kgbooklog

Jim Butcher (writer) and Ardian Syar (artist), Welcome to the Jungle
Dabel (2008) ISBN: 978-0-345-50746-4
Score: 2

Graphic novel prequel story to the Dresden Files series, in which Harry investigates a grisly murder in Lincoln Park Zoo. The plot is slight, partly because Butcher is careful not to put major events in his short stories, and partly because four comic issues isn't much space to tell a story (I can't tell exactly how long this is due to a lack of page numbers). This is actually a good (though relatively expensive) place to start the series if you haven't yet; it does a very good job of capturing the feel of Harry on a typical case.

Next Book: Derek Landy, Playing With Fire

Taylor Anderson, Into the Storm
Roc (2008) ISBN: 978-0-451-46207-7
Score: 2

Start of the alt-hist Destroyermen trilogy, in which a couple ships fighting in WW2 suddenly find themselves on a parallel Earth where the dinosaurs never went extinct (this is NOT a time travel novel, despite what the Library of Congress says). People who don't like spoilers should avoid the maps in the front of the book; the Author's Note at the end has far fewer spoilers (basically the first chapter).

Next Book: Frances Hardinge, Well Witched

Kai Meyer (trans. Elizabeth D. Crawford), The Water Mirror
McElderry (2001) ISBN: 0-689-87787-0
Score: 1.5

Start of the Dark Reflections juvenile fantasy series, about an orphan in an alternate Venice under siege by an army of mummies. Short book which ends somewhat abruptly, and it seems the next one will deal mainly with religious aspects of this world: the characters seem to be Christian and Hell obviously exists (two of its emissaries appear), but the Pharaoh claims to be a god and the Flowing Queen claims Baga Yaga is a goddess (while denying being one herself). There's also flying lions made of stone and solar-powered airplanes made of gold.

Next Book: Taylor Anderson, Into the Storm

F. Paul Wilson, By the Sword
Forge (2008) ISBN: 0-7653-1707-9
Score: 2

Twelfth Repairman Jack book, in which he (and a whole lot of other people) try to get a hold of a legendary sword and the pregnant girl from the previous book (there's a semi-apology from the author about the series becoming less episodic as we near the end). To my surprise, this wasn't as depressing as the previous couple of books.

Jessica Day George, Dragon Flight
Bloomsbury (2008) ISBN: 1-59990-110-2
Score: 1.5

Sequel to Dragon Slippers (I don't think this series has a name), in which the heroine once again has to stop dragons from fighting. An amusing juvenile tale, but it seemed to be aimed more at 20th century kids than modern ones (for example: the heroine feeling very self-conscious about wearing trousers).

Next Book: F. Paul Wilson, By the Sword

Chet Lucero, Storm Corps
http://www.stormcorps.com/archive.php
Score: 2.5

This was a science fiction webcomic that was officially abandoned before completion. Which is a real shame, since it had hints of deep, complex worldbuilding and characterizations (though it's possible the worldbuilding and backstories wouldn't hold up if examined). It did finish the first story arc (over 200 pages) about pirates stealing weather control technology for a mysterious cause. Did I mention it's a cyberpunk/space-opera/metafictional story about the weather?

[ETA: The story notes for the remaining 16 chapters of the second story arc have been added to the archive.]

Jo Walton, Half a Crown
Tor (2008) ISBN: 0-7653-1621-8
Score: 2

The more-or-less happy ending to the Still Life with Fascists alternative history series, concerning an international peace conference and (mostly) unrelated riots. This time the first person POV is Carmichael's adopted niece, so they're basically on the same side of events (though they barely see each other). The ending seemed a bit easy, and I would have liked a bit more denouement (at least to let the survivors get together and reassure each other that they all did survive).

Next Book: Jessica Day George, Dragon Flight

Jim Butcher, Day Off
Pocket (2008) ISBN: 1416567836
Score: 1

A Harry Dresden short story set after Small Favor and featuring a couple werewolves that I don't believe have appeared since Fool Moon. It's in an anthology of "Humorous Horror Stories", which just means it's a bit more lighthearted than the rest of the series.

Dorothy Hearst, Promise of the Wolves
Simon & Schuster (2008) ISBN: 1-4165-6998-7
Score: -2

Start of the Wolf Chronicles fantasy series, about human/wolf relations 14,000 years ago (I can't tell if it's supposed to be a secret history of our world or not). The fantasy elements are understated, consisting of some sort of bond between the humans and wolves, a ghost, and giving the animals human-level intelligence (and above-human language skills). Despite the long list of experts named in the Acknowledgments, I didn't find the wolves' behavior all that realistic, and it's odd to read 350 pages about wolves without ever seeing the word "alpha".

Next Book: K.J. Parker, Evil for Evil

Kat Richardson, Underground
Roc (2008) ISBN: 978-0-451-46212-1
Score: 2

Third novel of the Grey urban fantasy series, in which the heroine has to track down a Native American monster that is eating the homeless under the streets of Seattle. I found some of the plot twists a little too obvious (twice I knew exactly who they were looking for the moment they realized there was someone to look for), and I'm not too happy with the romantic subplot (the second half), but it's still a good series overall.

Next Book: Dorothy Hearst, Promise of the Wolves