K.N. Salustro's Blog, page 24

Book Review: Into the Black (Odyssey #1)

Breaking away from Earthsea and shooting into space, I gave Into the Black (Odyssey #1) by Evan Currie a shot. This is not the first time I have not finished a book, but it is the first time I have not finished a book that I set out to read on my own time.

This isn’t to say that I think it was the worst book I ever read. Far from it. I’ve forced myself to slog through books I’ve disliked far more *side eyes her copy of Dune* but after reading the advice of another author (his name completely...

Let’s break the silence…

I don’t like talking politics. I don’t like how divisive it is. I don’t like the ugly sides it brings out of everyone. But, here we are. Less than a month to America’s biggest voting day (which for some reason isn’t a holiday but okay…). Let’s get into the dirty and see how we come out on the other side.

I remember that when this election cycle began, I was getting physical therapy for my wrists. Not important. What was important was the brief conversation I had with a woman sitting next to m...

Review of “The Valley of Fear” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This was the first Sherlock Holmes book I’ve ever read. I’ve seen the recent movies, I’ve seen Sherlock, I’ve even seen The Great Mouse Detective. Suffice to say I’m familiar with the character, though not on a grand level. I’ve never really been a Sherlock Holmes fan based on those things, and while I enjoyed them, I never had the same reactions that some of my friends did, who are more hardcore Holmes fans than I am.

That being said, I wasn’t expecting to actually like one of the original b...

Back to Earthsea

I had planned on writing something about Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea Cycle once I’d finally read all of them, but knowing me, it will take a while before I get anywhere near a copy of Tales from Earthsea. So, in the interest of not completely forgetting everything that I’ve already read by the time I’m ready to talk about the books, I’ll say some things about the middle three books: The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, and Tehanu.

I think I’ve mentioned before that A Wizard of Earthsea is one...

My Other Life as a Plush Maker

I’m one of those people who always likes to have a project going. And I’m one of those people who likes to try a bunch of different creative projects, ranging from writing to painting, to sculpting and, you guessed it, plush making. Any one of these things can often be frustrating, but having that finished product is so, so satisfying that it’s almost always worth it in the end. That being said, though, it’s hard to balance everything and find the time to work on what I want to outside of my...

Review of “The Three Body Problem” by Liu Cixin

One of the terrible downfalls of fiction is that if a language barrier exists between a reader and the original work, there is often little hope that it will be overcome. Translation is an extra, complex step that fiction will undergo in order to reach a broader audience, but in a lot of cases, it does not happen. When it does, it’s fantastic, as it gives readers the chance to experience worlds imagined by people outside of their own cultures, bringing in a new wave of perspectives and influe...

The “Rejected Princesses” Table of Contents Contest

Do you like badass women of history, legends, and folklore? I’m inclined to ask, “How could you not?” but that’s a whole barrel of worms I’d rather not open today. So, if your answer to that question was no, please remove yourself from this site as you will not enjoy the remainder of this post. Or a lot of other posts on my blog, probably, but I digress.

Anyway. Rejected Princesses is a great blog to follow, showcasing the heroic, terrifying, amazing, and / or horrifying women from around the...

You should go see “Kubo and the Two Strings”

Animation is one of those things that a lot of adults will look at and write off immediately because “it’s for kids.” I like to call those people Wrong (the capital W is entirely necessary, yes). But, since you can’t force everyone to appreciate what you’d like them to, I’ll just say to anyone who is willing to lend half an ear to listen:

Go see Kubo and the Two Strings.

There’s reason to be critical of the casting decisions behind the film. It’s terrible that a movie that focuses on Japanese...

More Book Opinions: Saga Vol. 6 + Rebel of the Sands

I’ve been sticking to my goal of reading more this year, and I’ve been enjoying it. It’s nice to slip away into another world, and not have to worry about being the one who’s writing that world. Recently, I got my hands on a copy of Saga Vol. 6, and Rebel of the Sands. I have very different opinions of them.

Saga I have talked about before. It remains fantastic in my eyes, and Vol. 6 delivered on a lot of promises set up in Vol. 5 while still remaining emotionally captivating. Some new charac...

Review of the Summer King Chonicles

Books featuring animals as their narrative source aren’t my favorite thing. I’ll watch movies from animal perspectives and won’t bat an eyelash, especially if they’re animated, but there’s something about books with animal heroes that has never drawn me in. So, that being said, Idid not at all expect to enjoy the Summer King Chronicles as much as I did, and I enjoyed it immensely.

The first book,Song of the Summer King, launches straight into the main character Shard and pulls you into his f...