May was a month of catching up — and most of it stuck the landing.
Catching up on a series I'm sprinting through; catching up on a long-missed opportunity, finally seeing one of my all-time favourite bands live for the first time; and catching up on a childhood I apparently skipped by watching the movies first. Some of it stuck the landing flawlessly; some of it surprised me sideways and needs a little more time in the oven before I give my final thoughts. Here's everything that made my month — books first, then the riffs, because that's the order I lived it in.
Finished it, finally. After the original Red Rising trilogy bookends itself with the cathartic finale that is Morning Star, Iron Gold asks you to try something different — spreading your attention across a handful of segmented POVs and settling into a multifaceted, heist-shaped plot. Honestly, I think my rating says more about my headspace than the book. I wasn't in the mood for the fragmentation, and a meaningful chunk of momentum gets lost in the handoffs between perspectives — even though it still ranks among what I'd consider some of my favourite reads. Still very good. Just a step down from the peak, and I suspect a re-read someday lands it higher.
And then the saga reminds you why you're here. I'm three-quarters deep and thoroughly hooked, despite Dark Age being, by no small margin, the bleakest the series has gotten. It's grim in a way that earns it — just gut punch after gut punch. I'd meant to sprint the whole back half of Red Rising to be fully caught up before Red God drops, but I've slowed down and started reading buffer books in between. Smart move, as it turns out: the release date is still well beyond the horizon.
Book two of Licanius. The prose and craft are a noticeable step up from The Shadow of What Was Lost — Islington's clearly levelled up as a writer between volumes — but the plot didn't have its hooks in me quite as deep this time. I have a strong feeling this is a “book two problem”: the kind of middle installment that gets dramatically better in hindsight once book three recontextualizes it, and better still on a re-read, when you can finally soak up all the details you didn't know to watch for. Number ratings are tough for me with this series and author, because The Shadow of What Was Lost was the first adult novel I picked up when reading became a hobby rather than a task — right as I was making the jump from student to adult. That said, Mr. Islington never disappoints.
Reading the books for the first time as an adult, having grown up on the films, and book three is just as good as I remember the movie being — which turned out to be the interesting part. Reading the source gave me a real new appreciation for how well the screenplay adapts the novel. An adaptation done right — or even one that doesn't completely drop the ball — is its own kind of craft. Here's hoping Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn (Apple TV) can reach similar heights.
I started The Twelve Kingdoms (book one) at the tail end of May and finished it in June, so I'll give it the room it deserves in the June recap. Short version: it's a fantastic fantasy series, and it hits different as an anime fan — the prose lends itself so naturally to visualizing the characters and world in that beloved medieval-fantasy aesthetic that it practically storyboards itself. The English translation is genuinely excellent.
First time ever seeing DGD, and it was everything I hoped for and then some. The whole set was the modern post-hardcore fix I needed, spanning decades of crowd-pleasers and deep cuts. The moment that made my arm hair stand on end was “Carl Barker” as an encore — and yes, of course I knew it was coming; I'd been listening to the setlist on repeat for weeks in preparation. I've got way too much to say about this one for a recap, so I'm giving it the full concert blog it deserves (coming soon — I'll link it here for future readers). The opening acts were standout too; what a stacked lineup for anyone deep in modern post-hardcore. If you can catch the tail end of the run, do it — I know tickets are limited, and it's worth it.
▶ “Carl Barker” performed by Dance Gavin Dance — HISTORY, Toronto · May 24, 2026
The live-in-studio re-record series returns, with current vocalist Andrew Wells breathing new life into a satisfyingly diverse tracklist. I'm very happy with it overall. I've got a few personal nitpicks about production choices — Stephen and Andrew's past collaborations (Eidola's Mend and Purity Ladder) set a high bar for me — but hearing a modern take on songs like “It's Safe to Say You Dig the Backseat” is a genuine treat. I could gush about plenty more here, and I will, eventually.
▶ “It's Safe to Say You Dig the Backseat” — Tree City Sessions
Stuff I'm stoked about. The new Wolf & Bear album is fantastic and honestly deserves its own full review (consider that teased) — it's streaming now, with vinyl and CD up for pre-order, so go stream the hell out of it in the meantime.
▶ Wolf & Bear — “Rick Ranch”
They came in hot with the announcement of this dual B-side EP, led by the single “Thorns.” As a huge fan of both bands, this is a seriously tasty release. It cracks me up that it's billed as not quite up to flagship-release quality, because the production is — unsurprisingly — stellar. “Thorns” is a straight-up earworm, and how it ended up a B-side is beyond me; I'm just glad it gets to see the light of day. Can we maybe say the same about “Gingivitis” one day? (Looking at you, Dance.)
▶ Galleons & Valiant Hearts — “Thorns”
A few things I'm working on for next month: the full Dance Gavin Dance Toronto concert blog, a proper Wolf & Bear review, and my write-up on The Twelve Kingdoms now that book one's behind me. And quietly in the background — Red God watch. Pierce Brown's confirmed it's nowhere near done and there's still no official date, so I'll keep buffer-reading until one surfaces. No rush; the Reaper can take all the time he needs before letting hell loose. Anything else I'm anticipating? Deathsleep is dropping a single from their new EP every week — a little something to take the edge off, to say the least. The latest, “Sapphire,” is streaming now.
▶ Deathsleep — “Sapphire,” streaming on Spotify.
▶ Pierce Brown on Red God's status, straight from the source — it's not coming right away.