A Man Out of Time

Tim Pratt, “The Wrong Stars” (Angry Robot, 2017)

Tim Pratt is best known as a prolific author of fantasy, but here he jumps into space opera, and wow! What a SF debut!

Humans are living throughout our solar system. They have encountered another race, the so-called Liars, who have provided technology via trades. When a small ship discovers an old human vessel, they learn that there is more to the universe than they have previously dreamed.  Unfortunately they learn that things are more dangerous than they knew.

First I should mention that the world building is wonderful.  There are layers and layers to this, both human civilization as well as that of the aliens. And yet there are still mysteries to be possibly solved.

The plot chugs right along and we go from adventure to adventure while learning about a varied and diverse set of characters. 

In terms of tone I could not help thinking about Becky Chambers’ books. Like those books, these continue a sense of love towards the characters and universe. Even though there are some really bad things going on, this is not a nihilistic universe. There’s a pervasive sense of love towards what you are reading.

I really really loved this book. If you like space opera, give it a read. I’m ready for more, please!

Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot for a review copy.

Born to Die

Bejamin Percy & Jonboy Meyers “Teen Titans Volume 1: Damian Knows Best” (DC Comics, 2017)

Rumor has it that Grant Morrison’s plan all along was to kill off Damian as he left writing the Bat books. He was created to fulfill a certain function in Morrison’s stories, never to be an ongoing character.  DC editorial stepped in and stopped this from happening. 

Now given the mixed reactions to Grant Morrison, Damian Wayne, and DC editorial, any or all of this story could be apocryphal and meant to serve any one of a variety of purposes by the teller.  Still, the question remains, what do you do with a character that was born to die?

Here the idea is to plug Damian into the Teen Titans. It’s a ploy that has worked for a variety of Robins, so why not Damian?

With the “Classic” lineup (to my thinking, anyway) being used in the “Titans” book, “Teen Titans” is the more recent lineup (Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven, Kid Flash), with Damian filling the Robin role.

While there is a story of sorts here, it’s really about getting the team together, and introducing a nemesis for Damian, a cousin who stayed with the League of Assassins.  This is a VERY Damian centric story, and I have a say that I was surprised at how well I felt Percy wrote the character. And the introduction of him into a new setting gives him more of a reason to exist.

Meyers’ art is fun and fresh feeling. It must have been somewhat difficult to design, given the sheer amount of exposition necessary for this type of story, but somehow it never feels less than dynamic.

While working in an environment that is not my favorite by any stretch, I felt like this was a very enjoyable comic. Tonally it would work well for younger readers. It’s a good start to a promising series.

Thanks to Goodreads and DC Comics for a free copy to review.