I’ve said before, Richard K. Morgan is the author I most want to be like when I grow up. I discovered him through his Takeshi Kovacs novels, and gobbled his backlist. I’ve loved his take on fantasy, and think his Black Widow comic story is the best in print. The video games are excellent; his story-based work gets the nothing-but-net 5/5 from distinguished critics like Giant Bomb. I say this to help you understand my excitement on the release of Thin Air. Let’s get into it. Our story starts with protagonist (…not quite a hero) Hakan Veil, financially marooned on Mars. He busts up a nightclub, murders a few people who need killing, and winds up in jail for his trouble. Veil’s not your usual down-and-out. He’s ‘retired’ from some pretty epic special forces. He’s competent, but not in the Read More …

For the longest time, fantasy (epic, dark, whatever) hasn’t spun me up. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering if it’s me or them, right? If you’re going on a lot of dates but not connecting with anyone, it’s probably not the people you’re seeing. It’s you! You’re the selfish troll with halitosis. Then I found Red Sister. Before we get too far, I need to say two things: Fantasy genre: all is forgiven! It really is them, not me. I’m validated by my one successful genre date. Red Sister is set in the Convent of Sweet Mercy. Wait! Don’t go. This isn’t the convent where women are trained to be nicer nuns. Sweet Mercy trains women to be sorceresses and murderers. It’s like a ninja academy with better uniforms. The story revolves around Nona, a girl who’s been sold Read More …

Spoilers: PR Adams’ Into Twilight is good. It’s one of the rare few that made me impulse-buy the sequel without checking blurbs or reviews. The story follows Stefan Mendoza, a sometime soldier, full-time gangster assassin. The opening sequence sees Mendoza sanded down by road rash in a brutal combat scene. What follows is a redemption story, embedded within an overt plot of “assassinating a US Sentator.” It reads like a spy thriller, with intricate shadow-behind-the-throne subplots. What’s more interesting is it’s set within a cyberpunk enclosure; most of today’s cyberpunk is rank-and-file filler, without the genius that went into genre leaders like Neuromancer or Altered Carbon. Into Twilight has the necessary depth to shine; this isn’t indie dumpster-diving, but well-tailored storytelling. The story reminded me of Lee Child’s novels. Mendoza is a futuristic Jack Reacher, getting the job done despite Read More …

I almost missed this one. Peppermint‘s a story about a soccer-mom-turns-vigilante. It’s a rags-to-ruins story, no punches pulled. Corrupt judiciary, dirty cops, ganglords controlling the city, and a family caught in the mincer and spat out. Where things get interesting is how vicious Garner’s Riley North character becomes. She’s powered by the burning fires of revenge, and leaves nothing on the table when the credits roll. North has a not-ideal but still serviceable regular life. Money’s tight, but they have food; social cliques ostracise her kid, but the immediate family rallies around. Her husband Chris, possibly not the brightest bulb, hatches a plan to steal cash from the cartels. He nopes out on the ‘opportunity,’ but not before Raba’s Diego Garcia (nicknamed The Guillotine, which should give you the right kind of vibes) gets wind of it, and executes them Read More …

I picked up a bunch of movies on physical media. If you’re on the fence about Alien: Covenant, Ready Player One, Thor: Ragnarok, or A Dark Song, this might help your decision-making process. Alien: Covenant This is a good monster movie. If you watched Prometheus and left wanting to /wrists, this is not the same thing. Where Prometheus was ridiculous to a fault (e.g., why can people not run sideways out of the path of a giant rolling donut…), Covenant is a return to an Alien movie where they don’t try to explain too much (busting things in the process – what even was the black goo…), and give you the horrific scenes you want. Covenant follows the crew of a colony ship. Pulled off-course by an accident, they set down on a human-habitable world. Unfortunately, the monsters beat ’em Read More …