The Ruby Circle, by Richelle Mead

The alternating voices of the two main characters continue in this sixth and final novel of the Bloodlines series. Again this meets with limited success, as Sydney’s voice is noticeably stronger and clearer than Adrian’s. All the elements of the previous five instalments – vampires, witches, alchemists and warriors - come together in another fast-paced adventure as the crew work to rescue kidnapped Moroi princess Jill Dragomir. Along the way Adrian must battle with the seductive effects of spirit use while Sydney tries to reconcile with her Alchemist family. All while the two get a start on married life with a mother-in-law on board. Everything is tied up a tad too neatly in the end, but with a promise to revisit the Bloodlines universe at some time in the future.

The Dry, by Jane Harper

Small town suspicion about the death of a teenage girl led to Aaron Falk and his father being run out of rural Kiewarra. Twenty years later he returns for the funeral of his former best friend, Luke. Falk is now a federal police officer, specialising in financial crimes, but not much has changed for the miserable townsfolk in an area now gripped by drought. He reluctantly extends his stay to help the local cop investigate what is ostensibly a murder-suicide. Does it link back somehow to the death 20 years ago that caused his departure? Harper brilliantly evokes the dry dusty landscape and the townsfolk soured by hardship and experience. Flashbacks give an interesting insight onto the minds of departed characters, but occasionally spell out too much, not crediting the reader’s ability to join the dots. The local river has run dry – an effective metaphor for the hearts and lives of people in a crippled town. Falk is a somewhat enigmatic character, but the relationships and conversations ring true, in an intriguing mystery, satisfactorily resolved.

Salt Creek, by Lucy Treloar

The grim reality of Terra Nullius and the natural consequences of colonialism and invasion are brought to life in Salt Creek. The Coorong in the 1850s is unsuitable for farming but arrogant English adventurers, with ambitions far ahead of their abilities, displace the native population to give it a go anyway, wrecking the land in the process. The families of these incompetent, hypocritical pillagers are almost as much their victims as the local aboriginal tribes, all suffering deprivation, unnecessary illness and hardship - especially the women and girls. The story is told from the point of view of teenaged Hester, memories recalled 20 years later, back ‘home’ in England. She is the middle child and eldest daughter of the settler Finch family, who tries to hold everything together while the actions of her feckless father destroy all around and the family disintegrates. It takes a while to get in to the story, the back and forth between 1850s South Australia and 1870s Chichester is a little confusing and some of the set-up is a little dull. But Treloar gradually establishes a strong sense of time and place, building an appreciation of the beauty of this unique region, even as despair and frustration grows as the deluded religiosity of the British ruling class undermines all that is good.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), directed by Rian Johnson

The latest episode of the Star Wars juggernaut is watchable good fun with a hokey plot. It picks up straight from the final scene of the previous film, on the spectacular jagged island. It’s all about Luke Skywalker and Mark Hamill is wonderful in the role. There are parallel stories of Rey’s interaction with Skywalker and the rebels under extreme pressure from Snoke and the First Order. It is both sad and lovely to see Carrie Fisher as the leader of the rebellion in what was presumably her last film. Adam Driver is more compelling in this outing, less like a spoilt brat as Ben Solo/ Ren Kylo, and his relationship with Rey is interesting. There are some nice smaller roles for some classy actors, especially Laura Dern, although Benicio Del Toro’s codebreaker was a caricature too reminiscent of something else. A plethora of strange creatures enliven proceedings, including some that are grotesque and some cute and funny, which will undoubtedly make for good merch sales. Some of the film was beautiful, some of it was funny, most of it was action-packed – none of it was transformative – and for that many millions in budget it should have been.

Paddington 2 (2017), directed by Paul King

Absurd and very funny, this sequel sees the Peruvian marmalade-loving bear trying to earn enough money to buy his aunt a special gift for her hundredth birthday. Ben Whishaw is utterly convincing as the naïve bear, with Sally Hawkins a standout as his substitute mother Mrs Brown. Hugh Grant is in his element as the has-been actor Phoenix Buchanan, who stands in Paddington’s way and sets him up for a fall. Neat little cameos from the likes of Noah Taylor, Maggie Steed, Tom Conti and a host of British character actors add to the fun, along with a fabulous steam train. A charming tale with a lovely message of inclusivity, Paddington 2 is one of those family films that offers laughs on many levels, entertaining both kids and adults because of, rather than despite the ridiculous plot.

A Killing in the Hills, by Julia Keller

Journalists usually employ a stripped back, direct style required for reporting, which can be too spare when used in fiction. The other trap for former journalists is to overcompensate, cramming too many adjectives into each sentence, bloating descriptions. Julia Keller falls into the latter category, tending to the florid. She nevertheless provides a clear picture of the causes and effects of grinding generational poverty in a mountainous rural district. Prosecuting Attorney Bell Elkins is a survivor of such a region, with a traumatic childhood. She escaped her background but is driven to return to her impoverished home town to try to effect change. Unfortunately a few good people battling the odds against the war on drugs are pissing in the wind when nothing is done to address the systemic causes. Plot and characters suffer from a credibility deficit. Bell, her bratty teen daughter Carla and the cold-blooded killer all take actions at various points that just don’t tally with their motivations. The plot completely falls apart towards the end and it is no longer possible to suspend disbelief about the behaviour of the killer and the identity of the big drug crime boss. The road to a hellish novel is paved with good intentions.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) directed by Glen Ficarra and John Requa

Tina Fey plays Kim Baker, a TV journalist in New York who finds herself well outside her comfort zone when she accepts an assignment in Afghanistan. It is an interesting story, with potentially interesting characters, but a curiously detached storytelling style leaves the viewer cold. Perhaps having two directors was the problem. Tina Fey is always entertaining, but this treatment of life as a war correspondent is perhaps too trivial and lightweight. It skates over the issues to concentrate more on the addictive nature of the lifestyle. Margot Robbie shines as an intrepid rival reporter and Martin Freeman is solid as a charming photojournalist. It’s fun to see Home and Away alumni Stephen Peacocke bob up as an ambiguous security detail. Over all the film lacks depth and could have been much better, with a heap of great ingredients not quite combining for a tasty recipe.

Silver Shadows, by Richelle Mead

Mind control, torture and deprivation – the dark side of the Alchemist cult is fully revealed in the fifth Bloodlines book. It is again told from the alternating viewpoints of now-renegade Alchemist Sydney Sage and her lover, Moroi prince Adrian Ivashkov, with Adrian’s voice gaining some strength. The secretive Alchemists have always walked a fine line in protecting the interests of humans and vampires, but the extreme lengths they will go to in disciplining their own clearly demonstrates their delusion on being a power for good in the world. The sheer number of ‘re-education centres’ shows the growing problem of Alchemist dissent, giving rise to the question of just who are the monsters. Can Sydney’s resilience and intelligence and Adrian’s determination win through against the forces ranged against them? The gripping tale overcomes a few minor plot queries to end on yet another cliffhanger to signal the direction of the final novel in the series.

The Fiery Heart, by Richelle Mead

This fourth instalment of the Bloodlines series uses a different structure to those that came before, which also indicates a change in focus. The first three were all in Sydney’s voice from her point of view; this one alternates chapters between the young Alchemist and Adrian, her vampire boyfriend. The benefits of this include a fresh perspective on events and the chance to see events that occur when Sydney is not around without the need for tedious exposition. It also indicates that their forbidden relationship is real, signalling a future of dealing with the complex politics of their world on a personal level as well as the already tricky professional. The downside is that Adrian’s voice isn’t established with the clarity and strength of Sydney’s, so the new structure doesn’t serve the story quite as well as it could. The love story dominates the action, with all events complicated by the arrival of Sydney’s younger sister, Zoe, an aspiring and fervent Alchemist. The narrative does start to move more off campus; with signs that everyone’s time in Palm Beach may at last be coming to an end. So how will our newly emerging force to be reckoned with manage to stay together? The book ends on a very steep cliffhanger, which is both exciting and annoying. Those invested in the story will read the next book anyway – no need to tease quite so hard

Edge of Tomorrow (2015), directed by Doug Liman

The rather romantic name of this film is totally deceptive, it is better described as Groundhog Day on steroids. Tom Cruise is perfectly cast as smug military PR flack Cage, who suddenly finds himself on the front line of a losing war against alien invasion. Just how he wound up there is a puzzle never explained, but never mind plot logic – on with the action. And there is action aplenty as Cage is caught in a time loop that sees him become a battle-hardened warrior, developing the ability to defeat the enemy. Emily Blunt is the best thing about the film, adding action hero to her diverse range. The multicultural military unit includes a couple of Aussies, Kick Curry and Noah Taylor, who add a touch of humour to lighten the unrelenting violent action. Starship Troopers comes to mind at various points, but this film takes itself far more seriously and is much less fun.

The Indigo Spell, by Richelle Mead

Alchemist Sydney Sage is still at a prep school in Palm Springs helping protect a Moroi princess from assassination. But she has a lot of other things on her mind. She is under threat from a predatory witch and must quickly develop her illicit magical powers to defend herself. She has to track down the rogue Alchemist Marcus and find out if the Alchemists really are working with the Warriors against the Moroi. And then there is Adrian, for whom she is developing totally inappropriate feelings and who wants more from Sydney than she is allowed to give. The poor girl is pulled every which way and must figure out her priorities and what she really wants out of life, rather than just doing what she is told. Will Sydney abandon her upbringing, her training and her duty to join the renegade Alchemists? It may be the safest option. The Bloodlines story is a bit in stasis in this novel while Sydney does some growing up. There is a feeling that future novels really need to move on from the high school setting, which has become somewhat irrelevant, to take the action forward. The love story has a nice momentum, but Sydney’s growth has now taken her well beyond the convenient school cover and it needs to change.