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One Classic and Three Sequels
May. 3rd, 2005 03:00 pmAll right. So for this outing, we have one Classic Graphic Novel, for the education of sapphireone, and three sequels, solely for her reading pleasure on recovering from surgery. I’ll be getting back to new adult and more mainstream books soon – but books like these are hot bubble baths for sapphireones.
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons This is a hard book to review, and hard to read. Watchmen is one of the classics of the graphic novel genre, one of the ones that people point to when wishing to demonstrate that comics can be serious and geared towards adults. The Watchmen refers to former superheroes, now forbidden from acting as superheroes, and dealing with both the murder of one of their least likeable members and impending nuclear war. Although it involves superheroes, right and wrong are hard to tell apart. It is compelling, violent, difficult, and the most interesting characters are the least likeable. Read it at your own peril.
Enna Burning by Shannon Hale In this sequel to Goose Girl, which I previously reviewed, we return to the land of Bayern, now following the best friend of the princess. It’s a good book, but sadly, not quite as fabulous as the first one.
Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker This sequel, on the other hand, is just as fabulous and fantastic as the first book, Abarat. Our heroine, Candy Quackenbush, is still exploring the many islands of the Abarat, each a different hour of the day and filled with its own particular wonders. She makes some new friends and pursues old ones, all the while pursued by the evil Christopher Carrion and his mother Mater Motley. The book, like the first one, is printed on heavy glossy paper, with full color paintings by the author illustrating the events and strange creatures described. You’ll want to start with the first one if you haven’t read it yet, but this is fantasy of the most blissful sort, full of great beauty, great evil, memorable characters and a marvelous adventure.
The Usurper’s Crown by Sarah Zettel I read a lot of Sarah, and will be reading more, as we have two more new books of hers just waiting to be read. She writes what I consider to be superlative fantasy – detailed worlds that are not too confusing to remember, intricate plots, and well-rounded, larger-than-life but still very human characters, none of whom is truly evil. This last is particularly rare in the world of fantasy, where the good guys are usually out against a Big Bad. This particular book is the second in the Isavalta series, switching between Lake Superior and a fantasy world resembling Russia and surrounding countries. It’s actually set earlier in time that the first book, explaining many of the characters we met there. Ingrid Loftfield was living an ordinary life on Lake Superior when she fell in love with the man who saved her sister. He thought he was in permanent exile from Isavalta and his position as the empress’s sorcerer – but when she calls him back, they both go.
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons This is a hard book to review, and hard to read. Watchmen is one of the classics of the graphic novel genre, one of the ones that people point to when wishing to demonstrate that comics can be serious and geared towards adults. The Watchmen refers to former superheroes, now forbidden from acting as superheroes, and dealing with both the murder of one of their least likeable members and impending nuclear war. Although it involves superheroes, right and wrong are hard to tell apart. It is compelling, violent, difficult, and the most interesting characters are the least likeable. Read it at your own peril.
Enna Burning by Shannon Hale In this sequel to Goose Girl, which I previously reviewed, we return to the land of Bayern, now following the best friend of the princess. It’s a good book, but sadly, not quite as fabulous as the first one.
Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker This sequel, on the other hand, is just as fabulous and fantastic as the first book, Abarat. Our heroine, Candy Quackenbush, is still exploring the many islands of the Abarat, each a different hour of the day and filled with its own particular wonders. She makes some new friends and pursues old ones, all the while pursued by the evil Christopher Carrion and his mother Mater Motley. The book, like the first one, is printed on heavy glossy paper, with full color paintings by the author illustrating the events and strange creatures described. You’ll want to start with the first one if you haven’t read it yet, but this is fantasy of the most blissful sort, full of great beauty, great evil, memorable characters and a marvelous adventure.
The Usurper’s Crown by Sarah Zettel I read a lot of Sarah, and will be reading more, as we have two more new books of hers just waiting to be read. She writes what I consider to be superlative fantasy – detailed worlds that are not too confusing to remember, intricate plots, and well-rounded, larger-than-life but still very human characters, none of whom is truly evil. This last is particularly rare in the world of fantasy, where the good guys are usually out against a Big Bad. This particular book is the second in the Isavalta series, switching between Lake Superior and a fantasy world resembling Russia and surrounding countries. It’s actually set earlier in time that the first book, explaining many of the characters we met there. Ingrid Loftfield was living an ordinary life on Lake Superior when she fell in love with the man who saved her sister. He thought he was in permanent exile from Isavalta and his position as the empress’s sorcerer – but when she calls him back, they both go.
