I was going to dive into all your Endgame writeups and fic and then things didn’t so much go sideways as right into the Upside-Down. It’s probably been obvious (even by absence) that I haven’t been entirely well for a while. Things hit a nonlifethreatening but major—let’s say “glitch”—last week, and the fallout will be ongoing for the foreseeable future. I’m not at the “all will be well” stage, but plans for treatment are underway. (ETA: IT'S NOT CANCER, omg, I don't want to scare by inference.) I am absolutely still committed to CrossingsCon in June and FanWorks in August, even if I’m functioning at half-strength. Apologies for vaguebooking, but I’m working on very little sleep and all the spoons are in the wash.
Which makes it a good time to do a Reading/Watching roundup? As good as any.
Read: Finished the Bardugo Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom reread and loved those books again. Bardugo’s King of Scars was fine but I’m just more into the thieves, I guess, plus it’s the first of a duo. McGuire’s That Ain’t Witchcraft felt pretty typical for her InCryptid series, where it’s engaging enough while reading but not memorable afterward. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, brain candy reading is useful.) Miller’s Song of Achilles...I kept feeling that I should have loved it more? I enjoyed it, but maybe so many years of reading excellent slash fanfic makes mainstream gay romance less thrilling. Or something. Scalzi’s The Collapsing Empire felt like typical Scalzi, easy-readable, but somehow...a bit lazy for his work? (Maybe compared to his Locked In work.) But again, first of three, so a lot of setup to be accomplished, and I did enjoy the characters and the premise. OTOH, I loved the hell out of Leckie’s The Raven Tower and I was definitely thinking about it afterward; favorite of the year so far, and I hope it’s a strong Yuletide fandom.
Reading: Nearly finished with Dickinson’s The Traitor Baru Cormorant, which is amazing and brutal and beautifully terrifying, both in the world building and the characters. It’s a lot to process. A quote that grabbed me, an analysis of the protagonist from the point of view of a dispassionate mentat:
You are a measurably gifted mathematician, a potential polymath, and a prospective Imperial-grade savant in disciplines of control. Your dedication to your work and the utilitarian nature of your few known social relationships indicates a useful degree of pragmatic instrumentalism, but also the risk of full-blown sociopathy. You are likely, but not certainly, a latent tribadist, which may require corrective conditioning. --so there’s a lot of upsetting there, and rightly so. I’ll definitely be getting the next one, but after a nice long break for comfort reading because I know the end is going to be devastating.
Up Next: Gaiman’s Good Omens, because it’s been way too long and the show is nigh; Diane Duane’s new Tales of the Five entry, The Landlady (happy flailing!); and probably a swift reread through all her Young Wizards books as well before CrossingsCon and because I need to spend time in an uplifting, familiar universe.
Watched: The Gifted is finished, which is a shame, because it really was an amazingly well crafted “Xavier’s nightmare” universe. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend likewise just wrapped; that was one of the most surprisingly silly and ridiculous and important shows of the last few years, and I can’t wait to see what Rachel Bloom does next. The Magicians finale...still processing. I’m less upset by the actual events than the meta-feel of it, I think. The Orville had an excellent second season (no one is more shocked than me over how much better it is). Likewise Star Trek: Discovery—I liked the first season, but s2 was spectacular, especially Anson Mount’s Pike. If there’s any chance at all of a Pike spin-off, I am 100% on board. Watched s2 of She-Ra in a bit of a haze this week, but I was just saying to someone how much I adored Scorpia and lo, a concurring article.
Watching: Need to get to s2 of American Gods and Cloak and Dagger. Just started Gentleman Jack and loving it more than I probably should, considering the predatory and manipulative protagonist. But oh, such a pleasure to watch her work. Legends of Tomorrow remains delightfully irreverent. Behind on Supernatural and Sabrina. Diving into the new season of Lucifer soon and, of course, anticipating the next seasons of Runaways and Stranger Things and The Good Place.
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kerithwyn
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Date: 2019-05-11 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-11 04:19 pm (UTC)OMG, The Raven Tower, I wish I had brain to write fic. I was enthralled and it's already on my reread list.
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Date: 2019-05-11 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-11 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-13 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-11 04:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-11 04:22 pm (UTC)And PIKE, PIKE, can we just virtually howl at each other about how perfect he is? O CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN.
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Date: 2019-05-11 04:31 pm (UTC)It is a shame about The Gifted. Sigh. I knew I liked it too much. I am also, as you know, 100% on board for more Pike if we can get him. ♥
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Date: 2019-05-11 04:49 pm (UTC)What an era of good media we live in. The nerds have taken over and it is glorious.
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Date: 2019-05-11 06:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-13 03:36 pm (UTC)Gentleman Jack is just so great! And Killing Eve, thank you for reminding me, that's high on my watch list as soon as it appears on one of the services we're willing to pay for.
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Date: 2019-05-11 08:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-13 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-13 06:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-11 10:38 pm (UTC)I'm crunching through Hugo nominees I didn't read in 2018. I have many, many thoughts on the ballot so far, and that's just the novels. The Raven Tower is also high on the to-read list. The first Baru Comorant novel was good, but a tough read for me, I'm making other people pre-screen thr second before I commit to it.
Lost my Discovery hookup before S2 started, so at some point I'll need to catch up. I really like what you said about the meta-feel of the Magicians season finale. At least some of their choices might have worked if approached differently, but... wow. It's like the writers wanted to burn down the show and the fandom. Started Umbrella Academy, will probably burn through that and other shows I can download at home and watch on the road over the next couple of weeks. (Hotel wifi is not all that happy with the age of streaming.)
Fingers crossed you're getting good care and are getting rest and activity in health-appropriate proportions.
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Date: 2019-05-13 03:55 pm (UTC)Raven Tower gets some flack for the nature of the protagonist and the narrative, but I thoroughly loved it.
Finished Traitor Baru yesterday and immediately picked up Good Omens as an anodyne because *shudder.* I hadn't gone looking for spoilers, but a stray line somewhere gave me an inkling about how it was going to end, and I'm actually glad I had that forewarning. When I eventually work up the fortitude for Monster, I might deliberately read a summary first because I think it's going to be too much to read cold.
We can rant more about Magicians as CrossingsCon. :D
Umbrella Academy, yes! I knew I'd forgotten something on my list. Really enjoyed that as well.
NGL, it's been a really shaky week. But I'm taking it easy and working toward a more congenial medium.
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Date: 2019-05-12 03:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-13 03:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-12 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-13 03:59 pm (UTC)*rolls*