Month: December 2022

Chivalry by Neil Gaiman (Author), Colleen Doran (Illustrator)

Chivalry by Neil Gaiman (Author), Colleen Doran (Illustrator)

Chivalry is a delightful fantasy short story by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by the talented Colleen Doran.

The story itself is simple: an elderly woman discovers the Holy Grail at a second-hand shop and takes it home. A knight comes questing for the grail and she is unwilling to give it up.

Does everything end up happily ever after for everyone in our tale? Read and see…

I loved the artwork of this story. Doran uses beautiful colors to highlight the art. Some of the pages are done like medieval folios, they were my favorite.

In the notes at the end of the book, Doran shares she wanted to make the whole book like an illuminated manuscript but she discovered that was unworkable. The pages she did do in that style are breath taking.

Highly recommended for fantasy and comic book fans.

Elvis: The Legend: The Authorized Book from the Graceland® Archives by Gillian G. Gaar

Elvis: The Legend: The Authorized Book from the Graceland® Archives by Gillian G. Gaar

Elvis: The Legend shares facts and anecdotes about Elvis Presley’s life and career. Mixed in with the text, the book contains photos of Elvis and documents of interest like telegrams and receipts for his clothing.

The information is shared by topic rather than chronologically, which I found a little annoying, but I got over it.

“At the end of his set, Elvis had teasingly announced ‘Girls, I’ll see you all backstage,” then found himself being chased across the field by a pack of screaming teenage girls, who followed him into the locker room and tore off his jacket, shirt, and shoes.” pg 29

Readers will find nothing very controversial in this book- perhaps because it is the “authorized book from the Graceland archives”. I picked it up because I recently watched the Baz Luhrmann film about Elvis and I wanted to know if he had to enter military service because of a run-in with the police about his dancing, which the film implied.

That did not seem to be the case. But again, this book isn’t a true biography, so maybe I should look somewhere else.

A fact the film glossed over that this book shares is while Elvis was stationed in Germany, he met his eventual wife Priscilla Beaulieu when she was only 14 years old. They didn’t marry until she was a respectable 21, but I found that initial meeting surprising.

“Then, on September 24, 1959, Elvis met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, who had been brought to 14 Geothestrasse by a mutual friend.” pg 52

I suppose things were done differently back in the day.

Recommended for Elvis fans looking to know more about Presley. Those searching for a biography should look elsewhere.

Native American Myths by Diana Ferguson

Native American Myths by Diana Ferguson

Native American Myths is an excellent collection of stories from different cultures gathered into a few categories: “How the world was made,” “Tricksters and Culture Heroes,” “Earth Sea and Sky,” “Quests and Sacred Gifts,” and “Ghosts and the Supernatural”.

“In the beginning, people lived at peace with the Earth and all her creatures. The Great Spirit had said that it should be so.” pg 34

One of my favorite stories from the collection is “The Buffalo Skin Sky” which tells the tale of a buffalo skin saving humanity from drowning in a great flood. It reminded me of the Biblical tale of Noah and the ark.

“Coyote stood alone, holding the sacred gift of fire. But he had no one to give it to, so he passed it to the nearest tree.” pg 50

I also enjoyed the stories that had the trickster Coyote in them. There were a couple different cultures who shared tales about him. He must have tricked a lot of people to have such a reputation… 🙂

Recommended for anyone who enjoys mythology. This book would be a wonderful choice for bedtime story reading.

Vita Nostra (Vita Nostra, Book One) by Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko

Vita Nostra (Vita Nostra, Book One) by Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko

The reader joins Sasha Samokhina as she begins her magical training at a school where no one tells her what they are teaching.

Later that evening she was supposed to attend prep courses at the university. Sasha did not go. She lay on her bed, textbooks thrown aside, and thought, What’s the point? Because clearly the world did not work the way she imagined before.” pg 29, ebook

Through pain and suffering, Sasha slowly finds her way in this new world. If she fails, real world consequences follow, so she doesn’t dare to fail.

But what is it, exactly, that she’s learning? Discovering that is one of the joys of this book.

“Attention, students,” continued Portnov just as softly. “You are at the beginning of a journey, during which all of your strength will be required. Physical and mental. What we will be studying is not for everyone.” pg 70, ebook

Photo by Kei Scampa on Pexels.com

A friend pointed out to me that this book has quite an eastern European feel to it. I knew as I was reading it that the tone was dark, but as soon as he said that I had to agree.

This is not your typical magic school. It isn’t kind, gentle, or forgiving.

“What will happen if we don’t learn it?” Sasha asked. All three girls fell silent. The question that had tortured them all day was now out in the open.” pg 76, ebook

That being said, the magic system itself is one of the most unique I have ever read. The reveal is very slow, but I thought it was definitely worth the wait.

Recommended for older teens or adults because of some disturbing content.

BRZRKR #2 by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt

BRZRKR #2 by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt

BRZRKR #2 continues the quest to examine the ancient warrior’s past in order to reproduce his incredible powers for modern warfare.

The collected issues didn’t advance the story very far, but the art was good.

There was much less violence in this book. Perhaps they’ve already established what an astounding warrior our main character is and don’t feel the need to show that as much. Whatever the reason, I felt this book was much easier to read than the last.

The authors are introducing more side characters and Diana, one of the lead scientists who are examining our titular character, gets an interesting twist in her storyline.

The artwork and lettering is as good as the last book. There are some very talented artists bringing this series to life.

Recommended for adults because of the content.

BRZRKR, Volume 1 by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt

BRZRKR, Volume 1 by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt

An absolute blood-fest of a book, BRZRKR introduces readers to an ancient warrior who can’t die and who is driven to kill by an internal impulse he’s had since birth.

Honestly, for a first book from actor Keanu Reeves, this wasn’t too bad.

If you can get past the gratuitous violence, it has some great themes- the hero’s birth and crossing the threshold of manhood, the death of the parents or guardians, the eternal war of the uncivilized portion of the psyche and the civilized part.

As a first book in a series, it introduces the main character very well. The method it uses is war and the panels are drenched in red. After a couple pages, I just started skimming for the words because the art was starting to gross me out.

I am most likely not the intended audience for this book, but that didn’t stop me from jumping into it. I’ve never let a little thing like not being the intended audience hold me back.

Recommended for adults only. In fact, the library I borrowed this book from has a Rated-R sticker on the spine to warn readers of its contents. They nailed that. Way to go, librarians!

Animal Castle Vol 1 by Xavier Dorison, Félix Delep

Animal Castle Vol 1 by Xavier Dorison, Félix Delep

Beautiful panels tell the story of Animal Castle, a farm where the humans have disappeared and the animals have taken to governing themselves.

At the top of the food chain, we have a bull and his enforcers, a militia of dogs.

Everyone else farms or builds in order to, unbeknownst to them, feed their leader’s champagne tastes.

The story follows a cat with two kittens, whose mate died prior to the beginning of this story, and a male bunny whose night job includes servicing the female bunnies at the farm.

With the help of a traveling rat, the animals will organize in order to take their power back.

I very much enjoyed this story, except that it ended on a cliffhanger. Other than that, I couldn’t get enough of the artwork. The colors are deep and beautiful.

At times, the lettering is a little small, but only in one or two panels.

There are definite nods to Animal Farm in this tale, but I think this story does well on its own.

Because of some depictions of violence and its aftermath, I’d recommend this book for adults or older teens only.