An Artsy Girl's Guide to Football (Taylor-Hart)

An Artsy Girl's Guide to Football
Maya Taylor-Hart (2025)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a free Advanced Reader Copy from Library Thing. I'm encouraged (but not required) to leave reviews in exchange for the free books.

I left the following review on the Library Thing website:

Maya is a girl who likes to sketch. Her friend Jess invites her to a freshman foot game. Maya doesn't have much interest in the game, preferring to sketch, until she notices Number 13. Jess teases her, but Maya starts to learn more about football. She's sketching the field, the players, and the plays, adding her own unique artistic touch to each piece, as she slowly starts to learn about the game.

The book is mostly interaction between these two girls, but Maya's father enjoys her daughter's new interest. There are some "mean girl" cheerleaders who don't amount to much meanness because the focus stays on Maya, Jess, and 13, who she does finally meet in a quiet moment that takes her breath away.

This was a cute book, which I enjoyed very much, and I might've learned a thing or two about football... although I don't think she explained what a screen play was.

---

There isn't much else to say about the book. There was no love triangle, and no other girls to compete with. The boy never takes center stage. (For that matter, he isn't even the quarterback or the star player.) It's mostly about Maya and Jess. Of course, I like the scenes with her Dad.

Personally, I have little knowledge about football other than the basics. I couldn't name plays for the life of me, nor most of the positions, or what those positions are supposed to do. So I found this part of it interesting as well.

I enjoyed this book for what it was. And what it was was cute.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

The Golden Age (Robinson / Smith / Ory)

The Golden Age
James Robinson / Paul Smith / Richard Ory (1995)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

I don't know where this graphic novel came from. I don't believe it was in the FreeCycle donation I received, which means that it either came from a Little Free Library or from my brother Stephen's apartment. Despite it's age, it must've been a recent purchase. It hadn't been in his apartment for two or three decades.

No one had started reading this one, so I picked it up to be my Friday read in class.

This graphic novel was published in four parts in 1993 and 1994. It was first collected in 1995. It was reprinted in 2005 with "JSA:" added to the title. This means I read the 1995 edition.

The first thing I noticed was the collection of heroes on the cover. The central character wasn't anyone I was familiar with, so it was a moment before I realized that all the other characters were members of the Justice Society or the All-Star Squadron at some point. There were also members of the Freedom Fighters (who I recall retroactively were part of the All-Star Squadron or JSA), not including Uncle Sam. Many of the heroes were bought up from independent comic groups that went out of business in the 40s and 50s.

There were still a couple that I didn't recognize right away but I believe all of them show up in the story somewhere.

Some personal background. I was born into the Silver Age, when older heroes who had fallen by the wayside were being relaunched. It is the Silver Age versions of the characters that we have today. Some of them have been revamped again in the 21st century, but overall those changes were cosmetic, unless the heroes failed again in the 70s and 80s, leaving them open for a brand-new iteration.

I remember the annual JLA-JSA crossovers that usually featuring other heroes of the 40s-60s. And I read many of the reprints of "Famous First Editions", so I was aware of a lot of the old characters.

I was in college during the Crisis on Infinite Earths when all the Earths were combined into one (but there were still other dimensions). One fallout of this was that the characters who'd survived from the Depression and World War II, that is Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, whose origins, powers and identities didn't change, no longer appear as JSA characters. (Green Arrow was brought back very similar to his original self.) Only their Silver Age counterparts exist, as updated for the five decades that have passed since the Silver Age began.

Yes, the start of the Silver Age is nearly twice as long ago from now as the Silver Age was from the start of the Golden Age.

And speaking of the Golden Age...

This book is an Elseworlds, meaning that it happens outside the main continuity. Unlike Elseworlds where modern characters exist in older times (for example, a Victorian Age Gotham City), this story takes place in its proper timeline, so readers of these characters know whatever they need to know.

This book doesn't quite give "The Watchmen" treatment, but it does take some liberties.

I am aware of the Spear of Destiny, which allowed Hitler to take control of magic-based heroes and Superman (who is vulnerable to magic). In this story, that is a myth. The real reason that the heroes didn't go overseas was that FDR asked them not to go. They defended the homefront. Because of this, when the soldiers came home, many of the heroes retired because they weren't needed any more. Police, firefighters, and other personnel all came home.

One exception was Green Lantern, Alan Scott. He retired because he was bitter about the atomic bomb. His ring could've achieved the same results with less death and destruction. Likewise, Starman had a breakdown when he discovered that his cosmic energy helped to bring about the atomic bomb.

Tex Thompson, aka the Americommando or Mr. America, is one hero that did go to war and he killed many of the enemy. He comes back a hero and seeks political office. He becomes an early version of Sen. McCarthy. I didn't remember his name. I might have heard of both of his hero titles, not knowing they were the same person. I did know about Miss America, who is also in this book.

Another part of the story involves one of the heroes making a "Where Are They Now?" documentary while trying not to include too much Tex Thompson. It gets confusing because there are too many characters with the similar names. I think it was Johnny Quick doing this, not that he is separated from Liberty Belle, or Johnny Quick might've been the one trying to write the Great American Novel and failing miserably at it. This stuff rolls together after a while.

Among the ones that didn't retire are the Atom, Johnny Thunder, and Dan the Dyna-Mite, who are too young. They get involved with Tex's efforts to register all superheroes. Additionally, Robotman makes an appearance (much earlier than I was aware of his existence), and he is losing his humanity on his way to being a killing machine.

The Atom gets an office job because his body isn't right for an experiment that Tex is part of. Dan, however, is transformed into Dynaman. The two of them are very ambitious and plot a future where Thompson is elected president in 1952, by which point, the U.S. would likely have gone into Russia and China.

Manhunter, who is a vague memory to me, was also over in Europe during the war. When he finally comes back to the US, he's suffering from memory loss, and people are hunting him, trying to kill him. He meets up with Bob Daley, Thompson's former sidekick (Thompson is embarrased by the man now), and they eventually find Hawkman who helps Paul Kirk (Manhunter) get back his memories.

The things he saw changes everything and put all the events into a new light.

Everything after this would be a spoiler.

A couple other notes: Hourman is battling addiction, which I think is a topic that had been touched on before -- but not until the late 70s or early 80s, most likely. Granted, I don't remember exactly when it was revealed that Speedy was an addict.

I don't remember Captain Triumph. He's retired and haunted by a ghost that wants him to touch a tattoo to bring Captain Triumph out. He never gets his moment though because Lance Gallant tries to be a hero without the ghost.

Red Bee is in it, and not as comic relief. I'd seen one previous appearance in an issue of All-Star Squadron where he was one of the heroes that traveled to Earth X, where the Freedom Fighters were founded. His presence there was laughable as he was easily outclassed -- and I think he had his back broken almost immediately -- years before Bane did that to Batman.

I know who the villain is, and have read a couple of stories with him, but I don't really know much of his background, and he was never a favorite of mine. That said, he's appropriate for this story.

I enjoyed this story. Since it was an Elseworlds, the writers were free to experiment with the characters. Robotman becoming a killer was an odd choice, and far more heroes were killed off than was necessary for the story. It didn't have to be a bloodbath, but at least they didn't kill everyone just because they could.

It holds up well for a comic published 30 years ago that took place 50 years before that.

Addendum: I posted the following on Good Reads:

I didn't realize how old this book was when I picked it up. (My copy didn't have JSA on the cover.) The fact that it's from the 90s makes a bit of sense. I read some All-Star Squadron in the 80s (so I knew about the Spear of Destiny stuff) as wells as the JLA-JSA crossovers going many years before that, so I recognized many on the cover, even if I didn't recognize the most prominent character -- it's someone who gets reintroduced, so you wouldn't recognize him.

This also has a bit of a Watchmen influence to it with the characters get deconstructed a bit as most of them hang up their masks, capes, and cowls after the war when all the other rescue workers come home from overseas. Green Lantern and Starman have strong reactions to the war's ending.

The four parts (individual issues) read as one story. It had a good twist explaining the strange actions of some of the characters.


If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Slewfoot (Brom)

Slewfoot
Brom (2021)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a Pandemic Book Club selection.

The meeting was a couple weeks ago, but this post slipped through the cracks as I caught up with Library Thing books and Graphic Novels for my class.

Abitha is a young English woman who'd been sent by her father to a Puritan colony in Connecticut that's looking for wives. She's married to Edward who is ten years older than her and in some ways more of a fatherly figure. Edward is also a little on the slower side and easily dominated by his older brother Wallace, who inherited all the property from their father.

Edward has worked a farm owned by his brother for nearly 10 years and has only one payment left to make. Wallace informs him that he is given the farm away to pay a debt rahter than give away the family homestead that their father founded. Abitha is furious with the both of them and finds it difficult to mind her place in this Puritan society. (She could end up in the stocks or worse.)

Abitha coaches Edward so that he can make the case that the farm was promised to him first and that he has met his part of the bargain. The reverend, who is the final say in this community, agrees with Edward, as do as two associates -- including the one who is friendly to Wallace.

Life then gets turned upside down. Abitha leaves the gate open, and their one billy goat, Samson, wanders off into a cave and falls down a deep hole. Edward later goes to find the goat and disappears into the same hole (tricked by voices from down below). Unbeknownst to any of them, there are spirits underground, Forest, Sky, and Pond, who are trying to awaken "Father" to protect the woods and the special magic tree from the newcomers who have settled in the area. "Father" is supposed to be the destroyer of all, the slayer.

He doesn't wish to be. He doesn't know who or what he is, but he knows there's more to it.

When he is spotted, he is called the Devil, Satan, and Slewfoot. I have to admit that Slewfoot was a new one on me. When he finally meets Abitha, she names him Samson, after the goat. Side note: there is stunning artwork by Brom in the book and there is different artwork for Samson and Slewfoot. The question remains, are Samson and Slewfoot the same or is he just assuming the identity of Slewfoot for this story?

Seriously, I assumed that he wasn't really Slewfoot, but I was waiting for Slewfoot to actually appear, if for no other reason than the painting. But he doesn't. So is Samson actually Slewfoot? Or are such matters in this story beneath Slewfoot's notice?

In any event, Abitha doesn't want to find herself beholden to Wallace, her only family by law, and invokes her rights as a widow to champion the affairs of her late husband. She only need deliever the corn on time and the farm would be hers. But the rain said otherwise. And she's a frail and poor widow.

Samson helps her and soon there is enough corn to pay off the debt. Wallace is perplexed and decides to steal the corn with the help of some local Indians. They wind up burning it, and one man is dead.

Along the way, Abitha, who is a cunning woman like her mother, makes charms and salves for some of the girls and goodwives of the community. It is because of this (and because of the ghost of Edward and the site of Samson) that Wallace accuses Abitha of witchcraft. It doesn't help that when Abitha is attacked, Edward's bees fly out and sting only Wallace.

So while we get to root for Abitha beating Wallace and saving her farm, there was no way that this wasn't going to end with a Witch Trial. And being that it's Brom who wrote it, we were going to get an accurate trial, which wasn't going to go well for the accused witch. And it doesn't.

When all is said and done, she is tortured and condemned. Samson can take her away to live the rest of her life somewhere else, likely in pain, or he can make her like him where she might live a few hundred years.

And then the revenge tour begins. The downside to all this is that now everything that the others said about her when it wasn't true, is now true. This causes her only friend to curse and condemn her because she herself feels condemned and doomed now. (These are Puritans after all, even if Abitha wasn't one.)

A Book Club note: several members of my book club thought that she didn't go hard enough on Wallace. Everything she did was over too soon. (I want to say half a page but it was probably longer.)

Myself: I thought the revenge tour went on too long. I got it -- she Big Mad and now she has powers. And I could note that there was plenty of exposition to say that Samson was more of a Force of Nature than a Force of Evil, but this vengeance was purely evil. At one point, I wondered if Samson was going to tell Abitha to tone it down a little (at least until she got the hang of her powers or something), but he didn't.

Also by the end, they were identifying themselves as a witch and the Devil.

This didn't take away from my enjoyment (much) because I expected this.

I realized early on that Edward wasn't going to be saved. He wasn't coming back. He wasn't "inside" Samson -- actually, he sorta was. Edward moves on to the great beyond without Abitha, and now it seems that Abitha, though she tried to love Edward, has closed the door on following him. But she has Samson.

There's an epilogue that takes place 300 years later (the 1960s), which for some reason takes place in a wooded area in Virginia. I guess Connecticut is too settled or something. It didn't really add much except to show that she and Samson (who is mentioned, I believe, but not in the scene) are still around even though they left that wood, the farm, and the Puritans behind. Abitha should be near the end of her lifespan but she appeared as vibrant as ever.

I listened to about half this book but couldn't renew it. I started reading from the beginning again (which was probably a good move -- you miss stuff listening while out walking), and I plowed through it.

A good read.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Dream Sweet in a Minor Sea (De Beer)

Dream Sweet in a Minor Sea
Janneke De Beer (2025)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a free Advanced Reader Copy from Library Thing. I'm encouraged (but not required) to leave reviews in exchange for the free books.

I left the following review on the Library Thing website:

In a dystopian future where political parties control the world government, a Mission Impossible / Ocean's 11 type team of experts is assembled to rescue a prisoner from a prison on an island in the Irish Sea.

The book opens with Mumilaaq Kuuluuiipiq preparing to steal a monkey from the zoo because she wants a monkey. When she returns home, there's a woman waiting to talk to her about a job because the stranger needs someone who can break into any place. A few more are recruited, including a hacker and the brother of the prisoner.

Unlike the teams I mentioned earlier, no one's safety is guaranteed, which we learn soon enough.

The rescue proceeds smoothly, and it's only afterwards that things start to go sideways. Unfortunately, the narrative goes a little sideways, and experimental, as well, making it a little difficult to follow.

Speaking of hard to follow, some of the characters occasionally speak in their native tongue. This is fine with the ebook's translator can handle it. However, Mumilaaq occasionally speaks in what I thought were symbols but is just a different alphabet, one which the translator couldn't work with. Toward the end of the book, I learned she spoke Inuktut, the main language of Iqaluit (in the Canadian territory of Nunavut). Interesting, but I have no idea what she was saying.

Anyway, there are unforeseen dangers and complications after the rescue, along with secret agendas, backstabbing, and broken promises. Nobody is really safe. Welcome to the Party.

---

A few other notes that didn't need to be in the Library Thing review. Some of this stuff might contain spoilers.

I have discovered that Dream Sweet in a Minor Sea is a pun or parody of the song title "Dream Sweet in a Sea Major", which itself is a pun on the phrase "Dream Suite in C Major". The song is written in C Major. Moving on.

As soon as the first person was blown up in their car, I knew that this wasn't going to go well for anybody. Oddly, from the excerpts that begin each chapter, I thought that the character was going to have a future ahead of him. I guess I missed what the date on that interview was.

A lot of stuff happens off-stage, and you have to read those things to understand what's going on.

The bit were the hacker is having a break-down didn't work for me -- this was when one AI murders a second AI which appears to be a part of her own personality. We're left to guess whether or not she'll survive.

There was a second experimental section where the same scene is told side-by-side by two different characters, one who is searching upstairs and the other who is searching downstairs. The problem is that niether character is anybody. They're both extras, and they're both on the same side, so they have essentially the same point of view.

This was weird to read in as an ebook, because I was scrolling, scrolling, scrolling ... and then I have to scroll back. They weren't the same length, so it didn't make sense to go back and forth. If there had been breaks in the text, then maybe it might've made sense to try that, but I didn't.

I enjoyed this book, but I thought it fell about once the resuce went sideways, so I knocked it down a star.


If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Children of the Fire Moon (Bigfoot)

Children of the Fire Moon
Bigoot (2025)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a free Advanced Reader Copy from Library Thing. I'm encouraged (but not required) to leave reviews in exchange for the free books.

I'll be honest: I started asking for shorter books. My request is part of the reason that Library Thing now lists approximate page size in the descriptions. After getting several 400+ page books, I needed something a little smaller. This was under 200 pages, as are a lot of young adult books.

On the other hand, for some reason, I didn't notice that this one was authored by "Bigfoot", who also wrote Flume. I didn't like Flume. This one was a little better. Odd, but better.

I left the following review on the Library Thing website:

Three young kids live by themselves in an old cottage in a crater on a moon that circles a gas giant as part of an experiment that is never really explained. The kids themselves have no idea that they're part of an experiment and they don't know much else either. They know what they're taught by the Swamble, which is a mysterious voice that comes out of a lamp in a cave. They feed themselves by gathering spuds from trees but their supply is running out, and the kids are under-nourished. There's also an Observer in a satellite overhead who'd rather not get involved even when ordered to. One day, a rocket with an Alien shows up. We never learn the woman's name, and Margo calls her Twice-Girl because the alien is a girl who is twice as big as she is. She knows who the kids are and came to take them back to Earth. She sets up a picnic and tries to tell them a story but the kids won't listen to her. Bad things start happening, and the kids blame her. Who she is isn't really explained, and she's never named except as The Alien. Children of the Fire Moon is an interesting science-fiction tale that leaves the reader with a lot of questions, a few too many though.

---

A few other notes that didn't need to be in the Library Thing review. Some of this stuff might contain spoilers.

The Alien seemed to be resigned to leaving the kids behind very early. She gave up pretty quickly after insisting on getting all three of them to leave with them.

Jimi had the biggest character growth, deciding that he'll be the new Swamble, despite being so weak and not knowing anything.

It was very difficult for them to climb out of the crater the first time, but the made it back down. It's implied that the did again a second time, weighed down with extra food but without blankets, which burned up, and the fact that Robert is now blind.

I couldn't tell if Robert was temporarily blinded or permanently disfigured. Maybe I missed it or maybe I didn't want to acknowledge it.

The Alien was in a hurry because she knew others were coming after her, but the others never came. And she apparently never went back to Earth. Who she, or the Observer, or who any of the kids actually are is never explained. Why did they experiment with these three kids? And are there other kids in other craters?

Too many things not explained. That aside, I did enjoy the book if for no other reason than it was better for Flume and didn't have the odd ending that Flume had.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Skim (Tamaki / Tamaki)

Skim
Mariko Tamaki / Jillian Tamaki (2008)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This was a graphic novel that was donated to me from FreeCycle by a woman in Carol Gardens, Brooklyn. Thank you. I picked it up one Friday to be my Friday read after the other students had chosen theirs. (Nearly none of the students brought their own comic.)

The story takes place in 1993 at a private Catholic girls school in Toronto. I'm curious if the writer has a connection to that particular time (as in, that's when they attended) or if they just wanted it to take place before cell phones were a thing. Or both.

Kim is Japanese-Canadian, and she is on the heavy side. She's called Skim, right from the start of the book, like it's already a thing, but it's not a joke that she finds amusing. She's goth, practices Wicca, and has an arm in a cast because she tripped over her altar in her room.

She's friends with Lisa, who is also into Wicca. They go into the woods to attend a ceremony that appears to be a bunch of aging boomers more than Wiccans or goths. Since it's 1993, they could all be aging Hippies, I guess, close enough that maybe they attended Woodstock. Those details aren't important but Kim and Lisa find the outing to be a bit of a bust.

There's one teacher who Kim respects, Ms. Archer, who is the English and drama teacher, and here's where the drama starts. Kim is infatuated with her to the point of looking up her address in the phone book (another reason to set it in 1993, I guess) and then goes to her house. Ms. Archer stops her and says that she never gave Kim her address. However, she doesn't chase her off. In fact, the two start to become close in a situation that I would realize even if I were not a teacher crosses a line. The only resolution to this is that Ms. Archer is dismissed, off-screen, sometime in the middle of the book and doesn't play a role in the rest of the story. We don't even see her when she drops out Kim's Tarot card deck before leaving for the last time. (We don't see her, either.)

As Kim and Lisa start to grow apart, Kim starts getting closer to Katie Matthews. Katie's ex-boyfriend, John Reddeer, broke up with her and then committed suicide. No one knows the reasons, but the speculation is that John was gay. This is not confirmed, but it is the prevailing theory among the girls. Katie falls off a roof and winds up with her arms in cast (like Kim). Some of the girls believe that she tried to commit suicide over John Reddear and keep her close. She can't stand it.

There were times that I confused Katie and Lisa, because it's a black and white book and the biggest difference between them is their hair. That's on me, though, especially since I was only reading this on Fridays during class.

I found the book to be okay, but I'm not the target audience for such a book. It was a bit disturbing with the inappropriate relationship, which was never really addressed before the teacher was dismissed. I don't know the queen bee/wannabe culture of girl schools or teenage girls in general but there's a lot of drama. (I never saw Mean Girls, and watching it at this point would be silly.)

I enjoyed the artwork, and the use of diary entries for the narrative. I'll likely skim through the book (I see the pun) to find some pages to use in class to talk about the technique in story telling: use of background, graphic weight, contrast, etc.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

The Sorrow Road (Dunstan)

The Sorrow Road
Mark Dunstan (2025)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a free Advanced Reader Copy from Library Thing.

I left the following review on the Library Thing website:

Heavily inspired by Greek mythology but set farther north, The Sorrow Road is the tale of people from different nations being kidnapped by Satyrs and Cyclopes to travel The Sorrow Road, a sort of Hunger Games, where those carted away have a chance to earn their freedom if they can make it to the end of the Road before being hunted down by hounds, bears, satyrs, and Cyclopes.

The main group that we focus on, some of whom were enemies before they were abducted, don't believe that the Cyclopes will let them live so they set off cross-country through the mountains. Apparently, this has been done many times before because the Cyclopes mention it. And others figure out the same thing because the run into many others.

The format allows for some of the original travelers to be killed off because more will be added later. Unfortunately, by the end, so many are added that you never really get to know many of the characters or even care about them. You also wonder, considering how Brontes the Cyclopes is tracking Torben and his group, believing that they are exceptional prey, you wonder how so many survived to make it to the abandoned city.

If you like fantasy novels with big climatic last stand battles with mythical creatures, where no one has any plot armor and you wonder who will live or will they all get slaughtered, then you might enjoy this book.

I, on the other hand, thought it started off a bit clunky, but it picked up steam. I was all set to give it four stars, but the final battle just went on way too long after too much prelude. Any good editor would've cut 100 pages from this book, split before and during the final battle. (A good editor would've handles some of the grammar problems, too.) Too many character stories are set up that deserve some kind of resolution, but there's only death. And, honestly, some of the death could have been avoided if the author just didn't decide to kill the character. I don't like plot armor, but I don't like going out of your way to kill people either. (Also, two characters appear to have died but it turns out by some miracle they survived! They are immediately killed again in a scene that adds nothing to the narrative. They could've just stayed dead.)

And for all that, there's barely an epilogue to cover what happens after, even though years pass, and the little we get isn't satisfying for such a long trek.

I was determined not to DNF this novel.

---

A few other notes that didn't need to be in the Library Thing review. Some of this stuff might contain spoilers.

Okay, it's been a couple of weeks since I wrote the above, and most of what I wanted to complain about have fallen out of my head. But I'll try...

For starters, too many of the characters had stories, and many of them are left unresolved because so many of them died before the end. We get one small epilogue for one character, and we get to find out that four of the core members not only survived the Sorrow Road but also the dangers of the five-year trek across the continent to get home. It isn't enough. It's almost as if the author was just as tired of this book as I was. And I literally pushed on to finish it.

We don't learn about other survivors, and no, I wouldn't want a sequel to let me know.

I think the satyrs bothered me if only because for all the Greek stuff (weapons, clothing, terminology) that I was expected to know in advance (I looked them up -- forget about what kind of sword the thing was -- I didn't even know it was a sword), the author went into a bit of detail about what a satyr is. In my humble opinion, if you didn't know what a satyr was, you definitely didn't know that other stuff. But on the subject of satyrs, they're supposed to be men on top and goats on the bottom. Okay, maybe with horns as well (the goat kind, or maybe the musical kind, too). As I kept reading, they started to seem more and more animalistic and they weren't very bright. They could've been orcs or kobolds, but I assume that they needed something bigger, more threatening (and more Greek?) to go alongside the Cyclopes, which are big enough that they kept getting called Giants.

And speaking of giants, they were supposed to be 11-15 feet tall or so. The cover made one look the size of a Titan just from the perspective because he was supposed to be farther away and leaning in, not just standing next to them. I would think 11 feet shouldn't be too much bigger than a centaur, with is half a human body on top of the body of a horse, particularly if a centaur reared up on its hind legs.

If more occurs to me, I'll update this, but I likely won't.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Waverider: A Graphic Novel (Amulet #9) (Kibuishi)

Waverider: A Graphic Novel (Amulet #9) , by Kazu Kibuishi (2024)

On Tuesday, January 22, 2019, I posted my notes on the first eight parts of a nine-issue series, Amulet. I saw a bunch of the books in a classroom, and I borrowed (and returned) them, one at a time. I was disappointed to learn that the final issue in the series had not been released yet and wouldn't be for at least another year.

Fast forward six years, and the series comes to mind. (The fact that I'm teaching a Graphic Novel course might have something to do with it.) I checked and issue #9 came out in 2024! Last year! Five years later! The other books came out at a rate of one per year.

I didn't go back and reread anything, and maybe I should have, but I didn't have time with all these 400+ page books I wind up reading.

Emily is back and in more control of her powers. She's assembling a team of friends who will bring a satisfying conclusion to the series. And the series does conclude.

There isn't much more I would say that isn't either a) a spoiler, or b) wrong because I misremembered something.

And thanks to that Graphic Novel class, there may be more graphic novels in this blog in the coming months.

Cold Sassy Tree (Burns)

Cold Sassy Tree
Olive Ann Burns (1984)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a Pandemic Book Club selection.

I started listening to this book before I started reading, but I eventually caught up and finished the ebook first (which my the audio less important to finish). I listened to the first chapter twice just so I had an idea what was going on.

Cold Sassy Tree refers to the sassafras trees that the town of Cold Sassy were named after even though there's only one tree left by 1906. The rest are all gone. Cold Sassy is a fictional town in Georgia.

The story is narrated by a 14-year old named Will Tweedy. It has a definite beginning but it just sort of ends. At least it wasn't open-ended (although there is a sequel where I guess the boy is grown some more.)

What stands out about this book is the folksy tone with which it's narrated, and I didn't mind the spellings that were used. (This was much better than the "stylistic choices" made in The Bee Sting). It took a moment to figure out a few words, but after that, they were familiar with repetition. "Cudn" was an amusing one for "cousin". I never did figure out why they'd sometimes end sentences with "one".

The story starts a few weeks after Will's grandmother has died with his grandfather's announcement that he's getting remarried to a woman who works in his store. Scandalous is this seems (and unseemly, too), he doesn't want to be a burden on his two daughters, so he either has to get a new wife or hire a Negro housekeeper, and he figures a wife is cheaper. Will will later learn that it isn't a "real" marriage, but an arrangement to make Miss Love Simspon his new housekeeper and not the new Mrs. E. Tucker Ruckslee.

Their story is the backdrop of learning about Will working in the store, going to school, and getting into fights. Along the way, he learns to drive the only two cars in town, and almost gets run over by a train. He is helped off the tracks by a mill girl he likes (and eventually kisses).

My one problem with this lighthearted tale is that it eventually takes a dark turn, and then gets absolutely brutal.

I could also complain that they never mention driving to another town to get gasoline for the cars since there isn't a gas station in Cold Sassy as there are only two cars before Mr. Ruckslee starts selling them.

Other than the dark parts, you could imagine that this was any boy's misadventures growing up at a particular time in history. (I won't compare it to Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn because I haven't read those in a long time and I'm sure there was more and sharper commentary on society than here.) And the book could've gone on for a few more chapters before the events that bring on the ending of the book. I didn't pay attention to the timeline, but it could've been that it was a full year or a complete school year over which the book takes place.

This was an enjoyable book, and a nice change of pace from recent reads. Now I have to wait nearly a month for the meeting!

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Eden: It's an Endless World! Volume 1 (Endo)

Eden: It's an Endless World! Volume 1
Hiroki Endo (1997/2005)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This was a book that I picked up at Readercon in Boston, MA back in July. It was on the freebies table, and I only took it because it was volume one.

From Good Reads:

Eden Volume One is both a brilliant love song to the post-apocalyptic survival genre and the beginning of a deep exploration on man's role in the natural order. In the near future, a large portion of humanity is wiped out by a brutal, new virus that hardens the skin while dissolving internal organs. Those who aren't immune are either severely crippled or allowed to live with cybernetically enhanced bodies. Taking advantage of a world in chaos, a paramilitary force known as the Propater topples the United Nations and seeks world domination. Elijah, a young survivor searching for his mother, travels towards the Andes Mountains with an artificially intelligent combat robot. When he encounters a group of anti-Propater freedom fighters, a maelstrom of unique characters unfolds. Graphic, cyberpunk, and philosophical, Eden is a place where endearing heroes face a constant struggle for survival and violent surprises wait around every corner!

It was an interesting story and a quick read. It's not available from any of the local libraries. The series was popular when it came out in English, or so I've read.

The story follows two immune teens and a scientist who is succumbing to the disease and who also had a hand it its spread. There are a lot of flashbacks to a time when the virus started and pockets of humanity are protected within governmental walls.

It then jumps ahead a generation where the child of the two teens is traveling with a robot.

No, I'm not describing it well. Also, I'm curious what happened to his parents.

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina (Córdova)

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
Zoraida Córdova (2021)

[AUDIO BOOK -- I don't include covers for audiobooks unless I've read them as well.]

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a Pandemic Book Club alternate selection. That is, it didn't win the group poll. However, I requested all the books as soon as the poll went up because many times there are holds for these books. The audiobook became available, so I listened to it. I don't remember what the wait was for the ebook, but since it didn't win, I didn't worry about it.

This was an enjoyable book although I might've restarted it early on because sometimes it's difficult to focus on the book while I'm out walking or because there's traffic or overhead trains running by. (I do this often.) I need to be doing something when I listen to audiobooks. I can't just sit there, not even on a subway.

The book bounces around between the past and the present. We learn that Orquidea didn't know who her father was, that she ran away with the circus, and that she had five husbands during his lifetime, so he used different names at different times.

Her grandchildren show up Four Rivers when she's dying to find out about their inheritance. There's more backstory into the grandchildren as well. In particular, we get to know a lot about Marymar, a name that is said many, many times and that I sometimes laughed at how it is pronounced for no reason. (On the other hand, I was a little annoying sometimes, so maybe I was smirking at my own annoyance.) It was later mentioned that her name meant "sea and sea" or "sea to sea", so it's either Marymar or Maramar. It's sounded more like a "y".

The story takes weird turns when Orquidea dies and turns into a tree. This is not metaphorical. And later, SPOILER, there are space aliens involved. I did NOT see that coming.

Would I consider reading this? Yes, but.

The "but" is because I'm so backed up with reading. I have the book club books, the Library Thing books (I'm 2 behind at the moment), books on hold at the library that I keep postponing and saying "deliver later", and books that I just want to read but haven't gotten around to yet. If this is still on hold, then it'll show up at some point. If it isn't on hold, there's a good chance that I'll forget about it until my end-of-year review.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

The Bee Sting (Murray)

The Bee Sting
Pauy Murray (2023)

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

This book was a Pandemic Book Club selection. It was also a 600+ page slogfest. If it had not been for the book club, I would have DNF'ed it 100 pages in -- by 200 for sure. As it was, I still had 150 pages to go when the meeting happened. I had already been spoiled that the book was left open-ended, which after 640 pages is a little outrageous. During the meeting, I discovered just what it was that was left open-ended. I was satisfied that I didn't need to read this book.

At the point where I considered dropping this book, I wrote the following on Good Reads:

First, there are no quotation marks, which gets a little confusing. Then almost all of the other punctuation disappears. Then there’s a slog of a chapter that’s literally 100 pages long, and you want to k!ll yourself instead If this hadn’t been a book club book, I wouldn’t have pushed on as far as I did, and I still couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I just didn’t care about anybody, how their lives were or where they’d end up, or even about that bee sting A good editor would’ve cut between 2-300 pages from this monstrosity. If there was a reason for it to be this long, I never got to it.

After the meeting, I was happy to put that book aside and read something else, The Bartender Between Worlds, which I enjoyed very much.

I started reading the next Book Club pick, but then I decided that I would power through this book.

Let me say right off: it didn't get better. It got worse. For the last 100 pages or so, it switched to Second Person POV, because it needed a fresh layer of Hell. And it applied this to all the different POV characters that it had. It wasn't using it to make the reader the POV character.

Yes, playing with the format might've been a storytelling tactic. It was an absolutely abyssmal choice.

The icing on the wedding cake came in Part III when it switched to a script format, except it wasn't a script. Just the formatting on the page was so you'd know with Second Person POV was involved in this bit. The main reason for the script, as far as I can tell, was because all the players were being brought onto a single stage so that open-ended ending could take place.

I never got the answer to my question, why this book had to be so long. On the other hand, they did address the "bee sting" in a way that explained why it was important enough to be the title of the book, and like so much that came before it, everything is a lie.

In the end, every adult is morally reprehensible for one reason or another, and when faced with a moral quandary tend to fail.

But, I got through this book and can return to next month's book, which is already better, and not quite as long.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.