samvara

Rex Riders by J. P. Carlson. LibraryThing Early Reviewers copy. Dinosaurs in the wild west; it's such a great (and yes pulpy) concept and the illustrations are seductive. Young Zeke Calhoun is constantly getting into trouble. His uncle doesn't understand him, and his attempt to helpfully ride a neighbour's valuable, escaped stallion isn't working out as he planned. When he stumbles across an unconscious alien and his domesticated juvenile T-Rex he gets an opportunity to 'borrow' an even more exciting steed. I read the first 233/440 pages then admitted I just wasn't into it and put it down. This reads like a first novel pitched at a young audience. I found the shifting point of view a little confusing, initially this read like Zeke's story and later it shifted to being... Uncle Jesse and Bull's?  The character development was a bit flat and the exposition chunky - telling, not showing.  I did love the T-Rex Zeke manages to ride and Carlson obviously did too. I probably wouldn't pick up another book by this author but I might recommend it to young, dinosaur enthusiasts.

The Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan. Young adult fantasy. Book 3. The Ryves brothers are deep in crisis, the Market is at war with the Aventurine circle and the leadership of the Market is yet to be determined. I have so much love for this series. The point of view for the final book is Sin (Cynthia) and it's a joy to ride along with her as events unfold. I really value the personhood found in the characters, especially the ladies and I value how central their stories are. There is such a lovely balance of whimsical humour and emotional depths that I found myself giggling one moment and holding my breath the next.

Courtney Crumrin Tales Volume 2: The League of Ordinary Gentlemen by Ted Naifeh. I'm enjoying the back story but love the works that feature Courtney the most. I was unsurprised by the plotline but enjoyed watching it unfold - Aloysius' world is a creepily dark as I could hope for.

Pet Noir by Pati Nagle. LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Noir detective style short stories about a superkitty "feline investigator" engineered to go undercover on a space station. Leon works for the Security department until he pays off the cost of his creation. In the meantime he badgers his human partner for food and fights crime! I enjoyed this. Leon is a convincingly reluctant, cynical cat detective and Nagle has captured the tone that makes the genre so enjoyable. The stories are reasonably light and build in a lot of humour but retain some of the darker elements. The first of the five stories is the weakest, it sets up the characters and the scene but Leon is a bit too savvy for a four week old kitten. Despite this, it's worth a read and I'd cheerfully read more of Nagle's work.

I’ve been waiting for this to come out for a long time and maharetr made the last few hours more tantalising by SMSing me a picture of her holding it when she picked it up for me.

I loved it!

Young adult dark fantasy featuring magicians, demons and a fearless sword wielding hero. Nick is all young and broody which he can be forgiven for, what with being on the run, having a crazy mom and being made to go to school by his fabulous older brother Alan. Said brother Alan does everything he can to care for for Nick, protecting his small family from malnutrition and demonically possessed ravens (but not plumbing). This is a first novel and young writing but has creative world building, passionate, interesting relationships and some delightful irreverent snark. I’m not sure which brother I adore the most :)

( some of the first chapter )