Tom’s Geek Year In Review

2015 is over in a few more hours, so how was the year we just had?  You know, from a Geek Perspective?

Some good, some bad.  Like every year.

Podcast Reaction: Thank Your Fellow Geek Edition

This week on the podcast, there was a lot of talk about box office stuff here and abroad.

Yawn.

Then there was a trivia game about addresses that led me to think Watson and I watched the same cartoons.

But in the middle of that was a Geek Mail from a friend of Watson’s thanking the show and the site for all the recommendations he’s gotten, so I’m gonna do something like that.

Podcast Reaction: Vindication Edition

Hellboy is just a guy with a gun, Jenny? Do you know anything about Hellboy? For starters, he’s a lousy shot. For another, he’s a freakin’ prince of Hell!

This week on the podcast, the guys and Jenny did battle over various things, but I don’t want to cover that.

No, I want to cover their reaction to Armada, a book Jenny didn’t finish and Watson hated.  Now, I reviewed the book myself, and while I didn’t hate it, I likewise didn’t really enjoy it either.  It was perfectly meh, neither here nor there.  I’ve read bad books. Armada was not a bad book.

But I probably took a little heat for not enjoying Ernie Cline’s first novel, Ready Player One, as much as the others did, in part due to my nostalgia distaste.  Now, I want to expand on some points that Watson made in the podcast and a minor one I made on my review after the cut.

Gabbing Geek 51: Battle Lines

Gabbing Geek 51: Battle Lines

Gabbing Geek 51, Battle Lines, is so contentious you’ll think it was a presidential debate where every single candidate is Donald Trump.  We talk about corporate wars at Marvel, the latest salvo in the battle of the video streaming giants, our epic Geek Book Club discussion of Armada, and our latest game: Battle Royale.  You can start listening to this amazing, ferocious episode right now or jump after the break to find out more!

Podcast Reaction: Yippee Ki-Yay Mister Falcon Edition

On this week’s podcast, listener Wachnroll asked via Geek Mail an innocent enough question.  When the podcast bleeps out bad language, is it just for comedic effect or did one of our beloved podcasters turn a blue phrase?

Watson had the answer which I will reveal after the break…

Ernest Cline Talks Ready Player One Sequels, Driving With George R R Martin, And More

Plus find out what happens when Mr Cline parks his beloved time traveling DeLorean in TWO spaces at BookPeople.

Last night in Austin’s own best bookstore ever, BookPeople, beloved geek author Ernest “Ernie” Cline, gave a presentation on his geek roots, answered the audience’s questions about Ready Player One and his new book, Armada, and generally gave the crowd the night of their lives.  While the core Gabbing Geek crew couldn’t make the event, we did have multiple agents in the store. Agent Schnerk, who probably now wants a promotion to super agent, got it all on two videos which are posted after the break.  Head over to see the full clips and a summary of our favorite moments from the event!

[Update: Our favorite Austin bookstore, BookPeople, not only hosted this event but wanted to let all Gabbing Geek readers know that you can still order a signed copy of Armada!  Just follow this link to see if they still have any in stock, they have around 200 left as of this edit!]

Podcast Reaction: Villains Edition

This week the podcast came out a day early, but I got a new Kindle Fire and don’t know yet how to download the show before going to work to listen during my lunch break.  And no, downloading at work isn’t an option.  Because reasons.  There are some, but I won’t go into them.  Anyway, here’s the podcast reaction.

I don’t really have anything else to add to the discussion of The Martian.  It’s a great book, and I gave a SPOILER-FREE review for it elsewhere.  Like right here.

Instead, let’s talk about how to make a good villain.

Geek Lit: Ernest Cline’s Armada (With SPOILERS)

Last week, Ryan posted a spoiler-free review of Ernest Cline’s second novel, Armada.  Now, Ryan is on-record of being a big fan of Cline’s first novel, Ready Player One.  Seriously, you don’t have to go beyond the first paragraph of that linked review to see it’s either his favorite or second favorite book depending on his mood.  Now me, I enjoyed Ready Player One for the most part, but not being as enamored with the 80s as the author appeared to be, it didn’t do as much for me as it did for Ryan and the other podcaster types.  Besides, I hate nostalgia.

I have since finished Armada myself and we here at Gabbing Geek are not above having multiple reviews of the same thing by different writers.

So, here’s my review for Armada.  SPOILERS after the cut.

Armada: The Spoiler-Free Review

Armada is one of my most-anticipated books of the year.  My love for Ernie Cline’s first book, Ready Player One, has been mentioned many times on this site and in the podcast.  Ready Player One is not only in my top five books of all time (and it actually flip flops between the first and second spot depending on my mood that day) but it’s also the only book that I’ve read in less than 24 hours (not counting a few books in college that involved some skimming).  When I was able to obtain an advance copy of the book, I was thrilled.  Now that the book is available to everyone, I’m free to tell you my spoiler-free thoughts and feels on this new book.  Jump after the break to read all about it!

Ernie Cline’s Second Book Launches On July 14, 2015

Armada is coming!!  Ernie Cline’s second book after the much loved Ready Player One is set to launch on July 14, 2015 according to this post on his blog.  While Armada is not a sequel to Ready Player One (someday…hopefully) I still can’t wait to see what adventures Ernie has in store for us!  If you haven’t read Ready Player One yet, do so immediately.  You will regret not having done so earlier.