What I’m reading
I finished the Book of Dust, Philip Pullman’s followup to the “His Dark Materials” trilogy. One part prequel, two parts sequel, it follows Lyra (the main character from the original trilogy) in the 10 years before and after the original setting. It didn’t quite stick the landing, but I still enjoyed it and recommend reading both series to anyone who hasn’t (or hasn’t read them since they were a child, like me). I think that the first book, the prequel, was my favorite - just a great, gripping self-contained story with fun connections to the original books. The story in the sequels is also good (action/thriller/intrigue type stuff) but I think Pullman stumbles a bit when trying to elevate and wrap up the philosophical side of the series. Throughout the sequels there is a promise of learning the true nature of some of the fundamental forces in this world but he doesn’t stick the landing. The last 20% of the book is a lot of characters monologueing about their interpretation of what they’re learning as a means of exposition, with the exposition itself not being all that compelling. Still, though, I’m glad I read it all!
What I’m playing
Got a 3-player game of Slay the Spire 2 in with Dad and Matthew - very fun! We managed to beat the 3rd act boss, my first time doing so after ~8 rounds of solo play. Maybe I’m bad and they carried me (likely), or maybe the game is currently more tuned for multiplayer. Very fun, want to play more and I hope they add more multiplayer-specific cards and interactions.