Take a photo of a barcode or cover
bandherbooks's Reviews (3.65k)
The first in a set of three 'prequels' to Clare's Mortal Instrument series. Set in Victorian London, Clockwork Angel introduces us to a new set of young characters who are striving to learn where they fit in a world full of mystical creatures, magic, and mayhem.
I had a bit of trouble settling in to the series, as it is very reminiscent of Mortal Instruments, but as I continued to read I ended up loving Clare's take on Victorian London. I also enjoyed the gothic romanticism in regards to the relationshp between the leads Tessa, a girl who is not sure of her exact heritage (she can shapeshift, but does not know if she is a Shadowhunter, a Warlock, or what exactly), Will, and Jem. I do enjoy a good period piece, and this one smacks of Steam Punk but does not get too bogged down into the picky details of how automatons work.
I had a bit of trouble settling in to the series, as it is very reminiscent of Mortal Instruments, but as I continued to read I ended up loving Clare's take on Victorian London. I also enjoyed the gothic romanticism in regards to the relationshp between the leads Tessa, a girl who is not sure of her exact heritage (she can shapeshift, but does not know if she is a Shadowhunter, a Warlock, or what exactly), Will, and Jem. I do enjoy a good period piece, and this one smacks of Steam Punk but does not get too bogged down into the picky details of how automatons work.
Even better than the first title in the series, Clockwork Prince picks up the story of Tessa, Will, and Jem, who we soon find out are in a rather twisted love triange (while also dealing with the main struggle in the book - finding the evil Magister who is trying to marry Tessa and take over the British Empire with an army of automatons). We finally find out why Will is so rude and horrid to everyone, and we also find out Jem (Will's battle buddy) is in love with Tessa and has no problems showing it. Also, we finally have a heroine who isn't willing to pine away for an unrequited love. Woo hoo!
Loving this series and time period. I wish this one was the movie coming out in the Fall.
Loving this series and time period. I wish this one was the movie coming out in the Fall.
Beautiful, haunting, and mystical, Habibi weaves the tale of two young people struggling in a horrific world of slavery, pollution, and sexual depravity with traditional Islamic and Christian mythologies.
Thompson spent many years on this opus and it was time well spent. Each page is packed with intricate black and white artwork that captures your eye and lingers in your psyche. Each panel is unique and no detail is spared. My only difficulty is that I often found myself devouring the words before I could take in the beauty of each page and had to conciously slow myself down. This is a testament to the power of the story, which is only enhanced by the beauty of the artwork and never overshadowed. So gorgeous.
http://goodokbad.com/assets/images/books/habibi_05a.jpg
Definitely not for the faint of heart, Habibi takes very difficult subject such as prostitution, castration, but above all focuses on the power of love, in all its forms.
Thompson spent many years on this opus and it was time well spent. Each page is packed with intricate black and white artwork that captures your eye and lingers in your psyche. Each panel is unique and no detail is spared. My only difficulty is that I often found myself devouring the words before I could take in the beauty of each page and had to conciously slow myself down. This is a testament to the power of the story, which is only enhanced by the beauty of the artwork and never overshadowed. So gorgeous.
http://goodokbad.com/assets/images/books/habibi_05a.jpg
Definitely not for the faint of heart, Habibi takes very difficult subject such as prostitution, castration, but above all focuses on the power of love, in all its forms.
**Some Spoilers ahead**
I really enjoyed Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, but was not thrilled with The Lost Symbol. Inferno continues my disappointment. While it had an interesting mystery revolving around a madman's fixation on Dante's Inferno and the oncoming world over-population crisis that made me finish reading the darn thing, I was sad Brown's signature puzzles and riddles were mostly missing from this very long tome. Instead the majority of the book was spent on explaining various literary, historic, and architectural references to the reader punctuated by short spurts of the protaganists running around different European cities and always luckily running into different people who could help them on their path to discovering where the maleavolent hidden object they sought was.
Kudos to Brown for throwing in some very good twists to the plot, this book definitely did not end as I imagined and as stated before, he did keep me wanting to know how the mystery would wrap up on the end. I'm interested to see if he will continue with a sequel because the (spoiler alert) virus was actually released into the world. Not expecting that!
I will need to go back and check, but I'm fairly certain at three different mortal sins were described as the "worst" and at the "lowest level" in Dante's Inferno. I hope I'm wrong.
The female lead, Sienna, was also a throw away for me. Of course she is utterly gorgeous, young, and attracted to Robert Langdon (twice her age), and is a brilliant person with an IQ off the charts. Except for Lost Symbol, this has been the case. Let's give Robert a more intersting foil next time please.
I really enjoyed Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, but was not thrilled with The Lost Symbol. Inferno continues my disappointment. While it had an interesting mystery revolving around a madman's fixation on Dante's Inferno and the oncoming world over-population crisis that made me finish reading the darn thing, I was sad Brown's signature puzzles and riddles were mostly missing from this very long tome. Instead the majority of the book was spent on explaining various literary, historic, and architectural references to the reader punctuated by short spurts of the protaganists running around different European cities and always luckily running into different people who could help them on their path to discovering where the maleavolent hidden object they sought was.
Kudos to Brown for throwing in some very good twists to the plot, this book definitely did not end as I imagined and as stated before, he did keep me wanting to know how the mystery would wrap up on the end. I'm interested to see if he will continue with a sequel because the (spoiler alert) virus was actually released into the world. Not expecting that!
I will need to go back and check, but I'm fairly certain at three different mortal sins were described as the "worst" and at the "lowest level" in Dante's Inferno. I hope I'm wrong.
The female lead, Sienna, was also a throw away for me. Of course she is utterly gorgeous, young, and attracted to Robert Langdon (twice her age), and is a brilliant person with an IQ off the charts. Except for Lost Symbol, this has been the case. Let's give Robert a more intersting foil next time please.
Chilling and thought-provoking graphic novel written by one of Jeffrey Dahmer's high school classmates. Backderf's diligent research and wonderful drawing help give a hint of sympathy for the otherwise demonized Dahmer. In high school, admitted by Dahmer himself in a psychological interview, he had a chance of normalcy despite his odd sexual fetishes that would later turn him into a monster. Backderf does sort of 'explain away' any responsibility from himself or the other 'kids' who knew Dahmer and noticed some odd behaviour that could have been reported. Instead he places a blame strictly on the many adults who could and in Backderf's opinion should have noticed something was wrong with Dahmer.
A frothy, boozey, southern belle, Zelda Fitzgerald comes in Fowler's novel, narrated with a Southern Accent in this audiobook. Fowler gives Zelda a tragic air, a woman who dabbled at best in many things but never truly shook off her main identity, that of the wild wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Not many surprises here, but a fun read for summer.