blairconrad's Reviews (1.12k)

Not bad, but not enthralling either. I don't think there was a single likable character in the book (maybe Pogo), and 2 of the brothers were sometimes hard to tell apart. I think there's something there, and I would've enjoyed a longer treatment, if only to develop the characters and their powers a little bit - Rumor's power was intriguing, but I didn't really get it until the end.

Oh, originality points for the first villain we encountered.

A quirky but realistic story of first love and coming of age. The author/protagonist is strongly influenced by his conservative religious upbringing, and the story of how he found love is very much affected by this, as his is subesquent life. Sometimes more about dealing with yourself and your expectations than with the outside world.

Thompson’s not the best illustrator I’ve seen, but the illustrations fit the style of the story very well, and are sometimes very sad.

As I started the book, I didn't think I was going to much care for it, but I was eventually turned around. Or rather, I was left in a conflicted state. I failed to enjoy most of the main story with Cham and Dodola - the rapes and the sexualization of at least some of them made me very uncomfortable. I also wasn't that excited about the supporting cast - they seemed one-dimensional.
Where the story shone, I thought, was in linking Cham and Dodola's story to the spiritual/religious tales, and even moreso in the presentation of those tales. I'd've been much happier reading a book of parables that Thompson had written and illustrated (especially illustrated - for all of my complaints about the subject matter portrayed, I can't fault the artwork - there's just an incredible amount of care and time poured into the detailed panels). I found myself eagerly awaiting the return to these elements, and their strength is enough to pull the story into 4* range.

Pulled me along, at least when we weren't hearing Madeleine's POV, but ultimately I didn't care for anyone or care who ended up with whom. High point:

Spoiler

Leonard's psychosis

. Low: the classroom scenes.

Good! After [b:Thud!|62530|Thud! (Discworld, #34)|Terry Pratchett|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320495268s/62530.jpg|819104] and [b:Monstrous Regiment|34511|Monstrous Regiment (Discworld, #31)|Terry Pratchett|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316606122s/34511.jpg|2073281], I was a little leery of another Guards book, but I had a good time. The very humorous "Vimes in the country" bits juxtaposed really well with the very serious crimey bits that the commander has to deal with. Entertaining throughout, it reminded me of Granny Weatherwax's struggles. And made me want to give Thud! and Monstrous Regiment again...

Very cool. An excellent premise for a book, and Waid pulled it off very well. I really enjoyed the Plutonian's stated motivation for his turn, as well as the hints of secrets to come. The genre in-jokes are pretty good, too. I'm not sure that the quality and interest can be maintained, but I see the local library has 6 more volumes, probably never touched by human hands, so I'm off to reserve!

Counter to my expectations, I enjoyed this one as much as the first volume. I really enjoyed the story of the horrible event. It's the sort of thing that you'd think you'd hear more about in superhero comics.