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Fantasy Mystery Romance Comics Non-Fiction

Monthly Archive August, 2012

A Poisoned Season

A Poisoned Season (2007) Tasha Alexander I read the first book in this series several years ago, and was singularly unimpressed. Not the the writing or the characters, but because it was (like this book) subtitled: A Novel of Suspense. I still disagree with that subtitle, but after enough time had passed, I decided to […]

Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country

Sandman Vol 3: Dream Country (1990) Neil Gaiman, Kelley Jones, Colleen Doran, Charles Vess, Malcolm Jones III I’m particularly fond of this volume–I quite like the Shakespeare story, as well as the dream of a thousand cats. Rating: 8/10 Published by Vertigo

Sandman Vol 2: The Doll House

Sandman Vol 2: The Doll’s House (1990) Neil Gaiman, Malcolm Jones III, Mike Dringenberg, Michael Zulli Here we see glimpses of where the story is going–as well as the relationship between the Endless. (I sometimes forgot what a bastard Desire is.)

Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes

Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Malcolm Jones III “I’m not going to reread Sandman right now. Sandman makes me cry.” Yeah. So, just finished rereading volume 1. Death is before me today: like the recovery of a sick man, like going forth into a garden after sickness. Death […]

Hex Appeal

Hex Appeal (2012) edited by P.N. Elrod; Stories by P.N. Elrod, Carrie Vaughn, Ilona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Simon R Green, Rachel Caine (and others) As I was expecting, this collection was a mixed bag. Luckily, the good stories were very good, and worth the price of the anthology. I bought the anthology first and foremost […]

Bullets and Fire

Bullets and Fire (2009) Joe R. Lansdale I swear I’ve read a story almost exactly like this before. Details I didn’t know, but I knew precisely where it was going. But part of the following quote was familiar: Dad told me once, that if people don’t care about where they live, the way they act, […]

Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes All the Difference

Made for Goodness: And Why This Makes All the Difference (2010) Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu Let’s start this with a truth: Desmond Tutu is an amazing human being. Like his good friend, the Dalai Lama, he has lived through things that those of us in the developed world cannot even imagine yet has remained […]

One Grave at a Time

One Grave at a Time (2011) Jeaniene Frost Here’s what I don’t get. That horrific cover? Same author. Same publisher, but the covers for this series are pretty damned awesome. And this doesn’t even merit something Jim Hines could mock for unrealistic/uncomfortable body poses! Plus, it’s a great book! I love how there’s still story […]

Hellboy Vol 12: The Storm and the Fury

Hellboy Vol 12: The Storm and the Fury (2012) Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo Oh. Wow. I wasn’t expecting that at all. The Hellboy series has typically alternated volumes of short stories with volumes of the ongoing series. I generally tend to prefer the short story collections, but have read the ongoing stories with interest. Well, […]

Ember

Ember A prequel to Firelight (2012) Kristen Callihan This is the prequel to Firelight, and for 99 cents I figured it would be worth checking out. It was an interesting short story, but really not much of a stand its your own story. It also contains a preview of Firelight, which I also read, and […]

Eternal Kiss of Darkness

Eternal Kiss of Darkness (2010) Jeaniene Frost I really liked this book. However. HOLY TOMATOES! THAT IS A HORRIBLE COVER! Seriously, her Cat and Bones series has decent covers–good covers even. But this? This makes me want to cringe. Perhaps even rip the cover off and burn it so I don’t ever have to see […]

Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna Dressed in Blood (2011) Kendare Blake Cas has inherited his father’s calling–killing ghosts. He has a special knife, and he can sense ghosts, so when ghosts harm the living, Cas and his knife move them along to their next life. It’s a lonely life, and one that has kept him from making friends, but […]

Hellboy Vol 11: The Bride of Hell and Others

Hellboy Vol 11: The Bride of Hell and Others (2011) Mike Mignola, Richard Corben, Kevin Nowlan, Scott Hampton By all rights, I shouldn’t like the Hellboy comics at all. Except, how can I not love a story containing dialog like this? HEY EMILE! Cut it out. You’re making the dead people nervous. That bit was […]

Girl Genius Book 11: Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell

Girl Genius Book 11: Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell (2012) Phil & Kaja Foglio Clanks! Fighting! Even smooching! It’s the latest Agatha Heterodyne book! Rating: 8/10 Published by Airship Entertainment

Kitty Steals the Show

Kitty Steals the Show (2012) Carrie Vaughn Kitty has come a long way from when she was first attacked. She’s now alpha of her own pack, and a public face for werewolves in the US, both because of her radio show, and her (involuntary) pubic outing as a were. That status has led to her […]

Gunmetal Magic

Gunmetal Magic (2012) Ilona Andrews This book is set in Kate’s world, and Kate (of course) make appearances, but this is the story of Andrea and Raphael. Andrea has been outed as a shapeshifter and forced out the Order, which has been her entire life. As a shapeshifter she is required by Pack Laws to […]

Dark Frost

Dark Frost (2012) Jennifer Estep Gwen Frost is finishing up one last assignment before winter break ends: she and her friends Daphne and Carson are touring a museum looking at magical artifacts important from the wars against Loki and his Reapers of Chaos, as are lots of other kids in her class. But Gwen is […]