Book Review | The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Summary

In this ingenious and captivating reimagining of Rudyard Kipling’s classic adventure The Jungle Book, Neil Gaiman tells the unforgettable story of Nobody Owens, a living, breathing boy whose home is a graveyard, raised by a guardian who belongs neither to the mortal world nor the realm of the dead. Among the mausoleums and headstones of his home, Bod experiences things most mortals can barely imagine. But real, flesh-and-blood danger waits just outside the cemetery walls: the man who murdered the infant Bod’s family will not rest until he finds Nobody Owens and finishes the job he began many years ago.

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The Graveyard Book is one of a number of works by Neil Gaiman that I frequently heard about, even before I was a fan of his. This was one of the reasons why I chose to read it next amongst the works of his I have. I’d thought I had a general idea of what to expect from it going in, but that changed a little when I discovered it’s a re-imagining of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Unfortunately, I’ve only really experienced the Disney adaptations of that story, as I expect is the case with most people, but that didn’t stop this knowledge from influencing my reading experience.Read More »

Mighty Thursday #11

The Incredible Hercules: Secret Invasion

By Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (Writers); Rafa Sandoval (Penciler); Roger Bonet with Greg Adams (Inkers); and Martegod Gracia with Dennis Calero & Raul Trevino (Colourists); 2009

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Summary

The Secret Invasion has begun, and Earth is overrun by Skrull shape-shifters on a holy crusade to remake the universe in their image. But the goddess Athena has a solution: if you want to destroy the Skrulls: kill their gods. To this end, Athena’s brother, Hercules, leads a uniquely divine strike force — including Inuit demigoddess Snowbird, Eternal warrior-scholar Ajak, the monstrous god-eater Demogorge, and evil Japanese trickster deity Amatsu Mikaboshi, plus Herc’s boy-genius sidekick Amadeus Cho and his faithful coyote pup. Together, they embark on a celestial voyage to the realm of the Skrull gods, finding romance, camaraderie, and treachery among their ranks along the way. Featuring Nightmare and the Eternals!Read More »

Why Didn’t I Like The Witch?

As is traditional around Halloween, I’ve been watching a lot more horror movies in celebration of the season. One I’d been looking forward to seeing for quite a while was The Witch, the 2015 film directed by Robert Eggers. After watching it, I thought it was very good indeed. It’s finely crafted with good atmosphere, interesting characters, and genuinely creepy moments set in a wonderfully gloomy historical setting. What I’ve been trying to wrap my head around, despite all this and more, is the fact that I didn’t really like watching it.Read More »

Mighty Thursday #10

Kingdom Come

By Mark Waid & Alex Ross (Writers); Alex Ross (Artist); 2008

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Goodreads Summary

Set just after the dawn of the 21st Century, in a world spinning inexorably out of control, comes this grim tale of youth versus experience, a tradition versus change, while asking the timeless question: what defines a hero? Kingdom Come is a riveting story pitting the old guard – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and their peers – against a new, uncompromising generation of heroes in the final war against each other, to determine nothing less than the future of the planet.Read More »

Short Story Review | The Dunwich Horror by H.P. Lovecraft

Summary from Goodreads

In the degenerate, unliked backwater of Dunwich, Wilbur Whately, a most unusual child, is born. Of unnatural parentage, he grows at an uncanny pace to an unsettling height, but the boy’s arrival simply precedes that of a true horror: one of the Old Ones, that forces the people of the town to hole up by night.

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“The Dunwich Horror” is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft first published in 1929. I read this story in Necronomicon, a large collection of Lovecraft’s “Best Weird Tales” including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle. I’ve always liked the idea of Lovecraft’s horror, telling of otherworldly monstrosities too terrible to behold or comprehend, but I’d never gotten around to reading any. I chose “The Dunwich Horror” because unlike other well known stories like “The Call of Cthulhu” or “At the Mountains of Madness,” which I’m intent on reading, I’d heard of this story but knew nothing of what it’s about.Read More »

Mighty Thursday #9

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction

By Mike Mignola (Story & Art); John Byrne (Script); Mark Chiarello (Colours); 2004

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Summary from Goodreads

When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the form of a demonic avatar.Read More »

Book Review | Thirteen Degrees: 13 Scary Stories and Tales of Horror by Brenden Dean

Summary from Goodreads

Welcome the dreadful cold of terror with 13 original stories by Brenden Dean. Bring a blanket, huddle around the fire, and try to keep warm as you encounter psychotic abductors, deadly spirits and demons of the woods.

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Thirteen Degrees is one of the two horror anthologies I purchased months ago to get myself reading more of the genre. The book collects thirteen short horror stories by Brenden Dean, some as short as a few pages, others a fair bit longer. I won’t be going into anything too specific plot-wise, especially considering the book as a whole is a rather quick read.Read More »

Mighty Thursday #8

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: Derailed

By Peter David (Writer); Mike Wieringo & Roger Cruz (Pencils); Karl Kesel, Oclair Albert, Victor Olazaba, & Mike Manley (Inks); 2006

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Summary

Hold onto your webs, spider-fan A major character from Peter Parker’s past returns! Meanwhile, is that the Hobgoblin terrorizing the skies? And if so, how is he connected to the shocking changes in Spider-Man’s life? Continuity fans better break out their back issues, because both Spidey’s past and future will change when an old (and unexpected) foe executes his master plan!

Plus: Presenting “Web Log,” an off-beat Spidey tale that starts at the very beginnings of Spider-Man’s career and goes all the way through to the distant future…as seen through the eyes of a woman who is convinced that the web-slinger has been stalking her her entire life. And finally, think Spider-Man doesn’t have to worry about death anymore, having escaped its grasp in “The Other”? Think again, as — years after his origin — Spider-Man finds himself back in the ring, squaring off against a masked wrestler whose name literally means “Death”…and for good reason!Read More »

Book Review | Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

Summary:

The last thing the wizard Drum Billet did, before Death laid a bony hand on his shoulder, was to pass on his staff of power to the eighth son of an eighth son. Unfortunately for his colleagues in the chauvinistic (not to say misogynistic) world of magic, he failed to check that the baby in question was a son. Everybody knows that there’s no such thing as a female wizard. But now it’s gone and happened, there’s nothing much anyone can do about it. Let the battle of the sexes begin…

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Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett is the third novel in the fantasy comedy Discworld series, this time focused on a new cast of characters. While I enjoyed the perilous escapades of Rincewind and Twoflower, I have been looking forward to reading about characters who aren’t quite so hapless. The story follows Eskarina Smith, a young girl who inherited a wizard’s staff at birth and has an unbridled knack for magic. She is accompanied by Granny Weatherwax, an old witch who serves their community and takes it upon herself to guide Esk into the magical arts.Read More »

Mighty Thursday #7

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Deluxe Edition

By Neil Gaiman (Writer); Andy Kubert (Artist); 2009

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Summary

From the moment he declared war on crime, the Batman knew his story would eventually come to an end. But for each soul he has touched, either as an ally or an enemy, a lover or a friend, an inspiration or an obsession, the life of the Dark Knight — and its tragic conclusion — is viewed differently.

Now, those closest to the Caped Crusader gather for his memorial service. Stories are told, feelings are revealed and tears are shed in a final retrospective of Batman’s long and astonishing career. And for those of you who think you know the Dark Knight, prepare to find out you never did.Read More »