glecharles's reviews
123 reviews

Daemonifuge: Heretic Saint (Daemonifuge) by Kev Walker

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Tracked down the full collection on eBay and, while entertaining, it wasn't as cohesive as I hoped. Books 2 and 3 are a series of loosely connected vignettes and set pieces hinting at a larger story, vs. the first book's tighter narrative.

Nevertheless, Ephrael Stern remains a fave, and I want more!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin - Lost Years by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Solid prequel to the unexpectedly great Last Ronin, which was the first time I'd read any TMNT in decades. Michelangelo's journey is surprisingly intense, balanced by the more light-hearted tale of his pre-teen successors.

Saints and Martyrs by David Annandale, Danie Ware, Andy Clark

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An uneven mix that requires some familiarity with the overall lore, but meeting Ephrael Stern was worth it, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her adventures. Celestine was solid; Katherine was underwhelming.

Daemonifuge, Book I: The Screaming Cage by Kev Walker

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An entertaining intro to Ephrael Stern that holds up pretty well 25 years later. Now I have to track down the full collection!

Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 3 by Naoya Matsumoto

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The plot thickens, but the core story and characters remain fun and engaging.

DARK PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the Environment by Grant Ennis

dark informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

Ennis does an excellent job of breaking down and illustrating the various ways corporations successfully manipulate and misdirect us, no matter how savvy we might individually think we are. His call for collective action is inspiring and pragmatic, but it's honestly hard not to think it might be too late.

Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence by Dan McQuillan

informative slow-paced

3.5

Enlightening at times, but overwhelmingly academic, it reads like an AI and Politics 401 textbook. Published before ChatGPT was unleashed and AI being aggressively pushed into everything, some of its proposed solutions seem a little outdated or inadequate in 2025, but are still worth examining.

Clock Striker, Volume 2: The Sharing Society by Frederick L. Jones, Issaka Galadima, Saturday AM

adventurous dark lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

A little darker than I remember the first volume being, but also fun and engaging. A good balance of world building and character development, the setting itself is as interesting as the main story, but it's the characters and dynamic art that... make it... tick.

12 Days manga by June Kim

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Re-reading the first manga I ever read back in 2006. A suitably messy slice of life told in vignettes weaving past and present, as several characters grapple with the untimely death of a loved one. The drinking ashes hook is both literal and metaphorical, but the heart of the story is what's said, and not said, throughout.

The Beautiful Ones by Prince

informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

A unique (auto)biography befitting a unique musical talent, offering insightful glimpses of the young man who'd become one of the greatest artists ever. The care that went into posthumously putting this beautiful scrapbook together makes it a worthy physical keepsake, too.