snickerpants.com

By Cherie Priest

Good Lord if this actually happens we are all screwed.

Five things I liked about this book:

• Steam-punkocity
• It is set in Seattle
• The characters have awesome names (Leviticus? Who names ANYONE Leviticus anymore?)
• Dirigibles
• Zombies

Now, as we all know, Steam-punk zombies can be quite frightening in an oily-gears and menacing-hydraulics type of way. But these were not Steam-punk zombies they had no gears or extra metal implants at all. No, these zombies were frightening because they were super fast.

In case you aren’t aware of it, I’ll tell you straight up: I am not down with super-fast zombies.

Not because I think they go against all horror movie convention, zombies are meant to be slow and stupid yadda yadda yadda…

No.

I am not down with super fast zombies because the scare the bejesus out of me.

Don’t believe me? Read this or this.

But that’s okay because Ms Priest seems to understand the terror and dread that the super-fast zombie (SFZ) wields and uses the SFZ threat sparingly. Thank Gods for that.

As for the rest of the story I have to say, I am impressed. The ending, while not a complete surprise, was very satisfying. Her use of language is hypnotic and engaging. Her characters are interesting people that you want to know more about. The story she weaves is plausible, in a super-fast zombie/steam-punk/post-apocalyptic/Industrial Revolutionary type way. And more importantly, everything fits. All the characters, all the things they do, everything they say – it makes sense.

It was hard to put this book down.

Go buy this book.

By Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, John Totleben

I picked up the Swamp thing compendiums because John Constantine had so much history with the Swamp Thing that I was very interested in finding out what that history was. The first volume actually starts with issue #21 (February 1984) so it’s not the first Swamp Thing issue in this run but it’s as close as I can get right now. The mythology of Alec Holland is explained (eventually) although I was confused about Abigail at first because I didn’t know she started out with a husband (she’s in a few of the HellBlazer issues) At the end of the first compendium I definitely wanted to read the next – though I still haven’t met up with John Constantine yet.

By Alexandra Fuller

Firstly, the cover of this book features a picture of the author as a child. The picture alone made me want to read the book. But the real reason I read it was because I was lent the book by a friend several months ago and I wanted to return it so that the stack of books at my bedside would shrink by one (I’m down to 28 now, and that’s including Swamp Thing volumes 1-10) So I picked it up and damn glad of it.
  Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight is the incredible story of Alexandra Fuller, referred to as Bobo by her family, and her dramatic, messy childhood growing up in Africa. She writes in that hypnotizing, sing-song African cadence which I will never be able to emulate though I envy those who can. And the best part about this book is that she reveals her childhood as she lived it, not as she would want other people to view it. She paints the entire picture with the good parts and the bad parts with an underwear-on-the-bathroom-floor-dishes-in-the-sink honest reality. I found myself, several times, thinking “Oh that poor, poor girl.” Until I realized that everyone has tragedy and love and happiness and loss in their lives, perhaps not as much, but who am I to judge that?

It is partly a story of white Rhodesia and what happened when they lost the war of Independence. I can remember hearing the news stories as I grew up, about how apartheid was unjust and how the perpetrators of such injustice were suffering under the new Black government with the re-appropriation of their lands (and usually their subsequent murders.) To read an account of the other side of this story was compelling and completely mind-blowing. There is much humility in Fuller’s writing. As she talks about her first experience of being invited into the home of a black family and being fed food, which was meant for “five hungry bellies” you can feel her consciousness wake up to the world around her and find that it is not a very pretty sight.

It is also partly a story of her family hardships and how, even when all sane people would give up and lay down defeated they persevere and eventually come out, if not on top then somewhere higher than they started. One aspect of the book I enjoyed quite a bit were the family pictures at the start of every chapter. It underlines the fact that the people in the story are real people. A wonderful idea. It softened some of the blows and gave more weight and depth to the tragedies. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Written by Philip Pullman

For those of you unaware, ‘His Dark Materials’ is the name for the Golden Compass, the Subtle Knife and the Amber Spyglass trilogy. I have read these books before but after the hub-bub of the movie I thought it would be fun to refresh my memory. And since I read all three of them back to back and within a week I thought I’d lump them all together and write one big rant about everything. So hold on tight.

Once deemed “The most dangerous author in all Britain” Pullman is certainly not shy about his opinion when it comes to religion. I don’t think that the ‘His Dark Materials’ series is subversive when it comes to the Church because it doesn’t pussy-foot around and pretend to be something it’s not – Religion and those on the side of “the Church” are the bad guys.

However, unless you knew what was coming up in later books, you wouldn’t get a grasp of his anti-religious views from The Golden Compass (the first book). There just isn’t enough of the plot revealed to let on.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love these books. It took me all of two days to finish the first one (and that’s because I’m slow-witted and pregnant at the moment) I’m not intrinsically a religious person so the anti-church views don’t run contrary to any core beliefs I hold. In fact, I like the ideas that he introduces later that supplant the idea of needing a Church and religious doctrine to tell people what to think and how to act. And I think that anyone open-minded enough should be able to see a different view from the norm and enjoy it for what it is: just a different view.

And that’s where I’d be wrong of course. Religion is a banner that has rallied around for millennia and has therefore has the unique ability to drain all the open-mindedness out of any situation. Pro or con, people tend to get very agitated when an opposing view is stated.

I work with a woman that is extremely religious. She finds it very difficult to allow a conversation to take place in front of her that even slightly challenges her beliefs (and I’m including the time I tried to simply explain a bit about Hinduism). Not that she proselytizes; she’s very considerate about not letting on how obvious it is that we are all going to hell. But she definitely feels the need to remind everyone that she BELIEVES in the bible and what everyone else is talking about is certainly not something with which she would agree, should her opinion be solicited. Which, shockingly, it is usually not.

Now, I understand where she is coming from but the constant reminder that she, personally, doesn’t approve of such things, makes me sad because she misses out on so many wonderful things. Not the least of which is the His Dark Materials trilogy.

Controversial views or not, there is no doubt that Pullman is an incredible writer. The plot construction is inventive and peppered with twists that seem a bit incredible at first but quickly become reality for the main characters. It would be unfair to explain over much about the plot because it really is a wonderful story which I would hate to ruin. Yes, you know that the Church is the bad guy but everyone knows that by now – hell, even the woman I work with knows that which is why she’ll never read these books.

One last thing and I’ll get off my soapbox/high horse: Many people rant about how inappropriate these books are for children. I have asked children what they think about these books and the overwhelming answer is “They’re Grrrrreat!” But when asked if they understood about all the religion and God etc… the usual response is something along the lines of “Meh” coupled with a blank stare.

I’m not saying these books won’t influence anyone – I could never assume to know that. What I will say is that children have much more intelligence than adults generally credit them. I tend to think children have a better read on the world than we, as adults are capable of gleaning. With this view in mind, I propose that most of the fuss over these “heretical” books stems from how adults interpret these books and impose their own ideas onto children.

But then again what do I know?

Follow up note:
As my loving husband pointed out to me, I have unwittingly put people into two categories here:

For those people I must say, you did not cross my mind when writing the above rant and I apologize. I did not have you in mind when I spoke of rigid beliefs and inability to accept that which is foreign to those beliefs. In fact, I can honestly say that you blend in so well with the fabric of a normal society that many people do not think of you as outstanding in many ways though clearly, you are. To be able to hold any belief, no matter how strange it may seem to another, while at the same time credit another person for questioning that belief is truly an incredible skill. To be able to recognize the importance of those questions and yet stay true to yourself is not an easy thing. And to those of you that do this every day I applaud you. It is people such as yourself that make society tolerable and conversation lively.

Written by G.M. Ford

Again with the Leo Waterman mysteries. I read an excerpt from this book at the end of the last book (Last Ditch) and was interested in reading it. I was planning on getting it from the library. But, as coincidence would have it, my husband came across this particular book in a bookstore and bought it, not really knowing what he was buying. Good job Brian!

So I read this on the heels of the last book which was fun. Ford is slowly developing the Waterman character over the course of his stories. TDtB was a more introverted book than the last few and allowed for a bit more introspection on the part of the main characters (Leo and his long-time girlfriend) Waterman’s reaction to growing up and becoming an adult are genuine and hit very close to home in some respects. (Unfortunately I identified more with the girlfriend who wanted to turn him into a productive member of society.)

Another very interesting aspect of this story is that it is set on the Olympic Peninsula; in a tiny oyster/logging town which I could swear was the town in which Brian (my aforementioned husband) grew up.

The mystery was a little more forced than previous books but enjoyable none-the-less. If you are looking for a fun read I suggest you pick up a Waterman mystery, they are well written and worth digging into.

Wirtten by G.M. Ford

I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat myself here: I like G.M. Ford’s writing style. He’s a native of the Seattle area and so far as I can tell, he doesn’t screw around trying to make up silly names for things that he can just as easily describe in real detail. The places in his books are real as I am sure most of the people are – or at least based on real enough people.

Last Ditch is another Leo Waterman mystery (Leo being Ford’s stubborn, middling-aged, almost-mature-enough-to-handle-himself-in-public private detective) He has problems, not the least of which is that he comes from a very prominent family. Prominent, in this sense, meaning “my dad was Seattle’s greatest gangster/councilman” A reputation he tries very hard to avoid.

What I like most about Ford’s story construction is the easy way his character can fall into a mystery and not forced out of impossible coincidences. Some things are a bit more coincidental that others but on the whole the mystery part of the book is pretty organic – Waterman is a private detective so it’s natural that he should be looking into shady dealings.

In Last Ditch, Leo comes up against his old nemesis: his dead father’s legacy. Only this time he learns more than he is willing to admit and must now decide on whether or not to defend him. I won’t say much more but rest assured this is an enjoyable mystery.

By Sergei Lukyaneko 

The second in the Watch trilogy (well, so far it’s only a trilogy. I’ve heard rumors that there is another book coming out which would be awesome)

So Day Watch or Dnevnoy dozor (so much fun to try and say!) is a continuation of the Night Watch story line but told from the Day Watch perspective.  I am not sure why this threw me for a loop. I mean, the book is called Day Watch. I would be from the other perspective wouldn’t it? I guess I was hoping to catch up with our beloved Anton Gorodesky and see how he’s faring with the lovely Svetlana.

Again this novel is set up in three parts – each story building off the preceding stories to convolute and confuse the plot. The first part “Unauthorized Personnel Admitted” seemed, in the end, to be a little hokey and even a tad silly to delve into. Not that it wasn’t interesting. The perspective into the Dark Others’ ethos was very enlightening. We find out that they are not all evil and some, in fact, are God-fearing Christians (though they are known to practice Black Mass on occasion)

In fact, throughout the whole book Lukyanenko studiously outlines the differences between the Night Watch and Day Watch. Why they are so similar but not at all alike. It is an intriguing look at the philosophies behind Absolute Good and Absolute Evil and how the individual concepts cannot be so easily separated.

As he did in Night Watch, Lukyanenko spins three captivating stories which he somehow plaits into a fascinating book. All three pieces play off each other in clever and surprising ways which are a delight to read. I highly recommend this book, but you need to read Night Watch first or you won’t understand it.

By Sergei Lukyanenko

Yeah. Wow.

Okay.

So, in order to tell you about this book I need to describe it a bit, right? See, that’s the problem right there. I have been trying for almost a week now to put into words some sort of description about the characters or how this book is written or the mythos it is based on o, just…something. But it’s all a bit more than I expected for it to be so please, bear with me as I muddle along here.

It isn’t very often that you stumble across a truly great book. I can’t tell exactly if that’s what I’ve done here. I’d like to believe I have but then again I could just be a great big sci-fi/fantasy nerd that hasn’t come across something like this before. Kinda like when “The Matrix” came out and everybody did a collective “HOLY SHIT! That just blew my mind!”

But, with the level of strategy and intrigue woven throughout this book I am inclined to believe that this is basically just a really great book. And the best part about it is that it isn’t just one book, it’s a trilogy. Actually, it’s a trilogy within a trilogy (a nonology?)

Lemme ‘splain

Night Watch is the story of Anton Gorodesky, member of the…well…of the Night Watch.

And what is the Night Watch you may ask? Ah, well that’s a little more complicated.

So there are humans and there are Others. The Others are, or rather were, humans that have discovered that they have the ability to use Power around them to go into the Twilight and do all sorts of magic and stuff. Once they figure out the Twilight thing they become an “Other”.  Depending on their first experience in the Twilight, they either become a Dark Other or a Light Other. I’m gonna let you figure out which ones are the good guys and which are the bad.

Got that so far? So the Others can be lots of different things. They can be Magicians, Enchantresses, were-beasts, vampires, witches or, in some cases, just plain creepy. The Night Watch is comprised of Light Others that are sworn to keep tabs on the Dark Others to make sure they don’t try to gain the upper hand. The Day Watch is the exact opposite. It explains it all much better than this in the book, I’m just giving you the quick and dirty version.

Partly what made this book stand out so much is the way it is written.  Lukyanenko broke the story into three main parts, sort of like mini-novels within the book. They build layers within the narrative and each successive layer adds complexity to the characters that you wouldn’t have understood before. In the end the story is so seemingly complex you can’t imagine that there could be a sequel (and that’s where you’d be wrong)

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Night Watch is the story of Anton Gorodesky and his decision to become a member of the Night Watch and the impact that has on his life. I couldn’t really explain more, even if I wanted to, because I wouldn’t know where to begin. Set in modern day Moscow, Gorodesky’s life and troubles are easy to fall into and hard to put down. I credit the writing but also the author’s incredible talent for weaving suspense and strategy together so effortlessly.

The only thing I thought remotely cheesy was the author’s incessant need to quote rock songs. But even this fails to make much of a difference in the overall enjoyment I got out of reading. There are at least two more books after Night Watch and I sincerely hope they are even a fraction as entertaining as this book.

By Linda Medley

This is an interesting graphic novel. Firstly, it is hard bound and in a much smaller format than most other graphic novels. It looks on the shelf, like a classic hard-bound copy of Treasure Island or Robinson Crusoe. It is very pretty to look at.

Secondly, it was great! I sat down and read the whole thing in about an hour (give or take some.) The story starts out with the Royal Couple wanting to have a child but unable to conceive. The King visits one of the good witches in the forest and she conjures up some baby potion.  Next thing you know Royal Newborn! Sweeeeet.

Cue good witch’s sister: the Wicked witch, who is all pissed off that the King went to her good sister instead of herself. The old “I’m cursin’ yer baby at the christening” plot line comes about but the good witches manage to save the girl from death by changing the curse to 100 years of sleep to be broken by a kiss from her one true love.

 Prophecy eventually becomes reality and the girl turns into none other than out sleeping beauty of fable. 100 years pass and she’s finally roused from sleep by Prince Charming who then sweeps her off her feet and takes her away to be his wife.

Of course I’m summing things up and most everyone knows that story line anyway. So the first part of the book is, by design, rather short and sweet. The second part of the book starts with a great line, muttered by one of sleeping Beauty’s maids as Beauty herself is galloping away on the Prince’s white horse. I can’t recall the exact line but in a nutshell it is something like:

Well crap, what are we supposed to do now?

And the rest of the story starts from there.

There is some very clever writing throughout this book. I especially liked the feeling that, though you are reading a classic fairy tale, the characters in the story itself are real and have emotions other than the classic fairy tale Love and Hatred. From the way the book ended before most of the characters were explained I have to assume that there will be a sequel coming up (as I understand it, the story line has continued in single-issue format to be bound at the end of the year. Let’s hope!)

This book is worth a read. Even if you never read “Comic books” because they’re “only for kids and nerds”. I may be a nerd and I’m probably more of a kid than an adult but I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying the time spent in this story.