Stubborn Punkass 🍉
@christopherwards
Male/plural. Communard. Writer. General purpose nerd. Caption Boy for Mainely Mandy. 36.
3/5. Stapling together HG Wells War of the Worlds and The Time Machine (along with a nod to Jules Verne) this novel is strongest in its first and third acts, act two dragging too much despite moments of thrills. Further, the main character is just...so boring
4/5. I don't think there's anything I can say about this series that hasn't already been said. Martha Wells has created a truly delightful and sometimes painfully relatable character, dropping them into a galaxy of danger and empathy. Good stuff
Finally found a Pride Month greeting that matches my personality
Thought I just had but, even before the allegations came out, I was already pulling away from Neil Gaiman and it started with View From the Cheap Seats
4/5. While populated by engaging characters and intriguing world-building, this tightly paced novella doesn't do much to change my opinion that fantasy and noir don't really mix that well. If you're looking for fantasy, it's a good read; if you're looking for some noir, maybe give it a skip
5/5. A beautiful continuation of Sara Gran's existential noir thrillers, following hard-bitten PI Claire DeWitt as she searches for the truth at the heart of not one, but three mysteries, one that goes to her origin as a detective.
Sara Gran might be one of the most underappreciated US authors working today. These quotes are from a book she published in 2018 and they feel so relevant and straight to the heart in a world flooded by LLMs and "AI"
3/5. A really good first novel from a celebrated comic book writer. Very quickly paced, with fun characters, but somewhat lacking in bite. The main villain also feels pretty unremarkable
5/5. I've said it before and I'll say it until I'm dead: Tad Williams is the only author worthy of being called "the modern Tolkien." Expansive storytelling, densely layered mysteries, and not a single character who feels less than three dimensional
Your boy is trying something new, courtesy of @mainelymandy.bsky.social
Guys help. I'm on a layover in Dallas Love on my way to see @mainelymandy.bsky.social and there's this hot violinist playing in the food court
4/5. A big step up from Lavender House, Rosen shifts from that novel's Agatha Christie influenced murder mystery for a dip into hard-boiled noir, a tone that better suits forlorn detective Evander Mills and the queer 1950s San Franciscan underbelly he moves within.
First time doing an oil wash. Like the results but I think and can do better next time
4/5. An excellent mainstream debut that reads like a throwback to the kinds of young adult horror books I read as a teenager. It's more creepy than outright scary, but the creeps will send some chills down your spine and you'll like the characters.