What Are The Latest Reviews In The New York Review Of Books?

I was totally hooked the moment that revelation landed in the middle of the timeline — it felt like the floor pulled out from under the whole plot. In the internal chronology of 'The Shifting Epoch', the new power is formally credited to Lord Elias Verne because his public demonstration during the Sundering Era is the first event most scholars and characters recorded. Elias gets the statue, the ceremony, and the official plaques in the capital. That’s what the timeline shows on paper. But reading carefully, and loving the messy bits, I saw the hints that the power was actually discovered earlier by a lower-profile figure: Mira Tal, a ledger-keeper from the Outward Markets. Her journal entries, tucked into a footnote in the middle books, describe the experiments and accidental rituals that produced the phenomenon Elias later polished into spectacle. So in my head the thrilling truth is that the timeline separates discovery from discovery's fame — Mira found it, Elias made it history, and the books delight in that messy, human gap. It still makes me grin whenever the credits roll in my head.

When I tell people where to start, I usually nudge them straight to the Dragonet Prophecy arc and say: read them in the order they were published. It’s simple and satisfying because the story intentionally unfolds piece by piece, and the character reveals hit exactly when they’re supposed to. So, follow this sequence: 'The Dragonet Prophecy' (book 1), then 'The Lost Heir' (book 2), 'The Hidden Kingdom' (book 3), 'The Dark Secret' (book 4), and finish the arc with 'The Brightest Night' (book 5). Each book focuses on a different dragonet from the prophecy group, so reading them in order gives you that beautiful rotation of viewpoints and gradual worldbuilding. After book 5 you can jump straight into the next arcs if you want more—books 6–10 continue the saga from new perspectives—plus there are short story collections like 'Winglets' and the novellas in 'Legends' if you crave side lore. Honestly, experiencing that first arc in order felt like finishing a ten-episode anime season for me—tight, emotional, and totally bingeable.

Big news for anyone who's been stalking every cast Instagram and refreshing streaming pages — the new season of 'House of Bane and Blood' finally has a premiere date and a release plan that’s got me genuinely hyped. The show is set to drop its Season 3 premiere on May 16, 2025, with the first two episodes launching at midnight on Emberstream (the platform that’s been home to the series since Season 1). After that opening double-bill, new episodes will arrive weekly every Friday, which is perfect if you love that slow-burn suspense and community speculation between installments. The production team has been teasing a darker, more intricate arc this time around, and the official trailer — which landed a few weeks back — gave me the chills. Expect eight episodes in total, with a runtime that leans toward an almost cinematic 50–60 minutes for each entry. Returning cast members include Mara Voss as Lady Bane and Kaito Ren as Thom Albright, and the showrunner hinted in interviews that a couple of fan-favorite secondary characters will get their moments in the spotlight. That means more character-driven payoff, plus the signature gothic worldbuilding that made 'House of Bane and Blood' so addictive during its earlier runs. If you’re planning to binge, Emberstream’s strategy this season is a mix: drop two episodes to hook you, then stretch the rest out weekly to keep theories brewing. That format has been working well across a few genre shows lately, because it balances immediate satisfaction with long-term conversation. From what I’ve seen, the marketing push is focusing on the political intrigue and some seriously upgraded set design — they rebuilt the East Wing, apparently — so expect visuals that feel richer and stakes that feel appropriately higher. Also, soundtrack teasers suggest a moodier score, which for me is a huge draw; the music in Seasons 1 and 2 did so much heavy lifting emotionally. Personally, I’m already lining up viewing nights with friends and clearing my Friday schedule. I love shows that encourage group chats and live reactions, and 'House of Bane and Blood' has been the perfect storm for that. Whether you’re a lore hound, a character stan, or someone who just enjoys lush production values, this season seems set to deliver on multiple fronts. I’ll be rewatching the earlier seasons to catch foreshadowing I might’ve missed, and I can’t wait to see which theories about the bloodline mysteries finally get answers. See you in the spoiler threads — I’ll be the one screaming about the score changes.

There’s a particular chill I get thinking about forest gods, and a few books really lean into that deer-headed menace. My top pick is definitely 'The Ritual' by Adam Nevill — the antagonist there isn’t a polite villain so much as an ancient, antlered deity that the hikers stumble into. The creature is woven out of folk horror, ritual, and a very oppressive forest atmosphere; it functions as the central force of dread and drives the whole plot. If you want a modern novel where a stag-like presence is the core threat, that book nails it with sustained, slow-burn terror. If you like shorter work, Angela Carter’s story 'The Erl-King' (collected in 'The Bloody Chamber') gives you a more literary, symbolic take: the Erl-King is a seductive, dangerous lord of the wood who can feel like a deer-man archetype depending on your reading. He’s less gore and more uncanny seduction and predation — the antagonist of the story who embodies that old wild power. For something with a contemporary fairy-tale spin, it’s brilliant. I’d also throw in Neil Gaiman’s 'Monarch of the Glen' (found in 'Fragile Things') as a wild-card: it features a monstrous, stag-like force tied to the landscape that functions antagonistically. Beyond novels, the Leshen/leshy from Slavic folklore (and its appearances in games like 'The Witcher') shows up across media, influencing tons of modern deer-man depictions. All in all, I’m always drawn to how authors use antlers and the woods to tap into very old, uncomfortable fears — it’s my favorite kind of nightmare to read about.

I got totally sucked back into the world of 'Going Clear' when I watched the director's cut — it feels like finding a secret room in a house you thought you knew. The director's cut doesn’t create new conspiracies out of thin air; instead it gives time and space to voices that were only glimpsed in the original. You get extended and previously unseen interviews with several former high-ranking members of the organization: deeper conversations with Mike Rinder and Marty Rathbun are present, and Paul Haggis’s testimony is expanded so you can hear more about the personal costs he describes. There’s also additional material featuring Lawrence Wright, who provides more context on the historical and cultural framework around L. Ron Hubbard’s movement. Beyond those familiar names, the cut adds new interviews with ex-Sea Org members and people who were part of the internal operations, giving practical, on-the-ground accounts of life inside — stuff that helps flesh out how the institution functioned day-to-day. On top of new sit-downs, the director's cut sprinkles in archival footage and follow-up footage that deepens earlier claims: more archival clips of public speeches, internal documents, and courtroom excerpts help connect the dots between personal testimony and institutional action. For me, the most striking thing was how the extra time lets individual narratives breathe — you can watch a person tell their story without feeling rushed, and that human detail makes the whole film hit harder. There are moments where formerly curt lines in the theatrical version become full paragraphs here, clarifying motivations and consequences in ways that felt emotionally resonant and analytically sharper. Watching it, I felt like I was revisiting a favorite book with a new chapter added; the original structure remains intact, but these new interviews pull the lens closer to people's faces, and I found myself paying more attention to the small gestures and pauses that reveal so much. Overall, the director's cut is a richer, more patient watch that left me quieter and more thoughtful than the first time through.

Counting them up while reorganizing my kids' shelf, I was pleasantly surprised by how tidy the collection feels: there are 12 books in the core 'Ivy and Bean' chapter-book series by Annie Barrows, all sweetly illustrated by Sophie Blackall. These are the short, snappy early-reader chapter books that most people mean when they say 'Ivy and Bean' — perfect for ages roughly 6–9. They follow the misadventures and unlikely friendship between the thoughtful Ivy and the wildly impulsive Bean, and each book's plot is self-contained, which makes them easy to dip into one after another. If you start collecting beyond the main twelve, you’ll find a few picture-book spin-offs, activity-style tie-ins, and occasional boxed-set editions. Count those extras in and the total jumps into the mid-teens depending on what your bookstore or library carries — sometimes publishers repackage two stories together or release small companion books. For straightforward reading and gifting, though, the twelve chapter books are the core, and they hold up wonderfully as a complete little series. I still smile picking up the original 'Ivy and Bean' — they’re the kind of books that make kids laugh out loud in the store and parents nod approvingly, so having that neat number of twelve feels just right to me.

To effectively read the Space Vampire books, it is essential to follow the chronological order of the series, as each installment builds upon the narrative and character development introduced in the previous entries. For instance, starting with Colin Wilson's 1976 novel 'The Space Vampires' lays the groundwork for understanding the cosmic origins and existential themes surrounding vampires. Following this, the 1985 film adaptation 'Lifeforce' offers a visual representation of the story, albeit with notable differences in plot details and character dynamics. After these foundational works, readers can explore contemporary novels such as 'Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut,' which further expands the vampire mythos in a unique sci-fi context, blending themes of space exploration and supernatural elements. By adhering to this order, readers will gain a comprehensive understanding of how the concept of vampires has evolved across different narratives and mediums, enriching their overall experience of the genre.

Good question — I get asked this a lot when people start imagining fallout maps and secret basement lairs. In practical terms, most places do not require a dedicated bomb shelter in new single-family homes. Building codes focus on life-safety basics like structural integrity, fire protection, egress, plumbing and electrical systems. In the U.S., for example, the International Residential Code (IRC) and International Building Code (IBC) that many jurisdictions adopt don’t mandate private bomb shelters. Instead you’ll find optional standards for storm safe rooms (ICC 500) or FEMA guidance like FEMA P-361 for community shelters, which are aimed more at tornadoes and hurricanes than wartime explosions. That said, there are notable exceptions and historical reasons for them. Countries with specific civil-defense policies — Israel, Switzerland and Finland come to mind — do require some form of protective rooms or nearby shelter capacity in many new residential buildings. Critical facilities (hospitals, emergency operations centers) and high-security buildings might have reinforced or blast-resistant designs mandated by other regulations. For most homeowners the realistic options are: build a FEMA-rated safe room for storms, reinforce an interior room, or rely on community shelters. Personally, I think it’s fascinating how building policy reflects local risk — a sunny suburb rarely needs the same features as a city under constant threat, and I’d rather invest in sensible preparedness than a full bunker unless I actually lived somewhere that made it practical.