Since I have this wonderful space and I’m tired of social media as a whole, there’s gotta be (and there is) a better way to communicate.
Last time out, I talked about some of the big, looming issues with the publishing world. Today? Eh, I’m taking a break from that to talk about some stuff I’ve been reading, watching and playing of late that I wanted to share with everyone.
Part of making and consuming art is sharing it with others. Building your own personal taste comes from finding the things you enjoy and reveling in them, as opposed to arguing about which thing is better with others. So, here’s what I hope will become a normal feature where I talk about the things I’ve been enjoying the last few weeks.
Books
Nona the Ninth
I was incredibly hesitant about the Locked Tomb series initially. I’d actually bought the ebook version of Gideon the Ninth twice without knowing it over the years (both on Amazon and Kobo), never getting very far either time. Over the summer, I gave it another go as I was in between library holds, and I didn’t just love it. I knew I’d found one of my favorite books. Harrow the Ninth showed Muir is completely unafraid of taking risks, something I appreciate in an author who just saw breakthrough success. Fans wanted more of the snarky Gideon and taciturn Harrow. Instead, we got a psychological exploration of trauma and identity that was brilliant.
Nona the Ninth takes another hard turn into the odd and it’s delightful. Here’s an excerpt from my review (on BookBub):
It turns out, none of this is very easy and this series explores love, trauma and the impact both have on individuals, groups and the greater community. Nona is, in a lot of ways, a shell. Nona is someone we care deeply about and want to be doing cool, kickass things, but in the wake of nonstop trauma, Nona is also Nona. There are locals kids she hangs out with, she’s not very smart but she’s a teacher’s assistant to keep her busy and she’s got her found family of Camilla and Palamedes sharing a body and Pyrrha Dve holding things down for everyone. They’re in a bombed-out city on the verge of awful things and there are a lot of potentially familiar faces being referred to by different names.
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
This was such a brilliant book that I almost gave up with early on because of some of the sci-fi introduced being kinda corny. I’m glad I didn’t, because this is undoubtedly one of my favorite books of the last few years, which I commemorate with buying the hardcover version of for these kinds of books. I borrowed most of the books I read from my public library or ebooks purchased through BookBub or other deals.
Here’s an excerpt from my review (on BookBub):
If I had to sum this book up, it would be that it’s a story about very specific outsiders who face systemic, western-society induced hurdles that prevent them from being their true selves. While there is a literal Faustian bargain here, most of the characters are living in the same reality. One where demons are making deals with musicians for souls, starship captains from a far off empire are trying too hard to be perfect to gain acceptance, a luthier grapples with her family’s generational misogyny and a trans runaway faces nonstop discrimination and somehow the core conceit for this entire story is the game UnderTale.
TV
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
I was one of those rare cases of folk that mostly enjoyed CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077 for what it was, even considering all the grim circumstances. It did a great job of world-building and adding in interesting characters. The plot was engaging, and it kept to the cyberpunk aesthetic in more than just appearance, but also in tone. The protagonist was perhaps the weakest part? That and all the glitches.
Edgerunners is an animated series made for Netflix built off of the game’s world (which is important to state as Cyberpunk 20XX has existed across multiple properties). As with most of Netflix’s anime series, it’s bloody, slickly produced and interesting. I watched this during my afternoon sessions on my rower and although I knew the ending would be rather grim, I still looked forward to it.
On Cinema at the Cinema
On Cinema is back! This season sees more Tim attempts at legitimacy and yet another woman introduced that he’s clearly going to bring into his world. We’re building off of the end of the last Oscar Special, where Tim broadcast the show from the HEI Ranch, which was nothing more than a dirt lot, and locals terrorized them with laser pointers and weapons.
G. Amato, the mysterious man behind funding HEI Points, is back, and he’s found lithium reserves on the HEI property, so he’s funding Tim’s new vision for On Cinema, which is a morning show focusing on much more than just movies. Gregg is… not taking it well, especially after what transpired over the summer after the release of Gregg’s Deck of Cards and turned into a long episode of Decker (now as JJ Denecker as Adult Swim owns Decker) but with an extended Jitterbug scene, and the hilarious “What Went Wrong” special that was almost as long as the movie itself.
Movies
Weird: The Weird Al Yankovic Story
This is absolutely amazing. It’s the perfect comedy that mixes absurdity and surreal with slapstick. Like with most comedy, it’s easy for them to assemble an amazing cast who are instantly recognizable and nail their parts. Daniel Radcliffe is a staggering talent who continues to choose interesting, varied projects in his post-Harry Potter life.
Chances of me watching this a ton more times are high.
Pro Wres
DDT Pro Wrestling: Kazusuda Higuchi vs. Yukio Sakaguchi
Sakaguchi is one of the most severely underrated wrestlers alive today. He works a lot of comedy matches, but he’s got a magnificent range. Sakaguchi is the leader of the Eruption stable, which Higuchi has been a member of, and his rise to prominence came with the support of Sakaguchi, leading to Higuchi being the KO-D Champion.
This was an emotional clash between mentor and mentee, where the younger man clearly had the edge but wanted to give his mentor a chance at achieving greatness, perhaps for the last time. Sakaguchi gave it his all and where this match really shined was the emotion on display. Both men were conflicted and Higuchi knew he was going to have to give it his all to win, but also that his all was going to be far too much for Sakaguchi. Really loved this match.
NJPW: Ren Narita vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Ishii is one of the best pro wrestlers alive today and it’s been that way for at least ten years. He’s not a top star, but a reliable hand that can fill into any role needed and make anyone look amazing. This was undoubtedly an “Ishii match” in composition and execution. Ishii matches have a set formula and pacing, with Narita being a Katsuyori Shibata trainee who worked this match much like Shibata did in the excellent series of matches Shibata and Ishii had together.
People are raving about this one and Narita is definitely getting good, but it’s also difficult not to look great in an Ishii match. That being said, to bring an Ishii match from “good” to “great,” you’ve gotta be present and have your own fire, which Narita does. He’s not quite Takuya Nomura yet, but he’s getting there.
AEW: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Orange Cassidy
Shibata is one of my all-time favorites and if you don’t know his story, it’s a strange one. He retired after an all-time brilliant match against IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada. Shibata hit him with a super stiff headbutt that led to a subdural hematoma that most certainly ended his career. In fact, it almost killed him. He required literal open brain surgery to reduce the swelling and save his life.
He’s had a grappling exhibition with Zach Sabre Jr. and has been working in the LA Dojo as a head trainer, even had a match with Narita in January, but the idea of Shibata just… wrestling on a throwaway episode of AEW Rampage is wild. Especially against Orange Cassidy, a super talented wrestler with a strong comedy gimmick of a lazy cool guy who can occasionally turn up the heat. OC is, much to his detractors’ rage, a solid veteran performer and a great choice of an opponent for Shibata. He doesn’t work too stiff, isn’t reliant on head drop offense, and there was plenty of room for comedy spots from both men.
Not the best Shibata match ever, but it’s his second actual match since 2017. Just happy to see him back at it.
Videogames
The Case of the Golden Idol
This is a bit of an obscure indie game that came out a few weeks ago that I had to hop on. It’s a detective game with an intertwined narrative between episodes about a magical golden idol, a mysterious cult, and a wealthy family trying to gain power at any cost.
Short, sweet and worth the money.
My pal Tim Sheinman released a new investigative game, Riley and Rochelle, which I haven’t gotten around to, but I will within the next few weeks.
Afterparty
Made by the same team that made Oxenfree, Afterparty is a bit of a more laid back adventure game where two best friends, Milo and Lola, are sent (accidentally?) to Hell. Hell isn’t what you expect it to be, though. It’s just a normal place where demons and people interact and live out their lives, just… it’s Hell and there are demons whose jobs are to torture people, but only for a regular eight-hour shift. I really enjoyed it and hope it gets a sequel, eventually. This was better than Oxenfree.
Attack of the Friday Monsters
By the makers of Boku no Natsuyasumi, a chill PlayStation title from 2000 about a boy’s summer vacation in the Japanese countryside, it’s a Nintendo DS game about a kid who’s family moves to the countryside to operate a laundromat in a small town. The local TV station airs a program on Fridays that’s about monsters invading the town and the kid is running around, making new friends, finding cards for a card game the kids play and uncovering the silly mystery that involves aliens and monsters that are… probably just from a TV show by the local network.
… Probably? It’s an absolute treat and I sincerely want more games like this to exist.
This catches me up for the last few weeks of media consumption and the things I’ve really enjoyed. Let me know what stuff *you’ve* been enjoying as well.
I tried Gideon the 9th twice and just wasn’t hooked. Perhaps I should try it again.
And thanks for the Weird Al recommendation! I was wondering about it.