I'm curious what book you've read/listened to recently that surprised you, and why/how. (Entirely up to you what "recently" means - it could be last week, last month, last year... whatever)
To start us off, I think I'll go with The Other by Annie Neugebauer. It's being published on Jun 9 but I got an eARC of this novella from Shortwave Publishing and I loved it.
The story is about married couple Elise and Logan, who are on a camping/hiking trip trying to reconnect when they meet a second couple on the trail. As they spend a little time together they realize that the other couple look very similar to themselves, and that similarity grows until they look like they are practically twins.
What was surprising was how crazy the premise was, and how well it worked. Neugebauer finds a way to sow confusion as Elise and Logan try to figure out who the other couple is and what they want ... the ending was also bizarre (in a good way 🤭)
For more on the book, I posted a spoiler-free review on my blog here
I remember almost buying the first book in this planned trilogy, THE EXTRA, and never did. The plot of this one, THE OTHER, sounds great as well...I really enjoy horror set in the woods (which both books utilize), and this off-kilter, something's-progressively-not-quite-right approach of hers sounds really appealing. I may have to get both of these in a week or so when THE OTHER hits the streets...sounds like they'd make great back-to-back reading.
I remember almost buying the first book in this planned trilogy, THE EXTRA, and never did. The plot of this one, THE OTHER, sounds great as well...I really enjoy horror set in the woods (which both books utilize), and this off-kilter, something's-progressively-not-quite-right approach of hers sounds really appealing. I may have to get both of these in a week or so when THE OTHER hits the streets...sounds like they'd make great back-to-back reading.
I've read them both ... they're standalone stories that share certain similarities... both were good but I think I enjoyed THE OTHER more.
FROM A BUICK 8 by Stephen King does not seem to get much respect when bent discussed. I thought s was a very good cosmic horror compelling read that worked on all levels. Well worth my reading time. An A-.
I'm usually more surprised by how BAD a book is, lol. (I read Frank Miller & John Romita Jr's SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE today, and was shocked by how terrible I found it to be.)
I try not to buy a book unless I am hoping to really enjoy it, so when one exceeds my expectations, it's usually a rare thing. The last book that I can think of that surprised me, off the top of my head, may have been Bernard Taylor's THIS IS MIDNIGHT. Every story blew me away, and I was truly saddened to find out that this collection contained, if I remember correctly, all of his short fiction. Highly recommended!
I'm usually more surprised by how BAD a book is, lol. (I read Frank Miller & John Romita Jr's SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE today, and was shocked by how terrible I found it to be.)
I try not to buy a book unless I am hoping to really enjoy it, so when one exceeds my expectations, it's usually a rare thing. The last book that I can think of that surprised me, off the top of my head, may have been Bernard Taylor's THIS IS MIDNIGHT. Every story blew me away, and I was truly saddened to find out that this collection contained, if I remember correctly, all of his short fiction. Highly recommended!
I'm usually more surprised by how BAD a book is, lol. (I read Frank Miller & John Romita Jr's SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE today, and was shocked by how terrible I found it to be.)
I generally don't read graphic novels - nothing wrong with them, just not a format I enjoy. So I haven't read SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE, but I'm curious what was so bad about it? Poor dialogue? Artwork that didn't fit the story?
FROM A BUICK 8 by Stephen King does not seem to get much respect when bent discussed. I thought s was a very good cosmic horror compelling read that worked on all levels. Well worth my reading time. An A-.
It's been a while since I read it, but I remember enjoying it. There's also a short story, MILE 81, in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams that has many similarities
I have the individual issues but never read them. My immediate assumption is that Frank Miller was on the road to losing his goddamn mind at this point of his career. And JRJR's artwork is super polarizing. I remember not caring for it when he was on Daredevil, but in later years I grew to appreciate it.
I'm usually more surprised by how BAD a book is, lol. (I read Frank Miller & John Romita Jr's SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE today, and was shocked by how terrible I found it to be.)
I generally don't read graphic novels - nothing wrong with them, just not a format I enjoy. So I haven't read SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE, but I'm curious what was so bad about it? Poor dialogue? Artwork that didn't fit the story?
I'm usually more surprised by how BAD a book is, lol. (I read Frank Miller & John Romita Jr's SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE today, and was shocked by how terrible I found it to be.)
I generally don't read graphic novels - nothing wrong with them, just not a format I enjoy. So I haven't read SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE, but I'm curious what was so bad about it? Poor dialogue? Artwork that didn't fit the story?
It just felt ill-conceived all around, poorly thought out. The collection is comprised of three chapters, each of which deals with a specific section of Superman's life.
Part One dealt with his childhood, from leaving Krypton to joining The Navy (!). A lot of this is spent dealing with bullies, which would be fine, if the bullies weren't plain old High School students that everyone in Smallville is terrified of. Teachers, Police, parents...WHY, exactly, is everyone so scared of them? Never really explained. 60+ pages of wheel-spinning and boringness.
Part Two finds Superman in The Navy (Something which is brand-new to the mythology, and an odd choice for someone trying to fly, no pun intended, under the radar.), where he discovers that mermaids are real, and the military knows all about them. So why not go to Atlantis, fall in love with a mermaid, and fight her father for her hand? (Yes, Poseidon is a widower, and wants to get with his own daughter. Weird, creepy, not necessary...)
In Part Three, we just forget about Atlantis altogether, and move on to Metropolis, and Lex Luthor, Batman, Wonder Woman, Lois Lane...This was the best part, not by much, of a terrible, terrible book that should have been strangled in the crib. Frank Miller used to be a favorite creator, but he's since jumped the shark big-time. I don't think I've enjoyed any of his comics for over two decades now, since the glory days of SIN CITY and 300.
Miller sort-of touches on his alcoholism and anger issues in his autobiography, but I just put a lot of his less-than-stellar work off to an old man being out of touch. Romita's art is a bad fit here, since he can't draw children to save his life, and so much of this involves babies, toddlers, preteens, etc. Just a huge letdown, all around.
This post was modified 3 hours ago 4 times by dannyboy121070