What dreadful months, and how many worse to come. But here we are, dredging another month's distractions, and another...
The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta, edited by Dian Hanson - This colossal Christmas present from my wife finally arrived after all sorts of shipping troubles. I don't use the word "tome" lightly, but this is a tome. It feels like it should be floating next to a badass lich who's conjuring warriors and monsters from its images. I'm not going to try and describe the images, it's Frazetta, they're amazing, and they're out there in many formats if you go looking. I was surprised to learn about his years ghosting for Little Abner, and how many movie posters he did. It was disappointing to see that one of the essay authors is still getting work in their chosen field knowing even some of the shit they've done, though.
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples, Vol. 4-9 - Not sure why I pulled these off the shelf, or where 1-3 went. Well, I almost certainly "lent" them to someone in a fit of enthusiasm pre-pandemic. Well, they hold up incredibly and are one of those series I know I'll be revisiting every few years for the rest of my life. I happened to check in on the state of the story as a result, since they'd been on hiatus for a while, and found...
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples, Vol.10 - Given the way 9 ends, having to take a few years as creators to sit with it and reorient makes sense. Happening to read through the start and then come across this shortly after it came out was an interesting coincidence. I think they still got it, but might have needed this one to get their feet back under them - it doesn't quite hum like the previous several volumes did. Still gorgeous and layered and I'm looking forward to 11 this year.
A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark - Another Christmas present from my ever-loving wife. I have read a couple other novellas by Clark, but this was his first full novel. Now, I've played a lot of D&D in my life, so I often think of stories as being run by a given friend as the DM. And this one, to me, was a Robert adventure over and over and over. The nature of the characters and what was called out about them, the places, the history of the city and world, well, I wanted to lend this out immediately. As to the book itself, I often felt Clark's delight at writing seeping through the pages. He seemed to really love this setting and people and have such a clear vision that he was clamoring to express. That said I am not too familiar with the mystery genre and having one with magic involved was challenging for me.
Leech, by Hiron Ennes - I picked this one up based on a review on a blog I follow. I was not disappointed, and am waiting for just the right opportunity to share/inflict this book on someone. Really impressive storytelling from a non-human point of view, great worldbuilding, a manageable cast of truly awful people, and the way things all come together at the end... a sweet little sweat drop of a novel.
The Ghost Galleon, by De Ossoerio & Rowe - A comic adaptation of the 70s classic horror flick by my friend Vin. Because why not, that is the kind of thing he does and is so good at. Sporting goods magnate, my gosh. Obligatory Templar Dawn link.
The Nib, Vol. 15, Future - Apparently the last one! The Nib is shutting down after ten years. This final installment showcases their constant and well-founded lack of optimism. I have been a contributing member for years and will miss their presence greatly.
The Past Is Red, by Catherynne M. Valente - See above, but this book was DM'd by my friend Bud, who ran it in Apocalypse World. I liked this over and over again, it felt like something my game group was coming up with as we played, from the naming rituals to the sea friends of the main character Tetley. It had and odd sense of hope in it amongst the despair, and it's bleak, but she carries it. It was, though, yet another instance of the recent trend I keep seeing of normalizing the idea that some portion of humans can flee to Mars. You can't! Fixing what's here is 100x easier and better for everyone! Stop doing this!
Medieval People, by Eileen Power - You have to sit down with a 100-year-old history book by a British author with a certain guarded stance, but I like reading histories centered on "the common man" and this is a seminal work in that genre, so gave this a go. It was on the shelf from my wife's college days. I thought the Marco Polo chapter was a little long and out of sync with the others, but overall an interesting read. Powers did seem to make up situations and then have her subjects react to them like Barbie dolls--"Oh, here comes Charlemagne, how flushed will Bodo be, my goodness"--but it's humanizing and perhaps a stepping stone out of The Great Man approach to history.
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, by Becky Chambers - The last in The Wanderers series, and I think the most ambitious, as it contains no human characters. It goes well, mostly, the setup of trapping the characters of different species in what is functionally an intergalactic truck stop giving ample opportunity for them to have to explain things about their physiology or culture to each other. They take a moment to dig on humans for liking cheese, which, fair. The last few chapters have some amazingly convenient biology but that gets us to a pretty satisfying and considerate closure, for the book and series. I'd easily recommend this run to basically anyone.
Illustro Obscurum Pandæmonium Compendium I, by Michael Bukowski - A short folio of illustrations based on demons from the Ars Goetia, mostly. What can I say, I have been a fan of Bukowski's work for a long time and have multiple editions of his treatments of various horrid things.
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