Star Wars: Vader Down by Jason Aaron & Mike Deodato
It took me a while to figure out how Vader Down fit into the VADER series by Kieron Gillen that I was making my way through: turns out that this should be read after Vader and Shadows and Secrets, but before The Shu-Torun War (which is technically the third book in the VADER series). This is a crossover between the storylines in Gillen’s Vader-centric arc and those by Jason Aaron in his Rebellion-centric series.
May 27th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 2: Shadows and Secrets by Kieron Gillen & Salvador Larroca
Carrying on from the first Vader volume (which was simply called Vader) this compilation of issues further explores Vader’s attempts to pull together secret resources of his own, without the knowledge of his Imperial superiors. Having discovered that he has a son, Vader now wants more information on Luke Skywalker and to quietly undermine the Emperor himself.
Helping him in this endeavour is an amoral young archaeologist and thief named Doctor Aphra,
May 25th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Although now best known for her DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE trilogy, I was interested in checking out some of Laini Taylor‘s early work, specifically her duology DREAMDARK, made up of Blackbringer (2007) and Silksinger.
Magpie Witchwind is a young faerie that travels the globe, searching for devils (or “snags”) that are gradually creeping back into the world. Originally trapped in bottles and other containers,
May 21st, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Laini Taylor | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Darth Vader: Vader by Kieron Gillen (writer) and Salvador Larroca (artist)
Darth Vader (Volume One): Vader by Kieron Gillen is just as good, if not better than, Star Wars (Volume One): Skywalker Strikes by Jason Aaron, both of which came out recently from Marvel. Marvel now has the rights to the Star Wars comic books, and so they are reissuing quickly all the Star Wars comics that were put out over the years by Dark Horse. In addition to these reissues,
May 19th, 2020. Brad Hawley and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows by Tim Siedell, Gabriel Guzman, Michael Atiyeh, Felipe Massafera
From the same author that released Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin, Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows is a graphic novel set a few months after The Revenge of the Sith, in which the Empire is consolidating its power across the galaxy.
Despite Vader’s name being in the title, it’s really the story of a clone soldier who is left for dead by his Jedi general during the Clone Wars.
May 13th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin by Tim Siedell & Stephen Thompson
I noticed with interest that this volume was published in 2013, meaning it just missed out on being an official part of the new Disney canon. Yet despite being relegated to what’s now called Star Wars Legends, Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin still fits into the new continuity (minus one small detail at its conclusion) that can be read as a straightforward standalone story.
The head of a vast mining operation vows revenge on Darth Vader after the death of his only son and heir.
May 6th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola (author) & Emily Carroll (illustrator)
Baba Yaga’s Assistant, by Marika McCoola and illustrated by Emily Carroll, is a MG graphic novel that tries to work the frightening richness of the Baba Yaga folktales into the press of modern family life, but despite the great source material, the attempt falls short, though it has its moments.
The protagonist is Masha, a young girl whose father has just proposed to a woman sometime after her mother’s death.
May 4th, 2020. Bill Capossere and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Elio M. García, and Linda Antonsson
George R.R. Martin’s The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and The Game of Thrones is a companion to his A SONG OF ICE & FIRE novels. It provides modest spoilers for the series and is probably best if not read until readers have finished the third novel,
May 1st, 2020. Ryan Skardal and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | George R.R. Martin | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The first thing about this book that caught my eye was just how beautiful it was: the green binding, the interior pattern, the embossed cover-art — I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but it really is a lovely object to behold.
The story itself rides the current popular wave of Scandinavian-based fairy tales, and reads a little like Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Snow Queen”. Winter has lasted for five years in Eldbjørn Forest, and siblings Oskar,
April 29th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Kiran Millwood Hargrave | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
The film adaptation of Mortal Engines may have been a disappointment, but at least its release led to more material from Philip Reeve — not only this book, but a series of short stories starring Anna Fang, and new reprints of the original MORTAL ENGINES quartet. So it all works out well!
The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines (2018) is a standard tie-in volume that comes with many a book franchise,
April 28th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Philip Reeve | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Oh...and the men used the name "The Great Northern Expedition" to throw people off as to their actual destination, even…
Oh, it IS, Marion! It is!
Sorry if I mislead you in this detail, Paul...the voyage by ship was only the first leg of the quintet's…
The geography is confusing me--how does one get to a village in Tibet by ship? And even the northernmost part…
Oh, this sounds interesting!