There is a lot to love about James S. A. Corey’s fully realized Expanse universe. It just might help you forget about how bad Star Wars has been derailed and make you fall in love again with sweeping space sagas that can deliver on what the sci-fi genre is capable of. We’re slowly making our … Continue reading EP. 77 Mars is for Badass Marines, Venus is for Creepy Alien Cities | Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey...
Jul 18, 2020
We are finally here. We have crossed the lands of Mordor, braved the winter wastelands of Westeros, and survived Arrakis’s unforgiving and unending desert in a struggle to master fate itself and steer the course of the universe. WE NOW STAND BEFORE THE DARK TOWER. These other fictional worlds lie parallel in their own universes … Continue reading We Come at Last to the End (EP. 76) | THE DARK TOWER (DARK TOWER #7) BY STEPHEN KING...
Feb 18, 2017
The gunslingers just can’t catch a break. They face down insurmountable odds to save a town, but then Susannah goes off the deep end with the split personalities. Spoilers ahead.
Jan 28, 2017
In the quest for the Dark Tower, the gunslingers are drawn into a conflict where a town is being terrorized by wolves from the land of Thunderclap. Our heroes are reminded of the humanity they are fighting for and the terror that lies at the end of their journey. Spoilers ahead.
Jan 21, 2017
This is a mesmerizing entry into the Dark Tower series. Roland Deschain is asked to save a town from a horrible fate, and he can no more deny these people than forget the face of his father. There is an impending sense of doom and betrayal and more loss as the gunslingers must keep … Continue reading Justice at the End of the World (Ep. 74) | Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King...
Jan 14, 2017
Stephen King may be known for his horror novels, but over the span of his career he also shaped a very different type of story, one as ambitious and sprawling as the great fantasy epics of the 20th century. The Dark Tower series, now being adapted for film in 2017, follows the gunslinger, the last … Continue reading REIGNFALL – Journey to the Dark Tower Movie
Dec 10, 2016
This entry into the Dark Tower odyssey offers some of the most tense and fascinating exploits in Roland Deschain’s journey to the Dark Tower. It is in fact near the beginning of a journey that will span Roland’s lifetime and it shows a boy in a trial to become a man. The game of Castles … Continue reading Love, Loss and Exile (Ep. 73) | Wizard and Glass (Dark Tower #4) by Stephen King...
Nov 27, 2016
The Star Wars movie franchise is back and strong with the Force. So are the new “official” novels any good? Fans are divided, and it’s clear that the format of the book matters. Before Rogue One arrives in theaters, check out another band of rebels in “Star Wars: Aftermath” by Chuck Wendig laying the hurt … Continue reading REIGNfall – Star Wars Aftermath – Readers Hate It, Listeners Love it...
Nov 05, 2016
Tron had its heyday. The future is the Oasis. We were inspired by Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One to discuss how both games and books are home to some of the best fiction anywhere.
Oct 29, 2016
Seriously good fantasy fiction ahead, light spoilers included. The end of the Earth is happening, again, and maybe for the final time. Some humans, who are more than human, are realizing they may have the power to change their planet’s fate, but it is an odyssey filled with pain and uncertainty. Ancient truths … Continue reading Dreams of a Better World – The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin BOOK TALK...
Oct 16, 2016
The humans of this world carry so much pain and sorrow with them. They are under perpetual threat of death by their own planet and must take on a resilience to survive threats that upend whole parts of the world. Yet there is hope, and it’s through the strength of one family that humankind may … Continue reading A Lifetime of Running, Then a Revolution (Ep. 72) | The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin...
Oct 15, 2016
Does it keep with the Star Wars spirit? Yes. Is it Empire Strikes Back good? No, but it could have been. Han is still a scoundrel, the new crew earns their keep, and the intrigue with the empire continues. But there are missed opportunities in the liberation of Kashyyyk, Chewie’s home planet and … Continue reading Gritty Good Fun | Star Wars: Aftermath Life Debt by Chuck Wendig BOOK TALK...
Sep 18, 2016
Some Star Wars movie regulars get into the action and we see what war on a planetary scale looks like (kind of). Solid entry into the galaxy far, far away.
Sep 17, 2016
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is essential science fiction reading; one of the most brilliant pieces of fiction we have ever read. It imagines our future by peeking just around the corner and showing how one new piece of technology could plausibly change everything about how we live.
Aug 27, 2016
This sci-fi classic examines the trauma of war and how in the future, to ensure humankind’s survival, some soldiers must sacrifice almost all of their connections to the species.
Jul 30, 2016
Dan Simmons, as we’ve noted, is a genius. This is his first horror novel we’ve picked up. There are nods to Stephen King’s “It” and vibes of “Poltergeist,” but this story is wholly its own. It’s a tale of bravery, friendship and dealing with loss. Simmons makes some memorable and gut-wrenching choices that leave … Continue reading Kids Combat Evil (Eps. 67-68) | Summer of Night by Dan Simmons...
Jul 16, 2016
OK, this tale has some teeth. Even though I was face palming during the first two thirds because it followed Frodo and Sam’s playbook almost exactly, there’s a great world to explore and some exciting action that make the latter part of the story all its own.
Feb 20, 2016
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood in many ways can be compared to George Orwell’s classic novel 1984. While the world of 1984 felt like a dystopian relic when I read it (albeit an especially scary, fascist dystopian relic), The Handmaid’s Tale disturbs me because it seems like a future that could be … Continue reading A Scary Freedomless Society (Ep. 63-64) | The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood...
Jan 16, 2016
It’s no Walking Dead, but the high-octane action, death-defying escapes and survivalist tips make for a fun romp through zombie land, doubling as a user’s manual to the apocalypse.
Jan 03, 2016
We discuss topics in written fiction in our REIGNfall series. This week, we talk about two sources for borrowing books. Which one is better? We debate. Kind of.
Jan 02, 2016
There’s no shortage of choices in the zombie genre in print or on screen. This yarn takes the best of the genre – ethically impossible choices, scavenging 101, bandits and harrowing scrapes with the dead – to weave together a fun if not wholly original tale.
Dec 19, 2015
This new official post-RotJ (Return of the Jedi) tale is full of likable characters, a galaxy in flux, and a fun new robot that almost makes up for its clumsy battle droid cousins.
Dec 12, 2015
New official Star Wars story. High expectations. Here we go.
Nov 21, 2015
This is a lifeless Star Trek parody that takes nihilism to the extreme. It’s not without its laughs, but it ends up being a hollow sermon on how life is what you make of it.
Nov 15, 2015
The Dragon Reborn expands the mythology of the Wheel of Time series and its protagonists face increasingly powerful foes and dangers from every direction.
Nov 07, 2015
“For the world has grown full of peril. And in all lands, love is now mingled with grief.” This line is from the fantasy epic Lord of the Rings movie, but it beautifully portrays the sense of urgency and import in the third entry of Robert Jordan’s magnum opus, the Wheel of Time series. None … Continue reading A Fellowship Divided (Ep. 57) | The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (pt1)
Oct 26, 2015
Brace yourself for aftershocks with this one. This world’s culture and geography will rock you. Spoilers galore.
Oct 18, 2015
Reign of Books Podcast is a discussion of our current reads and includes spoilers galore. Check out Book Talks in menu for short spoilercast on the book. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (pt2/finale), Ep. 56 The price of admission is well worth it, with the book showing us not only a compelling, frightening world but packing … Continue reading This Story’s Aftershocks are Hard to Shake (Ep. 56)
Oct 17, 2015
Welcome to REIGNfall, our weekly series on book topics where we talk fiction and ponder the world of storytelling. Sinking ships, space karate, chosen ones and much more. We love our fictional characters. They enthrall us with their adventures (or misadventures), their triumphs, losses, personal courage and funny lines. They make fiction what it is. … Continue reading REIGNfall – Irresponsible vs. Responsible Characters...
Oct 11, 2015
Reign of Books Podcast is a discussion of our current reads and includes spoilers galore. Check out Book Talks in menu for short spoilercast on the book. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (pt1), Ep. 55 The Earth breaks frequently, and with devastating effect. Earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis all conspire to erase any trace of … Continue reading An Unstable World that Breeds Fear (Ep. 55)
Oct 10, 2015
