TV #37 of 2018: Lost in Space, season 1 This reboot grew on me as it went along, but it’s still not exactly great television. I think the problem for me as a viewer is that the show mirrors the look and feel of a serious, grounded sci-fi story, but the plot mechanics and character …
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Book Review: The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
Book #156 of 2018: The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish This richly-detailed historical fiction novel about the Jewish population of 17th-century London brings to mind Geraldine Brooks’s People of the Book, but in my opinion author Rachel Kadish does a much better job of making the lives of researchers in the modern age as …
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Book Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Book #155 of 2018: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell This YA love story is a sweet high school romance with realistic, well-drawn characters. I especially like that the two protagonists are not more of the rail-thin, white, conventionally attractive figures that often dominate our media landscape, and that each one has friends and a …
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Book Review: The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
Book #154 of 2018: The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga #4) The Vorkosigan series is fun enough that I keep coming back to it, but I’ve yet to be really blown away by any single title. This one is yet another solid space opera romp, with our returning hero Miles Vorkosigan wildly …
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TV Review: Marvel’s Jessica Jones, season 2
TV #36 of 2018: Marvel’s Jessica Jones, season 2 The storyline is unfortunately not as tight as the first season of this show, but it remains a trenchant examination and critique of gendered violence. Without getting into spoilers, this season also explores a particular dynamic between superpowered loved ones that felt new to me for …
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Book Review: Florida by Lauren Groff
Book #153 of 2018: Florida by Lauren Groff The short stories in this collection are not all set in the title locale, but Florida’s presence looms large over the characters even when they leave its oppressive humidity in search of a more hospitable clime. Author Lauren Groff, a ten-year Florida transplant, has absolutely nailed the …
TV Review: Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, season 1
TV #35 of 2018: Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, season 1 This is pretty much the weirdest corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and there’s a lot about it that doesn’t work for me in this first season. The title characters are kept isolated from one another too much of the time, and each one’s special …
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Book Review: Everless by Sara Holland
Book #152 of 2018: Everless by Sara Holland (Everless #1) This YA fantasy novel can sometimes lean a bit hard on its tropes, but as the story progresses, it proves to be a cut above the usual fare for the genre. There are solid twists and unexpected flairs, and its system of time magic — …
Book Review: Star Wars: Canto Bight by Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, and John Jackson Miller
Book #151 of 2018: Star Wars: Canto Bight by Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, and John Jackson Miller Four loosely connected Star Wars novellas, all set in the decadent casino city from The Last Jedi. They’re generally solid but unremarkable little sci-fi action tales, entertaining but adding little to our understanding of Canto Bight …
Book Review: The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America’s Enemies by Jason Fagone
Book #150 of 2018: The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America’s Enemies by Jason Fagone Author Jason Fagone sometimes gets a little lost in the weeds recounting the details of Elizebeth Smith Friedman’s codebreaking activities, but he shines a welcome light on her forgotten …
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