Archangel by Sharon Shinn

Four hundred years ago, the colonists came to Samaria, carried in the hands of their God, Jovah. And Jovah watches over them still, sending down food and medicine when they ask for it, clearing away storms or bringing rain. To intercede between the humans and Jovah, he created angels, and made one among them Archangel, Jovah's foremost servant, to keep watch over humans and pray for his intervention on their behalf when needed.

Every year, the Archangel must sing the Gloria to Jovah, and if it is not sung, Jovah's lightning will destroy the world, or so it is said. The current Archangel is named Raphael and Gabriel is his soon-to-be successor, and he needs a wife, or Angelica, to sing the Gloria with him. And so, reluctantly, for he does not wish a wife, Gabriel goes to the Oracles to have Jovah tell him who his wife will be. And a bride is picked for him, Rachel, daughter of farmers in a nearly barren outer region of Samaria.

But when Gabriel tracks down the farm to find his wife, he finds that the farm is long gone, destroyed by some misfortune, and there is no sign that any people have lived there in a very long time. Gabriel knows his chosen wife is still living, since Jovah can track whether or not someone is still alive, but he cannot find her.

Rachel is a bondslave in the human city of Semmorah, and she is still not used to living as a slave. Every day she is forced to work for the man who owns her, and her heart still aches for Simon, the Edori lover she was forcibly parted from by Jansai slavers. Her owner's house is getting ready for a wedding, the lord's son is to marry a woman from another house to bring their fortunes together. But luck comes to Rachel when she is asked to do the hair of Mary, the bride-to-be.

She finds the young woman eaten up by worry, and very nervous. Rachel manages to calm her and do her hair in an Edori style, and everyone loves it. The two of them quickly become friends, and Mary decides to keep Rachel with her when she and her husband Daniel move to a new house together. But not as a slave. Mary intends to free Rachel and pay her a wage, which makes Rachel's heart sing. Also invited to the wedding are Raphael, the Archangel and Gabriel, his successor, along with other angels, to sing for the success of the wedding and the fertility of the bride.

But when Rachel comes face to face with Gabriel one morning, her Kiss, a crystal implanted in the flesh of her arm, flares with heat, as does Gabriel's, and he realizes that this slave is his promised Bride. He feels it is a disaster, as he doesn't even know if she can sing, let alone sing well enough to sing a Gloria with him. And he has less than six months to teach her.

Rachel doesn't want to be Gabriel's bride, and she views being carried off to be married to him as little better than slavery. Add to that an extreme fear of heights, and she has more than a few reasons to dislike the Aerie, her new home. Angels don't feel the cold as humans do, and so the Aerie is very cold to Rachel. And with no way for her to get down from the Height of the Aerie to the town of Velora below, the Aerie simply becomes a jail for her.

A certain perverseness makes her refuse to sing for Gabriel or anyone else in the Aerie, although she does listen to all the Glorias sung by the first Archangel, Uriel, and his Angelica, Hagar, a woman whose vocal range spanned three and a half octaves, but as she gets ready to learn the Gloria that she will sing, Gabriel is finding out some things he wishes he didn't know about Raphael, the current Archangel.

For one thing, Rachel appears to hate him, and for another, he seems to be ignoring pleas for help from the people he is supposed to be helping and protecting. Second, the people who live near the hold he rules, Windy Point, seem to be skeptical that Jovah even exists. Could it be that Raphael has lost his faith and his powers, and is lying to humans who are supposed to rely on him for guidance? And what of his seeming lust for power and control?

When Raphael kidnaps Rachel and keeps her away from the Gloria she is supposed to sing, can she and Gabriel overcome their differences to save the humans, angels and the entire planet? Or has the rot Raphael sowed become too deep?

This was a different sort of fantasy novel, as it is actually more of a science fiction novel. Readers are told that the humans on Samaria are actually colonists who came to the planet on the Spaceship Jehovah, and though we are not told, it is this ship that has apparently become their God. The Oracles are actually technicians, and maintain computers that can speak with the main computer on the Jehovah. Angels, then, are presumably some sort of gene-engineered humans, but must crossbreed with humans to make more angels, as crossing angels with angels results in freakish babies. But the nature of these "freaks" is never described. Are they bird-like, presumably the kind of genes that were crossed with the humans to produce angels, or something else? We're never told.

In a way, I wasn't sure how to take the whole "God as a Spaceship" idea. We're not told why the humans can't remember, after only 400 years, that the "Jehovah" was a spaceship that carried them to the planet, or how their language has changed so swiftly that only the Oracles can know or remember how to communicate with the ship. Leaving those unanswered questions aside, the story is more about the love that eventually develops between Gabriel and Rachel, and how their love is tested by the politics of the current Archangel, Raphael.

While there is an awful lot to like in this book, as the characterizations of both Gabriel and Rachel are strong and complete, there is a lot more that is glossed over and never explained, and left me wondering. Why did Raphael lose his faith and his powers? Did he suspect that Rachel was to become his successor's Angelica, and is that why he destroyed her parent's farm and left her an orphan? Or was that just a coincidence? And if it wasn't a coincidence, how did he know?

In addition to the attack on the farm of her parents, which we don't find out until later in the book, Rachel's distaste for him seems to rise from his attempt to debauch her early in the book, and he's guilty of many other things as well, which leads readers to detest him as well. But the plot holes and missed explanations left me feeling unsatisfied in a story sense at the end of the book. Yes, things turn out well in the end, but I would have liked more explanation.

I'd recommend this book, but with reservations about the hanging plot threads. The love story does just fine, other parts of the book not so well. But the world is well-drawn and makes you feel like you can see it in your mind if you just close your eyes.

Superman: Kryptonite by Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale

Superman has been protecting Metropolis for a few months now, and he still isn't quite sure of his abilities. He knows he's strong and can fly, but what might affect him, and what might be able to kill him? He isn't sure.

But when Superman came to Earth, he was not alone. A huge chunk of his home planet, Krypton, came with him, and it seems that either it is intelligent, or that there is something or someone trapped inside the Kryptonite, for it tells the story in this graphic novel.

While Clark is growing up on his farm in Iowa, the piece of Kryptonite falls in somewhere barren and cold. (Tibet? Manchuria? Can't tell.) It is taken into a monastery and knows peace and contentment, but it can feel Clark/Superman, and wishes to be close to him.

When the monastery is attacked by raiders, one of the raiders became fascinated with the stone, and took it away with him. When he set himself up as the rich and powerful ruler of a small country, he killed those who took a dislike to him, and was killed by his wife. She was shot by her own son, who inherited the stone. Now, the son is grown and has opened a casino in Metropolis, and is trying to set himself up as a Philanthropist.

But Perry White, the Editor of the Daily Planet, isn't accepting the "Philanthropist" part at face value, and he sets Lois Lane, Fimmy Olsen and Clark Kent to stake out and study both the casino and its owner. Lois goes in as a agent provocateur to interview the owner, Jason Gallo. But Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor is waiting to find out what can kill Superman also. What will happen when he finds out Superman's reaction to Kryptonite, and can Lois and Jimmy keep him safe? And will he ever find out who or what is trapped in that chunk of Kryptonite?

The author of this book, Darwyn Cook, explains that he wants his stories to stand the test of time, and with the constant revising of the DC timeline, that's hard to do. But he came up with a solution. Tell Classic Superman stories that don't rely on any timeline. And with this one, that is exactly what he's done.

This is a reworking and re-writing of the story that introduced Kryptonite to the Superman Universe. Interestingly enough, it was also the story that showed Superman's history and parents for the first time. But the way the original story went about showing that wasn't very convincing at all, and so they changed the story more than a bit to make an improved version that doesn't read like so much bullshittium. And it is contrasted with the story of the investigation that Clark and the others are doing, and his exploring of his powers with his earthly mother and father.

The storylines make the story a joy to read, but I wasn't as impressed with the artwork. Admittedly, it has a strong 30's or 40's feel, but it just felt rather cartoony compared to the story, which was more serious in tone and feel. On the whole, though it does add a "classic Superman" feel to the story, so despite my dislike of the art, I felt it did add something to the period feel of the piece. Of course, your mileage may vary when it comes to the artwork, so check it out for yourself before you buy. But definitely check it out. This is good stuff.

A Question of Death: an Illustrated Phryne Fisher Treasury by Kerry Greenwood

Phryne (prounounced Fry-knee) Fisher is a liberated woman of the 1920's who lives in Australia. Rich and titled, but coming from a decidedly humble background, Phryne lives a life devoted to good food, even better cocktails, and solving the mysteries that seem to inevitably tumble into her lap.

This book collects thirteen very short tales of Phryne Fisher solving mysteries from Urban Legends ("The Hotel Splendide") to ones which eventually became full-length novels ("The Hours of Juana the Mad" and "Carnivale"). Many of them were written to see if an idea that Kerry Greenwood had could support an entire novel.

In the foreword to the book, the author discusses the genesis of Phryne Fisher, who is apparently physically based on the author's younger sister, and whose name comes from a famous Greek courtesan who offered to rebuild the destroyed walls of Thebes if she could put a carving on them which read: "The Walls of Thebes; Ruined by time, Rebuilt by Phryne the Courtesan". She owes as much to James Bond and female wish fulfillment (able to eat, drink and party without worrying about her weight and figure and with a boundless self-confidence.

At the end of the book is a glossary of terms used in the story, but whose meanings may not be known. For instance, American cloth is a term for an early form of linoleum, and the term "Wet arse and no fish" meaning an unsuccessful venture.

I've always enjoyed the Phryne Fisher books, and this is one of the best, with thirteen short and interesting tales that one can read in the space of a few minutes (me) or an hour or so (people who take longer to read). And if you don't particularly enjoy one of the stories, it will soon end and sweep you on to another. Each of the stories is short enough to be read quickly, but long enough to satisfy with regards to the ending, and for those who enjoy Phryne Fisher, or who are just discovering her books, this is an excellent addition to the series.

Not only does the book have the stories, but the pages between each are filled with recipies for drinks and the occasional cake or snack, allowing readers to pretend, as they eat or drink, that they are also a part of Phryne's world and enjoying a cocktail with her. Highly recommended.

Just Another Judgement Day by Simon R. Green

John Taylor is the son of Adam's first wife, Lilith. But even though she is his mother, and he recieved his power, to find anything, from her, when she returned to the Nightside and tried to destroy it, he stood up to her, refusing to be anything but his own man.

Nightside is the one place that can be both heaven and hell, the answer to every sinner's wildest dream, as any fantasy can be fulfilled there. The cost of that fantasy, though, that is something you might mind paying. You might give up your health, your soul or someone else's. It used to be controlled by the Authorities, disembodied powers that no one ever saw, and their mouthpiece was a man named Walker.

The Authorities are dead now, slain by Lilith, but someone needed to rule the Nightside, to keep the powers in check, and the New Authorities have stepped forward to do so. John Taylor is interested in learning who the New Authorities are, but he's not going to break a sweat to learn who they are. He has more important things to worry about, like himself and the woman he loves, Suzy Shooter, who is unable to touch him without wanting to hurt him. It's nothing personal- Suzy was sexually abused by her brothers from the time she was young, and she has a hard time touching anyone.

But when Walker appears at the door of the house John and Suzy share together, he appears wanting their help. For someone is headed to the Nightside, someone Walker has no chance of touching or stopping, and he wants John to do just that... stop him, in any way possible. And who is this man Walker is so afraid of? It's The Walking Man, God's own instrument of Vengeance, who has come to the Nightside to cleanse it of its Iniquity.

The Walking Man is a supernatural engine of destruction, untouchable by any instrument of death and unable to be killed. So how can John Taylor have any hope of stopping him? His first act in the Nightside is to kill all the people responsible for a shop that sells Memory Crystals. But nobody knows what is on the crystals except for the shop's exclusive clientel. And, as it turns out, what is on the crystals is the starvation, torture and humiliation of small children that are kept imprisoned in the basement of the shop.

Taylor is horrified that he didn't know, that Walker didn't know, what was going on there. He, Walker and Suzy Shooter enter the shop together before they find out the horrible business in the basement within, and while all are horrified by what they see, Suzy stays behind to help the children, knowing a thing or two about being tortured and humiliated, and John seeks out anything that can end the menace of The Walking Man.

Two things becomes very clear about the Walking Man. One is that he truly does come to end the Iniquities of the Nightside, but he also knows no limits on his judgement. Someone who worked in a horrible place, but took no part in the things that went on there is equally guilty in the eyes of the Walking Man, and equally deserving of death. He kills with no qualms, sure that his judgement is right because his judgement is God's judgement.

And his next target is the Boy's Club, where he not only takes down the figures of organized crime, but the relatively blameless mercenary Penny Dreadful, who is only doing her job by protecting the man who hired her. But when The Walking Man turns his attentions on the site of the Street of Gods, and dukes it out with Razor Eddie, God of the Straight Razor, also a Hand of God, and wins, John Taylor is forced to employ the one weapon he swore he never would, the Speaking Gun, which can literally speak things out of existence. But when The Walking Man goes after the New Authorities, can Walker and his new Sidekick Chandra the Monster Slayer, an Indian hero, take down the Walking Man with it, or can Taylor find another way to defeat the unstoppable Walking Man?

I enjoyed this book alot, because even though it is short and rather slim for an urban fantasy novel, Simon R. Green has managed to pack so much story into it without the story feeling rushed or too dense to read. His voice, or rather the voice of John Taylor, is knowledgeable, cynical and slightly disinterested at first, but as the story grows, he becomes more invested in what is happening and preventing the Walking Man from carrying out his threat of destroying the New Authorities and the whole of the Nightside.

But it's not a Nightside story without plenty of revelations, not just about the current Walking Man, but about John Taylor, Nightside, and the characters of Nightside. So, no disappointment here, and by the end of the novel, the revelations are flowing fast and thick, and we see a possible ending to the series, and a possible role change for John and Suzie as well. But which will come true- the possible future of John destroying the Nightside and Suzie becoming partly machine, or some happy ending where they get to love each other and settle down as much as they are able to?

Since Simon R. Green has said that there will be a definite end to the series, either one is a strong possibility right now, and it makes me anxious to find out, which will involve reading the next book (if there is one, and I hope there is). Actually, according to his website, there will be three more books after this one, so more scandals and revelations are sure to follow. And I am sure to be along for the ride.

The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the Editors of the Huffington Post

Blogging is no longer a new phenomenon in the United States, and at the last count, 50,000 blogs are being created every day, and each blog represents the voice, and the passion of the blogger behind it. Isn't it time that you joined the 112 million bloggers in the United States and started blogging?

But while 50,000 blogs are created every day, many of them die a slow, or not so slow death when the blogger behind the blog stops posting. Gets bored, loses interest, or perhaps just never finds their voice or their passion for blogging. To find what you are passionate about or interested in, or just to find your voice, isn't always an easy thing in the world of blogs, and with this book, the editors of the Huffington Post are here to help you, and to help the Blog you create.

In this book, they explore the history of blogs and blogging, and even "blogger zero", the man who first started blogging, and interview him to find out what drove him. But to blog isn't as easy as just starting up your computer and starting to write. First there had to be software to make it, if not easy, at least easier to write, and how that software came about is also covered in the book.

Starting your own blog is easy, but if you want to get big, and you want to get noticed, there are some things to keep in mind. To contrast to the kind of single-blogger blog like my own, the editors of the Huffington Post show how they went about starting up their own blog, from the initial partners who decided that the world needed a news blog and decided that they would cover the stories that were not covered, ignored, or couldn't be covered by mainstream news media, and once they found their niche, the web more or less beat a path to their door. Can you do the same?

Why not? The editors give their secrets and show how to make them work for you. With plenty of ideas on how to make your blog work and attract people who will enjoy reading your blog, this book is heavy on the information, and also heavy on the fun, with lots of information to help your blog survive and hopefully, even become popular. It's packed with information from the celebrities and non-celebrities that make the Huffington Post possible and ensure it such a wide readership.

While not every idea in this book may work for you, if you are interested in blogging, or just want to learn more about it, this book is for you. It may even get you interested in starting your own blog. And with a selection of favorite posts from the Huffington Post, you can see some of the successes the Huffington Post had along the way.

Seven Paths to Death by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

Seikei and Judge Ooka are passing through a northern province when they are told of a man discovered bleeding in a rice paddy, and when they arrive at the village who found the man, they are told of another body of a man all in black, a ninja, who the first man apparently killed in a fight. But the first man has not regained consciousness.

Judge Ooka and Seikei try to discover the identity of the wounded man, but are confounded. The only interesting thing about him is that he has part of a finger missing and a large tattoo on his back and three small ones on his hand. The small tattoos spell three, eight and nine, or Ya-ku-za. The larger tattoo is very colorful and looks as though it might be a map, or part of a map. The Judge has Seikei make a copy of it, but eventually, they must leave and hope the man will someday recover.

When they return to Edo, they are reunited with Judge Ooka's other retainer, Bunzo, a samurai. They seek out a tatoo artist, who tells the judge that the tattoos were done by a famous artist. But he also seems to recognize the tattoo, and after the Judge is done questioning the man, he has Seikei follow him.

Seikei does, after giving the judge his copy of the tattoo, and discovers a criminal with the same sort of Ya-ku-za tattoos on his hands, and another, different tattoo on his back. From the man, who gives his name as Rofu, he learns that there are seven tattooed men, but that one of them, Boko, is already dead. He expects that the man whom Seikei copied the tattoo from is dead, also, but when he finds out that the man is merely unconscious, he names him as Tatsuo. He asks Seikei to make a copy of his tattoo for the judge, and Seikei eventually does.

When he is released, Seikei goes to find Judge Ooka, and finds his adoptive father being shown a very unusual weapon from the Shogun's arsenal, called a musket. Seikei finds it a dishonorable weapon, but the Shogun doesn't feel the same way. The Judge tells him that there are rumors that the outer lords, the ones conquered last by Tokugawa Iaeysu, were never really loyal to him, and still plot his death. There are rumors that the Lords were buying muskets from the same Barbarians that Lord Tokugawa got his from, and the Judge fears that one of the lords cached muskets for a rebellion against the Shogun, since a musket appears in each design. But which of the Lords is it?

Then they learn of another man with a tattoo, an entertainer, and Seikei and Bunzo track him down and bring him back to the Judge. But they aren't alone in wanting to find the other men with the tattoos and question them, for the person who bribed the men with money to get the tattoos in the first place has been hiring ninja to kill the men and cut the tattoos from their backs.

Can Seikei and Judge Ooka find the traitorous house and prevent them from getting their hands on the muskets? Or will either or both of them fall victim to the ninja that they encountered before, Kitsune. But this time, Seikei doesn't have the rock entrusted to him by Kitsune's sister. Can he face off against the ninja and come away with his life intact?

Once again, an excellent book involving feudal-era Japan, a mystery that introduces readers to Japanese customs, practices and culture. And intertwined with all of that is a mystery that involves actual Japanese history and Western muskets.

The mystery and intrigue surrounding the weapons, and the villainous nature of the Lord who hid the muskets in the first place will send a shiver down the spine of readers, as does the threat and menace of the ninja hired by the Lord to kill the holders of the tattoos and flay them from the backs of the men who wear them. Though some readers may not know about the Japanese Yakuza, who are criminal clans of Japan, much like Ninja are clans of spy/assassins, they will learn why they are called such and the meaning behind the name.

This series is an excellent mixture of history, mystery and thriller, and is highly recommended for teen readers, especially those who enjoy manga and anime.

Hardy Boys Graphic Novel Volume #15- Live Free, Die Hardy!

The Hardy Boys are brothers who work for A.T.A.C., or American Teens Against Crime. Joe is the Blonde, Happy-Go-Lucky one and his brother Frank is the black-haired, more serious and studious one.

The two have infiltrated a MMORPG in search of a hacker who attacks and griefs players (i.e. kills off their characters and causes them trouble), but this one takes it one better by stealing their computer information and destroying their hard drives as she does so. Joe and Frank go online to draw her out and track down where she is located.

Afterwards, it's getting near to their Dad, Fenton's birthday, and A.T.A.C. has planned a huge party for him. Joe and Frank are in on the surprise, but the Noir sisters have used the distraction of the party to break in and cause havoc, Can Joe and Frank break up the Noir sisters, defeat their hired thugs, and save their Dad's birthday party from ruin?

This is a great updating of the original Hardy Boys stories. Frank and Joe are computer-savvy and virtually fearless, and the Noir twins are their opposites in both sexes and temperments. They are sort of the Anti-Hardys. But there are some annoyances. First, all the characters have the same nose, and many of the faces are hardly distinguishable except by hair and eye color and hair style.

The other is that the books are rather small, and even though they are in color, $8 is a fairly high price to pay for such a thin volume. If you can get these books through your local library, do it and don't try to collect them yourself. Not bad on the story, but the art needs work to make the characters look less alike, especially the unrelated ones.

Monkey High Volume Three by Shouko Akira

Haruna Aizawa had a scornful view of the cliques in High School, comparing them to monkeys on a mountain, jockeying for position, each monkey wanting to be the one on top. So when her politician father took a tumble from his high position by being indicted in a corruption scandal, her life was shattered, and to save some face, she transferred to her new school. Little did she know that her new school had a boy who actually resembled a baby monkey! His name was Macharu, and Haruna found herself charmed by his energy and honesty and good-heartedness, and she ended up becoming his girlfriend.

Now it's Valentine's Day, and of course, Macharu's friend Atsu, the class Prince, gets bombarded with chocolates, but when Haruna says she didn't bring any for Macharu, Macharu gets ribbed by his fellow classmates for not measuring up to Haruna's high standards, or even being good enough to get chocolate! But when a heart-shaped box of chocolates is found in Macharu's desk, everyone at first assumes that Haruna lied and the chocolates came from her. But when she continues to deny it, everyone wonders who else would give a boy who looks like a baby monkey chocolates.

But when the class student council's chocolates, bought as a snack, disappear, now the class has two questions to answer: who gave Macharu Chocolate, and who stole the Council's chocolates. Can the class track down the culprit or culprits responsible for the chocolates appearing and disappearing, and who will they be?

And at the end of the school year, Haruna and Macharu must deal with the fact that they may not be in the same class next year. Will they be able to maintain their relationship if they aren't in each other's company so much? And the elections for a new student council comes up and the class wants Haruna to be the President. But if she becomes President, she'll have even less time to spend with Macharu. But who else in the class would be perfect for just such a position?

This is a fun series, and because the stories are longer, the stories themselves stay fresh. Macharu and Haruna are opposites in so many ways, but the way they are able to admire so much in each other is just a joy to read. With new ways to tear them apart and keep them together coming up in each volume, this is head and shoulders above other Shoujo Manga. Oh, and another thing that sets it apart is that it is usually the girl who is the more enthusiastic and emotional and the boy more reserved, and here, that formula is reversed, to great effect.

If you haven't yet tried this series, you should.

Monkey High, Volume Two by Shouko Akira

Haruna Aizawa's father was a politician caught up in a nasty scandal. But his fall ruined her life, and she left her old school to escape the whispers of fellow students. But, she got a bad view of the social culture of Schools, comparing them to a Monkey mountain where everyone fights to be the lead monkey. Now, her new boyfriend Macharu Yamashita, actually looks like a baby monkey! Can Haruna be something besides one of the monkeys on the mountain, or was her fate sealed when she agreed to be the girlfriend of a baby monkey?

Haruna and Macharu go on their first official date, to an amusement park, but being followed by the park's mascot, a man in a monkey suit, is just weird. Haruna finds the park to be more geared to kids, but Macharu's enthusiasm and good heart (he comforts a crying child who dropped his ice cream and buys him another one) win her over, and she actually finds herself enjoying their time together. But when a trip on the roller-coaster makes her dizzy, Macharu gets her a drink only to find a group of rough guys hitting on her when he returns. To run them off, he gets help from the costumed monkey, who turns out to be his good friend Atsu, the one who gave him the tickets to the park, as well as the rest of their class, who Atsu also gave tickets. But did Haruna really have a good time after all?

Then, when Atsu and Macharu's constant one-upsmanship results in the breaking of a very expensive vase belonging to the pricipal, Atsu and Macharu recruit the entire class to go on a quiz show to get the money to replace the vase. Haruna agrees to help, but when her father is released from prison early, her zest for life goes right out the window, and she no longer feels good enough to go on the game show. But can Macharu convince her that they need her help to win, or will the loss of two players kill any chances the class had of winning?

In another story, Macharu's sister Misato is in love with Macharu's best friend Atsu. But being two years younger than him, can she ever catch his eye? Or will she find herself falling for her pain in the side classmate Miura instead?

This is an incredibly cute series, and I really find myself enjoying it. Haruna would so love to divorce herself from the rest her her class and be the odd one out, but her relationship with Macharu keep drawing her back in to class activities and friendship with the other kids in her class. She's so often melancholy that her pairing off with the always happy Macharu works. He's the Yang to her Yin and keeps her from isolating herself into a cold gray world.

Their classmates bring in their own share of craziness, but this volume brings a fair share of the wackiness that is Japan to manga readers with the entry of the class into a nationally televised Quiz show. In fact, given that MXE network shows re-dubbed reruns of the Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle, makes me think that the game show featured in this volume doesn't even show half the craziness that Japan is capable of when it comes to game shows.

If you like your romance mixed with Angst and a great deal of comedy, this is your series. Haruna's private problems and public romance, combined with the wackiness that is their classmates, pushes this romance series beyond generic romances and into a spot that will make fans of Fruits Basket will find familliar. A cut above most romances. Try it, you'll like it.

Akiko and the Missing Misp by Mark Crilley

When Akiko is contacted by her Smoovian friends Mr. Beeba and Spuckler Boach, it is to come to Smoo for the celebration of the 125th Anniversary of Smoovian Liberation Day. Little does Akiko know that this adventure will send her back in time to see Spuckler when he was a kid and Mr. Beeba when he actually had hair!

Since Mr. Beeba and Spuckler are so busy planning the parade to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of Smoovian Liberation, they have sent a remote-controlled robot ship to pick her up, piloted by a Beeba-bot. Akiko isn't very happy about that, but she can deal with it, and settles in to sleep during the journey. But when the ship encounters an electromagnetic holofield, Mr. Beeba decides to move the ship 25 light years by Transmoovulator. Only instead of moving the ship in space, he sends it into the past, where it crash lands on Smoo. Akiko hikes to the palace and soon figures out she is in the past when she sees Mr. Beeba with hair.

Since he doesn't know her yet, Akiko is forced to tell some pretty tall tales about the future to get Mr. Beeba to trust her, such as that he has been named head Librarian of all Libraries everywhere. As part of their discussion, he tells her about why the Smoovians celebrate Smoovian Liberation Day. King Froptoppit defeated a tyrant named Vorsto Sluggs and liberated the people of Smoo. Vorsto had a crown which could control people's minds, but it was destroyed except for the indestructable part, called the Misp, which is kept locked up in King Froptoppit's Palace. Since only a descendant of Sluggs can use the power of the Misp, and there are hundreds of them on Smoo, it's deemed safer to keep it under guard.

But while Akiko is dining with the King, a much younger Spuckler Boach is sneaking in to steal the Misp. He's caught by one of the King's guardsmen, a fat man named Fatch. But when Akiko tells everyone that she knows him, Mr. Beeba concludes that she is an associate of Spuckler sent to distract him, and they are thrown into prison together. But Spuckler easily breaks out, and her as well, and they are looking for a way out of the castle. They find it in Mr. Beeba's assistant Hwindolyn Plapp, who is afraid of them, and gives them money and her personal airscooter to escape on. But as they escape past the guard, Mr. Beeba finds them and tells them that the Misp is a fake and was probably stolen by Fatch, who has fled the palace. Using Hwindolyn's scooter, Akiko, Mr. Beeba, Spuckler, Gax and Poog go after Fatch. But can they catch up with him and find out *why* he stole the Misp and for whom? Or will the future Akiko has with her friends be wiped out by the actions of whoever stole the Misp?

This time, Akiko is fighting for more than herself; if she can't fix the past, she'll be stuck there forever, and King Froptoppit and his son the Prince will be no more than a memory! Can Akiko fix the problem without changing the future in any significant way?

I liked this book, which gave us a very different picture of Spuckler and Mr. Beeba. We also get to see Gax before he got so dinged up and rusty. He's actually shiny and new in this book. But Akiko must also confront the time paradox that her actions are creating on Smoo: how will the future be changed if her friends remember her from the past? Is there any way to get out of the problems she's creating for herself?

But you don't get any time to dwell on that, as almost no sooner than Akiko arrives, she is drawn into the hunt for the Misp, which involves racing across long stretches of Smoo and confronting horrible villains. But who is the mind behind the theft? And when Akiko's companions are captured, can she face down the villain all by herself? Things end on a fun note, and she finally makes a friend she can tell about her adventures on Smoo. I wonder where the series will go from here, but I'm enjoying it mightily every step of the way.

I also wonder if the Akiko comic book is still going on, and if this adventure was chronicled there the way her pursuit of Alia Rellapor was. I had no idea, but having visited Mark Crilley's site, I can now say, no. The comic and books diverge after the Alia Rellapor story, which is fine by me. I can only hope there will be more books in the series, and that Mark Crilley will continue to entertain with books like this and his wonderful manga, Miki Falls.

A History of Violence by John Wagner and Vince Locke

Tom McKenna is a meek and mild-mannered diner owner who has a high reputation in the town as a fine man. But when two punks try to rob his diner, he makes short work of them. The story is a three-day wonder of how a man armed only with a glass coffeepot took on a pair of gun-wielding punks and won.

But that act of defense earns Tom much unwanted attention from the media. Shortly after his picture is published in several papers, however, he finds that it has earned him attention of another, far deadlier sort: three men in a dark car, one missing an eye, come to town looking for him and calling him "Joey". Tom says he doesn't know anyone with that name, and denies being this "Joey". The men continue to show up wherever he and his family are, and Tom gets angrier and more agitated with each "coincidence" of their showing up. The men quickly go from strange to downright menacing. But when Tom's son is snatched by the men and held at gunpoint, Tom is forced to gun them down and defend his family. He admits to being Joey during a shootout with the men after sending his family away. He kills the two younger men and nearly kills the older man. He also takes a wound that puts him in the hospital.

There, he confesses all to his wife and son. His name really *is* Joey, and he is the man they were looking for. He tells them of his youth in Brooklyn and of a crime he and his best friend planned and took part in to avenge his friend's brother, who had been gunned down by a mobster and killed. Afterwards, the enforcer for that mobster chased them and caught his friend, Richie. But Joey gave some of the money he took to his grandmother so she could get an operation and live, and fled with the rest. He, too, was nearly caught, but managed to get away missing only part of his pinky finger.

Now, the forces of the mob want revenge on him, and there can be no rest for Tom/Joey until he faces up to the ghosts of his past and the men who want him killed for what he did. But can he keep his family safe, or will his history of violence lead to their deaths as well as his own?

This graphic novel looks at the costs of keeping secrets, and how they always will out in the end, causing more pain the longer they are kept. Tom/Joey however, is a good man who was drawn into bad circumstances. Had he grown up somewhere else than inner city Brooklyn, he would never have gotten involved in a crime in the first place, nor if he hadn't kept the secret for so long. But Tom/Joey's intention to keep his secret from everyone made things worse in the long run. How far will he go to keep his secret, and what will he do to keep his family and those he loves safe from the mobsters who are gunning for him?

Even as a graphic novel, this has the power to shock, and it keeps on delivering those shocks in different ways, from the initial crime of the two killers who later try to assault Tom's Store all the way up to the end when we find out the fate of Joey's friend Richie, and at plenty of other stops along the way. Through all the shocks, you get the feel of menace closing in around Tom and his family, menace that will grab him and not let him go. Reading the book feels almost claustrophobic at times because you begin to sympathize with Tom/Joey and imagine how you would feel in his shoes, and it isn't a pretty situation.

Once your sympathy is with Tom, however, you wonder how he will get out from under the weight of all the problems his secret has caused him. Is there any hope of an end other than death? Or will Tom find another way to end his problem? It's probably no secret that the ending is violent as hell, and bloody, too. But even as Tom reassures his wife that it's over, you have to wonder... is it really? A very affecting and effective Graphic novel, but definitely not for kids.

Night Child by Jes Battis

Tess Corday is a Level-One OSI in the Vancouver Mystical Crime Lab, an organization so secret that no one outside the organization knows they exist. But even though Tess is in her 20's, most of her schoolmates have shot past her in the job, because she doesn't aspire to be anything more than an OSI-1. She doesn't want to be stuck behind a desk, but as she gets older, she gets less powerful, but sneakier.

Called out onto a case in the middle of the night, she finds a dead vampire with no wounds on him lying dead in an alley. He shouldn't be dead, but he is. The only clue on his body is a note written in vampire script, which, when deciphered, turns out to be the address of a girl named Mia Polanski and her aunt and Guardian, Cassandra. She questions them about the vampire, but becomes aware that while Mia is fully human, her aunt is a Demon, and quite a powerful one at that. Why a demon would protect a young woman, she has no idea, but Tess wants to rip Mia from her aunt's arms and protect her herself, for Mia reminds Tess of a girl named Eve, who Tess dreams of amidst fire almost every night.

Tess, stil investigating the dead vampire, is warned by her boss Marcus that if she doesn't follow the rules on this case, she is going to lose her job, since she's screwed up too many times before. He sends her to make contact with a necromancer, the man who is the liason with the vampires. Lucian is nothing like what a necromancer should be: handsome, and alive and charming. Nevertheless, Tess is terrified of him and his power. He is with her when she questions the dead vamp's mistress and maker, Sabine, and afterwards, lends her some insight into the nature of vampire society.

Tess continues to investigate, and while she continues to dream of Eve and fire, she also finds Lucian invading her dreams, dreams that are disturbingly erotic and draw him to her apartment. He's everything terrifying and forbidden, and she finds herself drawn to him as she hasn't been to anyone in a long time. But when Mia's aunt is killed and it is revealed that Mia is a vampire somehow gone dormant, it is up to Tess to protect her from both demons wanting to kill her and forces in vampire politics who would love to do the same. But when Tess is blindsided by a traitor in OSI, can she go the extra mile to solve the case and keep Mia alive from those who would kill her?

I liked this book. Tess could come off as just another supernatural action girl, but she's intriguingly damaged, and I liked the world-building in this novel. While vampires as a kind of demon is nothing new, I liked that some demons were sympathetic and the idea of a supernatural CSI. Also, the book is set in Vancouver, which was another unusual choice, as many books are set in the far larger cities of New York, SF, LA or Miami. It was very nice to see, so to speak, some new scenery.

I also loved how Tess was a child of the 80's. I turned 13 in 1980 myself, so remembered all the cultural stuff referenced in the books. Jon Cryer, Pretty in Pink, 80's punk, and so on, and it was like reliving a slice of my past all over again. Tess, while being fairly kick-ass, also feels appropriately afraid in the face of danger, making her realistic. And even if Tess has a reputation as a screw-up, she brings the conclusion home in spades and shows herself to be smart and savvy enough to force the conspirators in the crime apart.

I'd recommend the book, although I'd also like to add that the author is male, when I'd mistakenly assumed female from the name. Surprising author, good book.

Monkey High Volume 1 by Shouko Akira

Haruna Aizawa is the daughter of a prominent politician. That might be good, if her father was above reproach. But since he was caught in a corruption scandal, her formerly wonderful life was completely turned upside down. Unable to cope, she transferred to a new school.

But she got a very bad attitude towards school, viewing it as a mountain of monkeys jockeying for position. And her new school is no different from the one she used to attend. And when she walks into the school, she gets more proof than she expected: a boy named Macharu Yamashita who even looks like a baby monkey! Macharu's real name is Masaru, but everyone calls him Macharu because of his monkey resemblance.

But when Macharu's friend Atsuyuki becomes interested in Haruna, all the other girls in class see her as a threat to their possible relationship with Atsuyuki and start to shun her, she finds Macharu defending her, and her heart is strangely affected by his nearness. When the others find them together, they label Haruna as Macharu's girlfriend, and although she denies it, no one believes her. But when Macharu falls ill after giving her his umbrella on a rainy day, she must take his place as lead dwarf in the school production of Snow White. And yes, she does eventually agree to be his girlfriend- which the rest of the class, evesdropping, overhears. Is there any hope for Haruna but to be the Baby Monkey's girlfriend?

But Haruna has a hard time overcoming her fears, and it takes a class trip to the countryside for her to confront her feelings and wonder if what she is feeling is really love. But when her old school, and her old boyfriend, invites her new class to their Christmas party, Macharu kisses her to prove that they are really girlfriend and boyfriend. But can Haruna forgive him for making their first kiss to public and so embarrassing? Or will this be the end of their budding relationship?

This is a cute series, pairing Yin Haruna to Yang Macharu. They are so different, with Haruna being beautiful, aloof and introverted, and Macharu being goofy, outgoing and enthusiastic. Conflict between them is as natural as breathing, but their feelings for each other cannot be denied. Yes, he makes her laugh and relax, but is that enough to build a relationship on? Or will his boyish cluelessness break them apart?

While readers will find Haruna's new classmates almost unbearably intrusive, it's rather standard for a comedy manga, which is what this is, despite the romance plotline. Unlike most manga, though, the romance story is really touching, showing how two people so unalike can complement and find love in each other. I really enjoyed it.

Death Note- Another Note, the Los Angeles BB Murder Case by Nisioisin

This is not a manga, but a novel, written supposedly by Mihael Keel, aka "M", the successor to L. In it, the author profiles and explains a serial killer case that L was involved with, along with Naomi Misora, who is introduced and dies very quickly in the manga Death Note.

Naomi was a member of the FBI, but because she was a woman, and Asian, she was not highly regarded by the higher-ups in the FBI. And so, when a case went bad, she was laid off on Administrative leave. With nothing to do, she drifted through days in L.A., until she was contacted by L to become his assistant in the case of three people murdered in LA, eventually known as the Beyond Birthday killer or the Wara Ningyo killer, as Japanese Dolls named Wara Ningyo were left behind by the killer at the murder scene.

The three Victims were known as Believe Bridesmaid, Quarter Queen and Backyard Bottomslash (and yes, those are supposedly the real names, and not just pseudonyms assigned by the case investigators). But shortly after Naomi is assigned to the case by L, she meets another investigator, Ryu Ryuzaki, a tall, dark-haired Japanese man who has dark lines under his eyes and seems to live on a diet of sugar and sweet things, like jars of Jam, which he eats with his fingers.

Together the three detectives plumb the mysteries of the case and seek the culprit responsible. But can Naomi Misora, outclassed by both L and Ryu Ryuzaki, hope to have anything to contribute to solving the case? Or is she simply a pawn for L, and a target for the killer?

This book was fairly short, and well plotted, but I really found myself glad it was so small, because if it was any longer, I probably wouldn't have finished it. Mello, the putative author, is at turns arrogant, looking down his nose at the reader, and yet building up L as if he was supposed to have been a God. Both of these things made the book somewhat distasteful to read at times, and by the end I was like "More praise for L's Godlike Intellect... (sigh) brown nose much, Mello?"

The other thing that makes it hard to read is the supposed names of the victims. Yes, they were multiples of B and Q, but honestly! "Believe Bridesmaid"? Who would name their kid that, or have such a last name? Okay, the last name Queen is fine, but Quarter? Why not Quintana or something a bit more believeable? At first, I thought it was a case of "the names were changed to protect the identity of the victims", but no, these were supposedly their real names, by which I could only think that Nisioisin thinks that Americans are idiots when it comes to naming conventions.

Oh yes, and since this book is all about palindromes and things being the same backwards, forwards and mirror-flipped, I noticed that the author's name is also a palindrome, reading the same backwards and forwards (Nisioisin). In short, a good mystery marred by the unique naming styles and alternately arrogant tone and suckupness of the narrator. It comes off like Mello is lecturing people he believes to be idiots about how great L was and using this case as an example. It's rather hard to take, and would have been better told in a more neutral tone.

All Color but the Black: The Art of Bleach by Tite Kubo

"All Color But the Black" is a collection of chapter heading art and special features that appeared in Japanese manga compilations that fans in America never got to see.

This artbook contains 86 color pages of most of the characters in the story. Ichigo, the hero of Bleach, features in a great deal of them, but then again, later in the book, the Captains of the various companies of the Soul Society also come in for a great deal of pictures.

My favorite has to be 13 pictures of the Soul Society Captains, each with an accompanying calligraphic saying that is about them. For instance, Kenpachi's is "Do Not Fear Death. Toy with it instead. Carnage!" and Aisen's is "From the Heavens, From the Stars, And from even Higher", which perfectly describes his ambitions in the series. And Unohana's is "Supreme Healing, A white Flower smiling quietly".

There's a lot to love for Bleach Fans in this Artbook, and at the end, the author and artist describes why he enjoyed (or didn't enjoy), drawing each picture in the book, or what he still likes about it now in particular. Composition, maybe, or use of color. But for American fans of Bleach, the chance to see this artwork in stunning color that they may only have seen in black and white in the reprinted, translated tankobon (the reprinted manga pages that make up manga books published in the US), will outweigh the small numer of pages and thinness of the book (about 50 pages). At roughly twice the price of one manga, though, this isn't a bad buy at all, but unless you are a raging fan of Bleach and Tite Kubo's artwork, you won't miss much by looking but not buying.

Stone of Tymora: Book One- The Stowaway by R.A. and Geno Salvatore

Maimun never knew his real parents, since he was discovered in a great catastrophe that left everyone around him dead. Rescued by a passing man, he was delivered to a powerful druidess who saved him and raised him as if he was her own son. But on his sixth birthday, she is attacked by what looks like an elf. But is it really? When the elf starts to burn down her own forest around her, she takes him and runs to a safe place, then goes back to face the elf... and never returns.

Maimun, who up until this point has had no name, is named by the bard who finds him. The Bard is Perrault, and he reveals to Maimun, which means "Doubly Lucky", that he is the man who found Maimun as a baby and left him with Elbeth, the Druidess. Now that she is gone facing down her opponent, whose name is Asbeel, it is time for Perrault to take up his training and raising.

Perrault raises Maimun for another six years before deciding to go to Waterdeep and return to him his legacy, a small black stone which he instructs Maimun to wear around his body on a leather sling, Maimun does so, and asks Perrault what it is, but the Bard is not very forthcoming on this subject, nor has he been on Maimun's parents and who they were and how they died, or who Asbeel is. But when Perrault is killed, Maimun must make for safety on his own, and encounters the Ship Sea Sprite, under Captain Dudermont, and a certain Drow Elf Ranger.

But can Maimun escape Asbeel and the forces who want the stone? And what does the stone do, anyway? Can Maimun find answers in a world that seems content to keep throwing him into danger and letting those around him die? How will he ever find the truth?

This book was specifically written as a YA novel, and I think it's perfect for teens who are into fantasy. Maimun makes the perfect blank slate: doesn't know anything about his origins, doesn't know his real name, doesn't have many skills, and so on and so forth. And now he's on his own, trying to find out what he is, who he is and what this mysterious stone that is his birthright is.

Maimun doesn't possess any magic or supernatural powers, he's just a teenager, but intelligent, fairly wise and highly observant. And he makes friends of some very powerful and important people in the novel. But can they save him from Asbeel? And more to the point, who and what is Asbeel? We don't know, nor do we get any sort of hint from the book, save that he may be demonic, or some sort of Fire Genasi(?), given his predilection for fire and fiery things (and his consternation when Perrault hits him with a sword that produces cold).

what is Maimun's story? We can't know for sure, but this is one ride I hope to follow to the end.

The Mammoth Book of Best New Manga edited by Ilya

Everyone loves Manga, but the style is no longer confined to Japan. Manga and its sister term from comics of the Far East, manwha, is a style that is being copied around the globe to tell stories, and here are some of the best from around the globe, from Japan to Bulgaria, the US to Italy, showing the best of rising artist/creators from around the globe. Many of them are award winners, and they show off the wide range of manga, from Chibi to Yaoi, SF to Fantasy, to Horror.

With so many stories, instead of trying to include each one, I'll just list my favorites, the ones that made me laugh, cry or which affected me. First is the Comedy Chibis of "The Great Adventures of Gilbert and Sullivan". Watch them deal with Giant Mecha, the Ruler of Japan, upset about "The Mikado", and 'The Wandering Minstrel's Eye"! "Beat Me", which literalizes someone beating themselves up over something in a humorous and realistic way.

"The Forgotten Incident of San Sabian", in which the ghost of a man who erred greatly must deal with the results of his mistake, and the people who died from it, for all time. "Language" by Cubbie, where a boy finally gets up his courage to introduce himself to the girl he likes, only to have her ignore him. But is she really ignoring him? "King of a Miniature Garden" in which a very damaged young man is forced to give up his caretaker, who he loves, for a woman, his fianceé.

"Another Summer Day"- Six young children enjoy another summer day, which all too soon will be ended by the father of one of the pairs. "Samurai Commander Keiko Panda in Reach for the Sky"- an Anthromorphic Panda Woman must shut down a plot to take out the female leaders of the business world. "Never Forget"- Three young people who grew up together are now on opposite sides. But they were once friends, and remember their time together when they were young. And, finally, Strum, about the intersecting lives of four members of the same family, and how each affects the others in unforseen ways.

All the stories in the book are good, but those I enjoyed the best. Featuring different art and storytelling styles, and people from all different parts of the world, I can only Say that you should run, not walk, to your local bookstore and read this book (yeah, buy it, too!). It's filled with great stories, with links to the artist/creators and their websites so you can read more of their work and support it, which qiven the quality in here, is something everyone should do. So get to it!

Tales of the Frog Princess: The Salamander Spell by E. D. Baker

Emma was the Frog Princess, and her aunt Grassina was the Green Witch, the nicest and most powerful witch in the Kingdom. But how did she get that way?

This book is a prequel to the Frog Princess series, and occurs when Grassina is a mere teenager. Her mother and father married for love, but lately, her mother feels that Grassina's father doesn't love her any more, and doesn't show her the kinds of affection that he used to. But when he attempts to come through and show her the kinds of affection that he used to, he makes one mistake: he gives her a bouquet of flowers, and that sets off an old curse on her family.

Recieving flowers after the age of sixteen turns the recipient into an evil, ugly hag, and suddenly Grassina finds her and her older sister, Chartreuse, becoming slaves to her mother's new lust for power and evil. Whereas once her sister was her mother's choice to succeed her as the green witch, despite showing no aptitude for magic, Grassina's spoiled and much-beloved sister seems to be changed by her time as a hen, when her mother changed her into one shortly after the curse taking hold.

Grassina underwent the same sort of transformation, but she was changed into a rabbit. She ran into the swamp, where she usually took refuge as a girl, but found that the swamp was much, much scarier as a hapless rabbit. There, she meets a snake named Pippa, with an injured tail, and finds she can easily understand her. Pippa was injured when the hut of the witch who had imprisoned her fell in, and the witch blamed Pippa for all her problems, which lead Pippa to think that her own bad luck is poisoning everyone and everything around her.

Grassina persuades her this is not the case, but eventually, her mother's further cruelties drive her into the forest for good, where she meets a young boy named Haywood, driven into the woods by his own problems. He knows a bit of magic himself, and when Grassina discovers her own magical talents, it is up to her to save the Country of Greater Greensward from the magical terrors that have afflicted it since her mother changed and her father died. But can she overcome her mother's magic with her own, and save her kingdom from its former Queen Olivene?

I really enjoyed the Frog Princess books, and this book is a prequel to the series. However, because it is a prequel and I've read the original series, we already know the answer to one of the main problems of the series: that Grassina will not be able to defeat the curse that affects her mother, Olivene, as it takes Emma, from the Frog Princess series to do that.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting series to read, and the reader gets caught up with Grassina and her problems, from hearing her parents argue, which she hates, since her mother and father are so much in love the rest of the time, to her later problems of avoiding her mother's transformational punishments and dealing with the many problems that her mother's turning into a hag have brought to the kingdom.

It also shows that not all of the monsters in the Kingdom are problems, like the Vila that helps Grassina against the Werewolves, and later increases the love between Grassina and Haywood in order to help her save his life. One of the things I didn't like was how their love was "shown". Calling each other things like "My sweet, sweet darling, "Light of my life" and "my deepest love" just felt silly rather than romantic. Cheesy, in fact. And while I'm not always opposed to some cheese in a story, this just felt overly heavy-handed and intrusive. And while yeah, its hard to write real love for someone who is only thirteen or so years old, I just think there could be a better way than the way this was done.

But overall, the novel has much more good stuff than silly or bad stuff, and its worth a look. Just don't expect the lovey-dovey stuff to do more than make you gag.

Making Comics by Scott McCloud

Ever since Scott McCloud's groundbreaking graphic novel "Understanding Comics" came out, I hoped there would be a sequel. I am sure a lot of other people hoped for the same. Well, now my waiting is over, for Scott McCloud has come out with "Making Comics", where he gives readers his formula for telling stories through comics that move people.

Now, not every comic can reach readers, but McCloud gives advice on how to make sure the comics communicate effectively with the reader. In the chapters, he breaks the comic down into five choices that comic writers and illustrators use to communicate with the reader: choice of moment, choice of frame, choice of image, choice of word, and choice of flow. To make an effective comic that its readers can understand, McCloud delves into each choice, showing how it influences a comic and its readability to anyone trying to understand it.

His choice of a comic is simple, a man walking finds a key, which he picks up, and later finds a door. He uses the key in the door, and opens it, whereupon a hungry lion jumps out. From that simple comic he shows how the story can change depending on the images one uses, from the backgrounds, to the point of picking up the key and so on. From there, he moves on to concerns of story and character expressions, and body compositions. Now, this isn't about art, at least, not completely, since there are plenty of books out there that will help you draw more perfectly-realized bodies, but this is about being able to understand the expressions and body imagery the creator uses in their comics.

After covering the five choices, McCloud takes readers through the creations of stories, and how to convey various things such as status, and then through the story itself, to convey the power of words and how the words and pictures in the comic work in combination with each other. After that, it is on to World-building. How do you make it seem that the comics you write are all in one place? How do you build a believable world, and it gives several regional variations on non-western comic book perspectives.

Then it's on to the tools of making comics, and the choices of which tool to use, from pencils to pens, to graphics tablets and how each influences the type of art you will produce. Also, getting your comics published, and the kinds of alternatives you have today in getting your art published.

From there, discovering your places in comics, which involves understanding your style and covers several different kinds of comic styles, including manga and why it is so popular now, genres and comics culture. The last chapter is sort of a meta-chapter, and covers how to get work in the paid comics field, old and new markets, and a section called "Your Turn", where you, the comic creator, gets the chance to set the world on fire with your comic.

This is an excellent follow-up to "Understanding Comics", going from being a reader and consumer of comics to becoming a writer, creator and producer of comics and stories. Even if you aren't a writer or plan on becoming one, or an illustrator and the same, reading this book can being on a deeper understanding of comics. and lead you to better understand or critique the creative choices used in the comics you are reading.

Scott McCloud and his comic avatar might have softened and aged more than a bit since his initial book, but his understanding of comics and what makes one good and stand out has only grown and deepened. Anyone who likes to read comics, or who wants to create a good comic, or who wants to make a better comic that resonates with readers and bring them to a real sense of place, should read this graphic novel. As McCloud points out, you don't need to be the best artist, but if your stories, words and the rest of it is up to snuff, you won't need to be a perfect artist.

For giving readers a better way to understand and critique comics, as well as giving writers and artists a way to judge their own works, and understand how to make them better, "Making Comics" rises head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd.

Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn

Cammon is a Reader, a type of mystic, and a mystic is someone who holds power from the Gods. Since most people in Gillengaria no longer believe in or remember the Gods, many people are scared of mystics, believing them to be something unnatural, or even evil.

The most famous mystic in the land is probably Senneth Brassenthwaite, wife of King's Rider Tayse, and a powerful fire-bringer and fire caster. She alone of all the mystics can touch moonstone and remain unburned and unharmed by the gem. She rescued Cammon back when he was young and starving, and brought him into the circle of mystics and Riders that she calls friends, including Kirra Danalustrous and the man who stays as closer as her shadow Donnal, and King's Rider Justin, who is now married to a girl from the Lirrenlands named Ellynor.

But not everyone in Gillengaria feels charitably towards the mystics, and more than a few noble houses hate and fear them, including the Houses of Gisseltess, Fortunalt and Nocklyn. Indeed, Halchon Gisseltess's sister, Coralinda, is the leader of a religion called the Pale Sisters, who hate mystics. Coralinda drapes herself in moonstones, and her soldiers ambush and kill mystics. But because King Barylt will not join them in their war against mystics, these noble houses believe the King should be killed, and one of their own put on the throne.

King Barylt has a single daughter, Amalie, his only child, and to stave off a war with those nobles who do not support him, he is seeking to marry off Amalie in a good marriage. He and his Queen, his second wife, Valri, seek to marry her off in a good match politically and hopefully to someone Amalie can love. To protect Amalie, they call on Senneth and Cammon, who can read the intentions of any of her suitors and see if they have less than honorable intentions towards her.

Cammon and Amalie met the year before, when she and Valri toured Gillengaria, hoping to get the support of the noble families, the Marlords and Marladies, on the side of the King. Amalie and Cammon became friendly, and now they resurrect their friendship when he is called on to keep her safe. But Valri doesn't want any sort of friendship between the two. Cammon is open and friendly to everyone, and the last thing that Valri wants is for Amalie to fall for a man she could never be able to marry. The Queen finds that the two have become friends, but instead of talking with Amalie, Valri instead tells Cammon that she doesn't want him to be with Amalie unless she is in the room with them. And when she realizes that Cammon can speak with Amalie through some form of mental telepathy, she is even more upset.

But she isn't the only one. Senneth isn't happy about the closeness that Amalie and Cammon are experiencing, as Amalie will never be able to marry Cammon, even if she falls in love with him. But Senneth can't hold herself up as an example for the two, as she is a noble and married Tayse, a common man. But she is certainly upset about it. Unfortunately, she, Tayse, Kirra and Donnal are being sent to a city of Mystics, to hopefully recruit some of them for the coming war that everyone wants to avert.

But Amalie reads Cammon's being unable to return her friendship as rejection, and becomes angry at him. In the course of this, he discovers that she has befriended the Raelynx that he and his close friends rescued during one of their adventures. It was only a kit then, and now it is grown and kept in a locked garden to prevent it from getting free and killing its way through the city. But not only has Amalie befriended it, it loves her, in its own way, and even though it is very much a large cat, she can control it as though it was a friendly dog. She wants to free it, and have it stay with her, but Cammon persuades her not to. He also discovers that Amalie is a mystic as well, and so is Valri. Valri can hide anything, even Amalie, from determined searchers, and Amalie's power is thieving magic. She can absorb power from anyone around her, mystics especially, and even mimic their powers. That's how she learned to talk back to Cammon, and how she tamed the Raelynx.

Revelation of her power, and the fact that it gets stronger when she is wearing a moonstone, leads to speculation that Coralinda Gisseltess may have the same kind of power. Since she serves the Pale Goddess, Amalie fears that her power comes from the same source and is evil, but Ellynor, also a worshipper of the Goddess, is able to calm her fears on that score.

Meanwhile, Senneth, Tayse and the others return from the village of Mystics with horrible news: Halchon Gisseltess appears to have hired foreign mercenaries to make war on King Barylt, mercenaries that the powers of Gillengaria mystics will not work on, and he is housing them on ships just off the waters of Gillengaria to invade. The war that everyone has feared is coming to pass, and as Cammon and Amalie fall in love and become lovers, they must fight to keep Amalie on the throne and the forces of the rebels from killing the entire royal family to put Halchon Giseltess on the throne. But can they do it while remaining alive themselves?

I always enjoy Sharon Shinn's books, and her "Twelve Houses" series is no exception. I had gotten the impression of Cammon as a much younger boy, perhaps thirteen, but this book brought to my attention that he was actually 17 at the beginning of the series, and is 20 or 21 in this one. Each of these books looks at forbidden love, from Senneth and Tayse, Justin and Ellynor, Kirra and Lord Romar (who was married, with a pregnant wife- they had a romance, and she made him forget they had ever been close) and now, Cammon and Amalie. In most of the cases, the romances have a happy ending, but I am wondering if this is the last book in the series, now that the rebel lords are defeated and the spectre of war no longer hangs over Gillengaria.

Well, I really hope not, because I enjoy reading tales of Gillengaria. But as the only members of the group left unmarried are Kirra and Donnal, and both of them seem lost without each other, I don't see how the series can be carried any further. But it was awfully nice to see Coralinda Gisseltess finally have an ending, and her brother Halchon as well. They were *not* nice people. And Mayva Nockin finally realized what an ass her husband was, and threw him over. That was also nice to see.

What brings me back to this series are the characters. Even the minor characters are well-rounded, and sympathetic (except the ones intended to be villains, of course). For example, even when Romar Brendyn was romancing Kirra and not thinking about his wife or their coming baby, you could understand why the two of them fell for each other, and it didn't make either of them hateful or villainous. And in the end, when Kirra decided she couldn't take him away from his wife and wiped his memories of their love affair, it came across as more of a noble act than a horrible one (although having your memories stolen is pretty bad from the victim's end of it).

All these things and more are present in this novel. Cammon, while not being a noble, is one of the nicest characters in the book, and he was really torn by calling for Amalie. He knew it was wrong, but in the end, he couldn't resist, and neither could she, and readers are happy for them when they finally make love. This book allows you to enjoy their love even as outside forces, and the force of tradition, are against them, and you wonder if this book will have an ending like that of Kirra's book "The Thirteenth House" or that of Senneth and Tayse "Mystic and Rider". It keeps you guessing to the very end, and brings a conclusion that makes sense as well as being heartwarming. May I also add that Sharon Shinn resisted killing off Romar Brendyn's wife just so he could enjoy a happy ending with Kirra?

This series is well worth the time to read, dense with ideas as well as words, and I cannot suggest it highly enough. With Romance, Politics, Fantasy and Intrigue, whatever you are looking for, you'll enjoy it here.