The It-List

Books

Mike Shevdon: "Sixty-One Nails"

I like my fairies dark, and my London slightly messed-up. I've long loved the thought of London being one of those places where modern and medieval meet, particularly in the City - which is one of my favourite parts. I picked this book up and couldn't put it down: it had to be pried from my fingers when I'd finished it, and even now I still get the urge to pick it up and stroke it once in a while...

Michael Marshall: "The Lonely Dead"

I have a lot of time for Michael Marshall (Smith), and "The Straw Men" really drew me in: one scene in particular will stick with me for a very, very long time, for good or ill. He certainly gives good serial killer - to the point where you're not sure you want to be left alone in a dark alley / well-lit room any time soon. And yet somehow, I've found myself going back for more with the follow-up to "The Straw Men."
The house with all the lights on at 2am? That'll be mine. I'm such a wuss.

Rod Rees: "The Demi-Monde"

This is one I heard about on the grapevine at WHC. This is going to be massive - metaphorically and literally. It's a multi-volume series set in the eponymous Demi-Monde, a virtual world designed as a military training ground and created by the world's first quantum computer. Not due out for a while, but there's already a pretty impressive website up to get you in the mood: http://www.thedemi-monde.com

Music

Massive Attack: Heligoland

It's like "Mezzanine" on steroids, and a joy to hear. If you like your joy broody and trippy. "Atlas Air" is my stand-out track.

Pendulum: Watercolour

I'll admit, I'm incredibly excited about everything coming out of the Pendulum studio in the run-up to the new album in May, and this is no exception. Also, the video rocks.

Film & TV

Killing Zoe

It took me about 15 years to watch this. I've walked past it in places like HMV so many times, and always said "Oh, yeah. That one," cheerily ignoring my inner-teenager, who was still yelling at me that for some inexplicable reason she will, like, die if she doesn't get to see it. Well, now she has. I'd heard some pretty dire things about it so went in with very low expectations - but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had been led to believe. Not at all: in fact I rather liked it. Yes, it's flawed, but for me it gets a bad rep because people compare it to Tarantino - which it isn't. And perhaps that's why I like it: it solves the problem I have with watching the almighty QT's films... that I don't actually *like* Tarantino. It's dark and violent and nihilistic and funny and bleak and downright odd, and somehow for me, at least, that works.

Caprica

Leading neatly on from "Killing Zoe" (the connection being Eric Stoltz. I was as surprised as you), I've been obsessed with Caprica. No, really. Obsessed. It's genius. I wasn't a fan of BSG, and so gave this a miss when it premiered, but somewhere along the way I've been utterly sucked in. The writing is spot-on, the characters are complex and Daniel Graystone is a (possibly-evil) genius. Seriously: I'm Team Graystone all the way. It's a beautiful looking show, too, and although it's gone on mid-season break, I can't wait for the next episode.

Dr Who

Oh, come on. Like you're not excited?