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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 1m

Beautifully illustrated, simple but effective in its exploration of grief. A grandfather and young child take a night walk to Grandma’s favourite spot, remembering all the things she liked best. The new dawn is overtly symbolic but nonetheless strikingly vivid and effective. #NightWalk

Picture book cover: “Night Walk” by Jason Cockcroft (Walker, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Decent, darkish fantasy. While Wexler’s worldbuilding is very good, the story is a little too predictable (in the case of Maya’s relationships with Beq and Tanax, painfully unsubtle) in ticking off tropes. The two narrative strands carry more or less equal weight. #AshesoftheSun #DjangoWexler

Book cover: “Ashes of the Sun” by Django Wexler (Orbit, 2020); audiobook read by Imogen Church (Jammer Audiobooks, 2020)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Greenwood’s ongoing survey of 1920s Melbourne leads Phryne to investigate its Jewish culture and the interbellum migrant experience (plus a largely incidental murder). The story sweeps along at Miss Fisher’s heels and proves a charming way to learn something of Australian history. #RaisinsAndAlmonds

Book cover: “Raisins and Almonds” by Kerry Greenwood (Allen & Unwin, 1997); audiobook read by Stephanie Daniel (ABC Audio, 2010)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

The 2023 Christmas special’s upper management issues blossom into a long-overdue investigation of departmental efficiency, which, after some brief tension associated with DI Ashworth’s return, fizzles away. DC Steph Duncan shows promise. The nicest person in any given murder generally proves guilty.

TV poster: “Vera, Series 13” (ITV, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

A meaty MG tome with kooky underpinnings somewhat redolent of Roald Dahl. While the execution is sometimes more exuberant than deft (the mystery element struggling to take hold amidst all the narrative fun), Shenanigan is a protagonist to keep young bookworms hooked. #TheSwifts #BethLincoln

Book cover: “The Swifts” by Beth Lincoln; ill. Claire Powell (Puffin, 2023)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Historical novelette relating the sacking of an abbey by Viking raiders. Russ’s treatment offers a welcome departure from the action-driven narratives more common to speculative fiction. The Abbess Radegunde proves an especially formidable presence, yet the SF denouement is vague and unsatisfying.

Magazine cover: Fantasy & Science Fiction (January 1982); review of “Souls” by Joanna Russ, pp. 7-46.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

A bereaved bear carries a green leaf (his ‘Greaf’) with him wherever he goes, until eventually the seasons change and it crumbles away. Canby’s illustrations—a mix of pastels, ink and coloured pencil—serve beautifully to capture the churn of Bear’s emotions. #ALeafCalledGreaf

Picture book cover: “A Leaf Called Greaf” by Kelly Canby (Freemantle Press, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

One of High’s more coherent short stories. A specially trained government agent is sent to one of the colony worlds to flush out and kill a rare, off-the-scale IQ ‘superman’ whose inevitable paranoia heralds disaster. The twist more or less justifies itself. #TheJacksonKiller #PhilipEHigh

Magazine cover: New Worlds 106 (May 1961); Review of “The Jackson Killer” by Philip E. High, pp. 72-89.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A boy mourns his dead mother. This quasi-palindromic exploration of grief and loss is driven less by the written narrative (which is rather forced) than by dark-hued fantasy illustrations that offer freewheeling adventure and emotional resonance in lieu of any direct connection. #DrawnOnward

Picture book cover: “Drawn Onward” by Daniel Nayeri; ill. Matt Rockefeller (Harper, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

SF flash piece whose 20th-Century premise and slantwise cynicism wouldn’t be out of place if applied to digital consciousness. An eminent scientist conquers old age but loses said eminence when his brain is transplanted—successfully!—into the body of a small dog. #TheBody #RobertSheckley

Magazine cover: Galaxy UK 36 (March 1956); review of “The Body” by Robert Sheckley, pp. 123-128.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Desirous of telling a story for once, a dictionary allows some of her words room to move—beginning with an alligator hungry for doughnuts! Chaos ensues: madcap antics for children, with oodles of good-humoured, metatextual word definitions for older readers to enjoy. #TheDictionaryStory

Picture book cover: “The Dictionary Story” by Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston (Walker, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

SF short. A slapdash planetary survey consigns miners to a desperate survival situation, taking refuge inside sentient rock dwellings who aren’t much enamoured with them! Zahn proceeds efficiently through scenario, threat, escalation and solution, the implications of which provide food for thought.

Magazine cover: Fantasy & Science Fiction (January 1982); Review of “Houseguest” by Timothy Zahn, pp. 74-86.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A Christmas special only insofar as there are decorated trees in some of the indoor scenes. Otherwise, it’s business as usual. The island setting offers a point of difference but the case hinges on information held back until late in the piece. #Vera #TheRisingTide

TV poster: “Vera: The Rising Tide” by Sally Abbott; dir. Paul Gay (ABC, 2023)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

A remarkably accessible novel given its historical remove. Collins crafts some truly memorable characters, and while the patriarchal disempowering of women is hard to stomach (making for an anxious, difficult read in the midsection), the plot undeniably makes good upon Hartright’s reintroduction.

Book cover: “The Woman in White” by Wilkie Collins (Sampson Low, Son, & Co., 1860); audiobook read by Roger Rees & Rosalyn Landor with John Lee & Judy Geeson (Blackstone, 2009)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A largely unheralded ‘mistaken identity’ spy comedy that proves more interested in being funny than good. Those who dislike Bill Murray will find nothing here to change their opinion, but the script wrings plenty of laughs from an outlandish premise wholeheartedly embraced. #TheManWhoKnewTooLittle

Film poster: “The Man Who Knew Too Little” dir. Jon Amiel (1997)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Atmospheric yet formulaic. While a lyrical, mythical overlay adds weight to the underlying tale of female suppression and exploitation, the writerly blueprint remains very much in evidence, the ‘rivals to lovers’ trope, in particular, being laid down with a bricklayer’s rote proficiency.

Book cover: “A Study in Drowning” by Ava Reid (HarperTeen, 2023); audiobook read by Saskia Maarleveld (Penguin, 2023)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Something of a one-note story. The only possible suspect has thin lips and doesn’t like dogs, so George and Timmy take an instant dislike to him. Everyone else thinks George is just being difficult. She is vindicated via the inevitable secret passage. #FiveGoAdventuringAgain #EnidBlyton #FamousFive

Book cover: “Five Go Adventuring Again” by Enid Blyton (Hodder & Stoughton, 1943); audiobook read by Jan Francis (Bolinda, 2021)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Klassen’s retelling—half picture book, half chapter book—of a Tyrolean folktale. The language is simple, the illustrations gritty, the story dark yet also somehow hopeful in its allusion to trauma, and how Otilla and the skull deal brokenly with the past. #TheSkull #JonKlassen

Book cover: “The Skull” by Jon Klassen (Walker, 2023)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The titular pun proves a serviceable basis from which to explore and subvert tropes. Though Denise’s illustrations are rather gloomy—appropriate enough for the mediaeval setting—Owl, with his small stature and wide, frightened eyes, successfully challenges the traditional notion of hero. #KnightOwl

Book cover: “Knight Owl” by Christopher Denise (Christy Ottaviano Books, 2022)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This two-part finale sees a loosely scripted buildup but then a shocking, soul-chilling threat reveal. Unfortunately, Davies then concocts a facile reversal to haul the Doctor back from the brink. Ruby’s big revelation has some merit and yet... doesn’t explain the snow? #DoctorWho #EmpireofDeath

TV poster: “Doctor Who: The Legend of Ruby Sunday / Empire of Death” by Russell T Davies; dir. Jamie Donoughue (BBC, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

An origin story for Old MacDonald. While the man’s supposed dislike is never evidenced, his quiet affection unfolds to sweet effect, animals adopting him in ones and tows and then a glorious, chaotic symphony. Pham’s illustrations are endearing and full of character. #TheManWhoDidntLikeAnimals

Book cover: “The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals” by Deborah Underwood; ill. LeUyen Pham (Clarion, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Jackson’s trilogy concludes in resounding style, offering overt but effective contrast between Frodo’s journey and the epic clashing of armies. Sam emerges as the true hero. Éowyn, by taking Merry under her wing, juxtaposes the overlooking/recognition of Hobbits with that of women. #ReturnoftheKing

Film poster: “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” dir. Peter Jackson (2003)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Fun and frivolous in its period setting and alien threat, yet also rather staged—in particular the plot/dot-trail tragedy of the Doctor’s forming a faster-than-speed-dating ‘travel the universe with me’ romantic attachment while leaving Ruby unsupervised with murderous shapeshifters on the loose.

TV poster: “Doctor Who: Rogue” by Kate Herron & Briony Redman; dir. Ben Chessell (BBC, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Slick if fluffy. Soderbergh’s remake certainly has more verve than the original, featuring energetic pacing and a lively sense of humour. Clooney and Pitt are excellent together, Clooney and Roberts sublime. Still, there isn’t much substance to justify the ensemble cast billing. #OceansEleven

Film poster: “Ocean’s Eleven” dir. Steven Soderbergh (2001)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Inclusive spy kids hijinks. Yee wraps every aspect of this MG adventure in a protective forcefield of casual humour. While fun in its own right, this renders Olive’s worries somewhat forced in contrast, and gives little grounding for moments of genuine peril. #TheMisfits #ARoyalConundrum

Book cover: “A Royal Conundrum” by Lisa Yee (Random House, 2024); audiobook read by Cindy Kay (Listening Library, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A heavy-handed commentary on social media culture. Davies commits fully to the satire, rather neglecting all other aspects (save for an ending that offers some unexpected substance). Giant slugs and Ricky September notwithstanding, this makes its point without offering much rewatch value. #DoctorWho

TV poster: “Doctor Who: Dot and Bubble” by Russell T Davies; dir. Dylan Holmes Williams (BBC, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Relentlessly scored, and the Battle of Helm’s Deep speaks more to cinematographic proficiency than competent siegecraft (military historians, close your eyes). Gollum/Sméagol (a distinction that Jackson explores) proves a highpoint of the production. Gimli provides a welcome source of comic relief.

Film poster: “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” dir. Peter Jackson (2002)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This six-episode series strikes just the right balance between cosy murder mystery and comedy. Much rests on David Mitchell, playing a brilliant but reclusive professional puzzle creator thrown by circumstance into impersonating his own twin brother—a DCI!—and solving his cases. #Ludwig

TV poster: “Ludwig, Series 1” by Mark Brotherhood (BBC, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

A rare fix-up novel that actually works in the execution. Qntm postulates creatures whose powers interfere with human memory, perception, and reality itself, thence an organisation mandated to deal with such ‘anomalies’. Much dark twistiness ensues, and thinking (forgetting!) outside the box. #qntm

Book cover: “There Is No Antimemetics Division” by qntm (Penguin, 2025); audiobook read by Rebecca Calder (Penguin, 2026)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

SF short story in need of a rewrite. Odd that High’s imagination could so effortlessly accommodate Martian technology and even an ethical framework far beyond human values, yet no characters outside his stock range of similarly surnamed (male) British heroes and villains. #TheMartianHunters

Magazine cover: New Worlds 112 (November 1961); Review of “The Martian Hunters” by Philip E. High, pp. 71-88.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A beautifully crafted Doctor-light episode exploring life after loss. The horror elements are effective and Ruby’s despair, hopelessness and eventual survival all feel very real. A classic, save that a rushed ending glosses over both looping mechanism and the woman’s terrifying effect. #73Yards

TV poster: “Doctor Who: 73 Yards” by Russell T Davies; dir. Dylan Holmes Williams (BBC, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Epic in ambition but not outcome. The titular fellowship is remarkably dim, questing through a geo/chronographically elastic Middle Earth. Peter Jackson isn’t quite sure whether he’s making a big emotions music video or a drinking game predicated on wide-eyed closeups of Frodo. #FellowshipoftheRing

Film poster: “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” dir. Peter Jackson (2001)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

A fitting end to Douglas Henshall’s run as DI Jimmy Perez. The investigation takes some dark turns but these generally prove the result of interconnectedness and cascading misfortune, not egregious scripting liberties. (That said, the booby trap is rather hard to explain.) #Shetland

TV poster: “Shetland, Series 7” (BBC, 2021) [Packaged in Australia as Series 6]

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Playful SF novelette in which Sheckley takes the concept of double indemnity insurance and works in a physical double. His protagonist is a base schemer whose time travelling machinations are brought undone by an equally sly main-chancer. The comeuppance is neatly executed. #RobertSheckley

Magazine cover: Galaxy 57 (December, 1957); Review of “Double Indemnity” by Robert Sheckley, pp. 78-105.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

DiCamillo tells tales within tales in this dreamy MG novella, the old world hotel playing host both to the young protagonist’s imagination and desperate sadness, and to stories hinting at genuine magic. Blitzkoff the parrot adds a final, endearing touch of whimsy. #TheHotelBalzaar #HotelBalzaar

Book cover: “The Hotel Balzaar” by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick, 2024); audiobook read by Allan Corduner (Listening Library, 2024)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

New Series Doctors share a boundless energy, a defining sense of motion. In contrast, this anti-war bottle episode sees the Fifteenth precariously bemired, balanced atop a landmine. His vulnerability is refreshing, the dialogue exchanges often exquisitely fraught in both scripting and delivery.

TV poster: “Doctor Who: Boom” by Steven Moffat; dir. Julie Anne Robinson (BBC, 2025)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Bloated novella. The central conceit of a rarely perceived, spiritual/physical transference between worlds (resulting in ‘visions’ and psychiatric hospitalisation, but also a new iteration of Immaculate Conception) is conveyed by way of stock characters and a hackneyed political intrigue narrative.

Magazine cover: Fantasy & Science Fiction (October/November 1997); review of “Deus X” by Jerry Oltion & Kristine Kathryn Rusch, pp. 90-136.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

SF novelette. Zahn transplants the non-violent dominance of Aikido onto an alien setting where a might-is-right colonial army is struggling to subdue a race of gender-fluid primitives. The philosophy of oneness, operating within military confines, prevails but achieves only a Pyrrhic victory.

Magazine cover: Fantasy & SF (September 1982); review of “The Peaceful Man” by Timothy Zahn, pp. 100-116.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Season 2’s standalone postscript serves as a poignant insight into Death and, through her one day off in a hundred years (spent in company with a suicidal journalist, both experiencing the world and giving him new perspective), the true value of life. #TheSandman #DeathTheHighCostOfLiving

TV poster: “The Sandman, Death: The High Cost of Living” by Neil Gaiman & Allan Heinberg; dir. Jamie Childs (Netflix, 2025)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Lonesborough's is an engaging voice (especially as narrated in Wyatt’s audiobook reading), presenting small-town Aboriginal culture and family life within the relatable context of YA fiction. While Jackson’s story is narrated honestly and openly, Lonesborough often cuts away after key experiences.

Book cover: “The Boy From the Mish” by Gary Lonesborough (Allen & Unwin, 2021); audiobook read by Meyne Wyatt (Bolinda, 2021)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

A direct continuation of Season 1, and ultimately bringing closure to its primary arc (while salting and burning a few of its own). The individual stories are strong. Newly introduced recurring characters offer relief from Sam and Dean’s much-hammered yet unchanging dynamic. #Supernatural

TV poster: “Supernatural, Season 2” (The WB, 2006-2007)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

An odd final volume, affording the Baker Street Irregulars a high-stakes case framed within a ludicrously unsophisticated conception of digital crime (even for the day). The denouement is pure SF mad scientist, after which Dicks may have felt too embarrassed to continue. #TheCriminalComputer

Book cover: “The Criminal Computer” by Terrance Dicks (Blackie and Son, 1987)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Ripley’s Mr Campion proves a worthwhile extrapolation of Margery Allingham’s original, his agedness allowing for downbeat ruminations on his place in the world, and yet also a carefree, almost schoolboyish exuberance. The mystery itself is meandering, a narrative inverse to Campion’s piquancy.

Book cover: “Mr Campion’s Farewell” by Mike Ripley (Severn House, 2014); audiobook read by David Thorpe (Black Thorn, 2019)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

High’s fiction often gave creative vent to anti-militaristic sentiments, favouring fanciful SF means of triumph over unwarranted aggression. This short story posits a planet near-mythical in fending off alien invaders. Terrans are the latest, falling foul of a unique if improbable ecosystem.

Magazine cover: New Worlds Science Fiction 128 (March 1963); review of “Bottomless Pit” by Philip E. High, 49-63.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Latter career Sheckley, in which the once illustrious writer has dispensed with ‘story’ in any meaningful sense and is more or less just rambling, though with SF trappings and what seems an (unintentionally ironic) authorial ‘how to’ guide woven into the narrative. #TheForestontheAsteroid #Sheckley

Magazine cover: Fantasy & Science Fiction (April 2004). Review of “The Forest on the Asteroid” by Robert Sheckley, 62-71.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Near-future SF novelette exploring the ramifications—both practical and ethical—of technology that can intercept and record other people’s dreams. Much like her protagonist (an idealist without a cause), Rusch seems to feel her way through this, no fixed destination in mind. #PaparazziOfDreams

Magazine cover: Analog (November 2004); review of “Paparazzi of Dreams” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, pp. 72-91.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

SF novella that doesn’t really repay its length, though the Kailth offer depth in passing as a warrior culture that appreciates art and nature. The main story (involving a naïve political intern and rare sculptures put to ill-use) trades in run-of-the-mill intrigue. #TheArtofWar #TimothyZahn

Magazine cover: Fantasy & Science Fiction (March 1997); review of “The Art of War” by Timothy Zahn, pp. 120-160.

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

An engaging YA narrative that normalises spectrum and identity differences through ingenuous first-person immersion. The plot, rather than being overtly ‘about’ any one thing, encompasses the broader swathe of life and so ends up tackling depression, trauma, family, friendship, love and sexuality.

Book cover: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky (Pocket Books, 1999); audiobook read by Noah Galvin (Simon & Schuster Audio, 2017)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

An ambitious, seemingly standalone SF novel tackling unimaginable time- and distance frames by way of human-like ‘shatterlings’ who, having treated the galaxy as an endless playground, come under attack from forces unknown. Surprisingly relatable but culminates in maxed-out cosmic scale blindness.

Book cover: “House of Suns” by Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz, 2008); audiobook read by John Lee (Tantor, 2009)

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Derelict Space Sheep @maxmooneydss.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A Cold War analogous SF short story with a twisty exploration of ‘who’s playing deep-rooted mind games with whom’. As so often with High, the wealth of imagination and effortless scope of ideas is let down by poor craftsmanship and muddled delivery. #PhilipEHigh #TemporaryResident

Magazine cover: New Worlds SF 159 (February 1966); review of “Temporary Resident” by Philip E. High, pp. 84-100.

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