Sunday Post #301

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 the big news this week was a soft lockdown at the local high school. Some kid came in with body armor- no weapon- and hung out in the library until the cops arrived. They were there within minutes, and no one was in danger. No idea why he decided to come to school with, you know, body armor on, but sounds like a cry for help to me. Apparently another student let him in since it's all secured. Needless to say not a great way to end the school year. 

In other news I've been watching The Rain season 2 and Riverdale. Well, to be accurate, I've watched very little of either, but I've started both. I actually haven't read or watched much of anything this week. On the blog I did a Song Lyrics post on Monday. This week coming up I'll have a Song Lyrics post and...  we'll see!           

Other than that- not a lot. It was a beautiful week. And Big Little Lies S2 is Sunday. . 

     

Song of the week 

PULP COVER OF THE WEEK: 

NEW ARRIVAL/ UPCOMING REVIEWS:

BOOKISH LINKS 

Bookcover Spotlight #209

After the Lights Go Out is an Australian end of the world story set in the outback town of Jubilee. Pru Palmer and her sisters Grace and Blythe are always ready for when the "big one" hits- or alternatively, when the SHTF (shit hits the fan). They practice trekking to the bunker on their property and their father has drilled into them that family comes first, and that others are not to be trusted. So when the end literally comes while their father is away, their training comes to the fore- but at the same time, as events spiral out of control around them, they have to ask themselves- should they keep to themselves, as their father taught them, or should they help others? 

Pru is in town when it happens, and she's just met a guy named Mateo, who's Puerto Rican by way of New Jersey, and to say that he sticks out like a sore thumb is an understatement. He and Pru develop an attraction, and it's partly this relationship that causes Pru to question the things her father has taught her. When the power goes out, and doesn't come back, Pru and her sisters have to decide how much to share with others- and also what they want to do in the event their father doesn't return. 

I liked this and it's a fascinating look at what the end might look like from the Australian outback. So often stories like this focus on cities and the catastrophic events that occur when society breaks down- and it does break down here, but there are also moments of heroism and selflessness. This runs counter to everything their father has taught them, however, as he constantly preached trust no one. And you can kind of see his point- I mean people are unpredictable, and there are plenty of bad sorts who will take advantage of the weak if society were to break down, but at the same time Pru is challenged when she sees hope and love flourish amidst the chaos. 

At the same time though this book irritated me at times, specifically some of the decisions Pru made. One of her earliest decisions flies right in the face of everything she's been taught, and while I feel her skepticism of her father's teaching is justified later in the story, I thought it was way too early for her to just throw everything out and do what she does. 

In the end I had too many issues with some of the decisions made and the characters themselves. It's a fine read but again, some of the reactions- like when Mateo discovers that Pru has been keeping secrets from him- I mean, what did he expect? She's a teenager, like him, raised a certain way- what exactly does he expect she would do in the early days of a crisis, and yet he gets all judgmental- it just felt forced to me.  

Spoilers

I cannot believe Pru left her sisters behind (and in the care of slimy Keller) right at the outset, to go with a guy she just met, some eighty kilometers through the desert in a possible apocalypse, when her dad has spent years training her to do the exact opposite. Get her sisters to the bunker and ride it out- stay safe. Yeah her dad may be a whackjob, but she's fifteen and totally devoted to her sisters- but then she leaves- knowing she doesn't even have enough gas to get there!

The townspeople really pissed me off when they blamed the girls for having supplies in a bunker. That was their dad's doing, and he trained them to be survivalists, so why they're bitching at the kids for doing what they were raised to do is beyond me. And then they take all their stuff! I mean, that's probably what people would do, and maybe it's the right thing to do for the community, but I didn't like how the town distrusted the girls for something their dad did, and just unilaterally decided how their stuff would be divided. 

Having said all this, I do kind of like how the author made me angry but then subverted my expectations a bit. Maybe that's effective storytelling and I should be admiring it, but again there were just some character decisions I couldn't get behind. And there seemed to be a hole in the story regarding Rick, the dad- he was missing for most of the story, and when he came back he was clearly a nutcase, but four months of staying away because he wasn't sure if the girls were compromised? It just felt like a complete plot contrivance to keep the dad away until the end, and then explain it away sloppily.  

Thor by Walter Simonson Vol. 3

The Mighty Thor by Walter Simonson Vol. 3 is a masterpiece of comic storytelling. Simonson is the undisputed master at portraying Thor, for my money- he's been considered one of the best writer/ artists to handle the character for years- but revisiting these stories (and in some cases reading for the first time- I've never before sampled his entire run) just cemented that reputation for me. Not to mention the difference between the portrayal as depicted here and the stuff Marvel is currently putting out- there's just no comparison. 

This is volume three so we're dealing with the aftermath of the great war with Surtur that devastated Asgard- and continues to reverberate throughout the Nine Worlds. Thor has a scheming Loki to deal with, as usual, but here the twist is that the Prince of Lies has teamed up with Lorelei, whose skills of seduction are peerless- and armed with a long-lost love potion she proceeds to make Thor her willing slave. The object of course is to put Loki on the throne now that Odin is missing. The arrival of Sif throws a wrench in the plan though, and from there Thor regains his senses and moves on to his next objective- venturing into Hel to retrieve the mortal souls stolen by Malekith the accursed. 

Hela, the queen of the underworld, will not yield those souls easily however, and this is the heart of the book. Thor ventures into Hel with Balder the Brave and the einherjar- the warriors of Valhalla- on a mission that he may not return from. And the cost of his sojourn is staggering. I won't give anything away but Simonson knew how to put Thor through the wringer. This was absolutely gripping, and the denouement- the last stand at the bridge of Gjallerbru- is one of the great moments in comics. 

This is mythic stuff. Simonson draws the definitive Thor from my perspective- he's majestic and awe- inspiring, and at times vulnerable too. You can just tell this was a labor of love all the way around, from the writing and art to even the lettering- everything comes together to make this a comics masterpiece. 

Not that everything is perfect. Some of the subplots- the love triangle of sorts between Thor, Sif and Beta Ray Bill did nothing for me and there are some other story beats that fell flat. But the theme here is myth and going big, and it succeeds. Asgard feels real and better realized than I've ever seen it portrayed- and this collection also includes the miniseries where Balder must venture into the land of the frost giants to save Karnilla the Norn Queen.  

I've always liked Karnilla, and her imperiousness and nasty temper juxtaposed with Balder's nobility are a blast to read. What makes them a couple? That's always been the question with those two, and Karnilla is badass in her own right. This is the deepest and most impressive rendering of Karnilla (or Balder for that matter) that I've seen. 

So the upshot is- if you want to see probably the best imagining of Thor in the comics, or just some really good stories- this whole series by Walter Simonson is a must- get.  

EXTRA MUSINGS

Amora the Enchantress seems a lot deeper here than usual, but again that seems to be Simonson's forte- making the characters feel more real. Also Amora and Heimdall- that was interesting! 

"A love for Loki the heartless will eventually destroy any woman," says Amora as she plots to take down Lorelei (who just happens to be her sister). 

Amora kissing Thor to try to break Lorelei's enchantment cracked me up. 

The architecture is amazing- it feels Norse, or at least a convincing version that seems to match the flair of the series. And we see Thor's dwelling place- something I don't remember seeing before. I love all the dragon heads and leering visages. 

Was Thor right to risk the einherjar's souls on their journey to Hela's realm? I'm not sure... 

And Balder the Brave tells Thor what he is asking of all of them, and it's a powerful scene. 

Tuesday Tagline #144 / Top Ten Favorite Genre Books

She could look like a wistful child and she loved to play games- such as murder, men and marijuana 

I just love that tagline! 

  

 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 Books From My Favorite Genre. I'm gonna tweak this to include a few of my favorite genres, just for variety's sake. I'm including fantasy and SF and maybe even some suspense.    

These two are my favorites of A Song of Ice and Fire

Naturally!!

Same!!!

The Complete Morgaine



My fave space opera??

Song Lyrics #3 - Bye Bye Love

I think that words combined with music can have a profound effect on us, and in this series I want to showcase some songs that I really think hit the mark. Taste in music is subjective, of course, but I'll be picking songs that I think have that combination of words and music. Songs that stand apart.  

This time I'm looking at Bye Bye Love by The Cars- one of my favorite songs! I just love everything about it- the driving beat, the silly lyrics, everything. Although I'm not sure they're meant to be silly- I imagine they meant something to the songwriter, at least in an abstract sense? Or maybe not. Wedding lyrics to music can be a tricky business, and sometimes you have the music- you just need words. Do they have to make sense? Not always. 

I don't know if that's the case here, but regardless- this is such an infectious piece of music. What do you think?  

Lyrics

I can't feel this way much longer  

Expecting to survive 

With all these hidden innuendos
Just waiting to arrive

It's such a wavy midnight
And you slip into insane
Electric angel rock and roller 
I hear what you're playin 

It's an orangy sky 
Always it's some other guy 
It's just a broken lullaby 
Bye bye love 
Bye bye love 
Bye bye love 
Bye bye love 

Substitution mass confusion 
Clouds inside your head 
Involving all my energies 
Until you visited

With your eyes of porcelain and of blue 
They shock me into sense 
You think you're so illustrious 
You call yourself intense 

It's an orangy sky 
Always it's some other guy
It's just a broken lullaby 
Bye bye love
Bye bye love
Bye bye love
Bye bye love

Substitution mass confusion 
Clouds inside your head 
Well foggin' all my energies
Until you visited

With your eyes of porcelain and of blue 
They shock me into sense
You think you're so illustrious
You call yourself intense 

It's an orangy sky
Always it's some other guy
It's just a broken lullaby 
Bye bye love
Bye bye love
Bye bye love
Bye bye love