Dungeon: Parade

Dungeon Parade 1: A Dungeon Too Many is a comic fantasy graphic novel. Written by Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim originally in French, this volume actually takes place in between the main storyline of the Dungeon series.  But even as a side story, it's fine as a standalone.

It's a fun story of a Dungeon run for adventurers by anthropomorphic characters. The main characters are a Duck and a Dragon for example. The Dungeon Keeper is a Chicken.

A Dragon arrives at the Dungeon looking to the work in management there. The Dungeon Keeper misunderstands and asks for a massage, but after an awkward moment he dispenses some advice. That's the kind of humor you can expect.

Ultimately unsuccessful at getting a job in the Dungeon, the Dragon starts his own dungeon nearby, but it's more of a carnival. Which is why I think it's called Parade. From there, the plot goes haywire.

Dungeon: Parade was enjoyable. There are some funny moments and the art is really good. It's got a lot of personality and I want to read more of the series.

Zenith

In the year 2044, people are genetically engineered to be happy all the time. However, this only brings them paradoxical numbness.

The main character Jack deals pain pills to give people feelings of pain. He uncovers his father's video tapes about the Zenith conspiracy. He has a fling with a whorish yet sympathetic woman. He explores the film's theme as narrator.

This indie film was really weird. Zenith says it's Anonymous but it's apparently by Vladan Nikolic.

I read the plot wiki beforehand and actually watching Zenith was still a bit of a puzzle. It might be one of those movies you'd have to see more than once to fully get it.

There is an interesting premise to the plot where language is being forgotten, and it's rare to know certain words.

Zenith is interesting for its "transmedia" experimentalism. It has a weird promotional website, Stop Zenith. The main character has a fictional blog.

The official website is at ZENITH.

Zenith was billed as: "A retro-futuristic steam-punk thriller." It's ironic because steampunk is becoming such a stamp on anything science fiction these days. But this might be more like dystopian biopunk.

Zenith is a weird film, but it is suspenseful because of the thriller tone. It creates a mystery. It only falls short on fulfilling my hopes that it would come together sensibly in the end. In conclusion, the film's abstraction overshadows its plot, and the extra media is exceedingly bizarre.

RIP Brian Jacques

I met him once... He signed my copy of The Legend of Luke. 

Redwall was a big part of my childhood. It was one of my favorites, if not my favorite series, and I used to roleplay on the Redwall MUCK online. As you can see I still have a shelf of the first 12 of the series. I hope to revisit Mossflower eventually. 

He will be missed.

Gattaca

Gattaca is a science fiction thriller starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. It's about a future world where genes can be manipulated to create a God-child. But the protagonist Vincent is an In-Valid. This means he has some serious, life-threatening genetic defects. He is overshadowed by his younger brother, who has perfect genes. However Vincent sets himself up to use a paralyzed but Valid man named Jerome Morrow's DNA to make himself pass for a Valid and follow his dream of going up into space.

This is an enjoyable, fascinating movie with an interesting premise and vivid characters. It also seems philosophical. The movie explores various relationships, ambitions, and limitations. It's both dark and hopeful.

It got me thinking and I thought it was really well told and directed, and that includes the cinematography. I don't always notice it but I did notice the way the camera was used.

Gattaca is certainly an unrecognized film for being such a great, intellectual biopunk story.

Blade of the Immortal, Vol 1

A wandering samurai named Manji has been cursed with immortality. The only way to get rid of this curse is to kill one thousand evil men. A girl named Rin, whose family has been killed, seeks Manji to help her avenge her family. This gives Manji some targets to fulfill his curse and begins the quest.

Blade of the Immortal (wiki) is a long running manga series by Hiroaki Samura. The first volume, Blood of a Thousand, introduces the plot and characters.

The premise is interesting, but it still needs to be expanded upon, as I know it will in the following 20+ volumes with its various story arcs. Only a samurai would consider immortality a curse. It seems as if they're always seeking after an honorable demise.

The art, in shaded pencil and heavily stylized, is good. The action scenes are good too. And I like it when characters have special attacks.

Blade of the Immortal: Blood of a Thousand is a neat introduction to what appears to be fairly traditional but good Japanese manga. I can't say it's a must-read, but at the very least, it was entertaining.

Hawkwood and the Kings by Paul Kearney

Hawkwood and the Kings, the omnibus of Paul Kearney's The Monarchies of God, Volume 1, contains the first two books of the series, Hawkwood's Voyage and The Heretic Kings. It's a heroic fantasy war epic with the feel of a genuine history. There are kings, mages, werewolves, boats, and guns. It is visceral, clever, and believable.

An explorer called Hawkwood sets off from Abrusio in Normannia towards a new world, the unexplored Western Continent. This voyage is sanctioned by King Abeleyn of Abrusio, so a Lord is aboard ship. There are also mages called Dweomer folk aboard, who are fleeing from the persecution of the Inceptine Church. Ironically, though, there is an Inceptine priest aboard, too. From the beginning, the voyage is fraught with tension and potential for disaster.

In the east, Merduk invaders attack, destroy, and threaten Torunna, one of the main territories of Normannia. The stronghold of Aekir has fallen and the next in the line of defense is Ormann Dyke. Corfe, the last survivor of the fall of Aekir, returns to Torunn with the surviving High Pontiff, Macrobius. At the conclave of kings in Charibon, a civil war between the five kingdoms begins because the Inceptine Church doesn't believe that Macrobius could have survived the fall of Aekir. 

There are a ton of compelling, interesting characters and even a few more plot threads. Kearney weaves them all together seamlessly, while the plot is still complex and varied. The transition between the two books was smooth, although each novel has a shape to its plot.

There are completely excellent battle sequences. The era is based roughly between the Age of Discovery and the Age of Sail. Ships have cannons and soldiers have arquebuses. Yet aside from a few elements of historical realism, it is staunchly a fantasy. In fact, the magic system deserves to be mentioned because it is interesting and even now remains mysterious. 

Overall, Hawkwood and the Kings is somehow both complex and extremely readable, which is not always an easy balance to strike. It's an awesome, enjoyable adventure. The omnibus is published by Solaris Books.

Madman: The Oddity Odyssey by Michael Allred

Madman is not your ordinary superhero. In fact, Madman's kind of an antihero. However, he is formidable. He has a yo-yo and the slingshot as his main weapons, and he's psychic through touch. He wears a strange outfit, which people comment on and wonder why, and even he doesn't really seem to know what his costume means. In spite of his eccentricity or perhaps because of it, Madman is oddly compelling.

In this story, Madman is trying to save the doctor who's frozen in the freezer in his apartment. Madman is told he has to find another doctor in order to bring him back to life. The arch villain is a would-be mad scientist who wants the other doctor's scientific discoveries on life and death for himself. 

The art is good. It's black, white, and blue, which is really kind of neat but also somewhat stark and abstract. It has been called pop art. Throughout the graphic novel, there are good action scenes, philosophizing, characterization, romance, and a ton of weird stuff. Madman really is a sympathetic, personable character.

Madman is sort of an offbeat comic with cult appeal. It really is an "odyssey of oddity" so the title Oddity Odyssey is apt. Michael Allred's Madman has generated a lot of all kinds of praise from seriously big names, as seen on his blog, Allred Art, which is in actual fact brand new. Check it out! And here is his official website. The first issue of the comic can be previewed at Madman: The Oddity Odyssey #1 on comiXology. 

True Grit (eGraphic Novel) by Dan Light and Ben Read

I saw over at Grasping for the Wind that there was a True Grit comic online: Free eGraphic Novel: True Grit by Dan Light and Ben Read based on the recent movie. So, having already seen True Grit (review), I read this e-comic. While it is well done, it's just an introduction to the characters and story of the movie.

It's basically the start of the film. In some ways, it's a better introduction. In the movie, the courtroom scene generally served to introduce the character of Rooster Cogburn. But in the comic, not only do we get the courtroom scene, but also we get to see it depicted graphically. In the movie, it was only told in retrospect. This provides a more active portrayal of the character in the movie, although it lacks the presence of the actor Jeff Bridges, who was nominated for an academy award as best actor for his role of Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.

This was an enjoyable read for someone having seen the movie and probably enough to get someone interested if he or she likes westerns. It also got me interested in finding out about more work from the authors, or the artist. Although, maybe I just liked reading it online at ComiXology, where you can click to view it frame by frame.

Speculative Horizons, Ed. by Patrick St-Denis

Edited by Patrick St-Denis of Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, the Speculative Horizons anthology turned out to be fairly decent. There wasn't any particular theme. Each story had something going for it and was readable. I have found some new authors I would enjoy reading after this as well.

No story stands out more than the rest. The anthology is equal to the sum of its parts. A number of interesting ideas add together to equal a fine speculative fiction short story collection. 

Reviews of the individual stories can be found under the label: Speculative Horizons.

"The Stranger" by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

"The Stranger" by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is a short story from Speculative Horizons anthology edited by Patrick St-Denis.

A mysterious stranger arrives to stay at the narrator's family farm. The stranger appears to be a warrior due to his manner and weaponry. And during the story, he proves that he is indeed a valiant fighter.

It was a likable short story and my first introduction to the author's work. I liked the direct narrative style and the fantasy elements both at the forefront and in the background. I would definitely be interested in reading the Saga of Recluce series, the world in which "The Stranger" is set.