"Nothing ever ends": Watchmen (Moore)

It's the Cold War, and America's on the verge of nuclear disaster. Not so different from history, except that there are superheroes as well. However, these superheroes have been ostracized from society and are no longer allowed to fight crime. The story begins with the murder of the cynically laughing superhero, the Comedian. Other former heroes are targeted, and vigilante Rorschach and the other surviving heroes rush to solve it. However, the matter is far different than they expected.

This graphic novel is absolutely incredible. The story-telling is gorgeous---each chapter fits nicely together and resonates with previous and future chapters. The characters--particularly the superheroes--and the questions they ask are so very poignant. I've been meaning to read this graphic novel for a long time, and I am so glad that I finally did.

An American Stieg Larsson Novel: Blink and Caution (Wynne-Jones)

Blink is a homeless boy on the streets. Caution is a girl living with a drug dealer and running from her own private guilt. However, when Blink finds a cell phone in a hotel room, he stumbles into a strange puzzle regarding a kidnapping where the facts don't quite add up. Soon, Cuation is pulled into the mix as well, and she and Blink work together to solve this mystery.

I was pretty pleased with Blink & Caution. Wynne-Jones alternates writing the book from Caution and Blink's point of view, and this choice helped pick up. I also greatly enjoyed the plot--it was a well-written thriller that reminded me of Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy in terms of secrets and puzzles. Definetely check it out if you're looking for something quick. I would not recommend it for younger teens, but eighth graders and above could handle it.

A Crew of Drunken Pilots: The Black Lung Captain (Wooding)

No, they're not airship pirates, but that hasn't stopped Darian Frey from daydreaming about it from time to time.* The crew of the Ketty Jay are back in The Black Lung Captain, the second installment in Chris Wooding's Tales of the Ketty Jay series. When Captain Grist approaches the crew with a job offer, Darian Frey thinks that this money-making scheme sounds pretty straightforward. Getting Crake, the crew's daemonist, to open a magical door in exchange for a split of the profits sounds easy, even though Crake has been quickly driving down the path of alcoholism. Needless to say, things are not as straightforward as they seem, and things go bad for Frey and his rag-tag crew. This time however, in addition to fighting for himself and his crew, Frey is rushing to make sure thousands don't pay for his mistake.

SFFWorld commented that The Black Lung Captain was better than the first, Retribution Falls. I agree--I got to know the characters better, and this fact made the book feel a lot more lively to me. The conflicts between the crew and with themselves also made for an interesting read, especially paired with the well-written action scenes. I also liked the fact that the stakes were higher than the last book and that the characters were forced to confront their own problems--many of which have been present since the first book--in order to deal with the greater problem. It was a thrilling and funny book, and I look forward to the third (out in October, I believe).

*If you have not listened to Abney Park's "Airship Pirate", I highly recomend it as it goes well with the book.