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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Book 38 The Three Electorknights by Stanislaw Lem Four weird sci-fi short stories. Poetic quasi-fairy tales, the whole book was 50 pages but full of fascinating imagery and turns of phrase. 4.5/5

The cover for Stanislaw Lem's The Three Electorknights. Plain Black text on a light blue background

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Book 37 Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clark Classic Sci-fi first contact scenario. Really enjoyed the grounded, methodical exploration based approach to the idea and the small hints at the future shape for humanity. Only a couple unpleasant outdated passages. 4/5

The cover to Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clark. A man on a winged bicycle flies over a cylindrical world towards a ring of glowing, electrified pylons.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The latest in a series of screenshots I like to call 'Sports Headline or Niche Furry Porn?'

A headline from the website stuff.co.nz reading 'Watch: Roosters edge Knights in NRL grand final thriller'

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Book 36 Julia by Sandra Newman A retelling of Orwell's 1984 from Julia's POV. Very interesting remix and expansion of the original's ideas ultimately telling a quite different story. 4/5

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Book 35 Children of Strife by Adrian Tchaikovsky Book 4 in the Children of series. Like every book after the first, a standalone work that takes ideas and themes of earlier books then spins them off in buck-wild directions. My second favourite after the original. 4.5/5

The cover for Children of Strife by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A spaceship approach a green planet with plant life growing out to connect to a green ring circling the planet.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Otautahi, we're technically having a snow day.

A thin layer of snow resting upon a rain wet footpath.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Book 34 Platform Decay by Martha Wells Murderbot book 8. Incremental character growth and a few seeds for future stories but pretty much just more Murderbot ... which is great I'm a huge fan of this series and it's clever, subtly dark subversion of sci-fi tropes. 4.5/5

The cover for Platform Decay by Martha Wells. An individual wearing futuristic Armour floats near a ladder in a vertical shaft.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Book 33 Coyote Run by Lilith Saintcrow Punchy action novella set in a satirical cyberpunk-ish world. A smuggler crosses a desert border to rescue a woman from a Fascist detention center. Skips over some of the more interesting worldbuilding, but I'd read a follow up if/when one is written. 3.5/5

The cover to Lilith Saintcrow. Coyote, an older woman with messy hari and a trenchcoat, fires two guns while Marge, a woman with a white streak in her black hair, hits a man in a skull mask with a wrench.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Book 32 Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse End of the Between Earth and Sky Trilogy. Same thoughts as the other books. Maybe a couple beats in the final fight aren't as satisfyingly fleshed out as they could have been. 4/5

The cover for Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse. A Mermaid's face floating with tentacles and seaweed framing it.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Book 31 Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse The same interesting world and great characters as the first book, with the cast splitting off in interesting ways and the full scope of the plot being fleshed out. That said, it's just mostly (very interesting) table setting for the trilogy's finale. 4/5

The cover for Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse. A woman's head is surrounded by radiating beams of light.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Book 30 The Word For World is Forest by Ursula K Le Guin The peaceful natives of a forest world clash with occupying earth forces. Written to criticize the Vietnam War but the themes of patriarchy and colonialism remain unfortunately relevant. This novella is a gut punch of tragedy. 5/5

The cover for the SF Masterworks edition of The Word For World Is Forest by Ursula K Le Guin

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Book 29 Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse Zippy pop fantasy. Cool characters and an interesting world drawing inspiration from various Native American cultures. But falls too neatly into all the tropes and pacing issues of being 'book one of a planned trilogy' and I'm just weirdly irked by that. 4/5

The cover for Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. A solar eclipse frames a blend of flying crow and woman's face.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Furry porn or sports writers refusing to think about their word choices? You decide.

A screenshot of nz news website stuff.co.nz the headline says panthers hold on to edge warriors in top-of-the-table NRL thriller.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Book 28 The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers Re-read after 15 years. Some middling horror stories (one with some interesting sci-fi elements). A nonsense poem. A solid war story. Then some middling, very not-for-me romance stories. Fascinating how removed it is from it's cultural legacy. 2/5

The cover for The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers.

A Yellow book in the foreground of a corridor with fog rolling out of the doorways.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Book 27 Ancestors by Adrienne Maree Brown End of the Grievers trilogy. Throws A LOT of new ideas into the mix and it took me the better part of the book to get on it's wavelength. Once I did I found a messy, empathetic, deeply human story. 4/5

The cover to Ancestors by adrienne maree brown. A German Shepard dog looks out over an overgrown city skyline.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Book 26 Maroons by Adrienne Maree Brown Continues on from Grievers, adding a dash of sci-fi, a lot of magical realism, and the slow rebuild of community. Didn't vibe with one new element added but that's a me issue not the books and keen to see how the trilogy wraps up. 4/5

The cover to Maroons by Adrienne Maree Brown. A rundown house in the middle of an urban environment is surrounded by wild greenery growing from the road and neighboring yards.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Book 25 Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace A Teenage girl awakens in her grave and seeks answers about what happened to her and her new place in the world. Very solid YA urban fantasy that does a great job hitting both the emotional and horror beats. 4.5/5

The cover to Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace. A side view of the ground. Green grass with the dirt below, a single red rose buried in the center.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Book 24 Grievers by Adrienne Maree Brown Follows a young woman's journey through the early days of a strange pandemic. A moving look at loss, grief, and the mourning process. The ending is thematically appropriate but is also a little too 'start of a trilogy'. 4.5/5

The cover to Grievers by Adrienne Maree Brown. A run down house is in focus in front of a foggy run down city scape.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Book 23 The Eyes of The Overworld by Jack Vance Dying Earth Book 2. Everything I said about Book 1, except its novel instead of a short story collection and the main character is so utterly unpleasant it quickly became a dull slog. Abandoning my plan to read the whole series. 1.5/5

The cover to The Eyes of The Overworld by Jack Vance. A Man in a jaunty red hat and cape hold a writhing white mass. Strange tree sized mushrooms are in the background and the sun is red.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

I am once again begging NZ Sports Reporters to think before start spewing hyperbole everywhere.

A screenshot from the news website stuff.co.nz . The breaking news banner says 'weather warning lifted as cyclone vaianu heads offshore'. The top story says 'rampaging hurricanes silence their doubters'.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Book 22 Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky A Robotic Valet goes on a journey following the untimely death of its master. Wry comedy of manners, if by manners you mean computer logic Cutting Satire of the current state of technology occasionally parting to show a deeply horrific dystopia. 4.5/5

The cover for Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A POV shot of a robotic hand holding a broken tea cup with blood smeared on the rim up as if about to sip from it. In the background is a futuristic cityscape.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Book 21 Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle Starts with the whole world suffering a sort of Final Destination style burst of extreme bad luck then slowly escalates to a weird, hopeful, unique take on cosmic horror. 5/5

The cover for Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle. Based on a King in the deck of playing cards. The Upright King has a sword piercing the back f its head pushing the eye out on the tip of the blade. The upside down king, is a skull with multiple snakes extruding from the assorted holes, one of which holds an eyeball.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Book 20 The Dying Earth by Jack Vance Collection of fable-like short stories set in a weird far future fantasy world. Some time dry, sometimes wild, unhinged and deeply fascinating. 4/5 Very easy to see how deeply this book had its hooks into the creators of D&D.

A woman in an almost see through negligee had a strange owl creature behind her and three robed cultists in front of her.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Book 19 Animorphs 54: The Beginning by KA Applegate What a satisfying, bittersweet, sad, hopeful, exciting epilogue to the whole series. Endings that make sense with out being too neat, interesting continuations of the world, grounded approaches to the series big themes. 4.5/5

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Book 18 Animorphs 53: The Answer by KA Applegate A near perfect blend of all the (non-humour) parts of the series into a twisty, surprising, satisfying final battle. Got a genuine gasp from me with how it subverted the normal opening chapter format. 4.5/5

The cover to Animorphs 53. A boy turns into a snake.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Book 17: Animorphs 52: The Sacrifice by KA Applegate The Animorphs plan, acquire resources for, carry out, and deal with the emotional aftermath of a strategic military bombing. One of the best example of the series unflinching looks at the realities of warfare. 4.5/5

The cover to Animorphs 52. An Andalite (scorpion tail, deer body, human torso with blue fur, second set of eyes of stalks, no mouth) turns into a raccoon.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Book 16: Animorphs 51: The Absolute by KA Applegate A series of slapstick, comedic action scenes (solid but not the series best) that soften the blow (probably too much tbh) of the masquerade ending and the series crossing into open warfare. Could have been more intense this close to the end. 3/5

The cover for Animorphs 51: The Absolute. A Boy turns into a duck.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Book 14: A Country of Ghosts by Margaret Killjoy A reporter is sent to front of his empire's expansionist war only to be captured by the enemy. Theory crating an anarchist society using the form of a low fantasy travelogue. 4/5

The cover for A Country of Ghosts by Margaret Killjoy. A 1800-ish European style city next to a large waterfall.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Book 13: Animorphs 49: The Diversion by KA Applegate The status quo of normalcy is fully and definitively shattered with plenty of angst and some bittersweet moments for our heroes. An excellent start to the endgame entering high gear. 4.5/5

The cover for Animorphs 49. A Red Tailed hawk turns into a german shepherd dog. Behind the hawk is a superimposed image of a young blonde boy.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Book 12: Animorphs 48: The Return by KA Applegate Rachel metaphorically and literally wrestles with her bloodlust as two minor villains team up to target her. One of the more trippy, dream-logic, emotionaly dark books in the series. Doesn't land everything it tries to do but very solid. 3/5

The cover for Animorphs 48. A Blonde Preteen girl changes shape into a larger adult version of herself with fangs and claws.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Book 11: The Ellimist Chronicles by KA Applegate Backstory for the animorph's 4 dimensional benefactor. Cosmic weirdness bordering on cosmic horror, such a bold, strange thing to include in a YA series. 4.5/5

The cover for The Ellimist Chronicles by K A Applegate. A strange looking, wizened old man hovers in a misty void.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Book 10: Station Six by S.J. Klapecki Punchy and intense sci-fi novella based around the metaphor of 'Space-Station-as-Company-Town'. The threat of job loss and deeper exploitation lead to union riot turned maybe revolution. 4.5/5

The cover for Station Six by S.J. Klapecki. A space station floats in space.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Book 9: Animorphs 47: The Resistance by KA Applegate The Animorphs prepare for and fight a battle, intercut with Jake's ancestor in a similar situation during the American Civil War. The comparisons didn't completely work for me but the battles were both good. 3/5

The cover to Animorphs 47. A brown haired boy in his early teens turns into a beaver.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Book *: Improv for Gamers (2nd edition) by Karen Twelves A solid guide to basic Improv ideas with a focus of tying them into TTRPG play. 3.5/5

The cover for Improv for gamers by Karen Twelves.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Book 7: Animorphs 46: The Deception by KA Applegate Things continue to be chaotic and brutal (by YA standards) as the series continues its rapid escalation into the endgame. 4/5

The cover to Animorphs 46. An Andalite (blue fur, body of a deer, long bladed tail, no mouth, second pair of eyes on stalks above its head) slowly turns into a human wearing a green flight suit.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Book 6: Animorphs 45: The Revalation by KA Applegate The series status quo is suddenly and dramatically broken as the series enters its endgame. Lots of juicy dramatic suffering and a little catharsis. 4/5

The cover to Animorphs 45. A Young boy turns into a spider.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Book 5: Animorphs 44: The Unexpected by KA Applegate Cassie ends up alone in Australia after a failed mission at the airport. The first half is peak comedic shenanigans, the second half leans a bit too close to wise indigenous person tropes. Also a brutal surgery scene for some reason? 3.5/5

The cover for Animorphs 44. A Young black girl turns into a Kangaroo.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Book 4: Animorphs 43: The Test by KA Applegate One of the many 'War is Hell, all decisions are bad, our heroes are slowly loosing it' stories from the back half of the series. Good on that level even if the overall story doesn't quite hold together. 3.5/5

The Cover for Animorphs 43. A red Tailed Hawk changes into an alien centipede creature. Behind the Hawk is the faint image of a young boy.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Book 3: The Antifa Comicbook: Revised and Expanded by Gord Hill A comic covering Fascist and anti-Fascist history from 1920s Italy to present, updated to cover up to the second Trump regime. A great surface level introduction to a lot of important, under-taught history. 4.5/5

The cover for The Antifa Comic Book Revised and Expanded by Gord Hill. A cartoon drawing a number of masked, black hoody wearing protesters holding a banner saying 'Smash Fascism' alongside a broken Swastika. The flag for Antifascist Action flies in the background.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Book 2: Animorphs 42: The Journey by KA Applegate A fun take on 'The Fantastic Voyage'. Some nasty descriptions of being digested alive and a fun 'Marco tries solving problems without morphing' subplot are let down by a very rushed unsatisfying ending. 2.5/5

The cover for Animorphs 42. A young blonde teenage girl in a sundress turns into an elephant.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Book 1: Animorphs 41: The Familiar by KA Applegate Jake has a weird dystopian future horror vision/nightmare. One of the better examples of a genre trope I tend not enjoy that much. 3.5/5

The cover for Animorphs 41. A Young boy slowly changes into a middleaged version of himself wearing a sci-fi jumpsuit.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Stole this comparison shot between seasons 5(left) and 4 of Stranger Things from Reddit. Just a reminder that each episode of season 5 allegedly cost $50-60 million.

Left: A scene from Stranger Things season 5 where Max is running through past rocky outcroppings under a red alien sky. She is clearly lit by different lighting than the background and the CGI/Greenscreen is really bad.

Right: The same character and location from Season 4. Despite being a little murky, the character looks like they are actually in the location.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Sisu: Road to Revenge Spoilers Out Of Context

Tom from Tom and Jerry putting a gun in a mouse hole, the barrel curves inside the wall and exits from a second hole near his head.

Wile E Coyote riding a rocket as if it were a motorcycle.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Those publishers who pump out nice looking cheap paperbacks of classic out of copyright fiction? Yeah, I'm one of impulse buyers who keep them in business.

The spines of four books. The Legend if Sleepy Hollow and other stories by Washington Irving. The Scarlett Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. 20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. The Haunter of the Ring and other stories by Robert E Howard.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Describe your favourite movie in the most misleading way possible. Two men meet at work and form a special connection.

Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro sitting opposite each other in a busy diner. A scene from the movie Heat.

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

To paraphrase Orwell: I have no love for the idealized "Average American" as they appear in a politician's rhetoric, but when I see an actual flesh-and-blood American on the streets in conflict with their natural enemies, ICE and other police, I do not have to ask myself which side I am on.

" I have no particular love for the idealized "worker" as he appears in the bourgeois communist's mind, but when I see an actual flesh-and-blood worker in conflict with his natural enemy, the policeman, I do not have to ask myself which side I am on." - George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia

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Some Guy Called John @justsomejohn.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Was not expecting the best laugh in Clown in a Cornfield to come from it's IMDB goofs section.

An IMDB entry under 'Goofs' that reads "A bow saw can't cut off a head."

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