Essay
Standing While Falling. Top Story - January 2026.
Quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche "He who wrestles long with monsters should beware lest he himself become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. Man is not destroyed by suffering, but by the meaning he makes of it."
By LUCCIAN LAYTH27 days ago in Critique
The Lost City of Z
The Lost City of Z by David Grann Growing up I thought I wanted to be an archaeologist. Now that I’m a ripe 32, I realize what I really wanted to be was an adventurer–someone who dug deep into the dark and emerged with treasures unseen for millennia.
By Matthew J. Fromm28 days ago in Critique
Mistakes in Stranger Things - Season 5
Stranger Things 5: A Train Wreck of Lazy Writing and Brand Blunders When Stranger Things first dropped in 2016, it was a masterpiece of atmosphere and tight storytelling. It felt like a love letter to the 80s. Fast forward to Season 5, and that love letter has been shredded. What we got instead was a bloated, nonsensical mess that felt like the creators were just checking boxes to get it over with. It wasn't just a disappointment; it was a total collapse of the logic and stakes that made us care about Hawkins in the first place.
By Teodor Monescu28 days ago in Critique
Words of Radiance
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson And so we come to the yearly ovation for Mr. Sanderson. The man is a genius, his lecture series is one of the most important resources ever developed for writers, and I’m yet to pick up a Sando that’s scored below a 70. I have critiques that we’ll come to, but suffice to say I am a big supporter of Sanderson.
By Matthew J. Fromm29 days ago in Critique
A New beginning
A new beginning is like a brand-new box of crayons. You open this new box and there are those colors so bright and ready to go, as so many of us do in January it seems. Ready to start new projects and looking forward to what these colors will project in our various projects that are or may be planned. We look to be optimistic in our color choices from the reds to the yellows to the greens and blues and all the opportunities that these colors give us to think and choose for not everything is black and white.
By Mark Grahamabout a month ago in Critique
The Blade Itself
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie Every once in a while, I pick up a book that reminds me fundamentally why I enjoy reading—a book that turns my brain off and sweeps me away to some far flung world that I can sit at any quiet moment and. . . disappear into.
By Matthew J. Frommabout a month ago in Critique
Violinist Accuses Will Smith Of Sexual Harassment In New Lawsuit
For Will Smith to find himself ensnared in yet another controversy lowers his stock even more on the market. Now, with the latest news of violinist Brian King Joseph alleging that Smith triggered his PTSD and psychological damage.
By Skyler Saundersabout a month ago in Critique
The Butcher of the Forest
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed I loved Becky Chambers’s A Psalm for the Wild-Built. It was a nice warm hug of a book that explored finding meaning in life, our relationship with nature, and how to come to terms with not knowing where a path may lead. I gave it an 89/100.
By Matthew J. Frommabout a month ago in Critique
The Fall of Arthur
The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien/Chris Tolkien Naturally I’d start this series with my hardest evaluation of the year. I snagged this copy from Shakespeare & Co in Paris to appropriately cap off a trip that included seeing the Bayeux Tapestry (a lecture series for a different time, but it’s so important to the fantasy genre).
By Matthew J. Frommabout a month ago in Critique
