Tag: books

Book review: Preacher, Volume 6: War in the Sun

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Preacher, Volume 6: War in the Sun Preacher, Volume 6: War in the Sun by Garth Ennis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gathered in this volume is the special issue One Man’s War, and issues 34-40 of the main run of Preacher. It’s a collection that’s not quite as dazzling as some of the previous installments, but it does feature a shitload more firepower than we’ve seen previously – and the first really ruinous split in the crew.

(Oh, there’s also a small imaginary world where everyone has a face like an arse, but that’s more a little palate-cleanser for the next gathering of issues. Suffice it to say that it’s the first time Arseface has been without subtitles for a long stretch.) Continue reading “Book review: Preacher, Volume 6: War in the Sun” →

Book review: Preacher, Volume 5: Dixie Fried

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Preacher, Volume 5: Dixie FriedPreacher, Volume 5: Dixie Fried by Garth Ennis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This Preacher trade is another favourite. It collects Blood and Whiskey, a Cassidy special, and issues 27-33 of the regular run. Together, they deepen the portrait we have of the series’ whiskey-swilling vampire, proving that there’s a little more to him than toothy comic relief. Continue reading “Book review: Preacher, Volume 5: Dixie Fried” →

Book review: Preacher, Volume 4: Ancient History

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Preacher, Volume 4: Ancient History Preacher, Volume 4: Ancient History by Garth Ennis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another day, another collection of Preacher issues. However, this one’s something of an oddity. It gathers together three one-shot specials: Saint of Killers, The Story of You-Know-You and Good Old Boys. There’s a lengthy introduction by series author, Garth Ennis, in which his love of cinema is apparent – which is convenient, as the volume contains an excellent riff on his favourite genre, the Western, as well as a not-so-great version of the ’80s action film. Continue reading “Book review: Preacher, Volume 4: Ancient History” →

Book review: Preacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans

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Preacher, Volume 3: Proud AmericansPreacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans by Garth Ennis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Preacher re-read rolls on. Proud Americans gathers issues 18 to 26 of the series and while it contains just as much blow-shit-up-while-making-knob-jokes stuff as the previous trades, it’s also one which deepens character and explores history, too. Spoilers ahead, most likely.

We begin as Jesse is en route to Paris, where he encounters Space, a Vietnam vet who has stories to share of John Custer. The previous collection’s story of Angelville told of the meeting of Jesse’s mother and father, but this one offers some insight into what sort of a man he was – traits which have rubbed off onto the son, in an exchange begun by an anti-Commie lighter. Continue reading “Book review: Preacher, Volume 3: Proud Americans” →

Book review: Preacher, Volume 2: Until the End of the World

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Preacher, Volume 2: Until the End of the WorldPreacher, Volume 2: Until the End of the World by Garth Ennis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Until the End of the World, the second trade paperback in the Preacher series, gathers together issues 8-17 of the comic about the Texas padre with the Word of God in his skull, a failed-assassin girlfriend and an Irish vampire best mate. It’s also the trade wherein shit gets weird.

Well, weirder. Continue reading “Book review: Preacher, Volume 2: Until the End of the World” →

Book review: The Suburbs Of Hell

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The Suburbs Of HellThe Suburbs Of Hell by Randolph Stow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A title taken from Webster’s The White Devil? Oh, Randolph Stow, you shouldn’t have. It’s as if you want me to think this is a gory little chapbook of a thing.

Well, it is, really. This is a novel about murder. But it’s not the usual type: there’s no neat little bow to wrap around everything. Here, it’s a bit different. It’s a meditation on the endpoint of murder – death – and a refraction of four years of Western Australia killings, written from half a world away. Continue reading “Book review: The Suburbs Of Hell” →

Book review: My Life As A Fake

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My Life As A FakeMy Life As A Fake by Peter Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Take a 1940s literary hoax, Frankenstein, Rilke, Ezra Pound, literary journal editorship and the memsahib culture of Malaysia in the middle of last century and whip it all up with ulcerated legs and modish, society-shocking femmes fatales and you’ve pretty much got this entry in Carey’s oeuvre. My Life as a Fake is shorter than a lot of his other work – I think it’s probably on par with something like The Tax Inspector for length – but it packs a pretty hefty punch. Continue reading “Book review: My Life As A Fake” →

Book review: Strange Weather in Tokyo

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Strange Weather in Tokyo Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hiromi Kawakami has, in Strange Weather in Tokyo, written a fairly plot-free novel that charts the deepening friendship between Tsukiko, a late-30s woman, and Sensei, her teacher from years ago. They meet in a local bar – food and drink is key to the novel, bonding agents made of sake and mushrooms – and what follows is the story of pendulums going in and out of sync. Continue reading “Book review: Strange Weather in Tokyo” →

Book review: Francis Bacon in Your Blood

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Francis Bacon in Your BloodFrancis Bacon in Your Blood by Michael Peppiatt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you picked up Michael Peppiatt’s book looking for a biography of Bacon, you’re going to be disappointed. Yes, there are plenty of facts here. But no, Bacon-biog isn’t the point. This is a book about Peppiatt, himself. Actually, it’s more of a Venn diagram about how the writer’s life intersects with Bacon, though I must admit I am picturing such a diagram being loosely sketched on canvas by Francis himself, using the bin lid he kept for such circumference-related purposes.

To be fair, this book isn’t sold as an artist biography. Peppiatt has already written one of those, Continue reading “Book review: Francis Bacon in Your Blood” →

Book review: Drive

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DriveDrive by James Sallis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

He just drives. The guy. Here. Driver. Just drives. We know this because it’s his name – he has no other. Having one name is badass, having no name (and a gritty backstory) is superbadass and generally an indicator that you’re at the intersection of pulp and noir.

James Sallis’s slight novel is wonderful. It’s economical, but sprinkled with ten-buck words. It’s a world away from the sci-fi that began his career, and though it’s a modern work, seems to be written under the influence of the best sort of taut technique: Thompson and Cain, say. Interlocking jobs (criminal or otherwise) and lives, none of them pristine, tell a largely criminal narrative, though without any sort of opprobrium. If anything, the action taking place in the Hollywood sun say just that This Is How It Is, and nothing more. It’s nihilism with better catering. Continue reading “Book review: Drive” →