T.K. Wade -- Author: 2026

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

A Letter to a Royal Academy [Essay Review]

Now, for something completely stupid.

"A Letter to a Royal Academy," otherwise popularly known as "Fart Proudly" is a letter/essay written by Benjamin Franklin while he was acting as our ambassador to France. It was written around 1781 and handed off to some of his friends. It was not officially published until 1920. (Forgive me if some of these details are incorrect. I had some trouble finding the specifics.)

This is the most useless book (pamphlet?) in my collection. I hate looking at it, and the only reason I am reviewing it is because of the fact that I recently review a book under the same title... that being "Fart Proudly."

You see, they took Benjamin Franklin's autobiography and a few choice writings and slapped them together without including this letter into it... and then they had the audacity to call it "Fart Proudly." It made no sense since this essay could have easily fit right into it. This led me to have to acquire a small booklet that has a cover so horrible and stupid that I won't be showing it to you. You get an image of Franklin instead. Just deal with it.

The essay is still somewhat interesting, as it is a pun-filled document about why farting is important and also on how we may make farting more pleasant for the people around us. It's interesting because this unholy abomination was written by one of our founding fathers.

The whole thing is obviously written in jest. He even tries to write it as eloquently as possible, putting on more airs than he usually does. He even wrote some of it in different languages too, which is not something he is known for. The whole point of doing it this way was to create contrast. He was eloquently writing about farting. Get it?

Don't get me wrong; it's very clever. I am surprised at how genuinely funny it is, especially when you consider who wrote it. I just don't prefer this sort of humor. I have friends who like this; I just don't. But I fully appreciate it for it's historical significance.

I should say, however, that some of his solutions for making farts smell better sound... for lack of a better term... kind of dangerous... or deadly. Although he does push for being vegetarian in the letter, because that's what he was, he has suggested putting additives of which sound extremely toxic in your food. Ever considered putting a little turpentine in your food? Well, Benjamin Franklin thinks it might be a good idea.

Either way, I don't have any reason not to recommend this. I just don't want to read it again. It's really stupid, and, outside of an episode of Ren and Stimpy, I just don't get into fart humor. Heck, I barely get into it with Ren and Stimpy. I'd rather just let this essay pass.

...

You heard what I said!

This blog was written on April 9, 2026.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, why not leave a comment below? I'd love to hear what you think. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, May 4, 2026

Odder [Book Review]

"Odder" is a book by Katherine Applegate. It was published in 2022. I stumbled over this one at a bookstore. You may remember I read a previous book by her called "Crenshaw."

"Odder" was a wild ride, and I don't think I'll ever find another one like it. It is a story about a female otter raised in an aquarium and then released back into the wild... only to be bitten by a shark. The story tells of her relationship to other otters as well as with the humans taking care of her.

This is the type of story that I often call "unfairly manipulated by the author," insomuch as the author is giving a real feral otter human feelings that we can understand that would not otherwise exist in real life. This is not a complaint. I actually like coming across stories like this. It's good for the imagination, and frankly we do it all the time with our pets.

What is crazy about this book is that it is entirely written in free verse poetry. There is not a consistent structure to the poetry and nothing ever rhymes. I have seen stories written this way, but they are often filled with chiefly poetic jargon and is a pain to read. "Odder" amazingly reads as if it was written in prose, and I have no idea how she did it. Bravo.

Honestly, the way she constructed her verse is so good that I would have been happy to read another one just like this for the experience alone. It had me scratching my head. How can free verse poetry read so fluidly?! Katherine is obviously very talented.

Of course, I do recommend this book, but I do want to warn you about something. Most people love and adore otters, but this book does not ever pull its punches. It deals with extremely hard topics, some of which turned my stomach a bit. It never does it just to be mean; it's just trying to be honest about what happens in the wild and even some bad things that happen in aquariums. All said, however, I loved the experience and would enjoy seeing more like it.

This blog was written on April 8, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

In Memory of Lindy Lovely [Short Story Review]

"In Memory of Lindy Lovely" is a short science fiction story by Gary K. Wolf. It was published in a collection in 2012. (I don't actually know when the story was originally released.)

This story is about a future where memories can be bought and sold. You can go into a mall and have a new memory implanted in your head of you going on a cruise or some other sort of adventure. You will remember it as if it actually happened, which most might see as actually experiencing it for real. It is sort of a "Total Recall" type thing.

The problem here is that memories of horrible acts are also available on the black market. From there, you can experience the act of murder or even dying yourself if you wanted to. The main thrust of the story deals with this black market memory racket.

This was a pretty good story, and I have seen many other franchises that fiddles with the idea of memory implants and extractions. Other than the aforementioned movie/story, there is also the video game "Remember Me," which I quite enjoyed. It was made by the studio that created "Life is Strange" before they sold their souls. It also dealt with the dystopian concept of memory manipulations.

I do actually think this technology will happen someday, and it is really scary. I have personally done similar things with hypnosis, and it is possible for a hypnotist to implant memories into your brain with your consent. Imagine if we began using technology and AI to do the same. It would be very addicting, and the world would soon face a very real case of mass amnesia.

It's not all bad though. The story also shows the good side of things. It shows how the police force uses the technology to remove the memories of rape from an abused child. I liked that the author did this, showing that new technology can be used for both good and evil.

Either way, I do recommend this story. It was a solid look at what may be possible down the line. Definitely give this one a read.

This blog was written on April 8, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, April 27, 2026

Pop [Short Story Review]

[I spoil some aspects of this story but not all of it.]

"Pop" is a short science fiction story written by Gary K. Wolf. It was published as part of a collection in 2012.

I've mentioned before that the problem with classic scifi stories is that they often have a nasty political bent to them. If you ever want to get into classic scifi then you need to prepare yourself to contend with that, otherwise just skip it over.

"Pop" is a story that has that political bent. It takes place in a world where aliens have taken over Earth, and the human race has had to live on other planets and in spaceships while they try and figure out how to take Earth back.

The story centers around a military hero nicknamed "Pop" who is presented as the manliest old guy to ever serve. He is also extremely gung ho in all cases. When they first met this new slug race, Pop made the decision to just start shooting. The slugs retaliated by taking over their planet.

In the story, Pop's son had been trying his best to convince everybody that they should just talk and compromise with this race rather than just trying to kill them, but he is seen as weak and is ultimately just used as an example of what not to do. Also they do really bad things to this poor guy too.

This whole story is a mess. Everything is extremely exaggerated, and it feels like this was done to make some sort of point. I don't really recommend this one. I will say, however, that there was a lot of lost potential here, because the whole setup for the story was really interesting. I prefer scifi stories that don't lean too far into a message, and this one really failed at that. Give your readers some credit, guys!

This blog was written on April 3, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Love Story [Short Story Review]

[I spoil this entire story.]

"Love Story" is a short science fiction story written by Gary K. Wolf. It was published as part of a collection in 2012.

"Love Story" takes place in a dystopian world that has become so overcrowded that it has basically reached its limit. Everything has to be automated, and bureaucracy has actually become a necessity just to keep track of everyone.

The focus on this story is, as he title suggests, all about love. It has to do with marriage, love, and child bearing, but these things are entirely different in a world where taking two steps means you'll bump into someone. There are forms to fill out and requests needed to be made in order to even have a child.

Also it's a bit backwards here. Baby-making comes first, and then you get married. I'll explain why in a second. This baby, once approved, actually happens inside a pregnant robot named Wombette. They still pull the genetic material from the parents, though. Also the baby has to be perfect or else it does not make it to completion. This all has to do with the fact that they are living in an over-crowded world and nobody has the resources to deal with children with problems.

The story goes over all these issues, and the children are going to be born and indoctrinated into the world as it presently is. Now, they are allowed to get married, and they do. They are married by a priest, given some crackers to eat, and those crackers happen to be poisoned. They die right there at the ceremony. Why? So that their two new children can fill their slots.

This is an example of a very well made dystopian story. I have read others like this, and they always leave you with weird feelings, and they might even make you giggle a little... like in a crazy way. Although it does deal with topics that make me very uncomfortable, I still recommend it for what it is. Dystopian fiction is intended to make people feel uncomfortable, and, if it fails to do that, it fails in general.

This blog was written on March 31, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, April 20, 2026

Metamorphosis [Book Review]

[I spoil the main points of this book, including how it ends.]

"Metamorphosis" is a book written by Franz Kafka. It was published in 1915.

There is a type of story I run into now and again where something happens in the story for no other reason but that the author made it happen. In the case of "Metamorphosis," a man named Gregor Samsa turns into a giant bug. There is no reason ever given why this happens; it simply happens because the author wanted it to happen. That's it.

From there, you see the result as it would play out. Sadly, much of it is very bad. For one, Gregor has no idea how to operate his new body. The author did not give him that. He has to spend much of the book trying to puppet himself properly. Secondly, he lives with his family and has a job, both of which are severely affected by the very real fact that he is a bug now.

It sucks, because Gregor was a major financial contributor to a family that was just barely hanging on. They cannot rely on him anymore, so they are doing everything they can to make money so they don't end up homeless. They can barely stand to look at him as well, so the relationship with Gregor is not going well.

Gregor cannot talk anymore. He cannot communicate with his own family, and they simply struggle to figure out what he wants. This relationship breaks down even more because they are also dealing with the problems of poverty. To be clear, things are just as bad for the family as it is for Gregor. Both sides are bad. Even if they particularly wanted to treat him well, they cannot understand him enough to properly do it. Everything falls apart because of what the author did here. And yes... I am blaming him.

Ultimately, Gregor just ends up dying from complete loneliness and likely some other complications. When he dies... everything almost immediately gets better for the family. Much of their problems was because they were keeping a giant bug in their house, which was impossible to explain to people. It was ruining their lives. Once their son was dead and gone, it was a relief to everyone. They could move on, and, to be fair, it was probably a relief to Gregor as well.

But, once again, Gregor never did anything wrong. He had not invited this transformation upon him. The man known as Franz Kafka did it to him, and then he let the story play out as it likely would have. This is a fact that has not gone unnoticed by people who have read this book. The "meta" in the title is sometimes looked upon as Gregor's strange relationship with God, who suddenly and inexplicably decided he needed to be a giant bug. Something outside the system Gregor lived in had a bit of fun, and nobody really enjoyed any of it. That's what this story is. It's what happens when an uncaring author does random things... and still bothers to see it through.

Regardless of how utterly depressing this was to read, it was actually very well written and a good example of meta-ideals. I do recommend it on those grounds alone. Still, if you are looking for something to make you smile, this is not it!

This blog was written on March 30, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Fart Proudly [Book Review]

"Fart Proudly" is a book filled with various writings by Benjamin Franklin. This collection was published in 2025. The title is honestly very silly, but I suspect the reason they used it was to get children engaged in reading it. There is no actual mention to the saying anywhere in the book. That said, it kind of worked, because it got me to read it. Well done.

[Now, let me get one thing out of the way. There is an actual letter written by Franklin called "Fart Proudly," and this book isn't it. They could have put it in the collection, but weirdly they didn't. If I can find a copy of this letter, I'll do a separate review of it.]

As to what this book is, it is Benjamin's unfinished autobiography as well as a few extra writings tacked-on to the ending. None of this is bad, though. It all serves to help you understand who Benjamin Franklin was and what he had to go through mostly before we achieved our independence from Britain.

I learned things about Benjamin that I never knew. The autobiography was so telling that I am surprised more people don't talk about it. He was very clearly a progressive liberal, but he was far from being a radical. He worked very hard to uplift this country when we were struggling to form our own identity. He was also a man full of wisdom that he tried very hard to pass on to us, as long as we were willing to listen. The man constantly tried to perfect himself and his morals, and his autobiography goes into this very hotly. You'll learn exactly how he attempted this, and it's really kind of brilliant.

Did you know Benjamin Franklin led forces in our military? He did, and he worked very hard at it. He was also very humble about it, constantly stating that he was not really very good at it. I was still impressed by it, though. Remember also that this is all pre-independence. All this was in service to the king.

There is a lot more, but I would be writing forever if I tackled everything. Just understand that his autobiography is a very good way to learn about him on an intimate level. His writing is also very easy to read. He writes very plainly.

The extra content of the book involved various writings and letters. There isn't much of it, but what is there was very good. I especially loved his short story called "The Whistle," where he blew a lot of money on a whistle when he was a child. Now, whenever he saw someone who made bad investments in life, he would say, "They paid too much for their whistle." It seems that whenever Benjamin made a bad judgement in his life, he would learn a lesson from it and pass it on to help him in later decisions.

Even though I do recommend "Fart Proudly," I think you may be better off just finding a copy of his autobiography and reading it that way. Although, if you have some kid who doesn't care much about history, you might show them the title of this book. It might just catch his attention!

This blog was written on March 30, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, April 13, 2026

Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales [Book Review]

"Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales" is a collection of writings all written by Groucho Marx over the period of his life. It was edited together with lots of fun little factoids by Robert S. Bader. It was published in 1993.

Despite the fact that they have become almost completely obscure and unknown these days, I have always been a staunch fan of the Marx Brothers. I adored them far more than The Three Stooges, who seems to have outlasted them with flawless precision. I always felt that the absurdist humor of the Marx Brothers was strangely higher brow, which I enjoyed a lot more, although I respect both groups for what they accomplished.

Although all four of the Marx Brothers stood out in some way, it was Groucho Marx that always seem to get the best witty dialog in his films. He was also the one who carried on a significant career after the group broke up. There came a day where I rather randomly asked the question, "Did Groucho ever write anything?" I went to look it up, and I was happy to find a book of short stories!

I always take a long time to get to books I buy. I buy books like it's a drug addiction. I buy more books than I can possibly deal with, so sometimes they just sit around before I can kick myself in the ass enough to do it. And it isn't kicking myself in the ass that's the hard part; it's getting behind myself that I can never seem to do.

Anyways, I finally read it, and it was not quite what I expected... but it wasn't bad! By "short stories," I thought this was going to be fiction, but this read more like "Reader's Digest" articles. In fact, one of them actually was from "Reader's Digest." That's fine. I actually used to read that magazine as a kid. These are all first person narratives about his opinions on things. They are often exaggerated in a comical way. None of the humor is is cheap, but the only thing you'll have to pay is your attention.

All the articles in this book are great. If you like the humor of Groucho Marx, it is all here. The editor of the book also includes a lot of backstory that I found very interesting. You actually will come out of this book with a better understanding of Groucho and his life before you can wonder how you became trapped inside a book to begin with. It's really tight in there!

Anyhow, I do recommend this one to Marx Brothers enthusiasts. To people who don't like the Marx Brothers, I can recommend a hammer to the head. That can fix almost any problem in the world today!

This blog was written on March 25, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Two Cows

This was inspired by a video by ElectroBOOM, who may have accidently slipped out a moral tale while trying to talk about how to punish an annoying neighbor.

Once upon a time, there was a farmer, but you don't need to hear about him. On this farm there were two bull cows who lived within a fenced area. Here they had plenty of grass but essentially no freedom. Although the grass was very nice, they would often look beyond the fence and yearned to know what was out there.

A day finally came where one of the cows [we'll call him Rusty] decided that he had had enough of being fenced in and made his way over to it in order to free himself. This fence did not look all that imposing, made up only of a series of thin metal wires. If he wanted to, he felt that he could easily just push his bulky body against it and make his way through. But the moment he touched one of these wires with his snout, he received a terrible shock that struck him to the core.

Rusty did not like this shock. All at once, he looked upon the fence with grave distain. He came to the conclusion that to push through the fence would lead to pain and suffering. From then on he pledged to be happy with his lot and to never make the attempt for freedom ever again.

Now, the other cow [we'll call him Max] also had been feeling the pangs of freedom. He also looked beyond the fence and wondered what was out there. But when he asked Rusty what he thought of it, the bull explained, "It's not worth the trouble. If you even so much as touch the fence, you'll be hurt and possibly killed. I'll never forget how horrible it was. I'll never go near it again."

Hearing these fearful words affected Max greatly, but he could not shake the idea that there was more to it. He chose to defy that fear, saying, "I want to see this for myself."

"Don't do it," said Rusty. "You'll only be sorry. Play it safe and enjoy the grass we already have."

Once again, Max was tempted by fear to do what Rusty had said, but there was an inner need to know the truth. Despite those dreadful thoughts bouncing around inside his head, he approached the fence anyhow.

Max stood before the wire fence, thinking about how Rusty had been hurt. He believed him, and yet he was still curious. Carefully, he touched his snout to the wire, and as promised by Rusty, it delivered him a nasty shock. He backed away, already feeling he should just leave, and yet he remained where he was. From a distance, Rusty saw him as a fool for doing this.

Max contemplated his situation. He thought about the pain and also thought about how he presently felt fine. There was no pain. There was, however, a memory of pain and a lack of understanding of why it had happened. Indeed, it had occurred when he had touched his snout to the wire, but he did not understand why touching his snout to the wire had caused the shock. These were the machinations of the farmer and not something that cows generally understood as a rule.

Nevertheless, Max was still very curious, and he wanted his freedom. Once more, he very carefully pressed his snout to the wire and tried his very best to hold it there.

POP! POP! POP!

He pulled back when it was too much for him. The pain had been real, but it was not constant. It was happening in short bursts. Each one was awful, and it was making Max's heart beat all the faster as his mind tossed and turned with the idea of just going away and leaving this horrible fence alone.

But the more Max contemplated it, the more he realized that this fence might not really be as deadly as he once thought. It may only be there to incite fear, the same fear that Rusty was experiencing. The fence was indeed shocking him, but it was only doing it in increments. If one were to truly test this fence's mettle, would it have enough strength to fight back? Would it really try and kill Max?

Slowly, Max backed up and away from the fence. At first, Rusty thought he was finally going to be sensible about the whole thing, but this thought went away when he noticed Max digging his front hoof into the grass below. This was a sign that a bull was going to charge.

"Wait! You fool!" cried Rusty, but it was too late.

Max went into a run towards the fence. He crashed into it with all of his bulk. For a brief moment, Max felt the shock once more, but it was soon over as he easily tore through the wire and made his way to the other side. Arcs of electricity and sparks briefly sprayed out and soon went away, leaving a gaping hole in the farmer's fence. And here, Max happily trotted out to freedom and whatever came with it, proud of himself for not giving in to the temptation of fear and looking onward to the endless everything that might be beyond that.

Now to Rusty, who had seen the whole thing. Rusty approached the hole in the fence, no longer feeling threatened by it. He too now had the ability to obtain freedom, and indeed he took it, but he knew deep inside his heart that it had not been his own courage that had allowed him the privilege. In fact, he did not even understand what Max had done, nor did he care to. He merely followed in Max's hoof-steps as ignorant as he ever was and perhaps fell to some other fear along the way. But as for Max, he had learned the benefits of critical thought and to avoid the temptation of fear, and he was all the wiser for it.

This blog was written on March 23, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, April 6, 2026

An Introductory Problem

Did you know that some books are really old? Did you also know that there are still people who have not read them? There are classics out there that are very well-known and have been read time and time again over the ages. They have been discussed in every way imaginable, and many of them have been adapted into movies. So does that make it okay to spoil these stories since they are already so old?

No. Don't do that.

Now that I have you on board, hear me out. It has become a sort of tradition with the modern printing of old books to hire old professors or celebrities to write an Introduction or Forward to a book that, as written, assumes you already know everything about the blasted plot! Before you even get to the story itself, it will spend sometimes hours going over every single point the book has to offer. If you actually read this, there will not be a single aspect of the upcoming story you will be ignorant of ahead of time.

And I know what you may be thinking: why not just skip it? Well, sometimes I do. I will often read a little bit of it to see if it is one of those things or if it's just sort of a introductory explanation by the author. Either way, I have to check to see what the damn thing is, and I shouldn't have to worry about if its a spoiler or not.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of famous classics that I hard heard of that I don't actually know what the plot is. I want to be surprised. I want to experience that old story as if it was just coming out today. I don't need to read some dumb essay that covers everything I am about to read. Barnes and Noble, I am looking at you! You do this all the time. Please stop!

There is nothing wrong with essays like this as long as they are in the back of the book. Seriously, put it there. I have actually seen some publishers do this. Those guys know what they are doing.

Everything at the beginning of the book should be non-spoiler content. A Forward should express the person's love of the book without giving away the main plot points. A long-winded Introduction should either be written by the writer himself or just left out. Also, I have seen Introductions actually be a part of the story itself, so I never know if it's that or if its just an essay about the story. It's very inconsistent.

That's all. Don't spoil old books. There's no reason why you should. New people are born everyday that haven't read them.

This blog was written on March 4, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Random Notes in Video Games

A pet peeve. Have you ever played a video game, and you keep finding these journal entries lying around that you can read? Sometimes these are just notes or discarded tape recorders with extra plot for you to digest. If the game developers have a little extra money in their budget, those written notes will actually have the voice of its writer reading it.

I'll be honest. Except for one particular instance this trope was used, I do not like this. I do not care how much people defend it, but this is an incredibly immersion-breaking thing in games. It's not something that sometimes happened; it actually became a remarkably common addition to some very popular games. It was all over the place, and we just sort of put up with it... because we liked it or something.

I just can't get it straight in my head, though. Why are people writing only portions of their journals, tearing the pages out, and then leaving them in random places as they travel around? Why am I finding torn-out pages of their journal? Sometimes, it isn't even that. I often just find entire books lying around with only one journal entry. Are they buying entire empty books for just one brief rant that happens to be on their minds?

But what about the tape recorders? Oh, these make more sense because of their convenience, right? But I just keep finding them everywhere! Why are people just tossing these things away? These have to cost more than pieces of notepaper! It also makes even less sense when these recorded messages all come from the same person. Does he just keep a pocketful of them?

Imagine a guy who takes out a recorder, records his thoughts, and just leaves it behind. Still plenty of tape left, but he does not care. He must have really taken advantage of that tape recorder clearance sale!

This trope rarely makes sense. Some of it is slightly forgivable, though. Sometimes you might find a corpse where you will find the person's notepad or something. No biggy there. You might also be in a situation where you can hack computers and read the user's personal notes. That's okay too. My main beef just has to do with these random pieces of papers that are just being left around. Why even write stuff if you are going to abandon all of it.

Like I said, there is an exception. "Alan Wake" took this trope and actually did good with it. Those notes you were finding were actually written by you outside of the story. They were integral to the story of the game itself. You wanted to find them, because each one you found gave you another piece of the puzzle.

I get it. Some people crave the extra plot they can get out of a game, but there are better more immersive ways to deliver that plot than having people leave their rotten little journals lying around. It is a lazy way to tell a broader story, and I hope to see the trope end.

By the way, in case you are wondering what game sparked this blog, it was the new "Tomb Raider" trilogy. One of the absolute worst offenders. Please stop doing this. I hate it.

This blog was written on March 4, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, March 30, 2026

The Phantom of the Opera [Book Review]

"The Phantom of the Opera" is a novel written by Gaston Leroux. It was originally published as a serial from 1909 to 1910. It was later published as a novel in late 1910.

The story is about a ghost that seems to be haunting the famous Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, France. By the way, this is an absolutely massive and beautiful building. It is the perfect setting for this story. If I ever go to France, and I probably never will, I really want to visit this place. Anyways, back to the review...

This ghost seems to be holding the place hostage for money and a box seat. That's right, the ghost wants money, and he also has a fascination for one of their singers: Christine Daaé. The problem for the ghost is that Christine is already spoken for by one Vicomte Raoul de Chagny. They were childhood friends and a sure pick for marriage. The ghost, however, has other plans.

This ghost is, of course, not a ghost at all. He is a terribly hideous man that lives within the walls of the opera. His body looks as if he was a living corpse. This causes him to be shunned from society, but as it turns out, his heart is as ugly as his face. He's not a good person at all. He begins to play a deadly game to take Christine as his wife, whether she wants it or not. Raoul, our hero, will stop at nothing to save her from this horrible fate.

This is a fantastic story, but its delivery is not something I have ever run into before with maybe the exception of "Pinocchio." Because this book was originally a serial, that likely led the writer to write each scene is a charming and often humorous way. This caused a lot of the scenes to be unexpectedly funny. The characters sometimes come off as overly dramatic and even sometimes painfully awkward and real. It's kind of all over the place.

Even the evil Phantom himself has these weird awkward moments, like when he calls one of his enemies a "booby" to thrash his ego. This is an odd word for an evil genius to use, but it gave him a very real and relatable quality that helped more than hindered the presentation.

There are a lot of these awkward scene throughout the story as characters who are supposed to be living normal lives deal with a situation that is extraordinary. A lot of these weird scenes do not come with any explanation right away, but the author leads you on to explain it much later. He knew what he was doing, and I am very impressed with his writing. This book actually has an avant-garde feel to the tune of perhaps a Coen Brothers movie. The fact that this was achieved within the written word is fantastic.

I'm just going to say it: you should read this book! I recommend it, and I am surprised more people haven't tackled this one. The movies and the musicals seemed to have dominated the public eye more than the novel that inspired it. But this book was genuinely fun to read! Despite it having a horror premise, it was vastly entertaining! I was always looking forward to getting back to it, and I am even a little sad that it's over. Imagine reading a horror story where you are sad it's over!

Seriously, though. Pick this one up. It's a wild ride that you will not regret.

This blog was written on February 23, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Star Trek Generations [Book Review]

"Star Trek Generations" is a book written by J.M. Dillard. It was published in 1994. It is, of course, the novelization of the movie of the same name.

Oh my God, how time had flown. I remember when this movie came out, and it ended up being my second favorite Star Trek film ever. I adored it. A lot of people consider this movie to be transitional, and not as important as films such as "First Contact," but I think it is amazing. That said, the book is possibly the best novelization of any movie I have seen so far.

If you take the movie as is and then add many other layers and dimensions to it, that's what this book is. It enhances the experience tenfold. The story itself is still there, but there is so much more to learn and love by reading the book.

For one thing, the entire section with Kirk at the beginning was expanded broadly without missing any of the main beats seen in the film. Also, all of the characters of the original crew showed up in it. It was so much more limited in the film, not that it was done poorly. The Kirk section was just sort of its own short story in the book, and it lasts a long time, giving you enough time to properly digest it and prepare yourself to transition to the "Next Generation" part of the story.

Here, too, things are enhanced so much that it makes the entire experience sparkle with meaning and nuance. You will get a better understanding of why the characters are acting the way they are. You no longer have to infer stuff from the subtle expressions made in the film. J.M. Dillard gives you everyone's thoughts. You get into their minds and can see why they are acting the way they are. It's a much more visceral and personal experience.

I've read a lot of novelizations, but this one really takes the cake. It brought everything to life as if you were there, and I actually do think it is better than the movie. It shouldn't be, but it is. I guess sometimes it works out that way. I've never read a novelization where that happened. Usually, they have fun little extras that may have been removed from the original script, but "Star Trek Generations" is an outright enhancement of what was already there. Although I should still say that the movie is worth your time. They are both excellent, but the novel is just a little bit better.

The book also comes with a full and comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie. I loved reading this too! It was a look at how movies were made in the 90's. It also pointed out that some of the shots, mostly involving the nexus, had to be done with the CGI of the time. I was sighing as I was remembering a time when CGI was so sparingly used. Now, it's all over the place and everything looks so unrealistic. Oh, and did you know this movie was going to be called "Star Trek The Next Generation: The Feature?" Yuck!

If you enjoy the movie, you'll adore the book. I recommend reading it even if you have seen the film and especially if you loved it. It's wonderfully written. J.M. Dillard knows her Star Trek lore and used it handily to craft this tale. Great job!

This blog was written on February 23, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, March 23, 2026

Ten Thousand Miles Up [Short Story Review]

"Ten Thousand Miles Up" is a short story written by Rick Griffin. It was published in 2012. It was later expanded into a massive three-part novel series, which I haven't read yet. As far as I know, the novels cover this short story and much more. I should also point out that this story is a part of the Hayven Celestia universe that I have recently been reviewing, but it came out many years earlier.

This story focuses mainly around the geroo as they make very careful and dangerous plans involving ringel pirates and one really bitchy female krakun. Without going into spoilers, there is a lot of scheming in this one where everything is on the line. It's almost got a sort of "Mission: Impossible" vibe to it.

Compared to the Hayven Celestia content that came out later, this does feel a little like a prototype story for that universe. The geroo don't seem as fleshed out as they are later, but that's not a bad thing. It's just sort of interesting to see how a scifi series has evolved over the years. It was kind of like going from Star Trek TNG to the original series. That said, I still really enjoyed it, and the ending was a really fun experience.

I do also want to point out that this was the second time I read this. The first time, I had a bad time understanding what was going on. I had not yet really gotten into this universe, and so I just ended up confused. Reading "Tales of Haven Celestia" really primed me for more of this content.

This is a simple scifi story with a lot of devious plotting and action. I do recommend it, and once again want to mention how strongly I feel about Rick Griffin's works. He is a modern day literary master.

This blog was written on January 29, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

The End of Fairy Tale Spotlight

I don't even remember how long I have been using the title tag "Fairy Tale Spotlight" for. I guess I could go look it up, but I'm fine with not knowing. The point was that I was using it whether or not it was about fairy tales. The whole thing started off being about fairy tales, but it just ended up becoming a glorified book, movie, and video game review blog. That's what it's going to keep being too.

Don't get me wrong; I love fairy tales. I have read just about all of the most well-known classics. I read every single blasted one of the Oz books. I did my best to review each one as I went through the list. Those were the times when calling this blog "Fairy Tale Spotlight" was more relevant. But I used it for everything, basically branding this blog as such when it often had nothing to do with the topic. I'm ending that now.

Granted, it wasn't hurting anybody. And in some small way, it can still be rationalized to be true. There is an argument for the entirety of history being a sort of fairy tale. I even reviewed every book of the "Holy Bible" under this branding. Sure. Absolutely. Why not? It's not perfectly wrong. It's only slightly wrong... which means it's also slightly right.

But the real reason I want to put an end to it is far sillier. I just want to stop having to type it in every time. I'd rather just write down what the blog is about and then... write the blog. After all, the blog is really actually called "T.K. Wade - Author." It's my blog.

From there, I'm just going to keep reviewing things. I might write an opinion thing here and there about whatever, but what I don't want to do is just go on and on about worldly nonsense. If you want that, you can go on YouTube and just fill your brain with as much of that trash as you want. I am also not going to go very deeply into myself other than my opinions about the stuff I read. Those reviews are there to kind of help you get an idea of stuff I find out in the wild. The only way you'll truly know what they are would be if you looked them up yourself. I can only give subjective hints.

My recommendations come from finding a majority of pros in contrast to cons. I always try and find the good in things, and I'd say that, most of the time, there is enough good to be considered for a recommendation. Heck, I even found a solid two good things in "Snow White (2025)," but the cons outweighed them very heavily. Such things are pretty rare. The majority of what I have seen was well worth my time, and I am very glad for time spent with them.

So while I may be ending the branding of "Fairy Tale Spotlight" and simply just letting my blog be a blog, I am still going to be doing what I have always been doing. I am going to keep exploring all the nooks and crannies of the creative world and giving you my opinion on it as well as a possible recommendation. Nothing is really changing. I'm just freeing myself from a branding that didn't really make much sense for the last bunch of years.

And with that, I am ready to move on. Three words that I just don't have to type anymore... and an endless supply of literature to read, enjoy, and review until I can't do it anymore. Sounds like a good time to me.

This blog was written on January 29, 2026.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below! Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, March 16, 2026

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Tales of Hayven Celestia [Book Review]

"Tales of Hayven Celestia" is a book of collected science fiction stories published in 2020. Although the series was created by Rick Griffin, the stories themselves were written by a number of people, with only one of them written by Rick Griffin himself. I've been reviewing them for a while now, but how do I feel about the collection itself?

The whole idea of "Hayven Celestia" is a scifi space opera where all the aliens are different kinds of anthropomorphic animals. I have somewhat dreamed of such a universe myself. In my early days of writing, I did create a few of these. I remember a rather strange unpublished story I did called "Six," which was about a skunk named Remmy who ran an advanced space station which also acted as its own city state. It was not quite like what Rick Griffin did, however.

In "Hayven Celestia," all the alien races are based on an animal that we already know. The geroo are like kangaroos, the mysa are mice, the krakun are dragons, and the lio are lions. They all came from their own home worlds, making them culturally distinct from all the other species. This is different from most furry content which places them all on planet Earth where they are more like different races of human. Think Star Trek, but all aliens are furry and there are no humans at all.

Another overwhelming aspect of "Hayven Celestia" is slavery. Just about everyone in this universe has been killed or enslaved by the absolutely giant race called the krakun. Most of these stories do not even deal with rebellion. They are stories about characters that are already enslaved and merely dealing with life in that situation. The geroo are especially notable since they tend to be more kind-hearted and soft, focusing more on each other and staying alive rather than dealing with a rebellion that would just kill themselves and their family.

The lio, however, seemed born to rebel, and although much smaller than the krakun, they still put up a tough fight against them whenever they can. As I said in an earlier review, they remind me a little of the Klingons from Star Trek.

The krakun themselves, as a culture, seek to enslave and rule over all the other species in the galaxy. But I loved how the writers of this collection often showed that they were not always a very happy people. And in some cases, they were just were having their own interpersonal problems that we all could relate to. And to be fair, I can imagine being so big would make it hard to take tiny people seriously, but it still doesn't make them look great.

As to the collection itself, I was stunned at how so many writers could come together and make a collection that seriously does not feel like it was written by multiple people. I barely noticed. Rick Griffin must have some sort of ruleset for how a "Hayven Celestia" story must be written. Either that, or it was very carefully edited to some sort of form factor. Either way, I never felt like I was reading stories from different people. It all felt like one wonderful "Hayven Celestia."

The book also had a few illustrations. They were very good pictures when I got to them, but they were few and far between. They made me want so much more than I got.

I am sad that this wonderful universe will likely never see any other format than literature. I really got into it and even sort of imagined myself living there... even if I would probably end up a slave. Heck, I'd probably end up a mysa and be the smallest intelligent creature in the universe, but I'd still enjoy it.

"Tales of Hayven Celestia" is a very long read. It took me many months to get through all the stories, but I loved them all. I recommend this collection to science fiction enthusiasts whether or not they are into furry stuff. It was a solid read, and I do intend to read more from that universe. There are other collections out there, which makes me very happy.

This blog was written on January 28, 2026.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Life in the Stacks [Short Story Review]

"Life in the Stacks" is a short story by Rick Griffin. It is the thirteenth and final story in a collection called "Tales of Hayven Celestia," which was published in 2020. As I have already stated, this is a universe created by author Rick Griffin, in which he allowed many other people to write stories in.

This was actually the story I was looking for originally. Many years back, Rick Griffin was making these pictures based on ideas he had. He would eventually write books or draw comics about most of them. The one called "Life in the Stacks" was probably my favorite and even inspired a short story that I wrote called "Blue Skies" which was a part of my published "Labby the Rat" book. I didn't know anything about his universe though, other than it seemed to be about intelligent mice who were being subjected to experiments.

I did eventually look into what this whole "Life in the Stacks" thing was all about, and that's when I realized that "Hayven Celestia" was a thing. I was going to just read this story only, but I soon realized that this was an entire scifi universe, and I might not understand the context unless I explored it a bit. So this one story is the reason why I chose to read the entirety of "Tales of Hayven Celestia."

"Life in the Stacks" introduces his smallest and cutest alien race called the mysa. They are very tiny, but they are every bit as intelligent a race as the mighty krakun. That said, their size kind of acts to their advantage. The krakun do not even seem to notice them. The lio, however, do. The lio have been allowing the mysa to take part in scientific research at their own peril to assist in their war against the krakun. In exchange, the mysa are given good pay. Apparently the mysa live in poverty most of the time, so this would be to their advantage.

In this story, one particular female mysa, designated as 059, goes through one hell of a mind trip when she gets stuck in a time loop after attempting one of the lio's puzzles. From there, she realizes that no matter what she does, she will always revert back to the beginning of that day, and nobody believes her.

Making matters more complicated, she is actually in love with the male lio that is tasked with watching over her group of mysa. This was particularly fun since she could fit in the palm of his hand.

From there, 059 goes through an absolutely emotionally jarring journey as she tries to figure out what to do. Even death cannot save her from the time loops, but if she can find a way out of it, things might end up being better than they've ever been. Other than that, I can say no more.

"Life in the Stacks" is a great story, and I do recommend it. It was great to finally read a story within "Hayven Celestia" that was written by its creator. It reminded me of just how good Rick Griffin is as a writer. I'll say it again: he is one of the great modern writers of our time, and only a select people will ever know that. This story proves it.

This blog was written on January 26, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, March 9, 2026

Fairy Tale Spotlight: A Christmas Story Christmas [Movie Review]

"A Christmas Story Christmas" (Yes, that is the title.) is a movie released in 2022. It is the eighth and most recent film in the Parker Family Saga created by Jean Shepherd. It is also yet another sequel to the film "A Christmas Story."

"A Christmas Story" has three sequel "attempts." None of them are canon to anything other than the original film. So "My Summer Story" and "A Christmas Story 2" just ignore each other's existence. "A Christmas Story Christmas" also ignores the other two films as well as if they never happened. Each of these films are intended to be watched right after "A Christmas Story." Isn't that weird? I don't know of any other franchise where that happened in the same way.

The story of this one takes place in the 70's. Ralph is all grown up and has a wife, as well as a son and daughter. Yes, he has like an extremely perfect nuclear family happening. He is trying to become a writer, but his stories are just too long for the publishers to take seriously. And then suddenly, he finds out that his Old Man has sadly passed away. This leaves him to take his family back to his old home to share Christmas with his mother, who is now a widow.

I know this seems like a sad start, but let me give you an idea of what's really happening here. This movie actually stars the entire cast of the original film. The actor who played the Old Man had actually passed away in 2006. Everybody who could come back did come back to reprise their roles, letting the audience see how they had faired over the years. Ralph must now reclaim the family Christmas tradition all by himself without his Old Man's help, and that is the main thrust of the story.

Now, I don't want to do a lot of spoiling, and here is why: this is an extremely well-made movie across the board. Where the last two sequel attempts were not very good, this one finally hit the mark with a perfect blend of drama and comedy. They got everything right and did so with a finesse that I so rarely see in modern filmmaking.

Christmas movies are difficult to do. You're lucky if one becomes a classic, and it is three times as hard to make a sequel to a Christmas film where anybody will actually care. Even in the case of "A Christmas Story Christmas," very few people even know about this film. It will likely fade away into obscurity purely because of its sequel status, but that does not mean it isn't good. In fact, this movie is the very definition of a diamond in the rough.

Despite the inevitability of this film falling into obscurity, it was reviewed well, and people tended to agree that it was a good movie and one worth making. The main reason for this was the returning cast, a brilliant script, a flawless narration, and a loving reminder of who started this franchise: Jean Shepherd. It's also a wonderful Christmas movie in general which honestly got me right in the feels on multiple occasions. The ending itself made me tear up pretty badly. I was watching with a friend, and he asked me why I had gone so silent. When I tried to explain why, my voice was all cracked and garbled. The ending nearly destroyed me emotionally, and I was very, very happy with what they did.

Before I end this review, there is one more thing I want to mention here. My favorite scene in the original film was when Ralph beat the snot out of Scut Farkus, the bully. It is actually one of my favorite scenes in any movie ever. The actor who played Scut does return in this movie, and it is probably, ONCE AGAIN, one of the best scenes I have ever seen in film. Lightning struck twice. I was astounded. I want to talk about it, but I just really want people to see this film. It's just too good to toss away in a spoiling session. But I am not joking when I say that the return of Scut Farkas was brilliantly executed and filled me with joy at its execution.

"A Christmas Story Christmas" is only intended for people who saw and liked "A Christmas Story." That is sort of a flaw, but such things happen when you make sequels to things. If you liked that original movie, I absolutely recommend this film to you. It is a must see. Near flawless execution, and a solid and meaningful Christmas movie.

And with this review, my Jean Shepherd journey is complete. Rest in peace.

Jean Shepherd (1921-1999)

This blog was written on January 22, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Zootopia 2 [Book Review]

"Zootopia 2" is a book written by Steve Behling. It was published in 2025 right alongside of the movie. Seriously, it amazes me that these novelizations are still happening. I really like the practice, but sadly they are a dying breed. This will be a short review and really won't go over the story very much. It's going to be more about the book itself.

Once again, they are calling it a "junior novelization," which is a polite way of calling it a novella. That never bothered me. I want children to read more, and this is a good way to encourage it. Good on Disney for doing that. A broken clock is still right once a day.

The first book was almost perfectly beat for beat the entire film. This one has some differences, though. Although the writing is completely passable, some scenes I remembered fondly from the film just don't surface in the reading. The very end of the film was also missing, even though the set-up for it was still present. That was a shame. It makes the book feel rushed at the ending.

On the up-side, one changed scene was actually improved over the film. There was a scene in the movie where Nick and Nibbles are trying to break out of a prison. This caused a weird continuity problem later in the film, which I think a lot of people just forgave. In the book, these scene takes place in the back of an animal control vehicle that they were being transported in. It made more sense and probably should have been in the movie.

This is a perfectly acceptable novelization of the movie, even with its flaws. I would be silly not to recommend it to all the young readers out there. I had a lot of fun with it. Also if you missed my review of the movie, go see it if you can. It was very good.

This blog was written on January 21, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, March 2, 2026

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Lord of the Flies [Book Review]

"Lord of the Flies" is a novel written by William Golding. It was published in 1954. You may know this book or its reputation. It is about a whole lot of children stranded on an island with absolutely no adults.

This may go down as one of the most frustrating reads so far, but there's nothing particularly wrong with it. It is one of those situations where the author creates a bad situation and sees it through to the end. I've heard a lot of differing opinions about this one, such as it being an anti-war book because of the nuclear bomb being the cause of their situation. But I don't agree with that. There is just so very little about that issue. It's mostly about the children's situation than much of anything having to do with war.

The book is mostly just an experiment on how a lot of children would deal with being alone without any adult supervision, and it is horrifying. They are still human, though. They still have drives and can make decisions. The pecking order tends to favor the older kids, while the very young children can't help but be disorderly.

The problem here is that the tribalism inherent inside our brains can sometimes take over, turning us against each other. Tribalism can be overcome with maturity, but if there is no guiding force for that maturity, tribalism will reign supreme.

Although there are a lot of characters in this book, the real ones you want to look at are Ralph, a chubby bespectacled boy named Piggy, and Jack. These represent the real leader-types of the book. All of them are basically immature, but they have within them the possibilities of greatness in this situation.

Ralph has the advantage of being strong and handsome. People like him and cling to his "coolness." He is still immature, but he learns fast and knows how to adapt to situations over time.

Piggy is probably the most mentally mature character in the whole book, and he is infinitely lovable for it. The problem is that he is surrounded by immature brats who love to make fun of him for being fat. Even Ralph, who genuinely seems to respect him, cannot keep himself from ribbing on him from time to time. Piggy's story is tragic because he seems to know the trick to survival, but nobody wants to hear him out.

Jack is a strong boy who is surprisingly suited for this sort of environment. He loves the ideas of hunting and is actually pretty good at it. His issue is that he obsesses over that one aspect and can't seem to do much better. He can survive, but his mind tends to tilt towards selfish behaviors and ultimately tribalism. He wants to be leader with none of the responsibility.

Even though they are never really focused on, I really thought it was interesting how the very young children were portrayed. They were surprisingly self-sufficient and just sort of did their own thing. They were miserable, sad, and had horrible nightmares, but they were not mature enough to really see the big picture. Ignorance was bliss in their case. It was left to the older boys to deal with the real situation happening between them, and that's where the story is.

"Lord of the Flies" is a great book, despite the artificially created situation. And the fact that it is artificial does not take anything away from it. This is pretty much how fiction works. An author has an idea, and then he puts that idea to paper. This was an idea worth having and a work of fiction worth writing. It makes you consider things you might not normally think about. I highly recommend reading this one.

This blog was written on January 18, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Fairy Tale Spotlight: A Christmas Story 2 [Movie Review]

Oh boy! "A Christmas Story 2" was a movie released in 2012. Although it is technically the seventh film in the Parker Family Saga created by Jean Shepherd, it is actually the direct sequel to "A Christmas Story" from 1983. Hey! Didn't I also say that about "My Summer Story?" I did! And it doesn't matter!

"A Christmas Story 2" was made after the death of Jean Shepherd, and it is absolutely an attempt at a cash grab off of a popular old film. 100%. They were trying to make an easy buck, and a lot of people hated even the thought of this movie, without even seen it. I remember when this film was showing up on the shelves with the other DVDs. I did not want to see it, and I pretty much spent all those years complaining about its very existence.

But what is the movie actually like?

Answer: not that bad. Still bad, just not that bad.

In the movie, Ralph accidently causes damage to a car at a dealership and has to make money quick to pay for it. All the while, he is obsessing over this girl who seems out of his league. There is also a side story about the parents, where the dad is being a cheapskate and pissing off the mother. Like... he won't even pay the money for a Christmas turkey, something I disagreed with. It did not fit his character in past iterations.

From here, we need to talk about pros and cons. Interestingly, the movie is actually fairly balanced when it comes to these, something I did not expect. Let's look at the negatives first, since it's what we expect from a film like this.

Cons:

-References to the first film. The whole point of the movie was to bring back the nostalgia of the original film... without you actually watching that first movie. At every opportunity, this film makes a reference to key moments from the first film, and it was mostly annoying, although there were a few that actually made me chuckle. I've always said that referential humor is extremely cheap, and this movie does it way too much.

-Overacting. The characters are severely overacted in most of the scenes. They cannot come across naturally at all. This was actually a sign of the times for 2012. I saw a lot of stuff back then like this. Every facial expression was just so over the top. Nobody acts like this.

-Synthetic music. Not the fun 80's synthesis. Just cheap, bad quality background music.

-Emphasis on slapstick humor. Why do this? Why have people fall down and crash into things so regularly? The point of Jean Shepherd's stuff was to tell stories that were relatable. Nobody relates to a flurry of slapstick moments.

Pros:

-The setting is 1946, and it is brilliantly recreated almost to a surreal extent. Everything is very clean and beautiful. Even the homeless people look like they have it good. I loved the design and look of everything in this movie.

-This is a solid Christmas movie in general. It covers the concept of generosity versus cynicism and greed very well. It does not go into Christian ideals, but nothing from Jean Shepherd ever did anyhow.

-The characters are all there and well-represented. Although the Old Man is not really on par with his predecessors, he was less insane than the previous entry. I did actually like him.

-The story is very much a Jean Shepherd-type story, although it isn't based on anything he wrote. They wrote it to fit his style, and I think they did a good job.

-In addition to the writing, let's talk about a man named Nat Mauldin. This guy was the narrator, and he was doing an out-right impression of Jean Shepherd here. He did an amazing job. Hands-down. My God. I was so impressed with his narration and also of the quality of the writing here. There was nothing wrong with it, and it may actually be the real reason I gave this film a pass. Seriously, listen to some of it. It's so good.

Guess what?! I am recommending the film! I didn't expect I was going to do that. Although this film just barely passes. It almost sits right on the line, but there is enough effort here that makes it an okay film to watch and even enjoy. Just be very clear that there are a lot of problems with this movie. It is far from perfect, but I would say I enjoyed it just a little more than "My Summer Story," mainly for just the amount of effort they put into the look and feel of the world.

All said, however, this is a hated movie. If you choose to watch it, remember that it is not a loved movie in the slightest, but I encourage an open mind. It's not that bad, and it certainly will never trump the original.

One more to go.

This blog was written on January 12, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, February 23, 2026

Fairy Tale Spotlight: My Summer Story [Movie Review]

"My Summer Story" (also known as "It Runs in the Family") is a movie released by MGM in 1994. Although it is technically the sixth film in Jean Shepherd's "Parker Family Saga," it is actually a direct sequel to "A Christmas Story." It even starts off with the last shot of that film. Also notably, this is the last movie in the series that Jean Shepherd narrates.

Where do I begin? This movie encompasses a huge number of Jean Shepherd's stories. It may actually be the winner for cramming the largest number of his stories into one film. This is not exactly a good thing, since it sometimes draws out some of the value of those stories as they get crushed into other ones.

The main plot points have to do with the Old Man's war with his hillbilly neighbors, Ralph trying to find a fighting top to win against a local bully, and quite simply just trying to catch a fish on the lake. These three main points are constantly squished by other side-plots from many of his stories as if they were all happening at one time. Like I said, this somewhat devalues the significance of these stories because of how they work to assist one another.

"My Summer Story" also included my favorite Jean Shepherd story about the fighting tops. In the original story, Scut Farkas was the bully, but since this was a sequel to a film where Ralph beats the snot out of that character, they had to invent a new bully named Lug Ditka who was less appealing. Don't get me wrong; I did like how this story made it to film, but sadly the written version was simply more dramatic. They did try, and that's what counts.

I'm going to make a sad claim here. I did not like the actor they picked for the Old Man. He was a bit too crazy for me. He also had this really deep, guttural voice that was cool but overused. His overacting came across as more annoying and unnecessary. I also kept mistaking him for Harrison Ford for some reason. All the other actors were tolerable, with a special shoutout to the kid who played Randy. He was awesome. In fact, I don't think I ever hated any of the Randy actors so far.

Anyways, I think that's all I want to say about this movie. It was nice to see another Jean Shepherd movie with a great budget. Sadly, it just doesn't really capture the full charm of the previous films. It still has a lot going for it though, and for that reason I do recommend it. It's still worth seeing today.

This blog was written on January 4, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Iron Echo [Short Story Review]

"Iron Echo" is a short story by SixSydes. It is the twelfth story in a collection called "Tales of Hayven Celestia," which was published in 2020. As I have already stated, this is a universe created by author Rick Griffin, in which he allowed many other people to write stories in.

This story surprised me in various ways. It was about a geroo uprising on board a ship against the krakun. It was not a unanimous uprising, so it was containing elements of geroo vs geroo. This was the most shocking part for me, because I rarely see the geroo as violent.

The thing about the geroo is that they tend to be a peaceful people who simply accept their lives as the slaves of the giant krakuns. They are not really naturally-born fighters. They make the best of things and do what they can to keep the peace with their evil owners.

The problem with this story is that only a portion of a geroo spaceship revolts, putting the ones who were just trying to live peacefully in danger. It was not all that well-planned also. This was a sort of hail-Mary shot to inspire others, and the chance of it working was slim. But big ideas like this can sort of take over the mind and inspire little people to do wild things.

Of the entire collection so far, this particular story was the most action packed. It was a break-neck war/battle scenario that never let up until the very last sentence. I was on the edge of my seat until the last moment. I loved it. It was engaging too, although I still always feel bad, seeing geroo in nasty situations. They are an extremely family-oriented race. But war is hell, as they say.

I recommend this story a whole lot. If you like exciting war action with drama, fighting, and guns, this is for you.

This blog was written on January 5, 2026.

Check out my books! Thanks!