Tag: Reviews

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.

Always Never by Jordi Lafebre

Always Never by Jordi Lafebre

Gorgeous artwork is not enough to elevate Always Never, a love story told backwards.

Readers are introduced to Zeno and Ana in the winter of their lives as Zeno closes his bookstore and Ana retires from public service.

They hint at lives well-lived. Then, from chapter 20 back through chapter 1, readers learn about their romance in reverse. Details are dropped here and there in order to build interest. It just didn’t work for me.

It did at first. I thought, what a cool idea. But around chapter 12 and 11, the story began to lose me.

Ana was busy with a construction project and Zeno always seemed to be on a boat. They communicate through phone calls and letters. It didn’t make a very good story.

I wanted to enjoy this book. As I mentioned earlier, the artwork is beautiful and the muted colors are lovely.

Props to the author, Jordi Lafebre, for trying something different.

Dark Age (Red Rising Saga, #5) by Pierce Brown

Dark Age (Red Rising Saga, #5) by Pierce Brown

In Dark Age, author Pierce Brown has created an incredibly dark fantasy novel, a continuation of his Red Rising series.

For readers who haven’t picked up his excellent books yet, and you really should, this series is about a futuristic world in which humanity has divided itself into “colors” based on genetically engineered changes to our DNA. The Golds, the top of the color pyramid, were created as war machines, and they dominate all other colors.

At the bottom of the pyramid, the Reds mine and complete menial duties, basically as slaves to the rest of the colors. Other groups don’t have it much better.

Enter Darrow, a former Red whose DNA was manipulated to change him into a Gold. This entry in the series has him and his allies fighting against the remains of the Society, a group that believed in the divisions of humanity.

Darrow’s faction believes all humanity is created equal.

This is not a series for young adults. The action contains graphic sequences and includes various forms of torture, so much so, that I had trouble getting through some of the chapters.

And so many people die. I was starting to think author Pierce Brown killed off everybody I cared about… then he killed more! Silly me.

I didn’t enjoy this entry in the series as much as previous ones because of this gratuitous violence. But still, this is an epic work of fantasy and I have to give the author props for all his hard work.

Looking forward to the final book in the series which is set to publish next year. Highly recommended for adult fantasy readers.

Bubble by Jordan Morris, Sarah Morgan

Bubble by Jordan Morris, Sarah Morgan

Morgan, Annie, Mitch, and Van live in a bubble, a manufactured dome that protects them from the alien lifeforms outside of the city.

Occasionally, the critters outside get in and that leads to Morgan fighting back to save the people around her. She’s very good at it because she grew up outside the bubble, learning to kill aliens with a bow and arrow.

But when one of the corporations running the bubble develops an app called Huntr to hire people to kill the imps and various creatures that plague the bubble residents, Morgan discovers she hasn’t left her past behind as much as she thought.

Things accelerate from there.

I enjoyed Bubble very much for its story and characters. I realize it is a satire on various things from the gig economy to millennials to survivalists, but it also stands on its own legs as a fun fantasy.

The story leaves a small opening for a second entry in the series, but closes the first book in a satisfying way. Not all comics bother to do so, and I appreciated it.

Because of some of the content (language and drug use), I’d recommend this book to older teens or adults only.

It is clever and a lot of fun. Highly recommended.

Folklords #1-5 by Matt Kindt

Folklords #1-5 by Matt Kindt

In Ansel’s world, when you turn 18, you chose a quest and complete it in order to “find yourself”. He has decided to seek out the fabled Folklords, mysterious figures wrapped in mystery and myth.

He has chosen to find the Folklords because of curious dreams he has been having of a world with metal machines, high rises, and people dressed strangely. (This is supposed to be our world, but Ansel doesn’t know that.)

Unlike in our world, the librarians of Ansel’s world hoard knowledge and stories. He’ll have to get past them to complete his quest. Will he find the Folklords before the librarians catch him?

Photo by Ivo Rainha on Pexels.com

This middle grade, fantasy graphic novel was fun. I liked the juxtaposition of our modern world with Ansel’s fantasy one.

I also liked the homage to the New York Public Library with a fantasy library and real lions guarding its gates.

This book is appropriate for middle grade readers. There’s a few pages that deal with torture but it isn’t graphic and is dealt with tastefully. Just a warning for parents who may be concerned about that kind of thing.

The story is predictable, but good.

As more book banning challenges arise all across the country, I can’t help but wonder if the librarians of Ansel’s world might cross over to ours, so to speak, locking away books and telling people what sort of information they should seek out.

I’m a huge fan of libraries and librarians (in fact, I borrowed this book from the library). So I hope we will continue to have champions standing up for knowledge and free access for all!

The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley

The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley

The Relic Master is set in the early stages of the Reformation and concerns holy relics, so-called pieces of the bodies of saints as well as objects that were said to have belonged to them.

Our hero, Dismas, is a trader in holy relics. When he finds himself in a thorny situation because of a false relic, he is sent on a quest to steal what would later be called the Shroud of Turin. Hijinks ensue on the way.

“This bone dealing, Dismas. There’s something not right about it.” “We used to earn our living by killing. Was that right?” pg 26, ebook

I enjoyed this historical fiction. It is humorous, not in a laugh-out-loud way, but instead in a satirical manner about religion. If you find such things offensive, it would be wise to choose another book.

The only main female character in this book is somewhat of an after thought but I liked her anyway. She’s a trained medic (as much as someone could be in that time period) and is mistaken for a witch.

Recommended for readers with a sense of humor and a little patience as the story has somewhat of a slow burn.

Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee

Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee

Two crime syndicates war over control of a city using a special type of jade that gives magical powers to some, and brings addiction and death to others.

In other reviews, this book has drawn comparisons to The Godfather and I can see the similarities. Both works deal with families and hierarchies within a criminal world. However, the fantasy element makes the story feel entirely new.

And it is well written. The pacing and characters are well done. I just didn’t connect with the characters and I felt like I should have.

This disconnect led me to not enjoying this book as much as others, which is a shame. Perhaps if I had felt more invested, I would have looked forward to the twisting and turning plot. As it was, I wasn’t interested.

That being said, this story may appeal to fantasy readers who enjoy a criminal element in their reads. Let me know what you think about it.

Greenmantle by Charles de Lint

Greenmantle by Charles de Lint

In Greenmantle, author Charles de Lint mixes fantasy and the mob and creates something new.

Invisible in the shadows of the side of his house, a small figure stirred. A smile touched her fox-thin features.” pg 67

Photo by Alex Andrews on Pexels.com

Ali and her mother, Frankie, recently won the lottery and used the money to move to a house out in the country. Their neighbor, Tony, has a checkered past and has moved out to the country for reasons of his own.

Together, they’ll explore a mysterious force in the woods that is connected to haunting music as well as face threats from a far more earthly menace.

I enjoyed Greenmantle quite a lot.

“Where it passed sleepers, dreams were suddenly filled with resonances never sensed before, while those who were awake, paused in their conversations for that one moment it took for the stag to go by, resuming them again then, knowing they weren’t quite the same, but not knowing why.” pg 100

Photo by Vincent M.A. Janssen on Pexels.com

The fantasy portions of the story were my favorite. Lint writes them well- making the fantastical seem as if it is actually possible.

Easy to see why he was one of the first writers of the modern urban fantasy genre.

Highly recommended for fantasy readers. Thanks for reading!

Moonheart by Charles de Lint

Moonheart by Charles de Lint

That was what Sara liked best about Tamson House: that it didn’t seem to be a part of the world outside its walls. Stepping over its threshold was like stepping into a place where everything you knew had to be forgotten to make way for new rules.” pg 25

Moonheart is a story about magic, myth, and how one special house connects it all.

Photo by Skylar Kang on Pexels.com

There are many characters in Moonheart, so many that I won’t list them here. But they are easy to keep up with in the story because they are so different.

For as old as this book is (published in 1984), I felt that it had a lot of modern urban fantasy elements to it. Charles de Lint could be considered as one of the creators of that genre.

His story goes from this world, to other worlds, and back again. I enjoyed it a lot.

“There is no such thing as chance in the workings of the world,” he replied, repeating something he’d told her the second time they’d met on the shore. pg 309

That being said, the plot drags in places. This is a book for readers with solid attention spans. I struggled a little to stay interested until the ending, which comes quickly. But once you’re in the ending, you race to finish the book- because it is that good.

Recommended for urban fantasy readers. Thanks for reading!