samvara

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. 

Walking on Glass by Iain Banks. Complex and interesting enough to keep me reading but failed to come together enough to satisfy. Three disparate tales told that try to come together in the end. Don't let this stop you reading his other science fiction which is top notch.

The Night of Morningstar, Dead Man's Handle, A Taste For Death, Dragon’s Claw and The Impossible Virgin by Peter O'Donnell, the creator of Modesty Blaise. I'm in it for the action, the cunning escapes, Willie’s amusing anecdotes, the delightful secondary characters and much more. O'Donnell has a gift for arch phrasing and deep love for an amusing type of British.

Anita Blake (001) and (002) The First Death by Laurell K. Hamilton. Back story attractively illustrated. Not sure how this would hold up for non fans but thoroughly enjoyable for me. Dolph, Zerbrowski and Edward all make appearances.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Issue 7, 8 & 9 by Brian K. Vaughan. I’m still happy with them, not as funny as the first five but worth the time spent reading. Oh Faith.

Supernatural: Origins 5 and 6 by Peter Johnson and drawn by Matthew Dow Smith. It hurts me and rumours that the comic will be revisited and ‘fixed’ are welcome. More specifically this storyline and the choice of artwork don't mesh with my understanding of canon and the oft times visually beautiful choices in the show.