Jack Guignol does a monthly “things that brought me delight” posts; I always appreciate them and, as my presence on The Socials distills back down to this ol’ blog and nothing else, it occurs to me that maybe I should ape that.

So, let’s give it a try: three things I enjoyed in October (and nothing negative).

Chris Wraight’s New Imperium Books

I hop on all the Black Library bundles I can find, because they’re incredibly good deals and I tend to haul ass through them. This year’s was no exception. I’m tackling them in the order listed here, which means I started with books in Chris Wraight’s Vaults of Terra and Watchers of the Throne series. And they’re great! Especially the Vaults of Terra: he does a great job of painting The Imperium, and Terra in particular, as corrupt, decadent, grimy, miserable places and hitting really badass cinematic moments.

I don’t know that I’d rate him Abnett or ADB-level, but Wraight is A-tier for me, now.

Slow Horses

I wanted a LeCarré-esque British spy story; I got a LeCarré-esque British spy story. It might have been a little shallow, but it was as-advertised. Oldman was notably odious, which was fun.

Barbarian

If you haven’t seen Barbarian, you really should. Do not let anyone spoil anything of it for you; the foundation of its effectiveness lies with its play on expectations.