The Humans

The Humans by Matt Haig has been on my shelf for quite a while, probably because I've had mixed experienced with this author in the past.
The blurb on the back of the book makes it sound like the protagonist has some kind of psychotic break and starts feeling out of place among other humans. But the start of the book clearly states that he's been abducted and killed and replaced by an alien - and, from what I read, that does seem to be the case.
The alien's mission is to remove any and all evidence of a mathematical discovery that its race feels humanity isn't ready for - including killing anyone who knows about it.
And that where one of my problems with the book comes in - I get the feeling that the alien may end up deciding humans aren't so terrible after all, but 'he' still does some fairly terrible things along the way, and I'm always sceptical about how far characters can be redeemed, depending on what they actually do before they 'learn' better.
I also found the style and approach very off-putting. I can see what the author is trying to do - using an alien character to highlight bad/weird/amusing aspects of human society from an outside perspective. But it's very heavy-handed - and also quite boring, in that 'he' spends a lot of time describing completely mundane things that are fascinating/confusing to 'him', but that the reader knows and understands all too well.
Additionally, I get the feeling it's mean to be funny - but it's not the kind of humour that works for me at all. I just found the whole thing quite unpleasant, inconsistent and nonsensical (the way the alien behaves and responds to things makes no sense if 'he's' trying to blend in) and felt there wasn't enough actual plot in amongst the 'essay' sections, commenting on how humans live and behave.
I can see why people might like this book - but it just wasn't for me and I DNF'd it shortly before the 100-page mark.

Beacon Pines

Beacon Pines is a weird and interesting game - and, having just finished it, I'm not entirely sure what I think about it.
It's got a really cutesy vibe with a brightly coloured palette and adorable animal characters - but, once you get into the story, it's dark and twisted and creepy and very much not for kids.
And then there's the mechanics. You collect 'charms' by exploring and interacting with the other characters, which then give you different options you can pick from when you reach a turning point in the story.
But if and when things go awry, you can go back to any of the decision points and choose a different option.
So, the story gradually branches out in various directions as you play - so it's like you have the opportunity to try out all the different choices while you're playing the first time through, rather than having to start from the beginning each time to get all the endings.
It's clever and I like the writing a lot.
But it also has a lot of passive aspects, where you just watch things playing out without taking an active role, which is a bit frustrating at times (but much better managed than in some other games I've played).
It also kind of tricks you into thinking you have choices - because you actually end up taking every available choice through to its conclusion, which makes it linear, with no choices at all, if you look at it in a particular way...
But, overall, I really enjoyed it - I found myself thinking about it a lot even when I wasn't playing it and it had me reacting out loud quite a few times when I was playing it.
It took me six hours over five days, and it felt like a satisfying length and outcome for what it was.