Hostages

A four episode documentary about the Iranian Hostage Crisis and despite having a pretty good understanding (so I thought) about this event, this show knocked me for six. It was impressively well done – they approached it objectively and interviewed both the hostages and the hostage-takers.

Watching this series gave a deeper understanding of the events surrounding the hostage crisis – the geopolitical and historical context as well as being able to see the footage from back then with those involved to the elder selves commenting back on that time.

Do not give this one a miss. It is well worth your time.

Wheel of Time (Series)

Books That Made Me Part Whateverith: Wheel of Time (series) by Robert Jordan (feat. Brandon Sanderson for the finale)

When I was younger and living overseas, one of the greatest gifts that I could or would ever get were the huge Media Mail bags of books from my former librarian grandmother. We didn’t always have the best of relationships, but she never failed to support me in what I wanted to do and she would always send me books. Books of all stripes and sizes and genres that she would get at library sales and used book fairs. It was not unusual to get several books in a series, all out of order. So I’d get book 1 and then book 5 and book 7 and then have to piece the rest of the series together by myself. However there was one M Bag that carried a prize beyond measure – sometime between late 1999 and early 2000 – we got an M Bag that held all eight of the Wheel of Time books in it.

A complete series (so far – as the 9th book had not yet been published) was a rare thing to find in these bags and I immediately set upon them like a starving feral child who hadn’t seen decent food in a while (according to my sibling at the time). It caused a bit of conflict with my mother who worried about me potentially reading things that I wasn’t old enough to understand until I pointed out that if I had questions, I had a track record of asking them to explain stuff. I was 14 almost 15 and exceedingly resolved that nothing was going to get in my way of reading these books. The covers were glorious and catnip to my brain and I cannot stress enough how amazing it was that they were all there so I did not have wait or wonder what happened next or how exactly we got from point C to Point X. It was all there for me and it was a glorious feast.

I sped through these books faster than I think anyone would believe possible (unless you’ve seen me read and I was faster then than I am now) and I was completely subsuming myself in the Wheel of Time world and the characters and everything about them. I got to the end of Book 8 and screamed out loud because that was a nasty cliffhanger and where was the next book? Was there even a next book? Surely, we’re not going to be left hanging forever right?!!? Understandably everyone else in the household was not amused by my outburst but I maintain the scream was warranted. Might have helped that it wasn’t almost bedtime when it happened.

I remembered the Internet was a thing and started diving into the Wheel of Time fan sites and the forums and reading through all the different fan theories and speculations and the excitement over the ninth book coming out and I was a joyful fanthing. Waiting for books 9 and 10 was horrific especially since I had yet to be able to convince anyone back home to send me book 9 – I had to wait until I was back in the states briefly myself in order to pick 9 and 10 up. I was exceedingly fortunate that our departure date was the day after the release date for book 10 and that I had very understanding grandparents who did not mind the emergency trip to the nearest bookstore. It helped that they knew that if they didn’t take me, I was totally going to find the nearest bus route or hitchhike to the nearest bookstore that carried new releases. I was 16, looked about 10ish, and would not be stopped from this quest.

My second email address was failebashere@***** and I legitimately could not get enough of Perrin and Faile and Egwene and Gawyn and then Mat who stole my whole heart and then some. I loved watching Lan and Nynaeve and them being the definition of “its complicated.” I still (forever) want all the backstory and the additional tales of the time of legend even more so than what we did get. I could happily lose myself in this world for ages upon ages and never ever get bored. If I was stuck on a desert island with only one book series for the rest of my life, it’d be this one. No contest.

One of my college friends and I became friends because she was reading The Great Hunt and I legit just sat down across from her in the cafeteria, held out my hand, and said something along the lines of “Hi I’m [x] and I have never seen anyone else actually reading these in real life, I think we should be friends.” We are still friends to this day.

Another college friend allowed me to commission her to make me an Aes Sedai shawl. It’s handknit -the pattern assembled from 3-4 separate patterns and combined to make one of the most priceless fandom costume pieces I own. She didn’t charge me nearly enough for it, either.

I have found amazing people through this series and it never ever gets old. The squee we all share is intensely and deeply infectious and joyful. It’s one of the happiest fandom communities I get to share in.

I never ever thought I would see an adaptation of Wheel of Time – especially not a live action one. I have been cautiously hopeful during the initial announcements and then we got casting news and I got more excited. We got a teaser and my faith and confidence grew.

We got a trailer and I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing for a good minute there as I just got overwhelmed with FEELING. My roommate watched me blink back tears as I watched the trailer another three times, just to make sure I was actually seeing this in real life and not an extremely detailed dream/hallucination.

We’ve got a show. The first episode premieres tomorrow. We’re getting an adaptation that as far as we can tell looks like its going to be AMAZING. It looks like the showrunners not only understand the source material but they’re respecting it. The cast looks lovely and the settings were breathtaking from what we got in the trailer.

Just like there were no words for what it meant to me to have been seen and represented in Every Heart A Doorway, there really aren’t the words to encapsulate what it means to see this world in live action, to be able to watch this story that I love from the beginning. To know that the show is going to bring in new fans to come and share in the joyful squee. It’s exhilarating. I can barely wait.

Articles of the Federation for Dewey’s Readathon

Articles of the Federation is written by Keith R.A. DeCandido and it is the 15th thing I have read for the readathon. It is also extremely my jam. It was marketed as “The West Wing but in Trek” and that is an very apt description. Also, full disclosure, Keith’s a dear friend and I love all his incredibly varied work. This book is no exception to that.

I was incubated a Trekkie, my parents are mad Trekkies, and I grew up with Trek in a way that I didn’t with Star Wars. It’s always been there in the background of all my fandoms. This book gave us a glance at the inner workings of the Federation government which is not something we get to see a lot of in the series. It’s fantastic.

The characterizations are brilliant and very memorable, the writing excellent, and you walk out of this novel having had a very vivid picture painted for you in exquisite detail. If you loved the West Wing, if you love Trek, you will not be disappointed with this book.

My only regret is that there are not seven more seasons of this show/book. I would cheerfully throw all the money at it.

Die #1-14 for Dewey’s Readathon

It’s Dewey’s time again! I love this so much and it’s the 3rd or 4th year that I am participating in it. Got a later start but hey, it doesn’t matter as much because yay reading.!!! I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. Currently I am on the lunch break so I figured it was as good a time as any to update y’all on my progress.

So far for the readathon: Die issues 1 through 14. I love this comic. I love this comic more than I can properly express in words or emojis. Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans and their whole team are just freaking brilliant and what they do and this comic is a masterclass all its own on craft, games, storytelling, and the consequences of our own choices. There are layers to it that doesn’t reveal themselves truly until you reread it.

If I have a favorite type of literature, it’s things like this. If you enjoy twisty things, D&D, or really self-aware literature that likes to turn tropes and cliches on their end, do yourself a favor and pick this up. The first 2 trades are out and the third should be following in the next little while.

It’s so breathtakingly unflinchingly good.

There’s even a beta version of an RPG that Gillen wrote while creating this. It’s magical.

Book Review: Patient Zero

This review requires a disclaimer before I tell you about it.   I read quite a bit, across a wide variety of genres, both fiction and nonfiction.   There’s not a lot that I won’t read or at least try once. However, the few things that I don’t pick up are generally because simply put, they are just not my thing.  They’re not interesting to me and in many cases, despite how well written the book may be, it will still leave me cold and unsatisfied. It’s not an author issue, it’s a me issue.

For example, I’m not a fan of zombie books or comics.  I’m not a fan of zombies.  I’ve never really cared much for the horror genre in general, but zombies just have never left me with a good impression.  Not in films,  not in my comics, and not in my books. Part of this stems from the fact that my imagination is overactive to the nth degree and I’ve always been a vivid dreamer. So having nightmares from something I watched/read is always a possibility no matter the genre but they go up exponentially with a lot of horror intake. So I just don’t do horror.

That being said, Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry is a zombie novel.  My first zombie novel, given to me by a dear friend who was also my DM at the time, who strongly encouraged me to give it the first 20 pages or so.   For two reasons he said,  the first being that part of the book had been set locally and it read like the author was a local and the second being that despite my no-zombies-ever-please rule, he thought I’d actually enjoy it.  If I wasn’t sold after 20 pages, then he wouldn’t suggest any other kind of novel in that genre again AND he’d buy me another book to replace it.

I was skeptical. I was unsure. I didn’t want him to be right.  But by Chapter Four (page 12) I was completely and utterly enthralled. So I did what every totally mature college student & Gammaworld player would do. I marked my place, called him up, went “You were right, dammit” and then hung up while he was still cackling into the phone so I could blitz my way through the rest of the book.

Because Patient Zero is much more than just a mere zombie novel.

“Monday, 1300 hours:  Detective Joe Ledger kills terrorist Javad Mustapha, aka Patient Zero, with two point-blank shots from his Glock.45.

Wednesday, 0800 hours: Patient Zero rises from the dead.

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice inside the same week,  there is either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills…and there’s nothing wrong with  Joe Ledger’s skills.”

This blurb from the back of the paperback is one of my favorite summaries of both this book and the main character’s personality. Patient Zero is one part science-based horror novel and one part military thriller.    The main character is everything I enjoy in my protagonists.   Competent, efficient, memorable, and a world-class smart-ass.  Joe Ledger is good at what he does, he’s not a superman, there are no masks or tights, and his skills are not out of the realm of ordinary humans.  He’s a well rounded solid realistic character.

The book is  recounted from his first person perspective. We’re riding right alongside Joe, deep into his head and thought processes as the novel goes on.  First person narration is always tricky, both to write and to read, but when it’s done well,  the impact it can have is powerful.

Maberry excels at drawing you into the novel and keeping you there.  This book is a fast read,  once you pick  it up, it’s terribly hard to put it back down again.   It’s an amazing thrill ride from start to finish.

He’s crafted a plausible scenario for how a zombie apocalypse might actually start.  The technology (with very few exceptions) are all based upon actual technology being used today, though as Maberry notes in his Author’s Note, several of the items are not yet available on the commercial market.   The science is fairly solid, some of the specifically named parasites and control diseases are fictional, but they are all inspired by pathogens currently present in today’s scientific field.  Prion diseases actually exist. They really are terrifying.

In short, these are zombies I could believe in.  This was a plot I could easily see happening in today’s world.  The plausibility and realistic feel to the novel, characters, and the plot adds to the suspense and makes it just that extra bit more terrifying.

To say anything more about the plot would require massive spoilers and make this review six times as long.  If you enjoy fast-paced action thrillers, plausible zombies, and a plot that will leave you with chills up and down your spine, then this book is for you.

If you, like me, aren’t really a fan of horror or zombies, I would still urge you to pick up this book.  You might be surprised how much you enjoyed it.

I know I was.

The Three-Body Problem, or Books That Leave A Mark

There are certain books that, for lack of a better term, leave a mark on you after you finish them. They become demarcation points in your life, in that there was you before you read it and then the you after you read it is different. Maybe it’s the way you see yourself or the way the sky seems a bit bluer, but that book changed you in some way.

The Three-Body Problem did this for me, as you all probably know, I read a lot. And I read across multiple disciplines and genres because I like learning and I adore stuff that really makes me think. This year, I’m making a concerted effort to go through all the rec lists and my ever-growing To Be Read pile and that’s where the 2019 Reading Challenge came from. Someone in the Books-A-Million where my Darling Roommate works had bought it and recommended it to me and so when my library had a copy, I picked it up (All Hail the person/people who came up with Overdrive). Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. It pulled me in and wouldn’t let go, almost mesmerizing me with the beauty and the starkness it conveys.

To know that this book is also a translation makes me breathless because having lived part of my life overseas from my native country, I know exactly how hard that is and how much can get lost in translation, if you’re not careful. It makes this book doubly wonderful for me.

The Three-Body Problem is set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution , a secret military base sends out signals in order to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization receives the signal and plots to invade Earth. What happens next is predictable to a point – different camps start forming. Those in favor of the invasion and those that are not. That’s where any and all predictability ends. The way that the story is told unfolds the tale of what has happened and how the different camps came to be in such a masterful way. This book, which is book one of three, which is something I didn’t realize until I’d finished it, is one that makes you really stop and think and it blew me away.

I’ll be sitting with this one for a while. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend this book.

The 2019 Reading Challenge

Yep, you read that right. The 2019 Reading Challenge.

After talking to one of my tribe members and doing a little bit of research here and there, I’ve decided to start a year long challenge and chronicle it here. I’m going to see exactly how many books I can read over the course of the year. There’ll be monthly check-ins and a few reviews where and when I can do them.

I’m starting with with my TBR pile which is about as tall as I am (I am exactly 5ft tall) for physical books. I am also counting my Audible list and the EBooks I have that I haven’t read yet. Comics and Graphic Novels also count. Basically I want to read more this year than I did last year and reading has always been my first and best passion. If you want to join in on the fun, I’m using the hashtag #UBC19/#ubc19 to keep track of my reading on the various social media platforms. Feel free to ask me about any or all of what I’m reading if you catch me in person. There’s nothing I love more than getting to nerd out with other book enthusiasts.

I’ll put the titles of the ones I’ve finished here:

  1. To Make Monsters Out Of Girls – Amanda Lovelace
  2. Limetown – Cote Smith (created by Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie)
  3. Milk and Honey – Rupi Kaur
  4. The Princess Saves Herself In This One – Amanda Lovelace
  5. The Witch Doesn’t Burn In This One – Amanda Lovelace
  6. Fierce Fairytales – Nikita Gill
  7. T-Rex Trying – Hugh Murphy
  8. Inspired – Rachel Held Smith
  9. Ad Eternum – Elizabeth Bear
  10. Seven for a Secret – Elizabeth Bear
  11. The White City – Elizabeth Bear
  12. GMorning Gnight: little pep talks for me and you – Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jonny Sun
  13. Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants, and Trees – Ernst and Johanna Lehner
  14. Secrets of the Nile – Carolyn Keene
  15. Batman #50
  16. Batman #51
  17. Batman #52
  18. Batman #53
  19. Batman #54
  20. Batman #55
  21. Batman #56
  22. Batman #56
  23. The Wicked + The Divine #38
  24. The Wicked + The Divine #39
  25. The Wicked + The Divine Special 1373
  26. Dead on Target – Franklin W. Dixon
  27. Night Train to Memphis – Elizabeth Peters
  28. A Study in Emerald – Neil Gaiman
  29. Tiger! Tiger! – Elizabeth Bear
  30. The Case of The Wavy Black Dagger – Steve Perry
  31. A Case of Royal Blood – Steven-Elliot Altman
  32. The Weeping Masks – James Lowder
  33. Art in the Blood – Brian Stableford
  34. The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone – Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson
  35. Legion versus Phalanx – Myke Cole.
  36. Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys – Super Mystery: Mystery Train – Carolyn Keene
  37. The Mermaid’s Voice Returns In This One – Amanda Lovelace
  38. Alexander Hamilton’s Guide To Life – Jeff Wilser
  39. The Adventure of The Antiquarian’s Niece- Barbara Hambly
  40. The Mystery of The Worm- John Pelan
  41. The Mystery of The Hanged Man’s Puzzle – Paul Finch
  42. The Horror of The Many Faces -Tim Lebbon
  43. The Adventure of The Arab’s Manuscript- M+ichael Reeves
  44. The Drowned Geologist – Caitlin R. Kiernan
  45. A Case of Insomnia – John P. Vourlis
  46. The Adventure of The Voorish Sign – Richard A. Lupoff
  47. The Adventure of Exham Priory- F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
  48. Death Did Not Become Him – David Niall Wilson and Patricia Lee Macomber
  49. Nightmare In Wax- Simon Clark
  50. Sunshine – Robin McKinley
  51. Down Among The Sticks and Bones – Seanan McGuire
  52. Beneath The Sugar Sky- Seanan McGuire
  53. Sparrow Hill Road -Seanan McGuire
  54. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown – Seanan McGuire
  55. Good Society RPG sourcebook
  56. The Wicked + The Divine – #40
  57. The Wicked + The Divine – #41
  58. The Wicked + The Divine- #42
  59. Princesses Behaving Badly – Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
  60. Leia Princess of Alderaan – Claudia Gray
  61. The Three-Body Problem – Cixin Liu, trans, by Ken Liu
  62. P.S. I Still Love You – Jenny Han
  63. In an Absent Dream – Seanan McGuire
  64. Always and Forever, Lara Jean – Jenny Han
  65. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making – Catherynne M. Valente
  66. Shadow Unit 1
  67. Batman #57
  68. Batman #58
  69. Batman# 59
  70. Batman #60
  71. Batman #61
  72. Batman #62
  73. Batman #63
  74. Batman #64
  75. Batman#65
  76. Batman Annual 3
  77. Werewolf the Apocalypse – 20th Anniversary Edition RPG sourcebook
  78. Kingdom of Needle and Bone – Mira Grant
  79. The Fifth Season – N.K. Jemisin
  80. The Wicked + The Divine #43
  81. Batman#66
  82. Batman#67
  83. Batman#68
  84. Batman#69
  85. Batman#70
  86. Star Wars: Age of Republic: Padme Amidala
  87. Star Wars: Age of Rebellion: Special
  88. Berlin – Jason Lutes
  89. Barrier – Brian K Vaughn
  90. James Bond 007 – Warren Ellis
  91. H1 Ignition – Mark Waid + Team
  92. Malika Fire and Frost – Roye Okupe
  93. Worlds of Aspen 2016 – Joshua Hale Fialkov & J.T. Krul
  94. The Looking Glass Wars: Crossfire – Frank Beddor
  95. Star Wars: Republic Commando: Triple Zero – Karen Traviss
  96. Hawkeye: My Life as A Weapon – Matt Fraction/David Aja
  97. Hawkeye: Little Hits – Matt Fraction/David Aja
  98. The Obelisk Gate – N.K. Jemisin
  99. The Language and Writing System of MS408 (Voynich) Explained – Dr. Gerard Cheshire
  100. The Stone Sky – N.K. Jemisin
  101. Master and Apprentice – Claudia Gray
  102. Final Girls – Mira Grant
  103. Midway Relics and Dying Breeds – Seanan McGuire
  104. No Flight Without the Shatter – Brooke Bolander
  105. The Seventh Bride – T. Kingfisher
  106. Leviathan Wakes – James S.A. Corey
  107. The Long Con Volume 1 – Dylan Meconis/Ben Coleman
  108. A Discovery of Witches – Deborah Harkness
  109. Red Hood Outlaw: Requiem For An Archer- Lobdell/Woods/Loomis
  110. Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance – Tobias S. Buckell
  111. Waiting Out the End of the World at Patty’s Place Cafe – Naomi Kritzer
  112. I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land – Connie Willis
  113. This Is How You Lose The Time War – Amal Al-Mohtar & Max Gladstone – Hardcover
  114. This Is How You Lose The Time War – Amal Al-Mohtar & Max Gladstone -Audiobook
  115. This Is How You Lose The Time War – Amal Al-Mohtar & Max Gladstone – Ebook
  116. Vegas Heist – Van Allen Plexico
  117. Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue – Charlie Jane Anders
  118. Confessions of a Con Girl – Nick Wolven
  119. Utopia, LOL – Jamie Wahls
  120. The Scholast in the Low Waters Kingdom – Max Gladstone
  121. Paradox – Naomi Kritzer
  122. Angel of the Blockade – Alex Acks
  123. The Fisher of Bones – Sarah Galley
  124. Crispin’s Model – Max Gladstone
  125. The Dark Birds – Ursula Vernon
  126. Waiting on A Bright Moon – JYYang
  127. Pan-Humanism: Hope and Pragmatism – Jess Barber and Sara Saab
  128. A Human Stain – Kelly Robson
  129. Storm of Locusts – Rebecca Roanhorse
  130. The Moscow Rules – Antonio and Jonna Mendez (with Matt Baglio)
  131. The Long Con #6 – Dylan Meconis/Ben Coleman
  132. The Long Con #7 – Dylan Meconis/Ben Coleman
  133. The Long Con #8 – Dylan Meconis/Ben Coleman
  134. The Long Con #9 – Dylan Meconis/Ben Coleman
  135. The Long Con #10 – Dylan Meconis/Ben Coleman
  136. The Wicked + The Divine #44
  137. Middlegrade- Seanan McGuire
  138. The Queen of Life – Ysabeau S. Wilce
  139. Twelve Sisters- Y.S. Lee
  140. The Bull Dancers – Jay Lake
  141. Confessor – Elizabeth Bear
  142. Water to Wine – Mary Robinette Kowal
  143. Byways – Tobias S. Buckell
  144. Deodand – Karl Schroeder
  145. A Symmetry of Serpents and Doves – Ken Scholes
  146. Rock of Ages – Jay Lake
  147. Green and Dying – Elizabeth Bear
  148. The Desire Lines, by Karl Schroeder
  149. Midway Bells & Dying Breeds, by Seanan McGuire (audiobook)
  150. Tensegrity, by Tobias S. Buckell
  151. Forest of Memories, by Mary Robinette Kowal
  152. Let Me Hide Myself in Thee, by Ken Scholes
  153. Introduction (METAtropolis) essay by John Scalzi
  154. In the Forests of the Night – novella by Jay Lake
  155. Stochasti-city – novella by Tobias S. Buckell
  156. The Red in the Sky Is Our Blood – novelette by Elizabeth Bear
  157. Utere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis – novella by John Scalzi
  158. To Hie from Far Cilenia – novella by Karl Schroeder
  159. Searching for Sunday – Rachel Held Evans
  160. If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again – Zen Cho
  161. Empress of Forever – Max Gladstone
  162. Still Star-Crossed- Melinda Taub
  163. Bookburners Episode One – Max Gladstone
  164. The Cold Equations – Tom Godwin
  165. Penhallow Amid Passing Things – Iona Datt Sharma
  166. Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys, Super Sleuths! Volume 2 – Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon
  167. Evil Has A Name – Paul Holes and others
  168. Mermaids, Singing – Tiffany Trent
  169. A Brand New Thing – Jenny Moss
  170. Batman #71
  171. Batman#72
  172. Batman # 73
  173. Batman #74
  174. Batman#75
  175. Batman#76
  176. A People’s Future of a United States Introduction – Victor LaValle
  177. The Bookstore at the End of America – Charlie Jane Anders
  178. Our Aim is Not To Die – A. Marc Rustad
  179. The Wall – Lizz Huerta
  180. Read After Burning — Maria Dahvana Headley
  181. Chapter 5: Disruption and Continuity [excerpted] — Malka Older
  182. Four Revelations From the Rusalka Ball – Cassandra Khaw
  183. Spellswept – Stephanie Burgis
  184. The River Always Wins – Laura Ann Gilman
  185. The Amethyst Deciever -Shveta Thakrar
  186. A Spy in the Deep – Patrick Samphire
  187. Any Way The Wind Blows – Seanan McGuire
  188. The Thing About Shapes To Come – Adam-Troy Castro
  189. Estranged Children of Storybook Houses – Julian K. Jarboe
  190. For Darkness Shows The Stars – Diana Peterfreund
  191. To Say Nothing of The Dog – Connie Willis
  192. The Christmas Bride- Grace Livingston Hill
  193. Letter Excerpt: Lorenzo de Medici, The Magnificent concerning finances and the death of his father
  194. The Levy of a Forced Loan, Quarter of S. Maria Novella; April 1378 Florence
  195. Two Marriages in the Valori Family, 1452 and 1476
  196. Marriage Negotiations: The Del Bene 1381
  197. Hero with A Thousand Faces- Joseph Campbell
  198. The Highwayman- Alfred Noyes
  199. Jackdaws – KJ Charles
  200. All You Can Do Is Breathe – Kaaron Warren
  201. Needles- Elizabeth Bear
  202. Baskerville’s Midgets – Reggie Oliver
  203. Blood Yesterday Blood Tomorrow – Richard Bowes
  204. X for Demetrious – Steve Duffy
  205. Keeping Corky – Melanie Tem
  206. Shelf-Life – Lisa Tuttle
  207. Caius – Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg
  208. Sweet Sorrow – Barbara Roden
  209. First Breath – Nicole J. LeBoeuf
  210. The Witch Who Came In From The Cold – Season Two Episode One – Max Gladstone & Lindsey Ellis
  211. The Witch Who Came In From The Cold – Season Two Episode Two – Max Gladstone & Lindsey Ellis
  212. Hounded by Kevin Hearne
  213. To Drink Coffee With a Ghost – Amanda Lovelace
  214. Bite Me ! – Dylan Meconis
  215. Mockingbird Trade 1- Chelsea Cain
  216. Mockingbird Trade 2 – Chelsea Cain
  217. The Perfect Assassin – K.A. Doore
  218. Ninth House- Leigh Bardugo
  219. One-Eyed Jack – Elizabeth Bear
  220. The Witch Who Came In From The Cold – Season Two Episode Three – Max Gladstone & Lindsey Ellis
  221. The Witch Who Came In From The Cold – Season Two Episode Four – Max Gladstone & Lindsey Ellis
  222. The Witch Who Came In From The Cold – Season Two Episode Five – Max Gladstone & Lindsey Ellis
  223. Bookburners Season One Episode Two – Max Gladstone
  224. It Was Saturday Night, I Guess That Makes It All Right by Sam J. Miller
  225. Attachment Disorder – Tananarive Due
  226. By His Bootstraps – Ashok K. Banker
  227. The Omega’s Day Off – Dessa Lux
  228. Blowout – Rachel Maddow
  229. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #1 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  230. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth#2 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  231. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #3 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  232. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #4 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  233. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #5 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  234. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #6 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  235. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #7 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  236. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #8 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  237. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #9 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  238. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #10 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  239. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #11 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  240. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #12 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  241. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #13 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  242. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #14 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  243. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #15 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  244. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #16 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  245. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #17 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  246. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth Annual #1 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  247. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #18 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  248. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #19 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  249. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #20 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  250. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #21 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  251. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #22 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  252. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #23 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  253. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #24 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  254. Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #25 – Lobdell, Soy, Gandini
  255. Die #1 – Gillen, Hans, Cowles
  256. Die #2 – Gillen, Hans, Cowles
  257. Die#3- Gillen, Hans, Cowles
  258. Die#4- Gillen, Hans, Cowles
  259. Die#5 – Gillen, Hans, Cowles
  260. Die Worldbuilding Essays – Gillen, Hans
  261. The Wicked + The Divine #45- Gillen, McKelvie, Wilson, Cowles
  262. House of X #1- Hickman,Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  263. House of X#2 – Hickman,Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  264. House of X#3 – Hickman,Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  265. House of X#4 – Hickman,Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  266. House of X #5- Hickman,Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  267. House of X #6- Hickman,Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  268. Powers of X#1 – Hickman, Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  269. Powers of X#2 – Hickman, Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  270. Powers of X#3 – Hickman, Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  271. Powers of X#4 – Hickman, Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  272. Powers of X#5 – Hickman, Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  273. Powers of X#6 – Hickman, Larraz, Silva, Gracia
  274. Batman #77
  275. Batman#78
  276. Batman#79
  277. Batman #80
  278. Batman #81
  279. Batman #82
  280. Batman #83
  281. Batman #84
  282. The Author of the Acacia Seeds. And Other Extracts from the Journal of the Association of Therolinguistics – Ursula K. LeGuin
  283. Die RPG Beta Manual 1.1 – Kieron Gillen
  284. Die RPG Arcana – Kieron Gillen
  285. The Gentry’s Guide to Mixing Swordsmanship and Magic – Good Society RPG
  286. Falcon’s Apprentice – Jody Lynn Nye
  287. She Remembered – Lee French
  288. Thorn Girl – Connie J Jasperson
  289. The Princess and the Dragon – Robyn Bennis
  290. Alive – Raven Oak
  291. The Magpie Lord – KJ Charles
  292. Interlude with Tattooes – KJ Charles
  293. To The Girls Afraid of Dying – Ashe Vernon
  294. Self-Portrait Dressed As A Self-Help Program – Ashe Vernon
  295. To The Boys Afraid of Dying – Ashe Vernon
  296. Last Call – Ashe Vernon
  297. Rafe – Rebekah Weatherspoon
  298. The Future As An Exercise In Hope – Ashe Vernon
  299. New Names for Old Heartaches – Ashe Vernon
  300. Delicate Things – Ashe Vernon
  301. Inventing New Ways To Call You Beautiful – Ashe Vernon
  302. Bad Habits – Ashe Vernon
  303. Swamp – Clementine von Radics
  304. I Wish I Wrote The Way I Thought – Benedict Smith
  305. Halfway House – Ashe Vernon

The Books That Made Me Part Two: Little Women

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Can I tell you a secret? Out of all the books that I have read and loved, one of the dearest to me will always be Little Women.

Because I was ever a Jo and my sister was ever an Amy. This book was the first book to show me that you could actually be different and succeed. You could be a girl/woman and a writer. You could have short hair and madcap adventures and fall in love and still be a writer. Jo was everything to me. She worked and she wrote and failed and triumphed and suffered and won. But she was above everything else, a SHE and SHE WROTE.

Narnia gave me the endless possibilities of different worlds and times and a special kind of magic. Little Women taught me that it was okay to be eccentric and strange in my actual life. That it was appropriate to want to have writing as a passion and a career. That I could want more than being a wife and mother married to an officer and leading that kind of life. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not denigrating those choices and those who make them. The Megs and the Marmees of the world are incredibly important. I know quite a few people who would be utterly lost without them.

I only mean that, for me, who was born a kind of Beth with multiple illnesses and a certain kind of medical fragility, who was raised by a Marmee who was so wonderful and so patient as I grew into Jo. As the eldest in the family, I was trained and expected to handle the duties of a Meg and in our family, the joke was that you either became military or you married it. So I was, in a way, brought up to be Meg. It never really fit correctly, like a dress that doesn’t quite fit. I could perform all the functions of a Meg but it didn’t bring me the inner happiness that I saw in several of my relatives. Jo and her everything showed me that there was another way. That I wasn’t broken because Meg just didn’t fit me.

I could be Jo. Wild and wonderful and creative and passionate and messy. I could have my happily ever after, if I wanted one, without sacrificing the words that bubbled up from within.

Jo was a lifeline when I desperately needed one and for that, Little Women will always be one of the books that made me.  The latest adaptation was quite good and it’s definitely worth  watching if you haven’t already seen it.

Review: The Scorch Trials (film)

This is a middle movie and it’s a great one. Because the plot thickens and deepens and it tries to prepare you for the huge finale that is coming up. We get characterization and plot and backstory and the stakes get higher and higher. There aren’t many slow spots in this film at all.

The cold opening here where we see Thomas as a kid and then him dreaming about the Box and then Minho shaking him awake. The disorientation as they go from the copter to the base and it’s jarring for you, the viewer, to make you sympathize more with the kids. We also get some very valuable information here – that Thomas was given up to WKCD by his mother when he was very young, presumably because WKCD promised that whatever Immunes were given up to them would be safe, would be cared for and protected. Given that we see him and Ava Paige on a train with several other children, we can extrapolate that this is how WKCD got most of their subjects and that this program, whatever it is, has been going on for a long time. That’s important to know. This was not a hasty slapdash operation slung together from whatever was left of the infrastructure after the Scorch. This operation has taken money and personnel and above all else, *time.*

 

 

So the ‘copter lands and they have to go right now because there’s a swarm and they are all rushed into something that looks a hell of a lot like an old oil drilling platform, only there’s no water around it. Another visual clue for just how different the world has become for the audience if they are paying attention.

Enter Jansen.

Jansen is the boss of this set up here and he encourages them to think of it as a “waystation” just a stop over place before they get them over to the safe haven.

And it’s some of the only time that Jansen tells the whole truth, when he tells them that the world outside is hanging on by a very thin thread and that the fact that “you kids” can survive the Flare virus is humanity’s best hope.

Jansen separates Thomas out from the rest of them for a private chat that really consists of Jansen asking him what he (Thomas) remembers about WKCD and straight out asks him who’s side is he on. It’s highly suspicious and it makes you really wonder about how much Jansen already knows and what he’s really after. This is where we first hear about this “refuge.”

Teresa is also separated out from the group. There are red flags going up all over the place. This place seems too good to be true. The voice over the speakers “always being monitored” which is a direct contrast to the Maze where they didn’t know until the end that they were being surveilled.

We meet Aris who has similar spidey senses. He’s the catalyst for Thomas finding out about the real purpose behind the so-called waystation. The harvesting room is terrifying and you see exactly what’s happening to the kids that have “gone to the farm.”

Thomas has a moment where he thinks Teresa’s there but it’s not her, it’s Rachel who got taken the first night, so Aris says and that he’d told her it was going to be okay. The biggest shock comes from seeing Jansen come in and have a discussion with Dr. Paige.

Thomas and Aris witness this and the conversation that gives us the information that these Immunes are being harvested for something in them that can provide clues towards a cure. The progress isn’t fast enough for Dr. Paige and she wants all the rest of the Immunes sedated and prepped for Harvest by the time she arrives there. She wants to be able to guarantee their safety and despite Jansen’s protests, she points out that he still hasn’t found the Right Arm and that they had hit two of their facilities. Jansen says he’s going to start with the newest arrivals.

From that point on, things happen very quickly. Thomas and Aris make it back to the room and inbetween the panic and Thomas’ frantic action to block the door from the inside, Newt and the rest of the Gladers get the information out of the two of them and after some quick thinking and daring stunts, they rescue Theresa and make it out of the base and into the Scorch.

Their saving grace is that it’s nighttime during what could be called a light sandstorm. So their footprints are almost immediately covered up behind them. They get to what the audience would realize is a parking structure and Theresa demands to know what’s going on and Newt demands to know what the plan is. Thomas doesn’t have one really until Aris mentions the Right Arm up in the mountains again.

So that’s their goal. Reach the Right Arm.

The imagery of the shopping mall and the parking stucture covered in sand and semi-destroyed by the elements. They decide to explore their surroundings some, see what resources they can scrounge up, and that’s when they’re more closely introduced to the Cranks. There’s also a bit where Minho and Thomas are looking together at a circuit board and Minho straight up tells Thomas that he doesn’t want to end up like those kids that they left back there. Newt making sure Frypan doesn’t watch as Teresa changes. Newt is truly the best of them.

The guy with the bag over his head, the shrine at the chain link fence, all of these are amazing details that give us a better idea of just what this enviroment is actually like.

The ONE Raven/Crow as foreshadowing. If you’re at all familiar with the counting crows rhyme, you know that’s bad. One’s for sorrow after all and we don’t have to wait long for it. Winston was attacked and hurt pretty badly.

The first daylight looks at the Scorch and the sheer amount of rubble and devastation steals your breath away. They have to scatter at one point because of the transport (“berg”) that is carrying Ava Paige over to the waystation.

They come over this dune and you see the SF Bay Bridge and all of a sudden you know exactly where they are in real space and it is bonechillingly terrifying.

Theresa reveals to Thomas that she’s getting all her memories back and how she remembers why they were there and what Thomas was like as a small kid when he was first brought in. She wants them to go back and Thomas refutes that wholesale. Thomas knows that Theresa isn’t telling him everything but before he can press her on it further, they have to run back to the group.

It’s Winston and he’s in bad shape. He doesn’t want to turn into one of those things and it gives us the first inkling that maybe not all of the Gladers ARE Immune. Winston is the first to die in the Scorch and it’s his own choice.

The Scorch is very much a desert and the weather there behaves like it, hot during the day and freezing at night. And the lightning storms are beyond terrifying.

Especially when there is little to no safe shelter. They wind up taking shelter in a building after Minho gets struck by lightning. It looks like a factory and then they notice that there are Cranks chained up in seemingly random places.

Enter Brenda who walks right up to them with no fear whatsoever and she takes them to Jorge. She and Jorge are curious because no one else has come out of the Scorch in a long time.

Jorge has three questions for them, where are they going, where did they come from, and how can he profit. It’s fascinating to see the interplay between Jorge and Thomas. We also find out that Thomas and the other Gladers are tagged as being property of WKCD which makes them highly valuable.

Jorge plays it like he’s going to sell them back to WKCD, however secretly he wants to use them as his and Brenda’s ticket into The Right Arm. Barkley, one of the men in the gang has sold them out to WKCD already. So there’s a WKCD team already infiltrating the place to get the kids back.

The part where Jorge tells Brenda that he’s going to play them his favorite song and her reaction to that is one of my absolute favorite parts of this movie. I really love the relationship between Jorge and Brenda.

Jorge helps them escape, but Brenda and Thomas get separated from the group and have to find their own way out…before the song finishes and the place blows up.

It’s during these scenes that more information is revealed to us, that supposedly the Right Arm has been taking Immunes to the safe haven for years and that it’s a paradise free from the sun, free from infection. Helping the Gladers is going to be their ticket to it, so Jorge thinks. Brenda is more skeptical.

She’s got a great line about how hope has killed more of her friends that the Flare and Scorch combined. Hope is dangerous. We also get to see what full term Cranks look like and it’s appropriately terrifying.

There’s an important moment here as Brenda is revealed to have been bitten and shrugs it off for the moment because she’s got a job to do. She’s got to get Thomas to Marcus because that’s where Jorge will be headed.

Also the prop work here is stunningly amazing – the only way that I know that it’s not real concrete and wood is that Thomas and Brenda’s palms aren’t all scraped up and bloody.

The price of admission to the party being a liquid that no one knows what’s in it is definitely suspect but they go along with it because that’s what they have to do in order to get in and see if they can find Jorge and the Gladers. It’s definitely some of drug, given the effects on Brenda and Thomas. Brings to mind the island of the lotus-eaters in the Odyssey.

Thomas has a vision while he’s under and it’s here where we find out more about our favorite Runner. Thomas telling Teresa that he had to do it before getting pulled away by security guards.

Fade back into reality and Jorge is interrogating Marcus about the Right Arm. It’s revealed that Marcus has been funneling kids to WKCD all these years, however last he knew the Right Arm had an outpost up in the mountains.

They steal a car and drive up as far as they can, Brenda is looking worse and worse but still plugging on. They start out on foot but can’t get far before they’re being shot at.

It turns out to be a misunderstanding. The people shooting at them are The Right Arm. They’ve found them.

Everything is great, except there’s forty minutes left in the movie, so you know this isn’t nearly the happy ending it initially appears to be. They’ve accomplished one objective, but they’re not out of the woods yet.

Brenda collapses and that’s when Mary shows up and drops a hell of a lot of revelations. We get all this information about Thomas and Immunes and the science behind why WKCD does what they do. The Immunes produce an enyzme that can’t be manufactured, it can only be harvested from an Immune. She mixes up something from Thomas’ blood that puts the symptoms Brenda was having to rest. However, Mary cautions that it won’t save her, it’s not a cure, and that she’ll always need more.

Mary mentions that WKCD started out with the best of intentions, but degenerated into what they currently are and if they had their way, they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice an entire generation just to get more of that enzyme. Let that sink in for a moment.

One whole generation.

It’ll make your blood run cold, thinking about how far WKCD was willing to go.

The conversation between Thomas and Theresa on the rock gives us some insight into her characterization and it’s an odd parellel between Thomas’ actions that kicked off the whole series of events and hers now. Theresa was used to help flush out the rest of The Right Arm and WKCD attacks the camp.

The battle scenes and the score are amazing here in how they’re composed and executed. They managed to get free, but they lost a lot of people and Minho in the process. Vince wants to stick to the plan, but Thomas has other ideas.

He’s not going with them. Remember, the talk that Thomas and Minho at the beginning? It comes into play here. Thomas gives this great speech about how it’s never going to stop and that it’s time to take the fight to WKCD.

He’s going to kill Ava Paige. He’s going to get Minho back.

Vince has the best closing line. “That’s a great speech, kid, but what’s your plan?”

The looks on everyone’s faces as it flashes on the survivors before fading out on Thomas’ face.

Like I said in the first installment of this series, it starts off small and then slowly unfolds more and more so we get this ever-expanding view of the setting and world. The Scorch Trials gave us a lot of new information about the world and how the characters all fit into it.

We also learn that not everyone in the Glade was an Immune, which makes sense. There would need to be a control group after all, right? For the experiment to be valid, you would always need your control group to contrast against your test group.   So just like with the movie before it, it’s setting things up for the next installment of the franchise.  Leaving us wondering exactly what’s going to happen with all of the characters we’ve come to know and love.