A true hero's journey, traveling dark roads with an adamant spirit despite the weaknesses of the flesh, this is a beautiful modern fantasy novel. It rA true hero's journey, traveling dark roads with an adamant spirit despite the weaknesses of the flesh, this is a beautiful modern fantasy novel. It really builds out the Incryptids universe in interesting ways, as well, given the particular Ghost Roads that are taken by Rose and her companions.
As completely appropriate as it is for this novel to be more linear, especially with the journey in question, I did miss the ghostly feel of Sparrow Hill Road. Those lightly interconnected stories had a drifting quality that gave the twilight ambiance. Since this book is all about intersections between life and death, crossing the border into daylight, it is no surprise to find that it is less of a ghost story.
Even so, it is a very good story about a ghost, and I highly recommend it to readers interested in the further tale of Rose Marshall.
Merged review:
A true hero's journey, traveling dark roads with an adamant spirit despite the weaknesses of the flesh, this is a beautiful modern fantasy novel. It really builds out the Incryptids universe in interesting ways, as well, given the particular Ghost Roads that are taken by Rose and her companions.
As completely appropriate as it is for this novel to be more linear, especially with the journey in question, I did miss the ghostly feel of Sparrow Hill Road. Those lightly interconnected stories had a drifting quality that gave the twilight ambiance. Since this book is all about intersections between life and death, crossing the border into daylight, it is no surprise to find that it is less of a ghost story.
Even so, it is a very good story about a ghost, and I highly recommend it to readers interested in the further tale of Rose Marshall....more
Stop me, won't you, if you've hear this one before. A young girl with the mischievous spirit of the fox suffers a great tragedy and embarks upon a sacStop me, won't you, if you've hear this one before. A young girl with the mischievous spirit of the fox suffers a great tragedy and embarks upon a sacred quest. She is joined, in no particular order, by a shinobi, a ronin, a noble prince, and a shrine maiden. Despite demons, hungry ghosts, and imperial audiences, she pursues her quest doggedly. But by the end of the first book, new enemies are revealed and the story as a whole is just beginning.
Kagawa has a terrific handle on her mythology and this story is very well told. I must admit that I found the inclusion of Japanese exclamations in ordinary speech somewhat distracting. Generally, in a fantasy novel, the reader's natural assumption is that a detour into another language is a detour from some commonly spoken tongue. In this novel, I presume that all of the characters are speaking Japanese, and I very much enjoyed the flavor of names like Hotaru Kawa instead of Firefly River or the sword Kamigoroshi. However, when a character opens a sentence by saying Nani and then continues the rest in English, the reader is forced to wonder if they said "What" in Japanese and then continued in some other unknown language. And if so, what that language might be and what the history of Iwagoto might be such that Japanese is an ancient seed language of learning, place names, and swearing.
As I say, it was distracting.
Other than that, however, this is an adorable story and I look forward to the other books. ...more
Like all essay collections, this one has its hits and its misses. I found Letters from a Target Rich Environment to be particularly insightful commentLike all essay collections, this one has its hits and its misses. I found Letters from a Target Rich Environment to be particularly insightful commentary on the type of hyper-vigilance that coming of age with Columbine and 9-11 is likely to induce. "It has become easy to mistake fatalism for relief," indeed. Okay Forever is an intensely personal, deeply relatable essay about Swanson's relationship with his hospitalized brother. It's a compelling story about connections, missed and made; and it makes a number of good social points in the process of telling that story. Meanwhile Calling Audibles is a cringe inducing tale of football and fathers that attempts to generalize a disconnected adolescence to instant messaging services and the othering of people only experienced through words on a computer screen.
There were any number of points at which I almost gave up on this book entirely, especially when we were slogging through his spiritual quest with literary criticism of autofiction and cynical derision, but overall the collection is worth reading for the occasional well phrased insight. ...more
Fan service at it's finest, here we have a collection dedicated entirely to short stories about fusions. It's adorable. Fan service at it's finest, here we have a collection dedicated entirely to short stories about fusions. It's adorable. ...more
This is a book of small adversities. Upon losing Lapis, Peridot loses herself in a video game. Can Amethyst find a teaching style that Pearl will apprThis is a book of small adversities. Upon losing Lapis, Peridot loses herself in a video game. Can Amethyst find a teaching style that Pearl will approve of? How did the gems manage to build Steven's Room in the first place? Will Connie reconcile the fact that her own diligent training doesn't necessarily result in the same meteoric power bumps that Steven gets?
As ever with Steven Universe, "Balance is the key." Strength requires precision, work is good but so is fun, and working together is best of all.
This is a very cute comic, both for the target audience and anyone looking to smile. ...more
Guitar lessons for Peridot, a visit with Vidalia, kitten basics between Connie and Garnet, and a grove of lunar blossoms with Pearl: this book exploreGuitar lessons for Peridot, a visit with Vidalia, kitten basics between Connie and Garnet, and a grove of lunar blossoms with Pearl: this book explores some small side quests. The unifying theme of these stories being that we have to work for what we want, not just let things come to us passively. Very sweet, and very appropriate for the target age group. ...more
This is the ultimate low-fi Steven Universe. Pearl assumes too much responsibility and has a freak out, everyone helps her. Amethyst experiences some This is the ultimate low-fi Steven Universe. Pearl assumes too much responsibility and has a freak out, everyone helps her. Amethyst experiences some of her classic depression, so Steven makes her a sad nest and is sad with her. Sadie is sick, so Steven and Greg make her soup. The problems feel big, but it turns out they're manageable with friends.
Which could possibly be the thesis of Steven Universe and is certainly a comforting theme for a comic on a windy afternoon. ...more
I didn't think it was possible, but this is a true, honest, well done adaptation of the comic. Naturally there's a certain amount of color lost in a cI didn't think it was possible, but this is a true, honest, well done adaptation of the comic. Naturally there's a certain amount of color lost in a change of medium, but I know the comic so well that there's something lovely about listening to it read aloud. It is also an excellent horror story to indulge in at this time of year. ...more
Captain Lars and the Off Color Gems continue their space adventure, dodging Emerald as they race toward Earth. With a care package from Beach City broCaptain Lars and the Off Color Gems continue their space adventure, dodging Emerald as they race toward Earth. With a care package from Beach City brought by Steven and Connie who help the crew through dire circumstances, this is a fun slice of the long journey only hinted at in the cartoon.
The art was the usual delight that one expects from Steven Universe, and I especially liked the cover gallery with the Xiao Tong Kong fusion covers, which were beautiful. ...more
The thing about roads, even ghost roads, is that they usually lead somewhere. This was both an expected destination and an interesting turn for the seThe thing about roads, even ghost roads, is that they usually lead somewhere. This was both an expected destination and an interesting turn for the series to make. Naturally Rose could hardly make a katabasis to get her death back as she does in The Girl in the Green Silk Gown without something changing. Nor could she have a real relationship with a car. Not to mention the way Annie's work with the Crossroads affects the very structure of her reality.
I like the choices made here, even as we have firmly left the dreamy ghost story of [Book: Sparrow Hill Road] behind for a more traditional hero's journey. I highly recommend this trilogy, firmly entwined with the Incryptid books as it has become. It's a midnight ride through haunted places, and perfect for this time of year. ...more
An interesting thought experiment. Trapped in a house with thirty doors, each use of magic will close a door. To shield from attacking demon dead, to An interesting thought experiment. Trapped in a house with thirty doors, each use of magic will close a door. To shield from attacking demon dead, to protect the children you invited into the haunted house, to send messages, to find your way, your greatest resource is magic. What do you do?
Letting the party's fighter lead the way is a natural answer, but it's still good fun getting there. ...more
**spoiler alert** It is impossible for me to talk about this book at all without talking about the ending.
Galadriel's story begins with a maw-mouth. **spoiler alert** It is impossible for me to talk about this book at all without talking about the ending.
Galadriel's story begins with a maw-mouth. That monster of all monsters. The gaping horror so terrible that the only advice for fighting one is to choose a different death if at all possible. Her father sacrifices himself to one so that her pregnant mother can escape the Scholomance in the first place. In a very real way, she's raised by a too-young single mother to be the person she is because of a maw-mouth.
El's story in A Deadly Education turns on the fulcrum of a maw-mouth. When she not only gives up an impossibly tempting advantage, but essentially walks into certain death to keep one from the student dormitories, she becomes the hero she never wanted to be. The hero she disparages Orion for being.
And Orion, who was just learning to want things, who was just learning that he could be something other than completely selfless and still be himself, apparently ends here with a maw-mouth.
In a way, this is the classic second book of a trilogy. All hope is lost. Nothing will ever be okay again. Because how could it be with Orion spiraling off into nothingness. If El decides to unspool the fabric of the universe and all of this has simply been the villainous origin story everyone expected her to have, I for one will be cheering from the sidelines. But I still won't forgive the final moments of this story. I'm not sure how she will, either. ...more
Hana is witty and entertaining, but I just cannot get past the premise of this book. Ten years is a huge age difference when one of you is a high schoHana is witty and entertaining, but I just cannot get past the premise of this book. Ten years is a huge age difference when one of you is a high school student. While their dates don't have a predatory tone, it still makes me uncomfortable as a reader.
Still, some fun moments that kept me reading to the end of the book. Your tomato may not be my tomato, and that's okay. ...more
I adore when authors take the time to actually write the stories that appear in their other books, and Seanan McGuire is particularly good at it. ThisI adore when authors take the time to actually write the stories that appear in their other books, and Seanan McGuire is particularly good at it. This has every hallmark of being the silly nonsense children's story, with philosophical ideas and aspects that stand in opposition to the lessons of the Oz books, exactly as it is described in Middlegame. It is also a highly enjoyable fantasy novel.
Here is a map for the Improbable Road, which always changes and can therefore never be mapped at all. Here is a picture of the Impossible City which is beyond depiction or imagination. Here are the Crow Girls, the King of Cups, the Page of Frozen Waters, all somehow exactly as we knew they would be while also being just as strange, unnerving, and frightening as only the characters in a children's book can be.
Naturally, readers of Middlegame will get something different from this novel than others might, but it's also a really solid story for readers of the appropriate lexile level. I think young readers will enjoy it. ...more
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