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

Children

Sword Echoes: Pirate Academy 3 by Justin Somper

Reviewed by Rod McLary Sword Echoes: Pirate Academy 3 is the third in this series of adventure books for children from about nine through to early teenage years.  It is as exciting and adventurous as the first two – and for those readers new to the books, there is a handy ‘The Story So Far

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Memoir/Biography

The Missing Piece by James O’Loghlin

Reviewed by Ian Lipke The moving story of a man who was struck down by mesothelioma and his friend who moved the equivalent of the earth to save him. The story opens with a number of lovely character studies of young men at university. Life as lived by these men rings true to the ears

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Crime/Mystery

The Final Six by Akinari Asakura

Reviewed by Ian Lipke The first part of this book is a story of hunger for power, of ambition in the raw, of naked corporate greed. The book is based on the elite technology industry in Japan and tells the story of six high achievers who have beaten all opposition to compete for a highly

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History

The Shortest History of Scotland by Murray Pittock

Reviewed by Norrie Sanders A history of Scotland is as much about its contribution to the world as about the events that took place within its borders. Scottish people, places and innovations are familiar: where would the world be without whisky, Loch Lomond, bagpipes, chloroform, Robbie Burns and Adam Smith? A constant stream of emigration

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Young Adult

Once Upon Tomorrow by Karen Comer

Reviewed by Clare Brook Three stories, about three girls, living in different times, woven together to form one novel for young adults.  Such is Once Upon Tomorrow by Karen Comer, she skilfully illustrates social connection through time via tradition, textiles, and female agency.  There is also a dystopian element that warns of a future controlled

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Crime/Mystery

Devil Mountain by Inessa Jackson

Reviewed by Ian Lipke Detective Sergeant Anastasia Brown suffers heartbreak and humiliation. Her ex-boyfriend cannot handle her promotion above him, and her superior officers consider a woman in the force to be out of her place. Ana, upset as she is, welcomes the chance to do well in this new community where a man has

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General Fiction

Dirtpickers by Edie May Hand

Reviewed by Rod McLary This debut novel by Irish writer Edie May Hand is a breathtaking read from beginning to end.  I have seldom read a first book which encompasses both the breadth and depth of a story about family, pervading violence, and ultimately survival so well and so engrossingly. From the first sentence –

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Crime/Mystery

Blood, Rust and Steel by Stuart MacBride

Reviewed by Gayle Williams Stuart MacBride’s Blood, Rust, and Steel is yet another reminder of why he remains one of Britain’s most accomplished crime writers. The next instalment in the spin‑off from the Logan McRae series, the novel centres on Acting Detective Inspector Roberta Steel — one of MacBride’s most distinctive and compelling anti‑heroes. After

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Crime/Mystery

Where Truth Ends by Mark Smith

Reviewed by Ian Lipke It’s not a new idea. Writers of many generations have considered the tale that is told when a young innocent decides to fix a worldwide problem only to discover that her colleagues are not as innocent as she first thought. Now, an innocent girl is on the run. Meg Maher joins

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