[a record of reading] PHALANX

 

Third book of 2025, PHALANX by Scott Sigler, collected in the Complete Aliens Collection: Living Nightmares. A new read, started after I got a third of the way through an unnamed book that I just couldn't get into.

A take on the Alien franchise by way of a fantasy style novel rather than the classic dark sci-fi. It was very enjoyable and well worth the time of any Alien fan, though I wish the ties to the Alien universe had been handled a little less explicitly at the end. 

Still, it was a great, fun read and an interesting take on xenomorphs outside of the usual cramped corridors of spaceships and colony stations.

[a record of reading] THE GRAND DARK

 

Second book of 2025, THE GRAND DARK by Richard Kadrey. Another slight cheat asI had started re-reading this before Xmas & then got side-tracked by the holidays & other things.

A fantasy noir set in a claustrophobic & beautifully described decaying city between wars. Dark without being overly gritty, one of my favorite depictions of an urban landscape. 

Though Kadrey is best known for his Sandman Slim series, a dark modern fantasy series that is a thrilling comfort read I binge read about once a year, the Grand Dark stands on its own as an incredibly enthralling and sumptuous in its economical world-building.

[a record of reading] KOLLAPS

 

Finished my 1st book of 2025. KOLLAPS by Melle Jan Kromhout & Jan Nieuwenhuis, part of the 33 1/3 Europe series. A little bit of a cheat, since it's a slender volume, but an excellent retelling and analysis of Einstürzende Neubauten's earliest works, but a very worthy read for any Neubauten fans. I picked it up near the end of 2024, but finally forced myself to read it this last week.

It will have a place of pride next to my well-worn copy of Blixa Bargeld's Headcleaner, the out of print collection of Einstürzende Neubauten lyrics and interview snippets with Harry Lachner that illuminate the song history and lyrical meaning.

As I try to turn away from staring into the endless, dispiriting void of social media, I'm trying to get myself to read more. It sometimes feels like I read a lot, but it's mostly online articles and portions of RPG books, so this [a record of reading] series will be an effort to motivate myself to read more books cover to cover.