The Sandman: Overture

The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A star has gone mad and has infected others with its madness, threatening all of creation. Dream of the Endless must put right something he left undone years ago. With him are a girl named Hope and another version of himself in the form of a cat...

Confession time (I've been confessing a lot this week): In my late teens/early twenties, most of the comics I read were Vertigo or Vertigo-esque. The Sandman was at or near the front of the pack. I started in trade paperbacks and read the last ten or so issues as they appeared. For me, they hearken back to my days of wasting time majoring in art and drinking with my friends and playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Who was it that said you can't go home again? Thomas Wolfe, maybe? Well, that fucker was wrong, whoever he was. While I didn't know I was getting the first big honkin' Sandman omnibus for Christmas when I bought this, it feels like the perfect way to kickoff the reread.

The Sandman: Overture is the prelude to the entire Sandman saga. Ever wonder why some two-bit magician snared Dream in the 20's? This book takes the long way around but explains things pretty well.

Like most Sandman stories, lots of concepts and ideas are thrown around, and the power of dreams proves to be pretty powerful. A star goes mad and Dream comes a-callin'. Along the way, he encounters a lot of old characters, along with some previously unseen ones. Curious about who spawned The Endless? Wonder no more!

Gaiman successfully captured the feel of his earlier work and this fit pretty seamlessly into the Sandman mythology. His partner in crime for this endeavor, J.H. Williams, more than pulls his share of the weight. I can see why it took two years for this series to be completed. Williams packs unbelievable amounts of detail into every page. I especially loved the artwork when the various aspects of Dream convene to figure out what happened. It ranked right up there with multiple versions of The Doctor or the Eternal Champion meeting himself/herself/itself.

That's pretty much all I want to say for fear of spoiling things. Most prequels suck but, for my time and money, this one succeeds beyond measure. Five out of five stars.

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The Sleeper and the Spindle

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a sleeping curse hits the kingdom, the queen postpones her wedding and sets off with three dwarves to free the sleeping princess and end the curse...

Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell team up yet again to present this short fairy tale, a dark combination of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

As dark fairy tales go, it had its moments. I loved the sleepers talking and eventually sleepwalking after the heroes. I've said it many times before but Gaiman's tales for kids are way creepier than the ones for adults. The art by Chris Riddell added to the tale and reminded me of old woodcuts at times.

I liked the ending quite a bit, not nearly as pat as I was expecting. However, at the end of the day, this was pretty average. It was a little too short and not as fleshed out as I would have liked. I guess I expected more from Neil Gaiman this time out. Three out of five stars.



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Writing the Novel From Plot to Print to Pixel

Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel: Expanded and Updated! by Lawrence Block
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel is a book about writing by the legendary Lawrence Block.

Lawrence Block sent me this in an email a couple weeks ago, asking me if I was interested in reviewing his upcoming book about writing. Once I changed into pants that weren't as soaked in my urine, I eagerly agreed to read and review it before getting stuck in the holiday quagmire.

I've often said that reading a book about writing is like asking a psychic for lottery numbers. If they can already predict the winning numbers, why are they offering them to me? However, Lawrence Block clearly has had the winning lottery numbers in his pocket for years and his books on writing are the only ones I take seriously.

This particular volume, WTNFPTPTP, is a revised, expanded, and cybernetic version of his writing book from yesteryear, Writing the Novel from Plot to Print. Instead of taking the lazy route and changing references to typewriters and the library to computers and the internet, present day Block tacks his thoughts on the end of his past-self's chapters. After all, the man has learned a thing or two in the decades that have passed since writing the original version of this book.

In addition to old reliable topics like developing plots and characters, rewriting, developing your style, and breaking into the business, Block also addresses the increasingly important topics of self-publishing and all the pros and cons that go with it.

If you're looking for a new book on writing, this is it. The odds are good that none of us are going to be the next Stephen King but Lawrence Block gives you enough tips to at least get a book written, if not published. The man is responsible for the Matthew Scudder series and once wrote a porno novel over a weekend so clearly knows his stuff. Four out of five stars.


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Hell's Bounty

Hell's Bounty by Joe R. Lansdale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A bounty hunter named Smith is given a second chance at life. The only catch is that he has to stop an outlaw named Quill from bringing the Old Ones to our reality...

I got this from Netgalley.

The champion mojo storyteller, Joe Lansdale, is back, this time, with his brother John sharing the writing duties, with Hell's Bounty. Hell's Bounty is a weird western tale about redemption. Also, it's about wise-ass flesh-eating ghouls, a demonic outlaw, and the Old Ones of Lovecraftian infamy.

The characters are vintage Lansdale, complete with colorful remarks. The writing is in the trademark Lansdale front-porch or tailgate style, making it an easy yet gripping read. The deck is stacked against Smith, Payday, and the rest, and the ending is far from happily ever after, unless you consider a colossal orgy of violence happily ever after.

The Lansdale boys wove an entertaining yarn with Hell's Bounty. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Tales of Alhazred

Tales of Alhazred by Donald Tyson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tales of Alhazred is a collection of short stories about Abdul Alhazred, necromancer and author of the Necronomicon.

Ghoul Bane: Something is feeding on the local ghouls and it's up to the mad Arab, Abdul Alhazred, to find the culprit.

The first of the tales is a fine introduction to Alhazred, the author of the Necronomicon and one of the early figures in the Cthulhu mythos. The tale itself is pretty straightforward but eases the reader into the collection.

Mountain of Shadows: Alhazred and his two companions climb a mountain in search of a talisman to ward off Nyarlathotep. Will they find it at a strange Christian monastery full of levitating monks?

Now this was more like it, a perfect blend of Cthulhu mythos and sword and sorcery.

Brazen Vessel: A djinn snatches Alhazred from his bed and transports him across the desert. His task: free the seventy-two djinn imprisoned by Solomon inside a brass vessel.

Alhazred continues his growth as a sorcerer, this time contending with a menace straight out of the old testament.

Isle of the Dead: What's worse than an island full of undead? The creatures animating them!

This one was pretty revolting at times. Alhazred and gang sure go through hell on a fairly regular basis.

Dance of Durga: Altrus kills a man for cheating at dice and agrees to take up the sins of the town. However, that's not all he's volunteered for...

Religious fanaticism at its best! And, with huge vermin, at that.

The Caliph's Necromancer: Someone is trying to kill the Caliph using necromancy and Alhazred and company are on the case! Will they find the culprit before the Caliph is murdered?

Not a bad tale by any means but my least favorite so far. It still had some great character moments, however.

Revenge of the Djinn: The son of a djinn kidnaps Martala, forcing Alhazred into a duel. Alhazred's weapon of choice: dice?

Alhazred out-thinks his adversary in this outing. Good stuff!

Hand of Nilus: Alhazred, Altrus, and Martala arrive at a monastery to learn of a bounty placed on a missing relic, the mummified hand of St. Nilus.

Great stuff. Necromancy, a powerful artifact, and the gang pissing off another Christian monastery. I haven't mentioned it before, but the stories frequently have a touch of humor.

Red Claws: A monstrous leopard has stalked and killed all but one member of a caravan. Alhazred and company take in the woman and death follows in their wake...

This one was bloody and while I thought one of the twists was telegraphed, the other hit me like a telegraph pole.

Ancient Evil: The necromancers of Damascus are facing a shortage of essential salts from Egypt and look to Alhazred to find the culprit.

An ancient evil is raised and runs roughshod over the necromancers until Alhazred pieces together what is going on. Not my favorite story but it felt like a good one to end on.

Conclusion: I loved this book. The stories were a fun mix of Lovecraft and sword and sorcery. The tales were a diverse mix and left enough unanswered questions for me to want another volume. If you like old school pulp fantasy and the Cthulhu mythos, this is a must-buy.


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Rock N Roll Head Case

ROCK N ROLL HEAD CASE by Lee Widener
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Chaino Durante finds Alice Cooper's head in the bottom of a fryer, wrapped in a trash bag, he has no idea of the turn his life is to come. For Alice Cooper's head becomes fused with his hand and becomes a very strange weapon. And then things start to get strange...

The best thing about the New Bizarro Author series is how different all the books are from one another. Lee Widener's Rock N Roll Head Case takes the weirdness in a whole other direction.

You don't run across a whole lot of books where the talking severed head of a rock and roll legend serves as a weapon and isn't even the strangest part of the story. Rock N Roll Head Case is such a book. It also features Andre the Giant, Charles Manson, and a man with an eyeball for a head. Interested yet?

You should be. This is one fun, crazy, crazy-fun book. Chaino goes on a rampage with Alice Cooper as his spirit guide and an eyeball for a head, and remakes the world. What's not to like?

Rock N Roll Head Case is a very cool short book. Three out of five stars.

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Slasher Camp for Nerd Dorks

Slasher Camp for Nerd Dorks by Christoph Paul
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jason Vorheesberg is a failure at being a slasher, leading to his mother dumping him at the Slasher Camp for Nerd Dorks. Will be become the Slasher he's always wanted to be and win the girl of his dreams?

The New Bizarro Author Series is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get, be it nougat, bacon, or crunchy frog.

Boy, even slashers have it rough in high school. Jason Vorhessberg is an aspiring Slasher with crippling anxiety in a world where Slashers are a form of population control. Dark humor and social satire are the order of business.

The stories has some commonalities with Friday the 13th but is pretty damn original. I didn't expect the love story to go the way it did, nor Jason stepping it up a notch. Slasher Camp for Nerd Dorks is a heart warming coming of age tale for homicidal maniacs. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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