Book #224 of 2021: The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Gap Cycle #1) This is a difficult book to read, putting us into the mind of one of the vilest science-fiction protagonists ever created. Angus Thermopyle is not an interstellar pirate in the charming rogue sense; he’s an amoral …
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Book #223 of 2021: The Change by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #13) True to its title, this is one of the most consequential early Animorphs novels, coming just late enough in the franchise (around a quarter through) that the disruption to the prior status quo is completely unexpected and thrillingly carried off. That element is …
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Book #222 of 2021: Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #19) This 1938 novel doesn’t quite have that subtle spark of ingenuity that distinguishes the stronger Agatha Christie titles from her typical output, but it is overall a fine caper with the erstwhile detective Hercule Poirot. Still on vacation abroad, he stumbles upon …
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Book #221 of 2021: Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown edited by Steve Cole This 2020 publication is a lovely collection of short fiction, all either written during the COVID-19 pandemic or at least unreleased until then. Only three of the sixteen entries are brand-new for this title; most were posted free online over the course …
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Book #220 of 2021: Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #40) Author Terry Pratchett is pretty reliably funny, and if you approach his individual books as scaffolding devices for his specific brand of clever humor, outrageous puns, and insightful commentary on our own society by means of its satirical fantasy version, this one is another …
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Book #219 of 2021: Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal Given the title of this YA novel, I hope it’s not too much of a spoiler to mention that there’s a literal werewolf in it, even though that fact isn’t confirmed until almost a third of the way through. But both before and …
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TV #61 of 2021: The Americans, season 6 A time-skip is an inherently risky creative maneuver, introducing discontinuities that can suspend audience investment in the ongoing narrative and generate boring mysteries of the what-do-these-characters-know-that-we-don’t variety. (Both examples are apparent in the final season of Parks and Recreation, to note just one prominent example.) There are …
Book #218 of 2021: When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey Author Sarah Gailey always has great casual representation of gender and sexuality in their characters, and this YA novel is no exception with its tale of six queer best friends, including the bisexual heroine with two dads. I dig the gutsy premise too, which …
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Book #217 of 2021: The Reaction by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #12) Another goofy one-off premise, this time involving Rachel’s allergic reaction to the DNA of a crocodile she acquires. (At least the Sario Rip of the previous novel’s time-travel eventually comes up again; the idea of a morphing allergy and the ensuing ‘hereth illint’ …
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Book #216 of 2021: Jews Versus Zombies edited by Lavie Tidhar and Rebecca Levene I like this short story collection marginally better than its sister volume on extraterrestrials — my individual ratings average to 3.25 out of five stars this time, an improvement on my previous 2.5 — but it’s still a decidedly mixed bag …
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