Bright

Bright

Max Landis' urban fantasy Bright is an appreciable, rough-around-the-edges popcorn flick. That it's showing up on people's Best Movies of 2017 lists reveals more about Hollywood's--Bright was produced by Netflix--inability to tell an entertaining story than it says about the movie's quality. Before we get to my review, here are two pictures…
January 3, 201811 Comments
Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049

This review is admittedly late. I don't go to see movies in the theater anymore, so I only recently saw Blade Runner 2049 at the behest of a buddy now that it's out on home video. All of the popular YouTube film critics have already thrown their two cents in on this…
January 2, 20187 Comments
2017 Year in Review

2017 Year in Review

2017 was an interesting year--often in the sense of the old Chinese curse. The past year eluded hard and fast valuations like "good" or "bad" but instead ushered in great change. It was a year that saw many a seemingly invincible cultural edifice demolished, yet demolition precedes new construction. Since…
January 1, 20184 Comments
Will Automation Replace Authors?

Will Automation Replace Authors?

Workers in myriad fields are feeling the crunch of automation. Are authors next? Listen to a professional voice actor reading a selection from a Harry Potter fanfic written by bots and judge for yourself. NB: My award-winning Soul Cycle--including the final thrilling installment The Ophian Rising--is currently discounted 20% on…
December 29, 201717 Comments
Razör Was Right

Razör Was Right

The perspicacious Razörfist weighs in on the backlash against The Last Jedi with an appropriately profanity-laden review. Razör's prescience regarding the collapse of the Star Wars franchise under Disney merits his exuberant "I told you so!" It also bears mentioning that he's not the only one who correctly predicted Rian Johnson…
December 28, 201710 Comments
Children of Fallen Soldiers

Children of Fallen Soldiers

Dragon Award finalist Richard Paolinelli has asked me to help spread the word about a special offer in support of a worthy cause. Here's Richard: I have several friends and family who have been in the military and for some time now I’ve been trying to think of something special…
December 27, 2017
The Necessity of Good Books

The Necessity of Good Books

Reader D.J. Schreffler writes: Here I talk about good, not just in the sense of enjoyable, but with a sound moral foundation. Stories--and ideas--are like food in many ways. They can be an acquired taste, people may differ on whether they like them or not, they can nourish (or not).…
December 26, 20175 Comments
A Simple List

A Simple List

Author JD Cowan provides a simple list of steps that movie, television, comic book, and novel writers can take to avoid ticking him--and other civilized men--off. These four points are literally (in the actual sense of the word) all you need to do to get me to nod along and consume…
December 22, 201712 Comments
Movin’ on Up

Movin’ on Up

Previously, a perceptive reader alerted us to the troubling phenomenon of Amazon ghettos. With the recent launch of The Ophian Rising, I tried to employ the strategy defined by Galaxy's Edge authors Nick Cole and Jason Anspach in an attempt to avoid falling into the ghetto and perhaps to get my…
December 21, 20177 Comments
The Ophian Rising Is Here!

The Ophian Rising Is Here!

The cycle is complete. What an astonishing journey we've taken together: from the launch of my first novel to the Hugos, from Larry Correia's BOOK BOMB! to the Dragon Awards, it's been an honor to ride this out-of-control rocket car with you! The genesis of the Soul Cycle goes back…
December 20, 20178 Comments