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jstilts's reviews
116 reviews
The Strange Taste of Metal by K.A. Burgess
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Full disclosure: I picked up this book because the cover caught my eye, then the title intrigued me, then I realised I know the author!
It's labelled as Book One, but the story is completely self-contained with a satisfying ending, although I will be very happy to read more about these characters in the future.
"A Strange Taste of Metal" begins on Mars where people have been living there long enough that it's shifting from being purely an Industrial Port to include a tourist economy. Once we've nicely settled into this relatively grounded environment, met most of the characters and set up some intrigues, the plot takes us and them to explore a distant and almost unexplored world bursting with unique alien life. This part of the book - which makes up the bulk of the novel - is a tale of exploration and survival as we unlock the mysteries of this world and this crew, and what it means for Mars, Earth and the rest of the populated solar system. While this sounds more of a fantastical sci-fi it's themes of scientific survey and survival keep it well grounded and relatable. The final (quarter, maybe?) of the book veers into hard sci-fi that also makes for a good upping of the tension, but I would also have happily stayed stuck on the new planet, although I doubt the crew would agree!
I had great fun reading this book - quickly immersed and invested in the world and the characters, fooled by some of the twists, and worried when I realised I was nearing the end that it was all going to be over. Looking back, while the book certainly feels very satisfyingly complete I can see a few dangling threads that the next book could pick up on - and I very much look forward to that happening.
It's labelled as Book One, but the story is completely self-contained with a satisfying ending, although I will be very happy to read more about these characters in the future.
"A Strange Taste of Metal" begins on Mars where people have been living there long enough that it's shifting from being purely an Industrial Port to include a tourist economy. Once we've nicely settled into this relatively grounded environment, met most of the characters and set up some intrigues, the plot takes us and them to explore a distant and almost unexplored world bursting with unique alien life. This part of the book - which makes up the bulk of the novel - is a tale of exploration and survival as we unlock the mysteries of this world and this crew, and what it means for Mars, Earth and the rest of the populated solar system. While this sounds more of a fantastical sci-fi it's themes of scientific survey and survival keep it well grounded and relatable. The final (quarter, maybe?) of the book veers into hard sci-fi that also makes for a good upping of the tension, but I would also have happily stayed stuck on the new planet, although I doubt the crew would agree!
I had great fun reading this book - quickly immersed and invested in the world and the characters, fooled by some of the twists, and worried when I realised I was nearing the end that it was all going to be over. Looking back, while the book certainly feels very satisfyingly complete I can see a few dangling threads that the next book could pick up on - and I very much look forward to that happening.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Gore, Infertility, and Grief
Intruders by Adrian Tomine
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A very short graphic novel - you can take your time and read it in 15 minutes - but also the perfect length. "Intruders" follows a soldier between tours of duty who no longer feels welcome living at his sister's house, but by chance soon finds himself with access to what was once his marital home, now populated by strangers.
On paper his next actions appear psychotic, but watching events unfold through his eyes and with his narrative it almost seems inevitable. A touching and tense tale.
The minimal art style and narration is very effective, and the decision to put only a single panel on each page of this small volume is essential to the pacing of this perfectly formed short story.
On paper his next actions appear psychotic, but watching events unfold through his eyes and with his narrative it almost seems inevitable. A touching and tense tale.
The minimal art style and narration is very effective, and the decision to put only a single panel on each page of this small volume is essential to the pacing of this perfectly formed short story.
The Storm of Echoes by Christelle Dabos
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A satisfying conclusion to the series, but it's not just a wrapping-up of plots: The Storm of Echoes puts Ophelia through more hardships as she explores and suffers through yet another institution in this strange world. As much as Books 1 and 2 felt like a pair, Book 3 and 4 do much the same, elevating the third book somewhat.
There are interesting and sometimes distressing themes introduced, including the deportation of refugees and minorities, forced institutionalisation and medical experimentation - all new to this book, which for a final is very welcome.
As for the ending, it kept me on my toes right to the very finish - I've not read much fantasy for a very long time, and while I think this pretty much played to it's own rules there was a lot introduced in the final half of this book, so I can't honestly say I feel completely happy there was a through-line from the first to the last book... and looking back there are perhaps a few rather convenient coincidences along the way. Still, I highly recommend the series as a whole!
There are interesting and sometimes distressing themes introduced, including the deportation of refugees and minorities, forced institutionalisation and medical experimentation - all new to this book, which for a final is very welcome.
As for the ending, it kept me on my toes right to the very finish - I've not read much fantasy for a very long time, and while I think this pretty much played to it's own rules there was a lot introduced in the final half of this book, so I can't honestly say I feel completely happy there was a through-line from the first to the last book... and looking back there are perhaps a few rather convenient coincidences along the way. Still, I highly recommend the series as a whole!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Deportation
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Infertility, Murder, and Dysphoria
Minor: Terminal illness
Swimming on the Lawn by Yasmin Hamid
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A beautiful poetical book that shows Sudan of the 1960s through the eyes of young Farida, the oldest of three siblings living in Khartoum.
Each chapter follows Farida through a different day in her life, revealing to us only what she understands and revelling in the small details that grab her attention. A sense of foreboding hangs over the book, I think partly because as an adult I am uncomfortable with not understanding everything that is happening, whereas for Farida that is just life as a child: not always comprehending, and rarely getting explanations from adults - Farida takes a lot on trust, and to be fair her trust is well placed.
Nevertheless that sense of foreboding is eventually borne out - this is a turning point in Sudan's history after all - and it's an emotional few days only made more intense by feeling it through Farida.
It's hard to believe this is Junior Fiction - while in theory very accessible for young readers, they may have trouble sticking with what would seem like an aimless plot. As an adult, these are beautiful slices of life and a fascinating insight into Sudanese culture, even if the final chapters brings tears to the eye.
Each chapter follows Farida through a different day in her life, revealing to us only what she understands and revelling in the small details that grab her attention. A sense of foreboding hangs over the book, I think partly because as an adult I am uncomfortable with not understanding everything that is happening, whereas for Farida that is just life as a child: not always comprehending, and rarely getting explanations from adults - Farida takes a lot on trust, and to be fair her trust is well placed.
Nevertheless that sense of foreboding is eventually borne out - this is a turning point in Sudan's history after all - and it's an emotional few days only made more intense by feeling it through Farida.
It's hard to believe this is Junior Fiction - while in theory very accessible for young readers, they may have trouble sticking with what would seem like an aimless plot. As an adult, these are beautiful slices of life and a fascinating insight into Sudanese culture, even if the final chapters brings tears to the eye.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Death, Kidnapping, and War
She-Ra: Legend of the Fire Princess by Gigi D.G.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
If you've not seen the She-Ra Netflix show this will be a little inaccessible (so go watch it, it's genuinely great), but this graphic novel would have been a perfect early Season 2 episode.
It's absolutely spot-on to where the characters are at that point in their lives and their interpersonal relationships - yes, including the tense love/hate/frenemy triangle between Adora, Catra and Scorpia. Catra and Scorpia especially are given some space to have some moments that ring true and tug at the heartstrings.
Once the first few pages of info-dump are done it's fun, it's funny, it's touching, and while it slots in perfectly with the show the final few pages still manage to give Adora a deft bit of character development that wasn't ever quite addressed in the show so explicitly, but doesn't contradict anything either.
The art style is very close to the cartoon - my only complaints are the lettering is hard to read and the speech balloons sometimes have two people's words but only one pointer. Minor niggles!
It's absolutely spot-on to where the characters are at that point in their lives and their interpersonal relationships - yes, including the tense love/hate/frenemy triangle between Adora, Catra and Scorpia. Catra and Scorpia especially are given some space to have some moments that ring true and tug at the heartstrings.
Once the first few pages of info-dump are done it's fun, it's funny, it's touching, and while it slots in perfectly with the show the final few pages still manage to give Adora a deft bit of character development that wasn't ever quite addressed in the show so explicitly, but doesn't contradict anything either.
The art style is very close to the cartoon - my only complaints are the lettering is hard to read and the speech balloons sometimes have two people's words but only one pointer. Minor niggles!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Incredible Hulk by Jason Aaron, Volume 1 by Jason Aaron
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Pretty lame stuff. Bruce Banner and the Hulk are finally seperated both physically and mentally into two discrete beings. Banner cartoonishly loses his mind. That's about it.
The art style is at first somewhat gristly but otherwise aimed at hormonal teens, then swaps artists to become simply a bit rubbish instead.
Cannot recommend this book at all.
The art style is at first somewhat gristly but otherwise aimed at hormonal teens, then swaps artists to become simply a bit rubbish instead.
Cannot recommend this book at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child abuse
Sherlock Holmes - The Labyrinth of Death by James Lovegrove
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
While I have had serious issues with most of Titan's "New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", this mercifully is one of the better ones (see also Mark Latham's "The Red Tower").
James Lovegrove delivers a novel that eschews the steampunk and supernatural conceits that often blight this series, instead promising a tale that puts Watson in the spotlight as the duo investigate a missing persons case. The case leads them to a commune of sorts where Ancient Greek society and mythology is revered, including it's more macabre aspects. It doesn't really put Watson in the spotlight much more than usual - there were plenty of missed opportunities for that, even to the point of sidelining out heroes for a Holmes stand-in for much of the tale where instead Watson could have been written in - but everything on the page was good, so no complaints here.
It's not quite the mystery I was hoping for - the plot is relatively straightforward and solved before the third and final part, leaving the rest of the book as something of a thriller, but one where Holmes uses his brain to ensure their survival.
Lovegrove writes nicely in the expected style, and has created a very engaging page-turner that's generally quite good fun. A little lacking in the criminal deductions department, but this was too enjoyable a read for me to complain.
James Lovegrove delivers a novel that eschews the steampunk and supernatural conceits that often blight this series, instead promising a tale that puts Watson in the spotlight as the duo investigate a missing persons case. The case leads them to a commune of sorts where Ancient Greek society and mythology is revered, including it's more macabre aspects. It doesn't really put Watson in the spotlight much more than usual - there were plenty of missed opportunities for that, even to the point of sidelining out heroes for a Holmes stand-in for much of the tale where instead Watson could have been written in - but everything on the page was good, so no complaints here.
It's not quite the mystery I was hoping for - the plot is relatively straightforward and solved before the third and final part, leaving the rest of the book as something of a thriller, but one where Holmes uses his brain to ensure their survival.
Lovegrove writes nicely in the expected style, and has created a very engaging page-turner that's generally quite good fun. A little lacking in the criminal deductions department, but this was too enjoyable a read for me to complain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
World War One: 1914-1918 by Alan Cowsill
dark
informative
medium-paced
1.0
It probably seemed like an interesting challenge to condense the entirety of World War One into a 100 page graphic novel - but it was a mistake to think the result would be readable or engaging.
Frankly half the time this reads like a Wikipedia page, and while many of the subjects covered are worthy they are sped over. The book is supposedly narrated by one of the characters, but there is scant opportunity to experience anything from his point of view.
It's no "Charley's War" but I'm sad to say it does seem to borrow very freely from some of it's highlights - but without any of the character or depth that singular series excelled at. Very disappointing.
The art is passable.
Frankly half the time this reads like a Wikipedia page, and while many of the subjects covered are worthy they are sped over. The book is supposedly narrated by one of the characters, but there is scant opportunity to experience anything from his point of view.
It's no "Charley's War" but I'm sad to say it does seem to borrow very freely from some of it's highlights - but without any of the character or depth that singular series excelled at. Very disappointing.
The art is passable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death and Gun violence
R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
In short: surprisingly funny critique of capitalism with a sharp awareness of the societal upheaval the arrival of genuinely useful robots could present.
This Czech play from the 1920s is famous for coining the term "Robot" from the Czech words for serf labour. The titular Robots (human in appeance but much simpler on the inside) are being manufactured with the lofty goal of entirely freeing humans from labour - while making a lot of cash for the manufacturer, and saving lots of cash for the purchasers in unpaid labour. However, as this social revolution is set to take decades, the human workers faced with suffering unemployment through this lengthy change take arms against the robots - and so both Industry and Goverments arm the robots against the humans.
The play covers before, during and after the war - all from the perspective of those running Rossum's Universal Robots, and some of the robots themselves. It's a darkly comical play that critiques Capitalism, Industrialisation, Slavery, and to my surprise Misogyny - although it could be mistaken as only a reflection of the times it was written in depending on how the play is performed (however playwright Karel Čapek' politics point to it as a critique).
The epilogue is fascinatingly dark, and while the last lines became a mid 20th Century sci-fi cliche hoary enough to make my eyes roll, be aware this play was probably the very first to do it - and probably only did so to rescue the play from being utterly bleak, although I imagine people at the time found it so anyway!
This Czech play from the 1920s is famous for coining the term "Robot" from the Czech words for serf labour. The titular Robots (human in appeance but much simpler on the inside) are being manufactured with the lofty goal of entirely freeing humans from labour - while making a lot of cash for the manufacturer, and saving lots of cash for the purchasers in unpaid labour. However, as this social revolution is set to take decades, the human workers faced with suffering unemployment through this lengthy change take arms against the robots - and so both Industry and Goverments arm the robots against the humans.
The play covers before, during and after the war - all from the perspective of those running Rossum's Universal Robots, and some of the robots themselves. It's a darkly comical play that critiques Capitalism, Industrialisation, Slavery, and to my surprise Misogyny - although it could be mistaken as only a reflection of the times it was written in depending on how the play is performed (however playwright Karel Čapek' politics point to it as a critique).
The epilogue is fascinatingly dark, and while the last lines became a mid 20th Century sci-fi cliche hoary enough to make my eyes roll, be aware this play was probably the very first to do it - and probably only did so to rescue the play from being utterly bleak, although I imagine people at the time found it so anyway!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, War, and Classism
The Door-To-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What I took at first for a charming short read in fact takes a number of slightly shocking turns along the way that had me absolutely gripped. After reading the first few chapters over a number of short sessions, I read the final 3/4 of the book in one go to the wee hours of the morning!
This tale is about an elderly employee of a book store who has been hand-delivering books around his German town for decades, and absolutely lives for the job. Circumstances put his ongoing employment in doubt, just as he is joined on his rounds by a disruptive but sweet schoolgirl - and it's as much their story as it is about the people they deliver books to.
This tale is about an elderly employee of a book store who has been hand-delivering books around his German town for decades, and absolutely lives for the job. Circumstances put his ongoing employment in doubt, just as he is joined on his rounds by a disruptive but sweet schoolgirl - and it's as much their story as it is about the people they deliver books to.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol