Oh, I simply love this book. I’m usually a strong supporter of age-appropriate reading, and Gaiman has been to known to play fast and loose with it, veering from adult to YA to kids to selling YA as adult (Ocean at the End of the Line). And he gets away with it too because he’s a superb storyteller. And in this instance, because Graveyard Book is timeless.
Yes, it’s a story about a child and is technically for children, but it has that certain quality—the underlying moody darkness—that makes it suitable for adults too. As long as you have some childlike wonder inside, you can enjoy this tale of a boy raised in a graveyard. It’s a terrific story, with intrigue and suspense and awesome, just awesome, characters. I absolutely love it. And with a dream team of Gaiman/Russell behind the wheel, it’s a spectacular ride. Those two complement each other’s work perfectly and go together like peanut butter and jelly or bananas. It was an absolute pleasure to revisit a beloved story again, this time in a graphic novel form. Recommended.
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More fun and shenanigans with Norse gods told by people at the top of their game: Gaiman on the storytelling level and Russell (and a company of guest artists) on the visual end of things.
All kinds of fun whether you’re a fan of mythology or just good stories. Gaiman really gets at the whimsical silly side of these tales with his larger-than-life characters and their often silly foibles and adventures. Come see the lighter side of epic. Recommended. I don’t much like large books. For me, optimally, a novel should come in around 300 pages. Which means it doesn’t just take me longer to get through the larger books but it takes me longer to get TO them. And so, this novel, as enticing as it sounded, waiting on my Netgalley TBR list for quite a while. But…once I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down. Yes, it’s over 400 pages, but it was well worth it for how fun, how engaging, how clever this mystery was.
I’m very selective with my thrillers, striving to avoid the clichéd work populating the market right now. This one isn’t clichéd at all. My Dirty California is all original, a compelling mystery wrapped into a love song for a state of dreamers. You get to follow a story of two estranged brothers, one as a ghostly presence lingering on the edges, one as a protagonist trying to solve his murder. It’s a maze of terrific characters and a plethora of concepts from crimes to conspiracy theories, all terrifically written and character driven. Sun-baked, ocean-bathed, dirty yet so beguiling, California is the main character of this story and so much more than just a location. The rest of the characters are no slouches either and are compelling in their own ways with their dramas and triumphs, conspiracy theories and crimes and complexly convoluted yet always engaging personal journeys. You get aspiring criminals, aspiring detectives, aspiring dimension travelers. A real kitchen sink of a novel in the best possible way. The mystery at the center of this novel is serpentine, clever, multi-layered, loaded with twists and surprises. All in all, a great read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley. I’ve read Lavie Tidhar before and liked it very much. Now it was time to fall in love. What can I say? I love clever books and I cannot lie. And Tidhar in this novel absolutely dazzles with his cleverness.
I also love books about books and writers. Naturally. In this novel, Tidhar invents a golden age science fiction author who buys into his own fiction and ends up inventing a religion. (That sounds vaguely familiar, no? ;) ) The book that started it all becomes a much-searched-for near-mythical impossible-to-obtain object. And a cast of fascinating original characters get obsessed with looking for it. The book is told from each of their perspectives, plus the biographical tale of the author and the oh-so-appropriate dénouement. That’s a lot to pack into just 256 pages. But not for an author of Tidhar’s caliber. Boy, can that man write. There’s such beauty and succinctness to his narration. I dislike oversized overblown narratives as much as I love clever books—a lot. And this story is just about perfect in both length and execution. Because it’s too good to put down for long and is easily possible to read in one day as I did. Impossible to genre class this one; science fiction, sure, but also so much more. A grand adventure. A love letter to science fiction. A pure joy to read. A stunning puzzle of a book. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley. This was advertised as an irresistibly clever Meta murder mystery. Well, then, guess it worked because I was unable to resist it. And having read it, am glad to report that there is indeed truth in advertising in this instance.
This book IS clever. Viciously, deliciously so. I’ve been pretty burnt out on modern thrillers: too predictable, too formulaic, too trite. I was looking for something like this…a book that simultaneously plays with genre presets and dares to defy them. On a surface, it’s a typical locked private club mystery. A group of wealthy individuals that goes back a while gathers together to hunt. Or rather, a group of ostensibly wealthy incestuous liars and cheats gets together to play games with each other. Some games are deadlier than others. In their midst, is a private detective hired by (mystery) there to (mystery). AT first, he just enjoys the high life, but then the bodies begin to drop, and he has to get to work. And while all of that may sound like a very familiar mystery plot, nothing about this novel itself is familiar. From its structure to its twist. From the very first chapter, the author essentially takes a sledgehammer to the fourth wall, and he doesn’t stop until the very end. He talks to us or at us. He switches perspectives and tones to suit the mood. He goes on discursive discussions of mystery genre and its masters. It’s all rather brilliant. It really is. It can also probably seem like a lot, especially for readers who are used to the conventional the-wife-or-the-husband-did-this-because-of-the-secrets-in-their-past, etc. sort of mystery thrillers. This is very much a thinking person mystery. Like most very clever (and aware of it and not ashamed to flaunt it) things and people, it won’t be for everyone. But it definitely worked for me. Strikingly original and yes, clever, impressively clever, this is a mystery for mystery lovers looking for something different, something with substance and intelligence to charm and wow. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley. They’ve done it before, Gaiman and Doran, with another short story of his, a retelling of the Snow White myth. Which was interesting but too wrongly visceral to love. This one, though, this one is pure beauty.
And it isn’t just Gaiman’s writing either. I love his writing, but honestly, the art here kind of steals the show. And no wonder…just read the afterword to see how much thought and work the artist put into it. Which is all to say this is a lovely story STUNNINLGY rendered. It’s so gorgeous that I lingered on every page, although none were text heavy, just to admire every detail. In real life chivalry might be on its last legs but on the pages on this story about an old woman, a treasure, and a knight in shining armor it’s vividly vibrantly alive. A lovely read. Recommended. The first spacemen weren’t men. They were monkeys and a dog. In this reimagining of their fate, Jeff Lemire once again partners up with his time and again partner-in-crime and an extraordinarily talented artist, to bring to life a story of space conquest, destiny, and determination.
Granted, I would want to read this purely on the “dog and monkeys in space” concept (I mean, who wouldn’t?), but having this lifted team behind it certainly elevated the entire production. Not a perfect book…I did want more of an explanation or backstory, but a compelling tale well told and stunningly drawn. Packs a nice emotional punch too. Recommended. There are some perfect partnerships out there; two things or people that go complement each other sublimely. Think peanut butter and jam or peanut butter and bananas…or other things with peanut butter, you can’t go wrong with peanut butter.
Jeff Lemire is plenty talented on his own but combined with this artist…the work they produce is pure magic. Repeatedly. And they must know it because they work together often. Sure, I prefer the two of them putting out original nightmares like Gideon Falls, but I’ll read whatever, including this take on Gotham’s favorite villain. So yeah, smile…why so serious? You’ve got a killer smile there. An origin story well told and spectacularly rendered. Do you know how much skill it takes to match Lemire and potentially outshine him? Apparently, this much. No one and I mean, no one does such clever things with their panels. Stunning, really. Terrific tale of madness. Recommended. I requested this one from Netgalley on author’s name alone. If I hadn’t read Monroe’s work before and thought highly of it, it’s difficult to tell whether this book would have attracted me by description alone. I tend to stay away from mommy thrillers aka books with main focus being on mothers’ relationships with their children, mothers trying to have children, mothers mothering children, etc. at all costs.
But then you give the theme to someone talented enough and they’ll do something wild, strange, and original with it. Like here. In Monroe’s book, motherhood is a nightmare. Because really it is. If you take the hormonal mushiness out of it and view it objectively, it’s terrifying. And this book is so very good at highlighting all those terrors an exhausted (and post-partum) brain might weave. The plot centers around a first-time mother who is slowly driven mad by her baby. Isolated and turned essentially into a feeding machine for a voraciously hungry creature she doesn’t know how to love, with no real support from her wife or family, the woman starts suspecting madness. It is, after all in her genes. Time to track down her long-locked up mad mother and ask? Yeah, just how well that’s going to play out, you think? The real success of this book is in its claustrophobic atmosphere and vividly rendered slow psychological unraveling of a person. I read it during the same week I watched Rachel Weisz spectacular remake of Dead Ringers and the combination was horrifyingly awesome. If that doesn’t put people off motherhood, nothing will. But of course, the thing is…NOTHING WILL. Doesn’t matter the complications, dangers, or ramifications. Mommyhood always comes through, all shining and desirable. Even in stories like this. Presumably because the authors are mothers themselves and once that drive kicks in… So the ending is something of a letdown. Or rather a softening of an otherwise razor-sharp blade of a novel. But otherwise, it’s a really good read. For fans of dark psychological fiction. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley. |
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