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COMIC FRANK MILLER & JIM LEE
All Star Batman and Robin
(DC Titan) 000.
Frank Miller and Jim Lee tackle the world’s greatest detective and the boy wonder in this sister title to Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly’s All Star Superman. The first nine issues of the ongoing series are collected here, and like Morrison and Quietly’s retelling rather than reinvention of the man of steel’s myth, this is far from the iconoclastic storytelling of Miller’s Dark Knight Batman books or the creation of new Bat myths in Lee and Jeph Loeb’s Hush. Instead, it’s a reworking of the original story of Batman’s
sidekick Robin.
To tell it, Miller’s shifted the narrative point of view from Batman/Bruce Wayne to various related characters: news reporter Vicky Vale (Gotham City’s Lois Lane), masked (and fishnet stocking-clad) crime fighter The Black Canary, super-powered members of the Justice League of America (before Batman joined the universe-policing team), The Joker and, perhaps most importantly given this is really his story, Dick Grayson aka Robin. Introducing these multiple perspectives is a smart move on Miller’s part. It takes the sole focus away from Batman, while cloaking him in a certain amount of mystery which is particularly effective in the second episode in which Batman kidnaps Grayson after his trapeze artist parents are murdered during a circus performance. This allows Miller to get to grips with what makes the boy wonder tick.
It all makes for a fresh take on the much-overworked Bat mythology. But it wouldn’t register without decent illustrations and happily, Lee’s artwork is as vigorous as ever, his angular cityscapes and bulging biceps exploding off the pages. Together he and Miller make for a dynamic duo, indeed.
(Miles Fielder)
SOCIAL DRAMA CHRIS CLEAVE The Other Hand (Sceptre; 000.
After the success of his 200:3 debut novel The incendiary. Chris Cleave turns his attention from terrorist attacks to the equally provocative issue of iiiiiitigration. Written as a first person narrative. The Other Hand describes the life of Little Bee. a 16—year- old Nigerian who has spent two years in a
British detention centre. Her character has a richly humorous personality which belies a hidden tragedy. 'A sad story means this storyteller is alive". she tells us. and although Cleave writes to celebrate the strength of the human soul. he doesn't spare the reader from the dark corners of horror Little Bee has Witnessed.
IntertWined Willi this tale of tragedy is Sarah,
a Journalist whose involvement is only slowly and delicately revealed. Wisely, Cleave doesn't dwell on the
political specifics for his fiction. instead he focuses on what he's best at: creating an individual at the heart of the statistics.
(Emma Lennoxt
CRIME (ALE.- CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE A Snowball in Hell (Little. Brown) 00..
Terrorism, reality TV. manufactured pop. hacking. magic and a wee touch of romance: Christopher Brookmyre likes to pack a lot into his literary sandwiches. And. as usual. his fans v/ill happily gorge themselves on it. because tucking into a Brookmyre is just so darned easy. Putting it down is the hard part. Wllil each chapter closing on a bombshell that launches yeti into the next one.
CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRB
A Snowball in Hell sees a few key characters return from earlier novels: namely maverick terrorist Simon Darcourt, Glasgow copper Angelique de Xavia and the man she shouldn't love. Zal Inne/. This time. Darcourt is on a mission to rid the UK of a few superfluous celebrities — the Pete Watern’ians. Gary Bushells and Victoria Beckhams of the world. The loved-up ending may feel a little trite. but after the gruesome torture gone before. it's good to know Brookmyre still has a heart. (Kelly Apterl
PI IILOSOPHICAL ‘ YS
RICHARD HOLLOWAY
Between the Monster and the Saint (Canongate) 0..
Richard Holloway talks himself and us in and Out of moral corners in this reflection upon the nature of good and evil and analyses their tug of war with intellectual
ease. Beginning by contemplating the monster and ending With considering the saint. Holloway ponders the soul and suffering en route. This work oscillates continuously from darkness to light. but don't expect definitive enlightenment or translucence. Holloway makes it evident throughout that the monster and the saint are closer than we would care to imagine. and that the world we live in contains multitudes.
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Liberally sprinkled with words and wisdom from such luminaries as Simone Well. Robert Browning and WB Yeats as well as anecdotes from Holloway's own life and work. he has the diplomacy and honesty of a former man of the cloth. Focussed and fluid. this philosophy-lite is enjoyable to read and prises the mind open to thoughts hitherto unconsidered.
(Peggy Hughes)
MUSIC ANALYSIS DANIEL BARENBOIM Everything is Connected (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) O...
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In 1999. Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said set up the West- Easterri Divan Project. enabling young Middle Eastern musicians to work together. Now. in a collection of essays and articles that is part
5 CRIME ! THRILLERS
Nick Stone King of Swords The follow- up to the award- winning Mr Clarinet is a dark and gory tale set in Miami featuring black magic and dodgy cops. Penguin.
Steven Hague Justice For All If you loved Dexter. you’ll go a bundle on this. seemingly, as ; policeman Zac E Hunter goes about his business on both sides of the law. Mira Books.
Arnaldur lndrldasen The a Draining Lake An lcelandic mystery that harks back to the Cold War. Vintage.
Jennifer McMahon Promise Not to Tell Part l murder mystery, part 7 coming-of-age drama, as a recent killing mirrors one that occurred 30 years earlier. Orion. Dan Weddell The Blood Detective The first in a series of crime novels claiming to do for genealogy what Patricia Cornwell has done for forensics. ; Penguin.
manifesto. part memoir, and part discourse. Barenboim discusses the place of music both in the lives of individuals and as a global phenomenon. He transpons music from notes and the orchestra pit to its repercussive effects and potential as an instrument in the peace process.
The book is. in parts. a little dense. but it's ‘ worth sticking with Barenboim's sometimes excursive style for the ingenuity and freshness of his approach. while the vision he pursues for peace in the Middle East is pragmatic. 5 courageous and controversial. though sadly. unlikely to come to fruition in the current political climate. Nevertheless. for the insights Barenboim presents and his own personal tale. the book is very much wonh reading. (Kate Gould)
(4—21 Aug 2008 me LIST 17