Book #46 of 2021: No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox I think most people probably have a fondness for actor Michael J. Fox, due to lingering affection for the beloved characters he’s played, sympathy for the early-onset Parkinson’s disease that reoriented his career and continues to affect his …
Author Archives: Joe Kessler
Book Review: Infinity Blade: Awakening by Brandon Sanderson
Book #45 of 2021: Infinity Blade: Awakening by Brandon Sanderson This 2011 media tie-in novella is an odd curiosity, even with author Brandon Sanderson bringing his usual talents to the task. It takes place in-between two mobile games to apparently bridge their stories together, and I imagine it would read better for an audience familiar …
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Book Review: The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift by Steve Leder
Book #44 of 2021: The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift by Steve Leder A powerful meditation on saying goodbye to loved ones who are dead or dying, and learning how to carry on without them. Author Steve Leder is a rabbi who has spent decades counseling his congregants …
TV Review: His Dark Materials, season 2
TV #17 of 2021: His Dark Materials, season 2 A clear improvement over the debut year of this literary fantasy series, in two key areas. First, perhaps simply due to an increased effects budget, we actually see dæmons — the trademark animal soul companions of the franchise — in most shots of anyone from Lyra’s …
Book Review: Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Book #43 of 2021: Snuff by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #39) Another fine comic adventure, but not quite up to author Terry Pratchett’s best work, which makes it all the more regrettable that this is where we leave the stalwart Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. The writer finished just one or two further …
Book Review: Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Book #42 of 2021: Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy I like the idea of setting this story in a near-future dystopia where climate change has led to mass extinctions, but the overall project is a bit of a misfire for me. I’m deeply uninterested in the narrator’s mysterious past, which comes out in dribs and drabs …
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TV Review: The Stand
TV #16 of 2021: The Stand There’s a promising start to this recent adaptation of Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic epic, which adopts a bold new nonlinear approach to introduce its main characters both surviving the immediate downfall of society across America and establishing a new settlement in the remains of Boulder. Remixing the narrative in that …
Book Review: The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson
Book #41 of 2021: The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson (Mordant’s Need #1) As with many of author Stephen R. Donaldson’s works, I have some complicated feelings towards the Mordant’s Need duology, and especially this first volume. In terms of worldbuilding and atmosphere, the story is top-notch. The mirror-based magical system is …
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TV Review: Community, season 1
TV #15 of 2021: Community, season 1 This is an interesting season to approach on a rewatch, even after so long away. Like many sitcoms, the series takes a while to settle into its rhythms and find its distinctive style, and so a lot of the earlier stuff doesn’t quite feel like the Community that …
Book Review: Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein
Book #40 of 2021: Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein Another podcast turned pop science book, this one offering a whirlwind tour of the history of money as a concept, from its earliest known appearance in ancient civilizations through today’s cutting-edge developments of cryptocurrency and MMT. Author Jacob Goldstein clearly …
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The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 