Circe

author: Madeline Miller
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/06
date added: 2018/07/06
shelves: favorites, sword-and-laser
review:
'Circe' by Madeline Miller is about a character in Greek mythology who is a witch. If that sounds dull and familiar, I can tell you that this book changed my mind on those thoughts as well.

Circe is the daughter of Helios, god of the sun. She is not powerful, but she has a way with herbs and words. She uses these powers, perhaps foolishly, and ends up creating the monster Scylla. Because she is feared, she is banished by Zeus to a remote island. There she lives in solitude, tending her herbs, The various men who show up on her shore are turned in to pigs when they show their true nature at her table. One day a different man arrives. His name is Odysseus.

I was somewhat familiar with this character, but the author has a way of breathing life into the old and known. When you can come to care about a character that you thought you knew, that is the mark of a truly gifted writer. Her prose is also extremely quotable. There are some truly lovely passages in this book, like the opening line: "When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist." This was a literary journey that I loved to have been on.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so very much for allowing me to read this very fine ebook.


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Black Comix Returns

author: John Jennings
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/07/06
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'Black Comix Returns' edited by John Jennings and Damian Duffy is a not so much a sequel to their 2010 book Black Comix as it is an update.

This A to Z volume focuses on the amazing African American artists working in the field of comics. From Leisl Adams to Ashley A. Woods there is a wide variety of styles. There are short bios of each artist and samples of their art. In some cases, the artist has a creator owned series, and these also get a paragraph or two within the artist's entry. In some cases, the entry is an essay by the artist. The end of the book has a list of black comics conventions in the US.

I liked the book. The layout is good, the art is great. While it all wasn't my favorite, I found some artists I was pretty familiar with, and it was nice to learn a bit more. If you are looking for more representation in the comics you buy, this is a good resource of people that you can support.

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


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Failsafe

author: F.J. DeSanto
name: Wayne
average rating: 1.50
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2018/07/06
date added: 2018/07/06
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Failsafe' by F.J. DeSanto, Todd Farmer, and Federico Dallocchio is about a scary future not far from now where the government has gone overboard to protect it's citizens. And speaking of overboard....

Fearing terrorist attacks, the government has secretly created sleeper agents. When they are triggered, they become super strong, have fast healing, seem to be immune to radiation, but not immune to EMP devices. And there are thousands of them!

I read a lot of things that stretch my willingness to believe, but this premise was so ludicrous that I kept reading just to find out more about this bonkers story. A lone U.S. agent is able to match wits and overpower these super soldiers. The citizens are completely unaware of this having happened to them, and their leader looks like someone out of a Mad Max movie. There are hostages, gun battles, karate kicks, and silly plot devices. The premise of this is just ridiculous.

The art felt weird too. Characters felt lifeless and flat on the page, and didn't seem to even be on the same plane with each other at times. The digital art was just lacking.

This might fall in to a "so bad it's good" category, but I'm not recommending it.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Vault Comics, 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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National Parks of the USA

author: Kate Siber
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/04
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: childrens, non-fiction
review:
'National Parks of the USA' by Kate Siber with illustrations by Chris Turnham is a tour and field guide to some of the natural wonders of the United States.

The book tells the history of how National Parks were first established, then shows the parks by region starting in the East and heading West. Each region shows all the parks, then some of the parks are highlighted. The highlighted parks talk about animals and plants that can be seen as well as types of land formations. Each has a location as well as the founding date of the National Park.

At 112 pages, there are parks that get left out, but it's a good overview, and should leave plenty for the curious to explore. The illustrations drew me to request this for review, and they don't disappoint. I love the full two page illustrations for each featured park and all the thumbnails for animals and plants. This would be a great gift for a young naturalist or for a big car trip to visit one of these great parks.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


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Infinity 8 Vol 1: Love and Mummies

author: Lewis Trondheim
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.62
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2018/07/04
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Infinity 8 Vol. 1: Love and Mummies' by Lewis Trondheim with art by Zep and Dominique Bertail is a kind of silly space story, but I kind of liked it.

The Infinity 8 is a deep space cruiser with lots of different species on board. Yoko Keren is a security officer. When the ship finds an odd debris field, she is sent to investigate. What she finds is a large collection of corpses from spaceship and planets and even old buildings floating in space. An alien race on board the Infinity 8 goes into a feeding frenzy because they like to feast on the dead. The only problem is that they kind of take on the personality of what they ingest. So some become love hungry, and some become power mad. Now the only person able to help the ship is Keren, with the help of her over-infatuated alien partner.

It was a kind of goofy story, but I liked how it played out. It reminded me a little of some of the funny space stories from Heavy Metal magazine. The art is ok too. I like how the aliens seemed to morph a bit based on what they were eating.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Lion Forge, 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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Superb Vol. 2

author: Sheena Howard
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.60
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2018/07/04
date added: 2018/07/04
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Superb Vol 2: Generation Wars' from David F. Walker and Sheena C. Howard was a pretty good improvement over the first volume.

Cosmosis, Amina and Abbie have avoided detection, but not before Foresight Corporation has captured Cosmosis and Amina's parents. Now it's time for a bold rescue mission. We also find out that Foresight has their own super-powered kids and wants to use them to capture our heroes. Of course, things don't go well, and there are some surprises along the way, like Cosmosis wanting to quit being a hero.

The story made a bit more sense this time around, maybe because I'm learning the universe, or maybe because there was less jumping around from past to present. That still happens here, but in the earlier issues it makes more sense. The art by Alitha Martinez and Ray-Anthony Height isn't bad. Overall, I'm curious enough to know what happens next.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Lion Forge, 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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I Am a Tyrannosaurus

author: Tatsuya Miyanishi
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.63
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2018/07/03
date added: 2018/07/03
shelves: childrens
review:
In 'I Am a Tyrannosaurus' by Tatsuya Miyanishi, we meet a cast of dinosaurs with real feelings.

A young Pteranodon is born (a long time ago), and his two parents raise him with great care. They teach him to eat well to be strong, to grow up to be kind, and to avoid the terrible tyrannosaurus. One day, the parents leave the young pteranodon. While he is exploring around his home, he finds a tyrannosaurus who has been trapped. He is scared, but remembers to be kind. The tyrannosaurus can't see him, so he pretends to be a tyrannosaurus to stay safe. Can these two creatures be friends?

I love the art and color scheme of this book. The textures in everything are great and the contrasting colors really jump out. The story is sweet and sad. I've read one other book by this author, and I have thoroughly enjoyed both.

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


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