Tag: mythology

Categories
Books

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse #Review: Monstress 1 #fantasy #graphicnovel

The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you’ve finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same. In this way, we’ll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers. Please join us below.

“I’m late, I’m late. Late for a very important date.” (or something like that.) ~The White Rabbit

So, all month-long I’ve been reminding myself not to miss this post, and sure enough, that’s exactly what I did. Oh well, I tried. I’ve been doing a self-assigned graphic novel read-a-thon this month and I’m down to wire trying to squeeze in as many books as I can before nightfall on Wednesday. Of course, this would also be the month that my creative juices would start to flow, but I just don’t have enough time in the day. In any case, I’ll tell you what has been my favorite read so far, but I don’t have a full review for you yet. So sorry for that….

Below I’ve listed its stats, blurb, and my overall rating; however, I will say that the artwork in this book is so beautiful that even if the story wasn’t that great, I probably would have given it a 4.5 stars with an asterisk.

Title: Montress, Vol. 1: Awakening
Series: Montress #1
Author: Marjorie M. Liu & others
Artist: Sana Takeda
Genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel
Pages: 192
Reading Level: Teen-Adult
Content: R (strong language, violence, brutality, crime, war, adult and mature situations, brief partial nudity, oppression)

Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900’s Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steampunk, MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both.

Collects MONSTRESS #1-6

I give this book a 5.

Please stop by and see what others have read. 😀

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Reblogs

A Small Gang of Authors: Book in the Spotlight from Joe Bonadonna #OurAuthorGang

I’m so excited to be a part of the new group. Check out what one of my new pals posted today.
–

Mad Shadows: The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser 

Joe Bonadonna

“Valdar is a city of swordslingers and necromancers, witch cults and half-human races. It’s a city in a world of darkness, black magic and creatures of the night . . . a city where demonic entities serve the needs of any witch or magicman who can open a doorway into their domain.  This is my city. This is my world . . . a world of magic, mystery, murder, mayhem and monsters. I hunt anyone and anything that poses a threat to the people of my city.

My name’s Dorgo. Folks call me the Dowser.

Mad Shadows: The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser, by Joe Bonadonna. Winner of the 2017 Golden Book Readers’ Choice Award for Fantasy.”…Read more: A Small Gang of Authors: Book in the Spotlight from Joe Bonadonna #OurAuthorGang

Categories
Books

#Bookreview: Torn from Troy #epic #myth

This is a special post I do once a month to highlight a book I reviewed some time ago, but never actually featured on my blog. Because this is an author blog and not a book blog, I don’t always feature all the books I read. Like all good and dedicated fans of the written word, I do my part and leave reviews on Goodreads.com, Amazon.com, and sometimes other places, but don’t always bring attention to what I’m reading, unless you follow me on YouTube… hint, hint, wink wink 😉 In any case, please enjoy this review of a book I read at some point in my life.

~

Goodreads

Title:  Torn from Troy

Series: Odyssey of a Slave #1

Author: Patrick Bowman

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Mythology

Pages: Audio Download (199)

Reading Level: Teen

Content: PG-13 (violence, adult situations and content, oppression)

It doesn’t take long for the action of this story to pick up, none the less, I had trouble getting into it. I received a free audio version of this book from a summer reading program I signed up for and was determined the give the book a fair shot. I’m glad I did. The overall story and lasting impression was good. It’s a different spin on an ageless tale and I’m glad I finished the first installment.

After the fires of the Trojan War have burned out, Alexi, a 15-year-old Trojan is taken as a slave by the Greeks and sent abroad to serve them on their journey because he just happens to speak Greek. The typical tale of the Odyssey is there in the background of this story, but all the vantage points are skewed. The great Grecian heroes are perceived as dirty barbaric oppressors and poor Alexi is caught between doing what must be done to survive or deciding whether or not there’s any point to trying to escape.   With dangers lurking around every corner, path, and even wave, being a slave to the Greek armada might just be the safest place for him, if they don’t kill him first.

For me, this story is interesting enough to warrant me reading the next book, but then I do have a thing for finishing what I’ve started. I think this adventure will greatly appeal to the younger readers it’s targeted to, especially since many of them may not be as familiar with the original story as I am.

I’d recommend this to pre-teen and teen readers as well as anyone who likes new takes on old myths.

I give this book a 3.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link: Amazon

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords