Promethea, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

Promethea is a brilliant fantasy graphic novel by the legendary Alan Moore. It follows a woman who is researching a story for her thesis, only to discover that the story actually lives in the imagination and can explode into the real world in surprising and mystical ways.

“Tell me, child, what is your name?” “Promethea.”

It is a clever, gender-bent retelling of Prometheus. But, it presents the exploration and knowledge of the mystical worlds of the qabalah as Prometheus’ gift to the world, instead of the usual literal interpretation of the gift of fire to light the night.

It seems to be Promethea’s destiny to bring fire and knowledge back to the imagination of humanity in order to change the world forever for the better.

“I am Promethea, the rumored one, the mythic bough that reason strains to bend. I am that voice left, once the book is done… I am the dream that waking does not end.”

To free her conditioned mind from the limitations of this reality, the woman, now bearing the incarnation of Promethea, needs to learn from her previous incarnations. If she doesn’t quickly grasp the secrets of the four sacred weapons, the cup, sword, pentacle and wand, Promethea’s ancient enemies will rip her to pieces.

“Humans are amphibious, Sophie. That means they live in two worlds at once: matter and mind. Yet many people only notice the solid world they have been conditioned to think of as more real while all about them diamond glaciers creak and star-volcanoes thunder.”

This graphic novel is pretty far out there. I really liked the mythic and occult themes, and strong female characters.

There’s some near nudity, but nothing too ridiculous. One of the incarnations of Promethea was brought into being by an author who used words and his imagination to shape his mistress into something more. Because of this sexual-themed awakening, she only wears a sheet, but it covers all the wobbly bits. Barely.

Highly recommended for adult readers who like fantasy graphic novels. There are few authors who write such themes better than Alan Moore.

Thanks for reading!

Geek Fantasy Novel by E. Archer

This book is a meandering, young adult novel that takes the reader into weird fantasy worlds through the power of wishes and on an epic quest by an unexpected hero who strives to make everything right, when things continually go wrong.

Along the way, you experience fairies, snow queens, the undead, and plenty of teen angst.

“(Ralph’s parents) were, in fact, endlessly tolerant — except when it came to their one ironclad rule: Ralph must never, ever, make a wish. Not under any circumstances whatsoever.” pg IV

I thought I would enjoy this story more than I did. The trouble is I don’t feel like the author successfully managed to tie the different pieces of the story together. It was disjointed and strange, but not in a good way.

That might appeal to some readers, but not me.

“I think she really wants to be the characters she reads about.” “Well, I guess that’s the point of it all,” Ralph said, out of dork solidarity. pg XXIV

Some of the details of the fantasy worlds were amusing and most certainly will appeal to young adult and reluctant readers.

“These tree-homes are lovely to look at, but so intricate that fairies spend almost all of their waking hours building and maintaining and getting lost in them. Which is a shame, really, since that leaves them so much less time for gamboling about meadows, visiting wishing wells, leaving money in return for teeth, and such.” pg CVII

In the way it wandered through completely different fantasy worlds, it reminded me of The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear… until the unexpected ending.

“In a wish, when one is pursuing one’s greatest desires, one isn’t killed by microbes. One is killed by monsters. That’s what makes it so great.” pg CXXII

Recommended, with reservations, for young adult readers who are more interested in the journey than character building.

Thanks for reading!

Cairo by G. Willow Wilson

Cairo is an urban fantasy graphic novel set against the backdrop of the desert city of the same name. It has magical creatures, confused young men, drug dealers, magicians, Israeli soldiers and more.

Everyone in this story is looking for something. If it’s not a magical hookah, it is a search for love, truth, their higher self or more power. I suppose the entire story could be used as a reminder that “wherever you go, there you are”.

“I wanted to do something. Get away from self-obsessed first world crap. I felt like the monoculture was suffocating me. I didn’t want to get stuck where I was. You know that feeling?” “I know it. But I do not think you’ll find what you are looking for in Cairo.” “Why’s that?” “Because a lot of us are stuck here.”

I was drawn to this graphic novel because of the teasers that promised mythology mixed with fantasy. It does contain that, but everything felt so rushed. Readers didn’t get the context of any of it. We’re just thrust into a world that doesn’t make much sense and spend much of the story grasping at straws of understanding.

In a way, it is much like real life. However, I prefer my graphic novels to be more of an exercise in escapism than a mirror for real life.

Give me layered worlds, complex story lines, nuanced characters and deep-seated meaning. I felt Cairo reaching for those things, but not quite getting there.

We do have quite a number of main characters, which, by its nature, makes the story more complex. But, in this case, I felt that more was not better because all of the characters felt so one-note.

The exception to this classification was Shams, the jinn. We get glimpses into his millennias-long life, relationships to other storied characters, guardianship of a sacred object and spiritual leanings. Even then, I wanted more.

“Welcome to your new home, oh jinn. We’ll talk again when you are more reasonable. Take all the time you need.”

The illustrations are done in black and white, and feel rather gritty. I imagine the whole thing could have taken on a completely different character with a couple good punches of color.

My favorite part was when one of the main characters reaches for a hero’s sword in a test of faith. G. Willow Wilson, the author, uses a poem by Hafiz to put words in the hero’s mouth as he strives to touch another reality and lay claim to the magical blade.

“The place where I am right now… was circled on a map for me.”

Though the translation Wilson used varies from the version I am familiar with, which reads: “This place where you are now, God circled on a map for you.”

Still, it is a beautiful sentiment. Rather like the intention, if not execution, of this graphic novel.

Thanks for reading.

Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff

Last Ones Left Alive brings the zombie-genre to Ireland. Orpen, the daughter of Muireann and Maeve, spends her life training, running, and learning to throw knives. The end has come and humanity has, for the most part, been wiped out by zombie-like creatures called “skrake.”

“I’m to put away the stories about the monsters that are not real and to hear about the others. They’ve got worse as I got older; heroes are caught, turned, burned, throttled, they die of hunger and cold. Children same as me.” pg 33

Orpen lives a sheltered existence on an island. But she dreams of going to the mainland, once-Ireland, and finding the fabled “Phoenix City,” which she learned about through flyers rotting in abandoned buildings. Phoenix City is touted as a paradise with women warriors protecting the walls and weak from the encroaching skrake.

Orpen’s mother and Maeve have drilled rules into her head since the day she turned seven. Some of these rules are: Don’t go near tall buildings. Count your ‘Just-in-Cases’. and Beware people.

“Beware people. I can’t stay on my own, though, I can’t. If they’re men, I will run.” pg 71

But is life worth living without the interaction of other people? Orpen doesn’t think so. She dreams of the day she’ll leave the island… and wanders the land with the skrake.

I enjoyed Last Ones Left Alive but it felt like more of an homage to Ireland than a truly scary horror novel. Much of the gore and scares felt done as readers have been exposed to them all before in such series as The Walking Dead, Book One or Saga, Vol. 1.

The narration is related in two parallel lines with the past woven among the present by alternating chapter. It’s not my favorite way to read a story, but I can see how it could appeal to some readers.

The female characters in this broken world are unapologetically strong. Readers looking for books with self-reliant female characters may really enjoy this read. It may also be a great pick for a book club to pick apart and discuss.

Personally, I wanted more details about the dangers this world had to offer rather than focusing on Orpen’s journey, which is the main part of the story. There’s something to be said for unknown horrors… true. But when you peer deeply into the darkness, there’s the feeling that it looks back into you.

That’s what I felt was missing in this excellent debut novel by Sarah Davis-Goff. I wanted more looking into the shadows.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book. The short quotations I cited in this review may vary in the final printed version, which I believe is available today (August 27, 2019).

Thanks for reading!

A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #4) by Louise Penny

When a body is discovered near a retreat in the woods, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache happens to be staying at the Manoir Bellechasse, the lodge, with his lovely wife, Reine-Marie. Now, their peaceful get-away has devolved into a murder investigation. Someone at the hotel is a killer.

Can Gamache figure out who before it’s too late?

“But just as their waffles arrived they heard a faraway sound, something so unexpected it took Gamache a moment to recognize it. It was a scream.” pg 84

As delightful as this entry is in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, I had trouble getting into the story. It has Louise Penny’s usual eccentric characters and thoughtful insights into universal emotions like love and despair.

And, as usual, I guessed completely wrong on the resolution and enjoyed the nail-biting conclusion.

“His team had a near perfect record, and they did it by sorting facts from fancy from wishful thinking. They did it by collecting clues and evidence. And emotions.” pg 95

I think what I was missing from the mystery was the setting of Three Pines itself. Honestly, it was nice to branch out a little and see many of Penny’s beloved characters in a different place, but Three Pines is so delightful that I missed it.

To be fair, it does make a bit of a cameo with a village festival, but it wasn’t the same. The irascable poet, Ruth Zardo, is almost completely absent, except for a one-liner, and I missed her. I’m also inordinately fond of the bed and breakfast owners, Oliver and Gabri. But we didn’t see much of them because the action was taking place at a different hotel.

Here’s hoping the next book takes place back in Three Pines. I’d still recommend this one to readers who love cozy mysteries. Louise Penny has a gift for writing them.

Thanks for reading!

Fall, or Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson

“Not only can we defeat entropy, but the universe, in a way, wants us to use our powers as conscious beings to make things better. And part of that is defeating death.” pg 50

I finally finished Neal Stephenson’s latest book, an opus about the nature of reality that uses mythology, archetypes and technology as the instruments of that examination. Coming in at a hefty 896 pages, it will most likely be the longest book I read this year.

“Far from being a source of frustration, this comforted him, and made him happy — perhaps even a little smug — that he lived in a universe whose complexity defied algorithmic simulation.” pg 19

Richard “Dodge” Forthrast, one of the many protagonists from Reamde, suffers an unexpected injury and dies — to the horror of his loving family. Immediate complexities reveal themselves in his will, which contains very specific instructions on what is to be done with his corpse and living brain.

These instructions will lead to a technological coalition of companies and big money in an effort to create another reality for the “recently diseased”. And, what happens in that new world is beyond anyone’s (among the living) control… isn’t it?

Stephenson, as usual, has created a complex science fiction novel that not only makes you think again about where technology is headed, but also compels you to ask yourself what that exponential development means.

“It’s really only since wireless networks got fast enough to stream pictures to portable devices that everything changed,” Enoch said, “and enabled each individual person to live twenty-four/seven in their own personalized hallucination stream.” pg 236

And lest one think such changes are so far off, you only need to take a look at someone else’s Facebook newsfeed. The difference between what I see on that platform and what my husband sees is shocking. Our “own personalized hallucination stream” is already a reality.

Stephenson is at his best when he’s mixing science fiction and fantasy in Bitworld. He’s at his worst when he’s clocking the changes going on in the real world or “meatworld”, as his characters call it. One likes to think that he had reasons for including the myriad of details that he includes, but readers could also suspect that he needed a good editor.

The first portion of this book moves agonizingly slowly, which prevented it from being a five-star read for me. But that was its only downside in my view.

“So he went into the room where the disciples of Greyhame and Pestle scratched out words on paper, and told them to go through all of their documents and make him aware of any mention they might find of angels, or the One Who Comes, or Daisy, or death.”pg 482

I can’t say I completely understand the ending of the story, but it is epic. I find myself still thinking about it and taking pieces apart in my mind. And, for me, that’s one of the hallmarks of a good read.

Recommended for science fiction readers who can tolerate a very slow build-up for a potentially puzzling end.

Thanks for reading!

The Test by Sylvain Neuvel

The Test is a science fiction short story detailing a sinister new type of citizenship test and a possible dark future humanity could face.

“I am the only one taking the test. Only men. Only between the ages of sixteen and forty-five. She said it was unfair. I told her it was a blessing. I do not care what their motivations are; it is a simple matter of probabilities.” pg 12

Photo by Startup Stock Photos on Pexels.com

Idir Jalil was a dentist in Teheran. He wants to immigrate with his wife and children to the United Kingdom. But first, he has to pass the test.

“Guns and impunity. This is why we’re here.” pg 21

As technology advances, one can’t help but wonder what sorts of new programs are going to be created. Passports with radio frequency identification chips already exist. Will we soon start putting computer chips in ourselves?

And with all of these changes, how do we hold on to our essential humanity? The test Idir receives has significant consequences for him.

Beyond the question of technology, Sylvain Neuvel also tackles how immigration procedures have a dehumanizing effect. When you’re reducing people to statistics and probabilities, you dismiss everything else that makes someone a person.

Countries around the world continue to struggle with immigration issues. I wish there were easy answers. Aren’t we all citizens of this planet?

Thanks for reading!

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Alice and her mother live their lives on the road. Everywhere they go, they’re haunted by misfortune. Alice calls it bad luck. It could be something worse.

“We moved at least twice a year and sometimes more, but the bad luck always found us.” pg 12, ebook

Her grandmother, Althea Proserpine, was the creator of a whispered-about collection of fairy tale stories. For almost her entire life, Alice has wanted to read the collection but her mother forbids it and copies are impossible to find. Althea lives the life of a hermit on a secluded property called the Hazel Wood.

“My grandmother’s estate, which I’d only seen in photos, felt like a place I remembered from some alternate, imaginary childhood. One where I rode horses and went to summer camp.” pg 10, ebook

One day, Alice’s mother disappears and, in order to find her, Alice is going to have to go into the Hazel Wood, a place that holds secrets darker than she’s ever imagined.

“My situation hit me hard. Homeless. Without my mom. Being stalked, by something I couldn’t see the breadth of or understand.”pg 79

Melissa Albert has created a fairy tale for young adults that I think would have been more fun if she’d gone the non-YA route.

My favorite parts were the fantasy stories themselves within the story. I found them to be very reminiscent of Catherynne Valente, whom Albert lists as one of her favorite authors in the back of this book.

They’re hard-edged, glittering things. These are creepy fairy tales, not made for children.

“On a cold day in a distant kingdom, a daughter was born to a queen and king. Her eyes were shiny and black all over, and the midwife laid her in the queen’s arms and fled.” pg 69

I can understand why some readers didn’t like this book with its twisted stories. They’re unnerving, popping in and out of the narrative. And, as I said before, I felt like this book twisted itself into knots trying to be a young adult read when, in reality, I think it could have just been dark fantasy.

There’s a love interest who, I thought, sort of gets in the way except as a young adult plot device.

The main character, Alice, is a cold young woman with little concern for anyone in her life except her mother. I can also see why readers didn’t warm up to her, but it didn’t bother me all that much. I figured, with someone moving around as much as she did, how would Alice figure out how to have normal relationships? It fit.

In conclusion, I liked The Hazel Wood but didn’t love it. Personally, I think it’s worth the read for the interesting short fantasy stories alone. But if you’re not into that kind of thing, this book probably won’t appeal.

Thanks for reading!

The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French

“The case comes in, or anyway it comes in to us, on a frozen dawn in the kind of closed-down January that makes you think the sun’s never going to drag itself back above the horizon.” pg 1, ebook.

Photo by Alexandr Podvalny on Pexels.com

And so begins the final book (so far) in Tana French’s masterful Dublin Murder Squad series. This entry follows Detectives Antoinette Conway and Steve Moran, the duo readers met in the last book, as they try to solve, what at first appears to be, a simple domestic disturbance. Little do they know, what they discover will challenge all of their assumptions about their roles in the Murder Squad and their own investigative skills.

“Before we check out the rest of the cottage, I squat down by the body and carefully, one-fingered, hook back her hair from her face. Steve moves in beside me. Every Murder D I’ve ever known does it: takes one long look at the victim’s face.” pg 24

The investigation, especially the interrogation scenes, are intense and what I’ve come to expect from this series. It’s a thrilling who-done-it with complex characters and relationships. I really enjoyed it.

“The pressure level means Murder is balanced so finely that it only takes a few new heads to shift the whole feel of the squad: turn that big cat rogue and edgy, set that rifle warping towards its moment to blow up in your face.” pg 23, ebook

Conway, the only woman on the murder squad, feels as if she has been singled out and shut out of the camaraderie of the rest of the group. So, she feels like she has more to prove when the investigation becomes more complex than she expected.

Conway, the narrator this time around (they change in each book), isn’t my favorite character, but she’s someone I’d respect and give plenty of space so I didn’t come into her crosshairs.

“Unless I missed your promotion, we’re on the same squad, and this is my investigation. Which means you’re the cheeky little bollix who’s getting above himself, and you’re the one who needs to bear in mind who’s who here.” pg 138, ebook.

Frankly, I’m sorry I’ve read the final book French has written for the murder squad. However, in a May 2019 interview, she didn’t dismiss the idea of writing another book for the series at some point in the future. So, readers can rejoice!

It’s just not written yet. Sigh.

Highly recommended for fans of thrillers and mysteries. Thanks for reading!

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Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Category: Fiction

Promethea, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore

Geek Fantasy Novel by E. Archer

Cairo by G. Willow Wilson

Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff

A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #4) by Louise Penny

Fall, or Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson

The Test by Sylvain Neuvel

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French

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