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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

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

Click here to buy Red Dwarf Programme Guide.

Danny Wallace – Who is Tom Ditto? | Review

Title: Who is Tom Ditto?

Author: Danny Wallace

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 388

Rating: 10/10

Danny Wallace – Who is Tom Ditto?

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book has changed my perception of Danny Wallace’s work – it turns out that his fiction is even better than his non-fiction, and I thought his non-fiction was impressive enough. Here, though, he writes like a man who has mastered words, and the subtle nuances of the story-line are well-executed – you know, like when something is mentioned in passing and then a couple of hundred pages later turns out to be a massive part of the plot.

Loosely speaking, this is the story of a lowly radio presenter called Tom Adoyo whose girlfriend disappears, leaving him a note to say that while she hasn’t left him, she has left. Tom begins to investigate the unusual circumstances around her disappearance, and soon gets drawn into the unusual world of the CC group, a club whose members like to follow other people around to imitate their behaviour.

Through this admittedly unusual activity, he meets a girl called Pia, and they go on all sorts of incredible adventures when they’re ‘on the follow’. But I don’t want to tell you too much more about the story-line because I don’t want to spoil it for when you read it, and I strongly recommend that you do so.

Danny Wallace

I didn’t give this book a 10/10 for no reason – it’s an astonishingly good read, the like of which you don’t come across too often. It’s also the sort of book that leaves you wanting to talk about it with all of your friends, and so now I need to get all of my friends to read it.

Be warned, though – you might need to keep a box of tissues handy, because it’s an emotive read. I’m also not sure how happy I was with the ending – I mean, I think it’s the perfect ending for the story, but it’s not what I wanted to happen. Thing is, now I’m going to have to re-read it – I’m willing to bet there are extra layers to the book that I failed to pick up on the first time round, and I just couldn’t get enough of it.