A curmudgeon writes.
Thoughts on things I’ve experienced.
We’ve just come back from some time away – not a huge amount of time, but some – in one of Unyoked‘s cabins.
Was it good? Overall, yes, but with a sprinkling of hmmm to add to the escape’s piquancy. Continue reading “Unyoked with Miguel”
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 6 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
Well, it’d seem I’m cutting through these collections the way prison-toilet wine cuts through intestinal lining. Time for some thoughts on another hilarious collection of lost moments from a horrific human research facility masquerading as a prison.
Y’know, with DEATH GAMES. Continue reading “Book review: Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 6”
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 5 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.
It’s always a good sign when a collection begins with the potential execution of a main character.
It’s not so good when you then remember there’s about another hundred volumes of the story to go, so chances that they’ll be successfully poleaxed are probably slim. Continue reading “Book review: Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 5”
I’ve a slightly longer post brewing about the games I’ve been playing over the past couple of months. They’ve been longer and fairly involved, so I’ve been dragging my heels on getting something out there. But I just completed a game I chose at random from my collection, which turned out to be about seven hours worth of Good Times (well, mostly) and featured a whole lot of cyberpunk hoo-ha and stylish graphic nonsense, created by a very small team.
TLDR? I’ve been hanging out with an AI that has boxy hair and an alarming habit of exploding. Continue reading “Fumiko! (2017)”
Q by Luther Blissett.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
Q is a book I’ve had on my to-read list for quite a while. I can’t remember where I first heard of it but I’m willing to lay money on the fact that it was in my pretentious “I only read LITERATURE!” stage, fairly recently after graduation. (Which, as we all know is bullshit, because airport lit absolutely slaps in the right circumstances.)
Where was I? Pretension. Right. Well, I’m assuming that Younger Me was driven by that rather than an earnest interest into the religious and political machinations of middle Europe in the 16th century. (Unlike Me Of Today who is All About That Shit.) So I have to assume that the main reason I wanted to read it was that the author, Luther Blissett, doesn’t exist.
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 4 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.
Back on this again. Deadman Wonderland remains a decent break from more taxing literature, given that you’ll always be assured of some grimly violent fighting and some embarrassed-teen interchanges in ready supply.
Morbid Magic by Tomás Prower.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars.
Death is something that most of us don’t like to talk about, or is something – if we mention it all – approached with humour. Yet it’s really the only thing, other than birth, that all humans have in common. In this book, Tomás Prower provides a tour of the world’s interpretation of the end of life.
Frankenstein by Junji Ito.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars.
Frankenstein is a story that most people are familiar with. Whether you’ve read Shelley’s original or no, you’re probably aware of the general thrust of the story thanks to films modern and classic. You know: creation, exclusion, and that it’s his Dad’s name, not the monster’s. So what can be brought to another adaption of the work?
Pathworking the Tarot: Spiritual Guidance & Practical Advice from the Cards by Leeza Robertson.
My rating: 2 of 5 stars.
I’ve read cards for a couple of decades now, though am very much an anti-woo stalwart. I like the narratives a reading can create, and about seeking meaning from the chance juxtaposition of some printed designs.
But, like most readers, I still feel there’s more I could be getting from the decks. I mean, I’m not a Papus or a Waite, and certainly not a Pollack. And so when the option came up to read a book on pathworking, I took it.
It’s a shame I came away a bit bummed. Continue reading “Book review: Pathworking the Tarot”
Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 3 by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
I guess this volume is where the story decided to kick itself up a notch. Yes, we’re still in a prison masquerading as the world’s goriest version of It’s A Knockout!, but there’s some deeply mysterious shit going on. Rebels are introduced! There’s another big fight! Backstories are unveiled!
Oh, and that. Which, I’m sure, will be explained properly later.
Continue reading “Book review: Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 3”
Yeah nah. 