Back after a 4 year hiatus - iftyzaidi hopes to read 100!

It has been too long and I am sad to confess I have been too long away from books. But this year I intend to get back in to reading, and writing about what I read right here. I'm also looking forward to being a part of this warm and intelligent community again. I have missed you guys!

Though I simply wont have the time to read 100 prose books in the year I'm hoping I get close to that figure if about half of the titles I read are prose and the other half graphic novels. So here goes!

List of Books Read (Pt. 1)
Aim: 100.
Books Left to Read: 54

January (8 read)
1. John Lord by Denis-Pierre Filippi
2. Britannia by Peter Milligan
3. Europe of the Dictators 1919-1945 by Elizabeth Wiskemann
4. Copperhead Volume 3 by Jay Faerber
5. Paper Girls Deluxe Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
6. The Other Side by Jason Aaron
7. Southern Bastards HC Book One by Jason Aaron
8. Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis

February (11 read)
9. Red Planet Blues by Robert J. Sawyer
10. The Lost Fleet: Dauntless by Jack Campbell
11. The Lost Fleet: Fearless by Jack Campbell
12. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
13. Voyage of the Star Wolf by David Gerrold
14. Planesrunner by Ian McDonald
15. The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis
16. Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
17. Batman/Two-Face: Face the Face Deluxe Edition by James Robinson
18. Golden Son by Pierce Brown
19. Morning Star by Pierce Brown

March (9 read)
20. Directorate S by Steve Coll
21. Eclipse volume 2 by Zack Kaplan
22. Batman Rebrith Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by Tom King
23. Batman Detective Comics Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV
24. Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League by Geoff Johns
25. The Party Worker by Omar Shahid Hamid
26. Necessary Evil by Ian Tregillis
27. Marvel Zombies 2 by Robert Kirkman
28. The Drowning City by Amanda Downum

April (5 read)
29. Prince Valiant vol. 2: 1939-1940 by Hal Foster
30. Robert Silverberg's Downward to the Earth by Philippe Thirault
31. Sunstone Book One by Stjepan Sejic
32. Sunstone Book Two by Stjepan Sejic
33. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

May (7 read)
34. How Star Wars Conquered the Universe by Chris Taylor
35. The Lost Fleet: Courageous by Jack Campbell
36. The Lost Fleet: Valiant by Jack Campbell
37. The Lost Fleet: Relentless by Jack Campbell
38. The Lost Fleet: Victorious by Jack Campbell
39. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
40. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

June (6 read)
41. Necrotech by K. C. Alexander
42. Thor by Aaron and Dauterman vol. 2 by Jason Aaron
43. The Mantle Vol. 1 by Ed Brisson
44. Stumptown Volume 4 by Greg Rucka
45. The Kitchen by Ollie Masters
46. Motor Crush Vol. 1 by Brenden Fletcher & Cameron Stewart

List of Books Read Pt. 2
Aim: 100
Books Left to Read: 45

July (10 read)
47. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
48. Moon Knight Vol. 1: From the Dead by Warren Ellis
49. Science Dog by Robert Kirkman
50. The Complete ElfQuest vol. 1 by Wendy Pini
51. Black Road: The Holy North by Brian Wood
52. The Life and Times of Martha Washington by Frank Miller
53. Ordinary by Rob Williams
54. Disenchanted Vol. 1 by Si Spurrier
55. Ministry of Space by Warren Ellis
56. New Romancer by Peter Milligan

1. John Lord by Denis-Pierre Filippi: 3 stars

As a collector I've made it my mission to try and collect pretty much all the graphic novels published by Humanoids in English. Humanoids (or Les Humanoïdes Associés to give it its proper name) is a French publishing house founded in the 1970s and has published a variety of comics, mostly by European creators of every conceivable genre and variety. You never know exactly what you are going to get when you pick one up, though if there is one thing that is almost universally constant it is that the art is usually outstanding.

And that is the case here. The story also is an interesting one - a series of gruesome murders of eminent psychologists in 1920s USA being investigated by one John Lord and his lady sidekick. And herein lies the biggest problem with this comic - the characters. John Lord is supposed to be some hotshot hardboiled detective. The lady sidekick (whose name I can not currently recall) is supposed to be his boss but is basically there for him to have someone to explain things to and show up all the time. Its a character dynamic that becomes a little irritating - the know-it-all guy explaining everything (and even ordering around) his female boss who is apparently a little out of her depth. Neither character seems to acquire much depth either. Maybe something is lost in translation from the original french but much of the dialogue seems to be exposition and thus somewhat stilted. The origin story of the serial killer too is very gruesome, and is told in short, often wordless, flashbacks that involve (SPOILER ALERT!) a mutiny on a ship, murder, rape, a shipwreck and cannibalism.

In other words not everyone's cup of tea.

Welcome back, Ifty! I have missed you and hoped all was well in your part of the world.

Hi ronin! Thanks for your kind words. I hope you've been keeping well! This part of the world is always in some kind of tumult or the other (most of the world these days it feels like!) but my own absence has been due to matters of a more personal nature. In these few years I've changed jobs twice, moved back in with my parents once my father fell ill (he passed away two years ago), taken unwell myself due to an unsustainable lifestyle and now made some changes to fix that. Looking forward to a healthier, happier 2018 and part of that for me is getting back to some of the things I enjoyed - like reading!

2. Britannia by Peter Milligan: 3 and a half stars

What if the College of Vestals, the priestesses of Vesta who were keepers of the sacred flame in Ancient Rome, were more powerful than commonly thought? What if part of their ongoing mission to keep Rome safe was to also guard against arcane and eldritch threats to the Empire? What if they used their behind-the-scenes influence with the Emperor Nero to recruit former centurion and current 'Detectioner' Antonius Axia and send him to the distant province of Britannia to investigate the possibility of such a rising unnatural threat? Its an intriguing premise and while this short 4-issue story arc perhaps promises more than it delivers, I still enjoyed veteran author Peter Milligan's alternate take on Imperial Rome. Its a somewhat unusual title for Valiant comics to publish, given that they are better known for their shared-universe superhero comics and perhaps something one might have expected to see published by Image or Vertigo back in their glory days. But if Valiant have decided to take a chance on an unusual and imaginative title out of left field then I'm not complaining. I'll be looking forward to reading the next trade.

3. Europe of the Dictators 1919-1945 by Elizabeth Wiskemann: 3 stars

I teach this era in my history class and wanted to short, readable summary of the period mainly to get a thematic overview of events. And since this was on hand it seemed to fit the bill. The edition I have was published a good while back (Franco was still alive so reading about the Spanish Civil War was interesting!) so there wasn't much of what one might call cutting edge research but I do feel that many historians writing back then were more elegant prose stylists.

4. Copperhead Volume 3 by Jay Faerber: 3 stars

Copperhead was one of those fun Image titles that created a splash when it was launched a couple of years ago but then kind of fell off the radar. The idea was a simple one - a variation of the familiar Space Western idea: Clara Bronson, a single mom with a past arrives in the dusty mining town of Copperhead on a backwater planet to take up the recently vacated post of Sherrif. Adventures ensue. What set the title apart was the wonderful blend of adventure, mystery and vivid characterization which made the whole thing seem fresh and fun. This third volume was recently released and continues where the second left off. One immediately noticeable difference is the change in artist which is a little hard not to resent if you have become attached to the way the original artist drew the characters. That little niggle aside this is still highly entertaining reading.

Looking forward to seeing your reading! Especially curious about how you found Southern Bastards. It looked interesting to me, but I'm hesitant to start another series before a full storyline is in print.

A few more graphic novels:

5. Paper Girls Deluxe Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan: 3 and a half stars

Brian K. Vaughan is always interesting to read and I've previously really liked Cliff Chiang's art on Wonder Woman. This deluxe hardcover collects #1-10, or the first two trades. Its enjoyable though to be honest a bit lightweight. Maybe I was expecting too much but to be honest neither the characters nor the story nor even the artwork really captured me as some of the previous work by these creators has. That doesn't mean I'll be giving up on the title though.

6. The Other Side by Jason Aaron: 4 stars

Set during the Vietnam war, this haunting graphic novel follows two young men, one an American and the other Vietnamese as they join their respective armies, are trained and sent off to war to kill each other. The art and colouring is fantastic and captures the increasingly hallucinatory quality of both men's experiences as move closer and closer to their final, tragic meeting at the bloody and ultimately futile battle of Khe San.

7. Southern Bastards Book 1 by Jason Aaron: 4 stars

A brutal story set in a small town in Alabama where the local high school football coach is also the big bad who runs the town. The townfolk are either terrorized in to staying in line, or turn a blind eye, choosing instead to cheer on the home team. In to this situation returns the long gone son of the former sheriff and is unwillingly pulled in to a confrontation with the status quo. I have to say I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would.

mabith

I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The basic plot seemed fairly standard but I was impressed by the way the story has been unfolding and also by the art by Jason Latour. The second hardcover is also out. If Scalped is any yardstick to judge by I'd say they are only about half way through the story so far.

8. Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis: 4 and a half stars

This was a cracking good read. A story set in an "alternate" timeline where a Nazi scientist is developing a new breed of super-men with psychic powers as weapons for the Reich. To counter this threat the British MI-6 recruits warlocks who bargain with nether-worldly powers in order to defend England against invasion.

The story outline sounds enjoyably grotesque and I went in to this expecting nothing more than some macabre entertainment. At first I thought that was all it would be - the writing was serviceable with one or two stand-out turns of phrase. The characters all seemed painted in broad strokes and fit the usual molds. But as the story proceeds things began to take a darker and darker turn - Germany faces defeat with the help of eldritch powers but as time as gone on the British warlocks have had to pay a heavier and heavier "blood price" and the end of the book does not bring with it a sense of victory but a deep foreboding about what is to follow. (its worth noting this book is the first in a trilogy). I'm looking forward to see where the story goes from here.

9. Red Planet Blues by Robert J. Sawyer: 3 stars

Robert Lomax is the only P.I. on Mars in a future where there has been a "gold rush" to find ancient alien fossils buried under the sand and rock of the red planet. But pickings have been drying up and the gold rush town of Klondike is becoming more and more of a backwater than it already was. Amidst this setting Lomax gets a case when, in true time-tested noir fashion, a beautiful woman walks in to his office looking to hire him to find her missing husband.

The author blurb at the back of the book notes that Robert J. Sawyer has won more awards than any other author in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. I suppose I should not have been as surprised by this as I was. I suspect what makes Sawyer so popular with so many are the same reasons I usually pick up his books; I can count on something reasonably entertaining written in reasonably fluid prose that will not be too taxing on the ole gray matter. Red Planet Blues seems to fit that bill. Its a murder mystery told with humour and action, with plenty of twists and turns and a gumshoe detective and femme fatales and betrayals and people who are not who they first appear to be and so forth. At no point was I bored. But I can't say it was anything more than frothy entertainment. The novel itself had started out as a novella - which makes up the first 90 or so pages of the book. And these probably make up the best and most tightly written part of the novel. The story expands after this but one can't help but feel, particular in the last quarter of the book or so that the plot starts to meander a bit and the narrative starts becoming flabby. Still there is a satisfying conclusion to it all and at the end of the day I was entertained.

10. The Lost Fleet: Dauntless by Jack Campbell: 4 stars

Highly entertaining military sci-fi with an engaging hook (a fleet trapped deep in enemy space that needs to overcome its internal issues if it is going to survive the journey back home). A certain level of philosophical introspection on the de-humanizing effects continuous war have on a society adds just that extra shade of depth to the slam-bang action side of things. A short, sharp, entertaining and uncomplicated read. Will definitely be reading the next installment.

11. The Lost Fleet: Fearless by Jack Campbell: 4 stars

More of the same. And honestly one would think it might all begin to pale somewhat but Jack Campbell manages to wring a fair amount of drama and introduce just enough novelty in to the continuing saga of the lost fleet led by man-out-time Captain Jack Geary that this second installment in the series remains just as exciting and entertaining as the first.

12. Red Rising by Pierce Brown: 4 stars

Maybe its because I have been rather disconnected with the reading world for the last few years but I confess that I only recently heard of Red Rising and then too knew little more than that it was about a revolution on Mars. Only after I picked this up did I make the connection with YA dystopian books - a genre I confess I have not really delved in to at all (apart from the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games and the TV adaptation of The 100, which I'll just take a moment out to say is a seriously underrated show).

So. A dystopian future society. A teenage protagonist. Individual potential suppressed and personal merits unrecognized, mislabeled and misunderstood by a callous, uncaring and ossified social order (imaginatively named The Society). A false identity. An elite school. Kids killing each other in a Darwinian struggle for supremacy. All familiar ingredients of YA dystopian literature. But perhaps its because the author manages to create something greater than the sum of its parts or perhaps its just that I haven't read much in the genre and so I'm not jaded with its tropes yet, I ended up enjoying this book a great deal.

My first impression was not very positive. Pierce Brown's writing style was not to my taste. Short, choppy sentences. Minimal description. Underdeveloped characters. You get the idea. (Did I mention the short, choppy sentences?) Darrow, the main character is a 'Red' - a caste that does back-breaking labour under the direction of the other colours who are of a higher caste. His wife dreams of changing things and creating a better future. But Darrow just wants to work within the system and live his life with his wife who he is madly in love with. As long as she is by his side he can bear anything. Now I know what you are thinking because I immediately thought it too. Here is a prime candidate for fridging. Clearly she is destined to be stuffed in a refrigerator (not literally since Reds can't afford refrigerators) in order to provide the proper motivation for the protagonist to launch his crusade to seek vengeance and overthrow the established order. And that is what happens. Kind of.

The actual death happens in an unexpected way. The wife is not merely a helpless pawn whose life and death is in the hands of others but also an author of her own fate. A brave act of symbolic resistance purposefully done to try and inspire a rebellion. This was the first hint that though the author is deploying all the usual tropes he is at least trying to use them in interesting ways.

As the story progresses the pace of the narrative picks up. Darrow is recruited by a rebel group and adopts a disguise in order to penetrate the upper echelons of The Society's hierarchy (the gold caste). But first he will have to go to a training institute in order to compete against other gold teens and beat them at their own games. What follows is bloody and brutal and compelling. By the time I finished the book i had been swept along by the story and looking forward to reading the next installment in the trilogy.

13. Voyage of the Star Wolf by David Gerrold: 3 stars

I was a little ways in to this short science fiction novel by veteran SF author and TV scriptwriter David Gerrold when I realized that I had actually read this before. In fact I had read it and reviewed it as part of the 2010 100 Book challenge! But I had virtually no recollection of what it was about and so I decided to continue with the re-read. Back in 2010 I rated this as a 3 star book - a decent enough read but nothing special. I think the rating still stands.

14. Planesrunner by Ian McDonald: 3 stars

I haven't read much by Ian McDonald but what I had previously read by him had been dense, complex and highly imaginative science fiction which had won him great critical acclaim. This book marked a departure in that it was the first in a lighter science fiction/steampunk trilogy aimed more for the YA market. As such the plot was more linear and straightforward, the narrative told from a single character's POV and the language a tad simpler than the dense, rich stew the author usually serves up.

The story follows young Everett Singh, the son of a physicist working on the cutting edge of quantum mechanics and something of a prodigy himself. After his father is kidnapped he receives a mysterious email containing an app that is the key to using Heisenberg gates to travel to alternate earths in alternate universes. Everett will need to figure out how to use this if he is to rescue his father and he will need help from whatever allies he can find on the alternate earth he has to travel to.

The story is enjoyable and the main character a compelling voice. The action unfolds in a stately fashion which I personally didn't mind as the author takes the time to build up the world Everett travels to in interesting and believable ways. Though I can't help but feel that some of the ideas and language will be rather complex for the intended target audience but I may be wrong. The ending is satisfying but also with the promise of more (and perhaps more wide-ranging in the multi-verse) adventures that lie ahead. Overall a decent read though not an outstanding one.

>15 iftyzaidi: really interesting review of Red Rising. I'm curious to see what you think of the rest of the series (FWIW the first in the series is my favorite), and thank you for introducing me to the concept of "fridging". I hadn't heard of it before.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to continuing the series but first need to hunt down a copy of Golden Son. (In fact I'm planning to drop by a bookshop this evening). Now I just need to brace my willpower enough to make sure I don't end up walking out of the shop with several other books as well! Self-control is key!

Update: So their last copy of Golden Son was sold out. (drat!) I have now ordered it online. It'll take a day or two to get here so I'm starting another book today (plenty on the tbr pile). As a consolation I bought The Violent Century by Lavie Tidhar but I held the line at buying just the one book and of that I am proud (well two if you count Golden Son being ordered online).

15. The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis: 4 stars

This is the second book in the Milkweed Triptych and picks up 20-odd years after the events of Bitter Seeds. With the help otherworldly powers summoned by British warlocks the German Reich was plunged in to harshest winter. Its armies frozen and cities starving it was easy prey for the armoured might of the Russian armies and so the Second World War was won. But now the two victorious powers, Britain and the USSR are locked in a cold war. The European continent is mostly under Soviet control with Paris a divided city and the iron curtain having fallen across all but its western-most fringes. The Soviets having captured most of the Nazi experimental technology and personal have developed their own psionic super-soldiers but the presence of the British warlocks in hiding in Britain act as a deterrent to Soviet expansionism and so an uneasy stalemate is achieved. But for how long?

Again what makes this book a winner are the characters, the great atmosphere of menace and careful, ominous unfolding of the plot as it becomes clearer and clearer that the Cold War competition between the two powers is propelling the entire world towards a greater catastrophe than anyone can imagine. Great stuff and I look forward to reading the third and final book in the series.

16. Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik: 4 stars

The further in to Naomi Novik's Temeraire series I have gone, the more I have enjoyed it. This is the fourth in the series of alternate history fantasy series set during the Napoleonic wars where dragons are employed in the wars, crewed by aerial corpsmen much like warships. What stands out is how well Novik uses the historical setting, blending historical and fantastical world-building to create a wonderful sense of time and place. In this installment an unknown disease is sweeping through the dragons of Britain, decimating the aerial corps. Temeraire and and his formation set off for Cape Town in the hopes of finding a cure. This allows Novik to delve in to some of the seedier legacies of Regency history (such as colonialism and slavery) which far too many alternate history and 'fantasy of manners' books simply ignore or brush under the carpet. After having read the first couple of books several years ago I have let the rest of the series languish unattended in the tbr mountains for far too long. I hope to remedy that this year.

A few thoughts on incomplete series.

Some people have a tbr pile. I have what might charitably be called a tbr mountain range. One of the problems of having so very many books is that its easy to read a book or two from a particular series and then have your attention caught by some shiny new thing, first the one, then another, and another, until before you know it several years have passed and you realize that the series you started was never finished and you only have a fuzzy recollection of what happened in the books you did read and you are left unsure whether to re-read the series from the start or just pick up from where you left off. And as you wrestle with that dilemma, oh, here is a shiny new book completely unconnected with the matter at hand and so the entire problem is set aside yet again. In short I have far too many incomplete series tbr that I have been meaning to finish but have not. This year I hope to start to remedy this.

Well remedy may be too strong a word. One does not simply remedy a problem grown so great due to years of neglect in so short a time as a year. It would be like expecting the titanic to do a 180 degrees turn on a dime. Still, a course correction is needed and hopefully I can make this a reading goal for 2018.

The series I have started or read from over the last half year or so:

1. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
2. The Milkweed Triptych by Ian Tregillis
3. Temeraire by Naomi Novik
4. Ringworld by Larry Niven
5. The Novels of Tiger and Del by Jennifer Roberson
6. The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell
7. The PC Grant Series by Ben Aaronovitch
8. Everness by Ian McDonald

So I think I can make it a reading goal to complete all these series this year (or if I decide I have no more interest in the series to drop the series forevermore). Hopefully in this way I will prevent adding to the problem of lingering unfinished series.

Alongside this there are many other series that have been left hanging - some for years now - that I always wanted to continue with. Examples include the Deverry series by Katherine Kerr, the Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence, the Miles Vorkosigan and Chalion series by Lois McMaster Bujold and perhaps the most daunting of them all, The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. I can't say if I will do re-reads or continue from where I left off (some, such as the Miles Vorkosigan I suspect I could pick up again without losing anything from not re-reading). I wont set any specific goals for these books this year but hopefully may start chipping away at some of these as well.

17. Batman/Two-Face: Face the Face by James Robinson: 3 stars

A decent but not essential modern Batman story. I'm actually a little puzzled why this was chosen for the deluxe treatment. The deluxe editions are high-end, hardcover over-sized editions and usually reserved for critically praised or highly popular story lines or to showcase outstanding artwork. While perfectly serviceable neither the writing nor the interior artwork here really stood out. But I'm not complaining as its always a treat reading these deluxe editions and this is particularly beautifully produced with a gorgeous painted wrap-around cover under the dust-jacket.

>22 iftyzaidi: LOL to tbr mountain range! I have one of those, also as well as the disease that includes having 7 unread series!

Hello Tess! Here's to scaling those heady heights and chipping away at them this 2018!

18. Golden Son by Pierce Brown: 4 and a half stars

Once upon a time a man came down from the sky and killed my wife. Beside him now, I walk on a mountain that floats over our world.

As soon as I read these opening sentences I knew I was in for a great ride with this second installment in the Red Rising Trilogy. And what a ride this is. Brutal, bloody and thrilling. Politics and intrigue and space battles and betrayals and tables being turned and then turned again. Its like Game on Thrones in space on speed. Compelling stuff and a zinger of a cliff-hanger to end with. I'm looking forward to the next one.

I agree with your incomplete series thoughts, especially with authors who take some years between novels.

My approach to the Malazan series was to read one a month, worked for me and it was a saga of such insight and depth I could happily reread the series again !

You mentioned Lawrence's Broken Empire, I read the first one and wasn't thrilled but really enjoyed The Red Queen's War trilogy, beginning with Prince of Fools.

Yes. The Malazan series is a bit of an outlier in that it is probably my favourite fantasy series and yet I have still not finished it! My first reading was when it was still in the process of being published. Between 2005 and 2007 I read volumes 1 through 7 (to Reaper's Gale). But some time had passed by the time I got Toll the Hounds and it was picking up plot threads from the sixth book so I decided to do a re-read. I started in 2009 and continued in to 2010 (also reading the Ian Cameron Esslemont books) but by the time I finished Reaper's Gale and Return of the Crimson Guard I was suffering from Malazan exhaustion and got distracted. So the re-read got no further than the first read!

Now years have passed and I have really want to complete the series but its a pretty daunting commitment - 15 or so doorstoppers! I think your recommendation of reading one a month is a good one and so that is what I shall do this year.

Edit: Thanks for the recommendation of Prince of Fools. I liked Prince of Thorns well enough so I'll probably try to read all the way through to the next series. I believe they are loosely connected?

Loosely connected I think, also the first book of his next trilogy Red Sister was great !

What did you think of the Esselmont books, I haven't read them and heard they were not up to the same standard ?

I have read two of Esslemont's books. Night of Knives which I felt was a rather ordinary and Return of the Crimson Guard which I liked a whole lot more. (My review for RotCG is here.)

Night of Knives was very limited in scope (its events spread over one night) and it is very obvious it is a first novel. Also most of its characters are ones who feature in the Malazan books and being a prequel, there are obviously limits to what the author can do with them. RotCG is much more epic in scope and while again the writing I felt was not as good as Erikson, it was still an entertaining read. I would say its worth trying out even if you decide to skip Night of Knives (it is sort of a standalone prequel so I think you can skip it without losing much). Certainly I intend to read continue reading the rest of the Esslemont's books (and hopefully he continues to improve as a writer).

19. Morning Star by Pierce Brown" 4 stars

A rousing finish to the trilogy. Space battles galore along with Darrow's personal battles to maintain his own humanity in the face of brutal conflict and betrayal while also struggling to lay the foundations for a better society all make for gripping reading. If there are any complaints here they are that by the final stages of the book Darrow's methods in outsmarting his enemies have started becoming familiar and one was frankly surprised that his enemies fell for the trap he laid for them. Other than that (Spoiler Alert!!!) the attrition in major characters (a lot of people die in this series) strangely leaves mostly members of the gold caste at the head of the rebellion by the end and at the climax it is they who deliver victory from the jaws of defeat. I can't say that this would be a recipe for a stable revolutionary government in the days to come! (Then again there's plenty of room left open for sequels and in fact the first book in a sequel trilogy is already out).

Overall though I really enjoyed this series. It does wear its influences openly as anyone who has read Hunger Games or is familiar with Warhammer 40K could attest to but what sets it apart is what it does with these familiar elements and how well it does it. All in all a dark-edged and thrilling science fiction series.

>31 iftyzaidi: I really enjoyed the first book, with all of the world-setting, but I got tired of the violence by the end. So many descriptions of hurting people - it really put me off, even if the story was still interesting. That said, I do have the new one on hold at the library. Not sure why I keep doing this to myself...

I was so glad when Darrow was reunited with his mother and the rest of his family. I cried.

>32 jfetting: jfetting: The books were indeed very violent - so much so that I really don't think they should be classified as Young Adult books at all (unless YA books have become a lot more violent then I thought)! I can completely understand why someone would be put off. There were certainly parts where I was shocked as well but I suppose I was more entertained than put off. What does that say about me, I wonder?

>30 iftyzaidi: iftyzaidi I will get to the Esslemont books sometime soon, thanks for the information.

20. Directorate S by Steve Coll: 4 stars

I was all geared up to write a massive reflection and review on this hefty follow-up by Steve Coll of his excellent Ghost Wars but alas time is short and I'm down with the flu and suddenly a million things are occupying my attention so that may have to wait.

The short of it is that this is a massive, densely packed book which gives a good overview of what happens after the USA decides to go to war in Afghanistan after 9/11. Coll's Ghost Wars was THE definitive book on the history of the CIA engagement in Afghanistan up to 9/11 and this book certainly stakes a claim to being the definitive account of American involvement from 9/11 up to the end of Operation Enduring Freedom and the American-led International Security Assistance Force's combat mission in December 2014.

If there is one complaint it is that the titular Directorate S (The arm of the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Intelligence that is tasked with establishing influence in Afghanistan) does not feature as much as one would hope or expect. Or rather it features heavily by its behind-the-scenes, mysterious absence - its actions or lack thereof and influence over events are seen by Coll (and many of the various US military commanders and CIA officials who troop through Kabul) as being a major, if not the main, contributor to the USA's lack of success in achieving its mission. I hoped there might be insights in to its activities, debates and decision-making but its all really an area of speculation which I suppose is not really surprising given the opacity of the Pakistani intelligence services to western reporters.

21. Eclipse volume 2 by Zack Kaplan: 3 stars

After the dense, nonfiction tome that was the previous book, I decided I needed something lighter as a kind of palette cleanser and hence this graphic novel. It is set in a post-apocalyptic near future where "a mysterious solar event has transformed the sun’s light into deadly immolating rays" that can burn a person alive in seconds. The surviving remnants of humanity have retreated underground or indoors and now live in nocturnal cities.

The art by Giovanni Timpano is again superb but as far as the story goes I thought it was a bit of a mixed bag. This volume features a much wider canvas than the noirish murder mystery of the first volume. Whereas I liked the idea of trying to expand the scope of the story, both temporarily by looking at the history of what happened after sunlight became deadly, and also spatially by expanding the narrative beyond the confines of New York, I felt the execution was perhaps a bit bland. In the rush of events the new characters and settings did not feel well developed. I'll still be looking forward to the next installment as it is clear that things are building up to a major reveal.

Just light comics fare so far this month.

22. Batman Rebrith Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by Tom King: 3.5 stars

23. Batman Detective Comics Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV: 3.5 stars

Both of these are hardcover collected editions of two Batman titles that collect the first two story arcs from the recently relaunched DC comics line. Both are fairly good though I would pick out Detective Comics as the better of the two. Whereas Batman focuses more on Batman (and later issues on his growing romantic entaglements with Catwoman), Detective Comics deals with the extended Batfamily and in particular Batwoman who puts her military background to use in trying to forge a team out of some of the younger vigilantes Batman has taken under his wing.

24. Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League by Geoff Johns: 3 stars

Back before 'Rebirth' relaunched the DC comics titles there was the 'New 52' line-up. This volume is from that era of comics. The hook for this story is that the Justice League now has to deal with Lex Luthor who is an acclaimed hero for having saved the world in previous issues. And he wants a place on the team! But can he be trusted? And perhaps more to the point, can they turn down his offer of help when growing threats endanger the entire human race?

25. The Party Worker by Omar Shahid Hamid: 3 and a half stars

This is the first of Pakistani author Omar Shahid Hamid's novels that I've read though I've been meaning to read them for a while now. Like his previous two novels this draws on his experience as a Karachi police officer and was also written during the sabbatical he took for a few years after he had been put on a Taliban hit-list for his work as a senior member of the Counter-Terrorism Department. He has said that his next book may be a while coming since he's back on the job now and in charge of the intelligence unit of the CTD at their brand-new state of the art building in central Karachi (the previous one being blown up by a terrorist truck-bombing in 2010).

Unlike his first two books this one is less focused on the war on terror and more focused on Karachi's criminal and political landscape (the two have overlapped a great deal in the last few decades). While Hamid does not use the actual names of prominent personages, most people who have been following the city's news over the past few years will be able to figure out who most of the characters are meant to represent. (A few seem to be amalgams of two characters). Having said that this book could probably be read as a straight up crime and political thriller with no knowledge whatsoever of Karachi's history and politics. Though I suspect such a reader would have a hard time believing that many of the events depicted herein were actually based on real events and situations.

The story starts with a shooting in New York - an attempted assassination of a man named Asad Haider. Two NYPD detectives set about trying to figure out more about Asad Haider and why he was targeted. They soon discover his affiliation to a political party that dominates politics in Karachi and his background as a hit-man. The person who tried to have him killed is the same person he has served loyally for years - the 'Don'. The Don runs the Party and the teeming metropolis of Karachi from outside the country - having fallen afoul of various criminal, political and law enforcement elements before he judges it unsafe to return to the country and so lives in exile in New York where he and many of his cronies have been granted political asylum. He makes himself useful to the CIA by using his political and criminal influence in Karachi to counter the influence of the Taliban. The CIA soon show up and the investigation soon starts to be derailed. What follows is a sprawling, twisting tale which switches back and forth between Karachi and New York and back and forward in time as we learn more about Asad Haider, the Don, the history of the Party and a small group of concerned citizens in Karachi who hope to end the Party's influence forever. Their hopes rest on getting their hands on Asad Haider, who recovers from the shooting and is deported back to Pakistan from New York. But clearly he is a marked man as the Don is not going to let him live. And in the mean time in Karachi a gang war is brewing as a new criminal gang leader starts carving out his own bloody empire.

Its revealing no secrets that the Party is based on the actual political party, the MQM, and that the 'Don' is actually Altaf Hussain, its leader. Asad Haider is no doubt modeled on a high level MQM functionary named Imran Farooq who was murdered in 2010 in London (where Altaf Hussain lives in exile - the author switched the setting from London to New York), allegedly on Altaf Hussain's orders. While not every event is based on facts in the book, many clearly draw inspiration from real life events (Benazir Bhutto's return to Karachi in 2007, the Lyari gang war, etc.) As mentioned earlier, it is probably not necessary to know the actual background to these events to enjoy the story for what it is. For those who do have a good knowledge of Karachi's history and politics over the last two decades there is the additional frisson of recognition which may add a layer of enjoyment but at the same time the book could not ever hope to encompass the complexity of the politics and happenings of this city of 20 million souls so a number of simplifications or omissions can also be somewhat frustrating. For example the importance of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in the city and province's politics is underplayed as is the involvement of the Military's Intelligence Agencies.

But these are relatively minor quibbles as long as one keeps in mind that this is a work of fiction "inspired" by true events and not a documentary recording of them. Perhaps what's most remarkable is that Hamid manages to create a certain sense of sympathy with the main character, Asad Haider (the titular Party Worker) even though he has been a ruthless hit-man and enforcer for the Party since its beginning and could even perhaps be considered a psychopath. This is even more remarkable an act of empathy by the author when one considers that his own father was murdered in the late nineties by a hit-man who later confessed to have been working for the MQM. In fact Omar Shahid Hamid has said in interviews it was that traumatic experience when he was still a student that convinced him to choose law enforcement as a career.

26. Necessary Evil by Ian Tregillis: 3 and a half stars

And this volume brings to a satisfying close the Milkweed Tricptych - Ian Tregillis' gripping alternate history of mad English warlocks battling Nazi-engineered German psychics. No spoilers but I have to say that what could have been a rather goofy, throwaway action-fest was given great emotional depth by the author and that makes all the twists and turns of this tightly plotted series so enthralling - you're always concerned about the characters and as interested in their personal stories as you are in the plot itself. Highly recommended alternate-history SF and I'll defenitely be looking out for more books by the author.

27. Marvel Zombies 2 by Robert Kirkman: 3 stars

The first Marvel Zombies miniseries by Robert Kirkman (of 'The Walking Dead' fame) was in turns hilarious, shocking, novel and entertaining. This sequel series loses the novelty and shock value and doesn't quiet maintain the same level of hilarity or entertainment. It doesn't really add much to the first which was perfect all by itself except that its ending sets up the possibility of more sequels.

>37 iftyzaidi: Great review! That one sounds really interesting.

jfetting - thanks Jennifer!

228. The Drowning City by Amanda Downum: 3 and a half stars

This is the debut novel by author Amanda Downum and also the first in a fantasy trilogy. It does however work as a standalone with a satisfying conclusion to the story. Perhaps the strongest aspect of this book and what really makes it stand out from the crowd is the lush, tropical south-east asian inspired setting. The world building is excellent - the city of Symir growing restless under the yoke of a foreign empire - as well as the larger world and the political rivalries between empires and kingdoms are well realized. So is the role of magic in the world which relies heavily on the use of charms, gems and the binding of spirits and ghosts - it is both unusual and memorable The flora and fauna and geography of Symir and its surrounding jungles and swamps are all vividly described and add to the dense, cloying, riotous atmosphere of the story. All of it adds up to give the world great depth in which the story can unfold.

The characters too are memorable. The main protagonist is a young necromancer and spy, Isylt Iskuldur who has been sent to Symir with arms and money to see if she can stir the brewing discontent in to open revolt in the hopes of disrupting Symir's crucial trade in gemstones (which are important components in the working of magic), thereby distracting the Emperor of the Assari Empire away from plans of Imperial expansion in the north. However Symir's rebels are themselves divided in to factions, some of whom see any foreigners, even those who come bearing gifts, as a threat to be eliminated. To make matters more complicated, elements of the Imperial government also seem to be working to cross purposes and Isylt has to navigate the murky waters of internecine conflict while the lines between who is ally and enemy get increasingly blurred.

My description may make the whole thing sound like an incredibly convoluted thrill-a-minute ride but in fact the story unfolds in a stately manner. The author takes her time in introducing characters and letting plots and subplots unfold. If there is a criticism to be made it is that at time Isylt seems somewhat passive (not in her actions but in her decision-making) and her motivations not always entirely clear. At different times it is other characters who are much more the author of events and Isylt seems to be content to go along with things which one might expect she would balk from given her mission. The secondary characters are also interesting and well-realized - in some cases perhaps more well realized than Isylt.

Despite this criticism, all in all this was a satisfying and entertaining read. The world-building once again stands out and as soon as I was finished I picked up the sequel, not because the story was left unfinished (as mentioned earlier the story comes to a satisfying conclusion) but because the world and the characters were so intriguing that I wanted to spend more time with them.

I have been rather remiss about keeping up with this journal.
So, with all due apologies, I'll do a number of short posts dealing with a bunch of books collectively:

April's reading:

29. Prince Valiant vol. 2: 1939-1940 by Hal Foster: 3 stars

Prince Valiant has been a long-running Sunday newspaper comics strip. It ran for 35 years under its creator, writer/artist Hal Foster and Fantagraphics have been collecting it in its entirety in these lovely oversized hardcover collections. The stories still hold up, consisting of the adventures of Prince Valiant, now a bona fide Knight of the Round Table and gone adventuring across Europe which is being ravaged by the dastardly Huns. And while the writing is a product of its time and bound by the limitations of weekly one-page format the art is always gorgeous to look at.

30. Robert Silverberg's Downward to the Earth by Philippe Thirault: 3 stars

Another graphic novel. Robert Silverberg's Downward to the Earth (can't get the right touchstone unfortunately) is an adaptation of Robert Silverberg's science fiction novel by French author Philippe Thirault and artist Laura Zuccheri. Silverberg's novel was itself strongly influenced by Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and a rumination on colonialism. This graphic novel adaptation tries to be the same but despite the lovely artwork can't quiet capture the dense atmosphere of the novel.

31. Sunstone Book One by Stjepan Sejic: 3.5 stars
32. Sunstone Book Two by Stjepan Sejic: 4 stars

Its hard to describe these two graphic novels without making them sound like some sort of anemic Fifty Shades of Grey rip-off. Yes BDSM is invovled. But that's about as far as the similarity goes. Ultimately this series is about relationships and it is the characters and their hopes and fears and loves and stories which make these such a compelling read. The first book is good but its the second where the writing really shines. One can sense that the author is now writing with more confidence, is fully in tune with his characters and is now taking his time in telling their story. The art work is absolutely gorgeous throughout.

33. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: 4.5 stars

An outstanding, gut-wrenching and powerful book. Loved it.

May's reading:

34. How Star Wars Conquered the Universe by Chris Taylor: 4 stars

This is an excellent book. Not only because of its insight in to the Star Wars franchise and the creative process over the last 30-odd years (when it was in the hands of George Lucas) but also as a cultural history, a chronicle of the growth of a franchise and the changing nature of the film business. I found it a fascinating read.

35. The Lost Fleet: Courageous by Jack Campbell
36. The Lost Fleet: Valiant by Jack Campbell
37. The Lost Fleet: Relentless by Jack Campbell
38. The Lost Fleet: Victorious by Jack Campbell

39. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
40. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher