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By Aaron Block, on September 17th, 2012  Author: Tom King
2012, Touchstone
Filed under: Fantasy, Graphic Novel
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
5 |
| Entertainment..... |
6 |
| Depth..... |
5 |
Superhero fiction, as a genre, has flourished in nearly every storytelling medium except prose novels. Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 in the spring 1938, and by 1940 there was already a radio program featuring the character, with film serials, cartoons, and television shows to follow. A novel, The Adventures of Superman did appear in 1942, but it would be another 30 years before the next one, Elliott Maggin’s The Last Son of Krypton (though it’s worth noting that superhero progenitors like the Shadow and the Spider first appeared in serialized pulp novels).
There have been several prose novels featuring Marvel and DC characters in the years since, but few stories featuring original characters, particularly in comparison to the glut of movies, live-action TV shows, and cartoons that introduced their own characters and mythologies apart from those owned by the dominant comic book publishers. The reasons aren’t difficult to piece together – superheroes were born in a visual medium, and so bright colors and dynamic action are essential to the genre. Which isn’t to say that a writer couldn’t simply describe a character’s costume, or the burst of energy exploding from a gauntlet, but the impact is somewhat muted in contrast to seeing the same thing rendered by Jack Kirby, or Wally Wood, or Frank Quitely. Novels about established characters work because we know what Superman and Batman look like and aren’t called on to invent so much – the world is established, and these are just more stories to populate it.
Debut novelist Tom King addresses that mismatch in A Once Crowded Sky by having comics veteran Tom Fowler draw comic book pages that illustrate key moments in the characters’ pasts. The pages serve as the prologue and appear at the end of each section, the artifacts of a would-be comic book world. Fowler is in fine form – his clean, bold line work recalls Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s era-defining work for DC in the 70s. And the character designs are like little museums of genre history, rich with signifiers that anyone who’s ever enjoyed a superhero comic can decipher. In the hands of a lesser artist it could all feel like a distracting gimmick, but Fowler makes the art necessary to the experience of the novel, even crucial to the plot at times. …
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By Sean Clark, on August 17th, 2012 Author: Walter Moers
2007, Overlook
Filed Under: Literary, Fantasy, Young Adult
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
8 |
| Entertainment..... |
8 |
| Depth..... |
6 |
| Visuals..... |
8 |
I bought this book off a remainders shelf years ago. I’ve since seen and bought other books by Moers on the same shelf. It’s a shame his books aren’t more successful or at least popular; this is a fun, playful book with a whole lot of charm. I suppose Moers’s low profile does make a bit of sense though: this is a book for a very particular reader. Off the top of my head, I could name 2 people I know who would love it, and at least 5 who would hate it.
It’s a thick book full of some big words, but also one of the lightest, most whimsical books I’ve read in a long while–one that places a lot of demands on the reader’s imagination. Readers looking for a dense, literary experience will be let down, as will those looking for a breezy adventure. Readers who like stuff balanced on the fulcrum of that seesaw, however, are in for a treat.
Moers’s world, Zamomia, is not a realistic world by any approximation. It is populated by fantastical dinosaurs, one-eyed goblins, shark-grubs, hog-men, and all sorts of other inventive denizens. The world itself is malleable enough to support the story at hand without needing further description. Dr. Seuss’s characters would be at home here. The City of Dreaming Books takes place in a city called Bookholm (other books explore elsewhere in Zamomia), a city literally built of books, where life revolves entirely around reading, producing, buying, selling, and discussing books. …
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By Sean Clark, on August 10th, 2012 Author: Howard L. Anderson
2012, Twelve
Filed Under: Western, Fantasy
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
5 |
| Entertainment..... |
7 |
| Depth..... |
2 |
You may not know this about me, but I have an inexplicable predilection for books with talking animals. Even if they aren’t that great, I’m into them. So with that caveat, here’s my review of this western cast with anthropomorphized marsupials (mostly).
The book opens with the hero, Albert the platypus, having escaped a zoo (in Adelaide), and wandering the desert like a fish (or poisonous duck-beast) out of water. …
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By Eric Markowsky, on August 7th, 2012  AUTHOR: Simon Rich
2012, Reagan Arthur Books
Filed Under: Fantasy, Humor
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
6 |
| Entertainment..... |
7 |
| Depth..... |
3 |
Simon Rich is very funny. Seriously, the last time I pissed myself in mixed company was when I first read one of his New Yorker pieces, “A Conversation at the Grownup Table, as Imagined at the Kids Table.” I’ve read many of his shorter works since, including others published in “Shouts & Murmurs” and all those collected in Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations. Rich’s sense of humor is strange and surprising and almost always produces a reaction you might have rather suppressed.
His novel, What in God’s Name, is funny, too. It’s an easy read about a couple of work-obsessed angels, Craig and Eliza, trying to help a couple of hopeless humans, Sam and Laura, finally get together. If they succeed, then God will call off this whole destroying-the-Earth thing he’s decided to do. Basically, the “Boss” is bored with humanity, but he still can’t resist a good bet.
Here’s the thing: What in God’s Name is funny independently of its premise. It’s funny because the writing is funny, because Sam and Laura are so hopeless, and because it is so obvious that Craig and Eliza want to get together, too. The whole “heavenly bureaucracy” angle doesn’t add all that much. In fact, it quickly becomes the most tired part of the book. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on May 17th, 2012 Author: George R.R. Martin
2005, Bantam
Filed Under: Fantasy
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
6 |
| Entertainment..... |
6 |
| Depth..... |
6 |
“Disappointing” best summarizes the fourth installment in A Song of Ice and Fire. I was thrilled by the previous book and delighted to see that Martin was finally starting to tighten up the plot lines. He focused his story within the broad boundaries that he’d established and poised the reader for a strident and exciting resolution. The forces of fire and ice were drawn together in what promised to be the burgeoning climax.
Instead, A Feast for Crows is predominantly an unwelcome tangent. New characters are introduced in the prologue, which is Martin’s normal pattern. However, where previous prologues have served to heighten and focus the main story line, this one opens a doorway to a continuously expanding world and endless possibilities.
Martin’s style has never lent itself to a riveting pace. He usually advances his story incrementally and adjusts the pacing to heighten the drama in certain moments. However, this book is flat. Very little advancement occurs along the main plot. He ties up a few loose ends from previous installments, but generally he just plods along, focusing on characters that have been to-date mainly incidental. I assume some of these characters will play bigger roles in future installments, but that’s not enough to satisfy the readers anxious to follow their favorite characters. …
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By Sean Clark, on May 4th, 2012 Author: John Connolly
2011 Atria Books
Filed Under: Young Adult, Humor, Fantasy, Horror
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
9 |
| Entertainment..... |
10 |
| Depth..... |
8 |
A direct follow-up to Connolly’s wonderful 2009 book, The Gates, Infernals delivers everything you could want from a sequel. It’s another great adventure, and delivers all the wacky characters and narratorial humor that made the first book so exceptional.
After helping to save the world from an invasion from Hell, Samuel Johnson, with his trusty dog Boswell by his side, is trying to get back to a normal life. It doesn’t last long. The leader of the failed invasion, Mrs. Abernathy (formerly the demon Ba’al before he was trapped in the possessed body of Samuel’s elderly neighbor), seethes in Hell. The Great Malevolence–Satan–has fallen into a weepy melancholy following the defeat, leaving the underworld open to a tumultuous civil war.
Abernathy, in an attempt to restore her standing as Hell’s #2 demon, as well as save her own hide by preventing the traitorous demon Abignor from usurping rule, manages to open a small portal to Earth long enough to capture poor Samuel and Boswell. They will be an offering to restore the spirits of The Great Malevolence.
…
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By Nico Vreeland, on April 20th, 2012  Author: Kevin Barry
2012, Graywolf
Filed under: Literary, Fantasy
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
10 |
| Entertainment..... |
5 |
| Depth..... |
3 |
Kevin Barry is a wonderful stylist, a rare talent in the prose department. He writes City of Bohane in a gritty patois largely of his own making, halfway between Dashiell Hammett and A Clockwork Orange. Even so, it never gets too precious or contrived, and it never feels like Barry is reaching. That’s a very difficult feat, and the fact that Barry manages it for the entire novel without missing a beat, well, that’s nothing short of remarkable.
It’s a shame, then, that once you delve into the rich prose, there’s nothing inside worth getting to.
…
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By Arthur McCulloch, on March 28th, 2012 Author: George R.R. Martin
2003, Bantam Spectra
Filed Under: Fantasy
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
6 |
| Entertainment..... |
9 |
| Depth..... |
8 |
Martin’s third installment in A Song of Ice and Fire is phenomenal. The set-up of the first two books finally begins to really deliver, and the reader, who’s already invested numerous hours in this story, is rewarded for his adherence. At around halfway through this installment, much of the tension that has been mounting swiftly comes to a head. Although the reader may not be too pleased with the fate of some characters, the excitement is undeniable.
Martin’s timing accounts for much of his success. He pushes the fastidious depiction of his world and vision to the tipping point of being wearisome, then reins in his characters and his plots deftly, drawing the unfurled plot lines of A Storm of Swords together like fingers in a gauntleted fist. In what has been heretofore an increasingly vast world of “endless” characters, the players start to gravitate toward the same locations–even if they don’t yet meet. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on March 2nd, 2012 Author: George R.R. Martin
2000, Bantam Spectra
Filed Under: Fantasy
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| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
6 |
| Entertainment..... |
9 |
| Depth..... |
8 |
On March 6, HBO is going to release the first season of “A Game of Thrones” on disc. As Sean stated, the book was better. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that there is so much more to be had from this author than a derivative film depiction. The books are a phenomenal series and in A Clash of Kings Martin does a terrific job of picking up where he left off in the original installment.
A Game of Thrones is in many ways an introduction to Martin’s world and a vehicle to set the plots in motion; A Clash of Kings is a continuation of introductions. This is by no means a negative criticism though, despite the two books together representing 1,600 pages of “introduction,” there is a broadening of our understanding of the characters and the world they inhabit. More resolution is afoot in this second book than the first, but by the end of A Clash of Kings, the stage is set for what promises to be some very exciting plot closures. …
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By Arthur McCulloch, on February 8th, 2012 Author: Scott Lynch
2006, Bantam Spectra
Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Follow it on Goodreads.
| C4 Ratings...out of |
10 |
| Language..... |
7 |
| Entertainment..... |
10 |
| Depth..... |
7 |
In The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch has created an incredibly unique world, populated it with engaging characters, and orchestrated a driving, action-filled plot.
This book features one of the best, and most pertinent, prologues written in the fantasy genre. We get introduced to the protagonist from the eyes of two very different thieves—Chains and the Thiefmaker. Most prologues are written from incredible distance and only give a sense of pre-destiny, myth, and/or a generic world setting. Lynch delivers main character backstory while simultaneously introducing us to his world. After exiting the prologue, I was aching to know more about Locke Lamora and what thievery and mischief has got him into so much trouble. …
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