TV #58 of 2022: Dead to Me, season 3 The first year of this show started off relatively grounded and serious before escalating wildly into a succession of ridiculous soap-opera twists, which then took center stage in season 2. This final run seems aimed to split the difference, with more of the identical twin / …
Author Archives: Joe Kessler
Book Review: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
Book #189 of 2022: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea #3) The Earthsea Cycle was originally presented as a trilogy, published from 1968 to 1972, and in that context, I think this concluding novel is a bit of a disappointment. It’s heavy on mysticism but light on plot or detailed worldbuilding, and …
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Book Review: Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie
Book #188 of 2022: Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #27) A weaker Poirot entry. The inciting event of a string of petty thefts, vandalism, and related mischief at a youth hostel seems well below the Belgian detective’s usual standards for investigation, and his premonition that the case will soon prove more serious …
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Book Review: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
Book #187 of 2022: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (Lays of the Hearth-Fire #1) A wonderful warm hug of a novel, and probably my top read of the year. It’s rare for a 900-page fantasy tome to feel so cozy, let alone to forgo any significant romance or acts of violence throughout …
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Book Review: Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk
Book #186 of 2022: Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk Like most novellas, this fantasy story feels like it probably could have been improved by developing its plots, themes, and worldbuilding at greater length, but in the short space allotted, it gets by just fine on pure premise and tone. It’s …
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Book Review: Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore
Book #185 of 2022: Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore (Graceling Realm #5) The loose Graceling series moves at unusual rhythms, both on the macro level of an ostensibly-cohesive ongoing saga and on the micro level within its individual books. These stories regularly zig where the rest of the fantasy genre tends to zag, and while the …
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Book Review: Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse
Book #184 of 2022: Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse (Between Earth and Sky #2) Black Sun was one of my top reads of 2020, an adult fantasy debut set in a refreshingly diverse world inspired by pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations. Any sequel would likely struggle to match it, and sure enough, this bridge title in the …
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Book Review: The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly
Book #183 of 2022: The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly (Ballard and Bosch #3) Much like author Michael Connelly’s previous novel The Law of Innocence incorporated the real-life COVID-19 pandemic, this 2021 title reflects the strained state of policing in the aftermath of protests over the murder of George Floyd and the systemic racism it …
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Book Review: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
Book #182 of 2022: The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson (Wax and Wayne #3 / Mistborn #6) [Note: I am Facebook friends with this author. Review originally written in 2016.] The fight scenes in this novel are top-notch, and it’s great to see new applications of the basic magic principles Sanderson introduced in the …
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Book Review: Doctor Who: Origin Stories by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Sophie Aldred, Jasbinder Bilan, Nikita Gill, Mark Griffiths, Katy Manning, Emma Norry, Temi Oh, and Dave Rudden
Book #181 of 2022: Doctor Who: Origin Stories by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Sophie Aldred, Jasbinder Bilan, Nikita Gill, Mark Griffiths, Katy Manning, Emma Norry, Temi Oh, and Dave Rudden A mixed bag, as such collections often are. The premise of this Doctor Who title is that its entries are prequels exploring various incidents from before the …
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