. Wunderkind author Mimi Banning has lived in Californian seclusion for decades, ducking the fanatics inspired by her debut novel. She needs to write a much-belated second novel to escape financial trouble after being defrauded. Her long-suffering New York publisher drafts his capable assistant, Alice, to monitor her progress and remove any impediment to completion. Alice can’t get a look at Mimi’s manuscript and finds herself acting as housekeeper and nanny to Mimi’s eccentric nine-year-old son, Frank. Families are strange beasts and practical Alice navigates many twists and turns in her quest to solve the mystery of Frank and his family, learning a lot about herself in the process.

Inside Out (2015), directed by Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen

All too often a movie with lots of hype fails to live up to it. Sad to say this is the case with Inside Out. The film deserves much credit for good intentions. It is intelligent, thoughtful, worthy – and dull. The concept – examining what goes on inside our heads – is so interesting, but seems really to be aimed at parents rather than children, as the sophistication looks to be well beyond most under 12. Joy, fear, sadness, disgust and anger; this is the first problem, with such a limited range of emotions and only one of them positive. A major theme of the film, that there is a place for the negative emotions, doesn’t really resonate that strongly, with Joy clearly the hero who should be in charge and all is lost without her. The best part of the film is the post-script, where the emotions are seen at work in all the other characters, showing the diversity of feeling in all the major and minor characters, but it’s too little, too late to really make it the film as a whole a success.

Marked in Flesh, by Anne Bishop

The fourth novel of ‘The Others’ series from the queen of dark fantasy brings to a violent resolution the conflict between humans and the ancient wild forces of the Terra Indigene. Interesting parallels could be drawn between Bishop’s Humans First and Last movement and the various reactionary forces surging through the real world at present. It can only be hoped that the One Nations, Brexiteers, climate change deniers and Trump supporters meet a similar fate to HFL. Bishop’s alternate realities are always fully realised and totally believable. Her characters – human, shapeshifter and vampire - are finely drawn with depth and complexity. The darkness and violence of her tales is leavened with humour and love. The only niggle with Marked in Flesh is the frustration of the extremely slow development of the relationship between human Meg Corbyn and shifter Simon Wolfgard. One would have thought that by the fourth book they would have got beyond holding hands. But then again, considering the damage the fragile Meg has suffered from her past as a captive blood prophet, the slow burn is kind of refreshing. It’s just a complete departure from Bishop’s very sexy Black Jewels series. Is there another book in the story of human survival after The Others have asserted their dominance and put humans back in their box? If only to take Simon and Meg’s relationship further, it is to be hoped the answer is yes.

Outlander series one, Starz

Based on a best-selling series of books by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander very successfully suspends disbelief to time travel between the 1940s and the 1640s and create an epic adventure romance. Costumes and settings are perfect and the casting is close behind. Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe are supremely engaging as the leads, Jamie and Claire, and Tobias Menzies makes a fine fist of two very different characters in two different time zones. There are some strong sex scenes and much has been made of them being filmed from the women’s point of view. This is actually true; they are very powerful and sit comfortably among the adventure and politics of this complex tale of an intense historical period in Scotland. It was frustrating to realise the DVD of series one had been released in two parts. Just as total addiction had set in, there was a wait for the second half. After the early focus on Claire, part two shows more from Jamie’s point of view. The love story is very credible as the chemistry between the leads is off the charts. This show is seriously sexy! Episodes 13 and 14 take a slightly strange, slow meander that doesn’t really add much to the story, but does serve as a suitable lull to heighten the impact of the violence and trauma of the last two episodes. Those familiar with the book expect it but it is still harrowing and hard to watch, perhaps made more so by the anticipation. All in all, series one is a very good adaptation of the book, taking all the good things from it and making them better. Roll on series two. Not to mention three and four, which are already in the pipeline.

Ghostbusters, (2016) directed by Paul Feig

So often a film with a good premise and a strong cast is let down by the script. There was a lot of hoo-ha and fanboy outrage about this all-female remake of the original, so it’s sad to be unable to completely dismiss it because of a script that is lacking in coherence and wit. The special effects are great and sometimes genuinely scary. The four leads – Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones - work well as an ensemble, with McKinnon especially good. Chris Hemsworth as their sidekick is suitably attractive and there are some nice inversions of the stereotype, but he has to work too hard. The problem is partly one of expectations – you are waiting for four such strong comedians to be funnier. But they are let down by the dialog, some of which is truly lame. It is a highlight to see cameos from all the major players of the original and overall the film is enjoyable, it just could have been better.