The Darwin Elevator (Dire Earth Cycle, #1)

author: Jason M. Hough

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.92

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/01/30

date added: 2014/01/30

shelves:

review:

Years ago, strange alien beings, known as Builders, settled in space over Darwin, Australia and built a space elevator that connected into the ground. Then they left, but along with the elevator, they left a plague that infected anyone not in range of the elevator, leaving them in a zombie-like state. Times have moved on and ambitious men have moved into space and ambitious men have created fortress states on the ground. Food is grown in space and sent to the people of Earth in exchange for water. This all goes well until, one day, the elevator stops working. If it stopped once, can it stop again? Perhaps forever?



Into this interesting backdrop, we meet Skuyler Luiken, one of the few people who are immune to the plague. He runs a scavenging business with a crew. Heading out into the wild with a list of items he can make money from. When a man named Neil Platz asks for a particular item, it pushes Skuyler into all kinds of trouble.



It’s engaging world building, and the characters are mostly interesting, but Jason Hough subscribes to the Joss Whedon school of character development. No character is seemingly safe from some sort of demise, so don’t get too attached. The book ends on an open note because it’s book 1 of 3. I look forward to reading more in this universe.



I was given a review copy of this book by Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey Spectra and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.





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Automatic Woman

author: Nathan Yocum

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.13

book published: 2011

rating: 4

read at: 2012/11/01

date added: 2014/01/30

shelves:

review:

A rip-roaring "steampunk noir" novel. Jacob "Jolly" Fellows is a big bruiser of a man. When he gets involved in a case that sees him framed unjustly for murder, he decides to investigate. Along the way he runs across A certain Dr. Doyle who offers him a "seven percent solution" to keep him going, and one of the antagonists is a certain Charles Darwin.



What is at stake is the Automatic Woman of the title. A robotic woman programmed to dance in Swan Lake, but who, it seems, has gained a life of her own. He is double-crossed and beat up at every turn along the way, but he also finds an unlikely ally.



I enjoyed this novel. The main character has a dark sense of humor and manages to take quite a beating during the book. He is not without resources, but they are reasonable and not preposterously out of line. The name dropping tends to get a little old to me, but this is not out of sorts for this genre of novel. Charles Darwin made an unusual choice for an antagonist, but I thought it was interesting.



A fun quick read and I recommend it.





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The Last of Us: American Dreams

author: Neil Druckmann

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.59

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/01/29

date added: 2014/01/29

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

The Last of Us: American Dreams collects 4 issues and is a prequel to the critically acclaimed video game. It follows young Ellie who is sent to a protected military school. She meets another rebellious friend named Riley. They live in a post-apocalypse America overrun by zombie-like creatures and everyone exists in a sort of police state.



When Riley convinces Ellie to break out of school, they find themselves in an adventure that could get to be over their heads. It turns out that Riley has ulterior motives which involve joining up with a rebel group known as the fireflies, but that’s a dangerous idea. This is a story that is mentioned in the video game by Ellie as a flashback and is fleshed out here.



The look of the comic matches that of the game. Graffiti adorns buildings and it’s clearly a world that’s moved on. There is a touching scene in an abandoned arcade as Ellie and Riley see abandoned video games that they’ve only heard about. Ellie imagines the arcade full of kids in a happier time. I’m not sure it’s a great prequel to such an amazing game, but for those immersed in the world who want to know more, I think it holds it’s own and keeps the same look and tone as the game.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.







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Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Zombies and Demons

author: Troy Brownfield

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.10

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/01/28

date added: 2014/01/28

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

This is not a cohesive story, but rather 2 mini-series tied together from 2 separate books in the Grimm Fairy Tales universe. Both are interesting, and I liked them better than most stories in this universe, but my preference was for the first story.



In the first story, we meet Elijah who is a modern day zombie hunter, but we find out he is much more. We learn in flashbacks that he was a former slave who fell in love with his master’s daughter and ran away. A zombie curse is sent to hunt him down and kill him and his lover. He proves very handy with the whip that was used to beat him. Many zombies die in gruesome ways. Back in the modern era, we find him still using the whip to fight zombies and he discovers a relative.



In the second story, Masumi is a sword-wielding demon hunter. We learn about her past. We learn how she met her boyfriend and how he feels watching her leave to fight demons every night. When demons based on the seven deadly sins attack, Masumi has to make some tough choices to fight back and make sacrifices she may not be willing to make.



Art in the Elijah story is pretty good, but less so in the Masumi story, but I enjoyed both stories more than past stories I’ve read in this series. It did help that they were about zombies and demons. Not bad.



I was given a review copy of the graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.







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Buzz!

author: Ananth Panagariya

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.68

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/01/27

date added: 2014/01/27

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

Buzz! imagines a world where spelling bees are big sport and sometimes held in back alleys as clandestine combat. Words are spelled as weapons. Webster finds himself drawn into this world, and goes from being a neophyte to a master speller and a contender on a larger scale.



Webster lives with his sister raising him. His sister knows the world of the spelling bees, but she wants Webster to have nothing to do with them. One day on the way to school, Webster finds himself pulled into an alley spelling bee with strange characters. He wins a match and is then pursued to compete in a larger competition. There are costumed characters, a shadowy group called the Spelluminati. The spelling bees feel like fighting matches.



It’s kind of a fun spin on making scholastics fun. The words are presented in their pronunciation form, then the letters are blasted out to knock out opponents. The art is minimal color, but striking in tone. The characters are fun and there is an interesting twist on the end. I enjoyed it.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.





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Transformers: Monstrosity

author: Chris Metzen

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.09

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/01/26

date added: 2014/01/26

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

Optimus has found himself the new Prime of a dying planet. With energy shortages, and factions out to stop progress, he's got a fight on his hand. Add to this the Dynobots, the Decepticons, the Terrorbots and a threat named Scorponok and it all adds up to a very epic story. It does have a few flaws though.



There are a lot of characters and a lot of locations. While it's easy enough to keep track of the characters, the story shifts locations every page or so. This kind of shuffling felt a little jarring to me after a few dozen pages. The art is done in a widescreen format (and it's gorgeous), but it makes the action feel a bit cut off at times, kind of like when movie directors choose to shoot action scenes too close. The art is so good, I wanted fuller panels instead of the chopped versions that run throughout the book.



But the art by Livio Ramondelli is spectacular. Each chapter starts with a full page illustration that is suitable for framing. All in all, I liked the story, and it's an interesting world, so it kept me engaged throughout.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.





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Dr. 2 (Issue 1)

author: Peter Tieryas

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.14

book published: 2013

rating: 2

read at: 2014/01/24

date added: 2014/01/24

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

In the first issue of a series, we're not given a lot to go on. There is a lot of set up. An internment camp in 1945 is shown, then we zoom ahead 100 years. There is a mysterious figure with what appears to be a mask on, but he kind of looks like one of the characters from Mad Magazine's Spy Vs. Spy comics.



Within the pages of this first issue, there's not enough to explain what is going on. The art looks digital, which is not a problem, but it seemed a bit on the crude side for my tastes. The story seems to have potential, but I'll need to read more issues before I can tell that. At this point, I didn't find anything overly compelling to keep me reading.



I was given a review copy of this first issue by Doc Two Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me read this first issue.





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Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon

author: Paul Tobin

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.39

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/01/23

date added: 2014/01/23

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

The PopCap video game gets a full on comic book treatment in this graphic novel written by Paul Tobin. The question is, can a successful tower defense video game become a decent comic book? I think the answer is yes in this case.



When the town of Neighborville is suddenly invaded by tons of zombies, it's up to two kids, named Nate and Patrice, to save the whole town. Fortunately, Patrice's crazy Uncle Dave has been experimenting with plants that can help. Patrice and Dave soon find themselves riding their bicycles all over town trying to convince the plants to come to their defense, and thwarting zombies.



All the plants and zombies from the game are here. Also, Crazy Dave and rampant lawnmowers. There are disco zombies, screen door zombies, flying zombies, scuba diving zombies and the list goes on. It's definitely written for kids and fans of the game. The art by Ron Chan copies the very cartoonish style of the game. There is nothing graphic or gross here to offend. Obviously a familiarity with the game only serves to help you get the in jokes. This was fun.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.







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Bad Houses

author: Sara Ryan

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.72

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/01/21

date added: 2014/01/21

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

Bad Houses explores our connection to the things that shape our lives and what happens to them when we're gone or the things take over our lives. What we treasure and feel is so important loses it's meaning when we're gone. Treasuring too many things can have it's own burdens as the stuff takes over. This book takes place in the small fictional town of Failin, Oregon where the characters have intertwining stories and lives.



Lewis and his mother, Cat, curate and run estate sales. Items are marked for sale and people show up to buy. The book shows the usual group of people who try to work angles. There is an antique store owner who tries to hide things for the half off sale. There are people who try to put stickers on items that are not for sale. One day Lewis meets a woman named Anne who likes photographing empty spaces. Anne breaks into empty spaces to hang out because her mother is a hoarder.



The title refers to houses that are cluttered after a death, or the kinds of bad things that realtors have to clean up, but it also refers to broken lives and the things people try to do to fill them and fix them. The art by Carla Speed McNeil is quite good and the story by Sara Ryan has a desperation and poignancy that I found moving.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.





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Spirit of Steamboat: A Walt Longmire Story (Walt Longmire #9.1)

author: Craig Johnson

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.13

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/01/20

date added: 2014/01/20

shelves:

review:

Spirit of Steamboat takes place in the Walt Longmire series of books, but it's not a mystery. Rather an adventure story from Walt's past and takes place in 1988 and features old sheriff Lucian Connally. It's a novella length novel and is filled with nail-biting suspense and humor.



During Walt's first term as sheriff, near Christmas, Walt needs to transport a badly burned little girl. The problem is the weather is deadly and no one wants to fly in it. That is until an old B-29 bomber is found that has a slight hydraulic problem. Offering to pilot is Lucian who used to fly them in World War 2. So with a pilot and co-pilot, the young girl, her mother and a doctor, Walt takes to the skies to save the girls life. There is enough heart-pounding suspense for much longer novels and just when I thought things would completely fall apart, well, I wouldn't dare spoil it for you.



There is a framing story which works to set Walt's memory going back to that time in the late 1980s, and it works to get the reader into the story, but when I ran into it at the end, it felt a little tacked on to me. The story takes place at Christmas and Dickens A Christmas Carol is featured, but it could be read anytime you are ready for a quick adventure with some fun characters.



I was given a review copy of this book by Penguin Group Viking and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.







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Mermin Volume 2: The Big Catch

author: Joey Weiser

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.00

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/01/18

date added: 2014/01/18

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

Mermin is a fun graphic novel for kids and kids at heart (like me!). Mermin is a fish-boy from somewhere else. He's made friends with Pete and goes to school with him, but he kind of sticks out. So much so that there are a couple of paranormal researchers are interested in capturing him. Also, Mermin has a character named Benni who is trying to spill the beans about who Mermin really is.



Themes of friendship and bullying are explored on a surface level. The humor is pretty funny as the paranormal team can't seem to make a trap that can hold Mermin, and all they seem to have to use are pieces of junk. Benni is always on the verge of saying the wrong thing, and Mermin just innocently goes around having fun with the other kids.



It's all pretty simple and straightforward and just what a 7 or 8 year old would probably love. It reminds me of the Gold Key comics of my youth, with the kind of innocence that you don't see in much of what is presented to children these days. Joey Weiser the artist and creator is one of the writers of Spongebob Comics and Caveman In Space. I liked it a lot.



I was provided a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.





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Kill Shakespeare, Vol. 3: The Tide of Blood

author: Conor McCreery

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.54

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/01/16

date added: 2014/01/16

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

Kill Shakespeare is an interesting idea for a comic book series. Take a bunch of fictional, well known characters and put them in a place where they meet, interact and have conflict. It's been done with fairy tale characters in Fables and the Brothers Grimm characters as well. The difference here is using characters that are well rounded, studied and written about in works by William Shakespeare. The characters would seem to have to act in accordance within their inner guidance and motives. It works here somewhat.



In a land where William Shakespeare is the all powerful creator, his characters all exist together. This book has Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet and Othello all teaming up to fight a crazy plot by Prospero hatched on his crazy island backed up by Lady Macbeth. Prospero is trying to draw Shakespeare back so he can steal his powers. What he finds out is a lesson in the true cost of creating things.



It's an interesting idea that left me a little conflicted. Since the characters are so well known, I wanted them to be somewhat truer to their nature. This is the third volume, so it's possible that was dealt with in earlier volumes. The speech is a passable dialect giving nods to original work while maintaining readability for modern readers. The art by Andy Belanger is really superb and I found myself poring over the details on the pages.



I was given a review copy of this book by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.







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Jumpstart Your Creativity: 10 Jolts to Get Creative and Stay Creative

author: Shawn Doyle

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.60

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/01/12

date added: 2014/01/12

shelves: non-fiction-business

review:

Jumpstart Your Creativity is a light, fun approach to spark ideas. It's got a light humorous tone because this is sometimes the best way to generate new, creative ideas. The tone may be offputting to certain readers looking for more serious work, but I think it fits perfectly into the topic of the book.



With lots of creative ideas on meetings to brainstorming sessions and individual creativity, there is something here for anyone. The book is short, but every chapter concludes with some self-evaluation areas to help spur creativity. The book ends with a series of books, blogs and self assessment tests that can further bring out your creative self.



I was given a review copy of this book by Sound Wisdom Publishers and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.





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Dodger

author: Terry Pratchett

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.89

book published: 2012

rating: 4

read at: 2013/02/14

date added: 2014/01/12

shelves: young-adult

review:

Young Dodger is a tosher, digging about in the sewers of London for coins and jewelry he finds there to scrape out a living. One night he intervenes to save a young lady named Simplicity from a group of men who seek to harm her, and his life is set on a new course.



This is a standalone novel for younger readers by Terry Pratchett, and it weaves a fictional story in mid-1800s England. Dodger finds himself in the right place at the right time during many scenes of the book and is taken interest in by Charles Dickens, as well as Benjamin Disraeli, Robert Peel (head of the famous police called "Peelers), and Angela Burdett-Couts. Along the way, he runs across the famous, and here pitiful, Sweeney Todd. The story weaves a path through a tough time in London's past and does so with some of the trademark Pratchett humor. Lots of fun.





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Schottenfreude: German Words for the Human Condition

author: Ben Schott

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.03

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/01/11

date added: 2014/01/11

shelves:

review:

A portmanteau (besides being a large suitcase) is a word that is created by combining or mashing together 2 or more words. Words like chortle, affluenza and bootylicious are all examples of words that are portmanteaus.



The book Schottenfreude by Ben Schott takes a series of difficult to explain occurrences (like new car smell or kicking through autumn leaves) and shows how one word in German can be used to precisely explain the situation (in this case Kraftfahrzeugsinnenausstattungsneugeruchsgeuuss & Herbstlaubtrittverguugen are the answers. Along with the words, literal English breakdowns are given (like automobile-interior-furnishing-new-aroma-pleasure & Autumn-foliage-strike-fun). There is a word origin (if there is one) and a pronunciation guide.



The humor of it all works because it's all presented so earnestly and seriously. The definitions delve into literary situations, and German words can seem quite long to English speakers, so cramming a bunch of German words together to form new ones (ala portmanteaus) seems somewhat logical. Rather than make the language more accessible the process makes the language even more of a mouthful. Clever and fun.



I was given a review copy of this book by Penguin Group Blue Rider Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.





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Vitriol the Hunter

author: Billy Martin

name: Wayne

average rating: 2.71

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/01/10

date added: 2014/01/10

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

Basilika City has a huge vampire problem on their hands and the only person that seems able to do something is our hero, Vitriol. The cops are woefully outgunned and outclassed, and every time you turn around another another nameless rookie cop is getting torn apart by vampires. Just to make things more fun, the vampires find a serum to create werewolves.



It's a weird juxtaposition. The art by Billy Martin has a cartoony quality like you find in kid's comics. It's an angular style with broad lines and brighter colors, but at the same time, there are decapitations, arms being ripped off, and all that blood splashing over the panels. Also, the story is quite simplistic. The characters are so one dimensional, and the story seems to be so very simple that it feels like a story for children. And yet, there is all the violence and death. Is this a book for children? I'm confused by the audience for this book.



But it has a B-movie goofiness to it that I kind of liked. Vitriol gets beat up in just about every fight he's in, but he seems to be the only person capable of stopping all this supernatural evil. He's a likeable hero just because of his sheer determination.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.







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The 47 Ronin: A Graphic Novel

author: Sean Michael Wilson

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.58

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/01/06

date added: 2014/01/06

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

In feudal Japan there is a famous story of 47 ronin who avenge their master. There is a recent Keanu Reeves movie that tells the story, but adds supernatural elements. This graphic novel tells the story without these sort of elements and it's a pretty compelling story on it's own.



A cruel shogun pushes a young lord Asano to the point where Asano attempts to kill the shogun. The shogun demands the young man's death. This shocks and outrages Asano's samurai, but rather than take immediate revenge, they enact a subtle plan that will take years to fulfill. There is a reason that this is a famous story in Japan, and it's one that I wasn't familiar with.



The art by Akiko Shimojima is black and white and very good. At times, it's a bit hard to follow the action. For Western readers, there could have been an introduction or appendix to explain some of the things happening in the story, but overall, it's a great story.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Shambhala Publications, Inc. and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.









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Knights Templar: A Secret History

author: Graeme Davis

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.67

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2014/01/03

date added: 2014/01/03

shelves: non-fiction

review:

The Knights Templar: A Secret History sets out to give a brief history of the Templars. Starting with history and moving into theory, the book mostly succeeds, but unlike other Osprey publications, the latter half seems to rely mainly on one scholar. This is not a total failing. I'm just used to more source material being drawn from in Osprey publications.



Drawing mainly on the work of Dr. Emile Fouchet, the origins and timeline of the Templars are traced from 1119 AD to the present. Also discussed is their rise and fall in popularity, mainly by defying the Catholic church. The Holy Grail is discussed as well as the theories about where it might be. As the Templars were driven into hiding in Europe, the book moves into the shadowy history, with the Templars coming to America to help the colonies. Then back to Europe where their machinations seem to be behind the scenes until the present day.



There are some great conspiracy theories in here and there would seem to be a grand war happening between the Templars and the Masons. The unification of parts of Europe seems to fit in with the Templar goals. It's all a bit spooky and I did end up enjoying the book. There is a timeline of Templar history and a bibliography. Intriguing and concise.



I was given a review copy of this book by Osprey Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.





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The Colonized (TP)

author: Chris Ryall

name: Wayne

average rating: 2.64

book published: 2013

rating: 2

read at: 2014/01/02

date added: 2014/01/02

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

The Colonized is a mostly fun story that suffers from too many wacky characters. It takes place in a fairly isolated self-governed town, where one of the town leaders has recently died. When aliens attempt to retrieve a body and create a legion of zombies, they team up with some of the town people to stop what they've started.



Along with the aliens and zombies (including zombie farm animals), there are a group of rogue rednecks out to shoot anything that moves, and a lone ATF agent who stumbles on something that could make his career. With all these characters running around, the result is mayhem, which is good, but it leaves the storyline a bit overpopulated. Overtones of green friendly governments and equal rule are just lost in the rest of the story.



Art by Drew Moss is fun. Zombies, zombie pigs, crazed gun toting rednecks and aliens fill the pages of the story. But too much of a good thing can be too much, and I wanted to like this more than I did.



I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this graphic novel.





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We'll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger's Daughter

author: Rachael Hanel

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.82

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2014/01/01

date added: 2014/01/01

shelves: non-fiction

review:







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