This was one of the more fun graphic novels that I’ve read recently. The introduction by Kurt Busiek really sets the stage. This book was a labor of love, dribbled out as a series of self-published [well, photocopied] comics over years and years. Finally Eldred got a deal with Tor books and the set of comics became an excellent book. When I start explaining the plot and characters it really doesn’t do the story justice “Okay so it’s in the future and 60% of the Earth’s population has been killed and so these aliens come and give sentience to gorillas after the dolphins turn them down...” It’s mostly a human story about living on a spaceport and trying to make time for having a job and a personal life and oh there’s a team of female spaceship pilots and the guy’s boss is a gorilla. The illustration, storylines and characters are top notch. I am only sorry I can not read this graphic novel for the first time again, a lament the introduction’s writer also reported.

Read this book for a book club. It was okay but not my thing.

This book was wonderfully written but totally achingly sad. Everyone is either a super messed up person with some chronic mental illness, or the victim of one. That said, I loved the writing enough to power through the stories, but I might think twice about reading something Haslett wrote again only because there is only so much pain I can take in for pleasure reading.

Usually I read non-fiction. When I’m not reading non-fiction I’m usually reading some sort of quick airplane reading genre fiction, thrillers or mysteries. I used to read a lot more deep sorts of fiction. With complicated sentences and books that made you think after you put them down. Where you wondered about the characters. And got sad when the book was over. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book like that, but this was the one. I got totally immersed in this story of near-future Tokyo and the vaguely but just barely fantastical situation our protagonist finds himself in. It’s a story that feels like it’s imbued with new technology and the internet, but there’s no real tech or internet in it, it just feels like it has it. It’s also a story that has two converging storylines that I didn’t totally hate, which is a bit of a novelty. Delicious book.

Got this at a library booksale because the binding was a little cracked. Good book, up to Meltzer’s usual thriller level with some Capitol Hill [and mining] trivia tossed in for good measure.

Was a little worried when I picked this up that it was going to be the totally lackluster sequel to the book I really enjoyed, Daemon. There is a part in the middle where it just seems like it’s going to be motorcycle war forever but that part fades away and this book has a lot of the same thought-provoking social-engagement stuff as the first one. I liked it and it’s nice to read techie fiction written by people who really understand tech.

Enjoyed this. Love these guys. Everyone should buy a copy of this book, two maybe.