agent carter

Agent Carter Rewatch: “Now is Not the End”

by with No Comment FeminismReviewsTV

Hey everybody! It’s been a while since I did a regular series–the series I was planning to do next has become a bit derailed. I was going to rewatch Jem and the Holograms and humorously recount the various crimes people commit during the episodes–the show has a kind-of hilarious habit of sweeping kidnappings, attempted murder, and various economic misdemeanors under the rug. I realized by the end of watching the first episode that not only would that series involve a lot–a lot–of notetaking, but it would end up with me making fun of the show in a way that wouldn’t actually be fun. As hilarious as the show’s idea of criminal justice is, tearing the show to itty bitty shreds just wasn’t that fun–it was too nitpicky for my taste, and, ultimately, wouldn’t work.

So! I’ve decided to rewatch Agent Carter. And of course, I started at the beginning: “Now is Not the End.”

Revisiting Corus: Nawat

by with No Comment BooksFeminismReviewsRevisiting Corus

In the Revisiting Corus series, I’ve been revisiting all of Tamora Pierce’s stories set in the Tortall universe. Today, I’ll be talking about the short story “Nawat,” which follows up the Trickster duet.

Note: I will be taking a break from this series over the Christmas/New Year’s break. The first post on the Provost’s Dog series will be debuting on January 12th.

From a crow point of view, to childbirth, to disability, Tamora Pierce is tackling a lot of subjects in this short story that we haven’t seen her tackle before.

artemis review

REVIEW: Artemis by Andy Weir

by with No Comment BooksReviews

Andy Weir exploded onto the literary scene with The Martian, a book that had such huge crossover appeal that Matt Damon played its protagonist in the film version. Sci-fi and fantasy books that have crossover appeal are becoming less rare, but Weir’s grounded, tech-explanations-heavy, roller coaster ride is unique–it’s one of those books that’s uniquely perfect in execution. It contains within itself a perfect beginning, that by necessity maintains drama and heart–even a middlingly good writer could make that work. Weir is more than middlingly good, and so the book absolutely soars. Everyone I know who’s read it cried at least once.

So the big question is, can his next novel live even halfway up to that standard? The Martian was so massively good that it was hard to expect something that perfectly done, but going into Andy Weir’s new novel, Artemis, is the real test of whether Andy Weir will be able maintain the loyalty he’s gained from so many fans.

star trek discovery

Star Trek Discovery Review: Season 1, Part 1

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Star Trek Discovery finished up premiering the first half of its first season this Sunday; the second half will come in January. But now that we’ve received a complete narrative arc, it’s a convenient time to look back on the half-season and reflect on what we’ve seen so far. I ended up opting not to do weekly recaps of this show; for one, I was busy, and for two, it’s such a season-narrative type show that it felt like I was attempting to review an unfinished project. I wasn’t decided on how exactly I felt about the show, which is a little contrary to, well, reviewing something.

I’m not sure I have a definitive opinion on the show, but I do have some thoughts. (No spoilers, unless you count vague plot references as spoilers.)

a spy's guide

Revisiting Corus REVIEW: Tortall: A Spy’s Guide

by with No Comment BooksReviewsRevisiting Corus

Revisiting Corus is normally a series of posts reviewing the books set in the Tortall universe. However, Tortall: A Spy’s Guide just came out on October 31st, so we’ll be interrupting our scheduled posts to review it!

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this; all of the pithy online descriptions call it “a great gift for Tortall fans!” Which gives the impression that it’s more of a fanbook than a book, without anything new to offer. It’s also presented in a library binding style (cover printed directly onto a hardback surface), which is generally done with these sorts of ancillary books. These types of books have become popular: There’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide, The TARDIS Handbook and Sherlock: The Casebook, among many, many others. These books are generally smaller and cheaper than art books or making-of chronicles, and are written in-universe, with characters compiling files for one reason or another.