Getting Lost in a Past Re-imagined

The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Who doesn't wish dinosaurs weren't still around? Well, maybe not the big bitey ones, but how cool would that be?! Hell, I'd even take the huge, face-ripping ones too if it were an all-or-nothing deal. I figure a little survival of the fittest would do this world good.

Since that's not likely to happen during my lifetime, I'll console myself with movies and books. The Lost World is a good place to be for those of us looking to get lost in a dino world.

This is a forerunner of the what-if history throwbacks to the Jurassic period. Being an older work it suffers for the style of the day. Sometimes writing styles of various eras aren't all that bad, but this one's no good. Nothing kills the momentum, surprise and thrill of reading when the author preempts a thrilling surprise scene by announcing that "a thrilling surprise happened and I'm about to tell you about it!". Damn it man, we can decide if it's thrilling, and furthermore, do you even know what a surprise is?!

Arthur Conan Doyle did better work with his Sherlock series. This book is a fun adventure, but it's not a great read. The set up takes a while. The action moves a bit and the stakes are fairly high, but "a bit" and "fairly" shouldn't be the descriptives used to describe this.



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Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange, Vol. 1

Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange contains the Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales #110-111, 114-141 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Since there's a Doctor Strange movie in the works starring Benedict Cumberbatch, I decided it was time to read the original Doctor Strange stories, since most of my previous Doctor Strange exposure was from the 1990s Doctor Strange series and the various times he guest starred in other titles.

For those of us who don't know, Doctor Strange was an uncaring, egotistical surgeon until a car accident damaged the nerves in his hands, leaving him unable to perform further operations. A distraught Doctor Strange makes his way to the Himalayas and meets the Ancient One, his first step toward redemption and his role of Sorcerer Supreme.

Most of these stories are only 8-10 pages long and, by the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, are they formulaic. The template goes as follows: A foe of Doctor Strange's, usually Baron Mordo, hatches a scheme. Doctor Strange assumes his ectoplasmic form and uses his amulet to save the day. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The book really shines once Strange is given more pages and Ditko settles into his rhythm. It's very interesting to see Ditko's art evolve as the series progresses. The stories become more and more complex, spanning over a year of issues. The story that beings with the The Defeat of Doctor Strange and evolves into the quest for Eternity must have been something to read as the monthly installments trickled out.

A lot of key elements of the Doctor Strange mythos are introduced, namely Doctor Stephen Strange, Baron Mordo, The Ancient One, Dormammu, and Clea, although she doesn't yet have a name in this volume. This is a 50 year old comic so I'm unable to judge it by today's standards. Stan Lee's writing is pretty hokey, though I love his repeated mentions of Hoggoth, Raggador, Cyttorak, and Dormammu. The Dread Dormammu, in particular, because he eventually becomes Doctor Strange's main foe.

The art pretty sweet, though. Steve Ditko depicts the various realms is blazing, psychedelic form. I can totally see why these stories are so well-regarded art wise. The Mindless Ones and the Dread Dormammu are very cool and the otherworldly landscapes are truly something to behold, a crazy panorama of vivid colors and bizarre shapes.

For its place in comics history, the crazy concepts, and the psychedelic Ditko art, I'm giving this four out of five stars. The Stan Lee writing isn't without its charms in a Silver Age kind of way but has definitely not stood the test of time and I'd grade the collection much harder if I took that under consideration.



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Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga Deluxe Edition

Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga Deluxe Edition by Paul Levitz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Legion of Super-Heroes suffers a series of setbacks, leaving them vulnerable. When a mysterious manipulator sends his powerful servants to retrieve magical artifacts, the Legion heads for the fight of their lives...

Confession time: When I was in the second grade, one of my favorite comics was Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes. What kid wouldn't like a team of 50(!) super-powered teenagers from various planets in the 30th century. The Great Darkness Saga has been on my radar for years, as it is cited as one of the greatest super-hero comics of the 1980's. Did it live up to the hype?

First, some caveats. This is very much a 1980s comic. There is an over-abundance of cluttered word balloons, the writing is simplistic, and the characters are a bit on the thin side. Much like an X-Men trade I read a few years ago, the cover of this one spoils who the villain is, which I would have liked to have pieced together alongside Brainiac 5. Way to ruin the surprise, DC!

However, this is a pretty epic tale, especially for the time period. The mystery villain is gathering his strength after a thousand year sleep and has some big plans in the works. The Legion is in disarray after a series of setbacks, involving the return of Computo, Khunds, Legionnaires retiring, and a lot of other stuff and the when the apocalyptic scheme goes into place, it's a wonder anyone survives.

Since DC has gone to the "dark side" in recent years, I'm surprised they haven't scavenged the main villain's plot for one of their company-wide, momentum-killing crossovers yet. A planet full of pissed off Superman-level people under the thrall of an all-powerful menace threatening damn near everything seems like money in the bank to me.

All gripes aside, The Great Darkness Saga was a trip down memory lane, a reminder of innocent times and what made me like the Legion in the first place. All of my old favorites were in attendance: Wildfire, Mon-El, UltraBoy, Braniac 5, even Matter Eater Lad, whose super powers I appreciate much more as I approach 40. Did my brain conveniently forget UltraBoy always announcing which of his powers he was using? Note to those unfamiliar to the Legion: UltraBoy had all the powers of Superman but he could only use one at a time.

While it wasn't my favorite 1980s comic storyline and seems a little hokey by today's standards, it was damn good for its time. 3.5 out of 5 stars.





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Aki's Love Song

Sedonia Guillone
Ai Press
Reviewed by Nancy
2 out of 5 stars

Summary

Since high school, Tamotsu has watched his best friend Aki grow from a rebellious but musically talented teenager to one of the most popular music artists in Japan. Though he’s been secretly in love with Aki for years, enduring the endless string of admirers Aki takes for lovers, Tamotsu suffers silently because he knows deep down that he is really the one person in the world Aki turns to for true friendship and solace.

But when Aki unveils an unknown and haunting love song he’s composed in secret during a concert, Tamotsu fears that Aki has finally found someone he can have a lasting relationship with. Only such a deep, abiding passion could inspire a song that beautiful.

Is Aki really saying good bye to him in the only way he can, through his music? Or is Aki telling Tamotsu something else?

My Review

"His breath shortened as Aki began to sing, a slow, heart-rending ballad about unrequited love and the tremors of his heart in the presence of the one who was completely unaware.”

In many ways this was similar to Soy Sauce Face. Two Japanese men deeply in love for years and unable to express their feelings toward each other, one physically slight while the other is hardened from manual labor, and one very loyal and protective while the other flits from one loveless relationship to another.

While reading about Jun and Tomo’s relationship made me feel like I was cocooned in a warm blanket, Aki and Tamotsu felt a little distant, making it difficult for me to connect with them. I suspect much of that had to do with the third-person narration, which felt like all telling and not much showing.

By the end of this competently written short story, I was unable to summon a single emotion.

Hidden Universe Travel Guides: The Complete Marvel Cosmos: With Notes by the Guardians of the Galaxy

Hidden Universe Travel Guides: The Complete Marvel Cosmos: With Notes by the Guardians of the Galaxy by Marc Sumerak
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Marvel Universe is quite vast thanks to it's many locations from Earth to Asgard along with the many alien planets and alternate universes. The Guardians of the Galaxy provide commentary on the known Marvel Universe.

The Hidden Universe Travel Guides: The Complete Marvel Cosmos is a Marvel history lovers dream. The attention to various locations alone is staggering as newer locations such as the Quiet Room and the Alpha Flight space station are included. I was surprised to see the inclusion of alternate universes as the majority are only visited once over a short period of time.

The Complete Marvel Cosmos is a solid book full of the tidbits honorary Marvel historians live for.

3 out of 5 stars

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Captain America: Sam Wilson, Vol. 1: Not My Captain America

Captain America: Sam Wilson, Vol. 1: Not My Captain America by Nick Spencer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sam Wilson, formerly Captain America's sidekick Falcon, has donned the name of Captain America.

Because of a few I'll advised choices Sam finds himself without the support of SHIELD and with the general public angry at him. He's a super hero on a budget now.

I've given Sam Wilson a few tries as Captain America and I'm just not a fan. Something about him is lacking in the role. The storyline in this issue wasn't overly compelling as it takes a shallow yet realistic look at political issues the country is facing and how corporations are able to get away with a lot because of their role in the economy. It's weird seeing a supervillain rant about corporate profit structure and the nature of business in such a detailed sense. I don't imagine younger readers would have any appreciation for this, but perhaps the politics would go over their heads and therefore lead them to simply see kicks and punches. The storyline isn't one I'm particularly interested in either though.

The title says it best, Sam Wilson is Not My Captain America.

2.5 out of 5 stars

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MAD ENCHANTMENT: CLAUDE MONET AND THE PAINTING OF THE WATER LILIES BY ROSS KING

Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies by Ross King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

”It is difficult to separate discussions of an artist’s ‘late work’ from romantic associations of blind seers offering up unutterable visions from beyond the threshold, or of old men raging against the dying of the light. But it is undeniable that as his eye filmed over and his vision slowly dimmed, Monet, ‘who caught and sang the sun in flight,’ focused ever more intently on the fleeting rays of light that he had always chased and cherished.”


Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet

Claude Monet, along with the artists Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille, started a new movement of painting that eventually was known as Impressionism. The name was taken from Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise and was meant as a derogatory term. Three other artists joined their band of independent artists: Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, and Armand Guillaumin. They wanted to paint in the outdoors and take advantage of the spontaneity and vibrant colors of nature. They, in particular Monet, wanted to show paintings that went beyond just what the eye could readily see. Monet had very acute vision. ”’He sees differently from the rest of humanity,’speculating that he was acutely sensitive to colors at the ultra-violent end of the spectrum.”

Later in life, that spectacular vision of his was shrouded with cataracts. He had several painful surgeries that restored some of his vision, but his sight never fully recovered. Regardless, he continued to paint until the darkness that only death can bring snuffed the last light out of those remarkable eyes. Those eyes that could see and share so much that we cannot see.

I’m convinced he was a genius.

It wasn’t just his remarkable eyesight, but also the tantrums he threw when he couldn’t quite master on canvas what he saw in his eye. Every time he started a new painting, he attempted to make not a painting that was a perceived masterpiece to other people, but a masterpiece that captured the details exactly as he saw them. He would use up to twelve layers of paint in an attempt to recreate the perfect ripple or glimmer or splash of color. When displeased, he would slash canvases and kick holes in them with his feet. Geniuses throw the best fits just read about the epic outbursts of Mozart or Beethoven or Steve Jobs.

Monet was angry at himself, at his human limitations.

His best friend, the warrior French politician Georges Clemenceau, if he were around during one of these explosions, would brave the wrath of the painter and grab paintings out of the reach of the vengeful artist. At times, Monet did feel like he was at war with his canvases. I refer to Clemenceau as a warrior because he fought twenty-two duels and survived them all. He also took on the bureaucracy of the French government and managed to tame them and focus them long enough to win WW1 by the sheer force of his will.


Monet in his garden.

Clemenceau and Monet were an odd match for friendship if one only looks at the surface details of who they are, but they were both accomplished in their fields. At times, they were the very best in their fields, and that level of achievement sometimes makes it difficult to find people one can consider an equal, a confidant who could truly understand the frustrations of being perfectionists.

Monet did for water lilies what Vincent Van Gogh did for sunflowers. His gardens in Giverny were a marvel, nestled into a town that was famous for its fairytale beauty. He built a house festooned with bright, bold colors. It was always hard to pry him away from his home, his studio. How wonderful that he found the place he most wanted to be, and it took a great temptation to get him even to go to Paris for an exhibition of his work.


Monet’s dining room at Giverny. The vibrant yellow became known as Monet Yellow.

There are always strange nuances that I discover when I read a biography of any person. Monet may have never been the Monet who paints water lilies if his second wife Alice had not put her foot down about female models. It was either the models or her. Monet decided it was easier to work on landscapes and leave the nude models to his fellow artists. What some critics will say is that ghost feminine shapes in the leaves can be spied in most of his paintings. Are they seeing what they want to see or was Monet craftly adding the beauty of women in the swirls of his paint? Paintings can be interpreted in a number of ways, the same way stories can change meaning depending upon who reads them.

I’ve read several Ross King books and will read many more. He fills gaps in my knowledge and makes the subject of his book, Brunelleschi's Dome or Machiavelli or Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci, come alive, whether the subject be made of stone, paint, or flesh. Highly Recommended!



I elected to buy the British edition of this book because the book itself is a work of art. They printed one of Monet’s waterlily paintings on the canvas boards, and instead of a dust wrapper, they chose to put an elegant belly band around the book. The band allows more of the beautiful boards to show. It is nice to see a publisher putting the extra effort into improving the reading experience.

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Crosstalk by Connie Willis

Crosstalk by Connie Willis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is my first Connie Willis book, I have a few but never got around to reading them (yes..I am VERY BEHIND don't remind me).

I dug it, Crosstalk really comes across like a script idea for a movie or tv show. Well written, decent pace, and good characters. My issues are few, I didn't care for the main characters, the world is very accurate and reading it I realized how much I dislike alot of the information age. I am a huge info junkie but now a days everyone knows everything about everything almost the second it happens.

That bugs me.

That being sad, a fun book that could use some editing, but worth the read.



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Like a Wodehouse Murder Mystery

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
Reviewed by Jason Koivu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was reading this, feeling a whole lotta deja vu and just wondering which came first, Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series or PG Wodehouse's Wooster/Jeeves series, when out of the blue one of Sayers' characters name-drops Jeeves!

For me and the sort of reading I enjoy, this hit the spot! It was like reading a murder mystery penned by Wodehouse. And if you're been reading my reviews, you know he's one of my favorite authors. There's something very Wooster-like about the foppish Wimsey. The style, language and flippancy of '20s/'30s England mirror Wodehouse almost to a tee.

The major difference is in the slightly more serious tone. This is about a murder trial, after all. It's not the most devilishly clever of murder mysteries, but it's good reading and I will definitely pick up another in the Wimsey series!


Rating Note: This was a strong 3.5 stars. I'll give it 4 stars for sheer enjoyment over any sense of writing quality.

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Indian Country Noir

Indian Country Noir by Sarah Cortez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Indian Country Noir is a collection of noir tales focusing on Native Americans.

Helper: As two men are coming for him, Indian Charlie remembers the past deeds that brought them to him. This story starts the collection with some action and dirty deeds. Good stuff.

Osprey Lake: On the run after a hold up, Don and Heather hole up in a secluded cabin built on a sacred hill. I could feel the biting cold while reading this. I felt bad for Heather as the situation unfolded.

Dead Medicine Snake Woman: A former marine sees a woman thrown off a subway platform and tries to help. But does the woman really exist? This was an interesting tale but I'm not precisely sure what happened. Was it a tale of a man fighting a monster or fighting the monsters inside himself?

Indian Time: Fred, an Indian man, gets time with his kids for the first time in two years. He and his girlfriend teach them about their heritage. This was an emotional tale with a great ending.

On Drowning Pond: A homeless woman drowns in a pond under suspicious circumstances. In the years following, numerous men are found dead under similar conditions. This one was pretty spooky and illuminates the plight of Native American alcoholics.

Daddy's Girl: Daniel Carson is hired to track down a missing girl and retrieve some stolen money. Will he bring her back alive?

This one was a fairly standard PI tale with a Native American lead. The ending surprised the shit out of me.

The Raven and the Wolf: Detective John Raven Beau is hunting for the killer of a cop, a man calling himself The Wolf.

This one reminded me of the last one, only the Native American lead is a cop, not a PI. So far, The Raven and the Wolf is neck and neck with Daddy's Girl as the best story in the book.

Juracan: Papo goes to Puerto Rico for a wedding and gets entangled in sinister dealings involving the Taino, the indigenous people of Puerto Rico.

This one was long and convoluted. I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed it. The Taino culture was interesting, though.

JaneJohnDoe.com A deposed drug dealer forces a PI to create a new identity for her in exchange for a list of meth dealers on all Indian reservations.

This one had some twists and turns. The ending was pretty sweet.

Lame Elk: After a beating during a drunken bender, a man offers Lame Elk a chance to turn his life around.

This was a touching, depressing tale about an alcoholic not really being given a chance to make things right.

Another Role: Washed up Indian actor Harry Garson gets tapped to play the role of a lifetime. But is it too good to be true?

Yes, yes it was. Another Role was a tale of double and triple crosses. Pretty good.

Getting Lucky: Lucretia "Lucky" Eagle Feather meets a gambler in an Indian reservation casino in Michigan. Will he get Lucky?

Lawrence Block penned this tale and it's one of the stars of the show. There's some kink and a great twist ending, as befits the master.

Prowling Wolves: Ira Hayes struggles with drink and flashbacks after Iwo Jima.

This was a pretty powerful tale.

Quilt like a Night Sky: Boone Lone Rider finally comes home.

Geez, this was a dark note to end the anthology on. Another story of a Native American laid low by substance abuse.

End Thoughts: I thought this collection was much better than the last Akashic Noir book I read, Prison Noir. The best stories of the collection, in my opinion, were Getting Lucky, Daddy's Girl, and The Raven and the Wolf. Four out of five stars.



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