Blog

In which I briefly comment on the books I read each month, so a few years from now when I’m trying to remember one of them, I’ll be able to find it here. Since I’m a media omnivore, it also includes games, movies, and any other media of note that I engaged with.

Do we have similar tastes, or will you be questioning how we ever got connected? Let’s find out!

Books

Critical Hits: Writers Playing Video Games, edited by Carmen Maria Machado and J. Robert Lennon

A solid mix of personal essays that approach gaming in different ways, some deeper and more interesting than others. My overall favorite was Vanessa Villarreal’s “In the Shadow of the Wolf”, one of the best critiques of Eurocentric fantasy I’ve read, and I’m now curious about her own collection of essays, Magical/Realism. I also enjoyed Adeji-Brenyah, Bright, Kochai, Henderson, and Pham’s essays, while Machado’s intro was a good read, too.

The Adventures of Lion Man by John Jennings, Damian Duffy, Bill Campbell, Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, David Brame

An entertaining reimagining of two public domain characters from one of my favorite independent publishers, Rosarium. “The Tower” is the best of the four Lion Man stories (including the original), but they’re all outshined by Fantomah’s wrestling adventures in the Shadow Territories. Do A Powerbomb was one of my favorite reads a couple of years ago, and Fantomah has a similar vibe, with a ton of potential for more stories. Rosarium doesn’t do floppies (and neither do I), but both of these would be great candidates for ongoing series of their own. (Sean Kleefeld has a more thorough review that has some interesting insights.)

Shook! A Black Horror Anthology by Various

This had been on my radar for a little while via the day job, and I finally picked it up at B&N where it was included on an “If you liked Sinners…” table. I definitely loved Sinners but, unfortunately, this completely unrelated anthology is a wildly uneven collection of short stories and teasers. While a few nail the creepy vibe, it’s mostly a grab bag of half-baked ideas and disappointing artwork better suited for self-published zines and portfolios. “The Breaks”, “The Hill”, “Ezra the Hunter”, and “Blackenstyne” were the most notable exceptions — partly on their own merits, but mostly in comparison to the low bar set by the rest.

You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, edited and introduced by Ada Limón

Nature poems are definitely not my thing, but Limón’s resume carries a lot of weight (I enjoyed Bright Dead Things enough to add it to my small poetry collection), and her intro sold me with this line: “poetry and nature have a way of simply reminding us that we are not alone.” It’s a solid collection overall; most of the poems are objectively well-crafted, even if very few were personally appealing in focus and execution. The most notable standouts were from Jericho Brown (“Aerial View”, my favorite), Jason Schneiderman (“Staircase”), Alberto Ríos (“Twenty Minutes in the Backyard”), and Patricia Smith (“To Little Black Girls, Risking Flower”).

Games

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (Steam)

After spending 180 hours on my initial playthrough and loving every minute of it, I jumped back into this one after the latest DLC, Lex Imperialis, dropped, and started a new playthrough on Daring difficulty. The first time around, I was a Voidborn Noble Officer and focused on an Iconoclast approach, which made for interesting narrative moments and less challenging combat. This time, I wanted to play as a Crime Lord, but it took a few restarts to settle on the right homeworld (Hive World vs. Fortress World) and archetype (Operative vs. Soldier) combination. After finishing Chapter 1 and bit more as a Hive World Crime Lord Operative, I restarted again as a Fortress World Crime Lord Soldier, to fully lean into a ballistics-focused build. Combat is definitely more challenging without an Officer (still not a fan of Cassia), but the most interesting change has been the narrative impact, as I’m being treated very differently as a former Crime Lord than I was as a Noble. I’m still leaning Iconoclast, but I’ve dabbled with Dogmatic and Heretical options whenever they felt right, too. I’m already liking this second playthrough even more, and it’s made replaying the first 20 hours for a third time way more enjoyable than I expected. There’s no question this will be my personal GOTY this year.

Movies & TV

Duster (HBO Max)

The final episode satisfactorily wrapped up the main plot with a mix of action and tension, while establishing an intriguing path forward for a second season — which it won’t be getting. While it was entertaining, I’m not terribly disappointed as the show never fully found its footing, dancing around some of the shows darker elements in favor of charm and action that wasn’t always in sync. A more compelling version of the story would have centered Hilson and Koostachin’s characters instead, with Holloway as a charming supporting character to lighten the mood now and then, but that’s probably not a story JJ Abrams should be involved in telling anyway. I’d love to see a good author reboot the whole thing as a series of gritty historical novels instead, fleshing out the various plotlines and characters, and then come back as a real prestige HBO show in a couple of years.

NY Mets (SNY & Audacy)

Am I annoyed by the Mets’ inability to take control of the NL East and put their foot on the Phillies’ necks? Yes. Am I still excited about the Mets’ World Series prospects for this year and beyond? Yes. Do I regret getting back into baseball? No. (Not yet, at least!)

Your Notes?

If you’ve engaged with any of these, let me know what you thought. And if you have any related recommendations, drop ’em in the comments or on the socials! Some of you prefer email, which is cool, too. You do you!