blairconrad's Reviews (1.12k)

A nice beginning. It was a little confusing at first, figuring out who was who and when, but after things got sorted, an enjoyable story. I felt sympathy for Ann and her predicament, and am sufficiently hooked that I want to continue on.
The artwork was acceptable – a little less clear than I’d like (although I do have a problem telling people apart in general, so this could just be me). I did like the cute little interjections the characters made, and even the artist’s sidebars were non-annoying.

I agree with calypte – the book was pretty good, but not Miéville’s best, or most engaging.
Actually, I found the book had a kind of split personality – most of the time when we’re following Judah, Cutter, and that crew, I was engaged. I found the writing was better (except for the very first scenes with Cutter’s gang) and the story had better flow and more interest. I was particularly captivated by the “Judah’s backstory” sections (and especially the stiltspear bits.
Most of the portions of the story that took place in the city left me flat – I found I just didn’t care, although Ori’s early meetings with Spiral Jacobs were not bad. I was totally turned off by the “previous uprising” background.

Nevertheless, the whole thing hangs together better than I’d expected, and Miéville’s prose is, as always, a joy. Recommended, if less so than [b:Perdido Street Station|68494|Perdido Street Station|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255612085s/68494.jpg|3221410] (and especially [b:The Scar|68497|The Scar|China Miéville|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170692699s/68497.jpg|731674]).

First off, there were a few more spelling/grammatical/copyediting errors than I’d’ve hoped in such a work. Worse, some came along fairly early, before the author had built up any karma.

That being said, overall the book is entertaining, educational, and funny. There are a few sections that devolve into laundry lists of terms or rules, but for the most part, the knowledge imparted is interesting. I enjoyed the letters that SPOGG has sent out to various personalities (including Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II). Some of the examples were more risqué than I’m used to in a grammar-related book, but all the more memorable for that.

Acid test – I was reviewing a document at work today and thought, “What would Martha Brockenrough say about this construction?” so points gained there.

Similar to [b:Torn|31981|Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 Torn|Joss Whedon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168297832s/31981.jpg|32196] in that the book is a little weaker than the first two Astonishing compilations. Still an enjoyable read, and I found myself engaged by the story, even if a few of the probably-intended-to-be-surprises weren’t. My biggest complaint would be that the arc seemed rushed – I think we’d’ve been better served by a 9- or 10-issue treatment rather than 6 + a giant issue.
I liked the Spidey/mutant interactions, even though I didn’t get a whole lot out of the “all the other heroes” storyline. I didn’t like the Sad Thing that happened.

Oddly enough, I enjoyed the Hisako subplot. This surprised me, especially given that as far as her powers go, she might as well be a Colossus clone, and the Logan-mentors-an-Asian-girl thing has already been done. It’s this, as much as anything, that makes me want to follow the series after Whedon and Cassaday team leaves. Of course, I’m probably just setting myself up for disappointment.

To sum up: a weaker entry in the Whedon/Cassaday run, but stellar when compared to average comics. (Pretty much anything is weak compared to [b:Gifted|31979|Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1 Gifted|Joss Whedon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1250053931s/31979.jpg|154982] and [b:Dangerous|31975|Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2 Dangerous|Joss Whedon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168297830s/31975.jpg|32190]....)

Decent, but not thrilling. As usual, I enjoyed Johnson’s writing where he wasn’t just quoting older tracts (but those passages were painful). I enjoyed learning a little about the interactions of Priestly and his English/American colleagues, but as I’m neither English nor American, I don’t think the book had the same effect on me that it might’ve someone else.
I guess I was hoping for some sort of buildup to a noteworthy conclusion, but the book seemed flat overall – directionless.

The series continues strong. Probably it’d be stronger if I hadn’t had such a gap between 3 and 4. The illustrations are up to their usual quality, and the story progresses at a reasonable pace. It turns out I’d forgotten who two of the characters were and where they came from, but aside from that, I enjoyed the volume as much as the previous. The one quibble I have is that the timing of some of Nina’s actions was a little unclear to me.

I saw a few episodes of the Monster anime at CTRL-A this past term, and really enjoyed everything about it – the art, the drama, the mystery. It was really nicely put together. Then I saw that the library had volume 1 of the manga (the episodes I’d seen were much further along), so I picked it up. It did not disappoint. The writing was excellent – it looks like it was faithfully reproduced when going to the anime, and the artwork was beautiful – very easy on the eyes, easily distinguishable characters, and nicely paced.
Read it.