TV #20 of 2023: Classic Doctor Who, season 6 The end of an era for the show, in several different ways. This 1968-1969 run is the final year to be aired in black-and-white, and from a modern perspective, it contains the last episodes that are missing from the BBC archives, with only the audio recordings …
Author Archives: Joe Kessler
Book Review: The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
Book #66 of 2023: The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie Early on, this novel carries some of the wistfully philosophical vibes of author Agatha Christie’s pseudonymous Mary Westmacott books, and although that tone is dropped as the story goes along, I think it still might have worked better if it had been published under a …
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Book Review: Even Greater Mistakes by Charlie Jane Anders
Book #65 of 2023: Even Greater Mistakes by Charlie Jane Anders This short story collection feels less uneven than many of its ilk, but unfortunately, that’s because I’ve tended to respond to each entry with the same disappointed half-sigh. Most of them show an interesting spark, either of character, premise, or background worldbuilding! I especially …
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Book Review: Pines by Blake Crouch
Book #64 of 2023: Pines by Blake Crouch (Wayward Pines #1) I picked up this 2012 novel on the strength of author Blake Crouch’s later sci-fi thrillers like Dark Matter and Recursion, but this earlier effort isn’t really in the same league. It’s long on vibes but short on story, and although I haven’t seen …
TV Review: Six Feet Under, season 4
TV #19 of 2023: Six Feet Under, season 4 For most of this season, I expected I would give it the same three-star rating that I’ve assigned to its previous runs, reflecting a series that is deeply uneven: an engaging family drama with some individual scenes that are affecting and periodically profound meditations on death …
Book Review: A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
Book #63 of 2023: A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher A fun little horror novella about a woman whose mom’s house is being haunted by the malevolent spirit of the protagonist’s abusive grandmother. It’s a quick read overall, but I think it stays a bit too long in the initial stage of the …
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TV Review: Star Trek: Voyager, season 7
TV #18 of 2023: Star Trek: Voyager, season 7 I’ve never been too enamored of Star Trek’s extended Lost in Space riff, but this final season is such an improvement over the previous outings that I’m happy to bump my rating up to four-out-of-five stars. My earliest complaint about this series, taken from my review …
Book Review: Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes
Book #62 of 2023: Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes Overall a fun bit of light depravity. I think the wish-fulfillment ending and the framing device of the book being a published guide to all the secrets of a purportedly clandestine institution weaken it a little, but it’s a fine …
Book Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Book #61 of 2023: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin A lovely and heartfelt story about two Gen-X childhood friends who grow up and become collaborative partners in making world-famous video games together. I’m reminded strongly of Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, as well as the novels Taylor Jenkins …
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Book Review: Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers
Book #60 of 2023: Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers This is such a nifty idea for a short story collection, with every entry following different members of the same extended Cherokee family yet moving steadily forward in time, ultimately spanning from 1839 to 2039. (There are a few callbacks and recurring characters across …
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The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 