This book was interesting, but it ended -- rushed to an ending, almost -- just where the real emotional meat of the characterization should have begunThis book was interesting, but it ended -- rushed to an ending, almost -- just where the real emotional meat of the characterization should have begun. Will this be addressed in the sequel? The pacing of this book doesn't give me too much confidence for it, but I'll give it a try. There was a potentially interesting thematic thing going on with Alina growing into her power (view spoiler)[ once she stopped relying on the boy she loved, a setup for tension between "I found my power protecting someone I love" versus "I owned my power when I stopped making love the most important thing in my life" (hide spoiler)], but that was somewhat undercut by the ending themes (view spoiler)[ of "My own power isn't enough, but I get extra power from being feminine merciful" with a booster of "I found my extra femininity mercy powers protecting someone I love" (hide spoiler)]....more
I picked this one up without noticing that it was book three in the series, but it opened with some decent characterization instead of expecting me toI picked this one up without noticing that it was book three in the series, but it opened with some decent characterization instead of expecting me to already know who these people were and how they knew each other, so I carried on anyway. I don't think I missed anything dramatic; this is a nice but basically unsurprising book....more
There were two things I really wanted from this book: something dealing with how uncomfortable it would be for an Well, THIS need a sequel NOW.
Anyway.
There were two things I really wanted from this book: something dealing with how uncomfortable it would be for an imaginary friend to actually be real and some emotional scenes involving friends/family finding out about the imaginary/real friend. For the first, (view spoiler)[wow, yes, the ways in which they both freaked out that someone who knew them so intimately was an independent person were perfect, although there could have been a little more follow-through on how Jared dealt with it by clinging so tightly (hide spoiler)], and for the second, (view spoiler)[...sort of? but not really. I have a very specific narrative kink for characters with this sort of "I'm always on your side" secret pact having to finally declare themselves openly, but this sort of teased around the reveal without the full emotional focus I'd been hoping for, partly because there were some other genuinely interesting things going on with other characters in the background. There could still be more in the next book, though! (hide spoiler)]....more
This was very pretty, but given that I was incapable of reading the dialogue in anything other than the voices from the movie, I have no idea how it mThis was very pretty, but given that I was incapable of reading the dialogue in anything other than the voices from the movie, I have no idea how it might stand on its own. It kept throwing me that Molly was so young when all of the other characters looked so similar to their movie designs.
I will add that I thought it was an excellent book adaptation: while there were some descriptive passages lifted verbatim from the book that ran alongside the images they were describing, these tended to complement and highlight each other rather than being redundant....more
I won this book through the GR first reads program -- very exciting, the first time I've won one of these! And it arrived pretty quickly, too, which wI won this book through the GR first reads program -- very exciting, the first time I've won one of these! And it arrived pretty quickly, too, which was nice because I needed to read it, review it, and pack it up to move to a new address next week....
This book is the story of Maria, the new girl in a crappy school who was expelled from a fancy Catholic school and is taking that expulsion -- or, more to the point, the horrible things people said to her when she was expelled -- as evidence that she's worthless and unlovable. We don't actually find out why she hit her teacher; Maria doesn't seem to be a very physical person and she never looks like she's restraining any violent urges in this book, even when (view spoiler)[one of her classmates pushes her down a flight of stairs (hide spoiler)]. She has a paranoid outside's perspective on people that lets her spot the worst in everyone and a cynicism which she expresses by pointing out what she sees, at least until she strikes up a friendship with Yusuke, who manages to be peppy and cheerful and simultaneously more cynical and more hopeful that Maria ever thought to be: Maria: I've been told that I taint people. So I shouldn't hide how tainted I am. It wouldn't be fair. Yusuke: But no one cares about that. Even if you're really horrible inside, who wants to see it? Everything in the world is better if you frame it right -- your clothes, your makeup, your room, even your lunch. The same goes for getting along with people.
And so, in the face of some vicious bullying by her new classmates, Maria decides to give herself one last chance to be "saved" by trying out Yusuke's approach of putting a lovely spin on everything. (view spoiler)[And slowly, over the course of the book, she discovers that she doesn't actually hate everyone in the world, even when she sees their flaws! (hide spoiler)] She even strikes up a budding romance with Yusuke's best friend Shin. This is book 1 of 13, so I imagine things are not going to go smoothly from now on, though.
The most interesting thing about Maria, to me, was how focused on herself she is -- in a good, healthy way, I think. She's not trying to be friends with the popular girls or date the popular boys for their own sake; what she wants is to be able to love herself, and she knows that she needs help from other people to learn how to do it. For a lot of teen stories, triumph is either becoming popular or rejecting popularity in favor of something better, and that doesn't seem like it's going to be Maria's story (although, interestingly, it may be Yusuke's)....more
I really liked the "Ghost War" story, but the "Survival of the Fittest" was kind of bland -- perhaps not unexpected, since Rafael Albuquerque did the I really liked the "Ghost War" story, but the "Survival of the Fittest" was kind of bland -- perhaps not unexpected, since Rafael Albuquerque did the "Ghost War" art but not the other story's art.
It's interesting how much the emphasis here was on women and domesticity. In "Ghost War", it's all about how Pearl and her husband choose (view spoiler)[a married love life over the excitement of being/hunting vampires -- how the I-am-a-tough-loner-who-gives-up-everything-for-my-cause life is not the life that either of them want, in the end -- and I think that having Pearl's husband be the POV character for most of the story helps in keeping it from being Skinner as masculinity versus Pearl as femininity without taking away from Pearl's active choices. (hide spoiler)] In "Survival of the Fittest", I'm less impressed with Felicia ending up (view spoiler)[raising a baby and feeling validated by men's faith in her (hide spoiler)]....more
I liked it a lot, but it doesn't really stand alone; it's too much of a setup for what I assume are going to be Rose's later emotional discoveries. I'I liked it a lot, but it doesn't really stand alone; it's too much of a setup for what I assume are going to be Rose's later emotional discoveries. I'm very impressed by Rose, though, and would like to follow her further!...more
We sort of wave vaguely in the direction of a story here; the real purpose is the incredibly intricate and detailed art. The author is so, so in love We sort of wave vaguely in the direction of a story here; the real purpose is the incredibly intricate and detailed art. The author is so, so in love with the period clothing! But there's also a lot of love for the characters and their emoting....more
I was unimpressed with the substitution of several seemingly unrelated stories strung together for the novel I was expecting. Yes, they all tied back I was unimpressed with the substitution of several seemingly unrelated stories strung together for the novel I was expecting. Yes, they all tied back together in the end, very clever. Disappointing, because normally I really enjoy that sort of clever.
Plus, I was all excited when the first of the stories started up and it was back in the crimelord days. Perhaps what I should really do is go back and re-read Taltos and Yendi....more
A loosely related collection of human interest stories about superheroes. Not all of them were good -- the one about the superheavyweights was rather A loosely related collection of human interest stories about superheroes. Not all of them were good -- the one about the superheavyweights was rather infuriating -- but a lot of them managed to go past the obvious "oh, my powers make my life so sad" and "ha ha, here I am in spandex, silly me" parody cliches to get at exactly the sort of things that I like about superhero comics: the interactions between people who are larger than life but still want friends, comfy chairs, and a pot of tea. (The art was a bit of a mixed bag, nothing spectacular but mostly pretty nice.)...more
This book was really good, so the parts of it which were frustrating were really more frustrating than they would have been in a mediocre book, sadly.This book was really good, so the parts of it which were frustrating were really more frustrating than they would have been in a mediocre book, sadly. Fantastic world-building and a smart, self-aware protagonist -- yay! But that protagonist couldn't manage a believable interaction with any of the other people in the book -- boo! Neef had pretty much no empathy for anyone, no sense that she should be concerned in anything but a mechanical how-does-this-affect-me way with other people's feelings. There could have been a great story in there about what emotions really meant for humans raised by fairies and fairies raised by humans, but the opportunity was lost. The author's short story Catnyp, about the same protagonist when she's a bit older, was much more appealing....more
The premise and the art looked interesting when I flipped through it in the library, but honestly I picked this one up on the strength of "hey, it's pThe premise and the art looked interesting when I flipped through it in the library, but honestly I picked this one up on the strength of "hey, it's published by Boom".
It's pretty much what it says on the tin, with bonus interesting arguments about science and some funny banter. I definitely like the art, which favors heavy lines and good negative space -- not quite Mignola, but leaning toward him from a more standard realism. I do like the plot, but I am feeling a little dubious about the ending: specifically, to spoil the ending completely, (view spoiler)[the way that James, who was brought along to be Catherine's assistant, lied to her to keep her from opening the final door. It...sits wrong (hide spoiler)]. I want to read the next one largely to find out if that ever gets resolved or if it becomes a bad pattern.
Definitely, though, Boom is growing into a studio I feel I can trust....more
Ah, now there's a book that knows how to stick a landing. Classic McKillip, even though it makes a nod at a modern/realism setting.Ah, now there's a book that knows how to stick a landing. Classic McKillip, even though it makes a nod at a modern/realism setting....more
Severely abridged, which was frustrating, and featuring a Ford Prefect who looks and sounds nothing like Mos Def*, also frustrating. Also, sadly, the Severely abridged, which was frustrating, and featuring a Ford Prefect who looks and sounds nothing like Mos Def*, also frustrating. Also, sadly, the ink in my library's copy is fading badly -- everything is still legible, with effort, but for how much longer?
Still, worth it for the short, sharp nostalgia trip.
* I know, right? I hardly ever switch my mental images of a classic book for a movie not even made until I was an adult, but it seems that Mos Def is my definitive Ford Prefect now....more
Okay, see, this is good. This is a ridiculous crack premise which (a) takes itself seriously enough to think through some consequences while at the saOkay, see, this is good. This is a ridiculous crack premise which (a) takes itself seriously enough to think through some consequences while at the same time (b) remembering what it is here for, namely having proper young ladies whacking at zombies with swords.
I wish it had found some way of dealing more with the raging Orientalism of the first book (which was by a different author, interestingly), but I suppose that's a huge lump of racism to get around. This book avoided the worst of it, thankfully....more
Okay, the salvation of this comic is that the artist had enough leeway to put fantastic "did I really, really just say that out loud?" expressions on Okay, the salvation of this comic is that the artist had enough leeway to put fantastic "did I really, really just say that out loud?" expressions on people's faces whenever the book required them to make single-entendre conversations.
This adaptation spends a lot more "screen" time on fighting zombies than on poorly imitating Jane Austen, which is thoroughly for the better. Well chosen!...more
Really quite good! I'm not usually a big fan of villain POV, but I felt like this did a good job of making them interesting and part of the Gotham ecoReally quite good! I'm not usually a big fan of villain POV, but I felt like this did a good job of making them interesting and part of the Gotham ecosystem without making them superhero-wannabes. (Talia's little scene was great, too.)...more
I can't tell if it was meandering to illustrate a point about the journey vs the destination or if it just didn't have a point. It was interesting as I can't tell if it was meandering to illustrate a point about the journey vs the destination or if it just didn't have a point. It was interesting as a memoir, but I would have liked to hear more about the research that the author was trying to do about the place of women in religion....more
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