Hitler's Germany Through My Letterbox

Received another fab-looking book today in the post from UK publishers Headline (in exchange for a fair and honest review, ofc.)

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman is a YA novel about a girl who was once a member of Hitler's inner-circle, and now must return to Germany in order to save the boy she loves, journalist Daniel Cohen.

Looks like there's some conspiracy, some stuff that's all action-y, and some historical stuff. Good stuff all round then. You know I'm a sucker for an intriguing premise.

This is a sequel to Blankman's previous book, Prisoner of Night and Fog. I haven't read that book, so am hoping this can be read stand-alone (and I don't see why it shouldn't be! Goddammit!)

So, expect a review in the (hopefully) near-future.

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USA - Goodreads - Author's Site

The Writer Diaries (or, Blogging is a Fickle Mistress)

You may have noticed... I tend to blog. Quite a bit more recently, in fact.

NaBloPoMo 2015 kind of sparked a dormant blogging demon that I didn't notice I had. I suppose it's not that big a surprise, a blogging demon is just a type of writing demon, and I have plenty of those.

But blogging can be fickle. I have absolutely no bl**dy clue whether a post is going to be popular before it's out there, in the big wide world, for everyone to see (and for quite a few people not to see I suspect.)

I can spend ages planning out and writing a post, for it to get a handful of views. But my most popular post to date, The Bookish Rebel, is a post that I wrote all-at-once in the space of about quarter of an hour, basically just about me being me.

Don't get me wrong - I'm mightily proud of that post! Neither will I let myself get sloppy and just throw posts up willy-nilly (pride comes before a fall and all that jazz.)

I guess this post is just me having a think about blogging in general - and writing - and all of that. I may be rambling, it wouldn't be the first time! :)

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Teaser Trailer

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

It looks awesome - just from the teaser trailer here, doesn't it?

Eddie Redmayne - and magic - and a period setting. Yes, we have a Harry Potter spin-off people! I just wish it was in readable form. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.

Happy reading! :)

Review! (Graphic Novel Edition!) - The Private Eye Deluxe Edition by Vaughan, Martin, and Vicente

Title: The Private Eye Deluxe Edition. (US link.)

Author: Brian K Vaughan, Marcos Martin, Muntsa Vicente.

Genre: Graphic Novel, Dystopia, Sci-Fi, Crime.

Series: The Private Eye.

Release Date: 15th Dec 2015.

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

 

I didn't have a clue what this would be like - I was sort of vaguely aware that Brian K Vaughan had written the Saga series (US link); but then, I haven't read that either! 

This collects The Private Eye #1-#10.
 

Premise:

In a world where the Internet is gone, and privacy is so sacred that people acquire aliases and wear complex and bizarre masks just to hide their identity, P. I. - a private investigator - has stumbled onto something serious.

Best bits:

The art here pops. I know that people say that a lot - but I mean it. The bright colours give this a pop-art does-the-apocalypse kind of feel, and the in-silhouette panels are beautiful. Some of the artwork here also reminds me a little of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's Umbrella Academy series (US link) (though I have to say that I much prefer Way and Ba's series.)

I like the Big Brother (1984) kind of feel-y to the plot and the world here - with the teevees etc.

I also love the way the press and the police are the same thing here - that made me giggle for reasons I don't totally understand.

Not so great bits:

This is not your book if you're squeamish about bright blood slashed across the page, or violence and swearing in general.

There's also some sexual content that really did feel that it was just there for the shock value rather than anything else - it didn't bother me, but it just felt superfluous.

I did find that sometimes the lettering was a bit squished together, which made it difficult to read occasionally.

Verdict:

An enjoyable read, which whizzes along and has a distinct style and bright in-your-face edge. If you're a fan of quirky graphic novels, then you'll enjoy this book.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA - Goodreads – Author's Image Comics Page

Nerd Church - A Rant Of Moral Magnitude

I am right royally p**sed off. We have to make this world better, not worse.

I recently found out that an old friend, someone I've known since we were kids, has been receiving harassment on social media.

The reason? She has an Arabic first name, and is half-Asian. This harassment started after the Paris attacks.

I've read some of the messages - from someone she doesn't even know, and who apparently has picked on her completely by random - and they are disgusting.

You know the kind of thing I mean - she's been told to go back to her own country, and even threatened.

This is her country.

Fools like this b*****d, and Donald Trump (king of the bigots,) are not what we want in this world.

Racism, bigotry, and discrimination, is something that we need to speak out against - whenever, wherever.

How dare these people act so vilely! We are all human.

Zombies and Vampires Through My Letterbox

So chuffed this morning to receive Dead Ice by Laurell K Hamilton in the post from the UK publisher Headline. (As always, of course, in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

This is the whopping #24 in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series - an extensive and popular urban fantasy series (and I love me some urban fantasy - paranormal creatures faffing about in cities? What's not to love?)

I've read others in the series (though not all of them, because that's just how I roll sometimes,) and loved them, so have pretty high hopes for this one.

I'm sure this instalment will have the requisite number of vampires, zombies, and other paranormal creatures and stuff of a similar nature, to keep me very happy.

This time around, Anita's on the trail of someone making illegal zombie porn... should be an interesting read!

My review will be up as soon as I've read the book.

Buy Now UK - Buy Now USA - Goodreads - Author's Site

But With A Whimper

We are losing our libraries.

Inch by inch, building by building, government cut by government cut, we are losing the buildings at the heart of our communities - the places where we can invest in our present and our futures, regardless of background or income. The magical rooms filled with books.

(Beware, political opinions ahead.)

Of course, I cannot speak for other countries. But in the UK, the place where the problem lies is pretty obvious to me - the Tory government.

Yes, libraries are run by local authorities (councils) and with local authority money, but the cuts that councils have to make are dictated by the trickling-down of funds (or, in this case, cuts,) from Westminster.

Yes, that goes for Wales too - how is the Welsh Assembly supposed to give councils enough money, when they themselves are woefully underfunded?

The list of collateral library casualties to the war on the welfare state is frighteningly large.

Each one of these is not just a library - it's a kid who'll never know the joy of a room of books, a grandmother who can't manage the trip to the next town for a cup of tea and a chat somewhere warm and inexpensive, an unemployed single mother who can't afford internet access to apply for jobs, and her child who can't get the information needed for a homework assignment.

Every blow to our libraries is a blow to ourselves.

In some ways, we can't blame the Conservatives - how could a cartel of spoilt little rich boys ever understand that there are people who can't afford a world-class education, who struggle to buy the books they need for school, and who value a safe, warm, place to do some homework, have a chat, apply for jobs... how could they understand that?

We can't let them take our future.

It's hard to prioritise libraries when people are struggling to feed themselves, or pay the bills, or the rent. But in ignoring each building as it slowly slips away, we are letting the world split itself into the haves and the have-nots.

We need places like libraries: for community, for education, for the equality that only a free public resource can bring. We need libraries for the hope that they bring.