Star Wars meets Winnie the Pooh

Please check out James Hance's website. He's done some really cool artwork mash-ups with pop culture themes.  His most famous (at least as far as I know) work combines Star Wars with Winnie the Pooh.  For a certain segment of the population, this is right in the sweet spot.

Spring Break Snowstorm 2013

The first picture was taken at 4:50 p.m. on Sunday, just as the rain/sleet/wintry mix was starting.  The second picture was taken at 9:30 a.m. Monday.  There are still flurries coming down, but the heavy stuff has passed us.

Lone Ranger: Snake of Iron by Chuck Dixon - Book Review

From the back cover of Lone Ranger: Snake of Iron by Chuck Dixon: "The Lone Ranger and Tonto ride once again in this classic western tale set against the cruel backdrop of winter on the badlands of North Texas.

Acting alone, the Ranger takes it upon himself to stand in the way of Kiowa war parties who have broken from their reservation in Oklahoma. If the renegades make it far enough into Texas and meet up with their Comanche brothers, then the entire Lone Star State will become a battlefield!

Gunfights, chases, packs of wolves, murderous Comancheros, cavalry charges, daring escapes, treachery, and the wildest animal ever to roam the Wild West all feature in this ripping yarn of frontier justice with the most famous fictional lawman of them all."

This is a pretty accurate description of the story.  However, it wasn't nearly that exciting. The story reminded me of any number of television shows that I might watch today, with many cliches and stock characters.  Being a fan of Chuck Dixon's other work, I was a little disappointed.  There weren't any surprises or "a-ha" moments, just your standard Knight Errant-type story. The art by Esteve Pollswas okay, but I found myself having a hard time telling some of the characters apart.

I would give this story 3 out of 5 stars.  Read it if you're a Lone Ranger completest.  If you're looking for more exciting Lone Ranger stories, or just great westerns, read The Lone Ranger Omnibus by Brett Matthews or the novella "Hard Silver" by Steven R. Boyett, which you can find here.

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and Dynamite Entertainment in exchange for an honest review.

Lone Ranger Omnibus Volume 1 by Brett Matthews - Book Review

The Lone Ranger Omnibus, by Brett Matthews, contains issues 0-25 of the series.  However, I was only given access to issues 1-5, so my review will be based on that.

I loved this book.  I remember watching the Lone Ranger movie as a kid and really liking the story. This comic is even better.  John Reid was chasing a fugitive with his fellow Rangers, including his brother and father, when they were ambushed. Believing the Rangers to be dead, the criminals left. Reid was discovered still alive by Tonto, an Indian. Tonto nurses him back to health while Reid looks for revenge.

Matthews has taken this familiar story of revenge, and dialed it in even more.  The interaction between Reid and Tonto is excellent.  Also, I don't remember there being such an age difference (or at least appearing like there is), but it works, with Tonto acting the wise guardian.  Reid's struggles with revenge and killing men is also clearly dealt with. The story is very much a slow burn, as the action takes a while, but it began to pick up in the 4th or 5th issue.

The art by Sergio Cariello and Paul Pope was fantastic, perfectly capturing the sense of the wild west of Texas.

I highly recommend this book to any fans of Westerns or the Lone Ranger.  I look forward to reading more in this series.

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and Dynamite Entertainment in exchange for an honest review.

Spring Break Staycation

Took the family ice skating at Pan Am Plaza.  The kids did great for first timers.  Lexi started to figure out how to move, Cami became proficient at "ice-walking", and Griffin (crashing 20+ times) used his competitiveness and stubbornness to power through and figure some of it out.  He also left with a cut over his eye due to a fall on his last trip around the rink. I ate it once at the end because I started to show off.

We also started vacation with pizza and a movie for family movie night.  Trisha laid a blanket down on the living room floor and the kids had dinner and popcorn.  We watched Rise of the Guardians and had fun.

Domination by Jon S. Lewis - Book Review

 

Domination by Jon S. Lewis is the third and final book in the C.H.A.O.S. trilogy.  The story revolves around sixteen-year-old Colt McAlister, the grandson of the legendary Phantom Flyer, and his fellow cadets who are training to stop an alien invasion of Earth.  Domination wraps up the storyline, bringing to an end this particular adventure.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another trilogy or two following the further adventures of Colt and his friends.

 

As the third book in a trilogy, Domination serves its function well.  All the major characters are brought together, including Oz, Grampa, Danielle, Lily, Pierce, and Koenig, with a few surprises still in store.  Additionally, the invasion of Earth by the Thule is wrapped up in a satisfying manner.  I was pleased with the conclusion; however, it did seem a little rushed.

 

Lewis’s writing style is clean and fast-paced.  There is very little down time in the story, which makes this ideal for a teenager, particularly middle-school aged boys.  The chapters are short, the characters are pretty well drawn and believable, although they are closer to the hero ideal than a typical teenager.

 

My biggest fault with this book, and the series as a whole, is that there is just too much stuff shoved into such a short series.  There are so many good, clever, and interesting ideas that they aren’t fully explored, which often results in a rushed feeling.  For instance, Colt is involved in a semi-romantic relationship with Lily that started in the first book.  Because there is so much going on with the alien invasion plot, after the first book the relationship begins to seem tacked on and extra to the plot.  Also, Colt uses his Christian faith to encourage himself in his battle, but his Christianity is barely referred to until this point. Additionally, several of the characters’ motivations are only explained in brief, and this makes it seem like the story is missing depth.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the series and found it entertaining.  I just believe that the first book did such a good job of introduction and set-up of the concepts, that Lewis could have added more, either pages or books.  I would like to have seen the world of C.H.A.O.S. more fully realized.

 

I read an early copy in ebook form and there were multiple formatting issues that were often very distracting and caused problems in following who was speaking.  Hopefully this gets resolved when the final copy is published.

 

That said, I would recommend Domination, as well as Invasion and Alienation, to readers who like their books with aliens, adventures, heroics, and teenage protagonists.  I’d also highly recommend them to teenage readers, especially reluctant readers.

 

I received a review copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Penance by Dan O'Shea - Book Review

Chicago Detective John Lynch catches the call to investigate the murder of a woman who was shot as she left church immediately after Confession. As he pulls at the threads of the murder, he begins to discover connections to the murder of his own detective father in the midst of a race riot in 1971.  A rogue sniper from a black ops unit is on the loose, and his off-the-books unit is determined to take him out.  As more old political names become involved, the events of 1971 continue to tie into the current murder.  Conspiracies and old Chicago politics embroil Lynch as the case becomes more and more personal.

For my money, Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series is the peak of police/detective fiction.  It is the series that all others should be compared to.  With John Lynch and Penance, Dan O'Shea has produced a worthy competitor. The writing is smooth, never bogging down in exposition, but constantly moving forward, hitting the climax was breathtaking speed.  The characters are well-drawn, particularly John Lynch and Paddy Wang, a seemingly immortal figure in the Chinese community and the criminal underworld.  O'Shea deftly balances the shifting perspectives, jumping back to 1971 to add depth and meaning to the current case; focusing on Colonel Weaver and his team as they attempt to track down the sniper; and following Lynch in his personal life and as he pursues the investigation. 

On of the best things about Penance, other than Lynch, is how the city of Chicago is a character in itself.  Slightly fictionalizing the corrupt political history, O'Shea is able to make his story seem like a actual episode from Chicago's history.  He also does a great job of painting a visual picture, dropping actual locations and architecture to create a vivid portrait of the city.

I highly recommend this book, particularly to those who enjoy Connelly and are looking for something to tide them over until their next Harry Bosch fix.  Readers will also be happy to know that O'Shea has written several short stories involving the characters from Penance, which are accessible from his website.

I received a review copy of Penance from Netgalley and Exhibit A books in exchange for an honest review.

One of my reviews was quoted by the publisher!

Check out the March 15 section on Angry Robots Books website.  My review of The Lives of Tau was quoted.  Pretty cool!

Wesley Chu‘s action-packed debut The Lives of Tao is a little further away (late April / early May) but we’re already starting to see a review or two surfacing here and there, including one at Being a Big Sandwich, in which blogger Scott declares: “I would highly recommend this book to fans who like their espionage tinged with sci-fi, or vice-versa.”

Final Upward Update of 2013

Griffin and Lexi's seasons ended last Saturday.  Griffin once again scored a basket (he did the week before, as well).  That makes a basket in all of his games but the first one.  He had a blast and improved a lot.

Lexi missed her last game due to illness.  She played well last week, but none of her shots fell.  She had a lot of fun, and her joy at playing shone on her face.

I'd consider the Upward basketball experience a success.

G.I. JOE: Cobra - Oktober Guard by Mike Costa - Book Review

G.I. JOE: Cobra - Oktober Guard starts with a rescue/kidnapping of Cobra villain Major Bludd.  This leads to the discovery of the Russian equivalent of G.I. Joe, the Oktober Guard.  Meanwhile, the Joes have a former Cobra agent (or two, I'm a little unsure) of their own.  They get wind of this and send in their operative Ronin to find out more.  Chaos ensues; the Joes, Cobra, and the Oktober Guard clash; and the espionage/backstabbing continues.

The story was okay.  I wasn't thrilled, but it did have some interesting spots.  I particularly liked the backstory for Ronin. She seems like she has the potential to capture the Snake-Eyes-type fandom. I was also interested in the Oktober Guard. I think it could be a nice set-up if there were multiple groups battling Cobra, as the Joes are basically American and Cobra is international.

The biggest problem for me was there were very few characters I recognized or was familiar with. None of the big name heroes or villains were in this story, aside from (possibly) Major Bludd.  The art didn't help me distinguish the characters, either.  It was serviceable, but nothing special.

Also, a who's who gallery at the start of the book (like in Fables) would have been a helpful primer for those new to G.I. Joe.

This is the fourth of the new G.I. Joe graphic novels that I've read, and if they don't start getting more engaging, I most likely won't read many more.

This was an average book.  I would recommend it to G.I. Joe fans.  It is NOT a good jumping on point.

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Darth Maul: Death Sentence by Tom Taylor - Book Review

Darth Maul: Death Sentence is the continuing story of Darth Maul, the cool Sith Lord from Phantom Menace.  He was last seen being chopped in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi and falling down a reactor shaft.  After being rescued and given robotic legs, Darth Maul and his brother, Savage Opress, are wreaking havoc and looking for revenge.

Death Sentence opens with Maul discovering their is a bounty on his head.  He heads to confront the contractor, Ja'boag, a wealthy mining businessman.  Meanwhile, two Jedi and a Padawan fly to confront the brothers and help Ja'boag, even though he is scum.  After a fight, Maul is rescued by the native population, who have been forced out of their caves/mines and onto the surface of the world, which is about to be scorched of life due to a situation where three suns rise simultaneously.  Maul is seen as the savior foretold in a prophecy, the Jedi are trying to save the native people, and Ja'boag is trying to save himself and keep his profits.  It all comes to a head in a large battle, with an unexpected resolution to the prophecy.

This story fits into the storyline presented in the cartoon series The Clone Wars.  I'm not very familiar with the ongoing story, nor how Darth Maul was saved.  However, I did enjoy seeing more of Maul and having a chance to see a more of his story.  At one point, he even took on a Magnificent Seven-type role, which was unusual for a Sith Lord.  He was definitely the most interesting character. Also, there seems to be some set-up for the Padawan to have a significant part to play in future dealings with Maul.  It will be interesting to see if that comes to pass. Savage Opress has the potential to be an interesting character as well.

The art was reminiscent of other Star Wars comics and the Clone Wars series.  It was nice, and flowed with the story.

I would recommend this to any fan of Star Wars.

I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher, Dark Horse Comics.

Snow(man) Day 2013

We had a snow day today, so school was canceled. The kids wanted to build a snowman, so Trisha and I helped.  Poor Cami is sick again, so she could only watch from the window.  I threw some snowballs at her to help her feel included.

Poor Cami

Griffin and Snow Batman