Strange Voyages

I'm normally more of a science-fantasy lover rather than Star Trekkian science fiction but Project Hail Mary has clearly been an exception to the rule since the second I hit play on the audiobook. I've really become aware of how important the right narrator for an audiobook can be and Ray Porter is an absolute star in this respect. It is such a compelling mystery and the layers to it are incredible - with both the mystery of how Grace got on the ship and the slowly increasing levels of…

We are making great progress with our wedding preparations. It can feel a bit all-consuming at times - between venues, outfits, music and everything in between. The next stop on our preparation journey was to Silverworks on George's Street. Here, we participated in the Wedding Ring workshop where we got to forge our own rings for the big day. Silverworks is in a narrow little building with way too many flights of stairs for a hot day but once you get into the workshop area itself you have…

All Systems Red is the first Novella in the Murderbot series. It came at the recommendation of my brother and, after picking up a beautiful set of the books at comic con, I finally had the chance to dive in. This is a very straightforward novella, but a couple of things really stood out for me. One is the similarities to Alien in its hints at a wider world - we don't see a whole lot of this universe, and, in the grand scheme, there isn't a huge amount of plot development here but I really felt…

Earlier this year I discovered a new shop in a very old haunt of mine. Just around the corner from my primary school in Terenure lies Liberties Papers. This is a petite shop hidden away in a corner. They stock all kinds of paper and cloth. Walking in, it is very cramped but there's a bit of magic about the place and I really enjoyed browsing while I waited for my workshop to start. I took part in a bookbinding workshop where we created small notebooks. Ann Kenny was out instructor and kept…

It's a bit frustrating rewatching Wonder Woman knowing that everything around it kind of fell apart in the end. For me, this is the template for how DC should be approaching their movies. Wonder Woman feels standalone and, while Diana appears in plenty of future movies, this movie does not rely on future revelations to make it a worthwhile viewing experience. I'd much prefer if this was the approach going forward - a focus on standalone movies that don't need to connect to a greater universe.…

I loved the era of Teen Romance movies that loosely based on Shakespeare plays. 10 Things I hate About You being the absolute pinnacle of this sub-genre for me. Twelfth Knight fits in really well with those early-2000s teen movies with just a little extra pinch of modernity. It plays on its connection to Twelfth Night in a really interesting way with the alternate identities being their in-game characters in the MMO they play. This split between the real world and the in-game world is something…

I've never done a post about "internet discourse" before but this has just been so juicy. Reckless Ben feels a bit like a mixture of CoffeeZilla and Niko Omilana in the style of investigating he is doing here. It's all very entertaining and I think Ben will probably reach levels of success far beyond what he had ever reached before thanks to this series. Even I may have to subscribe to his Patreon when Episode 3 releases... Obviously, these are complex issues and a huge amount of money is…

In the lead up to the release of Season 2 of the Netflix adaptation, I made my way through this series again. Holly Jacksons work is a huge reason why I got back into reading as much as I have over the past few years. The original Good Girl's Guide to Murder reads a lot like how it felt to listen to the Serial podcast episode to episode in 2014. Holly Jackson has said that true crime podcasts, including Serial, had a huge influence on her around that time. The book itself even includes…

“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.” It is here that we see some of the best that the full cast audiobook has to offer. The music and the emotion that is brought to the final chapters really makes such a difference. Deathly Hallows has such a weight on its shoulders to bring an end to such a long series but I think it does a good job overall - there are some parts I wish were shorter and others I wish were given more time but the biggest…

Summer has arrived and I am melting. This month marked my latest adventure to London for MCM Comic Con. This marks my 20th trip to the convention and while I have witnessed a lot of change over the years, it is still a show that I thoroughly enjoy every time. Having mostly conquered my fear of flying thanks to the power of Xanax, I was able to fly to London this time and make the most of my arrival day. Strangely we had monitors on the flight with loads of movies available - strange for a…

Bill Nighy re-enters the Harry Potter universe as Horace Slughorn - having played Scrimgeour in the movies. His Slughorn is very interesting, and he has a wonderful voice for audiobooks. In perhaps my most controversial Potter opinion, I think Half-Blood Prince is the best movie (even if it is the worst adaptation) and I adore Jim Broadbent in the role, so it did take some getting used to throughout the course of this version. HBP really shifts the pacing of these books by spending a lot more…

Clear reminder that I "borrowed" this from a friend and generally do my best not to support the author. With Order of the Phoenix, we see Kiera Knightley take on the role of Umbridge. This was probably one of the stranger casting choices in the series so far but she does do an excellent job in the role. I think it took longer for her to grow on me than previous Defence against the Dark Arts teachers, but it is also a role that is meant to make you feel uncomfortable and have you on tender hooks…

I've had a Switch 2 for a couple of months now and, while it hasn't been the revelation that the original Switch proved to be, it has certainly helped to reinvigorate my interest in the Switch library and has given me plenty of enjoyment. The cost is definitely a big barrier to entry. I held off at launch largely because of the price and, while we enjoy Mario Kart, it wasn't the system seller that Breath of the Wild was the first time around. I picked up my system in January after getting a…

2026 marked the inaugural Brendan's Running Club Half-Marathon which started and ended at Naas GAA. This was my first time in that part of Naas and they do have a nice set of grounds here. Every time I'm in Naas I'm reminded that the local train station - dubbed Naas/Sallins - is not actually in Naas so I had to get a short taxi from the station to make sure I wasn't wasting energy before taking on the 13.1 mile trial. I didn't want to rely on trains being exactly on time so I arrived to the…

It’s the summer of 2006 and my 13th birthday is coming up. We’re in a holiday resort in Spain, and my friend has joined us on the trip. The lobby is a relic of the 80s with horrible carpets, flickering lights and stains from tourists falling in from the bar summer after summer. My friend and I sat down at an old computer every evening to pass the time while our parents drank and sang karaoke. He showed me so many silly videos that proved seminal to my early infatuation with the internet. There…