Review: Gose: Brewing a Classic German Beer for the Modern Era

Gose: Brewing a Classic German Beer for the Modern Era by Fal Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An exhaustive text on a style of beer that you didn't know that you wanted to drink or brew. I haven't seen Gose in any of the brewers near me (yet), but it certainly sounds like an interesting variation if you are into sour beers. Allen clearly did his homework when it came to writing this book. There is quite a bit of history and information on the beer style in general. He breaks these into three general categories to account for the way he beer has changed over time.

With so much information, and later on brewing recipes, it can be a bit dry and hard to get through. I read the book in fairly small chunks though, so it didn't drag for me as much as it might have otherwise. Allen also tries to include anecdotes to break up some of the more academic aspects of the book. Casual beer drinkers or brewers might not get a lot out of the book. Someone hooked on Gose or looking to try something new should definitely check it out. The images, especially of the distinctive bottles that were used in the past, are a nice addition.

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Review: Kill or be Killed, Vol. 1

Kill or be Killed, Vol. 1 by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hoo boy. I've read two or three other Brubaker/Phillips books before this one, but Kill or be Killed blows them away. I was unsure how I'd feel about it because their books tend to be good except the first volumes I've read have dragged a bit. This one picks up with some action pretty early on and goes at a fast pace through most of the story. It shares some common features with other books by these creators like a gritty story and minor supernatural elements.

I feel like one of the things that really sets this book apart is the protagonist. Dylan is a bit of a loser (that might not be so different from other Brubaker books) and everything gets weird after he tries to commit suicide. That is where the supernatural element comes in for this book and leads to the big hook for this book: Dylan has to kill people to stay alive. How can it be possible to like a character who is driven by a need to murder other people? Dylan may not be particular likeable, but his story is definitely interesting. His best friend/long time crush starts to take an interest in him and he starts having some crazy dreams.

The art does a great job of supporting all this too. There is a darkness to it that lends itself to the story. I think the character art is great. Each one is distinct. The coloring is very fitting as well. While a bunch of it tends toward the dark, there are times when it is full of very rich color that is a nice contrast. I am excited to read the next volume.

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Review: Port of Shadows

Port of Shadows by Glen Cook
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a huge fan of the Black Company series. Croaker is an awesome character, and this book is basically all about him, so I thought it was pretty fantastic. This takes place between a couple of the earlier books in the series. It touches on some events from the first book, but not enough that you'd have to read that book. This book can be confusing as hell despite that. I found that just sitting back, enjoying the story, and not worrying about where it was going helped a whole lot.

There are appearances by some favorite characters (mostly the Company wizards), some old enemies (the Taken), and some new faces. The mix of characters worked well for this story. The creepy necromancer's part of the tale works out great in the end. It seems out of place at the beginning, but the different perspective is nice. This is not a perfect book by any means, but I so enjoy Cook's writing style and, even though the Company takes a bit of a break in this book, it was great to get an opportunity to return to this setting and the characters. I'm ready for more stories about the Black Company.

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Review: Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such an amazing book. It really captures the horror of the Holocaust. Not just the brutality of the mass murders either. Despite the use of anthropomorphic mice to portray the story, it drives home the uncertainty that a group of people had to live with every day for years. I can't imagine what it would be like to live through that, but I think this book comes close to showing what it might be like.

The second part of this book that I think receives a little less focus is the story of a father and a son. This might have increased the impact of the parts set in Poland during the second World War. We get to see the aftereffects of those events. How they impact a man's life, drives a family apart, and can bring it back together. Very powerful stuff. A highly recommended read.

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Review: The Books of Magic

The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I tend to like Gaiman's writing, so it isn't a surprise that I enjoyed this book. It fits neatly between the greater DC Universe and Gaiman's Sandman series, drawing in characters from both to tell the story of a young man that might be able to learn magic. Four magicians come together to act as guides for Hunter to introduce him to the world of magic. I was familiar with two of the four guides prior to reading this book and didn't bother looking up anything about the other two.

The characters that I knew before picking this up were presented well. Their personalities definitely come through. I loved the different landscapes that Hunter is taken through. Each one is distinct and the art is fantastic in showing that. Is there much of a point to this story? Not really. Maybe something comes of Hunter's journey in another book, I'm not sure. But it is the journey itself that makes this book worth reading. It gives more substance to the worlds and characters that are presented and made me want to read more about them.

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Review: The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Decent book on communication. My wife read it, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I wasn't overwhelmed by it. Chapman's writing style didn't really hook me, but it is easy to read and fairly short so it still didn't take long to finish it. Ultimately I don't think I got a whole lot out of it, but others might find it useful.

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Review: Southbound!

Southbound! by Zidrou
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Slice of life books can be very hit or miss. This one follows a Belgian family as they go on their annual holiday, which this year involves a car ride through rural France. The family as a whole seems to work. The dynamics between them are interesting. None of the characters on their own really jumped out at me though. There are some rough patches during their trip, which helps keep the story going. I felt like it was forgettable though. In the end it wrapped up nicely. I like how things come around for the family.

The art style didn't do much for me. It's sort of cartoony, which doesn't always appeal to me. I think going that way fits well with some of the more fanciful elements. It really just comes down to personal preference on that aspect. This is a nice alternative to some of the superhero comics out there, but I don't think I would continue the series.

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Review: The Flash, Volume 1: Lightning Strikes Twice

The Flash, Volume 1: Lightning Strikes Twice by Joshua Williamson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For my first Flash comic, this one was alright. I had an easy enough time figuring out who everyone was and what they could do. Clearly they have some history, but it didn't matter enough to this story that I felt lost or needed to go look anything up.

The highlight for me was the coloring. It seemed very fitting for what I know about the character. I mostly liked the art. The only thing that bugged me is some of the running poses. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but for a character who is known for running it sure comes up a lot. The legs looked particularly elongated and just sort of awkward.

Anyway, onto some of the highlights. Something good happens to Barry! This book breaks some of the loneliness in his life by given quite a few people powers similar to Flash and he needs to look into what caused it. He gets a new partner and even a girlfriend. So something bad has to happen right? Well, someone is going around killing these new superpowered individuals...

There are some really nice moments in this book that take a different tack than I've come to expect from superhero comics. Nothing really inspired me to want to read more about this character. People that know more about his previous adventures might get more out of it. It was decent but there wasn't enough to make me want to pick up the next volume.

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Review: Star Wars: Han Solo

Star Wars: Han Solo by Marjorie M. Liu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Han Solo in a space race, what's not to like?

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Review: Dream Thief Volume 1

Dream Thief Volume 1 by Jai Nitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I rather enjoyed this book. John Lincoln steals a mask from a museum and after putting it on begins to channel the dead in their quest for vengeance. This comes with blackouts and intense experiences of the final moments of the dead. Then there are all the regular parts of his life that he has to juggle in between murdering bad guys. I thought it all came together rather well.

The book starts out fairly disorienting as John and the reader come in on the aftermath of his first victims (targets?). There is a cinematic feel to the book, especially when the it goes back to show scenes in which John has blacked out. The art is a little stiff at times (forgive me), and that is really the only drag on this book. I liked this more and more as I read further into the book. For those looking for a non-superhero comic, this is a pretty good choice. I would definitely read the next volume.

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Review: Unity, Volume 3: Armor Hunters

Unity, Volume 3: Armor Hunters by Matt Kindt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So what was the Unity team doing during the Armor Hunters event? Aside from saving the world? This book is tangential to the whole Armor Hunters story. It fills in some of the parts that aren't shown in the main book (i.e. the mini-series #1-4). I think it does a great job filling that niche. It answers some questions, like how did they get Bloodshot to come back from his self-imposed exile?

This volume feels more like four separate short pieces that are loosely connected to each other and Armor Hunters. For me, that's not a bad thing by any means. I enjoyed each of the issues in this volume. I would recommend reading this alongside the Armor Hunters event (especially after searching for a reading order online). It's a bang up action book that doesn't shy away from that fact. There isn't a ton of depth to the characters and in this case it doesn't matter. Jumping into this on its own will leave you confused though.

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Review: Harbinger Wars II

Harbinger Wars II by Matt Kindt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Harbinger Wars II is not a sequel to Valiant's first event back in 2013. It does share some characters and concepts though. Central to this story is Livewire, a psiot with the ability to control technology. After a government affiliated assault team goes after the group of kids that she has taken under her wing (see Secret Weapons for more information on them), she goes off the rails a little bit.

I can understand where she is coming from and that portion of the story is pretty good. The struggle between Livewire and the government worked. But this is labelled as a war and it just didn't feel like their was much of a war going on. It pulls in a lot of the mainstay Valiant characters and forces them to choose sides. The struggle feels minimal and could have been fleshed out a lot more (maybe more in line with the Armor Hunter series that Valiant put out).

There are some cool moments though. I like some of the stuff involving Pete. And the way Livewire manipulates Bloodshot. The art was pretty good. I recall a few moments, maybe all involving Faith, where the drawing felt weak. I think people that have read more of the current Valiant stuff will get something out of this book. It might end up being more of a transition story for Livewire than anything else. As on the fence as I feel about this book, I want to see what happens with her next.

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Review: We Stand On Guard

We Stand On Guard by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just imagine a war between America and Canada. Go ahead.

This book is not how that just played out in your head. Sure, the brutality is probably there. This book is much more than that though. Brian K. Vaughan does a nice job crafting the characters and placing them in this future setting. I think he creates interesting backstories for the characters and gives them a reason to fight beyond fighting for fighting's sake. Something I always like about Vaughan's characters is that they act like real people even in the face of fantastic events, which holds true for this book as well. Are they particularly likeable? No and that's okay.

To top it off, the art is amazing. There were multiple moments where I had to stop and just take in what was being shown. Whether it comes from the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, death and destruction, or the implacable American war machine. All of this comes together to create a world that is at once familiar and horrifyingly violent. Don't take this book lightly.

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Review: Pumpkinhead

Pumpkinhead by Cullen Bunn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Pumpkinhead seemed like the perfect book to read going into Halloween. It's a horror tale featuring a demon of vengeance. It started out okay with a nice intro about a group of witches. The most prominent is Haggis, who ends up controlling Pumpkinhead. I'll start by saying I wanted to see more about these characters. This intro shows them as young women just coming into their power and then the story jumps ahead roughly 60 years and there is nothing about the interim period.

The switch from the witches brings us to a Hillbilly revenge story. It actually picks up after the event that causes the whole mess that goes on in this book. So there are the two families that have a feud going on, and then there is the sheriff investigating everything. Amongst all these characters, I didn't find any that were particularly interesting. The story does pick up again once the witches reappear to cause havoc.

So the best part of this book for me is the mythology. The structure behind the relationship between the witches and the demons seems pretty strong, although we only really get to see glimpses of it. It goes on to incorporate the seven deadly sins, which I thought was a nice touch. The bonus story at the end does a better job showing why only Pumpkinhead has been brought to our world over the years. The art is okay. I can't say anything bad about it, but it didn't stand out or excite me in any way.

I found this book to be underdeveloped despite an interesting idea.

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Review: Watersnakes

Watersnakes by Antonio Sandoval
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I got a real fairy tale vibe from this book. It is a story about two young girls that meet at the beach. The parents are around but not really present for the story. Things start out innocently enough, but it moves into some pretty strange territory that sets the girls on a quest to save their lives. The story between the two girls brings in elements of a first crush, along with all the awkwardness that might entail. What happens after that is something else entirely.

The art is what attracted me to this book. The image on the cover was so great. And the interior art is just as good. It does a great job of capturing that sense of the weird that pervades the book. I'm not sure how old the girls are supposed to be (probably early adolescence) and the art can blur the line on that at times. Anyway, be prepared for some brutal scenes later in the book. It almost feels like a different story by that point. The progression works though.

Something that stuck out to me about Watersnakes is that at the end I wasn't really sure if the whole thing actually happened or if it is just some sort of childish imagining. That's part of what I liked about it. This uncertainty gives the book a depth that I wasn't expecting based on the first few pages. I'd recommend picking it up for the art alone, but the girls pull their weight in making this book fun and interesting.

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