I was expecting one thing when I started this book and so was somewhat surprised when I discovered something a little different. From hav3.5 – 4 stars
I was expecting one thing when I started this book and so was somewhat surprised when I discovered something a little different. From having heard a few things about this book I was expecting a grim and gritty dark horror of the supernatural and the Black Death…and it was that, but it also had a strain of hope, and even what I might call faith, running through it that surprised me. I thought it would be a nihilistic grim-dark paean to the evil of the world but found something a bit more nuanced than that.
Buehlman does a good job juggling a number of different genres: historical fiction, fantasy, horror & post-apocalyptic, and creating something cohesive from them all. The horror elements were an interesting blend of Lovecraftian cosmic horror mixed with traditional Judeo-Christian elements and a sizeable smattering of good old human evil. The historical fiction rang true to me and didn’t come across as modern people playing anachronistic dress-up, and I am always intrigued by non-zombie post-apocalypse stories that take place not in the future, but the past.
We begin in the company of Thomas, a former knight & now brigand, as he makes his way through a France ravaged by the Black Death and his haunted past and even more haunting present conspire to bring out the worst in his soul. A chance (or so they call it) meeting with a young girl proves to be a turning point for Thomas and we follow their picaresque journeys across the wasteland the world has become towards a goal of which neither of them are quite certain.
I really enjoyed this one and while I’m still considering my final opinion on the ending, the more I think about it the more I think that it was both appropriate and unexpected in good ways....more
The world of Monstress is an intriguing blend of fantasy, steampunk, and horror in which a cold war stalemate between the Human Federation and the ArcThe world of Monstress is an intriguing blend of fantasy, steampunk, and horror in which a cold war stalemate between the Human Federation and the Arcanic Empire (a fae-like group of semi-magical entities that seem the encompass both human and animal characteristics) threatens to heat up in a big way. We follow the arcanic girl Maika, whose appearance seems completely human aside from the strange tattoo-like marking on her chest, as she is sold into slavery to the Cumaens (a group of ‘witch-nuns’ that work as the Human Federation’s greatest weapons against the magical arcanics and who definitely have shades of the Bene Gesserit about them) and we see that far from being an unwitting pawn, Maika has her own plans that are only beginning to unfold. What follows is a short tour through the Cumaen citadel-laboratory showing us us the worst side of the Human Federation (arcanic body parts are used to power Cumaen magic and technology, primarily through the extraction of a substance called lilium), followed by a violence-filled jail-break that reveals Maika’s own dark secret, a secret that can make her the most valuable asset, as well as most feared menace, to both the human and arcanic camps.
This brings us to the menacing shadow that lies in the background of this world, for behind the petty wars of humans and arcanics there lie the ghosts of the unnameable old gods (well, actually they do have names, but you know what I mean). These vast creatures are Cthulhu-like entities that drift in aimless sleep, apparently dormant and harmless, and whose power each side covets. Maika, it appears, has a direct line to one of them, and neither of them is happy about the arrangement. As a result Maika is in search of answers: answers about how she became this way, what happened to her mother, and the truth behind the catclysm that brought about the present stalemate seven years earlier. Unable to find these answers in her ill-managed infiltration of the Cumaean citadel, Maika leaves with new enemies in hot pursuit, and some uncertain allies, put off by the arcanic girl’s surly manner and obviously dangerous nature, tagging along and helping when they can.
Despite the fact that the humans seem to be fairly solidly placed as the ‘bad guys’ at the start of the story it was nice to see that there was some level of complexity introduced to the picture of the war between humans and arcanics as we see that not only does the human race support some benevolent members, but that the arcanics themselves seem to operate under equally suspect moral grey areas as do the humans. Maika herself is not exactly the most likeable character, though she’s obviously got a lot going on, and her constant attempts to distance herself from others can be seen as much as acts of benevolence as ones of cruelty.
This comic has a lot going for it: beautiful art, a richly imagined world, a conflicted protagonist and complex characters, not to mention some powerful underlying themes contring around the horror of war, opression, and racial hatred. As long as you can stomach a good dose of bloody violence and lots of moral ambiguity then I’d definitely recommend Monstress as a compelling read.
Oh yeah...and sentient cats!
Merged review:
The world of Monstress is an intriguing blend of fantasy, steampunk, and horror in which a cold war stalemate between the Human Federation and the Arcanic Empire (a fae-like group of semi-magical entities that seem the encompass both human and animal characteristics) threatens to heat up in a big way. We follow the arcanic girl Maika, whose appearance seems completely human aside from the strange tattoo-like marking on her chest, as she is sold into slavery to the Cumaens (a group of ‘witch-nuns’ that work as the Human Federation’s greatest weapons against the magical arcanics and who definitely have shades of the Bene Gesserit about them) and we see that far from being an unwitting pawn, Maika has her own plans that are only beginning to unfold. What follows is a short tour through the Cumaen citadel-laboratory showing us us the worst side of the Human Federation (arcanic body parts are used to power Cumaen magic and technology, primarily through the extraction of a substance called lilium), followed by a violence-filled jail-break that reveals Maika’s own dark secret, a secret that can make her the most valuable asset, as well as most feared menace, to both the human and arcanic camps.
This brings us to the menacing shadow that lies in the background of this world, for behind the petty wars of humans and arcanics there lie the ghosts of the unnameable old gods (well, actually they do have names, but you know what I mean). These vast creatures are Cthulhu-like entities that drift in aimless sleep, apparently dormant and harmless, and whose power each side covets. Maika, it appears, has a direct line to one of them, and neither of them is happy about the arrangement. As a result Maika is in search of answers: answers about how she became this way, what happened to her mother, and the truth behind the catclysm that brought about the present stalemate seven years earlier. Unable to find these answers in her ill-managed infiltration of the Cumaean citadel, Maika leaves with new enemies in hot pursuit, and some uncertain allies, put off by the arcanic girl’s surly manner and obviously dangerous nature, tagging along and helping when they can.
Despite the fact that the humans seem to be fairly solidly placed as the ‘bad guys’ at the start of the story it was nice to see that there was some level of complexity introduced to the picture of the war between humans and arcanics as we see that not only does the human race support some benevolent members, but that the arcanics themselves seem to operate under equally suspect moral grey areas as do the humans. Maika herself is not exactly the most likeable character, though she’s obviously got a lot going on, and her constant attempts to distance herself from others can be seen as much as acts of benevolence as ones of cruelty.
This comic has a lot going for it: beautiful art, a richly imagined world, a conflicted protagonist and complex characters, not to mention some powerful underlying themes contring around the horror of war, opression, and racial hatred. As long as you can stomach a good dose of bloody violence and lots of moral ambiguity then I’d definitely recommend Monstress as a compelling read.
Not a bad story and a very creative re-envisioning of the world of Sherlock Holmes in the key of Lovecraft with an interesting, if not altoge2.5 stars
Not a bad story and a very creative re-envisioning of the world of Sherlock Holmes in the key of Lovecraft with an interesting, if not altogether unforeseen, twist at the end. That said, the story felt a little light, more like an introduction to a larger story, or set of stories, but somewhat slight on its own. The art in this graphic novel version was a little up and down, though the character designs were well done....more
After purposely avoiding this one when it was first published due to a less than sanguine attitude towards the hype, as well as a general malaise regaAfter purposely avoiding this one when it was first published due to a less than sanguine attitude towards the hype, as well as a general malaise regarding vampires, I subsequently picked it up and have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Cronin sets up an intriguing tale of the apocalypse by way of pseudo-scientific vampires brought about by man’s hubris in regards to ill-advised experiments and the use of that pesky knowledge that he was not meant to know. It’s a long book (another factor in my initial lack of desire to pick it up) but this has the benefit of allowing Cronin to cover both the ‘before times’ of our own world leading up to the apocalypse along with a parallel storyline (that takes up the bulk of the novel) of the after-effects about a hundred years on. While this was, in my opinion, a good thing I must admit that the story did seem a bit longer than it perhaps needed to be, and I think some elements could probably have been compressed or omitted to help it move along a bit faster.
Cronin straddles the line between fantasy and science fiction in his vampire tale. I had originally thought that the pseudo-science origin of the vampires would dominate, and while I’d say it does remain the primary element of their origin, there is an odd mystical/fantasy aspect to them as well, especially in pretty much everything that surrounds the figure of (view spoiler)[Amy (hide spoiler)], who seems to fulfill the role of pre-ordained saviour and whose ‘specialness’ pre-dates their connection to the scientific reason for the other ‘virals’ (as Cronin coins his vampires, due to the source of their metamorphosis). Overall, I’d say this mingling was mostly effective, but I was still left with some questions in the back of my mind about what exactly we were supposed to think about the bigger picture…I mean what was up with the zoo scene? Despite this ambiguity I’d still say that I really liked his take on vampires here. They were truly a frightening creation, and even though they did glow they had nothing of Edward Cullen about them. The semi-human/semi-animal hive-mind creatures that Cronin created were an exciting take on the classic monster, using many of the well-known tropes, but changing them in ways that I thought worked really well. I think it also helped that for most of the story the creatures were very much in the background, thus maintaining their mystery and terror with only occasional glimpses of them to whet the reader’s appetite.
The characters that were front and center in the story were generally well done and interesting despite falling into some typical archetypes. I quite liked Agent Wolgast and most of the cast from the pre-apocalypse section so it’s too bad that this was the shortest part of the book. That’s not to say that the characters from the post-apocalypse were bad, but I must admit that I wasn’t too intrigued by Peter Jaxon, the ostensible main character of these sections (though I didn’t actively dislike him either), and in general I thought a number of the more ‘minor’ characters in this section could have been given more time at Peter’s expense without too much loss to the story. That leaves Amy, the enigmatic character who I suppose can be considered the true center of the story. I mostly liked her, and I think this is primarily because despite her central importance to the plot overall, she was very much a background figure, mysterious to both the reader and the other characters. I think was a good move on Cronin’s part since I’m not too sure if Amy as a protagonist would have worked very well....more
_Abaddon’s Gate_ plunges us immediately into the next crisis in humanity’s confrontation with the alien protomolecule, apparently engineered by an anc_Abaddon’s Gate_ plunges us immediately into the next crisis in humanity’s confrontation with the alien protomolecule, apparently engineered by an ancient interstellar race to modify life on our planet millenia before humanity was even a twinkle in the Earth’s biosphere. Venus has awakened and sent the alien structure it has been building out to the edge of the solar system where it has formed itself into a giant ring. Earth and Mars approach the alien structure tentatively, hoping to glean some knowledge of its intent and purpose with their scans and observations. Then a hotshot racer from the Belt thinks it would be a good idea to ‘shoot the ring’ in his homemade ballistic racing ship and somewhat obviously doesn’t come out the other side, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead a consortium of humanity from Earth, Mars, and the OPA into the Ring and the strange alien world beyond it. On the bright side at least they now know what the purpose of the ring is: it is a gateway opening into who knows what mysteries; on the not-so-bright-side it is an unknown and possibly menacing backdoor into our solar system courtesy an inscrutable elder race. So there’s that. Of course James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are along for the ride despite his best efforts at for once distancing himself from the protomolecule and attempting to stay as far away from the alien structure as possible.
It appears that someone has it in for Holden (go figure) and has put a lot of time, money, and planning into making sure that he and his crew are at the Ring when events come to a head. This is only the first of many crises that will keep the narrative moving at a breakneck pace and it just goes to showcase one of the primary talents the authors have had on display throughout the series: they really know how to ratchet up the tension. The book consistently moves from crisis to crisis as events twist and turn around the twin dangers of insrutable alien purpose and the ever predictable short sightedness of human nature and and you never know exactly when the true climax is coming. I have to admit that I was never really in doubt about how things would ultimately turn out, but it was a wild ride getting there and the authors definitely had a few tricks up their sleeves. While not as indiscriminate as GRRM, be prepared: these guys are willing to kill off characters you might not expect at key moments. I also continue to be impressed with the way these writers have with characters. I often find myself looking at the new viewpoint characters introduced in each volume with the impression that they have finally created one or more duds and then find myself surprised, yet again, when they turn out to be interesting and well-rounded despite my initial preconceptions. Since I’ve mentioned GRRM (not surprising given the personal connection I believe both authors have with him) I think it’s only fair to say that he could learn a thing or two from them: unlike the elder statesman of the Song of Ice and Fire these guys know how to broaden the scope of their story with new viewpoint characters without having the threads of their story start to unravel beyond their control as a result. The series so far is a tight and well constructed narrative that keeps opening onto new horizons without losing sight of the throughline that began with the first pages of volume one. While we get broader glimpses of the wider human community of the solar system, and insight into many of the varied viewpoints and facets that have grown up in humanity’s expansion into the solar system, we never feel like the story is spinning out of the authors' control. I, at least, can’t say the same for their famous mentor and his magnum opus.
The ultimate upshot of this volume is that (view spoiler)[interstellar travel has been opened up to humanity and I have to admit to being a bit trepidatious about it. I have enjoyed the constraints of travel within the solar system and wonder what changes making this into a true galaxy-spanning space opera will bring. (hide spoiler)] That being said these authors have yet to let me down and I have to trust that they’ll keep on delivering the goods and make the ride worthwhile. I certainly don’t have any reason to think they won’t based on my experience thus far. Definitely recommended....more
Ok, now things are getting interesting. Well, that’s not quite true since I think they’ve been quite interesting from the get-go in the Expanse seriesOk, now things are getting interesting. Well, that’s not quite true since I think they’ve been quite interesting from the get-go in the Expanse series, but you know what I mean, right? *Now* things are getting interesting! Or put another way: book two has come and gone and there was no sophomore slump to speak of.
As the story opens tensions are high as each of the political players of the human ecumene (Earth, Mars, and the OPA to be precise) are jockeying for power in the hopes of vanquishing their rivals before the alien enigma that has set up shop on Venus is done doing whatever it is doing and the expected apocalypse arrives. Nothing like a shared existential threat to bring humanity together, or, er…actually to make them try and kill each other even more, eh? So, while the ‘alien artifact’ continues to play ‘new god in the neighbourhood’ under the cloud cover of Venus a new protomolecule threat apparently unrelated to the not-so-sleeping Cthuluesque god-thing reveals itself in the solar system and everyone races to find out who the hell got a hold of the protomolecule and why the fuck did they unleash it on Ganymede, the bread basket of the outer planets?
In addition to our old friend Holden (and of course the crew of the Rocinante) we have three new main viewpoint characters whose POVs we follow in their own chapters: Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Draper, a Martian marine sergeant facing the terror of the protomolecule and what it can do; Chrisjen Avasarala, a high ranking official in the U.N. Earth government facing the jack-assery of politics and testosterone-laden power games as the very future of humanity seems in question; and Praxidike ‘Prax’ Meng, a botanist from the settlement on Ganymede facing the most horrifying experience any parent can imagine. I wasn’t quite sure about all of them at first since I feared that Avasarala might prove to be too grating (primarily since I found her annoying based on what I saw of her in the TV series), and I thought Prax would prove to be pretty boring, but I actually grew to like all of them and felt they contributed some great stuff to the overall storyline. Of course given the example of the first volume it was no surprise that all of the storylines were designed to dovetail together. Given the relatively disparate natures of the various viewpoint characters that might have seemed a bit far-fetched, but I have to admit that I think the authors pulled it off nicely. The chain of events that led all of our various characters to come together in the end actually made a lot of sense and certainly made for an exciting and ultimately believable story. I won’t go into any plot details here, but rest assured that there’s lots of action (both planetside and in orbit) and tensions definitely run high. I was particularly impressed by an episode in which one of our heroes has to infiltrate a protomolecule infested capital ship in the hopes of averting disaster. And can I just say, that ending? Damn! The authors have proven themselves good at cliffhangers (usually in the 'short term' at the end of a chapter), but this one takes the cake. I mean, I was expecting something along the lines of what happened in general, but the specifics? Let’s just say it worked for me and came in a way I definitely didn’t expect.
Do I really have to say that I highly recommend this one if you like sci-fi, or that I can confirm that so far the Expanse series is living up to expectations and shows no signs of slowing down? No, I didn't think so. On to book three!...more
So, I’m pretty late coming to this party (eight books already and a bunch of ‘X.5’ and prequel books to boot?!), but I have a few reasons fo4.5 stars
So, I’m pretty late coming to this party (eight books already and a bunch of ‘X.5’ and prequel books to boot?!), but I have a few reasons for my initial reticence even though I recall quite a bit of hype when this first volume came out. Well, that’s my first reason really. I tend to be pretty dubious about books that come with a lot of pre-packaged hype, generally under the assumption that someone along the way has made a mistake…after all my rarefied tastes aren’t likely to coincide with the masses now, are they? (Um, that was sort of a joke.) Next comes the fact that “James S. A. Corey” is merely a nom de plume for two ‘real’ authors and I’ve always been leery about co-authored books (I have a lot of dubiety and leeriness, don’t I?) I guess I just think of writing as ultimately most successful when it is the brainchild of one individual and imagine that anything written by more than one person is going to look a lot like something created by committee…and we do all know that committees are almost always a bad thing, right? I just find it hard to see how two individuals can write one seamless narrative without the demarkations between their individual contributions showing and making the reading experience a little less fluid than I prefer. Finally there’s the fact that I caught the first few episodes of the TV series when it aired and I was sufficiently underwhelmed to imagine I had made the right choice in avoiding the books altogether. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up picking up the first volume on a friend’s recommendation which, added to the the desire to have some inner solar system sci-fi up in my grill, led me to discover something: somehow I had been wrong all along!
I really enjoyed this book and none of the objections noted above ended up being true for me. The hype, it would seem, was well-founded; I have to admit that I didn’t notice any seams in the storytelling (I’m not sure how Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck have divvied up the writing chores, but whatever they’re doing so far seems to be working); and the TV show? Well, I still have no great desire to go back and watch it, but that’s a completely different beast and the books (so far at least) are great regardless. I think, though, if I was asked to point to the one thing that made the book stand out for me (and made it a 4.5 star read) it would be the fact that it was just compulsively readable. I have often come across books that I enjoy, but it is only with a rare few that I find the pages flying by, seemingly of their own accord. I’m not exactly a speed-reader, and I can often find myself bogged down, or at least slowed somewhat, by particular sections of even books that I really enjoy. It is a rare book that goes down quite as smoothly, and quickly, as this one did.
The backdrop for the Expanse series is the human solar system after the initial stages of colonization have occurred. Earth and her erstwhile daughter-world Mars are the competing political super powers who are by turns allies and enemies as the political winds may blow them. Beyond them, and generally beneath their concern, is the Outer Planetary Alliance, a loose confederation of the myriad ‘worlds’ and stations that populate the asteroid belt and outer reaches of the solar system (hence their nickname of ‘Belters’) who are seen as little more than slave labour (when they do what they’re told), or terrorists (when they don’t) by the paternalistic Earth and Mars factions. We are inserted into this world in a prologue in which a young woman, Juliette Andromeda Mao, faces the terror of imminent death after her ship has been boarded by unknown forces and she hides away in a cramped storage locker until thirst, hunger, and desperation are able to overcome her fear and she comes face to face with an unknown and unexpected terror. This event, seemingly no more than an act of piracy, is left shrouded in mystery and ultimately sets the stage for a solar-system shaking change in reality as the human race has known it.
Once the prologue is over we get to the story proper and the two main threads (and characters) that we will be following. The story jumps between chapters devoted to ‘Holden’, the XO on an ice hauler that works the Belt, and ‘Miller’, a cop on the Belter station of Ceres. Considering it now I can see how one could easily argue that these two main narrative arcs are where the story is indeed “stitched together” by the two authors (and for all I know it may have been the case that they were each responsible for a different main character’s section). If one wanted to be ungenerous I suppose you could also contend that it is here that the seams are showing, since we essentially have an old-school noir tale spliced with a pseudo-post-human sci fi tale. Security agent Joseph Miller, a cop on the orbiting asteroid-cum-space station Ceres obviously represents the former element and I would agree that, for all intents and purposes, he would likely feel very comfortable in a story written by Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler (he even wears an anachronistic pork pie hat as though to underline the point). He’s a hard bitten cynic who’s seen the worst human nature has to offer, but who still has the remnants of a beating human heart as he champions the underdog in his search for justice. On the other side is Holden, a space-sailor and former soldier whose optimism would be grating if it weren’t tempered by his shipboard companions and his habit of coming through in the clutch when he’s needed.
The authors did a great job with their characters and I think they may be one of the strongest elements of the story. Naomi and Amos, two of Holden’s shipmates, are particularly enjoyable, one a competent and self-reliant tech and the other a rough and tumble ship’s mechanic that’s been around the block. I think I enjoyed nearly every scene they were in. Of Holden’s crew Alex the pilot is probably the weakest link, being a bit nondescript, but I think the authors realized this and generally kept him in the background. Despite this one weak area I don’t think I could say that I disliked any of the characters, even the occasionally holier-than-thou Holden who, while he certainly isn’t my favourite character, never came across to me as truly off-putting...which is lucky given that he is one of the two main protagonists. He certainly does make an interesting contrast to Miller: as the authors note in an interview included with my edition they wanted to create two main characters with differing personalities and perspectives to show how each of them are both right and wrong in how they act and think. We have Miller the world-weary cynic (I might say realist) and Holden the idealist (I might say delusional) who looks for the best in human nature, both of whom are committed to doing the right thing...as they see it.
I won’t go into a spoiler-laden plot-synopsis and will simply say that both narrative strands start from very different places, but ultimately dovetail together in a nice way as Holden and Miller each investigate the circumstances behind a cold war going hot and come across a terrifying mystery that may spell the end of human life as we know it. Behind it all looms the shadow of Julie Mao and her discovery at the very start of the book. As I said earlier I found the disparate narratives to be fairly seamless in their integration, and it was impressive how Abraham and Franck were able to blend a space opera flavoured sci-fi tale with hard-bitten noir mystery, and a sprinkling of Lovecraftian terror. I’d highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in any of these genres and I’d have to say that this is one of the most enjoyable sci-fi epics I’ve come across. I’m quite pleased that I have so many more volumes in this universe to look forward to. I hope the authors prove themselves capable of maintaining this level of work!...more
The second collection of the Sandman series, “The Doll’s House”, kicks off with a tale that will have repercussions for the larger arc of2.5 – 3 stars
The second collection of the Sandman series, “The Doll’s House”, kicks off with a tale that will have repercussions for the larger arc of Morpheus’ story, though of course we don’t know that yet if we’re a first time reader. I won’t spoil anything, but suffice it to say that the tale of Nada is an important milestone in the ‘life’ of Morpheus and his actions here will affect his ultimate fate. It also helps to reinforce the fact that Morpheus, while the titular ‘hero’ of the series, can be a real asshole when he feels that he’s been hard done by. He’s definitely someone that expects to get what he wants and woe betide the individual that stands in his way. In fact there are quite a number of elements in this chapter of the Sandman series that are very important as set-up for key plot elements of the larger story arc for Morpheus. These include the introduction of a few more of Morpheus’ siblings from the Endless, in this case the twins Desire and Despair, and their machinations; as well as the figure of Lyta Hall, an apparently minor figure in one of the stories in these issues, whose strange life in the Dreaming, and Morpheus’ actions taken against her family, will prove seminal as well. Given all of that, this is obviously an important chapter to Morpheus’ story, but even with this being the case I have to admit that I wasn’t super impressed with the main arc of the story which revolves around the life of Rose Walker.
Rose is a young woman who finds herself pulled into the strange world of Dream as she both finds a grandmother she didn’t know she had (Unity Kincaid, an important minor character from “Preludes and Nocturnes”) and goes on a search for her long-lost brother Jed, who has been separated from his mother and sister for years after their parents divorced. Rose finds herself living in a strange house peopled by what can only be called odd occupants (a literal Ken and Barbie couple, two veiled sisters with bizarre predelictions, and a G. K. Chesterton look-alike with delusions of knighthood who has deeper secrets of his own) that she uses as a home base while she searches for her brother. What at first seems like an easy task takes on a twisted and macabre turn as we discover not only that Jed has been living in an abusive home, forced to live locked away in the basement with a strange dreamworld (reminiscent of the ‘Little Nemo’ comic strip) acting as his only refuge, but also that the path to saving Jed leads Rose to a hotel at which a secret serial killer convention is occurring. Morpheus becomes directly involved in Rose’s family quest for two reasons: he has discovered that some of the inhabitants of Dream that escaped while the dream lord was imprisoned are now running amok in the mortal world and their paths lead him directly to Rose and her family; more importantly someone in Rose’s family proves to be a ‘dream vortex’, some kind of force, seen only once in an age, that can destroy not only the very fabric of the dream world, but the real one as well.
My favourite part of this chapter was actually the stand-alone segment not directlly related to the Rose Walker storyline in which Hob Gadling, a man from the late 12th century, happens to opine that death is rubbish and that he has no intention of following the mortal path of his fellow humans. It just so happens that Dream and his older sister Death are visiting the same pub and decide that it might be amusing to grant Hob his wish. So begins a strange story of friendship and the human condition as Hob and Dream agree to meet every hundred years at the same time and place to see if Hob is still content to live as an immortal.
As noted above I know that some very important seeds are being sown in this storyline, but I just wasn’t particularly inspired by the main story itself. It had it’s moments, but I know better things are on the horizon. I also think the art is still pretty sloppy, though it may simply be that the muted tones and blurred lines are purposefully recalling the style of older horror comics and help to reinforce the fact that the ambiguous world of dream is central to the series. It’s still not a style I’ve to appreciate much....more
I'm not quite sure why, but I enjoyed this volume much less than the previous one. It could be that the unsympathetic nature of the main 2.5 - 3 stars
I'm not quite sure why, but I enjoyed this volume much less than the previous one. It could be that the unsympathetic nature of the main character, Maika Halfwolf, is starting to grate on me, alternately while the art was still beautiful I found this to be an incredibly 'wordy' comic and felt this actually distracted from the story as a lot of info-dumping seemed to be going on, often via character dialogue.
Maika asks for the aid of some old friends (who knew she had any?!) and journeys to a mysterious and deadly Isle to which her mother had previously gone (and was one of the only people ever to have survived the venture) in the hopes that some of her unanswered questions about her origins can be resolved. The visuals, as noted above, are consistently stunning and many of the macabre ideas on display are interesting, but I am not finding Maika's personal story fully compelling. We get some more history of the 'old gods' and their relationship with this world, as well as details on the nature of Maika's relationship to the one that has possessed her. More political players also start throwing their weight around (adding to the confusion for me) in the hopes of obtaining/manipulating Maika and her unique connection in a bid for ultimate power.
All in all I will likely have a look at the next volume to see if I want to continue, but I hope it is more like the first one otherwise I might give the rest of this series a pass. ...more
I wanted to like this book more than I did, though that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I thought it evoked the early 70's folk rock era very welI wanted to like this book more than I did, though that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I thought it evoked the early 70's folk rock era very well (I couldn't help but play my copy of Jethro Tull's 'Songs from the Wood' several times while I was reading it) and the story itself, with the interweaving of a magical summer retreat melded with a slowly encroaching supernatural element, was well done overall, but I think I was just expecting a bit more given the relatively gushing praise here on GR.
The book itself purports to be the reminiscences of the former band members of Windhollow Faire in the form of documentary interviews as their sophomore, and final, album Wylding Hall enjoys a resurgence in popularity. The music itself was ahead of its time and the album is universally acknowledged as a lost masterpiece, though just as enticing is the still unsolved mystery of the lead singer's disappearance on the fateful summer retreat that produced the album. This format allows Hand to not only give different perspectives on the events being related, but also lets her keep much hidden without the mystery appearing too contrived.
Perhaps there was just a little *too* much left hidden for my tastes. That's not to say that I want more concrete answers on what actually happened to Julian Blake that summer, the open ended nature of the mystery worked well. I think what I really wanted was for the supernatural menace at the heart of the mystery to play a larger part in the story. Just a few more inexplicable occurrences or perhaps a more pervasive build-up of the supernatural menace surrounding Julian would have gone a long way for me.
The supernatural moments that did exist in the story were suitably creepy and Hand's reconstruction of something resembling a post-hippie commune centering around music, drugs and sex made for a satisfyingly immersive read, but I just wish there had been a bit more eldritch horror mixed in with my sex, drugs, and folk 'n roll.
High 3.5 stars (I was very close to giving it a 4, but something just held me back)
This is a gosh-darn compelling read. It wasn’t one of those books IHigh 3.5 stars (I was very close to giving it a 4, but something just held me back)
This is a gosh-darn compelling read. It wasn’t one of those books I found myself hankering to get back to after I’d set it down, but once I did pick it up again it just sucked me in and the narrative pulled me right along with it until I had to put it down again. Hawkins has a lot of imaginative stuff going on here and the characters are compelling (if not always likable), so I would definitely say that this was a very good book if not perhaps a great one. It is equal parts horror and fantasy, thus leading to the tag line “Neil Gaiman meets Joe Hill”. Given that the main story revolves around a bickering pantheon-like ‘family’ of people whose abilities and powers give them the air of gods, coupled with the fact that they were raised under horrific circumstances by a being known only as ‘Father’ whose acts of abuse with the aim of ‘teaching’ led to excessive physical and mental cruelty and the comparison seems apt. Let me re-iterate: there’s a lot of blood and gore in this book, involving cruelty to both people and animals, so keep that in mind when picking it up.
The story begins in medias res as our main character Carolyn is seen trudging down a highway, covered in blood with a knife concealed in the small of her back. Things get weirder and more gruesome from here. It appears that Father has gone missing, and given that he was a god-like being apparently responsible not only for keeping the world running in its proper order, but also for keeping several malign powers at bay, this disappearance is somewhat concerning to his ‘children’ however much they may have hated the wretched old man. Add to that the fact that he was the guardian of the ‘library’, a storehouse of the massive arcane knowledge he had amassed over the eons of his existence, and the threat to his remaining protégés is very real. To top off the scenario with a bright red cherry, something is barring the way to the library for the twelve young librarians (each a master of one of the old man’s ‘catalogs’, covering everything from medicine and languages to possible futures and war & death) and they are in a race against the clock to figure out who, or what, has done away with Father and kept his successors apart from their greatest source of power.
I liked the numerous literary references Hawkins made in his work with nods to everything from Lovecraft (‘natch) and conventional mythologies to more uncommon influences such as William Hope Hodgson. In this regard I was mildly reminded of The High House by James Stoddard (though with fewer direct references/analogues and a hell of a lot more violence). Hawkins also did a good job of keeping me on my toes as a reader with the central mystery which lies at the heart of the story and, while it didn’t keep me fooled until the last minute, was still well done and compelling. As noted above many of the characters are ‘unsympathetic’ (to say the least) and are probably more accurately described as loathsome or repugnant, but even the worst of them have their moments that give them humanity and let you see the understandable foundation of their darkness.
I did have a few small issues here and there: sometimes events seemed to come together a little too conveniently (though admittedly that is part of the structure of the plot), and while the tensions and threats from within the group of librarians were well done, I think some of the outside threats against which they were apparently fighting seemed more hypothetical than actual. These are fairly small quibbles though and are more than made-up for by the well-drawn characters (even those we only get to glimpse from the surface) whose depictions effectively illustrate the true price of power (as well as its effect on those to whom it is given). Add to that a plot that moves at an excellent pace and you’ve got a compelling (man, I'm saying that a lot in this review, aren't I?) read that I’d recommend to anyone not put off by violence or fantasy tinged with horror....more
At first glance this book seems easy to characterize with a catchy tag line, to wit: the philosophy of Kant meets the cosmology of Lovecr3.5 - 4 stars
At first glance this book seems easy to characterize with a catchy tag line, to wit: the philosophy of Kant meets the cosmology of Lovecraft in a story inspired by John Carpenter's 'The Thing'. Fun, no doubt, even if it was simply that, but once you've made the journey through the book you will find that Roberts is doing something a little more subtle than that tag line implies and even turns many of these tropes on their head.
The main story thread takes place in the present and details the eldritch experience of two SETI researchers stationed in the Antarctic in the 1980's that unhinged both of them in different ways and the aftermath which this trauma had on their subsequent lives. Interspersed with this narrative are chapters that take place in various eras (both past and future) which detail strange experiences with the transdimensional that have occurred, or will occur, throughout human history. This back-and-forth-ing through time element, and the way in which Roberts ties them all together in the end, reminded me somewhat of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas and like that book I found this one to be compulsively readable.
To say that parts of the story are disorienting would be an understatement, but it adds a certain verisimilitude to the reading experience. Like the characters themselves we are often not quite sure what is going on and this ties in nicely with one of Roberts’ main themes (derived from Kant) that reality as it truly is 'in itself' cannot be grasped by the mere human intellect and the lenses through which we view it: space, time, cause, and effect, are all merely constructs hard-wired into our brains. Seeing the ‘truth’ of reality might therefore simply drive us mad (hello, Mr. Lovecraft).
I don’t want to go into too much detail about the story, as I think it’s best left discovered by reading the book, but I would re-iterate that I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience and often found it hard to put the book down. Roberts plays with various narrative techniques in all of the chapters that take place in other times than our own, as well as in some that occur in the here-and-now, and while not all of them are equally successful, they were certainly intriguing and made for a varied reading experience. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for some philosophically minded sci-fi....more
I'm at a bit of a loss for what to say about this volume. It was certainly enjoyable, but after what I considered the superlative efforts of the firstI'm at a bit of a loss for what to say about this volume. It was certainly enjoyable, but after what I considered the superlative efforts of the first two books in this part of the series (The Judging Eye and The White Luck Warrior) I was perhaps a tad let down by this one. Most likely this is due to the fact that, frighteningly like GRRM, Bakker was forced to split what was supposed to be one book into two: in this case the originally proposed final volume of the 'Aspect Emperor' series has now become two books and thus perhaps this part of it is just suffering from middle book syndrome...or I'm just disappointed at being denied my grand climax.
Be that as it may there is still a lot of good here. Achamian and Mimara finally come to the ruins of Ishual and what they find could either lead to the fall of Kellhus or perhaps their own deaths. I won't spoil it, but I was equally interested and irked by what they found and only time will tell where I finally land on this. Also, was I the only one to perceive a nod to one of the mysteries of the Dune series in a reveal about the Dunyain that manages to make them even more chilling and inhuman? I will admit to being both delighted and stupefied regarding what they came across as they journeyed on in an attempt to catch up to the Great Ordeal and definitely look forward to seeing how that storyline finally plays out.
The story of Esmenet and her brat-godling Kelmomas continues as Kellhus' empire crumbles around them and the assassin of the goddess Yatwer walks in their midst. I generally have the least amount of patience for this storyline as I find both Esmenet and Kelmonas a little annoying, but the mystery of the White Luck Warrior, along with some interesting developments in general, kept me from getting bored here. Kellhus himself surprised me with the fact that he revealed one of his greatest secrets to his two main lieutenants Proyas and Saubon, the purpose of which I am still unsure of. He walks an interesting line as both possible saviour and ultimate foe of humanity and I still have not decided where exactly he sits on that spectrum.
My main dismay about the final book being split into two likely revolves around the fact that it seems to have meant that we still see very little of the Consult aside from the hordes of Srank being decimated by the Great Ordeal (though I will admit that we do get a cameo that involves both a major character and event that is central to the Consult, even if it is a very short one, which leads to a pretty intense cliff hanger). I find the Consult to be one of the most intriguing elements of Bakker's world, so being denied any answers to their nature is frustrating, though it is at least partially made up for in this volume by the revelations we get regarding the mysteries of his second greatest creation, the Nonmen. As Sorwheel, Serwa and Moenghus descend into the depths of the Nonman mansion of Ishterebinth we see first hand the crumbling world of the mighty and immortal Nonmen and its a fascinating and dark world indeed, perhaps even more harrowing than the journey into the abandoned Nonman mansion of Cil-Aujas from the first volume.
I can't really say much more at the risk of spoiling something so I will leave with this final word: I found this book to perhaps be a bit of a stumble when compared to the first two volumes of 'The Aspect Emperor' series which I felt were exemplary, but it's still a very worthy book and a must-read for those who have kept up with this series thus far....more
So, volume two of the “Aspect Emperor” series has come to a close and so far R. Scott Bakker still proves that he has the chops to pull off a multi-voSo, volume two of the “Aspect Emperor” series has come to a close and so far R. Scott Bakker still proves that he has the chops to pull off a multi-volume epic fantasy that not only uses the standard tropes in new and interesting ways, but that gives his characters depth, darkness, and complexity and does so with prose that is always enjoyable and sometimes downright exhilarating to read. I don’t think that I really *like* any of his characters (though Achamian, and to a lesser extent Mimara and even Sorweel, come close), but I find them all thoroughly intriguing, even when they are frustrating or repellent…or perhaps it’s because they are. Kellhus is still a fascinating cypher: a saviour who is chillingly amoral and manipulative, but whose ultimate aims and decisions on how best to reach them seem maddeningly right. Achamian, the ostensible hero of the tale, comes across at best as a petty cuckold hazarding ridiculous risks (for himself and others) for the sake of ill-feelings and wounded pride, and at worst as a monomaniacal menace who is little more than a tool that could lead to the utter destruction of all mankind. Kosoter and his pack of Sranc scalpers (esp. the mysterious Nonman mage Cleric) are always an intriguing bunch and watching their inner dissolution on the trail to the Library of Sauglish as they become pared down to a nub, leaving only their most essential (and repellent) characteristics is fascinating. I have to admit that I found the struggle for power at the heart of Kellhus’ empire in Momemn a little less captivating (probably because I find Esmenet a less interesting character than some of the others), but the glimpses we get into the dysfunctional and super-powered Dûnyain family (from “Uncle Holy” Maithanet right on down to dear little psycho Kelmomas) is always a fun train wreck to watch. And Sorweel, Serwa and Moënghus? Let’s just say I’m intrigued to see where and how the heck they end up.
While much of the story is devoted to either having two of the main plot threads cover huge distances of geography (Kellhus & the Great Ordeal and Achamian & the Skin Eaters) or another main thread devoted to plunging into the labyrinthine intrigues of the slowly dissolving imperial court (with Esmenet, Maithanet, and Kelmomas taking centre stage) and thus at times it can seem that not a lot happens in a relatively large span of pages, there are some really exciting, edge-of-your-seat type moments on display. Whether it’s the kick-ass fight that Cleric and Achamian have with (view spoiler)[Wutteät, the seemingly undead Father of Dragons (hide spoiler)] in the bowels of the Library of Sauglish, or the psycho machinations of ‘little’ Kelmomas in the hidden mazes of the Imperial Palace, or the endless sea of hording Sranc inundating a portion of the Great Ordeal in the midst of the ruins of mankind’s first great empire, or even the somewhat confusing but thoroughly intriguing mystery of the White-Luck Warrior and his seemingly time-warped journey through the Three Seas, there’s more than enough to maintain a reader’s interest. The Cleric and Achamian thread was especially intriguing to me as the entire scenario seemed like some untold tale taken from _The Silmarillion_ and twisted in incomprehensible and often lurid ways. It was as-if (view spoiler)[ Gil-Galad (hide spoiler)] went insane, lost his memory, and went adventuring with an even darker version of Túrin and his outlaw buddies and they just happened to stumble upon (view spoiler)[ Ancalagon the Black or even Glaurung (hide spoiler)] and had a magical slugfest in the heart of the ruins of Nargothrond.
Ultimately Bakker seems to strike a nice balance between moving the story forward and taking time to flesh out his characters and events. One could argue that some of the storylines don’t move forward (certainly geographically and sometimes plot-wise) as far, or as quickly, as one might wish, but ultimately I never felt bored with Bakker’s pace, or thought that he was sacrificing the story in the name of broadening his horizons or navel-gazing (I’m looking at you GRRM). Despite this nice balance, however, I still have a creeping fear that leads me to ask the question: Can Bakker wrap up this story in only one more volume given the relative leisure with which he has unfolded it to this point? As noted above I don’t in any way view his unhurried pace as a bad thing and I appreciated the way in which it allowed events to seemingly unfold organically and characters (even peripheral ones) to grow in interesting and realistic ways. It’s just that in looking back and seeing that approx. 2/3 of the apparent page count allocated for the story has been expended and then looking forward to see what he still needs to cover I really hope he isn’t forced to rush to the finish in order to reach the climax of the story in only one more volume. After all he is already working with a large cast, many with significant ties to the previous series who are still only beginning to be fully sketched out at this point. How will they develop? Should they have even been introduced? It's certainly nowhere near as bad as GRRM spinning out of control and adding viewpoint characters, locations, and subplots to an absurd degree, but is at least mildly analogous and makes me squirm a bit. Bakker’s also working with some pretty significant (and indeed numerous) plotlines that need to not only resolve, but also dovetail with each other to some extent, none of which seem to have their ultimate goal in sight yet. That being said, at the end of the day I have faith that he has the chops to pull it off...don’t let me down R. Scott Bakker!
Despite some trepidation with the thought I keep coming back to the idea that R. Scott Bakker’s ‘Prince of Nothing’ and ‘Aspect Emperor’ series are, iDespite some trepidation with the thought I keep coming back to the idea that R. Scott Bakker’s ‘Prince of Nothing’ and ‘Aspect Emperor’ series are, if not the true inheritors of Tolkien’s legacy, at least the most innovative step forward in the realm of epic fantasy that is consciously derived from the genre-changing (or creating) impact of JRRT. Most other fantasies that are obviously influenced by the Professor are at best re-treading the same, or similar, ground in fairly limited ways or, at worst, are nothing more than poorly written pastiches or bad copies with the serial numbers filed off. Bakker, on the other hand, doesn’t just reproduce Tolkien’s tropes as they ended up being presented in his Middle Earth books, instead he does what most other fantasy writers seem unable to do: examine the fundamentals that lie behind these tropes and reinterpret them in his own unique and (very) different ways. Thus we have the ‘Nonmen’, something analogous to Tolkien’s Elves, though re-imagined in a way that really points out their alien nature when compared to humanity. The Sranc and the No-God may have obvious similarities to Goblins/Orcs and the Dark Lord trope, but they are presented in such a visceral and, to me at least, different way that they really do bring something new to the party. Part of me is certain that Tolkien would be horrified at the idea of Bakker as his ‘true heir’ given the obvious darkness, one should probably even say cynicism or pessimism, of the secondary world that Bakker has created, but that is neither here nor there really. This tone is not even necessarily the point of greatest departure between them, since contrary to what many pundits assume there is actually a fair bit of darkness, even pessimism in Tolkien (especially if you have read The Silmarillion which I think for various reasons Bakker took as his primary model rather than the more famous The Lord of the Rings). The fact remains, though, that Tolkien’s works are coloured by his fundamentally Christian viewpoint that is tinged with the hope inherent in his belief in the eucatastrophic chance of salvation and this alone gives them a *very* different flavour from Bakker’s more ‘post-modern’ and secular perspective. I think it might also be the rape-aliens…but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here.
First off, while this may indeed be the first volume in the ‘Aspect Emperor’ series it is definitely not the place to start with Bakker since this series is actually the sequel to his ‘Prince of Nothing’ books which ultimately set up the main conflict that is to be the driving force of the new trilogy. Both series are set in the world of Eärwa and this new volume picks up twenty years after the close of the former following the lives of the same characters, so if you have not yet read the first set of books then most of the impact of the characters and plot will be diminished, if not utterly lost on you, so check them out first. Secondly, keep in mind that this is a dark book (one whose fantasy has moments that, for me at least, blend into the realms of horror). While it is certainly true that the bad guys are utterly despicable and even grotesque in their evil (see mention to rape-aliens above), even the ‘good guys’ (really there aren’t any) are so shaded into grey that one wonders whether or not they aren’t actually black. In many ways this ‘realism’ and darkness put Bakker in the same group as writers such as Joe Abercrombie and Steven Erikson who are considered proponents of a ‘new’ sub-genre in epic fantasy which owes as much to the pulp Sword and Sorcery stories of the 20’s and 30’s as it does to traditional epic fantasy and dwells more on moral relativism and a ‘gritty’ portrayal of violence that sometimes seems to be part of a consciously ‘anti-Tolkien’ movement. It’s interesting to see, though, the way in which Bakker seems to meld a ‘high fantasy derived from Tolkien’ approach with this ‘dark fantasy based on realism and violence’ in a way that shows they need not be purely antithetical.
The nub of the tale Bakker tells in _The Judging Eye_ revolves around three main plotlines: the exiled wizard Drusas Achamian and his quest to uncover the truth behind the uncanny powers of former friend and pupil and now hated enemy and Aspect-Emperor Anasûrimbor Kellhus; the struggles of Varalt Sorweel titular King of Sakarpus and hostage of Kellhus as he follows in the train of said emperor’s incalculable army that is embarking upon ‘the Great Ordeal’ in an effort to traverse Eärwa and destroy the Consult (aka rape-aliens) and halt their attempts to invoke the Second Apocalypse by resurrecting the ‘No-God’ Mog-Pharau; and finally the trials of Empress Esmenet, Kellhus’ wife and Achamian’s former lover, as she attempts to maintain the reigns of power of her husband’s vast empire as the cracks are beginning to show. Each strand is connected to the others and it will be interesting to see how things come together in the end. For now, though, each of the main protagonists has their own journey to undertake and set of trials to overcome and by the end of the novel things still remain very much uncertain for all and sundry.
A few things that struck me upon reading: Kellhus’ kids are whacked-out scary (no surprise given the seemingly inhuman nature of their father) and I can totally see how comparisons to Dune and the model of the Kwisatz Haderach can be made; really cool to see more about the mysterious culture of the nearly extinct Nonmen and especially the taciturn Nonman scalper Cleric (heck the entire crew of the dirty, violent, and all-around scum-bag Skin Eaters and their imperious Captain Kosoter were pretty intriguing); the Consult was pretty quiet in this one…only a few skin-spies to be seen, but it was made up for by a veritable horde of Sranc and some other not-before-seen baddies; still it will be interesting to see how they plan to combat not only Kellhus and his Great Ordeal, but Achamian as both make their way to the blasted North. Bakker also manages to have an extended sequence that is a direct homage to an event in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings without in any way seeming derivative or unnecessary to the story that he wants to tell. Let’s just say that Frodo and company had it easy when they traversed the Mines of Moria…’nuff said.
These books do tend to make me uncomfortable, primarily because of the effective way in which Bakker portrays evil. I don’t think I have ever read any other fantasy where even the orc-analogue foot soldiers seemed so terrifying (and they do here, the Sranc are utterly bestial creatures of pure hatred, unending hunger, and violence), let alone the leaders of the forces of darkness whose evil runs the spectrum of world conquering hubris to the most petty evils and banal vices. No one’s motives are pure, even when their ends seem good, and the complexity of the characters is compelling. Add to that the fact that Bakker is a damn fine writer of prose and I think I’ll keep coming back to these books, even if they make me feel a little queasy sometimes. Recommended for those who enjoy epic fantasy and have read the previous series.
Ok, so, The Sandman. Ground breaking comic series from the early days of DC’s innovative Vertigo line. One of the many comics of the era 3 – 3.5 stars
Ok, so, The Sandman. Ground breaking comic series from the early days of DC’s innovative Vertigo line. One of the many comics of the era that was trying to do new (or at least different) things with the medium and even went so far as to not only NOT be primarily a superhero book, but one that had elements that hearkened back to the old days of anthology comics in addition to telling the serialized life story of the ‘hero’. I know I’m in the minority here, and I will admit that my opinion is based on one bad experience and a subsequent lack of desire to make further attempts, but to me The Sandman series of comics represents the apex of Neil Gaiman’s writing. As far as I can see it was in The Sandman that Gaiman not only made his name in the industry (a name that would ultimately pave his way out of comics and into not only the world of prose, but also as something of a genre celebrity), but it’s also where he developed the style, preoccupations, and motifs that would come to characterize, in one form or another, all of his later works.
“Preludes and Nocturnes” is the first storyline of the comic, taking up the first eight issues of the monthly run. In it we have Gaiman starting with the name of a golden age superhero and creating a new character based on its mythological antecedents. Taking a cue from Zelazny’s Amber chronicles Gaiman then built up a backstory for Morpheus, the godlike king of dreams, and made him part of a fractious and dysfunctional family known as ‘the Endless’…though most of that is (with one major exception) only alluded to in hints and asides in the first story arc and will be developed more fully later in the series, ultimately becoming the lynchpin of the tale of this version of the Sandman. What Gaiman does centre on in this arc are the horror anthology roots of his story as well as the set-up for Morpheus’ quest to regain his lost place and powers. It appears that some naughty occultists of the early 20th century (think Aleister Crowley and his Golden Dawn cronies) want to capture Death and rule the world. Instead they end up trapping her younger brother Dream, with disastrous results for many people who are no longer able to sleep, dream, or hope. Unable to extort power or promises from their silent victim they instead steal from him the artifacts he carried and leave him imprisoned both physically and spiritually on the mortal plane. Of course, things can’t remain thus and through the passage of time and loosening of vigilance Morpheus is finally able to escape and wreak vengeance on the mortals that dared imprison him. The next step is a standard quest narrative as the Sandman, weakened by years of imprisonment and the loss of his artifacts (into which he had poured much of his being and power…shades of Tolkien there), travels from the mortal plane to the realm of hell in an attempt to regain his tools and place in the cosmos. Standing in his way are both the triumvirate that rules hell and its legions of demons and the demented mind of a minor supervillain whose tinkering with the vast powers of Dream could end not only one of the Endless, but the world as we know it. We also get a coda to Morpheus’ quest in which we meet his older sister Death (an ironically upbeat reaper and perennial fan-favourite for the duration of the series who spawned a few spin-offs of her own) and get a glimpse into the role this strange family plays in the cosmos.
I like what Gaiman has done here, inserting many easter eggs and call outs to various elements of the DC universe (and the more esoteric aspects of our own), but still bringing to it his own point of view and building upon it his own mythology. Whether it’s a sly call-out to the origins of Morpheus’ golden age hero namesake, a visit to the JLI embassy to intrude upon the lives and dreams of two of its members, or the insertion of a pair of characters from an old horror anthology comic as members of Morpheus' retinue in the now shattered land of dreams, Gaiman has done his homework and incorporated it into some admirable worldbuilding. I definitely noticed that this first arc of The Sandman was fairly heavy in its use of horror elements with many gruesome deaths and a lot of macabre imagery (as opposed to the strong fantasy flavour that came to dominate the later story arcs). Knowing where the story is heading also made this read an interesting one, as references to characters and events that will come to loom large in the story of Morpheus are things that I certainly missed my first time around, though they now give an added depth and reality to what Gaiman has penned. Why only 3 - 3.5 stars? Probably because the more gruesome aspects of the story didn’t appeal to me as much and I know things are going to get even better. This was a good start, but Morpheus has a long, and interesting, road ahead of him. Also, even this early it’s obvious that Morpheus is a bit of a prig so I don’t always sympathize with him as the protagonist. He’s ultimately much more interesting as a vehicle for the stories of others than as the ‘hero’ of his own. Of course, given his role in the multiverse that is altogether appropriate....more
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