Books completed in September 2015

1. The Martian by Andy Weir
2. Fables, Vol 18: Cubs in Toyland by Bill Willingham
3. Fables, Vol 19: Snow White by Bill Willingham
4. Fables, Vol 20: Camelot by Bill Willingham
5. Divine Scream by Benjamin Kane Ethridge
6. Less Than Hero by S.G. Browne
7. Red Equinox by Douglas Wynne

REVIEWS:

1. The Martian by Andy Weir

Discussed elsewhere.

2. Fables, Vol 18: Cubs in Toyland by Bill Willingham

The “Cubs in Toyland” story is brutal and sad, but so beautiful in its way. Touched my heart and made me cry.

3. Fables, Vol 19: Snow White by Bill Willingham

I didn’t connect with this one as much, as it kind of felt like and in between, a set of stores forming connection between the main narratives. Still great, but not a favorite.

4. Fables, Vol 20: Camelot by Bill Willingham

OMG, Rose Red is one of my favorite characters in the series and I’ve been waiting to see her character grow. The introduction of Camelot here and the twists on the classic tales are just what this Arthurian fan loves to see.

Really great story leading into a conclusion that it scares the crap out of me to think about because I know it means really bad things are going to happen before the end and I don’t know if I want to know but I want to know.

5. Divine Scream by Benjamin Kane Ethridge

Note: This was an ARC provided from the publisher.

The Assembly is the best part of this book. As a blood soaked group of ten functioning as a single organism, they are creepy and terrifying. I would not want to come across them in a sunny field of daisies let alone dark alley. And, yet, they were also the most sympathetic characters in the novel, because their function is vital in holding reality together and because it is their very job that has made them the disturbing creature they are. It was easy to pity them and though I couldn’t quite route for them (because no person good or evil deserves to be placed at their hands), I couldn’t help wanting them to receive some sort of gain out of all that happens.

The good guys on the other hand were entirely uninteresting to me. Jared Kare, who is scheduled to be granted to the Assembly as a Gift, is an anxiety ridden man in his 20s incapable of functioning on his own and apparently without any passions. The banshee, who doesn’t even have a proper name, is a manic pixie dream girl in every sense, including metallic blue-purple hair and cerulean eyes, who literally drags the reluctant Jared into the unseen magic of the world in order to save him from the assembly. The banshee, a being that sings mortal souls into the light, is willing to help Jared out of all the other human’s she serves because of her particular fondness for him (though it’s hard to understand why, since he’s as bland as white bread and is incapable of functioning as an adult in the world, with friends cooking, cleaning, and even depositing his checks for him). The banshee doesn’t understand human girls who go for confident men and don’t coddle all these good-hearted nice guys, like Jared, into being the greatness they secretly are (because what is the purpose of a woman, if not to make reluctant men great). For the first half of the book, she drives all of the action with Jared just dragging his feet by her side.

I probably would have not bothered finishing this one, if the Assembly didn’t scare the crap out of me every time they showed up, which kept things interesting. Thankfully, the second half of the book got more interesting and wrapped up well, making it mostly enjoyable.

6. Less Than Hero by S.G. Browne

I wasn’t as in to Less Than Hero as I have been with other books by S.G. Browne (and when I say that keep in mind that I LOVED Breathers and Fated). This was in part my own fault, as I went into reading this expecting more of an action-packed style superhero satire and was presented with more of a character driven pharmaceuticals satire. I should have expected this having read other books by Browne.

Lloyd Prescott is a professional guinea pig — that is, an otherwise healthy person paid to sign up for pharmaceutical trials in order to test for side effects. All this mixing of drugs, though, ends up having an unexpected consequence for Lloyd and his guinea pig buddies, when the group begins to develop the ability to project their side effects (such as narcolepsy, vomiting, seizures, rapid weight gain, etc.) on to other people — which of course leads them into trying to be superheroes. However, it there are super villains out there too, with their own abilities.

A large portion of the book deals with Lloyd’s life as a guinea pig, how he feels without direction, and with his mostly happy relationship with his girlfriend. It’s deep into the novel before the guys start to figure out that they have supernatural abilities and they joke around with their powers for a while before they find enough direction to become heroes. There’s a pondering quality to the story and something almost, but not quite, plausible about these heroes, which makes it fun.

Although, Less Than Hero doesn’t have the spectacular stunts featured in a Marvel movie, there is definitely a stand off and a “great power comes with great responsibility” feel to it. I rather liked how things wrapped up (or didn’t wrap up). Plus, there was at least one cameo from a character in Fated, which was unexpected and awesome (you don’t have to read Fated to get this story, but it’s a fun reference for those who have).

7. Red Equinox by Douglas Wynne

Note: This was an ARC provided from the publisher.

This Lovecraftian story involves the rising of ancient gods, a combination of unsettling and bloody moments and lots of tentacles. There were almost too many characters at first, with a lot of jumping around between them, but on the whole the story was interesting and fun with a little gore, but not too much to overwhelm those who might be sensitive to that.