The Return of Comic Book Focus

After much consideration I have decided to revive Comic Book Focus.

In the near future you will start seeing reviews of graphic novels and comic book series on a regular basis.

This site will return to focusing on science fiction and fantasy.

Short Story Sunday: She Sees Ghosts

Title:  Cassandra

Author:  C. J. Cherryh

First Publication:  The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1978

Awards:  1979 Best Short Story Hugo Award,
1979 Best Short Story Locus Award, Nominee for 1979 Best Short Story Nebula Award

Cover Artists:  (1) Michael Whelan for "The Collected Short Stories of C. J. Cherryh", (2) David Hardy for "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction"

From Visions of Paradise:  It was a deserving (Hugo) winner, the story of a woman who sees future dead people superimposed on the present, and what happens when she meets a man who is part of both images. A chilling story.

Back in my early days of reading the science fiction magazines, I was always excited to pick up the anniversary issues of "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction".  The 29th anniversary special was one of the best.  In addition to Cherryh's "Cassandra", it also contained stories by Thomas M Disch, Stephen King (the first appearance of "The Gunslinger"), Terry Carr, and a classic by Michael Bishop ("Effigies").  Going up against tough competition, Cherryh managed to win the Best Short Story Hugo.

I hate to say much more than what was revealed in the quote from Bob Sabella's "Visions of Paradise" blog.  He did a perfect summary of this moving story.  From the tone of the story, the reader knows that this tale will not end well.  Cherryh does a great job of tapping in to the emotions and thoughts of someone with a talent that can be a gift and a curse at the same time.  It has appeared in many collections.  If you have not read it, I suggest hunting it down.  It was only the third non-novel written by Cherryh and it shows how good she is at any length.

I mentioned Bob Sabella's "Visions of Paradise" a few times.  You will also see that I added a label for it.  Bob passed away in late 2011.  I still find myself going back and revisiting his excellent blog.  Any time I review an author that I know he liked or a story that he discussed, I will add this label in memory of Bob.

I read this story as part of "Once Upon a Time VIII".

Short Story Sunday: Revisiting the Pattern

Title:  Prolog to Trumps of Doom
Author:  Roger Zelazny

First Publication:  1985

Collections:  (1)Manna from Heaven, (2) The Road to Amber

Cover Artists:  (1) Bob Eggleton for "Manna from Heaven"  (2) Michael Whelan for "The Road to Amber"

Regular readers of this blog know of my love for the work of Roger Zelazny in general and the Amber series in particular.  In my opinion, no other author is able to break the rules of sentence structure and create a thing of poetic beauty like Zelazny.  He is the master of what would best be called science fantasy.  His Amber series reads like a fantasy epic but incorporates parallel worlds and other science fiction elements.  Even in his lesser works his sentences are magical.

The first storyline (beginning with "Nine Princes in Amber" and ending with "The Courts of Chaos") featured Corwin's return to Amber and the mystery of the Black Road.  At the time I thought he was done writing about this universe.  He would return to write five more books telling the story of Corwin's son Merlin.  Many fans and critics were not happy with the result.  Despite the let down from the original series, I still enjoyed the Merlin books.  I plan on reviewing them this year.  This was the lead in to the first Merlin book "Trumps of Doom".  When that book appeared, I almost devoured it in one sitting.  Any time Zelazny writes about Amber, I know I am in for a good read.  

If you read this story before starting "Trumps of Doom" the reader might be confused.  Zelazny tells the tale of someone walking the Pattern.  We are not sure who the person is.  Instead of taking a sword with them to get enchanted, the person takes what is described as a cord.  Walking the Pattern is still exciting and brought back memories of the first time when we read about Corwin following it.

I enjoyed this story and plan to follow up reading the other Amber short stories over the next few weeks.

I read this story as part of "Once Upon a Time VIII".

The Cage by Martin Vaughn-James

First Publication:  1975

Source:  Net Galley

Graphic Novel Challenge book #2

Summary (from Amazon):
First published in 1975, The Cage was a graphic novel before there was a name for the medium. Cryptic and disturbing, it spurns narrative for atmosphere, guiding us through a labyrinthine series of crumbling facades, disarrayed rooms and desolate landscapes, as time stutters backward and forward. Within the cage's barbed-wire confines, we observe humanity only through its traces: a filmic sequence of discarded objects - headphones, inky stains, dishevelled bedsheets - scored by a deafening cacophony of breaths, cries and unsettling silence.

This book is very intriguing.  The artist focuses on the cage while time might be flowing forwards...or maybe backwards around it.  The lack of people, including a protagonist, makes it difficult to understand.  Some people say that the author is not really sure what it is about.  So if you are a reader who loves dialog and the interaction between people, avoid this book.  In other words if you are someone who prefers the destination to the journey, this is not for you.

On the other hand, the "journey" of this story is amazing.  The art varies in style but is very good.  Martin Vaughn-James does a great job of using the items in and around the cage to show changes.  I would like to see what the creator could do with a more traditional type of story.  I give the art a higher grade than the story but the way it is done makes the art the focal point of the pages.  Fans who enjoy good art will like this book.

Overall, I am glad I had the opportunity to read this novel.  It is worth getting a copy.

Treecat Wars by David Weber & Jane Lindskold

First Publication:  2013

Source:  Net Galley

Summary (from Goodreads):
New York Times and Publishers Weekly Best Selling Young Adult Series. Book Three by international writing phenomenon David Weber. Two young settlers on a pioneer planet seeks to stop a war and to save the intelligent alien treecats from exploitation by unscrupulous humans.

"Treecat Wars" brings back good memories of the many young adult science fiction books of my youth.  "Two young settlers on a pioneer planet..." makes me think of many of the classics Robert A. Heinlein.  When you mix in the "intelligent alien treecats" and the "unscrupulous humans" my mind turns to Andre Norton's work.  In both cases this is a good thing.  Both authors helped to mold my love of science fiction.  I have seen David Weber's name on numerous books but never tried his fiction.  Jane Lindskold's byline appeared on her collaborations with the great Roger Zelazny.  I figured I was in for a treat.

I found this to be a solid entry into the science fiction YA field.  The authors did a good job of developing the characters.  I was puzzled by the title.  I thought the war would play a bigger part in the story.  As this is book 3 in the series, I was worried that I would be lost.  Weber and Lindskold filled the reader in while keeping the story moving.  I had no problem following the story.  The story impressed me enough that I will go back and read the first two books in the series.

If you are in the mood for a good old time Norton style book, I recommend picking up "Treecat Wars".

The Incrementalists by Steven Brust & Skylar White

First Publication:  2013

Source:  Net Galley

Summary (from Amazon):  
The Incrementalists—a secret society of two hundred people with an unbroken lineage reaching back forty thousand years. They cheat death, share lives and memories, and communicate with one another across nations, races, and time. They have an epic history, an almost magical memory, and a very modest mission: to make the world better, just a little bit at a time. Their ongoing argument about how to do this is older than most of their individual memories. 


Phil, whose personality has stayed stable through more incarnations than anyone else’s, has loved Celeste—and argued with her—for most of the last four hundred years. But now Celeste, recently dead, embittered, and very unstable, has changed the rules—not incrementally, and not for the better. Now the heart of the group must gather in Las Vegas to save the Incrementalists, and maybe the world.

Steven Brust is an author I have been meaning to read again.  I read his "Agyar", which happens to be another novel that deals with a form of immortality, and was very impressed by it.  In addition to that, many people have told me that since I am a big Roger Zelazny fan i would enjoy Brust's work(especially his "Vlad Taltos" series).  i plan on reading one of that series but thought I would try this book first.

"The Incrementalists" demonstrates that Brust is indeed an author who is working with similar themes to Zelazny.  And that is a compliment.  What is not to like in this book?  I enjoy adventures with immortals, a battle to save the world, and a quest to make the world a better place.  Most of the books dealing with such ideas make the immortals out to be bigger than life and fighting epic battles.  I thought this was an interesting change of pace.

Some of the other reviewers have commented that this is not like Brust's other work.  That it does not have the grand scale.  While I enjoy the big adventure stories, I found this smaller love story to be a good change.  Brust took a chance on this story and it paid off for me.

Tales of High Hallack Vol. 1: The Collected Short Stories of Andre Norton

Author:  Andre Norton

First Publication:  2014

Source:  Netgalley

From Goodreads:
For the first time, the Grand Dame of science fiction—Andre Norton—has her short stories gathered for her fans’ reading pleasure. Tales reach back to the 1930s, as fresh and relevant today as they were when she wrote them . . . such was Andre’s skill. High fantasy, fables, science fiction, coming of age stories, and more fill three volumes. This impressive, must-have collection includes stories of Witch World. There are cats sprinkled here and there, as Andre treasured them so. And there is magic in the writing, unequaled prose to delight readers of all ages.

Andre Norton quickly became a favorite of mine when i first discovered science fiction and fantasy.  Many of her books were available in our school library.  Her novels were fascinating glimpses into what it would be like to live "out there".  At the same time I was reading the Heinlein juveniles and her work was every bit as good as those classics.  Over time, her science fiction seemed to fade into obscurity but in recent years it seems like many bloggers have started talking about them.  Unfortunately, I never seemed to read her short fiction.  I believe the only one I read appeared in "The DAW SF Reader" edited by Donald A. Wollheim.  The announcement of this series of collections was good news for me.  It gives me the chance to go back and experience many new adventures with this author.

Of the many good stories in this book, I found that "The Last Spell" captured my imagination.  It is a different look at Merlin and Nimue.  Any stories I read with these characters will be impacted by Norton's interpretation.  She makes you think about events from Nimue's point of view.  

"Eastborn:  A Witch World Story" was a fun trip back to the Witch World series.  It is similar to meeting someone who grew up in your home town but that you never knew.

For fans of the Crystal Gryphon books, "Sword of Unbelief" is a pleasant surprise.

The rest of the stories range from science fiction to reworkings of legends.

Overall, I would rate this as a very good collection and a good introduction to the writing of Andre Norton.  I know that I will be looking forward to the next two volumes in this series.