Thursday, February 28, 2019

Comic of the Week #60

Bikini Atoll

Comic of the Week has been on a long hiatus but I wanted to bring it back since I've been reading graphic novels and comics again. Every week I'm going to showcase a comic or GN cover- could be old, could be new- and share a few thoughts on why I think it's special. Do you like what I picked out? Let me know in the comments, and as always, if you have a favorite cover or piece of comic art, let me know! 

This week is Bikini Atoll. 

So apparently Bikini Atoll is a slasher comic featuring bimbos in bikinis being devoured by crazy ass sharks and degenerate mutants. Their description not mine lol! 

Bookcover Spotlight #195

Rebel (The Extinction Trials, #3)

The green eyes and the purple fronds... love this.  

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Polaris Rising

Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)

Polaris Rising is a fast paced debut that mixes space opera with a heaping dose of romance- and it works. I had a lot of fun reading this and despite a page count in excess of 400 pages it never seemed to flag- a pretty good accomplishment for a debut novel. There are escapes and action galore and no shortage of snarky banter, not to mention the smoldering intensity between the leads- Ada of House von Hasenberg and Marcus Loch. 

Ada is on the run from her House which is trying to marry her off to Richard, a douchebag from a rival House who wants her back- badly. They were childhood friends once but no longer- Richard has changed, and Ada wants nothing to do with an arranged marriage. Her father has put a price on her head for safe retrieval, and the story starts with her being captured by mercenaries intent on delivering her to her father. Unfortunately for them Ada doesn't take well to being captured, and since her fellow prisoner is Loch, one of the more feared men in the galaxy, they soon come out on the losing end of that. 

As you can imagine there is instant sexual tension between Ada and Loch, and the story moves from there as the two of them try to stay ahead of Richard. The pace is quick as I mentioned- not a lot of downtime- and everything pretty much works. There's a nice mix of romance and worldbuilding, neither overshadows the other much, although there are more sexytimes than I typically read. I know this book walks a fine line for some as to whether the romance is too much or just right, and I come down a little in the middle. I like a good romance in an SF tale but sometimes less is more. 

The real issue I had was Loch. He's the baddest of the bad in terms of prowess- super strong, heals quickly, etc. There's a reason for this of course, but the way he growls rather than talks and the smoldering gazes- I couldn't help but roll my eyes at times. He's like a superman who can't be stopped and I would have liked maybe a little more vulnerability or nuance? He is developed to an extent but I just think he's pretty one dimensional. And at least two other characters- Rhys and Ian- struck me the same way, as if every prominent male in the story has to be a smoldering badass. 

The worldbuilding worked for me. It's rolled out in an organic way, as the story flows- not a lot of info dumping. Ada was awesome- I really liked her- and her sister Bianca is intriguing as well when she's introduced late in the story. And Veronica is a favorite- she's a woman with a secret who Ada befriends and they become very tight in their travels. The female characters in this book are top notch. 

Some final thoughts- and these might be a bit spoilery. Ada doesn't like to kill but finds herself forced to at various times, and this weighs on her. Completely understandable, but on at least one occasion she makes a decision that objectively is not very smart, and it of course leads to some necessary killing if she's going to escape. Given the fact that she's never really in life threatening danger- I mean sure in a firefight anything might happen- but by and large she's wanted alive and if the worst ever happens she can fall back on her House for support. So she doesn't really need to go out and do things that result in death. I found that to be a bit of weakness in the plot- if she hates killing why act like she's a super agent and start galactic crises? 

Having said that I enjoyed this novel a lot and flew through it. It's a little longer than maybe it needs to be, but at the same time with everything going on it doesn't feel rushed, so maybe that's a plus. And for a debut it feels very assured and smooth- I give kudos to the author for producing a fun SF tale that never flags and hits a lot of right notes.  

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Damocles - An Impossible Ransom

Damocles 2 - An Impossible Ransom

Damocles is a graphic novel I picked up on impulse after trying several other offerings by Cinebook. This is one of my favorites yet. This is set in a future where kidnapping has become a serious threat, and the Damocles agency protects those who have the resources to hire them. Ellie is the main character and while I didn't learn much about her in this one, there are tantalizing hints of backstory and I immediately took to her mix of toughness and vulnerability. She's pretty bad ass too! 

The art is amazing and very clean- I am really enjoying the art style of the Euro comics that Cinebook translates into English. This one's no exception and this impulse buy turned out to be a great purchase. It has a Jason Bourne feel almost to it but the pace seems quicker and the story is twisted enough to keep me on my toes. I closed this one immediately wanting the rest of them, so that's a good sign usually. 

As mentioned this is set in the future although the only hint of that was a drug called "blitz" that Ellie uses to amplify her abilities. There's also a biogenetics testing program but other than that it feels thoroughly modern and grounded in real world situations. I definitely want to know more though, and if I had any complaint at all it would be that you don't know a whole lot more at the end about Ellie than you do at the beginning. I did in fairness though start with volume two.

So what can I say about this other than it was awesome? It's a little shorter than some of the other graphic novels I've tried from Cinebook at 48 pages, which made it perfect for reading in one sitting. I imagine things make a lot more sense reading through from the beginning which I'll do as my next binge, and between the amazing art, the kick ass heroine and a surprisingly affecting plot I'm a total fan. 

Can't Wait Wednesday #61


 So here's a midweek round up of what I'm reading watching, etc. Plus Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Wishful endings. So sit back, raise a cuppa, and see what's new! And share what you're up to. 

This week my Can't Wait pick is   

You Owe Me a Murder

What I'm Reading

The Au Pair

What I'm Watching 

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Listening

Monday, February 25, 2019

Top Ten Places Mentioned in Books That I'd Like to Visit

  

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by 
That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers.

This week is Top Ten Book Places I'd Like To Visit.           

Rivendell 

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Jurassic Park 

chris pratt the park is o GIF

Highgarden


The 100 Aker Wood 

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Narnia

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The lost city of Opar

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Piloria

As if Jurassic Park wasn't enough, more dinosaurs 

The Extinction Trials (The Extinction Trials, #1)

Dinotopia

Okay, this is getting ridiculous with dinos. 

Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara

Galactic Commons 

From the Wayfarer books

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)

The Shire

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Tuesday Tagline #131

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Escape me never 

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Superhero Costume Fails

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Superhero Costume Fails is a celebration of all that's wrong with spandex and superheroing. I mean we all know how ridiculous some costumes can be, but it occurred to me that some are just way worse than others. And we won't even get into how some artists, um, amplify the physical form. Well, actually we might get into that a bit! Anyway here are the worst I could find. 

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I mean I like Widow's black costume but, you know, she's popping out of that thing. And it's snowing. 

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Yes... there really was a Torpedo. 

Cover for The Avengers (Marvel, 1963 series) #195 [Direct Edition]

The Wasp changed costumes fairly often- what does everyone think of this one? 

Here's another look. 
Avengers (1963-1996) #196
Avengers (1963-1996) #171

 I mean the swimsuit and tights thing? I don't know, that has to go. Thank goodness they changed her look for the movies. 

Uncanny X-Men (1963-2011) #274

Oh, Rogue. This was her Savage Land look. 

There does seem to be some popularity for this look though? Shocking I know. This is NOT a real cover but someone's fan version. There's a fair amount of cosplay for this as well. 

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What are those leg things? How would you even get them on??

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I mean really

Dazzler (1981-1986) #1

Notice the roller skates 

I like her later look- the blue costume was awesome. 

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Don't even ask :) 

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Captain America (1968-1996) #285

Porcupine (Alexander Gentry) and henchmen robbing a fashion show


Clearly one of the lamest villains ever??

Friday, February 22, 2019

Sunday Post #286



The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews
It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Book Date 
  
So this week we had sunshine! In fact combined with the fact that March is fast approaching I'm in spring mode. I am ready to bust out flip flops at this point. Now if t would just warm up! In other news I was interviewed over at Daniela's blog this week. You can find that here if interested. And it got me thinking how I haven't posted any flash fiction lately. So maybe I need to get on that. Should I revisit Trust Issues, or check in on On The Run? Or start a new thing? Something to ponder.       

science fiction space GIF by SYFY

I often use art as inspiration- some of my favorite flash fiction or short stories have been inspired by stuff I saw on Artstation or Pinterest. Does art ever inspire you to tell stories?    

This past week I posted about a wild dream I had and I also reviewed The Santa Klaus Murder. I also recapped Travelers episode seven and this weeks Tue Tagline was a favorite. :) Coming up this week I have some graphic novel reviews, maybe a movie liveblog, and a review for Polaris Rising.      
      
Two Can Keep a SecretRebel (The Extinction Trials, #3)Watching YouThe Santa Klaus Murder

Song of the week 



PULP COVER OF THE WEEK: 


NEW ARRIVAL/ UPCOMING REVIEWS:

Golden City Vol. 1: Wreck RaidersGolden City Vol. 2: Banks vs. Banks

BOOKISH LINKS