James Pyles's Blog, page 47
February 12, 2022
Review of Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” (2021)
It took two days for me to work my way through the two-disc set of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021). I saw the 2017 version and wasn’t incredibly impressed. I was hoping for more in the “Snyder Cut.” Given the breadth of this film, I’m commenting on things in no particular order and this review […]
February 11, 2022
69415
I suppose the number seems mysterious, but it’s born out of curiosity. I’ve written and submitted eleven short stories between December 2021 and today (February 11, 2022). One was already rejected, so I didn’t count it, but ten stories are still “in play,” still submitted and being considered. Of those ten stories, the word count […]
February 9, 2022
My Review of Star Trek: Picard Season 1
I saw the DVD set for season 1 of Star Trek: Picard at my local public library and worked up the nerve to actually watch it. Fortunately, since I got it at the library, it was free, and also it was only ten episodes, so not an enormous investment of time. Keep in mind, I […]
February 4, 2022
Book Review of Ryan Graudin’s “Wolf by Wolf”
If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi. I first heard of Ryan Graudin‘s YA novel Wolf by Wolf: One girl’s mission to win a race and kill Hitler by reading the Tor.com (I know, I know) article 5 Adrenaline-Pumping YA SFF Survival Books authored by Meg Long. It’s […]
February 1, 2022
Review of Spider Robinson’s “Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon”
So I was having a discussion with my grandson, actually playing a game with him over the phone, and realized I needed a bar. That is, I needed a bar as one of the scenes for our game. Author Spider Robinson (apparently his given first name is a jealously guarded secret) wrote a collection of […]
January 28, 2022
Film Review of “Black Widow” (2021)
I found the 2021 film Black Widow as a DVD at my local public library yesterday. Naturally I checked it out so I could watch and review it. I’ve heard various unflattering things about the movie, and I wanted to see for myself. Oh, tons of spoilers follow, so if you haven’t seen the movie […]
Book Review of Wilbur Smith’s “The Seventh Scroll”
Wilbur Smith’s 1995 novel The Seventh Scroll isn’t the sort of book I’d read today, although action, adventure, and archeological mysteries are something I’d have considered back in the day. But on Facebook, I read that it’s author died last November. Smith was highly regarded as a writer on the FB writers page where I […]
January 18, 2022
Book Review of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Children of Time”
I decided to read and review Adrian Tchaikovsky’s SciFi novel Children of Time when someone on twitter called him one of the top three living science fiction writers in the world. Wow! That’s quite a testimony. I was curious if that statement was anything close to being accurate. I asked another person on twitter what […]
January 13, 2022
Book Review of Joe Haldeman’s “The Accidental Time Machine”
In going through my “Facebook memories” the other day, I found I’d posted a full review of Joe Haldeman’s 2008 SciFi novel The Accidental Time Machine way back in 2009. Haldeman is a highly acclaimed, award winning author, but while I enjoyed his earlier works some decades previously, this one made me decide to never […]
January 9, 2022
My Copy of “Winter of Wonder” has Arrived
Another of the Cloaked Press anthologies containing a short story of mine has arrived, Winter of Wonder. This edition has the theme “superhuman.” What does it mean to be ‘Superhuman’? Not just super powers or flashy costuming. What lies beneath the surface? What makes the psyche tick? Fourteen authors from the Cloaked Press Family explore […]
