Book Review: The Acolyte by Nick Cutter

April 06, 2022 by Joe Gray in Book Review

The Acolyte takes place in the dystopian city of New Bethlehem, a city much like modern-day New York or Chicago except that the governing body is controlled by a religious totalitarian regime that has made any deviation from Christian ethics a criminal offense. In order to combat crimes against the faith, they have created an enforcement agency with authority above all others. Jonah Murtag is one of these agents and he is 'The Acolyte' we follow throughout this terrifying tale of tyranny, treachery, and intrigue.

Book Review: Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert

March 15, 2022 by Joe Gray in Book Review

Heretics of Dune is the fifth entry into the epic Dune saga and boy this was a difficult one to get into. Heretics takes place 1500 years or so after the events of God Emporer of Dune and all the main characters are long dead. But they are not forgotten. The prophecies and prognostications of Leto II are still at the heart of everything that moves human activity. With the God Emporer's death, humanity lacked direction and took to exploring new parts of the universe. This is called The Scattering and from the splintered pieces come new and powerful factions that are returning to the old realms to take power away from those that have ruled since The Tyrant's long plunge into the watery grave he accepted.

Book Review: The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

December 17, 2021 by Joe Gray in Book Review

I had almost zero expectations going into reading this book other than that Michael Crighton is a great writer and I enjoyed Congo a lot and I enjoyed the Jurassic Park movies. I could tell that it was about some kind of virus as the term "strain" usually means something bad and biological and there are lots of strains of viruses and viruses are on the mind of late. Based on the previous titles I was expecting some kind of action-adventure story but that is not what I found with this book. Instead, I was slowly taken on a cerebral journey through a subtle world of science fiction in a way that I haven't experienced before.

Book Review: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

October 23, 2021 by Joe Gray in Book Review

This book sat on my shelf for quite a while and I was planning on letting it sit. My aunt gave it to me and I figured it was a book that was more suited to a 60-year-old woman. I thought it was some kind of spiritual journey biography or some kind of allegory for the ills of modern capitalism. I don't know why I thought this and I was very wrong. It is one of the most engaging fantasies I have ever read. It was a surprise to find out that it takes place in a fictional future where the earth has turned on its inhabitants by way of violent tectonic activities. Volcanoes, lava flows, earthquakes, and tsunamis are the real enemies to humanity and can take out an entire city with hundred's of thousands of inhabitants in a moment and every once in a while the earth becomes completely covered in ash forcing humans to hide and survive in the ancient ways outlined by rules called stonelore.

Book Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry

September 07, 2021 by Joe Gray in Book Review

This book is not a book. It is an allegory. A parable. A quick philosophical pondering wrapped in narrative simplicity. The moral of the story is that when you seek safety and equality you give up on what makes life worth living. The movie Equilibrium is based on this same idea. Equilibrium is a very fun movie and stars Christian Bale. It is about a world where all emotions are repressed by a drug and all cultural items are outlawed. Books, art, and music are all banned and people live only for the work that the state provides. They live lives of colorless monotony but when Christian Bale is forced to kill his partner, who stopped taking his pills and begins to enjoy reading, he starts to question his assumptions. He stops taking his pills and starts to work for the resistance to stop the state's supply of pills to release people from the trance of emotionless slavery.

Episode 162: Tender is the Flesh and Cannibalism!

September 01, 2021 by Joe Gray in Cultural Musings, Philosophy, Thoughts, Podcast Episodes : FTP, Book Review

Topic: Tender is the Flesh and Cannibalism!

Recommendations:

Channing: The Stand by Stephen King (Book and Audible)

Joe: Willow (Netflix)