Issue 558

Hitlist

The best books, comics and events

1 Sep 2006

Robert Harris The former TV news reporter, current brother-in-law to Nick Hornby and author of bestselling romps such as Fatherland, Enigma and Archangel returns with Imperium, the first of his Roman saga trilogy. Borders Books, Glasgow, Thu 7 Sep.

Snow Cake

1 Sep 2006

An Englishman with a sorrowful past, Alex (Alan Rickman) is driving through rural Ontario when he’s involved in a car accident that kills his teenage hitchhiking passenger. Escaping unscathed he decides to visit the deceased girl’s mother to express his…

Tideland

1 Sep 2006

Poor Terry Gilliam. Having seen his dream Don Quixote project get lost in La Mancha, he then struggled to get his vision for The Brothers Grimm on-screen. Tired of the shenanigans of producers and financiers he decided to make a small budget film of…

Driving Lessons

1 Sep 2006

There’s going to be no holiday fun for vicar’s son Ben (Harry Potter’s flame-haired Rupert Grint) in the North London suburbs. Just bible classes and helping out his domineering mother (Laura Linney) with her do-gooding Christian tasks, while hen-pecked…

The Night Listener

1 Sep 2006

Robin Williams is back behind the microphone, but Gabriel Noone, his late night radio show host in The Night Listener is a lot less fun than the shock jock he portrayed in Good Morning, Vietnam. In Patrick The Business of Strangers Stettner’s adaptation…

Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson

The Boys No.1 (Wildstorm)

1 Sep 2006

ADULT SUPERHERO When you see Garth Preacher Ennis’ name at the top of a front cover, you pretty much know what to expect. While this latest series of his is set in a world of superheroes and villains, it’s not all men in tights battling to uphold the…

Al Gore

An Inconvenient Truth (Bloomsbury)

1 Sep 2006

SOCIAL ESSAY It would have been so easy for Al Gore to have become a horribly embittered individual after being cheated out of the US presidency in 2000. No one would have faulted him for spending the rest of his life sticking pins into effigies of…

Daren King

Mouse Noses on Toast (Faber)

1 Sep 2006

CHILDREN’S TALE The number of authors who shift from adult to kids fiction per year probably matches the annual rumour count about who will be killed off in the next Harry Potter. The news that Daren King was to make the shift was less of a shock…

Guy Grieve

Call of the Wild (Hodder & Stoughton)

1 Sep 2006

WILDERNESS ADVENTURE For five years, Guy Grieve worked in The Scotsman’s commercial department, climbing to be Head of Strategic Marketing. Driving home every night, his head buzzing with readers’ incentives, Grieve dreamed of escaping to the Alaskan…

Crank

(18) 87min

1 Sep 2006

ACTION/THRILLER In Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor’s flashy actioner, Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) finds himself injected with a deadly serum that spells certain death if his heartbeat drops below a certain level. Emboldened by this high-concept…

Maggie O'Farrell

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (Review)

1 Sep 2006

SOCIAL DRAMA The parameters of mental illness have shifted over the years, but not so long ago young women could be sectioned simply for being what most parents term ‘a handful.’ The eponymous heroine of Maggie Farrell’s heartbreaking new novel is…

Mike Mignola & Cary Nord

Conan No 31 (Dark Horse)

1 Sep 2006

FANTASY There was a time when artist Mike Mignola wasn’t very sure of his own writing skills. In the early days of Hellboy he handed John Byrne a plot to be fleshed out fully by the far more established writer. Now Mignola feels confident enough to…

Ross Noble

1 Sep 2006

You have to admire the clout of the Cramlington comic who now has no need at all to get drawn into the frenetic goings-on in Edinburgh during August. This year, while everyone else in the comedy world was worrying about 36-hour shows or Eddy awards, he…

5 Reasons to Go See Dave Fulton

1 Sep 2006

1 Unlike every second comic you hear about these days, he’s actually not Australian But you’d know that as soon as he opened his mouth. An opinionated, long scraggy-haired guy from Seattle is a more accurate description of him. 2 Has his friends in…

Angus Peter Campbell

Gael force

31 Aug 2006

Gael force As Angus Peter Campbell helps launch a new publishing venture, Rodge Glass finds an author asking crucial questions about language and culture.

Cocktail masterclass

Movers and shakers

31 Aug 2006

Movers and shakers Chris Bradley takes a cocktail masterclass at Bar Soba. Now, if only he could remember what went into that Flippin’ Blueberry Martini...

Hitlist

The best events, talks and sport

31 Aug 2006

GB V Netherlands Top level basketball returns to Scotland for the first time in 30 years, as the GB Men’s team play against the Netherlands in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. Meadowbank Sports Centre, 139 London Road, Sat 9 Sep. Look Who’s…

Pole in One

31 Aug 2006

Pole in One How to get on the latest fitness craze - poledancing