Library Book: Devi

I saw this graphic novel while I was at work yesterday. It sounded like it was a neat idea, so I decided to take a look at it.

Devi is a mortal woman who is chosen to host a goddess. The mortal woman is killed so that the goddess has free reign to go and stop the evil demons. Devi draws on the rich traditions and mythology from India. It is definitely a one of a kind read!

I thought it was really neat that Devi is also one of the first graphic novels produced in India. According to the introduction, Virgin Comics was developed in an attempt to revolutionize the Indian entertainment industry, similar to the manga of Japan. I'm very happy that they succeeded; if they hadn't then I would not have been able to read Devi in English. This book is volume 1, so I am hoping to get my hands on the next ones!

I also wanted to point out that it was rather neat seeing the Indian gods and goddesses in a graphic novel. Thanks to the religious studies course I took in my first year of university, I recognized some of the names of deities and other things from their culture (although that was a long time ago, and I could not recall everything I learned from the course). This really is a unique story that is worth checking out!

Inkheart

I haven't been so thouroughly enchanted with a book in such a long time. Sure, over the last year I've read some good books. But nothing like Cornelia Funke's Inkheart.

From when I first opened its pages two mornings ago, I was spellbound. I loved the characters Meggie and Mo right off the bat. And really, what reader wouldn't? They love books so much, you just had to love them! But beyond their love of books, the idea that Mo could bring books to life, quite literally, was also fantastic. Who hasn't wanted to meet their favourite characters?

The bad guys were also wonderfully thought out. You don't get much more evil than Capricorn. And to think, this isn't an adult book! And Basta, Capricorn's lackey, he was wonderfully characterized, fearing all manner of supernatural threats.

Beyond the characters, the book was well written. Other than a few places where I thought I had missed something, the book flows beautifully. This is the kind of book I'd be afraid to read aloud, it is written in such a way that the characters could just jump off the pages!

The one thing that I thought that was weird about Inkheart is that it is book 1 of a trilogy, but after finishing it last night, I had no desire to read the other books. Yes, there is so much more that can be told, but I liked where it ended. I can make up my own stories for the characters in my head, decide for myself what I think happens next. And I have no desire to change this any time soon by reading the sequels.

But again, and I cannot express this enough, I thought the book was absolutely fantastic. I think it is the type of book that can appeal to all ages. Inkheart is a wonderful book that is going to get a special place on my bookshelves!

Batman and Son

I picked this up about a month ago. I have to admit, I was intrigued about the idea of Batman having a son. Especially one trained by the League of Assassins.

So after The Bloody Chamber, I decided to take a shot with this book. And I have to say, the first half of it was great! There was a lot of action all over the place, and a lot of confusion over the fact that Batman has a son!

But at about the time of the Joker interlude, things started to go downhill. The Joker story, The Clown at Midnight was extremely creepy. It wasn't altogether bad, but it didn't seem fitting in the middle of this graphic novel. It slowed the action down a lot, being an actual short story, not a comic book. And did I say it was creepy? I can't stress that enough.

When I finished reading the interlude, I thought I would get right back into the action of the main story. Well, things went back to Damien, Batman's son, for a little bit. But then there was a bit about this Bane-like figure. And then came the weirdest thing of all: the last chapter of the graphic novel was set in the future. Batman died somehow, and Damien took over as Batman. It was confusing and an altogether disappointing end to the whole story. I wanted to know what Damien's mother was going to do after the explosion!

Long story short, this graphic novel was okay. The beginning is a lot of fun, but the ending leaves something to be desired.

The Bloody Chamber

While I was studying for my Children's Lit exam, I came upon a reference I had written in the margins of my notes of The Tiger's Bride by Angela Carter. The Tiger's Bride was supposed to be a modern rescripting of a fairy tale, much like Bluebeard's Egg by Margaret Atwood (which we were studying). And so, after my exam, I decided to head to Chapters to get a copy of the book which The Tiger's Bride was in.

The Bloody Chamber is a collection of short stories by Angela Carter. There are eight tales in the book, all inspired by folk and fairy tales.

The first tale, The Bloody Chamber is based off of Bluebeard. The next two, The Courtship of Mr. Lyon and The Tiger's Bride are both based off of Beauty and the Beast. Puss in Boots is obvious. I'm not entirely sure what The Erl-King is based off of. The Snow Child is based off of Snow White, while The Lady of the House of Love is based off of Sleeping Beauty. The next two, The Werewolf and The Company of Wolves are based off of Little Red Rising Hood, and the final one, Wolf-Alice is based off of Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There.

All of these tales were quite good, even though they are very heavy with description (which I'm not overly fond of). Most of them were of a sexual nature, which makes sense as they are based off of fairy tales (and most likely the originals, not the kid-friendly Disney versions). All in all, this was a good read, which really makes you think about the stories in a new light.

School Books: Gallathea and The Spanish Tragedy Revisited

In preparation for my exam tomorrow, I decided to reread a few of the plays that we covered in class. Rather than rereading some of the good ones, I decided to revisit some of the plays that I didn't particularly care for the first time through.

The first play I revisited was John Lyly's Gallathea. The first time I read it, I found it strange. This time through, I thought it was a lot better. Yes, it still has some large problems. No one is properly characterized. Things don't come together as seamlessly as I think they should. Neptune randomly decides to disguise himself as a shephard for no reason at all. But this second time through, I thought it was a lot more fun. Maybe I was just a little more forgiving, or maybe it was because we analyzed it in class, but whatever the reason, I enjoyed this fun pastoral romp.

The second play that I revisited was Thomas Kyd's Spanish Tragedy. And I have to say, it was just as terrible the second time through! The only improvement in reading it the second time was that it was a bit easier to understand; my first time through it I had a hard time figuring out what was happening and why. This time through I understood everything perfectly, but the whole plot was still rather stupid. For one thing, the play is unnecessarily long. For another, there are large chunks that are terribly written! ("Speak thou fair words, I'll cross them with fair words;/Send thou sweet looks, I'll meet them with sweet looks;" II.iii, 34-5. What the heck kind of lines are these?) Oh, and my version has a whole bunch of additions, which are actually worse than the original written parts. However, I will say that the ending of the Spanish Tragedy is still pretty insane. That's about the only thing in the entire play worth reading.

So, to make a long story short, Gallathea is definitely worth a second look, while, in my opinion, the Spanish Tragedy is not.

Another List Update

I know I just did a List update a few weeks ago. But I think I'm due for another one. You see, I haven't read a whole lot off of the List (or in general) since that update. But I've been in the bookstores a little too much lately.

Since that update on the 18th, I have read two List books. And having finished "If I Were an Evil Overlord" today, the List is now down to 102 books. Yes, I managed to add three books onto the List since that update (well, now I am only up one book, but I had to read two to get down to 102). Adding to this problem, I also received the two reading lists for my classes next term, and picked up a few school books I hope to read over Christmas. Counting those school books I currently have, I have 105 books to read in my room right now. This does not include the couple of books that I have from the library (which I may return and get at a later date when I have more time).

So what are my plans for the next few weeks, once my exam is finished? Hopefully reading! I started another anthology today, and there are a few graphic novels I can't wait to read after my exam (last one Monday!). If I'm lucky, I'll also get through one or two list books before starting one of my school books. Whatever happens, I'm in for a busy December!!!!

If I Were an Evil Overlord

I have been reading this book on and off for at least six months. If I Were an Evil Overlord is an anthology edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis. I picked it up on a whim one day while I was at Chapters. I like the anthologies Martin H. Greenberg puts together, and I really liked the sounds of this one. So, what the heck? I figured it would be a fun read.

There are fourteen tales in this book by fourteen different authors. They range from more serious to highly hilarious. Out of the fourteen, I really enjoyed eight of them (so that's pretty good for an anthology - I liked more than half of the stories). The eight I really enjoyed were the following: "If Looks Could Kill" by Esther Friesner, "The Man Who Would Be Overlord" by David Bischoff, "Ensuring the Succession" by Jodi Lynn Nye, "Loser Takes All" by Donald J. Bingle, "The Next Level" by David Niall Wilson, "A Woman's Work . . ." by Tanya Huff, "To Sit in Darkness Here, Hatching Vain Empires" by Steven A. Roman, and "Stronger Than Fate" by John Helfers.

The first three stories I listed were all read when I first got the book. "If Looks Could Kill" was hilarious, although it wasn't really about an overlord, but a hero's sidekick. The next two stories were what I expected of the book: stories of people who became evil overlords or who were overlords playing with their worlds, changing fate. They were both excellent.

The last five stories I listed were all read over the last few days. I've been studying for an exam, and I used this book as a study break: for everytime I went over my notes, I read a story. (It ended up being about equal: it took me about a half hour to read over my notes, and about a half hour to read a 20 page story). "Loser Takes All" and "The Next Level" both had to do with video games. They were both excellent reads. I especially liked "The Next Level" because of its weirdness. There were some things going on that didn't make a whole lot of sense, but it made for a good story (it also kind of reminded me of the game Assassin's Creed, which I recently played for the first time ever earlier last week). Tanya Huff's "A Woman's Work . . ." was extremely well written (well, I expect no less from Huff). It was a serious take of a woman overlord, and it was both excellent and inspiring (inspiring for a story, not for me to become an evil overlord). "To Sit in Darkness Here, Hatching Vain Empires" was also quite good. It featured an overlord who was a little too ambitious; he blew up the world accidentally.

The final story that I mentioned was one of the two that I read today at work. I almost got in trouble for reading it while on break; I couldn't put the book down and ended up a few minutes late getting back to work. "Stronger Than Fate" easily featured the best evil overlord out of the whole book. He magically managed to withstand everything, braving death itself to keep his empire within his own hands.

The other six stories that I mentioned weren't amazing, but for the most part they were still enjoyable. Most of them were a little too silly for my liking (I mean, who has rehab for overlords who have "lost their evil?"). But all in all, I thouroughly enjoyed this book. It was a great idea, and an entertaining read.