Tag Archives: Adventure

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Netflix 2025)

Posted on by Henry

I’ve finished Netflix’s season 1 (28 episodes) of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. I finished it a while ago, actually, but for baby-related reasons I haven’t had the brains to finish this post. Better late than never, right?

Melancholy, meditative, meandering… Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End has won a spot in my heart. It is a fantasy adventure that cares more about the everyday personhood of its heroes than about epic plots or dramatic achievements. It made me cry, and laugh, and I love how it manages to be bittersweet and yet feel like one of the most forward-looking and optimistic shows I’ve watched in a while. 

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Alex the cat, 07/03/25

Posted on by Henry

Three months of baby-time! A second week of we-just-moved time. The unpacking and sorting of everything continues, along with all the other housework involved in caring for a baby and a new home.

This week’s meditation: how can I better give myself permission to write what I find fun, and what I’m curious and excited about? Also, how can I return to meditating a bit every day? And how can I make time for writing?

I’m pushing through the second Ranger’s Apprentice book, The Burning Bridge. It reinforces my impressions from More Alex, 06/05/2025 so far—I’m glad this exists, and we need something newer. Either this one is less enticing for me than the first one, or I’ve been more distracted. The second is definitely true, the first one might be. With a little luck, I might have more to share about this next week.

More Alex, 06/05/2025

Posted on by Henry

Alex is a good kitty. She sleeps so that I don’t have to. That’s how that works, right?

I read The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan, the first book in the first Ranger’s Apprentice series. I have a bunch of thoughts. Those won’t make it up here today, because despite Alex doing a good job of sleeping for me she has not made me feel more awake or alert. Nor has she taken care of the baby.

I’m glad that these books exist. And I think we’re sorely in need of newer work.

Squire and Lady Knight, by Tamora Pierce

Posted on by Henry

I finished Lady Knight one day after finishing Squire. I absolutely inhaled that last book in the series. Tamora Pierce did well, as I’ve come to expect. The story of Lady Knight felt more satisfying in so many ways, but I don’t think it would have felt that good without Squire there to lay the foundation for it.

If you’re recommending these books to kids, it’s worth noting that Lady Knight bridges a big (and fascinating) gap in genre, content, and target audience age. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t give these books to kids—I think you should! But you may want to read them yourself, and be ready for the way in which the story’s tone shifts near the end of Squire and throughout Lady Knight.

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Page, by Tamora Pierce

Posted on by Henry

I’m clobbered again today, but I’m alert enough to tell you that this Tamora Pierce series continues to be good. Page is great. I devoured it despite my sleep deprived state.

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First Test, by Tamora Pierce

Posted on by Henry

First Test, by Tamora Pierce, was published in 1999. It’s an excellent middle grade fantasy story grounded in one girl’s struggle against gender discrimination, hazing, and abuse while she pursues her dream of knighthood. First Test takes place in Tortall, the same story world as Tamora Pierce’s series about Alanna the Lioness. Where Alanna sought and (spoilers for that series) achieved knighthood while hiding that she was a girl, our protagonist Keladry seeks to follow openly in Alanna’s footsteps. But while that path is now officially open to a girl, reality hasn’t yet caught up. If you want a middle grade story about a young girl facing adversity and misogyny in a hostile school environment, this is a solid option.

First Test is, first and foremost, a story about a young girl and her struggles. Young Henry probably would have loved it… but he probably wouldn’t have read it (I mean, I didn’t read it, but I also wouldn’t have). Even if it had caught my interest, being mocked by my peers for reading ”a girl’s book” was a real and pressing concern. That was a big part of why I missed the Alanna books when I was young.

Oddly, that social pressure also feels connected to First Test’s message.

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Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Posted on by Henry

Visually, I love Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It’s gorgeous.

I love Mike Mignola’s style, which permeates everything in this movie. I’m very fond of his Hellboy comics, and had no trouble with this movie’s resulting un-Disney-like animation. Admittedly, some of the animation choices felt a little weird, like the animators struggled at times to convert the character designs into moving figures in ways that felt good. Yet at other points (especially in the movie’s climactic fight scenes) those same characters moved fluidly and naturally through a variety of perspectives, surpassing my expectations beautifully. My love of Mignola’s designs smoothed over the awkward bits for me, and I was very happy overall. If you don’t like Mignola’s art style, or you don’t like the movie’s character designs, you might not enjoy this as much as I did.

Narrative-wise, this movie is… fine? It’s both good and bad.

I love adventure stories, which Atlantis is. I love them so much that I’ll put up with a lot. That said…

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Tristan Strong Punches A Hole In The Sky, by Kwame Mbalia

Posted on by Henry

I love a good middle grade adventure story. That’s precisely what this is. As you might expect from something published under Rick Riordan’s imprint, it’s full of mythology and folk tales and legends. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, by Kwame Mbalia, is all about one young boy’s discovery that the stories he’s grown up with (African-American stories with American folk heroes like John Henry, African trickster figures like Anansi, and those who blur the lines like Brer Rabbit) are all far more real than he ever could have believed. It’s fun, it’s pretty fast, it’s (heh) punchy. This is a good book.

I admit, my appreciation for this book is influenced by my desire for more high quality middle grade adventure stories aimed at boys. There’s a lot more to unpack there, some of which can be better understood by reading Of Boys And Men by Richard V Reeves. Read on for some of those details, as well as my few quibbles with Tristan Strong.

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The Countdown Conspiracy, by Katie Slivensky (2017)

Posted on by Henry

Katie Slivensky’s The Countdown Conspiracy is an upper middle grade adventure story all about six young astronaut candidates preparing for an international mission to Mars. Set on a near-future Earth still recovering from a global war fought over asteroid-mining rights, the story begins with a captivating slow burn and piles of intrigue. The Countdown Conspiracy builds from there to high stakes thrills and a satisfying, ever-escalating race towards the conclusion. I really liked it. A lot.

I’ve fallen off the querying-wagon again, but this book has revived my excitement and renewed my hope. Surely if people enjoy this they’d enjoy Bury’em Deep.

Why do I like this book so much?

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Vicarious Squirmy Awfulness

Posted on by Henry

I used to think I loved adventure stories because I’d grown up on them. The truth, I’ve realized, is a bit stranger. I’d rather watch bloody violence and explosions than sit through those gut-wrenching nail-biting moments of social awkwardness that fill so many romances, dramas, and comedies. Those moments fill me with a vicarious squirmy awfulness—the characters may experience emotional or social anguish, but my response is visceral, often literally painful. 

When I last reflected on this in my review of Trying…

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