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Hadley (567 KP) rated The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness in Books
Jan 18, 2021
History (1 more)
Well-written
H.H. Holmes had many aliases and lives.
He's been a doctor and a licensed pharmacist, who then conned an old couple into selling their drug store to him where he preyed on young girls and ignorant customers that would buy whatever Holmes would tell them to buy, whether it were real or fake tonics.
He was a building owner who had a murder hotel secretly built with " a wooden chute that would descend from a secret location on the second floor all the way to the basement... ", "a room next to his office fitted with a large walk-in vault, with airtight seams and asbestos-coated iron walls. A gas jet embedded in one wall would be controlled from his closet...", "a large basement with hidden chambers and a sub-basement for the permanent storage of sensitive material. "
He owned and ran an alcohol-treatment company known as the Silver Ash Institute that claimed to have the cure for alcoholism.
He was a traveling business man, who had two wives and two children. He established the Campbell-Yates Manufacturing Company, which made nothing and sold nothing.
He was also labeled as America's first serial killer. His body count is unknown even today; his victims were frequently young women, which included stenographers and house wives. He was best known for convincing people who trusted him to sign him as the beneficiary of their life insurance policies, only to kill them and make it seem an accident so he could collect the money.
Holmes grew up in a small farming village in New Hampshire, where he briefly spoke about an early fear of a human skeleton that hung in a doctor's office: " 'I had daily to pass the office of one village doctor, the door of which was seldom if ever barred,' he wrote in a later memoir. 'Partly from its being associated in my mind as the source of all the nauseous mixtures that had been my childish terror (for this was before the day of children's medicines), and partly because of vague rumors I had heard regarding its contents, this place was one of peculiar abhorrence to me.' "... "Two children discovered Mudgett's [Holmes' real last name] fear and one day captured him and dragged him 'struggling and shrieking' into the doctor's office. 'Nor did they desist,' Mudgett wrote, 'until I had been brought face to face with one of its grinning skeletons, which, with arms outstretched, seemed ready in its turn to seize me. It was a wicked and dangerous thing to do to a child of tender years and health,' he wrote, ' but it proved an heroic method of treatment, destined ultimately to cure me of my fears, and to inculcate in me, first, a strong feeling of curiosity, and, later, a desire to learn, which resulted years afterwards in my adopting medicine as a profession.' "
Erik Larson's fourth book, the Devil in the White City, is only partly about Holmes and his dark trail of murder and lies. The story told is mostly centered around the planning and building of the 1893 World's Fair. The prologue opens with one of the architects aboard a ship long after the fair has ended - - - 1912 to be exact- - - where he begins to write of the fair in his diary. The next chapter continues on with Chicago competing against other major cities to win the rights to host the World's Fair. Chicago was not the ideal place for the fair because it was known for it's crime and slaughter houses - - - this was exactly why the politicians wanted it so badly there, so it would help to lighten the image of Chicago for the rest of the world. Even the local Whitechapel Club that had sprouted up after the infamous murders by Jack the Ripper, were excited to win the rights to host the fair in their city, and celebrated in a macabre way:
"Upon learning that Chicago had won the fair, the men of the Whitechapel Club composed a telegram to Chauncey Depew, who more than any other man symbolized New York and its campaign to win the fair. Previously Depew had promised the members of the Whitechapel Club that if Chicago prevailed he would present himself at the club's next meeting, to be hacked apart by the Ripper himself - - - metaphorically, he presumed, although at the Whitechapel Club could one ever be certain? The club's coffin, for example, had once been used to transport the body of a member who had committed suicide. After claiming his body, the club hauled it to the Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan, where members erected an immense pyre. They placed the body on top, then set it alight. Carrying torches and wearing black hooded robes, they circled the fire singing hymns to the dead between sips of whiskey. The club also had a custom of sending robed members to kidnap visiting celebrities and steal them away in a black coach with covered windows, all without saying a word.
The club's telegram reached Depew in Washington twenty minutes after the final ballot, just as Chicago's congressional delegation began celebrating at the Willard Hotel near the White House. The telegram asked, 'When may we see you at our dissecting table?' "
There are chapters in-between, technically reading like a side story, that tell us about Holmes and his misdeeds in Chicago, but there just wasn't enough about Holmes that I could consider this a True Crime book, nor an informative book about Holmes. Unfortunately, when the reader begins to really dwell into the story of Holmes, it's quickly ended by having two or more chapters about the building of the World's Fair. One interesting point about the story is that the reader does get to see how many inventions were brought to light because of the Fair, such as the invention of the Ferris Wheel. Larson's writing is very coherent and the descriptions are so well done that the reader is practically transported back to the late 1800s, yet, before I finished the book, I felt misled by the title... then coming across everything that happened to not only the Fair, but the people who were involved with it, it's hard not to wonder if the whole thing was cursed, thus the Devil being in the White City.
One of the side stories I did really enjoy was the slow unfolding of a man named Prendergast. A delusional young man who ran one of the groups of paperboys in Chicago, who was also obsessed with politics, became a determined supporter of Mayor Harrison; after Harrison was voted into office again, Prendergast believed it was because of him and the letters he sent out to numerous politicians and potential voters. Prendergast also believed he deserved a chair on the council for Harrison's re-election, for which he even showed up at City Hall to take over. This incident was the straw that broke the camel's back for Prendergast - - - he was humiliated when the people there laughed in his face. Prendergast then decided to take matters into his own hands, and bought a revolver. The day before the Fair would end, Prendergast showed up at Harrison's home and shot him. Harrison died minutes later. Prendergast turned himself in for the murder as soon as he left Harrison's residence. When asked why he had done it, Prendergast responded: " ' Because he betrayed my confidence. I supported him through his campaign and he promised to appoint me corporation counsel. He didn't live up to his word.' "
This book has been voted as a top True Crime must-read novel. I don't agree with this. As I said before: Holmes' chapters are few; eighty percent of this book is about the building of the World's Fair. As a True Crime junkie, I didn't enjoy this one, but also as a history junkie, I enjoyed learning about the Fair and everything that happened. I can't recommend this book to TC fans or horror fans. It's mostly history and architecture.
He's been a doctor and a licensed pharmacist, who then conned an old couple into selling their drug store to him where he preyed on young girls and ignorant customers that would buy whatever Holmes would tell them to buy, whether it were real or fake tonics.
He was a building owner who had a murder hotel secretly built with " a wooden chute that would descend from a secret location on the second floor all the way to the basement... ", "a room next to his office fitted with a large walk-in vault, with airtight seams and asbestos-coated iron walls. A gas jet embedded in one wall would be controlled from his closet...", "a large basement with hidden chambers and a sub-basement for the permanent storage of sensitive material. "
He owned and ran an alcohol-treatment company known as the Silver Ash Institute that claimed to have the cure for alcoholism.
He was a traveling business man, who had two wives and two children. He established the Campbell-Yates Manufacturing Company, which made nothing and sold nothing.
He was also labeled as America's first serial killer. His body count is unknown even today; his victims were frequently young women, which included stenographers and house wives. He was best known for convincing people who trusted him to sign him as the beneficiary of their life insurance policies, only to kill them and make it seem an accident so he could collect the money.
Holmes grew up in a small farming village in New Hampshire, where he briefly spoke about an early fear of a human skeleton that hung in a doctor's office: " 'I had daily to pass the office of one village doctor, the door of which was seldom if ever barred,' he wrote in a later memoir. 'Partly from its being associated in my mind as the source of all the nauseous mixtures that had been my childish terror (for this was before the day of children's medicines), and partly because of vague rumors I had heard regarding its contents, this place was one of peculiar abhorrence to me.' "... "Two children discovered Mudgett's [Holmes' real last name] fear and one day captured him and dragged him 'struggling and shrieking' into the doctor's office. 'Nor did they desist,' Mudgett wrote, 'until I had been brought face to face with one of its grinning skeletons, which, with arms outstretched, seemed ready in its turn to seize me. It was a wicked and dangerous thing to do to a child of tender years and health,' he wrote, ' but it proved an heroic method of treatment, destined ultimately to cure me of my fears, and to inculcate in me, first, a strong feeling of curiosity, and, later, a desire to learn, which resulted years afterwards in my adopting medicine as a profession.' "
Erik Larson's fourth book, the Devil in the White City, is only partly about Holmes and his dark trail of murder and lies. The story told is mostly centered around the planning and building of the 1893 World's Fair. The prologue opens with one of the architects aboard a ship long after the fair has ended - - - 1912 to be exact- - - where he begins to write of the fair in his diary. The next chapter continues on with Chicago competing against other major cities to win the rights to host the World's Fair. Chicago was not the ideal place for the fair because it was known for it's crime and slaughter houses - - - this was exactly why the politicians wanted it so badly there, so it would help to lighten the image of Chicago for the rest of the world. Even the local Whitechapel Club that had sprouted up after the infamous murders by Jack the Ripper, were excited to win the rights to host the fair in their city, and celebrated in a macabre way:
"Upon learning that Chicago had won the fair, the men of the Whitechapel Club composed a telegram to Chauncey Depew, who more than any other man symbolized New York and its campaign to win the fair. Previously Depew had promised the members of the Whitechapel Club that if Chicago prevailed he would present himself at the club's next meeting, to be hacked apart by the Ripper himself - - - metaphorically, he presumed, although at the Whitechapel Club could one ever be certain? The club's coffin, for example, had once been used to transport the body of a member who had committed suicide. After claiming his body, the club hauled it to the Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan, where members erected an immense pyre. They placed the body on top, then set it alight. Carrying torches and wearing black hooded robes, they circled the fire singing hymns to the dead between sips of whiskey. The club also had a custom of sending robed members to kidnap visiting celebrities and steal them away in a black coach with covered windows, all without saying a word.
The club's telegram reached Depew in Washington twenty minutes after the final ballot, just as Chicago's congressional delegation began celebrating at the Willard Hotel near the White House. The telegram asked, 'When may we see you at our dissecting table?' "
There are chapters in-between, technically reading like a side story, that tell us about Holmes and his misdeeds in Chicago, but there just wasn't enough about Holmes that I could consider this a True Crime book, nor an informative book about Holmes. Unfortunately, when the reader begins to really dwell into the story of Holmes, it's quickly ended by having two or more chapters about the building of the World's Fair. One interesting point about the story is that the reader does get to see how many inventions were brought to light because of the Fair, such as the invention of the Ferris Wheel. Larson's writing is very coherent and the descriptions are so well done that the reader is practically transported back to the late 1800s, yet, before I finished the book, I felt misled by the title... then coming across everything that happened to not only the Fair, but the people who were involved with it, it's hard not to wonder if the whole thing was cursed, thus the Devil being in the White City.
One of the side stories I did really enjoy was the slow unfolding of a man named Prendergast. A delusional young man who ran one of the groups of paperboys in Chicago, who was also obsessed with politics, became a determined supporter of Mayor Harrison; after Harrison was voted into office again, Prendergast believed it was because of him and the letters he sent out to numerous politicians and potential voters. Prendergast also believed he deserved a chair on the council for Harrison's re-election, for which he even showed up at City Hall to take over. This incident was the straw that broke the camel's back for Prendergast - - - he was humiliated when the people there laughed in his face. Prendergast then decided to take matters into his own hands, and bought a revolver. The day before the Fair would end, Prendergast showed up at Harrison's home and shot him. Harrison died minutes later. Prendergast turned himself in for the murder as soon as he left Harrison's residence. When asked why he had done it, Prendergast responded: " ' Because he betrayed my confidence. I supported him through his campaign and he promised to appoint me corporation counsel. He didn't live up to his word.' "
This book has been voted as a top True Crime must-read novel. I don't agree with this. As I said before: Holmes' chapters are few; eighty percent of this book is about the building of the World's Fair. As a True Crime junkie, I didn't enjoy this one, but also as a history junkie, I enjoyed learning about the Fair and everything that happened. I can't recommend this book to TC fans or horror fans. It's mostly history and architecture.
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Malice: Book One of the Faithful and the Fallen in Books
Dec 1, 2017
The action (1 more)
The hints of the epic story still to come
The number of characters and places to try and remember (1 more)
A little long and derivative
This book, the first in a series of four, chronicles the beginning hints at the coming God-War, a time when the forces of good and evil will battle for the world (pretty standard fantasy fayre), with prophecies unfolding and battles for thrones.
The book moves between different character PoVs, which is fairly common these days, but I found some of the characters to be indistinguishable. For the first third of the book, if the PoV was Camlin, Kastell or Veradis I struggled to remember who he was or what he had been doing. This did start to improve around the halfway mark, but it is quite a slog at times to remember the events preceding this chapter.
The bulk of the book, however, follows Corban, a young blacksmith's son hoping to become a warrior some day, but is stuck working his da's forge, helping stablemaster Gar or apprenticing to healer Brina. His development over the book is well told, he doesn't suddenly become a master swordsman but at the same time we don't have to sit through chapter after chapter of him learning sword forms (Rand al Thor could learn a lot from Corban!).
Along the way, Corban has also become friends with a wild wolven (giant wolves hunted near extinction), whom he raised from a pup. Yes, exactly like the Stark children in GoT. Leave it.
The political intrigue and manoeuvring throughout the book is great as events seeming to be based on one king/queen's ambitions actually turn out to be based on another's treachery.
The battle scenes are well told and believable without the main characters always escaping unscathed.
The book finished with a number of deceptions uncovered and the main group of characters fleeing for their lives, with more secrets to be uncovered.
The book moves between different character PoVs, which is fairly common these days, but I found some of the characters to be indistinguishable. For the first third of the book, if the PoV was Camlin, Kastell or Veradis I struggled to remember who he was or what he had been doing. This did start to improve around the halfway mark, but it is quite a slog at times to remember the events preceding this chapter.
The bulk of the book, however, follows Corban, a young blacksmith's son hoping to become a warrior some day, but is stuck working his da's forge, helping stablemaster Gar or apprenticing to healer Brina. His development over the book is well told, he doesn't suddenly become a master swordsman but at the same time we don't have to sit through chapter after chapter of him learning sword forms (Rand al Thor could learn a lot from Corban!).
Along the way, Corban has also become friends with a wild wolven (giant wolves hunted near extinction), whom he raised from a pup. Yes, exactly like the Stark children in GoT. Leave it.
The political intrigue and manoeuvring throughout the book is great as events seeming to be based on one king/queen's ambitions actually turn out to be based on another's treachery.
The battle scenes are well told and believable without the main characters always escaping unscathed.
The book finished with a number of deceptions uncovered and the main group of characters fleeing for their lives, with more secrets to be uncovered.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2464 KP) rated Survive or Die in Books
Mar 7, 2019
World’s Worst Team Building Ever
The employees of Bender Clips are going on a corporate retreat. Jack Bender, the owner, has shut things down for a week and rented out the Survive or Die camp in the Colorado mountains. The camp was used as the location for a reality TV show of the same name a decade ago, and the host is still basking off the fame that show brought him. Jack has a surprise for his employees. The winner of the week will get a raise, and the loser will get fired. Leave early? You might be fired as well. The employees, and a few spouses tagging along, are less than enthusiastic at this turn. And some of the employees have their own agendas for the week that go beyond the challenges.
Before things get too far, a small group of employees find a death threat left on Jack Bender’s car. The first night, someone dies, only it isn’t Jack. Was it a tragic accident? Is there a killer at camp? Who will win the raise? Or will accidents befall more people?
This is a creative book. The plot is as much about the competition as the murder, and I got caught up in both stories. One part of the climax turned things darker than I was expecting, but overall, I enjoyed the book and everything is explained by the end. While we have a core number of characters, there are a lot of them, and I had trouble keeping them all straight at times. Fortunately, we usually got the needed context when someone entered a scene. The core characters are well developed, and we get some nice growth in most of them. There is subtle humor aimed at corporate life in the book; as a corporate employee during the day, I found it fun while hitting too close to home.
Before things get too far, a small group of employees find a death threat left on Jack Bender’s car. The first night, someone dies, only it isn’t Jack. Was it a tragic accident? Is there a killer at camp? Who will win the raise? Or will accidents befall more people?
This is a creative book. The plot is as much about the competition as the murder, and I got caught up in both stories. One part of the climax turned things darker than I was expecting, but overall, I enjoyed the book and everything is explained by the end. While we have a core number of characters, there are a lot of them, and I had trouble keeping them all straight at times. Fortunately, we usually got the needed context when someone entered a scene. The core characters are well developed, and we get some nice growth in most of them. There is subtle humor aimed at corporate life in the book; as a corporate employee during the day, I found it fun while hitting too close to home.
Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated The Bones She Buried (Detective Josie Quinn #5) in Books
May 22, 2019
Josie works until her arms ache, until the paramedics arrive and pull her gently away from the woman’s cold, fragile body. Noah’s voice cracks beside her as he calls the time of death for his own, beloved mother.
Arriving with her partner Noah for dinner at his family’s immaculate countryside home, Detective Josie Quinn is devastated to find Noah’s mother, Colette, lying lifeless in the back garden, her mouth clogged with soil.
Searching the house for answers, Josie’s team don’t know what to make of the rosary beads buried in the dirt near the body, or the hidden file labelled “Drew Pratt”, the small town of Denton’s most famous missing person.
As she delves deeper into Pratt’s case, Josie quickly discovers he had a brother who’s body mysteriously washed up on the banks of a river. There’s also a diary entry suggesting that Colette may have met him on the last day he was seen alive. Can Josie believe the unthinkable, that a kind old soul like Colette might have been involved in their murders? And, will Josie’s new relationship with Noah survive the accusation?
Josie’s only hope lies in tracking down Pratt’s daughter. But when she arrives at her home to find she’s been murdered just minutes before, Josie knows the real killer is one step ahead and won’t stop until Colette’s secret is buried forever. With many more innocent lives on the line, how deep is Josie prepared dig to reach the truth?
The Bones She Buried is the fifth book in the Detective Josie Quinn series. What a great book!
This is a fast-paced mystery with loads of twists.
With a plot that keeps you guessing and characters that worm their way into your heart, the story moves quickly to a satisfying ending.
This is a great series.
I highly recommend!
Thanks Bookoutoure and Netgalley for this ARC; this is my honest voluntary review.
Arriving with her partner Noah for dinner at his family’s immaculate countryside home, Detective Josie Quinn is devastated to find Noah’s mother, Colette, lying lifeless in the back garden, her mouth clogged with soil.
Searching the house for answers, Josie’s team don’t know what to make of the rosary beads buried in the dirt near the body, or the hidden file labelled “Drew Pratt”, the small town of Denton’s most famous missing person.
As she delves deeper into Pratt’s case, Josie quickly discovers he had a brother who’s body mysteriously washed up on the banks of a river. There’s also a diary entry suggesting that Colette may have met him on the last day he was seen alive. Can Josie believe the unthinkable, that a kind old soul like Colette might have been involved in their murders? And, will Josie’s new relationship with Noah survive the accusation?
Josie’s only hope lies in tracking down Pratt’s daughter. But when she arrives at her home to find she’s been murdered just minutes before, Josie knows the real killer is one step ahead and won’t stop until Colette’s secret is buried forever. With many more innocent lives on the line, how deep is Josie prepared dig to reach the truth?
The Bones She Buried is the fifth book in the Detective Josie Quinn series. What a great book!
This is a fast-paced mystery with loads of twists.
With a plot that keeps you guessing and characters that worm their way into your heart, the story moves quickly to a satisfying ending.
This is a great series.
I highly recommend!
Thanks Bookoutoure and Netgalley for this ARC; this is my honest voluntary review.
Mandi S (1 KP) rated Anatomy of a Scandal in Books
Jan 23, 2018
WOAH. This book was a rush. I flew through it and I can tell this is one that will stick with me for a while. Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan is set in London and follows a cast of characters, Sophie, James, Kate, Holly, and Alison. After owning up to an affair, prominent government worker James gets accused of rape and must face trial for his supposed actions. Told in both present day and flashbacks, the reader soon realizes that there are more ties that bind this group together than originally thought, and that everyone is not always who they seem to be.
This novel deals very heavily with sexual assault and rape. As this is a prominent topic in our society today, I think this book is both timely and necessary. Revealing how deeply a rape can impact an individual, how celebrity and prominence can play a role in prosecution, and how easily someone's guilt can be questioned, it speaks to the deep set issues that for many years our society has ignored that are finally coming to light.
While this was a tough topic to swallow, I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters, especially Kate. The plot was fast moving and interesting, and even though there were flashbacks it was very easy to piece together. The ending was so satisfying as well, even if it isn't what you initially expect it will be, and there are a few plot twists along the way that keep you engaged. Each character's section was the perfect length, enough to let you know what was happening and what they were thinking but not too long to get bored of them before moving on, and I really enjoyed Vaughan's detailed yet simple writing style.
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
A huge thanks to Atria and Goodreads for allowing me early access to an ecopy of this fantastic read.
This novel deals very heavily with sexual assault and rape. As this is a prominent topic in our society today, I think this book is both timely and necessary. Revealing how deeply a rape can impact an individual, how celebrity and prominence can play a role in prosecution, and how easily someone's guilt can be questioned, it speaks to the deep set issues that for many years our society has ignored that are finally coming to light.
While this was a tough topic to swallow, I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters, especially Kate. The plot was fast moving and interesting, and even though there were flashbacks it was very easy to piece together. The ending was so satisfying as well, even if it isn't what you initially expect it will be, and there are a few plot twists along the way that keep you engaged. Each character's section was the perfect length, enough to let you know what was happening and what they were thinking but not too long to get bored of them before moving on, and I really enjoyed Vaughan's detailed yet simple writing style.
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
A huge thanks to Atria and Goodreads for allowing me early access to an ecopy of this fantastic read.
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Coraline (2009) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Coraline is bored to tears in her new home. She's just moved away from the town she knew along with her best friends while her parents are too busy with their work to pay any sort of attention to her. While exploring her new home one rainy day, she comes across a secret door. The door winds up leading to an "other" world where her parents are actually fun and everything seems to be focused around Coraline, but there is a catch. Everyone has buttons for eyes and Coraline soon finds out that things aren't as wonderous and magical in the "other" world as they appear to be.
Henry Selick delivers a stop-motion animated feature that's darker than what people may be expecting. Having a film based on a story by Neil Gaiman should be the first clue that this isn't an everyday run-of-the-mill children's film. If anything, adults will probably get more of a kick out of it. There's a scene where Miss Forcible, a woman with gigantic breasts, is wearing barely anything at all. Remember that Lil Kim outfit? It was kinda like that. If replacing somebody's eyes with buttons still doesn't put parents off from showing this to their three year old, then the dark atmosphere most certainly will. The film generally has a creepy feeling throughout its duration while it focuses around creatures that are insect-like and are practically in the face of the audience the entire time. Since the film was shot in 3-D, it shows at times as characters are pretty much jumping off the screen.
Coraline may not be for everyone, but it will be a blast for fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. It's a stop-motion animated film that's full of imagination and creativity that is probably best for anyone over the age of ten. The only downside was not being able to catch this in 3-D while it was in theaters.
Henry Selick delivers a stop-motion animated feature that's darker than what people may be expecting. Having a film based on a story by Neil Gaiman should be the first clue that this isn't an everyday run-of-the-mill children's film. If anything, adults will probably get more of a kick out of it. There's a scene where Miss Forcible, a woman with gigantic breasts, is wearing barely anything at all. Remember that Lil Kim outfit? It was kinda like that. If replacing somebody's eyes with buttons still doesn't put parents off from showing this to their three year old, then the dark atmosphere most certainly will. The film generally has a creepy feeling throughout its duration while it focuses around creatures that are insect-like and are practically in the face of the audience the entire time. Since the film was shot in 3-D, it shows at times as characters are pretty much jumping off the screen.
Coraline may not be for everyone, but it will be a blast for fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. It's a stop-motion animated film that's full of imagination and creativity that is probably best for anyone over the age of ten. The only downside was not being able to catch this in 3-D while it was in theaters.
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Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Rocket: The Blue River Score in Books
Nov 30, 2020
I have to confess: I went into this one with low expectations, largely due to trying to read the previous Rocket outing, Matthew Rosenberg's ROCKET RACCOON: GROUNDED! That book was just depressing as hell, and every character in it just felt wholly out-of-character, as if Rosenberg no flarking clue as to who the characters actually were and how they were SUPPOSED to behave! Fortunately, my pre-"low expectations" were ill-placed, as Trash Panda's outing was as far from the depressing wreck that Rosenberg churned out!
Yes, first and foremost, it was a Rocket Raccoon story, but it was also so much more. It felt not unlike SMOKIN' ACES or SNATCH...only on another planet, with aliens and an augmented raccoon! Writer Al Ewing is clearly a fan of pulp noir novels, and it shows throughout. Ah, if only Marvel would realize what a great film this mini would make!
If you like the wise-cracking, sometimes edgy wit of RR - basically, the RR of the MCU - then this is a book for you! Rocket has a great scheme in here, as well as some good intentions, all of which amounts to a double-cross and an ending that effectively resolves everything with a somewhat bittersweet ending. Bravo, Mr. Ewing! I truly hope Marvel lets him helm another RR solo mini!
And, if that does happen, allowed for another Ewing-helmed outing with RR, I hope that brings along artist Adam Gorham and colorist Michael Garland. Those two brought this fun li'l space heist to life ever so well! I was a big fan of Sara Pichelli's GOTG art for Rocket, but as good as she was, I feel these two were just as good, if not better! Definitely artists (and colorists) to keep an eye out for!
End of the day, you could do a whole lot worse that reading ROCKET: THE BLUE RIVE SCORE. *cough* CIVIL WAR II *cough* Bendis' ALL-NEW X-MEN run *cough cough*
Yes, first and foremost, it was a Rocket Raccoon story, but it was also so much more. It felt not unlike SMOKIN' ACES or SNATCH...only on another planet, with aliens and an augmented raccoon! Writer Al Ewing is clearly a fan of pulp noir novels, and it shows throughout. Ah, if only Marvel would realize what a great film this mini would make!
If you like the wise-cracking, sometimes edgy wit of RR - basically, the RR of the MCU - then this is a book for you! Rocket has a great scheme in here, as well as some good intentions, all of which amounts to a double-cross and an ending that effectively resolves everything with a somewhat bittersweet ending. Bravo, Mr. Ewing! I truly hope Marvel lets him helm another RR solo mini!
And, if that does happen, allowed for another Ewing-helmed outing with RR, I hope that brings along artist Adam Gorham and colorist Michael Garland. Those two brought this fun li'l space heist to life ever so well! I was a big fan of Sara Pichelli's GOTG art for Rocket, but as good as she was, I feel these two were just as good, if not better! Definitely artists (and colorists) to keep an eye out for!
End of the day, you could do a whole lot worse that reading ROCKET: THE BLUE RIVE SCORE. *cough* CIVIL WAR II *cough* Bendis' ALL-NEW X-MEN run *cough cough*