Friday, June 30, 2023

Bad (or Interesting) Book Covers - Part 5

Writing.

Warning: 18+, not suitable for work and the faint of heart.

More covers from the Internet, trying to find a few good and bad examples...

This is the final installment, and we're counting down to number one, insulting a few politicians and Microsoft along the way. Yes. Things are getting bad. Very bad. 18+ and only the strong of mind should travel onwards from this point!

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Alice Hoffman - Practical Magic

Audiobook Review / Movie Review.

"The Beloved Novel of Love, Friendship, Sisterhood and Magic". Right. They missed a single word in that description: boring.

Because, I'm sorry, but because that's what it is. Boring. It starts somewhere, it goes somewhere, and it ends somewhere. I made it three quarters through, trying to figure out what was so great about the story, and gave up.

Fortunately, there's also a movie... is there?

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Bad (or Interesting) Book Covers - Part 4

Writing.

Warning: 18+, not suitable for work and the faint of heart.

I grabbed a few book covers from the Internet, trying to find a few good and bad examples... Some are fake. Some are funny. Some are bad or disturbing in many ways.

This is the fourth installment, and today we'll cover the best 'sex sells' covers. Well, maybe not the best, and perhaps not the best selling... Just don't forget to bring your notebooks and eyewash.

Monday, June 26, 2023

Richard Kadrey - Sandman Slim 2 - Kill the Dead

Audiobook Review.

You can't kill the dead. Well, it turns out you can. With a bit of training.

You know what's worse though than killing dead? Next to being kicked out of hell and finding out you're not entirely human? That must be staying a virgin after meeting your favorite porn star, but I guess that's only a problem if your name is Jason Stark.

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Bad (or Interesting) Book Covers - Part 3

Writing.

Warning: 18+, not suitable for work and the faint of heart.

I grabbed a few book covers from the Internet, trying to find a few good and bad examples...

We're now entering the domain of fan fiction, and as most aspiring authors have little money, little art talent, or both (I firmly belong in that category), they'll have to rely on affordable pre-made covers, a little photoshopping, or old fashioned felt tip pens and crayons to get the message across.

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Do you know who's losing the streaming wars? You!

Column.

With Netflix continuing to increase their pricing, the offer of HBO Max looked pretty good... Who doesn't want a lifelong 50% discount, great series and a bunch of movies? And so, I subscribed.

I might cancel any day now. When HBO Max becomes Max, and all the good stuff disappears in exchange for crappy reality stuff... 

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Bad (or Interesting) Book Covers - Part 2

Writing.

Warning: 18+, not suitable for work and the faint of heart.

I grabbed a few book covers from the Internet, trying to find a few good and bad examples...

Time may not always have been kind to some covers, because the meaning of the words may have changed. Or they were deliberately chosen, or these are completely fake. It's the internet, after all, and nothing you find on the internet can be trusted these days.

Monday, June 19, 2023

Obert Skye - Wizard for Hire - Wizard for Hire / Apprentice Needed / Magic Required

Audiobook Review.

The first book was outstanding, so my hopes for the sequels were... limited. You know how that is, don't you? Great first book, mediocre second, horrible third...

Fortunately, Obert Skye manages to deliver a good sequel and a proper conclusion. These are books for kids, but still enjoyable by adults. How's about that for a change?

Sunday, June 18, 2023

My Perry Rhodan Collection

Book Review.

Can you imagine... I actually have 1000 issues of Perry Rhodan on my bookshelf. And I haven't even read most of them!

That made me wonder... When should I ever read them? It's 2017 now, and if I would read one every week that would take me 20 years to read them all. Will I still be able to read them at that old age?

And even... If I want to ever read them, I'd better start now before it's too late! So, let's start before I get too old to find my glasses...

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Bad (or Interesting) Book Covers - Part 1

Writing.

Warning: 18+, not suitable for work and the faint of heart.

So, I grabbed a few book covers from the Internet, trying to find a few good and bad examples... Some are fake. Some are funny. Some are exemplary cases of bad taste.

Ready? Hold on to your socks, keep the vinegar at hand to wash your eyeballs, because here are twenty-five... interesting book covers...

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

HBO Max - Peacemaker

Series Review.

Peacemaker is completely silly, rude, irreverent, immature, and yet it’s fun. If you like foul-mouthed superhero stuff like Deadpool, then this is your thing.

John Cena stars as Peacemaker, reprising his role from The Suicide Squad.

Monday, June 12, 2023

Marko Kloos - The Palladium Wars - Aftershocks (2019) / Ballistic (2020)

Audiobook Review.

A Scifi story taking place in a single-star system (I think, it wasn't clear to me at first) where three different planets fought a fourth one.

Book one isn't about that war, but about what happened afterward, fifteen years later.

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Disney+ - Hawkeye

Series Review.

Disney has a lot of new Marvel series, and keeps adding to them. There’s Wandavision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If, and now Hawkeye.

Hawkeye received a somewhat mixed reception, but I liked it, although it had two problems: the ending was a bit rushed, and Kingpin seemed to be fully out of character, and surely lacking style. A straw hat? On Kingpin?!? Nah.

Monday, June 5, 2023

Elliot Kay - Poor Man's Fight - Poor Man's Fight / Rich Man's War / Dead Man's Debt / ...

Audiobook Review.

Good, typical space opera, but without the endless stupidities. Hey, that's something for a change!

Although this is military SF, it escapes some of the typical pitfalls, especially the young hero climbing through the ranks and becoming the general. Finally a (military SF) series that doesn't do that!

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Wallpaper - SF.028

Wallpaper.

In the old days of echo-mail, and 14k4 modems, and Fido... ah... there once was an echo ('newsgroup') called SF.028.

It was... great. I can't explain why. This is a little reminder to those days, the peaceful world before the Internet came... Unsurprisingly, this wallpaper clocks in as a .JPG of nearly 10 kb. Huge! 😂

Click on the image to enlarge, or check out the other wallpapers...