Book #125 of 2019: SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard An impressively readable overview of the first millennium of ancient Rome, from its murky beginnings around 753 BCE through the imperial decree in 212 CE that radically expanded its citizenship and arguably altered its essential character. Classics professor Mary Beard does a …
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TV #27 of 2019: Marvel’s Jessica Jones, season 3 A confident send-off to both this series and the larger Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, canceled in the lead-up to the new Disney+ streaming platform. The serial killer bad guy could sometimes feel like he wandered in from a show like Dexter, but I …
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Book #124 of 2019: The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu This novel is well-written, but its pieces never really cohere together for me. The story of five Asian-Canadian girls who get lost while camping alternates with extended chapters exploring each one’s teenage and early adult life, a structure that should presumably offer …
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Hello! My name is Joe Kessler, and I’ve been blogging in one form or another since 2004. This is the launch of my new home for that, where I’ll be posting book reviews and other short pieces of writing. I’m also debuting a Patreon site for anyone who would like to support my efforts through …
Book #123 of 2019: Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier For the most part, this is a really lovely look at a young chimney sweep in Victorian London and her friendship with a magical soot creature who comes to life and becomes her protector. It captures the feeling of …
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Book #122 of 2019: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson Brandon Sanderson’s debut novel is full of the rich worldbuilding, intricate magical systems, and ballroom intrigue that have now made him a household name within the fantasy genre. Although there are some cracks that show on a reread and mark this as a first book — like …
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Book #121 of 2019: Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (Wildwood #1) The middle of this story picks up somewhat, but I feel like the beginning and end are both pretty typical fairy tale exercises, and the one major twist is easy to spot from a mile away. I also just think I want way more …
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TV #26 of 2019: Catch-22 This Hulu miniseries adaptation takes a while to settle into itself — a luxury it can’t really afford at just six episodes — and it never quite reaches the absurdist heights of the classic novel. Changing the original jumbled timeline to a standard chronological order of events was probably a …
Book #120 of 2019: Seventh Decimate by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Great God’s War #1) Stephen R. Donaldson has long been one of my favorite authors, so I’m disappointed to confirm that this 22nd published novel is possibly his weakest yet. The early worldbuilding is sparse to the point of feeling allegorical, and the tone …
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Book #119 of 2019: Foundation by Isaac Asimov (Foundation #1) There are some interesting ideas and political intrigues in this book, but it’s one of those pieces of mid-century science-fiction that consist largely of genius men declaiming at one another. (A total of two female characters show up, each for about a single page.) The …
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