Category: TV

Old Man’s War (2005) by John Scalzi

Old Man’s War is a military science fiction and debut novel by John Scalzi …

It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006. …

… the first novel in Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series. …

I was reminded of of Ender’s Game.

Scalzi freely admits he was influenced by Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers.

The writing is juvenile to appeal to teenage boys.

Still, I enjoyed this book. Particularly the plot twist that soldiers must be age-75 to enlist.

Soldier John Perry tells the tale. His consciousness is transferred to a super-powered 20-year-old body.

There are plenty of interesting technologies in this imagined future.

BrainPal is a neural implant that allows members of the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF) to send and receive data, including speech, battle plans and much more. CDF soldiers use their BrainPals to translate alien languages, watch classic cartoons, and read old books.

It was initially optioned for film in 2011, and for the last few years Syfy has been trying to develop it as a TV series. Don’t hold your breath.

I don’t think I’ll continue to the sequel — The Ghost Brigades. 

The English Girl by Daniel Silva

I’ve been disappointed by a number of books recently. Not Silva. He keeps getting better.

REVIEW:

A beautiful woman is snatched from her vacation on Corsica. A ransom note reaches 10 Downing Street. An ambitious, unfaithful prime minister seriously needs a fixer.

… Israeli spy, Gabriel Allon, one of the more believable and likable heroes in recent spy fiction.

To call The English Girl a page turner is an oversimplification.

Smart, unpredictable, and packed with bits of history, art, heart, and imagination, this is a page turner to be savored. Let me just say that I like John LeCarre. Big fan. Still impressively relevant and prolific into his 80s. But the torch must pass to someone. …

Daniel Silva isn’t quite LeCarre. He’s a more modern breed, with some major DNA overlap. (Other DNA-sharing: Graham Greene, Joseph Kanon, Alan Furst.) When it comes to the vast club of practitioners of international spycraft, Silva is a cut above them all, and The English Girl is a masterwork. —Neal Thompson

 
related – MGM TV Acquires Rights to Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon Spy Novels

The Good Fight

Having thoroughly enjoyed The Good Wife, I downloaded the sequel.

Diane Lockhart is the star now. She wanted to flee Trump’s America and retire in Italy. But an enormous financial scam wipes out her savings.

She joins Chicago’s pre-eminent (Black) law firm because she needs the money.

Sarah Steele as Marissa Gold is back too as Diane Lockhart’s secretary with a knack for investigating.

Rose Leslie as Maia Rindell, Diane’s goddaughter, is a new lead character. Quite good.

The Good Fight has received positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes awarded the series with a rating of 100% based on reviews from 38 critics and an average rating of 8.1 out of 10.

It’s not as good as Good Wife. But I’m still recommending it for the interesting legal cases.

My only complaint is that this series is only 10 episodes where seasons of Good Wife were MUCH longer.

Homeland – season 6

Still must watch TV.

Nothing else in public popular media addresses the issues of the day so well.

The sixth season of the American television drama series Homeland … concluded on April 9th, 2017.

Carrie Mathison is back in the United States, living in Brooklyn, New York with her young pre-school aged daughter. She is now working at a foundation whose efforts are to provide aid to Muslims living in the United States.

Saul Berenson and Dar Adal are still CIA operatives and are dealing with counter-terrorism …

Peter Quinn is alive but has suffered a major stroke and is incapacitated. …

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

Rupert Friend should win all the acting awards as Peter Quinn, a disabled Vet recovering from sarin poisoning.

Jake Weber as Brett O’Keefe, TV host and fake news provocateur is fascinating. Something between Bannon and Alex Jones. A very scary guy.

Elizabeth Marvel was cast in the role of Elizabeth Keane, a senator from New York who was just elected to be the next President of the United States. This was written while it was still expected Hillary would be President.

Fortitude – season 1

Intense. Well acted. I recommend this series if you are OK with scary TV.

Fortitude is a British sci-fi psychological thriller television series …

A 12-episode series started airing on 29 January 2015. …

The series is set in the fictional Arctic Norwegian settlement of Fortitude. …

It is described as an international community, with inhabitants from many parts of the world (population of 713 inhabitants and 4 police officers). The series was filmed in both the UK and in Reyðarfjörður, Iceland. …

Critics gave positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season an 88% rating …

Dennis Quaid joins the cast for season 2. Amazon picked it up.

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.

Mr. Robot (season 2)

Mr. Robot is an American drama–thriller television series …

It stars Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and hacker who suffers from social anxiety disorder and clinical depression. …

I enjoyed season 1.

Season 2 is even better, despite being a bit confusing at times.

Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.