Reading/Watching/Playing
Apr. 4th, 2022 11:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a_cubedReading:
I read the first two books of Rachel Caine's Revivalist series (Working Stiff, Two Weeks Notice) which seemed like fun takes on the Zombie sub-genre. She's a smooth read (I previously enjoyed her Weather Warden series). The zombies in this are techno-babble created (nanotech) and in the first two books are quite well done without the overkill on "eat brains" type. Unfortunately, at the end of the second book she introduces a new type and promptly makes the viewpoint character a super nanite zombie. Combined with a HUGE plot discontinuity from the end of book 2 to the beginning of book 3 (the books of course were written some time apart as these things are, but the action flows with no effective break and yet the situation at the end of the second book isn't where they start properly in the third book). This combination put me off the series so I dropped it.
Next, I picked up The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley. Wonderful stuff. Referencing Starship Troopers, The Forever War, Old Man's War, Slaughterhouse 5, and the current problem with propaganda, misinformation and corporate control of society, this is a worthy addition to the "must-read" SF books critiquing war. Particularly poignant reading while Russia commits war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Watching:
Continuing Agents of SHIELD with $DAUGHTER. Now in the middle of season 5. Watching Star Trek Picard as it comes out. Watched the first two eps of Halo, and enjoyed that. Started binging the third (probably final) season of "A Discovery of Witches" which came out earlier in the year but I missed it coming out.
Playing:
Little Nightmares. Finished Six's Story and am in the middle of The Kid's Story. Nice escape-room non-combat game. Occasionally frustrating game play knowing what to do but unable to do it (catching the gnome in the coal cellar, twice!) but very atmospheric and fun mix of sneaking, sometimes chase sequences, and 3-d platform and ladder puzzles (usually without a deadline, but sometimes with one).
I read the first two books of Rachel Caine's Revivalist series (Working Stiff, Two Weeks Notice) which seemed like fun takes on the Zombie sub-genre. She's a smooth read (I previously enjoyed her Weather Warden series). The zombies in this are techno-babble created (nanotech) and in the first two books are quite well done without the overkill on "eat brains" type. Unfortunately, at the end of the second book she introduces a new type and promptly makes the viewpoint character a super nanite zombie. Combined with a HUGE plot discontinuity from the end of book 2 to the beginning of book 3 (the books of course were written some time apart as these things are, but the action flows with no effective break and yet the situation at the end of the second book isn't where they start properly in the third book). This combination put me off the series so I dropped it.
Next, I picked up The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley. Wonderful stuff. Referencing Starship Troopers, The Forever War, Old Man's War, Slaughterhouse 5, and the current problem with propaganda, misinformation and corporate control of society, this is a worthy addition to the "must-read" SF books critiquing war. Particularly poignant reading while Russia commits war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Watching:
Continuing Agents of SHIELD with $DAUGHTER. Now in the middle of season 5. Watching Star Trek Picard as it comes out. Watched the first two eps of Halo, and enjoyed that. Started binging the third (probably final) season of "A Discovery of Witches" which came out earlier in the year but I missed it coming out.
Playing:
Little Nightmares. Finished Six's Story and am in the middle of The Kid's Story. Nice escape-room non-combat game. Occasionally frustrating game play knowing what to do but unable to do it (catching the gnome in the coal cellar, twice!) but very atmospheric and fun mix of sneaking, sometimes chase sequences, and 3-d platform and ladder puzzles (usually without a deadline, but sometimes with one).
