Tag: Breakdown

Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons – Red Dwarf Programme Guide | Review

Title: Red Dwarf Programme Guide

Author: Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 296

Rating: 4*/5

 

Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons - Red Dwarf Programme Guide

Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons – Red Dwarf Programme Guide

 

This book isn’t going to make much sense to you unless you’re a fan of the Red Dwarf TV show. If you are a Red Dwarf fan, though, you’re likely to enjoy this. The only real problem is that it’s a good few years old and so it’s not up to date with the latest episodes.

But still, it’s pretty clear that the writers have done their research, and it includes basically every possible piece of information about the early series. It includes a breakdown of characters and episodes, as well as a thorough appendix that includes everything you’ll ever need to know in an alphabetic index. It’s basically a dictionary of Red Dwarf references, and it’s a lot of fun.

I was also hooked by the behind the scenes photographs and the descriptions of all of the merchandise. By now, most of the stuff in that section will be considered a collector’s item – after all, this was published when the Red Dwarf fan club was still active, and still a thing.

And therein lies the only real problem that there is with this – it only covers the older episodes. I got into Red Dwarf at an early age, but even then season eight was out – and this one only really covers the first four. For me, then, it’s not quite complete, despite the fact that I read the second edition. But despite all of that, I got it for a steal – and if you can get it for a bargain, I’d recommend it. I’m almost sad that I’ve finished reading it because now I need to read serious books.

 

The Red Dwarf Crew

The Red Dwarf Crew

 

Click here to buy Red Dwarf Programme Guide.


Elaine M. Will – Look Straight Ahead | Review

Title: Look Straight Ahead

Author: Elaine M. Will

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 256

Rating: 9/10

 

Elaine Will - Look Straight Ahead

Elaine Will – Look Straight Ahead

 

Look Straight Ahead is a fictionalised version of a true story – that of author Elaine Will’s struggles with mental illness. Indeed, the book is extremely realistic in my view, but then I have first-hand experience of a few of the issues that it covers and second-hand experience of a few more. Loosely speaking, it follows the story of 17-year-old Jeremy Knowles, an aspiring artist, as he suffers from a mental breakdown, and the book examines the way that society deals with him, and how he deals with society.

Will’s graphical style is pretty clean and mostly in black and white, although she does use colour for great effect – she’s also very good at evoking a mood by going a couple of pages without dialogue, reminding me of the mood boards that my colleagues sometimes use for graphic design projects. There’s not too much detail and not too little, and it’s interesting to see how the imagery reflects Jeremy’s state of mind throughout the story.

I sped through this in a day because I was hooked from start to finish, and I reckon I might just re-read it again in a couple of weeks. It’s one of those books – y’know, the kind you can re-read and re-read, without getting bored of it? And because it’s a graphic novel, you’ll see new things in the visuals as well as in the story line. Go get it!

 

Elaine Will

Elaine Will

 

Click here to buy Look Straight Ahead.