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VELVETEEN VS THE CONSEQUENCES OF HER ACTIONS - Seanan McGuire

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Velveteen is a superhero with a chip on her shoulder. Raised in the Super Patriots, Inc. since being discovered to have super abilities as a child, Velveteen was one of the early superhumans to leave the corporate atmosphere for independence. This didn't sit well in the world of corporate greed, of course, and she marked as a villain by the corporate desk jockeys (though she managed to become the official superhero for the state of Oregon).  More recently, Velveteen and her friends defeated  the Super Patriots, Inc., though to do so, Velveteen had to make a bargain with Santa Claus and now she has to pay the price for his aid (the consequences of her actions). While the world rebuilds and reinvents itself after the loss of one of the biggest superhero organizations, Velveteen must spend a specific amount of time in the Seasonal Lands. Velveteen spends time in Winter, Spring, and Fall, solving unique problems in each season, drawing on her power of animating inanimate objects. ...
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THE TUMBLING GIRL - Bridget Walsh

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It is 1876 in London and Minnie Ward - a scriptwriter at the Variety Palace Music Hall - discovers her best friend, Rose, dead.  Knowing Rose as she did, Minnie refuses to believe that her friend took her own life and decides she needs to look into the circumstances around her death. To that end, Minnie gets help from former police officer-turned private detective, Albert Easterbrook. Easterbrook is pretty busy - he's trying to catch the notorious Hairpin Killer - someone who continues to  eluded the police - but for Minnie, Albert takes on the assignment. Together, the two of them discover some of the worst places and people of London, and bodies begin to pile up around them.The next could be their own if they aren't careful. I am a sucker for historical fiction of this period and I'll pick up any book that takes place theaters or music halls, and features people in the entertainment industry. The Tumbling Girl would seem to be just the sort of book that I'd enjoy. An...
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PETER PAN IN WONDERLAND - Jeni Conrad

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 With high school graduation just around the corner, Peter is eager to move on with the next chapter in his life and maybe learn more about himself and his adoptive family. But while at the amusement park, Wonderland, Peter has an encounter with his fencing rival, Jillian Hook. The two get into a scrabble and fall through a funhouse mirror and into a strange world.  Peter is off, looking for his sister, Alice, but talking cats and pirate ships in the sky will thwart his search. I was drawn to this book because a) I'm a sucker for anything in the Alice in Wonderland world, and b) the concept here is really kind of brilliant. [And c) that's a pretty awesome cover.] Tossing Peter Pan into Alice's world (and presumably the next book will have Alice in Peter's world?) seems like such an obvious mash-up I don't know why it hasn't been done sooner. That said, I did have a slight problem with the character of Peter here.  He's not quite the Peter Pan we know from th...
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THE SHADOW PLANET - graphic novel

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The crew of the rocketship Vidar head to a desolate world in search of a missing patrol ship and discover a threat that could mean the end of all humanity. That's a short summation but it's a short book. The Shadow Planet is originally a French graphic novel that has been translated and reissued in the US by Image Comics. Author Giovanni Barbieri, who is also a screenwriter, notes that the idea for this book was originally planned as a 'B' movie and I think that's really evident - the 'B'-movie, sci-fi/horror vibes are strong. Think Alien as if made by Roger Corman. The story is ... well, it suffices. There's nothing new here and really no surprises.  That's part of the B movie vibe - you know what's coming, the thrill is in the 'when' and 'how.' That doesn't translate so well in a graphic novel. For the story, this gets only a rating of '2'. What saves this book is the artwork. Gianluca Pagliarani is the talent beh...
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ETERNAL WARRIOR - Ari Marmell

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I admit it, I was drawn to this book by its cover and title. I've been reading some Michael Moorcock lately - his protagonists are often part of his 'Eternal Champion' arc. And this cover very clearly is inspired by Frazetta and Boris - two fantasy cover artists. So I'm expecting a rip-roaring sword & sorcery style fantasy.  To say I was disappointed would be putting it mildly. Gilad Anni-Padda is the eternal warrior. He's cursed with immortality and is the guardian of humanity, putting himself at the front line against some of the darkest, most unnatural creatures that ever slithered out of the earth. But Gilad has been quiet for a very long time but is drawn back into the daylight to take on his eternal conflict. But he doesn't trust his new allies and his enemies now have his own memories. When I requested this book, I did not know it was based on a comic (from Valiant) - a comic that I am not at all familiar with.  I also had never read anything by autho...
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ENOLA HOLMES AND THE CLANGING COFFIN - Nancy Springer

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 1891 London and Enola Holmes, the younger (much younger) sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, is attending the burial ceremony of her former landlady. When she hears the faint sound of a handbell in the in the graveyard, she does what a Holmes would do - she investigates. What she finds is a temporary tombstone at a recent grave site with a bell attached to it. Someone buried inside is pulling a string to ring the bell. Enola quickly takes charge and directs her companions to free the person within. She finds a young girl who remembers almost nothing, including her own name, about how or why she was buried.  Enola takes it upon herself to protect the mysterious girl from an unknown enemy and learns that her brother Sherlock is engaged in a battle with Professor Moriarty and off on a mission that appears to be related to the mysterious girl in Enola's care. When Enola receives terrible news regarding Sherlock's battle, the dynamics of the Holmes family changes and ...
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HARD ROAD - J. B. Turner

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When I first began reviewing books in earnest for my current reviewing situation (as opposed to the late 1980's when I reviewed books for West Coast Review of Books newspaper), I requested a lot of books from a lot of different publishers, trying to get my foot in the door. This book, Hard Road , was one of those early requests. I wasn't much of a Thriller reader at the time, but it looked interesting and I was willing to give it a try. It was also a first book in a proposed series. Who knew, back then, that this would go on to be a a successful, currently fifteen book series?! Jon Reznick is a 'ghost.' He's a black-ops operative who technically doesn't exist. Though he gets a paycheck from the U.S. government, there are very few people who know about him and his orders come from shadowy figures inside governmental walls. Jon gets an order for a high-level hit that needs to look like a suicide. All in a day's work for Reznick. But when he arrives at the cor...
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