Sketch Monsters - Book 1 by Joshua Williamson and Vincente Navarrete

Sketch Monsters - Book 1: Escape of the Scribbles

I got this book in ebook format from Oni Press, through Netgalley

Eight-year-old Mandy isn't what you'd call an emotional child. Whether at her own surprise birthday party, scoring the winning goal, or being stung by a bee, Mandy doesn't show her feelings.

Instead she draws them as MONSTERS in her sketchbook! But one day her emotions run wild and those monsters escape! Mandy's only help catching them is an eccentric monster named Happster, who causes more problems than he solves.

Can Mandy catch all the sketch monsters and return them to her sketchbook before they destroy her town?




This is a very cutesy book, with a pretty straightforward story. Mandy shows no emotions whatsoever, not when she's happy nor when she is sad. Poker face at its best. But when the monsters she draws escape the sketchbook she has to catch them in a very special way – she has to show the emotion they portray.

The art is quite fun in this book, very bright, and the monsters very childlike, and very cute (and for the most part, not very frightening).

And since this a really small book, it can be read in a flash. The story, not being very surprising or in any way complex, is still nice to read. I'm not sure I would go out of my way to read any new issue of this comic, thought.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This Book on: LibraryThing | GoodReads | BookDepository UK | Book Depository US | Amazon UK| Amazon US

Orcs: Forged for War by Stan Nicholls and Joe Flood

Orcs: Forged for War

I got this book in ebook format from First Second Books, through Netgalley

Orcs: Forged for War is the first graphic novel in Stan Nicholls’ beloved Orcs universe. The fantasy landscape in this world is brutal and unforgiving, and populated by a race of unlikely protagonists: the powerful and violent warriors, orcs. Orcs: Forged for War is an original story—a new entry in this series, not an adaptation of old material. It follows a ruthless and deadly cohort of warrior orcs as they fight their way free of the dominion of an evil human enchantress. Sitting on an exhilarating peak with high fantasy on one side and the thrilling, gruesome battlefields of graphic novel classics like Frank Miller’s 300 on the other, Orcs presents the world of its ogre-like protagonists with technicolor violence and moments of unexpected sympathy.


Orcs: Forged for War gives a taste into the Orcs universe, one which I didn't know. But the prologue explained not only the reason for this graphic novel but some insight into the world – not that it would be much needed. Forged for War stands well on its own.

The universe of Orcs seems like a nice one to explore – unlike pretty much all fantasy, here this race is not evil, war-driven for sure, but their actions are not malicious. There was a lot that was backstory (that I got to know in the prologue and throughout the graphic novel) and that interested me. Well, to tell the truth, the backstory interested me more than the actual story.

Not that it was bad. It was rather straightforward, with a lot of fighting, and somewhat predictable. And more fighting. In the end, it was not really my cup of tea – I would have preferred something with more plot. The artwork was nice (after, the cover did catch my attention), but still not enough for this book to cause any kind of impact. I might give the novels a try, though.


Rating: 2.5 out of 5

This Book on: LibraryThing | GoodReads | BookDepository UK | Book Depository US | Amazon UK| Amazon US

Meme Literário

This post is in Portuguese - it is a literary meme. But don't despair, a review is on the way.

 

1 - Possivelmente o Bons Augúrios, de Neil Gaiman e Terry Prattchett

2 - Que pergunta difícil. Acho que vou fazer um pouco de batota: The complete Grimm's Fairy Tales. Ou então As 1001 Noites. Ou algum livro que seja um compêndio gigante de historias.

3 - Earthsea series de Ursula K. Le Guin, em português, Contos de Terramar. Comecem pelo O Feiticeiro e a Sombra (A Wizard of Earthsea) e continuem :)

4 - Bem, acho que todos os blogues tugas que sigo já foram desafiados - se mais algum quiser tomar parte deste meme - força!

5 - Fui desafiada pela p7 do blog Bookeater/Booklover

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!

One bloody thing after another by Joey Comeau

One Bloody Thing After Another is an apt title to this book. It is a gory horror story, told in an episodic manner, with short chapters.

It tells us the stories of Jackie, her trees and schoolgirl crush on her friend Ann; of Ann and her mother's strange disease that transforms her into something akin to an animal; and of Charlie, his dog that walks into corners, and the headless ghost that has him bother a tenant every single day. These storylines cross somewhat, but follow their own path.

Jackie's story was interesting and, had this been another kind of book, I would have wanted to know more about her crush on another girl and her family life. It also felt like all the anger issues came out of nowhere, but then again maybe it was intended to be this way.

In Ann's story I felt that something was missing. It seems like the we never went further that the surface of the character. The same thing with her mother and sister's affliction. I would have liked to know where it came from, what exactly it was. Anyway, this is probably the most frightening part of the book, and certainly the most gory.

Charlie's story, and Mitchie's was lovely, probably my favourite, and I only wish there was more to of it

I liked the way the book is structured, the short chapters with "to-the-point" language. I absolutely loved the [not so] hidden message in between chapter (it took me a while to realize it was there, I blame it on being a ebook, I'm not used to those), it stands as a story of its own, and completes the others. The entire concept of the third part of the book is amazing: very surreal and a bit like a dream, with the repetition of the same events, changing ever slightly (reminiscent of the movie Groundhog day, only darker. And weirder).

I enjoyed this book, even if it's not my favourite genre. It is a fast read, but delivers what it promises.

Recommended to gore and horror fans.

(3,5/5)
I got this book from ECW Press, through Netgalley