tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32169459109222915442024-03-08T15:27:24.447-08:00Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-51292853582010377542021-10-26T10:41:00.003-07:002021-10-26T10:41:19.484-07:00

Stephen Graham Jones's The Only Good Indian has kept popping up, algorithmically recommended to me on Amazon, Goodreads, social media, and you name it. However, anytime I considered it, mixed reviews pushed me in another direction. However, after the book won Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for best novel earlier this year,  I decided I'd give it a try. I, for one, enjoyed the

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-36874767286052304892021-10-26T10:36:00.007-07:002021-10-26T10:43:46.071-07:00

Midnight Mass (Netflix, 2021) is the third horror mini-series Mike Flanagan has made for Netflix, and I enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, so I was eager to take a look. I also believe that of the three, Midnight Mass is the only one not adapted from another work.  The story takes place on a remote New England island within an isolated community. Much of the

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-16505510821814996142021-08-06T09:57:00.007-07:002021-08-06T10:00:20.897-07:00

Fugitive Telemetry (Wells, 2021) - This is the 6th installment in Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries series. Each book is a novella centered on the life of a sentient combat, security android. I've been along for the ride through the first 5 books, and they are fast reads, so I gave Fugitive Telemetry a try. One aspect that endears these books and this character to readers is the unique

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-7486883523511086592021-08-06T09:48:00.011-07:002021-08-06T09:55:53.478-07:00

Level 6  (Ledbetter, 2020) - This text is only available as an audiobook. It's a sequel to Level 5, which similarly was only in audio format in what is now listed as the Killday series. I met the author, William Ledbetter, during a convention in Houston a couple of years ago. We were both panelists for writing discussions. One thing I love about Ledbetter's work is the science

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-62083013963543189342021-08-05T10:34:00.002-07:002021-08-05T11:10:13.291-07:00

 The Fear Street Trilogy (Netflix, 2021) - Is there such a thing as "feel-good horror?" If so, I think this trio of Fear Street movies is exactly that.I have to admit, I've never read the source R.L. Stine series. Each of the three movies in this trilogy feels like something you've seen before; at least they start out that way. In the first, a masked teen serial killer stalks other

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-10347351216609976132020-10-27T22:20:00.004-07:002020-10-27T22:20:40.654-07:00

After being delighted with the Lovecraft Country series, (see my Oct watching post) which is based on a novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, I rushed online to look up the author. I considered grabbing the book, but I noticed Ruff had a new novel, recently released called 88 Names, and decided to try that instead.88 Names is not horror, but instead part cyberpunk, part mystery, and part spy

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-87036003981637231272020-10-27T22:01:00.010-07:002020-10-27T22:07:15.453-07:00

I thoroughly enjoyed 2018's The Haunting of Hill House. This October, just in time for Halloween, the same director, Mike Flanagan, returns with a new, loosely connected mini-series, The Haunting of Bly Manor. Viewers will notice about half a dozen of the actors from Hill House have returned for Bly Manor, but all in different roles, in no way connected between storylines, much like the shuffling

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-74237277155822174322020-10-27T21:31:00.004-07:002020-10-27T21:31:48.661-07:00

Lovecraft Country is one of few series I can think of, which I've followed through weekly releases in the last five or six years. Usually, in this on-demand age, I tend to dig in when a series is available to plow through a few episodes at a time. With Lovecraft Country, I'd been anticipating the series for a while, and with it slated to wrap up so close to Halloween, I didn't want to wait and

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-45351194256276127582020-09-15T15:44:00.005-07:002020-09-16T10:10:28.229-07:00

 Devolution - Max BrooksI'm a fan of World War Z. I thought the epistolary story structure was exciting and a refreshing take for the zombie subgenre. I also appreciated that it was more of a collection of social case studies rather than frantic horror. In Devolution, Max Brooks turns his eye to sasquatch or bigfoot. Still, the book has a similar structure as WWZ, telling the story

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-34478879927416344952020-09-15T15:38:00.000-07:002020-09-15T15:38:04.310-07:00

I didn't know what to expect from the new Perry Mason series, only that it would involve some sort of mystery, investigation, and trial, and that with HBO producing, it wasn't likely to be as clean as the old black and white network show. I thought I'd give it a shot.I'm not a huge fan of reboots and remakes. I'd rather see something original that stands on its own. However, when one ventures

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-32590817725823174692020-09-15T15:33:00.003-07:002020-09-15T15:33:57.762-07:00

I've followed the Westworld series with interest through its first two seasons. The themes of AI, how it might become sentient, how people might control it and potentially abuse and subjugate it, and how it might react or fight back, are all fascinating, along with some excellent storytelling.  I eagerly awaited season three, in which the AI were set up to leave their captive world and start

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-82406511059963362052020-07-31T22:31:00.000-07:002020-08-12T22:36:59.207-07:00

 How to Be an Antiracist - Ibram X. KendiThis book was challenging, enlightening, maddening, discouraging, inspiring, hopeful, and occasionally humorous all at the same time. If that sounds a little manic for your tastes, I'd argue that it is symptomatic of the topic and having a serious conversation about it. There are symptoms of racism which are horrible, but also advances that give hope

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-87352720342835836132020-07-31T22:27:00.000-07:002020-08-12T22:31:52.168-07:00

Unbreakable Series (or the Eastrail 177 Trilogy)I saw Unbreakable, the first movie in what turned out to be a trilogy from M. Night Shyamalan back when it came out in 2000. I was still in high school, and I remember thinking the movie was cool, but that I wasn't particularly wowed. Shyamalan was riding high in popularity after The Sixth Sense 1999, but I don't think Unbreakable captured the magic

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-84495233927560159722020-07-31T22:24:00.001-07:002020-08-12T22:27:18.815-07:00

Everything just comes together so well on RTJ4 by Run the Jewels. I've been a Run the Jewels fan for quite a few years now. First, Killer Mike and EL-P are exceptional musicians. It's been true of the other Run the Jewels albums and of each's solo work. That said, I feel like RTJ is more than the sum of its parts. The rappers complement and play off one another to reach a higher level. One gets

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-79186097106271595682020-06-30T14:36:00.001-07:002020-06-30T14:36:25.752-07:00

To date, I had read all four novellas in Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries series. I mostly enjoyed them. They definitely have a unique protagonist in the form of a rogue AI, but not just any bot, a security behemoth. As sci-fi classically has taught us, if we have anything to fear from AI turning sentient, it's the Terminator-like killbots that will be our undoing. Yet Wells asks us to empathize

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-76099939803933309032020-06-30T14:34:00.000-07:002020-06-30T14:34:02.746-07:00

I recently binged an unconventional series from amazon prime video called Hunters, and it was an odd delight. On the one hand, with a talent like Al Pacino, the series has respectability. But on the other, the series does bizarre things like breaking the narrative, and even the fourth wall to throw in a two-minute mock, antisemitic gameshow clip.The premise: a teen, working in a comic book store,

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-82861052552597876902020-06-30T14:32:00.000-07:002020-06-30T14:32:18.223-07:00

I enjoy some hip-hop music, but I'm far from having my thumb on the pulse of the genre. I wasn't aware of Mac Miller until the news of his untimely death hit the headlines in 2018.  Still, I didn't encounter much of his music, at least that I knew of, and didn't go seek it out. But there I was taking an extra lap around the neighborhood in my car, with the SXM coffeehouse radio station on,

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-75506744115215062182020-05-14T22:49:00.000-07:002020-05-14T22:49:25.329-07:00

I finally finished The Stone Sky, book three of N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth series. When I say finally, I don't want it to sound like it was some chore to accomplish. The labor was in finding the time to read now that my six-year-old and two-year-old are at home 24-7.  So it took me a bit longer than it might otherwise have. That out of the way, I was pleased with the story.As with any solid

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-58468746723243598442020-05-14T22:46:00.001-07:002020-05-14T22:46:43.064-07:00

I started watching the Star Trek Picard series pretty much right when it came out and was keeping up week to week. I am a long time Star Trek fan. Sadly, I got sidetracked before watching the last couple of episodes, thanks to COVID and kids. But, I recently set out to remedy the situation.I have mixed feelings about this series. There are lots of things I like, and some not so much. However, in

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-9389641630903044682020-05-14T22:43:00.000-07:002020-05-14T22:43:00.672-07:00

Reggae music. I used to live in Houston, and have one of those stop-and-go, 12-standstill-lanes sorts of commutes that took an hour to travel less than 15 miles. I often found myself pretty worked up and even downright angry during the drives. That's when I discovered that jamming to some reggae along the way helped ease my mood. Like a little mental teleport to a laid back beach somewhere. Who

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-34319204513380189852020-03-09T15:29:00.001-07:002020-03-09T15:29:20.472-07:00

Over the last year or so, I've read the first three installments in Martha Wells's Murderbot Diaries series. I've mentioned how the main character is fascinating, but that his sarcasm can get a little grating as everything is seen through his POV. Still, I like the concept and enjoy the world. I just can't read them back to back. It would be too much murderbot. But, as it's been a few months, I

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-67530563126503644652020-03-09T15:25:00.001-07:002020-03-09T15:25:52.453-07:00

I read Stephen King's The Outsider about a year ago, which HBO adapted into a miniseries. The show began in January and recently aired its 10th and final episode (I'm assuming). Thus, I gave it a watch.Let me start with a look back on the book. I enjoyed quite a bit about it. The story had a lot of cool and fascinating, dark ideas. But there was something I didn't at the time quite put my finger

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-14484852209884965522020-03-09T15:19:00.000-07:002020-03-09T15:19:06.782-07:00

I saw an article about a unique concept album from Harry Nilsson called The Point! which was turning 50 years old. It was released in 1970. I'd never heard of it, but its release preceded my arrival on the planet by more than ten years. Still, it sounded odd and interesting, so I found it on iTunes and gave it a listen or ten. I love it.It's sort of a mini-musical with both songs and narration,

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-21806339716323249042020-02-10T14:10:00.001-08:002020-02-10T14:10:37.438-08:00

Andy Weir's The Martian has been on my radar for a long time. Most people who weren't aware of it eight years ago had it brought to light when Matt Damon starred in the 2015 movie adaptation. Well, I finally got around to it, and I loved it. Two notes, first, I did see the movie back when it came out. Also, full disclosure I audiobooked this one, narrated by Wil Wheaton. I'll touch on both.First

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3216945910922291544.post-49362514485102366262020-02-10T14:02:00.002-08:002020-02-10T14:02:57.780-08:00

I haven't read Joe Hill's NOS4A2, but I'd heard of it and saw AMC adapted it for a series, so I gave it a whirl. It stars Ashleigh Cummings as Vic McQueen, a troubled teenager just discovering she has extraordinary powers. The series also features Zachary Quinto, of Heros and Star Trek 2009 fame, as Charlie Manx, the antagonist in the story. He is not a vampire as we usually see one, but the

Channing Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03019464419883679102noreply@blogger.com0