Here's some thoughts on things I've finished and felt like I wanted to capture for my future reference.
⭐: actively disliked this
⭐⭐: meh
⭐⭐⭐: enjoyable but not notable
⭐⭐⭐⭐: really great; would recommend
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: utterly brilliant!
Books read this year
5
Games played this year
2
📖 Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory (Murderbot diaries 4.5) by Martha Wells
Finished: 26th December 2021
Father Christmas thankfully did enable me further, but on settling in to read I realised that there was actually a short story (yes, I know not technically a book) available to read for free on tor.com. This one breaks with the series and is told from the view of Mensah. It adds an interesting second perspective on a couple of points, but there was something about the writing style and narrative that didn't feel like it fit as well. It felt almost janky after fitting so well with SecUnit's delivery. Still, a nice little addition.
📖 Exit Strategy (Murderbot diaries 4) by Martha Wells
Finished: 21st December 2021
This concluded my 4-book boxset, and left me sadly Murderbot-less over Christmas until I could find out if Father Christmas would further enable my binge. This one was basically non-stop action, but it also deepened its important relationships and had some really touching interactions. I'm trying to work out why I haven't given any of these 5 stars yet, so hell, it's Christmas, let's go for it!
🎮 Unpacking
Finished: 19th December 2021
I'd seen this in my Game Pass list and had made a snarky comment about how a game about unpacking boxes probably wasn't for me, give I still have some unpacked from my last move years ago. A friend's comment on twitter made me think I should give it a go, and I'm glad I did. A lovely, gently, meditative little game with a cute story you interpret pretty much for yourself.
📖 Rogue Protocol (Murderbot diaries 3) by Martha Wells
Finished: 18th December 2021
Another one done! This one started more slowly and I was thinking it maybe didn't quite have the same hook as the others. But no, after arriving at an abandoned mining facility (what could possibly go wrong?!) it all kicked up a gear and was flat out up to the end. The inevitable twist was pretty predictable, but maybe that's just because I've read too many pessimistic space stories and am suspicious of everything.
📖 Artificial Condition (Murderbot diaries 2) by Martha Wells
Finished: 14th December 2021
More of the same good stuff, basically could be a complete short story continuation of the last in terms of pacing and tone etc. Enjoyed the addition of ART as another very human not-human.
📖 All Systems Red (Murderbot diaries 1) by Martha Wells
Finished: 9th December 2021
Enjoyed this so much I'd bought a box set version of the first 4 before finishing it. Murderbot is just a brilliant character, one who I empathised with from the start, and I want to find out a lot more about. This is a short read and the main criticism seems to be how pricey they are for the length, but I had no criticism in terms of the content. Really enjoyed the setting and how it panned out, looking forward to more.
🎮 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Finished: 30th November 2021
Picked this up as part of Game Pass. Story was decent and would have been a solid 'fluff' 3.5 thing to play, but docked points because of the AWFUL interface. Seriously, that map. Omg. Some of the platforming was extremely janky (screw you, slides), and would really have benefitted from some fast travel. Or wayfinding. Or just a better bloody map! Outside of that, grabbed all the achievements and was a fun enough way to pass time.