Solomon’s Thieves, Book 1 by Jordan Mechner

I almost flipped out over this series today because I went to request the second book and found that it was never published. Not to be deterred, I used my mad librarian skillz and discovered that, after the release of Solomon’s Thieves, the publisher bound all of the issues together rather than releasing them one at a time.

The continuation to this story is found in the graphic novel: Templar. Crisis averted.

And what is this comic about?

Solomon’s Thieves is a fun romp through 1300’s Paris at the time of the Templar’s disbanding and destruction.

The focus of the story is on a knight named Martin. He was unlucky in love and joined the order to change his life, which he manages to do. But, on the Templar’s return from an unsuccessful campaign in the Holy Land, after a wild night of drinking and some bad choice making in Paris, he ends up not being present when his brethren are arrested by the French king, Philip the Fair.

The adventure really starts when the king’s men discover that the fabled treasure of the Templars is not in their church/compound. Martin, after a series of misadventures and a chance meeting with some unsavory characters, decides to find out where that treasure is and steal it back.

Bit of trivia: the Paris Templars were arrested on Friday, October 13th, 1307. So, 709 years ago tomorrow (I wrote this review on October 12th, 2016). Now, you know.

From the introduction: “From humble beginnings the Knights Templar rose to become the most powerful military monastic order of the medieval world. Pledged to protect pilgrims during the Crusades, the Templars become heroes to Christians everywhere. Their fighting prowess was legendary. … But the Crusades were an expensive, blood-soaked failure. In 1291, after two centuries of warfare, the Muslims drove the Christian armies from the Holy Land once and for all. For the Templars, it was the beginning of the end…” Goosebumps!

I’d consider this a PG-13 level comic because of some rough language, non-graphic violence (dude sticks his sword through the chest of a guy in one of the panels, but there isn’t blood everywhere), and some, again non-graphic, torture scenes.

The afterward by Jordan Mechner is fantastic. Not only does he give the actual history that he based the comic on, but also the sources that he used to research it. Huge librarian thumbs up from me. 🙂

“Like Western gunslingers or Japanese samurai, their legend grew, and it attracted new recruits, donations, and privileges. By their peak in the thirteenth century, the Templars had grown into a religious, military, and banking organization whose assets, power, and reach rivaled any of the kings of Europe. They were the Jedi of their time. Their incredible downfall rocked the world. Its echoes reverberate to this day.” pg 135

If you enjoyed this comic, you may like: The Religion by Tim Willocks(regular book- not a graphic novel, very bloody, for adults only) or The Knights Templar: Discovering The Myth And Reality Of A Legendary Brotherhood by Susie Hodge (regular book also- non-fiction but in-depth examination of the templars).

Thanks for reading!

The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess, Introduction by Terri Windling

In this graphic novel, Charles Vess illustrates many traditional folk ballads that have been rewritten by some fairly popular fantasy artists like Neil Gaiman or Emma Bull.

I didn’t realize how many traditional ballads have negative interactions with strangers as their primary topic.

According to these stories, any stranger is either a fairy or the devil. If it is a male, he’ll either kill you or impregnate you and then come later to take your kid back to whatever magical land he came from.

If it is a female, she’ll either imprison you, change you into a snake, rape you, or take you away to fairyland.

An alternate title for this book could be: Strangers are Bad- Don’t Talk to Strangers or Let Them In Your House or Have Sex with Them Unless You Want to Die.

But all joking aside, there are very few ballads that end either happily or well. It is unsettling reading them altogether, like delving into a book of short horror stories.

From the introduction by Terri Windling: “Ballads, which are stories in narrative verse, are related to folktales, romances, and sagas, with which they sometimes share themes, plots, and characters (such as Robin Hood). No one knows how old the oldest are. It’s believed that they are ancient indeed…” pg 10

Which disturbs me even more when I consider that these stories were written for a reason. Can you imagine raising a kid in the dawn of time? ‘Don’t go talk to that stranger over there ’cause he might eat you. We don’t know about that exact dude, but seriously… it has happened. Remember how you used to have a sister?’

Take the ballad of Tam-Lin for instance: “O I forbid you, maidens a’, That wear gowd on your hair, To come or gae by Carterhaugh, For young Tam-Lin is there. There’s nane that gaes by Carterhaugh But they leave him a wad, Either their rings, or green mantles, Or else their maidenhead.” pg 92

In other words, don’t go over there or he’ll take your stuff or rape you.

Despite the depressing nature of the stories, the artwork is very pretty and it’s all in black and white which makes the stories even starker. My favorite of the bunch is The Great Selchie of Sule Skerry which was re-written by Jane Yolen.

In it, a young maiden falls in love with a man from the sea. Guess how it ends?

Some read alike graphic novels: A Flight of Angels by Rebecca Guay, The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen, or The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman.

Thanks for reading!

Book of the Night: the Black Musketeers by Oliver Pötzsch, translated by Lee Chadeayne

“Book of the Night” tells the story of Lukas Lohenfels, whose family is driven apart by an evil monk, intent upon finding a relic of power.

Along the path to revenge and redemption, Lukas makes some friends, some enemies, and discovers that magic may be more real than he ever imagined.

This is the 1600’s Germany, a land of princes and shifting alliances. A war has been going on for a very long time.

Who are the Black Musketeers of the title?: “The Black Musketeers were the best fighters in the Reich,” he began, “trained in the use of all sorts of weapons and fear by everyone. They served as bodyguards to the Imperial General Wallenstein … We fought and shot like the devil, with swords, pikes, daggers, muskets, and pistols, and drove the Danes and their allies back across the Elbe River.” loc 129, ebook.

Lukas is forced to grow up quickly, not only because of what happens to his family, but also because of the unending war: “Lukas thought of the dreadful stories he’d heard about the war. Last year in Magedeburg, twenty thousand citizens had been slaughtered by mercenaries, who then completely destroyed the city.

Similar things had happened in other parts of the Reich. Whenever the troops passed by, no matter which side they were on, they left behind death, destruction, hunger, and disease. When he was young, Lukas had always imagined war as something heroic. … but for some time now, he had understood that war was not an adventure, but left horror and misery in its wake.” loc 1112, ebook.

Author Oliver Pötzsch is a master storyteller. His story flows smoothly and well.

I particularly enjoyed this homage to the classic, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas:

“If you have something to tell me or the others,” Gionvanni said softly, in order not to waken the other sleeping boys, “please don’t hesitate. We’re always here for you, do you understand?” He smiled. “One for all and all for one. I heard those words somewhere before, and they apply to us as well.” loc 1148, ebook.

I liked how Lukas and his friends were never entirely certain about the existence of magic until it entered their lives in a very real way: “Nonsense,” Paulus muttered. “Magic is humbug! I only believe things I can see and fight with my sword.” “It’s said there are certain vapors and gases that make people sick and can even cause the plague,” Giovanni replied matter-of-factly. “Can you see them, Paulus?

No. But still they’re there, invisible, all around us. Perhaps there’s lots more out there that we simpleminded little men can’t even imagine.” loc 1428, ebook.

When I saw the name, Oliver Pötzsch, and snapped up this book from NetGalley, not realizing that Book of the Night is intended for a young adult audience.

As I wrote earlier, it is very well-written and I had a lot of fun reading it. That being said, the Book of the Night isn’t very sophisticated nor are there any true surprises within its pages.

Book trailer for ‘Book of the Night’ in German.

However, it is a perfect pick for anyone in the 12 to 16 age group, or anyone who enjoys an adventure with some magical undertones.

If you’re looking for some more magical/coming-of-age young adult read-alikes try: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace, and Jackaby by William Ritter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing Publishing for a free digital copy of this book! And, thank you for reading.

Watchmen by Alan Moore

I can’t stop thinking about this graphic novel. It’s not something I’d usually like- ultra-violent with a very dark vision of humanity- but there is something incredibly compelling about it.

It starts with a murder. Watchmen is the story of a group of super heroes who don’t fight crime anymore because vigilantism was outlawed. Among the many costumed regular heroes (The Comedian, Rorschach, Nite Owl), there is an actual superhero, Dr. Manhattan, who suffered a freak radiation accident and was changed, permanently. He perceives time as happening all at once and can manipulate matter in multiple dimensions. Each of the heroes has a story, some are very sad, and all of them are upset as one of their own has just been killed. Can they figure out who the murderer is before he/she strikes again?

My favorite character out of the bunch is Dr. Manhattan. “We gaze continually at the world and it grows dull in our perceptions. Yet seen from another’s vantage point, as if new, it may still take the breath away.” pg 27, Chapter XI. He’s nearly godlike in his capabilities but that makes it practically impossible for anyone to understand him.

My husband’s favorite is Rorschach, which I could understand, but he was far too violent for me to truly appreciate the character. I feel like there’s an underlying importance to that character though, something that I couldn’t quite grasp…I tried thinking about Rorschach as a rorschach blot for the Watchmen and it nearly broke my brain.

And the comic within the comic? Fascinating.

The Watchmen is more than a superhero story: it’s an examination of power both physical and in the heart. It’s a criticism of government, the media, and art used to manipulate others. It looks at gender roles, rape, and sexual preferences and predilections. It asks: why would a person dress up and create an alter ego in the first place? And, beyond all that, it is a mystery and a love story. There’s a lot to enjoy in here if you can get past the blood, gore, and soul crushing darkness. Recommended for an adult audience only.

A similar comic, in my mind, is The Walking Dead, Compendium 1 by Robert Kirkman. But, really, Watchmen is in a class all of its own.

Thank you for reading!

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Dark but powerful, The Road is about a father and son who are travelling through a destroyed world.

They’re trying to get to the coast and south to warmer climates, but many obstacles lie in their way. In addition to starvation because of the nuclear fallout, the duo face external threats like cannibalistic tribes of savage men and women.

But it’s not just a battle to save their bodies, the father must teach the son the proper way to live (like not eating other people) to save his spirit from the crushing darkness that has overtaken everything. It is a struggle to retain the internal spark that divides humanity from the animals.

This is a book about survival in a dystopian reality, but it is also about the sustaining and literally life preserving power of love.

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas on Pexels.com

My one complaint about this book is that the author didn’t clearly label who was speaking during the dialogue. He just went down a line to illustrate change of speaker. I had a really tough time keeping track of who was saying what.

Take this passage, for example: “Can I ask you something? he said. Yes. Of course. Are we going to die? Sometime. Not now. And we’re still going south. Yes. So we’ll be warm. Yes. Okay. Okay what? Nothing. Just okay. Go to sleep. Okay.” pg 9 The whole book is like that, anytime anyone is talking.

Otherwise though, this is an amazing, heart-pounding, thrill ride of a book.

I loved the father’s advice to the son throughout the journey: “A corpse in the doorway dried to leather. Grimacing at the day. He pulled the boy closer. Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that. You forget some things, don’t you? Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.” pg 10

The father/son relationship described in here was fascinating to me. Generally, at least in my experience, the relationship between a mother and a child is the closer one in the family because of certain biological imperatives. McCarthy flips that whole paradigm on its head with this story. In here, it is the father who stands between the child and death. It is the father who finds meaning in a world gone mad through helping the child find food, stay clean, and stay protected from the elements.

“The boy sat tottering. The man watched him that he not topple into the flames. He kicked holes in the sand for the boy’s hips and shoulders where he would sleep and he sat holding him while he tousled his hair before the fire to dry it. All of this like some ancient anointing. So be it. Evoke the forms. Where you’ve nothing else construct ceremonies out of the air and breathe upon them.” pg 63.

I think one of the main lessons in here is that life holds the meaning that you assign to it. And, even if civilization falls apart, you can create your own mini-civilization through your actions and intentions.

“He’d had this feeling before, beyond the numbness and the dull despair. The world shrinking down about a raw core of parsible entities. The names of things slowly following those things into oblivion. Colors. The names of birds. Things to eat. Finally the names of things one believed to be true. More fragile than he would have thought. How much of it was gone already? The sacred idiom shorn of its referents and so of its reality. Drawing down like something trying to preserve heat. In time to wink out forever.” pg 75 Beautiful.

If civilization ever ends, look for me at the library. Probably will be reading this book. 🙂

I picked this classic up because of David Schaafsman’s excellent review which you can read here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show…

Some read alikes: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Railsea byChina Miéville, or The Last One by Alexandra Oliva. Thanks for reading!

Spera, Volume 1 by Josh Tierney, Illustrated by Kyla Vanderklugt, Hwei Lin Lim, Emily Carroll, Olivier Pichard, Afu Chan, Rebecca Taylor

Spera is the story of two princesses, one who likes to sword fight and explore and another who likes to read and stay inside. One day, the tomboy princess, whose name is Pira, turns up in Lono’s (the reader) kingdom and says that her father the king is dead. They have to get away now to save Lono’s life. Where will two young princesses go to hide? A magical land called Spera. And so, the adventure begins.

I think that Spera tried to tell an engaging fairy tale with built in gender role options to educate impressionable young girls about who and what they can choose to be, but it didn’t quite work. Graphic novels need more than an interesting characterization idea- to engage reluctant readers, they need to tell a great story. Spera never gets there. The underlying message is sound- let children be who they are. Don’t point girls towards a book or boys towards a sword just because that’s their gender. But frankly, that’s it. The rest of the story, minus a run in with a creepy child, is kind of a non-starter.

Multiple authors contributed to this book so that’s a plus in my mind. Every chapter the reader gets a different artistic interpretation of Pira, Lono, and the fire spirit, Yonder. I gave Spera an extra star on Goodreads just for the artwork. As an adult, I found the variety enjoyable but I could see it being confusing for younger readers. They may not understand why the characters look so different every couple of pages.

If I was asked for a graphic novel recommendation for young girls that has fantasy elements, I’d skip Spera and point readers towards Princeless #1 by Jeremy Whitley.

Thanks for reading!

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I recently finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for a second time and was again impressed by the author’s character building.

A small criticism I have is the lack of adventure in the tale. Becky Chambers does such a great job creating characters the reader cares about, but then does so little with them.

Still recommended for readers who enjoy light-hearted science fiction.

Review from first read-through:
This is a charming, character driven, space opera-ish, science fiction novel about a crew, made of a bunch of different species, who man a ship that drills holes in space.

The focus of this story is on the relationships of the crew, their histories, and a big job that is going to take them to a distant part of space where very few have gone.

At first, I was concerned this book was going to be too heavy on the technology or psychics, but, have no fear readers, very little technical thinking is required in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which, after a few I’ve read lately, was just what I was looking for.

I loved the different species that Chambers imagined for this universe. From lizard-type aliens to a giant caterpillar with an otter head to a simian creature who shaves his blue fur into concentric shapes, there’s a lot of characters to keep track of but they’re so different that it’s not confusing. It is just plain fun.

Even the AI of the ship, the Wayfarer, is a character named Lovelace: “There were other Lovelaces out there, of course. Her core software platform could be purchased through any AI dealer. There were probably dozens of versions of her traveling through the galaxy- maybe hundreds, who knew. But they weren’t her.” pg 58. Indeed.

The reader gets to learn about space travel and the various ports of call through the eyes of Rosemary, the newest member of the crew, who is carrying a dark secret about her past:

“Rosemary hurried after her crewmates, anxious to not get lost. … Getting lost wasn’t what scared her, exactly. It was more the prospect of getting mugged. Or harassed. Or stabbed. She’d seen a few people that definitely looked stabby.” pgs 109-110. “Looked stabby” made me giggle.

This bit had me laughing too. I had never taken the time to consider what might happen if a cold-blooded creature ate something that was freezing cold: “We’re grown-ups, we can have ice cream for lunch if we want.” “Let’s not,” Sissix said. “Right. I forgot,” Kizzy said, and laughed. “Ice cream makes her mouth go slack.” pg 140

There are a few bits of life advice hidden in this story: “All you can do, Rosemary- all any of us can do- is work to be something positive instead. That is a choice that every sapient must make every day of their life. The universe is what we make of it. It’s up to you to decide what part you will play.” pg 232.

This last section contains my favorite line from the entire book: “She lived up there, in that vast expanse of color. Every day, she saw planets and comets and stellar nurseries right up close, plain as weather. Yes, there was something about being planetside that made it feel different. Perhaps stars were supposed to be viewed from the ground. pg 291-292.

“Perhaps stars were supposed to be viewed from the ground” is it. I have never traveled in space and may never get the chance to, but The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet transports you, if just for a short time, into worlds far beyond ours.

I highly recommend it for folks who enjoy light, character-driven science fiction as there is nothing too heavy or disturbing to be found here.

Thanks for reading!

Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

Did you like the emotionally disturbing/psychological train wreck that was Gone Girl? You may really enjoy this one. The Oxygen Thief may be the male equivalent to Amy Dunne.

Diary of an Oxygen Thief is written as an actual diary by, as you can see above, Anonymous. The story starts in London. He’s an alcoholic who discovers that he loves emotionally abusing women but, as the story progresses, he eventually meets his match.: “… I realized I had found my niche in life. … They say the sea is actually black and that it merely reflects the blue sky above. So it was with me. I allowed you to admire yourself in my eyes. I provided a service. I listened and listened and listened. You stored yourself in me. Nothing had ever felt so right to me. If I’m honest, even today I miss hurting. I’m not cured of it, but I don’t set out to systematically dismantle like I used to.” pgs 6-7 ebook

I don’t know that I’ve ever disliked a character in a book as much as I despised this ‘Anonymous’. That’s saying something: “Why would anyone set out to break the heart of someone he loved? Why would anyone intentionally cause that kind of pain? Why did people kill each other? Because they enjoyed it. Was it really that simple? To achieve a soul-shattering, it is better if the perpetrator has been through the same experience. Hurt people hurt people more skillfully.” pg 9 ebook. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to finish this book, given how much I hated the beginning, but, just like the numerous women in his diary, I was drawn into the Oxygen Thief’s lair and then (gasp) began to feel sorry for him.

Partially, it was because he manages to clean himself up in AA. But, the other part, is that he moved to the American Mid-West and experienced some serious culture shock, which I couldn’t help but find charming:“American lawns are loaded with social and political meaning. There is a law somewhere that says you have to maintain your lawn or the neighbors can force you to. I knew nothing of this and immediately reveled in the possibility of allowing my front and back gardens to return to nature. A polite knock on my front door changed all that.” pg 34, ebook. He calls lawns, “gardens”. I can’t…

Like a Shakespearean play, the Oxygen Thief’s eventual downfall is foreshadowed by a beautiful woman he meets in AA: “She’s evil,” said the blonde. She herself had apparently witnessed the awful effect this girl could have on guys. She looked at me for far too long. Like I wasn’t taking her seriously enough. I wasn’t.” pg 50 ebook

I also learned something about the physiology of love and heartbreak: “I read somewhere that when someone is in emotional shock, the area around the heart loses some of its protective fat and is therefore dangerously exposed. One well-aimed punch is not just painful; when the person who has been in shock starts to put the weight back on, the heart remains bruised, and this can lead to aortic fibrillation. It’s not life threatening, but it is uncomfortable. pg 85 ebook Who knew?

There aren’t any likeable characters in this book, but it is impossible to put down, so I had to give it at least three stars for its readability. I was absolutely shocked at the terrible ways in which the Oxygen Thief behaved and then was treated. No wonder people are cynical if there are people like this in the world. I tried to do a bit of research to discover who this “Anonymous” really was, but failed to come up with anything. Maybe, as time passes, his true identity will be revealed.

Recommended for the serious fans of psychological warfare tales or for those who have survived a very nasty relationship and want to compare their battle scars. The author of this book was recently paid for the film rights so we may see a movie made out of it. I don’t know if I could sit through it, but, if made the right way, it could be a very intense examination of the damage that people do to each other in the name of “love”. The obvious read alike is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn but another book that reaches for the depressing depths of this one is: Black Moon by Kenneth Calhoun.

A couple people have asked if this book is appropriate for teen readers and as a librarian and a mother, I say no. The themes are much too mature, sexually graphic, and emotionally disturbing. 16 or 17+ is my recommendation.

Thanks for reading!

Descender #1 by Jeff Lemire, Illustrated by Dustin Nguyen

I’ve heard a lot of good buzz about Descender and I’m pleased to say that it lived up to all of it. It isn’t easy writing the first entries in a series without descending into character listing and lengthy explanations on setting.Descender manages to introduce itself completely without any of that boring stuff.

On a distant planet in a futuristic setting, an enormous robot lands on the government’s home world. Simultaneously, huge robots land on several other planets. These gigantic machines attack all at once without communication of any kind. Fast forward ten years. A child-like robot named Tim-21 awakens on a mining planet, but he is the only one there. The mining colony had an accident and he has been inactive for a very long time. Since then, all species have declared war on the robots because of the massive attack that occurred ten years previous. But, something about Tim’s operating system is special and now it is only a matter of time before he’s found by government scientists seeking answers or something worse… bounty hunters!

Photo from ew.com

Descender contains a lot of classic science fiction questions like: Can robots dream? Are they able to experience feelings? Do they have souls? And there is the mystery of where the giant killer robots came from and why they attacked. Actually, the beginning reminded me of Sleeping Giants bySylvain Neuvel but only for a moment… so if you didn’t enjoy that book, don’t let that turn you off of this graphic novel.

The artwork is rendered in (at least, it looks like to my very untrained eye) pencil and watercolors. It gives the panels a dreamy quality. I thought it was very pretty.

I highly recommend this graphic novel for fans of science fiction, ages 16+ because of some violence. Some read alikes: Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan (for adult audiences only) or Henni by Miss Lasko-Gross (ok for the teen set, similar themes but doesn’t take place in space).

Thanks for reading!

The Help Desk Book Blog

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Tag: Fiction

Solomon’s Thieves, Book 1 by Jordan Mechner

The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess, Introduction by Terri Windling

Book of the Night: the Black Musketeers by Oliver Pötzsch, translated by Lee Chadeayne

Watchmen by Alan Moore

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Spera, Volume 1 by Josh Tierney, Illustrated by Kyla Vanderklugt, Hwei Lin Lim, Emily Carroll, Olivier Pichard, Afu Chan, Rebecca Taylor

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

Descender #1 by Jeff Lemire, Illustrated by Dustin Nguyen

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