Book #130 of 2019: Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb (The Rain Wild Chronicles #1) The fourth series in Robin Hobb’s larger Elderlings saga starts out pretty slowly (and doesn’t improve much on that front, if memory serves). That’s a common fault in the author’s works, but it’s so aggravated in this initial Rain Wilds novel …
Author Archives: Joe Kessler
Book Review: Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant
Book #129 of 2019: Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant Although this novella has an important message about vaccination and herd immunity, the characters and the plot feel pretty abbreviated. That’s partly an artifact of length, but author Mira Grant — who also publishes under the name Seanan McGuire — has been able …
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Book Review: The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis
Book #150 of 2017: The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis A short but powerful tract from Pope Francis on the merciful aspect of God’s nature, especially as interpreted through Catholic doctrine. His Holiness explains, with citations to scripture and centuries of church scholarship, how God is eternally forgiving of people’s shortcomings and …
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Book Review: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Book #128 of 2019: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials #1) Another old favorite that I’m revisiting, this time in anticipation of the upcoming TV adaptation. This trilogy ultimately goes in some odd directions (and I was underwhelmed by its recent prequel), but the first novel is a masterful piece of fiction, …
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Book Review: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Book #127 of 2019: My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Prickly, brooding, and bitingly hilarious, this short novel is many things in not very many pages. It’s the story of a devoted older sister who loves her beautiful sibling, yet resents being stuck in her shadow — and having to keep cleaning up …
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Book Review: Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep
Book #126 of 2019: Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep This is practically three books in one, and while I appreciate the overall effort, I do feel like the project weakens as it goes along and doesn’t quite tie together as closely as I would like in …
Book Review: SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
Book #125 of 2019: SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard An impressively readable overview of the first millennium of ancient Rome, from its murky beginnings around 753 BCE through the imperial decree in 212 CE that radically expanded its citizenship and arguably altered its essential character. Classics professor Mary Beard does a …
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TV Review: Marvel’s Jessica Jones, season 3
TV #27 of 2019: Marvel’s Jessica Jones, season 3 A confident send-off to both this series and the larger Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, canceled in the lead-up to the new Disney+ streaming platform. The serial killer bad guy could sometimes feel like he wandered in from a show like Dexter, but I …
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Book Review: The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu
Book #124 of 2019: The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu This novel is well-written, but its pieces never really cohere together for me. The story of five Asian-Canadian girls who get lost while camping alternates with extended chapters exploring each one’s teenage and early adult life, a structure that should presumably offer …
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Blog Launch
Hello! My name is Joe Kessler, and I’ve been blogging in one form or another since 2004. This is the launch of my new home for that, where I’ll be posting book reviews and other short pieces of writing. I’m also debuting a Patreon site for anyone who would like to support my efforts through …
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 