X'ed Out Trilogy

X'ed Out, The Hive, and Sugar Skull by Charles Burns (64, 56, 56 pages. 176 total)

I started reading this trilogy after finding the third book sitting on a table where it did not belong. Thinking that it was a one off I gave the graphic novel a quick read. When I finished I was left thinking what did I just read. I could not make any logical sense of it. Utterly confused and seeking clarification I turned to the internet and quickly found out that there were more books. Hoping they would clarify everything I stopped my research and read them. While this helped a little with the overall plot it introduced even more weirdness. I am still not sure what this is truly about, though I have my suspicions (note: my suspicions cannot be included as they may be spoilers...).



I cannot say that I would recommend these books to anyone, and I would advise not to let kids read them because of adult themes. If anyone has read them and can tell me exactly what the author is trying to say please feel free to let me know.

H.P. Lovecraft: Tales

H.P. Lovecraft: Tales by H.P. Lovecraft, 578 of 807 pages read

My dad would sometimes give me short stories to read as a child, and "Cool Air" by Lovecraft was one that always stuck with me. First, I hadn't read any Lovecraft since childhood, so I figured I'd revisit his works. Second, I also used to have a black cat named Cathulu (a feline appropriate rendition of Cthulhu) but I had never actually read "The Call of Cthulhu", so I felt like it needed to happen. Third, Lovecraft is considered one of the grandfathers of horror, and I have a special place in my heart for good horror. His stuff does, however, also have a sci-fantasy element to it.
I started reading this from the beginning, but then I started jumping around, reading different stories. After the first few, I honestly started to feel like each story was the same as the last. I didn't anticipate feeling this way. Lovecraft style and wording starting feeling too repetitive, which is why I didn't actually end up finishing this book. Some of the stories were also not very short, and seemed to just drag on for too long.
I enjoyed what I did read, and he definitely had a knack for creating elaborate scenes and describing in great detail the mythical beings he dreamed up for his writing. However, he didn't have enough in his head to keep from being repetitive.
I looked up Lovecraft's personal life as I sometimes do when reading an author I know little about, and I found that his works did not actually become the cult classics they've become until well after his death. He died a sad, lonely, penniless man. If only he knew how influential his work was and how many different ways Cthulhu would be referenced and drawn later on.
All in all, Lovecraft is essential for any fan of horror, and anyone who appreciates an author with a vivid imagination. Others who read his work might not find him quite as repetitive as I did.

Tomb

Tomb by Paul Wilson, 433 pages

I am not sure how this book came to me. One day it was on the holds shelf with my name on it. I didn't put it on hold and as far as anyone can remember neither did they. Excepting this as a mystery book challenge and seeing that Stephen King enjoyed it I gave it a try.

It is about a repairman named Jack who repairs stuff your average guy won't. Because of these skills he is called upon by an ex in need and a wealthy businessman. Despite the seemingly simpleness of the problems they becomes something else when the supernatural get involved.

Surprisingly this book was quite good and would make an excellent movie. The characters are not overly done and are people that can be related to. This really helps bring the supernatural and at times horror/suspense themes home. I think this would make an excellent read for the coming week especially for around Halloween.


Note: While the picture shows this as the audio cover, this was the cover image for the copy I read, not the cover image in our catalog.

The Place of the Lion

The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams, 236 pages

 

In a small town in England lives Damaris, a graduate student who dissects philosophers instead of understanding them.  She has a suitor, Anthony, who shares her antiquarian interests but whom she views as an instrument rather than a love interest.  Her father, who has few interests beyond catching butterflies, she sees as a bore.  Their comfortable world shatters when the numinous begins to intrude upon the mundane, at first subtly and then more and more forcefully.  Dangerous beasts, the avatars of abstract concepts like strength (a lion), subtlety (a snake), and beauty (a butterfly), are appearing - at least to those with eyes to see - and affecting the people of the town, transforming them, accentuating those aspects of their personalities that share an affinity with the concepts.

 

Charles Williams is the least well-known of the Inkling trinity.  This novel shows why.  Although set on Earth in the present (or, at least, the 1930s), unlike Tolkien's legendarium or any of Lewis' fiction with the sole exception of That Hideous Strength (and assorted framing stories), it is nonetheless stranger than their writing.  That is not, however, necessarily a bad thing, nor are the alien elements the center of the novel.  Indeed, behind the intimations of a Platonic world that underlies the world of appearances, the real subject is the relationship between Damaris, Anthony, and Anthony's best friend Quentin, the theme that of love and salvation.

 

A fascinating novel, with genuine insight into the nature of things, especially human things.

Amphigorey Again

Amphigorey Again by Edward Gorey, 260 pages

The final Gorey book! By completing this series you have won the following prizes. One poly-sci credit at the university of your choice and secondly a free straight jacket and rubber room. With this last book Gorey goes off the deep end into the realm of confusing and maybe pointless stories. I will say some of the art is good though.

Having now read all of these graphic novels I can understand why someone would recommend them to another. I think it is a subtle dare. I didn't understand some but you should read them and I am sure you can explain some of the stories to me. Either that or misery loves company.

Amphigorey Too

Amphigory Too by Edward Gorey, 244 pages

Having read the first book by Gorey I somewhat knew what to expect going into this. But I was still surprised. While the first book had some stories that only made partial sense this one has some that make none at all. The most notable example being a seven or eight page “story” that is a procession of animals all saying random words. There is a rhyming theme to the words but it’s a little too abstract for me. Read at your sanity's peril.

 

Amphigorey

Amphigorey by Edward Gorey, 212 pages

This book and everything by Gorey was recommended by the Literature, Entertainment and Biography staff after I came across the word “ennui” in my readings. The book is a collection of short stories or pictures that sometimes convey a message or plot and other times not. To call it weird would be an understatement as Gorey not only makes up words but he also conveys some dreadful thoughts. I frequently found myself pausing and thinking “What did I just read” before moving on.

Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde, 390 pages

Before I get started, I want to say that describing any Jasper Fforde novel is ridiculously hard to do, and Shades of Grey is probably the most difficult. It's also the most difficult to understand. So, if, as you read this review, you find yourself getting frustrated, confused, or ready to punch through the screen of the device upon which you are reading this, take a deep breath, realize how much that would hurt, and know that you are not alone. I am certain to confuse myself while writing this. I feel your pain.

Shades of Grey is set in a dystopian caste-based world where people can only see one color; the rest of the world exists in shades of grey. The better you can perceive that one color, the higher up you are in your caste (someone who picks up 95% of yellow is infinitely better than someone who can see only a measly 15%). And then the colors are ranked according to the classic rainbow mnemonic ROY G BIV, with purples/violets at the top and reds about as low as you can get without being a worker-bee nonentity, AKA a Grey.

As with any world like this, there are lots of hard and fast rules, many of which don't make sense, and our protagonist, Eddie Russett (a Red), is just curious enough and just enough of a troublemaker to earn a "needs humility" assignment to a rural community. Once there, he further pushes the boundaries and makes himself some frightful enemies of the village leaders and the policing Yellows.

Like any of Fforde's worlds, this one is a strange strange land, filled with odd creatures, weird customs, and some wonderfully wild notions. I love this book; I've read it before, and I can't even describe my frustration that the long-promised sequels are still sitting in Fforde's brain, or a drawer somewhere. If you're a fan of Fforde's work, by all means, give this one a go. But if you've never read Fforde, don't start here. Try the Thursday Next series or the Nursery Crime books before you dive into the world of Eddie Russett.

Well of Lost Plots

Thursday Next in the Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde, 375 pages

This is the third book in the Thursday Next series. In some ways these books get more and more confusing as the series goes on, but that only helps the awesomeness of the series.¹ Like all series it is very hard to give any sort of review without revealing anything that happens in the book, or the books that come before it.

In this book Thursday is on extended maternity leave and is living in an unpublishable manuscript. All of these manuscripts are kept in the Well of Lost Plots, hence the name of the book. This book is also has the reappearance of Granny Next and some of her life story.

 

This series is a must read in my opinion as it is very well done and will have you at least chuckling at some of the puns/jokes/literary humor used in the book.² The Unitary Authority of Warrington Cat, or the cat formerly known as Cheshire, is still my favorite character. But Pickwick is a very close second, despite being a dodo who cant talk.

_{1 “Hello? Can anyone hear me?”}

_{2 “Is this thing on?”}

Locke & Key 3: Crown of Shadows  by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez, 152 pages

The third volume of this graphic series was probably my favorite thus far, having been scared of the dark as a child. The idea of creepy shadows coming to life and trying to harm you brought back childhood memories. This issue also depicted further evidence of Kinsey's lack of fear and her new friendship with the school misfits, Jamal and Scot. This volume also had some fantastic artwork with the ghost/soul scene involving Sam and Zack.

Locke & Key 1: Welcome to Lovecraft // Locke & Key 2: Head Games

Locke & Key 1: Welcome to Lovecraft // Locke & Key 2: Head Games by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez, 167 pages & 159 pages

I'm not really much of a graphic novel person, even though I was a big comic book reader when I was a kid, since my dad had a huge collection himself. However, several other bloggers here have read this series and I do have a fondness for Joe Hill, and horror in general, so I thought I would check them out. Some of my favorite comics as a kid WERE Tales from the Crypt, so...
The name of this series is a play on words, as the family's name is Locke and they live in a place called Keyhouse, located in Lovecraft, Massachusetts. They've moved there to get away from their previous home, where the father of the family was murdered. Their new home, however, comes with its own quirks. A strange well with a living echo within, keys that open strange supernatural doors, or even better, one's own mind. The story bounces around a little, between the family now, in Lovecraft, and the family before the death of the father, to give you some background. The first two books have been hard to put down and the second was more bizarre than the first. Looking forward to the next 4.
The artwork of Gabriel Rodriguez goes well with Joe Hill's writing. I just realized that Mr. Rodriguez did the artwork contained within Hill's book NOS4A2 and I had already been fond of that. I especially like the way he does the characters' eyes. He captures real emotion in those eyes.
P.S. These are most definitely adult graphic novels.

Cthulhu Tales Omnibus: Madness

Cthulhu Tales Omnibus: Madness by a collection of writers, 209 pages

For calling itself an omnibus I was expecting a lot more than just 209 pages. Also I was expecting some tales to be by Lovecraft as well. But I was very disappointed. Not only does this only have a couple of stories about Cthulhu but it has none of the originals.

What it does have is some decent stories and more that are more mocking of Cthulhu than anything else. In one he/it? is portrayed as the lead member in a band that is on the verge of splitting up over their image. There is also one where Cthulhu is summoned on a reality T.V. show and then gets voted off. The stories are all graphic novels which both helps and hinders.

Overall this was not what I expected it to be and was disappointed.

Locke and Key 6

Locke and Key 6: Alpha and Omega by Joe Hill, 212 pages


This is the sixth and final book in the Locke and Key series by Joe Hill. To say that the series has gotten darker as it went would be an understatement. Sure the series starts off with a murder or two but in this book you really start to see the sick and twisted mind that Hill has portrayed before.

I am somewhat conflicted by how it ended. With how much buildup and hype it has it seemed to end to simplistically in a series that was marked by its complexity. Overall I liked the series, though I think I would also want to read it in a novel form where some of the character development and broader details could be fully fleshed out.

Also despite rereading it several times, I am still not quite sure how the final event happened. Hopefully one of the people here reading it can explain it.

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft, 420 pages

I started reading this book namely because I saw one of my coworkers reading it and was fascinated by the depiction on the cover. It is not often you see Cthulhu wearing a mustache and monocle.  I have never read anything by Lovecraft though I know who Cthulhu is, so it was with a very open mind that I started reading.

Of the eighteen stories, my least favorite was Herbert West – Reanimator and my favorites are The Hound, The Call of Cthulhu, and The Colour out of Space. I think my dislike for Reanimator stems from seeing the semi cheesy movie already and knowing what to expect. Or maybe with the movie storyline being the first I saw of it, the book made it feel more alien or something.

Most of the rest were quite good and left you with a small sense of undefinable dread. Not enough in my case to make me stop reading or to keep me up at night, but a vague feeling or thought the creeps into the mind under the right conditions.

Locke and Key Vol 4 and 5

Locke and Key: Keys to the Kingdom and Locke and Key: Clockwork by Joe Hill, 160 and 160 pages

Unfortunately I had to skip over the third book in this series as my time ran out with the two I had before it came back from a patron. Despite the leap, I was able to still follow the series. The fourth volume is the weirder of the two as there are multiple keys that all do weird stuff. These keys are then presented in sort of a flashback way. The weirdness factor really ramps up though. Bode who is the only one who can discover keys, becomes a bird for awhile. They also battle sentient rose bushes, an army of stuffed animals and of course the perils that come from high school.

Clockwork on the other hand focuses more on one key that allows people to look back through time. They use the key to see how the keys were created and learn they can make more keys. They also learn of the hidden evil that is behind all of their troubles. The historical aspect is a tad over done in my opinion but does really put the story into perspective.

I do really love the Locke and Key series as a whole and can now look forward to reading the conclusion and third book.

Head Games

Head Games (Locke and Key Pt 2) by Joe Hill, 144 pages

If you read my earlier review of part one of the Locke and Key series I predicted that it could only get weirder from here. Boy was I right. Head Games introduces a new key. One that makes the top of your head disappears so it forms a basin. You are then able to look into, insert, and remove memories.

Of course Bode is the one who finds the key and shows it off to his brother and sister. They test everything they can think of. First they insert an entire cookbook into his head and he instantly knows all the recipes. Next they remove a memory only he has from the first book and he instantly forgets that ever happens. They put the memory back and take the key from him, saying they want to experiment with it more.

While experimenting his sister, Kinsey, removes herself doubt and her fear. Their brother, Tyler, uses the ability to “read” a couple books for school that he had been ignoring. Eventually the villain of the story gets a hold of the key and uses it to remove thoughts and memories. I know that is very vague, but I don’t want to ruin any of the story for you.

I must confess I would love to have that key. Imagine being able to instantly learn anything. Need to learn French? No problem, just insert the book into your head. Want to become an expert car mechanic? Insert book. Want to blog about 300 books a day? Just insert the books into your brain, though not sure that counts as reading it… As far as the book shows there is no downside or side effects so it would be the ultimate learning tool.

I am really starting to enjoy this series. They keys are an interesting way to allow anything to happen, but still retain some sort of plausibility. Will definitely keep reading!