Book 15 at Last

It's taken me some time, but I have finally caught up to everyone else and, thanks to the Parkland Community Library, I have finished The Harlequin, book 15 in Laurell K. Hamilton's vampire series. Some of the books were more enjoyable than others (the covers were all uniformly awful), but I stuck to the series doggedly because the universe she created was so fascinating. I'm glad I did stick with it, because with The Harlequin, she seems to have returned to her earlier story-telling mode, and the story is a good one. I haven't yet spent any money on the books, as all the others have come from paperbackswap, and I don't intend to buy any in the future, but I will probably continue to read them as she writes them.

Two other books I want to mention this morning are indy graphic novels. The first, by Scott Mills (of Little Clay Pot, which I reviewed in an earlier post), is Trenches.
It's the story of two brothers in WWI. A bit formulaic, the book is nevertheless a good introduction to the horrors of WWI for those unfamiliar with it, and I am a fan of Mills' artwork. I liked Clay Pot much better, though. It's another offering from Top Shelf Productions.

Far more impressive is Jane Irwin's Vogelein: Clockwork Faerie, to which I understand there will be a MOST welcome sequel this summer! The heroine of the book is a tiny, 300-year-old clockwork fairy, whose latest master has just died. She is searching for a new master, since she must be wound up every day in order to continue to survive. Yet there is a spark of magic about her, as you will discover if you read the book.
This is one of the most original, magical graphic novels I have read in a very long time, and I recommend it highly. Irwin poses the Frankenstein question in a new light, and her addition of the Fay creature Ezrael, trapped in the human world and unable to return to Tir na nog, enriches the story even more.

~Namaste