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JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders by Hirohiko Araki

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders by Hirohiko Araki (An Oxford College Student Review!)

In this column, I feature comic book reviews written by my students at Oxford College of Emory University. Oxford College is a small liberal arts school just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I challenge students to read and interpret comics because I believe sequential art and visual literacy are essential parts of education at any level (see my Manifesto!). I post the best of my students’ reviews in this column. Today, I am proud to present a review by Nicolas Ingle:

Nicolas Ingle is a sophomore at Oxford College of Emory University.

September 23rd, 2017. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Hawaiian Dick Vol. I: Byrd of Paradise by B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin

Hawaiian Dick Vol. I: Byrd of Paradise by B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin (An Oxford College Student Review!)

September 16th, 2017. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Red Sister: Magic nuns. Need we say more?

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

Mark Lawrence‘s previous six novels have been interesting and unique in their own ways, but have also formed part of a recognizable corner of the genre. That is, Lawrence’s name often appears alongside those of Joe Abercrombie and R. Scott Bakker on lists with titles like “So You’ve Just Finished A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE — What Next?” This isn’t to say that the books set in Lawrence’s Broken Empire aped George R.R.

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869: A beautiful story

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 by Alex Alice

Castle in the Stars: The Space Race of 1869 is a beautifully drawn graphic steampunk tale by author/illustrator Alex Alice, whose artwork alone makes the book worth picking up for a middle-grade reader (or relatively advanced younger reader). Luckily, the narrative/text half (translated from the original French by Anne and Owen Smith) has its own charm and strengths, even if it doesn’t quite match the quality of the illustrations.

The tale opens in 1868 with a young woman (Claire) preparing,

August 31st, 2017. Bill Capossere and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Half-Drowned King: A fascinating tale of revenge and freedom

The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker

The Half-Drowned King (2017), Linnea Hartsuyker’s debut novel, is a fascinating glimpse into a long-ago time, when Scandinavian warriors took their dragon-boats as far south as Constantinople or west to Ireland, trading with and terrorizing the locals, depending on regional treaties and individual temperaments. By necessity, this accounting of events leading up to the coronation of King Harald Fairhair is largely fictionalized, but as most sagas and poems about his life were compiled a few centuries after his death — rather like King Arthur of Britain — their own historical accuracy should be taken with a pinch of salt and enjoyed for their entertainment value.

August 2nd, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Linnea Hartsuyker | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Witch Who Came in from the Cold: Spy vs. Spy in the city of a hundred spires

The Witch Who Came in from the Cold by Lindsay Smith, Max Gladstone, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Ian Tregillis & Michael Swanwick

The Witch Who Came in from the Cold (2017) is a study in contradictions. It’s a collaborative novel that feels seamless despite the five contributing authors: Lindsay Smith, Max Gladstone, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Ian Tregillis, and Michael Swanwick. It was originally published in serialized form by Serial Box — Season One comprising the contents of The Witch Who Came in from the Cold,

July 21st, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Cassandra Rose Clarke, Ian Tregillis, Max Gladstone, Michael Swanwick | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Gauntlet: A celebration of family and culture

The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi

Karuna Riazi has already made a name for herself on social media; if you’ve seen or used the widely popular Twitter hashtag #yesallwomen, you have Riazi to thank for it, along with her many other meaningful contributions to conversations about diversity, inclusivity, and representation in media. This year, her debut middle-grade novel The Gauntlet (2017) was published, and it is every bit as positive, well-crafted, and insightful as her non-fiction.

Birthdays ought to be a big deal for any child,

Heroine Worship: Bridezilla: San Francisco S.O.S.

Heroine Worship by Sarah Kuhn

Just three months have passed between the events of Sarah Kuhn’s Heroine Complex and Heroine Worship (2017), which is just about enough time for Aveda Jupiter (aka Annie Chang), San Francisco’s beloved superheroine, to go out of her mind with boredom. She’s not quite at climbing-the-walls or intentionally-setting-fires levels of stir crazy, but she seems pretty close. (Daily multi-hour breakfasts leading to afternoons filled with absolutely nothing would do that to anyone.) Demon activity has been nonexistent since the big battle at the end of Heroine Complex,

July 11th, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Sarah Kuhn | SFF Reviews | no comments |

End of the World Blues: Grimwood is a superb stylist

End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Roger Zelazny, on top of writing a number of immensely popular books and stories, was one of the genre’s great stylists, with noir minimalism utilized in nearly all his works. He was likewise predictable for his main characters, often world-weary men with personal issues who find themselves facing situations they would rather avoid. I have come to think of Jon Courtenay Grimwood, who bases his fiction on these two same elements, as a successor to Zelazny, but significantly upgraded for the (post-) modern world.

Pebble In The Sky: Asimov’s first novel

Pebble In The Sky by Isaac Asimov

In a now-famous interview, sci-fi legend Isaac Asimov once revealed how he avoided getting stuck with writer’s block. The hugely prodigious author would often be working at four or five books at the same time, with five typewriters arrayed side by side, and when he would get inextricably bogged down with one book, he’d simply move to the neighboring typewriter, and recommence work on that one! Thus, one can almost understand how it was possible for Asimov — who claimed, in his later years,

June 29th, 2017. Sandy Ferber, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Isaac Asimov | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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