Book Reviews – June 20, 2011

The Gunslinger Born

Authors: Stephen King, Peter David, Robin Furth

Illustrator: Jae Lee

Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Grabbing the story of Roland’s adolescence straight from Wizard & Glass, the artwork deftly retells the story of how Roland became the Gunslinger. There’s nothing new provided in the text (sorry folks) but the comic series is still one to enjoy if you liked reading the Dark Tower series. Or even if you haven’t read the series. Go pick it up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Civil War Adventure: Real History Stories of the War that divided America

Author: Chuck Dixon

Illustrator: Gary Kwapisz

A good compilation of short comics detailing the first year of the Civil War. I would say this is for younger children (as the dialogue is very simple); however, with implied suicide and, you know, actual death, I’m not quite sure who this is geared for. Still, it’s not a bad way to get a quick and dirty understanding of some of the battles and reasons for the Civil War.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of Beautiful Girl

Author: Rachel Simon

A very solid story by Rachel Simon, crafting three different, believable stories out of the catalyst of one event. A hidden birth, a girl captured and locked away, and an escapee from a terrible institution all form a delightful colorful tapestry of lives lived and discovered. The Story of Beautiful Girl is really less a story about Lynnie (the “Beautiful Girl”) and more about the triumph of the spirit as a whole. However, the story ended much too simply for me; don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for everything ending well but…well, it just seemed like Simon tried too hard to get everything to fit. Also, while I don’t doubt the ability of differently-abled people to do wonderful things, it seemed that by the end of the novel that Lynnie was the same as the rest of the characters in her thoughts and actions. Now I’m not sure if the author did that to impress upon the reader that we’re all the same when it gets right down to it, but once again, it just seemed so…well, almost trite. And where did Homan (the escapee) get the money to fund his final project (I’m trying to avoid spoilers as much as I can)? In the end, this novel starts off very well, has a solid middle section, but the ending, while nice, just wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been. Still a worthwhile read.

The Queen’s Governess

Author: Karen Harper

Karen Harper obviously researched Kat Champernowne Ashley’s life thoroughly before embarking on this book. Therefore, it is beyond me why there was so much romanticism in this novel. Don’t get me wrong; the writing is simple, easy, and fun to read. However, there’s something to be said for reality making an appearance every once in a while. At the heart of the text though is a compelling story about a woman and the child that she loves and helps to flourish. If you’re interested in that, you should pick up this novel. If not, best to stay away.

 

 

 

 

 

Shakespeare Undead

Author: Lori Handeland

Cheesy and simple to read, not that that’s a bad thing. However, this story is uneven in its execution. Filled with brilliant…okay, amusing ideas such as Shakespeare getting his stories from the actual ghosts that lived them or the plagues striking London actually being a zombie infestation, this could have been a fun romp through 16th century England with vampire Shakespeare at the helm. Unfortunately, forcing a romance with the other main character made it all a bit silly. I found myself questioning the logic (okay, I know I’m reading a story about Shakespeare being a vampire, but there needs to be some semblance of realism) of how Kate could sneak out of her house ALL of the time without anyone noticing or how she became such a splendid fighter with lessons from her nurse who just happened to fight zombies as well! This book could have been two with all the ideas that weren’t allowed to flourish and I found myself a bit dissatisfied at the end.

The Journeyman and Creative Commons

I have decided to license my material under Creative Commons. The license I have chosen will allow any of you folks to share what I’ve written with others, but will not allow you to alter it in anyway or to make profit from it (not that you would anyway). Of course, with permission from the author (i.e. me), you can do whatever you’d like to it.

Why Creative Commons? I think that it’s important to be able to share other people’s works without fear of copyright infringement. The sharing of information in a free and open environment is crucial to the development of knowledge and I want to do what I can to further that pursuit.

Do I think I’m offering some grand gift to mankind with my blog? No, of course not. But I think it’s important to do what I can.

For more information on the license I’ve chosen, click here.

For more on Creative Commons, watch the video below.

In which the Journeyman is a Southerner in Yankee-land.

(I am obligated to note that what I am about to express are my own thoughts and in no way reflects the opinion or stance of my workplace. Thank you.)

Last weekend, the Archives of Michigan hosted a Civil War Sesquicentennial celebration at the Michigan Historical Center. As a staff member, I helped out with the festivities; specifically, I spent my time being a gopher and answering preservation questions at the Archives’s collections care table. There were bands, cannons, re-enactors, all the bells and whistles you would expect. It was awesome and if you didn’t have the opportunity to go, you missed a heck of a good time! However, while I spent my day serving the public, a nagging thought festered at the back of my mind: “I don’t belong here.”

A friend had asked me a couple weeks before the celebration, “So how does it feel to be on the WINNING side?” At the time, I just laughed because the thought was admittedly ludicrous but…well, perhaps it’s something I should have considered it a bit more. I am unabashedly Southern and proud, an odd thing to say when I was born in Hawaii but as I was raised in Tennessee, it’s something I feel comfortable laying claim to. I had been making jokes in the office for months about how the South would rise again and other things of that nature. I had even purchased a Confederate cap and had jokingly suggested to my boss that I would wear it during the celebration (of course, I didn’t).

But I hadn’t really considered the possibility that I would actually be uncomfortable at this event. But there I was, feeling like a lone gray island in a sea of blue. I felt like an impostor, someone invited to the party because there was a seat to fill. Don’t get me wrong, I had a LOT of fun but these soldiers weren’t my soldiers, these people weren’t my people, and this history wasn’t MY HISTORY.

That statement begs its own questions: “What is ‘my history’? What am I attempting to glorify? What is the image I have in my mind’s eye?” I have found in the 2.5+ years I have lived in Michigan that the Northern interpretation of the Civil War is overwhelmingly simple: WE WON. WE’RE THE GOOD GUYS. There’s more to it than that of course; one can talk about the Copperhead movement for example but at the end of the day, the interpretation is comfortably settled under the post-victory glow of a winner.

The Southern interpretation is a bit more complex than that. It should be, after all. There’s an idolization of “our boys”, the “Lost Cause”, the mythos of Robert E. Lee… and underneath that, an unspoken guilt over what we were fighting to defend: slavery. Oh sure, the argument can and is used that we were fighting for states’ rights, but we all know what that right was. We’re a classic literary trope writ large; the Confederate soldier is a tragic hero, noble but flawed and ultimately destined to lose because of the moral weakness of their foundation. It’s safe to be sympathetic when the ending has already been written and performed and Southerners rest easily in that comfort.

Except when it’s paraded in front of us.

It’s exceedingly hard to maintain your love and affection (I do not use these words lightly) for the Confederacy in the wake of a celebration of the other side.

What I love is ugly.

What I admire is shameful.

What I idolize deserved what it got.

That was not the message that the event was broadcasting to the public. That was the message I was personally receiving.  There is no reason that the event should have attempted to include a Confederate perspective and I am glad it didn’t. That’s not what I’m trying to say. The celebration was about Michigan’s history; this was their time to revel in the festivities and the fun. What I’m trying to say is that Michigan’s history is not my history.

It can’t be.

This is something that I had never thought about, never even considered. Why should it have crossed my mind? I am an archivist. The preservation of history is my craft and my passion. It is my one true love. It had never occurred to me that what I do might in fact be painful to me, that there are some aspects of history that I could never truly comprehend. That I might feel a sense of betrayal.

But I think that’s how it should be. If we are never questioned, if our boundaries are never pushed or threatened, we grow complacent. Stagnation is a disservice to the public and to history itself. I owe it to myself to be bothered, to be uncomfortable, to be threatened by the interpretations I help provide to others. It means that I’m learning and growing and that is always a great thing.

And so I feel positively about the Civil War Sesquicentennial celebration. It may not be my history and the boys in blue may not be my soldiers, but I learned a lot and had a great time. In the end, I suppose that’s all that really matters.

If you’d like to see my pictures of the celebration (taken with my cell phone; why do I never have proper cameras when I need them?), click here to go to my Flickr account.

Book Reviews – April 23, 2011

Northlanders Vol. 1: Sven The Returned

Author: Brian Wood

Artist: Davide Gianfelice

A bloody, violent, visceral rampage through northern Viking-held lands. The plot may not be the most complex or original (heir returns from a faraway land to claim his inheritance from the uncle who took it from him), but the artwork by Davide Gianfelice more than makes up for it. It’s a one man bloodbath right up until the end. For the comic that totally forgoes your higher brain functions in order to satisfy your id, this is it.

 

 

 

 

Northlanders Vol. 2: The Cross and the Hammer

Author: Brian Wood

Artist: Ryan Kelly

Keeping up with the visceral quality of its predecessor, this next installment in the Northlanders series takes the reader to Ireland in the midst of the Norse occupation. The protagonist, Magnus, travels the countryside with his daughter, slaughtering countless Norsemen who occupy his country’s land. However, he is being hunted by Lord Ragnar Ragnarsson, right-hand man to the King. In the end, that proves to be the least of his concerns.

Ryan Kelly’s artwork perfectly captures Brian Wood’s storyline, weaving yet another bloody, stunning story that sticks with you long after you’ve turned the last page. I look forward to getting the third installment soon.

 

 

Batman: The Black Casebook

Introduction by Grant Morrison

An assorted collection of weird Batman tales from which Grant Morrison pulled several of the deaths that Batman experiences in his work, Batman R.I.P. Campy and silly (and not the good forms of either), the only reason to invest in this is to see the origin stories for Morrison’s works. Otherwise, it’s best left forgotten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Glorious World Cup: A Fanatic’s Guide

Authors: Alan Black and David Henry Sterry

While short (very short, actually) and admittedly very easy to read, Alan Black and David Sterry seem to be confused concerning the purpose of their work. Is it supposed to be a lighthearted look at the World Cup? An informative inquiry into the teams and history? I don’t know and it appears neither do they and for that, this book suffers tremendously. Mediocre all around.

 

 

 

 

 

The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup

Editors: Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey

This well-written, thought out take on the World Cup is one to treasure. Thirty-two writers, thirty-two essays on a country competing in the 2006 World Cup. From Saїd Sayrafiezadeh’s exploration of his Iranian-American heritage and his complex relationship with his father amid the backdrop of Iran’s appearance in the 1998 World Cup to Courtney Brkic’s discussion of Croatian National Team’s effects on the psyche of their people, Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey have done a wonderful job editing this collection of essays. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes personal, almost always thought-provoking, this is a book that belongs on the shelf of every fan of the beautiful game.

 

 

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse

Editor: John Joseph Adams

A solid collection gathering 22 different stories concerning the end of the world and its aftermath. From Stephen King’s “The End of the Whole Mess,” in which an attempt to bring peace to all ends tragically for everyone to Nancy Kress’s “Inertia,” where a forced quarantine colony may hold the key to restoring a balance to civilization. There were a couple weak links in this bunch but overall another solid editing effort by John Joseph Adams. (Also, as a bonus there is a “For Further Reading” list of post-apocalyptic fiction included in the back of this anthology that would be of interest to any fan of the genre.)

Bob Frost, 1952-2011

This may be a little scattershot, as I’m upset right now. More so than I expected.

Right after I graduated college in 2008, I went to grad school (yes, I was one of those fools). I had just turned 22 a week before I moved out of Tennessee, where I had been brought up in a small town with less than 1400 people, to ANN ARBOR, a behemoth of a city and one that I felt immediately lost in. I had decided to go to the University of Michigan – School of Information since everything about it was different than what I already knew (location, attitude, etc.).

My first semester was not one of my proudest moments. Most of the professors seemed like remote figures to admire and listen to, but never to talk to, never to approach. This was not anything they did, as SI encourages professor-student interaction and most were very friendly, but I was afraid and out-of-sorts and…

Well, I was homesick for the first time in my life.

My second semester, I came back to school with a determination to do better. As I was considering applying for the Museum Studies certificate at UM, I decided to take Material Culture and the Interpretation of Objects as it sounded fascinating (and if I got in, would count as one of my classes towards that certificate). The professor was a man named Bob Frost, to which I jokingly asked one of my fellow students, “You mean like the poet?” They responded in a incredulous voice, “You know he’s the great-grandson, right?”

No, no I did not; how could I, when he never really brought it up? (Yet another thing to admire about the man; it would have been so easy to rest on his namesake…ah, but I digress)

Bob was…well, Bob. It’s hard to describe him. Quirky, excited, never backing down from any opinion he had and allowing you the same privilege, brilliant…the list goes on. For the first time since coming to Michigan, I had found a professor that was human and reveled in it. It’s safe to say that Material Culture was one of the best classes I’ve ever taken and it was all because of him. He genuinely wanted to challenge my world view, not just for the sake of challenging it or because that’s what he “should do”, but because he wanted me to be a better person and to look at the world that existed outside of what we “knew”. “No one should be proud to be ignorant,” he told our class. He encouraged us to reach out to him and our fellow students with neat things we had discovered in our research or just in our casual web surfing.

He called me “Moto”. Moto was (and still is) a name my friends call me. It’s an acronym and a sign that (for me at least) I feel comfortable with you and that we are, in fact, friends. He had heard one of my friends in the program call me that in the hallway one day and asked what it was about. After I told him, he asked if it was okay to call me that as well. I felt honored that he’d even consider it. (Of course, I said yes)

Did I agree with everything he said in class? Of course not. Do I agree with everything now that I’m older? Still no.

But that was okay. I had enjoyed his class so much that when another opportunity to listen and learn from him arose (Managing the IT Organization) I gleefully took it. Once again, I was not disappointed. Weaving in humanities with the tech-filled world of IT, he struck a balance in the classroom that appeased the firmest techheads and the softest social scientists.

Through all of this, he was battling cancer. We knew he was sick (some days he wasn’t as focused as others) but he never let it get him down, never let it get in the way of his passions and his teaching. He was always upbeat, ready to take on the world in all its forms. He was a fighter.

He did other great things as well (the Frost Open Access Fund, for example) but for me, the best thing he ever did was to be himself. He made a lonely, homesick student from nowhere feel as if I was important, as if my opinions mattered in this gigantic program filled with geniuses and other brilliant folks. It was one of the most valuable things anyone has ever given me.

Thank you, Bob. Thank you for everything that I’ll never be able to repay.

I miss you already.

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There’s a Relay 4 Life team in his honor: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/teamfrost

Other good blogs on Bob: http://thesecretmirror.com/blog/2011/03/27/in-memoriam-bob-frost/ (more of a personal reflection), http://vielmetti.typepad.com/vacuum/2011/03/obituary-bob-frost.html (just the facts, ma’am), http://blog.si.umich.edu/2011/03/27/our-friend-bob-frost-1952-2011/ (SI’s goodbye)

Book Reviews – March 13, 2011

History is Dead: A Zombie Anthology

Editor: Kim Paffenroth

A collection of short stories introducing zombies into historical time periods, from Neanderthals to the beginning of the 20th century. While Kim Paffenroth did a good job in picking a variety of eras to explore, it seemed to me that that a good portion of these stories were short with very abrupt endings. Furthermore, none of the stories really stood out. I was especially surprised by the blandness of the Jonathan Maberry story as I’ve liked other works by him, but while his “Pegleg and Paddy Save the World” story was fun, it just wasn’t that memorable. Overall, this compilation was merely average.

 

 

 

 

 

Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives

Author: David Eagleman

Thought provoking and challenging, David Eagleman’s “Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives” explores the different supposed paths that an afterlife, or God, or even the cosmos might take. From a waiting room where you must wait until your name is no longer remembered by anyone to God’s existence as a microbe, these stories are laced with wit, humor, and ultimately leave you pondering about what really happens after we shuffle off this mortal coil. However, I would suggest that you not read all forty stories in one sitting (it IS tempting, seeing as they’re one to three pages a piece); by reading all of them in one shot, it dilutes the purpose and power of the tales.

 

 

 

 

Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution

Author: Jerome Charyn

Pretty mediocre as far as I was concerned. Jerome Charyn obviously knows a lot about colonial America and the idea of a one-eyed young man living in a whorehouse in Manhattan sounded like the perfect premise for an interesting fun romp through the American Revolution. Boy, was I wrong. It certainly doesn’t help when you can’t sympathize with any of the characters; I cannot begin to recall how many times I wanted to reach through the pages of the books to slap both John Stocking and Clara around. All the characters were fairly one-sided and left no real room for growth or character development. This book really is the embodiment of a promise unfulfilled.

 

 

 

 

A Canticle for Leibowitz

Author: Walter M. Miller

When someone says “post-apocalyptic world” certain images immediately spring up unbidden, most of them concerning a Mad Max-esque setting.

This is not that sort of book.

What Walter Miller has crafted here is a thoughtful, balanced approach to the reconstruction and dissolution of a society over the span of 2000 years through the eyes of the monastic Order of St. Leibowitz. Through Leibowitz’s writings (he was a scientist before the nuclear blast that destroyed the world as it once was), the order attempts to keep the light of knowledge burning throughout what is left of society and struggles to find a firm footing in the ever-evolving world. Deftly exploring the issues of science in a faith-based world and faith in a science-based one, A Canticle for Leibowitz offers no judgments or conclusions but instead leaves you to tease out your own thoughts and meanings, staying with you long after the book is done. Everyone MUST read this book at some point.

(On a personal note, as an archivist, I’m well-acquainted with the difficulties of preserving information throughout the years, so of course I was fascinated by the idea of a monastic order’s struggle to maintain and provide access to one-of-a-kind records. I was also tickled to discover that 2000 years after the nuclear apocalypse, microfilm was still viewed as the most reliable way to provide access to papers.)

What To Do When No One Has A Clue: Advice for the Brave New World

Authors: Stephanie Pierson and Barbara Harrison

This book tries its best to be interesting and while having a few interesting questions answered (for example, “Who gets the dog’s ashes in the divorce?” Answer: discuss that before you get married or split the ashes in half) a lot of the questions would have never crossed my mind. Asking a lesbian how they got pregnant? Excuse me, that’s not anyone’s business but theirs! Why would you ask ANYONE that? What should you do if you’re a vegetarian and you own a dog? Uh, I think your top priority is keeping the animal healthy. If you can do that without meat, that’s great. If not, no one’s going to make the dog suffer on account of a lifestyle choice (at least I hope not). At any rate, it was an interesting brief read, but most of the scenarios are pretty bunk.

 

In which the Journeyman becomes a conservationist…

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a ruined picture worth? 500 words? 25? A wistful sigh for the image that is no more?

I’d like to think that every photo is fixable, but unfortunately, that is often not the case. As archivists, however, we’re supposed to do the best we can with what we know. (We’re like the MacGyver of records.) With that in mind, I introduce you to this:

Photo taken with cell phone camera

Well, that was anti-climatic, wasn’t it? This box was one of two we recently received at the Archives; as you can see, it was filled with mounted photographs of several of Minoru Yamasaki’s projects. That of course makes them valuable in their own right, but most of these images were actually taken by Daniel Bartush and Balthazar Korab. Unfortunately, what this picture doesn’t capture is the smell. As I rifled through the boxes looking at the projects (and debating on how best to organize them), the slight smell of mildew gently worked its way into my nasal passages. And by gently, I mean my sinuses locked down as if they were Fort Knox and the smell was a dim-witted thief. At any rate, I quickly found what I had been dreading:

Photo taken with cell phone camera

Stains from mold! Oh joy. Of course, that wasn’t the worst of it (it never is, is it?). I also found this:

Photo taken with cell phone camera

Ladies and gentlemen, these pictures were stuck together. My suspicion is that these photos were sitting in their box on the floor somewhere when some moisture (maybe a leak, maybe a spilled drink) ended up on the floor. Cardboard absorbs, so does mounting board and now yours truly is tasked with fixing it who knows how many years later. It quickly became clear that although the boards were attached to one another, the real issue was the coating on the photo itself. The emulsion had adhered itself to the back of the other board as well. After gently trying to pry it apart with a spatula, I realized that if I was going to free it, two things would need to happen: 1) the boards themselves would need to be separated and 2) there was no way to completely separate photo from board without either taking off the front of the photo or the back of the board. I decided I was okay with that and lightly moistened the mounting boards. Working as quickly and as delicately as I could, I separated them with a straight end spatula.

Photo taken with cell phone camera

Come on, you didn’t think I’d sacrifice the front of the photo, did you? Although you really can’t tell from the photo, the paper on the photo is about 2 1/2 inches long. From here, I dampened small sections of the backing that had adhered to the photo and used the broad end of the straight end spatula to slowly work the mounting board backing off the photo itself. About an hour later, I ended up with this:

Photo taken with cell phone camera

Much better looking if I do say so myself! Of course, I couldn’t get all of it off in one go. Here’s a closer look:

Photo taken with cell phone camera

As you can see, the picture has been permanently stained by the green backing that had adhered to it and by the mold that had developed. I will also note that there are small pieces of the backing still attached to the photo in this shot; I waited until the sections I had worked on had re-dried, then went after them with a soft eraser. Most of them have now been removed. This procedure also worked well on another photo like this one:

Photo taken with cell phone camera

Photo taken with cell phone camera

Not everything is salvageable. If it were, we’d never really have a concept of value. But sometimes if we’re lucky, we can mend an object to the point that it captures the essence of what it once was. That was my intent with these photos. Hopefully, I succeeded.

Book Reviews – February 13, 2011

Great Architecture of Michigan

Text: John Gallagher

Photos: Balthazar Korab

An overview of seminal architecture in Michigan, paired nicely with photographs by Balthazar Korab. Note though that the vast majority of the buildings are in the Lower Peninsula and a staggering amount of those were in the Detroit area, so I’m sure there are many other wonderful buildings throughout the state.

*I picked up this book since I’ve been handling a lot of Korab images at work recently and I DO live in Michigan…

 

 

 

 

 

Handling the Undead

Author: John Ajvide Lindqvist

Picking it up after my enjoyment of “Let The Right One In”, I’d have to say that Lindqvist’s work here isn’t bad. In most cases that would be a compliment, but I just expected more out of the author. To be fair, this was (refreshingly) not like other zombie novels; the zombies proper did not go lumbering around the countryside looking for brains, not did the government blindly ignore/attempt to overkill the problem immediately. Through the eyes of different characters, we get the chance to see how death (and the reprieve from it) would affect folks from all walks of life. Musing on the concepts and forms of souls and the meanings of mortality and loss, Lindqvist does an admirable job of making a realistic world, but the spark within it seemed to be missing.

 

 

Feed (Newsflesh, Book 1)

Author: Mira Grant

Operating under the guise of a post-apocalyptic zombie novel,, what Mira Grant does is firmly state the case for freedom of the press (tempered, as it should be, with the wisdom of restraint), the importance of access, and the need for folks to be able to find out their own truth, all wrapped up what starts as three journalists’ “big break” and ends with a full-fledged conspiracy.

It’s the year 2039, and Georgia and Shaun Mason (a “Newsie” and an “Irwin”, two different types of blogger-reporters) and their partner “Buffy” Meissonier (A “Fictional”, one who writes fiction based on their experiences) have just gotten the scoop of their lives, covering the presidential campaign of Senator Ryman. Of course, nothing can be that simple and before long, things are spiraling out of control so fast that it’s all they can do to hold on and keep doing what they do best: get the truth out there.

The writing is absolutely superb and you really get a feel for both the characters and the world in which they live. By the end, I felt as if I had known Georgia and Shaun for years. This is the first in a trilogy and I can’t wait to pick up the sequel.

 

A God Somewhere

Author: John Arcudi

I found this graphic novel…well, disturbing. Very disturbing. Following the path of a man granted superpowers, we see (through the eyes of his best friend, mostly) how he grapples with the fame, the reactions of others, and of course, the power. Unfortunately, while this could have been a beautiful story of shades of gray, what it ended up as was blunt force trauma embodying Lord Acton’s “Power corrupts…” quote. The violence is excessive, and to what end? Arcudi tries to evoke pathos and only ends up with a shade of it that’s painful to read. Get it from your library, but don’t bother paying for it.

 

 

 

 

Workin’ It!: RuPaul’s Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style

Author:  RuPaul (well, that’s a DUH)

Rupaul’s “Workin’ It” is a fun book that touches base on all things that a woman (or up-and-coming drag queen) may need to know. In a light-hearted, down-to-earth manner, she alights upon how to better present yourself, how to dress yourself better, and the essentials of makeup and more, serving it up in a tone that’s never condescending, always comprehending. While there were certain sections of the book I could have personally done without (I do not wear wigs and did not need half a chapter dedicated to wig maintenance; I also didn’t need to know about Ru’s first high colonic), overall this was a solid short book full of collectible gems of wisdom. You better work!

Book Reviews – February 6, 2011

The Passage

Author: Justin Cronin

Wow. Just wow.

Justin Cronin’s writing is brilliant and his take on a super-secret government project gone awry is fabulous. When a project to create immortal beings goes haywire, it results in a vampire plague sweeping the US (yes, I am aware of how that sounds; no, the vampires don’t sparkle in the sun) and the downfall of society as a whole. 90 years later, we’re introduced to a colony of survivors and how they cope with the threat always lurking outside their walls. At times striking a pseudo-mystical chord and at other times remaining firmly practical, Cronin does a great job in presenting several nuanced characters and a fascinating, believable storyline. Definitely can’t wait for the second book.

 

 

Brains: A Zombie Memoir

Author: Robin Becker

What if you were a zombie with higher brain function? What would you think and how would you cope? These are the questions that Robin Becker tries to answer in her book Brains: A Zombie Memoir. Her protagonist, an English professor turned zombie, shuffles around the Midwest hoping to make it to Chicago to find the creator of the zombie virus. Along the way, he meets up with other unique zombies and attempts to find a way for zombies and humans to co-exist peacefully. At times heavily prose-laden (which I suppose you would expect from a zombie English professor), Becker does a good job of articulating what might be called a zombie roadtrip. A quick, breezy read.

 

 

 

 

This Republic of Suffering

Author: Drew Gilpin Faust

I picked up this book on a recommendation and was delighted to find a well-written, ambitious work contained within its pages. Drew Gilpin Faust analyzes the overwhelming presence of death during the American Civil War and the effects of having 2 percent of the entire US population never return home on the populace and American culture. Admittedly, with such a broad scope it really serves more as an introduction to the concept than an in-depth undertaking, but that’s to be expected. In addition, while Faust does try to separate her different ideas into chapters, there’s enough blending of ideas to almost make it unnecessary. Highlights consist of the discussion of religion and faith, the creation of Federal cemeteries, and the coping mechanisms of survivors. Faust definitely convinces the reader of her assertion that death in American Civil War was unique and changed the way Americans thought and reacted to it and I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a different take on the American Civil War.

 

The Mammoth Book of Zombie Apocalypse!

An interesting concept, this book presents the first year of a zombie outbreak through diaries, newspaper articles, letters, websites, texts, blogs, and tweets. Though I admit that I thought the origin of the zombie plague was pretty weak, the variety of stories/voices within the book kept me reading to the end and ultimately left me wanting more. Definitely a fun time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Superman: Red Son

Author: Mark Millar

In this story arc, Mark Millar places the Superman origin story not in America, but in the Soviet Union and lets the chips fall where they may. In addition to a great storyline, Superman: Red Son is also accompanied by artwork that captures the bleakness of 1950s Soviet Russia. A brilliant exercise in shades of gray and the definition of heroism, this is a definite must-read for fans and non-fans alike.

Book Reviews – January 30, 2011

Dead High Yearbook

Author: Ivan Velez

Dead High takes the reader into a special sort of yearbook club; you see, everyone in it is dead. Throughout the pages, we discover how every member of the yearbook committee died (or didn’t, in the case of one), whether senseless, appropriate, or tragic. Ivan Velez does a good job of keeping the plot moving and intertwining the different storylines. You get just enough insight into the characters’ lives before you send them away. Short, but worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batman: The Killing Joke

Author: Alan Moore

Artwork: Brian Bolland

Well-written take on the origins of one of Gotham City’s foremost villains, the Joker. Alan Moore’s storytelling is once again above par and Brian Bolland’s artwork is fabulous. Nihilistic violence splatters the pages, leaving nothing but chaos in its wake. Great work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hungry For Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance

Editor: Lori Perkins

Zombie romance, you say? EW! Well, admittedly, this book has a little false pretense as it’s mostly the humans that are…uh, romantic in these stories, but for those who might want to read about the softer and dare I say, sexier side of the zombie apocalypse, this would be the anthology. That being said, it’s not really romance injected into zombie tales so much as it’s zombies thrust into a romantic story. While there’s no bodice ripping, there’s enough soft-core moments to satisfy the lustiest romantic. Unfortunately, I’m not that kind of reader so I found most of the stories disappointing and a bit over the top. There are still quality stories, however; some that come to mind are “Romance Ain’t Dead” by Jeremy Wagner, “Undying Love” by Regina Riley, “Captive Hearts” by Regina Riley, and “Later” by Michael Marshall Smith. Lori Perkins worked with what she knew as an editor, and while it definitely could have come out better, at least it didn’t come out worse.