TV #42 of 2023: Good Omens, season 2 This unexpected follow-up just about squeaks by on a character level, but it’s a far cry from either the previous season or the increasingly-distant source text of the hilarious original novel. To recap: that 1990 book by future showrunner Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett was …
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Book Review: The Clocks by Agatha Christie
Book #100 of 2023: The Clocks by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #39) This novel is a bit all over the place, and not just because the narrative switches back and forth between first-person and various third-person perspectives. Author Agatha Christie could write good mysteries and good spy thrillers, but she seems to run into trouble …
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Book Review: Light Bringer by Pierce Brown
Book #99 of 2023: Light Bringer by Pierce Brown (Red Rising #6) Another thrilling installment of the sprawling Red Rising space opera, and although I still don’t think this sequel era quite matches the engaging fury that propelled the original trilogy, this is easily the finest of the later books yet (and a welcome step …
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Book Review: Orion in the Dying Time by Ben Bova
Book #98 of 2023: Orion in the Dying Time by Ben Bova (Orion #3) This time-travel adventure sequel offers probably the most problematic of its saga’s dabbles in what the back of this book calls ‘speculative theology,’ taking as its premise the wild notion that the ancient Egyptian god Set is the same being as …
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TV Review: Gilmore Girls, season 7
TV #41 of 2023: Gilmore Girls, season 7 It’s certainly far from Gilmore Girls at its peak, but I don’t believe this final season deserves quite the low reputation it maintains in certain fan circles. Not-so-behind-the-scenes drama may be to blame — the CW network rather infamously fired showrunner/creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and head writer Daniel …
TV Review: The Lincoln Lawyer, season 2
TV #40 of 2023: The Lincoln Lawyer, season 2 Overall I enjoy this legal procedural, but this sophomore season hasn’t impressed me quite as much as its first year did. Both runs are built around a single big case (drawn from a single Michael Connelly novel each time), but this one doesn’t kick off until …
TV Review: Seinfeld, season 3
TV #39 of 2023: Seinfeld, season 3 This 90s sitcom remains just funny enough to keep watching, without really blowing me away. My favorite episodes from this third year are probably The Parking Garage and The Limo (featuring future Six Feet Under star Peter Krause!), with The Stranded (featuring future The Shield star Michael Chiklis!) …
Book Review: Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Book #97 of 2023: Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Three-out-of-five stars, which as usual is the hardest rating for me to articulate / justify in the space of a review. This horror title doesn’t make any major missteps, other than perhaps a bit of a drawn-out beginning. It’s a mid-90s period piece set in Mexico …
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Book Review: Vengeance of Orion by Ben Bova
Book #96 of 2023: Vengeance of Orion by Ben Bova (Orion #2) This first Orion sequel is interesting in its own right, but not nearly as good as its predecessor. That previous novel introduced humanity’s demigod champion by hurtling him progressively backwards in time, having to stop an adversary in each era determined to throw …
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Movie Review: Barbie (2023)
Movie #5 of 2023: Barbie (2023) Heartfelt, hilarious, and swathed in a vivid color palette — this movie about the titular doll isn’t really meant for the kids young enough to play with her, but it is very much a feel-good female empowerment hit for the rest of us. In this story all the Barbies …
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