Book #25 of 2025: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke I first read this fantasy novel soon after its initial 2004 publication, and have found myself drawn back to its wonders at least once a decade since. It is a dense and intricate creation: 782 pages in my hardcover edition, detailing an alternate …
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Book #17 of 2025: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir A simply excellent piece of science-fiction. I enjoyed the majority of this novel immensely, only to be blown away all over again by how the ending elevated it further. That’s an easy five stars, in my opinion. The story takes its time in revealing the …
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Book #183 of 2024: Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire by Dr. Chris Kempshall A staggering work that I would unequivocally recommend to any obsessive-minded Star Wars fans like myself. This book, written by an actual academic historian, applies the investigative principles of that field to the continuity of the franchise …
Book #141 of 2024: The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman As a genre, Arthuriana tends to be at its finest — with Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King remaining the absolute gold standard for me — when pitched as a tragedy, inviting us to invest in the glimmering dream of Camelot so that its …
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Movie #13 of 2024: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) This remains the very best action movie I’ve ever seen, although one that’s remarkable for plenty of other reasons besides. It would be reductive to describe the film as one long car chase, since part of its strength rests in how the script elegantly factors in …
Book #78 of 2024: The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard An astonishing debut novel that introduces one of the most original conceptions of time travel that I’ve ever encountered, yet then wisely waits to fully deploy it until the very end. For the majority of the plot, we are instead lingering in the present …
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Movie #11 of 2024: War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) [Edited version of my original review from 2017.] When I first came home from seeing this in theaters, I noted that it was “probably the best Planet of the Apes movie ever made.” Having had seven years to sit with that assessment, and …
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Movie #9 of 2024: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) [Edited version of my original review from 2017.] After decades languishing as a punchline in the wilderness of popular culture, Planet of the Apes got a long-overdue update in this 2011 feature, which is best understood as a quasi-canonical reboot for the franchise. …
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Movie #3 of 2024: Planet of the Apes (1968) Over half a century on, this first Apes film holds up remarkably well. It’s that tricky blend of smart and thrilling, the big-budget equivalent of Star Trek: TOS, which was airing on TV at that time. The ape costumes and makeup are believably immersive, while the …
Book #72 of 2024: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (Lays of the Hearth-Fire #1) This is currently my very favorite book, which I’ve now read twice in as many years. What follows is an updated version of my original review: The Hands of the Emperor is a wonderful warm hug of a …
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