Superman: Kal (Elseworlds) (Graphic Novel)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Superman: Kal
Series: Elseworlds
Author: Dave Gibbons
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 62
Format: Paper








Synopsis:
This tale gives a historical twist to the familiar Superman origin and setting, as the rocket carrying the infant Kal-El lands in medieval England. The regular cast appear as Dark Ages counterparts - Loisse, Jamie and the evil Baron Luther.

My Thoughts:
What a difference 20 years makes. I bought, and read, this when it came out in '95'ish. The idea of a medieval Superman was almost more than my teenage soul could handle.
And I can remember the crushing disappointment that this was to me. The Kents' being such caricatures, Lois being beaten to death by Luthor on her wedding night, Kal dying. The Arthurian Legend tie-in.  It was more than I could handle and I hated it.

So imagine my surprise when I read this this afternoon and I found it to be a pretty good story. Having 14 more pages than Speeding Bullets helped the overall story, as did that they weren't telling 2 origin stories. I just enjoyed this alternate "look" at Superman. Can't say that this was top quality work, in story or artwork, but I was just looking for a quick read between the novels I was reading and this fit perfectly.

Glad my reread actually bumped this up this time around.

Superman: Speeding Bullets (Elseworlds) (Graphic Novel)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Superman: Speeding Bullets
Series: Elseworlds
Author: J.M. DeMatteis
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Graphic Novel
Pages: 48
Format: Paper and scan








Synopsis:
What would have happened if the infant Superman had been found by the Waynes of Gotham City instead of the Kents of Kansas? That's the question this graphic novel examines, as the child from another planet witnesses the death of his parents at the hands of a Gotham mugger and grows up to become a bat-caped avenger of the night.

My Thoughts:
I have always enjoyed the Elseworlds books, long or short, as they give us a new perspective on something we already know all about. It was pretty much DC's answer to Marvel's line of What If? comics.

Technical stuff first. I read this on my new tablet first, an 8inch asus zenpad something something something. It is a 4x3 format, so it was much better suited to reading comics on that my older nexus. I had no problems reading the text or seeing any of the comic panels. There were a couple of panels that looked hideously pixelated; however, upon reading my paper copy, it was the same there so I'm guessing it was some sort of artistic "thing".
When I reread this immediately after with my paper copy, I have to admit I found it a little big. But no real noticeable difference, for which I was glad.

The story and idea. Combining Superman and Batman into one character and bringing both those worlds together [Lex Joker anyone?] was pure genius. It was fun to see worked out.
However, at only 48 pages, this was jam packed, compressed and generally just an overview. That really made the story suffer.  Big important things happen in 1, maybe 2 pages. It felt rushed, which it was. The idea was big enough to put into a 300page graphic novel.

This is probably one of the better, short, Superman, Elseworld comics out there however.

Ember and Ash (Castings #4)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Ember and Ash
Series: Castings
Author: Pamela Freeman
Rating:     of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 521
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
The conflict between the peoples didn't end when the original Castings Trilogy ended.
Now the gods want in on the conflict. And they'll freeze out the whole domain, kill anyone they want to and generally act like spoiled children until they get what they want.
And only Ember and her cousin by adoption, Ash, can stop it. But instalove strikes and makes it really, really hard. Boo hoo.

My Thoughts:
I read the original Castings Trilogy back in '09 and '10. I really should have left it at that. The Castings ended a 1000 year old feud, had 6 to 10 different character viewpoints and was completely character driven. I was ok with that because of the 6-10 characters helped break things up.

This though, had 2 or 3 characters and they all were everything that I can't stand about ya  books. Ash and Ember would have fit perfectly into ANY CW network show without missing a beat. "her eyes", "his warm touch", "the smell of her hair", "his strong masculinity". Just gag me right now.

Castings did not strike me as young adult or stay focused on a doomed love. This book did nothing but dwell on that. Just about everyone, at some point in their life, will have a doomed love. But most of us grow up, get over it and move on. And find something even better. For example, what I share with my wife is so outside of what I could have imagined as a 22 year old that I probably would have rejected it when I was 22. But now? My wife fits me, complements me and generally makes my life better in ways that I wasn't even aware that I needed when we first got married. And I never would have had that if I was focused on the girl I couldn't have back in my 20's.

While I recommend the Castings trilogy, with the caveat about the character driven'ness of it, this I can't recommend. A younger group might enjoy this, but then I don't know if they'd enjoy the Castings and that was the far superior set of books.

So it all boils down to "bleh". I won't be trying anymore by Freeman.

January '16 Roundup

A pretty good month again. 22 reads, with one being a short story, another a novella, a third a graphic novel and a fourth a volume of manga.

Started my Project Reread with Jurassic Park as well. I've got 6 or 7 more books lined up already for this project, which will give me time to figure out what I want to reread for the last several.

The most fun read was Archie vs Predator graphic novel. It encouraged me to dig out my old graphic novels and give them a spin, as it appears that I never recorded reading or reviewing them. That might be because it has been so long, just not sure. Either way, expect to see more graphic novels to be reviewed by me this coming year.

Most enjoyable was a three way tie between Death of Dulgath, Shadows of Self and Hidden Masters of Marandur. All three were solid, dependable, enjoyable fantasy reads. Each author already has a track record of writing solidly, so I was expecting good things and thankfully wasn't let down.

None of these books are in the running for Best Book of the Year. After last years double hitter of His Sombre Rivals and Flowers for Algernon I am not sure that 2016 can produce a book on that level. But I've got the rest of the year to find out :-D

Shadow Games (The Chronicles of the Black Company #5)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Shadow Games
Series: The Chronicles of the Black Company
Author: Glen Cook
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 320
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
Croaker, along with the few remaining members of the Black Company, head towards a fabled city where the Black Company supposedly originated hundreds of years ago.
Along the way, they pick up a "few" more members and end up battling Taken that have faked their death.
Right at the end it looks like both Croaker [who is now the captain for the Black Company] and the Lady are dead, but I won't be sure until I read the next book.

My Thoughts:
These books are touted as "dark" and "anti-hero" and supposedly had a great influence on Steven Erikson and his epic Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I can see that but where Erikson went wrong, in my opinion, was that he left out the humor. You can only grind my nose into so much existential crap before I start to hate you as an author.

And that is why I can continue to like these books. There are grand flashes of humor at just the right points so you don't get mired down in the muck of ever ongoing battles for survival. Not laugh out loud moments, at least not for me, but deft touches that brought my spirits up and enhanced my enjoyment of reading about a group of mercenaries who really have no reason to continue their existence.

It was grand fun watching the Black Company just steam roll over all opponents for the first 90% of the book. They just couldn't lose. Which I think was a setup by Cook, on purpose. Because that last 10% made me wonder how these books were going to keep on going. So of course I'm going to keep reading. I was manipulated by Cook, realized it and ended up liking it.

Call to Arms (Black Fleet #2)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Warship
Series: Black Fleet
Author: Joshua Dalzelle
Rating:         of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 349
Format: Kindle





Synopsis:
Now that humanity is aware of how powerful, and deadly, the phage are, they come together, forgetting all their political problems.
HA!
While Captain Wolfe is beating the drum to save humanity, a core of politicians are building a safe retreat in a hidden zone. At the same time, said politicians are obfuscating the news about the phage, encouraging divisive policy among various factions and generally doing everything they can to sacrifice humanity so as to hide their presence and possibly survive.
Now the phage have appeared at 2 rim worlds and only Wolfe is willing to fight to save them.

My Thoughts:
This was good. Seeing Wolfe do what needs to be done, regardless of the consequences to his career, was encouraging. I like reading about characters who have, and show, courage.

Also, with the Presidential race currently going on here in the United States, the story line about the politicians sacrificing humanity for their own gain rang truer than ever. It seems that career politicians are like food. They start out good but the longer they are in the center, ie, the stomach, the rottener they get. Until they are nothing but crap.

Now the ending. Oh my goodness! After Wolfe sacrifices so much, to have the phage turn out to be so tricksy was unexpected and rather devastating. It was balanced out nicely by the appearance of a third group of aliens who have been working with some humans from the first FTL ship that just disappeared years ago.

I've got the next book already and I can't wait!

Wings (Bromeliad #3)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Wings
Series: Bromeliad
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 224
Format: Kindle







Synopsis:
Masklin and 2 of the store elves must make their way to Florida to allow "The Thing" to get on a space shuttle that is going into space. The Thing will then get the UFO and the gnomes will get to go back into space.

My Thoughts:
A good wrap up to the trilogy. Fast, funny and very light.  Peppered, once again, with Pratchett's mocking.

Glad to have read this.

Reenlistment (America's Galactic Foreign Legion #2)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Reenlistment
Series: America's Galactic Foreign Legion
Author: Walter Knight
NEW Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
OLD Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 147
Format: Kindle





UPDATE 1.26.16Penumbra Publishing stripped my review of its licensing info [the first paragraph above permitting only me to post this review] and then put the whole review on their own site. I was not asked nor did I give my permission for my review to appear on their site. This violates my rights as  the copyright holder of this review.
So Walter Knight gets a 1 Star and no more sales, or reviews, from me. I won't support a thief or a thieving publisher.




Synopsis:
Gold! Gosh darned GOLD! A goldrush occurs and the spiders start up the war again.
Joey and the Legion are playing a 3 sided game and the silliness continues.

My Thoughts:
I didn't find this as funny as the first book. Part of that is what is funny the first time isn't as funny the second time around. It was still amusing and entertaining, but I wasn't laughing like I was in the first book.

I found the Human/Spider only interaction to be limiting as well. I was hoping for more mayhem between everyone, ie, the beetles, the ants, the spiders and the humans. But I guess the random spiders taking of humans was enough.

Feeling Lucky (America's Galactic Foreign Legion #1)

Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.



UPDATE 1.26.16Penumbra Publishing stripped my review of its licensing info [the first paragraph above permitting only me to post this review] and then put the whole review on their own site. I was not asked nor did I give my permission for my review to appear on their site. This violates my rights as  the copyright holder of this review.
So Walter Knight gets a 1 Star and no more sales, or reviews, from me. I won't support a thief or a thieving publisher.


Title: Feeling Lucky
Series: America's Galactic Foreign Legion
Author: Walter Knight
NEW Rating: 1 of 5 Stars
OLD Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 222



Synopsis:
In the Future, America rules the world and is in the process of ruling the Galaxy.
However, the Evil Bugs have taken a planet from humanity. So the call goes out and the American Foreign Legion is taking ANYONE to fight this threat against our very way of life, our EXISTENCE!!

My Thoughts:
This book started out with something like this in the dedication:
In the Tradition of Catch-22.

That right there set me off pretty bad. I hated that book, didn't like the humor so I was ready to DUMP on this book. The main character was a schlub, the plot a rip-off parody of Starship Troopers and the politics was the worst of a bureaucracy.

And I LOVED EVERY MINUTE. After the Schlub dies, it gets good. It was darkly funny, right wing hilarious [I mean, the United States declared war on pretty much everything, including Democrats, and won!] and completely disrespectful of any and all things military.

And the thing is, the mockery goes to the bugs, the ants, and all the OTHER aliens we encounter.

There are several more books in this series and I plan on reading them. This was probably closer to a 2.5 Star book with a 4 Star's worth of enjoyment. I love it when a book can do that.

Original post: Bookstooge.booklikes.com/post/1219617/feeling-lucky-america-s-galactic-foreign-legion-1

Scorpion Mountain (Brotherband Chronicles #5)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: Scorpion Mountain
Series: Brotherband Chronicles
Author: John Flanagan
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 465
Format: Kindle






Synopsis:
Hal and crew are sent on a mission to stop a band of killers who have sworn an oath to kill Princess Cassandra.
Said killers just happen to be living in the middle of the desert. Vikings in the desert.
Seriously.

My Thoughts:
It is getting simply ridiculous just how many things Hal invents on the spot. In this book, it is glasses for the big guy who shoots the mangler. His feelings are hurt and so he wants to leave the Heron and Hal invents glasses so he can see and participate and feel better.

Other than that, this was a carbon copy of all the other books.  Especially in how the characters react and relate to each other. Flanagan obviously has a system that works for him but I think I'll need a good 6 months between books so as to not overdose on middle grade/ ya'ness of it all.

And saying it is a carbon copy also means that the fighting and action are top notch. I do really enjoy the battles, on land and sea.