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

Health/Wellbeing

Eat to Heal by Lee Holmes

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders It’s hard to disagree that good eating goes hand in hand with good health. And that, for many people, inflammation is the enemy of good health. Whether it’s arthritis, irritable bowel or asthma, inflammation seems to be the root cause of so many annoying and painful symptoms. Lee Holmes’ latest book

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Politics

The Fatal Island by Paul Toohey

Reviewed by Ian Lipke An analysis of The Fatal Island: Bullets, Magic and Power in Timor demands a recognition of its dual nature: it is simultaneously a rigorous piece of investigative journalism by Walkley Award-winner Paul Toohey and a deep, narrative work of true crime. Centred on the volatile early years of an independent East

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Memoir/Biography

War Dog by Jamie Williams

Reviewed by Ian Lipke Jamie Williams’ War Dog blends visceral realism with a focused exploration of human psychological endurance. Rather than relying on melodrama on a grand scale, the novel grounds its narrative in high-stakes combat, spatial tension, and character morality. War Dog reveals a work defined by a disciplined, economical prose style, an evocative

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Daisy Utemorrah Award 2026

Daisy Utemorrah Award Magabala Books and the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards have announced the shortlist for the 2026 Daisy Utemorrah Award. The shortlisted works are: “Barefoot Running”, “a literary First Nations mystery and coming of age novel”, by Amanda Lott, a writer of Bigambul and European heritage “Off by a Mark”, “a contemporary, warm,

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Fantasy/Science Fiction

Theodora’s Tea Shop by Christy Anne Jones

Reviewed by Gayle Williams It’s rare for me to reach for a fantasy novel, but I’ve always had a soft spot for stories centred on witches. That was the initial lure of Christy Anne Jones’s debut novel, Theodora’s Tea Shop. Despite its cozy-sounding title, Jones threads darker, more atmospheric elements through her story. The reader

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Booker Prize 2026 – Longlist

Booker Prize 2026 The longlist for the 2026 Booker Prize, worth £50,000, has been announced. The 13 longlisted books are: The Shadow of the Object (Chloe Aridjis, Chatto & Windus) Switzy (Emma Cline, Chatto & Windus) (forthcoming) Helen of Nowhere (Makenna Goodman, Fitzcarraldo) The End of Everything (M John Harrison, Profile Books) (forthcoming) The Disappearers (Marlon James, Hamish Hamilton) (forthcoming) Black Bag (Luke

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Non-Fiction

Whispering Death by Patricia Skehan

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders Whispering death is the name given to Australia’s Beaufighter planes that were crucial to turning back the Japanese invasion of southeast Asia in World War 2. The planes themselves were formidable, but this is the story of the pilots, crew and mechanics who made up the squadrons. Half a century later,

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Queensland Literary Awards 2026

Queensland Literary Awards 2026 Some of Australia’s most celebrated authors and exciting new literary voices are one step closer to Queensland’s richest literary honours, with the 2026 Queensland Literary Awards (QLAs) announcing this year’s shortlist. More than $200,000 in prize money will be awarded across 12 Published Book and Development Award categories, recognising excellence in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children’s and

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Davitt Awards 2026

Shortlists – Davitt Awards 2026 Sisters in Crime has announced the shortlists for the 2026 Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women. The shortlisted titles the Adult category are: Adult novels At Cafe 64 (Shaeden Barry, Echo Publishing) Learned Behaviours (Zeynab Gamieldien, Ultimo Press) Unbury the Dead (Fiona Hardy, Affirm Press) Mad Mabel (Sally Hepworth, Macmillan)

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