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markoestes's reviews
108 reviews
Butterflies Hitting Home Runs: A 29 year journey... The transformation from a boy to a man. by Andre L. Simmons
5.0
Man, I can't even describe how much I love this book. Well, I can but I won't do it here in too much detail. I will say this tho: Grammar Nazis, this is not a book for you. If you are someone who loves a gritty, honest soul-bearing story then this is one for you. I will be rereading this again very soon.
Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis
4.0
I would be lying if I said I didn't feel some type of way while reading Imperial Bedrooms, because the sequel to Less Than Zero was not what I had expected from Bret Easton Ellis. However, the 2010 novel managed to win me over midway through its millennial Hollywood noir tapestry, with Ellis's wittily sadistic trademarks emerging through a somewhat, lucid narrative, or rather an ongoing nightmare in an equally twisted dreamscape.
I've read Less Than Zero twice (I consider it my favorite book, tied with The Vampire Lestat) and during each reading I spotted something different or overlooked during the previous reading. That's typical with most books, but with LTZ, it's a reawakening of sorts. I pray that a second reading of Imperial Bedrooms will dredge a similar sentiment of sorts, especially after Ellis pretty much declared the Clay of Less Than Zero "an imposter," and replaced him with The Real Clay of Imperial Bedrooms, a severely morally sadistic monster in wheels clothing.
I didn't give it the full five stars due to the length and lack of the original group of characters from LTZ, but, again, hopefully the inevitable second reading will earn that final star and I can appreciate Ellis's most recent commentary on the rapidly vacuous world we live in. Or rather what his characters perceive to be.
I've read Less Than Zero twice (I consider it my favorite book, tied with The Vampire Lestat) and during each reading I spotted something different or overlooked during the previous reading. That's typical with most books, but with LTZ, it's a reawakening of sorts. I pray that a second reading of Imperial Bedrooms will dredge a similar sentiment of sorts, especially after Ellis pretty much declared the Clay of Less Than Zero "an imposter," and replaced him with The Real Clay of Imperial Bedrooms, a severely morally sadistic monster in wheels clothing.
I didn't give it the full five stars due to the length and lack of the original group of characters from LTZ, but, again, hopefully the inevitable second reading will earn that final star and I can appreciate Ellis's most recent commentary on the rapidly vacuous world we live in. Or rather what his characters perceive to be.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis
5.0
Not going to lie. Had little to no knowledge of the Guardians of the Galaxy before Marvel Studios announced the movie adaptation a few years ago. Even then I didn't have the urge to dive into another leg of the multifaceted world of the Marvel Universe, which I had recently started delving deeper into after being a sole DC Comics fan for so long. However after letting the movie serve as a springboard into the world of the Guardians, I wanted to learn more and this collection was a great way to enter this particular area of the Marvel Universe, which is what the company probably intended.
The origin story was slightly different, but that's just as expected as Groot uttering his now famous phrase of "I am Groot!" when it's his time to talk/growl/yell/whimper. The plot was nicely mixed with an introductory narrative wrapped around obvious threads of an ongoing story. If this was a TV series, Cosmic Avengers would justify as a viable pilot, especially with the backstory/flashback Tomorrow's Avengers issue.
As I stated before, Cosmic Avengers is a nice entry point for newbies like myself, but you can easily detect that you've stepped into a party that has already started without you in some areas. The urge to read all collected editions prior to Cosmic Avengers is strong within me, and God willing I will hopefully locate the prior graphic novels to get a decent grasp of the characters of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and my boy Groot. So my rating alone is based on whether or not Cosmic Avengers incited a fire under my ass to read more GOTG. And it sure as hell did.
The origin story was slightly different, but that's just as expected as Groot uttering his now famous phrase of "I am Groot!" when it's his time to talk/growl/yell/whimper. The plot was nicely mixed with an introductory narrative wrapped around obvious threads of an ongoing story. If this was a TV series, Cosmic Avengers would justify as a viable pilot, especially with the backstory/flashback Tomorrow's Avengers issue.
As I stated before, Cosmic Avengers is a nice entry point for newbies like myself, but you can easily detect that you've stepped into a party that has already started without you in some areas. The urge to read all collected editions prior to Cosmic Avengers is strong within me, and God willing I will hopefully locate the prior graphic novels to get a decent grasp of the characters of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and my boy Groot. So my rating alone is based on whether or not Cosmic Avengers incited a fire under my ass to read more GOTG. And it sure as hell did.
American Vampire, Vol. 1 by Scott Snyder
5.0
Amazed that I'm late to the American Vampire saga when one literary figure, who I'm a huge fan of joined forces with another writer, who is gaining all of my attention when it comes to comics. The first volume was nicely packaged and immediately snatched my attention from gate. The foreword and afterward written by Stephen King and Scott Snyder, respectively, were nice bookends to the introduction of Skinner Sweet and the return to the ferocity and vicious nature of the vampire. The story itself manages to retain an air of originality despite the concept of the 'daywalker' vampire being used a multitude of times in recent years. The dual narratives and time periods complimented each other as Pearl and Skinner stumbled through their newfound vampirism without proper guidance. Albeit Skinner did pass on a cheat sheet of sorts to Pearl, but in the grand scheme of things she could still be considered a vampire "orphan" of sorts, with Skinner still looking out for his own personal gain.
There's so much more to say, but I'm just going to end it right here. American Vampire has become a new obsession and hopefully it will be adapted into a TV series one day.
There's so much more to say, but I'm just going to end it right here. American Vampire has become a new obsession and hopefully it will be adapted into a TV series one day.