• Home
  • New? Start Here!
  • Archives
  • Re-Views
  • Contact

Tempest in a Teardrop: The Churchians

~ by Codex and Q

Tempest in a Teardrop: The Churchians

Category Archives: Reviews

Signal Boost cos We ain’tn’t Ded.

28 Thursday Jul 2022

Posted by overgrownhobbit in Behind the Frames, Pop Culture, Reviews

≈ 1 Comment

Well, not yet. And Codex likes the cut of these stories jib@ J.D. Cowan of Between the Wasteland and Sky writes:

Once again we’re back with a new signal boost post, and a pile of new books for you to check out! There’s always something to look forward to these days. Today, we’ve got a few humdingers to talk about.
The first is the above Stellar Stories by adventure writer David Skinner! This is a collection featuring new stories as well as pieces published in places such as both StoryHack and Cirsova magazine, as well as the old PulpRev Sampler! It contains eight different tales for your reading pleasure, and there is even a physical edition available on Lulu. He truly went all out on this one!

RTWT here: https://wastelandandsky.blogspot.com/2022/07/end-of-month-signal-boost.html

Wednesday Miscellany: Book alert!

08 Wednesday Dec 2021

Posted by overgrownhobbit in Pop Culture, Reviews, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Book Review

Ladles, gentlespoons, and esteemed sporks, Codex here. I’m happy reveal the Super Sekrit project I’ve been working on: Fantastic Schools #4: Middle Schools!

 

Yes, I own a copy (I need to post a review) and I’ve read most of the stories in it. They’re great fun for any older kid who loved Harry Potter or the Littlest Witch, or any of the magical or skiffy school stories. You get a LOT of fun reading bang for your e-book dollar with this one.

And yes, the character on the front IS in one of the stories (one of my favorites) though I may have taken a wee few artistic liberties. Giant squid eyes are just too much fun to draw.

Set aside some extra cashy goodness though, because a hardcover version will be coming soon. God willing & the creeks don’t rise, in time for Christmas giving. I’ll have MOAR Christmas book-giving suggestions this Saturday. I’m not only recommending these because these are my fellow superversives, but because I’ll be giving them as gifts to my own dear friends and relations.

Not Quite a Trigun Review

07 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by overgrownhobbit in Pop Culture, Reviews

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

anime, Trigun

So this was supposed to go with a review of the old anime series “Trigun”. You know the saying that there’s weird, and then there’s Japanese Game Show weird? This one’s like that.

Trigun features a super-powered mysterious gunslinger on an alien planet wild-wild-west with a really weird nemesis (and a deeply confused “Catholic” “priest”). We all watched it: a mix of badly-subbed YouTube episodes and grainy library copies. The art is old-school, but good, and the story hooks you faster than you’d expect.

So a short review, in place of the “Killing Star Wars” comic that Codex didn’t quite get finished before she had to leave. It was inspired by this masterpiece of authentic curmudgeonly dudgeon. Episode One of The Last Straw.

Dragon Awards! Last Chance to Nominate 7/20!

20 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by overgrownhobbit in Behind the Frames, Pop Culture, Reviews, Sad Puppies

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Codex, Dragon Awards

Yes ladies and gentleveg, you have until by 11:59 P.M. Eastern Standard Time on July 20, 2018 to get your votes in. Nominate your faves that were put out between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018.

Continue reading →

#VegetablesForBroccoli: Turned Earth by David the Good

18 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by overgrownhobbit in Reviews, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Codex, Hiatus, Jack Broccoli, Milo, Turned Earth

Mild-mannered soil scientist Jack Broccoli is an unlikely candidate for James Bond-esque action hero. But double-digging turnip beds has toned his physique. The Filipino Butcher Masters martial arts exercise video series has honed his warrior mindset. So when Jack is targeted by the sinister agents of F.A.D.A.M., he’s ready:

As he day-dreamed about fighting off a horde of ninjas with a spading fork, Jack suddenly heard a click at the window of the room. Then another, followed by a scratching sound, as if the glass were being cut. Then a piece of glass fell to the carpet, and the window swung open through the curtains.

A man stood in the room with him ….

The man was the same size as Jack, but he had a defensive stance, which made Jack wonder if he was overmatched. Maybe he just came to take the TV. The man said something through the mask to Jack in badly accented English. It sounded like “Ukon wis mao”.

“I’m not sure what you said, “Jack replied, as his eyes darted around the room, looking for something he could use as a weapon. “Do you want to take the TV?” The man shook his head and took a step toward Jack.

“UKONWISMEAOW!” he commanded.

“Yukon whiz meow?”

The man ripped off his mask. He must be Korean, Jack thought, though to his undiscriminating eye, he might also be Japanese, Laotian, Cambodian, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Tibetian, Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, Pacific Islander, or Cherokee.

“You come. With me. Now!”

“Out the window?” Jack said incredulously.

“No, out the door!” the man snapped.

Okay. Maybe not completely ready.

If you read just one hilariously epic gardening spy thriller this year: Read Jack Brocolli #1: Turned Earth.

Addendum: Despite the heavy-duty action scenes and ancillary Bond babe hotness, this is a book you can give to your 14-year-old daughter. Ours loved it.

Wednesday Miscellany: Maga 2020 and Beyond

13 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by overgrownhobbit in Pop Culture, Reviews

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Book Review, Maga 2020

Trying to find a good Christmas present for a red-pilled, conservative teenage boy of your acquaintance? MAGA 2020 and Beyond would make a fun treat.

I should add that normally I download a sample to be sure that formatting and other structural issues don’t make it too hard to read, or that the author’s writing style appeals to me. To give credit where credit is due, this review convinced me to go ahead and grab an e-book copy straight away. Right now the collection is priced at 99 cents, and your story-reading-pleasure value (including some great new authors) for cashy-money expended can’t be beat.

So,  what’s funny-colored, brash, eclectic, and surprisingly excellent value?

Our 45th President. And also Maga 2020!

I have to admit, the cover really does sell the book, if you’re a Trump supporter, or a happily surprised “voting for anyone who isn’t part of the Clinton Crime syndicate” American. Because like Donald Trump, the cover may be not be elegant, but the stuff inside turns out to have a lot to offer for everyone.

The editors of Maga 2020 have collected twenty-five stories and six essays about a future America based on a successful Trump presidency. What might America look like if we actually won the culture war and sent the repressive “control-left” scuttling back into the dank basement of history? It’s an eclectic mix, with something for everyone, united by a cheerful, positive, hopeful mood. The opening story by Jon del Arroz is completely over the top and silly, the Ivan Throne “Father Cincinnatus” had me rolling my eyes, but then “The Last Hippie” sucked me in.

What’s funny about this is the way (as with Donald Trump) the book turns people’s expectations upside down. The “big name” draws like Milo Yianoppoulos or John Wright have both written solid essays and Brad Torgersen’s “45” is good.  But the stories that really intrigued me, to the point that I ran out and bought other books written by the author, were by relative unknowns and newcomers to the field. And with the exception of one essay, I enjoyed reading them all.

My favorite story reminds me of Zenna Henderson. Remember her? She wrote people-centric, solid science fiction about the triumph of the human spirit. “Auntie’s Magnificent Bricks” is science fiction in that tradition by total newcomer Christine Chase. I’m really hoping for more stories by her. Then there was wonderfully meta M.A.G.A.I. about the poor #Resist bureaucrat who had a really interesting coffee break, and the amusing “Magic of MAGA” about an ancient prophecy in another dimension that goes horribly, terribly, right.

Get the e-book now while the price can’t be beat, and consider stuffing a stocking this Christmas with the paperback.

 

 

Stardew Valley: Game Basics

12 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by Quizzer in Pop Culture, Reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

The Spork Speaks

Stardew Valley is a psychological experiment masquerading as a computer game. There is so much content that I’ll be breaking this review into three parts. This is Part 1: Game Basics. Continue reading →

Who is Rachel Griffin?

16 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by Quizzer in Pop Culture, Reviews

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

The Spork Speaks

From a recent official Tempest in a Teardrop Book Club Irregulars meeting transcript.

Q: Christmas is rapidly approaching, and rather than recommend useless items such as the “I’m With Her Election Night Victory Commemorative Boxcutter,” I think we should focus on books, video games, or movies we like and think our readers might be interested in.

Codex: Good idea! We should start with the Rachel Griffin books by L. Jagi Lamplighter.

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin (Books of Unexpected Enlightenment Book 1) by [Lamplighter, L. Jagi]
Continue reading →

The Book Club Irregulars: Somewither

14 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by overgrownhobbit in Pop Culture, Reviews

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Wright

In August, Codex and I formed the Tempest In A Teardrop Book-of-the-Month* Club. We have no friends, since everybody hates cartoonists, and with only a bit of fuss, agreed that Somewhither, written by John C. Wright, would be a great inaugural club choice. We recently sat down to review it together.

Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwithering Realm by [Wright, John C.] Continue reading →

Follow Tempest in a Teardrop: The Churchians on WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Tempest in a Teardrop: The Churchians
    • Join 67 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Tempest in a Teardrop: The Churchians
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...