Book #73 of 2026: Fully Loaded by Blake Crouch [Note: I’ve seen some listings of this book under the title Fully Loaded Thrillers, but that seems to be a misreading of the cover. The inside material at the front of the ebook gives the two-word name for it.] This story collection reads like vintage Stephen …
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Movie #23 of 2026: The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026) Somehow actor Jon Bernthal convinced Disney to greenlight two different passion projects for him to cowrite and star in this month, taking established characters he’d played for years in an ensemble and delivering an hour-length special about each of them in turn. Neither the Gary …
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Book #72 of 2026: Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe #5) [Obligatory.] I have mixed opinions about this fifth Nero Wolfe story. On the one hand, I feel like the series is at least incrementally improving, and author Rex Stout has really settled into the sardonic tone of his narrator Archie Goodwin, who …
TV #22 of 2026: Classic Doctor Who, season 25 Few TV shows make it to 25 seasons, and Classic Who didn’t get much further than this, since ratings were falling and the very next year would prove to be its last, subsequent revivals and expanded media notwithstanding. It also doesn’t do a whole lot to …
Movie #21 of 2026: The Bear: Gary (2026) FX/Hulu randomly dropped this hour-length flashback episode of The Bear a few days ago with minimal fanfare, over a month in advance of the upcoming final season. That’s an odd choice that I don’t fully understand, and my personal interpretation is that it was probably originally planned …
Book #68 of 2026: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins (The Underland Chronicles #2) Overall a decent middle-grade adventure sequel, although not really as entertaining or imaginative as its predecessor. The first volume established the existence of the ‘Underland’ beneath New York City, and ended with the revelation of a further prophecy …
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TV #20 of 2026: Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, season 1 On balance I think I’ll give this latest animated Star Wars series three-out-of-five stars, with the acknowledgment that it gets substantially better over the course of its ten-episode run. The problem is that early on, the program doesn’t really have a clear premise …
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Book #66 of 2026: Nonesuch by Francis Spufford I really like the first half of this historical fantasy novel, in which an enterprising young British woman stumbles into some occult secrets in the early days of World War II. Despite the plot shenanigans, it’s a very character-driven piece, and our heroine is an interesting figure …
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Movie #20 of 2026: Terminator Genisys (2015) [Note: this is an updated version of my review from 2016.] The fifth Terminator movie is a fun but deeply incoherent action spectacle, enjoyable only to the extent you can turn off the parts of your brain that obsess over plot holes or try to keep track of …
Book #63 of 2026: In Lonely Lands by Victoria Goddard This is the sort of title that I almost hate to see released as a standalone item, because it’s too insubstantial to bear much scrutiny but could be perfectly situated as a part of a larger story collection. In this case, it’s a ‘tale of …
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