Reviews of books that aren't dark and depressing.

I have a tremendous aversion to dark and depressing stuff. I think most people as they get older and see real-life death and devastation and come to understand how very different it is when the long-term effects are forced to be felt (unlike how it is presented in modern "entertainment") are no longer able to view that stuff as "entertainment" any more, whether is comes in the form of books, magazines, movies, TV shows, video games, or the internet -- I tend to avoid it.

This blog is going to contain reviews and discussion of novels which avoid heavy drama, depression, human misery and the like to "entertain" (by that I mean: rape, torture, horror, graphic/extreme violence, etc. not PG-13 violence). I don't like that kind of stuff, and I think that kind of stuff is damaging not just to the human mind, but to the society that revels in it. This blog will make the effort to show people the content out there that isn't trying to make human misery into entertainment. I will also link you to that content whenever it is appropriate. Anything I link to, I recommend.

This blog is going to be about novels set in the Star Trek/Star Wars/Mass Effect universes. It will be about novels written by Jack Campbell (of the Lost Fleet Series), it will be about novels written by the likes of: Michael A. Stackpole, Karen Traviss, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., J.R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, Christie Golden, Elaine Cunningham, Patrick Rothfuss, and Piers Anthony. No, not everything every author I've liked in the past will get recommended. And yes, I am well aware of the fact that quite a few authors and series I just named have touched on dark & depressing things, or a section of something they wrote is dark, while the majority isn't. Those works either won't get recommended, or will be recommended with extreme caveats.

I will also cover comics & manga when I can, things like: Penny Arcade, The Oatmeal, Questionable Content, Ranma 1/2, Tenchi Muyo, El Hazard, etc. Anything which has come out in book form, and isn't only on the internet (for now, I may expand that later).

This blog is going to be about stuff that I wish I could find easier to help point me to the next thing I would love to read, in the hopes that it will help someone else find something great to help brighten their day. And, of course, if any of you have any suggestions, let me know, and I will check them out.


Let's get started, shall we? :)