Current Readings

Gardens of the Moon is the first novel in The Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson , published in 1999. It took me more than five attempts to finally finish it, but I can now proudly say it sits on my bookshelf, and when I glance at its spine, I think of the author’s achievement, and how lucky I am to have experienced it. Given how widely known and now considered a classic this novel is, and with so many videos and articles available online, I asked myself how I could make my own piece interesting to someone. That led to some decisions I’ll explain shortly. Aside from wanting to cover the entire series, since I plan to host it here on this site,  and aside from writing a brief summary of the events (at least what I can recall, because we’re talking about a story of massive scale), I’ll also be including a few thoughts throughout. I’ll also share a short personal story, which I hope adds an extra layer of meaning or motivation for anyone continuing to read. What cou...

This edition was first published in 2014 but has since been reissued multiple times. It includes the following works: Soul Hunter , Blood Reaver , Void Stalker , as well as the short stories Shadow Knight , The Core , and Throne of Lies . I won’t go into them because I’ll focus on the main novels. From beginning to end, this book is a fantastic, grimdark, and strikingly beautiful work by a rare literary talent with a remarkable career at Black Library, Aaron Dembski-Bowden . In these posts titled Warhammer 40K, I’ll be discussing works from that universe. I won’t delve too deeply into the broader lore aside from the basics, so if you're not already familiar with the setting, you might find it difficult to follow. But if you don’t mind and simply want to learn about the stories themselves, then I’d be glad to have you along. Also, fair warning, there will be spoilers. Having said that, let’s dive into the contents, starting with Soul Hunter . Our protagonist is Talos Valcoran, a mem...

The Unworthy was released in 2025 and is a remarkable book by Agustina Bazterrica , which I recently discovered thanks to the buzz around her novel Tender is the Flesh . I haven’t read that one yet, but I plan to, because this book truly convinced me of her talent. Here, we’re presented with a diary-format narrative written by an unnamed protagonist, an element I greatly appreciated because it adds to the dark, unsettling atmosphere the author constructs throughout the book. We’re dealing with a post-apocalyptic setting focused on oppression and the inner worlds of the characters, within a truly nightmarish and claustrophobic environment: that of a monastery. There, rigid hierarchies, religious fanaticism, and complete submission to the order’s leader dominate. Individuality is practically forbidden. To give you an idea, the protagonist’s diary is a secret, and she’s constantly trying to hide it, because if she’s caught, the punishment would be severe. Yet she keeps writing, it’s her ...

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer was published in 2017 and is part of a trilogy, followed by Dead Astronauts in 2019, with a short interlude titled The Strange Bird in 2018. The third installment has yet to be released. So far, I’ve only read the first book, which I’ll be discussing today, as I recently revisited it after first reading it around the time of its release. Let me start by saying a few words about the author, in case you’re not familiar with his work.  VanderMeer is, in my opinion, but also more broadly acknowledged, one of the most important voices in contemporary fiction. He’s widely known and appreciated, considered one of the pioneers of the New Weird genre, and has been active since the mid-1990s, so we’re not talking about a newcomer. His Southern Reach series, Annihilation , Authority , Acceptance , and Absolution , garnered significant attention, particularly following Alex Garland’s cinematic adaptation of the first book, which served as a gateway for a broader a...

Y: The Last Man is a sixty-issue comic book series published by Vertigo (a company that, unfortunately, no longer exists), which ran from 2002 to 2008. So, quite a few years ago. At the time, the two main artists behind the project, although they had some work under their belts, hadn't yet produced anything that made them internationally known or opened doors for a lasting career—at least not Brian K. Vaughan , whom I’ll discuss further below. As for Pia Guerra , she followed a different path, keeping a certain distance from the industry. If I remember correctly, I once read that she got involved in cartooning and political satire. Y: The Last Man left its own mark, and I’ll try to describe, as concisely as possible, why it was significant. Here, we have a work with a clear beginning, middle, and end, centered around the human experience, more specifically, the protagonist Yorick, who finds himself in the terrifyingly difficult position of surviving in a world where no one else s...

Many years ago, Frank Miller took over Daredevil , working on the character from 1979 to 1983 across numerous issues. In 1985, he returned for a one-shot, and then in 1986 came back for the classic and widely discussed Born Again , which arguably marks the peak of his contribution to the character. Later, in 1993, he wrote the miniseries Daredevil: The Man Without Fear . His collaborators were some of the most significant creators in the medium: Klaus Janson , Bill Sienkiewicz , David Mazzucchelli , and John Romita Jr ., among others. As many of you likely know, Miller himself is not only a remarkable writer but also a brilliant artist, with a distinctive style that has become influential in its own right. His visual signature has left a lasting mark on comics, inspiring countless others since. Now, let me get a bit more personal. The truth is, I’m not very familiar with today’s comics—only on a surface level. From what I have seen, most of them seem to follow a safe path. They rarely...

Houses of the Unholy is the latest release from the now-classic duo of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips . I call them “classic” because they’ve produced so many works together, establishing their presence in the comic book world as a guarantee of quality and deeply engaging storytelling. Personally, these two artists are my anchor in the medium. They’re one of the main reasons I keep investing my time in comics, eagerly awaiting each of their upcoming projects. Their work always feels like home. These two have delivered exceptional titles in the past, such as Criminal , Sleeper , Fatale , The Fade Out , Reckless , Kill or Be Killed , and many more. If you’ve followed their work, you’ll probably know these titles already. If not, just pick any of the ones I mentioned—or let one catch your eye—and dive in. This September, they’re set to release The Knives , a return to the Criminal universe, their most iconic series. I’ve deliberately avoided learning anything else about it. I just want t...

In 1983, Hideyuki Kikuchi published the first book of his iconic Vampire Hunter D series, and since then, he has gone on to write—if I’m not mistaken—over forty novels set in the same universe, following the same mysterious protagonist across decades of storytelling. The illustrations and cover art have always been created by Yoshitaka Amano , best known for his work on Final Fantasy, and together they carved out a piece of genre history. The first time I came across this series was in my childhood, spotting scattered volumes on the shelves of a local comic shop. I was instantly drawn to them, but it took me years to reach the level of English needed to read an entire novel in a language other than my own. By the time I did, the books were already out of print, and finding copies was nearly impossible. But in 2021, Dark Horse made a dream I had long forgotten come true. They began re-releasing the books in collected editions, bundling them two or three at a time. Since then, I’ve been...

  Neuromancer by William Gibson is a book that has generated a vast amount of commentary — in spoken word and writing alike. From academic theories and literary analyses to cinematic and musical influences, this novel has had a profound cultural impact since its publication in 1984. It was Gibson’s first novel and didn't receive immediate commercial success, likely due to limited promotion. However, it won all the major science fiction awards of its time — the Nebula, the Hugo, and the Philip K. Dick Award — and over time, with reprints and word of mouth, it earned the recognition it deserved. Today, it has sold over six million copies and is widely studied across disciplines — from literature to philosophy and beyond. If you're not already familiar with it, Neuromancer is where the term "cyberspace" was solidified, though it first appeared in Gibson’s 1982 short story Burning Chrome . What’s astonishing to me — having read the book over five times, with my most rece...