The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Big Week for me! Bought five books at the store, from five different imprints. Favorite Book This Week: Not counting Avatar (because that wouldn't be fair, it's better than anything) hmmm... both Superman Family Adventures and Wolverine and the X-Men were pretty good, in very different ways. All books new in stores on 5/30/12 American Vampire #27 (The Nocturnes, Part Two) Writer: Scott Snyder, Art: Riccardo Burchielli, Colors: Dave McCaig A solid issue overall, but nothing amazing. Poole (the youngest American Vamp that we know of) fights werewolves in an Alabama suburb and reflects on his life and the times. I did get a little confused at first on certain points when the action sped up, but I did like it overall. This issue also includes a preview of another upcoming AV mini, called Lord of Nightmares. Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part Two Script: Gene Luen Yang, Art: Gurihiru It isn't fair to review this fully here, since it's really a...

Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A. Heinlein, 1961 Hugo Winner – 1962 Premise:  Valentine Michael Smith is the last survivor of the first manned mission to Mars. An Earthling raised by Martians, when he comes to Earth he struggles to understand humans. But Martian discipline has given him vast control over his body and if he decides to, he might change everything. There are plenty of spoilers in this review, but the book is well known and from 1961, so I think it's fair to discuss it fully. Stranger in a Strange Land has a lot in common with some of the Hugo-winning novels I've already discussed here. Similar to They'd Rather Be Right , part of the plot concerns a way to spread utopian telepathy, only if people can become enlightened enough to handle it. Also as in They'd Rather Be Right , one of the main characters is an ridiculously independent-minded wealthy citizen without whom the scheme would have crashed and burned early. Similar to the second half...

The Gate of Gods (The Fall of Ile-Rien, Book 3) Martha Wells, 2005 Premise: Sequel to The Wizard Hunters and The Ships of Air . Definitely start with book one. Some small spoilers for those books follow. The war moves into a new phase as the refugees on the Queen Ravenna finally come to Capidara, a country ostensibly allied with Ile-Rien. There are new dangers in a new city, though, and time is running out for Loudon, the only city on Ile-Rien not yet overrun. Will a new variation on the gate spell allow them to rescue the people of Loudon, lead Tremaine and the others to an ancient city that might reveal the final secrets of the Gardier, or just lead them into a trap? I found this to be a fitting conclusion to a thoroughly enjoyable series. The first section of the book brings the cast to a new city, where they have to struggle with new political angles and new spies. Now that they are reconnecting with a government in the world of Ile-Rien, as well as some of t...

I still haven't quite balanced my lessened comic-buying habits with when to write about comics here on the blog, so here are the only three issues I bought over the last three weeks. I have been trying to mix in more graphic novel reviews, and there might be more back-issue reviews coming soon. Issues arrived in stores as follows: Wolverine and the X-Men: 5/9 Saga: 5/16, Batman Inc: 5/23 Batman Inc. #1 Writer: Grant Morrison, Artist: Chris Burnham, Color: Nathan Fairbairn That was half great, half sort of confusing, and all intensely strange. I think I liked it. I almost wrote off the ending as more pointless fake drama, but then I thought about it, and it could be kind of awesome. We'll see next month. I do still miss Steph and Cass (and Kate was part of round one, too!) but it's nice seeing, if briefly, some of the random third-stringers who were highlighted in the first set of Batman Inc. issues. Saga #3 Writer: Brian K. Vaughn, Artist: Fiona Staples An...

The Night Eternal Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, 2011 Premise: Sequel to The Strain and The Fall . Two years have passed since the events of The Fall , and the global Vampire-pocalypse is in full swing. Eph, Nora, Fet and Gus continue to try to fight the Master, but unless they find his origin site, no victory is possible. Eph has an additional problem: the Master still holds his son Zack captive. Well, nuts. There is a trope, in which a previously fine character goes off the deep end, suicidal depression, betraying the heroes, etc., only to have pull him or herself together at the eleventh hour to save the day. It can be done in a way that makes sense, that inspires sympathy and understanding from the audience. Okay, I can't actually think of an example like that just now, but I'll believe it can happen. However, most of the time it just makes me want to shake the character violently until they stop being idiotic. In case you haven't guessed yet, I did ...

Code Name Verity Elizabeth E. Wein, 2012 New Release! Free copy of this book provided for review by Netgalley. Premise: Two young women became friends in England during the early days of World War Two. How they met, who they are, and why one of them is writing the story of her life from a Gestapo prison in France, are all things you'll have to read the book to find out. Wow. Just wow. All the reviews of this book are going to talk about how difficult it is to review, but there's really no way around it. This is definitely a book which you want to read knowing very little about it, so I will do my best to focus on my response to the novel, and not mention any details revealed beyond the first chapter or two. From the first page, this is a compelling story, pouring from the pen of a young woman imprisoned in France. “I AM A COWARD” are the first words on the first page. Is she? She writes her memories down to bargain with her jailers for a blanket, for a little m...

The Ships of Air (The Fall of Ile-Rien, Book 2) Martha Wells, 2005 Premise: Sequel to The Wizard Hunters , Some spoilers for Book One follow . Tremaine, Ilias and their friends from both worlds try to cement the temporary alliance between their peoples. The great passenger liner Queen Ravenna is brought between the worlds to assist in an attack on the Gardier base, only to become a floating home for the combined group of Syprian delegates and refugees from Ile-Rien. New loyalties are created and tested, and hidden dangers on the ship threaten the fragile alliance. This is a strong follow-up to the first volume. More of everything I liked, but new dimensions to some of the characters: Tremaine growing into her new roles, Giliead struggling to make his kin believe that their new allies' magic is beneficial, not evil, when he doesn't completely trust it himself. Another strong, surprising plot twist that makes perfect sense in hindsight. I enjoyed the slightly wider ...

Blacksad Juan Díaz Canales (writer), Juanjo Guarnido (artist) English Translation published 2010 Premise: This volume collects the first three Blacksad albums, each one a self-contained story. They follow the adventures of private investigator John Blacksad as he stumbles through surviving in the darker parts of the 1950's, trying to get to the truth behind murder, abduction and corruption along the way. He's also a six-foot cat, and the world is entirely populated with anthropomorphic animals. I absolutely loved this book. I'm not sure that it's for everyone, though, so let me try to explain what I loved about it. (Please Note: this is a graphic novel for mature readers . The mostly naked corpse on page one should be a tip-off.) I love noir. When someone really nails the sweet spot balanced between melodrama, cynicism, honor, the chance of sweetness and a sense of fatalism, I am a happy camper. Blacksad takes its inspiration directly from the French inter...

Through a somewhat complicated set of events, I bought no comic books this week, and only one last week. However, I did read a few of the DC Second Wave books in the store, and I have thoughts. American Vampire #26 (The Nocturnes) Writer: Scott Snyder, Art: Roger Cruz, Colors: Dave McCaig This was a great issue. I loved the follow-up from the most notable loose thread from The Ghost War (issues 13-18) and it was nice to see a new time and a new set of characters. Calvin's got a different viewpoint than our other main folks, and I like his vibe. Plus, just when you think you know the plot, there's a pretty sweet twist. Books I Read This Week: Smallville #1 Although I wasn't much of a fan of the TV series, I came closer to buying this than any of the other DC Second Wave books that launched this week. I skimmed this in the store, and it was cute. The art was a bit subpar overall, but the dialogue was cute and the tone seemed to float nicely without being too ser...