Book #7 of 2018: Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale with Stan Redding All things considered, I think the 2002 movie adaptation tells Frank Abagnale’s story better than Abagnale (with co-writer Stan Redding) does himself. Even setting aside the issue of whether the criminal prodigy …
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TV Review: Marvel’s Runaways, season 1
TV #2 of 2018: Marvel’s Runaways, season 1 I had high hopes for this one throughout the first few episodes, but it definitely ended up as one of those Marvel projects with better acting than writing. I understand it deviates a lot from the source material too, which is even more frustrating – I hate …
Book Review: Planet of the Apes: Tales from the Forbidden Zone edited by Rich Handley and Jim Beard
Book #6 of 2018: Planet of the Apes: Tales from the Forbidden Zone edited by Rich Handley and Jim Beard Some of the short stories in this anthology are better than others, but on the whole it’s an incredibly strong collection of tales spanning the length of the classic Planet of the Apes film and …
Book Review: Golden Son by Pierce Brown
Book #5 of 2018: Golden Son by Pierce Brown (Red Rising #2) This is my second time reading this novel — although the first time as an audiobook — and I think my original review from 2016 mostly stands: “Given their common themes of dystopian wargames and rebellion against a corrupt government, The Hunger Games …
TV Review: Stranger Things 2
TV #1 of 2018: Stranger Things 2 I felt like this season was a little bit scattered compared to the one before it, and the overall threats / plots never really clicked for me. (The Eleven-centric episode in particular didn’t seem to bring anything much to the table.) The character arcs were great, though, and …
Book Review: Doctor Who: How to Be a Time Lord by Craig Donaghy
Book #4 of 2018: Doctor Who: How to Be a Time Lord by Craig Donaghy This Doctor Who children’s book was a bit of a disappointment. It’s presented as a manual prepared by the Eleventh Doctor for his successor regeneration(s), but in practice is more of a mini-encyclopedia of various elements from across the show’s …
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Book Review: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Book #3 of 2018: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid There’s a bit of a disconnect between the beginning and end of this novel, but they’re both appealing in their own right. The first half tells a love story in the characters’ war-torn home country (which is never specified by name but appears to be somewhere …
Book Review: The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Book #2 of 2018: The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan #2) This pulp sequel doesn’t quite hit the ludicrous thrills of its classic predecessor, which makes it harder for a modern reader to look past all of the 1900s racism and sexism. It’s worth reading if you want to see the happy …
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Book Review: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Book 1 of 2018: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (The Queen’s Thief #1) This tale of a skilled thief released from prison to rob for the monarch was somewhat predictable, but still very fun and strongly reminiscent of other stories that I’ve enjoyed. (The religious aspect feels straight out of Tortall, and I can …
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TV Review: Game of Thrones, season 5
TV #49 of 2017: Game of Thrones, season 5 This is where the wheels really start to come off Game of Thrones. It’s still better than season 7 in terms of character logic and a lack of plot armor, but this is the point where the writers were past the current ending of the books …
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