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tobin_elliott's reviews
540 reviews
Grim Vol. 4 by Stephanie Phillips
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It took until this volume for the series to live up to the promise of the first few issues (at least for me) and get interesting again.
I like the individual backstories, and how they're tying into the larger narrative. Unfortunately, the larger narrative isn't holding my attention at all, so I'm drawing the line here. As good as this one was, I still don't think I'm going to enjoy this going forward, so I'm done.
I like the individual backstories, and how they're tying into the larger narrative. Unfortunately, the larger narrative isn't holding my attention at all, so I'm drawing the line here. As good as this one was, I still don't think I'm going to enjoy this going forward, so I'm done.
The McCartney Legacy: Volume 2: 1974 - 80 by Adrian Sinclair, Allan Kozinn
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Much like the literal day-to-day movements of the Beatles in Mark Lewisohn's excellent TUNE IN book about their rise (ending in 1962), this second volume follows McCartney and his inner circle on a virtual day-to-day forensic accounting of their activities.
So, fair warning...though I assume anyone looking at this volume has already experienced the first one...you really need to be a major Beatles/McCartney fanatic to push through 800 pages of detail that can be sometimes a touch dry (I'm thinking about the listing of some of the chord progressions, or the overdub details here).
But overall, it does paint an interesting and, to my mind, more nuanced version of McCartney than I've read up to now. I've always known that Paul is a bit of a control freak and that there's time when he can trade his musical genius—or maybe, more accurately, he can, at times, mistake a silly little ditty as something that's musically genius.
But this volume in particular, as it runs through the rise and fall of Wings 2.0 as well as 3.0, and you get the small comments that have so much impact when they start to add up, in regard to McCartney defending his increasingly terrible lyric writing, or his bandmates tying themselves in knots to pay homage to the guy who basically tells them exactly how he wants things played (not always, but the majority of the time)...it shows how he really needed that equally genius musical peer to push him harder.
McCartney, when with the Beatles, was in constant competition with both Lennon as well as Brian Wilson. (Lennon, for his part, competed with McCartney and Dylan). In all cases, it pushed McCartney to be better both musically and lyrically.
In this book, we see him in far less of a competitive role and far more in an observational mode. Disco's hot right now? Let's try a disco song. Punk's getting big? Let's try some punk influences. The Mills Brothers want a song? Here's something from that era. It feels like he's given up on greatness and settled for homage. 1974 to 1980 feels like the years where McCartney relaxed.
After all, this is the period where he put out the worst Christmas song of all time. I was also shocked at another song that I hadn't heard. I had no idea he'd written the title song for the 1978 film, SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR, starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burnstyn. I'd never noticed the song attached to any of his collections, but come on! His movie songs were usually pretty good? SPIES LIKE US? LIVE AND LET DIE? So I googled this one and listened to it on YouTube. Once.
Never again. It's utterly awful, and they were right to not include it in the film.
For all of that, it's still a really interesting, deep view into where McCartney was, who he was with, and what was pushing him to create what he created.
And, while we all know how the story ends (well at least until the early days of 2025), I love that they ended the book on a cliffhanger.
So, fair warning...though I assume anyone looking at this volume has already experienced the first one...you really need to be a major Beatles/McCartney fanatic to push through 800 pages of detail that can be sometimes a touch dry (I'm thinking about the listing of some of the chord progressions, or the overdub details here).
But overall, it does paint an interesting and, to my mind, more nuanced version of McCartney than I've read up to now. I've always known that Paul is a bit of a control freak and that there's time when he can trade his musical genius—or maybe, more accurately, he can, at times, mistake a silly little ditty as something that's musically genius.
But this volume in particular, as it runs through the rise and fall of Wings 2.0 as well as 3.0, and you get the small comments that have so much impact when they start to add up, in regard to McCartney defending his increasingly terrible lyric writing, or his bandmates tying themselves in knots to pay homage to the guy who basically tells them exactly how he wants things played (not always, but the majority of the time)...it shows how he really needed that equally genius musical peer to push him harder.
McCartney, when with the Beatles, was in constant competition with both Lennon as well as Brian Wilson. (Lennon, for his part, competed with McCartney and Dylan). In all cases, it pushed McCartney to be better both musically and lyrically.
In this book, we see him in far less of a competitive role and far more in an observational mode. Disco's hot right now? Let's try a disco song. Punk's getting big? Let's try some punk influences. The Mills Brothers want a song? Here's something from that era. It feels like he's given up on greatness and settled for homage. 1974 to 1980 feels like the years where McCartney relaxed.
After all, this is the period where he put out the worst Christmas song of all time. I was also shocked at another song that I hadn't heard. I had no idea he'd written the title song for the 1978 film, SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR, starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burnstyn. I'd never noticed the song attached to any of his collections, but come on! His movie songs were usually pretty good? SPIES LIKE US? LIVE AND LET DIE? So I googled this one and listened to it on YouTube. Once.
Never again. It's utterly awful, and they were right to not include it in the film.
For all of that, it's still a really interesting, deep view into where McCartney was, who he was with, and what was pushing him to create what he created.
And, while we all know how the story ends (well at least until the early days of 2025), I love that they ended the book on a cliffhanger.
DMZ, Vol. 12: The Five Nations of New York by Brian Wood
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
...and I obviously had nothing to fear.
It's always concerning when a long running—and extremely excellent—series comes to an end. The reader gets invested in the characters, in the various stories along the way, and ultimately gets a feel for how they believe they want to see it end.
And then, there's four things that can happen...
The first is, the creators decide to do a non-ending ending, where it's a bit of a cop-out, but the characters just kind of keep on keeping on, and the reader's left to fill in the rest.
The second is, the creators and the readers are right in sync and the series closes exactly they way they expected. I will say, this rarely happens.
The third is, the creators and readers are completely out of sync, and it ends absolutely unsatisfactorily, or a brand new team is brought in to wrap it up and, without having the experience and/or respect, completely bone it up...or something. Happens far too often.
The final way is, the creators have known where they're going since day one, and they've laid down all the groundwork, but carefully camoflauged it so that, when the ending comes, it's not as predicted, but it's logical, and it's satisfying.
And this last one is exactly how DMZ ended. As I read through it, I was impressed that it wasn't set up as the One Big Happy Ending, that, just like in life, the end of the war was being sold as something wonderful by the upper echelon, yet on the ground, reality still won and things were rolling on pretty much as expected. And then, of course, there was Matty Roth at the centre of the maelstrom.
I know a lot of readers have expressed dissatisfaction at his fate, and how it didn't make sense, but honestly, for the past three volumes, Roth had been struggling with his actions, so, for me, it was the right ending.
I absolutely loved this series. One of the best graphic novel series I've ever read.
It's always concerning when a long running—and extremely excellent—series comes to an end. The reader gets invested in the characters, in the various stories along the way, and ultimately gets a feel for how they believe they want to see it end.
And then, there's four things that can happen...
The first is, the creators decide to do a non-ending ending, where it's a bit of a cop-out, but the characters just kind of keep on keeping on, and the reader's left to fill in the rest.
The second is, the creators and the readers are right in sync and the series closes exactly they way they expected. I will say, this rarely happens.
The third is, the creators and readers are completely out of sync, and it ends absolutely unsatisfactorily, or a brand new team is brought in to wrap it up and, without having the experience and/or respect, completely bone it up...or something. Happens far too often.
The final way is, the creators have known where they're going since day one, and they've laid down all the groundwork, but carefully camoflauged it so that, when the ending comes, it's not as predicted, but it's logical, and it's satisfying.
And this last one is exactly how DMZ ended. As I read through it, I was impressed that it wasn't set up as the One Big Happy Ending, that, just like in life, the end of the war was being sold as something wonderful by the upper echelon, yet on the ground, reality still won and things were rolling on pretty much as expected. And then, of course, there was Matty Roth at the centre of the maelstrom.
I know a lot of readers have expressed dissatisfaction at his fate, and how it didn't make sense, but honestly, for the past three volumes, Roth had been struggling with his actions, so, for me, it was the right ending.
I absolutely loved this series. One of the best graphic novel series I've ever read.
Grim, Vol. 3: Lust for Life by Stephanie Phillips, Rico Renzi
medium-paced
2.5
Slightly better than the last volume, though. There's a story here, but it's buried under a lot of—at least for now—apparently time-wasting side-plots, and overwrought characterization set pieces.
The art, at least, is enjoyable.
I have one more volume in my possession, but if this doesn't pick up, it'll be the last.
The art, at least, is enjoyable.
I have one more volume in my possession, but if this doesn't pick up, it'll be the last.
Beneath the Skin: The Sam Hunter Case Files by Jonathan Maberry
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A really good collection from yet another fascinating Maberry character, Sam Hunter, Werewolf PI.
It sounds both kinda cool and kinda dumb, but Maberry's magic is that he acknowledges the dumb, then leans into it just enough to make it cool.
And while I'd read some of these before, in the Limbus collections, they were all fun to revisit.
If I have any complaint, it's that, with the character showing up in different collections, Maberry does have to do a soft introduction to Hunter each time. Yes, I'm a werewolf. Yes, the transition hurts like hell. Yes, I'm confrontational. And yes, I'm very against violence against women and kids. It does tend to get a touch heavy-handed toward the end.
Still, it's a minor complaint when stacked against the fun of the stories and the action sequences.
Overall, absolutely worth the read.
It sounds both kinda cool and kinda dumb, but Maberry's magic is that he acknowledges the dumb, then leans into it just enough to make it cool.
And while I'd read some of these before, in the Limbus collections, they were all fun to revisit.
If I have any complaint, it's that, with the character showing up in different collections, Maberry does have to do a soft introduction to Hunter each time. Yes, I'm a werewolf. Yes, the transition hurts like hell. Yes, I'm confrontational. And yes, I'm very against violence against women and kids. It does tend to get a touch heavy-handed toward the end.
Still, it's a minor complaint when stacked against the fun of the stories and the action sequences.
Overall, absolutely worth the read.
DMZ, Vol. 11: Free States Rising by Brian Wood, John Paul Leon, Shawn Martinbrough, Riccardo Burchielli
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Just an exceptional series, and now the end is near. I love what transpired here, and I'm seriously looking forward to how it ends, though it's a bummer that it is ending.
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
After reading QUINT, with all the Pinocchio quotes, I thought it would be a good time to read the original story.
Should have stuck with the Disney-fied version. This was just silly most of the time.
Should have stuck with the Disney-fied version. This was just silly most of the time.
Quint by Robert Lautner
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have to say, I tried to not have much expectation of greatness before entering into this story, simply because I've been quite disappointed lately with the additions to beloved books written by someone other than the original author...to the point where I came close to not even bothering with this one.
JAWS, to be frank, wasn't the best of novels. Much like THE EXORCIST, I think the movies were able to both distill and then amplify the best parts of the novels, while jettisoning, or at least downplaying, the stuff that didn't work.
So, I wasn't upset that Lautner pulled more from the movie Quint, but tucked in the mentions from the book to homage both. Which is all well and good, but...was the story any good?
For me at least, the answer is a very enthusiastic yes. I really enjoyed this, the stream of consciousness thoughts as we followed the man through his life and his memories. I love the Pinocchio quotes. I love the seeming mashup of Steinbeck and Hemingway and Melville.
And, of course, those few minutes of intense film where Robert Shaw, as Quint, tells the haunting story of being in the water after the sinking of the Indianapolis...that Lautner makes even more harrowing and haunting.
I truly enjoyed this read.
JAWS, to be frank, wasn't the best of novels. Much like THE EXORCIST, I think the movies were able to both distill and then amplify the best parts of the novels, while jettisoning, or at least downplaying, the stuff that didn't work.
So, I wasn't upset that Lautner pulled more from the movie Quint, but tucked in the mentions from the book to homage both. Which is all well and good, but...was the story any good?
For me at least, the answer is a very enthusiastic yes. I really enjoyed this, the stream of consciousness thoughts as we followed the man through his life and his memories. I love the Pinocchio quotes. I love the seeming mashup of Steinbeck and Hemingway and Melville.
And, of course, those few minutes of intense film where Robert Shaw, as Quint, tells the haunting story of being in the water after the sinking of the Indianapolis...that Lautner makes even more harrowing and haunting.
I truly enjoyed this read.
The Reigns of Terror: Volumes 4-6 by Jack Reigns
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Yet another amazing collection of short, themed stories.
I have to say, I enjoy the sheer trips of imagination these stories bring, as well as some of the sharply observed, razor-edged stories that use some current, real world issues as springboards. And this collection has, in my humble opinion, the best story I've read from Jack Reigns. BLOOD IRON is just brilliant, and yet again, I'm jealous.
Overall, just a solid, fun, truly enjoyable collection of twelve stories, and not a stinker in the bunch. You really should read these.
I have to say, I enjoy the sheer trips of imagination these stories bring, as well as some of the sharply observed, razor-edged stories that use some current, real world issues as springboards. And this collection has, in my humble opinion, the best story I've read from Jack Reigns. BLOOD IRON is just brilliant, and yet again, I'm jealous.
Overall, just a solid, fun, truly enjoyable collection of twelve stories, and not a stinker in the bunch. You really should read these.
White Night by Jim Butcher
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Yup, second five-star in a row. I'm enjoying the hell of this series, when honestly, I shouldn't be.
Teen apprentice? Shouldn't like it.
Half-brother? Shouldn't like it.
All the ex-lovers and potential lovers? Shouldn't like it.
And yet, not only does Butcher make it work, he makes it fun. And the plot in this one was just as twisty as a long-time reader of Dresden would expect.
Great series.
Teen apprentice? Shouldn't like it.
Half-brother? Shouldn't like it.
All the ex-lovers and potential lovers? Shouldn't like it.
And yet, not only does Butcher make it work, he makes it fun. And the plot in this one was just as twisty as a long-time reader of Dresden would expect.
Great series.