For some reason I have been procrastinating writing July's reviews. Sorry about that. I'll try to do better going forward. Not sure if anyone is reading this, or really cares, but I do so that's what really matters.
July's video games: I played more games in July than June, and found a new Evergreen that I'll be playing for a while, at least.
I played a little more Tetris Effect: Connected and it's as satisfying as it was on my original GameBoy. Always a great game to enjoy in short or long bursts.
10/10
I also went back to X-Com: Enemy Unknown, which is probably my legitimate favorite and the game I have played and replayed more than any other. I like X-Com 2 in a lot of ways, but the fact that I can play this one without any performance/crashing issues will always make it my constant game.
10/10
There's a new to me game on Steam Deck called Better With a Friend that is a fun little comfy competitive games that is made by one dude. He drew all the art/animations and provides the sound effects vocally too. It's a bunch of mini-games like checkers and dots and some great trivia and the best of all memory. You have to match animals and it's worth the tiny price to hear his animals sounds alone.
10/10
Finally, because I'm playing almost exclusively on my Steam Deck now I cannot play my old standards of Battlefield (1 and 6) or CoD (Cold War and Vanguard, but all) because of stupid anti-cheat and Linux incompatibility. There is an alternative though. It doesn't have a campaign, which is too bad, but it's free and the wait times in the lobbies are significantly less, so much so that I almost feel like I'm constant playing, instead of constantly waiting like the forementioned games. This new game is called Combat Master, and it's a multiplayer CoD clone with decent enough graphics, virtually no rubberbanding, and best of all solid gun play. So if you have an itch for some military shooters but don't want to give Microsoft or EA money, give this free option a try.
Reading this month was truly insane. I don't know how I did it, but somehow I finished 16 books!!!! Albeit, three were graphic novels, and several others were probably closer to novellas than novels, one was the final short story in a collection that I've been reading over the past 2 years or so, but still 16!!!!
Most importantly I finally finished The Expanse series! That's right, I finished Leviathan Falls and the final short story of the Memory's Legion collection. This is by far my favorite of any epic saga I've ever read. I will be now playing the video games (one out now, the other coming) and watching the TV Show! I cannot recommend these books enough. It is honestly what I'm going to be comparing everything to at this point.
9/10 LF
9.5/10 ML
I finally broke down and read Sarah Gailey's Spread Me. This book has an erotica tag on it, which is what made me hesitate, but I've now read several of Sarah's stories and they've earned my benefit of the doubt. I will say that there was a sexual component to this book, but honestly, I've read more explicit in some Stephen King books. This book was openly inspired by John Carpenter's The Thing movie, and adds in a spread through close (sexual maybe) physical contact. It is a very good horror story, and if you don't mind a little spice in your reading, it is well worth it. If you don't like the spice, then I recommend Sarah's Upright Women Wanted instead. They're just too good of an author to pass by.
9/10
The three graphic novels I read this month were Werewolf by Night: Unholy Alliance, Be the Bus: The Lost and Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon by Mo Willems, and Falling Skies by Paul Tobin. I was able to get the full series of Falling skies for relatively cheap and this prequel graphic novel was a good deal too so I grabbed it to read before I start the series. It was decent, made me more interested in starting the show and built the universe. What can I say, I read all the X-Com books and had an itch for something similar. Werewolf by Night is a short tale collection and was entertaining enough, even with the Tales From the Crypt-esque feel. Be the Bus was hilarious and enjoyable way to make you think about life in an earnest and comfy way.
7/10 WbN
8/10 BtB
8/10 FS
The wife and I finished four books this month! This Girl's a Killer by Emma C Wells, was a trashy and very repetitive female serial killer going after awful men story that talked about how smart she was while she continuously did idiotic things. Not our favorite, but good enough to finish at least! Heavy are the Stones by JD Barker and Christine Daigle was a religious inspired copycat/partner serial killer book that also failed to grab our attention. The cops bending the rules (BREAKING THE LAW) is not a favorite thing of ours, no matter why the reasoning. Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman was the start of a series with a aspiring private eye trying to get her friend off of the murder charge. It was ok, but felt a little plodding. Finally we listened to The List by Carys Jones, which seemed like a mystery/thriller for 90% of the book, then just decided to crush your hope and spirit instead. It was a sad book, although a well written one, the best of the month, but not what we're looking for to listen to before sleeping.
4/10 TGaK
4/10 HatS
5/10 BB
8/10 TL
There were a pair of excellent, but angering/sad/maybe hopeful nonfiction books this month too. Did You Hear What Happened in Salem? The Witch Trials of 1692 by Katie Kennedy was a fantastic telling of the insanity that happened. It was very well done and gave some background that I hadn't heard before. I cannot recommend this book enough to everyone. The other book was the memoirs of Aeham Ahmad, The Pianist from Syria. The story of the man behind the famed photo is so tragic and sad, but has some hope at the end. So much evil in the world, but how music, love and hope and persevere and become more is amazing.
9/10 Salem
8/10 Pianist
As a fan of Rish Outfield and his podcast and blog, I know he's reading and talking about Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy with Abigail Hilton. They did the second book in hte trilogy, Royal Assassin, which I finally got around to. It's a huge tome of a book. And although it's often infuriating and there are characters you will hate with all your being, it's well done and I will eventually read the third book, which is even BIGGER!!! https://rishoutfield.blogspot.com/?_sm_au_=iVVZH2v5nJJ8RZW5
6/10
The last of my reads were 3 "cozies" I read the new The Space Pilot by James Clifton, which started out as a more military version of The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell, but turned into a noir hard boiled, shallow mystery by the end. It was ok, but I was disappointed after such a strong start. The second was Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley is a dead girl comes back to life for revenge thriller that was predictable, but I still liked the ride. Finally I listened to book 6 in the Fred, the Vampire Accountant series, Undeading Bells by Drew Hayes. The Fred books are not life changing literature, but I love them so much. The only complaint I have is that I know the series ends at book nine and I know I'll want more.
5.5/10 Space
6/10 Bitch
We'll see how my reads and gaming continues here in August (psst. It's going well, but not as much so far).
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