Well, it IS a Hugo Award Winner: Girl Genius Webcomic

“Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE” ~ Girl Genius tagline

Agatha Clay is more than your average girl. She’s only the last remaining heir to the Heterodyne name. It’s a legacy of power, prestige… and scary mad brilliance.

Agatha finds her life upended upon learning her true identity. Suddenly, everyone wants to get their hands on her–especially two rival princes.

Set on an alternate Earth, this is Steampunk at its graphical finest. “Sparks”–people with the extraordinary skill for building mechanical devices and bioengineering. Mad science, indeed!

Girl Genius has won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story three times, as well as numerous other awards. It’s no wonder: GG has the complete package. While the core idea of the hidden heir is not new, Phil and Kaja Foglio have freshened it up with their brilliant take. Their characters are complex, each with a viable arc. They keep the readers guessing as to who are the real villains and heroes, not to mention who might truly be mad. After all, what is madness, really?

The art is fantastic, with great drawings and wonderful coloring. Cheyenne Wright has a deft touch at bringing this rich world to life. There is nothing flat to this work.

This is a tri-weekly comic that has been online since 2002. New readers (this was me three days ago) can start from the beginning and catch up, thanks to a nifty “Start” button above the comic page. In addition, there is a drop-down list of “chapters” below the panels for when a reader wants to return to the story–as if there was anything else better to do! Granted, this takes some time, but it’s worth it. WARNING: The Girl Genius webcomic can lead to obsessive reading, forgetting to sleep, laughter, skipped meals, enjoyment, neglected chores, and instant fandom.

5-Books

“Science!”

“Meow!”

“Promises to Keep” by Jane Green

"Promises to Keep" book cover

Sisters Callie and Steffi live completely different lives. Callie is the happily married mom and breast cancer survivor. Steffi is the wild child who lives it up in the city. Their parents, Walter and Honor, haven’t spoken in the decades since their divorce. Then there’s their friend Lila, a 40-something career woman who wonders if she’ll ever find Mr. Right.  Life rolls right along for all concerned until one year changed everything.

Steffi finds more to a move to the country than she imagines, and Lila gets a glimpse of what it means to be loved. All while handling a terrifying diagnosis which is handed to Callie.

This is novel begins as a light-hearted, almost chick-lit style, look at the contrast between suburban and serious versus urban and carefree lifestyles, and the role played by affluence. Then it grows into a story of how crushing circumstances affect a family whose members have been flung all over New England. Much of the story was inspired by a similar situation in the author’s life, when one of her close friends succumbed to cancer. Knowing this before opening to the first page can predispose a reader to loving it, and many readers will. However, issues with the writing style make it harder to love in the opening chapters. The author uses third-person, present tense for most of the novel, then she enters flashbacks with little warning at times.  This smooths out about halfway through, making it much more readable.

Callie, Steffi, and Lila are endearing characters. Although there’s a certain amount of predictability, Green moves the story along to a respectable payoff. There are a few tear-jerker moments toward the end, which can soften even a hardened heart.

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Rating: 3.5-Books
Publisher: Plume, a Penguin Imprint
Author Website:
www.janegreen.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-452-29717-3

The reviewer received a copy of Promise to Keep from the publisher. This has no impact on the quality or consideration of the review.

Find Adventure in EVERLOST by Neal Shusterman

When Allie and Nick are killed in a head-on collision, they bump into each other on their way to the light that is literally at the end of the tunnel. They wake in a strange reality, a land dubbed Everlost. There are no adults, just kids who got sidetracked on the way to that light.

Existence in Everlost requires a crash course in survival. Although they can’t die again, they can suffer, and if they don’t avoid sinking into the ground or running into the wrong people, suffer they will. Together, with a wild child they call Lief, Allie and Nick go in search of answers to questions they could never have imagined when they were alive.

Everlost is an imaginative rendering of the afterlife. Shusterman’s work is reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, perhaps deliberately so. This occurs on a far more grand scale, with no hope of outside rescue. Classic themes, such as bullies, opportunistic scheming, and the struggle between good and evil are strongly represented. Readers will sympathize with the characters’ dilemmas. Very little is straight forward, like in real life. Without adult guidance, kids are left to their own devices in this world. Shusterman handles this situation in a masterful stroke. No one character is perfect, and their actions have believable consequences.

I recommend this novel for teens and more mature preteens. Parents who like dark fantasy may enjoy this novel, too. Everlost is a novel that can be shared between parents and teens, leading to discussions about the world, the characters’ choices, and life and death in general.

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4.5 Books
Everlost by Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN-13 978-1-4169-9749-8

HELLHOLE by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

Cover of "Hellhole" from www.wordfire.com

A Hell of a Good Read

A failed rebellion. A disgraced leader exiled to a brutal backwater world. An interstellar government with a stranglehold on its people. These are the elements that lead into the opening of Hellhole, the first novel in the new science fiction epic from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

General Tiber Maximilian Adolphus blinked when his forces had victory within reach. That hesitation won the war for Diadem Michella Duchenet’s ruler of all known habitable worlds in the Constellation. Rather than hand the rebellion a martyr figure, Diadem Michella exiled Adolphus to the most inhospitable world in the Deep Zone, Hallholme.

Set up for failure, Adolphus carves out a community of misfits and criminals who have nowhere else to go. Hallholme, “Hellhole” to its inhabitants, is a world of many surprises, mostly bad. The colony faces heavy taxation while being shortchanged in government shipments of necessary goods. But Adolphus and his dedicated people don’t let the Diadem’s machinations destroy them. A decade after his exile, Adolphus is on the cusp of something big. Little does he know, his plans may be affected by an unimaginable discovery.

Hellhole is the first book in a new trilogy by acclaimed authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. This is their first effort outside of their multiple works in the highly popular Dune series. They bring their mastery of characterization and world-building to this new vision of the distant future. Weaving plots within plots, they pull the reader through the many ambitions of opposing interests. They do so in a way that keeps the reader interested and avoids confusion.

This is a well-crafted tale that engages the senses and heart. Herbert and Anderson have a fresh take the old tale of corrupt government, adding a fantastic twist which puts their unique stamp on the new series.

Fans of Dune, Star Wars, and other space epics will find this an engaging ride into the future.

~Christina Wantz Fixemer

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Rating: 5-Books
Publisher: Tor
Author Websites:
Brian Herbert:
Kevin J. Anderson: http://www.wordfire.com/ & http://kjablog.com
ISBN-13: 978-1847374264

The reviewer received a copy of Hellhole from the publisher. This has no impact on the quality or consideration of the review.

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“Darkness Becomes Her” by Kelly Keaton

 

"Darkness Becomes Her" cover art from the author's website

“Darkness Becomes Her” by Kelly Keaton

This Book Marches to Its Own Drummer: READ IT

Book Summary

Ari has always been different. Growing up in foster care can do that to a kid, but so can having hair so pale it looks white, and a mother who committed suicide when Ari was a tot. When she’s old enough to search for answers, she finds a note from her long-dead mother which begs her to “RUN!” Ari ends up in the city of her birth, New Orleans, only it is now a darker and wilder place called New 2. It has been remade in the wake of a disastrous hurricane. There, she finds a city of supernatural people and creatures.

Ari joins a group of young outsiders, each with their own secrets and talents. Little does Ari know that she has a secret yet to be discovered–a secret that could change the world.

Review

This novel pulled me in from the first page. Ari is a character with more depth than some real-life people. She is intelligent and has street smarts. There’s a hard edge to an otherwise vulnerable girl, which leads to very human moments when she has to deal with indecision and fear. And guess what? She doesn’t always make the right choice. She wants to know the truth, but she also fears it. In some other reviews, I’ve seen people criticize this, but I feel it made me relate to her far more than if she was broadly confident. When faced with terrifying choices, real life people don’t automatically make the smartest choices. Throw this character into a setting with lush (and sometimes decaying) detail, and you will forget that you’re reading a book.

If I had to choose a key concept for this novel, it is this: Boldly step forward when you must. Missteps can be forgiven, but no steps leave you forgotten.

This is a fantastic read for teens, especially those who are different from the crowd. Everyone should be their own drummer.

~Christina Wantz

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Rating: 5-Books
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Author Website: http://kellykeaton.net/
ISBN: 978-1442409248

The reviewer received a copy of Darkness Becomes Her from the publisher. This has no impact on the quality or consideration of the review.

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I’m back… Sort of

I haven’t done book reviews in a long while. Somehow, I keep getting books in the mail, even though it’s been a little over two years since I’ve posted much of anything.

The main site, Wantz Upon a Time, is no longer going to see book reviews posted there, other than what appear on the blog feed. I’m still working on the details, and the new site isn’t even close to up yet. There’s a blanket of dust on it right now. Behind the scenes, I’m working on art (see the awesome dragon banner up above) and layouts and such. WUAT’s main home is going to be the creative side of my web and graphic design business. I have another site, Studio Fix Design, that has a more formal look to it. The two sites will have feature the same portfolio selections and have all the same information, but the presentations will be very different.

All that said, I just can’t stay away from the reviews, apparently. And I know other people who dearly love to review and would love to join my ranks, so the review service is about to be taken off of life support. I’ll post more details soon. Very soon. Thank you for your patience!

By the way, if anyone can tell me how to change this tacky blue header bar from blue to the color I want, PLEASE let me know! I couldn’t find an option, and I don’t feel inclined to pay $15 a year for the right to do so in the CSS settings. I guess that’s how it goes. It’s my hope that I’ll be able to successfully embed this blog on the WUAT domain name. I haven’t tried in a long while and know a lot more about web development now, so maybe it’ll go better this time. We shall see!

Front Lines… Edited by Denise Little

Click here to see this review on WUAT

Front Lines

Edited by Denise Little

Published By: DAW Books, Inc.: A Member of Penguin Group (USA)

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Good Pick for Fans of Speculative Fiction

Reviewed by Vicky Burkholder
on 12/21/2008

I said in an earlier review of a different anthology that reviewing an anthology of short stories has to be one of the hardest things a reviewer can do, especially if the stories are all written by different authors. My previous statement still holds true. Some of the authors in this anthology include Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Laura Resnick, Jody Lynn Nye, Jim Fiscus, J. Steven York.

In this book, we are given twenty-one different stories by different authors but with one theme uniting them all – in this case, being on the front lines in a war, whether against human, pixie, or “thing” and settings are all over the universe, from the intergalactic to a little boy’s backyard. According to the introduction, “this book isn’t about…what it means as a society to fight a war….it’s all about the life of the people on the front lines of battle.” What I find interesting about the book, is that more than half the writers are women. Surely a unique perspective in a hard science fiction book. The stories are thought provoking, funny, poignant, and sad. Everything an anthology should be.

Like all anthologies, there were some stories I liked, some I didn’t care much for, but not because of the writing. Each story is well crafted and well-written. Overall, the tales were very good.

If you don’t have a lot of time to invest in reading, anthologies are a good place to go. Each story is complete and is good for a quick read when you don’t have time for a novel. I recommend this one for anyone interested in speculative fiction from the perspective of someone on the “Front Lines”.

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Where Have All the Editors Gone?

by Vicky Burkholder, Wantz Upon a Time Reviewer

Over the years in the field of publishing, I have worn many hats. I’ve been a journalist, a novelist, technical writer, a reviewer, and an editor, but above all, I’ve been a reader. I’ve traveled the universe in a wide variety of space craft, gone 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and walked on the moon. I’ve experienced life from cave man times to the distant future. I’ve read almost every genre of fiction written and a wide variety of non-fiction. Why should this matter to you? It all serves to show you that I do know a little about the field of writing. And what I’m seeing in recent years saddens me. Not because the stories are lacking. Far from it. But because the attention to good writing is lacking.

In more and more books, newspapers, and magazines, I’m seeing a deplorable lack of skill in the basics of spelling and grammar. And it’s not just in the smaller publishers where occasional mistakes are almost the norm, but also by the so-called “Big Boys” coming out of New York. The misuse of words, misspellings, overuse and under-use of commas, things that should be caught by any good copyeditor, are being overlooked.

What is the reason for this lessening of standards? Good question. I’m not sure there is a good answer. Maybe the economy has publishers tightening their belts and cutting back on copyeditors and proofreaders. Maybe those editors, copyeditors and proofreaders are the products of a lessening of standards in the education system. Maybe nobody cares about spelling and grammar anymore. No, that’s not true. I see comments from many people on my writers’ lists about the terrible editing that is coming through in books these days. In at least one case, an author complained about an error that showed up in her published book that was not in her manuscript, the edited version, or the galleys. In this case, the fault lay with the publisher.

What about those writers who can’t be bothered to learn the basic techniques of writing? They assume their editor will “fix the problems” when the manuscript is accepted. Many times, these days, editors simply don’t have the time to correct errors and the books go through with mistakes intact. Not only do the errors reflect poorly on the writer, but on the publisher as well. One expects poor editing from a vanity publisher, but not from respected publishers, and yet this is happening at all levels of publication.

I know not all published works can be perfect. Typos slip through. Misspellings happen. Commas get missed, or stuck in where they don’t belong. Unfortunately, it seems of late, that there are far too many of these goofs slipping through. It is up to everyone in the publishing industry, from the lowest writer all the way up to the head of the largest publishing house to pay attention to the details, for it is in the details that the story is told.

As a copyeditor, I was often tasked with teaching a writer why his or her manuscript needed the corrections it did. As a writer, I hope I don’t make as many mistakes as some do, but I know I’m not perfect. As a reader, I find it difficult to enjoy a story that is rife with problems and will often discard the book rather than finish it. As a reviewer, I’m going to let other people know about those problems. I would like to believe the publishing industry would get a clue and figure out that they need help.

I’d like to believe this, but I don’t hold out much hope. If the last few years have shown me anything, it’s that grammatical expertise is on the wane. And that’s bad news for us all. So I send up a plea to all writers out there – learn the basics. Open up a dictionary and learn the difference between peek and pique, between bring and take. Learn what an infinitive is and why we shouldn’t split them. Learn where commas go and what makes a compound sentence. Learn when to capitalize something like queen, king and prince and when not to. In other words, learn your craft. Tell a good story, but tell it in the best way possible. That will keep readers like me coming back to you.

Arrow’s Flight… by Mercedes Lackey

Click here to see this review on WUAT.

Arrow’s Flight

(The Heralds of Valdemar, Book 2)
by Mercedes Lackey

Published By: DAW Books, Inc.: A Member of Penguin Group (USA)
ISBN-10: 0886773776

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Disappointing

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
on 10/01/2008

Talia has earned her Herald whites (see ARROWS OF THE QUEEN) and is ready to embark upon her eighteen-month internship with Kris, her mentor. Together, they are to ride through their assigned sector to settle disputes and perform other duties as Heralds.

The circuit is in trouble from the start, however, as Talia learns of rumors that she has abused her powerful empathic Gift. With her fragile confidence shattered, her Gift gets out of hand. She must regain control, or she’ll be a danger to everyone around her.

Talia must successfully complete her internship. The Queen and many, many others are depending on it. Can Talia finish the year and half without driving herself, and her mentor, insane?

I was disappointed with this novel. The first one was enjoyable, so I was eager to dive in to this, the second installment of The Heralds of Valdemar. Unfortunately, the main conflict in this novel was over the lack of control over Talia’s Gift. She didn’t talk about it with her mentor until it was almost too late. The slow degradation of her abilities over many, many months was painful and repetitive to read. For being a smart character, she didn’t act with much intelligence in that regard. One might argue that this lack of communication was due to her long-standing poor self-esteem, but that excuse only goes so far.

One of my pet peeves is when the author expects the reader to swallow a series of misunderstandings that should never have gone beyond the first few scenes. It feels like a deliberate machination on the author’s part. If the author feels the need to use this to make the story fit their idea of the plot, then there’s a fundamental flaw in the plan. The author should figure out how to work with the conflict without using tenth-grade tricks.

Another thing that annoyed me about this novel is that there were events that seemed important to the story and weren’t included. By this, I’m referring to a visit Talia took to her family of birth and was basically turned away. This event was mentioned in passing, but I never saw it happen. The rejection by Talia’s family is a critical key to the formation of her as a character, and it needed to be in the book. Whether Lackey didn’t feel the need to write this event or whether the editors chopped it to save on page count, I feel it was a mistake.

After all that, it probably sounds like I hated this novel. In fact, I liked it well enough to finish it in less than a day. These two major issues, however, made it difficult for me to enjoy this book to its potential.

hi

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Arrows of the Queen… by Mercedes Lackey

Click here to see this review on WUAT.

Arrows of the Queen

(The Heralds of Valdemar, Book 1)
by Mercedes Lackey

Published By: DAW Books, Inc.: A Member of Penguin Group (USA)
ISBN-10: 0886773784

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Good, but not Spectacular

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
on 10/01/2008

Talia would rather die than be wed at the age of thirteen. When she tells her father’s wives that she wants to be a Herald, to be Chosen by the mystical equine Companions, the women are horrified. To Talia’s complete shock, she is found that very day not only by a Companion, but by the most important Companion in the land.

Chosen to be the Queen’s Own Herald by the Companion Rolan, Talia is overwhelmed by a world completely different from oppressive Holder life. Responsibilities far beyond those she imagined are now hers. As Queen’s Own, she is to be the Queen’s confidant. Her far more difficult task is to help reform “the Brat,” the presumed Heir to Valdemar. Certain parties don’t want the Brat to ascend to the throne and will go to extreme measure to see Talia fail. Clearly, there is more going on than young Talia can fathom.

This is the first novel of Mercedes Lackey’s “The Heralds of Valdemar.” She has built a highly detailed and complex world in which readers can be lost for hours. The characters are deep and scenery richly painted.

In this introductory novel, I was pulled in and sucked through to the end. It seems like some scenes may have been cut out to make a page count. This isn’t as big an issue as it is in the next two novels (ARROW’S FLIGHT and ARROW’S FALL), but it may bother the readers who are more particular about such things.

Overall, I recommend it as a good, but not spectacular, fantasy read.

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