The author saw this sitting on my to-read shelf and sent me a note asking if I wanted a copy to review. As we are here talking, I would hope my reply The author saw this sitting on my to-read shelf and sent me a note asking if I wanted a copy to review. As we are here talking, I would hope my reply is obvious.
4.something stars. At the moment, let's go with 4.3 (ish).
The Camelot Shadow is a historical fiction mystery adventure fantasy... thing. Fantasy in that magic is real (though only known to secret societies and the like). Mystery in that they are trying to find something lost to history and legend. Threat at every turn brings adventure, and lots of detail about (I think) the late 1800s gives us historical fiction. Weave in a re-imagining of Arthurian legend and you have this book. Well, and scotch. A lot of scotch.
As a few of my GR friends know, I've had a terrible time with books lately. Mostly in that the books I am reading are well done, but I simply do not like them. So I was elated to find that this one is well written, and I enjoyed it. I didn't want to throw it across the room a single time, which might not sound like a high bar, but trust me, I've wanted to throw a lot of books lately. Perhaps I am just more critical as I age.
One thing I found especially good is that I enjoyed reading about all of the characters. There are no characters like Bran (from ASoIaF) where you want to skip any chapter he happens to be in (He is boring. It is known). There's no Katniss off moping in a closet somewhere. You won't want to be best friends with some of them, but skimming a few pages forward because a character entered a scene never crossed my mind.
This is a fairly complex story with dense enough prose to slow you down as you read. I saw a person or two comment on the word choices, and while I never reached for a dictionary for a meaning, I did go look up 'indefatigable' to see if that was real or just some prefixes that happened to make sense. ;)
That being said, the dialogue is excellent, and often funny. I didn't find myself rereading pages or anything. It's not confusing. It just has words like 'indefatigable' in the fight scenes.
Ultimately though, this quest for a magic artifact is really about one man, who had given up all hope, desperately clinging to the impossible chance that his wife can be saved.
Merged review:
The author saw this sitting on my to-read shelf and sent me a note asking if I wanted a copy to review. As we are here talking, I would hope my reply is obvious.
4.something stars. At the moment, let's go with 4.3 (ish).
The Camelot Shadow is a historical fiction mystery adventure fantasy... thing. Fantasy in that magic is real (though only known to secret societies and the like). Mystery in that they are trying to find something lost to history and legend. Threat at every turn brings adventure, and lots of detail about (I think) the late 1800s gives us historical fiction. Weave in a re-imagining of Arthurian legend and you have this book. Well, and scotch. A lot of scotch.
As a few of my GR friends know, I've had a terrible time with books lately. Mostly in that the books I am reading are well done, but I simply do not like them. So I was elated to find that this one is well written, and I enjoyed it. I didn't want to throw it across the room a single time, which might not sound like a high bar, but trust me, I've wanted to throw a lot of books lately. Perhaps I am just more critical as I age.
One thing I found especially good is that I enjoyed reading about all of the characters. There are no characters like Bran (from ASoIaF) where you want to skip any chapter he happens to be in (He is boring. It is known). There's no Katniss off moping in a closet somewhere. You won't want to be best friends with some of them, but skimming a few pages forward because a character entered a scene never crossed my mind.
This is a fairly complex story with dense enough prose to slow you down as you read. I saw a person or two comment on the word choices, and while I never reached for a dictionary for a meaning, I did go look up 'indefatigable' to see if that was real or just some prefixes that happened to make sense. ;)
That being said, the dialogue is excellent, and often funny. I didn't find myself rereading pages or anything. It's not confusing. It just has words like 'indefatigable' in the fight scenes.
Ultimately though, this quest for a magic artifact is really about one man, who had given up all hope, desperately clinging to the impossible chance that his wife can be saved....more
This is a surprisingly good story. I was expecting a complete cash-grab as with most crossovers, but got a story that seems to belong in the world of This is a surprisingly good story. I was expecting a complete cash-grab as with most crossovers, but got a story that seems to belong in the world of Mega-City One. If you enjoy the Judges and Aliens, you could do much worse than reading this....more
This is way way better than Part 1 (Heart of Darkness) that was released 3 years earlier. The art is good and doesn't look like they just grabbed someThis is way way better than Part 1 (Heart of Darkness) that was released 3 years earlier. The art is good and doesn't look like they just grabbed some random artist for a spin-off. The story actually has Wolverine and Punisher killing large groups of minions. It's a pretty good time.
.. or Part 1 was so stupid my standards have fallen off a cliff. ...more
Shepherd as an operative would have been nice. I'm not sure what this mess is supposed to be.Shepherd as an operative would have been nice. I'm not sure what this mess is supposed to be....more
It's fine. Not particularly great or terrible. You must have a background in the Firefly tv series or you will be hopelessly lost.It's fine. Not particularly great or terrible. You must have a background in the Firefly tv series or you will be hopelessly lost....more
I came into this knowing Sam gave this one star, so perhaps my expectations were just really low... but I kind of enjoyed this one. It's got some inteI came into this knowing Sam gave this one star, so perhaps my expectations were just really low... but I kind of enjoyed this one. It's got some interesting ideas while being completely crazy....more
Next Town Over is a western where one of the main characters is some sort of fire magic user and the other seems to be straight out of a steampunk setNext Town Over is a western where one of the main characters is some sort of fire magic user and the other seems to be straight out of a steampunk setting. The latter is chasing the former from town to town, leaving constant destruction in their wake.
I quite liked the art style. It's no Blacksad, but what is? It is different from what you get from most comics, especially online comics, which this is.
What is interesting about this book are the two main characters. Everything else is typical western, but when one of your characters stars igniting things with a flick of his wrist, you have my attention. Add in a woman who seems to be able to blacksmith a horse back to life (!?) and I start forgiving things I wouldn't otherwise in the interest of seeing how these two forces of nature interact. And forgive you need to.
The story here is pretty weak. The woman chases the outlaw from town to town, pretty much catching up with and shooting him each issue, the town somehow gets the brunt of the whole thing, and he escapes. Over time, we learn that they know each other, and the woman isn't simply after the bounty on his head. Their interactions are interesting in that they constantly reveal things about themselves that do not fit in the western they find themselves surrounded by. Put them in Marvel's superhero filled NYC and it would be dull. But in the wild west where magic equals witchcraft? It works pretty well.
Overall, I am interested in the characters, but would like the plot to move along. But you can read it for free online, so you might as well check it out. ...more
Consider this sort story 1.5 of the Mayake Chronicles. It isn't required, but makes a lot more sense out of part 2 of the series, as it introduces us Consider this sort story 1.5 of the Mayake Chronicles. It isn't required, but makes a lot more sense out of part 2 of the series, as it introduces us to the Gaijin girl, who appears in the next book.
**spoiler alert** I feel like The Stranger is Beginner's First Book on Absurdism. It explores the idea that there is no inherent meaning in the univer**spoiler alert** I feel like The Stranger is Beginner's First Book on Absurdism. It explores the idea that there is no inherent meaning in the universe (at least not one we can know) through a very minimal plot involving a man whose mother dies and is later tried for the murder of an Arab. It does so by having the MC have both a lack of feeling towards seemingly everything, as well as having him act in ways that do not follow normal societal conventions. The novel also brings in aspects of absurdism though the actions of others, though this is less used.
The primary trouble with this novel is that it doesn't go far enough, or at the least, doesn't explore what absurdities it does present. The primary truly absurd thing is that our MC murders someone for seemingly no reason other than the sun made him very hot. He doesn't try to explain it with any real conviction when questioned later, and no reason is provided by the author. My concern here is that the other characters mostly ignore it. Yes, they try him for murder, but no one seems to care, beyond the random quickly bypassed question, that there is no motive for this killing. While I understand that there is no reason, the contrast Absurdism makes is to those who attempt to find meaning in everything. The prosecutor in this novel doesn't even try to find meaning in the murder he is prosecuting, much less is anyone else really bothered by this lack of meaning.
The prosecutor does contribute some to the overall notion of absurdism by attempting to create a monster out of our MC that doesn't exist. It is meant to challenge our belief that justice prevails because this prosecutor created his narrative almost from whole cloth. But in practice I found it lacking. Let's face it. Our MC was guilty. Based on the laws, he deserved his sentence. A novel about how things don't have meaning provided a perfectly clear reason for his time in jail.
So while I found the character a fine example of existentialism, the only truly absurd thing in the plot was the murder itself. I expect more absurdism in my absurdist fiction, I suppose. It is well written, and managed to win a nobel somehow (I have to believe that is due to the times), so if one isn't much familiar with absurdism in particular, or existentialism in general, it may be worth a read.
One of my favorite aspects of Lovecraftian horror is that the narrators are almost always rational men trying to explain why the things they are seeinOne of my favorite aspects of Lovecraftian horror is that the narrators are almost always rational men trying to explain why the things they are seeing/experiencing can't possibly be happening....more
Christopher
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Books:
2015
(271)
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