This is still Wayward Children, and more specifically, it's Jack. Jack the apprentice to the mad scientist, Jack the pristine, the scientific, the undThis is still Wayward Children, and more specifically, it's Jack. Jack the apprentice to the mad scientist, Jack the pristine, the scientific, the undead.
It's also a short story that is all about infatuation, and for all that, it excels at what it does. :)
Cute. Young love. And very, very Translyvania. :)
Merged review:
This is still Wayward Children, and more specifically, it's Jack. Jack the apprentice to the mad scientist, Jack the pristine, the scientific, the undead.
It's also a short story that is all about infatuation, and for all that, it excels at what it does. :)
Cute. Young love. And very, very Translyvania. :)...more
None of us need to be reminded of how crappy that last few years have been. I've personally being trying to force some goodness through and enjoy the None of us need to be reminded of how crappy that last few years have been. I've personally being trying to force some goodness through and enjoy the things that must be enjoyed, so screw all the ugliness and stupidity.
Seriously. Let's bury it.
Let's get on to the cool and awesome.
BOOKS.
Re-reading some of them made me straight-out die in joy. Reading all the Wheel Of Time books was an absolute joy. So was reading the Uplift War books. Bittersweet was reading Eon by Greg Bear because of his death, and that hit hard, so RiP, king. And speaking of King, I've been loving all the new and old of Stephen King.
Oddly enough, I read a ton of LitRPG tomes this year and they were almost all chortle-worthy and smile-enhancing. They were all comfort food and my go-to for book-grabby-time.
There were a few odd-end books that kinda blew me away with originality and story.
I've been making my way through some great comics/manga, too. Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia were great. :)
And with that, I did read a number of other pretty good books and even stinkers but for the most part, the best part of ANY year is a good BOOK. ;)...more
This followup LitRPG was very satisfying. Not only did we ramp up and find other adventuring guilds and have wide-map scouting and war bands with hundThis followup LitRPG was very satisfying. Not only did we ramp up and find other adventuring guilds and have wide-map scouting and war bands with hundreds, even thousands of players, we got a full World of Warcarft siege war.
All within a solid, middle-of-the-road, fantasy adventure.
Everything about it is familiar if you're a gamer, but that's no surprise. This whole genre is here to give us all exactly what we want. Level-ups, raid formations, loot grabs, crafting, and war, war, war.
Frontier settlement LitRPG goodness. It's not just dealing with other player characters, but resource management, raids, exploration, and couple catacFrontier settlement LitRPG goodness. It's not just dealing with other player characters, but resource management, raids, exploration, and couple cataclysmic events waiting in the wings. :)
Solid, enjoyable, and it feels totally like I'm playing Skyrim for pain-loving adults with a little Forgotten Realms in the mix.
No, it's not the best LitRPG I've ever read, but it was still quite fun....more
A nice side adventure in the LitRPG, exploring the thieves guild and moral quandaries while mainly just going full-bore revenge and mystery and rage. A nice side adventure in the LitRPG, exploring the thieves guild and moral quandaries while mainly just going full-bore revenge and mystery and rage.
If you're thinking Elder Scrolls thieves with a bit of true underworld action (hell), then you've come to the right place. Popcorn fun....more
So the verdict is almost entirely in on this Buffy run. I wanted to like the setup a lot more than I actually did. I suppose if it was an entirely difSo the verdict is almost entirely in on this Buffy run. I wanted to like the setup a lot more than I actually did. I suppose if it was an entirely different cast of characters in a brand new kind of Buffyverse without any of the characters we grew to love, I might have gone head over heels for it, but I just hate where Xander went and Faith doesn't have the right style.
And Wesley? With a ghost Ethan following him around? I want to LIKE all these massive changes but... I don't. There is already great history. This would all have to be explored in long-form for it to stick, and none of it is sticking....more
Well, the road down multiversal Buffyville isn't quite as interesting as I thought it could be.
The big-name players are mostly missing except for BuffWell, the road down multiversal Buffyville isn't quite as interesting as I thought it could be.
The big-name players are mostly missing except for Buffy and Kendra and apart from one cross-character changeup that I'm still not sure I like, at all, (poor Xander), nothing much happens.
I kinda wanted to see some long-term story-building or a solid one-off but this just continues down the path of... huh? I know this isn't anything like the original except for all the names and personality quirks and the cherry-picking of traits they have later, only thrown in sooner... but yeah.
This is not as good as the Seasonal Buffy comics. Alas. ...more
Okay, so, this volume of the Buffy Reboot was kinda meh. The ones right before it were interesting, but this one kinda blew. The story was a bit scattOkay, so, this volume of the Buffy Reboot was kinda meh. The ones right before it were interesting, but this one kinda blew. The story was a bit scattered, a bit too focused on the new weird things, (spoilers avoided), and not nearly enough of the meat of the series.
You know, like apocalypse stuff. Sure, we get a great deal of Willow and Xander in their new, slightly disturbing forms, but rather than succeeding in an Alternate Universe form, it just feels rather codependent.
And then there's Anya. And I don't really like THIS Anya. The rest was just making me squint a lot and want to pretend it wasn't trampling all over the Buffyverse.
I'm continuing because I have to hope this will turn like some kind of vampire that will get stronger with a few Slayer kills. We know those are pretty cool, after all, so I've still got some hope....more
I'm of two really big minds about this. The first volume was freakishly cool to have old favorite characters doing wildly early character arcs super eI'm of two really big minds about this. The first volume was freakishly cool to have old favorite characters doing wildly early character arcs super early compared to the TV series or how the plot is only taking a rough outline, cherry-picking some awesome goodies, and throwing them in right away.
The second volume is pretty much the same, but MORE. So much more that I want to say that this Buffy Reboot with all these so familiar characters is just TRASHING the Buffyverse.
Except for one thing: if I just assume that all of this is an alternate universe where everything just happened differently, even WILDLY differently, then I find that I'm having a wild-ass time.
You see, I AM a big Buffy fan. Angel, too. But here I am, rooting for some WEIRD ASS world-breaking going on here. I don't even care if Xander turned into a new living-soul vamp or if Dru is the equivalent to the old Master... now Mistress. It's like all my old wishes that Xander had gotten supernatural or that Dru had a much BIGGER part came TRUE.
So I'm just gonna say that with a few proper expectations, this reboot run is pretty damn awesome. ...more
A pretty chilling dystopia where everything... and I mean everything... is automated. Facebook and Google and Twitter have already recorded all your pA pretty chilling dystopia where everything... and I mean everything... is automated. Facebook and Google and Twitter have already recorded all your preferences, as you know, so it's not such a stretch to have a reality where ALL your preferences are catered to.
You know, like votes... or rebellion. If everything is accounted for, then anything can be countered....more
Oddly enough, this end-of-humanity story is rather sweet.
I mean, if you can accept your fate with those of your loved ones this calmly, maybe even elOddly enough, this end-of-humanity story is rather sweet.
I mean, if you can accept your fate with those of your loved ones this calmly, maybe even electing to opt-out of living as long as you can do it with dignity, I suppose this is something of a happy end.
Go quietly into that dark night.
A fine addition to the perils of genetic tampering. :)...more
Ooooh this one hit hard. I mean, it's some rather hardcore horror/SF coming out of '72, and obviously referring to the Draft and the meat grinder of wOoooh this one hit hard. I mean, it's some rather hardcore horror/SF coming out of '72, and obviously referring to the Draft and the meat grinder of wars, it got my ire up.
Kim Stanley Robinson is easily one of my favorite authors.
Every single time he writes, it's full of so much depth of worldbuilding, whether history, Kim Stanley Robinson is easily one of my favorite authors.
Every single time he writes, it's full of so much depth of worldbuilding, whether history, science, or philosophy, that it always places his stories head and shoulders above all the rest.
In this dystopian novelette taking place on the moon, the miners there are living in such horrid darkness and never-ending toil that the only kind of happiness might actually be a blast. Ka-boom.
Of course, a simple story like this, with everything else KSR offers, is a bit more than a simple story. ...more
Alas, if this story had been written after Covid, it might have become a classic, widely distributed among a certain paranoid crowd. Of course, it wouAlas, if this story had been written after Covid, it might have become a classic, widely distributed among a certain paranoid crowd. Of course, it would have had to go a bit more crazy and feverish to match reality.
As it is, before that time, I would have said that normal people wouldn't have fallen this far down the propaganda (or anti-propaganda) hole.
Of course, now we know that it's all nuts and no one can ever figure out what is real at all. ...more
I was REALLY tempted to leave the review that way. I mean, seriously.
Of course, being something of a Ticktockman, myself, at"Get Stuffed," he replied.
I was REALLY tempted to leave the review that way. I mean, seriously.
Of course, being something of a Ticktockman, myself, at least in certain ways, I shouldn't clap and cheer for the introduction of Harlequin's chaos, but I do. Oh, yes, I do.
My daughter and I read this together this year, just in time for Christmas.
Her review:
This was a very heartfelt story that got me hard. I was remindeMy daughter and I read this together this year, just in time for Christmas.
Her review:
This was a very heartfelt story that got me hard. I was reminded of my own Big Bear, with its matted hair and old scents, and I freaked out when I thought about losing him. I freaked out a lot.
I was also thinking how necessary it is not to fight with your sister or your friends.
I loved the story and happy it ended the way it did.
My review:
I was extremely anxious as we read it because I knew this would be a massive trigger warning for my girl who absolutely adores her Big Bear. Imagination is a bitch.
I was brought to tears several times and I think it worked really well on multiple levels. I thought of Cat Valente's YA a bit as I was reading this, and it's all positive. :)
As a short novella, I really wanted it to be a full-length novel, or even a series. It has the right feel to it.
As it is on its own, it's a pretty decAs a short novella, I really wanted it to be a full-length novel, or even a series. It has the right feel to it.
As it is on its own, it's a pretty decent autism(ish) MC in a totally big-brother world who acts as an unconventional PI who is able to hunt down needle-like anomalies in a mountain of rubbish who GOES OUTSIDE TO TRACK SHIT DOWN. :)
I think it's pretty charming in a way. It also requires a certain specific mindset to enjoy it. I did, of course, and think it would have been great in long-form. It's a mystery that reminds me a lot of Lisbeth Salander. :)...more
Here's a cool story that shows you everything without telling you anything.
I love it. Super short, with nothing strange in its appearance. Hell, nothiHere's a cool story that shows you everything without telling you anything.
I love it. Super short, with nothing strange in its appearance. Hell, nothing truly even happens except a complete divorce from nature and reality.
What?
It's just a nighttime stroll. Nothing strange at all. Except, this culture, now so very much like our own, where we fear everything right outside our doors, is now entirely locked within. A nighttime stroll is easily a punishable offense.
Well, it already is if you have darker skin.
Come to think about it, we're almost already here in Bradbury's dystopia. Or perhaps, we were always just one step away......more
This is a pretty cool dystopian story that has all the feel of the Patriot Act taken to the full extent of the law.
I mean, even now we're resurrectinThis is a pretty cool dystopian story that has all the feel of the Patriot Act taken to the full extent of the law.
I mean, even now we're resurrecting old personages from a hundred years ago to try them in the court of today's opinion, so why not fast-forward the same thing about us to an authoritarian future hellscape?
Why not bring back the dead to try them for terrorism? It could definitely happen. ...more