PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
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Chronicler of imminent chaos
Trevor Hoyle’s books may be set in futuristic or dystopian worlds but they tackle the big issues confronting us now, says ANDY HEDGECOCK
GEOFF BOTTOMS recommends the unashamedly light-hearted escapism on offer in this stage version of the 1963 film
Full of mysterious religious references and radical sound design, the Scottish duo’s new offering is candidate for album of the year, suggests SIMON DUFF
MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
PAUL DONOVAN recommends the fine performances in this account of the pre-war meeting between the US president and the British king
TECLYN AROD relishes an intimate celebration of jazz improvisation that mixes local and national musicians
WHEN the original version of Trevor Hoyle’s The Last Gasp was published in 1983, it read like a prophetic SF thriller.
Hoyle blended a taut near-future plot with an epic thought experiment to challenge complacency about the consequences of global pollution. He flung down a gauntlet to his readers, daring them to contemplate the kind of ecological apocalypse that might result from the relentless abuse of military might, technological power and greed.
At the time the book gained a cult readership. But it drew little critical attention from a media more interested in celebrity, fashion and the cold war.
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KEN COCKBURN relishes the memoir of a translator, but wonders whether the autobiography underlying the impulse would make a better book
HENRY BELL welcomes a fine demonstration of the need to love the words themselves in the communication of political messages
CARL DEATH introduces a new book which explores how African science fiction is addressing climate change