Review: Locke and Key, Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom

Locke and Key, Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



In Keys to the Kingdom our fearless kids are involved in various battles throughout the month of February, the days of the month clearly indicated. The Locke kids fight in The Battle of the Thorns, The Battle of the Angry Squirrels (with swords!), and Tyler is found in the midst of The Battle of the ... Teddy Bears(?).

Bode finds a key that will change him into his inner animal: a tiny sparrow. Not what he was hoping for! But he's not without friends.

Tyler starts to see the pattern at the end of this volume. Why does the Dark Lady only attack on weekends? Who is out of town, or just entirely unavailable, on these weekends?

This volume had the right mixture of clever, humor, heartbreak, and fight (and some flight!).

I only just found out that this series is limited to six volumes, so I only have 12 issues (two more volumes) left. That is some heartbreak right there. My only hope is that some TV network will pick up the series (filmed in 2011 - and FOX refused it), so I will be able to enjoy this awesome story through another medium.




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Review: Locke and Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows

Locke and Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I don't even know how to start this review. The Locke children are caught between a rock and hard place - battling evil shadows under the command of he/she who is wearing the Crown of Shadows, trying to be regular teenagers (and a 7 year old kid), and dealing with a raging drunk of a mother.

Everything in this series is detailed and vivid - the character development, the artwork, the colors, the feels, the evil. This is such a phenomenal series, and I can't believe I didn't start reading it earlier.



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Who are you?

From a random 30-day blogging challenge

I don't know how to answer that question anymore, to be honest.

I used to be a professional college student, creator of apprenticeship and diesel mechanic education programs, a hard worker, etc.

Now I'm disabled. Or unabled. I can't do the things I used to do. I can't work. I can't drive. I have my college degrees, and I don't even want to put my diplomas on my wall because they would be a constant reminder of all that work I had accomplished before getting sick. It's too depressing just to think about.

Now, I suppose, I am The Patient.

Beyond that, I'm the reader, the tweeter, the sometime blogger, the one who forgets everything, the one who has to Google words to make sure I'm using them right because the medication makes me feel stupid, the silly mom whose son doesn't think she's all that funny, and the one gimp who wants to play more video games.

Who are YOU?

I got this question from http://colorfulistic.net/content/30-day-challenge-blogging-ideas/. If you see a question you want me to answer or a topic you would like me to try discussing, put it in the comment section. I didn't quite know where to start with all these topics, so I picked the one I wouldn't know how to answer. It was far from easiest. Anyway, pick the next one for me.

xoxo

Jessi

Review: Locke and Key, Vol. 2: Head Games

Locke and Key, Vol. 2: Head Games by Joe Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The Locke children, pretty much left to their own devices, are finding out more and more about the mysterious keys they had heard about. They are also doing some pretty questionable things. But, hey, they're kids. They'll bounce back. Right?

I completely loved this volume, which I felt ended way too soon (probably because I read it all in one sitting). It was impossible for me to put down.

I'm going to make this review short because I'm really anxious to start reading the next volume. Yeah, the series is that good.



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Review: Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft

Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It wasn't until I started following Joe Hill on Twitter that I found out he had written a graphic novel.

The illustrations, by Gabriel Rodriguez, are exceptional in their detail. The colors are vivid. The story is engrossing.

This is the first volume of the graphic novel, in which the Locke children are sent to their ancestral family estate in Lovecraft, Massachusetts after a terrifying tragedy. While the two older children brood and cry, the youngest has run of the place and finding out some very interesting things about this very interesting house.

I am loving every page, every panel, of this graphic novel. It's witty, clever, suspenseful, and completely enthralling.

Even if you're not into graphic novels, but love the horror and/or suspense genre, you give this series a try.





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Review: Joyland

Joyland by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Stephen King has kind of strayed away from the horror genre, in a sense. This story is noir, with a supernatural twist, in its finest form.

Usually I don't find any pleasure in reading about normal people doing normal things, living semi-normal lives. However, from the first pages King sucks the reader into this story. Not to say that things don't start happening, because they do. This is the kind of story that only Stephen King can pull off.

And, oh, how I have always loved him for that.




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Review: The Never List

The Never List by Koethi Zan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



From a horror/drama/suspense standpoint, I loved the basic premise of this book: two female college students are kidnapped and held in a dungeon for a few years, and were subjected to all forms of torture.

The execution of the story is where this one falls a bit short. The two girls are super paranoid already because of a car accident that happened in their tweens that claimed the life of one of the girl's mothers.

So they created their "Never List" of things to never do, to always avoid, etc.

Then they get kidnapped and all goes to hell.

Not a whole lot is told about the torture, as one of the girls escapes and sends help for the ones left behind. It's the after story to which we, as readers, are privy.

****SPOILER ALERT******

Of the two girls, only one survives. The surviving girl grows up, finishes college, and locks herself in a penthouse apartment - never to go outside if she can avoid it.

But, wait! The kidnapper is coming up for parole! Our surviving girl doesn't know where her friend's body is located, so she takes it upon herself to dig deeper into what happened to them.

******END SPOILER ALERT******

This is what I don't get! If this woman was SO paranoid before the kidnapping, and even more paranoid after her escape, why would she put herself in harms way again? This was only one of the inconsistencies I found with the story line.

If only it had just been about being held captive. Because that is good horror and suspense.



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Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I listened to this audiobook in one afternoon, in one sitting, while playing sudoku. It's perfect for that kind of lazy afternoon - for listening to while knitting, playing solitaire, or (insert your favorite sedentary activity here).

I love Mindy Kaling, for so many reasons. I love that she isn't skinny (which she talks about in this book), that she's funny, and that she's really sarcastic. She doesn't disappoint with this book, either.

It's at times random, heartfelt, serious, and silly - and hearing it in Kaling's own voice makes it perfect. No one else could have read this and pulled it off.

My absolute favorite part of the book is her chapter on using revenge fantasies to inspire exercising.

So, if you're planning a lazy afternoon of whatever you do, I recommend listening to this book while you do it.

I'm giving 5 stars, because I really loved it.






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Review: The Walking Dead, Vol. 17: Something to Fear

The Walking Dead, Vol. 17: Something to Fear by Robert Kirkman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I've read some reviews of previous TWD volumes here on Goodreads - reviews where the reader is "bored" with what had been going on and state they are not going to be continuing reading this graphic novel series.

I am telling you now that they jumped ship WAY too early!

This volume isn't called "Something To Fear" for nothing. This is no joke, no hidden meaning - this is a warning.

In this volume, we are introduced to a new group of survivors who are lead by a man they call Negan. Negan is something to fear. In the Letter Hacks at the end of each issue, reader wrote in comparing Negan to The Governor. Negan is nothing like The Governor, for many reasons.

The Governor is a product of his environment. If you have read Rise of the Governor, you would know of his humble, scared, and non-confrontational beginnings. The Governor did not start out the way he ended up.

Negan is an entirely new animal. Negan is the guy who stole your lunch money in grade school; he's the guy who super glued your butt cheeks together after gym class in high school; he's the guy who instigated the gang rape of your sister; he's the head jock in high school who got away with everything; he's the guy at the gym who flexes for hours in front of the mirror, caressing each muscle; he's the boss who terrorizes you unless you can do a little something for him on the side; he's the arrogant-bully-narcissist-sociopath-psycho-fucking-bastard. He's always been That Guy. And you just never fuck with That Guy.

Rick fucks with That Guy. The result is brutal. While reading this volume I cringed, cried, yelled out, buried my face in my pillow, and even stopped reading for a while so I could process what had just happened. There are a lot of feels in this volume.

While this is the last volume out, it is certainly not the last of the story. I couldn't help but to keep reading the individual books, so I am currently all caught up with the story -

and there is still so much to fear.



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Review: The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves

The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves by Robert Kirkman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This volume was comparatively uneventful. Our survivors are working on safety measures, some people are hooking up, some are waking up, and some are planning a coup against Rick.

Wait, what?

Yeah, there's always going to be that one asshole. Or, maybe two assholes. We'll see.

Oh, and good morning, Carl! Welcome to the zombie apocalypse. It's ok to cry.



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Review: The Walking Dead, Vol. 14: No Way Out

The Walking Dead, Vol. 14: No Way Out by Robert Kirkman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



After a horrible accident, Rick sums up what I've been saying all along with these graphic novels: In comparison, the undead are manageable; it's the living that cause the real problems.

I think the one thing that really draws me to this story, to which I was introduced through the television show, is how realistic and honest the interactions are between the living. It's like a lesson in human nature in its rawest form. What we see these characters do for, to, and with each other is what we see in people every day - whether it be after a natural disaster or just in every day situations.

Some people will step up, some will slink away, some will plunder and then want what is yours, and some will go above and beyond for those they love.

And, of course, some will just go batshit crazy.

After reading through this volume, it occurred to me that Kirkman may be taking a page out of George R. R. Martin's playbook: "Oh, you love this character? I'm going to kill them."



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Review: The Jesus Presidents: Holy Grail Holy Presidents Holy Nation

The Jesus Presidents: Holy Grail Holy Presidents Holy Nation by L.E. Cooper

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I'm giving this book an extra star ONLY because I know how difficult it is to do genealogical research. Researching my family history has been my life's work. That said, I also know how important it is to: cite sources, pay attention to dates, attribute the right child to the right parent, and CITE SOURCES.

I came across this book while researching an 11th century ancestor, who I just so happen to share with President James Madison. According to this book, that ancestor is a direct descendant of Charlemagne. Well, this was exciting! It's not the purpose of genealogical research, as I see it, but it's always exciting to find you're directly related to someone so famous - or am I?

While trying to research the information L.E. Cooper lists in this book - the lineage, that is - I'm hitting dead ends and finding mistakes (on the author's part). Children are attributed to the wrong parent, the dates don't add up (children born before their parents were) - and maybe that's just a typo, but still - and there are NO SOURCES CITED.

Where did the author get this information? This wrong information, I should add. There is one person in the lineage that is keeping me from saying, "I'm directly descended from Charlemagne!" But one person - one mistake - is all it takes to go down a completely wrong path in genealogical research.



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Selfie Friday

The Sims 3 edition

Review: The Walking Dead, Vol. 13: Too Far Gone

The Walking Dead, Vol. 13: Too Far Gone by Robert Kirkman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Which is worse - dealing with the living dead or the living? In this volume, it's definitely the living that pose the most danger. If they make too much noise, however, it could attract either.

I like how Rick posed the same question I had a few reviews back: are the bad people inherently bad or just a product of their new circumstances? When the fighting is done, albeit temporarily, and a survivor has time to be alone with their thoughts, what personal issue - or just plain fuckery - will arise?

The title "Too Far Gone" could apply to any one of our survivors, so I wonder which one has been pushed so far over the edge that it is really too far.





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Review: The Walking Dead, Vol. 12: Life Among Them

The Walking Dead, Vol. 12: Life Among Them by Robert Kirkman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Our survivors were found and lead to a small utopian village set up outside of Washington, DC. The residents there are fat, happy, and oh so complacent.

Of course, to our survivors, this is surreal. Because our survivors have been disarmed, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something really bad to happen - and then, nothing.

Or something? Rick may just have a plan to get their weapons back. Have our survivors become the bad guys? Are they going to disrupt the happy lives of the inhabitants of their new village? Maybe they just want to be armed and prepared in case something does happen. I would hate to think that Rick has turned into someone - something - akin to The Governor.



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Review: The Walking Dead, Vol. 11: Fear the Hunters

The Walking Dead, Vol. 11: Fear the Hunters by Robert Kirkman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Excuse my language, but this volume was completely f**ked up.

(***SPOILERS***)

Here we find a boy killing his twin brother because, hey, he's going to come back to life. Right? This creates desperate fear amongst our survivors. What to do with a child who doesn't understand what he did? Will he do it again? What no one asks if he is a product of the world they now live in, or a true sociopath?

This is where Carl exhibits his own sociopathic tendencies. Again, is he just doing what needs to be done without a second thought, or is he enjoying this?

Let us not forget the hunters (it's not called Fear The Hunters for nothing, ya know). When animals are scarce, and maybe a little too fast, what makes for better game than survivors passing through?

Humanity and humility shine through when Dale recognizes Rick's sacrifices and hard choices, through Rick's remorse over doing what had to be done, and Carl's ultimate confession.



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