This was one of those ’I’ll only watch it because I’m bored’ films and it was better than I expected.

I’m sure that there are lots of plotholes re.time and causality, but I chose to ignore them and concentrate on the story – which was quite good. Lots of action, a couple of decent characters, great machines and some astonishing firepower. I hate to say it, but the most boring parts involved large amounts of Christian Bale who was moody and intense as usual. I’d love to see him in a comedy!

I knew the film would be better than the book, and it was. The director took all the flab out out of the original (including several characters and a couple of plot arcs), and retained the most powerful elements. I loved the way that he hinted at some of the back stories with just an image or two. It was enough. The ending was perfectly shot. Great film.

Marcus Sedgwick is a damn good writer, but I’m afraid that this book did very little for me.

It’s a strange little novel written simplistically in the style of a fairy tale, from 2 POVs – a masterclass in experimental technique.

So why didn’t I like it?

Firstly, the book has been mysteriously classed as a teenage read, yet there aren’t any references to teenagers in the story. I’m guessing that they did this because of narrative voice. Secondly, I’m not a fan of historical fiction unless it includes an element of fantasy. Thirdly, it just didn’t sit right with me. I found myself wishing that he’d either written a YA book, or written for adults – not created a halfbreed.

What I did like?

The fairy tale analogies, the story behind the book.

So – yes, I felt dissatisfied. This journey was Sedgwick’s baby, but it wasn’t mine. Saying that, I would like to try another novel by him and give him a fair chance.

But not quite. It was better than I expected. I enjoyed the earlier section where she finds her ‘faith’. I wasn’t so interested in her love story – too many ‘darlings’.

I had high expectations for this YA novel and in some ways it didn’t disappoint. The writing was highly-tuned, and the premise was great. Unfortunately, I just didn’t ‘get’ the characters – especially Grace, which meant that the whole love story fell flat. I’ve been trying to work out why it didn’t satisfy me, and I think it was her lack of development. It felt as if she didn’t grow or learn – that she was fully-formed at the beginning and stayed that way.

The film rights have been optioned for this so it will be interesting to see how it will be translated for the camera. A good director could squeeze a masterpiece out of this one.

The Hunger Games was excellent – I found Catching Fire even better – so good that I couldn’t wait to find out what happened on every single page and now I’m disappointed that I’ve finished it. The novel has everything – clean writing, rounded characters, love, fear, horror, meaning. If I could write something this satisfying, I would die happy.

But I didn’t like it as much as How I Live Now, which was one of the best books that I read last year.

Meg Rosoff has real talent and an eye for the quirky, yet it felt as if she had bashed this one out and in doing so, didn’t have chance to fully discover the true essence of the novel. I wonder if she was under pressure from her publisher to produce a fast follow-up so that she could ride the crest of her initial success?

I am willing to accept that screenplays can differ in part from the book and still work – The Shining is a good example, but ‘I am Legend’ took it a step too far.

The central message of the book is about perspective and Neville’s gradual realization that he is, in fact, the bogeyman rather than the mutants. His legend is that of the killer who murders people in their beds while they sleep. It is a dark story, without a happy resolution save perhaps the end-knowledge that the human race may not be as doomed after all, but simply changed.

It was obvious from a third of the way in, that the studios were not going to honour the essence of the novel . Instead, they made a slow blockbuster which only hinted at the humanity of the mutants and glorified Neville as a saviour of mankind. The only speech which came close to expressing the core of the original was the monologue about Bob Marley believing in love and peace.

Cop out.

I feel slightly negative giving this a wishy-washy review because this book is good in many ways. The writing is fast and sharp, and the plot isn’t that bad.

The problem with Altered Carbon, was that it didn’t give me any pause for thought. Yes, the central idea of personality download and ‘re-sleeving’ was fascinating, but it felt as the concept wasn’t explored fully. Morgan writes the action so thick and fast, that sometimes it felt as if I was being thrown too quickly from one situation to another. Too many people, too many sub-plots. Maybe I just like my subtlety too much.

Sci-fi mixed with crime mixed with noir. It’s a cybergeek’s dreamread. If you enjoy full-on testosterone with a dash of intelligence, then this one is for you.

This book really freaked me out when I was younger so I wasn’t sure if it would have the same impact now. I’m glad to report that it did. Alan Garner really knows how to insinuate the supernatural.