Book Review: The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Fall: The Strain Trilogy #2 by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

See my review of the first book here.

The war with the master vampire called "The Master" continues in this book. It (the Master is referred to as "It" since it is so ancient and so inhuman) is orchestrating a world-wide takeover that started in Manhattan. New York City is the hub of action in part because of the Master's reliance on Eldritch Palmer, a financial mogul who is devious and decrepit. Palmer wants to be turned into a vampire so he can live forever (and improve his health). He orchestrated the Master's flight from Europe during an eclipse, allowing the Master to escape from JFK airport. The Master's scheme includes not only turning New Yorkers into a vampire army but also wiping out the six other ancient vampires (called "The Ancients") and acquiring an ancient, accursed occult book that could be used against him. The book was recently discovered and is due to auction at Sotheby's in the coming days.

The main heroes are CDC doctor Ephraim Goodweather and Holocaust-survivor and vampire-hunter Abraham Setrakian. Eph wants to protect his son Zack from his mother who has been turned into a vampire and longs to consume her "Dear One." He also wants to warn the world about the coming plague. People in authority and the media are reluctant to talk about vampires, partly from disbelief and partly from Palmer's influence. Setrakian wants to stop the Master mostly through getting the occult book and discovering its secrets. They have a motley crew of New Yorkers (and some from New Jersey) helping them race around New York fighting vampires and scheming to get the book first.

This second volume suffers a bit from the same problems as the first. The characters are a little underdrawn and not as compelling as they could be. I was hoping the introduction of the Ancients (hinted at in the first book) would bring some new twists or more interesting lore. Neither happens in this book. The uneasy blending of medical technical thriller and vampire apocalypse genres still does not hang together well. The vampire mythology reads like it was crafted to fit the plot of the story. It does not feel like folklore and is unconvincing as a clinical explanation of the vampires' powers and actions. The book does have some interesting ideas but not enough to make for good reading. Or for me to finish the trilogy.

Not recommended.

TV Review: The Stand (2020)

The Stand (2020) adapted by Josh Boone and Benjamin Cavell from the novel by Stephen King

With its release just before the Covid lockdowns happened, a new television adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Stand might seem either inappropriate or well-timed to strike a nerve. Either way, the series follows the story of a human-crafted virus that wipes out over 99% of the population. The survivors in the United States are drawn in dreams to one of two locations. Some people dream of Mother Abigail (Whoopi Goldberg) who invites them to Boulder, Colorado. Others dream of Randal Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard) who is drawing people to Sin City, i.e. Las Vegas. Some people dream of both figures, creating a personal conflict between good and evil that mirrors the larger conflict of the good and evil groups. The show follows several characters as they struggle with what they should do in their trying times.

Adapting such a large book requires a lot of trimming or creative editing to fit it even into this eight-and-a-half hour miniseries. The results are very uneven. The pacing flips around a lot. The first episodes are a little slow and make the mistake of intercutting events in Boulder with events weeks earlier as the characters are heading to Boulder. Any threat on the road is obviously not going to cause a tragedy. Flagg is more of a minor boogey man in these episodes. He recruits one person while ten or so people follow the call of Mother Abigail. Then the story speeds up, so much that it feels that bits are missing or were cut out. The main story ends with a whole extra episode to go. The coda moves slowly while providing some "ever after" information that emphasizes how the story isn't over (even though it is over!). The storytellers could have made the same points in a third or a quarter of the time. I'm still not sure that the final episode was necessary.

The acting is fairly average. Skarsgard gives a much lower-keyed performance than expected for his flamboyant and over-the-top character. He did fairly well. With the huge cast, a lot of characters get a lot less attention. Flagg's underlings underperform, but I would blame the script for giving them little more to do than reacting to Flagg. The main heroes give good performances. Harold (Owen Teague) has a well-executed and acted story arc as he is tempted into doing the wrong thing. He walks the tough edge of being unlikeable and sympathetic. Franny (Odessa Young) also does a good job though she doesn't really shine until the coda.

Even aside from the gross plague that creates a lot of unpleasant illness and corpses, the show leans into the overall gore and the depravity in the background of the Las Vegas scenes. Viewers need a very high tolerance. This show was a bit beyond my comfort zone.

Barely recommended--While interesting in parts, it's really better to read the book.

Movie Review: Don't Look Up (2021)

Don't Look Up (2021) written and directed by Adam McKay

Two astronomers, one a teacher (Leonardo DiCaprio) and one his grad student (Jennifer Lawrence), discover a comet that will hit the Earth is six months and fourteen days. After getting extremely stressed out, they take the information to the White House. They have to wait for over a day since the president (Meryl Streep) is dealing with other important issues. She's trying to get a Supreme Court nominee through the Senate even though the nominee is plagued by scandal after scandal (the most innocent being he was a nude model). Also, she needs to lead her party through mid-term elections. When they finally meet, she does not take it seriously nor does her chief advisor (who is also her son (Jonah Hill)). The astronomers go to the press to get the word out. The grad student's boyfriend works at a prestigious New York paper. Before the article comes out, the astronomers are booked on a popular morning talk show where the presenters always try to be upbeat. The teacher can barely talk on television and his student is angry and upset, making her a poor fit for the talk show or convincing the viewers of the gravity of the predicament. Their appearance goes badly and the story spirals out of control as various people try to capitalize on the situation, including a cell-phone company entrepreneur (Mark Rylance) who is part Steve Jobs and part Andy Warhol. 

The satire in the movie works well. They make fun of all sorts of extreme attitudes: the self-defeating anger of liberals, the self-promoting piety of conservatives, the self-unaware pseudo-profundity of creative corporate executives, and the self-centered vacuity of television presenters. The plot meanders a bit and the movie could use some trimming of its two hour, eighteen minute run time. DiCaprio's character goes through an unlikely narrative arc that seems more to serve the plot (and the jokes). Lawrence fares better as the semi-unlikeable Greta Thunberg character. The movie delivers on the comedy in fine fashion, skewering a good variety of people.

Recommended.

As I write (January 2022), this is only available streaming on Netflix.

Book Review: Y: The Last Man Vol. 1 by B. K. Vaughn et al.

Y: The Last Man Volume 1: Unmanned written by Brian K. Vaughn, pencilled by Pia Guerra, and inked by Jose Marzan, Jr.

Yorick Brown is the son of an English teacher (hence the Shakespearean first name) and a United States Representative. He and his pet monkey Ampersand are the two survivors of some mysterious agency that killed every male on the planet. Yorick is on the run, hoping to get to Australia where his girlfriend is hiking the Outback. He proposed on the phone just moments before the disaster struck. His continued existence is a secret he has maintained. By the time he gets to D.C. to talk to his mom (he kinda hoped that he had some genetic immunity that also saved his dad (but it didn't)), society has changed. A group of women who are called "the Amazons" go around wiping out sperm banks and any other chance for maleness to return. Other women try to get things back to normal but with half the work force gone, that's a lot of work to do. A special secret agent (code named "355") comes back to D.C. and is tasked by Yorick's mom to get Yorick to the leading cloning expert, a female doctor in Boston named Mann who tried unsuccessfully to clone herself just as the disaster struck.

The book has a very intriguing premise and is somewhat creative in establishing a world without any men in it. Unfortunately, it goes through an annoying bit of establishing its liberal credentials. It bashes Republicans, gun ownership, and pro-life issues, none of which are relevant to the story. If you can roll your eyes and move on, the other writing is pretty good. I'm willing to give this another volume.

Mildly recommended.

Parental warning: In spite of the liberal leanings, the book does have a surprising amount of scantily clad females (which you think wouldn't go along with left-wing ideology). The gender politics and commentary about abusive language is more expected, though not at all kid-friendly.

Movie Review: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2011)

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2011) written and directed by Lorene Scafaria

A 70-mile-wide asteroid is headed for Earth in three weeks. The last attempt to destroy it has failed so everyone has to accept the fact that they are doomed. Dodge (Steve Carrell) watches as his wife runs away from him. He still goes to his insurance salesman job even though most of the other employees Don't show up. He really has nothing to do. He goes to a dinner hosted by friends who want to set him up with someone before the world ends, just so he has some company for the end. The party is full of alcohol, drugs, and sex. Dodge has no interest in any of it. He is empty and detached. He just goes home.

At his apartment building, he runs into Penny (Keira Knightley) who is breaking up with her live-in boyfriend. She has a rough time of it and, since he has nothing else to do, he comforts her. She's from England and wants to go back to see her family one last time. Also, she has a pile of his mail that accidentally got put in her box for the past couple of months (or maybe years, it's not really clear). In the pile is a letter from Dodge's first sweetheart, who is now divorced and writes that she still has affection for him. So now he has something to do. He knows someone with a plane and promises to help Penny get to her family if she will help him get back to his lost love. They start a journey together.

The movie has a great theme about getting past superficial desires and friendships. A lot of the secondary characters only want pleasure from others and are certainly happy enough to trade their own dignity or self-respect to get it. Taking care of someone else is a very different thing, as is being honest and committed to someone else. Carrell and Knightley give very good performances. Their characters both start out as cliches (Dodge is a disinterested and uninteresting guy; Penny is a manic pixie dream girl) but the actors manage to get more out of the roles.

And yet the film is unsatisfying. The actors are good but they aren't quite believable together, i.e. they lack chemistry. As friends and traveling companions they are okay; I never bought into them having a deeper relationship.

The story meanders through random scenes of how people handle the situation (the cop who still arrests people because he has a quota; the restaurant with overly friendly staff; the military bunker guys who ready to take over the world after its destroyed; the Hispanic cleaning lady who just wants to keep her schedule, seemingly unaware or unconcerned about the world ending). At one point Dodge and Penny run into a line of people who are walking to the beach single-file. At the beach, it looks like someone is baptizing people in the ocean, or maybe couples are getting married. Dodge and Penny smile winsomely and hold hands. The scene jumps to a beach picnic where everyone is having fun--even Dodge manages to smile for the first time. The whole scene leaves a lot of holes for the viewer to fill in. Did Dodge and Penny get baptized or did they just watch from the sidelines because they don't need it? Viewers are left to decide what happened. I wish the filmmakers had more courage in their own convictions than in the viewers' convictions.

The movie is sweet and has funny moments but for me it was ultimately unsatisfying. I wanted to like it and it does have good themes but it just doesn't deliver the romance or the depth I wanted. I can see it as a jumping off point for good discussions but it does not say enough on its own.

The movie is discussed on A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast #215, where they do have a good discussion about it and they liked it much more than I did.

Questions from Kids--Will There Be Food in Heaven?

I was blessed to be chosen (partially my own choice, it should be noted) to teach one of the sixth grade religious education classes at my parish, Saint Mary of the Mills. One day, a student asked me, "Will there be food in Heaven? Because I think I'll be hungry. Can we have pizza delivered?"

While this may have been a random attempt at stalling the class, I took it for a semi-sincere question. The boy often talks about his hunger, so he probably was honestly wondering. I responded as best I could, which of course required serveral distinctions.

First, we have to look at our state when we enter the afterlife. Following our individual death, our soul goes on to judgement for how our lives have been lived. As Catholics, we hope that we will make it to Heaven, though many have to make the detour through Purgatory to polish up the rough spots on our souls. Being sent to Hell is certainly possible and I can pretty much guarantee no pizza is locally made or delivered there. No matter which of the three options, our condition will still be the same--a soulless body. Without a body, food is not necessary.

But there will be the Resurrection of the Dead at the end of time. I referenced the Nicene Creed (which is in the back of the class workbook among other prayers). At the end of the creed, we profess, "I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." At the end of time everyone will rise from the dead, i.e. their souls will be reunited to their bodies. So then the question becomes, "Will our resurrected bodies need food?"

While this branches out into speculative theology, we do have some evidence about the condition of the resurrected body. At least two people won't rise from the dead at the end of time. Jesus won't rise from the dead because He already did on Easter morning. He had a glorified body that has differences and similarities to His pre-resurrected state of being. Some people, even close friends, didn't recognize Him, so His appearance must be somewhat different. Apparently He could walk through walls, or at least locked doors. On the other hand, the Apostle Thomas put his hand in His wounds from the crucifixion, so Jesus does have a physical body with attributes from His former life. Jesus ate several times after the resurrection (He had some broiled fish on the shore and ate meals with disciples). Clearly we'll still be able to eat.

The New Testament never mentions that Jesus was hungry, just that He asked for and ate food. I imagine in the new heaven and new earth of the authentic post-apocalyptic period (just go read the Apocalypse and see how it ends--not zombies and desolation, but a new Jerusalem), we will have access to food. All good things are from God. Why wouldn't there be the good things like pets and pizza in our truly final resting place? We probably won't be hungry but it will be a big party celebrating the glory of the Lord. And what's a party without something to snack on?

I am of the opinion that food will be available in Heaven. Just not yet and not delivery.


p.s. In case you're wondering about the other person who won't rise from the dead, she also rose some two thousand years ago. Mary, the mother of God, was assumed body and soul into Heaven. I hope she's making Jesus a snack right now, because that's what good moms do.

TV Review: Attack on Titan Season One (2013)

Attack on Titan Season One (2013) based on the manga by Hajime Isayama

See my review of the first manga here.

After enjoying the first volume of the manga, I tried the first episode of Attack on Titan and was blown away. The show is more vivid and visceral just because the format is better suited to the action-filled story.

The time is the far distant future. Humanity has become trapped inside a walled area (there are actually three ring walls--Sheena, Rose, and Maria). Outside the walls are Titans--gigantic humanoids who eat humans. The average Titan is typically between two to fifteen meters (six and half to fifty feet) tall. The walls kept them at bay for a hundred years, but then a new sort of Titan appeared. The Colossal Titan (sixty meters (two hundred feet) tall) is able to break a hole in Wall Maria and the other Titans came pouring in. The Colossal Titan mysteriously disappeared and the surviving humans were forced to retreat behind Wall Rose. Eren Jaeger is a boy at the time and witnesses the death of his family. Before his father died, his father told Eren he had a secret in their basement. Eren has the key but has been unable to return. He trains to join the armed forces, hoping to take revenge on the Titans for his losses. Five years later, just as he and his friends are graduating from boot camp, the Titans (including the Colossal) attack again and the rookies are drawn into battle immediately.

Little is known about the Titans except some key facts--they appear mindless, they eat people, and their only truly vulnerable spot is the nape of the neck. Any other injured spot will grow back alarmingly quickly. The humans developed a harness with gas-powered grappling hooks as a way to fight the Titans. Battles are very tough (though also very cinematic, with lots of Spider-man-like swinging from buildings and walls and trees). The humans suffer great losses but still fight on. Sometimes battles lead to more information about the Titans, fueling the hope that humanity can eventually take back the world.

The story is a very gritty and gory war. The Titans do eat people and viewers see that fairly graphically displayed several times. The Titans are brutal; sometimes the humans are brutal to each other. The characters talk a lot about personal sacrifice and the duty to follow orders, even in hopeless situations. Occasionally the officers don't provide all the information about what's going on, leading to conflicts and bad decisions that seem like good decisions. The loss of comrades is tough on the military and also on the families back home, who are both proud of and concerned for their children who have gone to war.

The style of storytelling is very Sturm und Drang. The characters' emotions are often hyperbolic. The life and death situations involve the seemingly worst sorts of death. The music emphasizes the heightened emotions and peril, making the series exciting, if occasionally over the top. Check out the initial credits, which captures what I am trying to describe:



The animation and editing also enhances the storytelling, with the occasional freeze-frame or odd angle to create visual interest and show the chaos. The story also provides mysteries about where it is going, making it just as fun to think about after the episodes as during the episodes.

Highly recommended. I watched it streaming on Netflix, though it is also available on disc and from other streaming services.

Movie Review: X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) co-written and directed by Bryan Singer

The ancient mutant En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse (who has been amassing other mutant's powers over centuries) is beaten in 3000 B.C. Egypt by perfectly normal, everyday Egyptians. He isn't killed, only put to sleep for about 5000 years. While investigating mutants in 1983, Moira McTaggert accidentally awakens Apocalypse who brings together his four horsemen (because he's Apocalypse, get it?) to take over the world. Can Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and his students and allies stop the madman before his plans wreak havoc? Of course, the answer to that question is obvious, which does not mean the movie can't still be entertaining.

Unfortunately, the film has a lot of things working against it. Many scenes are clearly designed to be seen in 3D, which is distracting when watching a 2D version at home on DVD. The movie also has too many "this scene is so cool we are going to show it in slow motion" moments. Which doesn't even include the Quicksilver (the guy who moves at high speed, so naturally he has some slow motion stuff) scenes--they are fun in small doses but again there are too many of them and looks like reruns of scenes from Days of Future Past.

Too many characters are left undeveloped or doing nothing until the end. Poor Angel and Psylocke are little more than eye-candy combatants with no character at all. They are part of the four horsemen but don't do anything until the climatic big battle. The other horsemen, Storm and Magneto, have good development, even with Storm's minimal screen time. Still, they too have almost nothing to do till the finale. Apocalypse even has to kidnap Xavier to make his plan work, making the other four look especially useless.

Having read the Age of Apocalypse graphic novels, I had a good idea of what Apocalypse's plan was, but that's not communicated clearly in the film. Apocalypse talks a lot about the devastation he's going to cause but does hardly any until the ending, even missing some fairly big opportunities early on. He does have menacing physical presence, but his incoherent and slow scheme make him into a lesser villain, which is a shame for someone named Apocalypse.

Other characters fair better. Xavier and Magneto work well as foils for each other (if only Magneto hadn't spent so much time with Apocalypse!). Happily, they don't overshadow the other characters--Cyclopes, Jean Grey, Mystique, and other X-Men get enough character development and moments so they don't look one dimensional like Angel and Psylocke. Director Singer is good at handling a large cast of characters but this movie has too many even for him.

The movie would benefit immensely from judicious script editing/re-writing and fewer "look how amazing these special effects are" moments. While certainly not as bad as X-Men: The Last Stand, this film is definitely on the lower end of the X-Men franchise.

Book Review: ApocalyptiGirl by Andrew MacLean

ApocalyptiGirl: An Aria for the End Times by Andrew MacLean

Aria is an opera singer and cat owner who has been living on an earth-like planet for many years. She's searching in the ruins of civilization for a special relic of amazing power. If she finds the relic, she can return home. Problem is her main searching tool, a massive walking robot, is on the blink. She has to search on foot. That's why it's taking years. Also, the natives (two different, semi-human species) are restless and hostile. Aria makes the best of the situation, even though it is a very bad situation.

The story is fairly simple, allowing the author to be more lyrical. And lyrical he is. Aria sings many passages from operas. The passages are in other languages but do have footnotes, so a diligent reader could look them up. I didn't. Other parts are more poetic than technical, especially the descriptions of the planet's history and the various events that caused the apocalyptic conditions. The narrative takes a back seat to the artistry which mostly works for this book. The ending is fairly thought-provoking, which was a very pleasant surprise.

Book Review: The Book of Revelation Adapted by Matt Dorff

The Book of Revelation translated by Fr. Mark Arey and Fr. Philemon Sevastiades, adapted by Matt Dorff, illustrated by Chris Koelle

I'm fasting from fiction for Lent, so the graphic novels won't be back till after Easter, but this is graphic non-fiction...

One of the most difficult books to understand in the Bible is the very last one, the Book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse. The disciple John on the island of Patmos has a vision of a time of great tribulation ending in a new Heaven and a new Earth. The imagery is rich and cryptic, full of numeric and pop culture references that are alien to readers two millennia later. The book makes fascinating but not necessarily satisfying reading.

This new translation of the book comes from two Greek Orthodox clergy who provide a precise, timeless English text. The drawings are very evocative. The visual tone is like a horror comic, with lots of black, grey, gold, and red dominating most of the pages. The illustrations are just that, illustrations of the text and not interpretations. When warriors are depicted, they look like Roman soldiers as befits a text written in the first century AD. The one bit the illustrator has taken from contemporary art is the use of reaction shots from cinema and television. As John is shown fantastical things, occasionally his reaction can be seen in a frame--sometimes wonder, sometimes horror. It works well in the text.

I found this graphic version of Revelation hard to put down. The images are well paired with the text, neither overwhelming the other. The book gives the reader a more visceral experience of the text, which may be a better way to understand it rather than trying to intellectually decode it.

SAMPLE IMAGE: Sadly for you readers, I've chosen the bit that made me say, "Hey, zombies!" Other illustrations are better representations but I've got to be me.

Click to enlarge

No Nukes IS Good Nukes

In case you missed it, there's a new type of home that's ready to help you survive a zombie apocalypse. But not only you, also 69 of your closest friends! As long as you can all pay $2 million a piece and are willing to move to Kansas. Where is this great deal? Inside a nuclear missile silo! Check out these amenities:

Survival Condo will have enough supplies of site-grown food and purified well and rain water to house 70 people in lockdown for years. Just so they won't go insane, the silo would also have facilities like a spa, movie theater, classrooms, a bar, and a pool.
The swank residential spaces, meanwhile, would feature Jacuzzis, large HDTV panels simulating windows, and deluxe appliances.

Read the rest of the article here. The condo has a web site where they list the criteria they have for potential residents:

We are not looking for stereotypical "survival nuts" portrayed in movies, but rather like-minded individuals with the desire to provide care and protection for their family. We seek people with the financial resources, interest, education, experience, and desire to participate in the shared tasks of survival under difficult circumstances. We want people with good values and we will screen applicants for criminal backgrounds.

In case you didn't click through either link, this particular silo is sold out already, so you will have to contact the developer and find another similar sized silo somewhere else to set up in. We're saving our pennies and pence right now. We'll need somewhere to live once we move back to America!

Making the Most of the Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse

Cracked.com has some tips for the zombies during the zombie apocalypse: 8 Zombie Apocalypse Survival Strategies (For Zombies) Most likely you'll be one of the zombies, so why not prepare ahead of time? Some of the tips aren't appropriate for the kids but they are pretty hilarious. Just a warning!

h/t to Happy Catholic for the link.

Quick Review: Complete Guide to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

The Complete Guide to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse is a blog dedicated to preparing humans for the coming end of civilization by zombie infestation, if the economy doesn't take us down first.

The blog provides a lot of valuable information. It covers the basics--what equipment and food you will need, best weapons/armor/transportation, zombie origins and vulnerabilities. The most interesting posts to me were the ones about tactical approaches to fighting zombies and about hideouts--who knew that the Fonz had not only a cool apartment but an ideal defensive pad?

Hearing "aaayyy!" is much better than "braaaiiinnnsss!"

The blog is pretty entertaining, though there are some gruesome pictures and occasional strong language which kids probably shouldn't see. Also, English doesn't seem to be the author's first language, so readers need to be forgiving of spelling and grammar mistakes. It's short with only seven posts, but this covers the basics if you haven't read Max Brooks or other survival guide authors. Start here to see how you can prepare for the end!

Zombie Review: We're Alive

We're Alive: A "Zombie" Story of Survival

website for the podcast
subscribe in iTunes or Zune players

MPAA/ESRB/Other rating

Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics/ iTunes tag Explicit

ZPAA rating

Teens and up

Gore level

4 of 10. Since this is an audio drama, you don't see anything. Some of the sound effects are pretty realistic sounding but not stomach churning.

Other offensive content

Lots of bad language, increasing levels of human on human violence, two innocent animals in jeopardy (or are they innocent?!?).

How much zombie mythology/content

The zombies here are mostly classical, spreading their infection via biting others. The big difference between these and classical zombies is they move faster (28 Days Later speeds and up) and some of them seem awfully intelligent. There is a hint of a "ground zero" from which the zombies emanated, but no details have been given by the end of season one for the origin or cause of the zombies.

How much fun

Both situational humor and occasional jabs at zombie cliches are found in this podcast. The story line grabs the listener and brings you along for a great ride. The characters are engaging and well acted, making you want the next episode asap.

Synopsis/Review

Three soldiers, Michael, Angel and Saul, are called up to help quell a riot in Los Angeles. When they get to their headquarters, they realize this is no ordinary riot. People are going after each other in frenzied, frantic attacks everywhere. These soldiers wind up at an apartment building which they think will be relatively easy to fortify. Gathering a random groups of civilians and whatever supplies they can, the intrepid band searches for answers about how the zombie hordes started and how they can be stopped.

This audio drama comes out in weekly installments of about 20 minutes each (season 2 starts/started on August 23, 2010). The production values are extremely high, with great sound effects and atmospheric music. The writing is sharp and with the podcast format the creators can have cliffhanger endings to episodes without shoehorning them into a time slot. Consequently, there's no filler and also nothing left out except to create more suspense.

The actors all deliver fine performance. Some of the characters when first introduced seem a little cliche (I'm thinking primarily of the "no field experience" officer who leads two Iraq War vets and the very Clint Eastwood-esque gun store owner), but they are quickly moved beyond one dimension through character development. The cast is big enough to give the listener a variety of people to identify or agree with while not losing track of who is who. Also, the role of narrator switches from the army guys to other characters, allowing a balance of points of view and following different action in different locations.

I've really enjoyed what I've heard so far and can't wait for the next season of episodes to start next week!

Sample text

Check out their promotional video (warning: one use of crude language)