mistercrow's review
4.0
This was pretty funny, and some pointers I didn't know about, some subjects he raised well while some others I disagreed with.
deepfreezebatman's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining geek rant. I laughed way too hard at the J.R.R. Tolkien vs. C.S. Lewis part.
kmg365's review
3.0
I find it interesting that in the 21st century, people are able to make a living by expressing opinions about fannish things. This was not a career option when I was of an age to decide what I wanted to be “when I grew up” (still waiting, btw). Sure, I could have been a literary critic, or a movie critic. But there were no listings like “Explainer of what was wrong with the episode Spock’s Brain ” in the help wanted section of the classified ads.
I’m mildly miffed that you can now do exactly that. Before anyone suggests there’s nothing stopping me now—you’re wrong. There are a lot of things stopping me.
Those were the thoughts lurking in the back of my mind as I listened to the essays in this book. While the author does mention at one point the fannish tendency to complain about anything and everything, believing that the only true and correct opinion of any tv show, book, or movie is one that is identical to one’s own, at the same time, he advances his own opinions about various fannish franchises with an assumption that he’s occupying the intellectual high ground.
I enjoyed the parts dealing with classic Trek, and was surprised that anyone as young as the writer would consider TOS his original fandom—the thing that turned him into a fan in the first place. I’m still not sold on the idea that Luke can’t read, though. He simply represents a society that doesn’t value literature—much like the one I find myself living in now.
drew1013's review
3.0
Mostly personal essays about nerd culture, with some theories about fictional universes sprinkled here and there. There’s humor and nerd analysis, but there wasn’t a lot that surprised me or said anything unique. Even the main essay, which argued that people in the Star Wars universe are functionally illiterate because no one reads books or talks about stories, seemed like it was converted from a blog post (turns out, it was published online first in some fashion).
miocenemama's review
4.0
This is a compilation of interesting essays about pop culture. I didn't agree with all of the author's opinions, but it was an enjoyable read with some thought-provoking ideas. I ended up wanting to rewatch a lot of movies while getting a new perspective about some of them
mpetruce's review against another edition
3.0
Nice, quick listen. I'm always up for some thoughtful ponderings on so-called geek culture that's not some chud's screed in the io9 comments section (in fairness, those comments aren't all chuds, but there are some there). Do I agree with all of it? No. Do I need to? No. Just some nice, fun food for thought to move my own thinking in different directions.
jhstack's review
4.0
Well thought-out essays on everything from portrayals of vampires in pop culture to literacy in the Star Wars franchise to sequelitis and franchises!
ageshow's review
4.0
Agreed with him on a lot of points but even if I hadn't, I found the structure, reasoning, and humor entertaining, too. I appreciated the open minded approach as well as his care in mentioning the flaws in the things he and many of us enjoy