Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Naruto

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Naruto by Caleb Goellner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was absolutely nothing special but absolutely a lot of fun if you like both of these franchises.

My favourite thing was the ridiculous cross-named strikes, which of course I cannot remember but please trust me, they were fun and dumb.

Some gorgeous splash pages of turtles and ninjas.

A very thin plot, but that's not really what we came for, is it?

Just a fun little crossover event that sees them first battle, then team up. Neither side proves to be stronger than the other, so all fans can leave happy. And seeing Mikey and Naruto fight side by side? Hell yes. THIS is what we came for.

A fun story if you don't take it too seriously.

With thanks to NetGalley for approving digital ARC

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Review: Doctor Fate by J.M. DeMatteis

Doctor Fate by J.M. DeMatteis by J.M. DeMatteis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Mostly long and tedious, but some interesting moments and fun characters.

This was recommended by a friend who LOVED it, but he and I have very different opinions.

I think the main appeal of this one is that there are just not a lot of Dr Fate stories out there. This was a nice hefty run from DeMatteis, but it focuses on his own new version of Fate, rather than Kent Nelson. Kent's there, but he's taking the backseat as the cranky mentor here.

First and foremost, I had a problem with the new incarnation of Fate. This time around, Fate is two people, whose love allows them to bond and be stronger together. The relationship between the two was too weird for me, so I found their love more disturbing than powerful.

Then there's also the fact that they actually don't work well together. They're constantly bickering and mess things up because they can't agree on how to control Fate. Everything about their relationship feels forced and uncomfortable.

But!

There are some great supporting characters, by which I mean Petey, the demon-dog. Without him, my rating would be generous at one star. He is the main reason I was able to stick with it and get through the whole 700+ pages. Kent also was entertaining, as were some of the villains.

For the most part, I found the whole thing tiresome and odd. When non-Jesus showed up, I basically lost all respect.

This is a hefty slog that will really only appeal to those desperate for a solo Dr Fate tale. It takes a lot of work to get through, and while there are some entertaining moments almost none of them revolve around what Dr Fate is doing.

Ultimately, this was a disappointment that I wouldn't recommend unless you're specifically after a Dr Fate solo outing.

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Review: Sunrise on the Reaping

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, so that's why Haymitch is a raging alcoholic.

It's taken me ages to get around to this review - mostly because I've had conflicted feelings.

This was easily better than Ballad ... but not nearly as good as the original trilogy.

Still, I feel like my main issue with this book is that it's very much a story written AFTER the original trilogy. This prequel goes out of its way to set up the events of The Hunger Games rather than being its own unique story. That bothered me immensely.

I think we've all been curious about Haymitch's Games since reading the original, and this just felt like it didn't do the character justice. Instead, it's hyper-focused on the politics and setting up for the future. I wanted more of the kind of energy we got from Book 1 - just that raw competition; a creative, super messed up battle royale featuring a fresh cast of characters and new dangers.

Ignoring that disappointment, though, and taking this book exactly as it is? A really fun read.

We do still get the competition, the uneasy friendships, the misled villains ... a lot of the stuff we enjoyed about the original trilogy is back. Haymitch's motivation felt off to me, but he does still have a reason for his actions that makes sense in the light of the full story.

There's plenty of action and some interesting Mutts to spice things up. There are some great character moments, and obviously the stakes are nice and high.

It was another fun entry in the Hunger Games world, but the heavy political overtones did spoil it a bit for me. But, while it wasn't quite what I wanted, it was still an entertaining read. Hunger Games fans will still get plenty out of reading this one.

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Review: Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow this was hella depressing.

It took way too long for me to get around to reading this classic, and I'm so happy I can now be a tortured soul like everybody else.

This tells the story of wandering ranch hands George, his dim-witted friend, Lennie, and the bond between them.

They end up on a ranch with a bunch of colourful characters and the interactions between the group tell a lot of (mostly ugly) things about society at the time.

I found the writing easy enough to follow, despite a lot of older slang terms. The story was easy enough to get caught up in, despite being a setting that doesn't generally interest me.

Like all good stories, I wanted more. I wanted there to be more to tell. That said, I know this was the perfect length for the story.

The themes might make this a tough read for some, but it's well worth the time and effort - particularly as it's only a couple hundred pages.

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