The Long Earth

author: Terry Pratchett

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.67

book published: 2012

rating: 3

read at: 2013/08/08

date added: 2013/08/11

shelves:

review:

For Terry Pratchett fans, this book will feel like a disappointment. When I think of writers who should collaborate with Sir Terry, I confess that Stephen Baxter is not a name that lept readily to mind. Having said that, The Long Earth is an interesting book, and ultimately a rollicking adventure about the desire to explore and discover.



Instructions for a simple, but mysterious box (powered by a potato) show up, and children build it. When they throw the switch, they find themselves on an alternate Earth. This box is called a stepper and it's discovery opens up pioneering and exploring to alternate earths. There are folks who are natural "steppers." Able to go between worlds without machinery or the subsequent nausea of the travel, but most are reliant on the simple boxes with the potatoes.



Without spoiling too much, there is an aloof, but likeable, hero, an artificial intelligence that is charming (overly so at times), and a journey to discover what lies on all these parallel worlds. Think of it more as a sociological or anthropological journey, rather than one with a military conflict, and you may find yourself enjoying the journey, drifting above parallel earths flashing by and changing. I really did enjoy it, but it is different, and when it is all said and done, not a lot has happened (at least after the initial discovery of all those earths).





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Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror

author: Roger Langridge

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.94

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2013/08/11

date added: 2013/08/11

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror is a pure treat. Roger Langridge has created a nice homage to the era of the 1930s (including a great introduction). The book feels more in tune with The Rocketeer movie than the comics, but it's still a nice nod to the creation of Dave Stevens.



There is still plenty of Rocketeer action and all the usual characters, but it all plays out against a wonderful background of Hollywood characters that are familiar and fun to try to guess. There is also an interesting subplot with a couple of goons trying to take away the rocket pack. The narrator shows up in the beginning, then disappears for a couple issues, but the reveal is a wonderful touch.



J Bone's art fits nicely. It's a cartoony style with caricatures of Hollywood stars of the era, and it works so very well. Betty looks a little like Betty Page, the Rocketeer is gangly, and the villain looks like a mad scientist from old horror films. The covers by Walter Simonson are worthy of framing. Included are alternate covers. A nice tribute to serials and pulp fiction.





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Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know

author: Shari Graydon

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.72

book published: 2003

rating: 4

read at: 2013/08/10

date added: 2013/08/10

shelves:

review:

Made You Look is a book designed to help give younger consumers awareness of the pervasiveness of advertising in our modern world. From online ads in social media to product placements in movies, there is no easy way to consume media without running into ads.



The book is lively and informative without either being too preachy or taking particular sides. There are interesting experiments to try to show how online advertising can change based on what you surf for, and guidelines and laws for advertising to young people are explained. The book ends with a nice appendix of resources for consumers, and there is an excellent layout of a way to complain to a company about a product that doesn't deliver as promised.



The layout is catchy with some cartoon illustrations and unusual block layouts by Michelle Lamoreaux. When my children were younger, this would have been an excellent resource to teach them about the wiles of the world they live in. This is a highly readable and informative book.





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No Return

author: Zachary Jernigan

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.13

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2013/08/09

date added: 2013/08/09

shelves:

review:

Zachary Jernigan's No Return is not an easily accessible work, but for those willing to put the effort in, it's quite rewarding. With strange characters and exotic world building that reminds me of China Mieville, it's a wholly original piece.



The reader is dropped into what feels like the middle of a story. I found myself foundering a bit in the first few chapters until I found my bearings and the rhythm of the story. I don't mind that about a book, but it may be a bit offputting for some.



There are 5 main characters who are very different from one another. Three of them travel on a journey to a tournament, a fighter in a strange black suit, a woman who has lost a child and a mechanical man. The other 2 characters are Adrash, the god who created this world and sits detached, and the one who would challenge his throne. That all sounds pretty standard, but in a world where the currency is bone dust, and a large needle looms over the planet, you can be sure of a strange ride ahead. I really enjoyed it.





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The New Ghostbusters Volume 1

author: Erik Burnham

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.28

book published: 2013

rating: 2

read at: 2013/08/07

date added: 2013/08/07

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

When the real Ghostbusters are trapped in another dimension, it's time for a back up team to take their place and try to figure out what is going on. The backup team consists of Janine, their secretary, Kylie Griffith, who runs Ray's bookstore, Special Agent Melanie Ortiz and convict Ray Alexander. If you don't know who most of those characters are, there is enough background given to fill you in.



This graphic novel contains 4 issues of the series with a short secondary story that follows the adventures of a ghost into the containment unit.



The art is caricature of the characters from the movie, and there are references in the background to the movie and the original series. The fourth included issue wraps up the previous three, but feels like a filler with more exposition than previously, and it does end on a cliffhanger. This made it less than satisfying for me, but I found the first 3 issues fun, with government bureaucrats attempting to market the new team and make money off of them.





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Zombies Vs Robots: Diplomacy

author: Jeff Conner

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.00

book published: 2013

rating: 4

read at: 2013/08/06

date added: 2013/08/06

shelves:

review:

IDW had the brilliant idea of having zombies face off against robots, and this story collection is one of the results. In a distant future, or past, zombies fight against robots and humans are caught in the middle. The stories mainly take place in Russia or England, but that was a happy accident. There are whip wielding nuns, and mad scientists and soldiers fighting side by side with singing robots. There is horror and betrayal by humand and robots, and there are unending hordes of zombies.



Michael Dubisch provides art in between each story illustrating what you are about to read. The illustrations range from faux wartime posters to girls on tankbots and all fit the mood perfectly.



My favorite stories include Timka by Ekaterina Sedia (who is fast becoming a favorite author of mine), and Exclusion Zone by Dale Bailey, about a father just trying to protect his family the best way he knows how. In Chernobyl. By putting human brains in robots.



But every story is good. Most are over the top, which you would expect from the title, but all are great fun. It would appear that the zombie genre is not quite ready to be put away and there are fresh surprises waiting.





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Horrendo's Curse: The Graphic Novel

author: Anna Fienberg

name: Wayne

average rating: 2.67

book published: 2013

rating: 3

read at: 2013/08/04

date added: 2013/08/04

shelves: graphic-novels

review:

Poor Horrendo. He lives in a village full of pirates. He goes to school to learn to be a pirate, and he lives in fear of being captured by pirates and forced to work on their ships. But worst of all is the witch that cursed him at birth. She cursed him so that he is not able to curse. In a village full of pirates, this makes him stand out in a really bad way.



When he is inevitably caught by pirates, he makes them french toast and soup and is polite. The pirate captain can't understand this in the slightest, so this causes a conflict.



It's a fun re-release of a book in graphic novel form. Anna Fienberg hits all the young reader buttons, silly humor, slightly gross jokes (and bleeding pirates), and adventure. Remy Simard's art feels like a Cartoon Network adaptation, but that means the look is familiar, without being a media tie-in. Good for 8 and up, and I enjoyed it.





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