The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more

Book Review: Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Book #85 of 2026:

Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

I don’t read a lot of actual comic books, but I bought this in the airport on a recent whim, having heard how classic and influential it’s considered in such circles. (It’s also in part the basis for certain arcs on Marvel’s Daredevil show — although ironically not the Disney+ revival that actually shares its name.) And I am indeed impressed! I’m by no means an aficionado of these things, but Frank Miller’s writing is probably the strongest I’ve seen in this medium outside of Watchmen. The story is great too, telling a fairly self-contained plot in which the villainous Kingpin, learning that his superhero nemesis Daredevil is secretly the lawyer Matt Murdock, proceeds to use every subtle influence and piece of blackmail in his vast criminal network to ruin the man’s life. His career falls apart, his friends abandon him, his assets are frozen, and his house is destroyed, all without the antagonist openly revealing his schemes.

That tale originally played out over the serialized pages of Daredevil issues #227 – #233, 1985 – 1986, as a collaboration between Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli, each of whom had previously contributed to the series independently with different collaborators. (This bound 2025 edition includes their first team-up as well, the standalone #226 that directly preceded the Born Again run, although it’s confusingly presented at the end of the volume instead of the start.) The result here is pretty powerful, bringing the hero to his absolute lowest point before allowing him to build himself back up again and find a degree of triumph.

If I’m being nitpicky, not everything wraps up neatly in the end, which is partly why I tend to steer clear of this world. There’s no immediate follow-through to developments like Matt discovering his mother’s identity, even if some author presumably did something more with that concept eventually, and the status quo at the close is remarkably similar to where we begin. It’s also funny as a non-reader to remember how interconnected this continuity is, even beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptations that I’m more familiar with. Captain America pops up for some late assistance against the henchman Nuke, for example, and reporter Ben Urich’s editor is J. Jonah Jameson, whom I only knew as a Spider-Man character before this. Their inclusion lands somewhere between a distraction and a fun cameo, at least for me.

This hasn’t necessarily converted me to reading further in this line — though I might need to rewatch the old Netflix program now — but it’s been a good time regardless, and I could see myself checking out more of Miller’s work specifically at some point later on.

[Content warning for drug abuse and gun violence.]

★★★★☆

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Book Review: Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae

Book #84 of 2026:

Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae

This YA romance is cute, but relatively lightweight — it’s a pretty quick read anyway, and it’s not until the last quarter of the text that the heroine finally realizes she isn’t straight and has been crushing on her new best friend at summer volleyball camp. The stronger element is the representation of her autism, which manifests in part as private rules she’s set for herself on how to fit in and feign normalcy in social settings. Relatable! She’s only there in the program because she thinks it might help her win back the ex-boyfriend everyone expects her to date, and her whole arc is about befriending the other campers and realizing she can be her full authentic self instead.

It’s a message of warm acceptance that’s lovely for younger readers to get to hear — the characters are rising high school seniors, and despite the double entendre of the title, there’s nothing raunchier than kissing throughout — but also one of those stories where everybody bluntly shares their various identity groups without much nuance. I could have done without the standard romcom miscommunication device as well, and I especially would have liked a firmer sense of place to the Florida setting. I used to be a Floridian teen myself, but all that location really amounts to in this book is the fact that they’re playing the beach version of the sport and that it’s very hot outside. (Are the queer kids particularly worried about intolerance in a southern state that’s trending more and more conservative? What’s the local culture like? Are there any notable landmarks, or any specificity in the surrounding flora and fauna to otherwise drive home where this is supposed to be set? Give me something here, please!)

Three stars because this isn’t totally bad, and I did even consider rounding that up a degree, since it feels so specifically aimed at a less discerning teenage audience. But it just doesn’t deliver everything I’d ideally want from it, in the end.

★★★☆☆

TV Review: Bob’s Burgers, season 16

TV #27 of 2026:

Bob’s Burgers, season 16

I don’t have much to say about this animated sitcom that I haven’t said many times before, because Bob’s Burgers as a show is basically stuck in a longtime comfortable rut. It’s reliably funny enough to keep watching, and I especially like the initial episode of this year, “Grand Pre-Pre-Pre-Opening,” which explores Bob and Linda first buying the restaurant 14 years ago, when she was pregnant with Tina. That’s the kind of story that clearly knows its characters inside and out, and lovingly finds ways to showcase how they were different back then, yet recognizably on a journey towards their old familiar selves. (Of course, as ever, you do have to accept the cartoon logic there and set aside the fact that we’ve been following these people for even longer than the supposed flashback timeframe now, while they don’t really age at all.)

Nothing else this season quite hits those same heights for me, and at this point, I’m looking for signs of emotional growth or new recurring guest stars or running jokes or structural flourishes or the like to prove the series still has some surprises left. Absent that, this is a string of acceptable outputs from a trusted comedy formula, but not terribly exciting.

★★★☆☆

Book Review: The Original by Nell Stevens

Book #83 of 2026:

The Original by Nell Stevens

I’m unfortunately a bit underwhelmed by this historical fiction novel, which has a few interesting components that never really cohere together for me. The best part is the heroine’s overall struggle to live as a closeted queer woman in turn-of-the-century London, but it doesn’t have much of a surrounding plot to bracket it. She’s practicing her skills at painting forgeries in the hopes of being able to support herself independently someday, and the entire household is navigating the arrival of a man who may or may not be her long-lost cousin, but there’s seldom any forward momentum on either front. I also would have liked her faceblindness to play more of a role in the story, as it’s probably her most distinctive character trait.

What will stick with me is the book’s depiction of how that protagonist subtly signals and reciprocates her interest in other women with a glance, a gesture, or a plaintive, “Are you like me?” But the sporadically-paced larger narrative gets in the way of all that, and isn’t entirely satisfying in the end.

[Content warning for ableism, homophobia, drug abuse, incest, suicide, and gore.]

★★★☆☆

Book Review: The Precipice by Ben Bova

Book #82 of 2026:

The Precipice by Ben Bova (The Asteroid Wars #1)

This 2001 novel marks the start of a new sub-series within author Ben Bova’s Grand Tour saga, but it also represents the culmination of several previous titles that provide valuable context for returning readers. It’s chronologically the last of his stories to feature tech CEO Dan Randolph as the hero (although the prequel Powersat would be published afterwards), and finds that former billionaire now older and poorer, scrambling to prove the viability of the asteroid-belt mining industry before his remaining assets can be seized. His womanizing and action-adventure antics have thankfully both been toned down in his later years, and what emerges offers a nice balance between the corporate intrigues and the more immediate perils of deep space exploration. Our protagonist is on a humanitarian mission to save the planet from the disastrous effects of climate change by showing how distant celestial bodies can yield the necessary resources for all recovery efforts, while likewise maneuvering to fend off a cutthroat rival only interested in the fortune to be made from such a venture.

It’s a fun crossover as well, connecting back to characters like Doug Stavenger from Moonrise and Moonwar, who wind up integral to the plot. There are even references to Sam Gunn, a recurring figure from the writer’s short fiction whose pulp escapades don’t really fit within the more grounded sci-fi of the Grand Tour but are funny to imagine that they do. (In other franchise terms, this is kind of like how the Guardians of the Galaxy technically share a common continuity with Marvel’s Daredevil, or Iris Wildthyme being canonical to Doctor Who. As in those cases, it more or less works if you don’t think too hard about it, but the cognitive dissonance is admittedly amusing.)

Overall the book functions as a neat passing-of-the-mantle moment to a new generation of heroes who will follow in Dan’s wake, and I’m excited to see what that looks like in the volumes ahead.

★★★★☆

Movie Review: Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (2021)

Movie #26 of 2026:

Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (2021)

A largely unnecessary second finale to the series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which had ended its TV run on NBC seven months earlier. As far as I can determine, The Roku Channel picked up this production in the dashed hopes of greenlighting a third season if it performed well on that platform, but whether you view it as an intended detour or an overall conclusion, it never feels remotely urgent. After all, what was really left to say about these characters beyond the two years we’d already spent with them? The cliffhanger of Max spontaneously developing heartsong powers of his own is the only significant open thread going into this title, and it’s not even explained in a satisfying way — although it’s not like Zoey’s abilities ever were in the first place either, I suppose!

So absent any built-in stakes coming into this plot, the writers have to introduce new ones, which is a reasonable approach. But their solution is that the upcoming holiday season will be the Clarke family’s first one without their patriarch Mitch, and that’s giving them all a bit of a complex (and providing a justification for this being a Christmas film). There’s the usual singing and dancing as our neurotic protagonist tries to take on her dead father’s role in delivering a perfect festive celebration, and she eventually learns that she has to loosen up a little instead. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, and while it aims to service everyone in its cast, it doesn’t spend much time digging into the new status quo of Zoey and her boyfriend now both being able to hear people’s innermost thoughts in musical form, which seems like a real waste.

I like these folks enough that I don’t mind spending another 90 minutes with them for a random one-off special like this — though it would’ve been nice to pull back other actors from the show’s past like Lauren Graham as Joan as well — but the end result doesn’t come anywhere close to either justifying its existence as a sequel or constituting a decent standalone Christmas movie you’d ever want to watch in its own right.

★★★☆☆

Book Review: Doctor Who: Lucifer Rising by Andy Lane and Jim Mortimer

Book #81 of 2026:

Doctor Who: Lucifer Rising by Andy Lane and Jim Mortimer (Virgin New Adventures #14)

The longest entry in its series so far is also one of the best, delivering a militaristic space opera that in many ways presages later adventures in the franchise such as The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit or The Waters of Mars. Like those eventual New Who stories, this 90s novel involves a distant outpost of scientists studying ancient alien mysteries, who begin getting killed off amid an eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere that verges on cosmic horror. Is it the influence of those inscrutable beings who might not be totally dead after all, or a simple saboteur hiding in the ranks?

Continuity-wise, this falls shortly after Ace’s return to the Seventh Doctor’s side as a more battle-hardened soldier still beholden to the forces who’d employed her in the meantime. In fact, her loyalties are torn here to the extent that she effectively spends part of the book operating as one of the villains — a move that would prove divisive among contemporary fans, but certainly makes her a more interesting antihero character (sort of like Turlough, back on TV). She moreover continues to display good tension and form a compelling contrast with Bernice, the Time Lord’s current primary companion.

The action goes to some unexpected places, and ultimately pushes the Doctor to take up arms himself and admit that manipulating other people into doing his dirty work hasn’t kept his soul very clean, which seems like a pretty major step for him. It’s a dark and mature piece throughout, as readers probably expect by now — sex! violence! canonically queer romance! — and so long as you don’t mind that the parent show was originally envisaged as more of a wholesome family program, I think the continued shift in that direction for the dedicated adults who were keeping the property alive is perfectly fine. At least this particular title uses its darkness to service the plot and never feels edgy just for the sake of it, as a few of the previous volumes sometimes have. It’s definitely a winner in my opinion, give or take the kind of dubious Native American mysticism that Star Trek: Voyager was likewise peddling around this era.

[Content warning for gun violence, body horror, amputation, suicide, and gore.]

★★★★☆

Book Review: Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

Book #80 of 2026:

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings (The Belgariad #1)

I suppose I’m interested enough to read more of this 80s fantasy saga, but it all feels pretty generic so far, and this initial volume doesn’t build to much of a climax. The teenage hero is your typical orphan farmboy with a destiny — somewhere between Frodo Baggins and Luke Skywalker in terms of the stories that author David Eddings is obviously riffing on — with the added frustration of being kept in the dark about his companions’ true identities and other matters that touch on him more directly, under the flimsy logic that their unseen enemy is psychic and would thus be able to detect the information in his mind if he knew. Meanwhile, the worldbuilding consists of a loose mythology and bog-standard assembly of medieval-level kingdoms (complete with a designated nation seemingly populated only by evildoers), but no other races like elves or dwarves and just a minimal degree of magic.

I’m hoping the sequels improve on those elements and deliver more complexity going forward, because even for the era, this is all rather bland. This title was published five years after The Sword of Shannara and two years before the first Dragonlance book — neither of which I would hold up as classics of the genre, but at least they manage to offer more of an imaginative setting and action-filled plot for their readers. The characters alone register as somewhat distinctive here, but they’re in dire need of more exciting adventures to embark on soon.

[Content warning for rape.]

★★★☆☆

Movie Review: Mallrats (1995)

Movie #25 of 2026:

Mallrats (1995)

Kevin Smith’s second picture wasn’t especially good upon release, and hasn’t aged all that well either. It’s a slacker comedy about two guys whose girlfriends dump them, who then spend the day at the local mall and subsequently win them back. In the sidekick Brodie’s case there’s at least an indication that he’s done some personal growth to re-earn his ex’s heart, but our main hero T.S. basically just yells at his girl about her own supposed faults until she tearfully acquiesces and embraces him again.

There are multiple uses of the ableist r-word slur, and an odd focus on anal sex as something done to women that they need to be protected against — with the character who keeps vindictively promising that ultimately sent to prison and raped there himself. (His downfall is technically due to him sleeping with a promiscuous 15-year-old, but since her other partners aren’t likewise punished, it reads as simply his karmic comeuppance for daring to be a romantic rival for Brodie and an overall jerk.) There’s some gross-out chicanery involving tricking a different antagonist into licking human fecal matter, too.

Opposite all that, the humor sometimes works. Jay and Silent Bob make a return appearance and are probably the best part of the film, although they operate in a goofier and more heightened reality than the rest of the cast. Stan Lee has a fun cameo as himself, way before the days of him popping up in every Marvel movie, and Smith’s dialogue remains clever throughout, though not every actor manages to equally sell it. The plotting comes together well for the climax too, with previously-unconnected strands like Willem trying to see a Magic Eye sailboat and Silent Bob thinking he can unlock Jedi mind powers all intersecting nicely.

But in the final analysis, it’s a juvenile celebration of manchildren in arrested development, without even the working-class commentary that Clerks could provide. Much like a certain person’s palm, it kind of stinks.

★★☆☆☆

Book Review: Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins

Book #79 of 2026:

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles #3)

I’m definitely not in the target audience for this middle-grade fantasy series, but I liked the first volume (and of course author Suzanne Collins’s unrelated Hunger Games novels) enough that I feel compelled to finish the pentalogy regardless. I’m just getting a little tired of the repeated plot structures at this point. Our eleven-year-old hero is again forced to enter the underground world where he’s a champion warrior, in order to satisfy another vague prophecy that requires him to go on a quest with his little sister and a small band of companions. It’s increasingly formulaic, right down to the twist reveal that everyone has been interpreting the latest predictions all wrong. In this case that’s even more frustrating, as the thing they seek — a cure to a plague that’s spreading across the land — apparently could have been found right where they started instead.

Granted, you read a story like this for the journey and not the destination, which is why I don’t mind spoiling that detail, but it’s not the most satisfying narrative overall. Younger readers may appreciate it more than I have, but the shine is coming off for me.

★★★☆☆

Like this review? Find more of my writing on:
—https://www.goodreads.com/lesserjoke
—https://letterboxd.com/lesserjoke
—https://lesserjoke.home.blog
Or check out these ways to support me, if you’d like:
—https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
—https://patreon.com/lesserjoke