Book #41 of 2018: Final Girls by Riley Sager Although I like the idea of this thriller about women who have survived earlier horror movie / slasher-style attacks, I found most of its major plot twists to be either glaringly obvious or completely unearned from what had previously been established. The psychology of certain characters …
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Book Review: The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
Book #40 of 2018: The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga #3) I’m told that Miles Vorkosigan is the real main character of this series, and after two books about his parents navigating military and political power struggles, he finally takes center stage here. I like our hero: he’s physically weak but tactically …
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TV Review: Game of Thrones, season 7
TV #11 of 2018: Game of Thrones, season 7 I literally just reviewed this season when I watched it last year, and even having rewatched all the earlier seasons since then (with my wife, watching the show through for her first time), I think my reaction remains the same: All in all, this is probably …
TV Review: The West Wing, season 7
TV #10 of 2018: The West Wing, season 7 This final season of The West Wing focuses mainly on the general election for president (after the Democratic primary in the back half of season 6). It’s a relatively new look for the show, and I appreciate the writers’ efforts to make the Republican candidate as …
Book Review: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Book #39 of 2018: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates This slim volume by Ta-Nehisi Coates reflects on the author’s experiences growing up as a black American and what he sees for his fifteen-year-old son coming of age in the time of Black Lives Matter. Presented as an open letter to the boy, …
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Book Review: Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb
Book #38 of 2018: Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb (Farseer #3) On the whole I love the Farseer trilogy (and the wider series that it begins), but every time I read this particular book, I find myself losing patience about halfway through. It’s one of those fantasy novels that consist mostly of characters walking across …
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Book Review: Star Wars: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy by Alexandra Bracken
Book #37 of 2018: Star Wars: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy by Alexandra Bracken This book is better than expected for what’s essentially a glorified junior novelization of the first Star Wars movie. I particularly like the author’s imposed structure of telling the beginning of the story from Leia’s perspective, the middle …
Movie Review: Black Panther (2018)
Movie #2 of 2018: Black Panther (2018) Easily my favorite thing that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done to date – and I’ve seen all the movies but Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as every episode of every MCU show. This one tops them all thanks to its rich worldbuilding, complex characterizations & relationships, and the …
Book Review: Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler
Book #36 of 2018: Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler (Patternist #2) Octavia Butler wrote the Patternist books all out of chronological order (5-2-4-1-3), but I’m reading them as they take place. This book, the second by either measure, shows the creation of the Patternist network of telepaths that gives the series its …
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Book Review: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Book #35 of 2018: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe This classic man-versus-nature castaway novel has been hugely influential, but it’s pretty rough for a modern reader. 300 years after its initial publication the plot feels threadbare and glacially slow, with little to distract from the author / narrator’s racist views on the inferiority of Africans …
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