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David McK (3695 KP) rated Batman: The Dark Knight Returns in Books

Jan 28, 2019

Commonly cited as one of the best Batman graphic novels, this is the one that turned Batman from the Camp Crusader of the Adam West years into the growling anti-hero of the Tim Burton and (later) Christopher Nolan films (leaving aside the Schumacher mis-steps in the middle).

Written in the 80s but set in the near-future, this sees Bruce Wayne return to his role as the vigilante 10 years after unspecified events that saw him hang up his cape. His return, however, also sees the return of some old foes, alongside that of some new.

While - as it was written in the 80s - some of the subject matter is now out of date (most noticeably, the Cold War between America and the USSR), this still holds up surprisingly well. I also have to say that, with some crowded art panels, language and the violence throughout, this is also not one for the kiddies!

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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Midwich Cuckoos in Books

Nov 20, 2019

The Midwich Cuckoos

John Wyndham | 1957 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

The Midwich Cuckoos does what a lot of Wyndham's fiction does, taking a normal situation of a sleepy rural village then turning it upside down, showing how fragile our comfortable lives could be.

While one of his best known works, I wouldn't personally rank this as highly as say The Day Of The Triffids or The Kraken Wakes. Whereas I would recommend those to anyone, and as stories that mostly still stand up today, The Midwich Cuckoos plays a lot on themes such as Cold War paranoia to achieve much of its effect, and that has obviously diluted over the years.

It's still a good read and full of the usual Wyndham sense of humanity that grounds even the most far fetched of his stories. Perhaps not quite recommended, but worth picking up one day. It just hasn't stuck in my mind like other works, probably not a good sign for something designed to be thought provoking.