DOA On TV: Little House On The Prairie 2026 (Netflix), Ride or Die (Prime)

 

Little House On The Prairie  Netflix

 

I completed the eight episode first season of the new series.  I really enjoyed it, and look forward to season two.  When I read or watch compelling historical fiction, it makes me want to read more about the time the book or film is set in.

While I haven't read the first book yet (I've a large pile of books in waiting), watching the show made me want to read all of the books.  I didn't realize the family moved around so much.  They only stay in their home near Independence for a little over a year despite all the hardships they had trying to get established.  For next season they're off to Walnut Grove Minnesota, where the original TV series was set, though according to my research they went back home to Wisconsin first.  

I was taken by the characters in the show, all fascinating people trying to make the best of a truly impossible situation.  Flawed, every one of them, but admirable as well.

I found a good list on Reddit where someone asked for books for adults like Little House on the Prairie.  It's full of great sounding titles.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis/comments/1suh100/little_house_on_the_prairie_for_adults/ 

 

Ride or Die (Prime)

 

Best friends Debbie and Judith look for antiques together, host book club, and spend as much time together as their lives allow.  Twenty years of friendship are broken when a series of events change their lives.

Debbie, married to a British MP she's grooming for Prime Minister, has long ago stopped using her law degree.  She is happy with her life, so she takes the brunt of the shocks incoming.  Her husband wants a divorce.  He owes 24 million pounds to the Albanian mob.  Her friend Judith has been an international assassin for all the years they've known each other.

Judith swings in to save her friend from the mob despite orders from her boss.  Judith and Debbie are off across Europe barely surviving the long line of those now chasing them both.  Interpol is on their trail now too, as suspects in several murders that occurred along the way.  To complicate matters, a former colleague of Judith's appears to be back from the dead bent on revenge against her.

It's adventure, comedy, and a wild ride through eight episodes. Great cast with many side characters you come to like.

 

The Shadow Project by Herbie Brennan.

Danny, a wild child of the streets, makes his way into an abandoned mansion. Through a bit of odd timing, he discovers an elevator down to a secret government facility just as security for the system is offline.

He knows he will be in trouble if caught but he can't resist exploring. When he comes upon a room with a girl hooked into what looks like a torture device, he is shocked enough that he doesn't notice he is now surrounded by security, and he's captured.

Welcome to the Shadow Project, a secret British operation that uses "remote viewing", a form of astral projection, to spy unseen upon enemies in faraway lands. Teens are the most adept as subjects, and they can gather intelligence without risk to their corporeal forms, so it seems.



The girl in the chair is Opal, daughter of project head Sir Roland. While on a mission to track down the almost legendary figure The Skull, she not only finds the Skull, but she is seen and trapped in a cage by a mystical old man named Farrakhan.

It is up to Danny, a reluctant recruit, and Michael, a prince among his people who is utterly loyal to the Project, to try to find Opal and solve the mystery of Farrakhan and the beasts he soon unleashes upon the Project.

Part spy adventure, part supernatural mystery, The Shadow Project is a fast moving tale that would be enjoyed by readers of The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, The Pendragon Adventures by D. J. MacHale and the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.

In a fascinating Author Note at the end of the book, Herbie Brennan talks about the real life "remote viewing" program run at one time by the CIA.



This is just the first adventure for Danny, Opal and Michael, so keep a sharp eye out for the next volume.

Herbie Brennan is the author of the Fairie Wars Series:

Faerie Wars

The Purple Emperor

Ruler of the Realm

Faerie Lord


For more on Herbie Brennan, Out of Body Experiences, and other aspects of Herbie's work, visit his site.