Reviews by maiakobabe | The StoryGraph

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maiakobabe

Womanthology: Heroic

Joamette Gil, Mado Pena, Ming Doyle, Kayla Cagan, Fiona Staples, Stephanie Buscema, Lauren Burke, Jill Pantozzi, Stacie Ponder, Gail Simone, Katie Shanahan, Amanda Mcmurray, June Brigman, Chrissie Zullo, Martel Sardina, Nei Ruffino, Kelly Thompson, Mariah Huehner, Maura McHugh, Tanja Wooten, Jessica Hickman, Trina Robbins, Kimberly Komatsu, Rachel Autumn Deering, Megan Brennan, Stephanie Haas, Samantha Newark, Bonnie Burton, Suzannah Rowntree, Anya Martin, Danielle Soloud, Mary Bellamy, Janet Lee, Amanda Deibert, Sarah Becan, Sarah Elkins, Colleen Doran, Rachel Pandish, Jenna Busch, Lois van Baarle, Nicole Falk, Jenn Corella, Barbara Randall Kesel, Kate Leth, Valia Kapadai, Jessica Deering, Ann Nocenti, Thalia de la Torre

3.0

Castle is one of David Macauley's classic architectural children's books. It explains the building process, including the ingenuity and some of the hazards, of building a castle and town from the ground up in the mid-1200s.

The Eyre Affair

Jasper Fforde

3.25

The Eyre Affair is a mystery-crime-sci-fi-comedy novel for the literary nerd. It is set in England in an alternate universe version of the 1980s, in which cloning of extinct animals for household pets is common, time travel looked down on as wretched career choice, and literary crimes get their own whole division in the police force. Thursday Next is a veteran of the Crimean War (which has been running more than a century) and a Lit Crimes special agent- her expertise is immediately needed when a priceless Dickens' manuscript is stolen by a thief whose image does not register on film. Things quickly get strange- and also hilarious.

Re-read in 2025: I revisited this after reading and loving Jasper Fforde's stand alone sci-fi novel Early Riser last year. Unfortunately, The Eyre Affair suffered in comparison- the main villain of the book is very weak, and I can now see the pacing issues of this debut novel. I still found it very funny and probably caught more of the classic lit jokes than I did last time, but it's no longer the Fforde novel I'd suggest people start with. Try one of his more recent works!

Ship

David Macaulay

3.0

Ship tells two stories- the first is about the fictional excavation of a 15th century ship, whose remains are discovered on the bottom of the sea. The second story is about the building of the ship, the fictional diary of the ship's owner as he watches it rise- timbers, frames and sails- to readiness for its first ill-fated voyage. Informational and enjoyable.