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samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 01:14 pm
  • Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. I happen to be both keen on Austen and on zombie stories so this was for me, delightful. I laughed a lot and thoroughly recommend it to anyone else who thinks they might get a kick out of it. I came in expecting zombies to be introduced during the story but it's set 55 years after the 'unmentionables' started rising from the dead and the culture has adjusted accordingly. Elizabeth and her sisters are all accomplished in the deadly arts and Elizabeth's adherence to the warrior code is a lot of fun. The illustrations are apt and the Charlotte/Mr. Collins thread was cleverly done. I also adored Lady Catherine.
  • Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller. Not quite pitched right for me but entertaining.
  • The Empress's Tomb by Kirsten Miller. Six girls being tough and amazing under New York. Good YA with fun little 'how to be amazing' sections at the end of each chapter. Loaned by [personal profile] ascetic_hedony  for which I am thankful.
  • Alan's War by Emmanuel Guibert. A gentle look at the second world war from the perspective of a pretty ordinary guy. Very readable graphic novel.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Issue 20 - 22. Heh.
  • Esio Trot by Roald Dahl. Least attractive understory ever. Esio falls in love with the lady on the next balcony and through lying and deceit he developes a relationship with her.
  • The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl. Cute, not much substance.
  • The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl. An old favourite, I wish I could put the magic finger on some people.
  • The Other Wind by Ursula le Guin. Lovely story telling, I'm a bit overset by the far more moral overtones. I gather this was a response to criticism about lack of agency for women in the Earthsea world and while I enjoyed reading it I had a sense of... it being a little forced?
  • Once Upon a Veterinarian by Drew Zachary. Romance and good for the soul, dating can be difficult if one of you is a cop and the other a vet.
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 11:17 am
  • The Sundered (03) Lady of Mercy by Michelle Sagara West. Early writing, reading it for completeness.
  • The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer. Rereading because I love Prudence.
  • Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. Rereading because I love all the jokes about socks.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Issue 19 by Drew Goddard. Winds up the Fray storyline and has least porny cover - must be compensating for last time.
  • Dresden Files: Storm Front and Fool Moon by Jim Butcher. Detective/supernatural/romance mashup, not the greatest but entertaining.
  • House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. Nothing but love. Charmain looks after her Great-Uncle William's cottage. This has bad guys, laundry, magical dogs, self discovery and much, much more.
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Sunday, November 16th, 2008 09:10 pm
  • Spike and Co. by Graham McCann. This is a biography of Associated London Scripts, a cosy professional nest of British humour in the 1950's but my heart goes to Spike Milligan (again) for his awful and amazing life. Utterly worthwhile.
  • So hard to say by Alex Sanchez. Young maybe-gay boy coming of age story, gentle and well developed.
  • The Wave Runners and The Shell Magicians by Kai Myer. Adventure on the high seas, with pirates, magic and mysterious men in capes. I didn't get into this and have not picked up book three but suspect it would appeal to pre-teen boys and girls.
  • Castle in the air by Diana Wynne Jones. Re-reading, still funny!
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. The language in this is great. A toddler narrowly escapes being murdered by a dark man named Jack and is adopted by a cemetary of ghosts.
  • Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley. I want to like this because I love many of her other works but the POV character irritated me a lot and the writing style I just could not get into. Young, socially isolated boy inherits baby dragon and raises her.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Issue 17 & 18 by Drew Goddard. Still in love.
  • The Grand Sophie by Georgette Heyer. Re-reading, still one of the best out there.
  • Gone Postal by Terry Pratchett. Re-reading, thoroughly enjoyable.
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Sunday, May 4th, 2008 10:08 am
Supernatural: Rising Son #1 by Peter Johnson. Artwork has definitely picked up, as has the story - now desperately want to know if this counts as canon for the TV show.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Issue 13 Wolves at the Gate [02] by Drew Goddard. Love Xander interacting with Dracula, sense of humour firmly intact.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore. Now have both parts - it's much more entertaining than the movie and a lot darker.

Legends of the Dark Crystal Volume 1: The Garthim Wars by Jim Henson. Adorable. A tale of gelflings and the days before the Dark Crystal was restored. The gelflings are charming and brave and the artwork is lovely.

Courtney Crumrin And The Fire Thief's Tale by Ted Naifeh. 4th instalment in the 'verse and still maintaining a delightfully creeepy feeling - the story and illustrations work well to create a stark, beautiful and emotional effect. I particularly love the final panel.

Fight for Gold, Above the Snowline, Stagecoach West and Clipper Ship by Denys Burrows. Published in the 1960s, this is a series of adventure stories set around events in Australian history. They are a bit dated, but are fun and easy to read. The gold rush in Ballarat, The Snowy Mountains project, the railway across the Blue Mountains and the Australia-China tea run all come to life.
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 10:28 am
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Issue 11 and 12 by Joss Whedon. New bad guys, Buffy's love life in chaos, dating Xander style and vampires who melt into fog. Still happy.

Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Space Opera. Light hearted and dramatic with action, adventure and angst all wrapped up in some of the most enjoyable characters I've hit for a long time. Miri and Val Con are in hiding, Shan and Priscilla are rightfully worried and trying to track them down - as are Val con's ex-employers, the intergalactic mafia and some giant turtles.

Courtney Crumrin & The Night Things, Courtney Crumrin & The Coven of Mystics and Courtney Crumrin In The Twilight Kingdom written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh. I read these when I shared a house with [personal profile] ascetic_hedony and recently got my own copies. Dark, beautiful stories about little Courtney who doesn't get on well with the rich kids from school but does scarily well with the things that go bump in the night. Rating them up with Neil Gaimen's Coraline and some of the creepier Roald Dahls. The illustrations are magical.

The League of Extraordinary Gentleman - Volume Two: 2 by Alan Moore. I read these way before the movie came out and have finally picked up V2 and ordered V1. Much more entertaining than the movie and a lot darker. 
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 08:38 am
Cobra Trap by Peter O’Donnell. A series of short stories covering different times in the life of Modesty Blaise for which I have much, much love.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Atrocious. Unreadable, desperately in need of a good editor. I can forgive a lot and I know the author is very young but something like this making it into print just hurts.

Girl Genius (01 - 06) Agatha Heterodyne by Kaja and Phil Foglio. Graphic Novels. The ongoing adventures of Agatha Heterodyne, a young scientific genius in a World Gone Mad! Adventure! Romance! Mad Science! This is gorgeous. The illustrations are beautiful, the story is amusing, interesting and self-aware and I am utterly in love.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip. Rich in mythology and wizardry with fabulous beasts and a deceptively simple plot. Sybel is a powerful wizard, content to live apart from the rest of humanity with her menagerie of fantastic beasts. Her solitude is rudely destroyed when a young man delivers a baby, which she learns to love and she is slowly drawn into worldly conflicts.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Issue 10 by Joss Whedon. Still maintaining the humour element, very fond of Xander. 
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Sunday, December 30th, 2007 08:44 am
Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon. Backstory. What's not to love.

Sabre-tooth by Peter O'Donnell. The second Modesty Blaise book and larger than life; arch villains, death defying feats, Willie Garvin’s sense of humour.

Pieces of Modesty by Peter O'Donnell. Short stories, completely over the top and delightfully so. 
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 10:18 am
Belladonna (Ephemera, Book 2) by Anne Bishop. Not as interesting as I wanted it to be, has a great premise but over explains and makes it more technical than is warrented. I'm reminded of Anne Rice - starts well, finishes in excessive detail.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S8 (04) & (05)
by Joss Whedon. Still very happy, like the visual style, like the 'voices'.

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures, Vol. 1 (Graphic Novel) by Laurell K. Hamilton. Pretty, so pretty. I'm in love. ETA:  Am saddened by the "To be continued..." that tags this as an expensive little hobby should I care to start collecting.
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Monday, July 9th, 2007 09:08 am
The Quiet Gentleman by Georgette Heyer. Gervase Frant, 7th Earl of St Erth returns to his family from the army to find his younger half brother expecting to inherit the title when Gervase dies conveniently in the wars. Alas for Martin, Gervase is alive and well but his increasingly alarming ‘accidents’ may put an end to all that.

The Foundling by Georgette Heyer. The 7th Duke of Sale has never been unsupervised in his entire life so when he finally bolts, his entire staff panic. The Duke himself has a ball finding out just how capable he really is. This is a gem; it has escalating hilarity, misunderstandings, and fabulous characters.

Across the Wall by Garth Nix. A collection of short stories. Short and sweet for the most part, I found them uncomplex but enjoyable. Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case won two Aurealis Awards and has that lovely, creative touch that made the Old Kingdom such a great place to visit.

The Keys To The Kingdom (05) Lady Friday by Garth Nix. Young Arthur is still interesting as is his gradually increasing collection of chunks of the Will of the Architect. Now waiting patiently for books six and seven.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Peterson. A children’s classic I failed to read as a child that I hear traumatised generations of young people. Well written and engaging in a way that will break your heart. No desire to see the movie at all.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S8 (02) & (03) by Joss Whedon. Loving it; the voices, the story, the artwork. As comics go this is working for me.
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 11:20 am
The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones is the kind of fantasy I've grown to expect. Interesting, fun and enjoyable. Cat, a nine-lifed enchanter battles a horse, gets a mysterious egg and meets the locals from the village who turn out to have some pretty weird interests.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S8 (comic) by Joss Whedon et al. This is looking worthwhile, what *do* you do with an army of slayers?

The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep by Charles de Lint is the short story that introduced Sophie and Jeck's relationship. Sweet and dreamy.
samvara: Photo of Modesty Blaise with text "All this and brains as well" (Default)
Monday, June 19th, 2006 07:02 am
Waifs and Strays by Charles de Lint is a collection of short stories about teenagers. As usual they are complex, mysterious and heartfelt. I totally recommend them.

Fray by Joss Whedon is a graphic novel of a future slayer. She's tough, gorgeous, complex and far more interesting than Buffy ever was. A future world where there are enough mutants that no-one cares of you have fangs what with the scales and fins. Fray has the strength but not the dreams of a 'destiny' and is leery of 'lurks' after they killed her brother. Tres cool.

Spellbinders: Signs and Wonders by Mike Carey et al, a graphic novel about a girl who moves from Chicago to Salem and lands in the middle of a mage war. Fun!