Notes from a bibliophile

I'm watching the TV series, and man, every now and then, they throw an absolute humdinger at you. Cassidy's fight in the airplane, Tulip's fight in a moving vehicle - and that was just the first episode. There's been some crazy-ass shit going down in this show, and I thought, OK, time to see what the graphic novel has to offer. It's still some crazy-ass shit, but it's a whole new level of bonkers. Seth Rogan said on the Talking Preacher episode that aired right after the finale that up to this point the TV show has basically been prologue. We're introduced to preacher Jesse Custer, who's not the best preacher on the planet. He's a hard-drinking roughneck kinda guy with a sordid past that has somehow become the recipient of a heavenly entity called Genesis that compels people to do exactly as he says. Then there's Tulip, his ex-girlfriend and Cassidy, an Irish vampire. It's kind of hard to talk about the novel without spoiling the TV show, s...

Douglas Adams is one of the best writers in the history of ever. His works are so smart, so funny; you feel better about yourself just for getting it. I don't know how popular the Dirk Gently novels are, certainly not to the level of Hitchhiker's Guide, but they should be. Even his non-fiction is brilliant and funny. I'm telling you, the man was a genius whose equal we may never see again. This graphic novel has little to do with the novel, except for the main character. Dirk Gently comes to San Diego and tries to find a place to set up shop. Meanwhile, a museum exhibit is going up in town displaying ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies. But the mummies aren't totally mummified. They end up coming back to life and draining the life force of those around them and growing super strong. Oh and there's a couple on vacation trying to emulate their favorite serial killers. There's a lot going on. It's a little gonzo, but not laugh out loud funny. It doesn...

I was waiting for the last collection of Y The Last Man to come in, and the guy at the comics store suggested this. It's post-apocalyptic, that's for sure. I'm not sure the two titles have much else in common. The four horsemen of the apocalypse have returned to start Armageddon. Well, three of them have at least. Each time they make an appearance on Earth, they begin as children. So these three kids are wandering around, trying to find Death so they can get on with their business. They have been summoned by The Chosen, believers in The Message, a three-pronged prophesy of the end of times. The US has been divided into 7 nations when the Civil War fails to end. The Chosen are believers chosen (natch) from these 7 nations. So what's up with Death? Why did he not make the scene? Well Death fell in love with one of the daughters of the leader of the Chinese Nation, the PRA. They have a child together. Mother and child are kidnapped, and she thinks the child is dead. Ap...

I loved Ready Player One and I can't wait for the movie (plus, Simon Pegg!). So I was really excited about Armada. But was it worth it? Armada follows Zack Lightman, a boy with some anger issues thanks to a dad who died very young when Zack was just a baby. He grew up idolizing his father, a video game nerd, and following in his gamer footsteps. But, as he reads his father's old journals, he starts to wonder if perhaps Pops wasn't a little off his rocker. He began writing about conspiracies involving a couple of video games that don't appear to actually exist. One day at school, when Zack notices a space ship from one of his favorite games, Armada, zooming around outside, he begins to wonder if maybe the crazy apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. One of the more fascinating elements of this novel is the (clearly) well researched history of the video game industry. We know how technology has changed; we watch it change practically everyday (virtual reality, ...

I remember a time when I wasn't into audiobooks. That's gone. Audiobooks are totally awesome. I remember a time when I wasn't into graphic novels. Yep. That's gone too. But while finding a new, exciting audiobook isn't that hard, finding a graphic novel is proving a bit more difficult. This graphic novel is so beautiful. The art is fantastic and occasionally surreal without getting too far out there. The story leaves a little to be desired. It's the story of a boy growing into a man. It shows him fighting with his brother, a relationship that falters as they get older. It shows him exploring the faith he's grown up in, another relationship that falters as he gets older. More importantly, it shows him falling in love, and this, it seems to me is the point to the whole book. This first love changes him in ways he didn't expect, as it always does. But, true to form, this relationship falters as he gets older. Is this something new? Well, no. I think...

In this latest foray into the demigod world, we find Apollo thrust off of Olympus after having pissed off Zeus over something he can't quite recall. He is, of course, a zitty teenager, because that's what's most humiliating to a god, not to mention you want your readers to identify with the hero. Apollo on Olympus is like that quarterback from your high school team who landed all the hot chicks and all the teachers seemed to fawn over and never seemed to notice the nerdy girl in glasses and braces peeking over her book as he strolled by looking all charming...or so I've heard...ahem...back to the review. Apollo away from Olympus retains all the memories of his godliness. He knows he's the god of archery, poetry, music, divination, et cetera, but all the powers have left him. So he recalls being great, but can't quite deliver when the time comes. He meets a young girl who has some powers of her own, but there's something about those powers that seem a littl...