Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Comic Book Review: Void Trip

The Void

Words By:  Ryan O'Sullivan
Illustrations By:  Plaid Klaus

Format:  PDF

Series:  1st in Void Trip series

1st Impression:  Fun hippies in space.

Synopsis:
From writer RYAN O'SULLIVAN (Turncoat, The Evil Within, Warhammer 40,000) and illustrator PLAID KLAUS (Turncoat), comes the story of Ana and Gabe, the last two humans left alive in the galaxy. They're low on fuel, they're low on food, and they're low on psychedelic space froot, but they're still determined to make it to the promised land: hippy-paradise, super-planet Euphoria. This is the story of their journey, the friends and enemies they made along the way, and how the universe responded to those who dared to live freely within it.

Purchase At:
Amazon


Thoughts:
*I was given this free review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

We meet Ana and Gabe as they are attempting to steal fuel for their ship. And we learn about Froot, as Ana loves Froot. Ana and Gabe are traveling together to reach the Promised Land - Euphoria. Ana's determined to make the journey to Euphoria worth it. So she's determined to find the special place organically - by trial and error travelling. Or so she claims is the reason to not turn on the computer's AI.

Where we have Ana and Gabe taking fuel, we will have Space Police following. They are being tracked by one being in particular. And he wants their computer's AI turned on so he can find them.

I enjoyed the artwork in this comic. I found looking it over, it was pleasing to my eye. The characters are drawn realistic rather than abstract. There are characters that aren't human, but they are drawn with a way that you know they are characters in a world. Which, kind of reminded me of all the characters we get in space sci fi shows, books, and stories. I like seeing a diverse universe, and this comic hints at that presence.

Ana reminds me of a good old hippy. She loves her Froot, which is a drug, and the free spirit feel to finding her way. I loved Ana's view on fuel and no one owning it. She really made a cool point that struck a chord with me. Gabe feels like he's the more focused and alert one of the two. Maybe even the drive to keep them moving forward rather than dwindling to long in one place. The two seem like a great pair to keep the story line interesting and moving.

Though, there was a moment I wasn't sure where a sword came from in the story. That was my only moment of wonder. I actually wondered if it was my pdf format I received, that I was missing a page. But, this aside, the characters have befriended me as they do in their meetings of others on the page.

I quickly found, I enjoyed these two characters and thought I could have fun reading them. And the being after them, he would give me enough of that rushing heart beat to wonder if Ana and Gabe will get caught and what will happen if they do. Though, I have this hunch there is more to this being that's after them.

Of course, this is the first comic in the series. When I came to the last page, I wanted to know more! lol. So, I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for more comics.


If you'd like to check out the comic, you can read the first 10 pages online.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Audio Book Review: Boneyard

Boneyard

By:  Seanan McGuire

Publish Date:  October 17, 2017, Audiobook Release October 17, 2017

Format:  Audiobook - 11 hrs 27 mins
Narrated By:  Emily Bauer

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  3rd in Deadlands series (But can stand alone as each book by different author)

Impression:  Their internal battles come to ease when they fight the external horrors they face.

Synopsis:
The newest book based on the hit Weird West RPG franchise Deadlands!

Step right up to see the oddities and marvels of The Blackstone Family Circus and Travelling Wonder Show! Gasp at pit wasps the size of a man’s forearm. Beware the pumpkin-headed corn stalker, lest it plant its roots in you!

Annie Pearl is the keeper of oddities, the mistress of monsters. Her unique collection of creatures is one of the circus’s star attractions, drawing wide-eyed crowds at every small frontier town they visit. But Annie is also a woman running from her past . . . and the mother of a mute young daughter, Adeline, whom she will do anything to protect.

Hoping to fill its coffers before winter sets in, the circus steers its wagons to The Clearing, a remote community deep in the Oregon wilderness, surrounded by an ominous dark wood. Word is that a traveling show can turn a tidy profit at The Clearing, but there are whispers, too, of unexplained disappearances that afflict one out of every four shows that pass through the town.

The Clearing has it secrets, and so does Annie. And it may take everything she has to save her daughter―and the circus―from both.

A gripping tale of the Weird West, set on the haunted frontier of DEADLANDS, the award-winning game from Pinnacle Entertainment Group.

First Sentence:
The plains of Idaho seemed to stretch from here to Heaven in the moonlight, if such a place existed, and the Blackstone Family Circus rolled over them as silently as a wagon train can roll, which was to say, not silently in the least.

Purchase At:
Amazon

Audible, Audiobooks.com 

My Thoughts and Summary:
*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.


Emily is a new voice actor for me. I found I liked her early on. She tells us the story as though I'm sitting and listening to a talented story teller. When she comes to the voices of the characters she puts added tones and innuendos into the voices that fit for the characters. Each character had their own voice and emotion to fit their personality and the moment they are in. She even voices a little girl as young as she should sound. Emily did a great job with voicing all characters differently. Wow. She's one great voice actor. Emily's tension grew with the story as we went. In the darkest moments, her voice was strong with emotion, tension, and worry. I felt all the emotions and was drawn to keep listening. Amazing work. I enjoyed her voice acting very much!

I've not read or listened to any of Seanan's books yet. This is my first. And I liked how she hints at things with details instead of just saying what the obvious is. Like the description of bruises and seeing ribs, instead of telling there was abuse or lack of food. This gives me a feel rather than just knowing what has possibly happened.

We start the book with the Blackstone Family Circus traveling and get a feel for the people in the circus. It's a bit slower paced as we meet the characters in their surroundings.

As the story is told, we get it mostly from Annie's view point. But there are times we get the view from Nathanial's mind along with a few others. It's a graceful shift in the story that you don't realize it right away that you are seeing the story from another's view. It keeps the story going forward with a smooth transition.

I think if I was reading this book, I would have stopped. It felt slow moving for me. But, Emily's narration kept me holding on. And I started to grow curious about The Clearing. Chapter seven is about when I started getting interested in the story. The reaction of the town to the circus people and Oddities Annie cares for. Things picked up for me in the book when we got to The Clearing. When we got into the woods, oh yes, this is what I was looking for. But before all this, it felt slow.

When we get to The Clearing, we start to see the personality of the people who live here. They are... unkind. And the things that could go oh so wrong with what the circus has and the way these town folk are... oh so wrong can happen. Though, when out on the search I get lost in Annie's thoughts as she's walking through the forest. I just didn't feel to connect with this character. I felt as though it was more character driven and I just wasn't into it. I wanted more events to happen.

The cover depicts some of the Oddities that Annie cares for very well. I really like this cover.

These characters have internal battles they are fighting before they come to the external ones. They grow in their experiences and understandings along with fighting what's after them. Great parallel here with both. Sometimes external battles help make the internal ones clearer. Annie has more baggage she's carrying along, more battles she'll have to fight with what and who is after her.



****If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon. Thank you!

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Audio Book Review: Curiouser and Curiouser

Curiouser and Curiouser: Steampunk Alice in Wonderland

By:  Melanie Karsak

Publish Date:  July 7, 2017, Audiobook Release September 13, 2017

Format:  Audiobook - 5 hrs 24 mins
Narrated By:  Lesley Parkin

Genre:  Fantasy, Steampunk, Fairy Tales

Series:  Steampunk Fairy Tales stand-alone

Impression:  Alice in Wonderland feel in a new story.

Synopsis:
To save the Hatter, Alice must work with the one man she despises so much that she might still love him.

* * *

Alice thought she’d turned over a new leaf. No more working for Jabberwocky. No more making deals with the ruthless Queen of Hearts. No more hanging around The Mushroom with tinkers, tarts, scoundrels, and thieves in London's criminal underbelly. But she’d been bonkers to dream.

Hatter’s reckless behavior leads Alice back to the one person she never wanted to see again, Caterpillar. Pulled into Caterpillar's mad schemes, Alice must steal a very big diamond from a very royal lady. The heist is no problem for this Bandersnatch. But protecting her heart from the man she once loved? Impossible.

First Sentence:
"Curious." I strained to look out the window of the carriage at the crowd thronging toward Hyde Park.

Purchase At:
Amazon

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:
*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Alice follows the boy who stole her employers pocket watch, Rabbit, back into the life she left behind. Into the rough part of town she returns, summoned. The love she once felt for William surfaces as the man he is now needs her help. Blackmailed into helping to save her sisters love, The Hatter, from his debt, Alice agrees to help Caterpillar.

Lesley's tone when speaking as Alice feels to fit her curiosity, which is the feel we get from Alice in many stories of her adventure. She has an opinion that she voices, not mean or rude, just a thought to add to the discussion.

Melanie writes Alice with the feel we would expect. A curious young lady with thoughts of her own to share. The story isn't as much falling down a literal hole like in the original story. But Alice living in a world full of wonder, and following a boy nicknamed Rabbit. The world created is full of steamwork and clockwork items. This blended with the steam and smoke draws a world of danger and mystery in which Alice is pulled back into. This is a talent as Melanie very craftily wrote the story in the actual living of the characters.

We see the world full of clockwork and steampunk from the beginning. There is a darkness to the story as well, particularly with one of the characters. Creepy, dark. But fits in the harsh life of the characters here. There is even a touch of magic present. Just a touch. Mostly the world is steam and clockwork.

There is a feel of double meaning to words, it's not confusing but tricky. Listen closely to catch it. I love how people have two names; real name and a nickname. Like William who's known as Caterpillar in town. Each name goes with a different part of his life. Which person is he when talking to Alice? William or Caterpillar? Both are of a different nature and are known for different things to Alice. This gives the twisty feel that we get from Wonderland.

Melanie touches on all the main characters from Alice in Wonderland in her remake. It was a nice game for me to see about spotting them all, though their names do give them away.

I was pleasantly surprised with Melanie's creation here. She captured so many important elements from Alice in Wonderland yet wrote a different story that feels true to the world. So well done!



****If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you!

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

To NaNoWriMo or Not To NaNoWriMo?


Many of you know it's been crazy train around my place. Nothing bad, just life moving on fast forward. I love doing all that life has in store for me lately but I also miss doing all the things I love to do with blogging and writing. But, it's okay. Like I said, I get to do more amazing things and enjoy much with friends and family.

So, to no surprise I'm going to take November off.

Like usual, it's NaNoWriMo time. I'm technically NOT doing NaNoWriMo. I've not signed up as I am not working on a new novel, or 50,000 words. I've decided to take the month and work on an existing WIP. I am in the process of doing re-writes now, but they are going slow. I want to use November to work more hardcore on this novel and get it to a rough point where I can send it to someone to read and talk about what is wrong and how to fix it.

November will be full of re-writes and re-reads of this project. I'm hoping to get through the whole draft I have here at least once and start into reading this again.

I will stop in for a quick visit from time to time as I do have audio book reviews to go live and I want to keep in touch with everyone. I do miss you all.

So, it'll probably be like life is happening now. I'll post two posts a week, if I have them, and my Sunday Posts. I'll work to get on for visiting twice a week for a bit. So leave comments and I'll return to your blog.