Ryan

We should start by getting something out of the way: If you're looking for the story of an anthropomorphic predatory bird that runs away from home to join the circus, you might be a little disappointed. There are no actual owls in this book.

If, on the other hand, you're in the market for a fun, fast-paced supernatural adventure story that's reminiscent equally of Indiana Jones-style adventure stories and Whedonesque banter and self-aware humour, then you're in luck, and Owl and the Japanese Circus is the type of novel you might want to check out.

Owl..., the debut novel from BC author Kristi Charish, is the story of the eponymous Owl, an antiquities thief who tries to live her life by one simple rule: don't get caught up with the supernatural. This is, of course, a perfectly sensible rule, and like many perfectly sensible rules in life, it gets completely ignored as she gets mixed up with vampires, dragons, and other supernatural creatures in a globe-trotting, temple-robbing adventure. Owl is a rough-around-the-edges protagonist with an interesting backstory and a quick wit, and her adventures are cinematic in pace and scope, while still containing enough depth and complexity that the reader isn't left wanting.

This is the first book in a series, and in it Charish establishes an interesting character and status quo for the rest of the series while also telling a story that stands well on its own. Without venturing into spoiler territory, this works somewhat as an origin story for Owl, both in terms of the backstory that's provided for her and the path that she's set on in terms of future adventures that she will no doubt be having. For fans of urban fantasy, pulpy classic adventure heroes, and compelling, sharp-tongued protagonists, Owl and the Japanese Circus is a title that's definitely worth picking up.

(Note: this review originally published on http://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com)

This was a really enjoyable read. The public image/stereotype of Buddhists is usually that they've somehow transcended conflict, and live completely serene lives. Hamilton provides a good counterpoint to that stereotype, and shows that Buddhists are just as likely as any other people to experience conflict in their personal and professional lives. What's different for them, and what she makes a good case for, is the tools Buddhism makes available for dealing with those conflicts. It definitely gave me a lot to think about in terms of how I experience and process conflict in my life.

This was an absolutely perfect sendoff to the series. The stakes get raised even higher than they had in previous books, all the loose plotlines get tied up, and Frey and his crew get to be Big Damn Heroes one last time. I was sold on this series when it was originally described to me (as “Steampunk Firefly with airships”), but it managed to grow beyond any simple comparison or elevator pitch into a wonderful tale, and a wonderful crew of characters.

I picked this up because I was really excited to read a science fiction novel about linguistics, which is a topic that I think is fascinating and which is fairly underserved in the genre. This wasn't exactly that - it was more a look at the process of colonization, the impact that it has on the cultures of both the colonized and the colonizers, and the way that the colonizers exist in this in-between status where they gain cultural privilege over those that they colonize, while being relatively unprivileged and othered by their home culture. It gave me a lot to think about those topics, while still being entertaining as a story.

Funny, exciting, psychologically and emotionally complex - throughout The Untold Tale, JM Frey takes readers on a fantastic journey that covers many familiar literary tropes while encouraging them to rethink how they feel toward beloved genre classics.

(More discussion of this book at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/12/08/the-untold-tale/)

Throughout Led Astray, Armstrong takes familiar tales of the supernatural and tells them in fresh, interesting ways that still pay homage to what made those things such powerful storytelling elements in the first place. It's a great read for both entrenched fans of her work, as well as those unfamiliar with her that might be looking for a good entryway into her storytelling style.

For a more detailed review, visit https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/led-astray-by-kelley-armstrong/

This was interesting. It was interesting to see the third precept (“refrain from sexual misconduct”) interpreted in a way that is both sex-positive and acknowledges the actual way in which sex and sexuality are understood in the modern world.

The main drawback is that I don't know if there's really a full book's worth of material here. Warner has a gregarious, irreverent style that's always fun to read, but at times it gets repetitive as he relates everything back to that central interpretation of the third precept.

Pretty average, in the way that a lot of Dick's early work tends to be. If you're a fan, it's worth reading to see how far he came by the end of his career, but otherwise it's just a fairly generic mid-century sci-fi story.

Torin Kerr, almost single-handedly, saved the entire Confederation from intergalactic war. An Ancient Peace asks the interesting question of how you move forward from that (both for the characters, and for the series in a metatextual sense).

For readers new to this series (it's labelled as part one of the Peacemaker series, but is really a continuation of the five part Confederation series by the same author), An Ancient Peace might be the most fun you'll have with a book this year. For entrenched fans of the series, it's more of what you already loved, with just enough of a new direction to keep things interesting.

For more thoughts on this book, visit https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/10/12/an-ancient-peace-by-tanya-huff/

Classic Gibson. Immersive, concept-driven science fiction that looks at today's technology and pushes it just a little bit into the future. Well, that plus time travel, but not the usual type of time travel. Add on top of that some great, interesting characters, and you're left with a great read. It starts fairly slow, but if you stick with it, you'll end up loving it.

More thoughts on this book at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/the-peripheral-by-william-gibson/

A Turn of Light, which this is a sequel to, was fascinating for how it inverted a lot of classical fantasy tropes. This book inverts the inversion, somewhat, but in a way that maintains a compelling and interesting story. I enjoyed the first book enough that the thought of sequels made me nervous, but Czernada continues to craft a story and universe that is just fascinating.

More thoughts about this book at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/09/28/a-play-of-shadow/

In a lot of ways, Echopraxia feels like a very classic sci-fi novel, favouring intellectualism and thought experiments over character and plot. While this style will no doubt have its fans, overall it leaves it as an unsatisfying reading experience. Watts remains an incredibly talented writer but this was far from his best work.

More thoughts at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/09/20/echopraxia-by-peter-watts/

It's the end of the world as we know it. Only we don't know it. The Gales, a Calgary-based coven, do know that the end is nigh, and they might do something about it if Charlie, a wild and young member of the family, can convince them that that's be something worth doing.

Reading this book was an experience of clear, unadulterated joy. The plot was filled with dynamic, powerful characters who played off each other in interesting ways. The “main” storyline - of a giant asteroid hurtling toward Earth - grounded the conflicts the characters had with each other in a way that heightened the stakes for all involved. At times it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who in the family, and what their pecking order was, but if you've ever spent time in a large family, that feeling will be absolutely familiar.

Huff's writing throughout the story is impeccable, as well - the Gales' conversations and full of banter and quips, and her liberal use of pop culture references give the conversations a sense of immediate familiarity and intimacy. It never feels forced - given how Charlie's magic works, if anything it feels necessary - and it no doubt will make the story a favourite among genre fans.

A final point worth mentioning to readers is that this book is the last part of a trilogy featuring the women of the Gale family. It can still be enjoyed as a stand-alone story, but there are a lot of references to the events of the first two books, and a lot of the emotional groundwork for the interpersonal drama was established in those as well. Readers newer to Huff's series may want to dive into those stories (Enchantment Emporium and The Wild Ways) before tackling this one.

Overall, The Future Falls is a fun look at an interesting set of characters set against the end of the world. That might seem like an odd backdrop for a story that feels light-hearted throughout, but Huff tells it well enough that it never feels odd.

(For more reviews like this, visit http://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com)

This novel was an incredible work of literature. Walton creates characters that live and breathe beyond the page, and her prose is subtly beautiful and poetic. Patricia's lives are filled with easily recognizable moments of everyday life, which makes them all the more tragic as we experience them along with her. Throughout Patricia's lives, Walton creates emotional connections that will stay with the reader long after they've turned the last page.

More details at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/my-real-children/

By way of analogy: Lee and Kirby's collaboration in 60s Marvel was the British invasion, and their work on FF was The Beatles, then this period was the White Album. There's a 10-issue run in here that introduces the Inhumans, the Silver Surfer, Galactus, and the Black Panther. Any one of those would have been enough to make this a classic, and it's baffling they were able to create all of them within a single year.

Absolutely deserving of the “essential” tag. This one was kind of rough around the edges at times - Lee and Kirby were basically reinventing how superhero stories were told, so it's understandable that they'd take a while to make everything gel properly. It was fascinating to see how certain elements were there from the start, while others took a while to evolve properly.

I'll admit that, prior to starting to read through Lee and Kirby's work, I hadn't read much more than a half-dozen FF stories or so. What's amazing about that is how instantly familiar the melodrama and adventure felt - this is in a lot of ways the groundwork that every other (superhero) comics writing has been building off of since.

I've always enjoyed the Silver Surfer, and Mike Allred is always fabulous, but what moved this to the top of my list the negative reviews I was reading on comics sites, wherein people complained that it was similar to Doctor Who.

And in some ways it was similar to Doctor Who - there's an enigmatic, powerful alien who has a device that he uses to adventure across space with his young and cool human companion. Slott writes the relationship between the Surfer and Dawn (the aforementioned companion) in a style that's not dissimilar to Stephen Moffat, as well. But, I would argue, that the result feels as much like Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four as it does anything else. The characters are solid, their motivations are relatable, and their adventures are cosmic and supercool.

If you're a fan of wacky, campy sci-fi adventuring, this is something you should definitely be checking out.

This was the most fun I've had reading a superhero comic in years. Kamala is a great, well-rounded character, and Wilson does a phenomenal job of portraying her character, her life, and her heroics.

(Note: read as single issues on Marvel unlimited, rather than as a proper TPB)

At first glance, Irona 700 appears to be a fairly straightforward and familiar tale of a young hero born into obscurity, only to be given an opportunity for greatness due to an unlikely turn of events. However, the characterization of the protagonist and the interesting world-building manage to create a story that is interesting and thought-provoking.

(More at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/irona-700-by-david-duncan/

(Note: the publisher of this novel graciously provided an ARC of it for review purposes via Netgalley).

A Turn of Light is a wonderfully-written novel that takes the oft-told story of the hero's journey and retells it in an innovative and novel way. Author Julie Czernada manages to do so without turning the story into an academic exercise, keeping a strong emotional and thematic core to the story that makes it an enjoyable read as well.

(View the full review at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/a-turn-of-light-by-julie-czernada/)

I was torn by this because it was just okay. The new additions to the team are two of my favourite modern Marvel characters, but I think their presence makes the team less interesting by making it too human-focused. Beyond their introduction, there wasn't much else going on here - it felt like Bendis resetting the Guardians so he could tell the story he wanted (as opposed to just telling a good story)

Now this is more like it. I had sworn off the modern Guardians when it was first announced, because I worried it would erase the classic versions of the characters. This does a good job of integrating those old characters, the new ones, and other classic cosmic Marvel characters. It's a tall order to tell a story that would resonate with all those different groups of fans, and Abnett and Lanning do a great job of it. This really makes me want to track down all their other work with these characters.

I've been getting more interested in the Inhumans, due entirely to their taking on more of a role within the MCU. I've been a lifelong Marvel comics fan, so I was aware of them before, but they were off in a corner of the universe that I didn't really venture into all that often.

This reprint collection ended up being a mixture of the utterly fantastic (Ann Nocenti's graphic novel, Colleen Doran's Medusa/BB pinup, and the Marvel Handbook enteries) and the utterly mediocre (the “Untold Story” special). Fun, interesting characters with a unique dynamic that sets them aside from the rest of the Marvel universe.

A heartbreakingly beautiful look at intelligence, happiness, and the idea of “improving” people. Heartbreaking not only because of what happens to Charlie, but because (aside from his surgery) the world that he lived in was a commonplace one at a time in living memory.