Latest Reviews

History

Queensland Reviewers Collective (QRC) is the new name for an initiative that began eighteen years ago. Up until November 2016 it was known as M/C Reviews. In December 2015, the M/C Reviews website had a major security breach that took it down, and the editor of the book reviews section and some of the reviewers responded by starting a blog as a temporary site for book reviews until the website could be repaired. Unfortunately, it eventually became apparent that the website was not able to be restored, thus ending its long and illustrious presence as a place for the lively engagement with books and film through reviewing.

Once again, the editor and a small group of book reviewers decided they valued M/C Reviews enough to enable its rebirth as the Queensland Reviewers Collective. It no longer has an association with the Queensland University of Technology.

The website that M/C Reviews was initially a part of was M/C – Media and Culture, founded in 1998 as, according to the History section, ‘a place of public intellectualism, analysing and critiquing the meeting of media and culture’. It was meant as a place where the popular and the academic could meet, and ‘debates may have some resonance with wider political and cultural interests’.

The website was initiated and developed at the University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; since 2004, it has been hosted by the Creative Industries Faculty at the Queensland University of Technology in Kelvin Grove. The first publication was the M/C Journal, still thriving today, followed by M/C Reviews, and then M/Cyclopedia of New Media.

Acknowledgement of Country

In the spirit of reconciliation Queensland Reviewers Collective acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

Other Reviews

Crime/Mystery

Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale

Reviewed by Rod McLary There is something about rural noir which immediately engages the hearts and minds of Australian readers.  Whether it is the immersion in the landscape, the laconic dialogue of the characters, or the familiarity of those characters, the novels in this genre – think Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, Jack Heath and others

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Crime/Mystery

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts

Reviewed by Ian Lipke This is vintage Nora Roberts – with the odd strength and certainly weakness thrown in. It is a novel about an injured cop who fights to bring down a pair of twisted killers. Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers

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Children

Smarty Pup – Time to Fly by Anh Do

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke Once again well-known celebrity Anh Do and illustrator, Anton Emdin, have combined to produce another book in the series Smarty Pup. For those who do not know this series, Lily’s dog JJ had once had purple space goop plopped on him and since then he had become a talking genius, so

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Children

Yildaan by Uncle Bud Marshall with Yandaarra

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This book is another beautifully presented hard-covered children’s book about Dreaming stories. Presented by First Nations’ people, these books share the stories and knowledge passed down from generations to generations. The information in this particular book is presented by Uncle Bud Marshall who shares information of the land around Nambucca Heads.

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Children

My Cousins, My World by Sharara Attai

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke This beautiful hard-covered children’s book is by debut author Sharara Attai.  She believes that the racial and cultural diversity within her own children and their cousins is a good reflection of modern-day Australia. Through the brief text on each page and illustrations including people from diverse backgrounds, she shares the message

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General Fiction

Out of the Woods by Gretchen Shirm

Reviewed by Ian Lipke Gretchen Shirm’s book, Out of the Woods, is such an accomplished piece of work that a reader is encouraged into speculation. Evidence exists to provide a solid case. We are told that the writer was a former lawyer, a conclusion we would have drawn from the tightness of the title, the

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General Fiction

The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose

Reviewed by Wendy Lipke The Maid’s Secret is another story by Nita Pronovost, better known by her pen name Nita Prose. Her Maid series of stories includes The Mistletoe Mystery, The Mystery Guest and The Maid. Her 2022 debut novel, The Maid, won an Anthony Award (2023), Barry Award (2023), Goodreads Choice Award (2022), Macavity

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Memoir/Biography

Annette Kellerman by Grantlee Kieza

Reviewed by Ian Lipke Annette Kellerman had little hope of living a normal, suburban life, at least that’s the way Grantlee Kieza tells her story in his latest biography. The granddaughter of a grandmother and mother who could be classed only as odd, and a grandfather who, in his eccentricity, chose to live his life

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Author Event

Author Event – Avid Reader MONDAY 19 MAY 2025 | INSTORE EVENT 6pm for a 6.30pm start | 60 mins Join us for a Salon event with Dominic Amerena. This event will introduce three emerging writers before a conversation with Dominic about his debut novel. ABOUT THE BOOK The legendary career of reclusive cult author

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If you would like to contact the coordinator of the Queensland Reviewers Collective, either to enquire about becoming a reviewer, to offer a book to review, or to make a comment on the blog generally, please use the form.

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