Joshua A. Johnston's Blog
December 31, 2021
On Hiatus … For Now
Over the last seven years, this website has served as a hub for my writing. It began as a landing page for my fiction, as I was then on the cusp of becoming a science fiction novelist. Early on, I used this blog component of the site to talk about my novels, promote my short stories, and otherwise discuss my fiction writing endeavors. I also mused about related spaces, including science fiction television and film, novels, and even the occasional video game review.
I’ve been a nonfiction writer ...
July 20, 2021
State of the Writing: July 2021
Hi, everyone,
It’s been a while.
In August of 2019, I wrote about where my writing was headed. At the time, the third book in the Chronicles of Sarco had been out for nearly a year, and I was hard at work on other projects.
That was two years ago, and it was the last time I posted about my writing.
Until today.
I’ve been busy. In the nonfiction space, my wife and I manage a couple of blogs. One of them, a site devoted to the grocery store Aldi, has grown significantly, and just celebrated its fi...
May 25, 2020
Baten Kaitos Revisited
Sagi and Kalas.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This piece is adapted and updated from a post I originally ran over at Nintendojo back in 2015. This new version includes an updated introduction that includes information regarding the current state of the developer, as well as a couple of added gameplay videos. I also have an outline of an interquel between the two games, which you can see here.
This week Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition comes to Nintendo Switch, an enhanced, updated port of one of the ...
April 27, 2020
Why I Wish Star Trek: Picard Wasn’t So R-rated
Credit: CBS
WARNING: Some spoilers of for Star Trek, particularly Star Trek: Picard, ahead.
Jean-Luc Picard is back.
Those were Patrick Stewarts words in Las Vegas during a Star Trek convention in August 2018, and they electrified both the Trekkies in attendance and the wider fandom. Twenty-five years after the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation and nearly two decades after the ill-fated film Star Trek: Nemesis, the storied captain of the Enterprise-D and Enterprise-E was getting a new...
March 30, 2020
My Subjective Ranking of Star Wars Movies
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WARNING: Spoilers abound in this post of every Star Wars movie made to date. Be forewarned.
With the 2019 release of Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the Skywalker saga that began in 1977 has apparently come to a close. While Disney is already planning more Star Wars films down the road, they will not be a part of this Star Wars time period, and there are no plans on the horizon to revisit this era in any theatrical sense. Instead, future installments related to the Skywalker...
March 2, 2020
Nintendo Switch Game Review: Last Encounter
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In a Nutshell: A space-based shooter that is a little different every time you play it
What Worked: colorful spacescapes, some interesting weapons, plenty of challenge
What Didn’t: frustrating control schemes, irritating design decisions, not much payoff for progress
My Overall Grade: C-
I’ve always had a soft spot for space-based games. A lot of it stems from my love of science fiction and the prospect of being able to play games where I can charge into strange new worlds. Space-based...
January 17, 2020
Nintendo Switch Game Review: Regions of Ruin
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In a Nutshell: An action role playing game where you get to play as a dwarf
What Worked: a deep world to explore, especially for the price; satisfying combat system; understated but effective plot; varied world with lots to do
What Didn’t: insufficient tutorial; platforming is annoying; unlocked skills can’t be disabled; a couple of buggy sidequests
My Overall Grade: B+
Nintendo Switch has really shined in the indie category. Not only has it expanded the system’s third party library in ways...
January 9, 2020
Where I Think the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Went Wrong
Credit: Reddit
WARNING: Star Wars spoilers ahead, especially with regard to the sequel trilogy .
If you’d told me back in 2009 that more people would be talking about the first season of a Star Wars TV series than Star Wars: Episode IX, I would have thought you crazy. How can anything be bigger than a flagship theatrical Star Wars movie that closes out the 40-year-old Skywalker saga?
And yet, here we are, talking more about Baby Yoda than the conclusion of the Rey-Kylo Ren story arc.
Sure, ...
October 17, 2019
The Chronicles of Sarco Ebook Collection is Now Available
Big news: my sci-fi trilogy is available as a “box set” eBook collection: three eBooks for one price. For a limited time, you can get the whole thing for $4.99.
You can learn more here: https://books2read.com/Sarco
The post The Chronicles of Sarco Ebook Collection is Now Available appeared first on JOSHUA A. JOHNSTON.
August 2, 2019
State of the Writing: August 2019
It’s summer, and for the last few weeks really hot, especially in the Midwest where I live. Ninety-plus degree weather has been the norm, and the humidity only makes it worse.
Except this week, when the weather is in the 80s, which somehow feels cool. I suppose that means it’s all relative, right?
I’ve had a busy and productive writing summer. In addition to my regular nonfiction blogging work (on such exciting things as ketchup and batteries), I’m hard at work on three fiction projects.
For...
