Science Fiction Fantasy Books

As a fan of Laurell K Hamilton's "Anita Blake" novels, I was looking for something to read while awating her next novel. I came across this and on a whim, threw it in my "cart", thinking it'd be another "knock off" type. I'm glad I did! This story had me so engrossed, that I missed a few meals and many hours of sleep. I simply could not put it down.

This series is a must read for anyone with a passion for vampires. Wish there were more books in the series.

I randomly started reading this series after stumbling across it several times here on Amazon.

I really liked Dark Lover. It was a very enjoyable read. There were some cliche moments towards the end, and I wasn't particularly interested in the Mr X storyline, but as a whole it was very entertaining.

The best thing about it was the characters. You will just fall in love with them. They each have flaws, but somehow this just seems to add to their appeal.

Looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Generally I like to read a mixture of things but, paranormal or horror were not books that i would read. I bought Twilight as a beach read and became hooked on "Edward" and wondered if this vampire thing had something going for it....It does !!! The men in the Blackdagger Brotherhood are the stuff that female dreams are made of. I highly recommend this series.

I enjoyed reading this book. What I liked about the book was that the author made our hero tough but he has his flaw and he was man enough to own up to them. I also liked that she made him sort of blind. In vampire romances the Vamp. is always perfect. I liked the way the other characters related to one another. this book is worth reading.

Classical science fiction takes a novel concept and pursues its surprising implications. If we were to build intelligent robots, would they need us? In Saturn's Children, Charles Stross accepts the reasonable premise that humans are incapable of long-term occupation of alien worlds and nevertheless manages to construct a space opera setting by supposing that android robots would establish a post-human civilization vaguely resembling our own. Although I enjoyed the ideas Stross raises, the plot was not much more than an excuse to tour the solar system and the robot sex scenes were not as creative as I had hoped. I preferred The Glass House.

Since several other reviewers have already described the overall plot and the main themes of this book - what does it mean to be a person, what does it mean to be free vs. slave, etc. - I'm just going to concentrate on my observations of the individual elements of the book that intrigued me, rather than repeating those. So please read this review in conjunction with several others, so you get the whole picture.

Charles Stross has a habit of paying specific homage to previous generations of science fiction authors in his books - for example, to Cordwainer Smith in "Glasshouse" - and in this one, he specifically mentions Heinlein and Asimov. However, there are many more references in here than just ones to Heinlein's and Asimov's books, though those are the most obvious ones. Some of them will be references only readers who have read some of the body of literature from 30 to 50 years ago will get (or even older - how many people will read the line about a character with urea and acetate and remember the old idiomatic phrase about being full of piss and vinegar?); others may be references that only younger readers will get. (For example, right at the beginning, where some of the characters are described as bishojo and chibi forms - mostly, it's going to be the younger generation that automatically knows what those are, from manga and anime; old fogeys may have to go look it up on the intertubes, which interrupts the reading experience.) And sometimes the references are more trouble than they're worth - giving two of the characters seldom-used nicknames so that one fleeting Shakespeare reference can be thrown in. Nonetheless, it's fun to try and recognize all the sources that Stross is giving credit to.

Stross's characters are a mixed bag, as far as level of characterization goes. Sometimes it gets a bit confusing - which aliases are sibs of which others? Whose soul chip is in whose body now? Wait, are Domina and Granita related? In general, though, most of the avatars are identifiable enough to follow the plot. And some of the characters, even bit parts, are truly one-of-a-kind: Lindy the sex-crazed shipping pod, for example, and Bilbo the hobo, who may or may not be saner than he sounds, and Paris the hotel front desk.

Stross also has a way with words that can cause one to splort soda out of one's nose on occasion, such as the beginning of one chapter: "There can be few sights more out of place in a luxury hotel than an angry bald ogress in a ripped black gown who storms in through the service entrance and demands to talk to the management..."

There are many other small bits that all add up to fun - the passing Monty Python reference, the ring-tailed lemur who snores, calling someone Igor, Dr. Ecks, the parody of the Creation Museum (and the mocking of Intelligent Design/Creationism in general). There are probably a few I missed, since I haven't read nearly as great a percentage of the literature ever written as Stross obviously has. Also, speaking of literature, I note that as with most of Stross, this book has had excellent editing, and is almost entirely free of the spelling confusions and grammatical errors that plague most genre and popular fiction these days.

Family reading alert: even though, as many people have pointed out, the plot for this book is largely based on Heinlein's juveniles, this is most definitely not a kid's book or even young-adult; there's far more sex in it than even in Heinlein's later adult novels, and some of it is very kinky sex. Probably not for anyone too young to buy the book with their own charge card.

Summary: although there are flaws - moments where it's hard to tell the characters apart (which was also a flaw in later Heinlein), a few points where the character's actions were a bit of a non-sequiter - this is nonetheless a move-right-along, action-packed space opera, with a great deal of humor and wit.

I downloaded this title onto my kindle, and so far I'm only halfway through. While it seems that there is a good story buried in this novel somewhere, it's so confusingly written that I'm not sure I'll ever find it. But I still have hope.

Stross is back only this time the future is one without people. This is only a technicality however. Humanity disappeared for the usual vague reasons (loss of vigor, environmental destruction, blah blah) but the surviving android/robots picked up where humans left off and since they were built in the image of the Creators, civilization has not really changed. Some androids are rulers - think Dominatrix Natash - and others are slaves, money is still a driving concern, there's lots and lots of sex, crummy space travel and enough political intrigue to put the current campaign for President to shame.

HALTING STATE inquired about the nature of reality, Virtual reality vs. "real" reality and what happens when simultaneous realities mix. Virtual reality pops up again in GLASS HOUSE. The Singularity of ACCELERANDO, a cult favorite, is nowhere to be seen here. Instead we have a rather crude and at times childish romp through the Solar System with a female android who becomes, at one time or another, Freya, Rhea, Juliette, Maria and Kate among others. One problem for the reader is the sometimes daunting task of trying to figuire out which one she is. But the muddled personalities and plot is topped with the intriguing ideas presented. Souls on chips, soul graveyard, the similarities of android societies, the attitudes toward the Creators, sex between machines, slow time - all very exicting yet one gets the idea Stross is simply having fun. He's not really serious about it all.

But even with imaginative inventions, witty and sometimes hilarious dialogue and action galore, nothing can rescue this runaway plot. If Freya, the protagonist, cannot figure out who she is, what's happening, what she's supposed to do and why, how in the world is the reader expected to do so? The fact that Stross had to patiently and repeatedly explain the myriad layers and strings of the "plot" (still unclear at the last) in all its wacky meanderings says volumes.

Stross is a gifted writer - one of the best of this generation. His work is cutting edge, not quite cyber punk, not total space opera, not Asimov or Heinlein or Bradbury. Instead he offers a unique perspective on the current state of sci-fi thought. In SATURN'S CHILDREN (the title is one of the worst) Stross has reverted to older times updated by interesting ideas. My grade: B

Never before had I enjoyed so much the first half of a book, only to watch it nosedive (as far as I am concerned) in the second half so badly that I gave up in utter disinterest less than 50 pages from the end.

Like Stross himself, I am very skeptical about space colonization prospects of Human version 1.0 -- we are just too spectacularly unsuited for it, -- and I absolutely loved Stross' take on traditional image of Solar System Civilization. It's a very clever irony, and I need not rehash it as other reviewers already did adequate job. My problem with "Saturn's Children" is that I am not a Heinlein fan.

Somewhere between Callisto and Eris, the book became a homage to RAH... and lost me completely. I simply have no interest in convoluted caper stories with multiple identities, multiple layers of deception, and a super-competent (or super-lucky) protagonist in the middle somehow surviving it all. I lost track of which of Freya's sisters was supposed to be what, when they were backed up and copied, and worse, I found that I do not care. For the first half of the book Freya was a sympathetic and fun character; when [***SPOILERS AHEAD!***] turned out she was an assassin-in-waiting... she ceased being fun. Last straw was Rhea's revelation that "all that was a set up to test you before your REAL work begins". (Or is it? It might yet be another lie.) During "Interview with Domina" my eyes began to glaze over as I realized that I have no idea who is supposed to be working for whom, and I just don't care.

In short -- if you love Heinlein, especially "Friday", this book is for you. If not, it starts out great, then becomes a turgid implausible mess. Just like "Friday", as far as I am concerned.

"It was predictable, in hindsight. Everything about the history of the Society of Jesus bespoke deft and efficient action, exploration and research. During what Europeans were pleased to call the Age of Discovery, Jesuit priests were never more than a year or two behind the men who made initial contact with previously unknown peoples; indeed, jesuits were often the vanguard of exploration. . . . .
The Jesuit scientists went to learn, not to proselytize. They went so that they might come to know and love God's other children. They went for the reason Jesuits have always gone to the farthest frontiers of human exploration. They went ad majorum Dei Gloriam; for the greater glory of God.
They meant no harm."

The Sparrow is about a group sent by the Jesuits to make first contact with an alien race which has been discovered in Alpha Centauri. The book has been criticized for its lack of scientific detail and the illogic of the Jesuits in choosing these particular emissaries, but the moral questions it raises and the spiritual struggles endured by Emilio Sandoz are more the point of the book, in my opinion.

Sandoz returns to Earth, the only survivor of the first mission to Rakhat, a man broken in both body and spirit, return to Earth accused of several crimes, prostitution and murder among them. Sandoz is brought to Rome, where an inquiry into the mission begins. The story goes back and forth between the past -- the discovery of Rakhat and the mission itself -- and the present -- Sandoz' recovery and the inquiry. It's quite an effective structure. Even though we know how it all turns out in the end, Russell builds tension by allowing us to get to know her characters as Emilio does in a way that a simple remembrance of them wouldn't accomplish.

While the mission itself is fascinating, particularly for those of us who grew up watching Star Trek and Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, it is the spiritual and theological questions the book raises that were far more interesting to me. Is God really "putting turtles on fenceposts?" and leading us along through our lives simply to get us to a certain point?

"For some of them, there had been a turning point that now seemed justified, no matter how painful the decision might have been. For Sofia Mendez, a way to make peace with what, even now, she could only think of as "the days before Jaubert." For Jimmy Quinn, the end of worry that he was wrong to leave his mother, and right to claim his life as his own.
For Marc Robichaux and Alan Pace, there was a sense that they had lived their lives the right way and confidence that God had recognized their artistry as the prayer they has always menat the work to be, and there was hope that He would let them serve Him now.
For Anne and George Edwards, for D.W. Yarbrough and Emilio Sandoz, this voyage had given meaning to random acts, and to all the points where they had done this and not that, chosen one thing and not another, to all their decisions, whether carefully thought out or ill conceived.
I would do it all again, each of them thought."

It's a very good book -- well written, thought provoking, and thoughtful as well. It left me with more questions than answers, but in this case, I think that's a good thing.

SPOILER ALERT IN REVIEW!!
I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. The character development was perfect, though if there was any drawback, many of them were snuffed out too quickly, but most people don't die over 10 pages, anyways. Emilio Sandoz is a great character - the preacher who goes into one of the greatest challenges ever dealt to the human race (albeit in 2019) with complete unquestioning love of God and comes out of his first extraterrestrial experience with a very different view of the "man upstairs." Can't wait to read "Children of God" to continue with his adventures. Thank you, Ms. Russell, for this book.

Only two-thirds thru, I cannot wait to review it.

Normally I do not care for stories that jump constantly between timeframes, but in this instance, I am grateful for the relief. Starting at the far ends of the situation, the author builds to an intensity in one part of the story and then skillfully switches to the other end, usually just at the point I would have had to put the book down to take a breather from it. As it is, now I can hardly bear to put it down.

Another reviewer questioned, as I did, do I really want to expose myself to the horrors that destroyed the crew of this mission to a strange planet; I have reserved the fifth star for this review because of that, as I am still on the edge of wondering, do I go on or should I stop before I am simply to aghast to continue. The author, however, builds the suspense in such small increments, I hardly realize that I am becoming inured, and my need to know what happens next keeps drawing me farther.

I do know a couple of things about what is going to happen because I stumbled upon a couple of spoilers for this story in the review of its sequel, so anyone who really doesn't want to know more than the author intends, I suggest NOT checking out Children of God -- which I am still undecided whether to order, depending on how Sparrow unfolds.

But I am definitely adding the author to my list of favorite writers. I really do not care what genre a book is determined to be, or when or where the story takes place; the most important thing for me is character development. I have to like, or at least be able to relate to, the people in the story in order to give a darn what happens to them. I have put more than one book down halfway through it just because slogging through all those pages for people I don't care for is too big a waste of my time. No danger of that here; Russell writes people so clearly and so sympathetically that I want to meet them in real life.

I am a Protestant. If I were a Catholic, I would be highly insulted by this book. I really hope that the later part of this century doesn't find priests drinking like fish and cursing like sailors. For that matter, I hope they don't act like that now. It's not that these things are the worst imaginable sins, it's that a believer -- especially a member of the clergy -- should seek to be an example, to be holy as Christ is holy.

Although I am not a Catholic, I find the main character, Emilio Sandoz, plenty insulting enough to the Christian faith in general. To anyone, Catholic or Protestant, who has a true relationship with God, Sandoz' faith crisis isn't hard to understand: he isn't a Christian, so naturally the role of being a Christian minister chafes him in certain areas, including chastity.

Sandoz does a lot of good works. Through much of the book, before the mission to Rakhat leaves Earth, he cares for the poor. He tends to those people who many believers, Catholic and Protestant both, would walk right by and not help. Certainly, Jesus said that anyone who helps people like these really does their service to Him.

Having said that, the New Testament also makes it clear that works without faith is dead. So, Sandoz is only operating with half a loaf. What happens to the human body if you only give it half of its needed calories, day after day? Starvation eventually sets in and the person gets sick and weak. Similarly, it is no wonder that Sandoz is so spiritually undernourished -- half of his spiritual diet is missing. He has no personal relationship with God.

When Sandoz' childhood is revealed in the book, it's easy to see why he became a priest: he greatly admired the man, also a priest, who saved him from a life of crushing poverty in the slums. So, his chosen path is understandable, but wrong-headed. The priesthood is not like any other profession. You don't choose it, it choses you. And since Sandoz had no such calling, he would have been better off becoming a secular social worker. Then, at least, he could have had a wife and a family and been relatively happy.

I don't know any Jesuits, but I'd like to think that they wouldn't be so quick to judge one of their brothers before getting the full story. Sandoz is treated with suspicion, impatience and contempt when he returns to Earth before the full story comes out. The Jesuit who judges him the most seems like a cartoonish foil set up to make Sandoz look more sympathetic.

Sandoz and the rest of the crew seem like they are full of bonhomie and goodwill in their desire to reach out and know the people of Rakhat and their (seemingly) beautiful music. Actually, they are full of hubris. They do go about the mission with the puerile enthusiasm of -- as one previous poster so aptly put it -- Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland putting on a show in their backyard. Hey, kids! Let's go to Alpha Centauri!

They emphasize linguistic and musical knowledge and completely ignore the need to bring psychology and diplomacy into the mix. Considering how they upset a large portion of Rakhat society even in the first book, they would have done well even to look at DVDs of the old "Star Trek" series for guidance.

Well, folks, this group has no Prime Directive. They jump into Rakhat society with both feet and start meddling and the results turn out to be tragic.

Anyone who's read a good bit of science fiction will see the set-up between the two sentient species from a mile away. It's not hard to guess their relationship. It's also not hard to guess what happened to Sandoz while he was in prison on Rakhat.

The naivete and intellectual arrogance of the characters makes it very hard to feel sorry for them. It's like a three year-old who complains of a stomach ache after you told him not to eat all the cookies in the jar. I told you to only have one cookie, didn't I?

Of course, the Jesuits share some of the blame. They should not have let the mission go off half-cocked like that any more than a parent should stand by and let a toddler gobble down a whole plate of cookies. The Father General himself commented on how Jesuit missionaries were greeted over the centuries by indigenous people when first contacted -- and these were all humans we're talking about! Here, we are dealing with aliens. Or, rather, the people from Earth are the aliens. It's a wonder they weren't all clubbed to death the first day.

I'm not giving anything away to say that every person in the Rakhat mission, except Sandoz, dies in one way or another (or is assumed to be dead). It's clear from the opening of the book that he's the sole member to make it back to Earth. This may seem tragic for a group that, while extremely naieve, was basically harmless and well-meaning, but I don't see the deaths as tragic. In a strange way, I believe that each character, except Sandoz, whose story continues, gets their own happy ending before their death. Yarborough, another Jesuit who never should have become a priest, gets to be the patriarch of the mission's makeshift little family when he never thought, because of his vows and his homosexuality, that he would ever be a father to a family. The Edwards find new purpose and die within a short span of each other, the way they would want. The musical expert gets to hear Rakhatian music first-hand but dies before the music he cherishes is exposed as profane. The priest who has a long-standing problem with his flesh finally renounces the flesh in an altogether different way and finds redemption in that choice, even though it's a choice that leads to his death. Jimmy Quinn (the character I most despised; I wanted to read through the pages and smack him) finally marries the love of his life (although I would call Sofia the object of his relentless, stalkerish obsession) before he dies. And, finally, Sofia finds empowerment by leading a rebellion of the natives on Rakhat. In this way, she is able to rise above the victimization of her childhood and take a sense of personal control.

As I and many others have mentioned, the book drags on in places. You have to fight the urge to scream at the author, "Oh, just get on with it already!"

In the end, I can't say, despite all my frustrations with the plot, theology, dialogue, characters and pacing of the book (you know, the little things) that I didn't find the book moving. After all, the author has chosen the time-honored Shakespearian framework of killing everyone at the end.

I also applaud the author for trying to do something different. I never read Blish, so I can't say how closely she copied his plot. But, at the very least, this book tackles questions of faith and science for this present generation, and that's important in its own right. More SF should take on matters of faith. What will faith look like in the centuries to come?

I just hope that the authors who examine these questions will take the time to accurately portray the faith they are writing about. In the end, Ms. Russell really doesn't know what she's talking about.

It's been a long time since I was so completely irritated by a novel. Even for a sci-fi novel, the plot contrivances are a bit much (systems analysts who can maneuver a retrofitted asteroid without any flight experience, etc.). Notwithstanding the interesting premise, the novel is for me fatally flawed because the "test of faith" experienced by Emilio Sandoz is so outrageous, so over the top, that it overshadows any nuanced or complex discussions that can be had about the nature of faith and an individual's relationship to God. *SPOILERS AHEAD* It is not enough that Sandoz suffers the loss of his spiritual father and mother in a brutal attack at the hands of a strange race on an alien planet (which alone could be the underpinnings for his crisis of faith); the Jesuit then sees the rest of his friends murdered, manages to partake in cannibalism, is savagely raped, unwittingly consents to ritual mutilation for himself and the only other surviving crew member (who then dies), and to top it all off, mistakenly kills the alien child he had come to love like a daughter. Back at home, he suffers great emotional and physical pain, is treated as a pariah by a society that is quick to jump to judgment without having all the facts, and is subjected to a humiliating inquest at the hands of his peers. All this to support the author's contention (from the conversation at the back of the book) that "even if you do your best you can you can still get screwed." For this brilliant insight, and presumably to punish Sandoz for daring to imagine a personal relationship with his God, the author eviscerates the Sandoz character physically and mentally. The "seduced and raped by God" trope was sophomoric on a literary level, and tasteless on every other one. As for character renderings, the author Mary Sue's herself shamelessly in the smug character of Anne Edwards, and has the aforementioned super super brilliant systems analyst recoil from Sandoz because he has, in the 21st century, a goatee that reminds her of the Spanish Inquisition. Ultimately, I am most troubled by the fact that I skipped studying for the bar for this. I am hopeful I will still pass, I even have faith that I will. I suppose I will be decimated sometime soon.

I really had a good time reading this series this summer, and I definitely will recommend it to my female students. I thought the twist with Phoenix a fun idea in the book, too. I enjoy Raven's wit (Phoenix: My name is Phoenix Slater. And you are? Raven: Leaving.). However, I really wanted this book to have more length, and I would have like to have seen more interaction between Phoenix and Raven.

Still, as all the other books in the series, it was a blast. I can't wait for the next one.

I was waiting for this book for so long and it most definitly did not disappoint! It is by far my favorite series. Short and sweet. In this one, Alexander didnt have too big of a part, but yet i was NEVER bored. It felt like i was experiencign the coffin club along with Raven (i wish! lol). Ellen made up the perfect characters and an amazing club which i would love so much if it actually existed!

A Must Read.

Just a warning: this review begins somewhat harsh, but becomes nicer. I promise. The Vampire Kisses series happens to be a series that I have kept reading mostly because I keep receiving review copies. Otherwise, I would have stopped after the first novel. The impressions of the first novel stayed with me for quite awhile, and I believe for valid reasons.

My two main issues were Raven as a goth and Raven's relationship with Alexander. As both of those are central to the books, it did cause quite a problem.

Let's start with the goth problem. For those who are wondering, I am not gothic. I am a punk, but do not think that makes me unqualified. I am fascinated by subcultures, which helped me greatly on an AP essay in my junior year (Basically, `The 1950s were a time of great conformity. Is this true or was counterculture already forming?'). Raven really rubbed me the wrong way because of how she viewed herself as a complete outsider in Dullsville because they could not accept her black-clad self. I always felt the town she lived in would be a lot more inviting if she stopped viewing it in her head as "Dullsville." I also felt like she constantly put her clothes forth as an excuse for being an outsider in Dullsville (and an insider in Hipsterville). Besides being highly unlikely (hello, goth is *gag* trendy), this completely misses the point of being a goth. It's about love. Love of the music, love of the clothes, love, love, love (well, hate of the culture against which it is reacting). Finally, in this book, I felt like Raven actually did find meaning in her clothes other than identification of her status as an outsider, due to this conversation with her hippie aunt:

'"I can't imagine you any other way. The way you dress is who you are. It's more than beads and bangles. You aren't doing it to be like someone else, or fit in."

. . .

". . . I don't wear tattoos to freak her out; I wear them because I have to. It's me."

Aunt Libby paused.

"My mother never understood my inner style, either," she confessed. "That's what it is, really," she said wisely. "It's not about designers or labels but self-expression. And attitude."'

Next, let's move to the problem of her relationship with Alexander. I find her approach to the relationship creepy. Replace "goth" and "vampire" with "golddigger" and "trust-fund baby" and you might see what I mean. Often I feel Raven only became attracted to Alexander because he's a vampire and he dresses in black too. Not a foundation for a lasting relationship. Of course, a lasting relationship is what she's running into headlong. THE COFFIN CLUB forces Raven to consider aspects of becoming a vampire she never bothered to slow down and think about before. Including, sadly, the fact she would have to drink blood. As she says about herself, "I thought I was being investigative and mature when perhaps I was only being reckless." She needs to take that lesson and apply it to her entire life. Raven doesn't yet possess the maturity to tie herself to one person for eternity. She needs to realize that.

As for the rest of the novel, THE COFFIN CLUB is an extremely quick (192 pages) but entertaining read. There's family bonding, some cute romantic moments, and tension between the two factions seeking control of the club. Girly-girl vamps Scarlet and Onyx are now my favorite part of the series. They're idealistic, loyal, and I hope they show up again to steal the show in future installments.

From In Bed With Books

I just got this book and finished it in a couple of hours, I really couldn't put it down. It was awesome, and I loved every minute of reading it. I can't wait for the next one to come out to find out what happens.

I haven't read this book yet, because I just got it in the mail yesterday but I can't wait to start it. I absolutely love the Vampire Kisses Series and I'm positive this book wont let me down!

I'm rating it a 5 for the speedy delivery and how good the series has so far been. <3333333

This is the best book in the series. I really started to like Yorick in this book. And the story begins moving forward after being drifting in the Midwest for a long time. It is well worth the read if you get the opportunity.

Ever since the first issue of the Safeword arc, "Y: The Last Man" has been a non-stop ride of awesome issue after awesome issue after awesome issue. Fans will be especially pleased with this book, the fifth collection of the series, as it is by far the longest one yet. It collects eight issue, and is composed of the two-issue "Tongues of Flame" arc, the one-shot "Hero's Journey," and the five-issue arc, "Ring of Truth," which this trade paperback is named for.

Until this point, Brian K. Vaughan has been building the story quite nicely, leaving us asking question after question, but always satisfying us with each twist of the plot. But things start to change here. New developments are made, yes, but as Yorick, 355, and Dr. Mann finally reach the destination they've been aiming for since the first volume, answered to those burning questions are heaped upon us like food on a Thanksgiving Day plate.

+ What was up with that Toyota lady from One Small Step?

+ Who were those cloaked women who assassinated Agent 711 in Safeword?

+ Why did Yorick's mother work with the Russians in One Small Step?

+ What made Hero so bad? (Hero actually gets her own one-shot in this issue, which is composed entirely of flash-backs. I was apprehensive when I saw it coming up, because I found the "side story" at the end of One Small Step to be frustrating. But my weariness for another tale that deviated from the main story line of Y were blown away by "Hero's Journey." It's one of the best comics I've read and gives us invaluable insight into one of the series's most interesting characters.)

+ Also, most importantly, we finally hear Dr. Mann's theory on why Yorick survived the plague.

With humor, drama, and some of the best action you'll find in comics, wrier Brian K. Vaughan and penciller Pia Guerra (who illustrates all eight issues this time around) continue to blow me away with Yorick's epic story. I'm sure fans and critics alike will agree that this, as the cover boasts, is "top-notch."

9/10

Volume 5 was incredibly exciting, and answered the one question Y readers have been asking since the series began; "What caused all the men to die?" This volume also shows how complex Hero is, and how she tries to fight the demons within herself. If you read the first 4 volumes, this one will not disappoint.

This is one of my favorite collections in the Y: THE LAST MAN series. I've been reading/rereading the books in the series in anticipation/celebration that the entire epic story is finally coming to an end. This is the volume that shows the end of Yorick, Agent 355, Dr. Mann, and Ampersand's cross country journey come to an end. They finally reach Dr. Mann's laboratory where she is able to determine that Yorick was shockingly not the key to the survival of malekind, but Ampersand. The next stage in the series is set into motion when Ampersand is kidnapped by the mysterious ninja who had been until now looking for Yorick.

There are a lot of fun things in this book, from Yorick's hook up with another blonde named Beth to Hero's emergence as something of a hero to the culmination of the Culper Ring story. And for the first time since the initial issues Beth returns as a character (the old Beth, not just the new one).

Some readers did not like the preceding issues. I did, very much. But I'll grant that these issues are among the highpoints in the series. They not only sum up everything that the series had been leading up to before but also provide a transition to all that would occur next.

Yorick and his allies have finally made it to California. Dr. Mann now as access to the information and tools she needs to try and work out exactly why Yorick is alive and all the other males on the planet are dead.

The female of the species also demonstrates that they are equally capable of war and crime when given the opportunity.

If someone said 'ninja monkeynapper' to you generally, you would probably laugh. Here, it is no laughing matter.

Reading "Y: The Last Man" makes me feel like I'm going to the movies. It's clear how much thought is put into the writing (especially the dialogue and the back story, which is phenomenally laid out in one-shot flashback issues) as well as the art; it makes "Y" one of the most consistently fantastic comic series that I've read.

Moreso than any other volume of the series, this book--"Paper Dolls"--continues directly from the previous volume. The ship Yorick was on docks, and he and 355 set out into Australia to find Yorick's long lost fiance Beth... and they only have one day to do so. Any fan of Brian K. Vaughan knows that things, of course, do not go smoothly for Yorick. That's the main story line of this book (making up the "Paper Dolls" arc, which is three issues) and it's very good, but the three one-shot issues that follow are even better.

First, we get a "meanwhile..." issue that shows us what Hero and Beth 2, respectively, have been doing. It adds to the main plot and also gives both of the characters major development. And speaking of character development, the next one-shot is made up of flashbacks of the series' most mysterious character--Agent 355. It's gratifying as a reader to finally get tidbits of this character's past, which gives us insight onto why she behaves the way she does. As Yorick gets to know her better, so do we, and that's not only exclusive to this issue. Hints are dropped to us about her past in nearly every issue she appears in in this book. Finally, the book concludes with another flashback episode, dealing with... Ampersand, Yorick's stolen pet monkey. We finally learn the significance of Toyota's mission to steal Ampersand in the fifth book, among other things.

Brian K. Vaughan has found the perfect balance in giving us new plot developments and dishing out revealing back story. As this series gets closer to its grand finale, each issue ups the ante.

8/10

Paper Dolls had so many twists to it that I almost couldn't keep up. This series just gets you hooked and never fails to entertain. If you're looking for an example of why Y The Last Man is so highly regarded, check out volume 4 and this volume.

Yorick has finally arrived and is a position to look for Beth. However, he runs into a big problem when a journalist from a less than broadsheet quality newspaper finds out he is still alive, and is a story she definitely does not want to lose. He does eventually find Beth, and he certainly gets a hell of a surprise when he sees her.

Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man: Paper Dolls (Vertigo, 2006)

(Note: this review contains major spoilers for earlier books in the series. If you're not up to date with the series, and you plan to read it, don't read this review until after you've read book six.)

Vaughn's Y: The Last Man just keeps getting better as it goes on. Yorick and co. are on their way to Japan to search for the kidnapped Ampersand. This book focuses on a part of the trip where the crew stop in Australia to look for Yorick's missing girlfriend Beth. As always, Paper Dolls features almost nonstop action, but the action never gets in the way of character development. If the series stays this good, Vaughan will have created one for the ages. ****

This trade paperback collects issues #37-42 of the excellent DC Comics series. Series co-creator Pia Guerra pencils the three-issue "Paper Dolls" story arc. Yorick and Agent 355 spend a day in decaying Sydney, Australia, searching for Beth but instead running afoul of a zealous tabloid reporter. Meanwhile, Dr. Mann bonds with an Australian who may or may not still be a spy and the Israeli soldiers reappear with Yorick's mother in Washington, DC.
Goran Sudzuka pencils the remaining three issues. The subpar #40 centers on Hero and Yorick's other Beth while the excellent #41 is chiefly backstory on Agent 355. #42 focuses on Yorick's monkey Ampersand who may have the cure for the plague. I enjoyed this book, though not as much as some of the earlier ones: I'm looking forward to Book 8.

I'm an adult who thoroughly enjoys the fantasy genre. I had high hopes for this series because of the positive reviews. I decided to buy all three books at the same time because, when I get "into" a series, I really want to read all there is that's available as soon as I can get my hands on them.

With that said, I'm very disappointed with the first book. The writing itself is unimaginative. After reading the first several pages of "Kendra said," "Seth said," " Grandpa said," I started to miss the more descriptive writings of real authors. There is also not much of an atmosphere set. It's hard to describe, but Rowling's or Angie Sage's world is much more detailed and well-thought out than the sparse pedestrian descriptions that Mull lends to us.

The characters are also very unsympathetic and can be pretty annoying. After the nth time that Seth disobeyed his grandfather, even after he's had first-hand experience of the dire consequences, I just wanted to throw the book out the window. Is this boy dense? Adventurous, sure. But does he have to border on stupid? His sister Kendra does nothing really than threaten to "tell" on Seth, and is mostly passive and officious.

Lena could have been interesting, but the character turned out flat and one-dimensional. Grandfather is also flat. I just can't believe how a world that's supposed to be filled with wonder can, in this author's hands, turn out to be totally uninteresting. Even the fairies! Nobody has any personality worth spending time with. Unless it's annoying, I guess.

You know what this book really reminds me of? A very boring version of Dragon Tales!

I thought about returning all three books, but I think I'll keep them as a reminder to not rely on reviews on Amazon.com. And just in case I wasn't clear: Stay away from this series. Get Bartimaeus, or re-read Tolkien (which I'm doing now). Even The Last Apprentice series is more interesting, or The Ranger's Apprentice.

Fablehaven? Eh. Picking lint off the floor is more interesting and ultimately more satisfying than this book.

Where simply ... is the Love in this book ? - Sorry, this may sound empty and hollow, but nevertheless for us (two so-called 'adults' reading aloud to our 8 1/2 yr.old daughter) this phrase really hits the spot here. Love not as romance or sexuality, but as a compelling force, a cohesiveness, a light shining. For example, that the brother Seth and the sister Kendra are often at odds or teasing each other is not what disturbed us about this book, but that the two seemed to be missing any depth of feeling at all, for each other in general, for a trapped and pleading fairy, for a brother grotesquely transformed. And not only these two characters seemed to be lacking the depth of Love. Grandpa and Lena also seemed to be more out of cardboard, clay or metal than human, even though they each had moments showing some feelings.
Where this special ingredient is missing, everything feels flat and not quite resonating. Characters (as those of L.Alexander, C.S.Lewis etc.) draw us in ... and soon we are in love with them ... in a certain way even with the 'bad' guys. But here it just didn't happen ... we never felt that the author was really identifying himself with them ... or - better - that he LOVED to write about them.
We also missed this Love for the whole place Fablehaven ... this most magical, wondrous place of precious creation. We did not read the book to the end. Even as a certain measure of curiosity compelled us to about halfway through, we stopped, realizing that we would much rather re-read ANY of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books, for example, than continue with this one. It was a great relief to put this book down.
Why two stars and not just one ? - because the book itself, as a Hardcover is really nicely done and very pleasant to have in hand. Here ... we could feel the Love ... some one had put into play.

In a post-Harry Potter world, there are many 'wannabe' books/series popping up that are trying to satiate the gap left by the Harry Potter series. This book doesn't try to fill the gap, it tries to carve out it's own niche.

Overall the book is very easy to read with little interruption in the action and flow of the story. Maybe not as deep in plot as Harry Potter, but fits the audience this is targeted towards.

Glad that there is another author willing to break the mold and take us where we haven't been before.

After reading this first book of the series I was hooked line and sinker. Shortly after I found the candy shop war book and had to read it too.

Fablehaven is quite the page turner. The story never dulls, it keeps you interested for the whole read. It's not a difficult read and the author has no trouble in making you imagine the Fablehaven world in your head. I was only disappointed with the quick ending, I was hoping for more of a showdown or tougher battle. However, this will not stop me from reading the series. It is a bit younger than Harry Potter (or so I think) but that should not discourage any reader, young or old. If you are in search of a great story, fast read, a world only the imagnation can conjure, and you like fairies, this is the book for you.

i've said it before i'll say it again, if you like epic fantasy this series is for you!!!

I really enjoy this series. Jim Butcher is an author I love to read and I originally got hooked on his Dresden Files series. I'm currently anxiously awaiting the next release from both series at the end of 2008.

The Codex Alera is a story line that, while not as intricately woven as George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire (or is it Fire and Ice? I forget), it is still very, very entertaining. We're not reading Aristotle here, but I never did enjoy reading him in the first place. Some might say it's predictable, but there are some good twists here and there and the series is going in the direction I really want it to go. If Butcher did something strange and killed off half of the cast to be unpredictable, I'd be upset.

I recommend this book and this series to all those that enjoy the Dresden Files, Orson Scott Card, George R.R. Martin, etc.

Again, it's a highly enjoyable read and I really can't wait to get the next book.

Captian's Fury is an excellent continuation of the very good series of books. A difficult book to put down once you start with enough twists to keep you guessing to the end yet not lose you along the way. Already anxious to get the next one.

As captain of Alera's First Legion, Tavi has spent two years holding the invading Canim warriors to a draw. Now, though, Senator Arnos has brought two more legions into the battle--and he's intent on destroying both Tavi and his reputation. Arnos intends to be the champion of the nation, setting himself up as a candidate for emperor when the current emperor dies. To make sure Tavi is completely disgraced, the senator orders him to murder civilians--something he knows Tavi will never do.

Tavi's composure is shaken when he learns that the woman he thought was his aunt is actually his mother, and that his late father was the heir to the Alaran thrown. Still, he believes that the war can be won without massive slaughter--that the Canim are anxious to end the invasion and head to their homes. Unfortunately, Arnos wants his triumph and Tavi can do little from the prison where he's locked up after disobeying orders. Fortunately for Tavi, he has a number of friends, and his powers of magic are gradually growing.

Author Jim Butcher continues his Codex Alera series with an adventure that combines Roman-style military tactics, magic, personal bravery, and political jockeying for position during the decline of the aging emperor. A Roman-style government, military and political system provides a solid base on which Butcher can add his magical system (based on personifications of the different elements). Tavi (Octavian) continues to grow as a character, creating loyalties among his men (and women) that will serve him well if he can survive to become emperor. But at the end of CAPTAIN'S FURY, he's exposed to the Aleran nobility as heir-apparent. His problems with assassins are about to be multiplied.

Butcher is best known for his fine Dresden File series. The Codex Alera series is a great addition to his output. Fans of magical world-style fantasy will definitely want to read this entire series.

I've rea all his other books and while impatiently for the next Dresden book to come out, I needed a reading fix. Decided I'd give Alera Codex a try. Was not the most impressed with what I had read on the covers of the series, but decided I'd give it a try anyway.
Very glad I did. Each one of the books in the Alera Codex is better than the previous one. Butcher has created a well defined world with the various factions and personalities. The characters have a depth to them that lends greatly to the story.
The only thing about the whole series I find annoying is something the author has been hinting at in the last two books, the Roman legion origins on a fantasy world. He hints at it, but hasn't gone into depth with it yet.
Butcher is only one of about 3 authors I will buy the hardcovers as fast as they come out, instead of waiting for the softcover.
If you like high fantasy, try the Alera Codex.
If you like magic in the normal world, try the Dresden Files.
Only David Weber and company and Jennifer Roberson are in the same league in my book.

I read Stephen King's Dark Tower Series a very long time ago. I don't remember it being *this* exciting, so I went into reading this having to 'force' myself to get going with it. (It was a gift from my Daughter). I got going and I couldn't stop. I enjoyed it totally and loved the illustrations - just masterful! Now I have the next in the series on my wish list. Dark Tower: The Long Road Home Premiere HC It comes out in October and I am excited to read the next part of the Gunslinger saga.

This was a really good book and added to the over all story of the Dark Tower story line. The illustration was great and made the story come to life. The only draw back is if you have not read the Dark Tower series you may feel as if you were left hanging.

This book is very good, and the story is really interesting, Jae Lee's art is awesome and strong, well this book tells the beggining of the gunslinger Roland, the only thing is that the story has not end, and of course I can't wait to read the next collection, I never read any Stephen King's novel, but this is good, it mixes cowboys and magic, well I think if you love adult graphic novels then this is a must have, and of course if you love Stephen King's novel then I am sure you will enjoy this adaptation.

This gives a whole new approach to the series. The graphics are amazing. A must read for any King fan.

Quite impressed.


I haven't read the book series, huge multi-novel fantasy series are not really my thing, but this has been intriguing for a while.

I have, however, read some of the earlier short stories, so basically knew the setting, and the characters of Roland and Cort at least.

This was really good. Lee seems to have adapted his style to fit this dark Western type background, with sorcery, mutant cats, witches and decaying technological remnants - a fairly bizarre mismatch of stuff that seems to work well.

I think I like the writing more in this adaptation than some of the stories, too. The old-fashioned American prose can get a bit wearying at times, but it appears to be smoothed a little here and is more palatable.

Boys sent on a mission of important that have to grow up fast, leaving an unsettled situation behind them and a war backdrop and seemingly evil enemies to face seems to work pretty well.

Horror, or dark fantasy, or whatever you want to call it, so things will be not nice.

Definitely surprised by how good this was.


4.5 out of 5