Sci-Fi Month 2023 - Sunday Funday: Week 4 Update

Happy Sunday everyone and welcome to my fourth weekly update for Sci-Fi Month 2023!  Sci-Fi Month is a month long celebration of all things sci-fi and it's hosted by Lisa @ Dear Geek Place and Imyril @ One More.  (Image credit: Artwork by Yosua Bungaran Cahya Putra).  I hope everyone that celebrates Thanksgiving had a good holiday!  Anyway, I've made some progress on my tbr and watchlist this week.  Keep reading to see what I got up to since last week:

My Sci-Fi Month Posts This Week:

Sunday Funday: Week 3 Update

Music Monday: Orctimus Prime

Top Ten Tuesday: New Releases & Coming Soon

The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): Escaping Eleven (Eleven Trilogy #1) by Jerri Chisholm 

What I Watched This Week:

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋.5

I'm really surprised just how much I ended up enjoying The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023). I definitely prefer this film adaptation to the original novel. I'd go so far as to say this is just about as good as Catching Fire, the best of the original movies. Tom Blythe and Rachel Zegler give outstanding performances. We know who Coriolanus Snow becomes but because of Blythe's performance it's still upsetting to see him start to go down that path. With the buzz cut he looks like a combination of Draco Malfoy and Eminem. Zegler has a great singing voice - I might have to get a copy of the soundtrack. Also the supporting cast are good in their roles as well, particularly Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage. By the way, I loved the look of the Capitol. Some elements look quite retro and right out the early 1960s, others parts futuristic, and then again architectural and costume elements that could be right at home in Hitler's Third Reich or Mussolini's Italy. Finally, I highly recommend seeing this movie adaptation on the big screen. Even though it's close to 3 hours long, it never feels like it and it will keep you engaged throughout.

My review is also on Letterboxd.

❋ ❋ ❋

I completed the Korean Netflix series, Black Knight, Season 1 (2023) since last week.  It didn't quite hold me as much as it did for the final three episodes, but I'm glad I finished it.  5-8 is definitely the character to watch for.  Plus, the story wraps up pretty nicely in the finale.

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

I've made my way through episode eight of Travelers, Season 1 (2016) and I'm getting very invested in our main cast.  There's so much more I need to know!  That baby better come out of this okay!

What I Read This Week:

❋ ❋ ❋

Brilliance (Brilliance Saga #1) by Marcus Sakey wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but it's still a solid read even if not the most original.  I'm not sure if I'll be back for the rest of the series or not.  I might just stick with X-Men and Heroes.

My review is also on Goodreads.

❋ ❋ 

I liked the idea of First Light (The Red #1) by Linda Nagata more than anything, but then again I'm not much of a military sci-fi person. Also it didn't help that kept forgetting what the acronyms and other abbreviations meant.  I don't think I'll be coming back from the rest of the series.

My review is also on Goodreads.

❋ ❋ ❋

The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter is a good sequel/ continuation to The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.  I particularly appreciated that it expands on the Martians and what their lives are like and that it also acts as a critique of the original.  My main complaint about this book: it didn't need to be nearly 500 pages.  Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if it were about the same as the original in those respects.

My review is also on Goodreads.

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ 

Behind the Throne (The Indranan War #1) by K.B. Wagers took me a little while to get into, but I'm glad I stuck around because by the end I was invested in the characters and their world.  I definitely appreciated that Hail is in her upper 30s, a little older than the average age of characters we tend to see in these types of stories.  I also loved that the colonists brought their traditions with them and their world is distinctly Indian.  I will say that I was expecting more in terms of adventure, but the political and court intrigue was pretty interesting too.  I will definitely be continuing with this series in the future.  

My review is also on Goodreads.

What have you been up to this past week?  Are you taking part in Sci-Fi Month this year?  Have you read any of these books or watched any of these movies or tv shows?  As always thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below.