BOOK: Infected (2008)

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Infected Year: 2008 Author: Scott Sigler Length: 684 minutes / 11.4 hours Stephen King has written most of the horror I’ve read. In deciding to branch out from the master of the genre, I saw the cover for this book in the listing of audiobooks for my library’s reader app and thought it looked interesting. While the horror here was more body/gross-out horror—which I didn’t have any issue with—there are other, deeper problems with this book. I’ll grant that in terms of audiobooks, it was an interesting recording with the sound effects and “alien voice” bits. However, I can’t say I recommend this book based on those merits alone. Perhaps this is an artifact of the times, but a book that came out in 2008 has not aged well at all. First, is the abundance of “men writing women” tropes that not only minimize the female characters to minor roles but doesn’t consider that perhaps not everything has to be about sex. Furthermore, while the...
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MOVIE: Borat (2006)

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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Year: 2006 Rating: R Length: 84 minutes / 1.40 hours As far as mockumentary films go, Borat (2006) is at least in the top five. It may have not been as groundbreaking as This Is Spinal Tap (1984), but its use of real people's reactions to a parody of Eastern European stereotypes still shocks today. Perhaps having experienced some of the American sub-cultures that were mocked is what makes those parts of this film funny to me. It certainly has its gross-out moments, but Sacha Baron Cohen's performance is iconic. I think what makes Borat one of the best mockumentary films is its unscripted nature. Sure, they wrote Borat's dialogue in such a way as to provoke people (or get them to open up about their own racism/sexism/homophobia). However, the responses from these people feel completely genuine. The ones who accept Sacha Baron Cohen's bit and try to play their part straight are...
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BOOK: The Eternity Code (2003)

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The Eternity CodeYear: 2003Author: Eoin ColferLength: 414 minutes / 6.90 hours After the last two adventures in the Artemis Fowl series helped to reunite the titular character with his family, it was entertaining to watch him strike out on his own. This was for no other reason than to prove he has the criminal chops his family name is known for. While decidedly middle-grade to young adult in tone, The Eternity Code is still an entertaining read. One might need to have read the previous two volumes to know who all the main players are, but at least the story is strong enough to carry the reader through to the conclusion without too much hassle. While I appreciated the “on top of it” style Artemis had in Artemis Fowl, I could also enjoy the cracks of vulnerability in his façade present in The Eternity Code. After all, Artemis is merely a teenage boy, and it helps to ground him in reality when...
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BOOK: Dr. Fixit’s Malicious Machine (2018)

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Dr. Fixit’s Malicious Machine Year: 2018 Author: Jessica Crichton Length: 260 pages While I’m a bit older than the target demographic, I’m not sure I was ever a fan of the kind of “gross-out” tropes that seem to permeate the middle-grade genre. My main problem with Dr. Fixit’s Malicious Machine is that it relies on this trope in spades. At the very least, it takes this slightly “uncultured” format and takes it to its logical extremes. After all, the amount of accented pidgin adds flavor to this parallel universe, even if it sacrifices some readability. In the end, though, it’s still a pretty good story even if the plot points felt pretty standard for the genre. Aside from some of the content being gross, there were several proofreading errors scattered throughout this book. Not enough to be distracting but enough to be noticeable. I’m also not sure the more complicated “twist” near the end is understandable for the target age range, considering the scientific knowledge needed...
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