Pardon me while I flail about in fangirl mode, but OMFG and all that is holy, Y: The Last Man is totally a.w.e.s.o.m.e!!!! I didn’t think the graphic Pardon me while I flail about in fangirl mode, but OMFG and all that is holy, Y: The Last Man is totally a.w.e.s.o.m.e!!!! I didn’t think the graphic novel format would ever win me over entirely, but it’s happened - I’m in love - hook, line, sinker, fully, completely. Not only is this an addictive premise taken to the extreme reaches of the most fertile imagination, it’s brimming with fully fleshed out characters who live and breathe with histories, motives, strengths and vulnerabilities. The best part? This edition only collects Issues 1-10; I still have another 50!! to look forward to.
How’s this for a premise? – last guy on Earth is not alone, literally. Yorick is a hapless, near to agoraphobic, practicing escape artist, madly in love with a young woman a hemisphere away in Australia when a sudden unexplained plague hits the planet and kills every last mammal carrying a Y chromosome. Every last mammal that is except for Yorick and his pet Capuchin monkey Ampersand. Think it would be a laff riot to be the last guy on Earth surrounded by a few billion ladies? Think again gentlemen. Welcome to your new nightmare.
Vaughan’s world-building here post-plague is incredibly detailed and believable. With all men suddenly blipped out of existence women aren’t standing around singing Kumbaya (did you really think we would?) and the world does not become a better place. Far from it. Vaughan deftly explores the harsh realities that must be faced when such a monumental, unpredictable, counter-evolutionary shift happens to humans with no warning.
The graphics are superior; each character has their own unique look and the action is propelled along not just by Vaughan’s ripping dialogue, but by Pia Guerra’s sharp interpretation of the action. I love that I get so much story delivered on such a small canvas. I could have taken days to plow through a 650 page novel and not felt as sated or panting for more, the way I felt here after indulging in a mere 250 pages of colorful, comic book cells. That’s storytelling magic. I can’t wait for more!
My deepest thanks to my graphic-novel reading friends who kept throwing this series title at me for ages – I finally get it now!!! ...more
4.5 stars. This totally KICKS ASS. Love the story, love the characters, love the graphic representations of the vampires and zombies. Gruesome and gor4.5 stars. This totally KICKS ASS. Love the story, love the characters, love the graphic representations of the vampires and zombies. Gruesome and gory yet it all looked so gorgeous cast in deep reds, oranges, blacks and blues. I also thought the story carried well - not highly original mind you - but the delivery is filled with genuine moments of tension and terror. I was especially pleased and surprised by some of the more emotional aspects of the story.
These vampires are vicious and merciless yet with a style and intelligence that's intimidating. They can think and plan and execute. These are not brooding, pouting, "conflicted" emo vampires, yet I appreciated that some of the newly turned are haunted by their human memories and the memory of feelings they can no longer feel. Not so grandiosely tormented as Rice's never-ending "whining" Louis from Interview With the Vampire, but still, enough to make these vampires a little more complicated, a bit more rich, than your average blood-sucking creature of the night. There are clans, and rivals, and rogues, and plenty of innocents caught in the cross-fire. Drama!
The zombies are sad and heart-breaking (I always seem to find them so - except for Danny Boyle's zombies). The FVZA zombies are very similar to the ones I've seen in The Walking Dead series (I haven't read the graphic novels, so I'm only basing that on Darabont's interpretation). The zombies are shambling and starving, haunted and lost. They ramble and feed, yet there is a hint, always just a hint, of some long lost memory of what they used to be. Romero's zombies treat the mall like Mecca; these zombies hold onto music. It's a nice touch and plays very effective in the story.
I’m not pretending to be objective here – this series has been a guilty pleasure since The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I have a deep and abiding procliI’m not pretending to be objective here – this series has been a guilty pleasure since The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I have a deep and abiding proclivity towards zombies. Beyond their meta-mystique appeal, zombies are truly f*ing terrifying. Anything driven by pure, mindless instinct to rip you apart and EAT you from the inside out, you just gotta respect.
Furthermore, zombies are usually accompanied by an apocalypse, and who doesn't bow down to a good the-world's-gone-to-shit-you-better-kiss-your-ass goodbye scenario. I do! I do! The Dark and Hollow Places is definitely the best of the trilogy. It’s darker, more intense and gruesome, and all those elements that were thrown about only partially developed in the first two books, are fully explored here. What’s more, this third book does a great job “fleshing out” the first two books actually making them stronger in hindsight. In other words, this probably could have been released as one single novel and been the better for it
Annah is the strongest, most likable protagonist we’ve seen. She’s survived unimaginable loss and horror, but still finds a way to keep fighting. Catcher makes a great romantic interest for her since he is as damaged as she. Their blossoming romance under the dire circumstances they find themselves in is a bit too melodramatic, but they’re young and facing death (or worse) at every moment so I forgave them.
What I could not forgive for one moment was how many times Carrie Ryan wrote about Catcher’s “body heat” – every time he stands next to, brushes up against, or holds Annah, there is reference to his burning furnace of a body. I get it!!!!! The boy burns hot, ain’t that nice when you’re freezing your ass off during the apocalypse! Other than that little quibble, this was a lot of fun and a quick read. If you’re into zombies at all I definitely recommend this series. ...more
This final installment of the Maze Runner trilogy is certainly action-packed, but it's sorely lacking in the mystery and emotional intensity of the fi This final installment of the Maze Runner trilogy is certainly action-packed, but it's sorely lacking in the mystery and emotional intensity of the first two novels. If this trilogy were a movie, The Death Cure would be the crashing, frantic final 20 mins -- all style and adrenaline, but too little real substance to touch the reader in any meaningful way.
I feel let down as well because all the characters who we have come to know and love spend too much time running, fighting, jumping, kicking from one dangerous situation to another, and not enough time thinking, feeling, and interacting. I found the details of WICKED and the Flare to be underwhelming and meh. After such a huge and tantalizing build-up the resolution seemed rushed and deus ex machina.
Two things earned this book two stars:
1) Newt - (view spoiler)[I found his death to be shocking and emotional, if a little manipulative. (hide spoiler)]
2) Minho! - my little man, I LOVE this guy. Just wish there had been more of him.
While the conclusion underwhelmed, I give the highest possible recommendation to the first two books -- The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials -- they are awesome....more
This continues to be an excellent adaptation of King's epic novel. The characterizations are spot on, the narrative flows nicely and the artwork trulyThis continues to be an excellent adaptation of King's epic novel. The characterizations are spot on, the narrative flows nicely and the artwork truly captures the magnitude of the action. It would have been no small feat to re-imagine the sprawling, 1000+ pages of the novel into this projected 6 book series, and I'm impressed by what I've seen so far. Like any adaptation, choices have to be made, things left out or glossed over, but so far the overall integrity of King's story and The Stand's larger themes remain intact....more
This is a solid adaptation of a classic, that I would recommend to not just fans of the source material, but of the graphic novel format itself. The aThis is a solid adaptation of a classic, that I would recommend to not just fans of the source material, but of the graphic novel format itself. The artwork is gorgeous and ghoulish and truly serves the narrative. While never my favourite King novel (which firmly puts me in a minority I know), I am definitely enjoying this graphical representation of a story that informed my early reading life. ...more
This is an AWESOME read -- pulse-pounding, page-turning stuff. The action is practically non-stop and after living through the ordeal of The Maze withThis is an AWESOME read -- pulse-pounding, page-turning stuff. The action is practically non-stop and after living through the ordeal of The Maze with these characters, you feel especially attached to them during these Scorch Trials. This sequel is a lot more in your face, and much more unrelenting in its delivery. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding what the heck has actually happened in the world and why the heck these kids are being tested and tormented in this way, so I can’t wait for Book 3. I actually think I have a bit of a crush on Minho as well. Love his tough guy, take no prisoners, sarcastic attitude. ...more
Alden Bell proves that the literary zombie novel is not an oxymoron. Review to follow.
About zombies, you can say I’m … earnest. I love how they can beAlden Bell proves that the literary zombie novel is not an oxymoron. Review to follow.
About zombies, you can say I’m … earnest. I love how they can be so many different things at once – pathetic, savage, terrifying, unrelenting. Zombies are shambling and starving, haunted and lost. They ramble and feed, yet there is a hint, always just a hint, of some long lost memory of who they used to be. Nothing captures that better than the scene from Romero’s 1978 Dawn of the Dead when the zombies come in waves to the mall – “Why do they come here?” “Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.”
More than anything else, I love what zombies can teach us about ourselves because surviving a zombie apocalypse is going to cost you: your soul, your sanity, your faith, your humanity. Like any zombie story worth its salt, The Reapers are the Angels is not about the zombies. It’s about the survivors -- the ones left hanging on by their fingertips to the jagged edges of a dying world that just won’t die and stay dead. A world that shifts and groans under the weight of biting, grasping corpses.
Temple knows this world. She’s been hanging on by her fingertips to the jagged edges for ten years, since her orphanage was overrun when she was five years old. Now she is fifteen, fierce and feral. She might long for human connections and to find her place in the world, but the basics of human interaction and social etiquettes have passed her by. What she knows is survival at any cost, and it has cost her plenty. She can’t help but think: “I got a devil in me.”But Temple’s not a monster. Even as he hunts her across the country, Moses Todd explains: “I’ve seen evil, girl, and you ain’t it”. This is a redemption story, because really, that is what Temple seeks even though she cannot articulate that basic human need in herself, for forgiveness, for someone to lay their hands on her and tell her she’s just a girl after all, and not an abomination.
I love the title of this book – there is something so poetic, so portent, so Old Testament medieval about it. The Reapers are the Angels … yes, I want to read that book. I want to know what that means. Alden Bell delivers prose to match that is so achingly beautiful in its stream-of-consciousness style. I love the heavy Southern dialect that’s been bastardized by time and trauma.
You give me a compass that tells good from bad, and boy I’ll be a soldier of the righteous truth. But them two things are a slippery business, and tellin them apart might as well be a blind man’s guess.
This is a short novel that manages to be epic in its themes and scope, all at once horrific, heartbreaking and rife with tragedy. The violence is explicit but even as the blood and stinking offal pour across the page the book’s magnitude and terrible beauty is never in dispute. Alden Bell is writing Southern Gothic set in a landscape where things are not “gross” but rather “grotesque”. (view spoiler)[I was stupefied and struck mute with horror at the backwoods mutants Temple crosses paths with. Only a writer of immeasurable talent and courage could write these creations into a story that already had zombies, and make them truly fucking frightening, rather than ridiculous. (hide spoiler)]
Hmmm... I waited a long time to read this one and I just expected so much more. The disappointment is crushing me, and I hate that I feel like I wadedHmmm... I waited a long time to read this one and I just expected so much more. The disappointment is crushing me, and I hate that I feel like I waded through a bloated book that could easily have been shortened by 250 pages.
I appreciate what Mira Grant tried to do here, which is to paint a realistic portrait of the world 25 years after a zombie apocalypse. What does it look like? How are people surviving? Living their daily lives? That part of the book was okay. Grant offers a scientifically convincing cause for the zombie outbreak, which we don't often get. In real life Grant is obsessed with epidemiology and the spread of disease and it shows here. The Kellis-Amberlee virus is probably the best (certainly the most detailed) explanation for the existence of zombies I've ever come across. And guess what??? The infected are called zombies because this is our world where George Romero and all zombie flicks exist. Romero's cult films become necessary documentaries of survival strategies. Cute. But even this -- while enjoyable -- cannot save the book.
The heroes of this story are bloggers in a world that has become consumed with alternative news sources (since traditional media handled the initial zombie outbreak so abominably with their lies and denials). Unfortunately, there is just too much blathering about the "techie" side of news reporting in this New World Order -- I mean pages upon pages of dense descriptions about uploads, and links, and ratings, and feeds, and devices, and wires, and portals. It's enough to make the average Luddite go screaming into the night. I respect any author who goes the extra mile to "do the research" and "get the details right" but sweet holy Moses, there is no need to put EVERYTHING YOU'VE EVER LEARNED into the story. It just bogs down the narrative, and unless ALL your readers are gadget geeks, will make most everyone's eyes glaze over. I hate when a book makes me skim passages. I hate it! That's not the way it's supposed to be and it usually means you've lost me.
The other aspect of the story that really made me lose interest fast is that more than anything Feed is a political thriller about the minutiae of a Presidential election. It may be occurring in the shadow of a post-zombie outbreak, but not a lot has changed, except for how far people are willing to go to win. Domestic terrorism is certainly more common, but in light of that the zombies just become window dressing. I wasn't really expecting a political thriller and the fact that I got one bummed me out. If that's what I was looking for I would have picked up a Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy.
Finally, the main characters are interesting sketches who I feel are never truly fleshed out. I just didn't become attached to any of them. Scenes where I should have cried, I felt next to nothing. That's not good. That means something went horribly wrong in the writing and the delivery. Damn!!! I wanted to love this book. Instead, I cannot recommend it, and I will not be reading on in the series. ...more
The best way to come at this novel would be completely blind, not knowing a thing of what it’s about. My complaint about most movies these days is thaThe best way to come at this novel would be completely blind, not knowing a thing of what it’s about. My complaint about most movies these days is that too much is revealed in the trailers, so much so that the movie in its entirety is often a disappointment. For Spin to really work its magic on you the less you know the better. If you’re not expecting it, the awesome plot and the ramifications for the characters involved will hit you like a jack-hammer to the solar plexus. The good news is, if you read up on the book and know a fair amount before you begin, the intricate story and how it unfolds will still impress you, and engage you to the last page.
Don’t let the science-fiction elements scare you away if that’s not your thing, because while at its core it is a very science driven story, it is not overly burdened with scientific jargon and explanations. The scenario is easy to grasp, seemingly plausible (ergo endlessly frightening and exciting). Wilson is a talented writer and his tale is well told, and he doesn’t sacrifice his characters to plot – the way some big budget movies will sacrifice story and characters to special effects. Ty, Diane and Jase are believable, likable, flawed characters, richly drawn. You live through the Spin with them and hold your breath wondering how it’s all going to end. Theirs is a story of friendship, and the bonds that bring us together as children, and keep us together as adults, even when the world is falling apart and the miles and years pile up around you.
For fans of apocalyptic / dystopian books, this is a must read. It’s not only a human survival story, but bravely, with keen insight, explores rich philosophical terrain regarding Earth’s place in a larger unknowable Universe. Are we alone? And if we are not, who is keeping us company and to what purpose? There’s not much more I can say, without giving salient plot points away, and I don’t want to get anywhere close to doing that. Remember, the less you know the better. Take a chance and pick up this book as blind as you can –- I promise you won’t regret it. ...more
This was so much fun!! Lots of action and interesting plot twists. Not quite on par with the Hunger Games trilogy, but definitely of that type. The onThis was so much fun!! Lots of action and interesting plot twists. Not quite on par with the Hunger Games trilogy, but definitely of that type. The one lone girl in the story is interesting, but not developed enough I'm afraid. But this is part of a series, so maybe the follow-up will do more with her. The straight forward propulsive storytelling technique used here involving a group of young males, makes this an ideal recommendation for the reluctant male reader in your life. ...more
I really enjoyed this one - not as much as Infected, but it's still a rollicking, rousing read. For readers who like plot driven page-turners, you wilI really enjoyed this one - not as much as Infected, but it's still a rollicking, rousing read. For readers who like plot driven page-turners, you will definitely want to give Scott Sigler a try. Sigler has a very American sense of humor that reminds me a lot of Stephen King -- it's crass, downhome, good 'ol boy stuff, as opposed to high-brow, sophisticated wit. For example: "Donald Jewell ... did not feel good. Perhaps it was more accurate to say that he felt like a tainted can of boiled elephant ass." This line got me giggling so hard I had to put the book down for a minute. And there's lots of gems like that to look forward to.
Sigler does an amazing job of developing the relationship between the old and crusty CIA veteran Dew Phillips and the young, troubled, violent Perry Dawsey who is desperately trying to outrun his demons. For a book that's mostly action sequences, there are moments shared between these two men that are thoughtful and believable and cut to the heart of what motivates each man. The ass-whupping scene is not one I will forget soon either. Priceless!
Because it is a book that's largely comprised of one action scene after another, I found a few places a bit trying. Sigler goes the extra mile too and explains a lot of the science and technology details that drive the book -- so if you're a sci-fi geek, you'll love this. It made my eyes glaze over however.
Disappointing, and woefully underwhelming compared to the other two books in the series. The romance between Alex and Miranda just didn't jibe and felDisappointing, and woefully underwhelming compared to the other two books in the series. The romance between Alex and Miranda just didn't jibe and felt forced and insincere. Alex Morales could have been a better narrator and this story would have benefited immeasurably from his voice. Of all three books, The Dead and the Gone is the strongest: the story is edgier, harsher and more graphic, and this is reflected in Alex. We don't get nearly enough of him here in this final book, and what we do see hardly does him justice. I would have hoped that after everything she and her family have been through, that Miranda would be showing more maturity and some definite growth; unfortunately, I found her to still be a self-absorbed teen, selfish and temperamental, childish in many of her thoughts and impulses. ...more
Not as strong as Book 1, but a decent sequel that achieved the necessary plot development to move the story along to what will hopefully be a rousing Not as strong as Book 1, but a decent sequel that achieved the necessary plot development to move the story along to what will hopefully be a rousing finale. By now, we know what's going on so there's no mystery there (even though we still don't know why and for what purpose).
This time the story lacks the fever-pitch level of suspense that grabs you by the throat in Hater and doesn't let go. Dog Blood shows us how most humans are "dealing with" the crisis in the short-term, having become refugees locked behind a perimeter surrounding their own ravaged cities, existing under martial law, depending on the military for every basic human need. All the while government soldiers and pseudo-conscripted volunteers, wage a war on the Haters in their attempt to wipe them out.
What I did find totally engaging here is Danny McCoyne's quest to find his five year old daughter, also a Hater. The ramifications of child Haters, and their possible role in the on-going war against humans, is chilling. What's remarkable is that McCoyne is no less sympathetic now, as a blood-thirsty full-on Hater, then he is in Book 1 as a normal Joe Blow underachiever trying to protect his family from the exploding violence.
Dog Blood also raises some interesting questions about the Hate, whether it is a disease, an alien influence, or a genetic malfunction in some humans triggering an evolutionary dichotomy between man and Hater. Other than the bloodlust and insatiable need to kill the Unchanged, Haters remain recognizably human. But cannot or will not co-exist with non-Haters. So my hope for Book 3 is that we learn the true nature and purpose of the Hate and that Moody will take a closer look at the Hater goal -- if they succeed in wiping out the Unchanged and essentially taking over the planet, what will that "new world" look like, and how will they choose to live in it with no one ostensibly left to hate? ...more
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