The Sandman (Vol. 10): The Wake by Neil Gaiman
Spoilers from the previous nine volumes are included.
The Wake — the final volume collecting the last six issues of THE SANDMAN series — is a difficult book to review because it is both the perfect ending to the series and an anti-climatic closing narrative that I find disappointing. How are these both possible? The first three issues in this volume are a three-part ending to Dream’s story. At the end of that third issue,
August 13th, 2016. Brad Hawley and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 4 | Neil Gaiman | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Bull and the Spear by Michael Moorcock
This review contains spoilers for the first three books in the Corum series.
Michael Moorcock’s CORUM series is comprised of two trilogies. In the first trilogy, Corum defeated the three Chaos rulers of the fifteen planes, giving Law back much of its lost power and thereby restoring the Balance. Starting eighty years later, the second trilogy starts with The Bull and the Spear (1973). As the book starts, we find that Corum has lived in peace with his great love,
August 9th, 2016. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Michael Moorcock | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wayward (Volume 1): String Theory by Jim Zub (writer) and Steve Cummings (art)
Wayward: String Theory is the first collection of yet another great new Image title. Jim Zub tells the coming-of-age story of a teenaged girl, Rori Lane, travelling to Japan for the first time to stay with her Japanese mother, now divorced from Rori’s Irish father. The story behind the divorce is not explained in this volume, but evidently Rori’s had a rough time: Her psychological struggles manifest in physical self-harm; however, so far,
August 6th, 2016. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The King of the Swords by Michael Moorcock
This review includes spoilers for Books 1 and 2 in the CORUM series.
The King of the Swords (1971) wraps up the first of the two trilogies that make up the CORUM series. Between the end of this book and the start of the second trilogy in The Bull and the Spear, eighty years will pass. But The King of the Swords is a culmination of all the events set in motion in the first two books.
August 3rd, 2016. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Michael Moorcock | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Sandman (Vol. 9): The Kindly Ones by Neil Gaiman
The Kindly Ones, Volume 9 of THE SANDMAN, is about revenge and repercussions, and at thirteen issues, it explores these topics in the longest story arc in the series. The Kindly Ones refer to the Three Furies, whom we’ve met in previous volumes. These three female entities help a wronged woman seek revenge, enlarging her fury and giving it power beyond all imagination. The object of their combined fury has much to fear,
July 30th, 2016. Brad Hawley and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Neil Gaiman | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Queen of the Swords by Michael Moorcock
This review contains spoilers for The Knight of the Swords, the first book in the CORUM series.
The Queen of the Swords, the second book in Moorcock’s CORUM series, takes place after Corum, The Prince in the Scarlet Robe, has had a needed respite from defeating Arioch, The Knight of the Swords. Aricoch, along with the Queen and King of Swords, are the three Lords of Chaos responsible for upsetting the Balance in the fifteen planes of Corum’s universe.
July 28th, 2016. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Michael Moorcock | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Knight of the Swords by Michael Moorcock
I started reading Michael Moorcock only a few years ago, and already he is one of my favorite authors. And the six-book CORUM series, for me, is second only to the ELRIC saga. In some ways I like better that Corum’s story is complete within these six volumes, unlike Elric’s, which never ends as Moorcock continues to add new stories (though he has, at least, written the story that tells of Elric’s end as a character).
July 27th, 2016. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Michael Moorcock | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Sandman (Vol. 8): Worlds’ End by Neil Gaiman
Brief Lives, volume 7 of Sandman, told a single story, a road-trip, about Dream. It was preceded by Fables and Reflections, volume 6, in which nine separate tales were told of varying quality. Volume 8, Worlds’ End, blends the two approaches via Gaiman’s Chaucerian narrative: There are a series of separate stories told in Worlds’ End,
July 9th, 2016. Brad Hawley and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 4.5 | Neil Gaiman | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Sandman (Vol. 7): Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman
The Sandman Volume 7, Brief Lives, offers a nice contrast to Volume 6, Fables and Reflections. Whereas Fables and Reflections offered nine unrelated tales in terms of plot and characters (there are thematic connections, of course), Brief Lives is a single story, an adventure tale, a road trip. Dream goes on a journey with his youngest sister, Delirium.
Their need to go on this journey is set up in previous books.
July 2nd, 2016. Brad Hawley and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Neil Gaiman | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Sandman (Vol. 6): Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman
Sandman: Fables and Reflections is a collection of nine separate stories that originally appeared in two separate groups plus an introductory short story and a lengthy Sandman Special about Orpheus and Eurydice. Basically, this collection is one of the most far-ranging and eclectic volumes available in the SANDMAN trade editions. The first grouping of stories about various emperors across time includes “Thermidor,” “August,” “Three Septembers and a January,” and “Ramadan” (Issues 29-31&
June 18th, 2016. Brad Hawley and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 4.5 | Neil Gaiman | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…