Watching, reading, playing, listening
Eventually I'd like a nice, sophisticated way to microblog about my media diet, but until such time I am going to use this space.
Books
Odessa by Gabrielle Sher
Website: https://www.gabriellesher.com/odessa-a-novel
Finished: 6/18/26
Stars: [5/5]
Review: A tidy monster story steeped in the traditions of an eastern European Jewish community. It's hard to write about without spoiling the whole thing, but if you like golems and dybbuks and Cossacks and family secrets and excellent descriptions of bodies in various states of decay, this book is for you. You'll get some bonus contemplation of "what makes me, me" for your effort, something to think about as we hurtle toward a future where tech bros think they will just clone themselves or upload their brains to the cloud in order to live forever or become ubermensch.
Exiles by Mason Coile
Website: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761628/exiles-by-mason-coile/
Finished: 5/26/26
Stars: [4/5]
Review: A taught thriller on the surface of Mars where three astronauts and three robots confront one another and the question: Why did we come here?
Kayak by Kristal Stittle
Website: https://store.tenebrouspress.com/products/kayak-ebook
Finished: 5/16/26
Stars: [4/5]
The Brothers K by David James Duncan
Website: https://www.davidjamesduncan.com/the-brothers-k
Finished: 4/15/26
Stars: [5/5]
Review: Starts slow but this one built to the kind of emotional crescendo you rarely find. Lovely characters and lots of baseball.
Movies
The Running Man (2025)
Finished: 5/15/26
Stars: [3/5]
Review: This movie was fun and stylish, but it seems to think that it was much more clever than it is. Every critique of "rich people" seemed sanded down and probably was in a boardroom somewhere. Glen Powell still doesn't look fully real to me, like he's somehow an actual human that looks CGI. That ridiculous jawline would never make it past preproduction.
Comics
HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D: PROFESSOR HARVEY IS GONE One Shot
Finished: 6/20/26
Stars: [3/5]
Review: I was a big fan of the artist on this one, although the story felt built out of spare Mignola parts.
FRANKENSTEIN NEW WORLD: The Sea of Forever #1-4
Finished: 6/19/26
Stars: [3/5]
Review: I don't really understand the thinking behind this title. So, it's Frankenstein, who not only survived his own story, but somehow survived through the end of the world from the Hellboy stories (spoilers I guess). Now he's be-bopping around a strange new world, meeting interesting people and being kind of mopey. There are new threats. New allies. Dark Horse keeps an excellent art team on these stories but the plot feels a bit meandering and flat. Still... who doesn't love Frankenstein?
When I read these new Frankenstein series, I also can't help thinking about the Frankenstein Undone book penned by former Hellboy editor Scott Allie and drawn by Ben Stenbeck. Allie stepped down after reports of his sexual misbehavior could no longer be ignored, and the series was canceled after the second issue. I always found Allie's writing to be some of the yawniest Hellboy stuff, but I'm an unabashed fan of Stenbeck. I imagine there's a folder full of finished artwork for that series somewhere, and since the whole thing was delayed by COVID, it's entirely possible that finished pages or even printed issues were placed aside. Even Mignola has declared the story "out of continuity," but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see the rest.
CRIMINAL #1 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Finished 5/15/26
Stars: [4/5]
Games
Jusant by Don't Nod
Website: https://dont-nod.com/en/games/jusant/
Finished: 5/2/26
Stars: [5/5]
Review: Jusant does only a few things, but it does them remarkably well. The climbing mechanics are the obvious centerpiece of the game, and they feel halfway between Assassin's Creed and Grow Home. The climbing rope mechanics in particular are both a pleasure and a challenge. The game is also quite nice to look at, and even when momentarily stumped by a climbing puzzle, one only need stop and look around to regain some composure. I like all kinds of games, but this is my cozy place.