Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Critique.
The Tainted Cup
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett I made this entire series to write this review. The 2024 Hugo Winner is a Holmes and Watson style whodunnit taking place in a fantasy world that blends Area X from the Southern Reach Trilogy and The Lost World–more on the setting later.
By Matthew J. Frommabout a month ago in Critique
Standing While Falling. Top Story - January 2026.
Quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche "He who wrestles long with monsters should beware lest he himself become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. Man is not destroyed by suffering, but by the meaning he makes of it."
By LUCCIAN LAYTHabout a month ago in Critique
The Lost City of Z
The Lost City of Z by David Grann Growing up I thought I wanted to be an archaeologist. Now that I’m a ripe 32, I realize what I really wanted to be was an adventurer–someone who dug deep into the dark and emerged with treasures unseen for millennia.
By Matthew J. Frommabout a month ago in Critique
Mistakes in Stranger Things - Season 5
Stranger Things 5: A Train Wreck of Lazy Writing and Brand Blunders When Stranger Things first dropped in 2016, it was a masterpiece of atmosphere and tight storytelling. It felt like a love letter to the 80s. Fast forward to Season 5, and that love letter has been shredded. What we got instead was a bloated, nonsensical mess that felt like the creators were just checking boxes to get it over with. It wasn't just a disappointment; it was a total collapse of the logic and stakes that made us care about Hawkins in the first place.
By Teodor Monescuabout a month ago in Critique
Words of Radiance
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson And so we come to the yearly ovation for Mr. Sanderson. The man is a genius, his lecture series is one of the most important resources ever developed for writers, and I’m yet to pick up a Sando that’s scored below a 70. I have critiques that we’ll come to, but suffice to say I am a big supporter of Sanderson.
By Matthew J. Frommabout a month ago in Critique
A New beginning
A new beginning is like a brand-new box of crayons. You open this new box and there are those colors so bright and ready to go, as so many of us do in January it seems. Ready to start new projects and looking forward to what these colors will project in our various projects that are or may be planned. We look to be optimistic in our color choices from the reds to the yellows to the greens and blues and all the opportunities that these colors give us to think and choose for not everything is black and white.
By Mark Grahamabout a month ago in Critique
Memory
"Memory" Movie Review. This 2023 film is as depressing as it is uplifting. Directed by Michel Franco and the pace is never fast and the viewer needs to pay attention to the little details that are key to the plot. It is more like a foreign film then an American one in that scenes don't necessarily blend into one another, but their relevancy is germane.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).about a month ago in Critique
The Blade Itself
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie Every once in a while, I pick up a book that reminds me fundamentally why I enjoy reading—a book that turns my brain off and sweeps me away to some far flung world that I can sit at any quiet moment and. . . disappear into.
By Matthew J. Frommabout a month ago in Critique
THE END OF TRUTH AND THE TECHNOLOGY OF ONLINE MEDIA
THE END OF TRUTH AND THE TECHNOLOGY OF ONLINE MEDIA Peter Ayolov Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", 2019 Abstract: This article is a part of a larger study focused on the topic of the fictional media content opinions presented and perceived as truth. It will explore the abstract nature of truth in online media and its different forms. These media truths are types of fictional stories with certain effects on the public rather than a truthful presentation of the facts. Thus, the end goal of mass media today is not to tell the truth, but to create moral communities based on common experience and beliefs. Articles, opinions and news in media are seen as a narrative strategy that can be understood only through storytelling analysis. Here the focus is on the understanding of Truth and Untruth in online media as well as the connection of Internet media technology with the increase of disinformation online. The new media model creates hostile groups instead of generating consent for the nation-state, the new online media model within, Pseudo-communication, manipulation, delusion, lies, propaganda and deliberate causing of moral anger. "The end of the truth" means that the truth on the Internet is lost among the vast amount of information and the lack of regulation regarding the correctness of the published data. Instead of truth, media researchers formally talk about "post-truth," "fake news," and "alternative facts." Truth on the Internet is more like "Truthiness" or a belief that a statement is true based on the intuition or understanding of individuals, regardless of evidence, logic or facts. The subject of research is the connection between every new technology in mass media and the truth of the information and the effects on the consensus in society. Since the beginning of the 21st century, misinformation on the Internet has increased with the development of online media and social networks, and it is a problem of social peace and consent in every country.
By Peter Ayolovabout a month ago in Critique
Violinist Accuses Will Smith Of Sexual Harassment In New Lawsuit
For Will Smith to find himself ensnared in yet another controversy lowers his stock even more on the market. Now, with the latest news of violinist Brian King Joseph alleging that Smith triggered his PTSD and psychological damage.
By Skyler Saundersabout a month ago in Critique
The Butcher of the Forest
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed I loved Becky Chambers’s A Psalm for the Wild-Built. It was a nice warm hug of a book that explored finding meaning in life, our relationship with nature, and how to come to terms with not knowing where a path may lead. I gave it an 89/100.
By Matthew J. Frommabout a month ago in Critique
