Book #4 of 2019: Archenemies by Marissa Meyer (Renegades #2) I like this superhero spy sequel much more than its predecessor, but I’m still struggling with some of the basic concepts of this series. Nova’s hatred of the Renegades — which continues to be a bizarre name for an official government peacekeeping force — has …
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Book #114 of 2018: Renegades by Marissa Meyer (Renegades #1) The beginning of this YA superhero novel creaks under the weight of so much exposition, and when author Marissa Meyer does manage to show and not tell, the results generally feel more like standard comic book cliches than anything particularly original. Remembering how I hadn’t …
Book #61 of 2018: Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu Batman’s origin story has been told and retold countless times, and this latest version struggles to justify its existence against that long history. The premise of an 18-year-old Bruce Wayne playing Silence of the Lambs with a femme fatale in Arkham Asylum is decent / original …
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Book #27 of 2018: Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo What a great read! And one that, I’m happy to report, doesn’t require a reader to know anything about Wonder Woman or the greater DC Comics canon to enjoy. This is an alternate version of the heroine’s origin story, where a teenaged Diana leaves her …
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Book #43 of 2016: Calamity by Brandon Sanderson (The Reckoners #3) This conclusion to Brandon Sanderson’s trilogy about post-apocalyptic superpowers doesn’t quite stick the landing. For one thing, the villain set up at the end of book 2 turns out to be far less formidable than the foes David and the other Reckoners have faced …
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