We’ve established before that I’ll pick up books for the sheer WTFery of their titles alone. That said, there was no way I was going to skip Hirukawa’s Reborn as a Vending Machine, Now I Wander the Dungeon, Volume 1 (illustrated by Ituwa Kato). đ In Reborn as a Vending Machine, our nameless protagonist is […]
Reviews
Empire of Silence – Book Review
I finished reading Empire of Silence a little over a year ago, but it was one of those books that I enjoyed so much, my only reaction at the time was *excited pterodactyl noises.* (Admittedly, I donât actually know what an excited pterodactyl sounds like, nor what sort of noise it would make after discovering […]
Men Hunting Things – Book Review
I picked up David Drake’s Men Hunting Things anthology for its amusingly frank title and, as has been a trend as of late, ended up finding a new favorite anthology. đ Its straightforward title belies a book of unexpected variety and complexity. While some of the stories are simple and hilarious (Wilson Tucker’s “Gentlemen, The […]
Discarded – Book Review
Never underestimate the power of a good title, y’all. I read this entirely because its series name was Dumpstermancer – and ended up finding a surprise favorite. In Discarded (Dumpstermancer #1) by Michael J. Allen, talented spell architect Elias Graham has just been released from a hellish magical prison, having served a sentence of 100 […]
Grave Mercy – Book Review
Nun assassins, yâall. Iâm not sure why the marketing didnât just splash that all over the front of Grave Mercy, as once I heard that description, I was all over this book. For those who need more, here is the description from the book itself: Escaping from the brutality of an arranged marriage, seventeen-year-old Ismae […]
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Beginnings – Book Review
Um, bookish library wizards, snarky witch dudes, and talking cats? Sign me up! Actually, the talking cat doesnât show up until Book 2, but thatâs all the more reason to read Book 1 â to get to Book 2 faster. Of course, there are plenty of other reasons, too. đ In Lydia Sherrerâs Love, Lies, […]
The Kidnap Plot – Book Review
One of the benefits of having an overwhelmingly huge and ever-growing book pile is that sometimes, when you get bored, you can just dig to the bottom to see what’s been hiding there, and sometimes, you find little treasures you’d completely forgotten about. This is one of those. I happened upon Dave Butler’s The Kidnap […]
Xenotech Rising – Book Review
If The Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxy meets The Office is a phrase that makes you want to fling all your money at whatever inspired it – well, grab your wallet. đ In Dave Schroederâs Xenotech Rising (Xenotech Support #1), first contact has been made in the form of aliens teleporting straight into the office […]
Halfway Dead – Book Review
If the tagline âCome for the waffles. Stay for the magic.â doesnât grab you by the throat and plunge your eyeballs straight into Terry Maggertâs Halfway Dead then you, my friend…well, probably havenât met the right waffle. Which is all the more reason to visit the good witch Carlie at the diner in Halfway. Halfway […]
Con Me Once – Book Review
Rauch and Frank are two down-on-their-luck roommates who just want better lives – Rauch for the two of them, Frank for other people. Itâs why, when Frank isnât working at the local comic shop, he prowls the streets as the costumed hero Lambda Man, using homemade tools to do whatever small good he can around […]
Redline – Anime Review
While watching Promareâs spectacular animation, I was reminded quite a bit of Redline, and then when writing my Promare review, I realized Iâd never actually reviewed Redline. So Iâm here to remedy that. Redline is a 2009 anime that follows the gloriously pompadoured Sweet JP as he and his Trans Am compete to win the […]
Promare – Anime Review
Pssh. Right, like a Trigger movie would come to our local theatre and it NOT be a Mandatory Date Night. Promare starts with a literal bang, as half the worldâs population spontaneously bursts into flames, thus marking the Great World Blaze and the appearance of the Burnish – people with fire-manipulating powers who set the […]