Film and Book Reviews for 2017

Films released in 2017

Beauty And The Beast directed by Bill Condon
A bookish young woman is taken prisoner in an enchanted castle by a beast. But is he as terrible as he seems?
The Thousand Faces Of Dunjia directed by Yuen Woo-Ping
A secret clan of martial artists and masters of disguise fight to keep a dangerous item out of the tentacles of mysterious creatures in order to save mankind.

Books published in 2017

All Systems Red by Martha Wells
A rogue security android with a fear of human interaction is embroiled in a crisis when things go badly wrong for a peaceful scientific mission. The first novella in the Murderbot series.
Spectred Isle by K. J. Charles
In 1923 a sceptical archaeologist looks into occult happenings around London, only to get caught up in more danger than he bargained for. The first in the Green Men series.
Defender by G. X. Todd
People everywhere have started hearing voices which urge them towards violence. Pilgrim and Lacey are struggling to survive in a world where even their own thoughts may betray them.
Inheritors Of The Earth by Chris D. Thomas
An examination of the species that are benefitting from rapid environmental changes brought about by mankind, and how they are doing so.
Petra by Nirina Stone
The first book in the Allendian Post-Apocalypse Series follows a young orphan trying to survive killer robots, acid rain, and vicious raiders in a ravaged far future world.
Storm In A Teacup by Helen Czerski
Helen Czerski takes a look at how physics affects everything we do, whether it is making a cup of tea or powering our lives.

Unreviewed books

Monstress Volume Two: The Blood by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda
Maika travels to find out more about her dead mother, Moriko, and about the monster inside her. As she crosses the sea to a land shrouded in mist, ghosts, ghouls, and the bones of a dead god increase the eerie mood in this graphic novel.

The Road To Farringale by Charlotte E. English
Cordelia Vesper and her magic-using friends are sent to investigate a mysterious decline in troll settlements around Britain. The first in the Modern Magic series.

Binti:Home by Nnedi Okorafor
After going to university offworld, Binti wants to return home to see her family, and to bring her new friend, an alien Meduse, back with her. But has she changed and grown too far beyond her family? The second novella in the Binti series.

Antidote: Love and War by R. A. Steffan
A fugitive carrying vital data crash lands at an outpost with a group of renegades. In order to prevent a genocide, an antidote must be produced quickly in this science fiction romance. The first in the Love and War series.

Saga: Volume Seven by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Reunited with her family, Hazel travels to the comet of Phang in order to refuel. There they will make new friends and lose others as war rages on.

Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples by Saga: Volume Eight
Hazel wishes for a sibling to keep her company as her family flee from planet to planet. Meanwhile their friend Petrichor is hiding painful secrets and memories.

Demon Hunter by Mary Abshire
Demons seem to be multiplying, whilst a group of vampires stand as the protectors of humanity. The first in the Divine Justice series.

Clouds of Venus by Jeff Tanyard
After the mayor of a flying city orbiting Venus is murdered, a student is framed and must work to clear his name. The first novel in the Free Space trilogy.

Melokai by Rosalyn Kelly
The ruler of her people is expecting to be banished at the end of her reign, as is custom. Instead she is faced with the threat of rebellion and dark prophecy. The first novel of the In The Heart Of The Mountains series.

The Proem by F. F. John
In the 25th century Neith expects to marry for money, not love, and a poor match could ruin her family. A prequel novella to the Nome series.

Ladycastle by Delilah S. Dawson, Ashley A. Woods, and Becca Farrow
The men of Mancastle disappear on a quest, leaving the women to deal with a curse attracting monsters to their castle and to sort out their own leadership.

Lady Mechanika Volume 3: The Lost Boys of West Abbey by Joe Benitez, M. M. Chen, Martin Montiel, and Beth Sotelo
Lady Mechanika and her friends look into the disappearance of children from a poor area of the city. But this case triggers nightmares about her own forgotten past in this graphic novel.

Unreviewed films

Bright directed by David Ayer
A human cop is unhappy about being paired with an orc in a Los Angeles filled with magical beings, as they go after a dangerous wand that people will kill to obtain.

Otherlife directed by Ben C. Lucas
A company makes a drug that can be programmed to give someone a day worth of memories in a minute. But will the inventor be able to use it to revive her comatose brother?

Wonder Woman directed by Patty Jenkins
Diana, Princess of the Amazons, gets involved in the Great War when a pilot crashes into her island.

Geostorm directed by Dean Devlin
An international network of satellites built to control the weather starts to malfunction with deadly consequences. The man who built it must figure out what is going wrong to prevent global catastrophe.

Justice League directed by Zack Snyder
An extraterrestrial threat wants to take power over the world, filling it with monsters and making it uninhabitable for mankind. Batman knows he will need a team of heroes to rise to the challenge.