Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Book 56 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I backed the special Kickstarter re-release edition of this on a bit of a whim, figuring that it was worth supporting a local author whom I’d met at Norwescon. I also knew that it was a bit of a risk for me: I never got into role-playing games, and the last time I read a book that I described as “like watching someone else play a game“, I didn’t say that in a complimentary way (Dafydd Ab Hugh’s Doom: Knee-Deep in the Dead). Thankfully, Dinniman is much better at this sort of thing than Ab Hugh was, and I was entertained throughout. Carl isn’t too much of an asshole, Donut is just enough of an asshole (she is a cat, after all), and the adventure is a good balance of dungeon crawl and slowly exploring the wider world. Honestly, I kind of expected that this would be a one-off thing, but I was amused enough that I’ll continue backing the Kickstarter editions to collect a full set.

Me holding Dungeon Cralwer Carl.

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Book 53 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Has all the great characterization, worldbuilding, humor, and heart of the Vorkosigan saga, only this time in a fantasy setting. This was an interesting experiment, reading fantasy from an author I became a fan of through her sci-fi work. Somewhat amusingly, and definitely interestingly, I just couldn’t quite get as much into this as I did the Vorkosigan books – which is not a fault of the book, I’ve just always been more into SF than F.

Me holding The Curse of Chalion

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Book 52 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was fun, and I can totally see it as a mid-pandemic “just need to have fun writing something” lark of a book. Having recently watched the first season of the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters series (set in one of the recent Godzilla timelines), it was amusingly easy to see this as an extension of that…or vice versa, for that matter. It did skimp a bit on actually describing any of the creatures (the kaiju are big, some have wings, claws, and/or teeth, they have parasites that are also dangerous, use your imagination for anything else), but while a little odd, I can cope.

Me holding The Kaiju Preservation Society

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock The Making of the Classic Film by John and Maria Jose Tenuto

Book 51 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The third in Titan Books’s series of Star Trek films “behind the scenes” coffee-table art books, and the second from the team of John and Maria Jose Tenuto. It’s always fun to see all the production art, photos of models and setups, and all the skill that goes into the films. As with the prior books, much of the information I knew, but there are always some gems and stories that I hadn’t come across yet.

Me holding Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: The Making of the Classic Film.

120 Murders edited by Nick Mamatas

Book 49 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Anthology of dark, noir-ish fiction inspired by the music (and memories) of the ’90s alternative scene. My favorites were Veronica Schanoes’s “Wendy, Growing Up”, Alex Jennings’s “We’ve Been Had”, Brian Francis Slattery’s “Never Let Me Down”, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “Superstition”, and Cyan Katz’s “The Show Must Go On”.

Two additional notes: This is the debut publication for Cyan, whom I’ve known since we were both running around in the 90’s alternative scene in Anchorage, Alaska, and I’m thrilled for them; and I’m sorely tempted to make a playlist/”mixtape” of the inspirational tracks for all the stories in this anthology.

Me holding 120 Murders.

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio

Book 47 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ordered this just after it won the Best Graphic Novel Hugo award this year. The combination of choose-your-own-adventure plotting and Lower Decks humor works really well. Lots of humor and various Trek callbacks, but with some surprisingly dark moments as well, all leading to a fittingly Trek-ish end. Much fun!

Me holding Warp Your Own Way.