Review: Mile High with a Vampire

Mile High with a Vampire by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Barsoom Project

The Barsoom Project by Larry Niven
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: Dream Park

Dream Park by Larry Niven
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: This is How You Lose the Time War

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love epistolary novels. Reading a story told only through the words of one person to another - with all of their own biases as they write - pulls me in like no other. It gives you a feel for the characters that just doesn't come through the same way as a traditional novel does.

This novel had been on my radar for awhile, to the point I'd even taken it out of the library and let it languish on my shelf until it needed to be returned. (That happens with far more regularity than it should.) Then, when I was looking for book clubs to join, this came up as the read for this month in one of them. What better way to make sure I read it than join a book club? I borrowed the ebook copy from the library and dove in.

I am so glad I did! This was one of the best stories I've read this year. Being a novella, it only took me a couple of hours to read it, but it didn't feel quick. Rather, it was like savoring a cup of tea, taking your time with each page. By the end, it was both a story that ended satisfactorily as well as one that you wouldn't be disappointed to see the next chapter.

Red is an agent for the Agency, traveling up and down the threads of the timelines to try to stop the incursions of the Garden and assure the timelines that she travels play out the way the Agency wants them to. One day, after a battle that ended exactly as Red had planned, she found a note on the battlefield. "Burn Before Reading" was written on the outside. And that began her unusual conversation with Blue, the Garden's agent equivalent to Red.

What follows is letters passed through their travels, each "written" and "read" in a different way (one was in the rings of a tree that Blue had grown to show the message that only Red could read). Between each letter, we get to see what the recipient was doing before the letter was found and how they came upon it. The letters start as short missives, speaking admiration of the other's skill. But slowly, the two start to share more about themselves and their world. As so often happens in our world, both had views of the other's society that didn't quite fit reality. And as each learned more, shared more, they found common ground. Love blooms, but how can they love in societies which want to crush one another.

The letters were a perfect growth from admiration to friendship to love. Starting from a place where Red isn't sure she should trust these letters from Blue and she isn't sure that she should trust the letters from Red, it weaves through pen-pal like sharing, Blue's sharing of letter etiquette and hidden meanings from time gone by, to declarations of love and finally, to a forced betrayal. It feels natural, though the otherness of Red, Blue and the world they inhabit feels very strange indeed.

The parts between the letters also serve to introduce another character - the seeker, who appears after the letter is destroyed, to take pieces of it into themself. By the end of the story, the seeker and their purpose is revealed and it adds a wonderful twist to the ending that I hadn't seen coming until it was revealed.

Much of the last quarter of the novel is told in a traditional narrative rather than via the letters, with a good reason that I'm not sharing so as not to spoil anything. But that is where the novel also really comes full circle and pieces from the past letters and intersections make perfect sense. It really was the only way for the story to come to a conclusion.

All in all, I highly recommend this novella. Especially if you like epistolary novels, non-traditional relationships, sci-fi and time travel. It has it all but it doesn't feel overcrowded. This is one that I'm going to have to purchase for myself so I can read and reread, as well as pass it along to others to do the same.

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Review: John Constantine: Hellblazer, Vol. 2

John Constantine: Hellblazer, Vol. 2 by Simon Spurrier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have a thing for anti-heroes and magic. So it should be no wonder that I'm a fan of John Constantine. A majority of the time, he's doing the wrong things for the right reasons, and somehow, it usually works out in the end.

This trade paperback, at first, seems like little vignettes of John solving problems that only John can solve. Rescuing a mermaid, trying to explain to the royal stables why a unicorn is really a bad idea, dealing with a group literally worshipping the giant under London... But all of these things have one thing in common - a strange figure calling himself John Constantine seeding the world with stories become real. John needs to figure out who this guy is and how to stop him before not only is the world drawn into chaos but his friends are lost in the process.

Many of the stories could be read individually, but the best narrative is when they're read all together. Simon Spurrier has perfectly encapsulated John Constantine in the stories he's woven. The snarky, brash Brit is does what he can to save innocents but is also willing to sacrifice friends if it means that the world is safe. The secondary characters of his friends were interesting... not as fleshed out to me, but I haven't read the first volume so it's possible that I'd find out more by reading it.

I was very impressed with the way he told the story throughout. There was a small twist at the end that caught me off guard but I could see all of the breadcrumbs that led to it being the only conclusion. He was also very deft at making it clear which royal he was talking about in the second story without actually giving a name. Anyone paying attention to the news over the last couple of years will have caught it and, at least if you're like me, gotten a little chuckle.

The artwork isn't exactly my favorite style - the kind of blurry, fuzzy, chaotic artwork where you don't always see things clearly. Though, to be fair, it is always interesting to look a little closer and see something in the background that you missed the first time. And even though it isn't my favorite style, it DOES fit perfectly with the world of John Constantine.

I'm going to have to pick up the first book just to get a better feel of what I missed. But Simon Spurrier's take on John Constantine is one I'll be happy to read more of.

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Review: Norse Mythology, Volume 1

Norse Mythology, Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'll be up front. I am a HUGE fan of anything that Neil Gaiman puts on paper, whether it be graphic novels, novels, non-fiction, television, radio or movie. Just let me at a Neil Gaiman piece and I'll be sure to enjoy it.

That said, I haven't read everything he's written. The novel Norse Mythology has been on my list for awhile but never seems to get read with all the other things I end up having on my shelves. So when I saw the graphic novel, and knew that I would be able to read it fairly quickly, I decided to pick it up.

I will admit to having a slight disconnect as I started reading because I've been watching a lot of MCU lately, so I had to retool my head to the non-cinematic view of the Asgardians. But the stories were so deftly told and the artwork so wonderfully rendered that I soon left Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth behind. The stories themselves were not ones I was familiar with, but I've read enough Norse Mythology (usually thanks to Neil) that I have an idea of the voices and tones of the different characters. And in every case, they matched up. Loki was as oily and tricky as expected. Thor was as brash and bold. Freya was exactly the type of haughty, "Men can't control me!" that I was expecting.

I'm hoping that they will do a volume two because I would love to see more of these renderings, immerse myself in more of these stories. Because if there's one thing I never doubt Neil can do, that is tell a great story.

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Review: No Way, They Were Gay?: Hidden Lives and Secret Loves

No Way, They Were Gay?: Hidden Lives and Secret Loves by Lee Wind
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I regularly trawl my local library's website, looking at their On Order books for anything that might catch my attention. That is how I found No Way, They Were Gay? I didn't realize at the time that it was more a middle/high school focused book but since I love reading YA/Teen things, I was good with it. It just took a moment to wrap my brain around it.

The book is split into three parts - Men Who Loved Men, Women Who Loved Women, and People Who Lived Outside Gender Boundaries. Each section has an introduction that talks about a couple people who weren't included and then dives more deeply into those who were. Each section covers four people that fit in the category, and in each the author gives his researched reasons for why he came to the conclusion that he did. Even when I wasn't sure if I reached the same conclusion as Mr. Wind, I appreciated the time and effort he put into the research.

A few of the people I had heard of before - Shakespeare, Lincoln, Sappho, Ghandi, Eleanor Roosevelt - but many of them were complete strangers to me and it was interesting getting a glimpse into their lives and loves (many of which were hidden). I'm now more interested in finding out even more about Bayard Rustin, Catalina de Erauso, and Christine Jorgensen. Once my To Read pile gets a bit lower, I'll be looking into more books about them.

This is, in this reader's opinion, a great book for kids that may be questioning their own sexuality or gender. It's written in an easily readable style and, part lecture and part conversation. I'm definitely mentioning it to my 15 year old and, if he wants, I'll pass it his way. All in all, this was a good read and I'm glad I had the chance to savor it.

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Review: The Times I Knew I Was Gay

The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love autobiographical graphic novels. It love learning about people - and with a graphic novel, you get to know more about the person than just the words that they share - you get to literally see how they see themselves in the way that they draw themselves. I'd had this on my radar to read for awhile, but a combination of it being a book club read and it being Pride Month made me glad to pick this up.

Ellie's story isn't one of someone that knew she was gay from an early age. In fact, for a long time, she tried living a straight life and just thought she wasn't doing something right. This is the story of how she maneuvered trying to fit in, to hide parts of herself so that she would fit in with the kids around her. She talks about her relationships with men, her high school and college years, her realization that she was gay, and then hiding that realization from herself for several more years. She looks unflinchingly at the various relationships that she's had - friendships and family relationships as well as romantic ones. It's a wonderful story of acceptance that I would recommend to anyone, especially those who are either coming to accept themselves as they are or accept a loved one as the same.

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Review: Once & Future, Vol. 2: Old English

Once & Future, Vol. 2: Old English by Kieron Gillen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Old English continues on from where The King is Undead left off. Duncan is getting more secure in his monster hunting skills and, sad to say, it's becoming a bit old hat for him. Rose is getting more used to her role as researcher and Bridgette.... well, Bridgette is still as sassy and spunky as ever. This set of stories take us from straight Arthurian legend into another tale of old - Beowolf. And it is one heck of a ride.

I'm not as familiar with the Beowolf legend as I am with Arthurian legend, but I didn't feel that my lack of knowledge took anything away from the story. The story was written well enough that I didn't feel the lack of knowledge because the relevant bits were woven into the story. It was fun seeing the ways that Duncan and Bridgette had to change the stories slightly in order to prevail (as well as getting a chance to see what happens when her Home life and her monster fighting collide).

For me, though, the best part was seeing the change in Elaine. Rather than being all in for her story, she is starting to see that maybe she wasn't making all the right choices. Of course, she's also being used as well, and I'm very curious to see if she is able to fully pull away from the Court and side with Team Monster Hunter. I'm definitely invested in the story.

Now I'm just anxiously awaiting the next trade paperback. My library has the individual comics that have been issued before this but I'm trying hard to hold out.

This book covers issues #7-12. For my review of the first volume, see here.

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Review: Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead

Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead by Kieron Gillen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm so glad that one of my book clubs had this as a reading choice for this month, because it hadn't been on my radar before now.

What if King Arthur were to come back, but not to unite the country (or the world) but to destroy it? And what if a young man, who had always been told by his gran that all those fantasies weren't real, found out that she had spent most of her life fighting those same stories? And what if that young man was now the key to making sure that Arthur doesn't make it back into this world?

I devoured both this, the first volume of the comic series, and the second, in a night because I was so caught up in it. It reminded me very much of Seanan Maguire's Indexing series, in that people are born to start taking on the aspects of people from historic fiction (Arthurian Legend, Beowolf, etc) and if things aren't stopped and the stories come to conclusion, then the world is in for a whole lot of hurt.

The characters are all very engaging and believable. Duncan's confusion at this grandmother he never expected existed, Bridgette's (Bridgette is his gran) spunk and instance that he can do this all while trying to hide it from the people in her Old Age home, Rose turning from bad first date to an integral part of their little team all made me want to root for them even more. It is interesting to see the origin of all of this group and why they are who they are. (I don't want to give away too much in terms of spoilers.) Arthur feels a bit flat and I didn't care as much for Elaine in the first book, but overall it was just a wonderfully enjoyable story that I'm looking forward to talking about and looking forward to rereading.

This volume covers issues #1-6. My review for the second volume is here/

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Review: Taproot by Keezy Young

 

Taproot by Keezy Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book that never would have been on my radar if I hadn't joined a virtual Graphic Novel book club. And now I'm doubly glad that I had because this book was phenomenal.

Hamal is a young man that can talk to ghosts. Several young ghosts hang around him, including Blue, who seems to be Hamal's best friend. The owner of the flower shop that Hamal works at just thinks he's a bit weird, since no one else can see the ghosts. But that's ok, because Hamal is a miracle worker when it comes to growing things. But things aren't quite what they seem as the ghosts, including Blue, seem to disappear into a freaky wood every once in awhile.

There are so many things I love about this book. The art style reminds me very much of Rebecca Sugar's Steven Universe. The colors are more muted, more pastel. There are several panels where the art of the world is more the focus than the people (and ghosts) which really helps give a feel for the world. I love the bits of mystery, as well as the relationship between Hamal and Blue. It's a sweet story of what could have been in a different time... or maybe what can be now.

I also love how Hamal is accepting of his abilities. He isn't perfect with them - he hasn't figured out how to talk to the ghosts without looking like he's always talking to himself. And Blue does mention that it took a little while to come to terms with it. I also appreciated that Young didn't have everything between Hamal and Blue be perfect. A big moment in the book is an argument between the pair that pushes them apart for a little while - more for stubbornness than anything else.

That's not to say that I think the book is perfect. Ideally, I would have loved to see more of Hamal coming to terms with his abilities in a flashback. See how that affected his budding friendship with Blue. I also would have loved to see a bit more fleshing out of the other ghosts. They were very much secondary creatures but they were fleshed out just enough that I wanted to know more. But I also recognize that both those quibbles would have made the book longer and may have bogged things down. I would love to see more written in this world.

Overall, I highly recommend this quick read. Especially if you enjoy reading a good combination of LGBTQ+ romance and the supernatural. I'm looking forward to rereading it and to talking about it with the book club.

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