Aer-ki Jyr - Star Force - Origin

Audiobook Review.

Okay. Those who've read my reviews might have figured out I don't like LitRPG much, and Cultivation even less. Now, LitRPG and Cultivation primarily take place in the fantasy domain, so what's this?

My key issue with LitRPG is its obsession with stats, and being better / worse than someone else. I have a similar problem with Cultivation, which often boils down to 'follow the rules and you will become god' -- which amounts to pretty much the same thing. Unfortunately, that's what Star Force is: yet another cultivation novel but this time set in space.

Marko Kloos - Frontlines - Points of Impact (2018) / Orders of Battle (2020) / Centers of Gravity (2022)

Audiobook Review

After not being entirely sure where to take the story (or that's my impression, at least) the author returns to the main thread and plot of the series: the fight against the Lankies.

These three books (6,7,8) wrap up the series, and in the final book he gives his protagonist love couple a fair and well-deserved send-off. The final book does hint at the nature of the Lankies but doesn't go into detail. This clearly leaves space for another series of books using new characters.

Andromeda - s01e15 - Forced Perspective

Well, cheesy as it may be, sometimes Andromeda gets things right. If not in the episode itself, then at least in the 'pseudo historical quotes' preceding every episode. Take this one:

Humans say the Road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Why? Do they think there's a shortage of bad ones? 

Joel Polowin - There Is Good (The Final Frontier - West Side Story Style)

All credit goes to Joel Polowin... All I did was remove / add some spaces / carriage returns to adjust the indents for this blog...

I think he wrote it back in the day when Fido was still a thing and many of us hang around on SF.028. Oh, who still remembers those days...

(Hey, I think I've found some remaining presence... http://www3.sympatico.ca/jpolowin/filkstuf/OfficerP.htm though it seems a little outdated. Still, the last update suggests a new recipe in 2020...)

Harper North - Manipulated 1 - Modified

Audiobook Review

Apocalyptic setting. Check. Female teen protagonist. Check. First Person Present Tense. Check.

What could go wrong? Well, a lot. A regular dose of disbelief won't work on this one. Slave / miner / teen girl gets injected with some kind of genetic mod and becomes Miss Perfect. Ah... that should have been a red flag.

Sorry, the story just doesn't seem to work.

Netflix - Spiderman - No Way Home

Movie Review.

Maybe it's formally not part of the MCU (as in being more of a Sony than a Marvel property) but hey, it fits nicely, and Doctor Strange does a good job making things worse.

The movie is enjoyable if a little forgettable. Tom Holland is great, as usual. I'm still not convinced by Zendaya (a little overhyped) but the best participants in this movie are the faces of old...

Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - Aurora Burning / Aurora's End

Audiobook Review.

Very good. Very, very good. Ah, the first review of 2023 should be a positive one, shouldn't it?

I thought they couldn't pull it off. Ending the first book with an overpowered enemy is one of the two 'beginning writers' problems. (The other one is an overpowered protagonist.)

But they managed to do it. They managed to pull it off.

Wallpaper - Pinky & The Brain

Wallpaper

Megalomania isn't a problem... Well, it is (Musk, Putin, Trump, and you can come up with a few names of your own) but at least it isn't a problem in cartoons... Meet Pinky & The Brain!

(Click image to enlarge)