Rambling Readers

OriginalBarbas rated Anatomy: 4 stars

Dana Schwartz: Anatomy (2022, St. Martin's Press)

OriginalBarbas finished reading Anatomy by Dana Schwartz

OriginalBarbas wants to read The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard

Aliette de Bodard: The Tea Master and the Detective (2018)

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard

Welcome to the Scattered Pearls Belt, a collection of ring habitats and orbitals ruled by exiled human scholars and powerful …

OriginalBarbas wants to read The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

Thomas Pynchon: The Crying of Lot 49 (Paperback, 1999, Harper Perennial Modern Classics)

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

The Crying of Lot 49 is a 1966 novella by the American author Thomas Pynchon. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, …

OriginalBarbas reviewed Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Samantha Shannon: Priory of the Orange Tree (2020, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc)

A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of …

A great book and (hopefully) more to come

5 stars

This is the first book from Samantha Shannon I have read, and I have really liked it. The overall story is very good, the characters are very interesting and the worldbuilding has many layers (as it should).

I like how each chapter starts by having a geographical distinction, which helps situate the different characters in the map. It also cements the differences between each region and the lore.

Another important topic of the book is the rupture with other fantasy novels in the importance of the women in the plot (which is good) and the prominence of queer characters in it (which is also good).

I am looking forward to more works from the same author and I imagine that I will be reading them as soon as I know that they are released.

OriginalBarbas finished reading Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for …

OriginalBarbas started reading Written in dead wax by Andrew Cartmel (Vinyl detective)

Andrew Cartmel: Written in dead wax (2016)

Written in dead wax by Andrew Cartmel (Vinyl detective)

"He is a record collector -- a connoisseur of vinyl, hunting out rare and elusive LPs. Some end up on …

OriginalBarbas started reading Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for …

OriginalBarbas started reading Usagi Yojimbo Origins, Vol. 3 by Stan Sakai

No cover — Stan Sakai: Usagi Yojimbo Origins, Vol. 3 (2022, Idea & Design Works, LLC)

Usagi Yojimbo Origins, Vol. 3 by Stan Sakai

OriginalBarbas wants to read Tourist season. by Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen: Tourist season. (1987, Futura)

Tourist season. by Carl Hiaasen

OriginalBarbas started reading Anatomy by Dana Schwartz

Anatomy by Dana Schwartz

OriginalBarbas reviewed Criminal Deluxe Edition, Volume 3 by Sean Phillips

Now with even more comics in the comics about comics

5 stars

Brubaker and Phillips could have done things the easy way in Criminal, with a linear timeline and just showing the exploits of the criminals from wherever in the US criminal happens (never been there so I actually have no clue where that may be), but instead they create layer after layer of extra details that end up making this series extra good.

In this volume we have two issues that merge the stories and characters from the world of Criminal with the comics they read. The issues are a mix of the "actual" issues of Savage Sword and Deadly Hands and criminal issues. Very original and quite well thought indeed.

On the other hand we also have long novellas like All My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, that is both artistically and thematically quite distinct and Bad Weekend, where we see the insides of a comic con from the point …

Brubaker and Phillips could have done things the easy way in Criminal, with a linear timeline and just showing the exploits of the criminals from wherever in the US criminal happens (never been there so I actually have no clue where that may be), but instead they create layer after layer of extra details that end up making this series extra good.

In this volume we have two issues that merge the stories and characters from the world of Criminal with the comics they read. The issues are a mix of the "actual" issues of Savage Sword and Deadly Hands and criminal issues. Very original and quite well thought indeed.

On the other hand we also have long novellas like All My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, that is both artistically and thematically quite distinct and Bad Weekend, where we see the insides of a comic con from the point of view of an old author.

Criminal is great and, with these issues, it has shown that it will be in constant evolution so I am looking forward to the next volume!