Movie #5 of 2021: Star Wars (1977) As expected, this sci-fi classic absolutely still holds up. The worldbuilding is naturalistic and immersive, the characters are compelling, and the stakes of the storyline make sense at every stage. The pacing is excellent throughout, up until arguably the final attack on the Death Star, which maybe drags …
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Book Review: Murder Is Easy by Agatha Christie
Book #245 of 2021: Murder Is Easy by Agatha Christie (Superintendent Battle #4) Also published under the name Easy to Kill in the U.S., this is the fourth Agatha Christie novel to feature Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard, although as usual he barely makes an appearance at all (here only showing up for a couple …
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TV Review: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 4
TV #69 of 2021: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 4 Worf is here! And so is the Klingon Empire, muscling in on the local sector of space now that Cardassia and Bajor have reached a tentative peace. Both the transfer officer from the now-ended Star Trek: The Next Generation and the warrior civilization that …
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Book Review: The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
Book #244 of 2021: The Comfort Book by Matt Haig I’m not entirely sure how to rate this title, which is basically a loose collection of the pep talks, life lessons, and gentle reminders that author Matt Haig has found helpful in dealing with his anxiety and depression. It’s a self-help book, sort of, and …
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Book Review: Zero K by Don DeLillo
Book #243 of 2021: Zero K by Don DeLillo Theoretically, this is the story of a man saying goodbye to his ailing stepmother before she undergoes assisted suicide and cryogenic freezing (in the hope of being reawakened and cured at some unknown future date), and then later to his father when he follows in her …
TV Review: The Good Fight, season 5
TV #68 of 2021: The Good Fight, season 5 This series bounces back to a degree after its all-time low of the previous year, but I’m still not altogether vibing with its distinctive brand of wacky and surreal satire. The big idea this season is that people are taking civil suits before an unofficial neighborhood …
Book Review: The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Book #242 of 2021: The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz A has-been writer, now teaching at a third-rate MFA program, rolls his eyes as a student brags that he has come up with a plan for a novel so utterly original that it’s guaranteed to become a bestselling sensation. But upon prying the plot out …
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Book Review: The Escape by K. A. Applegate
Book #241 of 2021: The Escape by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #15) This is one of the more straightforward Animorphs missions — they basically just sneak onto an enemy base, sabotage it, and then do as the title says and escape — but it does offer minor developments for the larger series and some creative …
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Book Review: The Wanderers by Meg Howrey
Book #240 of 2021: The Wanderers by Meg Howrey This novel has a plot — three astronauts train in a seventeen-month simulated flight to Mars and back while their families adjust to life without them and the concept of having to go through the same thing again if the crew is tapped for the eventual …
Book Review: Billy Summers by Stephen King
Book #239 of 2021: Billy Summers by Stephen King I really enjoy the first section of this crime thriller about a hitman with a conscience, detailing the slow build-up to his intended last kill. Enmeshed for weeks in a community while waiting for his target to arrive, he’s able to construct two alternate identities for …
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The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 