Review Day

There are no major spoilers in these reviews.

A Very English Scandal:
This three-part mini-series features Hugh Grant as a member of Parliament who has a gay affair and tries to cover it up very poorly. It has a fun voice and pace, although it starts to lose some momentum in the middle act with too many leaps ahead in time. Free on Amazon Prime.

Final Grade: B-

Atlanta, Season One:
This show, created by the multitalented Donald Glover, gets a lot of non-mainstream hype. However, I liked the show it started out as more than the show it turned out to be -- over its short (10 episode) first season, plot emphasis drains away, replaced by a set of one-off episodes trying random things (kind of like a black Master of None). The DVD is bare bones, with no special features or even subtitles. I'd watch the second season, but am in no hurry to get to it.

Final Grade: B-

To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts:
I first read this book back in 2004 and while it was enjoyable, I didn't like the back half as much as the front half, and never read it again. After 14 years, I like it much more. The book starts with a simple premise of a missing princess and two men-at-arms from very different stations investigating her disappearance. The plot is very tightly paced, with a fast burn and a total timespan of just a few days. There is a distinct point about 60% of the way through the book where the focus closes in on just two characters. In my first readthrough, I was disappointed because I really wanted more time with the other characters that were so well-crafted. Tempered by foreknowledge this time around, I appreciated the change of pace and thought that the ending was just right.

Final Grade: B+

Amazon Echo (2nd Generation):
We got this second Echo on sale over Christmas so we could have one Echo in the kitchen and one in the nursery. The 2nd generation Echo is much shorter and covered in decorative material. This may be why it's incredibly hard of hearing compared to the original. It understands our commands about 80% of the time and background noise lowers this further. Where I can just tell the old Echo to play Lenka, this one keeps asking me if I want to create a station for Lincoln Park -- any good AI would know that NO ONE wants that station. On the plus side, the ability to play synchronized music throughout both Echos is very convenient.

Final Grade: B