#microreview — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #microreview, aggregated by home.social.
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Good idea for @inkican to publish sci-fi shorts that can be downloaded individually. I went with Deathclock Machine and found it easy to download from Smashwords, chuck it into my iBooks account, and read straight away.
The super-short story is a tricky one to navigate. Where to begin? And end? Do we map out a linear narrative or go for a more abstract vignette? A snatch of ephemeral data? I do think there’s enough space in Deathclock Machine for the author to have given us more of a setting, even a sketched outline; at the moment it’s mostly two disembodied voices. However, this story slots nicely into the genre exploring the dangers of predicting future events. Can’t say too much without spoiling the ending, but even though the sudden shift in tension is a little predictable, it works as whole piece - the final line is great.
#review #shortstory #scifi #smashwords #freebook #bookreview #microreview
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Scarmonde is such a fascinating game. It's a classic, bullshit, hardcore RPG that dumps you into a world and expects you to just Figure It Out, Idiot.
It's strikingly fun and interesting.
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#Review:
The Menu (2022)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Absolutely perfect. There is not much to say about this movie other than it always ignites a cheeseburger craving.
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#Review:
TRON: Legacy (2010)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This was solid. I don’t remember anything about it, so maybe I’ve never seen it before? I loved the original as a kid and this takes everything to another level — even if it relies on the Star Wars tropes a little too heavily.
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#Review:
Welcome to Wrexham (2022-)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Just a damn good documentary series. You can’t help but root for the city and the club.
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MICROREVIEW DINO CRISIS - PSX
Buenos días personas que vivís en mi móvil!!!
Hoy toca review divina: Dino Crisis para la mítica PlayStation.
Imaginaos Resident Evil, pero en lugar de zombis, hay dinosaurios. Sí, habéis leído bien: ¡dinosaurios! Este juego es una mezcla perfecta de supervivencia y terror, ambientado en una isla llena de estos lagartos gigantes prehistóricos.
Los gráficos son impresionantes para su época, con entornos oscuros y detallados que os mantienen en constante tensión. Esos malditos dinosaurios están increíblemente bien diseñados y cada encuentro con ellos es un desafío.
El gameplay es similar a Resident Evil, con un enfoque en la resolución de puzzles y la gestión de recursos. La munición es limitada, así que cada bala cuenta. Además, la sensación de estar siempre al borde de la muerte añade una capa extra de emoción.
La música y los efectos de sonido son otro punto fuerte. Cada rugido de dinosaurio y cada paso que resuena contribuyen a crear una atmósfera aterradora y envolvente.
En resumen, Dino Crisis es un imprescindible para cualquier amante de los juegos de supervivencia y terror. Si aún no lo habéis jugado, estáis perdiéndoos una experiencia prehistórica única.
¡¡¡ Nos atacan los lagartos !!!
Dios Campechano fuera.
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#Review:
Hacks (2021-)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️One of the smartest and funniest shows on television. The third season gets everyone what they want, but at what cost?
#MicroReview #TV -
#Review:
Hit Man (2024)
⭐️⭐️⭐️This movie has a decent story, but it didn’t really know what it was. It tired to be a romcom crime thriller but ended up a bit muddled. It leaned too heavily into individual tropes at different points and didn’t properly blend them together. As a result, the movie feels a bit long and disjointed. I liked it, but it could have been better.
#MicroReview #Movies -
#Review:
First Lie Wins (2024)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Crossing and double crossing make for fun mysteries, especially when the protagonist lives in the morally gray. This was a fun read that kept me guessing until pretty close to the end.
#MicroReview #Books -
#Review:
Fallout (2024-)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I’ve never seen an adaptation be so perfectly executed. The tone, the set dressing, the story… every detail is exactly what you’d expect in the Fallout universe. Even the sense of dark humor and insanity is pitch perfect. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are brilliant and this show was fantastic. Here’s to more!
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Way late to the party on this, but I finally finished Stray! 😸
Cool game, and just long enough for me. Really interesting and fun world to explore, and amazing graphics and sound.
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Ieri ho visto #PastLives di #CelineSong (@ #FestivaldiBerlino2023)
con #GretaLee e #TeoYoo (devo dire entrambi molto bravi)
Un film sentimentale che racconta la storia di una bambina e un bambino coreani molto legati (anche sentimentalmente, per come/quanto lo si possa essere da bambini) che si dividono improvvisamente quando lei emigra negli Stati Uniti con la famiglia mentre lui resta in Corea.
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_Cult Classic_ by @sblackmoore
Finished this one in a white-heat over the weekend. Honestly, I think this is the best Eric Carter novel so far. It really feels like the whole series was leveraged here, characters, events, everything smoothly flows into the events in the novel. Additionally Carter shows some real character growth. I know he will always be a sort of anti-hero, having to engineer undesirable solutions to impossible situations. That said, it works better when he is reacting to poor choices earlier in life (such as Jimmy) and less external forces just kind of crapping on him because he's available. And there's more of an introspective realization that not everything is his fault (even if he gets blamed for it.) I think that's definitely healthier and shows in his wonderfully maturing relationship with Gabriela (please @sblackmoore don't feel like you have to take nice things away from Eric!)
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I'm watching/rewatching Basic Instinct. I figured out what I wanted to say in a micro review before I'm even a third of the way through, but I want to say something and see if it holds up for me when I'm finished. lols. I live on the edge.
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I took a stab at my first review of a Criterion film. yay. #AmWatching #film #MicroReview
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Am I a #QueensOfTheStoneAge fanboy? Yes.
Am I biased when reviewing In Times New Roman? Yes.But:
This album hits all my sweet spots. It is reduced to the best. Dry and melodic. Short, hard, simple riffs. Era Vulgaris part 2? No, better! Villains is long gone, the desert is back!
In Times New Roman is a masterpiece, 4,5 out of 5.
All hail the Queens!
#TomsAOTY2023 #AOTY2023 #QOTSA #InTimesNewRoman #MicroReview #Music
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_Dead Country_ by Max Gladstone
Tara Abernathy is back! I really probably should have tried to reread the full Craft sequence before reading this because I did not completely remember what happened at the end (the black folder). Still that wasn't the primary thrust and Mr. Gladstone provided sufficient context to understand -- I just kind of wanted to remember the full thing.
His prose continues to delight. A somber reflection on family and grief in part. Also an exploration of the phrase "You can't go home again" and what that means with close small communities and their relations to urban living.
And with all this, a fantastic extension and development of the underlying Craft (legal necromancy) art that underpins the systems of the world he describes.
Greatly recommended especially if you liked the prior books.Next on the TBR stack, _Project Hail Mary_.
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_Steal the Sky_ by Megan O'Keefe
A mix of a heist, mystery, and adventure in a world where there's some sort of moldable gas and psychic powers that control the moldable gas. A fine attempt by Ms. O'Keefe but at least for this reader it just didn't hit right. The mining town was both rich and impoverished but I never got a good mental picture of it. The protagonist was charming and talkative but didn't really end up seeming to do anytihng. The antagonists were many and varied with what sort of seemed like incoherent motives, along with a final antagonist who seems like she'd be carrying forward as the real adversary. Just a sort of muddled heist. Since that moldable gas (also kind of in itself a weird concept) can also change colors, there's illusions and mimicking going on confusing much of the story. I think the story might be trying to do too much and needed a slightly more straightforward throughline of plot. Snappy dialog though.
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Alex Verus Series by Benedict Jacka
I usually try to review books but I've been following this series for awhile now and got to the end and figured I'd microreview everything. First I'm a sucker for the urban wizard/magician/practitioner, whether it be Dresden, or Carter, or Sandman Slim. Something about the style just feels fun to me. Alex Verus is in that vein but at least nominally hits lighter. His schtick is divination magic which he goes to lengths to note is not combat oriented (though is a badass in his own way).
Additionally a good urban magician story is nothing without the supporting cast and Jacka developed a tight circle of characters around Alex, from wise Arachne, cursed Luna, and others. All are significant support to Alex and have their own drives and agency.
The series begins with _Fated_ and ends with _Risen_. Quite a trip that changes character over the length. Quite recommended overall!
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_John Dies at the End_ by David Wong (pseudonym Jason Pargin)
I'm not sure this one aged as well as one might hope. I read it when it came out and thought it horrifying and hilarious (about 2007-2008 timeframe). Probably just due to aging up, but some of the sophomoric bits felt less funny. That said, a lot of the vile horror bits are still shocking, and the sweet spots are even more appreciated (the late novel section of "All you need to know about John" really resonated.) A game I played with myself was "Do I like David? Do I like John?" I think when I first read it, I liked David far more. However this time through, I think John is the more admirable character. I can appreciate the basic good in him and appreciating the fun and eyerolling at the rest. David is harder to empathize with.
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I got behind on my #microreview list before, so now I think I'm caught up. In the TBR list I have _Steal the Sky_ by Megan O'Keefe and John Dies at the End by David Wong (pseudonym of Jason Pargin). I will probably tackle JDatE first because it's February's book club book and while I've read it before, it's been awhile.
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_Destination: Void_ by Frank Herbert
This was a book club pick and... well it's something. Absolutely chock-a-block with technobabble to its detriment, though you can see seeds or echoes of similar ideas that get explored in _Dune_. I can't say I'd recommend this one unless you a truly a die-hard Frank Herbert fan.
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_Axiom's End_ by Lindsay Ellis
Excellent first contact novel in my opinion. Frequently these things are explored from a technical view, whereas this novel is very human and with very relateable concerns. The choice of time period was interesting, though I'm not certain I buy one minor background twist because I don't believe that man has that much humility but it's a very minor plot point. I believe there's a follow on I will have to read now.
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_Three Axes to Fall_ by Sam Sykes
A satisfying conclusion to the Grave of Empires series. In truth it's more the threeway relationship between Sal/Liette/Cacophony, but we'll go with the book cover. I found the framing story more charming than prior novels, the listener getting a chance to be a character too. Style and pacing are about the same as before, so if you liked the prior two, you'll like this one.
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I watched my new copy of _The Postman Always Rings Twice_ (Tay Garnett, 1946) the other day believing I’d seen it before...and that really threw me for a loop; I went in thinking it'd be closer to _Double Indemnity_ (lovers make an airtight murder plan; tension comes from issues which crop up) when (as I gradually realized) this is about lovers who DONT have a good murder plan and double-cross each other at every opportunity. (#WTW 1 of 4) #WhatThomWatched #filmnoir #classicfilm #microreview
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Back to the grind. Have several Jira tasks for improving this firmware design and/or adding new features that product line management desire and says are necessary to keep selling units. Never a dull moment, though hopefully we can avoid the crazy schedule for the end of 2022! I do like my #fpga work though, so I imagine it'll be alright.
Backlogged on a few book #microreview entries too. During the Southwest meltdown I had a great deal of free time camping out airport gates I finished quickly
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_The Gallows Black_ by Sam Sykes
This has been in the Kindle library and I really should have gotten to this novella sooner, seeing how I've really enjoyed Sal the Cacophony and Liette in the novels. This novella introduces them for the first time, a fairly violent meet-cute for the couple. Definitely gives some background to their relationship; it's always had its rocky moments, but the connection between the two is strong from the start.
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_Song for the Unraveling of the World_ by Brian Evenson
I have been working on this for awhile so while I just finished it, it's been filler between books for awhile. Very nice short story collection; Mr Evenson has a strong knack for creating unsettling situations. The only drawback is that unsettling only goes so far before the reader wants more; wants that curtain pulled back. However, interspersed, these stories are top notch.
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_The Once and Future Witches_ by Alix Harrow
This is a really lovely story. Took me a little bit to realize it was alternate history - so much of the initial portions of the book are exceedingly close to our own. The characters are lovingly drawn in detail, their strengths and weaknesses, love and despair. This is the sort of book where you kind of wish you knew for sure what came after, even though it's complete. Highly recommended.