100 Things X-Men Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die

100 Things X-Men Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the latest installment in Triumph Books' "100 Things...Fans Should Know" series, which, as the name suggests, catalogs the must-see, must-do, and must-know things for fans of assorted comic books, TV shows, bands and sports teams. With this volume, author Brian Cronin (the man behind the long-running "Comic Book Legends Revealed" articles for Comic Book Resources' "Comics Should be Good!" blog, as well as two previous books of comic book legends) provides new and long-time fans alike a one-volume guide to Marvel's Merry Mutants, highlighting important characters, creators, stories and issues from the fifty-five year history of the X-Men. While the format breaks each entry into a single numbered item, and each chapter is presented in a seemingly-random order (ie it doesn't start in the 60s and end in the present day), the book is an engaging read, as Cronin crafts a narrative history of the X-Men even as he jumps from character info to creator info, from behind-the-scenes stories about crafting specific issues to entries on the various films,  preventing the book from reading like a dry recitation of facts in chronological order.

Assassin's Heart

As those of you follow me on social media are probably well aware by now, February 2nd sees the release of my good buddy Sarah's debut novel, Assassin's Heart. Long time blog readers may know Sarah as Falen, who comments here occasionally, when she's not busy being awesome on her own blog and, you know, publishing excellent books.

You can read the official plot synopsis of the book on it's Amazon page, where the book is compared favorably to Game of Thrones, Romeo & Juliet, and The Godfather (which are apt, and impressive, comparisons). I've read the book in a couple different drafts (though not yet in its official, published version), and while the plot synopsis is spot-on, it doesn't speak to two of the most impressive things Sarah does in the novel. For one, her world-building is impeccable, as she crafts a believable universe for her to characters, one where assassination isn't just legal, but revered. She put a lot of thought into every detail of her universe, from the strata of assassin families and their relationships to one another, to the differences and similarities between the various fictional city-states and how religion shapes their societies, right down to the types of clothes worn and weapons used by the characters. The world of Assassin's Heart at once feels both familiar but unique, lived-in but refreshingly-new.

Secondly, in Lea, Sarah presents a remarkably compelling protagonist, someone who, despite her role as a professional killer, is ridiculously easy to root for. Lea is far from perfect, but her foibles and failures will only make you root for her more, to hurt when she hurts and cheer when she cheers (and there's more than one fist-pumping, cheer-worthy moment in this book). Lea is not an invincible superwoman, which makes her competency all the more compelling, her catastrophes all the more crushing. The world of Assassin's Heart is not a fun, friendly place, but by the time the book is done, you'll want to live in it, if only to give Lea a hug, to clap her on the back, to simply hang out with her, and that's all down to the marvelous job Sarah does at making Lea a fully-realized, three-dimensional character.

I've know Sarah for a long time now (coming up on...jeesh, seventeen years? That can't be right. We can't be that old), and been in a writing group with her for just about that long. To make it in publishing, especially traditional publishing, it takes some measure of talent, and a hell of a lot of hard work. Sarah has always had talent in spades, but she's also one of the hardest workers I know (our writing group insists she possess some ability to bend time; she insists that's not the case. We don't fully buy her denials). Assassin's Heart is the culmination of all that hard work, crafted by her not-insignificant talent, but it's also only the beginning. There's big things ahead for Sarah. She's earned it.

If you're so inclined, you can purchase Assassin's Heart here, in traditional book form, eBook, or audiobook, whatever your preferred flavor.

Force in Focus: Aftermath

Even moreso than Shattered Empire, Chuck Wendig's Aftermath suffers under the weight of expectations. The novel counterpart to Shattered Empire's comic book series (in that it is the first novel, rather than comic book, of the new canon set after Return of the Jedi), it not only being billed as an important stepping stone towards the world of The Force Awakens, but the circumstances of its release automatically put it into comparison to Timothy Zahn's novel, Heir to the Empire. But not only was Heir the first post-Jedi novel of the old Expanded Universe (it certainly wasn't the first original fiction Star Wars novel, but it did kick off the modern resurgence in Star Wars that hasn't abated since and is generally considered to have begun what fans think of when they think "Expanded Universe), it also remains, to this day, the most acclaimed of Star Wars novels, routinely considered both the best of the lot and most fans' favorite.

Aftermath, then, is cursed twice over; before even a word was written, it was setup to both tell a new version of events post-Jedi and detail those events in a way comparable to everyone's favorite Star Wars book. Of course, it fails to live up to Heir, but that's not entirely its fault: nothing in this day and age could, and to Wendig's credit, he doesn't try to live up to it; the story he tells is an entirely different beast than Heir, at times both more and less concerned with the big picture of the galaxy than Heir was. And as much as this book invites circumstantial comparisons, it's also been released under vastly different circumstances: it's not ending a drought of new Star Wars stories, and it exists as but one narrative brick (albeit a large one) in a house that is being very carefully constructed, whereas Heir was written and released with relatively little oversight by LucasFilm, while most of the people reading Aftermath (especially the ones being overly-critical of it) are much older, with many more Star Wars stories under their belt, than when they first encountered Heir.

One Sentence Reviews

Well, when you have writer's block why not write some one sentence reviews?

 World War Z (Movie, 2013) - Not only was it not as good as the book (or anything like it) it just wasn't good period.

One Sentence Reviews

Hey, why don't I review some things I've recently (and not so recently) seen/read? And, just for a change, why don't I do each review in one sentence?

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN (Book, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales 2011) - It was interesting but not as salacious as I was expecting.

One Sentence Reviews

Hey! It's been a while since I've done some One Sentence Reviews. So...how about some One Sentence Reviews!

Mass Effect 3 (X-Box 360 Video Game, 2012) - This was a series where the thought of them screwing up the ending never crossed my mind...they screwed up the ending.

Skyrim (X-Box 360 Video Game, 2012) - The problem with these type of games is that the ending can never live up to the copious amount of time I've put into them.

Ready Player One (Novel, Ernest Cline, 2012) - A really fun and engaging book and a must read for all geeks out there.

One Sentence Reviews

Who wants some one sentence reviews! Anybody....anybody? I'll just pretend those crickets I hear means "everybody does!"

One Sentence Reviews

It's time for some one sentence reviews...apocalypse edition!

The Walking Dead Book 1 (Graphic Story): I didn't like the beginning of this comic (too fast paced with low character development) but the story really started to grow on me.

The Walking Dead (TV Series): I would say this is my favorite new show on television but this quality program deserves better praise than that.

Fallout: New Vegas (Video Game): It would be a great game but all the bugs knock it down to just good.

The Road (Movie): If happiness and optimism is your sickness then this movie is your cure.

World War Z (Novel): Going into this book I expected a hokey zombie novel but instead I got what can only be described as great literature.

The Cape (TV Series): OK, so this TV series has nothing to do with the end of humanity but a show this bad has to be a sign of the apocalypse, right?

Teebore's Tidbits

In which I cover things worth discussing but which don't merit their own posts. 

Parks and Recreation Season One

Mrs. Teebore and I started watching Parks and Rec midway through its second season, after we found ourselves thoroughly enjoying the first few minutes of every episode that we watched thanks to the DVR runover from Community. It's been said that the first season of the show was much rougher than the second, much less sure of itself and its portrayal of the main character, the hilariously earnest government employee Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler).

Teebore's Tidbits

Batman and the Monster Men: A well-crafted "year one" style Batman story, the concept of this story, the first of several such by writer/artist Matt Wagner, is to expand on an existing Golden Age Batman story. I've never loved Wagner's art as much as some people, but it's not bad. The story itself is fun, and it's especially fun to see a more human, rookie Batman struggle against savage, super-strong Monster Men that would likely be little trouble for his modern self. The transition from villainy in Gotham caused by the the mob to the "freaks" of Batman's rogues gallery is also featured, something I always enjoy reading about. Plus, Julie Madison, one of Batman's earliest underutilized girlfriends, is a featured character, and she's interesting enough to make the struggle between being Batman and being Bruce Wayne more enjoyable than it usually is.

Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day vol. 1: Longtime readers will remember that I swore off "Amazing Spider-Man" after the "One More Day"/Spidey sells his marriage to the Devil fiasco. A friend of mine (who loves Spidey like I love the X-Men, so one prone to be more forgiving of stupid storylines due to a love of the characters) insisted that "Brand New Day" (as the post-marriage retcon stories are collectively known) was at least worth a look, so look I did (it certainly helped that I was able to get a hardcover collection of the first few stories used with my employee discount, so I paid significantly less than had I purchased these issues individually as they were published). The stories weren't bad, but they weren't all that good either (and I realize such a declaration isn't exactly breaking new ground in terms of "Brand New Day" criticism).

If anything, I was struck at how terribly desperate the creators were to establish that the new post-demonic divorce status quo was just like the swinging Spidey stories of the seventies that all the older fans grew up reading and loving. Harry Osborn is back. Peter's looking for a job. A criminal steals one of his webshooters. Later, the police accuse Spider-Man of murder because a thug he put a spider-tracer on shows up dead. He spends the second story without web-fluid because he can't afford to buy the ingredients to make more. And so on. Again, these weren't bad stories, but they weren't terribly original either. Most importantly, absolutely nothing that happened in them couldn't have happened if Spider-Man was still married. Still, they were good enough to make me want to pick up the next volume (at half price, and discounted, of course). Hopefully the stench of desperation will be gone, and they'll do something that couldn't be done with a married Spider-Man in an attempt to at least try to justify the "One More Day" debacle.

The Stand by Stephen King: I recently finished re-reading this, and apparently, it's been awhile since I last read it, as I'd forgotten large swaths of the book such that certain parts read like new to me (and last time I also read the expanded edition, so that's not the explanation). As before, the first third of the book (detailing the release of the apocalyptic 'Captain Trips' superflu plague and the resultant breakdown of society) and the last third (chronicling the survivors attempts to create a post-apocalyptic society leading up to the titular stand against evil) remain my favorites, while I was still significantly less interested in the middle third (focusing on the main characters immediate reactions to the death of 99.9% of the population and chronicling their various wanderings as they come together). The ending was still as anti-climatic as I found it before, though I appreciated the thematic elements and the craft involved more this time around. And I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the final chapters of the novel, detailing in vivid detail Stu and Tom's hazardous winter return to Boulder, especially considering that, for all intents and purposes, the main conflict of the novel was resolved before they even set out.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: This show was such a slow-burner that it was tough to get real excited about any one episode, and that (combined with its Friday night timeslot) led to it languishing on my DVR for awhile, so I only recently finished the show despite it being off the air since early April. Which means that, for the most part, I was watching the latter half of its second season knowing it wouldn't be getting a third, and it's a shame. The slow-burn may not have always been exciting but it was unique, and it served the characters (the show's real strength) well. Brian Austin Green's Derek Reese, in particular, has become one of my favorite TV characters and a worthy addition to the "Terminator" franchise. The last half dozen or so episodes were particularly strong, and if I was saddened by the show's cancellation before watching it, then the finale really rammed it home. While it did manage to answer most of the major lingering questions, a few smaller one remain (what was the deal with Derek and that creepy Terminator basement in the future, exactly?). More importantly, while the finale didn't exactly end on a cliffhanger, it did introduce an intriguing new status quo for the show that makes me wish it was coming back even more to see how it would have played out.

One Sentence Reviews

The Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara (Historical Fiction novel): An entertaining novelization about the end of the Civil War in which neither Grant nor Lee are entirely the hero or the villain, the book really illustrated to me just how similar the Siege of Petersburg was to the WWI trench warfare it presaged.

April 1865 by Jay Winick (History book): A readable and enjoyable look at all the significant events that took place during that month (the fall of Richmond, the surrender of Lee and the assassination of Lincoln), I was particularly intrigued by just how close the government came to complete collapse in the wake of Lincoln’s death.

The March by E.L. Doctrow (Historical Fiction): Incredibly well-written and literary but difficult to finish due to a lack of compelling characters and plots.

Boston Celtics (Basketball team): I was really hoping the Lakers would pull a Giants and stick it to the obnoxious and spoiled Boston fans, but alas, ‘twas not meant to be…

MLB All-Star Game Voting (Baseball): Last I heard the Red Sox were leading the voting in something like six categories; memo to aforementioned Boston fans: it’s supposed to be the “All-Star” game, not the “Red Sox vs. the NL” game.

Top Chef (competition TV show): While this season was a bit dull (rage-inducing Lisa aside) and became “Top Caterer” more often than I would have liked, it was still a satisfying season.

Legacy of the Force: Revelations (Star Wars novel): Ha! Suck it Jacen: not everything always goes your way.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Guthrie Theater production): Awesome: the only Shakespearean adaptation I’ve ever seen with a Rambo impersonation, a drunk Practical, an Obama-esque Theseus, tearaway clothes, Faeries performing doowop, rock, soul, punk, rap and choral musical interludes, a cross-dressing Geisha, and a Riverdance-style finale to Pyramus and Thisbee, and it was funny, not just highbrow, literate, Shakespeare funny but laugh-out-loud, tears-rolling-down-my-face funny, all without changing the play itself.

Back to Back: Alternate History

Settling Accounts: In At The Death by Harry Turtledove

This is the fourth and final book in the Settling Accounts tetralogy, which is the third and final series in Harry Turtledove’s American Empire series. The entire series is an alternate history tale that chronicles events from World War I through the end of World War II in a world where the Confederate States of America won the Civil War and became a political power on the North American continent.

In At The Death opens with the United States firmly possessing the upper hand over the reeling Confederate armies. However, the Hitler-esque President of the Confederacy, Jake Featherston, has largely succeeded in “reducing the population” of his country’s African-Americans, imprisoned in numerous concentration/death camps (a clear Holocaust parallel). For the most part, the book deals with the race for the atomic bomb (or Superbomb, as the book dubs it) and the aftermath of the war.

I read Turtledove mainly for the plot. His characters, which exist mainly to serve as eyes for the reader on events as they take place, are largely one or two dimensional (with a few exceptions; for the most part, the characters that have been around since book one) and his writing style is simple and repetitive (annoyingly so, in some cases). In many ways, his books read like history books, with token space given to character development. This is fine with me, though, because I read Turtledove mainly for the plot (in fact, if someone wanted to write an alternate history textbook, jettisoning the viewpoint characters and fiction structure entirely, I’d read it).

I want to know what happens next in this alternate world he’s created. No matter how unlikely his deviations may be, it’s interesting to see where they lead, what ripple effects they create, and also, what events stay the same. Despite the differences, in this world, post-war inflation and worldwide economic depression leads to a rise in fascism and while the details are vastly different, there is still a holocaust during the Second World War. It’s that push and pull between what is changed and what is the same that makes reading alternate history fun.

I also enjoy the way Turtledove weaves actual historical characters into the story alongside his fictional ones. George Patton is a general during WWII in the series, but he is the aggressive and headstrong leader of the Confederate armies. Daniel MacArthur is a leading United States general. Also interesting to note are the fictional characters who are clearly analogues to real people, and the sides they are on in this divided world: the Hitler-esque Featherston, the Irwin Rommel-like US tank general Irving Morrell.

In the end, Turtledove is all about plot, and In at the Death was a suitable wrap up to this long, sprawling story. I remain intrigued by this world, and still want to know more. How does the Cold War differ in this world? What does the future hold for the Confederate States? Who will be the post-war presidents? I haven’t heard if Turtledove is planning on playing in this world anymore, but if he does, I’ll be there to find out what happens next, flaws and all.

The Plot Against America by Phillip Roth

If In At The Death is an alternate history text book, then this is an alternate history memoir (the main character even shares his name with the author). Phillip Roth is a Jewish school-age boy growing up during the late thirties and early forties. Through his eyes the reader sees the events of the world around him: the fear of his parents as the anti-Semitic Charles Lindbergh captures the presidency from FDR, the rage and frustration his cousin experiences at America’s growing friendship with Nazi Germany and its fierce isolationism, the growing family schism as his brother embraces the patriotic zeal of his opportunistic aunt.

This is, of course, a much better book than Turtledove’s. Roth is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of such books as The Human Stain and American Pastoral. This was my first experience with his writing. He has a tendency to start a narrative thread, and then deviate from it before doubling back to his original thread. I’m not sure if that’s indicative of his style as a whole but I enjoyed it.

The focus here is more on character than plot, and the alternate history is more a backdrop for a coming of age story than anything else (but then, ‘coming of age’ is entirely too simplistic a label for what young Phillip goes through). Roth does an excellent job of making the mundane exciting and keeping Phillip’s voice young and enthusiastically naive without becoming annoying and insipid; Phillip doesn’t always understand exactly what’s going on, but we do, and we feel sympathy rather than impatience with his ignorance.

The book’s biggest failing is the ending, which unfolds rapidly, outlining the titular plot and its ramifications by abandoning Phillip’s limited viewpoint and speaking in an omniscience that seems more akin to the author’s notes than the preceding pages. It’s almost as though Roth hit a deadline and handed over the outline for the ending rather than the ending itself. Some critics have called it a Deus Ex Machina, but that term is too over-and misused nowadays; instead it simply seems that there were elements of the story that needed to be told and Roth couldn’t figure out how to tell them using the limited viewpoint he had employed in the novel thus far.

Still, I greatly enjoyed the book. It tells a much more personal and limited story than standard alternate history but the characters and the situations they find themselves in are captivating enough. I am intrigued to further explore Roth’s writing.