I’ve been having a fun spooky season so far this year, and wanted to continue with a sci-fi graphic novel series with some Lovecraftian cosmic horror mixed in. However, I was a bit nervous about this one because it is the brainchild of famous horror scion Joe Hill. I had previously tried out his classic…
Category: (3 out of 5)
The Lesser Devil (a Sun Eater story) by Christopher Ruocchio – Book Review
I had a lot of problems with the very popular galaxy-spanning epic science fiction series, Sun Eater, after reading the first book (Empire of Silence) — yes, I was condemning the whole series after only reading the first book — bad reader! However, in my heart I didn’t want to give up on it, and…
Midnight Riot (Rivers of London, Book 1) by Ben Aaronovitch – Book review
cover photo by shadesofword.com An urban fantasy story set in contemporary London UK seems right up my alley (Sorry, I couldn’t find a river-based expression). I love London, having visited the city a few times on vacation, and I’ve watched many British TV shows set there. I have also enjoyed urban fantasy: stories set against…
Catching up with the MCU: Thunderbolts* & Captain America: Brave New World – Movie Reviews
This weekend, I finally caught up with Marvel’s latest cinematic duology, as Captain America: Brave New World debuted on Disney+ and I went to see Thunderbolts* in the theatre. (I knew I was behind the ball, but I was still surprised that there were only three other people in the theatre with me. I guess…
Six Fantasy Novellas
I love fantasy fiction. As a genre, it brings the reader to so many wonderful, scary, imaginative, and vivid worlds and realities. Having magic in a story really opens up the possibilities for fun exploration and creativity. Over the last few months, I’ve read six novellas (i.e. short novels) that represent a pretty good variety…
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Book Review
I had high expectations for Mexican-Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s acclaimed novel, but was pretty let down. Given the book’s title, yes, there was everything classically gothic, but very little Mexican, aside from the geographic setting (and the occasional Spanish word). This tale of a rich city girl going out to a country mansion to rescue…
Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater, Book 1) by Christopher Ruocchio – Book Review
We start with a story that the main character (and sole point of view), Hadrian Marlowe, is recounting: his life story after he has achieved the notoriety of being named “Sun Eater”, due to his having destroyed a sun, killing millions of enemy aliens. But that story is not part of this book (presumably we…
Hellboy: The Crooked Man – Movie Review
As we have entered “spooky season”, I find myself once again looking for chilling stories (but nothing too scary for us chickens). Because I’ve always been a fan, I find myself turning to the latest Hellboy movie. The gruff, bruiser, quasi-anti-heroes are great characters to use as protagonists for exciting, action-fantasy stories (see also Marvel’s…
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Movie Review
I never watched the original Planet of the Apes series of films (starring Charlton Heston back in the 1960s and 70s), but I am a fan of the recent trilogy of Apes films (2011-17) that told an origin story for what led the apes to take over the world from humans. (I also watched the…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 