News & Blog

Rat Queens, Vol. 4: High Fantasies by Kurtis J. Wiebe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Rat Queens are off on a new adventure, trying to make money by taking jobs from the local “quest board.” Some time has passed since the end of volume 3, and therein lies the main problem I had with this volume. The cliffhanger ending of volume 3, which saw Hannah imprisoned in an interdimensional jail and confronted with a literal demon from her past while the rest of the Rat Queens went their separate ways, remains unresolved. When volume 4 picks up, everyone is back together and all is apparently forgiven, leaving the reader with no idea what happened. Even Hannah’s father, Gerard, is out of prison now and living with them (which, incidentally, leads to one of the funniest sequences in the book). I found myself both confused and frustrated by this time jump. The characters, the D&D-on-crack world, and the snarky, raunchy dialogue remain as enjoyable and engrossing as ever, but my frustration lingered. Another issue I had was that Owen Gieni’s art just didn’t do it for me. His style is way too cartoonish for my taste, and I barely recognized some of the characters. I’m still enjoying the series, but I’m starting to worry that it’s all falling apart.

View all my reviews

Rat Queens, Vol. 3: Demons by Kurtis J. Wiebe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The exploits of your favorite fantasy adventuring team continue in this volume, in which Hannah goes back to her alma mater, the succinctly named Mage University, to break her father out of prison. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse, culminating in long-buried secrets coming to light and a surprisingly emotional confrontation among the Rat Queens. Will anything be the same after this? Kurtis J. Wiebe’s writing is as sharp and raunchy as ever. The only drawback for me is Tess Fowler’s art, which I don’t like as much as the series’ original artist Roc Upchurch’s. I found it too cartoonish for my taste, but it wasn’t enough of a distraction to change my rating to anything less than five stars.

View all my reviews

Rat Queens, Vol. 2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N’rygoth by Kurtis J. Wiebe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read the first volume of RAT QUEENS nearly a year ago, so I was delighted to finally return to these amazing, hilarious characters and their vividly-drawn world! In this volume, Sawyer has been kidnapped by a vengeful wizard and it’s up to the Rat Queens to rescue him, although it’s hard to know which will complicate things more: the mind-warping demons the wizard has summoned to destroy Palisade, or Hannah’s knotty feelings about her on-again-off-again relationship with Sawyer. As always, the diminutive Betty steals all her scenes, and somehow Violet is even more beautiful with a beard. With great characters, humorous, raunchy dialogue, and dynamic art by Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic, RAT QUEENS does not disappoint!

View all my reviews

The Isle by John C. Foster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

John C. Foster has written an exceptional gothic mystery, heightened by an atmosphere of ancient New England fishing towns, Puritan folklore, storm-tossed seas, and the secrets that lay buried beneath it all. It’s the attention to detail that brings out THE ISLE’s astounding authenticity, from the eerie lobstermen — childhood rattles made of crucified lobster shells with a baby tooth inside — to the insular community traditions so confusing to outsiders, to modern-day characters still bearing names held over from Puritan days, such as Burden Ipswich, Increase Mather, Hatevil Nutter, and so many others. I won’t give away THE ISLE’s secrets — nor the Isle’s secrets — but the gruesome, compelling mystery at the heart of the novel is matched only by its horrific resolution. THE ISLE is Foster’s best work yet, and I hope it marks the start of an exciting new direction in his writing: New England gothic!

View all my reviews