Ketherian's Notebook

Book III of 2009: Moon Called

• Rating: 3 stars out of 4 (Enjoyed it, recommend it, will read it again, won't buy it if I lose it/willing to sell it)
• Author: Patricia Briggs
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ace (MM) (Jan 31 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441013813
• ISBN-13: 978-0441013814
• Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 10.7 x 2.5 cm

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs is a piece of fiction featuring the fae, werewolves, vampires and one skinwalker named Mercy Thompson. I'd classify the novel as being fantasy, but I'm sure librarians would hyphenate the genre because it's set in current day. The cover features a sexy brunette, but the novel focuses more on the personality and interpersonal relationships between one very unique and extended family and an open secret that will soon be revealed.

The story surprised me. Not only is Mercy a likable character; her family (and associated politics) makes for very interesting reading. The story begins simply enough -- a stranger comes to Mercy's car shop looking for a job. Mercy, as is later proven in the novel, likes to take in strays. She has a lot of very interesting friends, like Adam, her next-door neighbour who's also the Alpha wolf of the local pack; and Zee the gremlin from which she bought the shop.

Once the action starts in this novel; it doesn't stop. However, the novel departs from the more typical action-adventure in that she doesn't do everything herself, and she's not afraid of running away. Along the way, Mercy deals with a few longstanding personal problems that are ... somewhat unique to being a skinwalker living amonst werewolves. This romantic sub-plot tends to make the characters more real and the details of the story more ineresting.

The magic of the book is relatively subtile (if you don't count the witches); Mercy can shape change, as can the werewolves, vampires dominate and gremlins have ... a way with metal if Zee is any example of their kind. Since the novel follows tradtional steriotypes, the reader is lulled into a sense of familiarity that provides a stable background upon which to build a better plot.

The story is all about the pack; the family. The standard werewolf trope is as good as aliens for exploring the taboos and intricies of relationships. Mercy's relationship to her neighbour, Adam and his pack. Her relationship to her foster-family, and his pack. Her relationship to her birth family, such as it is. And her relationship to the community. She's well liked, and the alliances formed from being a good neighbour, and a good person, come in very handy when her life's in danger. The story is about her, and what she'll sacrifice to keep her families safe.

Werewolf Alphas (leaders) are dominant. The story teaches us that Mercy is not of the pack, not of any pack; and yet she feels and obeys (albeit reluctantly) their dominance. She is argumentative, stubborn, and definitely her own woman. That said, she also realizes her limits and actually likes the challenge and the action the story provides.

I read the first three graphic novels in the Sandman series in order. I've heard a lot of people talk about the Sandman, and read a fair number of reviews of Gaiman's work; but until recently I never seemd to get around to reading these very popular graphic novels.

Book 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
Format: Trade Paperback
Published: November 17, 1999
Dimensions: 240 Pages, 6.71 x 10.21 x 0.46 IN
ISBN - 10:1563890119
ISBN - 13:9781563890116

Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artists: Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg, Malcom Jones III
Letterer: Todd Klein
Colorist: Dave McKean
Recoloring: Daniel Vozzo
Introduction: Paul Wilson

When I saw the title I thought this was a pre-quel; but it's actually the first book of the series, collecting issues 1 through 8 of the comic book. The story introduces us to the Sandman, the primary character of the series, and his current predicament. We follow the Sandman, and a few unconnected inviduals who are directly harmed (or at least changed) by his predicament. The stories are slow-paced and lead the reader to question the character, his powers, and the world in which he lives.

Gaimen guides the reader through the stories, slowly building a friendship between the reader and the Sandman; an enigmatic figure who's motives should be difficult to understand, but who's predicament seems to simplify everything to the point of clarity. Slowly you learn that Morphius (the Dream, the Sandman) has limits, some self-imposed, and some not. These limits mirror those of the reader; but only in form. The Sandman is a creature that stands amonst the minions of Hell without fear; but then he is from the same universe as John Constantine--a man who has no power except the deals he strikes, and the deeds he performs.

The first book is aptly named for its purpose is one of introductions. We are introduced to the universe in which Morphius lives. This universe is higly limited at first, but slowly expands as the stories progress. We meet various people and quickly learn how much effect Morphius has on their lives; even though he doesn't know them or they him. And lastly, we learn that this is only the begining.

Book II: The Doll's House
Format: Trade Paperback
Published: September 29, 1999
Dimensions: 256 Pages, 6.48 x 10.15 x 0.44 IN
Publisher: DC Comics
ISBN - 10:0930289595
ISBN - 13:9780930289591

Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artists: Mike Dringenberg, Malcom Jones III, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli, Steve Parkhouse
Letterer: Todd Klein, John Constanza
Colorist: Robbie Busch
Covers: Dave McKean
Introduction: Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman

The second book introduces us to a much-loved character: Death. There are almost more reviews and opinion pieces online about Death than there is about Morphius. Death is not the giant skeleton draped in black and carrying a sythe, instead she is a young woman, dressing in black with wild black hair. The character plays a very important part in Book II: namely as a sounding board for Morphius as he recovers from his ordeals experienced in Book I. This simple show of consequences to a character impressed me greatly. Serially published stories (be they comics or short stories) often do not include long-ranging consequences. And very rarely do they make stories out of the consequences.

Doll's house is an assortment of barely-connected stories. The feeling of this disconnection is made even stronger since Book I is a contiguous story; Book II is a series of short stories with the same general theme: the importance of dreaming. Each story is worth reading indvidually, but combined do not quite make a singular tale. Instead they expand Morphius's universe: introducing us to more of his family, and explaining the politics at various levels of his society.

Book III: Dream Country
Format: Trade Paperback
Published: September 14, 1999
Dimensions: 160 Pages, 6.66 x 10.18 x 0.32 IN
Publisher: DC Comics
ISBN - 10:156389016X
ISBN - 13:9781563890161

Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artists: Kelley Jones, Charles Vess, Colleen Doran
Inker: Malcom Jones III
Letterer: Todd Klein
Colorist: Robbie Busch, Steve Oliff
Covers: Dave McKean
Introduction: Steve Erickson

In Book III Gaiman takes us through time, we learn what it means to be an immortal and when compared against humans it makes the concept a cold and conceited one. In this book, Morphius is not the common element; instead it is the dream. The stories are indivudal and as disjointed as they are from Book II. By now Morphius has almost become the story teller rather than the main player in the story, and rather than relegate him to the position of narrative, he is either used to introduce the story, play some minor part, or is simply not recognizable in the story as anything more than a powerful dream.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (issue 19), one of the stories in Book III won the World Fantasy Award for best short fiction in 1991. This tale in particular shows the strong differentiation as Book III is more a series of fantasy stories than horror and suspense. While there is still something untold, the feeling of an unfinished story, Book III concentrates on providing more history for the current day Morphius while almost simultaneously giving the feeling that time is meaningless to the Morphius.

Overall

Rating: 3 stars out of 4 (Enjoyed it, recommend it, will read it again, won't buy it if I lose it/willing to sell it).

The Sandman was a 75-part comic book series which has been reprinted serveral times as a collection of graphic novels. The stories range from bizzare to touching to horrific; all told with the same care and concentration. I really enjoyed reading the first three books and have been contemplating either borrowing or purchasing the remaining 8 books in the series.

The Pyramid Scheme (Book 1)
This is the second book I read in 2009. It took a bit longer to read (almost 2 weeks) than I thought it would, and longer to post the review... but it's here now and I'm already on to reading books 3 and 4 of the new year. To read 50 books this year I have to read 4 and a bit books a month. Here goes.

• Rating: 2 stars out of 4 (Enjoyed it, recommend it, won't read it again, won't buy it if I lose it/willing to sell it)
• Author: Dave Freer & Eric Flint
• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Baen; Reprint edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743435923
• ISBN-13: 978-0743435925
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches

Every once in a while a novel can be two things, serve two masters - and do it well. The Pyramid Scheme, by Dave Freer & Eric Flint, is one such novel.

Fantasy is difficult. Too often it leans heavily on the myths of lore without adding, or contradicting its base. Rarely does it so change its pragmatic and known heritage so as to cause librarians to quibble when trying to classify it.

Stories set in Mythological Greece are no different from stories set in Arthurian Britain in that their structure is almost pre-determined, and their outcome easily guessed by the attentive reader who's perhaps, read too much of the genre and is looking for something different. Traditionally speaking, mythological Greece is ruled by the petty tyrants on Mount Olympus and the story is set amidst the struggling humanity, often aided by a half-god, or at least one so favored by some of the gods as to make a difference.

The Pyramid scheme combines the presence of an alien device that won't stop growing, the mystery of disappearance of a select few within the device's ever-growing sphere of influence, and a version of Mythological Greece and Egypt that are both familiar and yet changed in very important ways. The adventurous romp through what should be familiar territory explores the dangers of current-day people trying to live in the ancient world (with slight changes made to their equipment to avoid giving guns to Odysseus and his band of noble and surley brigand adventurers).

Along the way the group is forced to work together. While their interactions are a bit stereotypical, the individuals are sufficiently susinct to avoid sounding like the author in four to six different guises. The language barrier is overcome fairly early in the novel, but the inital attempts at communication are interesting and used to the benefit of both sides; for while the newcomers of our current-day adventure are willing to work together -- the adventurers of Mythological Greece are not nearly so trusting.

As with the more traditional mythological fantasy stories, it's the adventurers versus the gods; but in this case the gods aren't quite themselves. While they are the same scheming, petty-minded, tyrannical, over-bearing and ridiculously powerful individuals we've all come to remember and laugh at -- there's something wrong, and it's up to the current-day adventurers to figure out what's going on. The humor is subtle at times and filled with bad puns and worse misunderstandings at others. The odd-handed combination had me expecting the current-day adventurers to meet up with either Bob Hope or Bing Crosby; especially when the party takes a ride to Egypt. Unfortunately the novel does have a few musical numbers, but from the description -- Bob Hope sings much better than any who tried (other than the Sirens that is).

Granted fantasy comedy may not be the most complicated or deep set topics to read, but it does provide a light and fun alternative that never quite takes itself too seriously. The themes of this novel are difficult to determine. One could say that stereotypical are examined and (a few) debunked; but in reality that would be giving credence to something meant to be enjoyable and funny rather than educational. The authors do provide a list of the gods and heroes that our current-day adventures meet, and therein they are careful to explain where and how artistic licence was used, cracking Mythological Greece like a sledgehammer against a watermelon. The result is tasty, but very messy.

I haven't done one of these in a while.

Web Mage (Ravirn Book 1)
by Kelly McCullough (Author)
Rating: 2 stars out of 4 (Enjoyed it, recommend it, won't read it again, won't buy it if I lose it/willing to sell it)
* Paperback: 320 pages
* Publisher: Ace (July 25, 2006)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0441014259
* ISBN-13: 978-0441014255
* Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches

As the title suggests, the novel "Web mage" is a mixing of myth and technology. The novel fits squarely between science fiction and fantasy -- making its exact categorization difficult. Set in something akin to the current day, the Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) use their own version of the internet to provide themselves and their over-large families the abilities of teleportation and mass communication. Their magic is "coded" like programs, and run with the help of their familiars - goblins (laptops) and trolls (mainframes).

The story unfolds from somewhere between the first person of the main character, and the third person of the spectator. The author often gives us the main characters thoughts as well as brief descriptions of the reactions of others around him. The informal style of writing used in this novel lends itself to quick familiarization with the main character and a presumed understanding of the world in which he lives. Fortunately, the author is skillfully able to modify that world view, explaining how new things work and correcting the main characters misconceptions as he learns the truth. Our sympathy and understanding of this fictional world is greatly assisted by the fact that Ravirn's world and ours only differs slightly under the surface.

The story is reminiscent of a coming of age tale -- Ravirn is a screw-up, bright but unfocused. He is placed in an untenable situation, and in the act of extracting himself he finds love, friendship, and wisdom. Effectively, he grows up. The story is made interesting by several turns of Fate; no that's not a pun--the three Fates are actual characters in the book. They have their own goals and plots, and Ravirn is a favored grandson of Lachesis, and a near-nemesis of Atropos. Atropos proposes a deal that Ravirn must turn down or go against everything he holds dear.

But his saying no is just the start of the story; what happens next is the interesting part.

Its secondary theme is that of self determination and free will. While subtlety applied, it is a theme that is briefly explored and used as much as a plot device as a contemporary idea. While not applied in a contemporary way, the goblins and trolls in this world are far more than just objects. And while the term "familiar" is one to which all fantasy fans should understand--we learn that in this world it means something far more than what we assume.

As the first book in a series, it is a stand-alone story that introduces you the main characters, and the world. It is a setting of discord and strife, and Ravirn is determined to make his place in the world, while Atropos tries to maintain order in her own way. While the author relies more on dialog and allowing the reader inside Ravirn's mind more than description, it is still a well written novel.

There are currently three books available in the series in paperpack (CodeSpell, Cybermancy) and one coming in May of 2009 (MythoOS), and one due in June 2010 (SpellCrash).

If you are looking for something fun, slightly different and interesting to read, then I recommend reading WebMage by Kelly Mccullough.

Edited the title, tags and the rating.

OK, this is just annoying.
I was introduced to Evil Inc about a year ago by a friend who sent me a link to a particularly funny comic. The more I read, the more I enjoyed. It once had a wiki page, but that got deleted. Now there's an attempt to get the page reinstated. Brad Guigar has asked for assistance in showing the popularity of his strip and that it's a newspaper comic with a web presence (and not just a web comic).

The two books (Evil Inc Annual Report 2005 and vol 2) are available for sale through Lulu.com.

There are very few reviews of this comic on the web, and I doubt one posted to an LJ will matter much, but here goes.

The comic is about a corporation founded by Evil Atom named Evil Inc. The corporation hires and sells to supervillians. We occasionally see the heroes, but the stories focus mostly on Atom's company and all the day-to-day mayhem. The humor is surprising and fresh; alternating between short and long story lines and the occasional biography (see cast list behind the cut, below). The comic currently focuses on Captain Heroic's purchase of Evil Inc and Evil Atom's retirement.

The characters are all either super heroes or villains (or relatives). The stories mostly focus around Miss Match, Captain Heroic and Evil Atom, with guest appearances of the other heroes of the League of Justice and the villains (and sometimes even their customers) of Evil Inc. The idea of a villain incorporating and then selling to those that were once his competitors is pure evil genius that should always result in a highly profitable venture. But when Evil Atom retires and Captain Heroic takes over - Evil Inc suffers a huge stock fall. Their accounts are so bad only vampires will take over the accounting. But not all hope is lost and somehow Evil Inc makes it through the celebration of Evil Atom as villain of the year, and the retirement of the oldest goon with a great deal of mirth. What other comic artist would offer a 21 goon salute?

Mr Guigar's art style is highly reminiscent of well-drawn "realistic" superhero comic books, but the story is always told in black in white and in 4-pannel format (with occasional exceptions, like the personnel files).  It is updated daily and has been since Monday, May 30th, 2005. The web comic is rates well on several RSS feeders and comic lists across the web.

For a lighthearted view of the battle between good and evil in a super-powered world (where spandex is daily wear), this comic is well worth reading.

( Cast list... )