Reviews

Reviews

Holding Pride and Truth Together

Review: The Shortest History of Australia, Mark McKenna, Black Inc and Australia: A History, Tony Abbott, HarperCollins If you are thinking of reading Tony Abbott’s history of Australia, allow me to humbly suggest an alternative. Abbott says in the introduction to his book that it is one that ‘should never have been needed’. It isn’t […]

Nick Mattiske · 22 January 2026

Reviews

Power-ful Art

Review: J W Power: An Australian avant-gardist, Ann Stephen and A D S Donaldson, National Library of Australia J W Power is – or at least was – one of our most neglected artists, yet one of the most important, because of the innovative quality of his art, his influence on European artists through his […]

Nick Mattiske · 21 January 2026

Reviews

Dreams of Mars

Review: The Martians, David Baron, Liveright Publishing Had you been an American living at the turn of the twentieth century, you may have believed, incredibly, that there was intelligent life on Mars, confirmed by astronomers who observed geometric canals on the planet’s surface and popularised by the newspapers, and that efforts were being made to […]

Nick Mattiske · 13 January 2026

Reviews

A Great RPG Series Grows Even Deeper

Review: Octopath Traveler 0 Across its first two entries, the Octopath Traveler series has established itself as one of the most exciting names in the RPG space. The first game, which featured eight “main” characters who you guided through separate stories, excelled thanks to its fantastic retro-style visuals and deep, moreish combat, and Octopath Traveler […]

James O'Connor · 9 January 2026

Reviews

The Uneasy Faith of England

Reviews: The English Soul: Faith of a Nation, Peter Ackroyd, Reaktion In Peter Ackroyd’s history of the English and Christianity, he emphasises a kind of pragmatic and reserved Christianity, exemplified by the Elizabethan attempt at a ‘middle way’ and the quiet country parishes of George Herbert or Ronald Blythe. As comfortable as this may seem, […]

Nick Mattiske · 8 January 2026

Reviews

“I’m not that kind of Christian”: Rebuilding our Faith after ‘deconstruction’

A New Testament scholar’s new book to be released in February tackles the subject of how to rebuild faith after ‘deconstruction.’ Dr James McGrath is a New Testament scholar based at Butler University in Indianna. He told Insights his new book was about how to realign your Christian faith after your worldview changes. “The term […]

Jonathan Foye · 7 January 2026

Reviews

The Way of the Dodo

Reviews: Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction, Sadiah Qureshi, Allen Lane/Penguin, The End of Eden, Adam Welz, Bloomsbury Extinction is a fact of life on Earth, but it is only recently that we have recognised the potential for humans to cause extinction. Previously, nature was seen as so vast as to seem inexhaustible. But there […]

Nick Mattiske · 10 December 2025

Reviews

Choosing Forever: Faith and Love in the New A24 Film Eternity

A24’s film Eternity places you in a world that asks questions about life, love, and what lasts beyond death. Directed by David Freyne, the story follows Joan (Elizabeth Olsen), who arrives in the afterlife to discover she has one week to decide where to spend eternity. The choice is complicated: she must decide between her […]

Adrian Drayton · 4 December 2025

Reviews

Orienting the Mystic Towards God

Reviews: Why We Believe, Alister McGrath, Oneworld | On Mysticism, Simon Critchley, Profile In his latest book, Alister McGrath returns to his battle with the New Atheists, which may seem as dated as interest in Britney Spears’ personal life, but his point remains that people need meaning and story, not just facts – not as […]

Nick Mattiske · 3 December 2025

Reviews

The Pokémon Game Series Takes One More Step Forward

Review: Pokémon Legends: Z-A The last few Pokémon RPGs on Switch – Legends Arceus, then Scarlet/Violet and their expansions – have had the feeling of a series at a tipping point. They’ve presented more open worlds, some new mechanics, and have gotten closer to the experience that those of us old enough to have loved […]

James O'Connor · 2 December 2025

Reviews

Plur1bus Episode 5: When Care Becomes Control

Episode 5 of Pluribus titled “Got Milk” pushes the story into sharper territory by focusing on power, responsibility and the uneasy space between care and coercion. The fallout from Carol’s use of the truth serum has altered the hive’s behaviour. Their visits to her home are sparse and subdued. The ease and confidence they once […]

Adrian Drayton · 1 December 2025

Reviews

The Traitors: Revenge, Redemption, and the Gospel According to Claudia Winkleman

Don’t judge me, but I’ve recently become a fan of the UK version of The Traitors, specifically the most recent season on Channel Ten, Celebrity Traitors. Sure, in a landscape of prestige television, The Traitors is the weirdest reality show ever devised, but perhaps this is what makes it watchable. Bear with me as I […]

Adrian Drayton · 27 November 2025

Reviews

An AI Named Solomon Ray Now Tops Christian Charts, Prompting Debate Over Faith, Art and Authenticity

The top Christian act on iTunes this week is not Lauren Daigle, For King and Country, Brandon Lake or any other familiar name. It is an AI system called Solomon Ray. Ray’s debut album Faithful Soul and the single Find Your Rest reached No. 1 on the Christian albums chart and No. 1 and No. […]

Adrian Drayton · 25 November 2025

Reviews

Plur1bus Episode 4: The Cost of Truth

Note: This commentary contains spoilers for episode four of Plur1bus Episode four ‘Please Carol’ pushes Carol (Rhea Seehorn) further into her interrogation of the hive-mind now that she has confirmed they cannot lie. A calm conversation with Larry, one of the hive’s representatives, exposes how limited that honesty is. Their answers come from collective memory […]

Adrian Drayton · 22 November 2025

Reviews

“The Promised Land” Finds Holy Humour in the Wilderness of Faith

The Bible is a pretty hot property at the moment with the character-based drama of The Chosen, the fantasy stylings of House of David, and the modern-day dystopian take of Acts in Testament.  They all show how recent Bible adaptations are experimenting with genre and storytelling. Now comes The Promised Land – a mockumentary about […]

Adrian Drayton · 20 November 2025

Reviews

Plur1bus Episode 3 Turns Loneliness into Defiance

Note: This commentary contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Plur1bus Episode 3 of Plur1bus titled “Grenade” opens by deepening the isolation of Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) who remains the un-joined individual in a world now subsumed by the hive-mind. A flash-back to a trip Carol and her partner Helen take to an ice-hotel gives emotional […]

Adrian Drayton · 19 November 2025