Alice in Sunderland

Alice in Sunderland is an one-of-a-kind, 320-page comic book tracing the unlikely connections between the effete Oxford lecturer and writer Lewis Carroll and Sunderland, the gritty shipbuilding town in north east England. Author and artist Brian Talbot uses a bewildering array of literary techniques, from ranging back and forth across history to frequently swapping narrators, to explore how the art of story-telling is influenced by real life. The creative force behind several acclaimed adult comic-books, Talbot produces polished drawings in an impressive range of styles, supplemented by photo montages depicting the many faces of Sunderland and the surrounding area. With guest appearances by Sid James, the Venerable Bede, the Lambton Worm and George Formby, amongst many others, Alice in Sunderland is entertaining, but meandering. While the craftsmanship and the scholarship are impressive, you need to be seriously interested in either Lewis Carroll or Sunderland to really enjoy this book. 7/10

The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan

Eleven-volume fantasy saga set in an extraordinarily-detailed and vast medieval world embroiled in a struggle between the forces of light and the minions of the Dark One. The storyline revolves around Rand al'Thor, a grim young man endowed with massive magic powers, and some equally dour friends from his home village. They reluctantly get caught up in saving the world from the chaos being wrought by the "Dark Friends" working under cover everywhere from taverns to royal palaces. These locations and the vast cast of characters are described in painstaking and, often turgid, detail. But all this effort to create a believable world is undermined by contrived plot twists often brought about by seemingly arbitrary supernatural powers wielded by weird entities, such as the all-knowing Aelfinn who reside in another dimension.

Occasionally the pace quickens
Jordan goes to great lengths to give women a prominent role in the series, but after a couple of thousand pages or so, many of the heroines begin to merge into one - nearly all the females in the books seem to moan incessantly, fiddle with their skirts or fold their arms under their breasts. Occasionally the pace quickens as Jordan remembers to include some action and there is the odd gripping passage, such as the tense and atmospheric opening to the first book. A former military man, the author is at his best describing battles, skirmishes and bar room brawls in bloody detail. This still unfinished epic, which should have been half the length, needs a good editor. 5/10

Rough Guide to Climate Change

A good antidote to the often superficial and simplistic media coverage of global warming, this book methodically, calmly and clearly explains in detail what is happening to the temperature of the planet. After reading the chapters documenting the increasingly extreme weather patterns, the expanding oceans, the shrinking polar regions, the growing frequency of droughts and other painful symptoms, you are left with the overwhelming impression that Earth is convulsing with a fever. Author Robert Henson then treats you to a reasonably readable precis of the science behind climate change, before changing pace to outline the daunting political, economic and scientific obstacles to reversing the damage humanity is doing to its habitat. Still, the very existence of a Rough Guide to Climate Change leaves you with a sense that at least some of those obstacles can be overcome. 8/10

His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman

An unusually thought-provoking fantasy trilogy based in an universe that could be the product of the imagination of an 11-year old with a masters degree in astrophysics and philosophy. Armoured-bears, conscious particles, witches, spirits, angels and many other sentient beings flutter in and out of a pacey narrative that tracks the adventures of Lyra, a tearaway child in the care of an Oxford college. Explores some of life's biggest questions in a compelling and highly-accessible story. Enjoyable read for adults and children alike. 8/10