this was a wonderful guide to the show Black Mirror, it was a fun read and I enjoyed reading this. It was an informative read.

Subtitle: An Unofficial Companion

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Black Mirror is a British anthology series that is often compared to The Twilight Zone. It airs on Netflix, and while I’ve been very interested in the series, I’ve never seen it because we don’t have Netflix. Given that the likelihood is small that I’ll ever actually see any Black Mirror episodes, I figured the next best thing would be to read an episode guide.


This book summarizes each episode in the series, points out the theme of the episode, and tracks common themes and Easter eggs that indicate that the episodes take place in the same fictional universe. It appears that the series’ writers envision a dark, dystopian future due to the negative influences of technology and social media

I gave The Binge Watcher’s Guide to Black Mirror four stars on Goodreads. Readers who do not already have an interest in the series will probably not feel compelled to read it, but those who are interested or who have only seen a few episodes will probably enjoy it.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. I absolutely love black mirror and it is a perfect brief synopsis of all of season four. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Solid analysis of Black Mirror, but felt like a collection of blog posts. Nice to read if you want something extra, but wish it had been fleshed out more.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Riverdale Avenue Books in exchange for an honest review.

So the first thing I would like to say about this book is that it is a guide and not any kind of deep analysis. I was initially disappointed by this but I realised it was my own expectations causing that disappointment and so I think it's important that as a reader going in, you are not expecting any kind of detailed essay format. The second thing I would like to say is I really enjoyed it.

This is a fun, short guide to every episode of Black Mirror, with the bulk of the content being episode summaries and there being some additional commentary at the end in the form of four short chapters/sections. It is clearly written by a fan and it was nice to relive the episodes in this way. It definitely made me want to rewatch the show and experience it anew.

There is brief discussion of the themes/purpose of each episode but I found this very limited. I think I noticed it most for USS Callister and Striking Vipers where there is barely a mention of any feminist/sexual/queer themes despite those being huge parts of those episodes. Perhaps the author thought these were too obvious to mention but it felt odd to read about a lack of STDs in videogame encounters in Striking Vipers being appealing while the incredibly complex relationship in that episode is brushed over. As I said, deep analysis is not promised or expected here but there is an attempt on commentary and this sometimes falls flat.

Having said that, the main joy of this book is the enthusiasm of the author. It is clear which episodes the author likes the most and it's always nice to read about a TV show from the point of view of someone who does genuinely love it. I read this book almost entirely in one sitting and it was a wonderful experience, so if you are a fan of the show then I strongly recommend checking this out.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars