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Index Interviews: Bill DeSmedt Mothers Who Write: Antonya Nelson Are You Dead Certain? Stories Behind the Carols Return to This Issue's Index Return to Homepage Subscribe
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Fantasy/SF/Horror Book ReviewsAge of Bronze: Sacrifice by Eric ShanowerHungry Tiger Press, October, 2004Graphic Novel, 223 pages ISBN: 1582403600 Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
Age of Bronze: Sacrifice is a superb choice for lovers of literature to
add to their libraries this year. Not only is it a thoroughly enjoyable and
enlightening trip through those ancient stories and themes that have influenced
Western literature, it is a very useful tool for keeping the monumental epics
of ancient Greece understandable and easy to comprehend. Eric Shanower 's
project of using the graphic novel form to explain not only the stories, but
the background of ancient times based on extensive research, is
truly compelling.
Eric Shanower, a distinguished graphic artist who lives and works in San Francisco, was inspired in 1991 to tackle turning the Trojan War into a graphic novel. He has taken on a monumental task, and has actually done a great service for those of us who are sadly unable to read the original texts in Greek and enjoy them with the fluency with which we read any novel written in today's English. Being a species that depends most heavily on vision for our knowledge of the world, we all welcome this series for helping us keep everything straight. There have been so many mediocre movies that have been made of this time period. A graphic novel form is actually the very best way to revisit those ancient stories that have such a hold on us, because of the universality of the themes. For those readers who do not usually visit the graphic novel form for literary entertainment, Sacrifice will be a new and thought-provoking mental venue. Shanower does not shy away from some of the more controversial aspects of Bronze Age Greek culture, so this work is not the way to get your eleven year-old nephew interested in classical literature -- although it might be just the thing for an older teenager. But adult readers will find that Shanower's skill at story, emotion and action combine create a unique and informative new approach to this time period. --Sarah Reaves White Horizon Storms: Saga of the Seven Suns, Book 3 by Kevin J. AndersonWarner Books, July, 2004Hardcover, 469 pages ISBN: 0446528722 Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
Humans may not be the center of the universe, after all. That is
one of the unfortunate truths that the humans of the future
are having trouble accepting in Kevin J. Anderson's
SF epic series, the Saga of the Seven Suns. In the third
book of the series, Horizon Storms, the interstellar
war inadvertantly triggered by the humans' experiments
on a gas giant planet (which destroyed the home of the Hydrogues
who lived at the core) has blossomed into a full conflagration that
leaves no part of the galaxy safe. Now that ekti, the fuel that powers
the humans' starships is unobtainable due to the fury of the Hydrogues,
the humans of Earth demand that the human rebels donate all their ekti
to the defense against the Hydrogues. The rebels refused
and now even the humans are at war with
each other. Meanwhile, the ancient alien races -- the hydrogues, the
telepathic worldtrees, the water-based wentals, the fiery faeroes -- have
all re-emerged onto the scene to do battle, regardless of
what the humans want. The human-hating Klikiss robots have awakened,
and have broken their treaty with the Illdirans, an ally of the humans.
If the humans and the Illdirans can't stop fighting each other to
defeat the hydrogues, it could spell the extinction of the human and
Illdiran races.
Kevin J. Anderson moves effortlessly from world to world, using vividly imagined, believable characters from each to reflect the views of their people. Terran Hanseatic League Chairman Basil Wenceslas, the real power beind the thrones of King Peter and Queen Estarra, Mage-Imperator Jora'h, green priest Nira Khali, Cesca Peroni, the leader of the Roamers: all are interesting characters with life and passion. The action sequences are flawless, the worlds are fascinating and the characters are truly memorable. These players move on a stage of literally stellar proportions, but Kevin J. Anderson nibly ties together all the storylines in this absolutely amazing SF epic, which is sure to become a classic. Claire E. White The Will Eisner Companion by N.C. Christopher Couch and Stephen WeinerD.C. Comics, November, 2004Hardcover, 174 pages ISBN: 1401204228 Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
He is one of the grand masters of comic book art. His
newspaper comic book insert, The Spirit
revolutionized narrative seqential art in the 1940's.
He is also widely considered to be the founder of the modern contemporary
graphic novel form with his work A Contract With God and Other
Tenement Stories.
As one of the so-called "Underground" cartoonists in the
1970s, Eisner believed that comics should be used as a
tool for personal and political expression -- not just as a
medium for pulp serials.
His career has spanned decades, yet no comprehensive study of
his work has been done until now. The Will Eisner Companion
contains history, criticism, an index of characters, a bibliography
and even a suggested reading list. The comics themselves are
presented in black and white, with a special, color, glossy
section of The Spirit, the masked crime fighting detective.
The Spirit broke ground by having a subtle feminist slant;
the daughter of The Spirit's confidant is elected mayor, then
proceeds to clean up the corruption in Central City.
Christopher Couch and Stephen Weiner have done an excellent job in presenting the source material of this important author, and in presenting interesting new essays on Eisner's work. The Will Eisner Companion is a must-have for any dedicated comics fan, and would make an especially nice gift for anyone who aspires to write in this visual medium. Return to Book Reviews Index ** To visit the archives of fantasy/sf books reviewed in The IWJ, please click here. |
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