#how narration heavy the book is and how there's probably as much depth and humor and character in the narration as in the dialogue

[shelfperson]

Aight, look, Good Omens 2 empirically does not need to happen. The book was a complete narrative that concluded satisfyingly, was adapted quite well, one of the co-authors has passed away, the story is over. It is inherently superfluous.

BUT. I am so very deeply exited for Neil Gaiman and John Finnemore's high concept Terry Pratchett tribute fanfiction featuring wacky mysteries, hopefully even more Best of Queen, and gothgirl David Tennant. That sounds rad to me.

[peachcitt]

Hi! You've mentioned on Discord that you read a lot of books, and I was wondering if you could rec some? Either your favourites, or ones that had a big impact on you/your writing 🥺

yes!!! all my favorite books generally affect my writing style, and often after ive finished reading a really good book, i'll write something and end up emulating that book's style (either on accident or on purpose haha). sometimes on my ao3 you'll find in my author's notes me saying what book i just finished, and if you read or know those books, you'll probably see me mimicking certain aspects of style

for other reccommendations/more in depth descriptions of book plots, i also have a reading list that i posted this past winter on my writing blog that you can check out, and im planning on posting another one at the end of the summer!! (in fact ive already started the list lmao)

the list will be structured as follows: book or series name, author, and a couple reasons why i like it. in addition to this, i will put stars by author's names if i have read other books by them and greatly enjoyed them.

without further ado:

The Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo*

this has got to be my favorite series of all time. i love bardugo's capability to write complex characters and complicated plots, and i really like the way she structures her books. the series is just so artfully done and when i finished it i was so perfectly satisfied and so perfectly sad because i mourned the fact that it was over

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak*

literally my favorite book. this is the book i tell people is my favorite if anyone asks. i love zusak's casual humor alongside his ability to write such heartbreaking and heavy moments in just little scraps of images. it's a romantic book without being about romance - it's about love and kindness and how powerful those things can be be, and that shit gets me every time. i have reread this book so many times - yearly since i got it, i think, and i got in middle school, i think. im in college now. and every time i reread it, i get something different out of it

The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness*

i think about these books constantly. these were the first books i read by patrick ness, and, now that ive read some of his other books, i know in classic patrick ness fashion, these books haunt me. patrick ness has this uncanny ability to take genres you think you know and twist and warp them until you're on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what will happen next without the safety net of genre supporting the story. in addition to that, his characters are always wonderfully flawed - he puts real people into fantastical situations, and it's fascinating and always an emotional and satisfying read

The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith*

dude i think about the alex crow so much. i said i normally call i am in the messenger my favorite book, but every so often i'll say this one is because i just love it so much. the alex crow is just so bafflingly weird but the teenage boy main characters are so real and gross and hilarious. andrew smith has the amazing knack for writing weird as hell plot lines and telling stories that are about everything, all at once, while still making it about one thing. that doesn't make sense, but if you read the alex crow (or his other book i've read called Grasshopper Jungle that is actually on my summer list) then you will know what i mean. the alex crow is so many things, and i love all of them

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson*

i used to read a lot of ya romance and, to be honest, the stuff i used to read was not all great, but this book absolutely changed the game and probably made me raise my standards exponentially. the timeline of this book is so creative, and it's done in such a way that it leaves you wondering how the timelines will reconcile. in addition to this, both romances in the book are so interesting and loveable, and the relationship between the two main characters (who are twins) is an amazing thing to see unfold. this is a peak ya romance book, and i can't recommend it enough

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven*

another ya romance, and i have to say the romance in this book is so beautifully done. generally, this is just a really sweet book that gave me butterflies, to be quite honest. i think niven has a really good knack for writing characters that are diverse and a little strange but all have their own distinct personalities that mingle really interestingly with each other.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe By Benjamin Alire Sáenz

this one is an obvious choice, and for good reason. aristotle and dante is just a classic queer novel, and it's earned its place as such. it's a poetic sort of book, and i love the voices of the characters, as well as the pictures of the world we get through ari's voice. this is a visual book written in text - i think a lot about the steady, careful romance of the book and the way sáenz makes ari an unreliable narrator by artfully excluding his feelings from scene descriptions and dialogue tags. it's such a creative and heartbreaking technique that i often find myself wanting to do

The Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

oooohh this trilogy changed me. for starters its such a weird, creative concept - alternate history steampunk and biopunk world war I. like doesn't that sound so interesting?? and this trilogy's main characters are so easy to love - and watching their relationship unfold and develop is so endearing. also, my copies include these wonderful illustrations (which i think might be in all copies?) that really let you put images to the weird fantastical things westerfeld included into the world.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

this book was actually on my winter book list, and i read it so fast and so obsessively because i wanted so badly to know what was going to happen. the plot absolutely pulled me in, and the first line - "I forgot everything between footsteps" - stuck with me because just look at the way that's written!! it's so artful and intriguing, i was just dying to know what would happen next. the timeline is this amazing maze that as i read i couldn't help but admire how long or how much turton had to plan in order to make everything line up in just the right way. it was a fascinating book with so much to say - im really looking forward to reading it again

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

this book was also on my winter book list, and it just absolutely enraptured me. its witty, quiet sort of voice was amazing to read, and the imagery instilled into every scene made it seem like everything was so real, just right there for me to touch or smell or taste. the plot of a secret huge magic library really roped me in, and i think this is a love story for people who read, people who love stories, people who love the magic of a library.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero*

cantero's works are just so creatively written - not just by plot or character standards, but by style standards, too. meddling kids is great not just for its complex, loveable characters or for its fantastical, dark, and mysterious plot, but also for the weird and intriguing liberties cantero makes with style. in his other books, too, is the switch between snarkily written prose to stage directions to video or audio transcripts, and it makes for such a visual sort of book - i mean, i could easily see any of cantero's books being made into a film or series because all the material is right there. cantero's creativity with style is so intriguing to me, and because of him, i've become more familiar with playing around in style in an attempt to create something as interesting as his novels

and that's all i'll put down here now!

i mentioned it a little, but probably my biggest style references are leigh bardugo, markus zusak, edgar cantero, and andrew smith for various reasons that i am more than willing to talk more in depth about if anyone is wondering<3

thank you for asking im always willing to talk books :')

[foxofninetales]

for the ask meme!!!👉👈

8, because i like it when you talk about fic and books and reading!

(20, if you want to - authors should always feel free to meta on their own work! 😘)

💖💖💖

Thank you, sweetie!

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

Honestly, yes �� all of the things I’ve read and loved come back in my writing, whether in obvious homages (Gunpowder and Ink especially is a nod to Georgette Heyer and all the other Regency romance authors I devoured as a teen) or just in certain turns of phrase, conscious or unconscious. Probably the genre that I vastly enjoy but use the least would be golden/silver age British mysteries, because I simply do not have the patience to plot out a satisfying mystery. Others show up in possibly unexpected ways: The Fox’s Geometry pulls from the emotion, self-discovery, interpersonal relationships and unreliable narration of works such as Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series and Martha Wells’ Murderbot. Meanwhile, The Language of Flour (and my Kan Jian himself) is very much influenced by P.G.Wodehouse’s cheery young idiots with a heavy side of the straight-man oblivious humor of Keith Robertson’s Henry Reed series. And all my favorites and my writing have some things in common: eventual happy/happyish endings, relationships that rely on emotion rather than sex, and having fun with all the possibilities of the English language.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Ooh, fun! While implying a certain depth of thought that… I probably lack.

I did enjoy sticking this sly line said by Wu Xie to Gao Bai in on chapter 3 of Intersection: “I will never, ever touch anything that has had your family name on it." Oh, babe, if only you knew. There are some other lines I’ve snuck in that I’m proud of but can’t say yet because spoilers!

Liu Sang/Zhan Qiling’s relationship in the Intersection ‘verse took me by surprise! I adore Pingxiesang, but my personal takeaway from Reboot is that there’s a significantly stronger argument for Wu Xie’s interest in Liu Sang than for Zhang Qiling’s, so (partly because I'm not good at relationships based on sexual attraction) I wasn’t sure where to get a grip on their relationship at first beyond “Well, if it makes Wu Xie happy…”. I hadn’t even considered how my altered Liu Sang backstory would affect that, until I was suddenly broadsided by the similarities between the two characters that resulted from these changes. I honestly think that’s what I’m enjoying the most out of writing my particular Pingxiesang relationship in this ‘verse, is watching the two approach Liu Sang from different places: Wu Xie has love, but not understanding, Zhang Qiling has understanding but not love. Getting them both to the point where they love and understand Liu Sang, and he loves and understands them back is a long road, but I am so excited about it.

One scene that got cut and replaced from Intersection was the very first flashback in chapter 16. Initially, I had a scene there with Wu Xie as a young child in bed having his mother come in to kiss him goodnight and him seeing her crying (because she’d just found out about the whole family’s plan for his future). I ended up replacing the scene it because it was far too passive, but I regret having to cut her. Poor woman doesn’t even get named in DMBJ canon as far as I can tell, she deserved a fanfic cameo.

Here, how about some Triangle sexuality headcanons for the Intersection universe?

Wu Xie is enthusiastically bi and had a glorious time in college and after before he finally settled down with his partners.

Pangzi is straight and aromantic: he has a number of lovely lady friends with whom he has mutually beneficial physical interactions, but the most powerful relationship in his life is what he has with Wu Xie and Xiaoge.

Zhang Qiling’s sexuality is Wu Xie.

[lululawrence]

Creation Inspiration Meme

This one is for all my creators out there, be it fanfiction, fanart, original fiction, music, whatever! All of us are a conglomeration of lived experiences and consumption of others’ creations over our lifetimes. What five biggest inspirations have you consumed that now lives on in what you make, and how?

I was tagged to do this by @londonfoginacup like... omg exactly a month ago, i’m that big of a slacker i’m so sorry lollll anyway, i’m gonna do my best!!! (i’m also putting this under a cut because it got LONG i’m so sorry)

1. Every Single Thing Susanna Kearsley Has Ever Written Ever

Like I wish I was joking, but truly I love and adore everything she’s ever touched. Ever. lollll The way she weaves such intricate storylines and makes them feel so incredibly real and absolutely possible even as she inserts such wonderful fantastical and historical fiction (but are they actually fiction??? lol) elements and stories into her tellings of such real characters that are very solidly in our world is stunning and inspiring. Please ignore that stupidly long sentence lol she makes me wax poetic. Anyway, I’d like to think that what I was able to draw from her was the ability to take any story and make it feel real. To take a story that is based in our world and even after adding in different aspects that are clearly fantasy or otherwise something that doesn’t belong and make you think it could. That would be wonderful.

2. Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola was a favorite author in my house growing up, but I was the one that clung to him the most. Strega Nona were probably his more popular stories, but my favorite always was Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs. This book particularly was such a beautiful depiction of relationships and family even amidst the sadness at the end. What I hope that I was able to draw from Tomie was the ability to take small and seemingly unimportant moments and drawing the reader in to care about them as much as he clearly did. So much of what he wrote was based on his own life, especially this book, and he gave us detailed insight into very specific memories that I would never have cared about in most instances. I hope that I too can share moments that might seem small and inconsequential and make them interesting and important to the reader.

3. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

I discovered Sarah Dessen in college when I finally rediscovered reading for fun and because I wanted to as I finished my English degree. I had gotten so used to reading material that I was required to, that was often heavy and hard to slog through and I was tired. I wasn’t reading for fun anymore. So I went to the library and randomly chose a book that sounded fun and lighthearted and something I didn’t have to put so much energy into. It was this book. I devoured it. It was such a quick read and so simple when it comes to actual story, but the emotions behind it made it so much more. It was compelling and the backstory of all of the characters made them all have so much depth and gave such importance to all of the decisions the characters made. I would love to think I am able to give that same power and weight to my own characters and that I’m able to make their own choices and who they are be as compelling and understandable as she does with hers.

4. Everything Jane Austen Ever Wrote

Yes, again. lollll But truly, her skill with narrating with such epic tongue in cheek attitude the lives of women in her time was beyond brilliant. She took what was good and to be revered and portrayed it in such a way that even now we still want to know all about it. Her complete humor in all of it (okay, most... my two favs by her are Mansfield Park and Persuasion, which are actually less comical than pretty much all of her others lol) is absolutely something I hope to attain. It’s subtle and intelligently done. I’d like to think that I’m able to take similar observations and digs at situations and characters in ways that aren’t harsh but are still comical and amusing to the reader like Jane.

5. so may books i disliked so much that i didn’t finish and cannot name them

Honestly the books I despised and felt were poorly written were almost bigger inspiration to me than anything, because I always wanted to write, but never really felt I could. There were such amazing stories out there in what felt like insanely high numbers. What could I ever contribute? But reading some of those books that somehow got published made me think maybe... just maybe... if someone thought those stories deserved to be told mine could too. And now I write fic and I really do feel like that I do have stories that deserve to be told, and so does everyone else. 

Thank you to any of you who read this far lol I know this was ridiculously long. I have no idea if anyone has done this or not, but I’m going to tag a few people now just in case. @louisxgolden, @joliepetitelou, @louandhazaf, @disgruntledkittenface, @pasmwa, @harrehleh, @2tiedships2, and @dinosaursmate!

[jellybeanbeing]

Favorite Books of 2019

I got to be honest, I’m a little sad with how short my list is this year. It’s probably because I only read like 30 books this year, but still, I was expecting to have a lot more favorites than I have here. Nonetheless, these books were fantastic and I would like to share my thoughts and opinions about them because they blew me away.

7. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

*TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE & RAPE*

I was on a BBC’s Sherlock binge and it just felt right to pick up this book. It was fun, exciting, dark, and humorous. I loved the dynamics between this modern day Holmes and Watson. Though the characters are different from the characters that I know of in the BBC version, they are still deeply rooted in their original characters, and I loved that so much. I also love the growing romantic relationship between Holmes and Watson. It’s not so much of an insta-love but more a slow burn one, and it’s honestly one of my favorites. 

6. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

This is one of my most recent favorites. I love this book so much. The characters are so relatable and they feel like actual people and TEENAGERS. Oh my god, I love that so much. The way the book was written was so interesting because it was as if the main character Frances was actually telling a story. It kept me intrigued and the entire story felt so personal. The fact that Frances chose to stop the reader and tell them that she and Aled do not fall in love was such a power move, and I loved it. The way that school and education is discussed in this book was something I could relate to. I really loved this book and would highly recommend it. I would like to note that the main protagonist is biracial, and both main characters are LGBTQ+.

5. Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

This is an obvious favorite. I was so nervous about this book because it’s a spin-off, and we all know how badly spin-offs can go, but boy did this book beat those expectations. CDTH does a super well job of expanding characters we already know so well, as well as introducing new characters and making readers care about them. It’s a true gem, and I cannot wait for the next book to come out because what was set up in this first book is freaking chaotic. You can read more in a more spoilery and in depth review I made a few weeks back!

4. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

I was so not expecting to love this book as much as I did because I initially started reading this book in 2016, but DNF’d it. I picked it up again, mostly because I thought it deserved a second chance and IT WAS AMAZING. I loved the sibling dynamic between Jude and Noah, and how genuine and real their relationship broke down and then grew back together. I was expecting the so well known “MPDG/MPDB” characters from these two, but they are so far from that. I absolutely loved the romances in this book. It made me gush and cry and have so much anxiety. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, but it was so good. I love this book so much.

3. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

*TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS FOR RAPE, MOLESTATION, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, HEAVY AND GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, ANIMAL ABUSE, ASSUALT ON WOMEN, AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND ABUSE

Alex Craft is literally what makes this book so fucking great. She’s one of my all-time favorite characters. She’s intense, genuine, and just amazing. I also really liked Peekay too. I found an appreciation for her character because I feel like she’s the thing that pulls back the book from being unrealistic. She’s not like Jack who is great at everything, and she’s not like Alex who does illegal and morally wrong things. I found a bit of myself in her, especially when she begins to question her intentions and actions towards the world and the people around her. This is just such an outstanding book with great main characters (minus Jack because he can go choke).

2. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

*TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE*

I love this book so so much. It makes me cry my heart out and leaves me in so much (good) pain. It’s so hard to pinpoint what it is that I love about it, but I guess I’ll try. I would die for these friendships. The two friendships bring something different to the table and are so unalike each other but they are still so good. With Jude, Narnie, Tate, Webb, and Fitz, they are connected together with a tragedy and they grow from it while Taylor, Jonah, Santangelo, and Raffy connect together unexpectedly when they are supposed to hate each other. Both are beautiful, and I love it. I also really loved the romance, not just between Jonah and Taylor, but also between Narnie and Jude, and Tate and Webb. None of them seemed forced and it happens so naturally. The heavy tone of nostalgia is also something that I love. It is constantly switching back and forth from a past narration to a present narration, and it’s done so well. God, the way the two narrations also come together and begin to make sense is the best and most tragic thing ever. You begin to understand the two stories and how they connect, and it is the saddest thing ever. But yeah, I loved this book and you should read it.

1. The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater

My all-time favorite favorite FAVORITE book series. It’s gonna be a hard one to beat. I love the characters, the story, the romantic/familial/platonic relationships, the writing, the world building, EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK. It’s a series that made me cry, laugh, be angry, have anxiety, feel powerful, feel loved, and feel understood. There is a certain magic in this book that drew me in and kept me there. It’s just so goddamn good. 

[fletchermarple]

Quick Review of the True Crime Books I read in 2017 (Part 2)

Part 1 of 2017

Review of books in 2016 Part 1 and Part 2

Review of books in 2015

The Michigan Murders by Edward Keyes: Before Ted Bundy, there was John Norman Collins. He was also a handsome, charming, smart university student that looked nothing like a stereotypical killer, but in fact was raping and murdering women from ages 13 to 21 at an alarming rate between 1967 and 1969 in Michigan. This book was originally published in 1976, and it’s a very serious and professional exposition of the case, written under journalistic standards but not so much literary ones. By that I mean that it sticks mostly to facts and remains objective instead of adding some narrative touches to make the story more appealing. Don’t get me wrong, the case is interesting enough in itself and if like me you didn’t know much about Collins (who now goes by the surname Chapman), this is a very informative read. The problem with this book is one that many true crime novels have: since there’s not a main character we can focus on, and instead we get just “this victim disappeared, then this victim disappeared” with no remarkable investigator to take the reigns of the story, it kind of drags a lot in the first part. It gets better once Collins is introduced, and let me tell you, he’s so chilling and the way they got him is so curious it definitely makes worth the read in the end. I should also add that Keyes changes pretty much every single name in the case, including the killer’s, which might have been common practice back then, but seems ridiculous now when everything is public information and it’s something that I particularly hate in non fiction stories.

Silent Witness by Don Weber and Charles Bosworth Jr.: This book is about the murder of Karla Brown, which I wrote about here, and the hunt for the killer. Although the book is co-signed by Don Weber, he’s presented in a third person style within the narration. He was the prosecutor in the case, and he comes across as a guy who takes his job very seriously and was willing to take risks with new technologies and techniques so he could get justice for the victim. The case itself is very twisty and interesting, since it took investigators four years to point to the right suspect, so the story is very riveting, especially if you, like me, enjoy the investigation and judicial part of true crime. Just keep in mind that the book was written by someone who is certain of the killer’s identity and there’s no room left to doubt his guilt, as opposed to the reality, where there are some people that have tried (unsuccessfully) to find proof of his innocence.

The Man from the Train by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James: I really enjoyed Bill James’ book Popular Crime and I got this one as soon as it came out. James is not really a true crime writer, his main area of expertise is baseball, but just like us he’s very enthusiastic about true crime and has spent a lot of time researching, reading and formulating theories about it. In this book, he tackles a series of unsolved murders that happened in the first decade of the 20th Century in the US, when several families were hacked to death with an axe for no apparent reason. James and his daughter do a very thorough research into old archives to try to determine which murders are linked and were likely committed by the same person, who in their theory is also the guy behind the infamous Villisca Axe Murders. The book is really a very well done exercise in speculation, amateur profiling and connecting the dots, because there’s no way we can really know if what James is saying is true or not, and he knows it and acknowledges it several times through the extensive book. I’m not sure The Man from the Train is for everyone, I’d recommend it mostly to people who really enjoy unsolved mysteries and old American history, because there’s a lot of interesting analysis of those times. James is very entertaining in his writing and speaks directly to the reader while adding some humor and worthy anecdotes here and there. ( @congenitaldisease I know someone recommended this book to you, I think you’d enjoy it as well).

My Story by Elizabeth Smart: It pains me to say this, because I’ve met Elizabeth Smart and she’s an amazing and inspiring person, but of all the true crime books I read this year, this is probably the worst. I find it hard to believe that she worked with an actual writer, because the book reads like the journal of a 12 year old in both narration and content. The story is, of course, terrible and haunting, and Elizabeth tells us in detail about being kidnapped from her bedroom when she was 14 by the seriously disgusting Brian David Mitchell and his mentally disturbed wife Wanda Barzee. She also talks a lot about her determination to survive through the horrible ordeal and her faith... She’s pretty heavy on the faith side, at points the book can read like a Sunday sermon so if you’re one of those people who frown at religion, this is definitely not the novel for you. Like I said earlier, the book is written in a very childish way, which would be ok if Elizabeth had written it right after her kidnapping but this was done when she was already an adult and a decade had passed. There’s no deep insights or much new information and on paper Elizabeth does not communicate as well as in person. Her experience is worth to know, but objectively, as a piece of literature, this book is bad. I would suggest watching any of her interviews instead of picking up this (and definitely don’t get the audiobook because she’s not a good reader).

Waiting to be Heard by Amanda Knox: Now this is the complete opposite to Elizabeth Smart’s memoir. It’s a well written book that gives a very clear and thorough account of the ordeal Amanda Knox went through when she was accused and wrongly convicted of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher in Italy. Amanda is very candid and represents herself very well, with a lot of material from the trial and details of her life behind bars. You can tell by this book that Amanda was a very naive, inexperienced girl who lacked self awareness. Even when writing this book she doesn’t seem to understand why her behavior was inappropriate and bothered the italian authorities, and while she doesn’t give a satisfactory explanation of why she involved Patrick Lumumba, there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s innocent of the murder and was horribly railroaded by unethical investigators, prosecutors and journalists, who built a case on nothing but a twisted fantasy. I imagine if you somehow believe she’s guilty (and I really would like to hear a good argument for that) this book would be extremely annoying to read, but otherwise you should add it to your list and expect to get your blood boil over the injustice. It’s scary to think that under the right circumstances anyone could experience what Amanda did. 

Never See them Again by M. William Phelps: A gripping account of the Clear Lake Murders, a massacre in 2003 in which four young people were gunned down in a house in Texas in the middle of the day by then 17 year old Christine Paolilla, a close friend of two of the victims, and her boyfriend. Phelps, an experienced writer that used to host the show Dark Minds, does it right and finds memorable characters to narrate his story through, including the victims (especially Rachel Koloroutis, whose family was clearly one of Phelps main sources), the main investigator and Christine herself. Christine’s life is well researched but even after you’ve read so much about her, she remains an intriguing figure. It’s clear that her self portrayal of a victim that got forced to commit the crime is a fake and she’s a master liar and manipulator, but it’s hard to know for sure what drove her to kill the two girls that had made efforts to improve her life. Like Edward Keyes in The Michigan Murders, Phelps also uses some fake names but only in witnesses and he lets you know when it’s a pseudonym, which I appreciated.

Law and Disorder by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker: Any book by John Douglas is worth the read, because not only he talks in depth about very interesting cases, but his perspective, whether you agree with it or not, is always well informed and fascinating. He makes an excellent writing team with Olshaker, who lets Douglas’ voice come through in a way that lets you know what kind of person he is through the pages. This book, the most recent he wrote, published in 2013, is no exception. Here he tackles famous cases of miscarriage of justice, from the Salem witch trials to Amanda Knox. It’s not always about wrongfully convicted people, he also talks about how some clearly guilty convicts abuse the justice system. Douglas talks about his views on the death penalty, which he’s in favor of although not a passionate advocate: he just believes that if the sentence exists, and is decided after a fair trial, the family of the victim has a right to see it through. His main point throughout the book is that a theory should never be above the evidence, meaning some investigators get so obsessed with trying to prove someone is guilty that they ignore the actual evidence and use only what fits their idea of how a crime was committed. He gives several examples, but I found the chapters on the JonBenet Ramsey and West Memphis 3 the most illuminating. Really, when analyzed by Douglas, an agent whose experience in crime is not to be dismissed, it sounds ridiculous to think the Ramseys killed JonBenet or that the WM3 are guilty. Even if you think they are, I would ask you to please read this so you can have a wider perspective. (I also got some mild pleasure at all the shade Douglas throws to investigator Steve Thomas, whose book on the JonBenet Ramsey case I reviewed here). However, I will say that if you’ve never read a Douglas book, this is not the one to start with. You should at least read Mindhunter first.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 9 October 2017

My favourites this week are both endings; Rocket #6 by Al Ewing and Adam Gorham and The Woods #36 by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas. Published by Marvel and BOOM! Studios.

Since at least the “Grounded” relaunch/expansion of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise titles, Marvel has been producing some extremely high quality, well-written, beautifully-illustrated series that I always feel cheated out of when they’re “cancelled” instead of rightfully referred to as limited series. Particularly those of these last two groupings including Star-Lord, Gamora, I Am Groot, and the two excellent Rocket Raccoon series, first Matthew Rosenberg and Jorge Coelho’s Rocket Raccoon, and now this, Al Ewing and Adam Gorham’s Rocket, which I’d wager could possibly be the best Rocket Raccoon series since Bill Mantlo and Mike Mignola’s series back in 1985 (which this series references and draws from).

Al Ewing crafted an interesting story with "The Blue River Score”, layering it in the genre trappings of a hard-boiled caper, including the typical hard-hitting narration of a Raymond Chandler or Richard Stark novel, a femme fatale in Otta Spice, and an impossible heist, and then mixing it with colourful “obscurish” Marvel characters like the members of Technet and setting it across the backdrop of the more zany corners of Marvel’s cosmos.

Rocket #6 even brings it back around to the original Rocket Raccoon mini-series and Rocket’s old continuity, behaviour, and such with the correlation a lot of people were probably wondering about regarding Otta and Rocket’s otter-love, Lylla, being revealed here as one and the same. Not only does it add Ewing’s penchant for mining the depths of continuity for story payoffs and inspiration, but it also makes the story resonate a bit more with emotional impact.

Adam Gorham’s artwork is wonderful. He excels at drawing strange and wonderful creatures, but also has an added roughness, a scratchiness to his linework that perfectly fits the hard-boiled narrative. His overall design sense, from page layout to panel transitions also make this fun to read. There appears to be extensive thought that’s going into how the story is being told, from both Ewing and Gorham, and it results in an immensely enjoyable comic.

Particularly, I think more comics, not just crime comics like Rocket here or much of Ed Brubaker’s work, could do with a “prose gutter”. I highly recommend this to people who love off-beat crime comics.

The Woods #36 is the conclusion to a series that has dabbled in horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, but at its heart has always been a coming of age tale centred around the kids who had their whole world upended by being stolen away to a strange and dangerous realm on the other side of the universe. The ending is suitably epic as the former children show that they’ve truly grown and matured as they fight to find their way home.

Michael Dialynas has been delivering some incredible art since the series began, but these last few issues have been truly breathtaking. The double-page spreads this issue alone, juxtaposing two different types of battle going on are a treat, showing an ability to make both the quiet character moments and the high action compelling and interesting visually.

The story James Tynion IV has been telling is largely one about growth and change, of transformation through adversity, and occasionally needing to fail. The finale throws the biggest roadblocks and gives the opportunity to show how far the characters have come since that first issue, even antagonists like Adrian get a chance to shine.

This issue also shows how seamlessly Dialynas and Tynion have grown as collaborators. The scene between Isaac and Ben works well both in dialogue and in art, giving a huge emotional impact both in how it appears and in the heartfelt conversation.

Overall, this has been a great series and this is a very satisfying conclusion.

Quick Bits:

Atomahawk #0 collects the shorts that ran previously in Heavy Metal. While a new series is being published in Image+, this is a good time to pick up what came earlier in one place. Aside from just a balls to wall story from Donny Cates, Ian Bederman’s art remains phenomenal. His style reminds me a lot of Peter Kuper and the way that he constructs his characters, action, and page layouts are just fantastic. Highly recommend this special and the serial in Image+.

| Published by Image

Babyteeth #5 gives us one of those game-changing reveals that Donny Cates should be known for producing now based on at the very least Redneck and God Country. Sadie’s world just got a whole lot bigger and a whole lot stranger as she starts getting clued in to what’s going on with her and her baby.

| Published by AfterShock

Birthright #27 reminds me that I probably don’t talk about the colourists enough. Take, for instance, Adriano Lucas’ work here. Andrei Bressan’s linework would still look good, but it’s Lucas’ colours that really elevate the story and put us in a more magical reality with a shift here from standard “realistic” colours to the brighter, softer, and more colourful world inside a more fantastical realm. It just shows the impact that the colourist has on the overall tone and atmosphere of the book.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Daredevil #27 continues the twisting arc of DD’s mentoring of Blindspot since the beginning of this volume. Charles Soule gives us a more thorough backstory for Blindspot and reveals what has happened since the “Dark Art” story-arc. It’s pretty...um...dark.

| Published by Marvel

The Dying & The Dead #6 is still the most beautiful, possibly inscrutable, hidden history comic being published. 

| Published by Image

The Family Trade #1 is something different. And pretty fantastic. The premise and setting of the Float, a kind of extension of some of the politics of the Italian city-states during the time of the Renaissance, is brilliant, serving as a perfect backdrop to the populist political allegory that Justin Jordan and Nikki Reed are presenting here. The characters, and the idea of a family of assassins meant to keep society in check is also compelling, particularly the lead, (Jessa Wynn, who I’m fairly sure isn’t even named in the first issue, I grabbed it from the solicitation info), in her somewhat bumbling way.

Morgan Beem’s art also adds greatly to the overall feel and tone of this world. She has an art style that looks highly influenced by European artists, with a soft watercolour palette atop, achieving a very distinctive look for the comic.

Oh, and there’s “talking” cats. Every book should have talking cats. Every one.

| Published by Image

GI Joe #9 concludes this volume from Aubrey Sitterson and Giannis Milonogiannis. The end features some really nice action in the art from Milonogiannis. It’s nice to also get another series up to speed finally for the First Strike crossover, even though the GI Joe: First Strike comic that also comes after this series is already out. ROM looks like it’s the only hold out still before I can finally start reading that. The other highlight of this issue being the revelation of the new Cobra Commander.

| Published by IDW

God Complex: Dogma #1 is an impressive looking comic. The artwork from Hendry Prasetya is slick and layered in thick solid blacks, highly suitable to the futuristic mystery presented in the story, which is then elevated by the colours and sheen that Jessica Kholinne adds on top. Visually, it perfectly evokes that kind of Blade Runner feel. 

The story is also pretty interesting, Paul Jenkins hooks us fairly well with the murder and mystery of the Church of Trinity. The mix of a mysterious, possibly fictitious “one god” and the real, tangible deities of Delphi’s Rulers is something we’ve seen variations on before, but it’s still a compelling examination of faith vs. direct knowledge. The world, based on Glitch’s toy line, is fairly broad. The lead, Seneca, serves as a bridge between the two aspects and Jenkins delivers a little twist on the narrative partway through that has you reexamine the narration itself, making you go back and re-read the comic in that different light.

| Published by Image / Top Cow - Glitch

Grass Kings #8 focuses on Pike and his backstory, giving depth to the Grass Kingdom’s man of few words. In addition to his history, it also serves as a broadening of the mystery of the potential serial killer among the people, showing the other perspective of the conversation from last issue regarding Ms. Handel’s “suicide”, making us question even more.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Harbinger Renegade #8 finally gives us the reunion of Kris and her parents, a plotline dating back right to the first story-arc. As has been the case for much of this series, it’s not exactly pleasant. It is, however, still satisfying and probably one of the happier moments in the series, even if bittersweet. The push towards Harbinger Wars 2 is also more apparent, with a drive for a Renegade army and training becoming more imperative. Animalia is also one scary little kid.

| Published by Valiant

Harrow County #26 is heartbreaking, even if you’ve grown to hate the character who dies this issue, it’s still heartbreaking. Kammi’s assault on Emmy’s life, friends, and whole world grows this issue, even with the devastating blow in the beginning of the issue, and it raises the question as to how far Kammi is going to take it, how much more loss the series is going to deliver, and what it might drive Emmy to do. Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook are firing on all cylinders with this arc.

| Published by Dark Horse

Hulk #11 is another dramatic shift in tone, suddenly reintroducing Jen’s ability to break the fourth wall, hitting for a story that is more humorous in tone, and in some cases being silly, as the last issue before the Marvel Legacy “relaunch” back to She-Hulk and legacy issue number. Personally, I’m not sure I like it. It’s by no means bad, but it’s still a dramatic departure from the more serious “Deconstructed” arc and continuing with the more ridiculous aspects of the last arc with the food vloggers. It works for what it’s going for, recapturing some of the humour that previous incarnations of She-Hulk have presented, I just find it a bit of a jarring change.

| Published by Marvel

Jimmy’s Bastards #4 finally clues in the leads as to what we’ve known since the announcement of the series. This issue also hammers home that I think the wider joke of Garth Ennis’ black humour and piss-take of current identity politics is missing the mark.

| Published by AfterShock

Mech Cadet Yu #3 is still every bit as fun and heartfelt as the previous two issues, this remains an incredible all ages story with giant robots and invading bugs. Greg Pak has created a character in Stanford Yu that you just can’t help but smile at his stumbles and achievements, so incredibly likeable that you want to read more as soon as the issue’s finished. Takeshi Miyazawa also gets to reveal the Sharg this issue, setting up what looks like a battle between the cadets and the monsters for next issue.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Noble #5 is my first issue of this series and I feel in a similar position to ostensibly the POV character, Astrid Allen, a little in the dark. Brandon Thomas uses an unreliable narrator in Lorena Payan explaining to Astrid what has been going on with her husband, the titular Noble, and the changes that have turned him into a superhero and it’s fairly compelling. Certainly enough that I decided to pre-order the Noble: God Shots book out later this month collecting the first four issues. I wonder how this issue’s reality and the previous issues will align. The artwork from Jamal Igle is a high point. The action scenes of Noble trying to save a commercial airliner are particularly well done.

I also have to say that how they’re numbering these books is also interesting. They’ve got a main issue number for the overall series, but they’ve also got a volume and issue number for story-arc/trade as this is Volume 2, Number 1. It makes story delineations fairly easy to see where breaks and potential jumping-on points occur.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Optimus Prime #11 begins the “Primeless” arc, acting as a kind of non-branded tie-in to the First Strike event, covering what’s happening to the Cybertronians on Earth cut-off from Cybertron and left in the dark. I haven’t begun reading the First Strike crossover yet, as I’m still waiting for the last issue of ROM to land to be up to speed, but it doesn’t feel as though I’m missing anything here having not read it yet. In fact, in some ways, it puts me in a similar position to the characters in the book as I don’t know what’s happening either. In any event, John Barber does a good job of ratcheting up the tension between the different factions on Earth and amongst the rest of the Council of Worlds. I also need to reiterate that there really should be at the very least a Thundercracker mini-series.

| Published by IDW

Redlands #3 shifts point of view to Laurent, a bounty hunter without a license, gator man, and apparent lover of Bridget of the coven, who was introduced as a prisoner in the first issue. I really like how Jordie Bellaire is telling this story, in somewhat non-linear waves that keep rippling outward introducing new characters and interactions while still advancing the overall plot. The epistolary backmatter of clippings of gator man sightings and how to field dress a deer are also interesting touches. It adds a nice depth to the world.

And as since the first issue Vanessa Del Rey’s artwork is incredible. Dark, moody, and at turns erotic. This book is pretty much as sensual as it is horrific and bloody, and I think that’s a very welcome choice from Bellaire and Del Rey for this story.

| Published by Image

Retcon #2 is still...something. Between the first two issues, we’ve got some kind of government conspiracy involving black ops superhuman/magic-user teams. That seems pretty straight-forward and is fairly interesting. The problem is that the interviews and backmatter with the creators imply that they’re doing something else with the series and that just doesn’t come through in the narrative. So, if you’re looking for something that kind of taps the same vein as Doom Patrol meets Automatic Kafka, this is up your alley.

| Published by Image

Royal City #6 kicks off a new arc set in 1993, delving into the teenage years of the Pike children, back when Tommy was still alive. Jeff Lemire’s story gets more layers to it as it shows the personalities of the children in their genesis, and starts easily putting together some of the pieces as to what we’re going to see happen in the first arc, including Richie’s girlfriend, Tara’s relationship with Steve, their mother’s affair, and maybe what happened to Tommy. Lemire is great at weird, and great at small town family dynamics, and this series puts them all together in a beautiful illusory package.

| Published by Image

Sheena: Queen of the Jungle #2 adds some more depth to the story and more mysteries as Sheena chances upon the guy who’s been watching with drones and the two of them stumble upon unknown ancient temples in the jungle. Marguerite Bennett and Christina Trujillo are still treading common ground, but it’s still entertaining and they’ve managed to make Sheena a fairly interesting character in her own right, and, with Moritat’s art, great to look at.

| Published by Dynamite

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #13 concludes the “Enormous Profit” arc and with it Kieron Gillen & Kev Walker’s run on the title. Gillen will apparently be back to co-write the next issue before fully transitioning to the main Star Wars title and I’m not sure what Walker is doing next. Suitably this issue features some nice action, some duplicitous intrigue, and the trademark sardonic humour. What the murderbots, Triple-Zero and BeeTee-One, have up their sleeves after being unshackled of morality earlier in this arc is a frightening prospect.

| Published by Marvel

Wormwood - Gentleman Corpse: Mr. Wormwood Goes to Washington #1 brings back Ben Templesmith’s comedy horror opus to tackle corruption in politics and it’s a very welcome return. It’s ridiculous, it’s over the top, and it’s actually scary that the bigoted plutocrat scrambling for more power in politics is now a believable reality and not just a caricature.

| Published by IDW

Other Highlights: All-New Wolverine #25, Alters #7, Amazing Spider-Man #789, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #12, Baking with Kafka, Black Science #32, Defenders #6, Despicable Deadpool #287, Eternal Empire #5, Falcon #1, First Strike #5, Inhumans: Once & Future Kings #3, Lazaretto #2, Runaways #2, Sacred Creatures #4, Scales & Scoundrels #2, Slam!: The Next Jam #2, Star Trek: Boldly Go #12, The Unbelievable Gwenpool #21, Uncanny Avengers #27, The Wicked & The Divine #32, X-Men Blue #13 

Recommended Collections: Animosity - Volume Two, Black Cloud - Volume One: No Exit, Coady & The Creepies, Harrow County - Volume Six: Hedge Magic, Ladycastle, Low - Volume Four: Outer Aspects of Inner Attitudes, Secret Warriors - Volume One: Secret Empire, Seven to Eternity - Volume Two, Star Wars: Screaming Citadel, TMNT Universe - Volume Two: New Strangeness

d. emerson eddy can both walk and chew gum. If he tries really hard, sometimes he can even achieve both at the same time. But only sometimes.

[rebeccaheyman]

reading + listening 7.27.20

Tbh, I was on a bit of a book bender this week (best kind of indulgence, surely?). I had a slightly easier workweek than usual, and o h b o y did I take advantage. 

Just finished:

The Switch (Beth O’Leary), aBook ARC. My full review on NetGalley can be found here.

A Star is Bored (Byron Lane), aBook ARC. Again, full review on NetGalley here, but because I didn’t post any preview thoughts about this title -- and because this book was much more than the sum of its parts, I’ll post here as well:

The highest praise I can give Byron Lane's A STAR IS BORED is to confess that it felt to me like a memoir: a deeply felt confessional that spares neither the protagonist or his world (and those in it). There is a nuanced exploration here of celebrity worship, mental illness, addiction, depression, and yes, even Millennial ennui.

Charlie, profoundly adrift, believes he'll find salvation in his new job as assistant to his childhood idol, film star Kathi Kannon. But getting a peek behind the curtain -- and indeed, being drawn all the way behind the curtain and deep into the backstage -- reveals more than Charlie bargained for, not least of which are Kathi's myriad imperfections. As Charlie strives to bring order to Kathi's fraught existence, he can't help confronting the chaotic interior world that has trapped him in a cycle of self-doubt, depression, and disconnect. Charlie and Kathi grow together and apart, making progress and losing ground, as they learn to love and accept themselves and one another.

A STAR IS BORED is surprising in its depth and nuance, humor and pathos. Charlie's voice, brought to life brilliantly by Noah Galvin, will draw you in from page one and not let go until long after The End.

A Certain Hunger (Chelsea Summers), eBook ARC. Initial impressions in last week’s post, final review on Eidelweiss here.

The Essex Serpent (Sarah Perry), aBook. This was a strange one. And I say that having simultaneously read a novel about a female serial killer who eats her victims. The quirkiness of SERPENT feels heavy-handed at times -- always thoughtful, but heavy-handed nonetheless. Act III offers big pay-offs in terms of character development, and protagonist Cora remains one of the more enigmatic, compulsively readable characters I’ve read this year, but I’m not sure this rises above a B+ for me. 

Romancing the Duke (Tessa Dare), aBook. This was a re-listen for me and, as all Tessa Dare novels are, an act of self-care during these trying Covid times. Slipping into one of TD’s books is like pulling on your favorite pair of pajamas and snuggling under a huge blanket with a bottomless mug of boozy hot cocoa: warm, inviting, just a smidge naughty, and perfectly indulgent. Good luck ever convincing me Tessa Dare can do any wrong (she can’t). 

The Guest List (Lucey Foley), aBook. This was a magnificent full-cast production with A+ narration across the board. When guests gather on an isolated island off the coast of Ireland for a posh weekend wedding, their pasts crash the party -- and someone turns up dead. Sharp, fast-paced, and deft, these are the contemporary Agatha Christie vibes you’re looking for. The flaw here is, of course, how neatly everything fits together at the end -- the inevitability of the crime requires near-acrobatic alignment of the stars. Foley’s prior mystery, THE HUNTING PARTY, is now on my “get to it when you get to it” list.

Currently reading:

Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia), aBook. If you’re idea of a good time is THE YELLOW WALLPAPER meets REBECCA meets [movie where the house might be trying to kill you], you’re going to love this book. Narration is only so-so for me; Frankie Corzo’s cadence is somewhat unnatural, and feels too pointedly like I’m being read to (I know! Becca, you *are* being read to. But I don’t want to remember that while it’s happening?!). There’s some real creepy stuff happening; I’m reserving judgment to the end.

When We Were Magic (Sarah Gailey), hardcover. I devoured MAGIC FOR LIARS earlier this year, so when Gailey came out with their next title, I didn’t think twice before ordering. As if covering up a magically-induced murder isn’t hard enough, Alexis and her witchy girl gang have to navigate the quagmire of teen volatility that comes with being young, in love, and capable of anything. The sense of being in truly excellent hands with Gailey at the helm will draw you in from page 1. As much as I’m chomping at the bit to inhale this delicious treat in one voracious bite, I also want to take tiny nibbles to make it last. Life is hard.

Starting this week:

The Optimist (Sophie Kipner), eBook ARC. This novel, about “a delusional girl’s very misguided search for love,” promises to be adorable... though I remain confused about why it’s marked as frontlist on Eidelweiss with a March 2021 sale date when a version of the book was released in 2017? Probably something to do with rights, right? Regardless, I am here for “a satirical look at the extremity of romantic desperation, and pays tribute to the deep human need to keep on heroically searching for love despite our many absurdities.”

...I’m sure I’ll add more to the list before the week’s out. If you’re reading something amazing, let me know and I’ll add it to the queue (but absolutely no buy links). Happy reading!

[pojkflata]

Bamse och Tjuvstaden review

Welp, I decided to watch this movie and since I haven’t seen any in depth review of it, I might as well do it. Spoilers under the cut!

Bamse och Tjuvstaden is a Swedish animated movie from 2014. It’s based on the Swedish comic Bamse, which is about the eponymous anthropromorphic bear, who can get super strength from a special kind of honey called Dunderhonung. Almost everybody else gets a terrible stomach ache that lasts for three days if they were to eat Dunderhonung. The comic follows Bamse on his adventures with his friends and them defeating or (much more commonly) reforming baddies. The creator of the comic, Rune Andreásson, has always had a passion for animated film, and there have been quite a few animated short movies based on Bamse, but this is the very first time we get a feature length movie in the franchise. So was it worth the wait?

Story

The movie quickly establishes that because of Bamse’s powers, kindness and forgiveness, barely anyone does any bad guy stuff anymore. The exception is the sly fox Reinard, who is restless over the lack of exciting thiefy stuff going on. So he rounds up all the ex-thieves and creates a plot to kidnap Bamse’s grandmother, who makes the Dunderhonung, steal all the Dunderhonung, and take over an abandoned town, the City of Thieves, that used to be inhabited by thieves over 100 years ago, where they can be free to steal everything to their heart’s content without Bamse being able to stop them. Bamse and friends venture to the City of Thieves and have to get past dangers without the aid of Dunderhonung.

It’s a sort of simple story, but there isn’t much wrong with it, either. But it’s not perfect, and I have one major issue with it: the reverse Dunderhonung. Apparently, there’s a way to create Dunderhonung that can make everyone except for Bamse super strong, and Reinard gets his paws on Bamse’s grandma’s cooking book that has the recipe for reverse Dunderhonung. In the comic, the grandma goes out of her way to make sure that the benefits of Dunderhonung can’t be reaped by the wrong people, so this seems really out of character. If she discovered how to make reverse Dunderhonung, which can very easily be abused if someone else were to find out that it’s a thing, she would’ve made sure no one did find out about it, she would not write down the recipe!

Thankfully, this doesn’t affect the plot too much: Reinard just blackmails the grandma into making reverse Dunderhonung, eats some and shows off a little, but as soon as Bamse gets access to regular Dunderhonung, Reinard just runs off like a joke.

It doesn’t drag the film down too much, though. It does a lot of nice things as well! I especially love how both Bamse and Lille Skutt find ways to get out of dangers without the aid of Skalman or a powered-up Bamse, and also the subplot of Knocke becoming fond of dressing like a woman, especially since it’s never once played for laughs. He just says that he likes it and no one reacts negatively to it! Given how the subplot is written, I don’t believe Knocke is a trans woman, but rather just a guy who likes wearing pretty clothes, but it is still a very bold move that treats the subject with a lot of dignity and care!

Speaking of playing things for laughs, how’s the movie’s humor? I’d say it’s pretty nice! It’s not gut-bustingly funny or anything, it’s just some charming, subtle jokes that fit the mood of the movie.

Animation

This might just be because I’m desperate for more traditional animation in this day and age, but I think the animation for this movie is really great. The backgrounds especially!

Just look at it! That’s flat out gorgeous!

The character designs also look nice and like they’d be at home in the comic or the short films. The movie uses thinner lineart than most other Bamse media, which made me hesitant to how it’d actually look, but it’s pulled off pretty well if you ask me. 

The character animation is similarily very nice. It’s obviously not perfect, but it manages to capture most characters pretty well, especially Lille Skutt and Reinard.

Unfortunately, the animation can be a little stiff at times, and the few moments where CGI is used, it can be obvious enough to take you out of the movie, but for me, it’s not a dealbreaker.

Characters

The movie has quite a few characters, and a lot of them don’t get a lot of development. But I don’t think that’s something you can hold against the movie: it has a rather short runtime and most characters have already been well established and developed in the comic, so it takes its time to develop the characters that matter.

Bamse is our main protagonist. He is very kind and brave, but you can also tell that he’s gotten a lot smarter since his earlier years. He’s a lil basic, but I like him.

Lille Skutt is a jittery and easily frightened guy, but his loyalty to his friends strenghtens him and makes him able to pull amazing feats. Again, not super developed, but he doesn’t need to be.

Skalman is the smart guy, and he’s usually a riot to watch in other Bamse media because his snarky and somewhat pretentious yet very charming nature has a magnetic appeal, but I feel like he didn’t get to do a whole lot in this movie. I do realize that Skalman can’t get too involved without turning into a living Deus Ex Machina, but other stories have managed to avoid that while still giving Skalman a lot to do.

Nalle-Maja is one of Bamse’s daughters, who like her father can draw strength from Dunderhonung, but unlike him, also gets the stomach ache after the effects fade. She’s a very brave, tomboyish character who sets out to help her dad after the grandma’s cat and mouse find a jar of Dunderhonung that the thieves forgot. She might be similar to other tomboy characters we’ve seen before, but you can’t help rooting for her.

And then we have Vargen and Reinard, who are probably the most well developed respective fun to watch characters. These are the characters you’re here for and you know it.

Vargen is a huge fan favorite and it’s very easy to see why. In the comic’s early days, he was the main antagonist, but he has since been redeemed. He has a very sad past that explains that he’s a lil gullible and that’s how he got onto a dark path. He’s a little awkward and insecure, but tries his damn best to be a good person. Reinard manipulates him into joining the scheme, and Vargen sticks around for a while, but then swings back to help Bamse and buds.

Reinard is smug, sly and treats thievery like an art, which is why he wants to revive the City of Thieves. He has a big ego, but is also cunning enough to outsmart and manipulate people, even if his wit has its limits and he can make a bad decision as well. He’s an absolute riot to watch and makes for a very effective villain, even if he does become the butt of a few jokes.

Music

The music you’ll hear the most often is probably the orchestral interpretation of the main Bamse theme. It doesn’t overstay its welcome though, and there are other orchestral pieces, but they aren’t as memorable.

There’s one original song, “Bara en Björn”, which serves as Reinard’s villain song in which he and the other thieves gloat to Bamse over how powerless they’ve made him. It’s the kinda song that only works within the context of the movie and it’s very short, but for what it is, it’s nice.

Voice acting

Tomas Bolme is the narrator. It was a little jarring for me, who’s used to the shorts narrated by Olof Thunberg, to get used to Bolme’s narration, but he does the job well. His narration might get a little exposition heavy, but that’s to get exposition across to younger viewers or viewers who aren’t familiar with other parts of the Bamse franchise.

Peter Haber does the voice for Bamse, and he does a good job conveying Bamse’s bold, kind nature, with an added fatherly hint.

Morgan Alling provides the voice for Lille Skutt, and he gives him a fitting neurotic, stuttering voice, though I believe his acting was a little lacking in some scenes.

Voice actor veteran Steve Kratz is the voice of Skalman, and he provides a somewhat raspy, mentorly voice for Skalman. It does fit well, but he doesn’t really get to shine since Skalman doesn’t get a lot of focus.

Tea Stjärne does the voice for Nalle-Maja, and she perfectly captures her with a somewhat rough but very sincere and warm voice. I’m especially impressed by this performance since Stjärne was just 12 years old when this movie came out. I couldn’t find info on when exactly the voice acting was going on, but she might’ve been even younger. Stjärne is definitely something special.

Shebly Niavarani provides the voice for Vargen, and he does an amazing job capturing Vargen with a deep, raspy but also very heartfelt voice that reflects what a vulnerable soul Vargen is.

Magnus Härenstam is the voice of Reinard, and his signature nasally scratchy voice fits Reinard very well. You can tell he’s having so much fun recording the lines! He does chew the scenery sometimes, but that’s pretty in character for Reinard. This was Magnus Härenstam’s last role before his death in 2015, and I’d say it’s a last performance to be very proud of.

Conclusion

Bamse och Tjuvstaden, while not perfect, is a pretty solid movie. With a largely well constructed plot, nice animation with amazing backgrounds, likable characters and voice performance that varies from okay to great, this is something I’d highly recommend if you’re at all familiar with the Bamse franchise, or if you just want a cute, traditionally animated movie to give you warm fuzzy feelings.

Story: 7/10 Animation: 9/10 Characters: 7/10 Music: 6/10 Voice acting: 8/10 Overall score: 8/10

[t-oresama]

“War Dances” by Sherman Alexie

Synopsis: From one of the most original and celebrated writers working in America today, War Dances is a highly charged collection of stories and poems that deftly captures the myriad aspects of modern relationships.

Published: 2009 (Grove Press) Genre: Fiction, Poetry Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Reader Review: (A quick note unrelated to this review: A lot has changed here on Tumblr and what was once muscle memory without a second thought in regards to what to press, what goes where and where stuff is has now become rusty and cobweb-ridden. I'm applying oil to creaky joints and blowing the dust away from my personal page now, but (clearly) I don't go on this site much anymore. However, I still want to keep this page active if for no other reason than for writing purposes. Maybe a personal rant, maybe the random 2AM dream-turned-muse-turned-poem, but most definitely for book reviews. The rest of its use remains unclear, but maybe some day I'll get back into the reblogging of things. That being said, hello, all. It's been quite a while.) Now, something to note about me is that I really don't have a "favorite" author, nor a favorite story. Heck, I was tasked to do an assignment in college that asked of me to name "notable writers" that helped me become who I am now, and it was like pulling my own teeth. I’ve never thought much of a "favorite of all time”, more like a favorite of the moment. But this man, Sherman Alexie, has consistently remained one of my “all-time” favorite writers since late in high school. His perspective, as a Native American with a plethora of health problems, is unique, brash and captivating. The stories he tells, with nearly all of them relating back to a Native American character or perspective, are refreshing in both their first-glance simplicity and underlying complexity. His ability to make his readers think is something not many 21st century authors are able to achieve. In short, I adore him. And I think it was that adoration of him that made me get this book without a second thought. No, wait, I take that back. I know it was that adoration of him. And he's one of those authors that I can never find myself wanting to stop reading. This made him a perfect candidate for my need to pass a long and painful day at home with a fever recently, with something easy and able to transport my mind away from constant thoughts of my hot, achey body. I'm actually reading 2 other books right now, but I’d left them at work (these days I work at a library so of course I'd do that on the one day I need them). I grabbed the blue book with the red Puma sneakers off of my bookshelf and dove right in, expectations high. ...I’ve now used 3 paragraphs to not talk about the book, so let’s talk about it, shall we? This book is a compilation of fiction short stories and poetry in a (seemingly unintended, but existing nonetheless) pattern of 3 poems before the short story, and repeating. While, in his past works, there are usually ties between each piece by the person telling/starring in it-- a person of Native American descent-- this time around, that's not always the case. It's in his poetry mainly that the race of the storyteller isn't that clear, and frankly doesn't matter much, as some of his poems ("The Limited", "On Airplanes") depict situations that can be or have been applicable to any human being regardless of race. They're ones you could easily consider as pieces Alexie wrote moments after they happened, when he had a private moment to collect his thoughts while still being in the heat of the moment. Others, like "The Theology of Reptiles", "After Building the Lego Star Wars Ultimate Death Star", and any poems starting with "Ode to" are soaked in nostalgia, and come off more as musings or retellings of a time long since passed not only in Alexie's life, but in the lives of others from his same decade(s). And of course, as it is not only in his writing style but in his own DNA, there are poems that do talk about aspects of Native American life, both in the past and in the modern world ("Go, Ghost, Go"). Alexie also tries his hand at vignettes (for the first time, as far as I know), and rather than each mini-story being tied together by a theme, they are tied together by their final mini-story. In fact, in one of his vignettes, the final mini-story is called Collision (from his "Roman Catholic Haiku" vignette) to emphasize two seemingly random stories coming together in a cohesive way. He also conducts a series of self-interviews (I'm not exactly sure what call them, which I kind of like), where an interviewer will ask a question, and the interviewee will answer only just barely relating back to that actual question. It's kind of hard to explain without just copy-pasting the questions/answers here, but if you can, I suggest you look them up yourself ("Catechism" and "Big Bang Theory"), as they, along with the vignettes, are what I found to be the most intriguing and all around stand-out pieces in this collection. What remains to be talked about are his short stories, which I've always found to be his most compelling in his mediums of writing. There six stories in this book: "Breaking and Entering", "The Senator's Son", "The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless", "False Symmetry", "Salt", and the story for which this book gets its name, "War Dances". I won't go on and on about each one of these stories, since that does ruin it for someone who hasn't read this book yet and, really, who wants a breakdown of EVERY piece in a collection jammed into one review? So instead, I'll pick out a few to go more in-depth with, and talk briefly about the others without giving much away. Between each of these six short stories, Alexie delves into a myriad of serious topics, while still putting his signature stamp of dark humor and splash of well-measured irony in each. "Breaking and Entering" talks about race and how our media operates today (even for this being written 8 years ago, it's still very contemporary as of late thanks to a certain new leader of the US...). "Salt" has the reader and the subject of the story reflecting on life and death, again a heavy topic but with enough light-hearted commentary as to not make you feel as saddened as you maybe should be. "The Senator's Son" talks about politics, the gay community and how they can (unexpectedly) intertwine, and "The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless" depicts love, lust, sexual desire and a lack thereof all in one story. 

Of all of these stories, "War Dances"- a series of events chronicled in the life of a man who suddenly loses his hearing and, while getting treatment, reflects on the loss of his father (a self-destructive Indian) and his own mortality- and "Salt" are the two that felt the most complete in the sense of being very concise and well-rounded. This isn't to say that the other stories are not, but it might have something to do with Alexie's style incorporated with each piece's subject matter. If you're familiar with Alexie's short stories, you'll note that he's not one to have a finite happy or sad ending, or an “ending” at all. He leaves endings hanging on what is usually (but sometimes not) a humdrum moment, one that's not as exciting as other points in the story. In fact, for a couple of these stories, I ended up thinking "...Wait, that's it?" by the time I finished the last sentence. I find this more as a testament to human life than a negative in Alexie's story-telling abilities. Not everything or every day or every event ends with some grand finale with fireworks and a passionate kiss, or a heart-wrenching death followed by an epilogue to give the reader closure. Life just isn't like that, which is the point Alexie tries to make. Sometimes, despite your successes and your hardships, your story is meant to end on an "eh" moment. Both of these stories do have that unfinished "eh" moment by the end, but they feel right, as I said, given their subject matter. And these moments do have their poignancy. You have to really analyze the last paragraphs to understand their significance, as Alexie isn't one to hit you upside the head with symbolism, but these stories' final moments left a lasting impression on me, a mark of a great story told. You're probably wondering why this is only a 3.5 out of 5 to me, especially since 1/3 of this review is me gushing about Alexie. Well, while I liked the shorter pieces mentioned above, the bulk of this book is made up of these six short stories. It would be like me saying I only considered a movie my favorite movie for just one scene; you CAN like parts of an artistic work without feeling obligated to like it as a whole. And that's how I feel coming away from this book. I couldn't help but feel like Alexie's own established style was sort of his downfall with some of his short stories. He focuses a lot on inner thoughts of the narrator, as well as focusing on small details for the sole purpose of making the reader believe that the narrator really has an interest in or is whatever occupation/hobbyist they claim to be. And that's fine because I usually admire small details like that, but certain stories feel lost because of this. "Breaking and Entering", while compelling in its second half, nearly lost me on its first half because it literally went off on a tangent about things that pertained to the character, but didn't matter in the overall story. And "The Senator's Son"- another story with so much potential- spent so much time world-building and character and relationship establishing that by the end, there's a sense of deflation as it's the only time Alexie breaks his own rule and tries to tie it all up in a neat bow for the ending, with a sort of a "where are they now" conclusion that just doesn't... fit. The worst offender is "The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless", which is the second longest short story at 33 pages, but feels like the longest by a mile, and not in a good way. It suffers from all of the problems mentioned: long amounts of world building with not much to show for it, pages spent on articulating details and quirks that don't matter a whole lot for the overall story, and so on. It's a "ballad" in the stereotypical sense that it's long-winded and drawn out, only to fizzle by its ending note. And this really hurts for me to say, because there have been so many better stories from him with more established purpose and plot done with half the pages as this story. But it was honestly a chore for me to get through. There are certain aspects that reel you back in, but not nearly enough of them. I was wanting more of those certain moments, past what the character’s philosophies and fetishes are in favor of getting right to his core issues, but seldom got them. It could be that some themes or blurbs within the story are lost on me, that I don't appreciate them enough to find them useful to the overall story, but I still stand by my belief that it's the worst- which I say loosely, as I really didn't hate it- of them all. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I feel this way because the main character isn't really established as Native American as are the main characters in 95% of Alexie’s other works. I can't help but think if, by not making the main character an Indian, he loses a bit of the Alexie magic that enchants his other stories as the ability for him to place himself in that character's position is somewhat gone. I wonder... To conclude this VERY long review, despite my gripes with some of the short stories, there are really wonderfully done pieces with either a strong personal message, an almost uncannily relatable tone, or a sense of depth that can only be brought forth by someone like Sherman Alexie, given his background and his personal traumas. While it's not his best book, I would highly recommend giving it a read. I may have made the score lower than needed because of my own disappointment as a fan, but don't let this dissuade you! It's been 8 years now without a new book from Alexie, so if you want the most modern of his tales and the most current of his poetry, read this book. His subjects are so topical especially given the America we currently live in, you'll feel like he wrote them 8 months ago rather than 8 years. He tries new things and new techniques and that alone is bravery in print. If you're a fan as I am, you might not come away feeling totally satisfied, but you'll come away feeling content overall for having let yourself into the (physically damaged) head of Mr. Alexie.