Comic Review: Family Pets

Family Pets #1.

I got this as a free issue from Comixology, alerted to it by Zenoscope's PR department.

See, Zenoscope is starting an Oz series, which naturally means I managed to connect Zenoscope Public Relations with Eric so he could do a little cross-promotion on his Wizard of Oz site and blog. ZPR has sent us review copies, in PDF form, of a bunch of their titles. I haven't had much time, and I don't really enjoy the oversexed versions of fairy tales in the Zenoscope books, so I haven't read most of them.

But Zenoscope is branching out, and put up a preview on Comixology that they directed us to check out. The book is aimed at a general audience and looked intriguing, so I went ahead and read it. And I liked it.

It's about a girl whose parents died in an accident who wishes something strange and wonderful would happen to her. And suddenly, something strange and wonderful happens to her, in the form of ... well, spoilers, but pretty cool magic all around. She isn't quite as keen on the adventure once it happens, of course, but that's where the story gets really interesting. Love the supporting characters, enjoyed the artwork, and found the premise compelling enough I want to read the next issue. That's a win in my book.

Now I just need to figure out how to get my hands on the print copies, assuming there are print copies available. Maybe wait for a trade? Hrmmm...

Review - Hellboy Volume 11

Hellboy Volume 11: The Bride of Hell and Others by Mike Mignola and various others.

Release date: October 12, 2011, pre-order now! I got an advance copy via NetGalley.

This is a collection of previously published material. It includes "Hellboy in Mexico," "Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil," "Hellboy: The Bride of Hell," "Hellboy: The Sleeping and the Dead," "Hellboy: The Whittier Legacy," and "Hellboy: Buster Oakley Gets His Wish". All were written by Mike Mignola, with a variety of artists on the visual chores. Each story is prefaced with an introduction by Mignola that tells where he got the idea for the story and when it was originally published.

If you aren't familiar with Hellboy, don't worry. It isn't really hard to figure out. Each story is capable of standing on its own or contributing to a collection like this. All you really need to know is that, despite his appearance, Hellboy is a good guy. And, again, it's made obvious early on.

The stories are nicely varied in this collection, giving a decent overview of the Hellboy universe. The Mexico story was both funny and tragic. The Double Feature had a terribly freaky framing sequence with a couple of nice little stories. The Bride story was the usual misdirection and a character that was actually fairly sympathetic, although evil. The Sleeping story added a LOT to the Hellboy world, and if you know much about that world, you'll understand what I mean. The Whittier story was probably the weakest of the lot, with a bunch of frenzied activity in a handful of pages that wasn't as easy to follow as the other tales. Buster Oakley was just plain hilarious. My favorite story was probably the first, as the mix of sadness and fun just worked for me.

I was introduced to Hellboy many years ago by my hairdresser, and I started to love the character almost immediately. Readers unfamiliar with him may find him hard to like, but I promise you won't have trouble understanding the stories. If you already enjoy Hellboy, this is a must get. If you haven't met him yet, it's not a terrible place to start. Definitely recommended.

Review - Green River Killer: A True Detective Story

Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case.

Release date: September 28, 2011, pre-order now! I got an advance copy via NetGalley.

My interest in this is fairly obvious. I grew up in the area where the Green River Killer stalked, and I heard about the killer during times of my life when it hit pretty hard. When they announced his capture, I posted an entry in my blog about it that summed up my feelings. It was unreal. It would always be unreal. For me, the Green River Killer was a bogeyman that haunted the background of my world. And his capture never seemed to satisfy the need I had for closure. So I went into this book hoping it would wash away some of that childhood terror for me.

This book mostly follows Tom Jensen, the father of the writer and a member of the Green River Killer Task Force. Tom's life is sketched out in jumps through time, and then we get to the capture of the Killer and his plea bargain deal. My biggest issue with the book was the scattered nature of the timeline. The whole thing was flashback after flashback. It could have worked, but for some reason it managed to confused me more than once. The worst problem is how the prologue starts with the Killer, then the first chapter jumps to Tom. For a page or two I thought we were reading about the Killer's early life. That made Tom a disturbing character from the outset, something I really don't think the writer was going for. That was pretty much my only complaint though. The jumps through time made this a hard book to follow in places but the information and feeling in it... well, that was important.

Particularly the emotion. We get to see Tom as a man who has worked hard to bring this killer to justice, and we get to see him finally face off against the murderer and ask him the questions that we all wanted to ask. We see him break down, like any sane person would, when finally confronted with what the killer truly was. And we see his exhaustion and sense of relief when his part in the whole thing was finally over.

Did this book exorcise the nightmares? Perhaps. I see the killer more as a very sick man than a supernatural being of terror. I see how regular people reacted to him, and struggled to find and stop him.

For the record, I have no problem with the killer spending his life behind bars instead of dying. Dying is easy, and a much kinder fate than he deserves. Let him live to be 100 with no hope of release.

Review - Moon Shot

Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Apollo Moon Landings by Jay Barbree, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.

I got an advance copy via NetGalley.

I've always loved the stories of how America made it to the moon, and I wanted to love this book. But it is fatally flawed. The whole first half reads more like a jock bragging about his exploits than an inside history of one of the greatest technological achievements of mankind. Perhaps the flaw is actually in the men who lived that history, but this book makes them into unlikable hotshots. The second half covers the events, but jumps through major events to get to some of the less significant ones.

From a sheer historical perspective, the book does deliver on some of its promise. The timeline of events is clear enough, the little anecdotes sometimes add but often detract from the narrative. The made-up conversations are enough to make you want to throw the thing across the room. It's a loose and wild book. If you like reading about astronaut antics in a strange half-PR style, this book is for you. If you just want information and facts, go somewhere else.

The book tends to focus on the two astronauts that are listed as co-authors. While that's not a bad thing because they were both heavily involved in the space program until the end of Apollo, it also seems to dismiss some of the other accomplishments or at least gloss over them. Don't get me wrong, they are mentioned, talked about, given space. But, for example, leading up to Apollo 13 the focus of the book is on Deke and Alan's medical issues and Alan being on the next mission, rather than the men of Apollo 13. I can understand why, but that makes this less a book about the trip to the moon than a book about Alan and Deke's involvement in the lunar program.

I really wanted to love this book. It isn't a bad read, but it's not good enough for me to call it great.

Review - Baltimore Volume 1: The Plague Ships

Baltimore Volume 1: The Plague Ships by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden.

I got an advance copy via NetGalley.

If you aren't familiar with Mike Mignola's work, the blocky art can be a real turn off. I was turned off when I first encountered Mignola's artwork on an Aquaman cover many years ago. But since then I've read a bit more of his work, and come to appreciate his style and what it conveys. This book has that style, a deep feeling of horror and beauty at once. It works extremely well for this book.

Lord Baltimore is on the hunt, following a major vampire who is responsible for the plague that ended the Great War. This book details his visit to a town where he is helped by a woman who wants to escape the boredom and sense of waiting for death. Despite his warnings, she follows him, and learns exactly who and what he is.

The story is set in a Europe just after WWI has been ended by disease. Worse than a normal disease, some of the dead rise to kill the living. That's the horror part. Or at least a portion of the horror. There's much much more to it. Baltimore is an anti-hero with very good reasons for doing what he is doing. His unwitting follower sees more than any sane human would want to see. And there is lots of action in the form of fighting monsters and lots of atmosphere and build up to the fighting of the monsters.

If you like horror at all, this is worth a look. You should also seek out the Free Comic Book Day short story that also features Lord Baltimore, as it will tell you even more about what's happening in this world. I'm not a huge horror fan, but I think I'll be keeping an eye out for this series as it continues. It's just really well done.

Review - All Different Kinds of Free

All Different Kinds of Free by Jessica McCann.

I got an advance copy via NetGalley.

Margaret Morgan is a free black woman living with her husband and children in Pennsylvania. But her life is shattered when the family that owned her parents decides to kidnap her and her children into slavery. This book backs away from the Supreme Court ruling of Prigg v. Pennsylvania and looks instead at the woman in the center of the case, and what being sold into slavery meant for her.

I wanted to like this book. I had fears from the start that I wasn't going to like what happened in it, but I wanted to enjoy the book itself. Jessica McCann is a good storyteller, and the action moves at a good pace, but there are a few issues with the writing itself that made it hard for me to get through. The story jumped from viewpoint to viewpoint a little jaggedly in the beginning, and the writing level is slightly simplistic for such a powerful message. The grammar is a bit choppy, as well, but that might be deliberate. For a first novel, this isn't bad. For such an important and ignored story, it's just ok.

My biggest issue with the book was that I thought I knew what the ending would be, based on the historical record, and so was bracing myself for it... but it never really came. And while the tragedy throughout the book certainly lived up to the pain, it never really felt like it bleed through to the reader. Horror after horror, but it just didn't leave an impact. And while I cheered at the end, it felt a little too tacked on to be real. If I sound ambivalent about this book, that's because I am.

In the end, just remember that this book is a fictional guess at one way Margaret's life might have gone. To be honest, I'd really like a follow-up from a serious researcher of a historian who can find out what really happened to Margaret Morgan. The author made an attempt, but I would like someone else to give it a try. Sadly, that information may not exist.

Review - The Last Dragon

The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Guay.

Release date: October 11, 2011, pre-order now! I got my advance copy via NetGalley.

It's hard to say whether I've read more "dragons are the enemy" or "dragons are our friends" books over my lifetime. Coming into this one, I wasn't sure which it would be, but it became clear enough quickly enough.

I was completely entranced by this book. Draw into the story by the artwork, I felt myself carried along by the story right until the end. The characters are fantastic, described in a few words and with just a few lines of dialogue then filled out with the art into recognizable people. Within a few pages I was feeling comfortable and at home in the village. The art successfully treads that thin line between being too fanciful to work in a graphic story and too explicit to work as fantasy. I was delighted throughout, and only wished that I had the hardcover in front of me instead of a pre-publication PDF so I could fully enjoy the double-page spreads.

There are moments when the action jolts from one scene to the next, or a character seems to know more than she ought. But those are few, and the fantastic artwork pretty much covers for any slight flaws in the writing, just as the strong writing covers for any slight flaws in the art. This is an exquisite work, and one that I would be honored to have on my bookshelf.

Review - Aliens on Vacation

Aliens on Vacation by Clete Smith with illustrations by Christian Slade.

Release date: May 3, 2011, pre-order now! I got my advance copy via NetGalley.

Scrub is a twelve-year-old from Florida who has been exiled to Washington State for the summer to live with his grandmother at her bed-and-breakfast in a small town. He's missing basketball and his best friend, and it doesn't help that his grandmother is both a hippie and an outer space fan. He thinks he's about to deal with a lot of Trekkies, but the Tourists he meets in Forest Grove are considerably stranger than even he could have expected.

The book is told in the first-person from David "Scrub" Elliott's point-of-view, and it manages to develop him as a character very well, much of it from his reactions to the people he meets. The rest of the cast is seen through his eyes and so are colored by his reactions to them, an appropriate style for this type of book. The reading level is pre-teen or younger and the artwork by Christian Slade on each chapter heading makes for an attractive read, as well. There are a lot of references that adults will appreciate far more than children, making this a good read for any age.

As a Seattle native with a great love of my state, I was tickled by the jokes about Washington and the references to other places, including Canada. I was able to figure out approximately where the fictional town of Forest Grove must be located, and enjoyed when a former hometown of mine got a namecheck.

This is a good book for children of all ages to enjoy, suitable for family reading time or a solo read. Fans of science fiction will probably enjoy it a lot, but people who generally don't read fantastic fiction will likely find it palatable as well. It is the first book in a proposed series, but manages to stand alone very nicely. I'm looking forward to seeking out any sequels, personally. Worth a read.

Review - Turn Right at Machu Picchu

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering The Lost City One Step At A Time by Mark Adams.

Release date: June 30, 2011, pre-order now! I got my advance copy via NetGalley.

Mark Adams became interested in the story of Hiram Bingham after all the news coverage when it was learned that he wasn't really the discoverer of Machu Picchu. And eventually Adams decided to walk in Bingham's footsteps, following the trails he took, and see Peru the way Bingham had. This book is essentially a travelogue that explores both Adams' and Bingham's journeys, and reflects on what both of them did and learned in Peru.

The writing style is engaging enough to make this an easy and comfortable read. It slips a little when Adams gives us too much about his own life, coming perilously close to "too much information" territory without ever quite falling off the edge. He manages to cram a lot of detail into the narrative without becoming monotonous. At times I almost felt I was there in the jungle or high mountain passes with him because his descriptions conjured up familiar sensations. Adams also ventures into political territory at times to explain events, and does so effectively and without strong bias. Although it's easy to tell from the text that Adams is passionate about the subject, his writing manages to be dispassionate enough to make him a trusted narrator of events.

The galley I read did not have any images and was missing the index, although there was a space for it. The book did include a very nice glossary and a timeline of events in Peru. I could also have used a bibliography of all the texts mentioned in the narrative, many of which I felt like reading after Adams described them so enthusiastically.

I'd recommend this one to anyone interested in South American history, anyone who loves a good adventure tale, and anyone who wants to go on a trip to Machu Picchu. It's a nice solid read, and worth checking out.

Review - A Spark of Death: A Professor Bradshaw Mystery

A Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer.

Release date: July 11, 2011, pre-order now! I got my advance copy via NetGalley.

I made the mistake of starting to read this book very close to bedtime. I was quickly drawn into the story, and found myself staying up entirely too late. It was with great difficulty I reluctantly set the book down to sleep, only to take it up again as soon as I could the next day. And so I finished it in two sittings, and could have easily finished it in one if I had started reading earlier in the day. Be forewarned, it's a very engaging read.

The story is set in Seattle (which is what attracted me to it on NetGalley) in 1901. This is a meticulously researched Seattle, with only very minor details different from the real world. I was expecting another Steampunk novel but I got lovely historical fiction with just a touch of mad scientist brilliance. Did I mention that it's well-researched? As a Seattle-area native, I had no problem following the action, even the visit to Snoqualmie Falls, and loved the short history lessons that managed to sneak into the text (like the dynamiting of Seattle Rock at the Falls in 1900 and the great Seattle fire).

The story itself is a non-stop push against time and unknown consequences, as Professor Bradshaw is suspected of a colleague's death and must figure out how the murder happened to clear his own name. Having read a lot of Agatha Christie lately, I cannot say this one equals her best work, but it's certainly as strong as many of her mysteries. I'm sure a true mystery aficionado or an electrical engineer would have figured it out sooner than I did, but that's just quibbling. The action presses forward at a pace that, as I've already said, makes you want to keep reading.

The characters are a tiny bit weak in some areas. There are some standard types in the cast, and only the main character is deeply explored. But the characters serve the story well and by the end I really want to read more about Bradshaw, at the least, even if the people around him aren't quite as compelling. As this is the first novel of the author, and the first in a series to boot, I think I can forgive those issues in anticipation of seeing this writer grow and develop.

I'd recommend this book to mystery fans, historical fiction fans, and electrical engineers. It's a safe book for almost all ages, except for the murder bits, but I'd think only teens and older would get enough of the historical references to really appreciate the book. This is a good read, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Review - Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel

Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

Release date: April 26, 2011, pre-order now!

I got an advance copy of this book via NetGalley, and enjoyed it quite a bit. This is Steampunk meets the Avengers, and it's a very fun ride.

This book introduces us to the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, a British secret service, and two of their agents. Books is a archivist with a mechanical bent, and Braun is a brassy New Zealander with a fondness for explosives. The characters are introduced in the same manner as their natures: we are allowed a look into Books' logic-filled thoughts as he first appears, while Braun makes a dramatic entrance in a haze of chaos.

The book starts on a high action note, and doesn't really slow down all that much throughout. There are places with a more sedate pace, but those are generally setting up more action or important plot points. The setting is a Victorian England with plenty of fun steam-powered gadgets, nicely but not off-puttingly described, to keep the reader entertained. Besides the main pair of agents, we also get some nicely fleshed out side characters, which always makes for a better read. The Ministry itself has endless plot potential, with the Archives being a focal point for artifacts and mysteries. And the book conveys a strong sense of both history, of the world and our characters, and future, as there are unresolved plot points clearly pointing to a sequel or sequels. At the same time, the main story within the book is self-contained and complete.

I'd recommend this to fans of action, anyone into Steampunk as a genre, and readers looking for a strong female character. There are a few disturbing adult scenes, but the action cuts away or changes dramatically quickly enough to take a squeamish reader safely through them. Definitely a fun read.

Review - Today The World Is Watching You

Today The World Is Watching You by Kekla Magoon (2011)

If you want to know about a subject, without analysis or too much detail to absorb quickly, the best place to go might be a textbook aimed at a young audience. I certainly found this book to be an incredibly comprehensible, if not completely comprehensive, overview of the events surrounding the integration of the high schools in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The focus of this book is the Little Rock Nine, the nine brave students who fought through the challenge of integration against people who were violently opposed to it, just to go to school. The book starts with a quick overview, starting as the students attempted to enter the school on September 4th 1957, and ends with some questions for the book to answer. Its inability to quite answer the first question isn't a flaw in the book, because it would be very hard to look into the hearts of teenagers from over 50 years ago to see where they found their courage. But the book successfully answers the second question, regarding the experiences of the students and the meaning of the actions in the future.

The first chapter covers the history of African Americans in the United States, touching on many major moments and emphasizing the unfairness and sheer wrongness of the treatment of an entire group of people throughout time. Chapter two is about Brown v. Board of Education from 1954, and the situation it set up.

In Chapter three, the book focuses on Little Rock and begins to really get interesting. The next few chapters take us through the events of that year, and do so in a compelling way. I found myself reading intently and learning facts I did not know. Sure, I'm an adult and I knew all about segregation, but there were details I'd never learned or I didn't remember about this part of the story in particular. The text is illustrated with ample photographs and sidebars that detail further information about the events. One sidebar explains the source of the book's title, taken from an article in the Central High School newspaper.

This book is aimed at children or young adults, but it's definitely worth reading for anyone. It covers a part of our history that is well-known, but does so in a sympathetic and interesting way. The information is well presented and laid out, and the book includes a timeline, who's who, glossary, bibliography, and index. In short, a great introduction to the topic for anyone.

Special Extra Review

Doctor Who: Room With A Deja View written by Rich Johnston with art by Eric J and colors by Kris Carter.

I got a lovely PDF preview of this book from Rich, but I've already ordered it from my comic service so I'll have a paper copy for the Doctor Who collection in about two weeks when my next shipment arrives. In the meantime, I've had a chance to read and enjoy this ahead of time.

And time is what this book is all about, even moreso than most Doctor Who stories. As Rich warned me in the e-mail: One little heads up. It's a story that uses time travel in the actual structure of the comic itself, which can make it intentionally hard to read as a comic (I'm trying to get the reader to work a little), but even harder as a digital file, and that's all I've got at the moment. Ok, I'm up for a challenge. But he was right, it was difficult to read as a digital file! One section needs to be read backwards (Manga reading skills come in handy there) and finding the end of that section in the digital version was slightly difficult. But only slightly, thankfully.

The story basically involves a lonely Doctor finding a distress signal from a space station that doesn't want to be found. Pretty standard Doctor Who, until the Doctor is introduced to the being that sent the signal. And that's all the spoilers you're gonna get.

This was a fun read, but there was something BIG missing. There's a great set-up of a huge backstory, but the payoff is personal. I wanted to learn more about the space station and its inhabitants. I wanted to learn how the being that sent that signal dies. I wanted more of the backstory, and we only got a taste of it in this book. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. I just wanted MORE.

The artwork was ok. I question the choice of using multiple Doctor images to show progress of time/the Doctor's habit of moving around a lot in a story where the Doctor meets himself at least twice. The aliens were nicely alien, although the coloring of the guard's face in the beginning of the book made it seem like he was the same race as his attacker, which was confusing as well.

Overall I'd give it a B+, four out of five starfish, a recommended rating. Doctor Who fans will enjoy it, and fans of unusual methods of exploiting the comic book form will find it interesting as well.

Rich is apparently at San Diego signing copies of this book, so if you are out there and can read this blog, go seek him out and get yourself a signed copy or two.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Numb3rs: "Blowback" - This one jumped around a bit too much for me, and didn't involve enough math to keep it interesting. There was no overwhelming menace, and no urgency. A mediocre episode.
• Sarah Jane Adventures: "The Day of the Clown" - Um. Ok, Rani is a great new character. Her dad is a fun addition. And the bad guy was truly menacing. But... how did they defeat him? I mean, really? I know it's a kid show, but it should still make sense.
• Iron Chef America: "Cora vs Smith" - One of my all-time favorite foods is the day's ingredient. It was a good one. I'd love to try most of those dishes.
• Heroes: "Dying of the Light" - Another weak episode of this series.
• Dinner: Impossible: "Hospital Hijinks" - That was a fun one. I've had good hospital food, but nothing like that stuff.
• Smallville: "Prey" - You'd think Chloe would be smart enough to meet with "special" folks individually and escort them safely home afterward. I didn't buy Davis as a bad guy until seeing him looking strung-out in this episode. I still don't buy him as the character he's rumored to be.
• Ghost Hunters: "Home Town Haunts" - That pool hall is cool, but it seems like a shame that two floors of the building aren't even being used. They didn't see anything there that wasn't easy to explain. The other place was very interesting, but again, didn't appear to have any spooks either.

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Comics this week:

• Green Lantern #35 - A retcon with some setup for Blackest Night. At least it appears to be over. For now.
• Green Lantern Corps #29 - Almost nothing for me in this one.
• Fallen Angel #30 - I think I would be more impressed with the cliffhanger if it wasn't on the cover. Just saying.
• Phantom #25 - Everything gets tied up, and the status goes back to quo. I don't know whether I'm relieved, or disappointed.
• Justice Society of America #19 - This really does look like a lead-up into Kingdom Come. I'm not sure where Johns and Ross are going with this, but I hope it's a new path because I really don't want to reread KC in JSA.
• Doctor Who: The Forgotten #2 - Another great issue! I love this one. The art is fantastic, and the story is nicely strong. More like this, please!
• Grant Morrison's Doctor Who #1 - Reprints of some of Grant Morrison's work on the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip. I had read the 7th Doctor story, but not the 6th Doctor one. As usual, great quality.
• Captain Britain and MI13 #6 - This book is hitting its stride. And I'm even able to follow the action without knowing who all the players are! Worth checking out.
• Super Friends #8 - Oooh, oooh, I just love this book! Aquaman is so cute in this one! And the Scarecrow is a perfect villain for Halloween.

It looks like I'll be doing my reviews based on when I get my comics from DCBS, and it appears that I'll be getting them up to a week after they ship. The perils of living in the middle of nowhere. Finally, Wednesday is no longer an important day in my life. How strange, after over 16 years of it being such a big part of my life.

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This week's movie was Persepolis, via Netflix (because our library system is very weak on movies). I really enjoyed the book, but it's been quite awhile since I read it, so this was almost like a new story to me. This story reinforces the truth that people are simply people, all the world around. And most people would simply like to live in peace. The whole tale could be told by many women out in the world. Love, life, and in Marji's case, revolution, war, and homelessness as well. There is a great deal of history in this, enough to make you crazy at human stupidity. And the treatment for depression that she gets... wow, familiar and frightening. The comments on forgetting that they weren't free was also terrifying, as it's something we're facing here. The end, of self-imposed exile tinged with regretful acceptance, is painful. But it's still one of those movies that everyone ought to see.

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My library book this week was Wondrous Beginnings edited by Steven H Silver and Martin H Greenberg. This is an anthology of stories by some of the best sci-fi writers around... but the catch is that it's their first story. Not their strongest work, but the work that was first published (or written). As a result, the quality is even more erratic than most anthologies. I won't go into detail about every story, I'll just mention some of my favorites and notables. "The Runaway Skyscraper" by Murray Leinster starts off the collection, and was such a strong story I had to wait several days before I wanted to read any other story because I was afraid they wouldn't live up to the fun. "Proof" by Hal Clement takes on the whole concept of the other in such a wonderful way... he always manages to twist your perceptions. The intro to "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card convinced me that I don't want to read any more books or stories by Card (it was the longest of the intros and made him sound like a bombastic self-absorbed moron). A pity, as the story itself is still good (better, I think, than the novel he made from it). I loved "Much Ado About Nothing" by Jerry Oltion, playing on what might result from an unfamiliar look at an alien world. "Dance in Blue" by Caterine Asaro was a lovely mystery, very nicely done. "Barter" by Lois McMaster Bujold was funny, and was the original reason I picked up this anthology. And lastly, "TeleAbsence" by Michael A Burstein was a heart-rending tale of what technology should be and could be, with dead-on truths of why it can't be. Overall, a solid anthology. Certainly not the best. Only one truly sour note in the whole thing, and that was an intro that you might as well skip. Worth checking out for the first story alone.

Just for the record, here are the stories included in Wondrous Beginnings: "The Runaway Skyscraper" by Murray Leinster, "The Isolinguals" by L Sprague de Camp, "Freedom of the Race" by Anne McCaffrey, "Proof" by Hal Clement, "Loophole" by Arthur C Clarke, "The Dead Man" by Gene Wolfe, "We're Coming Through the Window" by Barry N Malzberg, "The Hero" by George R R Martin, "Lunchbox" by Howard Waldrop, "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, "The Emerson Effect" by Jack McDevitt, "Much Ado About Nothing" by Jerry Oltion, "Barter" by Lois McMaster Bujold, "The Xeelee Flower" by Stephen Baxter, "Dance in Blue" by Caterine Asaro, "TeleAbsence" by Michael A Burstein, and "First Contact Inc." by Julie E Czerneda.

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I received an uncorrected proof of a recently published book from a friend (thanks Joe!), and decided to go ahead and review it. The book is Superpowers: A Novel by David J Schwartz. The book was published in June. The story concerns five college kids who unexpectedly wake up one morning with superpowers, and what they do with those abilities. The story goes about how you might expect, with the usual "let's be superheroes!" start that goes terribly wrong. The story is set in 2001, ranging from May until October. Yes, 2001. Think about it. But it doesn't happen quite like you expect, and the conclusions of the story are completely different than "with great power" and all that comes with that. I did enjoy the read, because it surprised me a little despite being overall predictable. It's worth checking out from the library.

Since I don't expect most people to read this far in my Sunday Reviews, here's a little "contest". If you want to read Superpowers, and don't mind an uncorrected proof, post a comment on this note saying you'd like my copy. First person to respond I'll e-mail for your address, and send on the book to you just as it was passed on to me.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews