Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret feels less like a full third installment in Benjamin Stevenson’s Ernest Cunningham series and more like a holiday special — something Stevenson and Ernest both lean into openly. It’s noticeably shorter than the first two books, and Ernest even frames it as a kind of “Book 2.5.” That framing works surprisingly well, especially since this entry feels more original than Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, which leaned a little too hard into Murder on the Orient Express territory for my taste.
Let me start by saying: if you’re torn between reading and listening to this one, go with the audiobook. I did both, and I’m so glad I did — January LaVoy and Will Damron are fantastic, especially in the podcast segments, which feel like a true-crime show come to life.
This book does a great job taking a lot of information we know about life and considering where we might be able to find it – not only within our solar system, but in the cosmos. Not only that, the author thinks about both life as we know it and life as we don’t know it.
I debated about whether or not to write a review since I didn’t finish this book (I did read half the book). But I thought it be prudent for the casual reader to know my impressions of it before they pick it up. In short, it was quite interesting, but a little too academic for my casual interest.
This book effectively picks up where Liftoff left off. Plus, it covers Elon Musk’s, how to put this, mental decline over the last several years. But ultimately what this book does is tells the story of the hard work that a lot of people put in to make a private company successful and the future of human spaceflight a little brighter.
“You know, I can understand nine words in that book now.” – Billy Madison
A new Star Trek novel by Una McCormack? Sweet! And the main character of the novel is [checks notes] Una?! I’m in! Now the question is, where does Garak fit into this story?
Do you miss the days when the Batman movies were kinda campy but not overly campy. When they were dark but not overly dark? Do you wish you could dive back into the Michael Keaton days as Batman – between Batman and Batman Returns? Do you wish there was more connective tissue between those two movies? Are you getting as tired as I am with all these questions? Well, I’ve just got one thing to say to you:
Stop what you’re doing and read this book!
Is it called “No Man’s Land” because the two main characters are women? I mean, I guess there are parts that take place in Romulan territory. But still… I think the title should have been “When Seven Met Raffi” or “The Taming of the Seven” or something like that.
Another pick for the Planetary Society book club. And what an amazing pick this was! Who knew that a journey to a lifeless rock somewhere between Mars and Jupiter would be interesting?! This author understood the assignment!
