This collection contains the first GL solo adventure I remember reading, "The Shark that Hunted Human Prey!". It's at once impressive and also a little sad how repetitive some of these stories are; they even lampshade how often Kalmaku gets magically disguised as GL in one if these stories, for instance.
Still, we're starting to see the first glimpses of what makes Hal as a character distinct from Clark Kent or Barry Allen as characters. Not much, but I think if you look closely you can see it.
JASMINE BASHARA never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich. …
Review of 'Artemis' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Come on. It's a classic western in a frontier mining boom town on the moon. There are dusty (literally dusty) cowboys and sheriffs and posses and the old dried up mine and a mayor trying to hold it all together and one train (rocket) bringing trouble from the big city and one train that's an actual train and everything. If you get left out in the desert you're in trouble. What else do you want?
It's not quite as good as The Martian or Project Hail Mary. It takes slightly longer to get going, and the characters aren't as fun. But once it gets going, it's just as gripping.
I don't think the slightly reduced science problem solving (only slightly reduced, there's still a lot here) or the shift from guy-by-himself-trying-to-get-home to girl-doing-spoilery-stuff hurts the book at all; I just think that there needed to be a quicker starting place, …
Come on. It's a classic western in a frontier mining boom town on the moon. There are dusty (literally dusty) cowboys and sheriffs and posses and the old dried up mine and a mayor trying to hold it all together and one train (rocket) bringing trouble from the big city and one train that's an actual train and everything. If you get left out in the desert you're in trouble. What else do you want?
It's not quite as good as The Martian or Project Hail Mary. It takes slightly longer to get going, and the characters aren't as fun. But once it gets going, it's just as gripping.
I don't think the slightly reduced science problem solving (only slightly reduced, there's still a lot here) or the shift from guy-by-himself-trying-to-get-home to girl-doing-spoilery-stuff hurts the book at all; I just think that there needed to be a quicker starting place, a couple more likable characters, and a couple fewer sex jokes.
Mayyyyybe a woman could've looked over the main character's internal dialogue once or twice..
I love it when creators take huge swings, and comics are a great way to do that. Big crossover multiverse events like this are always going to be measured against [b:Crisis on Infinite Earths|194479|Crisis on Infinite Earths|Marv Wolfman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327906696l/194479.SX50.jpg|188088], though; and while this does compare very favorably in a lot of ways to that, making a story like this that doesn't feel like Crisis is just a tough tightrope to walk. They shook up the Marvel toybox and this is what fell out. It's fun, but it's just not as transformative.
It was also a little tough to follow at times, and leaned a bit more on shock value than I'd like (since I'm not familiar enough with Marvel to recognize them).
After surviving the strangest night of their lives in the Cleveland suburb of Stony Stream, …
Review of 'Paper Girls. Vol. 2' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
WOW. This is better than Stranger Things, but it retains a heavy early Spielberg vibe. The art is somehow representative of every era between 1980 and today, though the 80s punk vibe cannot be underestimated. I cannot WAIT to read the next volume.
(I read this as the Deluxe Edition, collecting issues 1-10; which is why this review is the same as my review for [b:Paper Girls, Volume 1|28204534|Paper Girls, Volume 1|Brian K. Vaughan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656764541l/28204534.SY75.jpg|49449510])
Newspaper deliverers Erin, Mac and Tiffany finally reunite with their long-lost friend KJ in an …
Review of 'Paper Girls, vol. 3' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Continuing an excellent story. I'm glad the Deluxe Edition I read included a behind the scenes bit about the colorist, because DANG. Every scene is lit so evocatively; it doesn't look realistic, but it does look true. It feels like neon; I'd be seeing these colors in my dreams if I dreamed in color.
(The Deluxe Edition I read collected issues 11-20, which is why this review is the same as my review for [b:Paper Girls, Volume 4|35989512|Paper Girls, Volume 4|Brian K. Vaughan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657006814l/35989512.SY75.jpg|57550454])
WOW. This is better than Stranger Things, but it retains a heavy early Spielberg vibe. The art is somehow representative of every era between 1980 and today, though the 80s punk vibe cannot be underestimated. I cannot WAIT to read the next volume.
(I read this as the Deluxe Edition, collecting issues 1-10; which is why this review is the same as my review for [b:Paper Girls, Volume 2|31338724|Paper Girls, Volume 2|Brian K. Vaughan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656849325l/31338724.SY75.jpg|52013404])
After surviving adventures in their past, present and future, the Paper …
Review of 'Paper Girls, Vol. 6' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Every thing you wish that a time travel story would do, Paper Girls does. Can it be coherent? Or fulfilling? Or at all interesting? Apparently so! Can you enjoy the heck out of some of the most BONKERS visuals and story ideas imaginable? Also that is possible somehow! Is it a breakneck story with a really beautiful ending? You better believe it. This was great. I loved Paper Girls.
(I read the Deluxe Edition, which collects issues 21-30, which is why this review is identical to the one for [b:Paper Girls, Volume 5|38812893|Paper Girls, Volume 5|Brian K. Vaughan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657101678l/38812893.SY75.jpg|60386765])
The continuing story of newspaper deliverers Erin, Mac, KJ and Tiffany, as they time travel …
Review of 'Paper Girls Volume 4' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Continuing an excellent story. I'm glad the Deluxe Edition I read included a behind the scenes bit about the colorist, because DANG. Every scene is lit so evocatively; it doesn't look realistic, but it does look true. It feels like neon; I'd be seeing these colors in my dreams if I dreamed in color.
(The Deluxe Edition I read collected issues 11-20, which is why this review is the same as my review for [b:Paper Girls, Volume 3|34504722|Paper Girls, Volume 3|Brian K. Vaughan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1656928248l/34504722.SY75.jpg|55630171])
Can anyone escape fate? That’s what Mac and her fellow newspaper delivery girls must discover …
Review of 'Paper Girls, Vol. 5' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Every thing you wish that a time travel story would do, Paper Girls does. Can it be coherent? Or fulfilling? Or at all interesting? Apparently so! Can you enjoy the heck out of some of the most BONKERS visuals and story ideas imaginable? Also that is possible somehow! Is it a breakneck story with a really beautiful ending? You better believe it. This was great. I loved Paper Girls.
(I read the Deluxe Edition, which collects issues 21-30, which is why this review is identical to the one for [b:Paper Girls, Volume 6|44426058|Paper Girls, Volume 6|Brian K. Vaughan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657187947l/44426058.SY75.jpg|68983919])
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission--and if he fails, humanity …
Review of 'Project Hail Mary' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I've got a problem with Andy Weir and his gripping, immaculately-scientific, personality-driven, first-person, man-against-an-impossible-problem, astronaut everyman books.
That problem is that I can't put them down. It happens every time I read The Martian, no matter how many times I read The Martian, and I know it's going to happen here too. Ryland Grace's devil-may-care retrograde-amnesia-fueled save-the-world-from-an-existential-threat story is just too enthralling.
Why is this a problem? Because I need to sleep, Weir! I don't have time for your perfectly-plotted twenty-course meal of fascinating ideas I've never seen in a sci-fi novel before! I don't have time for your surprisingly-good interpersonal chemistry! Humans are stupid when we need sleep!
So I start the book, even if I've read it before, and I know that no matter when I start it, I'm going to spend hours reading about a protagonist scienceing some intractable problem, understanding everything because he's a genius, being …
I've got a problem with Andy Weir and his gripping, immaculately-scientific, personality-driven, first-person, man-against-an-impossible-problem, astronaut everyman books.
That problem is that I can't put them down. It happens every time I read The Martian, no matter how many times I read The Martian, and I know it's going to happen here too. Ryland Grace's devil-may-care retrograde-amnesia-fueled save-the-world-from-an-existential-threat story is just too enthralling.
Why is this a problem? Because I need to sleep, Weir! I don't have time for your perfectly-plotted twenty-course meal of fascinating ideas I've never seen in a sci-fi novel before! I don't have time for your surprisingly-good interpersonal chemistry! Humans are stupid when we need sleep!
So I start the book, even if I've read it before, and I know that no matter when I start it, I'm going to spend hours reading about a protagonist scienceing some intractable problem, understanding everything because he's a genius, being appropriately self-effacing when he makes a mistake, naming things laconically or with copious pop culture references, and eventually becoming a master of some incredibly specific task nobody has ever done before with no other human around to know what a savant he is. I'm going to spend that time, enjoy every minute of it, and then be exhausted the next morning!
I'm begging you, Weir. Just write a slightly more boring book. I promise I'll still read it, just maybe not all in one sitting.
Throughout the summer holidays after his first year at Hogwarts School of …
Review of 'Harry Potter a tajemná komnata' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I remember this book being the one where the series went from interesting to truly compelling for me. The kids also really enjoyed it, and had a great time guessing what would happen next.
In this gripping sequel to Star Wars: The Rising Storm, the light of the Jedi …
Review of 'The Fallen Star' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Claudia Gray is a true master of suspense. This book's sinking dread, its unyielding sense of free fall, continues unabated from start to end. While "The Light of the Jedi" was great, "The Fallen Star" is utterly masterful. I truly despised all the villains and truly adored all the heroes. What a difficult but exhilarating experience.
Following the dramatic events of Light of the Jedi, the heroes of the High Republic …
Review of 'The Rising Storm' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
You could do worse than a [b:Devil in the White City|397483|The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America|Erik Larson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1583433024l/397483.SY75.jpg|3486041] but in Star Wars. Solid, exciting adventure in the era of the Jedi at their height. I enjoy the characters quite a lot; and their chemistry together was really interesting, though I was a bit disappointed at first that two of the characters seemed almost indistinguishable.
This one felt a bit more scattered and difficult to follow than the first; not because the plot was too complicated, but because we followed several disparate characters for several chapters before they all converged. Once they did converge, things moved along at quite a nice clip.
In any case, I like this world and this setting. I do still wish it wasn't a prequel, though.
