Mr. Matisse and His Cutouts

author: Annemarie van Haeringen
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/05
date added: 2016/09/05
shelves:
review:



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Red Sonja, Vol. 3: The Forging of Monsters

author: Gail Simone
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/09/03
date added: 2016/09/03
shelves:
review:
'Red Sonja Volume 3: The Forgiveness of Monsters' end the run by Gail Simone. I've been able to read most of it, and it's been some of the better comics I've read, and certainly the best I've read of this character.

When a village hires Sonja to do a job, she ends up with a strange curse. She is cursed never to forgive. She doesn't believe in curses, but when she sees the results of such a life, it frightens her. This is also complicated by someone from her past that she runs into. She sees a man who helped kill her family. Sonja has hunted all of the people responsible for her family's death down except this man. She can't forgive him, curse or no. He evades her again as the village is threatened. Will Sonja pursue her revenge or save the village.

There is a back up story in which Sonja has to help a religious order save their library. She thinks this is a stupid job because they are just books, but when one of the stories speaks to her, it gives her the courage to fight back.

I will miss this writer with thsi character. I feel like the character got taken to a new level under Gail Simone and I hope whoever takes over next builds on that. The writing is smart and the art is also good.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong (Sherlock Sam #1)

author: A.J. Low
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/03
date added: 2016/09/03
shelves: children-s
review:
'Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong' by A.J. Low and Felicia Low with art by Drewscape is a fun new young reader series that introduces a smart young man who likes to solve mysteries.

Sherlock Sam lives in Singapore. His name is similar to Sherlock Holmes, so that is one of his favorite characters. He also likes to eat, and when his Aunt Lian's family cookbook goes missing, it might mean Sherlock Sam doesn't get his aunt's ayam buah keluak anymore, which is his favorite. Along with his robot sidekick Watson and his family members, he sets out to find the missing cookbook.

I found this a delightful new character and I feel lucky enough to read the second book soon. It's a chapter book with some wonderful illustrations. I loved that the resolution of the mystery wasn't completely obvious. A funny, brave new hero and his loving family made this a win for me.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Terminal Hero: The death and life of Rory Fletcher

author: Peter Milligan
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2016/09/02
date added: 2016/09/02
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Terminal Hero: The death and life of Rory Fletcher' by Peter Milligan with art by Jae Lee and Piotr Kowalski is a strange story and one which could probably be best told in a graphic novel form.

When Rory Fletcher finds out he has a terminal brain tumor, he will try anything to survive. When a friend discovers something called Treatment Q, Rory is in. The good news is that it ends up attacking the cancer. Along the way, it seems to unlock part of his brain potential giving him a sort of super power. The bad news is that the side effects are really bad and the government wants him to use his new powers to perform government assassinations. When two more people show up that have also taken Treatment Q, Rory's life is about to get more crazy and complicated.

It's an interesting premise, and Rory is supposed to come across as a good guy, but he just doesn't come across that way through the graphic novel. I wanted to like him more, but I had a hard time being sympathetic for him.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Bood Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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The STEM Club Goes Exploring

author: Lois Melbourne
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2016/09/02
date added: 2016/09/02
shelves: children-s
review:
'The STEM Club Goes Exploring' by Lois Melbourne seemed like a promising idea: a book showing possible careers to kids on a field trip.

The STEM club goes on a field trip and sees a number of careers involving STEM skills: a video game company, a veterinary clinic, a hospital and a mine. They talk to grownups and learn about these careers. At the end of the book is a pretty decent glossary of terms.

Since the U.S. government declared our deficiency in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math(aka STEM) a few years ago, the push has been on to add more education for kids. I'm not opposed to that. Not all jobs are for all people, but exposing kids to career options is a good thing. Unfortunately, this book comes across as kind of bland. The kids are a diverse group, but they come across as generic and indistinct. The careers featured are interesting to kids, I suppose, but the book didn't seem to be very inspiring. Instead, it seems to be the kind of thing an ambitious parent would force their kid to read.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Greenleaf Book Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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The Dark Side

author: Anthony O'Neill
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/01
date added: 2016/09/01
shelves:
review:
'The Dark Side' by Anthony O'Neill combined a couple genres I like: SF and Mystery. It does it well with a weird atmospheric story of black hearts and murder.

The moon has become the place where criminals end up. The colony they want to be in is called Purgatory. It's run by Fletcher Brass and he does pretty much whatever he wants. The only thing that might be worse than Fletcher Brass is his daughter, or Leonardo Black, the robot with amnesia, who is on a killing path to find and take over Purgatory.

Entering this strange world is an exiled detective from Earth named Damian Justus who has a pretty strong sense of justice. A recent murder sets him on the path to finding out what is happening and who is behind it. The chapters mostly alternate between the detective and the rampaging murder robot.

There is a lot of evil and bloodshed here. Since the populous is mostly criminals, it's hard to feel too sympathetic. Actually, it's a bit hard to feel sympathy for many characters except the detective. There are all kinds of elements here, including, for the first few chapters, a kind of travelogue if you find yourself travelling to this odd world on the moon. It was dark and moody and I really liked it.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Long Distance

author: Thom Zahler
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/01
date added: 2016/09/01
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Long Distance' by Thom Zahler was a different sort of graphic novel than I would normally read. I liked this bittersweet story.

Carter and Lee meet in an airport during a snowstorm that has them both stranded. He is an artist with his own advertising agency. She is a scientist working at research at a university. They hit it off and fall for each other. The problem is that he lives in Columbus, Ohio and she lives in Chicago, Illinois. A budding romance can take a little long distance, but as the months go on, the challenges mount up. She can't leave Chicago because of her grandma. He can't leave Columbus because of his business and the best friend he runs it with. Will it last, or will it end?

I liked this sweet story. The art leans more towards caricature, and I was less crazy about it, but it fits okay with the story. The story has a few twists and turns, and those kept me interested in finding out what happened.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from IDW and NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


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