false 8 112 111 true 5670699 read 1 true 561391 currently-reading 0 true 561390 to-read 8 false 7028656 fiction 6 false 7028655 comics 3 false 7028659 prose http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79340785 to: Top Ten: 2 (Book 2) by Alan Moore
bookshelves: comics, fiction
Fun read. Moore effortlessly integrates so many fixtures of pop culture in a non-cheesy way, as usual. New officer Joe Pi is by far the best and most hilarious character in the series. I definitely enjoyed this volume more than the first one, a good bit of which is because of him.

Looking forward to The 49ers, although it's sad that that's pretty much the end. I've actually read the first couple of issues of Smax before, and I didn't love it. Although it was the first Neopolis book I read, which is completely out of order. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78575058 to: Ganges No. 2 (Ignatz Series) by Kevin Huizenga
I can't remember why I gave Ganges No. 1 only 3/5 stars (I loved the Curses collection). Regardless, this second book is great. Weaving the narrative within and around fps games, a dot-com startup and marriage (or cohabitation, not positive on the arrangement) effortlessly. It feels like this book was written specifically for me.

Highly recommended. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78057504 David's review of The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things
by Barry Glassner

please to share goodness or badness of this writing ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77858364 to: Babel (Unknown Binding) by David B.
bookshelves: comics
Surreal as always, I found the David B's retelling of the history of Biafra's secession from Nigeria the most captivating. Layout and structure are David B's bitch. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76362008 to: The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3) by Stephen King
bookshelves: fiction, prose
This book drew me in with giddy excitement more so than #2. It's a great read and much fun. It's only marred by King's repeated use of cliff-hanger moments and tendency to always push resolutions to the very end. Almost every time there's a build up in threatening circumstances, you can safely bet that it'll be resolved okay and at the very last minute. It works alright but gets a little tired, like there's several places where he deliberately decides how the screen play for the mini-series adaptation should be written.

I still love this series and am having to fight myself to read the other books sitting next to my bed before I give in and start the next volume. Okay, well I couldn't help myself and read the free Kindle sample on my iPhone. Those Kindle prices are looking amazing right now - $5 - $7 for each of these is a third what I pay for the dead tree versions. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75434209 to: The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) by Stephen King
bookshelves: fiction, prose
This was a really interesting read. Very different from the first book, but strong in new ideas it brings. I didn't care for the new characters at first but they really grew on me, perhaps that was the intent.

The best parts were with Eddie and Jack Mort. Odetta was interesting but just not as interesting, but the caricature of Detta was very interesting. I see that some of the other reviewers missed the overt explanations of why she talked like she did. Mr. King is not that naive.

Started on the Waste Lands, next review coming up.

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73497581 to: The Gunslinger: Revised and Expanded (Paperback) by Stephen King
bookshelves: fiction, prose
This is/was my first Stephen King book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found myself digesting it in large portions readily over a week. Unlike some other people (you know who you are), I can really like it when genres are mixed with other types, at least when done competently (counter example: Stephen Sommers' Van Helsing). Certainly it's been done more poorly many, many times before.

Sometimes I was annoyed by the flashbacks but eventually you get as drawn into the Gunslinger's past as you are in the present. There's a great post-apocalyptic feel to the desert and its inhabitants (not to mention the Slow Mutants). I was fascinated by the boy Jake and how he came to cross paths with the titular character (prediction: these words will be uttered in the forthcoming movie adaption: "You're more than just some kind of gun-slinger, ain't ya?").

The ending is definitely not what I expected and I usually find that sort of thing (don't want to offer more details and spoil it) in media to be dull at best and a moronic chore at worst. This one, however, is intriguing and I definitely want to know what's in that damn Tower now. I think Mr. King is treading on some very dangerous territory here (the land of Ridiculousness) with the multiple worlds and time traveling (oops, may have ruined that for you), but he's doing a good job of it thus far. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74344166 to: John Byrne's Next Men (Paperback) by John Byrne
bookshelves: comics, fiction
Wow, was I ever impressed by this $2.99 find at my local "A Comic Shop" in Orlando. Although I can't recall reading any of John Byrne's work since getting back into comics in 2003, I definitely know the name holds significance. I was surprised to see this original TPB being offered so cheaply.

That helped a great deal in setting my expectations low so that I was very impressed with what I got. It's an engaging read, competently written and drawn, although there are goofy spots of badly proportioned art and 80s sensibility. Overall it's very entertaining, a great find all around.

Now I just have to find a collection with the next set of issues that isn't a $40 hardcover (Premier Edition), since the "Compleat" series of reprints from IDW are black and white only. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74162872 to: Captain America and the Falcon: Secret Empire (Paperback) by Steve Englehart
bookshelves: comics, fiction
The premise of this book bears some big similarities to the recent Civil War event in Marvel comics (which I didn't read much of). It's a solid idea and if it weren't for the clunky fighting and lengthy and corny exposition, would make for an engaging read.

The beginning, middle and end plot points are intriguing stuff, but so much of the book is goofy filler. It's not enough to excuse this just because it's from the 70s. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74162759 to: Top Ten: 1(Book 1) by Alan Moore
bookshelves: comics, fiction
Lighthearted read that bears above-average writing due to the great Moore. It was fun catching all the little references not only in characters who played as parodies to everything from superheroes to gods, but also in the minute background items like magazines and signs.

Only complaint is that it still manages to feel a bit dense, requiring a couple of passes to get through. I am hoping that volume 2 keeps things interesting by delving into darker subject matter. Although this is ABC so that's a poor bet on my part. ]]>