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ianjmax's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
ericawrites's review against another edition
Fascinating if you are reading the comics and want to know more details about the Families. I'm not going to rate it as it is a source book. It is laid out nicely.
trike's review
4.0
This is what it says on the tin: the sourcebook for the Lazarus comic series. This is the worldbuilding backgrounder for the series, and I found it fascinating. But then I’m the kid who bought the [b:The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Volume 1|365477|The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Volume 1|Jim Shooter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349003562s/365477.jpg|355507] when they came out in individual issues back in the day, so this was right up my alley.
lukeisthename34's review
5.0
Dense. VERY...very dense. But even though I had read some of the stuff in the individual volumes quite a bit I missed or had forgotten. Feels a bit like a guide for a RPG in the 90's, like a Mechwarrior or something, so pretty fun to read it along side the series and see just how far Rucka went in building this world.
hissingpotatoes's review
5.0
So this is by far the highest rating I've given a book I've DNFed. It is a wonderfully organized background volume for the lore of Lazarus, perfect for fanfiction writers or anyone intending to play in a Lazarus-based RPG. I intend on doing neither of those things, so the encyclopedic presentation read a little dry. However, I can definitely see myself using it as a reference while I continue the actual storyline. The level of thought, detail, complexity, and believability the creators have put into this world, as laid out in this volume, is incontrovertible evidence for why the actual storyline works so incredibly well.
Flipping through the volume allowed me to stumble on some interesting tidbits, like the "grief farms," which are basically online government-sponsored and controlled spaces for (in effect, primarily male) users to vent their furious energy that the government weaponizes against its political enemies. Sounds terrifyingly familiar and believable, no?
Flipping through the volume allowed me to stumble on some interesting tidbits, like the "grief farms," which are basically online government-sponsored and controlled spaces for (in effect, primarily male) users to vent their furious energy that the government weaponizes against its political enemies. Sounds terrifyingly familiar and believable, no?
sarah42783's review
4.0
Well this was pretty shrimping good for a book about Super Extra Dense Stuff (SEDS™) I never knew I wanted to know about the world of Lazarus in general, and the Carlyle, Hock and Vassalovka families in particular.
Holy stinking fish, the author did such a splendiferous job here that it almost feels like you're reading a history/geopolitics book about um, you know, real history/geopolitics, and not about, um, you know, a slightly dystopian and somewhat a little screwed-up (albeit quite deliciously scrumptious) world. Most stunningly fantabulous this is. Mr Rucka, my murderous children and my little nefarious self gleefully click ours pincers in your honor. Well-deserved it is indeed.
Okay, so because this volume is so very extremely detailed and factual and sometimes reads like a heavy-duty encyclopedia, I ended up feeling a little like this:
Do not worry your little selves, for my little head grew back after this most unexpected incident, and I am quite deliriously happy to report that my two ever-decaying grey cells were notmuch affected. So yay and stuff.
But hey, moderately painful headaches aside, this is still brilliant stuff and fascinating stuff and rich stuff and complex stuff, so QED. And stuff.
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): not reading this volume affect your Lazarus experience will probably not, and better suited for hardcoreshrimps Lazarus fans it probably is. But a most enlightening read it happens to be. So strongly consider perusing it you should. You're welcome and stuff.
Chronological Reading Order:
· Volume 1: Family ★★★★
· Volume 2: Lift ★★★
· Volume 3: Conclave ★★★★
· Volume 4: Poison ★★★★
· Volume 5: Cull ★★★★★
· Lazarus X+66 (side stories about supporting characters) ★★★★
· Fracture: Prelude 1 (issue #27, digital format only
Holy stinking fish, the author did such a splendiferous job here that it almost feels like you're reading a history/geopolitics book about um, you know, real history/geopolitics, and not about, um, you know, a slightly dystopian and somewhat a little screwed-up (albeit quite deliciously scrumptious) world. Most stunningly fantabulous this is. Mr Rucka, my murderous children and my little nefarious self gleefully click ours pincers in your honor. Well-deserved it is indeed.
Okay, so because this volume is so very extremely detailed and factual and sometimes reads like a heavy-duty encyclopedia, I ended up feeling a little like this:
Do not worry your little selves, for my little head grew back after this most unexpected incident, and I am quite deliriously happy to report that my two ever-decaying grey cells were not
But hey, moderately painful headaches aside, this is still brilliant stuff and fascinating stuff and rich stuff and complex stuff, so QED. And stuff.
➽ Nefarious Last Words (NLW™): not reading this volume affect your Lazarus experience will probably not, and better suited for hardcore
Chronological Reading Order:
· Volume 1: Family ★★★★
· Volume 2: Lift ★★★
· Volume 3: Conclave ★★★★
· Volume 4: Poison ★★★★
· Volume 5: Cull ★★★★★
· Lazarus X+66 (side stories about supporting characters) ★★★★
· Fracture: Prelude 1 (issue #27, digital format only
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