Lucas Blogs About Books

Like the one that sustained Saint Corentin ? I've been kicking around an idea for a Hey, Hypothetical Reader!  where HR and I would discuss canon. You know, like in the context of fiction. I would have this whole schtick about how canon is a mind-prison that leads to a hyper-focus on continuity at the expense of examining what really matters about a story. Namely, what it makes you think and feel. They don't assign The Great Gatsby or The Scarlet Letter  to high school juniors so they can find out whether Daisy will leave Tom for Gatsby or who the father of Hester Prynne's daughter is ( SPOILER: she won't and it's very obviously Reverend Dimmesdale). They assign them because A) The Literary Canon is also a mind-prison; and 2) both feature such obvious symbolism that even a high school junior will notice it. I feel like I'm getting off track, let's start over: The Magic Fish   is a graphic novel for young readers by Trung Le Nguyen. You might say it's abo...

Uh-oh, better keep this book away from Green Lantern! So, what's this book's deal? Well, hypothetical reader, Superman Smashes the Klan  is a collaboration between Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru (the work name of the Japanese artist team Chifuyu Sasaki and Naoko Kawano) who previously worked together on several volumes of comics about the continuing adventures of Aang et al. in the world of  Avatar: The Last Airbender . Though, as you might have guessed from the title, this comic book is about Superman. The Man of Steel Superman? The Man of Tomorrow Superman? Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound Superman? The very same. And specifically that version of the character. See, it's loosely based on a storyline from The Adventures of Superman  radio serial from the forties, where Superman takes on the Clan of the Fiery Cross. As you may be aware, the Ku Klux Klan experienced a resurgence following the release...

I'm certainly not holding this book in front of my face to hide the tears streaming down my cheeks! What would give you such a ridiculous idea? So, what's this book's de—Oh for cryin' ou— That's right!  It made me cry!   We talked about its author's merits—and demerits!  It's also one of my favorite books of all time. I just finished re-reading East of Eden  by John Steinbeck. The deal is exceedingly simple to explain: it's a genuine, goddamn masterpiece of Modernist and Naturalist prose exploring such topics as the American Dream, the Old Testament, racism, mental health, good, evil, family dynamics, war, peace, moral obligation, how to start a Ford Model T, love, sex, betrayal— OH. MY. GOD! Stop, just stop! I can't be here for this. Sorry, I already started this as a Hypothetical Reader formatted post. The novel starts with a loving description of the Salinas Valley then quickly splits into two tracks that only rejoin hundreds of pages l...

What knockers! Ann Leckie is one of my favorite science fiction writers. Back in 2013, I picked up her debut novel, Ancillary Justice , and was unsurprised to see it sweep the major science fiction awards the next year. I mean, how could it not? A sci-fi revenge drama about a starship tracking down an evil galactic emperor for ordering her to kill her favorite officer? And one that vividly describes multiple cultures and the complex ways in which they interact? And that includes compelling side characters who undergo personal growth? I'm gushing, aren't I? Get used to it. Anyway, I devoured the subsequent books in the trilogy, Ancillary Sword and  Ancillary Mercy , and the stand-alone follow up, Provenance , set in a different corner of the galaxy, but still dealing with some of the fallout of the Imperial Radch trilogy. That said, as much as I like the universe Leckie created in those books, I was interested to see what she would do in a fantasy setting. That's where ...

I don't usually make the review pictures this big, but these title illustrations are the bomb, yo! So, what's this book's deal? Well, it's a sequel (kinda) to A Wizard of Earthsea . Oh, so it picks up where the last book left off? Nope! In fact, I'd say you could read this book without having read the first one and still enjoy it quite a bit. A sequel that works as a standalone? That' s a neat trick. It is. Ursula K. Le Guin is a neat writer. So then, the deal . . . Oh, right. The main character, Tenar, is a little girl growing up in the Kargad Empire (They're out to the East of Gont. In fact, Kargad raiders attacking Ged's village is sort of the catalyst for the whole series really.). When she turns five, she's taken away from her parents to the Place of the Tombs of Atuan where she is sacrificed to the Nameless Ones. Hold the phone! How can she be the main character if she's sacrificed at the beginning of the story. Not l...

For once, that glare is present in the artwork itself and not due to the lighting in my room. Mister Miracle is a book about #fourthworldproblems (sorry, couldn't resist). So, before we really get into it, I'll give you a little background on just who Mister Miracle is (the comic book also starts off by doing this). The cataclysm that destroyed the Old Gods left behind two new planets: New Genesis, a paradise ruled by the wise and benevolent Highfather, and Apokolips, a dystopian hellscape under the iron fist of Darkseid. A hundred year war between these worlds was ended when Highfather and Darkseid exchanged their infant sons. Highfather named Darkseid's son Orion and raised him as his own, but Darkseid abandoned Highfather's son into the X-Pit under the cruel tutelage of Granny Goodness. Due to his constant escape attempts, Highfather's son was given the mocking moniker of Scott Free. Eventually, Orion would learn of a prophecy that Darkseid would be killed...

Huh, how considerate of that reader to hold the book so that his webcam could see the title and author. Charlie Jane Anders'(s?) All the Birds in the Sky  is one of those books that makes you feel sorry for whatever you read next (Seriously, how is anything in the to-read pile supposed to top that ?). It makes you want to sing along to your iPod while you ride your bike home from work. Or you know, some other thing that makes you feel weirdly alive. I'll cut to the chase, this is the best novel I've read in a while. Not one of the best. Not the best in a particularly genre. The best. Certainly the best novel I've reviewed since starting this blog. Which reminds me,  this'll be a normal review. Hypothetical Reader's not in this one (sorry to Hypothetical Reader's hypothetical fans). My enthusiasm for this book is so unabashed, there's no need to temper this review with a rhetorical device. This is the story of Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armste...