GRAND PASSION – graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on October 13, 2017
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

WARNING — POTENTIAL SPOILERS

Mabel and Steve are a Bonnie and Clyde type pair of thieves, robbing banks all across small towns, somewhere in rural America.  After a robbery they make love, covered in their stolen money and plan their next adventure.  Mac is a quiet but sturdy cop who’s moved to a small town after the death (by cancer) of his wife.  He’s met with a very cold reception by the other cops, including the captain, though his partner seems moderately friendly and willing to offer advice – usually “give it time.”

Their stories intersect when Steve and Mabel rob a bank in the small town where Mac has recently started working.  Mac and his partner try to stop the bank robbers.  Mac’s partner is killed and Mac kills Steve.  Mabel draws a bead on Mac, but when they look in each others’ eyes there’s an inexplicable connection and Mabel turns and makes a getaway.

The connection draws Mac and Mabel together and they both realize that there’s something fishy going on with the local cops.  Mac starts asking questions around the station which doesn’t win him any friends.  An unlikely romance brews.

It’s hard to tell much of this story without giving the story away and discovering the story as it happens is a great part of the joy in this book.

The first four chapters – which would be the first four comic issues when they were released individually – are fabulous.  This is a modern noir story with a whole series of characters just trying to do their own thing and their lives intersect.  Author James Robinson lays out a gritty, gripping story that keeps changing, keeping the reader on his/her toes.

Tom Feister’s art really helps this story move along and he captures the modern noir look marvelously.

Unfortunately, there are five chapters in this book.

I’m not going to speculate on why Robinson’s story changed so much when it got to the last chapter, but know that it does.  Characters backtrack or go completely opposite of what they’ve said in the earlier books, and when questioned about it they simply reply “I’ve changed my mind.”

And any moderately literate reader will spot the ending the moment it begins.

By the time I was into the third portion of this book, I was sure I was going to give this a 4.5 star rating, but the last portion is so bad that this drops down to two stars.

Looking for a good book? Grand Passion is a graphic novel by James Robinson and Tom Feister that really draws the reader in for a great noir story but drops the final portion so poorly that it isn’t really worth reading the story.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Grand Passion

author: James Robinson

artist: Tom Feister

publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

ISBN: 1524103918

paperback, 146 pages

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SHAKESPEARE ON PAGE AND STAGE – Stanley Wells

Posted by Daniel on October 12, 2017
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

There is no end to the number of books one can find on the works or study of William Shakespeare.  The name ‘Stanley Wells’ is certainly familiar to anyone who’s read critical essays on Shakespeare.  This book, Shakespeare On Page and Stage, is a collection of some of Wells’ essays on the Bard, his work, and performances of his work.

And mostly we’re left with: meh.

Some of these essays were interesting and from some I learned a thing or two, but the bulk of them really didn’t add anything to my knowledge or appreciation of Shakespeare’s plays.  The book collects essays in four basic themes: 1) Shakespearian Influences, 2) Essays on Particular Works, 3) Shakespeare in the Theatre, and 4) Shakespeare’s Text.

While most of this is not new information, I confess I did enjoy the ‘Influences’ section.  For some reason I am extremely interested in reading some of the source material for Shakespeare.  Was it inspiring, or convenient?  We’ll never know.

I also happened to be reading the essay “Staging Shakespeare’s Ghosts” at about the same time that I saw a production of Richard III in which the ghost were featured quite prominently, and so this particular essay really stood out for me.  I hadn’t really thought about it before, but the supernatural definitely plays a big role in many of Shakespeare’s plays.

There were a few essays that dealt with particular performances which held no fascination or interest for me.  A live performance is a fleeting thing, meant to be observed in the moment.  All the reports, the talk, the writings after the fact won’t make me appreciate what someone once did on the stage.

The entire last section, dealing heavily with Wells and his work as an editor, more-so than with Shakespeare’s work, held no appeal at all.

There’s a lot of material here in this book, and there’s bound to be something that will appeal to someone who has an interest in Shakespeare, but over-all this just doesn’t stand up to some of the other Shakespeare criticism I’ve read over the years.

This volume contains the following:

Introduction by Peter Holland
I. SHAKESPEARIAN INFLUENCES
1. Shakespeare: Man of the European Renaissance
2. Tales from Shakespeare
II. ESSAYS ON PARTICULAR WORKS
3. The Failure of The Two Gentlemen of Verona
4.The Taming of the Shrew and King Lear: A Structural Comparison
5. The Integration of Violent Action in Titus Andronicus
6. The Challenges of Romeo and Juliet
7. Juliet’s Nurse: The Uses of Inconsequentiality
8. The Lamentable Tale of Richard II
9.  A Midsummer Night’s Dream Revisited
10. Translations in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
11. The Once and Future King Lear
12. Problems of Stagecraft in The Tempest
13.‘My Name is Will’: Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Autobiography
4. Shakespeare Without Sources
15. Shakespeare and Romance
III. SHAKESPEARE IN THE THEATRE
16. Boys Should be Girls: Shakespeare’s Female Roles and the Boy Players
17. Staging Shakespeare’s Ghosts
18. Staging Shakespeare’s Apparitions and Dream Visions
19. Shakespeare in Planché’s Extravaganzas
20. Shakespeare in Max Beerbohm’s Theatre Criticism
21. Shakespeare in Leigh Hunt’s Theatre Criticism
22. Shakespeare in Hazlitt’s Theatre Criticism
23. Peter Hall’s Coriolanus
IV. SHAKESPEARE’S TEXT
24. On Being a General Editor
25. Editorial Treatment of Foul-Paper Texts: Much Ado About Nothing as Test Case
26. Money in Shakespeare’s Comedies
27. To Read a Play: The Problem of Editorial Intervention
28. The First Folio: Where Should We be Without it?
29. The Limitations of the First Folio
Afterword by Margreta de Grazia
Notes
A Select Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index

Looking for a good book? Stanley Wells is a noted Shakespeare scholar and his collection of essays, Shakespeare On Page and Stage, provides some insight into the playwright and his work, but nothing here is too earth-shattering or revelatory but instead is a rehash of knowledge but with Wells’ take on it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Shakespeare on Page and Stage: Selected Essays

author: Stanley Wells

publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

ISBN: 0198786549

hardcover, 300 pages

WAYLAID – Kim Harrison

Posted by Daniel on October 11, 2017
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’ve discovered, having read a couple of Kim Harrison’s “The Hollows” books and the first two books in her new “The Drafter” series, that I’m not much of a Harrison fan.  Looking at the themes and plots, both would seem right up my alley, but I’ve just never been able to really enjoy Harrison’s work.

Until Waylaid.

Waylaid is a novelette bridge between Harrison’s two worlds (Hollows and Drafter).  The concept is a bit contrived since the two worlds don’t really exist on the same plane or time, but what the heck this is fantasy and anything is possible.

Rachel (from The Hollows) finds herself stranded in Detroit, 2055, and without the ability to call upon her magical powers.  The supernatural does not work where she now finds herself.  Peri is a Drafter and has the ability to go back in time to change the course of an event (though not without consequence, of course).   Something in the current timeline is not right (Rachel’s appearance) and it’s up to Peri and her Draft team to get Rachel back to the right timeline – which is more than she’s typically expected to do.

The book is only eighty-seven electronic pages long and the story and action move along at a frantic pace and I think that it is this – the brevity of the book – that I enjoy so much.  In my other attempts to read Harrison’s work, I feel bogged down in the story and I struggle to slowly wade through the dense work.  Here Harrison shows that she can tell a story swiftly and succinctly and it works.

While it helps to know the characters ahead of time, so that Harrison doesn’t have to spend time setting the reader up with character definition, we get what we need to know: someone with supernatural power finds herself in a time and place where her power doesn’t work.  Someone with the power to return her to the correct time, must strive to do so.

I enjoyed this a lot and if more of Harrison’s work could read this nicely, I’d be much more inclined to read it.

Looking for a good book?  Waylaid is a novelette by Kim Harrison that brings together her hit The Hollows series with her new Drafter series and it a remarkably tight and fun adventure.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Waylaid

author: Kim Harrison

series: The Peri Reed Chronicles #1.5, The Hollows (13.2?)

publisher: Pocket Star

ASIN: B01AS3WJXY

Kindle Edition, 87 pages

THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR – Mindee Arnett

Posted by Daniel on October 10, 2017
Posted in: SF/FANTASY, YA. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

I am really behind in my ARC book reading and I’m working my way, somewhat randomly, through a backlist of books sent to me, this being one of those books.

The story takes place at Arkwell Academy – a school for ‘magickind’ and … well, let’s stop right there.  Yes – the comparison to a famous boy wizard with a lightning scar on his forehead will be made.  And should be made!  The differences, however, are enough to not confuse anyone.  One of the biggest differences being that the characters are not just young wizards and witches in training but all sorts of magically inclined kids.  Here, we focus on Dusty Everhart – a Nightmare … literally.

Dusty is sent to invade the dream of one of the hottest guys in school (Eli), which is pretty embarrassing for the sixteen year old.  But at the same time, sitting on his chest and slipping in to his dream is sort of (embarrassingly) arousing.  But it’s much more embarrassing when he suddenly wakes up and sends her dream powers back onto her.  That’s not supposed to happen.  Ever.

But that’s only the beginning.  When the dream that Dusty saw in Eli’s head start coming true, there’s a deadly mystery happening on Arkwell’s campus and Dusty and Eli can’t help but get caught up in it.

The opening sequence of this book, establishing Dusty, Eli, and Dusty’s abilities was tremendous.  I was hooked and really looked forward to the rest of the book.  I could see where teen readers (especially teen girls) would be really drawn to this book based in large part on this opening chapter.

But given this opening, the rest of the book was just a tad of a let-down. The moments when Dusty’s or Eli’s magic abilities played a key role, were interesting and often gripping.  But the rest of the mystery, around which this story is built, was boring.  I liked Duty and Eli and I even liked Dusty’s Nightmare of a mother (literally), but I never quite bought in to what they were tracking down and why it mattered.  There was something missing to let this reader buy in to the mystery.

Overall, this was interesting enough that I’d like to read the other books in the series, but not so compelling that I’m rushing out to get any of the next books.

Looking for a good book? The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett is a teen/YA mystery capitalizing on the magic school theme and offers some fun, interesting characters but lacks a bit in the mystery.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Nightmare Affair

author: Mindee Arnett

series: Arkwell Academy #1

publisher: Tor Teen

ISBN: 0765333333

hardcover, 367 pages

THE BURNING PAGE – Genevieve Cogman

Posted by Daniel on October 9, 2017
Posted in: SF/FANTASY. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Somehow I missed the second book in Genevieve Cogman’s The Invisible Library series, but that didn’t stop me from quickly requesting this third book when I saw it was available.

I realized pretty early on in the book that I’ve missed a thing or two from the second volume, but for the most part the characters and situations are described well through the story and we’re given the information we need to make sense of the current story.

Alberich, a villain to The Library, has delivered an ultimatum — he must be given complete control of The Library or he will destroy The Library and kill Librarians along the way. The Library is very much like any other series of libraries, filled with books, but it is also a portal to other dimensions and The Library collects rare books for safe-keeping from many different dimensions.  Being a portal to other dimensions means there are other potential repercussions should The Library system fall in to the wrong hands.  But The Library tries to remain very neutral when it comes to politics and might.

Irene is a Librarian, though she’s apparently been in some trouble and is currently on probation.  But nobody knows the nefarious workings of Alberich the way Irene does and when Libraries are starting to crumble and Librarians killed, Irene may be the only one who can stop him.

This was a tremendously entertaining read, with plenty of action.  The entire climactic sequence was a true page-turning thrill-a-minute.  Cogman keeps the reader on the edge for many pages.  I remember enjoying the first book, but I don’t remember it being as exciting and thrilling as this read.

Too often I’ll pick up a book that’s mid-way through a series and I won’t have a clue what’s going on.  Here we get all the information we need to enjoy the story and because of that I WANT to go back and read the volume before this.

The Library is a great concept for an urban fantasy and Genevieve Cogman is working it very well.  This book is highly recommended for fantasy fans.

Looking for a good book? Genevieve Cogman’s The Burning Page is a thrilling urban fantasy that is a must-read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

The Burning Page

author: Genevieve Cogman

series: The Invisible Library #3

publisher: Roc

ISBN: 1101988681

paperback, 356 pages

JOHN CARTER: THE END – graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on October 7, 2017
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

As a long-time fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ ‘John Carter of Mars’ series and someone who enjoys a good graphic novel, I figured this graphic novel, John Carter: The End, was right up my alley.

Mmmmm.  Not so much.

John Carter and Dejah Thoris have secluded themselves from all civilization and wish to be left alone so when an airship manages to find their location and they are informed of a genocide raging on Barsoom they are surprised that they might be Mars’ last, best hope. The reason that they are the only ones who might be able to stop this comes as a surprise to Dejah Thoris and reveals a secret kept from her by John Carter.

The story held a lot of potential and was intriguing enough to capture my interest, but was drawn out too much to fill the individual comic book series and make it enough to sell it as a graphic novel.  As it is, 15% of this brief book is taken up with ‘extras.’  There is just enough actual, appropriate story here for one full-sized comic book issue.

A major part of any graphic novel is the graphic part – the art (otherwise why not just write a novel or novella?).  The art here is … I’ll be kind … the art here is not for me.

Artist Hayden Sherman has crafted this book with a very abstract style of art – much more-so than even the cover (as depicted above) suggests.  The style is harsh.  Hard, straight lines in varying thickness dominate.  In fact I don’t think there’s a curved line anywhere in this book.  Even the images representing circles are made with a series of short, hard, straight lines.

I can accept an abstract art style if the art tells a story, but Sherman’s art actually confuses the story.  Too often we can’t tell who is talking and we can’t separate John Carter from any other male figure in the book.  Dejah is the only one we can identify because she’s the only woman in the story.

Sadly this was a real flop for me.  I give it two stars because the story was interesting, but I’d much rather read it as a narrative story rather than a graphic novel.

Looking for a good book?  Even fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his John Carter of Mars books aren’t likely to get much out of the graphic novel, John Carter: The End.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

John Carter: The End

author: Brian Wood and Alex Cox

artist: Hayden Sherman

publisher: Dynamite Entertainment

ISBN: 1524104388

paperback, 138 pages

ARENA – Holly Jennings

Posted by Daniel on October 6, 2017
Posted in: SF/FANTASY. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

This was just a heck of a lot of fun.

Take the sport of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting and combine it with Virtual Realty gaming and a little bit of Tron, and you get Holly Jennings’ book Arena.

It is the year 2054 and Virtual gladiator-style fighting is big business.  Bigger than today’s Super Bowl or Stanley Cup.  The fighters are super star celebrities whose whereabouts and goings-on are constant tabloid news.

While it is virtual fighting, the gamers experience their own deaths nearly every week (unless they are the fortunate few who are at the top and don’t take a loss) and those deaths – usually a hacking or decapitation – are broadcast on network television.  This can take a toll on the players – imagine feeling your own death a thousand times! – who resort to drugs and alcohol to get them through.

One of the hottest teams in the RAGE League tournament series is Team Defiance – one of the few teams with female players.  That two of the women are having a lesbian affair and one (Kali Ling) is sleeping with her teammate, Nathan.  This is all big news for Virtual Gaming League  and RAGE followers!

But Defiance is knocked down in a big way by a team that has come out of nowhere, Team InvictUS.  All of Defiance is killed in record time and they are sent to the losers bracket in the RAGE Tournament. The team’s owner calls Kali in for a meeting where he explains that he making her the team captain.  Defiance never had an individual leader, but the recent loss shows that they need one.  It’s also good for the owner’s publicity to have the first ever female team leader.

Shortly after that, Defiance is met with another loss – the loss of Nathan, who dies in a drug overdose.

Defiance slowly pulls together, which is made even more difficult with the inclusion of a new teammate who seems to have trouble taking direction from a woman. But the game has now changed for Kali.  She has two goals now … to get the team back on a winning streak, and to make sure the public knows about the rampant drug problem in gaming – the problem that killed Nathan.

As I wrote at the beginning, this was just a heck of a lot of fun to read.  Author Holly Jennings really brings the reader into the action and we can easily picture the game-style fighting that’s going on.  She’s also done a really nice job of telling a story and making this about more than just virtual gaming.  The drive to keep Nathan’s memory alive and to let the world know about the problem of drug abuse in gaming feels a little bit forced, though it does make for a more complete story than just the constant fighting.

The relationship between Kali and the new team member seems pretty obvious from the very start, but Jennings works it nicely, even though we all know what’s going to happen.

Having had fun here, I do want to read the follow-up!

Looking for a good book? Arena, by Holly Jennings, is a swift-action story of virtual gaming, life, death, and the path to winning.  It is a lot of fun and highly recommended.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

* * * * * *

Arena

author: Holly Jennings

series: Arena #1

publisher: Ace

ISBN: 1101988762

hardcover, 336 pages