I just realized that I need to post a few legacy signatures that I have sitting around. This one is for the late Robert Jordan whose Wheel of Time series is a landmark work for many fantasy readers.
Collector's Corner: Robert Jordan
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Comic Break: Sir Apropos of Nothing #1 (IDW Publishing)
Friday, November 28, 2008
Sir Apropos of Nothing
Issue: #1
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Robin Riggs
32 pp. IDW Publishing. $3.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“I’m sure the horse had a name, but since it didn’t ask me mine, I saw no reason to inquire after its.”—Sir Apropos of Nothing #1
Author Peter David’s new fantasy-themed comic Sir Apropos of Nothing chronicles the adventures of Sir Apropos, a man with few scruples and a self-professed string of bad luck. Apropos isn’t above kicking a man when he’s down, particularly if it helps his own cause. Calling him self-serving still might be an understatement.
Apropos is the type of antihero that all the cool kids are writing about now: sarcastic, clever, and with a hint of a mean streak. He’s Dr. House with a robe and sword, posturing coolness with that unapologetic I-don’t-care attitude, a more evolved version of a teenager (all the juvenile attitude minus the incessant whining). Secretly we delight in his badness, salivate over his rebelliousness, and just love the fact he says what is on his mind. And he’s good for a few laughs too.
David’s script has moments of being laugh-out-loud funny, particularly when he takes a few well-placed shots at Stephen King’s Dark Tower saga. The issue’s tone is definitely comedic, and David’s good-natured humor ends up making the story quite appealing. It’s a charm spell looking for a victim. And a refreshing change from a lot of fantasy that takes itself too seriously.
David and artist Robin Riggs have created a fun and enjoyable new antihero. Let’s hope that future issues of Sir Apropos of Nothing continue to produce such hearty laughs.
Final Grade: 80 out of 100
Comic Break: The Cleaners #1 (Dark Horse Comics)
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The Cleaners
Issue: #1
Writer: Mark Wheaton and Joshua Hale Fialkov
Artist: Rahsan Ekedal
32 pp. Dark Horse Comics. $2.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“A single human body is a toxic cesspool capable of incubating enough of any given plague to wipe out a civilization.”—The Cleaners #1
Trauma cleaning must be the job de jour at the moment since it’s featured not only in Charlie Huston new novel “The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death”, but also in a new comic series from Dark Horse Comics called The Cleaners. Who would have known that crime scene cleanup would be such an attractive occupation. (Not to mention that both books feature trauma cleaners working the
For those who aren’t familiar with trauma cleaning (and I was recently one of them), these specialists clean up violent scenes after the police have finished their investigation. Cleaners are like the Merry Maids for biohazardous waste, properly treating and disposing of blood and human tissue. It’s a gruesome job, and oddly fascinating (much like one’s attraction to car wrecks).
The first issue immerses us into the life of
The forensic science tidbits that serve as the basis for trauma cleaning were interesting, and I enjoyed how
Overall, the first issue of The Cleaners turns Bellarmine’s intriguing line of work into a promising start for a new comic series.
Final Grade: 76 out of 100
Comic Break: Ferryman #2 (DC/Wildstorm)
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Ferryman
Issue: #2
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artist: Jonathan Wayshak
32 pp. Wildstorm/DC. $3.50
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“…You’ve just been called up to the majors”— Ferryman #2
The first issue of Wildstorm’s new series Ferryman was an intriguing introduction to Gideon Thorne, a supernatural bounty hunter. Thorne’s an interesting character, and the initial issue provided enough questions to make the current one worth the look. While many questions are still left hanging (and new ones develop) after the second issue, the introduction of new characters and storylines give a greater depth to the series. If there was one word to sum up Ferryman to this point it would be “promising.”
Writer Marc Andreyko delivers an enjoyable script for the issue. He gives us a peek into the “origin” of Gideon Thorne early on. Thorne’s background is filled in by his boss Webster, who regales Gideon with the tale of his Gideon’s own life. These expository passages come off as strange and unrealistic. Clearly, Andreyko wants to give the reader insight into Gideon’s past, but to have it delivered in this manner shows his hand too clearly. People do not give pages of narrative on another person’s past. Others may refer to one’s past, but never explain it to them. The theatrical way Webster recounts Gideon’s past further aggravates this problem; it’s posturing for the reader. Also, Gideon’s back-story strongly reminded me of the movie “Seven,” which made it feel like something I’ve seen before. Unfortunately, this means it held little suspense or interest to me.
The story starts to pick up in the second half of the issue when Andreyko introduces some new characters and plotlines. Natalia is another ferryman who works for Webster, and after taking down a terrorist baddie, she’s sent off to
On the positive side, I love Jonathan Wayshak’s art. It has a frenetic and gleefully disturbed quality to it; all his characters grin like crazed maniacs. If an award was handed out for “Best Maniacal Grins,” Wayshak would win in a landslide. His characters are all huge teeth and big, bulging eyes. It works beautifully in the context of the series, and is definitely the issue’s greatest strength.
The second issue of Ferryman does an adequate job treading water as Andreyko and Wayshak put pieces of the story in place. Hopefully, this will bear some fruit soon. However enough mystery still surrounds the series to warrant a look at the next issue.
Final Grade: 73 out of 100
Related Posts:
Comic Break: Ferryman #1 (DC/Wildstorm)
"All the Windwracked Stars" by Elizabeth Bear
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
All the Windwracked Stars
Elizabeth Bear
368 pp. Tor. $24.95
Pub. Date: 10/28/2008
ISBN-13: 978-0765318824
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“The wolf sees no reason to salvage this world, when it is already so ruined. He’d rather tear it down. It would not, after all, be the first time. And the Technomancer and her constructs are the only thing between Eiledon and the wolf, and Eiledon and the Waste.” – “All the Windwracked Stars”
Occasionally, a novel can be greatly appreciated without being appealing. Like a piece of art in which one can enjoy the beauty and craftsmanship, but feel no connection with it. No matter how hard one tries, the novel and reader never engage each other; there is only an emotional flatness, a seed of a story that never germinates. Sometimes certain books don’t work with certain readers. This is not a criticism as much as an observation. What doesn’t emotionally connect with one reader could just as likely connect with the next one.
Case in point is Elizabeth Bear’s latest novel “All the Windwracked Stars.” Bear’s novel is beautifully written and expertly plotted, yet the story failed to engage me, lessening the overall appeal of the book for me. There were moments when I got into the story, only to have later events jar me back out of it. However, there was never a point in “All the Windwracked Stars” where the book grabbed hold and refused to let go. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like the book due to Bear’s sublime craftsmanship, “All the Windwracked Stars” never generated any interest in me; it was an emotional flatline. But that isn’t to say that it wouldn’t generate interest in others. It contains all the elements necessary to be very successful with readers; I’m just not one of them.
As the novel begins, Muire stumbles across the aftermath of an apocalyptic battle between the children of the Light and the tarnished. She sadly discovers that all of her brothers and sisters of the Light have been killed, leaving her as the lone survivor of the Light. Muire is understandably crushed by this discovery. She is also wracked with enormous guilt, since she owes her survival to the fact that she fled like a coward before the battle began.
Among the corpses littering the battlefield, Muire discovers the valraven Kasimir, barely alive. Kasimir is an extremely intelligent type of stallion that has two heads and wings. The valravens traditionally serve as mounts for the children of Light. Among the cold and snowy field of death, Muire and Kasimir end up eventually saving each other (both literally and metaphorically), creating a timeless bond in the process.
Twenty-three hundred years later, human civilization has risen and nearly fallen, humanity now poised on the brink of extinction. Two hundred years earlier, the Desolation “left all Valdyrgard a salted garden.” Only the ancient city of
Muire, who has been living in Eiledon since before the Desolation, stumbles across a man dying in the streets one night. She takes in his last breath, sucking it down deep into her lungs, a waelcyrge rite by which she chooses him. In choosing him, Muire “accepted his death and accepted as well the burden of vengeance that death brought.” But this vengeance comes with a heavy price, and Muire suddenly finds herself in the heart of a complex mystery. One in which the outcome may affect the very survival of human civilization.
Muire, the protagonist of “All the Windwracked Stars,” was the biggest hindrance to my enjoyment of the book. Due to her guilt over her desertion of the children of Light twenty-three hundred years prior, Muire is emotionally crippled, filled with so much self-hatred that she is more annoying rather than endearing. Her woe-is-me act wore thin quickly. I generally am bored by mopey, angst-ridden characters, so Muire’s inability to “get over it” didn’t make for the most exciting reading. Thematically, “All the Windwracked Stars” concentrates on the Muire’s possible salvation. Can her future actions erase the stain of her past negligence? While I can appreciate this question, her emotional trauma bored me; I felt no empathy for her character. Many of the other characters in the novel like Selene, Kasimir, Cristokos, and Cathoair are quite appealing though. Only Muire undermines the narrative by wallowing in her angst. If she had only spanked her inner emo, “All the Windwracked Stars” would have been very special.
The world of “All the Windwracked Stars” is highly imaginative and creative; the world-building and characterization is generally fresh and unique. Bear’s creativity is wonderful to behold as it informs even the smallest detail of Valdyrgard. The language is beautiful; passages are poetic in their composition. Bear writes with an artist’s sense of language; prose that is elevated above normal genre fiction. For example, Bear writes:
“Since the breaking of the Light the wolf has been listening to the ticking decay. Worlds, like gods, are a long time dying, and the deathblow dealt the children of the Light did not stop a civilization of mortal men from rising in their place, inventing medicine and philosophy, metallurgy and space flight.”
Aesthetically, the novel is a wonder to behold. I was awed intellectually by Bear’s imagination. Only my issues with Muire kept me from fully connecting with the world. If the focus had been shifted onto another character, I likely would have found the material much more engaging. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about Muire.
Last Word:
Despite being beautifully composed and crafted, “All the Windwracked Stars” failed to connect with me. The angst-ridden protagonist Muire is too weepy, her consuming self-hatred too melodramatic and boring. Therefore, I found myself having a difficult time relating to her, and as she serves as the main conduit for the story, this obviously hampered my enjoyment of the novel. This is really a personal objection more than a criticism though. Despite my distaste for Muire, “All the Windwracked Stars” is still a wonderfully imaginative and enjoyable novel.
Final Grade: 77 out of 100
Comic Break: Northlanders #11 (Vertigo)
Monday, November 24, 2008
Northlanders
Issue: #11
Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Ryan Kelly
32 pp. Vertigo. $2.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“I know they were bad dogs. You had to kill them. Right?” — Northlanders #11
This is the first issue of the Vertigo published series Northlanders that I’ve read, the current issue marking the beginning of a new six-part story arc called The Cross + The Hammer. If this is indicative of the entire series, this is also the last issue of Northlanders I will read (an action which elicits no tears from me). Silly, pedestrian and highly unoriginal, the issue reads like a bad movie screenplay. Set in
Writer Brian Wood’s script is vastly problematic. The dialogue in spots is clichéd, anachronistic or downright laughable. Ragnar Ragnarsson, who spends the issue tracking the fleeing Magnus, at one point refers to the Magnus as a “perp.” This anachronism is jarring to the story. This is a general problem with the dialogue as it is too modern and unbelievable for the era. Ragnar even mentions taking a forensic science class at the local college, before referring to “half-bags” and “splatter patterns” at the crime scene he is investigating. However, this doesn’t stop him from tasting a spot of blood from the area. What exactly does one need to taste blood for? To see how fresh it is? It’s incongruous that someone talking about splatter patterns would taste blood at a crime scene. (Surprisingly, Ragnar failed to talk about the blood’s viscosity.) Not to mention the setting is
To compound matters, the characters are cardboard cutouts, stereotypical, flat and generally uninteresting. You have your grunting, monosyllabic hero Magnus, his wide-eyed, innocent daughter Brigid and the aforementioned blood-tasting Ragnar. Wood offers the reader nothing that would make us want to learn more about the characters. I felt absolutely no connection to any of the characters, nor did I feel invested in their plight. When Magnus and Brigid are confronted by a pack of slavering hounds, whether they survived was completely unimportant to me. This drained any potential tension out of the story. Even the hideous wound that Magnus has on his sword arm (his arm looks like it’s about to separate from his shoulder), lends no tension to his struggle. In fact, his arm appears perfectly fine considering he has no trouble wielding his sword during an extensive battle with the hounds. Only a few panels previous to the fight, Magnus was cradling his arm protectively. It seems he heals quite fast.
The artwork in the issue is solid, though fairly basic. I’m not a big fan of the cartoony-looking style artist Ryan Wood uses for the issue. It’s adequate to the tone of the story, but something darker and grittier would have worked better here. Still, the main problems with this issue of Northlanders are beyond Wood’s control. From the beginning, he’s saddled with a terrible script.
Ultimately, this issue is a forgettable mess, possessing nothing even slightly redeeming. Like the bad dogs hounding Magnus in the story, this issue of Northlanders should have been brutally put down.
Book Giveaway: Signed "Night Rising" by Chris Marie Green
Once again, courtesy of author Chris Marie Green, we have a copy of her novel "Night Rising" up for grabs today. And if that wasn't good enough, the book also happens to be signed by Chris.
Stuntwoman Dawn Madison is a girl with a lot of attitude and a lot of issues, mostly about living up to the legacy of her mother, a world famous movie star and sex symbol, whose untimely death left Dawn to be raised by her dad, Frank, nobody's notion of single-father-of-the-year. Now that she's all grown up, she and Frank aren't on the best of terms, to say the least.
Still, he is her dad, and when he vanishes while investigating the bizarre sighting-caught on film-of a supposedly long-dead child star, she comes home to Tinseltown to join the search for him. Working with his colleagues-a psychic short in stature but big in dreams of stardom, a beautiful Latina techno-geek, and the PI firm's never-seen boss-she discovers an erotic and bloody underground society made up of creatures she thought existed only on the screen.
They are devious. They are deadly. And some of them are dangerously attractive...
To Enter to Win: Send an email to pstotts@bloodofthemuse.com with the subject line "VAMPIRE" and include your name and mailing address in the body of your email. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Winners will be selected at random. No purchase is necessary.
For more Blood of the Muse giveaways: click here.
Bloggers: if you promote this contest on your blog, I will give you an additional entry. Email me at pstotts@bloodofthemuse.com with the subject line "VAMPIRE", and include the address to your blog in the body of the email, or you can leave the address to your blog in the comment section of this post. I'll check it out and make sure you get another entry.
Good luck to everyone who enters!
Collector's Corner: Dennis McKiernan
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Dennis McKiernan has recently seen his latest Mithgar novel "City of Jade" released, so what better time than now to highlight his authorial scrawl.
Winner of "Armageddon's Children" Giveaway
Saturday, November 22, 2008
A winner has been selected to receive a paperback copy of the first book in the Genesis of Shannara series "Armageddon's Children" by Terry Brooks.
The winner is: Anthony Giordano from New York, New York. Congratulations Anthony!
Thanks to everyone who entered!
Winner of Humpty Dumpty Jr. Giveaway
A winner has been selected to receive a set of the excellent Humpty Dumpty Jr. Hardboiled Detective books by Nate Evans, Paul Hindman and Vince Evans. The set includes two books featuring the charming Humpty Dumpty Jr.: "The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop" and "The Mystery of Merlin and the Gruesome Ghost."
The winner is: Shannon Baas from Grand Canyon, Arizona. Congratulations Shannon!
Thanks to everyone who entered!
Collector's Corner: Todd McCaffrey
With the release of his latest novel "Dragonheart", I thought I'd post a scan of author Todd McCaffrey's autograph. Enjoy.
"Backup" by Jim Butcher
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Backup
Jim Butcher
80 pp. Subterranean Press. $20.00
Pub. Date: 10/31/2008
ISBN-13: 978-1596061828
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“My name is Thomas Raith, and I’m a monster” – “Backup”
Even monsters like the vampire Thomas Raith do a good deed occasionally and Jim Butcher’s twelve-thousand word limited edition novelette “Backup” from the incomparable Subterranean Press details one of Thomas’s more altruistic deeds. Based on Butcher’s bestselling Dresden Files series, “Backup” is a rare event in the
So proving that blood is thicker than mayhem-making, Thomas is lead into goodness in order to look out for Harry. Things start out innocently enough with an email to Thomas from the
On meeting the courier, Thomas finds out that his good-hearted brother has taken on a new case. Harry believes that he’s helping a woman find her kidnapped child, but instead he’s being unknowingly set up by the Stygian Sisterhood. Now the Sisterhood and vampires have a rather intense hatred of each other; the two groups currently engaged in a silent war. So finding and destroying members of the Stygian Sisterhood is high up on Thomas’s to-do list. But he also wants to watch his brother’s back, hopefully keeping Harry out of hot water with the Sisterhood. Frustrated, Thomas only hopes these two objectives aren’t mutually exclusive.
Make no mistake; even though “Backup” is told from Thomas’s point of view, Butcher’s novelette is pure Dresden Files. Filled with the combination of goofy humor and fast-paced action that Butcher’s novels have become famous for, “Backup” starts quickly and equally ends quickly. The biggest disappointment, in fact, is how fast the whole reading experience goes. It would have been nice to see the story fleshed out more. The ending, in particular, was abrupt, which was a shame since it featured the novelette’s best scene as Thomas playacted the worse stereotypical villain imaginable.
And Thomas’s playacting isn’t the only memorable scene in the story. There’s another great scene featuring Thomas conversing with Bob, a confidante of Harry’s who happens to be a spirit living in a human skull. The interaction between Bob and Thomas is fantastic, making for an utterly entertaining scene. (But then again, just about any scene with Bob in it has a high entertainment index.)
Other than the abbreviated nature of the story, “Backup” is quite enjoyable. If you’ve never read any of the Dresden Files books, “Backup” would serve as a fine introduction to the series; however, it may not be engaging enough to coax new readers into trying Butcher’s Dresden Files novels. Butcher’s previous fans will undoubtedly love it even though it’s not a Harry-centric story.
Artist Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, contributes some solid black and white art to the novelette. Mignola’s work is always unique and stylistic; nothing else looks quite like it. However, while the art is interesting, I didn’t find it adding much to the proceedings. It is the type of quality artwork though which Subterranean Press has become known for in its limited editions, so the inclusion of Mignola’s drawings is more a matter of presentation than narrative function.
“Backup” is a wonderful little jaunt through the Dresden Files universe, most noticeable for the fact that it is told from the perspective of Harry’s older brother, Thomas Raith. Filled with one great scene after another, the novelette’s biggest drawback is that it’s over so quickly. Still, it’s pure Dresden Files, which means that both fans and non-fans alike will find this a very entertaining and humorous read.
Final Grade: 75 out of 100
Comic Break: Unknown Soldier #1 (Vertigo)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Unknown Soldier
Issue: #1
Writer: Joshua Dysart
Artist: Alberto Ponticelli
32 pp. Vertigo. $2.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“You’re a good man, Lwanga Moses. The best I’ve ever known.”—Unknown Soldier #1
Lwanga Moses is a good man facing down a horrible evil in Vertigo’s new comic series Unknown Soldier. As a child, Lwanga’s family fled from the atrocities occurring in his homeland of
In the face of these horrors, Lwanga hopes to inspire change. To teach peace instead of violence. To help Africans unite and help themselves. However, violent and disturbing nightmares plague Lwanga, raising deep concerns within him about his own sanity.
The first issue focuses heavily on establishing the setting and outlining the political and social issues plaguing
Alberto Ponticelli’s visuals add to the authenticity of the storytelling; the art is simple and solid in its presentation. Some of the perspective work is odd-looking, but the artwork in general is stellar. Ponticelli’s work involved me in the emotions of the characters which is a great success considering the interiors here mainly focus on the character’s responses to events.
Filled with a high degree of social and humanitarian relevance, the first issue of Unknown Soldier is quite intriguing. Dysart has the series poised on elevated comic ground, a story with real substance behind it. If the intelligence and commentary displayed in the first issue continue to grow, Unknown Soldier could emerge as a hidden gem.
Final Grade: 78 out of 100
Comic Break: The Stand Captain Trips #2 (Marvel)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Stand: Captain Trips
Issue: #2
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artist: Mike Perkins
32 pp. Marvel. $3.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“All the chickens were coming home to roost.”— The Stand: Captain Trips #2
Marvel’s adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Stand” may be the best thing out there currently in comic land. As fantastic as the first issue was, the second issue of The Stand: Captain Trips is even better. This is absolutely enthralling stuff here, from the incredibly shrewd script by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to the amazing artwork by artist Mike Perkins and colorist Laura Martin, this issue (and series) is something special.
The mysterious and deadly A-Prime flu is quickly spreading like a proverbial wildfire. With a 99.4% communicability and fatality rate, the epidemic soon spreads throughout
Stu’s story seamlessly interweaves with separate interludes continuing the stories of Frannie Goldsmith and Larry Underwood, as well as introducing the newest character Nick Andros. I can’t say enough about the job writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is doing adapting the novel. His storytelling is top-notch. The two pages in which he describes the spread of A-Prime is particularly well-done and imaginative. What is truly impressive about Aguirre-Sacasa script is how he’s able to pack so much into so few pages. The interludes featuring Frannie and Larry are essentially only a couple of pages each, but within those interludes so much is learned about both of the characters. Reading an issue of The Stand: Captain Trips is more akin to reading a chapter in a novel than reading a comic book. And that’s the best you can hope for with any literary adaptation.
Not only is artist Mike Perkins’s interiors fantastic, his visual storytelling is even better. His characters express an unbelievably wide and palpable range of emotions. When Frannie tells her father that she is pregnant, the various emotions expressed on the character’s faces tell the reader so much. You can clearly see Frannie’s fear of her father’s disapproval, and her relief on learning of his acceptance. Ultimately, it makes for powerful storytelling. Colorist Laura Martin augments Perkin’s art beautifully. The coloring during Stu Redman’s nightmare is amazing stuff, and some of the character close-ups are incredible.
I can’t imagine The Stand: Captain Trips getting any better; it just doesn’t seem possible as everything is nearly perfect. Highly, highly recommended.
Final Grade: 93 out of 100
Related Posts:Comic Break: The Stand Captain Trips #1 (Marvel)
"Bone by Bone" by Carol O'Connell
Monday, November 17, 2008
Bone by Bone
Carol O'Connell
352 pp. Putnam. $24.95
Pub. Date: 12/30/2008
ISBN-13: 978-0399155147
Reviewed by Lindsay Stotts
What is every parent’s worst nightmare? Kids getting bad grades? They don’t make any friends? Not even close. Every parent’s worst nightmare is that their child will go out to play, and never come home. Now imagine that this actually happened, how could anything be worse than this? How about by having that missing child come home twenty years later…bone by bone. This is the setup behind Carol O’Connell’s latest thriller “Bone by Bone,” a wonderfully captivating tale filled with great characters and a clever and engaging mystery.
One day, the sons of Judge Henry Hobbs, Joshua and Oren, go out into the woods to play. That evening though Oren returns alone. Every available resident in the town of Coventry helps search the woods to find little Josh Hobbs, but strangely he is never located. The news ripples through the town like a shockwave. People warmly recollect their memories of Josh; Josh following them around with his camera and snapping candid pictures of the Coventry townsfolk. After a while, Josh’s older brother Oren is sent away from Coventry by his father. Not surprisingly, this incident only sparks more speculation and rumor-mongering among the nosy townspeople. What could be worse than having one of your sons disappear? How about having the other one accused of killing him.
Twenty years have passed and after receiving a letter from his father’s housekeeper, Hannah, which hints at his father’s ailing health, Oren returns to Coventry. When he arrives at his father’s door, he’s not only startled by the appearance of Hannah, but by what was left at the front door, namely a human bone. Discussing recent events with Hannah, Oren comes to shockingly discover that his brother has been coming home bone by bone for weeks now.
While the family now has confirmation that Joshua is dead, they must suddenly unravel the mystery of who found him, killed him and is now sending him back one bone at a time. Even though the town banded together twenty years earlier to find Josh, not all of them are totally clueless about what happened that fateful day. Oren becomes fixated on discovering who killed his brother and clearing his family. In the process, he discovers that everyone in town has their own dirty little secret to hide and his brother may have paid dearly for photographing some of them.
The story’s mystery arc is well-plotted and executed by a masterful hand, producing an extremely captivating read. Carol O’Connell does an excellent job of developing the back-story for all the characters, providing a depth to them that makes each character incredibly relatable to the reader. Her fine characterizations had me cheering for the protagonists and despising the villains, and are the reason the novel works so well. I empathized with Oren’s struggle to uncover the mystery of his brother’s disappearance and subsequent gruesome return. And even more, I was engaged by it.
The plot in “Bone by Bone” is intricate and shrewdly crafted. It contains many blind corners that I never saw coming. The narrative moves quickly, the mystery unfolding or complicating at a rapid pace. Dull moments won’t be found here. O’Connell sprinkles a little trail of breadcrumbs throughout the story to entice her audience, not enough to spoil the conclusion, but with enough substance to let the reader speculate on possible outcomes. The climax of the book did not disappoint, wrapping everything up beautifully in a stunning conclusion. The only drawback to the novel is that the extremely short story breaks felt schizophrenic since each one changed the focus to a different character. If anything, this made the story harder to follow and get into.
Last Word:
Despite a somewhat schizophrenic nature due to its rapid pacing and intricate storyline, “Bone by Bone” delivers a bucketful of thrills and chills. It’s a story that will pull at your heart strings, while at the same time making you seethe with anger at some of the characters. If you’re in the mood for a great mystery with tight plotting and great characterizations and will keep you captivated from the first page to the last, then Carol O’Connell’s “Bone by Bone” is a terrific choice.
Final Grade: 81 out of 100
Winner of "Star Wars Betrayal" Giveaway
Sunday, November 16, 2008
A winner has been selected to receive a paperback copy of "Star Wars Betrayal" by Aaron Allston.
The winner is: Jeffrey Levine from White Plains, New York. Congratulations Jeffrey!
Thanks to everyone who entered!
Comic Break: Epilogue #2 (IDW Publishing)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Epilogue
Issue: #2
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Kyle Hotz
32 pp. IDW Publishing. $3.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“It happened so fast.
They were dead before I could even pull the trigger.”— Epilogue #2
The first issue of Epilogue ended with the main character having a gruesome flashback, his origin story laid bare for the reader. The issue ended just as bad things were posed to happen. Now the second issue picks up the action, and there isn’t much lingering suspense as it’s obvious that the situation will ultimately be tragic. The hero is a seemingly invincible vampire; you don’t get that way because good things happened to you. (You never hear the phrase, “Awesome, I hit the vampire lottery” come out of anyone’s mouth.) So not surprisingly, good things don’t happen and our hero is left with a nasty case of vampirism after all the mayhem goes down. I guess some days are just like that. (But at least a crook doesn’t plug his Uncle Ben.)
Meanwhile back in the present day, Detective Marci Kramer and her partner are discussing how their unknown vigilante has the criminal element in the city spooked. What with all the killing and maiming he’s been doing, he’s taken a bigger bite out of crime than McGruff. Being rational cops, they try to piece together who their mystery man could be. And, considering the circumstances, whether they are dealing with something out of the ordinary. (The fact that the vigilante catches a whole Chinese munitions factory full of bullets and doesn’t die lends credence to the supernatural hypothesis.)
Soon we catch back up to our hungry hero as he goes out one night to hunt. And the kind of meat he’s looking for doesn’t come from a drive-thru. Finally he picks out two criminals for his late night snack. But just as he’s hooking into some crook Chow mein, a complication arises which gives him more exposure than he wants.
The story for the issue is generic at best. Writer Steve Niles doesn’t present the reader with anything new or interesting here; everything in the issue, you’ve seen before. From the character design to the plotting, the entire issue is derivative and unoriginal. While I enjoyed
The art is as generic as the story. Kyle Hotz’s interiors seem too cartoony for the tone of the comic, and there is nothing in the issue that will stick with you. Overall, I found the visuals a bit substandard for my tastes.
Any promise displayed by the first issue is undermined in the second issue of Epilogue. There’s absolutely nothing to the story or art to recommend it, and I don’t get the feeling that it’s going to improve anytime soon. This is one you can miss.
Final Grade: 67 out of 100
Related Posts:
Comic Break: Epilogue #1 (IDW Publishing)
Author Appearances: Dennis McKiernan
Dennis McKiernan will be making a stop at one of my favorite bookstores to promote his latest Mithgar novel "City of Jade". So if you are in the Southern California area, you may want to check it out.
Saturday, November 15 2008
2:00pm
Mysterious Galaxy
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Suite 302
San Diego, CA 92111
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Comic Break: Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files Storm Front #1 (Dabel Brothers)
Friday, November 14, 2008
Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files: Storm Front
Issue #1
Writer: Jim Butcher, Mark Powers
Artist: Ardian Syaf
32 pp. Dabel Brothers. $3.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“I’m a wizard, just like the sign says.
Oh, I get it. Kid’s parties. Stuff like that.” – Jim Butcher’s
After the recent success of the excellent comic series Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files Welcome to the Jungle, the publisher Dabel Brothers have decided to adapt author Jim Butcher’s first Dresden Files novel, Storm Front, into a new comic book series. Adapting a novel with all its nuances into comic book form can be a difficult endeavor. Some books just wouldn’t work as comics. Storm Front is not one of those books. Butcher, in fact, in the past has mentioned that he has always envisioned the novels as a cartoon. He isn’t lying if the first issue of Storm Front is any indication; the material seems like a natural for the comic medium.
The impressive aspect of the first issue is how well it mirrors the novel’s storyline. I would have expected some judicious editing here, removing some scenes to move the story along and save space, but everything from the novel so far seems to be intact. (It’s been a while since I’ve read the novel Storm Front, but it struck my fuzzy memory as being consistent.) I wasn’t expecting this high level of detail from the comic, so I was quite surprised with how true to the source material it was.
Harry Dresden happens to be a wizard. A real one. He’s even in the
After inspecting the scene, Harry concludes that only a very powerful human sorcerer could have cast such an energy-intensive spell, but he has no idea what the killer’s motive could be. Making uncovering the murderer even more difficult, both of the victims have shady connections. One of the victims works for an upscale escort service which is run by a vampire acquaintance of Harry’s, while the other victim is a bodyguard for top
Writer Mark Powers (along with Jim Butcher who’s credited for the source material) does a great job adapting the novel here. Powers relies heavily on the novel (as it should be), and does the best thing he can do in such a situation, namely to not screw it all up. Smartly, he stays true to the source material, as opposed to putting his mark on the story by reinventing the material.
Ardian Syaf, who did the art on Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files Welcome to the Jungle, is an old hand at Harry Dresden’s universe. The artwork here is solid, though unspectacular. The most intriguing thing about the visuals was Syaf’s design of the characters that to this point I had only read about in the novels like Gentleman Johnny Marcone. Also,
I anticipated being disappointed by this issue, figuring that it would be a pale imitation of the novel; however, I was pleasantly surprised at how authentic the comic turned out to be. Hopefully, future issues will keep this authenticity up.
Final Grade: 86 out of 100
Author Appearances: Edward Lerner
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Edward M. Lerner is doing a couple of dates starting tonight to promote his latest science-fiction novel "Fools' Experiment". He is also the co-author with Larry Niven on two other recent books "Fleet of Worlds" and "Juggler of Worlds".
Thursday, November 13 2008
7:00pm
Barnes & Noble
Spectrum Center
1851 Fountain Drive
Reston, VA 20190
Map it on Google
Saturday, November 22 2008
3:00pm
Borders
2420 S. Pleasant Valley Rd.
Winchester, VA 22601
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Book Giveaway: Signed "Midnight Reign" by Chris Marie Green
Thanks to author Chris Marie Green, we have a copy of her novel "Midnight Reign" up for grabs today. To make things even better, the book also happens to be signed by Chris, so get those entries in today.
Stuntwoman Dawn Madison reluctantly returned to Hollywood to find her missing father, Frank. Instead, she found something else beneath the streets of Los Angeles--a thriving society of the undead, one she could never have imagined existed. It's an erotic and bloody night world, which Dawn came to believe cost both her father and her long-dead mother--the glamorous movie star Eva Claremont--their lives. Still, she and Frank's friends risked everything, pressing on with the investigation.
Now, a new slaying, bearing all the marks of a vampire attack, lures Dawn farther into the Underground and deeper into the twisted lives of those who inhabit it, just as her tenuous alliances in the sunlit world begin to shift ominously. It seems she has only herself to trust and her newfound skills as a hunter to rely on.
But Dawn will find that she is not alone--although some who stand with her stand only in the shadows...
To Enter to Win: Send an email to pstotts@bloodofthemuse.com with the subject line "MIDNIGHT" and include your name and mailing address in the body of your email. Multiple entries will be disqualified. Winners will be selected at random. No purchase is necessary.
For more Blood of the Muse giveaways: click here.
Bloggers: if you promote this contest on your blog, I will give you an additional entry. Email me at pstotts@bloodofthemuse.com with the subject line "MIDNIGHT", and include the address to your blog in the body of the email, or you can leave the address to your blog in the comment section of this post. I'll check it out and make sure you get another entry.
Good luck to everyone who enters!
Author Appearances: Todd McCaffrey
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Todd McCaffrey will be doing a few upcoming promotional dates to promote his latest novel Dragonheart, a Pern-based novel.
Wednesday, November 12 2008
7:00pm
Barnes & Noble
7881 Edinger Avenue
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
Map it on Google
Thursday, November 13 2008
7:00pm
Borders
9301 Tampa Avenue
Northridge, CA 91324
Map it on Google
Saturday, November 22 2008
4:00pm
Mysterious Galaxy
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Suite 302
San Diego, CA 92111
Map it on Google
Comic Break: Scalped #22 (Vertigo)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Scalped
Issue: #22
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: R.M. Guera
32 pp. Vertigo. $2.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“First man I ever killed…I had to strangle for 11 minutes.” – Scalped #22
Literate and highly gripping, the latest issue of Scalped weaves the past and present of Chief Red Crow into an ultra-tight crime drama. Red Crow is an evil man looking to change, to get out from under all his bad deeds in his past in order to save the soul of his dead friend Gina. But change is a struggle when one is already buried so deep in a morass of evil. His past haunts him, currently complicating a life he wishes to escape from. He yearns to figure out how to escape, but events conspire against him.
Red Crow symbolizes an increasingly persistent evil; every wrong turn he makes buries him increasingly deeper. It’s an intriguing idea to explore; the evil man attempting to change his ways. And Scalped does it shockingly well. It is in parts intense, gritty, unsympathetic and smart; a character drama in the literal sense as the drama is the character. This is not an external fight, a battle between superheroes. This is one man’s battle with his greatest enemy: himself. And he’s clearly on the edge of losing.
A violent incident years earlier has Chief Red Crow in an introspective mood. He’s quickly interrupted by new concerns. It seems that Brass has carved up one of the local drug dealers, much to Red Crow’s displeasure. Brass and his Hmong backers are becoming quite the problem, but Red Crow is insistent that things don’t turn bloody. On top of all this, one of the girls Brass killed previously comes from a family that has their own history with Red Crow. A history that seems on the verge of repeating itself.
Jason Aaron’s script is fantastic here. Disturbing, deep and clever, Aaron’s writing makes most other comic writers look like they are wading in the shallow end of the pool. The interweaving and interconnection of flashbacks with current day is masterfully done, adding a vast amount of emotional depth to Red Crow. R.M. Guera’s art melds perfectly with the story; it’s evocative and hard-edged. Guera bypasses showy for storytelling and it shows. Nothing about the interiors is jaw-dropping, but combined with Aaron’s incredible story the entire package becomes stunning.
For fans of crime dramas, I can’t recommend Scalped enough. It’s a highly engaging look into the darkness of one man’s soul; a darkness more likely to utterly consume than to let him free.
Final Grade: 87 out of 100
"Vicious Circle" by Mike Carey
Monday, November 10, 2008
Vicious Circle
Mike Carey
448 pp. Grand Central Publishing. $24.99
Pub. Date: 7/28/2008
ISBN-13: 978-0446580311
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“They say that if you suffer in this life you’ll come back as something better in the next.
I’m coming back as God” – Felix Castor “Vicious Circle”
Felix Castor would make some neurologist a very happy man. And a very rich one too. During the course of Mike Carey’s novel “Vicious Circle”, Felix gets beaten into unconsciousness so often that brain damage is a likely possibility. One can only hope that his health benefits are up to snuff. But Carey’s constant heaping of abuse on Felix and his likely misaligned gray matter goes towards a good cause: producing a well-executed and very entertaining fantasy/mystery novel.
“Vicious Circle” is very reminiscent of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series except it’s much better written and has a decidedly British tone. (I’m not British, and no amount of BBC watching will change that fact. However I do enjoy a good cricket match occasionally). But where Harry Dresden is a wizard, Carey’s hero Felix Castor is an exorcist. And not the type of exorcist who makes possessed little girls vomit pea soup either. Felix is an exorcist of ghosts, calling or dispersing pesky poltergeists by playing a jaunty little tune on his tin whistle. He’s like the Pied Piper for ghosts, only sometimes in reverse. Now granted, this idea sounds a bit silly, but Carey not only pulls it off, he excels with it.
A married couple Melanie and Steve Torrington visit Castor hoping to hire him to find their missing daughter Abbie. Now a missing person’s case isn’t something you’d normally hire an exorcist for, but the Torringtons have a completely different type of problem on their hands. Abbie is dead, and it was her ghost that had recently gone missing. Not technically missing either, rather taken by a disreputable exorcist named Dennis Peace. Figuring it takes an exorcist to find an exorcist (which I believe is the first law of ectoplasmdynamics), the Torringtons want Castor to track down Peace, and bring back their little girl (or at least, her ghost).
Meanwhile, the succubus Juliet who’s trying her hand at being an exorcist has gotten a case at a local church that has her puzzled. Looking for help, she calls Felix in to get his professional opinion on the situation. It seems that something evil has taken up residence at St. Michael’s Church, and it’s having a rather startling affect on the parishioners. Juliet and Felix are only left to wonder: what is possessing the church? One thing they are sure about, it’s not God.
Eventually Felix gets some information on Dennis Peace’s whereabouts, but when two loup-garous show up with an equal interest in Peace and a threatening disposition towards Castor, the mystery surrounding Abbie deepens further. So what’s a poor exorcist to do? Well if you are Felix Castor you’ll want to make certain your health insurance is up to date, because getting bludgeoned into unconsciousness is just around the corner.
“Vicious Circle” is filled with intriguing storylines, all seemingly disparate, which Carey masterfully pulls together at the end. I’m usually fairly good at figuring out how everything will mesh together in the end, but Carey kept me off-balance throughout the entire novel. He never takes the easy choice, and “Vicious Circle” benefits greatly from this approach. The level of intricacy in the story is impressive and the plot is finely woven together. Extremely vivid characterizations bring the story to life, and characters dissembling their true motives keep the reader guessing into the very end, just the thing I look for in a mystery.
Like most embattled detectives, Felix finds himself stuck between multiple conflicting factions, battered like a leaf in a river. It’s not the job that makes life tough, it’s the obstacles, and Carey makes certain to run Felix through an obstacle course from hell. Just when Felix seems to get a grip on the mystery, another complication arises and the story dashes off into a new direction. The twists and turns are abundant and don’t seem forced or manufactured. The answers are slow in coming, but logical when they arrive. The pacing is slower than I would have liked, but Carey packs so much into the story that he can hardly be faulted for this.
The lifeblood of a good mystery is its minor characters; the more intriguing they are the better the mystery. Carey populates Castor’s world with vibrant and engaging personalities. Juliet and Nicky, a zombie with an extreme sense of self-preservation, shine in their roles as they help Castor in his quest to find Abbie’s ghost. The two loup-garous
Surely to be lumped into the urban fantasy genre, “Vicious Circle” rises above the typical fare one finds there. Mike Carey has written a terrific mystery that just so happens to contain fantasy and horror elements. Fans of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, in particular, will find much to enjoy here as will readers who love to curl up with a great mystery. Carey’s intricate plot and larger-than-life characters drive this well-executed novel to a very satisfying ending. Definitely a book you’ll want to keep an eye out for.
Final Grade: 78 out 100
Collector's Corner: Charlaine Harris
Saturday, November 8, 2008
With the HBO series True Blood based on her Sookie Stackhouse novels taking off, I thought it'd post Charlaine Harris's signature today. So for all you Sookie fans out there, enjoy!
Comic Break: Welcome to Hoxford #3 (IDW Publishing)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Welcome to Hoxford
Issue: #3
Writer: Ben Templesmith
Artist: Ben Templesmith
32 pp. IDW Publishing. $3.99
Reviewed by Paul Stotts
“I have bested the beast. Now I can take my rightful place amongst the other gods.” –Raymond Delgado “Welcome to Hoxford 3”
The third issue in the excellent Welcome to Hoxford series has dropped and it’s a battle of the beasts. In one corner we have Raymond Delgado, delusional psychopath with a nasty god delusion. And in the other corner, we have a group of Russian werewolves who are in charge of running Hoxford prison. When these two meet, one would imagine that the blood is guaranteed to flow. And that’s exactly what we get here, big bucketfuls of blood as quite a few characters meet their grisly end.
When we left Raymond in the last issue, he was locked up in his cell, waiting to be a snack for a wandering werewolf. Ray had a different take on his situation. He saw it as test, an opportunity to best the beast and ascend to godhood. Well, one measly werewolf isn’t about to stand in the way of Ray’s divine mission. So it’s not long before Ray and a group of fellow prisoners have escaped from their cells. Now all they have to do is avoid the other werewolves stalking the corridors of Hoxford.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jessica Ainley is trying to escape from Warden Baker’s office. The not-so-good Warden had previously locked her in his office, while he went out to hunt the prisoners in his werewolf guise. This wouldn’t have been much of a problem, if Jessica wasn’t dealing with her own imminent werewolf threat. Fortunately, she escapes and stumbles across a group of prisoners roaming the halls. But just when she thought she’d reached safety, the prisoners remind her that she’s the first woman they’ve seen in a while.
All the threatened violence and gruesomeness hinted at in the first two issues of the series has finally materialized here. Writer/artist Ben Templesmith has put together a disturbing little bit of comic mayhem in this issue. It’s intriguing how Ray’s delusions affect his perceptions, and how the reality of the situation reinforces his insanity. He sees the battle with the werewolves as a mythological test, and the strange part is the reader can almost believe this delusion.
While the werewolves are threatening, the prisoners are all disturbing and legitimately creepy. One prisoner’s idea about what to do with a werewolf corpse was profoundly troubling, but it fits into the idea of these men being the most insane psychopaths in the penal system. They make the prisoners from “Con Air” seem like girls scouts on a weekend cookie bender.
Once again, the artwork by Templesmith occasionally appeared rushed in the issue. It’s mostly disappointing, since I know he could do better (but realistically there are time limitations for getting the art done). The werewolves look absolutely great, but some of the action panels are amorphous-looking. Also, the prisoners other than Ray aren’t very distinctive looking and come off as only generic meat for the grinder.
A bit of a step down from the previous two issues, “Welcome to Hoxford #3” is still a strong entrant into the series. Gory and properly disturbing, the issue is a gruesome tour-de-force; it’s like bathing your visual cortex in bloody chunks of meat. I’m excited to see how Ben Templesmith wraps everything up in the next issue. But I’m afraid I’ll need to wear a raincoat while reading it, because blood’s hard to wash out.
Final Grade: 85 out of 100
Winner of Signed "Throne of Jade" Giveaway
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Another winner has been selected, this time for a paperback copy of "Throne of Jade" which happens to be signed by author Naomi Novik.
The winner is: Donna Badour from San Antonio, Texas. Congratulations Donna!
Thanks to everyone who entered!
Winners of Spooktacular Book Giveaway
The five winners of the Spooktacular giveaway have been selected. They can expect a nice little book bundle rolling its way to them soon, thanks to the courtesy of those good folks at Hachette Book Group.
The winners are: Thomas Dillen of Orlando, Florida, Janel Gradowski of Freeland, Michigan, Larry Berger of Corona, California, Gwendolyn Bruno of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and Dave Wyatt of Fulton, Maryland. Congratulations to our winners!
Thanks to everyone who entered!
"A Lion Among Men" by Gregory Maguire
A Lion Among Men
Gregory Maguire
336 pp. William Morrow. $26.95
Pub. Date: 10/14/2008
ISBN-13: 978-0060548926
Reviewed by Lindsay Stotts
“The time came for her to die, and she would not die; so perhaps she might waste away, they thought, and she did waste, but not away…”—"A Lion Among Men”
Some stories tell of great adventures with heroes that sweep in and save the damsel in distress. Some stories tell of frightening mysteries that keep you guessing until the very end. And some stories tell of great romances that transcend time and space. “A Lion Among Men” by Gregory Maguire is none of these.
Instead, “A Lion Among Men” is essentially the memoirs of Brrr the Cowardly Lion. Dispatched by the
That said, I have now just summed up more or less the entire plot of this “A Lion Among Men,” which as you can see only took 132 words, 9 lines and one paragraph. The other three hundred and eight pages of the book, less one paragraph, were unfortunately about as exciting as what the quote above described. The book would just not die, even though it was way past its time. So maybe it would waste away leaving behind a good story. Ultimately, it did waste away, just not into a good story.
The rest of “A Lion Among Men”, a supposed accounting of the Cowardly Lion’s life, consisted of Brrr (not the most creative of names and Maguire doesn’t even give a great explanation for it) wandering through the woods trying to find Yackle, or some goal along those lines. Now for anyone who has ever read a book that was comprised of the main characters walking endlessly through the woods, you know it can be a potential disaster, or even worse, an exercise in extreme boredom. Well, “A Lion Among Men” was no different than every other novel that has crashed and burned at the roots of the boredom tree. A tree that the characters, I wish, had tripped over, for it would have been more exciting than what was going on in the plot line. (Note to authors: characters walking through the woods for the entirety of the story is fictional suicide. So spare all your devoted readers and think of something with a pulse!)
Aside from the wandering-in-the-woods syndrome “A Lion Among Men” seems to suffer from, it’s also plagued with a myriad of other issues. What little plot line there is in the novel is entwined with a sickening amount of flourish, producing garish prose that says nothing at all. Any part of the story that could be deciphered was often buried in painful dialogue that accomplished absolutely nothing and was incomprehensible to those of us who live in the real world and not Munchkinland.
“A Lion Among Men” can’t even claim to have the same vulgar and appalling nature that ran rampant through Maguire’s other two books in the series, “Wicked” and “Son of a Witch.” It was immensely disappointing that the novel didn’t even have these less than kosher aspects to possibly enliven it. At least the inclusion of these adult qualities may have provided a reprieve to a storyline that ended up being less exciting than even watching paint dry.
Last word:“A Lion Among Men” is reputed to be the story of Brrr the Cowardly Lion’s life. So based on the novel then, Brr must have lived an incredibly mind-numbing and dull life. By the time I finished trudging my way through this snooze-fest, I could not find any redeeming qualities to the novel. If only I could get those hours of my life back…
Final Score: 48 out of 100
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