SAGA #72 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Saga #72 by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been looking forward to reading this installment for ages, but have to admit that I was a little worried because Ghüs is on the cover and... well, you know how Saga can be sometimes.

Anyway, this is the season finale and starts off with a shocking announcement that sends serious ripples and consequences everywhere. And that leads to a bunch of characters, scattered all over the place, making an appearance.

I really enjoyed it, but I'm a little worried about where this is going to lead. 😫


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SEVERANCE - The Lexington Letter by Anonymous

Severance - The Lexington Letter by Anonymous
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the show Severance and watched the season two finale this weekend, so I decided to check out this short story and really enjoyed it!

In Severance: The Lexington Letter we meet Peg Kincaid, a former bus driver who decides to get severed. She likes not knowing what happens during work hours and enjoys the pay, but when her innie communicates with her, Peg starts to wonder what's really going on at Lumon...

This is such a great story! I like how Peg/Peggy's story fits perfectly into the Severance world, and I can totally see this taking place somewhere else while the TV show characters are going about their business. Great characterisation. In such a short tale, Peg becomes a fully formed person, and I was very sympathetic towards her.

Sometimes, less is more. And that is certainly the case in this mysterious and tragic vignette with a nice surprise at the end.

Also like The Macrodata Refiner’s Orientation Booklet.


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Doing Stuff...

Hey! How you doing today?

Here in Oz, summer is over and in a few weekends it'll be time to turn the clocks back, which I really don't like. I prefer the long days of summer. The shorter days are too depressing and oppressive. Ugh. Not looking forward to it, but I have to stay positive about the season change because there are enough crappy things going on in the world right now.

I'm not going to bother going into how hard I'm finding it to accept that because of selfishness, racism, misogyny, and hate, the world is in such chaos. Really wish people would show a little fucking empathy and mind their own business.

Anyway, this week I wasn't planning on working on anything, but ended up revising/rewriting another short story. This one is actually part of a novel I shelved but felt that this particular section would make a great shortie. And after a little tweaking and additions, I was right!

The final word count for this one is: 3,410. And I'm really happy with the results. ☺️

So, I now have another complete short story. That's four this year.

We also got our flu shots on Wednesday and felt pretty shit for about twenty-four hours. It doesn't hit as hard or as long as the Covid shot, but we were pretty lethargic and achy that afternoon, plus the next day. Feeling better now and glad we keep up with our vaccines.

I also read a book that took me most of the week because the subject matter was just... It's called My Dark Vanessa, and I found it so frustrating. The main character got on my nerves but the writing kept me reading. Although, I do think it could've been at least fifty pages shorter.

Did you guys watch the SEVERANCE S2 finale? We really enjoyed it. Love how it raised so many (more) ethical questions, answered a few, and presented so many new possibilities. Can't wait to see what they do with the next season.

Well, that's about it... Oh, I did start revising another short story first draft I found on my phone. Also got a whole bunch of dusting, sorting, and donating done. I even started going through photos/pics on my phone and have already deleted hundreds.

Yeah. I'm spring cleaning in autumn again.

Have an awesome weekend!

MY DARK VANESSA by Kate Elizabeth Russell

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn't plan to read this next, but it caught my eye while I was going through my Paperwhite TBR pile.

Vanessa Wye is fifteen and attending boarding school when she gets caught in the web of her English teacher. Convinced that they're in love and he cares about her, she doesn't consider herself a victim. But in her thirties, when the world is full of accusations and allegations against abusers, she finds herself examining her affair...

This was a hard book to read and I kept pausing because Vanessa is so damn frustrating. I understand how easy it was for this predator to use, manipulate and groom his student while she's a teenager, but that she keeps protecting her abuser and romanticising their 'relationship' every chance she gets grated on my nerves. Mainly because she's very judgy and critical about the girls and women who are actually brave enough to speak out against their abusers.

Yet, in spite of how much this story pissed me off because of Vanessa's fucking attitude and Strane's despicable grooming, I couldn't stop reading. The writing is great, which made it hard to turn away from this trainwreck.

The story unravels in dual timelines, both in Vanessa's POV. One in her teens, when she's in the thick of things. The other in her thirties, when she's forced to confront the truth while still being in contact with Strane.

Vanessa sure made it hard to like her manipulative and awful ways, but realising that we're dealing with a woman who insists on ignoring the trauma she's still suffering from because she's convinced herself she's not a victim, makes it easier to understand what's really going on. She's suffering untreated PTSD and refuses to see what's right in front of her.

I have to admit that reading about how she stayed in touch and kept seeing the man who ruined her life really infuriated me. Also, the constant mention of Lolita, a book I've purposely avoided for years, got a bit much.

Anyway, I'm glad I read it.


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