Lena’s Comments (group member since Nov 17, 2014)

Lena’s comments from the Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror group.

One day late, but I feel great having finished a book that’s been glaring at me from my shelves for years!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I’m halfway through and there is a third alien species in the mix. It’s getting tense. I will try to scrape together enough time tomorrow for a strong finish to Merfolk May!

It is so very disappointing when they start off so well and then flop.

Buoy 21415 by T. M. Brown ★★★☆☆
“You’re exactly where you need to be.”
A young scientist investigating a tsunami buoy has chilling dreams that get worse as his reality sets in.

Live action redos, continuing great series that did not need it, reboots… crap - but yes I am probably losing touch too. But I loved Atomic Blonde and the John Wick series. There are some genuinely new gems. But it’s easy to feel quality has gone downhill when in October of 1994 Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption and Jurassic Park were all in theatres at the same time.

Nope. I nope all of the videos on YouTube. There are three Indiana Jones movies and that was sufficient.

Fronds by Tim Mendees ★★★½☆
Scientists let loose aggressive intelligent weeds from a Giger looking cave.

The Hunter and the Prey by McKenzie Richardson ★★★★½
“…and something about that confidence had been especially satisfying.”

I savored the ending of this predator-prey turnabout.

They all hold up except 2. 2 was on the cringy side.

The Ocean Sings Softly by Christopher Bond ★★★☆☆
What started out as an amazing episode of Criminal Minds ended as a sad, and mediocre, episode of Grimm.

Killers of the Flower Moon: https://youtu.be/UA129dF9hQ4

Xook by Dan Le Fever ★★★☆☆
Fiona was right, cave diving is a horror movie all on its own. Finding bodies and from well fed ancient beasties makes it worse.

Crimson Deep was just a three star but I’ve already started A Darkling Sea! Hard SciFi, intergalactic ocean exploration! I’m only forty pages and the aliens first contact with the strange (human in fancy wet suit) creature was a a swift vivisection. How else is one supposed to learn?

Hostile Territory by Steve Neal ★★★☆☆
I feel like I’ve seen this movie. Trapped on the water, close to shore, with something nasty in the water. It was basic but fun.

Anyone who watched The Good Wife will remember Elsbeth Tassione with fondness. Now she has her own show: https://youtu.be/B-9va3k0rgo
I’m not sold on how they have placed her character, but I will certainly watch the pilot.

Stories of Your Life and Others delivers dual delights of the very, very strange and the heartbreakingly familiar, often presenting characters who must confront sudden change—the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens—with some sense of normalcy. With sharp intelligence and humor, Chiang examines what it means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty, but also by beauty and wonder. An award-winning collection from one of today's most lauded writers, Stories of Your Life and Others is a contemporary classic.

Abyssal Horror by Trey Dowell ★★★½☆
“Millions, gathered in the deep over eons - evolving. Telepathy works so much better than bright light, don’t you think?”

They have come up for tasty flesh with a lure perfect for fearful, troubled humans - warmth and safety.

It begins!

Now I want to see The Yakuza, the stills look like Kill Bill.

The Green Word by Jeffrey Ford ★★★★★
“Love - she planted the simple seed of this word in the hearts of all who knew her, and although, after a long life, she eventually passed on, she never died.”

What a beautiful story to end on! A forest witch uses trickery and magic to save her people, her land, from cold-hearted Christian invaders. It was beautiful retribution.

Meg 2 to put a toothy smile on your face: https://youtu.be/2pAYgJy8SPc
It looks so much better than the book I one star DNF’d.