The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Monk's Hood (Brother Cadfael Chronicles, Book Three) Ellis Peters, 1980 See previous reviews in this series: Book One , Book Two Premise: Cadfael finds himself drawn into a new mystery when a man is murdered on the grounds of the monastery. Gervase Bonel had been in the process of deeding his property to the abbey, after a row with his step-son. Many stand to gain at Bonel's death, and many stand to lose. It's up to Brother Cadfael to determine the truth, especially since the poison that killed the man was stolen from Cadfael's own medical supplies! This is another solid entry in the Cadfael series. It is notable both for the quality of the red herrings in the story (I honestly only figured out the truth minutes before it was revealed) and for further details about Cadfael's life. For the widow Bonel turns out to be someone Cadfael once knew very well, and that relationship casts suspicion over his investigation. I like the character of Cadfael so muc...

I'm trying out a new Marvel title this week, and it might be my favorite pick from this group. All titles new in stores on 7/25/12 (One fewer title than planned this week: DC has pushed back the release of Batman Inc. #3 due to the tragedy in Aurora.) American Vampire #29 (The Blacklist, Part Two) Writer: Scott Snyder, Artist: Rafael Albuqueque, Colors: Dave McCaig Oh, having Pearl and Skinner on panel together again is so nice. They have so much history at this point, and whether they’re working together or fighting each other, sparks fly. I enjoyed this issue quite a bit, and this plotline promises to be very interesting. The Vassals continue to be sketchy, and Pearl keeps her own counsel. The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #5 WriterL Tom Hutchison, Artist: Alison Borges, Color: Kate Finnegan This title continues to be good enough, without really having anything amazing. It’s following the Wizard of Oz story a bit closer for this issue, which makes it less interest...

Empire of Ivory (Temeraire, Book 4) Naomi Novik, 2007 Premise: (Follows Black Powder War ) Lawrence and Temeraire return to Britain after a long and difficult journey, only to find that their troubles are still far from over. Sickness has struck the dragons of Britain, and Temeraire and Lawrence are eventually sent south with their squadron in search of a cure. While there, they run into more dragons, some feral, and some less so. A new potential world power is emerging, and their squadron is right in the middle of it! Thematically, the events of Empire of Ivory continue the general trends of this series. This one explores the parallels between Temeraire's hopes for the future of British dragons with Lawrence's father's work with the abolitionist movement, and then deals with the realities of the aftermath (including possible world war) of the slave trade, as well as decisions made by government officials who aren't on board with the idea that dragons could h...

Another multi-week sum-up! July 4: Action Comics #11 July 11: American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares #2, Wolverine and the X-Men #13 July 18: Captain Marvel #1, Finding Gossamyr #1, Saga #5, Star Trek/Doctor Who: Assimilation #3 Action Comics #11 Writer: Grant Morrison, Art: Rags Morales, Rick Bryant, Brad Walker, Colorist: Brad Anderson But Lindsay, you say, I thought you dropped Action Comics. And so I did, but I got sucked back in because there is a really great two page conversation between Batman and Superman in this one So for now I’m only officially collecting New 52 issues written by Grant Morrison, because his stuff seems the least polluted with the editorial stranglehold poisoning many of the other books. The backup in this one (written by Sholly Fisch) is pretty cute too. American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares #2 Writer: Scott Snyder, Artist: Dustin Nguyen, Colors: John Kalisz I think I forgot to post about Issue #1 in this new miniseries, because I forgot to check when it ...

The Gods of Mars (Barsoom, Book 2) Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1918 Warlord of Mars (Barsoom, Book 3) Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1919 Premise: Sequels to A Princess of Mars . John Carter has at last returned to Mars, only to find he is still far from regaining his place and his love. He arrives in the Holy Valley of Dor, where the people of Barsoom take their final pilgrimage in the hopes of reaching Heaven. What he finds there is anything but peace and happiness, though. He'll be lucky to live through the day, and if he manages to fight through the ranks of the therns (the white Martians who inhabit the Valley) and reach the outer world again, his own people may condemn him to death for returning from the sacred lands! If you like action and good comradeship and exotic locales, if you like evil monsters and valiant warriors and beautiful women, if you get shivers when the narrator says “Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!”then I think you owe it to yourself to check ...

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies Writer: Jeph Loeb, Pencils: Ed McGuiness, Inks: Dexter Vines, Colors: Dave Stewart Collection 2005, Issues originally released 2003 Premise: Collects Superman/Batman #1-6. It's business as usual for The Man of Steel and The Dark Knight, until Metallo's attack forces them together. They'll have to stay a team to deal with Metallo's mysterious plans, a Superman from the future and a giant Kryptonite meteor! And that's before President Luthor takes matters into his own hands, first putting a price on Superman's head, then sending a troop of other heroes to take Superman and Batman into custody! This series is ridiculously fun. It plays up the relationship between Bruce and Clark using my very favorite version of their partnership: two heroes who are sometimes at odds, but fundamentally respect and trust each other. After all, 'best friends and comrades in arms' is one of my very favorite relationships to read about...

Hammerfall (Gene Wars, Book One) C. J. Cherryh Premise: Marak Trin is a madman. Like many, he tried to hide it - did successfully hide it for years. But finally the visions and the voices were too much, and when the Ila's men came rounding up the mad, his father the rebel leader surrendered him to the soldiers, and made a kind of peace with the Ila. All the mad are being brought across the desert to the holy city, for the Ila herself to judge. The Ila knows an opportunity when she sees one, and Marak will have a chance to solve the riddle of the visions. He has to try, if he wants to rescue his mother, himself, and possibly all the people living on the Lakht. Like most of Cherryh's work that I've read, this started a little slow, but the story was so intriguing that I didn't mind. It's an especially strong entry in the sub-genre of books which don't start out looking like science fiction, but get there in the end. For the first part of the book, i...

Way Station (AKA Here Gather the Stars) Clifford D. Simak, 1963 Hugo Winner - 1964 Premise: Enoch is a solitary man. He lives alone, deep in the countryside. His only visible errand is to meet the mailman every day. He is over 120 years old. When a federal investigation conflicts with Enoch's actual job, on his shoulders may fall the fate of the world. This was a fairly lovely little book. Enoch runs a way station for interstellar travellers. Quite a bit of the book is recollections of different beings he's met and things he's learned from them. He keeps records of everything he learns, even though he can't share any of it with the rest of humanity - not yet anyway. The larger plot is a quick series of unintended intersections between forces on Earth and plotting factions in the Galactic Federation. The fallout endangers both the existence of the Way Station and Earth's future opportunity to join the wider galaxy. It's fundamentally a pretty ...