The Immortal Crown, By Richelle Mead

Book two of the Gameboard of the Gods provides an intriguing mix of politics and religion as a backdrop to the action and romance. This time investigator Justin and super soldier Mae join a diplomatic mission to Arcadia, formerly the south of the USA. The region has become a religious autocracy along the lines of the Handmaid’s Tale and Mae has a personal agenda in going there – a rescue mission. Both are struggling to come to terms with their destinies as elected by the Gods and how this affects their working lives and relationships, especially with each other. Of course many problems would be prevented if they could only trust each other and communicate, but this is something they are still learning to do. The gameboard is getting crowded, with all kinds of gods and their devious representatives bobbing up in supposedly religion-free RUNA to complicate everything for Mae and Justin. Will be interesting to see where book three takes them.

Black Panther (2018) directed by Ryan Coogler

Wakanda is a self-sufficient, technologically advanced African nation, which keeps apart from the world and disguises itself as an impoverished third world country to protect its vast resources. The death of the king exposes internal conflict over whether to maintain tradition and isolation or engage with the world and share Wakanda’s advantages. A visual feast of colour and movement, Black Panther features gorgeous scenery, fabulous technology and effects, plus stunning makeup and costumes. Martin Freeman is a strange choice to play a CIA agent, not least because his accent frequently slips, but the rest of the casting is pitch perfect. Chadwick Boseman is almost understated as the Black Panther, T’Challa, mourning his father and finding his way in replacing him as king. Michael B Jordan and Andy Serkis are satisfying villains; Lupita Nyongo is wonderful as activist and Wakandan spy Nakia; and Angela Basset is lovely as T’Challa’s mother. While Black Panther is the centre of the film, the character is not dominant but part of a well-rounded and diverse ensemble. Several strong female characters are particularly engaging, including the general and the king’s tech nerd sister. Like Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther sits securely in the Marvel Universe but also stands alone as a thoroughly entertaining film.

Paper and Fire, by Rachel Caine

Jess Brightwell and his friends have been absorbed into the fabric of the Great Library, with assignments that suit their various talents, except for Jess who has been marked as a troublemaker. He has discovered that their brilliant engineer Thomas, thought to have been executed, is actually being held prisoner. The team plans an intrepid rescue, becoming outlaws in the process. All sorts of family loyalties are tested to breaking point as the embattled young people realise that revolution requires sacrifice. Suspension of disbelief becomes increasingly difficult with many inexplicable and terribly convenient plot twists. But the relentless action pushes through to a bitter end, where unexpected and uncomfortable allies are found.

Conversations With Friends, by Sally Rooney

Irish student Frances is a talented poet and her best friend and former girlfriend Bobbi helps out with her spoken word performances. The pair attracts the attention of 30-something writer Melissa, who draws them in to her social circle with her actor husband Nick. Poor little rich girl Bobbi has a crush on the glamorous Melissa, while damaged Frances develops an altogether more real and dangerous relationship with Nick. A problematic timeline should have been picked up in editing – Nick is 32, but appeared on a TV program in 1992 at the age of 10, so what year are we in now? The technology available would suggest the current era so that doesn’t compute. The story essentially belongs to Frances, who becomes more sympathetic as it goes along, but is ultimately revealed to be stuck and self-destructive – pretty sad at 21. The central love story is twisted and self-indulgent with nothing learned from the toxic relationships that are set to continue, to everyone’s detriment.

Spy (2015), directed by Paul Feig

All the elements are present for this send-up of the spy genre to work, but for some reason it raises only smiles rather than full-on laughter. Melissa McCarthy is on point as background girl Susan Cooper, who evolves into an awesome action woman when she is the only agent whose cover has not been blown. Jude Law is suitably smooth as the James Bond-type who is not half the agent Susan is. A strong supporting cast includes Rose Byrne as the villain, Jason Statham parodying himself as a rogue agent and Miranda Hart as another background girl made good. The problem probably lies in the script, which is often lame and predictable. Overall the movie is fun light entertainment, but it is hard to escape a feeling that it should have been funnier.

Soundless, by Richelle Mead

A village at the top of a mountain has been cut off from the outside world by a landslide. A zip line that brings in supplies and transports the metals mined by the inhabitants is their only tenuous contact. The villagers all lost their hearing generations ago and now they are starting to lose their sight too. It is up to a young woman, Fei, to overcome traditional barriers and save the village and its people. This interesting concept is developed a little patchily, with some minor plot holes that jar. For example how would a deaf person with no knowledge or memory of oral language learn how to lip read? The story contains strong messages around class, greed and discrimination that are at times heavy handed. A touch of magical realism comes in a bit too late for credibility; it appears more a useful device to explain a central mystery rather than imbuing the whole tale. A sweet love story holds it all together, with heroism and self-sacrifice winning the day at the end.

The Glittering Court, by Richelle Mead

In quite a departure from Meade’s previous books, she ventures into a historical setting. This alternate world is based on 19th century Europe, with its defined class system, new world colonies and limited options for women. We don’t learn the heroine’s real first name until near the end, to what purpose is not clear. She is Lady Witmore, Countess of Rothford, who takes on the identity of her former ladies’ maid, Adelaide, to escape an arranged marriage. The main problem is that although this story is based on situations more realistic than, for example, vampires, it is somehow less credible. Plot twists are largely predictable and the characters lack depth and substance. It starts as a kind of regency romance and morphs into a western, neither is convincing, not least because the modern American language is jarring. A lot of time is spent introducing new and strange tribes and religions, with a kind of pick’n’mix of history and geography rather than the true inventiveness of newly created cultures. An example is the Icori, who seem to be a weird cross between Picts and Native Americans. It is difficult to imagine how a series could be spun out of this rather strange girls’ own adventure but the sequels are apparently stories in the same time frame from the point of view of Adelaide’s friends, which might be more interesting if this first story was better. After the success of her early series, Mead may be focusing more on being prolific than good. This book is not terrible, but a strong editor was required to produce better, as fans deserve.