Nerd Church - A Reader Lives a Thousand Lives...

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”

 

George R R Martin, A Dance With Dragons

 

 

I'm sure that most readers will have come across this quote on the interwebs, even if they haven't got to A Dance With Dragons in the Game of Thrones series (which I haven't, by the by; I've only read the first one at the moment.)

 

But it's true, isn't it?

 

We live thousands of lives as we read. We're there alongside all of our favourite characters - and not so favourite ones, of course. We live alongside them, sometimes knowing their deepest hopes and fears; we feel their love and their grief, their joy and their frustration. I know what it's like to be a vampire, a witch, a hero, a warrior... what lives have you lived recently?

 

The Writer Diaries (Or NaBloPoMo Week 1, Re-cap)

This month, I'm participating in BlogHer's NaBloPoMo for November 2015. This is similar to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in that it's a month long writing challenge. In NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) bloggers are challenged to post every single day that month. While I'm not in the same 'nation' as BlogHer, who are based in the US, pretty much everyone ignores the 'National' part of these challenges anyway, so I figured it'd be fun to throw my hat into the ring - it'd give me an excuse to write some stuff anyhow, without the added pressure of a particular project to be concentrating on.

At the end of week 1, I'm feeling in fine spirits (wonder how long that'll last.) At the moment, this is pretty enjoyable - though I imagine it's going to get harder as the month wears on.

*Just a note, the dates I refer to below are in the UK/European format of day/month/year.*

Week 1 Posts:

Sunday, 01/11/15

Nerd Church - I Understood That Reference

Monday, 02/11/15

Reviewing the Evidence (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Death Vigil (Vol #1) by Stjepan Šejić

Tuesday, 03/11/15

The Writer Diaries (Or, I Blog From the Heart, How 'Bout You?)

Wednesday, 04/11/15

Time to Review the Evidence (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Side-kicked by Berttholtz, Mendonca, and Dazo

Thursday, 05/11/15

Comics Wrap Up - Death and Side-kicks

Friday, 06/11/15

Friday Fics Fix! - The Ship That Dare Not Speak Its Name

Friday Fics Fix! - The Ship That Dare Not Speak Its Name

In case any of you need a little re-cap on the fangirl jargon, 'shipping' is wanting two characters to be together romantically - therefore, a 'ship' is the term used to describe this romantic relationship. Or, in other words, in fanfiction, everyone is having sex with everyone else in a mostly homosexual way.

There is one ship in particular though that I'm hesitant to name in polite company. Ships have names. I should mention this. Sometimes they even have more than one name. It's like one of those celebrity relationship names like Brangelina. So, for example, Captain America and Iron Man together are Stony (though this is sometimes referred to as Superhusbands or Superfamily, particularly in a domestic-type fic.) You get the picture.

So, what's wrong with the name of the ship I want to introduce to you? To put it plainly, it sounds filthy. It's a Marvel fandom. It involves a certain soldier and a certain agent (I can practically hear the Marvel girls giggling.) Those of an easily offended disposition, look away now (are they gone? good.) Yes, ladies and gentleman, the ship that I want to feature in this Friday's Fics Fix is Phucky; the ship name for the romantical pairing of Agent Phil Coulson and Bucky Barnes.

The queen (as far as I'm concerned) of Phucky is the brilliant CeliaEquus - who've I've featured in this post series before. In particular, I recommend Fics From the Phucky Archive as your ultimate guide to the ship/fandom in drabbles and shorts (that's short one-scene or one-part fics.) This includes a drabble entitled 'Shipping Names' that is half-way towards the fic-ception fics that I love. I haven't read all of the parts, so I'm going to say 18+ only, just in case.

Also worthy of highlight are The Curse of Empathy, The Boy From Ipanema, and Did You Say (which is actually set in a porn star Alternate Universe and is therefore very, very smutty - 18+ guys. I know you do what you want, but I tried.) To be honest, I could go on, and on, and on, but that's enough for the time being. Just a warning, pretty much everything in fanfiction in general (in case you haven't noticed yet,) is pretty damn weird, so even if I don't give it an 18+ rating, it's going to get freaking weird. And many men will kiss. Enjoy.
 

Comics Wrap Up - Death and Side-kicks

Beautiful Creatures: The Manga is, oddly enough, a Manga adaptation of the novel Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia. I really loved it - but then, a combination of my enjoyment of the source novel (US readers, click here,) and my enthusiasm for things being adapted into graphic novel format, might be colouring my view of this. But the cover's awesome and everything (US Link) - it's purple! (I know... shut up.)

On a more serious note (and one which hopefully sounds less like the opinion of a 6 year old child,) Cassandra Jean's artwork is beautiful, and keeps to the traditional black-and-white of manga volumes (though with glossier paper.) If I have any criticisms, it's that sometimes it wasn't that clear whether the characters were speaking aloud or just thinking the words.


Death Vigil, Vol 1 by Stjepan Šejić is stunning. I loved this book, and graphic novel fans would be foolish to give this one a miss. You can see my full review for more shameless gushing.

Side-kicked is a clever graphic novel exploring the possibilities of a side-kick strike - very skilfully I might add. Again, you can see my full review for more detail.

In terms of single issues, this week I enjoyed Marvel's Weapon X #14 - Sinister's List, based on the infamous Weapon X project from the X-men side of things. The artwork, the story, the characters... everything here is simply excellent, and woven around world history in a way that makes it all the more poignant.

Time to Review the Evidence (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Side-kicked by Berttholtz, Mendonca, and Dazo

Title: Side-kicked (US Link)
Author: Russell Berttholtz, Miguel Mendonca, Bong Dazo
Genre: graphic novel

A few starting notes:

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

I didn't know what to expect here, but I was intrigued. A side-kick strike? Count me in!

Sorry if I've missed out any of the contributors in the 'author' section - I was getting in a thorough flap over who I needed to include.

Premise:

The side-kicks of Chicago's superheroes have had enough. They're underappreciated, have poor working conditions, and are treated like c**p by the heroes. Something's gotta give - the side-kicks are going on strike. Maybe that'll make the heroes see that they can't manage alone.

Best bits:

The premise here is very much the selling point - and it doesn't disappoint. I love the realities of day-to-day life as an underappreciated side-kick. I also love the growing of the strike movement - there are plenty of relevant social issues here, hiding just underneath the surface, and they're handled with ease and originality.

The art is, on the whole, bright and fresh. It has the realism (frown lines, light and shade, etc.) of modern comics, with the pop art edge and bright costumes of the golden and silver ages of comics. A nice meld (blogger nods sagely and pretends she isn't surprised at how intelligent that sounded.)

The characters are more than relatable - who hasn't felt underappreciated and hard done by at some time in their lives? They're also genuinely nice guys - they've just had enough of standing by and taking the c**p that's given to them.

I'm also happy that the author(s) decided to address the issue of suicidal thoughts head-on; there is no shame in being depressed.

Not so great bits:

Some may find the depictions of the consideration of suicide distressing - and while I applaud bringing mental health issues into the light, I can understand others finding it upsetting, and even potentially triggering.

I did find that I got a bit muddled between characters, particularly since they were in-costume, out-of-costume, code-names, normal-names... it left me a little bamboozled at moments. I think that's the challenge of dealing with so many characters at a time - and I'm sure that if there's a sequel, there'll be more chance to establish the characters as individuals.

I found the villains a little forced - they were more of a plot device than individual characters, but I can understand that they actually weren't the main issue here. The main issue was, in fact, the rights of the worker. Which, as far as I'm concerned, was handled very well.

Verdict:

An enjoyable and readable graphic novel. There's potential in this series - let's hope it gets the chance to realise it.

The Writer Diaries (Or, I Blog From the Heart, How 'Bout You?)

There are a lot of blogs out there. So very many blogs are out there. Some like to wow with the flashy-flash, some like to use gifs until your eyes bleed, some feel very club-y and exclusive, some very welcoming.

I try to blog from the heart - as random-a** and batty as my heart is. I also try not to worry about chasing followers and views - you chase them, and they'll run away. Wait for them to come to you, grasshopper (man, I haven't watched Kung-Fu in ages...) Anywho, believe me or disbelieve me if you wish, but I try to just be really open and genuine with what I blog, and my reviews. If I enjoy it, and I really think it's worthy of praise, then praise is what it will get. If I dislike it, then I will say so.

I also have to admit that I'm not particularly good at being a part of either the Blogsphere or the Booksphere - you know, the social stuff, and what it's 'cool' to blog about at any particular time. And I'm OK with that. I'm a bit older than a lot of the girls out there blogging (granted, I'm also younger than many other book bloggers,) I have different interests, different life experience, and different tastes (I am nerd girl, hear me Squee!) I don't read things if they don't interest me, no matter how much buzz there is about them. I have my own, sometimes quirky, opinions, about a variety of subjects - and hopefully the people who actually do read this blog appreciate that.

So, I have no idea what spurred this post - something that was brewing in my fangirling heart, clearly. I will write what I mean though guys - always and forever (sorry, I've been watching too much of The Originals,) so I promise that I will do my best (honestly, you can tell I was a Guide,) to be an honest, quirky, and non-bandwagon-jumping blogger. Hope that's ok with all of you :)

Reviewing the Evidence (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Death Vigil (Vol #1) by Stjepan Šejić

Title: Death Vigil (Vol #1) (US Link)
Author: Stjepan Šejić
Genre: graphic novel, fantasy, paranormal

A few starting notes:

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

I had very little expectation of this graphic novel - to be honest, I just went 'Ooh shiny!' and started reading it. It collects issues #1-8 of Death Vigil.

Premise:

Demons exist. And Clara is having a very bad day. She's recruited into the Death Vigil - a team of demon hunters lead by the grim reaper, who prefers to go by the name Bernadette. They're almost like a family... who hunt demons. But what are the demons planning?

Best bits:

This book hooked me in. For the first few pages I was like 'Oh, this is ok, quite interesting...' and then somehow it was a hundred pages later and my coffee was cold. It's awesome.

The art is incredible - it has that fantasy feel that needs to be done right: and its done right. The figures are clearly where Šejić excels - though fans of visions from hell may make a good argument for his demons being the selling point here. I'm more into people than monsters, but that's just me.

The characters are complex and, perhaps most importantly, believable. Bernie rocks - she's just awesome, and beautiful, and funny. Sam is perhaps the most relatable - maybe because we see him when he's first recruited and now, 12 years later. He also makes me laugh, which is great.

The plot is complex and detailed - a whole world with well-defined rules, but never seems to get out of the control of the author - a pitfall that many a writer has fallen into. Šejić seems to know exactly what he's doing, meaning that we, as readers, don't have to worry about the quality suddenly suffering a noticeable drop.

Not so great bits:

Some people - particularly those who aren't fans of fantasy - might find this a bit much. I mean, I love the demons and the magic weapons - but I'm a nerd girl: this stuff is how we survive between TV series and movie franchises. I'm told that 'normal' people can sometimes find this alienating. I did find some of the battle scenes a little too close to video-gaming for my taste - but, again, to each his own, and lots of people would really love that.

If you have serious issues with depictions of demons, then there are a lot of them here, and you're likely to get seriously freaked out. There's also a bunch of gore and violence.

There was the occasional panel which hit a bum note - sometimes (very rarely) the background and the action seemed somehow disconnected, but I honestly can't put my finger on what was causing this, so it may just be my personal design preferences.

Also, I did have some issues with the digital formatting when a panel or artwork crossed the middle of the double-page - because I could only get the software to view it in single page form. That may've just been my general uselessness. I far prefer print - lovely, physical, touchable, print - anyway, as you all know; but I can't hold that against this book.

Verdict:

I could ramble on about this book for quite a long time. But the long and short is this: this is good quality artwork, well drawn (both figuratively and literally) characters, a complex and interesting plot, and an absorbing read. If you're a fan of graphic novels, especially of fantasy, then you could do a damn sight worse than to give this one a go.