The Secret of Secrets (2025) – Dan Brown

Dan Brown sends his hero Robert Langdon off on another adventure with his latest novel, The Secret of Secrets. And I’m divided. I like the research and the information Brown is putting forth, it opens up a number of avenues for questions and research, but, the story doesn’t have the same punch and push as…

Hyperion (1989) – Dan Simmons

Hyperion, an epic tale from Dan Simmons reads like an intergalactic Canterbury Tales. It’s a massive tome that once it got rolling, completely engaged me. A pilgrimage of seven are summoned together to journey to the world of Hyperion. A planet that has a strange mystery at its heart, the time tombs, and a strange…

Stargate SG-1 (2002) – Meridian, and Revelations

The episode opens with a stunning revelation, Daniel (Michael Shanks) has been exposed to a lethal dose of radiation! Meridian was written by Robert C. Cooper and first aired on 10 May, 2002. The penultimate episode of Season Five sets up Shanks’ departure from the series. He was having creative differences with the show over…

Bad Tourists (2024) – Caro Carver

Simon & Schuster delivers the perfect beach read for your summer enjoyment. Bad Tourists by Caro Carver is a compulsive page-turner whose last third is a non-stop rush, and whose first two-thirds are filled with twists, turns and keeps you guessing the whole way through. Darcy, Kate and Camilla are close friends, united by a…

Magnum P.I. (2021) – Before the Fall, and Bloodline

Magnum’s (Jay Hernandez) uncle, Bernardo (Steven Michael Quezada) arrives on the island for a visit, to share news of his coming wedding and shares a troubling secret about his mother in Before the Fall. Written by Mike Diaz this episode first debuted on 30 April, 2021. Bernardo asks Magnum to be his best man, and…

My Heart is a Chainsaw (2021) – Stephen Graham Jones

I won’t lie, it took me a while to completely get into the story, much like the main character I was attempting to use my knowledge of slashers to figure out what was going on, while also trying to rationalize that the story was set in the ‘real world.’ But when things really started to…

The Raven’s Revenge (2023) – Kevin Sands

This is it, the final adventure in The Blackthorn Key series by Canadian author Kevin Sands. Six books in, Sands has kept up a relentless pace, as Christopher, Tom and Sally confront dangers, mysteries and puzzles that place them in grave danger. And it’s more of this page-turning excitement in The Raven’s Revenge. Sands has…

Scratch One (1967) – Micheal Crichton

Michael Crichton’s second novel, which he wrote under his pseudonym of John Lange, is a fast-paced thriller that plays on the familiar trope of mistaken identity. This time out an American lawyer, Roger Carr, finds himself mistaken for a high-profile hitman and finds himself stuck between opposing sides in an arms deal which has its…

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – Jon Watts

If Homecoming was a celebration welcoming viewers back to the world of Spider-Man, Far From Home is a journey of discovery for Peter/Spider-Man (Tom Holland giving another stellar portrayal of the beloved character) as he confronts the expectations the world has for him as well as his own. So better way to find yourself than…

Barbarian (2022) – Zach Cregger

Wow. Writer/director Zach Cregger blew me away with this one, completely subverting my expectations while playing with the traditional horror rules in this fantastic thriller of a film. From his framing to camera movement to casting to the way he doles out the story, Cregger plays with an increasingly film-savvy and educated horror audience and…