Ruse: Enter the Detective by Mark Waid, et.al.

Simon Archard is Partington's premier detective, with a photographic memory, extremely focused mind, and cold personality he is able to solve any mystery. Emma Bishop is his linguistically and more socially adept assistant. What starts off as an investigation into drug trafficking, is evolving into a complicated case where the supernatural is involved.

Straight off the bat I would like to proclaim that Ruse is one of the most visually stunning graphic novels I've ever read. It was beautiful, the details and colors were startling. The characters were fantastic and have more to them than they first appear. The obvious comparison of Archard to Holmes is a bit overdone, but the similarities are there. I actually find it close to the character that Benedict Cumberbatch plays in the BBC miniseries Sherlock. Except for when Archard seems to let his cold facade slip and show he cares for Emma (not sexy emotions, or at least not at this point) or that he feels great emotions for his last partner Lightbourne.

So great story, great characters, great artwork; here's my one niggle about the whole thing. I guess this is supposed to take place in the Crossgen Universe which I have never read, and there's a possibility that Archard is a sigil bearer meaning that he is a protector of good. Emma is supposed to be his sigil guide - I'm not 100% sure of the titles here so correct me if I'm wrong - and therefore has magical powers to aide her. I found the whole fantasy aspect a bit unnecessary. This would have been a great historical mystery without the added fantastical elements. I get why it was done, and it wasn't bad, just seemed a bit over the top.

Unfortunately only two volumes of Ruse were published, there were three more volumes to follow but never got published. Fortunately it seems that the series has been revived with a few tweaks here and there. As in no more magic. Yay!

The Elsewhere Chronicles: The Shadow Door by Art Bannister and Nykko

Old man Gabe's house has a reputation of being haunted. Max, Noah, and Theo have always wanted to explore the inside, and they get their chance when they meet Rebecca - Gabe's granddaughter. As they explore, things become stranger. They are attacked by shadow phantoms and Rebecca is sucked into a vortex and Max goes in after her. Now Max and Rebecca are stuck in another dimension, and Noah and Theo are working to fix the machine that sent them there. Unfortunately the police are looking for the kids and the Master of Shadows is preparing to destroy Max and Rebecca.

This was a fast-paced story, as in once the action started it slapped you around until the book abruptly stopped. It was fascinating and seems to have the potential to be pretty epic. There's a good possibility that some intense themes are going to play a part of the storyline. Also it looks like the alternate dimension is going to have some great history. It looks like there is going to be quite a huge ensemble of characters, and they look to be pretty well done. Obviously this is a series and there are so many questions left unanswered. So I am pretty excited about reading the next couple of volumes.

Some things that weren't perfect, but might improve with time. The balance of plots, between the alternate dimension and the 'real world' wasn't great. It seemed all of action and excitement was happening with Max and Rebecca, and the rest was all filler until we could get back to them. Also there was almost too much going on in the first volume. Lots of characters, serious themes, cultures, and plot devices were all smooshed into forty-six pages. Lots going on. Hoping it eases up a bit in the next one.

Anyways, well done. Going to check out the next couple!

Fables Recreation?

In case you haven't heard the murmurings, one of our favorite graphic novels Fables has been made into a television show. Except it's been twisted, and I'm not sure if I like it. This version has a cop discover that he is the last of the line of Grimm which means that he can see fairytale creatures for what they are and must keep the world safe from their antics. I mean one of the great things about the Fables series is the fact that the fairy tales are all trying to be under the radar. The drama comes from them dealing with the issues that have developed from their actual experiences. On a practical note from what I see the visual effects are adequate.

Grimm will be on starting in the fall on Fridays at 9pm.

The Collected Alison Dare: Little Miss Adventures by J Torres & J. Bone

Alison's mom is a famous archaeologist.  Alison's dad is a librarian, but also the famous Blue Scarab who fights crime.  Alison likes action and adventure too, and with the help of her two friends Dot and Wendy they always seem to be up to something.  

I think this could have been good, but don't get the "collected" volume.  It seems like the collected volume is parts of several different stories, which made each story very short and very unsatisfying.  After poking around the interwebs, it seems that there are more full length Alison Dare stories, and I'll have to check those out.  I like the idea of a spunky little girl having adventures with her friends, but there were so many holes in this particular collection it wasn't that enjoyable.  It seemed to assume I knew a lot more about Alison Dare then I actually did.

Alison seems very Nancy Drew-like.  She's the brave blond with two friends, one who's tall and skinny and obsessed with her looks and fashion and the plump one with glasses who's all smart.  Hardly unique characters, but has the potential for a lot of fun, if they were more well-rounded stories.  I'll have to do some more reading of this series and see if I can work out what's going on.

The art is black and white ink with fairly standard comic-style panels. 

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

In the town of Near, there are three abiding philosophies: the Near Witch is a legend that has shaped the culture of the town, the lonely wind is to be ignored when it calls to you, and strangers are not to be tolerated. These are the thoughts that go through Lexi's mind when she looks out her window one night and sees a young man standing near the moor. He is almost translucent and yet more real than anything she's ever encountered. But what seems a gentle curiosity turns into an overwhelming need to understand not just the stranger but also the moor itself as the children of Near begin to disappear and the wind begins to whisper, "Witch."

I really enjoyed this book. It was so fantastically done! Let me start off with saying that this story reminded me a lot of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. The fact that there's a quest, the romance involved, and the history and fairy tales within the fairytale. (I know this isn't an academic study on Andersen's fairy tales, but it seems to be a theme that some of them have.)

Loved the lore of the Near Witch and how that affected the community and their interactions with each other and outsiders. I also really found the characters to be quite delightful. They're all so different, none are stereotypes or one-dimensional.

I'm going to end it there. This was a wonderful story, nothing was contrived or shallow. There were more twists than I expected and it was overall an absolute delight.

News

This is adorable.  FameCity.org is a "social network" for historical figures.  So clever!  Go librarians!

Love Among the Volumes.   So getting married in libraries seems to be a thing.  Awesome.

You know, it makes me feel better that awesome writers weren't always awesome. 

As I'm sure you know, Borders is closing all stores.  Here's an insider's look at what went wrong.

So, if Catching Fire isn't coming out until 2013, why is there such a rush to get the first one out?

When we shield our kids from scary stories, who are we really trying to protect?

Did Hermione get the Hollywood treatment?

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Daphne lives in a constant stasis of not sensing anything. She is cut off from feeling, and it is only her brother Obie who she feels a connection to. Obie is kind. And is able to leave the their current state of unfeeling and go into the world. Daphne is the daughter of Lucifer and Lilith, you know, the devil and the first demon? But because technically her parents are also an angel and one of the first humans, Daphne is different from her succubi sisters. She longs to feel the sun, taste food, and feel emotions, but has now way to do this.

Not until Obie disappears. When demons try and reside on Earth they are hunted down by Azrael. An angel solely focused on destroying evil regardless of the means. Daphne fears the worse. She sneaks off to Earth to try and find him, and follows the only lead she has: Truman, a broken human boy that Obie was trying to save. Daphne is quickly losing time, it seems that Azrael has let loose the terror known as Dark Dreadful. As Daphne tries to cope with losing her sisters, keeping Tru alive, she must also deal with her brother's secrets and how being on Earth will change her forever.

Now I was a bit nervous about reading this. Arianna had read the Replacement and not enjoyed it, and let's be honest I believe everything that Arianna tells me. But after talking to the publisher at ALA I decided to give it a go. She assured me it was more accessible than The Replacement and I'd been hearing some great hype about it on the Internet. (I also might have been influenced by the fact that I thought the cover was pretty).

So now to the verdict: I rather enjoyed this. It was a clever twist on the whole angel genre and the descriptions of events and emotions were rather wonderful. I would even go as far as to say that this was quite awesome. The tone of the book, the issues it deals with, and the narrative all tie in really well. Daphne has never really experienced a lot of emotions, she lives in a world where nothing changes, and it's all reflected in the stark descriptions of her perspective. Truman on the other hand feels too much, he is deeply depressed, on his way to alcoholism, and attempted suicide once after the death of his mother. His narrative is almost manic until he meets Daphne and we see how he changes because of how his world view changes.

I would love to tell you more of the things that I really enjoyed, but the fact is that the things I loved are some of the great plot twists that you don't really see coming. They're well done and add interesting depth to the story. Go forth and read this. It is excellent.

The Space Between comes out Nov. 15.