Simon's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 30 Apr 2025 09:04:58 -0700 60 Simon's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Alien 3 42875803
Alongside a full cast, Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen reprise their iconic roles as Corporal Hicks and Bishop from the 1986 film Aliens.

Father of cyberpunk, William Gibson’s original script for Alien III, written in 1987 as a sequel to Aliens, never made it to our screens, although it went on to achieve cult status among fans as the third installment that might have been after being leaked online.

This terrifying, cinematic multicast dramatization—directed by the multi award-winning Dirk Maggs, is the chance to experience William Gibson’s untold story and its terrifying, claustrophobic and dark encounters between humans and aliens, as a completely immersive audio experience.

The story begins with the Sulaco on its return journey from LV-426. On board the military ship are the cryogenically frozen skeleton crew of that film’s survivors: Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop.

We travel aboard and hear an alarm blare. Our heroes are no longer alone....

Starring: Tom Alexander, Barbara Barnes, Michael Biehn, Cliff Chapman, Samantha Coughlan, Ben Cura, Dar Dash, Harry Ditson, Mairead Doherty, Lance Henriksen, Graham Hoadly, Lorelei King, Laurel Lefkow, Martin McDougall, Sarah Pitard, Michael Roberts, David Seddon, Andrew James Spooner, Siri Steinmo, Dai Tabuchi, Keith Wickham, Rebecca Yeo.]]> 136 William Gibson 1506708110 Simon 1
Because this is absurd. Ripley is literally fridged for this entire story, no dialogue, she's just unconscious. Newt gets fridged too. I mean... it's actually for the best that they didn't shoot this script for the movie, it would have somehow been even worse than the one we got.]]> 3.27 2018 Alien 3
author: William Gibson
name: Simon
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2019/07/11
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves:
review:
Did Alien 3 writers get given a brief of 'screw over Ripley and Newt'?

Because this is absurd. Ripley is literally fridged for this entire story, no dialogue, she's just unconscious. Newt gets fridged too. I mean... it's actually for the best that they didn't shoot this script for the movie, it would have somehow been even worse than the one we got.
]]> <![CDATA[The Scottish and Welsh Wars 1250-1400 (Men at Arms Series, 151) (Men-at-Arms, 151)]]> 2043275 48 Christopher Rothero 0850455421 Simon 3 3.59 1984 The Scottish and Welsh Wars 1250-1400 (Men at Arms Series, 151) (Men-at-Arms, 151)
author: Christopher Rothero
name: Simon
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1984
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy]]> 18396002 720 Ben Wilson 0297864084 Simon 5 4.47 2013 Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy
author: Ben Wilson
name: Simon
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves:
review:
Superlative narrative, maybe a little hefty? But answers every question you might have.
]]> Astorath: Angel of Mercy 56308423 A Blood Angels Limited Edition

In the aftermath of the Devastation of Baal, Astorath, Redeemer of the Lost, is drawn to Dulcis by the call of the Black Rage. There he finds a successor Chapter on the brink of destruction and something that will shake all the sons of Sanguinius to their core.

READ IT BECAUSE
Discover one of the Blood Angels' most fascinating characters, the warrior tasked with the grim duty of ending the threat of the Black Rage wherever it occurs.

THE STORY
Following the Devastation of Baal and the arrival of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman’s Indomitus Crusade, Commander Dante of the Blood Angels has been appointed Lord Regent of all Imperium Nihilus. Working with the successor chapters of the Blood Angels, Dante commands that the area around the Red Scar be scouted in preparation for reconquest. The Red Wings� sweep has led them to the foetid world of Dulcis, dangerously near to the Cicatrix Maledictum itself. Decimated by the tyranids during the war for Baal and only lightly reinforced by Primaris Space Marines, the Red Wings Chapter are in no position to deal with the events that unfold there. Strange psychic phenomenon and a deadly xenos enemy threaten the great hope of all the Chapters of the Blood � that the flaw in Sanguinius� geneseed has at last been tamed. Drawn by the Black Rage to Dulcis, Astorath the Grim, Lord High Chaplain and Redeemer of the Lost, comes to aid the Red Wings. But what he discovers there will shake the Chapters of the Blood to their very core.]]> 205 Guy Haley 178999103X Simon 3
Also, almost a take on Apocalypse Now at times, should maybe have leant more heavily into that.]]> 3.60 Astorath: Angel of Mercy
author: Guy Haley
name: Simon
average rating: 3.60
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves:
review:
Short but surprisingly fun. I liked that it was a low-stakes adventure for a change too.

Also, almost a take on Apocalypse Now at times, should maybe have leant more heavily into that.
]]> <![CDATA[The Swords of Calth (Warhammer 40,000)]]> 56269794 A Uriel Ventris novel

Uriel Ventris returns! Newly ascended to the ranks of the Primaris Space Marines, Ventris leads the Ultramarines Fourth Company � the famed Swords of Calth � to war against the ancient necrons. Old enemies arise, as Ventris' past and present collide in brutal battle.

READ IT BECAUSE
One of Black Library's longest-running series continues � and the hero's been given a new lease of life as a Primaris Space Marine. Discover how Ventris adapts to his new life even as his past comes back to haunt him.

THE STORY
Uriel Ventris, newly ascended to the ranks of the Primaris, leads warriors of the Fourth Company from the Indomitus Crusade of Roboute Guilliman to a world on the frontiers of Ultramar. Once a battleground against the orks, Sycorax is now under furious assault from an enemy of ancient times � the necrons. The Ultramarines have faced these baleful xenos before, but Uriel senses the hand of a foe from his past at work on Sycorax, a tally unfinished and a debt to the Imperium finally come due.


Trapped deep in a devastated city, Uriel leads the Swords of Calth into battle, and must adapt to his new incarnation as one of the Primaris � a challenge that will test his soul as much as it will test him as a warrior.]]> 228 Graham McNeill 1789998085 Simon 2 3.55 2021 The Swords of Calth (Warhammer 40,000)
author: Graham McNeill
name: Simon
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2025/04/25
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves:
review:
This unfortunately is less of a story and more of a flat-out advertisement for the new Primaris models.
]]> Piranesi 50202953
There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.]]> 272 Susanna Clarke 163557563X Simon 3
I liked that it was a vibe, but, I do think it would have been a much sharper experience with more editing.]]> 4.22 2020 Piranesi
author: Susanna Clarke
name: Simon
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/19
date added: 2025/04/19
shelves:
review:
I would have liked this a lot more if it had been half the length and chopped out a lot of the very repetitive descriptions of this statue and that statue.

I liked that it was a vibe, but, I do think it would have been a much sharper experience with more editing.
]]> <![CDATA[Valdor: Birth of the Imperium (The Horus Heresy: Characters)]]> 51085922 Explore the history of one of the most well known heroes of the Imperium in this awesome new novel from Chris Wraight.

Constantin Valdor. It is a name that brings forth images of heroism, honour and peerless duty. For it is he who commands the will of the Legio Custodes that most esteemed and dedicated cadre of elite warriors. He is the Emperor’s sword, His shield, His banner and he knows no equal. Clad in shining auramite, his fist clenched around the haft of his Guardian Spear, he is the bulwark against all enemies of the throne, within or without.

Nearing the end of the wars of Unity, Valdor’s courage and purpose is put to the test as never before. The petty warlords and tyrants of Old Earth have been all but vanquished, and the Emperor’s armies are triumphant. What now for the nascent Imperium and what fate its forgotten soldiers, its Thunder Warriors and armies of Unity? A new force is rising, one which shall eclipse all others and open the way to the stars. But change on Terra is seldom bloodless and for progress to be ensured darker deeds are necessary.
ձ> 200 Chris Wraight Simon 1
It is perhaps best described as one of the Warhammer Wiki articles expanded. It is lacking story, plot, development, character, and Valdor isn't actually in it much.

The first half is tedious, but the fight scene at the end is at least mostly decently written.]]> 4.11 2020 Valdor: Birth of the Imperium (The Horus Heresy: Characters)
author: Chris Wraight
name: Simon
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2020
rating: 1
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves:
review:
Unpopular fannish opinion perhaps, but while I've liked all the other Chris Wraight I've read, this one felt like it could have been an email.

It is perhaps best described as one of the Warhammer Wiki articles expanded. It is lacking story, plot, development, character, and Valdor isn't actually in it much.

The first half is tedious, but the fight scene at the end is at least mostly decently written.
]]> Gladiatrix (Gladiatrix, #1) 3003222
Sole survivor of a shipwreck off the coast of Asia Minor, Lysandra finds herself the property of Lucius Balbus, owner of the foremost Ludus for female gladiators in the Eastern Empire. Lysandra, a member of an ancient Spartan sect of warrior priestesses, refuses to accept her new status as a slave. Forced to fight for survival, her deadly combat skills win the adoration of the crowds, the respect of Balbus.

But Lysandra's Spartan pride also earns her powerful Sorina, Gladiatrix Prima and leader of the Barbarian faction, and the sadistic Numidian trainer, Nastasen. When plans are laid for the ultimate combat spectacle to honor the visit of the emperor's powerful new emissary, Lysandra must face her greatest and deadliest trial.

This is a thrilling first novel that combines fascinating historical detail with blistering action.]]> 449 Russell Whitfield 1905802099 Simon 1
Which is a shame because the rest of it was okay, but, yeah. It did not need a luridly detailed rape sequence inflicted on the heroine.]]> 3.55 2008 Gladiatrix (Gladiatrix, #1)
author: Russell Whitfield
name: Simon
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2008
rating: 1
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves:
review:
Had to stop reading this one, it has an absolutely appalling rape scene at the end of act 2, and... it's not well written.

Which is a shame because the rest of it was okay, but, yeah. It did not need a luridly detailed rape sequence inflicted on the heroine.
]]> Dune Messiah (Dune #2) 44492285
Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known--and feared--as the man christened Muad'Dib. As Emperor of the Known Universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremens, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne--and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.

And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family's dynasty...

Includes an introduction by Brian Herbert]]> 336 Frank Herbert 0593098234 Simon 5 3.89 1969 Dune Messiah (Dune #2)
author: Frank Herbert
name: Simon
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1969
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/26
date added: 2025/02/26
shelves:
review:
Still as good as I remember it, though I'll be fascinated as to how they adapt 200 pages of philosophical musings on the nature of political and religious power into a movie, but hey, maybe Dune 3 will maintain the tradition of being another of best movies in the world that will also send people to sleep.
]]> 1984: The Graphic Novel 57753973 “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.�

Winston Smith is a low-ranking member of the ruling Party in the nation of Oceania. Everywhere Winston goes, even his own home, the Party watches him through telescreens; everywhere he looks he sees the face of the Party’s seemingly omniscient leader, Big Brother. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even the people’s history and language. Now, the Party is forcing the use of an invented language called Newspeak which will prevent political insurgency by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts is illegal. Such thoughtcrime is, in fact, the worst of all crimes. But a seed of dissent grows in Winston—one that will bring him into direct conflict with the Party, and with devastating consequences.

Rarely has one book ever been so rich in political and social criticism as 1984. Originally published in 1949, this new graphic novel edition of the dystopian classic, powerfully illustrated by Matyáš Namai, reveals Winston’s fight against the Party in all its horror and futility.]]> 284 Matyáš Namai 8027702542 Simon 5 4.11 1984: The Graphic Novel
author: Matyáš Namai
name: Simon
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/24
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Teach Yourself Nietzsche (Teach Yourself: Philosophy & Religion)]]> 6533954 224 Roy Jackson 0071620990 Simon 5
... what?]]> 3.70 2002 Teach Yourself Nietzsche (Teach Yourself: Philosophy & Religion)
author: Roy Jackson
name: Simon
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2014/01/13
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves:
review:
Fucking awesome moustache.

... what?
]]> Scottish Lore and Folklore 2024824 Scottish Lore and Folklore is divided into five parts: poetry; folklore, and rhymes and tales; facts; fragments; a few prose extracts and some letters. The poetry includes such treasured titles as 'Lochinvar,' 'Thomas the Rhymer,' 'Margaret Drummons,' 'To Mary in Heaven' and "Killiecrankie'; including such great names as Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Alexander Scott and William Dunbar. The illustrations that appear in the various parts of the book serve, in some instances, as illustrations of the poem and stories; others are maps. There are also twelve shields of well-known Clans of Scotland.]]> 368 Ronald Macdonald Douglas 0517366037 Simon 3 3.73 1953 Scottish Lore and Folklore
author: Ronald Macdonald Douglas
name: Simon
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1953
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
This is mostly a gazeteer of locations and stories, short on sources, and could have been a lot better organised. The best bit is the 40 page essay on scottish folklore at the beginning.
]]> <![CDATA[A Short History of Russia: Tracing Russia's Path Through History, from Its Wars and Conquests, Royal Dynasties, Revolutions into the Modern Era Under Putin―a Concise Exploration of a Complex Nation]]> 48894047 Russia’s epic and dramatic story told in an accessible, lively and short form, using the country's fascinating history to illuminate its future.

A country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity, Russia has mythologized its past to unite its people and to signal strength to outsiders. Mark Galeotti takes us behind the myths to the heart of the Russian story: the formation of a nation through its early legends including Ivan the Terrible and Catherine the Great the rise and fall of the Romanovs, the Russian Revolution, the Cold War, Chernobyl and the Soviet Union the arrival of an obscure politician named Vladimir Putin.
A Short History of Russia explores the history of this fascinating, glorious, desperate and exasperating country through two intertwined issues: the way successive influences from beyond its borders have shaped Russia, and the way Russians came to terms with this influence, writing and rewriting their past to understand their present and try to influence their future. In turn, this self-invented history has come to affect not just their constant nation-building project but also their relations with the world.

ձ> 224 Mark Galeotti 1335145702 Simon 4 3.81 2020 A Short History of Russia: Tracing Russia's Path Through History, from Its Wars and Conquests, Royal Dynasties, Revolutions into the Modern Era Under Putin―a Concise Exploration of a Complex Nation
author: Mark Galeotti
name: Simon
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
Clear, concise and very readable.
]]> Dune (Dune, #1) 44767458
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.]]> 658 Frank Herbert 059309932X Simon 5 4.33 1965 Dune (Dune, #1)
author: Frank Herbert
name: Simon
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1965
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
Maybe 20 years since I last read it, but still just as good as ever. Interesting to compare with the recent movies.
]]> <![CDATA[The Price of Valour (The Shadow Campaigns, #3)]]> 23346335 In the latest Shadow Campaigns novel, Django Wexler continues his “epic fantasy of military might and magical conflict�* following The Shadow Throne and The Thousand Names, as the realm of Vordan faces imminent threats from without and within.

In the wake of the King’s death, war has come to Vordan.

The Deputies-General has precarious control of the city, but it is led by a zealot who sees traitors in every shadow. Executions have become a grim public spectacle. The new queen, Raesinia Orboan, finds herself nearly powerless as the government tightens its grip and assassins threaten her life. But she did not help free the country from one sort of tyranny to see it fall into another. Placing her trust with the steadfast soldier Marcus D’Ivoire, she sets out to turn the tide of history.

As the hidden hand of the Sworn Church brings all the powers of the continent to war against Vordan, the enigmatic and brilliant general Janus bet Vhalnich offers a path to victory. Winter Ihernglass, newly promoted to command a regiment, has reunited with her lover and her friends, only to face the prospect of leading them into bloody battle.

And the enemy is not just armed with muskets and cannon. Dark priests of an ancient order, wielding forbidden magic, have infiltrated Vordan to stop Janus by whatever means necessary…]]> 528 Django Wexler 0091950562 Simon 5 4.23 2015 The Price of Valour (The Shadow Campaigns, #3)
author: Django Wexler
name: Simon
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves:
review:
Grand improvement over volume 2, very much back to the tone and feeling of the first volume.
]]> Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass 50225349
Now Harleen is mad. In turning her anger into action, she is faced with two choices: join activist Ivy, who’s campaigning to make the neighborhood a better place to live, or team up with her anarchist friend Joker, who plans to take down Gotham one corporation at a time.

From Eisner Award and Caldecott Honor-winning author Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Steve Pugh comes a coming-of-age story about choices, consequences, and how a weird kid from Gotham goes about defining her world for herself.]]> 208 Mariko Tamaki Simon 5
Story is great, art is astonishingly good. Thoroughly recommended for kids of all ages.]]> 4.02 2019 Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass
author: Mariko Tamaki
name: Simon
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves:
review:
For some reason this is listed as Young Adult which is odd because it is by a very large margin the best Harley Quinn comic I have ever read. And easily top 5 in my favourite DC-verse comics.

Story is great, art is astonishingly good. Thoroughly recommended for kids of all ages.
]]> Dark Justice: Dominion 38748585 2000 AD’s most iconic villains!

LOST IN SPACE

The cargo ship Solips, en-route to a colony on a remote planet, finds three figures drifting through space. But these might prove to be the last passengers the ship ever pick up!

Judges Death, Fire and Mortis, soon find they have an entire colony where they can administer their twisted justice to the living. Can the colonists survive their dominion?]]> 96 John Wagner 1781086540 Simon 4 3.78 2018 Dark Justice: Dominion
author: John Wagner
name: Simon
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/12/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying (Dark Lord Davi, #1)]]> 198493860
Davi has done this all before. She’s tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she’s rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she’s killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she’s been defeated every time.

This time? She’s done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that’s who she needs to be. It’s Davi’s turn to play on the winning side.

Burningblade & Silvereye
Ashes of the Sun
Blood of the Chosen
Emperor of Ruin]]> 392 Django Wexler 0316392200 Simon 3 3.67 2024 How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying (Dark Lord Davi, #1)
author: Django Wexler
name: Simon
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Jolly good fun except the final third starts to amble a little and the trials by fire are a bit... I don't know. I really enjoyed this though.
]]> Paradise-1 (Red Space, #1) 61634435
It doesn't take much time to learn that they've been met by another vessel—a vessel from Paradis-One, Earth's first deep-space colony, and their final destination.

Worse still, the vessel is empty. And it carries with it the message that all communications from the 150,000 souls inhabiting the Paradis-One has completely ceased.

Petrov and Zhang must board the empty ship and delve further into deep space to discover the truth of the colony's disappearance—but the further they go, the more dangers loom.]]> 681 David Wellington 031649674X Simon 1
You know I half think the begining of this was written by a human, and the remainder was AI.]]> 3.81 2023 Paradise-1 (Red Space, #1)
author: David Wellington
name: Simon
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Unfortunately this is a rare entry in my did-not-finish pile. Great premise. Fun beginning. But around the half way stage it just flagged badly and then it all completely falls apart.

You know I half think the begining of this was written by a human, and the remainder was AI.
]]> <![CDATA[My Secret Garden: Women's Sexual Fantasies]]> 2997 361 Nancy Friday 0671019872 Simon 3 3.68 1973 My Secret Garden: Women's Sexual Fantasies
author: Nancy Friday
name: Simon
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1973
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Recommended to me as the better version of the recent Gillian Anderson book.
]]> <![CDATA[Echo of Worlds (Pandominion, #2)]]> 181031840
Two mighty empires are at war - and both will lose, with thousands of planets falling to the extinction event called the Scour. At least that's what the artificial intelligence known as Rupshe believes.

But somewhere in the multiverse there exists a force - the Mother Mass - that could end the war in an instant, and Rupshe has assembled a team to find it. Essien Nkanika, a soldier trying desperately to atone for past sins; the cat-woman Moon, a conscienceless killer; the digitally recorded mind of physicist Hadiz Tambuwal; Paz, an idealistic child and the renegade robot spy Dulcimer Coronal.

Their mission will take them from the hellish prison world of Tsakom to the poisoned remains of a post-apocalyptic Earth, and finally bring them face to face with the Mother Mass itself. But can they persuade it to end eons of neutrality and help them? And is it too late to make a difference?

Because the Pandominion's doomsday machines are about to be unleashed - and not even their builders know how to control them.

Discover the conclusion to the spectacular Pandominion duology - an exhilarating science fiction series from the author of the million-copy bestseller The Girl With All the Gifts . Perfect for fans of The Space Between Worlds, The Long Earth and Children of Time.]]> 496 M.R. Carey 035651806X Simon 2
Way too many sidequests. And when we got the final resolution it was all a little obvious.]]> 4.25 2024 Echo of Worlds (Pandominion, #2)
author: M.R. Carey
name: Simon
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Unfortunately I didn't think this second volume lived up to the first at all. It's... I don't know maybe this series of two novels should have been just one, because there was a lot of padding in this volume and it took a very long time to get anywhere. And when it did, I wasn't as madly interested in it as I was the first.

Way too many sidequests. And when we got the final resolution it was all a little obvious.
]]> <![CDATA[Infinity Gate (Pandominion, #1)]]> 61237044
The Pandominion: a political and trading alliance of a million worlds - except that they're really just the one world, Earth, in many different realities. And when an AI threat arises that could destroy everything the Pandominion has built, they'll eradicate it by whatever means necessary, no matter the cost to human life.

Scientist Hadiz Tambuwal is looking for a solution to her own Earth's environmental collapse when she stumbles across the secret of inter-dimensional travel. It could save everyone on her dying planet, but now she's walked into the middle of a war on a scale she never dreamed of.

And she needs to choose a side before it kills her.]]> 499 M.R. Carey 0316504386 Simon 5 Brilliant piece of sci-fi. 4.06 2023 Infinity Gate (Pandominion, #1)
author: M.R. Carey
name: Simon
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Brilliant piece of sci-fi.
]]> <![CDATA[BattleTech: Iron Dawn (BattleTech YA)]]> 45027039 GHOSTS IN THE DARK�

Jasper and Nadine Roux are cadets at the Ritza MechWarrior Academy; a dream come true for the orphaned siblings from the war-torn planet of Hoff. For the last six years, Emporia has been their home. Sponsored to the academy by the powerful Vogel House, both cadets are expected to excel in all tasks.

Their dream becomes a nightmare when the Draconis Combine lands at their door.

It’s up to the siblings to stop a renegade Seventh Ghost Regiment warlord when he lays claim to a piece of the Inner Sphere—starting with the Federated Suns� planet of Emporia. The border world looks like easy prey, but this warrior of the Dragon is about to learn how wrong he is. After the few MechWarriors on the planet are taken hostage, the Sponsored and Blooded cadets of the Ritza Academy fight like they have nothing left to lose.

It’s a fight that will cost them more than they know.
]]> 305 Jennifer Brozek Simon 2 3.82 BattleTech: Iron Dawn (BattleTech YA)
author: Jennifer Brozek
name: Simon
average rating: 3.82
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
So this is an interesting fusion of YA with a standard Battletech book, which is something new, to be sure. I'm just not entirely convinced these two things meshed.
]]> <![CDATA[New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West]]> 195531096
More than thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States finds itself in a volatile rivalry against the world’s other two great nuclear powers. Yet this era bears very little resemblance to the old Cold War. As Putin and Xi increasingly threaten to team up, this moment grows far more complex—and undeniably more dangerous—than the world of a half century ago.

New Cold Wars —the latest from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of The Perfect Weapon, David E. Sanger—tells the riveting story of America at a crossroads. At the turn of the millennium, the United States was confident that a democratic Russia and a newly wealthy China could gradually be pulled into the Western-led order. That proved a fantasy. By the time Washington emerged from the age of terrorism, the three nuclear powers were engaged in a new, high-stakes struggle for military, economic, and technological supremacy—with nations around the world forced to take sides.

Based on a remarkable array of interviews with top officials in the United States, foreign leaders, andtech companies thrust onto the front lines, Sanger unfolds a riveting narrative spun around the era’s critical Will the mistakes Putin made in his ill-considered invasion of Ukraine prove his undoing, and will he reach for his nuclear arsenal? Will China strike back at the U.S. chip embargo, or seize Taiwan, the world’s semiconductor capital?

Taking readers from the battlefields of Ukraine—where trench warfare and cyberwarfare are fought side by side—to the back rooms and boardrooms where diplomats, spies, and tech executives jockey for geopolitical advantage, New Cold Wars is a remarkable first draft history chronicling America’s return to superpower conflict, the choices that lie ahead, and what is at stake for the United States and the world.]]> 528 David E. Sanger 0593443594 Simon 4
So glad.

/s.]]> 4.27 2024 New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West
author: David E. Sanger
name: Simon
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
I'm so glad we're moving into a period in global history where there are going to be some really smart people in Washington who are totally going to be capable of avoiding Thucydides trap when it comes to China.

So glad.

/s.
]]> <![CDATA[Politics On the Edge: A Memoir From Within]]> 96177657
'An instant classic' MARINA HYDE
'At last a politician who can write' SEBASTIAN FAULKS
'Candid, angry, funny, and self-revelatory' JONATHAN DIMBLEBY
'Exceptional' RAFAEL BEHR

The Times pick for *The Biggest Books of the Autumn*

Over the course of a decade from 2010, Rory Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister - before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise.

Tackling ministerial briefs on flood response and prison violence, engaging with conflict and poverty abroad as a foreign minister, and Brexit as a Cabinet minister, Stewart learned first-hand how profoundly hollow our democracy and government had become.

Cronyism, ignorance and sheer incompetence ran rampant. Around him, individual politicians laid the foundations for the political and economic chaos of today. Stewart emerged battered but with a profound affection for his constituency of Penrith and the Border, and a deep direct insight into the era of populism and global conflict.

Uncompromising, candid and darkly humorous, Politics On the Edge is his story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life and a remarkable portrait of our age.]]> 436 Rory Stewart Simon 4
And indeed every rich conservative person I've ever known has been perfectly fine and polite and decent to socialise with, but.... The class war is still a real thing, and... I think one day he will get there. Anybody who writes with such humanity and decency is going to figure it out one day.]]> 4.33 2023 Politics On the Edge: A Memoir From Within
author: Rory Stewart
name: Simon
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
I feel like Rory Stewart is almost there, he's almost figured out that the Tories are the baddies in the narrative of our country. But every time he teeters on the edge of that realisation throughout this memoir, it's as if his mind recoils slightly, because the people he knows and worked with seemed decent chaps and chapesses. And the people he socialises with are decent chaps and chapesses.

And indeed every rich conservative person I've ever known has been perfectly fine and polite and decent to socialise with, but.... The class war is still a real thing, and... I think one day he will get there. Anybody who writes with such humanity and decency is going to figure it out one day.
]]> Artemis 34928122
Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.]]> 305 Andy Weir 0553448129 Simon 5 3.66 2017 Artemis
author: Andy Weir
name: Simon
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
An absolute delight of a book.
]]> Meddling Kids 32905343 1990. The teen detectives once known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in the Zoinx River Valley in Oregon) are all grown up and haven't seen each other since their fateful, final case in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, is twenty-five and on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri, one-time kid genius and budding biologist, is bartending in New York, working on a serious drinking problem. At least she's got Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the team. Nate, the horror nerd, has spent the last thirteen years in and out of mental health institutions, and currently resides in an asylum in Arkham, Massachusetts. The only friend he still sees is Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star. The problem is, Peter's been dead for years.

The time has come to uncover the source of their nightmares and return to where it all began in 1977. This time, it better not be a man in a mask. The real monsters are waiting.]]> 322 Edgar Cantero 0385541996 Simon 1
I think it was translated? So, perhaps the translation is just missing something.]]> 3.51 2017 Meddling Kids
author: Edgar Cantero
name: Simon
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
On paper I should have absolutely loved this, but I just couldn't get into it.

I think it was translated? So, perhaps the translation is just missing something.
]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow Throne (The Shadow Campaigns, #2)]]> 18657632
The ailing King of the Vordan lies on his deathbed. When he dies, his daughter, Raesinia Orboan, will become the first Queen Regnant in centuries—and a ripe target for the ambitious men who seek to control her. The most dangerous of these is Duke Orlanko, Minister of Information and master of the secret police. Having meticulously silenced his adversaries through intimidation, imprisonment, and execution, Orlanko is the most feared man in the kingdom.

And he knows an arcane secret that puts Raesinia completely at his mercy.

Exposure would mean ruin, but Raesinia is determined to find a way to break herself—and her country—out of Orlanko’s iron grip. She finds unlikely allies in the returning war hero Janus bet Vhalnich, fresh from a brilliant campaign in the colony of Khandar, and his loyal deputies, Captain Marcus d’Ivoire and Lieutenant Winter Ihernglass.

As Marcus and Winter struggle to find their places in the home they never thought they would see again, they help Janus and Raesinia set in motion events that could free Vordan from Orlanko’s influence—at the price of throwing the nation into chaos. But with the people suffering under the Duke’s tyranny, they intend to protect the kingdom with every power they can command, earthly or otherwise]]> 512 Django Wexler 0091950589 Simon 4
Anyway this is the sort of vague version of the French Revolution, in which our heroes navigate political plotting in not-Paris as we see the beginnings of the Terror start to emerge.

Still very much liked it, but, I hope future volumes go back to feeling a bit more Sharpe-ey.]]> 4.11 2014 The Shadow Throne (The Shadow Campaigns, #2)
author: Django Wexler
name: Simon
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
I liked this volume less than the first, it moves away from the Sharpe pattern of vol 1, and also we don't get to see anything of admittedly minor characters Feor and Bobby, whom I missed a lot.

Anyway this is the sort of vague version of the French Revolution, in which our heroes navigate political plotting in not-Paris as we see the beginnings of the Terror start to emerge.

Still very much liked it, but, I hope future volumes go back to feeling a bit more Sharpe-ey.
]]> <![CDATA[The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)]]> 15810910
Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.

The fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone in its path.]]> 513 Django Wexler 0451465105 Simon 4 4.03 2013 The Thousand Names (The Shadow Campaigns, #1)
author: Django Wexler
name: Simon
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Queer Sharp in semi fantasy 18th C Europe, depicting was it a version of Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt? So yes of course I loved it.
]]> <![CDATA[New Mutants, Vol. 6: De-Animator]]> 13537846
Collecting: New Mutants 38-41.]]> 96 Dan Abnett 0785161600 Simon 3 3.26 2012 New Mutants, Vol. 6: De-Animator
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[New Mutants, Vol. 5: A Date with the Devil]]> 14885875
Meanwhile, Blink is back, and the New Mutants are on her trail - made obvious by the mayhem and destruction that follow wherever she goes! And as Dani leads a mission to bring Blink out of exile, Mephisto lurks in the background - waiting to collect on a bargain struck with Magma during the throes of Fear Itself. At the risk of her very soul, will Amara go on a date with the devil?

Collecting: New Mutants 33-37]]> 112 Dan Abnett 0785152334 Simon 3 3.39 2012 New Mutants, Vol. 5: A Date with the Devil
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 45]]> 218757258 304 Robbie Morrison 1837862567 Simon 4 3.93 Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 45
author: Robbie Morrison
name: Simon
average rating: 3.93
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 44 (Judge Dredd Case Files)]]> 212573900 NO CITY FOR OLD MEN!


The best-selling series collecting The Law in order continues. This action-packed volume contains the finale of the epic Origins saga, which sets Dredd on a new quest for justice as he begins to question Mega-City One’s treatment of the mutant population and the laws that keep them down. But what happens when the man upholding the law no longer believes in it?


Written by John Wagner (A History of Violence), Gordon Rennie (Warhammer), Rob Williams (Suicide Squad), Ian Edginton (Batman), and Robbie Morrison (The Authority), with art by Carlos Ezquerra (Strontium Dog), Ian Gibson (The Ballad of Halo Jones), Colin MacNeil (Devlin Waugh), Mike McMahon (Slaine), Jock (The Losers), Henry Flint (Rogue Trooper), Rufus Dayglo (Tank Girl), Vince Locke (A History of Violence), PJ Holden (Rogue Trooper), Patrick Goddard (Battle Action), Boo Cook (Doctor Who), Richard Elson (Sonic The Comic), Paul Marshall (Sinister Dexter), Cliff Robinson (Vector 13), Len O'Grady (X-Men Unlimited), D'Israeli (Nikolai Dante), Lee Garbett (Skyward), Anthony Williams (The Real Ghostbusters) and Peter Doherty (The Dreaming).]]> 0 John Wagner 1837864829 Simon 4 4.19 Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 44 (Judge Dredd Case Files)
author: John Wagner
name: Simon
average rating: 4.19
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:

]]> Rain 60395815
Rain makes vivid this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads across the country and around the world, threatening everything young lovers Honeysuckle and Yolanda hold dear.

So begins a gripping graphic presentation of New York Times-bestselling author Joe Hill’s acclaimed novella, adapted by David M. Booher (Canto) and Zoe Thorogood (The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott). Also features a bonus art gallery and an all-new introduction by author Joe Hill!

Collects JOE HILL’S RAIN #1-5]]> 156 Joe Hill 1534322698 Simon 4
It's all very silly, but good fun.]]> 3.60 2022 Rain
author: Joe Hill
name: Simon
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
I love how Joe Hill just goes to hell with it with regards the premise, silly science apocalypse, what the heck, and then just gives us some interesting characters doing stuff in the small suburban apocalypse. And they're smart, so often these stories are hampered by characters being idiots, but our main characters in this are clever.

It's all very silly, but good fun.
]]> <![CDATA[ABC Warriors The Mek Files 04 The Volgan Wars]]> 39845388 208 Pat Mills 1781086230 Simon 3 3.91 2018 ABC Warriors The Mek Files 04 The Volgan Wars
author: Pat Mills
name: Simon
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Clever amalgam of photo and computer artwork, but it doesn't feel like that for once.
]]> <![CDATA[ABC Warriors - The Mek Files Vol.03]]> 26239505 272 Henry Flint 1781083347 Simon 4 3.62 2015 ABC Warriors - The Mek Files Vol.03
author: Henry Flint
name: Simon
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Probably the best of the ABC warriors stories?
]]> <![CDATA[ABC Warriors: The Mek Files 02]]> 24238793 HEAVY METAL DISCIPLES OF KHAOS!

HAVING SAVED THE UNIVERSE FROM DESTRUCTION, THE A.B.C. WARRIORS HAVE CHOSEN TO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO
DEADLOCK’S ANARCHIC RELIGION. To become true agents of Khaos, they must first travel to the planet Hekate, collecting seven heads and a seventh team member before The Night of The Blood Moon.

Will the power of Khaos be enough to stop the Terran Empire from obliterating them with their deadly weapon, The Hellbringer?

Co-written by Pat Mills (Marshal Law, Nemesis the Warlock) and Tony Skinner (Accident Man, Sex Warrior) this volume of the Mek Files features the sumptuous, fully-painted artwork of Kev Walker (Judge Dredd, Marvel Zombies).

]]> 208 Pat Mills 1849978670 Simon 4 3.96 2014 ABC Warriors: The Mek Files 02
author: Pat Mills
name: Simon
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
One of those interesting series from 2000AD that got stronger as time went on.
]]> <![CDATA[A.B.C. Warriors The Mek Files 01]]> 22170650 ATOMIC BACTERIAL CHEMICAL!

WHETHER THEY ARE POLICING THE LAWLESS FRONTIER ON MARS OR SAVING THE GALAXY FROM ARTIFICIAL BLACK HOLES, THE A.B.C. WARRIORS ALWAYS SUCCEED!Featuring a roster of the deadliest robots ever assembled, including war-weary leader Hammerstein, super-cool assassin Joe Pineapples, master manipulator Blackblood, the hulking Mongrol and his goo-tastic friend The Mess, disciple of Khaos Deadlock and the psychotic battle tank Mek-Quake, the Warriors go where humans fear to tread! Find out who they are and how they became the most formidable fighting
force in the galaxy by reading this fantastic collection containing their earliest adventures.

Written and co-created by 2000 AD mastermind Pat Mills (Marshal Law), the A.B.C. Warriors features art from Britain’s finest talent, including Kevin O’Neill (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) Mick McMahon (áԱ), Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), Carlos Ezquerra (Judge Dredd), Brendan McCarthy (Skin) and Simon Bisley (Lobo).

]]> 304 Pat Mills 1781082588 Simon 2 Early 2000AD is early 2000AD 3.95 2014 A.B.C. Warriors The Mek Files 01
author: Pat Mills
name: Simon
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
Early 2000AD is early 2000AD
]]> The Ribbon Queen 199798747
Detective Amy Sun faces an impossible Go public with her allegations against a tactical team leader who allegedly killed a victim he was stalking, or face the wrath of an angry Blue Wall in her department. Complicating matters is the arrival of an immortal entity known as The Ribbon Queen, who delivers justice to those wronged by peeling the skin off her victims in ribbons. But The Ribbon Queen isn’t the only supernatural shedding blood in the streets of New York…and Detective Amy Sun isn’t so sure she should stop them at all!

SHE SWIMS THROUGH A SEA OF FIRE AND RAGE AND BLOOD!

There is something ancient and terrible loose in the world of men. Something that hates them with burning passion, that bears a grudge born of ten thousand years. Something that wants its revenge.

Detective Amy Sun has a problem—a problem called the NYPD. Three years ago, a young woman was rescued from a serial killer by a police tactical unit. Now she’s dead—and Amy has a bad feeling one of her fellow officers is responsible. Is there a conspiracy deep inside the department, intent on covering up the foulest of crimes? And if there is, what does one officer do about it?

But Amy is looking in the wrong direction. A far more dangerous, far more terrible threat than anything in the affairs of mortal men is suddenly at hand. A force of vengeance older than the human race itself has awoken, invoked by the tormented murder victim in the weeks before she died, and out for the blood of the guilty—who soon find themselves suffering a fate more gruesome than anything they could have dreamed of. The Ribbon Queen has come to New York City…and when she learns the truth, Amy is not at all certain that it should be stopped.]]> 192 Garth Ennis 1953165524 Simon 4 3.48 The Ribbon Queen
author: Garth Ennis
name: Simon
average rating: 3.48
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves:
review:
I'm genuinely in two minds about this because it's a story about sexual violence against women, and vengeance, and it's written by Garth Ennis who has never had a good track record when it comes to writing about sexual violence and women, but this is actually... not bad? I mean i think it's sort of amazing that he's even done this, and thus will have exposed these topics to the sorts of guys who are usually attracted to Garth Ennis comics, which... is a net good in the world I think?
]]> Wolverine: Not Dead Yet 582615 96 Warren Ellis 0785107045 Simon 2 3.41 1998 Wolverine: Not Dead Yet
author: Warren Ellis
name: Simon
average rating: 3.41
book published: 1998
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves:
review:
Grrr, I'm such a bad ass. Said every Wolverine comic ever.
]]> <![CDATA[Rogue Trooper: Tales of Nu-Earth, Vol. 1]]> 7784785 400 Gerry Finley-Day 1906735344 Simon 3
Still some of the best artwork 2000AD ever did though.]]> 3.91 2010 Rogue Trooper: Tales of Nu-Earth, Vol. 1
author: Gerry Finley-Day
name: Simon
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves:
review:
Amazing art, but the stories are unfortunately rather showing their age these days.

Still some of the best artwork 2000AD ever did though.
]]> The 100 (The 100, #1) 17332969 No one has set foot on Earth in centuries—until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents—considered expendable by society—are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves—but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.]]> 323 Kass Morgan 0316234478 Simon 1
Loved the show, but this book was so badly written I couldn't quite believe what I was reading.]]> 3.59 2013 The 100 (The 100, #1)
author: Kass Morgan
name: Simon
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2013
rating: 1
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/01
shelves:
review:
A rare entry in the 'I could not finish this' division.

Loved the show, but this book was so badly written I couldn't quite believe what I was reading.
]]> The Return of Nagash 23008761
The End Times are coming. As the forces of Chaos threaten to drown the world in madness, Mannfred von Carstein and Arkhan the Black put aside their difference and plot to resurrect the one being with the power to stand against the servants of the Ruinous Powers and restore order to the world - the Great Necromancer himself. As they set about gathering artefacts to use in their dark ritual, armies converge on Sylvania, intent on stopping them. But Arkhan and Mannfred are determined to complete their task. No matter the cost, Nagash must rise again.]]> 448 Joshua Reynolds 1849707162 Simon 3 3.85 2014 The Return of Nagash
author: Joshua Reynolds
name: Simon
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN: THE BLACK CAT STRIKES]]> 50623316
COLLECTING: MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN: THE BLACK CAT STRIKES (2020) 1-5]]> 112 Dennis Hopeless 1302919253 Simon 3 3.93 2020 MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN: THE BLACK CAT STRIKES
author: Dennis Hopeless
name: Simon
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves:
review:
Why isn't there more femslash in any of these titles?
]]> BRZRKR: Bloodlines, Vol. 1 176443608 Discover the brutal hidden history of Keanu Reeves� record-shattering immortal warrior’s saga, soon to be adapted for Netflix!

Renowned filmmaker and record-shattering comic creator Keanu Reeves is joined by writer/artist Steve Skroce (The Matrix, Post Americana), screenwriter and director Mattson Tomlin (A Vicious Circle, The Batman Part II), and artist Rebekah Isaacs (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Money Shot) for a pair of self-contained stories set within the 80,000 year history of BRZRKR!

In Poetry of Madness, a sea of gore and devastation awaits as B., through a fateful chance encounter, safeguards the advanced and ancient realm of Atlantis as its unstoppable protector. But a sickly monarch serves as a symbol for the rot inside, as the security and bliss created through B.’s violence is shallow...the cracks created by a secret cult might spell a monstrous end for the legendary city, one beyond even B.’s ability to save.

In Fallen Empire, a former kingdom eradicated by the BRZRKR has a single living survivor. She and her people knew B. as the God King. In this tragic story of death and cataclysm, the survivor recounts a fable in which lost love, manipulation, and warring empires brought out the very worst of Unute... but is the fable’s narrator reliable? What might the survivor be hiding?

Collects Poetry of Madness #1 and Fallen Empire #1.]]> 112 Keanu Reeves 160886149X Simon 4 3.66 2024 BRZRKR: Bloodlines, Vol. 1
author: Keanu Reeves
name: Simon
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:

]]> BRZRKR, Volume 3 70056237 The final chapter of the epic immortal saga by Keanu Reeves that’s sold over a million copies!

In the final volume of the record-shattering series, uncover the ancient mysteries of our anti-hero’s origins and his final fate! As B.’s full fury is unleashed, a new discovery promises to bring the answers he’s been seeking for centuries. But as the team travels to finally uncover the mysteries of B.’s birth, is he finally near the end of his fatal goal, or will his violent efforts be in vain? Written by the iconic Keanu Reeves and New York Times bestselling writer Matt Kindt (Folklords, Grass Kings), and illustrated by acclaimed artist Ron Garney (Wolverine, Captain America), the final epically brutal chapter unfolds, soon to be adapted for Netflix!

Collects BRZRKR #9-12.]]> 144 Keanu Reeves 1684157129 Simon 3 3.35 2023 BRZRKR, Volume 3
author: Keanu Reeves
name: Simon
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
But there is maybe a law of diminishing returns in this. So it probably ended at exactly the right point.
]]> BRZRKR, Volume 2 58673891 The highest selling comic book launch in 30 years by Keanu Reeves in his comic book writing debut alongside New York Times bestselling co-writer Matt Kindt and acclaimed artist Ron Garney continues!

WHAT PRICE WOULD YOU PAY FOR TRUE FREEDOM?

Half-mortal and half-god, cursed and compelled to violence, the man known only as B. begins wandering the world anew. After enduring a series of experiments and missions, B.’s memories of his origins will be finally restored. But what does this revelation mean for his future? Has B. finally found true freedom? Perhaps, but when has the U.S. government ever let their best asset go?

Keanu Reeves continues his comic book writing debut alongside New York Times bestselling co-writer Matt Kindt (Folklords, Grass Kings) and legendary artist Ron Garney (Wolverine, Captain America) in a brutally violent new series about one immortal warrior’s fight through the ages.

Collects: BRZRKR #5-8.]]> 128 Keanu Reeves 168415815X Simon 4 3.72 2021 BRZRKR, Volume 2
author: Keanu Reeves
name: Simon
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
And volume 2 brings us more ultra violent silliness.
]]> BRZRKR, Volume 1 55169755 Keanu Reeves makes his comic book writing debut alongside New York Times bestselling co-writer Matt Kindt and acclaimed artist Ron Garney in a brutally violent new series about one immortal warrior’s fight through the ages.

A WAR WITH NO END. The man known only as B. is half-mortal and half-God, cursed and compelled to violence…even at the sacrifice of his sanity. But after wandering the world for centuries, the Berzerker may have finally found a refuge � working for the U.S. government to fight the battles too violent and too dangerous for anyone else. In exchange, B. will be granted the one thing he desires � the truth about his endless blood-soaked existence…and how to end it.

Keanu Reeves makes his comic book writing debut alongside New York Times bestselling co-writer Matt Kindt (Folklords, Grass Kings) and legendary artist Ron Garney (Captain America, The Amazing Spider-Man) in a brutally violent new series about one immortal warrior's fight through the ages.

Collects: BRZRKR #1-4.]]> 144 Keanu Reeves 1684156858 Simon 4 3.71 2021 BRZRKR, Volume 1
author: Keanu Reeves
name: Simon
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
Ultra violent and very silly. Enjoyed it quite a lot.
]]> <![CDATA[Flesh Eating Cheerleaders from Outer Space]]> 61658137
Soon, the problem isn't going to be the creatures, it's going to be the monsters that these cheerleaders become.]]> 0 James Mascia Simon 1
And all the women look exactly the same. Would it have worked better if the artist had drawn non playboy bunnies in every lead role? Maybe. All the women were basically identical in character and look.

Would it have worked better if the writing had leant more into evoking exploitation movies? Certainly yes.

Missed opportunity. Could have been decent, but I'm afraid it just hit seedy.

Also a whole star off for the AI art I spotted in places.]]> 2.60 Flesh Eating Cheerleaders from Outer Space
author: James Mascia
name: Simon
average rating: 2.60
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
John Hughes style porn, I mean, it does sort of try and evoke the atmosphere of a 1980s exploitation flick, but... it's so terribly boring.

And all the women look exactly the same. Would it have worked better if the artist had drawn non playboy bunnies in every lead role? Maybe. All the women were basically identical in character and look.

Would it have worked better if the writing had leant more into evoking exploitation movies? Certainly yes.

Missed opportunity. Could have been decent, but I'm afraid it just hit seedy.

Also a whole star off for the AI art I spotted in places.
]]> <![CDATA[Cyberpunk 2077: Your Voice (The World of Cyberpunk 2077)]]> 57474842 Aleksandra Motyka and Marcin Blacha, writers on the Cyberpunk 2077 video game, and artist Danijel Zezelj (Scalped, Days of Hate, Northlanders, Starve) take you on a fast-paced twisted ride through the darkest corners of Night City.

A lonely maintenance worker gets tangled in an anti-corporation operation.

During a routine shift, Todd, an employee at Night City Area Rapid Transit, encounters an altercation between a mysterious woman and the Maelstrom gang. As the woman attempts to escape, she hands him a chip. To find her and uncover the data, he sets off on a wild journey through the city's seedy mekka and dangerous wastelands where he meets a sly new client, crazy cyberpunks, and the infamous Johnny Silverhand. He'll finally discover what true love is and why it'll never be possible, not in a place like Night City.]]> 88 Aleksandra Motyka 1506726240 Simon 2
Didn't like it, but an extra star for the fabulous art.]]> 3.01 2020 Cyberpunk 2077: Your Voice (The World of Cyberpunk 2077)
author: Aleksandra Motyka
name: Simon
average rating: 3.01
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
An every day tale of when simping goes very badly wrong.

Didn't like it, but an extra star for the fabulous art.
]]> Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team 54270503 Dive deeper into the world of Cyberpunk 2077!

Nadia, an assistant EMT for a privately-owned business known as Trauma Team International, is the sole survivor of a failed rescue mission turned shootout.

After she agrees to continue work for an upcoming extraction mission, Nadia discovers that her new extraction subject is Apex--the man who's responsible for Nadia's former team members' deaths. A hundred floors high in a skyscraper filled with members of Apex's rival gang, Nadia and her team must complete the extraction.

Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, Uncanny X-Men) and Christopher Mooneyham (Predator, Nightwing) introduce an all-original series based on CD Projekt Red's brand-new game Cyberpunk 2077!

Collects Cyberpunk 2077 #1-4.]]> 96 Cullen Bunn 1506716016 Simon 4 3.70 2021 Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team
author: Cullen Bunn
name: Simon
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
One of the better cyberpunk comics, evokes a feeling of the good Dredd movie.
]]> <![CDATA[Cyberpunk 2077: You Have My Word]]> 59794480
A family is torn apart following an assignment from one of Night City's largest gangs.

A new urban development proposal is being pushed through city council—a flagrant infraction on those safeguarded by the Valentinos gang—one to indulge the selfish and decadent lifestyles of the wealthy and displace the eldery in a historic housing block. They enlist the service of three cyberpunks to discreetly and strategically terminate the project. With a mole on the inside, a waitress who dishes out more than meals, a government official with a fetish—everyone has their secrets, and each one is about to get exposed.

Collects Cyberpunk 2077: You Have My Word #1-#4.]]> 104 Bartosz Sztybor 150672566X Simon 4
The moral of the story is, of course, always be polite to the nice old lady behind the counter. Because she might just be more than she seems.]]> 3.75 2023 Cyberpunk 2077: You Have My Word
author: Bartosz Sztybor
name: Simon
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
Really liked this, the best of the Cyberpunk comics I've read so far.

The moral of the story is, of course, always be polite to the nice old lady behind the counter. Because she might just be more than she seems.
]]> Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout 62808921 In a city that operates on technology, a power outage brings catastrophe, but in darkness comes opportunity.

It hurts. Night City hurts. The suffering runs deep and the deeper one falls, the longer the self-prescribed dreams play. Fortune, hope, love—all made possible by DMS technology. A braindance repairman’s daily encounters with his clients reveal the deterioration of the human mind and the desperation driving those to surrender to illusion. But not everyone desires a happy ending. Riddled with doubt, self-hatred, and guilt, he soon discovers the answer to pain . . . comes in a blackout.

Created in close collaboration with CD Projekt Red, embrace humanity and dare to break the cycle of a corrupt city that offers an escape for the price of your dependence. In Night City, you get what you pay for and . . . you get what you give.

Collects Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout #1�#4.]]> 104 Bartosz Sztybor 1506726275 Simon 4 3.81 2023 Cyberpunk 2077: Blackout
author: Bartosz Sztybor
name: Simon
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
A fairly standard heist story livened up by some really good twists. Captured the feel of Cyberpunk pretty well.
]]> <![CDATA[Cyberpunk 2077: Big City Dreams (The World of Cyberpunk 2077)]]> 60455848 Two scavengers veer paths in their pursuit of happiness through the streets of Night City.

Tasha and Mirek make a living for themselves stealing cyberware and indulging in parties and braindances. Tasha is rowdy and wild--she seeks to up her street cred to become the most famous gangster in the city. Mirek, on the other hand, is a calm introvert--he longs for something more--meaning, belonging, warmth. He soon finds hope in an unexpected braindance. As he and Tasha chase their dreams, their paths begin to deviate. Where will they find the happiness they've been searching for? Does it even exist to be found? One thing they can both agree on, in a place like Night City--you run, you fight, you change, or you die.

Written by Bartosz Sztybor (CD PROJEKT RED writer and narrative manager, Witcher: Fading Memories)) with art by Filipe Andrade (Old Man Logan, Rocket Raccoon & Groot) and Alessio Fioriniello (Paris Fashion Slam) comes a tale about the demanding life of Night City--where lives are lost, dreams are shattered, and hope is found in what remains.]]> 64 Bartosz Sztybor Simon 3 3.37 2022 Cyberpunk 2077: Big City Dreams (The World of Cyberpunk 2077)
author: Bartosz Sztybor
name: Simon
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rise and Fall: A History of the World in Ten Empires]]> 52318338 From the Akkadian Empire to modern-day America, Rise and Fall charts the history of the world through its ten greatest empires. Through these we examine humanity's will to power in forms both infamous and poorly understood, and trace the evolution of the imperial impulse as it moves from the blunt military aggression of the ancient empires to the subtle but far-reaching cultural influence of today's superpowers.

We encounter empires in all their contradictions - like the Mongol Empire, the largest land empire the world has ever seen, and yet also the most short-lived. Rise and Fall also reveals striking, often completely unrelated historical parallels: pyramids found not just in Egypt but also in Babylon, Mexico and China; unmistakable echoes of the infant discovered in a basket myth which occur in the Old Testament, the Akkadian origin myth, as well in Hinduism. Above all, we see how the ambition of imperial greatness everywhere - from the Roman emperors to Hitler - is rooted in dreams of utopia and immortality.

Every empire contains the seeds of its own destruction: so what precisely is social progress? Who benefits from it, and who suffers? Rise and Fall reminds us that the progress of humankind takes many forms, and that - perhaps - the systems we take for granted today are far from being the only or inevitable course of future civilisation.

]]> 199 Paul Strathern 1473698642 Simon 4 3.57 2019 Rise and Fall: A History of the World in Ten Empires
author: Paul Strathern
name: Simon
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome]]> 28789711 SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome "with passion and without technical jargon" and demonstrates how "a slightly shabby Iron Age village" rose to become the "undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean" (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that makes "your hair stand on end" (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this "highly informative, highly readable" (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come.]]> 606 Mary Beard 1631492225 Simon 4
It was interesting to read a more modern take on it though, rather than than more traditional interpretations.]]> 4.04 2015 SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
author: Mary Beard
name: Simon
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves:
review:
Excellent if a little light on sources. I suspect there might be a little more opinion and a little less fact, but then, that's often the nature of the subject.

It was interesting to read a more modern take on it though, rather than than more traditional interpretations.
]]> Rogue Trooper: Blighty Valley 199797815
Nu Earth is the site of a galactic war between the Norts and the Southers, and the Genetic Infantrymen like Rogue Trooper have been created solely for this war. However, after the betrayal of the Traitor General Rogue is the last of his kind, and together with biochip buddies Helm, Gunnar and Bagman, they’re searching for the traitor that sold them out.

But now the black hole above Nu-Earth causes a time-rift, and Rogue must team up with British soldiers from World War One to fight both the Hun and the Norts, fix the time barrier, and get back to his original mission.

Garth Ennis (The Boys, Preacher) writes this new, standalone Rogue Trooper adventure - melding together historical action with the sci-fi adventure that is the core of 2000 AD - drawn by Patrick Goddard, who brings the character back in a style reminiscent of the classic Rogue Trooper artists.]]> 96 Garth Ennis 1837861951 Simon 2 3.71 Rogue Trooper: Blighty Valley
author: Garth Ennis
name: Simon
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:
Uhm... I know Garth Ennis has a following for this sort of thing, but honestly I thought this was one of the weaker Rogue Trooper stories. These two ideas just didn't mesh well, I think it would have been better with a unit of Southers, rather than the time travelling.
]]> <![CDATA[New Mutants, Vol. 4: Unfinished Business]]> 11596982 Annihilators, Heroes for Hire) are joined by Leandro Fernandez (Hulk, 5 Ronin) at the helm of New Mutants.
Cyclops is sick of unfinished business coming back to haunt the X-Men, so he's tasking the New Mutants to finish it. Their first mission: Find X-Man. Nate Grey returned in Dark X-Men, but ended up in the hands of Norman Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R. With the Dark Reign at an end, where is X-Man?

Collecting: New Mutants 25-28]]> 112 Dan Abnett 078515230X Simon 3 3.48 2011 New Mutants, Vol. 4: Unfinished Business
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[New Mutants, Vol. 3: Fall of the New Mutants]]> 9571607 Second Coming, the New Mutants who are still left are licking their wounds on a forced R&R trip.

While they try and put themselves back together, others are looking to take them apart. A strange secretive military group has an agenda involving Illyana Rasputin. And they don't want to give her a medal.

Collecting: New Mutants 15�21ձ> 144 Zeb Wells 0785145834 Simon 4 3.65 2011 New Mutants, Vol. 3: Fall of the New Mutants
author: Zeb Wells
name: Simon
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> New Mutants, Vol. 2: Necrosha 7962031
Collecting: New Mutants 6-11, material from X-Force/New Mutants Necrosha]]> 160 Zeb Wells 0785139931 Simon 2 3.46 2010 New Mutants, Vol. 2: Necrosha
author: Zeb Wells
name: Simon
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[New Mutants, Vol. 1: Return of Legion]]> 7079985
Legion is back, and the villain that thrust us into the Age of Apocalypse is scarier than ever! But what does he want with the New Mutants?

Zeb Wells (Amazing Spider-Man) and Diogenes Neves (X-Men: Worlds Apart) bring your favorite teen heroes into adulthood.

Collecting: New Mutants 1-5]]> 168 Zeb Wells 0785139923 Simon 2 3.77 2009 New Mutants, Vol. 1: Return of Legion
author: Zeb Wells
name: Simon
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2009
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 43]]> 205548993
In this volume of the best-selling Complete Case Files series, Dredd uncovers the House of Pain, a no-way-out, brutal torture prison for serial perps, and must stop Orlok from spreading a lethal bio-virus � from beyond the grave! And, after a mysterious package is delivered to the Grand Hall of Justice, Dredd ventures into the Cursed Earth in search of answers that will unveil the history of the Judges, and their ascent to total power.]]> 304 John Wagner 1837860947 Simon 3 4.00 2024 Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 43
author: John Wagner
name: Simon
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Earthdivers, Vol. 2: Ice Age 180347365
When Martin and Tawny’s children disappeared, the couple barreled into the desert to track them down at any cost. Instead, they ran afoul of another group of rovers who claimed to be saving the world by traveling through a cave portal to the year 1492 to prevent the creation of America—an idea that defied belief until the grieving parents were lured into the cave and vanished in time and space.

Now alone, Tawny must adapt to the wild marshlands of prehistoric Florida, circa 20,000 BC, and the breathtaking and bloodthirsty megafauna are the least of her problems when she’s caught in a war between a community of native Paleo-Indians and an occupying Solutrean force. Tawny’s odds of survival are in free fall, but she’s a mother on a mission…and she’s holding on to hope that the cave brought her here for a family reunion.

In the tradition of Saga , the next chapter of the critically acclaimed sci-fi epic is here in Earthdivers Vol. 2 . Collects Earthdivers #7-10.]]> 104 Stephen Graham Jones Simon 1 3.24 2024 Earthdivers, Vol. 2: Ice Age
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Simon
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:
And this second volume I'm afraid really didn't work for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Earthdivers, Vol. 1: Kill Columbus]]> 83823063
The year is 2112, and it’s the apocalypse exactly as rivers receding, oceans rising, civilization crumbling. Humanity has given up hope, except for a group of Indigenous outcasts who have discovered a time travel portal in a cave in the desert and figured out where everything took a turn for the America.

Convinced that the only way to save the world is to rewrite its past, they send one of their own—a reluctant linguist named Tad—on a bloody, one-way mission to 1492 to kill Christopher Columbus before he reaches the so-called New World. But there are steep costs to disrupting the timeline, and taking down an icon isn’t an easy task for an academic with no tactical training and only a wavering moral compass to guide him. As the horror of the task ahead unfolds and Tad’s commitment is tested, his actions could trigger a devastating new fate for his friends and the future.

Join Stephen Graham Jones and artist Davide Gianfelice for Earthdivers, Vol. 1, the beginning of an unforgettable ongoing sci-fi slasher spanning centuries of America’s Colonial past to explore the staggering forces of history and the individual choices we make to survive it.]]> 176 Stephen Graham Jones Simon 2 3.61 Earthdivers, Vol. 1: Kill Columbus
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Simon
average rating: 3.61
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:
It's a great premise and a fantastic idea and I want to love it, but I found the narrative structure just didn't hold up throughout the story, and by the end it all felt... like it needed to spend more time being polished up.
]]> Brynmore 181037632
Recently divorced and sober, Mark Turner has returned to his hometown looking for a second chance. He’ll rebuild the old church into a new home…if the locals let him. But Turner Island has a secret, one tracing back to when it was named after Mark’s ancestors. Who, or what, is Brynmore?]]> 136 Steve Niles Simon 2 I mean it's okay? 2.88 2024 Brynmore
author: Steve Niles
name: Simon
average rating: 2.88
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:
I mean it's okay?
]]> Brink: Book Five 59365817
The year is 2096 and Earth has been reduced to an uninhabited wasteland. What was left of humanity was evacuated into overpopulated space stations, or 'Habitats'.
Nolan Maslow, a journalist working for The Herald, is investigating the death of HSD agent Brinkmann and the sect that has infiltrated the maintenance workers of Ludmilla Habitat. He will find out that even his most outrageous theories cannot encompass what is actually happening behind the scenes of the habitat.

Taking place during the events of Brink Book One, this graphic novel adds extra layers to the story of Bridget Kurtis and her ongoing fight against the forces which are haunting the remains of humanity and driving them to madness.]]> 128 Dan Abnett 1786185695 Simon 4 3.97 2022 Brink: Book Five
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Brink: Book Four 56897871
In the late 21st century, after humanity has left the Earth it poisoned and now huddles in deep-space Habitats, life on these cramped, overcrowded stations is tense, with many spilling over into madness. HSD cop Bridget Kurtis has investigated cults and murders that have driven her to the very edge, butnow she must stop the spread of a viral video clip which sends viewers insane...]]> 112 Dan Abnett 1781089396 Simon 3 4.20 2021 Brink: Book Four
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Brink: Book Three 42201491
OVER THE BRINK

Inspector Bridget Curtis is drawn deeper into a disturbing plot that runs from the drug-fuelled sects of the Habitats, to the upper echelons of Junot Corp. Strange things are happening, but is the conspiracy real, or is life in space beginning to affect her sanity? The reality of sinister Space Gods aside, the fate of the human race may be at stake!]]> 112 Dan Abnett 1781086761 Simon 4 4.20 2019 Brink: Book Three
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Brink: Book Two 36373684 MERCURY HAS DISAPPEARED. NO ONE KNOWS WHY.

Her past as an Investigator seemingly behind her, Bridget Kurtis is sent to the under-construction Galina Habitat as a security consultant. With a skeleton crew of engineers, architects and security personnel, construction is running behind schedule and Mariam Junot herself (the acting-CEO of Junot Corp) has arrived to find out why.

Amid rumours of haunting and disappearances, Kurtis uncovers a conspiracy that may be more insidious and far-reaching than she ever imagined. Either the claustrophobic life in the space Habitats is driving humanity insane, or there are influences at play beyond any human understanding…]]> 96 Dan Abnett 1781086281 Simon 4 4.22 2018 Brink: Book Two
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Brink: Book One 32927242
The first series of the new atmospheric, sci-fi thriller from Dan Abnett and I.N.J. Culbard.]]> 96 Dan Abnett 1781085501 Simon 4 3.94 2019 Brink: Book One
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Arca 63337494
The world burned. But the rich and powerful...they had a plan. When society fell apart, a select group of billionaires had an escape hatch: a rocket aimed at the nearest habitable planet, a ship equipped with many of the luxuries of life on Earth—why survive if you can’t survive in style? Their every need is tended to by teenagers who are willing to act as slaves in return for the promise of a new life. This is a good story. But, like so many stories, it is not true.

Inside a great, sealed survival chamber, one slave—a teenage girl named Persephone—discovers that the promised future of comfort is a myth. And with that knowledge, she must fight for her survival against the billionaires, who would gladly kill her to protect the hidden truth.]]> 176 Van Jensen 1684059984 Simon 3 3.71 Arca
author: Van Jensen
name: Simon
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:
Sort of interesting post environmental apocalypse story, let down by the final twist being something that... well let's say we saw it somewhere else, and I'm not sure who did it first. But somebody ripped off somebody.
]]> <![CDATA[Aliens vs. Predator vs. the Terminator]]> 343376 96 Mark Schultz 1569715688 Simon 1 Genuinely terrible. 2.83 2001 Aliens vs. Predator vs. the Terminator
author: Mark Schultz
name: Simon
average rating: 2.83
book published: 2001
rating: 1
read at: 2024/09/29
date added: 2024/09/29
shelves:
review:
Genuinely terrible.
]]> Dragonsong (Harper Hall, #1) 28541 Fifteen-year-old Menolly allies with magnificent dragons in the first book in the Harper Hall trilogy, set within science fiction legend Anne McCaffrey’s beloved and bestselling Dragonriders of Pern series.

For centuries, the world of Pern has faced a destructive force known as Thread. But the number of magnificent dragons who have protected this world and the men and women who ride them are dwindling.

As fewer dragons ride the winds and destruction falls from the sky, Menolly has only one to sing, play, and weave the music that comes to her so easily—she wishes to become a Harper. But despite her great talents, her father believes that a young girl is unworthy of such a respected position and forbids her to pursue her dreams. So Menolly runs away, taking shelter in a cave by the sea. Miraculously, she happens upon nine fire lizards that could possibly save her world...and change her life forever.]]> 192 Anne McCaffrey 141692499X Simon 4
And it's quite rare to be able to say that.

Probably going to re-read the rest of them now. How come we get GRRMs turgid fantasy on our tv screens instead of Pern?]]> 4.23 1976 Dragonsong (Harper Hall, #1)
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Simon
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1976
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
Dragonsong is utterly charming. And I'm so glad that re-reading it as an adult, I enjoyed it almost as much as I did when I read it as a teenager.

And it's quite rare to be able to say that.

Probably going to re-read the rest of them now. How come we get GRRMs turgid fantasy on our tv screens instead of Pern?
]]> <![CDATA[Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)]]> 56791389 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B08BKGYQXW


The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game—with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.]]> 446 Matt Dinniman Simon 4 4.49 2020 Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Simon
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Death and Defiance (The Horus Heresy #Anthology)]]> 22796935
This anthology contains five exclusive stories from across the battlefields of the Horus Heresy. Each tale ties into one of the major arcs of the series so far, from the worlds of Imperium Secundus, to the palace of Terra, and even the Warmaster’s Flagship, The Vengeful Spirit.

Virtues of the Sons by Andy Smillie
Amit duels Khârn and Azkaellon faces Lucius as Sanguinius's chosen sons explore the twin aspects of their nature.

Imperfect by Nick Kyme
A simple game of Regicide between Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus is far more than it seems...

Howl of the Hearthworld by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
A Space Wolves pack rails at being sent back to Terra to watch over Rogal Dorn.

A Safe and Shadowed Place by Guy Haley
Seeking refuge, the remnants of the Night Lords fleet stumble across Imperium Secundus.

Gunsight by James Swallow
An Assassin lurks on board the Vengeful Spirit. His target? Warmaster Horus himself.]]> 132 Nick Kyme 1849707863 Simon 3 3.61 2014 Death and Defiance (The Horus Heresy #Anthology)
author: Nick Kyme
name: Simon
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
... I know I've read this but damned if I can remember much about it...
]]> <![CDATA[The End And The Death: Volume III (The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra, Book 8, Part 3)]]> 205314876 Siege of Terra Book 8, Part 3

It all comes down to this final confrontation � the Emperor versus the Warmaster. The father versus the son. After 63 novels and a slew of short stories, omnibuses, audio dramas, and more � this is the End and the Death.

READ IT BECAUSE

The Horus Heresy series reaches its dramatic climax. After years of civil war, the Emperor and Horus clash aboard the Vengeful Spirit in an epic battle of blades, wits, and wills. See how the greatest conflict of the age plays out, and follow fan-favourite characters from across the saga as they desperately try to influence the outcome.

THE STORY

The Great Angel, Sanguinius, lies slain at his brother's hand. Terra burns as reality itself unravels, and the greatest bastion of civilisation teeters on the brink of annihilation.

Desperate defenders gather, banding against the rabid traitor hordes. The Hollow Mountain, host to the pilgrims of Euphrati Keeler, is one of the last redoubts held by the Dark Angels while the unclean host of Typhus lays siege. Malcador the Sigillite sits ablaze on the Golden Throne, trying to buy his master more time. But time is running out...

Guilliman races across the stars to reinforce the Throneworld. Will he return to ashes, where a Warmaster of Chaos has ascended to godhood, or will the Emperor have triumphed? And at what cost?

Written by Dan Abnett.]]> 512 Dan Abnett 1804075094 Simon 3
The duel goes on for about 150 pages too long, which is time that could have been much better spent bringing us the scouring of Terra as the rest of the loyalists arrived, and instead that just gets.... skimped over. I fear because GW want to bring us another series of a dozen volumes detailing that.

I suppose in reflection this final run of the Horus Heresy says a lot about commercial pressures in publishing. And how in the end this was transformed from something quite magical and mythical, into something rather mundane.

Thinking of how fans edited recent star wars shows into 90 minute movies and made them much stronger as a result, I think probably these last three volumes had one really really great book in them, but... it got padded out and watered down to the point where it's... really I'm afraid it's an artistic failure, but, I'm sure it was a great commercial success.]]> 4.68 2024 The End And The Death: Volume III (The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra, Book 8, Part 3)
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 4.68
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
Well thank heaven's this all ended on a stronger note than the previous volume. But... it's still not great.

The duel goes on for about 150 pages too long, which is time that could have been much better spent bringing us the scouring of Terra as the rest of the loyalists arrived, and instead that just gets.... skimped over. I fear because GW want to bring us another series of a dozen volumes detailing that.

I suppose in reflection this final run of the Horus Heresy says a lot about commercial pressures in publishing. And how in the end this was transformed from something quite magical and mythical, into something rather mundane.

Thinking of how fans edited recent star wars shows into 90 minute movies and made them much stronger as a result, I think probably these last three volumes had one really really great book in them, but... it got padded out and watered down to the point where it's... really I'm afraid it's an artistic failure, but, I'm sure it was a great commercial success.
]]> <![CDATA[The End and the Death: Volume II (The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra, Book 8, Part 2)]]> 199391458 Siege of Terra Book 8, Part 2

Volume II picks up right where the first left off, with cataclysmic events building up to an epic conclusion that will shake the very galaxy to its core.

READ IT BECAUSE
The final battle aboard the Warmaster’s flagship has begun in earnest, as Sanguinius defies his fate and the Dark Gods in an attempt to end his brother’s life, and the war along with it.

THE STORY
Terra is besieged. The outcome of the war lies on a knife edge. The Warmaster Horus� bloody seven-year crusade has led to this � the cradle of humanity, where he is to kill his father, the Emperor.

With the war at this critical juncture, Sanguinius, primarch of the loyalist Blood Angels, braves the horrors of the Warmaster’s flagship, The Vengeful Spirit, with a single purpose in mind � to slay his brother Horus, decapitate the Heresy once and for all, and stop the forces of Chaos from taking Terra.

But at the whim of a Warmaster fallen so far from grace, the Dark Gods will not make Sanguinius� task easy. As the war edges towards its explosive, bloody conclusion, events are about to unfold that could either save humanity or plunge it headlong into an eternity of darkness.]]> 673 Dan Abnett 1800268807 Simon 1
What went wrong? The usually very reliable Dan Abnett has delivered an absolute stinker. There is no beginning/middle/end. There's no structure. It's just some stuff that happens.

I mean this novel is so bad that I actually have a conspiracy theory that I don't think Dan Abnett actually wrote this? Because he is a much much better writer than this, and it sort of gets good only twoards the end when the structure and style completely changes.

So yes, I think Abnett maybe wrote the beginning 50 pages and the last 50 pages, and... was the rest filled in with AI? Who knows. Very very disappointing though.]]> 4.43 2023 The End and the Death: Volume II (The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra, Book 8, Part 2)
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
Oh dear.

What went wrong? The usually very reliable Dan Abnett has delivered an absolute stinker. There is no beginning/middle/end. There's no structure. It's just some stuff that happens.

I mean this novel is so bad that I actually have a conspiracy theory that I don't think Dan Abnett actually wrote this? Because he is a much much better writer than this, and it sort of gets good only twoards the end when the structure and style completely changes.

So yes, I think Abnett maybe wrote the beginning 50 pages and the last 50 pages, and... was the rest filled in with AI? Who knows. Very very disappointing though.
]]> <![CDATA[The End And The Death Volume 1 (The Siege of Terra, #8)]]> 122783054 Siege of Terra Book 8, Part 1

The arch-traitor Horus Lupercal's forces have bombarded Terra and the Imperial Palace lies in ruins. With the Emperor's dream in tatters, he seeks only to rob Chaos of its ultimate victory�

READ IT BECAUSE
It's the beginning of the ultimate conclusion to the Horus Heresy, and hope still remains for the Loyalists! The Emperor plans a gambit that could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat � but at what cost?

THE STORY
There is no way out.

The walls have fallen, the gates are breached, and the defenders are slain. It is the end and the death. After seven brutal years of civil war, the Warmaster stands on the verge of victory. Horus Lupercal, once beloved son, has come to murder his father. The Emperor, a shining beacon of hope to many, an unscrupulous tyrant to others, must die. The lives of uncountable numbers have been extinguished and even primarchs, once thought immortal, have been laid low. The Emperor's dream lies in tatters, but there remains a sliver of hope.

Now, at the final hour of the final day, the Emperor rises. With him come his Angel, his Praetorian, and his Captain, all determined to enact terrible vengeance. Yet the hope is slim, for the Warmaster sees all and knows all, and the ultimate victory of Chaos is at hand.]]> 628 Dan Abnett 1800266510 Simon 3
There's some pretty severe pacing issues throughout this volume.

There's way too much Grammaticus, there's way too much Fo, I mean, basically this should have been 200 words and then it would have been really tight. Particularly if a lot of the very very purple prose had been tidied up.

Abnett has done some really great work in 40k, but this was not his finest hour.]]> 4.65 2023 The End And The Death Volume 1 (The Siege of Terra, #8)
author: Dan Abnett
name: Simon
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
And we finally enter the final stretch on this... ten year 100+ book series. And.... Abnett is in no hurry to get it finished is he?

There's some pretty severe pacing issues throughout this volume.

There's way too much Grammaticus, there's way too much Fo, I mean, basically this should have been 200 words and then it would have been really tight. Particularly if a lot of the very very purple prose had been tidied up.

Abnett has done some really great work in 40k, but this was not his finest hour.
]]> <![CDATA[Echoes of Eternity (The Siege of Terra #7)]]> 60484063 Siege of Terra Book 7

With the walls of the Imperial Palace in ruins and the end in sight, Sanguinius prepares one final stand. The loyalists are desperate, and the Warmaster’s hordes are certain of their coming victory.

READ IT BECAUSE
The myriad battles of the Siege of Terra series are pulling into a taut weave of tension, horror, and certain doom. Just when you thought it was bad, it gets worse.

THE STORY
The walls have fallen. The defenders are broken. The Inner Palace lies in ruins.

The Warmaster’s horde advances through the fire and ash of Terra's dying breaths, forcing the loyalists back to the Delphic Battlement � the very walls of the Sanctum Imperialis. Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters and Herald of Horus, has achieved immortality through annihilation � now he leads the armies of the damned in a wrathful tide, destroying all before them as the warp begins its poisonous corruption of Terra's very soil.

For the Emperor’s beleaguered forces, the end has come. The Khan lies on the edge of death. Rogal Dorn is encircled, fighting his own war at Bhab Bastion. Guilliman will not reach Terra in time. Without his brothers, Sanguinius � the Angel of the Ninth Legion � waits on the final battlements, hoping to rally a desperate band of defenders and refugees for one last stand.]]> 522 Aaron Dembski-Bowden 1800260881 Simon 4 4.50 2022 Echoes of Eternity (The Siege of Terra #7)
author: Aaron Dembski-Bowden
name: Simon
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
Very much liked this one too, because it dared to be just a little bit different stylistically. And that's been something that's a big criticism of this whole series, they've had.... umpteen volumes, but they've basically all been more or less the same stylistically. And I liked that ADB pushed the envelope and delivered somethign with a fair degree more artistic value than most.
]]> <![CDATA[Warhawk (The Siege of Terra #6)]]> 58058574 Siege of Terra Book 6

With the Lion's Gate space port taken by the enemy, Jaghatai Khan of the White Scars prepares a brazen gambit, but one of his former brothers rises to take up arms against him.

READ IT BECAUSE
The heroic and dynamic White Scars hurtle headlong into combat with the unyielding Death Guard. As brother battles brother, the fate of Terra itself hangs in the balance.

THE STORY
The Inner Walls are breached.

Traitor vanguards tear towards the heart of the Palace, sensing victory. Desperate gambits are attempted: an unwilling saint is released into the ruins, as well as an enthusiastic sinner. A black sword rises, forged from spite, ready to create a legend. But amid the slaughter, Jaghatai Khan, Warhawk of Chogoris, prepares to launch the most audacious strike of the conflict. His goal is nothing less than the liberation of the Lion's Gate space port. Cut off from any help, he stakes everything on one desperate counter-offensive, launched against an old enemy who has been made far greater than he ever was before. As the White Scars ride out against the newly crowned lords of life and death, they know that defeat for them dooms not only the Legion, but Terra itself.]]> 482 Chris Wraight 1789999529 Simon 4 4.28 2021 Warhawk (The Siege of Terra #6)
author: Chris Wraight
name: Simon
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
And just when I was ready to give up on the Seige of Terra (for a second time) after the godawful turgid mess that was the previous volume, along came a much better story that reinvigorated my interest.
]]> <![CDATA[Mortis (The Siege of Terra, #5)]]> 56269795 Siege of Terra Book 5

After a series of victories, the Imperial forces are on the back foot once more. The power of Chaos is rising, the Traitors gain ground, and all hope seems lost. Can Terra endure?

READ IT BECAUSE
Delve back into the biggest war in Imperial history, which is getting even bigger as Traitor Titans land and the influence of the warp grows, plaguing the defenders in all sorts of vile ways.

THE STORY
The victories of Saturnine and the sacrifices of the Eternity Wall space port have faded into the hope of yesterday. Denied but not defeated, the Traitors intensify their assault on the Imperial Palace. With the principal space ports in Horus� hands, the Warmaster now drains the heavens of his reserves.

As the pressure of the assault increases, the power of Chaos waxes. The waking lives of the defenders are filled with despair, while their dreams pull them in search of a false paradise. As the fabric of the defences fails and the will of those who stand on them cracks, Horus commands the Titans of the Legio Mortis to breach the walls. Against them stands the might of Mercury Wall and the strength of the Legio Ignatum. Ancient rivals, the god-engines of both Legions meet in battle, while within the walls a few desperate individuals seek a way to turn back the tide of the warp’s malign influence. Across Terra, lost warriors and travellers make their way through wastelands and gardens of horror, towards home and an unknown future.]]> 560 John French 1789998166 Simon 1
And this unfortunately is one of the really terrible ones. Nothing important happens. What little does happen has no impact on the rest of the story. As they say, this entire novel could have been a two paragraph email.

The worst part is this should have been the crowning glory of the god engines storylines, and it's just... not. The God Engines wind up being mostly an irrelevence.

Just plain boring I'm sad to say.]]> 3.48 2021 Mortis (The Siege of Terra, #5)
author: John French
name: Simon
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2021
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
I don't know what it is with the Siege of Terra, we're seeing some really great installments, and then we see a really terrible installment.

And this unfortunately is one of the really terrible ones. Nothing important happens. What little does happen has no impact on the rest of the story. As they say, this entire novel could have been a two paragraph email.

The worst part is this should have been the crowning glory of the god engines storylines, and it's just... not. The God Engines wind up being mostly an irrelevence.

Just plain boring I'm sad to say.
]]> Memory's Legion 36130437
Contents:

Drive (2012)
The Butcher of Anderson Station (2011)
The Churn (2014)
Gods of Risk (2012)
The Vital Abyss (2015)
Strange Dogs (2017)
Auberon (2019)
The Sins of our Fathers (2022)

*does not include The Last Flight of the Cassandra]]> 423 James S.A. Corey Simon 2
The stories I was interested in were great, the ones that were so disconnected from any of the main storylines or characters were just... average sci-fi short-stories that happened to be in the same universe?]]> 4.33 2022 Memory's Legion
author: James S.A. Corey
name: Simon
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
Had put off reading this because I half suspected it might not be my thing, and sure enough.

The stories I was interested in were great, the ones that were so disconnected from any of the main storylines or characters were just... average sci-fi short-stories that happened to be in the same universe?
]]> <![CDATA[Garro: Knight of Grey (The Siege of Terra)]]> 61677233 A Siege of Terra Novella

Nathaniel Garro, the loyalist who betrayed his father Mortarion to warn the Emperor of the horrors of Isstvan, is brought face to face with the hideously changed Primarch.

READ IT BECAUSE
It’s the conclusion of a story that began long ago in Flight of the Eisenstein. A loyalist son confronts his traitorous father.

THE STORY
As the epic battle for Terra rages and the future of mankind hangs in the balance, former Knight Errant Nathaniel Garro fights among the ashes and fire of the embattled Imperial Palace as the shadow of Horus Lupercal's triumph looms. From the brutal betrayal at Isstvan to the desperate flight of the Eisenstein, through his missions as Malcador the Sigillite's Agentia Primus, Garro's path has drawn him inexorably towards a destiny that can only end in bloodshed.

As he struggles to protect Euphrati Keeler, the first Saint of the Imperial Church, from the horrors of this titanic war, Garro must face his greatest enemy � his father, Mortarion, his former master, and the monstrous liege-lord of the traitorous Death Guard � in a final, shattering confrontation.]]> 144 James Swallow 1800262078 Simon 3
It'll be interesting to go back and re-read the whole Garro storyline and see how it stands up.]]> 3.96 2023 Garro: Knight of Grey (The Siege of Terra)
author: James Swallow
name: Simon
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/20
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves:
review:
One of the more interesting Siege shorts, and I very much like that it was kept short rather than spun out with tons of padding.

It'll be interesting to go back and re-read the whole Garro storyline and see how it stands up.
]]> Ultimate Galactus Trilogy 514790
Collects Ultimate Nightmare #1-5, Ultimate Secret #1-4, Ultimate Extinction #1-5 and Ultimate Vision #0]]> 344 Warren Ellis 0785121390 Simon 3 3.64 2007 Ultimate Galactus Trilogy
author: Warren Ellis
name: Simon
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
I'm not quite sure what to make of this, the first volume of the three is absolutely brilliant, but the final volume is toe-curlingly wretched. With, I swear to god, some of the most cringe flirting you will ever read.
]]> <![CDATA[Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: The Lesser Evil]]> 63375848 A tragic tale of passion, vindication, and the root of evil is presented in this graphic novel adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's original short story.

In search of a reward, Geralt brings the carcass of a slain creature to a small town where he is told it may be of use to the local sorcerer--but the mage isn't who he is alleged to be.

In hiding for his life, he requests Geralt's help in slaying the monster who seeks to murder him--a young woman said to have been born under the Curse of the Black Sun--a prophecy of inborn evil. He declares that she is more a monster than the creature presented before him. Geralt later encounters the woman, who asserts that it is the sorcerer who is the true monster--committing unspeakable crimes at the behest of his superstitious beliefs. With the boundaries blurred between the evil that is done and the evil done in return, Geralt is met with a quandary. The face of evil is ever-changing and his verdict, whether by choice or by force, can only lead to tragedy.

This graphic novel is the second in a series of adaptations from Sapkowski's acclaimed short story collection The Last Wish!]]> 56 Jacek Rembiś 1506726968 Simon 3 3.90 2023 Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher: The Lesser Evil
author: Jacek Rembiś
name: Simon
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Saga, Volume 11 29237226
Collects SAGA #61-66]]> 153 Brian K. Vaughan 1534345930 Simon 4 4.25 2023 Saga, Volume 11
author: Brian K. Vaughan
name: Simon
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Saga, Volume 10 29237224
Collects: Saga #55-60.]]> 160 Fiona Staples 1534323341 Simon 4
And yes, it's back to break your heart again, and again, and again.

Oh for heaven's sake ŷ, no, I'm not a robot.]]> 4.30 2022 Saga, Volume 10
author: Fiona Staples
name: Simon
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
Ah, after a long gap, one of the best comics of recent years is back.

And yes, it's back to break your heart again, and again, and again.

Oh for heaven's sake ŷ, no, I'm not a robot.
]]> <![CDATA[Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Six]]> 10643191 208 Alan Moore 1401232981 Simon 1
I mean I guess this is the volume where Alan knew his time on the title was coming to an end so he chucked out all the bonkers mad experimental stories that had come up during the run? Also, a lot of hallucinogens. This volume is rich in the imagery and fractals of hallucinogens.

But... they just don't work.

There's a whole episode of a space computer that... abuses swampy to get pregnant? I'm not sure what happened at all in this one.

There's a weird frankenstein story that makes no sense, goes nowhere, and might just have been a fever dream?

The re-union with Abby at the end was decent though. But, still, I felt this awesome run of comics ended with a real whimper.]]> 4.20 1987 Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Six
author: Alan Moore
name: Simon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1987
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
Unfortunately this final volume lost me.

I mean I guess this is the volume where Alan knew his time on the title was coming to an end so he chucked out all the bonkers mad experimental stories that had come up during the run? Also, a lot of hallucinogens. This volume is rich in the imagery and fractals of hallucinogens.

But... they just don't work.

There's a whole episode of a space computer that... abuses swampy to get pregnant? I'm not sure what happened at all in this one.

There's a weird frankenstein story that makes no sense, goes nowhere, and might just have been a fever dream?

The re-union with Abby at the end was decent though. But, still, I felt this awesome run of comics ended with a real whimper.
]]> <![CDATA[Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Five]]> 9918735
Collects issues #51 - #56]]> 168 Alan Moore 1401230954 Simon 5 4.49 1987 Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Five
author: Alan Moore
name: Simon
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
It's so very refreshing to read about bad abusive relationships, and contrasting them with loving relationships, in a book written by a guy from this era.
]]> <![CDATA[Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Four]]> 8403420
Collects issues #43�#50.]]> 224 Alan Moore 1401230180 Simon 4 4.44 1986 Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Four
author: Alan Moore
name: Simon
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Three]]> 7299872
Collects issues #35�#42.]]> 208 Alan Moore 140122766X Simon 5 4.42 1985 Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Three
author: Alan Moore
name: Simon
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Two]]> 6367424 Swamp Thing shouldn't be underestimated in the history of comics and, specifically, the history of horror comics. The modern comics landscape has been changed by the Vertigo line of books--an imprint that traces its roots back to this version of Swamp Thing. By taking a horror character fully entrenched in a superhero world (as silly as that might seem), this creative team put a new face on horror comics and on horror in general. Swamp Thing: Love and Death is the second collection of the team's work on the series, presented here in full color. Don't let the mediocre Swamp Thing movies fool you, this book is filled with sophisticated suspense and terror.

Collects issues #28�34 and Annual #2.]]> 224 Alan Moore 1401225322 Simon 5 Even better than book 1. 4.44 1985 Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Two
author: Alan Moore
name: Simon
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
Even better than book 1.
]]> <![CDATA[Swamp Thing, Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing]]> 102324
With modern-day issues explored against a backdrop of horror, SWAMP THING's stories became commentaries on environmental, political and social issues, unflinching in their relevance. SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING Book One collects issues #20-27 of this seminal series including the never-before-reprinted SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #20, where Moore takes over as writer and concludes the previous storyline.

Book One begins with the story "The Anatomy Lesson," a haunting origin story that reshapes SWAMP THING mythology with terrifying revelations that begin a journey of discovery and adventure that will take him across the stars and beyond.]]> 173 Alan Moore 0930289226 Simon 4
Maybe because it's an era of DC comics that I have just never liked. But this? This was brilliant.]]> 4.23 1983 Swamp Thing, Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing
author: Alan Moore
name: Simon
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
How did it take me this many years of my life to finally get around to reading Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing?

Maybe because it's an era of DC comics that I have just never liked. But this? This was brilliant.
]]> <![CDATA[Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 42]]> 162432086
The best-selling series collecting The Law in order continues as Judge Dredd tests his wits against a grisly selection of Mega-City One’s most maniacal murderers!

In the dystopian metropolis Mega-City One, crime lurks around every corner, whether it’s The Surgeon, who feeds on the still beating heart of his victims, the globetrotting blogging serial killer Global Psycho, or the deadly plots in Mega-City One's virtual gardening competitions! The only thing stopping the city from falling into depravity and chaos are the Judges, and toughest of them all is Judge Dredd - Judge, Jury and Executioner!

Written by John Wagner (A History of Violence) with Gordon Rennie (Warhammer), Ian Edginton (The Establishment), and Robbie Morrison (The Authority) and boasting art by Henry Flint (Hawk the Slayer), Cam Kennedy (Star Dark Empire), Arthur Ranson (Anderson, Psi-Divison), Greg Staples ( The Gathering), Ian Gibson (The Ballad of Halo Jones) and D'Israeli (Scarlet Traces), Case Files 42 is another blood pumping collection of taunt crime capers in the nightmarish Mega-City One!]]> 0 Gordon Rennie 1786189046 Simon 3 4.00 Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 42
author: Gordon Rennie
name: Simon
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
Dredd being dredd. Still at his best in the longer form stories though.
]]> <![CDATA[Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins Library Edition Volume 1]]> 98181138 Critcal Role's The Mighty Nein Origins is collected for the first time!

This first of two volumes collects the whimsical, tragic, and sometimes haunting backstories of Jester Lavorre, Caleb Widogast, Yasha Nydoorin, and Nott the Brave. Delve deep into their pasts and witness what led them to the Mighty Nein.

This hardcover collection features stories and art by fan-favorite Critter creators, in direct consultation with the cast of Critical Role! It's a must for any fan's library.

Collects:

Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Jester Lavorre
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin
Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins: Nott the Brave]]> 224 Sam Maggs 1506723802 Simon 3 4.34 2023 Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins Library Edition Volume 1
author: Sam Maggs
name: Simon
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/15
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
Coming at this from not knowing anything about Critical Role was probably a mistake.
]]> <![CDATA[Best of 2000 AD Volume 4: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic]]> 101153884
Best of 2000 AD is a landmark series from the cult comic, bursting with our greatest stories for a new generation of readers.

Every Best of 2000 AD contains a mix of modern classics and gems from the vault. In each edition you'll find an explosive new Judge Dredd adventure, fresh essays by prominent popular culture writers, a graphic novel-length feature presentation by global legends and a vintage Dredd case.

In this When Judge Dredd investigates a potential whistleblower, it’s hard to avoid paranoia when information is this Mega-City Confidential ; from medieval Prague to the streets of Elizabethan London, Kek-W and John Burns sound the call to battle extra-dimensional Wurms and join The Order ; a rolling stone gathers no mousse as Pete Milligan and Jamie Hewlett tangle you in Hewligan’s Haircut , a shear reality-warping victory roll that’s just the tonic; quake to the Cry of the Werewolf with an all-time Dredd classic by Alan Grant and Steve Dillon .

Boasting brand new covers from an all-star line-up of artists including Marguerite Sauvage ( Archie ) and Glyn Dillon ( The Batman ) with designer Tom Mulle r ( X-Men ), Best of 2000 AD is the essential gateway into the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic.]]> 192 John Wagner 1837860432 Simon 3 3.71 Best of 2000 AD Volume 4: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic
author: John Wagner
name: Simon
average rating: 3.71
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/25
date added: 2024/06/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Best of 2000 AD Volume 3: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic]]> 62919523
Best of 2000 AD is a landmark series from the cult comic, bursting with our greatest stories for a new generation of readers.

Every Best of 2000 AD contains a mix of modern classics and gems from the vault. In each edition you'll find an explosive new Judge Dredd adventure, fresh essays by prominent popular culture writers, a graphic novel-length feature presentation by global legends and a vintage Dredd case.

In this Spend a night on The Graveyard Shift with Judge Dredd; Gordon Rennie and Frazer Irving tune in and drop tab of superpowers before Storming Heaven ; get lost in the darkness lying in the belly of the good ship Leviathan from Ian Edginton and D’Israeli .

Boasting brand new covers from an all-star line-up of artists including Erica Henderson ( Dracula, Motherf**ker! ) and Declan Shalvey ( Moon Knight ) with designer Tom Mulle r ( X-Men ), Best of 2000 AD is the essential gateway into the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic.]]> 192 John Wagner 1786189941 Simon 3 4.00 Best of 2000 AD Volume 3: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic
author: John Wagner
name: Simon
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/25
date added: 2024/06/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Best of 2000 AD Volume 2: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic]]> 61273439
THE ULTIMATE 2000 AD MIX-TAPE HAS ARRIVED!

Best of 2000 AD is a landmark series from the cult comic, bursting with our greatest stories for a new generation of readers.

Every Best of 2000 AD contains a mix of modern classics and gems from the vault. In each edition you'll find an explosive new Judge Dredd adventure, fresh essays by prominent popular culture writers, a graphic novel-length feature presentation by global legends and a vintage Dredd case.

In this Judge Dredd hunts untraceable assassins firing Magic Bullets by Al Ewing and Colin Wilson ; even robots get the Red Planet Blues from Alan Moore , Steve Dillon and John Higgins ; not even Mega City One’s brightest can escape The Vampire Effect ; join the front line of the resistance against intergalactic bigots in Gothic masterpiece Nemesis The Warlock !

Boasting brand new covers from an all-star line-up of artists including Becky Cloonan ( The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys ) and Charlie Adlard ( The Walking Dead ) with designer Tom Mulle r ( X-Men ), Best of 2000 AD is the essential gateway into the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic.]]> 192 Al Ewing 1786188724 Simon 4 4.18 Best of 2000 AD Volume 2: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic
author: Al Ewing
name: Simon
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/25
date added: 2024/06/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Best of 2000 AD Volume 1: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic]]> 60321147 "A slab of pop...a great place to start to explore this huge swathe of British comics" - Kieron Gillen (Die, Once & Future, Eternals)

"A slab of pop...a great place to start to explore this huge swathe of British comics" - Kieron Gillen (Die, Once & Future, Eternals)


Best of 2000 ADis a landmark series from the cult comic, bursting with our greatest stories for a new generation of readers.

Every Best of 2000 ADcontains a mix of modern classics and gems from the vault. In each edition you'll find an explosive new Judge Dredd adventure, fresh essays by prominent popular culture writers, a graphic novel-length feature presentation by global legends and a vintage Dredd case.

In this volume: Judge Dredd battles Mutie Block anarchy; Halo Jones escapes in Alan Moore�s first masterpiece; humanity is on the Brink in the space murder mystery from Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard; Judge Anderson takes centre stage in the search for Shamballa.

Boasting brand new covers from an all-star line-up of artists including Jamie McKelvie (The Wicked + The Divine) and Karl Kerschl (Gotham Academy) with designer Tom Muller (X-Men), Best of 2000 AD is the essential gateway into the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic.]]> 192 Alan Moore 178618706X Simon 4 3.92 2022 Best of 2000 AD Volume 1: The Essential Gateway to the Galaxy's Greatest Comic
author: Alan Moore
name: Simon
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/25
date added: 2024/06/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Judge Dredd: America (Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection, #1)]]> 24684906 200 John Wagner Simon 5
And I think still my favourite Dredd story of all time. And this collection was fleshed out with further stories following on from it that I'd not read before, so that was added win.]]> 4.28 2015 Judge Dredd: America (Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection, #1)
author: John Wagner
name: Simon
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/11
date added: 2024/05/15
shelves:
review:
Probably one of the most important Dredd stories of all time, which really marked the start of where they made a conscious effort to make Dredd more 'grown up'. Moving away from the silly stories and proving they could do real adult storytelling with him.

And I think still my favourite Dredd story of all time. And this collection was fleshed out with further stories following on from it that I'd not read before, so that was added win.
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