​Ah, finally. I read this book. It’s considered a classic. I like classics. So there. Of course, I kinda sorta knew the plot going in, but in a pretty long ago and far away sort of way. Which was great, getting to experience the story for the first time, again.
And what a story. A vision of a post-nuclear war (ok, even Moore admits that was goofy, but guess people knew less about it back then) England that has turned to fascism.  A combination of dramatic exaggerations and eerily prescient predictions.
Don’t you just love the way good fiction can anticipate the world to come?
Anyway, in this England made great again (yeah, they use that in the book) one man dares to stand up to the system, to disrupt the totalitarian regime with dreams of anarchy. Power to the people and all that. One explosion at a time.
The man hides behind a Guy Fawkes mask, quotes the classics, and has some very disturbing mentorship ideas when it comes to his young protégé. In other words – a memorable character.
The story itself…well, at time sit does overwhelm itself with its intricate politics and proselytizing (as in reads like Alan Moore’s ode to anarchy) and the art has a distinctly 80s vibe to it, but overall it’s clever, complex, interesting, original, and exciting. Visually attractive too. And what more can you ask for from a book, really?
No, this isn’t the classic that Watchmen is. Yes, it is more dated, though at the time of publication it was technically set in the near future that’s now a distant past. Yes, it is more a product of its decade. But it is still very much a worthy and important read. Especially given the zeitgeist of current affairs. Perhaps those who don’t learn from the past, might learn from fiction? Nah, probably not, though it’s a nice thought. Either way, this is definitely worth a read. Recommended.

​I read Stancomb’s first Vis chronicle a while back and found it enjoyable enough to not hesitate in grabbing its sequel.
The story goes like that…a well-to-do British gentleman of a certain age and his Croatian British wife chuck it all in and retire to a tiny Croatian island in the middle of the Adriatic sea.
Culture clashes ensue. Oodles of them.
It might have been a cliché but to author’s credit it never is. Stancombs are not a clichéd couple; neither of their age nor of their nationality. They are adventurous, open-minded, genuinely interested in engaging with the world around them – however strange that world might be.
And Vis is strange, at least to most Western mindsets. It’s slower paced, firmly stuck in the past, still has its Communist years peeking through. Yet the modernity is slowly creping in. Their country is about to join the EU (at the time of this book’s writing) and changes are all around.
The locals are grumbling. Stancombs catalogues their grumbles with a good ear for dialogue and a good eye for observation.
The result is a charming narrative of a place that’s different enough and interesting enough to attract attention and deserve an armchair visit told from a perfect fish-out-water-but-learning-to-walk perspective. All in all, a fun read.

​There’s a right way to do a sort of slice-of-life-thread-through-with-whimsy story and Fagan absolutely nailed it in Animals.
Set in a quaint sleepy village that time if not forgot than maybe just didn’t hit quite as potently as some other places, this is a story of a place that had a terrible idea. The idea being allowing wild animals to stay with people. Randomly.
Of course, it’s all going to go to doodoo, but until then…
Until then, this is a story of a model maker named Dorn. A quiet unassuming man leading a quiet unassuming life and quietly pining away for a local schoolteacher.
For all his quiet charm, Dorn, much like this novel, wins you over easily and complete engages your attention. You’ll care about his journey, the people he meets, the difficult brother he contends with. A perfect protagonist, really.
And there’s something perfect about this novel too. Or maybe it just hit all the right notes for me. Either way, it was an absolute pleasure to read. Just a lovely, immersive, transporting experience, though it went by very quickly.
I’ve never heard of the author before (he’s Canadian), but this was a most auspicious introduction. A charming book through and through and not at all sappy or twee as these things tend to be. Great read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

​I’ve read the author’s Wonderland, so I sort of knew what to expect – a literary atmospheric slow-boiler. This one certainly was more of the same, although with a distinctly 2020 flavor to it. Perhaps too much so for it seems to tip over an already bleak depressing production into this-way-madness-lies territory.
Lockdown is terrible enough but more so for Grace whose estranged mother comes to stay with her. Grace was just enjoying her newly purchased place and now she has to share it. Not the thing she can say no to, being in dire financial straits due to underemployment, so she agrees.
Grace and her mother do not get along and haven’t in ages. Grace had a twin once, her mother’s favorite, a mean-spirited disabled girl who died at eleven.
Now Grace is all alone. No love interests, nothing but a gay best friend and sporadic work for company. Well, that and her passion for catfishing, which she enjoys greatly and has been doing for years.
Grace’s mother arrives seemingly determined to turn a new leaf in their relationship, but they are simply too different as people to get along properly. Soon, Grace’s life gets taken over by vividly potent hyper-realistic nightmares that dredge up the ugliest times of her past.
All of that is mirrored by the nightmarish reality outside.
You can kind of see which way it’s going but you can’t look away – a slow-motion car crash of a mother/daughter relationship.
Engaging in its own right, but with no really likeable characters and it being so terribly dark and depressing, it’s difficult to outright recommend. This book is a waking nightmare, is an ode to nightmares. Smothered / mothered – all too frighteningly.
Trippy, demented, disturbing – this one is for the toughest fans of dark psychological fiction.
Thanks Netgalley.

​Wow. This was pretty great. Don’t think I’ve ever read any graphic novels by this dynamic duo who seem to specialize in crime fiction, but this was certainly a most auspicious introduction to their oeuvre.
The story does feature some of the characters from their series Criminal, but it reads perfectly as a standalone.
The summer is cruel indeed. For a sixteen-year-old thief-in-the-making and his freshly bailed out criminal father.
The latter promptly gets back in the life, but manages to fall in love for the first time with beguiling femme fatale of sorts. A sort of woman who makes men do things, terrible, dangerous, reckless things…like falling in love. Or like tracking her down. She left behind someone who’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her back. To that end, he hires a private detective to track her down. The private detective takes one look and he’s a goner.
That any men in love or obsessed with the same woman just sounds like a mess. And it will be.
So you got your tough guys and your criminals but also heavy emotional drama, father/son relationship, friendships, love, etc. A perfect blend for optimal reader engagement.
First rate noir-style storytelling, gorgeous art (almost 80s in colors, but the portraiture is more nuanced, the facial expressions and all) this one really sings. Or at least to the tune of a gun firing, repeatedly.
Very good. Recommended.

​I’ve never read the short story that inspired this novelization, so this review has no frame of comparison. Instead, I approached this as an original read and, as such, found it quite good.
I’ve read a book by this press before – a Canadian outfit determined to save the planet one book at a time…which is to say they specialize in climate themed speculative fiction.
The perfectly titled arboreality is about a reality where arboreal and other lifeforms are dying out and the world is resignedly reshaping itself to its new normal.
It’s a tale interwoven of many narratives, many characters, multi-generational. Set in the West Coast of Canada, but geography doesn’t matter all that much because the global extinction this tale tells is…well, global.
People messed with nature. Didn’t care, didn’t think. Maybe elected Supreme Court officials who restricted Environmental Protection Agencies from doing their job. That sort of thing.
The tale is bleak, appropriately enough, but engaging and very lyrical in its narrative style. Almost elegiac. Read quickly. Thanks Netgalley.

​I probably would have read this anthology anyway (I liked the other ones the editor’s put together), but there was an ulterior motive too. I submitted my own story for this collection and was rejected, so I wanted to see who made it in.
Well, unsurprisingly, more known predominantly British names. And also, unsurprisingly some very good fiction. Bleak, dark and all that (the main theme here is loss, so of course), but very good. I’ve been bested fair and square 
So many terrific stories the titles of which I am, of course, now forgetting. Many recognizable names, a few that were new to me but just as good is not more so than the rest.
Due to the stygian thematical darkness of this anthology, it might be best to dip in and out of as opposed to taking a dive in outright, but that’s up to reader’s discretion.
Certainly worth checking out, especially for genre fans who appreciate their horror psychological and literary. Thanks Netgalley.

​This was a random selection simply based on what the library had to offer.
The story takes places in what appears to be a larger universe named…YouNeek YouNiverse. Tots adorbs as the kids say. But, you know, sarcastically.
So, there’s a kingdom of Atala that sounds like a total Wakanda rip-off and its leader has recently decided to become a dictator, because a.dictators are all the rage these days and b. that thing they say about absolute power. And there’s an opposition party but they are very pacifistic in nature. And there’s the leader’s second-in-command who has ties with both sides of the fight, a man fiercely loyal but not brainwashed by that loyalty.
Let the power battles begin.
The political commentary is pretty good. The characters are compelling enough. The writing’s pretty solid. The art is the least exciting thing here, on par with bland video game graphics most of the time.
Overall, a decent but by no means spectacular quick read.

​I’ve been wanting to read this book for so long. A while back it made such a splash that it attracted my attention. I recommended for our library to get it – our library took its time. And then one day, voila, there it was.
The thing with much anticipated books (all things, really) is that it’s difficult for them to live up to your expectations, but this book had no such difficulty at all. It was awesome. Just as good as I’d heard and hoped for. Maybe even more so.
Strikingly lyrical, potently emotional, profoundly engaging tale of a young boy’s summer. A classic coming-of-age story that’s been tackled by genre’s best. That magical age of 12. On the precipice of young adulthood. Still innocent but beginning to get clued in on the inner workings of the world.
That’s Jake Baker, the novel’s protagonist, a kid in a small town near Niagara Falls. With his newfound friends, first love, and a way-out-there uncle, Jake’s about to have an unforgettable summer. And now just because of a titular club.
A lovely book through and through, with writing that grabs and your emotions and plays them like a violin. Or a ukulele. Pick your four-stringed pleasure.
There was magic to Jake’s summer, magic to the narrative, magic to the reading experience. The book goes by quickly and hits all the right notes. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. Recommended.

​I read these books with limited investment, which is to say I don’t care that much and I may forget the fine plot details from one book to the next, but they are fun. Oodles of fun and Dan Mora’s art just really knocks it out of the park.
The plot is actually quite decent – with King Arthur and his knights reimagined as nightmarish creatures determined to take over the world. From the Otherworld. There are other realms, tons of action and wild, wild, wild imagery.
Plus, you got the best grandma a boy can ask for. And a boy (well, a man, really) who asked for none of it and still got stuck saving the world.
Gorgeous and entertaining, this is an all-around fun adventure. Can’t believe this is the same person who did The Wicked and Divine which is practically unreadable in its tediousness (and I tried, at least two books). Guess he matured. Anyway, yeah, bright and bombastic. Fight the knights, fight the night, save the world. All that. Ok.