thistle_and_verse's Reviews (299)

I tore through this book. It's been a while since I read "Who Fears Death", but from what I remember of the book, this was a neat way to explain the universe. I liked that the time-travelling ability of several characters didn't become a get-out-of-jail-free card. This book was solid and very obviously Okorafor's work but also felt more conventionally sci fi in its subject matter and characters.

Great read. I appreciated the cultural dialogue members of the quartet represented - African American, Nigerian, and Nigerian American/ international. These are real world tensions/ conversations, and I liked seeing that addressed here with so much grace. I really loved the juju knives and masks and Leopard Knocks and the mechanics of magic in this world. It was refreshing and imaginative.

I really liked the Oz books and have enjoyed various re-imaginings of Oz, so I thought I would love this. It was OK. I finished it, but I don't plan to read any more in the series. I was hoping to see more engagement with Oz outside of the first book in the series. There was some - we see some of the minor characters around (but they're usually one-off appearances), and there was a reveal at the end I was able to call possibly because of my knowledge of the Oz universe. To me, it felt like typical YA fare that I would have liked in high school, but now, I'm tired of the tropes that come up in that type of fiction.

I'd compare this world to Men in Black, but instead of aliens, it's about the creatures spawned from people's dreams. Daher's relationship with her ex-wife and daughter tugged at my heart. I enjoyed the art. The fight scenes were fluid and well-executed, and the designs of the more bestial dream figments were inventive. Queen of Bad Dreams examines corruption, family, justice, and what our dreams say about us.

I wasn't feeling the whole Malice and Storm fight over T'challa storyline, and the side story lines weren't particularly interesting. We didn't get to see much of Ayo and Aneka or the Dora Milajae sightseeing. There were nice moments like Storm shopping for plantains or tbe grace given to Malice, but I didn't enjoy this comic as much as I'd hoped. Of the bonus comics, I thought Black to the Future pt 2 was the best.

I really liked the allusion to Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen. There's some new lore for this series introduced at the beginning of the issue, which was a bit confusing, but intriguing enough and seemed like it came from Gaiman's Sandman source material (guessing, because I haven't read it). Erzulie's plot feels very disconnected from the previous issue. It starts with her flashbacking to a major event that could've been its own issue, and there aren't any mentions of Djuna.

A very strong 1st issue. Campbell's artwork is great, and I enjoyed the attention to detail in Sojourner's uniform (her glasses and badge). City Enduring has a cool story, and I'm looking forward to learning more about the 3 species that inhabit it. I think the lack of emotions needs to be explained more because it doesn't seem to affect the character's actions. I'm expecting it to be explained, so that didn't curb my enjoyment of this issue.