After the last of the Norse mythology books, I honestly thought Riordan was losing his touch. I don’t know that much about Norse mythology so I had been excited to use the series to learn more, but in the end, the series, and especially the last book, felt very rushed to me. However, I was already two books into The Trials of Apollo series, and since I am nothing if not a completionist, I didn’t let that disappointment deter me from reading this one. Overall, I actually […]
A Witch with a Badge
Black Magick is a really well written and beautifully drawn series by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott featuring a police detective named Rowan Black who, unbeknownst to her colleagues, is also a witch. In Volume I of what I can only hope will be a long running series, Rucka and Scott introduce the reader to Rowan, some of her fellow Portsmouth police officers, and another witch named Alex, who is also Rowan’s friend/lover. The story opens with a Wiccan ritual in the woods interrupted by […]
Is Rick Riordan Finally Wearing Out?
I’ve been having some doubts about the Trials of Apollo series. It doesn’t have a terribly interesting heroic character or group, it seems to rely too much on the popularity of previous series’ characters and events, and the plot’s been dragging for two books so far. I was ready to give up after this one. I’m still not sure, so maybe that’s in favor of The Burning Maze? Apollo, Meg, and Grover are still searching for oracles to free and evil emperors to defeat. They’ve […]
Games Begin and Games Continue, and All is Well.
You really can’t go wrong with Drew Hayes. While I haven’t read quite everything he’s ever written, I’ve read more than one of each of his novel series (I think). I’m working on getting caught up, but then there’s the problem or having to wait until the next thing is published. Villain’s Code, Super Powereds, and even the Fred series to some extent all deal with focusing on contemporary world hero ensembles. Split the Party though is a little different. It’s still a group of […]

