Book #50 of 2026: The Rubber Band by Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe #3) This third Nero Wolfe mystery, also published under the alternate title of To Kill Again, is fine, much as the previous installments have been. The best elements remain the eccentric homebody detective and his banter with his assistant Archie, while the specific …
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Book #49 of 2026: Moonrise by Ben Bova (Moonbase Saga #1) I remember liking this mid-90s duology about the first lunar settlement within author Ben Bova’s larger Grand Tour sequence of space exploration stories, but mainly for the political element, which it turns out is mostly in the sequel Moonwar. Here that takes a backseat …
Movie #15 of 2026: Creed III (2023) Can you make a Rocky movie without Rocky Balboa? This latest release in the saga proves that you can, although his absence in the final act is rather conspicuous. Before that, our newer hero Adonis Creed spends most of the picture in retirement, rendering it more plausible that …
Book #48 of 2026: Doctor Who: Frida Kahlo and the Skull Children by Sophie McKenzie (Icons #1) Doctor Who as a franchise has a long history of introducing its alien time-traveler to historical celebrities of Earth, dating all the way back to the Marco Polo serial of its very first season in 1964. This newer …
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Book #47 of 2026: The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker (The Prince of Nothing #1) I know that I read this fantasy novel around when it came out back in 2004, but I couldn’t remember anything about it and I don’t think I ever got to any of the sequels. Revisiting it …
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TV #15 of 2026: 12 Monkeys, season 4 I’ve been iffy on this Syfy series all along, but I’m happy to report that it saved the best for last. Despite all the open threads and sudden twists that have brought us this far, the closing season builds to a satisfying climax and conclusion that manages …
Book #46 of 2026: Jewish Futures: Science Fiction from the World’s Oldest Diaspora edited by Michael A. Burstein [Note: The cover of this book gives the subtitle as “Stories from the World’s Oldest Diaspora,” while the title page and listings online have it as “Science Fiction from…” instead.] This 2023 Kickstarter-funded volume presents 16 new …
Book #45 of 2026: Last One Out by Jane Harper Australian author Jane Harper typically excels at depicting the outback settings of her novels, but I don’t feel quite as struck by the location of this one, which takes place in a dying small town. The dynamic there is interesting, with a local mining company …
TV #14 of 2026: Tin Man, season 1 This 2007 miniseries had been on my radar for a long while due to its great main cast, so I’m glad I finally tracked it down to watch it. (A quick note on that: the show is supposed to be three episodes of roughly 90 minutes each. …
Movie #14 of 2026: Creed II (2018) Rocky IV (1985) was the low point of the original Rocky movies, but it ended up representing an important piece of the backstory for the spinoff Creed (2015). As such, I suppose it’s fitting that this next installment in the saga continues to draw from that source, this …
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