Seconds is a stand-alone graphic novel by the author of the Scott Pilgrim series. The story centers on Katie, about to turn 30, who ran the kitchen of a very successful restaurant, who has dreams of owning her own restaurant. So she forms a partnership with a man and buys a building that needs a lot of work. The construction is taking a long time, which makes her unhappy. The restaurant she ran is slowly phasing her out and although she no longer works there, […]
If Schroedinger opened Pandora’s box…
What happens when what you’ve always known yourself to be is locked away from you? What happens when a secret that’s been a secret for hundreds of years suddenly isn’t a secret anymore? (A word of warning, regarding secrets: Here there be spoilers for the first two books in the series. I’m sorry. I can’t discuss this one without discussing them, at least a little bit.) Ex-libriomancer Isaac Vaino doesn’t have an answer for the second thing at the beginning of Jim Hines’ Unbound, because he’s […]
Mind The Gap
In the third installment of Ben Aaronovitch’s series about magic, supernatural beings, and a special police squad in London, Aaronovitch does the Whedon/Buffy thing. There’s a “Monster of the month” plot for our hero, Peter Grant, involving a murdered American, unbreakable ceramics, a female FBI agent, and, as you might have guessed, the London Underground system. At the same time, Peter and his fellow officer and friend, Lesley, and his mentor, Inspector Nightingale, are trying to hunt down a rogue wizard known only as the […]
The Start of the Finish
Etiquette & Espionage, Gail Carriger’s first installment of her YA series set in the universe of the Parasol Protectorate, is an absolute delight. The events take place before Soulless, and can be thoroughly enjoyed without having read the other series. I read Soulless a few years ago, and am ashamed to admit that I don’t remember much, just the basics that werewolves and vampires are out in society, and that vampires are fabulous (which is not the main point of the book, but certain things […]