Graphic Novel Review: Rat Queens Vol.1: Sass and Sorcery
Posted on March 24, 2014 4 Comments
Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch
Genre: Fantasy, Gaming
Series: Rat Queens #1-5
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Wendy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars: Drop whatever pre-conceived notions you might have over RPG adventurers. These women are unapologetically perfect in their blazing imperfections.
And a copy for you and a copy for you… I swear if I had the money, I would be flinging copies of Rat Queens at eeeeeverybody. As it stands, only a few of my precious babies will be getting an Amazon mailbox surprise soon, and I’d already pre-ordered my own copy from my not-so-local comic book story. But thankfully, NetGalley let me partake of this glory early in exchange for an honest review, which basically goes like this:
Why the hell aren’t you reading Rat Queens already? #FLAIL
But seriously. You do not really have to be a roleplaying game fan to appreciate the Rat Queens, though it probably helps quite a bit to understand how the characters fit into the basic roles of a team of adventurers. There’s Dee Dee the human cleric, Hannah the elven sorceress, Betty the smidgen rogue, and Violet the dwarven warrior. Beyond that, drop whatever pre-conceived notions you might have over RPG adventurers. These women are unapologetically perfect in their blazing imperfections. They are crude and violent, sexual and in command, vulnerable and honest, and wonderfully loyal to each other and those they deem worthy. Some might find the Rat Queens over the top, believing them to be the product of a man trying too hard to write liberated females, but ending up with stereotypical male characters with boobs. I will politely disagree with such an opinion. These ladies are the epitome of femininity in all its glorious parts, beginning with Roch Upchurch’s depiction of characters with real body types. They are all kinds of sexy in both attitude and appearance.
But they aren’t just about the bar brawls, sex, drugs and mercenary work. Wiebe carefully weaves in little bits and pieces of their personal lives and really rounds out the characters and all of their various relationships outside of the group. Within the group, the design of their friendship and loyalty is subtle, but clear. There is certainly conflict, but at the end of the day, they would each take a bullet for the other (if there actually were bullets). Dee especially surprises as the divine magic user who doesn’t believe in the divine she was raised on. She doesn’t get her moment in the spotlight until the last issue of the volume, but once it occurs, she became an instant favourite for me because of an endearing back story and touching moments that I could personally appreciate. (See mom? That’s how you handle that sort of thing…)
When we first meet the Queens, they are making a mess of the city they claim to be protecting and, along with several other amusing groups of mercenaries, they are sent out on various quests. The questing is typical RPG fodder – until they all walk into an elaborate trap. The mystery of who arranged for the assassination of all these mercs becomes the many plot, but there are other delectable threads teasing along the edges.
Wiebe’s wit is so very on point throughout. The dialogue is knife edge sharp and funny, even when Violet is failing miserably at the intimidating one liners. I love the way the story mocks itself as much as the various mediums it targets. It walks the fine edge of satire without going overboard and becoming preachy, allowing it to be simply a hilarious, fun read that I am dying to get more of.
Mogsy’s Book Haul
Posted on March 23, 2014 Leave a Comment
Defenders – kicking off this week’s stack of books is this title from Will McIntosh, whose Love Minus Eighty was one of the best books I read last year. You can imagine my excitement and gratitude when I received this ARC, so my big thanks to Orbit Books!
The Unquiet House – Jo Fletcher Books publishes some great horror, and this one by Alison Littlewood caught my eye. She is also the author of Path of Needles, which I will be reading very soon as well.
Binary – I was so excited because JFB also sent over this one and the first book Gemsigns, though Binary has arrived first. I want to start this series so badly! But alas, I’m still waiting for book one to show up. Until then, this one is on my shelf, sitting there…just taunting me. ARRGH.
The Book of Lost Things, Foul Trouble and The Language Inside – okay, so a while ago Random House’s young adult fiction community Random Buzzers was shut down, and I’m guessing this is where these three books that arrived totally randomly (har har) came from. They must have cleared out the old ARCs in their inventory, threw a bunch into envelops indiscriminately and sent them to their former users. The thing is, I’m not big on the contemporary YA genre (the only one I might have an interest at all in is the Mister Max book) so I’ll likely not read these but I featured them anyway because I hate seeing books (especially ARCs — even if they’re old) go to waste. So, if you live in the US and are interested in any of these three books, leave me a comment or email me with a way to get in touch and I’ll be happy to give these away to someone who wants them. Check out their descriptions if you need more info, and The Language Inside appears to be a book of poetry.
Now onwards to the digital pile:
Archetype – isn’t it great when you add a book to your wishlist, and then days or weeks later it goes on sale? The Archetype ebook was $2.99 earlier this week (still is, I think) and it was on my list so when I saw it I jumped on it right away.
Nightmare Ink – an urban fantasy involving a tattoo shop and a killer tattoo, I just couldn’t resist this eARC!
Deadly Curiosities – my NetGalley pile is in danger of overwhelming me again, but I am an admirer Gail Z. Martin’s work and when I heard about an urban fantasy by her coming out from Solaris Books I knew I had to check it out.
Heaven’s Queen – my ever growing NetGalley pile notwithstanding, I still just had to request this one. For obvious reasons.
The Ten Thousand Things – the second book to the Dead West series. You saw how much I enjoyed the first book, so I’m super excited to get the sequel! Thanks, Ragnarok Pub!
Apex Magazine #58 – after a very successful Apex blog tour coordinated by Andrea from the Little Red Reviewer back in February, I am now savvy to Apex Magazine and am very excited to read the March issue!
Book Review: The Detainee by Peter Liney
Posted on March 21, 2014 Leave a Comment
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 1 of The Detainee
Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books (UK: July 4, 2013/US: March 11, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Dystopian fiction seems to be all the rage these days, but if you’re hankering for a book that sets itself apart and that is not a Young Adult novel, then boy do I have a gem for you.
The Detainee is set the distant future, where society as we know it has essentially collapsed, the economy and infrastructure in tatters. The population is kept in line by security satellites in the sky, constantly watching. Do something against the rules and — ZAP! — you’re either disabled, dying or dead, depending on the severity of your crime. But if you’re a troublemaker, the authorities would sooner just throw you away than deal with you. Anyone who represents a burden is unwanted, dumped onto The Island like the rest of the Mainland’s garbage.
But what makes this book stand out is the main character Clancy, also known as “Big Guy” on account of his huge size as a youth, a trait that gave him such an edge as a former mafia goon. He is also sixty-three years old. Now, with people living longer and longer these days, I don’t know if I would really call that old … but the point is, Clancy certainly identifies himself as elderly. So, that’s a bit different. I don’t often come across stories told from the point of view of someone “aged” (for the entire duration of the book) and I thought Clancy’s position offers a very unique perspective, as someone who has watched the “good old days” turn gradually into the hell they live in now — piece by piece and slippery slope by slippery slope.
Because of his age, Clancy is also an involuntary resident of the Island, because those who are past their prime are seen as nothing more than takers and freeloaders. Elders in this society are not revered but instead treated like scapegoats for the system’s collapse — along with the sick, the poor, and even children. There are many young people at the Island too, many of whom ended up there because their parents chose abandoning them over being cast off themselves. These kids are rounded up and manipulated by the island’s Wastelords who use a regime of drugs and abuse to create a brutal child army, which they use to set against the old people who live in the village.
Like I said, this is not your teenager’s YA dystopian. In an ironic twist, the youth are the enemy, the face of death to Clancy and his friends. Their village becomes a bloody battlefield whenever the fog rolls in, because that’s when the kids come raiding, knowing full well their activities are obscured from the gazes of the uncompromising satellites.
Powerful and provocative, you can practically feel the weight in Peter Liney’s writing. The Detainee paints a hollow, painful existence for everyone living on the Island, for while the book is told in first person from Clancy’s point of view, we find out later on that things are just as bad (if not worse) for the young people at the Camps. Instead of focusing on a single age group, the author has taken things further to explore the unpleasant effects of a dystopian society across multiple generations. But the novel is also hopeful and inspiring; even in a world of misery, the protagonist Clancy forges several unlikely relationships that give him reason to carry on. In time he learns when it comes to love and suffering, age is just a number, and that everyone longs for freedom the same way.
What you’ll find here is a compelling story about adaptability, compassion and courage. Clancy is a very interesting narrator, with the experience of his years behind his character, and who ultimately discovers you are never too old to surprise yourself. I could be wrong, but I think The Detainee is a stand alone novel (EDIT: seems that I am wrong, I’m told there is a book 2 in the works YAY!) It reads perfectly fine as one, in any case. I would have liked to see more from the story about its world’s history and background, but I found the book thoroughly enjoyable. Perfect for fans of dystopian fiction who are looking for an exceptional novel to dive into.
Mogsy’s Spring 2014 Reading List
Posted on March 20, 2014 Leave a Comment
It’s SPRING! Thank goodness! It has been a long and brutal winter and up until a couple days ago it was still snowing, so let’s hope things finally warm up now.
Anyway, making a reading list at the beginning of each season is kind of a tradition of mine. I find it helps focus my attention on books I’ve been meaning to read for a while, most of them past purchases, and for that reason I’ve stopped including review copies or upcoming books. This also gives me months and hence plenty of time to work through my list.
From the once again dismal completion rate from my Winter Reading List (only 6 out of 15 books, ack! — but I did take February off for Review Copy Cleanup month) I’ve taken a page from Wendy and decided to narrow it down to a handful of titles this time. Okay, maybe two handfuls — a few of these are short! Certainly, a more manageable number of books.
Here they are (and yes, a couple of them are coming back. Like London Falling, I WILL read you, dammit!) Also some notable new additions like Guards! Guards! because I’m ashamed I’ve never read a Terry Pratchett book and I think it’s high time we rectified that. The City Watch books came highly recommended to me by several bloggers, so that’s where I’m going to start. See anything that looks interesting?
PANELS: Red Sonja vol.1 Queen of Plagues
Posted on March 20, 2014 Leave a Comment
Red Sonja has some serious after battle plans.
Book Review: She-Hulk Diaries by Marta Acosta
Posted on March 19, 2014 Leave a Comment
The She-Hulk Diaries by Marta Acosta
Genre: Superhero, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Hyperion (for Marvel Comics)
Publication Date: June 2013
Author’s Info: www.martaacosta.com
Wendy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
This is the first novel that we’ve read for our Ladies Comic Book Night book club, but the decision to read it should be an obvious one.
Apparently, the She-Hulk Diaries as well as Rogue Touch, are Marvel’s attempt to “target women readers with stories of dynamic female super heroines who split their time between fighting villains and searching for a decent guy to date.” [X]. I can’t say this concept impressed me, any more than their attempt to bring in Black female readers by marrying Storm off to Black Panther [X]. But for the sake of my ladies at the club, I was willing to overlook my dislike for anything chick-flicky in nature in order to read this book. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. I can’t say it was the greatest read ever and I would love to read more like this, but it was pretty entertaining.
We also had the opportunity to interview author Marta Acosta on Twitter at our recent meeting.
First of all, if you are a previous She-Hulk fan you might find this a bit disconcerting. Acosta chose to separate the She-Hulk and Jennifer Walters personalities, with the greater focus being on Jen as she tries to sort out her personal life and career. I only vaguely knew She-Hulk before reading this and decided to check out the new She-Hulk #1 by Charles Soule to see if my recollections of her were correct. As in, I was certain I remembered her being all green, all the time, which turns out to be the standing canon.
Shulky makes appearances from time to time as the unapologetic party girl who’s antics have gotten her kicked out of the Avengers Mansion. The bifurcated personality is addressed in visits to a psychiatrist, where Jen adamantly refuses to accept that she and She-Hulk are the same people.
We were pleased with Acosta’s decision to split the personalities when she explained her rationale:
“It was also commentary on internal conflicts women have. Society gives us mixed messages & punishes women who don’t conform. The more I thought about She-Hulk, the more I saw her as Jen’s superego, being the woman we’re told NOT to be. She-Hulk is big, loud, sexual, funny, strong. She’s not a nice easy to manage little girl but a powerful woman.”
The opportunity to spend more time with Jen is handled well as she manages her social life and her career. The latter collides with her love life when she comes face to face with a former rock star flame who has apparently been crooning his love to her since their weekend of romance, but is now engaged to Jen’s new nemesis, Amber. Amber is my biggest complaint in the book, as she comes off as the one-dimensional bitch queen archetype. Still, the rest of the book is engaging enough to overlook this. It’s particularly fun when Jen does let Shulky out to play. Although she’s been banished from the Avengers Mansion, she’s still called on to handle the menial criminal tasks and of course, the Jade Goddess will party hard afterward.
As I said, this was an entertaining read. It didn’t impress itself upon me as a female reader, since it’s not really my style, but it has successfully introduced me to a new character whom I’m now regularly reading in her comic form. I’d say that’s a win. Well played, Marvel. Well played.
Waiting on Wednesday 03/19/14
Posted on March 19, 2014 Leave a Comment
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Golden Son by Pierce Brown: January 13, 2015 (Del Rey)
I don’t usually do books for Waiting on Wednedays that are so far out in terms of release date, but I LOVED the book Red Rising and so when I saw that the sequel got a cover reveal from Entertainment Weekly I just couldn’t help myself! Of course this would have been featured earlier but it took me a while to find an image without the EW logo plastered all over it. Much thanks to Tammy at Books Bones & Buffy and her super Google-fu for finding an unblemished cover. The book was also her WoW last week!
“With shades of The Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of Thrones, debut author Pierce Brown’s genre-defying epic Red Rising hit the ground running and wasted no time becoming a sensation. Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within. A life-or-death tale of vengeance with an unforgettable hero at its heart, Golden Son guarantees Pierce Brown’s continuing status as one of fiction’s most exciting new voices.”
Mogsy’s Book Haul – The Book Thing
Posted on March 18, 2014 Leave a Comment
If there’s one thing I find truly bizarre about the town I live, it’s the seemingly total lack of bookstores. Sure, we have our local B&N but that’s pretty much about it. Speaking as someone who used to live in downtown Toronto where there’s a used bookstore on every block, it drives me totally bonkers!
That’s why I was so excited when someone told me about The Book Thing. Possibly Baltimore’s best kept secret, I’ve been living in northernish Maryland for about three years and I couldn’t believe this was the first time I’ve heard of it! It’s about an hour drive to the city which is not too bad, and who could resist this: a non-profit charity created for the sole purpose of taking donated books and giving them away, or in their words, putting unwanted books into the hands of those who want them. Hundreds of thousands of books, totally free. FREE! What these people do is totally amazing.
I went to check it out this weekend and it was like, whoa, book heaven! Essentially just a warehouse full of used books, the building ain’t pretty, but the beauty is what’s inside. Hundreds of shelves lined with books. Volunteers do a good job categorizing everything, but it appears whoever takes care of the Science Fiction and Fantasy section must have a pretty narrow view of the genre, as all I could find in there were mostly Stephen R. Donaldson and Wizards of the Coast novels. So, I rolled up my sleeves and went diving through the EXTENSIVE fiction section where everything’s mixed in to see what I could find on my own.
It was hard not to go nuts. There are just so many books! As with most used bookstores, it’s probably not the most ideal for those with finicky tastes, but you can find some really interesting stuff if you’re open to an adventure. I was on the look out for SFF as I sifted through the literally hundreds of shelves and I was there for two hours and still didn’t finish looking through everything. My TBR is already plenty full these days so to make sure I didn’t go home with dozens of boxes of books, I forced to limit myself only to hardcovers in good condition.
With my loot safely procured, I headed up to the desk and all they asked was that I sign in and write down how many books I’m taking away. That’s it, no fees, no questions asked. There was a big bin at the entrance to donate books too, so I was also able to drop off three boxes of old paperbacks from our spring cleaning. Truly a special place!
At the end of the day I was quite happy with my finds. Here are some that I want to highlight:
The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman – I’ve never read any Felix Gilman but I’ve heard some great stuff about him and his books. A lot of it has been about The Half-Made World so I felt really lucky to find this.
Book Review: Cold Magic by Kate Elliott
Posted on March 17, 2014 Leave a Comment
Book Review: The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu (#LoTaoLT)
Posted on March 16, 2014 3 Comments
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Genre: Science Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Angry Robot
Publication Date: April 2013
Narrator: Mikael Naramore
Author Info: www.chuforthought.com
Wendy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had so much fun livetweeting my read that I did it again with Wesley Chu at #LoTaoLT and lots of fun. I’m certain The Lives of Tao is a little peek in to Chu’s mind and I would definitely like to raid his movie collection and compare notes on the Terminator saga one day…
The prologue introduces us to Edward, host to the alien named Tao. They have an amusing relationship that we soon learn goes well beyond mere parasite and host. Their friendship is very real and, in a surprising turn of events for so early in the book, I found myself already caring for Tao.
Following the events of the prologue, Tao ends up in a new host, Roen Tan, who is not exactly the ideal soldier for the Quasings’ great big, millennia old war between their factions, the Genjix and the Prophus. Roen lacks confidence, ambition, and physical skills, therefore Tao and his companions have a big task ahead of them in training Roen.
While Roen does play a huge part in the story as Tao’s host, this book is called the Lives of Tao. But Chu does a great job of letting Tao have some of the focus, with each chapter opening with Tao describing his time with some of his past hosts. This insight into some of history’s great heroes and villains is moving, and it is integral to the overall story of the Quasings and their war on earth. I loved the way Chu worked in our history, sometimes in depth, other times in passing comments — but it becomes clear that the Quasings have had their hands in every major event in our history. It also becomes clear that there really are no good guys in this.
The first half of the story involves Tao getting Roen in shape and teaching him the ins and outs of survival as an agent of the Prophus, with the help of another agent, Sonya. I really liked the natural progression of Roen’s preparations, that comes complete with his disgruntled lack of appreciation for the process. Chu doesn’t immediately — or ever turn Roen into a super agent who can suddenly kick ass. He survives some of his missions by luck and by the skills and sacrifices of others. And when it comes to the final showdown, he doesn’t magically overcome. Despite the whole concept of aliens on our planet, Chu keeps this story and all the characters very real and down to earth.
Thanks to WhisperSync, I both read and listened to this and enjoyed both options. Mikael Naramore’s narration was great, with special love for his enigmatic Tao.
The BiblioSanctum 