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Whoa. I read Warren Ellis' No Hero and Supergod, both different takes on what the rise of superhumans might look like in the real world, neither particularly optimistic. They're pretty great and awe-inspiring. I really recommend checking them out.

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

I finished the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy "trilogy", and I'm about 200 pages into Dune right now. Good stuff.

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Finders Keepers by Stephen King
7/10
It really feels like King was writing an entirely different book and decided to convert it into a Hodges novel halfway through. It's an entertaining read, but I think the relationship between Hodges and Pete could've been better developed. Also if the next book is heading where I think it's heading with the ending, this series could really jump the shark.

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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
8/10
A good little book with a great, dark sense of humor and a great love of film. It would have been better if it developed its titular dying girl more and even though it does subverts a lot of tropes and clichés, it ends up using them as well. I still liked it, but I also fear for the film because the book is pretty R-rated in terms of language and a few other things, and given that the movie is PG-13 and after watching the trailers, I think they may have taken away good things from the story and put in bad ones.

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The Martian
9/10
A cool, fun read. Especially neat if you're into science.

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^ finished Dune. Amazing book. Drags a bit in some areas, but I feel that given the scope of the story that was rather unavoidable.

Also, what's up with people saying "Read the book first."
Like, dude, seeing the movies first put me onto some of the best books I've ever read and might not have read/known about otherwise.
Blade Runner, Starship Troopers, Dune, Judge Dredd- etc etc...

After finishing Dune, I'm giving the movies a revisit.
Starting with the 2000 miniseries, and then it's sequel, and then the massive fancut thing of the Lynch movie.
Always been meaning to see that one.

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I'm halfway through Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
I've attempted to read it in the past but never got past the first couple chapters.
It's oddly off-putting in a strange way.
It takes a while to draw you in, and even halfway through I found myself actively resisting the urge to put it down and pick up Dune Messiah.
Thankfully, it's gotten really interesting. Mindfuckish even, so I'm pretty engrossed at this point.

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Finished Dune Messiah.

Thought that the world-building, political intrigue, and the prose itself were all fantastic
I love the dialog, and the emotions
But the problem was with the story. I guess it's subjective, because it's growing on me, but the whole premise undermines the previous book in a way.
I mean, in a way it follows through with some of the groundwork laid in the first book, but nobody wanted to see Paul like this. It makes sense, but it makes for dreary reading.
It reads less like high adventure, and more like sinister politics and stuff.
The first book, despite all it's wordy-ness and politics, still ended up being a rapturous fantasy adventure with action and violence, romance and mysticism-
All those things have been inverted in this one
It's darker and actually kinda depressing.
I didn't dislike it by any means, but I can definitely see how it's a lesser fiction than Dune.
I also went ahead and bought all the rest of the Dune books that Herbert himself wrote.

I have no impulse control.

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I haven't really posted everything I've been reading here lately, but I read some longer series recently all of which were really great.

Alan Moore's Promethea is absolutely amazing and needless to say, everyone should read it. It kind of deals with the concepts of imagination and magic and how they affect us.

Alan Moore's Supreme is also great, though I wouldn't say it's as good as Promethea. It's basically Alan Moore doing Superman, but it's an analogue character so he can do whatever he wants. It's especially great if you like Silver Age stories because almost every flashback in his run manifests as Alan Moore straight up doing a really good Silver Age superhero story, art and all. It's very impressive.

I also finished Preacher by Garth Ennis which is amazing. It took me so long to read it, but I'm glad I finally got around to it. It's 75 issues, but it certainly doesn't feel anywhere near that long. If you ever wanted to see a guy and his friends go hunt down God to make him face up to the shit he's pulled, this is the series for you. It's a great story about friends, love, and making your way in the world when absolutely everything is stacked against you.

Speaking of god, John Ostrander's The Spectre is also great. It's a very thorough character study of a crooked 30's cop who was murdered by gangsters and bonded to the spirit of vengeance, cursed to wander the Earth and enact terrible vengeance on those who deems deserving of it. It's very fun and interesting as Jim Corrigan lets loose with his powers and has to examine himself and his quest all while battling terrible entities that would add or magnify humanity's worst aspects. If I were to describe The Spectre in simple terms, I'd say he's like Freddy Krueger and Ghost Rider combined.

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

I planed to buy a ton of books today, but settled for Neuromancer by William Gibson.
On my to-read list, is (aside from all the Dune sequels) The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker, and John Carter of Mars.
Just to name a couple. I also almost bought Saga vol.4, but didn't. Ah well. Next paycheck.

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Do I even need to do a review when you have so succinctly said what I would have said anyway? Agreed on all counts, especially the first one. I find it odd that, in a book that involves characters he is trying to develop as part of an ongoing series, he chose to introduce these characters rather late into the story. I don't think Hodges shows up until page 150, or so. And when he does bring them back, it feels like a glorified cameo. This is especially true of Jerome, who brings his annoying character he sometimes slips into (although, mercifully, by the end of the book it looks like he realizes it's getting time to retire the shtick.) along for the ride. This really could have just been a much tighter story involving Pete. The premise is interesting, so why not stick with that? And that ending. Yeesh. Jump the shark indeed. Plus, there are no personal stakes involved with Hodges, Jerome and Holly, whereas there were for the first book. It's like they're just tagging along. And as a final note, the book continues King's habit of writing about troubled relationships between mothers and sons. Or, really, just shitty mothers in general.

Have you read Revival? Maybe it's because I read it after reading Mr. Mercedes, but it's a much better book. I really don't know why King has decided to follow these sort of likeable characters so he could create a Murder She Wrote type series.

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"Heard them Walthers like to jump some" "As will you, with one in your elbow."

I haven't read Revival yet. I think I might do so soon. It's true, it's really weird there were no personal stakes between Hodges and the rest. I was expecting some sort of paternal relationship to develop between Hodges and the kid, but he was actually kind of a jerk to him. In an understandable way, but it's weird how that aspect of the book wasn't really developed.

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Sweet Tooth- Kind of like The Road, but with animal people and other weird stuff. It's about a post-apocalypse and there's a man and a boy and other characters and things are sad and sometimes they're not so sad and people die. It's pretty good and it honestly does not take long at all to read for something that's forty issues. You can knock it off real quick.

The Midas Flesh- This comic is GREAT. . What if you weaponized the Midas Touch in a future sci-fi war? Wouldn't everyone be real fucked if it got out of control? Also, there's a velociraptor in a space suit and it's only eight issues. Read it. It is a fun and diverse book to say the least.

Jack Staff V1- This is a pretty cool indie superhero comic that occasionally blows your mind. I don't know that I'm going to continue it particularly soon, but it is very entertaining and plays with the comic medium in a lot of interesting and unexpected ways.

Nightworld- This was really good. A four issue series about a scientist demon man who's trying to save his limbo world lover. Fightin' demons Kirby style, it's a grand ol' time. Lookin' forward to the sequel.

Six-Gun Gorilla- Also GREAT. Just as weird and unconventional as The Midas Flesh, this blew me away. It's a crazy dystopian sci-fi Western that's about a gorilla with giant revolvers, a Civil War, and fiction itself. It is fantastic.

Ultimate Human- Billed as Ultimate Universe Iron Man vs. Ultimate Universe Hulk, if you get past that, it's pretty good. It really isn't what it's marketed as, they fight for, like, two pages. It's really about the nature of the characters and what they mean to their world as super humans/freaks of science.

The Auteur- This was fiiiine? It's like a slapstick crass gore comedy about a film maker trying to get back on his feet. It didn't have a super coherent plot even though it all made perfect sense. It just didn't feel like there was a great through line. Like, it starts out with an interesting high concept, but then kind of abandons it for a different one halfway through. Which, typing it now, might be meta commentary, actually. I dunno, it's kind of a mixed bag, but it's a quick read so I wouldn't not recommend it.

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

Well I'm defo gonna get my hands on The Midas Flesh and Six Gun Gorilla...
Right after I finish the Dune books.
And of the six main ones, I'm roughly halfway through book three, Children of Dune.
SO much better than it's predecessor, Dune Messiah, which was a grim and almost depressing slog. The last few chapters of Messiah redeemed the whole of the book, mostly- but Children of Dune blows it out of the water. Giving us two young fresh faced heroes, the book manages to recapture the danger, intrigue and excitement of the originl.

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Silver Surfer (ongoing)- This is really fun. It's basically Doctor Who with the Silver Surfer exploring the universe with a human companion, but it doesn't feel derivative, really. It's good for a fun adventure/romance comic with beautiful art.

Black Science (ongoing)- Also really good. I like how Rick Remender's characters tend to get fleshed out and have very distinct and drastic character arcs. This is definitely the type of series that only gets better as it goes on as a result. It might be the best sci-fi comic on the stands right now.

Vengeance (six-issues miniseries)- This takes, like, an issue and a half to get going, but I was surprised at how much I ended up liking it considering it felt like a bit of a misfire until it found its footing. It's a Marvel Universe book that emphasizes the ideas of legacy and change with two teen super teams, one heroes and one villains, striking from the shadows, with the villains believing the old guard to need replacing, with many iconic MU villains dead or shadows of their former selves. This is a really unique book and, not unlike Silver Surfer, it also has really great poppy art.

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero-
Fascinating and very well written. This guy had one of the most interesting lives I've ever come across.

Watching the Watchmen -
Great design, great insight into the making of the book, although I would've preferred more text-based parts as well, and more detail into how the book was made.

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Secret Avengers #21.1-37 by Rick Remender. A story of easy choices, hard choices, and sacrifice. Also, very fun as Rick Remender comics always are.This story employs two characters that I'd followed previously, Eric O'Grady, the third Ant-man created by Robert Kirkman and Agent Venom AKA Flash Thompson, Peter Parker's former bully and current friend, the Venom persona created by Rick Remender himself in Flash's own amazing solo series. The comic utilizes both beautifully and they're a big draw to the book, I think. I absolutely hated "The Irredeemable Ant-man" before this and now think of him as a true hero.

New Mutants: The Demon Bear Saga (issues 18-20). Probably my favorite story arc in a comic book run, this is a story about facing your worst fears and coming together as a team. Chris Claremont's larger than life ideas are on display here in his uncountable contributions to the X-men mythos per usual, but what really makes this book are the art contributions from Bill Sinkiewicz. He realizes everything in nightmareish and detailed beauty, as the New Mutants fight a foe they simply don't know how to face. As I lay in my bed that night, awake yet dreaming, I thought of my own worst fears and the hard truths that lie beneath them advanced beyond the doubt at the back of my mind, but seeming to genuinely taunt and attack me. I fell asleep at their apex in a silent fit of a semi-spiritual self-actualization and woke up the next day with the knowledge in tow. However, I felt new and ready to face the bright new day with friends, just as Dani Moonstar and the New Mutants before me.

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
Interesting exploration of "first contact", very basic, generally drawn characters. It works and it's engaging through and through, but it reminds me why I tend to shy away from hard sci-fi novels or why other people do so.

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Though I'm familiar with Rendezvous with Rama, I haven't read it, but I do love Childhood's End also by Clarke, of which I actually bought a first edition today. It's really great, if you haven't read it, you should give it a shot. It's not very long and I also think it's very accessible. I don't know about Rendezvous with Rama, but I don't think I'd characterize Childhood's End as hard sci-fi. By the way, still assuming you haven't read it, if you need further persuasion, End of Evangelion was inspired by it a great deal.

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"The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I agree with the second part.

"There's a cello in your house now."

It sounds very interesting. I think I'll definitely give it a read. Hopefully soon.

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