Reviewing the Evidence Again! - The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O'Melveny

Title: The Book of Madness and Cures (US Link)
Author: Regina O'Melveny
Genre: Historical fiction

A few starting notes:

This was a random pick-up from last library haul. I had absolutely no idea what it'd be like, but the cover was pretty cool, and it caught my eye.

Premise:

Gabriella Mondini is a female doctor in sixteenth century Venice. Life is never going to be easy for her.

Her father has been away for many, many, years, working on gathering information for his Book of Diseases - the work which will be his masterpiece. Ten years he has been gone; but his last letter worries Gabi, and she embarks on a journey to bring him home.

Best bits:

The prose has moments of true eloquence - a by-product, probably, of the author's background as a poet. Certainly, the imagery is truly beautiful - particularly the evocations of the hot and dusty Arabian desert. The enthusiasm of the author also seeps its way through the writing - it's always nice when the writer has a true passion to share in their work.

Fans of historical fiction will doubtless revel in the setting, which takes in much of the sixteenth century world as Gabriella travels through Europe and Arabia in search of her father.

Strangely, the strongest character is that of Gabriella's father - who, truly, we only see through letters and remembrances, rumours, and half-glimpses. Yet the character is so strong that you feel him, permeating through the pages.

Not so great bits:

The plot seemed to lack just a bit of direction - meandering with Gabriella, who seems equally lost - and that is just a tad annoying.

There's also a fair few distressing scenes here - not least that involving dissection. There's also a lot to do with mental health here - and most of it not positive. Chaining up of the 'mad' was not uncommon throughout history, and some readers may find it difficult to stomach.

Verdict:

A very readable book with some great prose and some interesting ideas. If you enjoy this and/or you're interested in reading about historical Venice (and have the stomach for it) I do recommend The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovric.

Friday Fics Fix! - In Which the Avengers are Exposed to Crack (Not the Drug)

A couple of funny Avengers fics for you this week my lovely people. This is what is commonly referred to as crack fic (as in, 'What the hell? How did you think of that? You must've been on crack when you thought that up!') although sometimes it's just referred to as humour (for example, by site admins, who rarely use the demented slang that fangirls/boys come up with.) Enjoy the randomness.

Captain America Popsicles by TheMajesticLoki - this is where Tony finds out that they sell Captain America Popsicles (which I think are ice lollies... why must America rename everything?) or, as Tony likes to call them, Capsicles. This is worth the read just for the off-colour adult humour (no under-18s, don't do drugs, stay in school, etc....)

Baby diapers and Captain America dolls by HazelRose555 - this is domestic-bliss Superhusbands/Stony (in which Tony Stark and Captain America are together in a very romantic capacity) with a little Clintasha (Hawkeye and Black Widow) thrown in on the side. There's the usual mix of spelling and grammar issues here, but the sheer randomness (and Steve Rogers' whining) makes this worth the while.

Comics Wrap-Up - Grit, a God Killer, and Logan's Son

My reading this week, as far as my beloved comics and graphic novels are concerned, has been heavily verging on the gritty.

Bloodhound #1 from the publisher Dark Horse (which is, as far as I'm concerned, and quite aptly, the dark horse of comic book publishing,) is a rough-tough and bloody issue. It's set in a prison. And things get rougher from there really. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's well-drawn, the dialogue is tight, and the cover is like a beautiful piece of pop-art that I would willingly hang on a wall.

Thor: God of Thunder #1 deals with the prospect of a serial killer whose victims are gods. It's interesting - and the artwork is beautiful. Honestly, the depictions of Thor on the inside are far better than the (albeit decent,) cover. His hair looks like gold-dust. It's amazing. My only issue (ha, issue,) with the series moving forward is the potential for everything to end up in that confusing, time-travel, time-line, time-is-messed-up trap. Stories dealing with such a large span of time need to be plotted so tightly that I always get a little concerned. The first issue though, is great.

As far as graphic novels go, they don't come much grittier than the Dark Wolverine series. Please, don't make the obvious mistake. Dark Wolverine is not Wolverine. No, the main character here is Daken, Wolverine's troubled son. Daken is a seriously under-appreciated character, adding moral ambiguity, and diversity both in terms of ethnicity (he is half-Japanese, and the word 'Daken' is a slur term meaning 'mongrel,' or 'b*****d dog,') and sexuality (Daken is bisexual,) to the Marvel pantheon. Daken however, is most definitely not his father. He's not a hero - he's an anti-hero; a killer, and possibly a psychopath. But that's part of what makes him so interesting. He has all of Wolverine's broken nature, with little of the light to guide him on his way; he is cruel, merciless, and you still end up on his side.

What my main criticism of Dark Wolverine, Vol 2: My Hero, (US Link,) would be that there is unnecessary levels of faffing about in bras-and-panties. Yes, that curse of 'mature' graphic novels - i.e. the immature need to stick skimpy clothing and boobs in everyone's face, is present here. To me, this is lazy. The rest of the graphic novel is excellent; and, honestly, I don't mind women being objects of sexual desire in some circumstances - for example, when it serves a purpose for the story, or when it's making a point, or when it's done subtly and artfully - but this just tips over into boys drawing boobs for the sake of it to me. It was unnecessary - and that's what annoys me. Granted, we also get some very nice panels of Daken half-clothed, but at least there seems to be some reason behind this - for example, it's hard to keep your clothes in one piece when you've just been beaten up - rather than, 'we need to fill these panels with something - ooh! Soft porn!" Sorry if this seems a bit rant-y, but to me this detracted from the book. But I still love this book, and the Dark Wolverine series as a whole. It's excellent, if probably a bit gory, violent, and sexy, for some tastes.

Nerd Church! - 5 Things Characters Do That You Shouldn't

Characters can be awesome inspirations - leading the way through the dark into the light. But they're flawed - and while we love them for it, there's some things they do which you just shouldn't.

1. He wants to kill me? How sexy!

If a dude admits that he is actually fantasising, or having serious thoughts about killing you, you get the hell away from him. No excuses. No 'Oh he's so troubled, he needs me,'  (Nancy in Oliver Twist had that attitude, and look how that turned out,) and no offering yourself up like a sacrificial virgin a la Bella Swan.

You leave him, and possibly consider a restraining order. That way your ass stays alive and you don't have to survive on blood smoothies for all of eternity. And if a dude ever physically hurts you, you up and leave. I mean it - you get out of there: go to a shelter, a friend's, a family member's, a hotel - just leave. Obviously, this also applies to gender reversal, same-sex couples, and any other relationship under the sun. If your partner is abusive, you leave. Your safety comes first guys, and unfortunately there are a lot of YA heroines (in particular,) that you really shouldn't look up to when it comes to healthy relationships.

2. I did the thing

Sometimes there is a reason why people are telling you not to do the thing. Fans of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle will know my pain; I love you, Eragon, but you were told - repeatedly - that you shouldn't do whatever it is that you just did. That is essentially four big books worth of cleaning up your sh**. The lesson here is that doing the thing is not always a good plan.

That's not to say that none of your ideas are any good - a lot of them sure as hell will be! But you need to take advice into consideration, think about the consequences, and weigh up the pros and cons. Then, if you still want to do the thing, do it - but at least you'll have thought it through and not made a decision based on poor information, heat of the moment emotion, and plain stupidity.

3. What we have here is a failure to communicate

So many characters are guilty of this that it actually hurts (Shakespeare, anyone?) Honestly, the amount of crossed-wires leading to tragic results is painful. Talk to each other. Before I bash your freaking heads in. Explain things. And do try not to keep secrets, especially if it's something that effects the person you're keeping it from.

4. I'll let someone else fix it

This is something that adults in YA novels are the most guilty of. There's a war against (delete as appropriate:) evil wizards/demons/the government/another nation? Get some teenagers to deal with it! Like dude, really?!?!

This reminds me of the original (Mighty Morphin') Power Rangers series (which I'm old enough to remember the first time round - albeit I was very, very, small at the time,) where Zordon's response to an evil alien chick trying to take over the world is to assemble a team of 'teenagers... with attitude!' It sounds about as impressive as you think it would.

Dumbledore is very much of the Zordon school of saving the world. Evil army? Deadly mission? I'll get this emotionally unstable teenage boy to do it!


5. Jumping to conclusions

This is not dissimilar to some of my other points. If you leap in willie-nillie then you're going to make mistakes (Eragon, Harry Potter, I'm lookin' at you!) Jumping to conclusions might mean you end up getting someone hurt or worse. And, if you're a book character, you jump to conclusions a lot. You don't trust people you should trust, and trust people you shouldn't, all while your poor, long-suffering, reader is screaming "No! You dipstick!!!!" You've done this, you know you have.

A lot of the jumping to conclusions in books tends to avoid trust in some capacity - and, let's face it, it's not easy sometimes to figure out who's on your side. My advice? Slow down, think things through. At the very least you're less likely to make a horrendous mistake, and that has to be a good thing.

Sherlock trailer!

...And, in case you haven't seen it, and because I love you all, here is the trailer for the Victorian special of BBC's Sherlock...

Friday Fics Fix! (In Which There is Much Loki)

Sometimes you need much Loki. Maybe it's just me, but, judging by the amount of fics out there, I'd say not. So, this week, for Friday Fics Fix, there is much Loki. More specifically, there are three Loki-centric drabbles/ficlets (these are ultra-short one part fics which usually have less than 1000 words, sometimes less than 500. They comprise a scene, monologue, musing, conversation, or snapshot, and are great for a quick fix of the characters you love.)

LOKI: Fear by TheNativeAce - I would say this is 18 + because of what it infers (which, as we all know, is often worse that what's actually depicted) this is a Loki & Thanos drabble with Captain America in pain to boot. There are many feels (intense fangirl feelings that provoke bizarre noises.)

Loki and the Toy Store by Lokiismylife - this is sweet and sort of FrostIron (which, all together now, is: where Tony Stark and Loki have a little romantic something going on,) and is quite funny. For when you need a quick mood lightener.

Of Fanfiction vs Reality by EllyZeller - this is what I like to refer to as Fic-ception. The characters read fanfiction and start to get ideas... This is definitely FrostIron, but isn't too explicit (for once!)

Happy reading :)

Comics Wrap-Up

This is the wrap-up of my week in comics (because comics and graphic novels deserve more recognition than they get):


This week in my comic-reading habit (and yes, it's pretty much as bad as my novel-reading habit,) I've been reading horror comics from indie producer Double Take via Comixology - these comics are based around an event that turns the dead into zombies/ghouls. I have to say that the most disturbing was Home 1: Lighter Than Air, due to the demented swearing child that no-one seems to think is weird. The covers of these are really stand-out, and (despite the obvious sexism) I can't deny that the cover to Rise 1: Sister's Keeper, from an artistic point of view, is stunning.

In terms of the big boys (which, to the terminally uninformed are, obviously, Marvel and DC,) I read Hulk #1 (I know, there are a million Hulk #1's by now) of Marvel's Marvel Now! releases, subtitled 'Who Shot Bruce Banner?' this is the first issue in the Bruce Banner DOA storyline. And it was freaking awesome. It is woefully easy for Hulk comics to slip into caricature, parody, and needless complex messes, but this avoids that and stays instead to measured story, affecting art, and emotional heart. And look at the cover! That, my dearest readers, is how you make an excellent and effective Hulk cover.