It’s not often that a prequel can outshine the original, but such is the case with The Coldest Winter, where Antony Johnston weaves a tale even more gripping than the one he told in The Coldest City. Also set in Berlin, yet taking place eight years prior to the events of City, The Coldest Winter finds us in the midst of the Cold War with a more complex and thrilling spy noir story. The back cover reads; “After a string…
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A Spoiler Free Review “The Coldest City” (Source of Atomic Blonde) by Antony Johnston
Have you seen the trailer for Atomic Blonde starring Charlize Theron? Looks good right? It does, but I wanted to take a dive into the source material, because I’m that guy. So I picked up a copy of “The Coldest City,” a graphic novel, by Antony Johnston, and without spoilers, here’s my review.
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Startup by Doree Shafrir: Spellbinding novel comments on media, journalism, and startup culture
Given her job and access to the startup scene and entrepreneurs, Doree Shafrir is one of the most qualified individuals I can think of to write and comment on tech, social media, and Internet culture at large.
With “Startup: A Novel,” she did in a way. But she wraps those comments about media, including journalism, in a compelling story of harassment.
Declassify >Declarations of War by Len Deighton: Classic Deighton but Shorter
Declarations of War is a collection of short stories; 13 to be exact, a baker’s dozen if you will. Of, exactly what you would expect, war… But the title goes deeper. Each of these short stories contains a declaration about war. But that’s not as good of a title, though it could be argued that these stories are declarations on war, which makes sense despite the fact that my spell checker thinks “declarations on war” was a mistake. No, I meant it.
And like Deighton’s full size novels, I’m basing this off of the one’s that I have read. this story is a wealth of great intelligence in storytelling, dialogue, and of course, precisely written descriptions and detail.
Declassify >The Underappreciated Innovator: A Review of George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones
Before I picked up George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones, I had seen most of his movies and presumed to know much of his story building an empire, making movies and innovations. And well, I was wrong. I knew very little, but I know more now, because the book is a fantastic read.
As biographies go, specifically unauthorized ones, this one may be one of the best, because it is so well researched that citations at the back of my hardcover copy merit 51 pages to list them all. Here’s the other thing, I didn’t know it was an unauthorized biography until I read the “Acknowledgements” at the end of the book. That’s how in depth and well written and thoroughly researched it is.
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