Matthew McElroy > Recent Status Updates

Celaena Sardothien is hot. Did you know that? If you don't know, Sarah J. Maas will make sure that you know Celaena is hot.
Sure, there are some pretty standard medieval fantasy tropes in here. But what really sets this apart is how hot Celaena Sardothien is.
There is some international diplomacy and some palace intrigue, but be aware, from the top of her perfect golden hair, to her sculpted legs, Celaena is hot.

However this ends, I will have a lot to think about for days, if not weeks. The premise is so simple, and yet, I have never read anything like it.
I LOVE the organization of the book, and the brief historic interludes, which serve to build the anticipation as you get closer to the end of the story.

I had feared this would be the turn the story took. But I really hoped it wouldn't. It's still just as compelling. Given the structure of the story, we still have six years and then at least a thousand years worth of history to unpack. Thank you Ms. Alderman for not having the turn come in the last 15 pages. As readers, we get to embrace the story with you.

Eight years til what?
What is going to happen?
Tell me!

Make this your first book of 2026.

I have never read anything like it.

At the risk of using a terrible cliché/ pun- every page crackles with energy. How often do you get a book where you just put aside everything else you are supposed to do and just read it?

Possibly the best book I have read this year, and 2026 will have to have a big one to top this.

Oh, I am completely hooked.

A certain percentage of the women in the world now have the ability to project electricity from their bodies. It seems like it is mostly adolescents so far, and that comes with everything that children... 12-16 would do. Play with it, fight boys, fight other girls and more.

Already a fascinating premise.

It's not this is a slow read- far from it. It's just that the early darkness wears me out, and I go to bed even earlier.
I think I have two many books going right now.
Bryson, despite his cutting sarcasm, can also be remarkably sentimental. His sympathy for the dying resort town of Marcombe was genuine. Because when Bryson doesn't like you, you KNOW it.

One of the best parts about Bryson is his wildly unpredictable preferences. Sometimes, he wants to take a long, meandering jaunt. Other times, he is furious over a one way street that inconveniences him over a 200 yard detour.

Is English food amazing in its simplicity? Or is it awful in its lack of seasoning and creativity? It seems to depend on his mood and what works better in the story.

Never change Bill.

The Issue 7 cover art is some of the best I have seen. And the story is one of the most creative I can remember. A completely new catalyst, a selfish egomaniac who has probably been done wrong. A villain who is understandable. And Wanda solving a problem in the way she has come to solve them.
This is what I have learned: Wanda is acting as a lawyer. She is always advocating on behalf of whoever needs her.

I don't entirely know what queer-coded means, but I think this is more than queer coded. The most powerful ruler in the universe is a gay... Man(?- well, not human, an alien, definitely male) who is married to Wanda's adopted son. And the person who comes looking for Wanda's help is a woman forbidden to marry with a haircut akin to a mullet.

Finished the "high schoolers break into the gym" chapter. Still brutal. I can't shake the feeling that Jones is writing this so it can be made into a movie. It's good, and the second time around I am following the characters better. But it feels like he has movie playing in his head.

I spit my beer out in the bar reading this. I'm 44.

I was laughing in public like I was in college.

Reading this a second time- I think I like it even more. And no, it's not because I am picking up details I missed the first time. I think it is life. I got older, I met some people, and I may have gotten wiser. And so McBride's ability to give people a voice is even more relevant. The older I get, the more realistic his characters become.

There is something more to this story, but I can't put my finger on it.
What does it take for us to be at peace after we die? Can someone else do it for us?
Is it possible to die and only be remembered in a positive way?
Either way- definitely enjoyable and sweet.

I don't think I have read a story with only two characters. The tension between Pietro and Wanda is both logical and also completely supernatural. Which is what you would want in a conflict between two of Marvel's oldest characters.

Technically, Wanda committed all the crimes, right?

Wanda is just travelling around the world, helping families reconcile their issues, and defeat some evil magic. The stories are small, but emotional.

The first story has no meaningful villain. It is a bit of a love story about Wanda helping a man who has lost the love of his life. Much of what makes these Scarlet Witch stories interesting is how she solves problems.

Guys, listen. No listen carefully. You're not hearing me. Calaena Sardathion is HOT.
H.
O.
T.
HOT.

Damn, Sarah J. Maas is dedicated to us knowing that her high school aged assassin is incredibly attractive. Calaena is also the best at EVERYTHING in the world. Best dancer, best archer, best actor, best horseback rider.

Except reading people. Man she is really bad at that. There is a Greek tragedy element here.

While the penciler isn't the most talented, this one seems like he is lost in sync with the inker and the author. For some reason, the very simplistic drawings and the clear lines go well with the one story without a true villain. This was the most simple story of all them, but probably the most human.

There is a sconflict in having James Robinson write this character. He writes a wonderful character. She is strong, insightful, original, lonely, independent all of that. But a MAJOR point is that she is a woman. And for her story to be authentically female, it should be written by a woman. I honestly think many complaints over cultural appropriation are overblown. But it is hard to overlook this idiosyncracy.

Ireland has been hit by a plague. I am shocked that anything could be worse than the English. I wonder how much research Robinson had to do for these witchcraft terms. It is a realm I have zero experience in. It seems like something that would make for interesting research and then enhance your story. I wonder how many other superheroes have that aspect to their character.

Marco Rudy's art is the best of this collection. He has a psychedelic flair that works well with the supernatural, fantastic elements of Scarlet Witch's story.

The art by Sarah Pichelli in a series I read earlier puts this art to shame. The writer is working with five different artists, which winds up making everything uneven. I am a bit confused about ghost Agatha Harkness and how she assumed this mentor role.

This book is not what I thought it would be. I was expecting some kind of accounting of the entire Civil War. Turns out is simply a recounting of the Battle of Gettysburg, so it shouldn't have nearly as much social or political commentary as I expected/feared. I must say, the maps are helpful. Be prepared to return to seventh grade geography.

I don't read much Civil War fiction because most people haven't read the Confederate Constitution. They believe the conflict is a states' rights issue. If that is true, why is the Confederate Country word for word the same as the US Constitution with about 20 references to humans as property?
They waited until page 66 to mention why the war was being fought. I will wait to decide if that is good or bad.

I have heard a lot about Gay Talese, but I couldn't tell you anything he wrote.

His essay on Ali meeting Fidel Castro is excellently written, but I don't know why he wrote it.

Ali is sadly riddled with Parkinson's and barely part of the story. Cuban legend Theofilo Stevenson is desperate to earn Ali's respect, but Ali is mostly exhausted.