Do You Ever Get Out of the Wood?

Naomi Novik “Uprooted” (Del Rey, 2015)

It doesn’t take long before you realize that this story is not just one of those European folk tales with dragons and girls and witches and magic and mysterious forests but it is interrogating those stories.  Because the dragon is actually a dude, and the girl has agency, and the handsome prince is really a jerk.

So Novik reshapes those kinds of stories for modern sensibilities, because most of us don’t want that same old story any more.  But the story she leaves us with is just as good if not better.  The characters shine, the world building is fantastic, and the emotional core of the story is strong and full of love.

I hope that this is the start of a series because I want to read more.

 

Enter the Mythos

Kurtis J Wiebe & Roc Upchurch “Rat Queens vol. 2” (Image, 2015)

Hey the Queens are back!  There was some serious off page drama resulting in an art switch (google it if you’re interested) & a delay.  But now they’re back!

This seems to be one of those liquorice books.  Some people just don’t get it.  Those that do, however, seem to love it.  Yes it’s big and dumb and crass.  That’s the point.  But it’s so fun!  And the Rat Queens are so great!

Yeah, count me among those that love it.  After all the action & set up in the first volume, this story arc is really more about providing back story for the characters.  You’ll learn a lot about them.  The pace feels slower than in the first volume, but that’s not so unusual.

I’m looking forward to volume 3.

Roll Tide

Jason Aaron & Jason Latour “Southern Bastards vol 2: Gridiron” (Image, 2015)

Volume 1 introduced us to Craw County, Alabama & the people who live there.  It was a tragedy in the true sense of the word.  Now with Volume 2, the Jasons are telling us about the other side of that initial story:  this is the Origin of Coach Boss.

The writing and the art are just as good as in the first volume.  But it didn’t capture me the same way.  Perhaps I just wasn’t ready for an attempted redemption of Coach Boss (or at least a humanization).  

Still, I’m interested in the overall story of the county, & am looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next arc.