Rated Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band 8/10
A very good, suspenseful [original] Holmes tale given the full Big Finish audio treatment, which added to the story for me. Enjoyed listening to this more than I did reading one of the other original Sherlock Holmes stories last year (though doing that was fine enough).
Rated Snowpiercer, Vol. 2: The Explorers 6/10
Rated The April Dead 8/10
<div>Ooh a cliffhanger. </div>
Rated The Black House 8/10
Finally, a break from the constant murderin’. Oh sure, people still die, but The Black House features fewer sudden blows to the head. Most of the time, the characters act with good intentions, only to have their situation spin out of control. <br><br>Unlike some of her other short story collections, <i>The Black House</i> is likely the one that’s most appealing to a wider audience — entirely compelling and complex, in an easy bite-size form.<br><br>(Full review can be found at <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2009/12/selected-stories-of-patricia-highsmith_30.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>)
Rated Tank Girl Vol. 2: Forever 6/10
Fun, but not my usual thing. I liked the bonus art pages.
Rated Network Effect 10/10
**NO SPOILERS**<br/><br/>Amazing. Fun. Human (yes!). If you've liked all of the Murderbot stories so far, you'll love <i>Network Effect</i>. It is everything the previous books have been and more (and longer).<br/><br/>Martha Wells again does an incredible job of blending humor and action and classic science fiction tropes, though slightly turned on its edge. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll keep this short and just repeat that if you're a fan of the previous books, this one will not disappoint. <br/><br/>Get it!
Wants to read State of the Union: A Marriage in Ten Parts
Rated Survivors: Series One Box Set 9/10
<div>Very much enjoyed this. I've never watched the original series, but I watched the remake that came out in the late '00s (I think?) and loved it and hated that it was cancelled on a cliffhanger. So I'm interested to see where this story keeps going.<br><br>Also, apparently I am not one of those people who is averse to pandemic stories during a pandemic, though ours is not quite so apocalyptic.<br><br>... knock wood</div>
Rated System Collapse 10/10
<div>Best one yet.</div>
Rated Stars and Bones 6/10
<div>The writing is better in moments of action than it is with dialogue or conveying emotion, but I was invested in the plot nonetheless. This may not have been amazing, but it did somewhat scratch an Expanse-shaped desire in my reading.</div>
Wants to read The Artist of Disappearance: Three Novelas
Rated Doctor Who: The Blood Cell 6/10
This was better than the previous Twelfth Doctor novel I read in a lot of ways, but it did have a fair amount of weaknesses. I get the impression that the writers of both had only seen snippets of the new Doctor, and because of that, the voice isn't quite right -- Though in this book, it was better.<br><br>Fuller review forthcoming.
Wants to read Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection
Rated Survivors: New Dawn 1 10/10
<div>This series remains great, and jumping ahead in time provides for some interesting stories.<br><br><spoiler>But Jackie! Nooooo!</spoiler></div>
Rated Still Life 8/10
<div>I liked this one better than the previous one in the series, though this once again shows some of the research seams — You're going to learn this expository information just like the author! ha .... Oh well.</div>