Between the Pages - July 2026
July in East Texas has been exactly what you'd expect. By about eleven o'clock each morning, the heat has convinced everybody that the indoors is the better option. That has meant more time with books, more time with games, and more time sharing stories with my family, which isn't a bad trade.
For my birthday, my wife gave me one of my favorite presents I've ever received: tickets for the five of us, my wife, our three children, and me, to see The Odyssey in IMAX. I'd been looking forward to Christopher Nolan's adaptation for months, but it still managed to exceed my expectations. I honestly can't remember another theatrical experience where the sound design had such an impact. The acting is exceptional across the board, with Samantha Morton delivering a performance as Circe that has stayed with me long after the credits rolled. I also loved Nolan's commitment to practical effects, which gave several sequences a weight that's becoming increasingly rare in big-budget filmmaking. Without spoiling anything, I'll simply say that the film isn't afraid to lean into horror when the story calls for it, and those moments are remarkably effective. At nearly three hours, I never once found myself checking the time. It's the kind of movie that reminds you why seeing certain films in a theater still matters.
The extra time indoors also led me to Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and I'm having an absolute blast. If you enjoy audiobooks, this is one of the rare occasions where I'd recommend listening before reading. Jeff Hays' narration is extraordinary and elevates an already terrific series. If you're a fan of role-playing games, pop culture, or simply want to spend time with one of fiction's greatest feline characters, Princess Donut, this is an easy recommendation. Beneath all of the humor and chaos is an astonishing amount of craftsmanship. The world building is incredibly detailed, the characters continue to surprise me, and the books somehow manage to become more ambitious without collapsing under their own weight.
Most of my gaming time this month has been spent in Elden Ring: Nightreign, playing co-op with my youngest son and his friends. As much as I've enjoyed the game itself, that's probably not what I'll remember most. I'll remember getting to spend time with him while he's still at an age where Dad is welcome to join the party. I've also gotten an unexpected education in teenage gaming culture, learning concepts like "aura farming" and realizing that every generation develops its own language around the things it loves. Fortunately, they're patient enough to explain it to me. The game itself is excellent, but the time together has been even better.
One of my biggest television discoveries this month wasn't new at all. It was finally finding Mr Inbetween, a series that had somehow stayed completely off my radar. I honestly have no idea how I missed it. The character development reminds me of The Bear, while the criminal underworld feels like something Quentin Tarantino might have dreamed up if he'd set a story in Australia. It's funny, dark, unexpectedly moving, and more intense than I anticipated. Every episode leaves me wanting to watch one more.
On the writing front, BrainStorm continues making its way through the query process while my imagination has already started drifting toward the next project. That's usually how it works. By the time one manuscript is looking for a home, another has already begun insisting on my attention. The new novel is still in its earliest stages, but I know two things already. It's horror, it's set in East Texas, and the working title is Bodily Autonomy. Right now I'm enjoying that stage where the world is still revealing itself a little at a time.
If I could recommend only one thing from this month's list, it would be The Odyssey in IMAX. It reminded me why I fell in love with movies in the first place.
Until next month.
— ATM
Aaron Thomas Milstead