graphic novels and comics - July

Global Frequency: Planet Ablaze by Warren Ellis and
Global Frequency: Detonation Radio by Warren Ellis:
Are you on the frequency? Civilian specialists step in where officials can't go. Very grim, realistic art. Violent, quick stories. Not a lot of character development, but intriguing concept.
(A to Z)

Dance of the Gods by Tatsuya Ishida - 3rd Sinfest collection. Slick and 'Nique; God, Jesus, the Devil, and Buddha; and the cat and dog :)

July SF/F

Warchild by Karin Lowachee - Eight year old Jos' world is destroyed when his ship and parents are destroyed by pirates. His captor takes a personal interest in him, attempting to train Jos to do what he wants, but, while on a space station during an alien attack, Jos escapes the pirate only to be taken by the aliens and their human sympathizers. Trained by the aliens as a spy and warrior, Jos is sent back to the humans to find information that might help end the war. But Jos is conflicted by loyalties to both sides and must figure out his own destiny. Very enjoyable. Interesting world building, good characters. (EMAH, BAM)

Burndive by Karin Lowachee - Ryan Azarcon, son of the starship captain in _Warchild_, is a young man on the verge of collapse. He's suffering PTSD from a bombing at his grandfather's embassy - and his lineage from both sides makes him one of the hottest celebrities around. After his father makes a unilateral decision to talk peace with the alien strits, an action very unpopular in some areas, Ryan is targeted by assassins. His father, who's been away most of Ryan's life, arrives to take him to live on his ship to keep him safe and Ryan is forced to deal with his feelings for his father, the aliens, and the destruction he's witnessed. Didn't like it quite as much as the first one, but still good characters and an interesting world.

Daemons Are Forever by Simon R. Green - Well, Eddie Drood figured out the family secret in _The Man With the Golden Torc_ and blew the family structure all to hell. Now he's in charge - and beset by enemies, "friends", and family. And the thing he decides to do first to rebuild the family morale and re-establish the family as world protectors is to destroy the Loathly Ones, some nasty creatures from another world brought over to help fight the Nazis and who decided not to leave. But the Loathly Ones have been increasing and planning - and the Droods may not be up to the job. Fast paced, good patter, kind of a hard-boiled Mike Hammer/James Bond/fantasy combo.

X-Men: The Last Stand by Chris Claremont - novelization of the movie. Adds more depth to the characters. (888, A to Z)

Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff - Claire is a Keeper, a protector of the world. Austin is her talking cat. A mystical summons and a decamping caretaker stick Claire in charge of the Elysian Fields Guest House - complete with a gorgeous Newfie who cooks, cleans and lives by a code the Boy Scouts would envy; Jacques, a very sexy French Canadian, who's very, very dead; a corrupted Keeper ensconced sleeping beauty style in a room upstairs; and, oh yeah, a hole to hell in the basement. Fun, lightweight. Like the Blood books better.(TBR)

July: teen, 2 horror, romantic thriller, romance/fiction

Taken by Edward Bloor - 30 years in the future, kidnapping is a "growth industry" and it's fairly understood: you get taken, your parents pay, and you're released. But after a ransom drop goes horribly wrong, Charity must step outside the expected routine and find a way to fight for her life - and finds that things are very different than she believes. Was okay, flat characters. Interesting look at class differences. Would rather have reread Tangerine.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest - Southern gothic mystery/horror. Eden has seen ghosts since she was a child. Now adult, she's determined to find out about her family past in order to figure out why a cousin has tried to kill her more than once and keeps calling her by another name. Very Southern gothic, dripping with history and warped family relations. Eden is a great character - very sharp and sharp-tongued. Will definitely look for more in this series.

Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita goes home with Jason to visit his ill estranged father only to get caught up in human and supernatural politics, mistaken identity, and Marmie Noir's latest attempt at gaining power. Would have been better as the novella it was ( or was originally intended to be), but continues the trend of the last couple of books of not being completely about sex. I keep coming back in hopes of a return to kick-ass Anita.

Thigh High by Christina Dodd - Nessa is an assistant bank manager in New Orleans, who just got assigned to help out an insurance investigator who's come to town to look into a series of odd bank robberies by women in Mardi Gras masks. What she doesn't know is that she is the prime suspect and the sexy investigator will do anything to catch a thief, including bedding her. Fun, fluffy, and hot. Great banter.

Summer Blowout by Claire Cook - mine was a paperback ARC - from the author of Must Love Dogs. Bella's life is a mess - her little sister is seeing her ex-husband - and she just got stuck with someone else's dog after doing the makeup for a wedding. But then she gets attached to the dog and meets a cute new guy - can things be looking up? Cute story, would be a nice beach read - but waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much info/product placement on the makeup.