"Lord of Light"

Lord of Light (Roger Zelazny)

I thought this book was great - imaginative, overflowing with ideas, and reading as strikingly modern for a book that came out in 1967. The basic plot is... you know, this is one of those books you might want to just read; Zelazny introduces a lush setting that sounds kind of silly compressed to a paragraph, but here goes:
The book's story is a conflict between a group of colonists from Earth who have anointed themselves gods and rule over a planet with advanced technology indistinguishable from magic, and our hero Sam, who struggles against them in the guise of the Buddha. I can't really say more except that this is a wonderful read. My only caveat is that the book's structure is a little strange - the book kicks off with Sam being summoned down from a radiation belt, which is actually almost the endpoint of the story told in the book. After one flashback it goes into a linear narrative that barely goes past this beginning point before the story is over, which did leave me a little confused (although I more chalk that up to reading this while being sick and in a daze). All in all, this book is a gem, and you shouldn't miss it.

Grade: A

"V."

V. (Thomas Pynchon)

This is a tough book to review. This isn't just a novel, it's Literature, and Pynchon isn't interested in telling an interesting story so much as showing off how well he can write. And he can write very well - to be fair, although nothing much happens in this book, nothing much does happen interestingly, which was enough to keep me happy for a while. After enough pages, though, I just got tired of our heroes wandering around sleeping on the subway and trying to score and found myself getting bored. It never really gets bad, but when the novelty wears off, there just isn't enough to hold my interest, no matter how good a writer Pynchon is.

Grade: Weird

"Grandpa Won't Wake Up"

Grandpa Won't Wake Up (Simon Hill & Shannon Wheeler)

I don't really have a lot to say about this book except that I really enjoyed it. The bare-bones premise is that Grandpa told his grandkids he'd take them to the zoo, and he'd take them soon, and it's already noon, and Grandpa won't wake up. The writing is very funny, the art is very apt, and the attention to detail is wonderful (I lingered over the list at the back of fake horrible children's books). That's all I have to say.

Grade: A

"Promethea" (Book 2)

Promethea: Book Two (Alan Moore)

Pretty much more of the same - which is a good thing in this case. With the basics taken care of, this is where Promethea starts getting really weird; The back half of this book is, in order, a issue-long exploration of how a living concept like Prometha has sex, a story about Y2K causing people's clothes and furniture which is made out of electronic goo turning sentient and attacking, and Prometha being shown the history of the universe and the human race, themed to the major arcana of the tarot cards, by the talking snakes of her caduceus, who always speak in rhymes. In other words, don't miss it.

Grade: A

"Promethea" (Book 1)

Promethea: Book One (Alan Moore)

I'm tempted to just write "It's another great Alan Moore comic" and leave it at that. Mostly, I don't want to have to try and summarize the book's plot; It's very weird and interesting, and summing it up in a few words just makes it sound nonsensical, whereas Moore unfolds it skillfully on the page. I'm just going to leave it at saying the plot is about the imagination, and the book is brimming with exciting ideas and typical Moore-ian level craftsmanship. Recommended.

Grade: A

Life with Mr. Dangerous

Gosh. How should I describe this without giving anything away? The main character is a mid-twenties woman who is obsessed with a cartoon show, has a jerk boyfriend, and works at a department store (or maybe just a clothes store?). She has no whacky adventures. She just lives her life. Some stuff happens but I can't tell you. Just read it, okay?