Farewell to 2022

Huh. It's New Year's Eve. How did that happen?

Well, I can't say I'm sorry to see 2022 go into the rear view mirror. As years go, it's certainly had its moments. Sure, it wasn't the complete shitshow dumpster fires that 2020 and 2021 were, but that's a low bar.

I hope 2023 is an improvement. The rise of yet another COVID strain, the lunatic facists in government, wars, and every other damn thing continue to worry. Could be worse, I suppose.

However it is, whatever you believe, worship, or honor, I wish you a Happy New Year and best wishes in the next.

Thoughts on the "Willow" series on Disney+

So I've really, really wanted to like the "Willow" series on Disney+. I enjoyed the movie Willow for what it was: an adventure movie that hasn't aged well visually but is very much a classic Lucasfilm offering. The movie was a trope-laden romp of two-dimensional characters fighting a classic good vs evil battle with hokey magic and contrived feel-goods thrown in.

In short, it's perfect to transition to Disney.

So I really have to wonder how Disney is fucking this up so badly.

The series, set 17 years later (yes, the alumni cast look like twice the amount of time has passed... poor souls), moves to the next generation. Sorsha, now queen of Tir Asleen, apparently married Madmartigan and had a couple of kids: a son named Arik (after Madmartigan's jackass friend) and a daughter named Kit. Madmartigan is nowhere to be seen (due to Val Kilmer's struggles with cancer) and that's used as a trope for mopey teen angst. There's also Jade, a young apprentice knight who is also the love interest for Princess Kit, Prince Grayson (who is supposed to marry Kit but seems more interested in...), and Dove/Brunhilde/Elora Danan.

Yes, Elora Danan the baby from the film. Elora's grown into a kitchen cook whose identity was hidden for reasons and... you know, I'm not getting into these details.

There's also some dude named Boorman who is the snarky badass. Oh, and Willow is in it as an afterthought.

There's a lot of commentary I've seen online about people having issue with the cast being too "woke" (whatever that means). I honestly think the cast is the strongest part of this show. I like the actors and think the do right by what they've got.

The problem with "Willow" the series lies with the direction and the writing.

The direction is, frankly, shit. I'm not sure if it's a matter of cost-cutting for effects or what, but there's weird cut-aways from moments that ought to have some kind of climactic scene, such as the abduction of Prince Arik by the sinister villains. There's a lot of choppiness that's a bit jarring to watch, such as Elora Danan in a bleak, dark forest that's suddenly a sunlight clearing for no apparent reason.

Oh and there's the writing. I mean, I get the show doesn't want to have Willow himself be too badass, but the writing seems to go out-of-its-way to minimize the titular character as much as possible, both in ability and screen time.

The story is, at best, uneven. The pacing is painful. I feel like I'm watching something that's using the initial budget for "Xena: Warrior Princess" (like early in the show budget) for something that can clearly afford better.

Stubbornness will probably have me watch the rest of the series, but I have a deep dread that it's not going to improve, and that makes me sad. Willow was a shallow film that was ripe for reimagining and improvement. Disney could have explored the backstory of the movie in great and interesting ways. Instead, they're serving up bland, dialed-in plot and chopping direction with attempts at snarky dialog that come across as banal whining. The cast have shown they have the chops to do better. I hope the show hits a point where they let the cast demonstrate it.

Wednesday - the Netflix kind

I was utterly exhausted after a crazy day at work when I decided to fire up "Wednesday", the Netflix horror-comedy-mystery series on Netflix.

I wasn't expecting much, to be honest. Damn was I surprised!

I didn't think anyone could take the mantle from Christina Ricci (who, conveniently, also stars in the show) but Jenna Ortega owns that dark crown now.

Damn. Just... damn! I can't wait to see the next season (and I'm sure there will be another).

Review: "The Martyr" by Anthony Ryan

I read this book months back and never commented. Well, I have a pie in the oven for Thanksgiving festivities, so I figure I'll ramble here.

"The Martyr" is a sequel to "The Pariah", by Anthony Ryan. It's one of his fantasy series that's got that more epic feel to it.

Alwyn the Scribe continues in the holy army of Evadine, the Martyr Arisen. Alwyn, a cynical, former bandit, is bound by Evadine by emotions and magic as he follows her on her holy quest to prevent the dark powers of the Malecite from rising and bringing a Second Scourge to the lands.

As with "The Pariah", I found "The Martyr" to be a fun read. There's a bit of character building, both with Alwyn and those around him, and a glimpse into the wider world Alwyn lives in. Ryan indulges in his penchant for shadowy magics and malignant powers that linger beyond death, as well as mysterious and ageless mentor figures who pop in from time-to-time. Alwyn himself goes through his usual rough go of life, with everyone seeming to want to try to curse or kill him when they're not following him in battle. And there's a lot of battle. And treachery. And politics.

"The Martyr" was a good sequel to the series and I enjoyed it more than "Tower Lord" as a sequel to "Blood Song". I'm hoping the next book keeps staying good and doesn't stray into "Queen of Fire" territory.

I'll be sure to read it either way.

Thoughts on "Age of Ash" by Daniel Abraham

After having read "The Dagger and the Coin" series by Daniel Abraham, I was intrigued enough to seek out his new series: "The Kithmar Trilogy".

The price for even the ebook on Amazon seemed a bit nuts, but I found a hardback copy that wasn't too expensive. And I took my time to read it.

"Age of Ash" is set in the wealthy city of Kithmar, a major power in the world. The story centers around two young women who are part of a minority group in a destitute neighborhood of Kithmar. The duo, Alys and Sammish, are thieves, among other professions. THey do what needs doing to get coin for food and shelter.

When Alys's brother is murdered, Alys is determined to find out who killed him and why. Her investigations take her on a journey into secret societies of Kithmar, with strange magics, and some demented shit going on with the city's ruler. Sammish, for her part, is in it to help out Alys, with whom she has an unrequited (and, apparently unknown) crush.

The two women find themselves mixing things up with the weird magics and learn some dangerous secrets, changing their lives.

Overall, I have to say I enjoyed the book. It had a kind of plodding pace that was irritating at times, but Abraham goes for the slow-paced stories, and I know that from "The Coin and the Dagger". The characters were interesting, though they all got on my nerves more than once. The antagonist (villain? I'm not sure) is seriously fucked up. Abraham gets kudos for the wrongness of that.

I'm honestly not sure where the next book will go. I'm hoping the pacing is a bit faster in subsequent novels. And I'd frankly love a better payoff than "The Coin and the Dagger" gave, but I'll take what I can get.

I guess I'll keep an eye out for book two, whenever that is.

It's three months 'till Xmas

Yup. Three months. Xmas cards and decorations have been available in some stores since August. In one case, I saw a store carrying some in July.

Truly the world has gone mad.

Happy Autumnal Equinox

So begins the Fall.

Muahahahahaha!

Thoughts on "The Dagger and the Coin" series by Daniel Abrams

I finished book five of "The Dagger and the Coin", a fantasy series written by Daniel Abraham. Yes, the Daniel Abraham who is one of the two writers who make up the pseudonym of James S.A. Corey, who wrote "The Expanse" series.

With "The Expanse" done, I was hungry for a series. All my favorite authors are... not cranking the stuff out... and Abraham was recommended to me.

I got "The Dragon's Path", book one of his "The Dagger and the Coin" series and quite enjoyed it. I think I was a third of the way in when I got the other four books: "The King's Blood", "The Tyrant's Law", "The Widow's House", and "The Spider's War".

The series is written in a style similar to "The Expanse" or the "Song of Ice and Fire" books (remember those?). Each chapter is told from the point-of-view of a character.

The main characters are:

• Cithrin bel Sarcour, an orphan half-breed child raised by the great bank. Turns out she's got a genius for banking and a wild, impulsive, inclination for risks.
• Marcus Wester, a bleak-mannered and aging mercenary captain whose wife and daughter were burned alive before him. He's killed kings and doesn't have a lot of patience for shit.
• Geder Pallinko, a somewhat-nerdy nobleman who is thrust into power. A shame he's also a bit of a sociopath, a tyrant, and a mass-murderer.
• Kit, a master actor with quite the secret in his past.
• Clara Kalliam, the wife of Baron Dawson Kalliam and a woman who goes through all kinds of hell to save her family and her homeland.

All told, I found the series to be a fun read. Abraham created a fascinating world. Once ruled by dragons, the human race were bred as slaves. Multiple ofshoot races were bred for specific purposes and after the dragons fell, the various races of humanity inherited the world and get along about as well as you'd expect. I like the protagonists of the series. They're engaging, flawed, but not so much so that I didn't want to read about what they were going through. While I personally loathed Geder Pallinko, his character arc was fascinating. Abraham did a marvelous job of showing how we're all heroes in our personal narratives. Especially delusional sociopaths.

The politics were well-written and while the racial stuff got a bit heavy-handed at times, it rang quite true. Disturbingly-so given the times we're in.

There were a few cons. I thought some of the "war is hell" narratives dragged on a bit too long. I could have done without the dragons. I find it odd to say that for a fantasy series, but the whole dragon thing felt a bit shoehorned in and didn't really flow well with the plot, to my mind. And that's kind of funny given the dragons are kind of central, though in a removed way. The series does conclude, but the conclusion feels rushed, a bit overly-contrived, and oddly-abrupt. Lots of threads were left hanging, making me wonder if he's planning a sequel series.

If he writes it, I'll read it.

Rebranding

I love how fanny packs have been rebranded as "sling bags".

En-compass-ing thoughts

If you could only hear the laugh track I hear!

Anyway, I saw a post on another blog I enjoy and realized that I, too, had backed the referenced Kickstarter. And that made me think of yet another fancy compass I've obtained. So, without further ado, let me speak of compasses. Compassi? What is the plural for compass? Meh, I don't care. Moving on...

The Sailor's Compass by Oceanus Brass

I keep saying I'm going to quit Kickstarter and I never do. Oceanus Brass is one of those Kickstarter creators that make it difficult, if not impossible, for me to ever truly quit. They do nautical-themed things. Doodads. Brass utility knives and sailing gear. They came out with a Kickstarter for their Sailor's Compass and the next thing I knew, I was backing it. Despite the pandemic madness, they sent out the compass pretty quickly. It's a neat little thing. I mean, it's a compass, so it's not like it fires lasers or cuts boxes, but it's a simple, beautiful, functional tool It looks a bit like the sort of ladies' compact my grandmother used to carry about. It's about two inches in diameter and has a glow insert for use in poor or no lighting. I keep it in my "Go Bag", mostly because I think it's too gorgeous to just sit on a shelf and collect dust.

Heirloom Dual Sapphire Titanium Compass

On the topic of gorgeous things, at some point not long after I got the Oceanus Brass compass, I was perusing CountyComm's website, as I am wont to do, and lo, among the new items, was the Heirloom Dual Sapphire Titanium Compass. I couldn't tell you why I succumbed, exactly. It could have been "retail therapy" due to isolation and madness from the COVID Pandemic. It could have been because this compass is just so damn gorgeous. It could have been both. Oh, I bet it was probably both. Anyway, I got one. This compass is about half the size of the Sailor's Compass. It looks mainly like a sort of fob one might have when wearing an old-fashioned waistcoat or vest. It looks a little like a small pocketwatch, to be honest. And I love those, so that might have been part of the appeal. Like the Sailor's Compass, the Heirloom Compass is a functional thing that's also beautiful. The north indicator on the needle glows in the dark, should one need to know north without lights, and it comes (came?) with a little leather sleeve to hold it. I have to admit that every now and again, I'll carry this compass around, even though I don't need one in an urban area. It's just a fun little bauble to carry around.

I suppose I'm good to find north, provided I'm away from strong magnets and the like. And, if anything, I've got some lovely things to talk about.

Stranger Things - the best 80s nostalgia

I just finished watching season 4 of "Stranger Things" and it left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling of weird nostalgia for the 80s (a decade I didn't especially enjoy when I lived through it).

I gather that Season 5 will conclude the series, though spin-offs are apparently still on the table. I hope that one of those spin-offs have Dustin and Steve off doing side adventures, 'cause those two are hilariously-awesome. I'd also take good time to watch the adventures of Max and Eleven doing whatever those two feel like doing. They should bring in Erika Sinclair in for maximum awesome, though.

All told, I have a number of hopes for season five of the show:

• More Max being awesome. I've decided that Sadie Sink's portrayal of Max Mayfield has made her my favorite character.
• More Steve and Dustin. For the most part, I'm inclined to think the male characters of "Stranger Things" get the short end of the stick in terms of meaty roles, but Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo have been given a gift from the writers with Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson.
• Give Maya Hawke's Robin Buckley a happy ending. Her character rocks. It's the 80s and not a good time for a girl to come out of the closet, so indulge in fantasy and give her a happy time, eh?
• I'm rooting for Caleb McLaughlin's Lucas Sinclair and Sadie Sink's Max Mayfield, but for the love of Cthulhu, I wish the writers woudl give McLaughlin more to do.
• On the topic of characters who need more to do... good lord. Finn Wolfhard's Mike Wheeler, Noah Schnapp's Will Byers, and Charlie Heaton's Jonathan Byers were nothing more than pointless oxygen consuption and wasted screen time in the last two seasons. I really hope the writers can come up with something for these characters to do that's useful. It was painful to watch Will Byers do his pining over Mike and it did little to move the plot forward. Jonathan Byers did exactly nothing of use in the season other than be a sort of love-interest for Natalia Dyer's Nancy Wheeler (who is SO FAR out of his league it's painful). And, while I feel bad for Finn Wolfhard. The character of Mike Wheeler has been sidelined to the point of being... uh... pointless for the last two seasons. The writers really need to think of something for the character to do other than be "heart".

I feel sad for the Hawkins, Indiana tourist board.

Deconstruction of Heroes - a really annoying trend

I found it was really getting to me when Steven Moffatt took over "Doctor Who".

"Doctor Who" had transitioned from the Russell T. Davies reboot to Moffatt, who had written some of the best, and most haunting, episodes during the Davies tenure.

Under Davies, there was a fair amount of deconstruction of the Doctor's character and personality. A lot of trying to get into the character's head and part the mystery, but for some reason, I didn't find it too much. Then Moffatt stepped in and just kept going bonkers with incomprehensible story arcs that just orbited the Doctor in a bonkers fashion. And he went further in trying to deconstruct the character and break apart all the mystery that made the Doctor so interesting. He even invented an entire incarnation (the "War Doctor") to go nuts on the mythology.

I would up giving up on the show after a while. I've read a bit about what Chris Chibnall has done for the show's mythology and... no regrets from walking away.



Then Rogue One: A Star Wars Story came out.

I have to admit, I didn't think Rogue One was a bad story, exactly. It was just... unnecessary. I honestly didn't need an entire rambling caper telling me how the Rebels got the plans to the Death Star. And having watched the movie, with the really insanely contrived plot twists, it didn't do the story any favors, imho.



Then came the Han Solo movie. I watched a trailer and... nope. I really didn't need an entire movie trying to pidgeonhole in all of Han's backstory so we could see the Kessel Run and how he won the Millennium Falcon. Honestly, that much naked Disney greed to milk more and more out of the fanbase was too much for me.



Around the same time, I think Rian Johnson's The Force Awakens came out and we got treated to PTSD Luke Skywalker, with his addiction to alien blue milk, fresh from the alien teat.

Wow. Yeah.

Watching the heroic Jedi from Return of the Jedi turned into a broken old man with a milk fetish was way over-the-line. I was somewhat annoyed that Abrams had turned Han and Leia into a divorced couple, with Han a scrounger on the run, but given the plot thread of killing off Han, it seemed pointless to get irriated. Turning Luke into an attempted child-murderer and weirdo hermit was just way too much.

I was done with Star Wars at that point.



"The Mandalorian" came along and, I gotta admit, I found myself hooked on the franchise again. Then they did "The Book of Boba Fett" and... really? I mean, making the cool character from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi return was... okay, I guess? Turning him into a weirdly-broken, weak, and kind of pathetic wanna-be sheriff/boss on Tatooine was really unnecessary. If the show hadn't jumped to the Mandalorian for a bit, I'd have written the whole thing off as a waste of time.



And now we've got "Obi-Wan Kenobi".

So, honestly, I never saw a point to telling a story of Obi-Wan's time in exile. There was no way he was doing anything especially-noteworthy during his time as a desert hermit, right?

I'll admit, what they've got going is somewhat-intriguing. A side-quest to rescue young Leia is intriguing. It's unclear if she knows who he is and the attention paid to some details has been fun, but honestly I really don't need to see broken Ben Kenobi, cowering in the shadows. And there's a lot of that, three episodes in.



This trend to take heroic characters from various series and put them through some kind of blender to squeeze some kind of drama from their past tales - stories told after the character's performed their main heroic arc - is demeaning to the character and kinda lazy storytelling. It's a really irritating trend, and I really wish it would stop.

I'm enjoying parts of "Obi-Wan Kenobi". I have to admit, I like the new villain characters. The girl playing young Leia is awesome. Bringing back Owen Lars was well-done. I'm ambivalent about the return of Darth Vader. Seems kind of pandering, but I suppose the entire series is that.

"The Kaiju Preservation Society" by John Scalzi

Imagine if you will, "Jurassic Park" only with snarky Millennials and Godzilla-like creatures put through a Lovecraftian filter and set on an alternate Earth.

Then set it at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.

That, my friends, is "The Kaiju Preservation Society", by John Scalzi. And my current favorite book (or in my top five, anyway).

I'm honestly not sure what else to say about the book without spoiling things. It's filled with wonder, hilarity, and has a suitable villain for our times. The protagonists are engaging and fun while the setting is awesome.

I'll be shocked if this isn't picked up by HBO or Netflix or someone and converted into a series. Hopefully it will be converted by someone who knows their shit instead of some hacks who will destroy the fun parts.

Thoughts on "Pacific Rim: The Black"

Season 2 of "Pacific Rim: The Black" aired on Netflix last week. I binged it. Now, as my seasonal allergies kick me in the brain stem, I find myself processing it.

"The Black" is a sequel (I think) to Pacific Rim 2. Set in Australia, the Precursors (the extradimensional aliens behind the invading kaiju) open multiple rifts in Australia, overwhelming that land with kaiju. The Pacific Defence force (it has a fancy name that I forget just now) enacts a protocol to cut off Australia from the rest of the world and leave it to its own devices because of reasons.

Mind you, I don't understand what the reasons are, but when you watch Pacific Rim, you don't worry about the details too much.

"The Black" follows the Travis family. Parents Brina and Ford Travis are Rangers who pilot a Jaeger. Young Taylor Travis is a cadet, learning to become a Ranger and pilot of a Jaeger (and kind of shit at it). Young and headstrong Hayley is the baby of the group. For reasons, Brina and Ford leave their children with some survivors of the frenzied and chaotic evacuation of Australia in some kind of isolated and idyllic haven, then go off for help.



Five years later, it seems Brina and Ford ain't coming back. Taylor has grown into a teenage control freak with a stick up his ass. Hayley is a brat determined to get out of the idyllic haven and try to get off of Australia, despite the continent being overrun with kaiju. Things happen. The kids come across an abandoned Jaeger named Atlas Destroyer with a fancy talking AI to guide them. Atlas Destroyer, being a training Jaeger, is unarmed and needs proper power cells. That leads to hilarity that has the annoying protagonists come across the mysterious Boy, a mute child in an abandoned government lab, and Mei, a gun-toting teenager with attitude who works for the ruthless Shane, an Aussie warlord in a casual suit who wants Atlas Destroyer.

Whew!

Shenanigans ensue. Turns out Shane has Jaeger drift tech and uses it to do a mind-whammy on Taylor. He steals Atlas Destroyer and tries to have the kids killed, but Mei swoops to the rescue. They all jaunt off in Atlas Destroyer as a dysfunctional family with interpersonal strife and... wow does the story go off the rails.

Season two introduces the Sisters, some goth-mask wearing cult women who work with hybridized kaiju. They want Boy because it turns out Boy ain't a normal boy. More shenanigans. Then we have our conclusion that ends our weird anime excursion.

Yeah, I hastily summed up the plot there, but I have to say, season two really didn't make a lot of sense. It offered a lot of mystery, but answered no questions posed in season one, and really just made all the characters annoying as hell. Except Boy. Boy was just Boy.

All-in-all, I appreciated what "Pacific Rim: The Black" was trying to do. It was trying to be Pacific Rim: Road Warrior. It was doing pretty well in season one, getting that mojo down. The character of Mei was clearly the writers' favorite, with her attitude, lethal skills, and dance moves. I'll be honest: she was pretty much my favorite as well, along with Boy. Those two seemed to have the most interesting stories going for them. The Travis family was just a bunch of dead weight, as far as the narrative went. They were agencies of moving the plot along, but I wouldn't call them especially sympathetic characters. In the end, I really wanted to know Mei's story and what the deal was with what Shane did to her. And I wanted to know exactly wtf Boy's story was. Like explicitly. But the writers didn't seem interested in actually answering questions. They concluded their story the way they wanted and... uh... well that was that.

There were some good mecha vs monster fights, mainly in season one. Season two spent way too much time trying to delve into contrived conflicts, which frankly distracted heavily from what season one set down. It was disappointing, but such is the way of things.

Disney+ Star Wars stuff

Late to the party, I've finally seen "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett" in their entirety.

I have to agree with the general sense that "The Mandalorian" is brilliant and the sort of Star Wars that fans deserve, rather than the incoherent, mishmashed, drivel that was the last three films. And yet, I have questions.

First of all, does every desert planet have Jawas? Did they just migrate from Tatooine or did they migrate to Tatooine at some point?

What the hell is up with Tatooine anyway? For a planet that's furthest from the bright center to the universe, it seems like everyone and their cousins heads out there for this or that.

Is it a requirement for someone in Mandalorian armor to learn to speak Tusken? Or are Mando and Boba Fett just special?

Tatooine is a desert planet, right? I mean, I've seen no bodies of water and "moisture farming" is a thing. So... where the hell are people getting the wood for planks and the Tusken stick weapons?

So Boba Fett. Wow. He's a crime lord who doesn't do crime anymore? How does that work, exactly? Though that's the sort of logic I'd expect from a dude who got punk-smacked by Han Solo and wound up in a Sarlacc pit.

So Luke is not the last Jedi and that's kind of an established thing when he's starting up his Jedi school, before he starts going into attempted nephew-murder and drinking blue milk from the source. So... huh. That kind of makes Rian Johnson's movie even more bullshit, doesn't it?

Review: The Broken Room by Peter Clines

I periodically search to see if Peter Clines has come out with any new books. I loved "14" more than words can say. I enjoyed "The Fold" and managed to read "Terminus" finally. "The Broken Room" is not exactly set in the same world, but... well...

"The Broken Room" is a story of Hector, a top government operative who is beyond badass, and of Natalie, a young orphan who has escaped The Project with the assistance of a dead agent to whom Hector owes a debt.

Natalie tracks down Hector and asks for his help, then things get crazy.

"The Broken Room" has a very Stephen King-vibe to it. There's flavors of "Firestarter" and "The Institute" in the tale, but Clines does not go down Stephen King's roads. No, Clines makes Natalie's and Hector's stories real in very different ways, while tossing the occasional Easter egg to fans of "14" in very clever ways.

I burned through the book in two days and was unable to put it down. Both Hector's and Natalie's stories, and characters, had me completely hooked. I loved this story tremendously. It's not set up for any kind of sequel, but that's fine. It's a brilliant story and I highly recommend it.

Review (okay, reaction): Quillifer series by Walter Jon Williams

Every now and again, Amazon's recommendations are actually not all that bad.

I came across "Quillifer" by Walter Jon Williams and read the synopsis. It sounded intriguing, so I got it for my Kindle and gave it a read. I wasn't past the third chapter when I ordered the next two books in the series. I've just finished the third book and have been giving my brain a chance to catch up.

In summary, the series is about Quillifer, the humble son of a butcher and an apprentice lawyer. When his home city gets attacked by raiders, his life takes some dramatic turns in some seriously weird directions. One of those directions has Quillifer, a lover of the ladies, manage to piss off a goddess-like water spirit who decides she's going to amuse herself by throwing all kinds of torments in Quillifer's way.

Despite this divine interference, Quillifer's fortunes rise. He winds up lover of many ladies and a reluctant soldier as well as... well, why spoil too much?

Williams has an incredibly engaging protagonist in Quillifer, as well as an entertaining and unusual narrative style. The books are all narrated in the first person and written as though they're being told to an audience of a specific character that differs in each book. It's quite fascinating, really. Quillifer's fortunes vary quite a lot and I have to admit I'm finding myself sympathetic to the fellow.

I gather that Williams has six books planned in all. There are three out at the moment: "Quillifer", "Quillifer the Knight", and "Lord Quillifer". I can't wait to see where things go in the next three. It's looking like Williams will actually make headway in the series, unlike past favorite authors of mine like Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin.

The Madness that is March

Blink and I just let a few months fly by.

I guess that's 2022 in a nutshell.

Fucking hell what a year.