Books and Comics
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Starstruck (2/5) Sometimes one of my kids will come home from school and tell me a long, involved story featuring people I’ve never met and events I don’t understand. I listen, I nod, and I try to understand.
Reading this comic was a similar experience, only it lasted much, much longer. -
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (4/5) This was an enjoyable read, though it felt very little like the 90s. It wanted me to know that the book was set in the 90s. The first few chapters had so many references, I thought I was in for a Ready Player One situation.
Luckily, there’s less wish fulfillment here, and I did enjoy my time with the book. My suggestion: go in knowing it’s not the 90s, but a bizarre mirror world where no one is worried about selling out, they/them pronouns are used a decade early, and antisocial, disabled kids with no friends have multiple sexual partners despite having little interest in sex. It’s an odd book, with odd vocabulary, but I want to stress: this is a positive review! See that 4 up there? That’s a big number! -
Lateral (4/5) It’s the book of the podcast. What more can I say?
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Raised in Captivity: Ficitional Nonfiction 2/5 I love Klosterman’s nonfiction. This collection of very shrot stories felt lazy. Many stories ended right when they were most interesting (including the titular puma story). Several I didn’t care for at all, and would not have missed their absence. Very few felt satisfying for the length that they were. A small number ended exactly when they should have, when the idea was fully explored.
Some compelling ideas, but only sketches. None brought to fruition. I wanted more most of the time, and much less sometimes. -
LaserWriter II (2/5) Possibly even 1/5. This book was all style over substance. Dozens of named employees, all paid well despite charging nothing for their work. Personified printer bits. Meandering, but cozy. Not sure what the point was, really.
Video Games
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (5/5) This is one of the best video games I have ever played. It’s immersive, polished, and fun. The game feels like a long Indiana Jones movie, and not one of the bad ones where that would be a bad thing!
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Citizen Sleeper (4.5/5) The first half hour didn’t grab me. The next time I sat down, I just about finished it in one playthrough. The art is beautiful, the writing compelling, the worldbuilding efficient, and the gameplay simple. It’s a deep, lived-in world that starts in a place of desperation and slowly morphs into a place of hope.
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Ittle Dew 2+ 4/5 Zelda with souls-like bosses. The puzzles use only 4 items in increasingly clever combinations, the humor is on point, and the transition to open world with a focus on exploration (something I usually hate!) works very well here!
There’s a lot to love, but the incredible level and dungeon design deserves a special callout.
Movies
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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service A James Bond movie with 3 different downhill snow chases! It’s a long one, but well executed.
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Deadpool and Wolverine
The plot was mostly a vehicle for spectacle, references, jokes, and fights. The jokes were good and the spectacle grand.
I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d been spoiled on less, but still a couple surprises. The fights seemed gratuitous, but it was fun overall.
TV
- Twin Peaks I’ve still got 2 episodes to go in the first season. This is a weird show. It’s compelling, and the rock-throwing scene is a brilliant way to solve the ever-present problem of sharing exposition. I don’t know what else to say here. I thought I knew what to expect with Twin Peaks, and I was wrong. No one could have predicted this. It’s very weird!