war

Monstress, Volume 6: The Vow by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda – Graphic Novel Review

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Monstress, Volume 6: The Vow by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda - Graphic Novel Cover

Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s graphic novel series is a mind-blowing creation that takes place in a fantasy world like no other. A world that’s unbelievably complex, brutally unforgiving, and heartbreakingly beautiful all at once. Monstress: The Vow, the sixth volume in the series, continues the saga full of power struggles, hidden supernatural beings, betrayals, and horrors—where Maika Halfwolf, the protagonist, not only faces countless enemies, but can’t even trust her friends—or her own family. The only one she might be able to count on is the ancient, bloodthirsty entity lurking inside her.

Monstress Takes the Graphic Novel to a Whole New Level

The creators of Monstress, the Lennon and McCartney of the graphic novel world—Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda—have basically swept every major sci-fi and fantasy award with their joint masterpiece. And if they haven’t yet, they definitely will. Deservedly so.

The war between humans and Arcanics is being manipulated by otherworldly forces. Supernatural beings walk the earth, sometimes in their true forms, other times hiding behind masks—or in someone else’s skin—fighting each other for power. In this chaotic, utterly opaque, and constantly shifting web of alliances, Maika Halfwolf and her few remaining friends are just trying to stay alive.

All of this is delivered in panels that look like paintings.

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The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy – Book Review

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The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy – Book Cover

During Emperor Trajan’s reign, Rome fought multiple wars against the Dacians, who inhabited what is now Romania. The tribes united under Decebalus posed a constant threat to the empire—just as the Romans did to them. Flavius Ferox, centurion and protagonist of Adrian Goldsworthy’s City of Victory trilogy, takes command of the frontier fort of Piroboridava. If the Dacian armies, preparing for war, decide to march, this fort will be the last line of defense before the provinces.

Through the Eyes of a Historian

Following his Vindolanda novels, Adrian Goldsworthy continues the adventures of his British-born Roman officer, who now finds himself on the empire’s opposite frontier, accompanied by his warrior-queen wife, Claudia Enica. Despite being far from the City and focusing on the relatively low-ranking officers of a minor fort, Goldsworthy still manages to paint a complex picture of how the Roman Empire operated—particularly from a military perspective.

As Flavius Ferox strengthens the fort’s defenses against the looming war, all while dealing with the resentment of the tribal warriors under his command and the rightful anger of his warrior-spirited wife—historian Goldsworthy, too, demonstrates his expertise.

However, if you’ve already prepped for Roman history by devouring classics—say, Colleen McCullough’s brilliant Masters of Rome series—and consider yourself something of an expert, you might still find the sheer volume of Latin terminology overwhelming, from military ranks to soldier slang.

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Dune: Part Two (2024) – Film Review

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Dune: Part Two (2024) – Film poster

Denis Villeneuve took on a monumental challenge in 2023: adapting a sci-fi classic that had defeated every filmmaker before him. Yet, against all odds, Villeneuve pulled it off surprisingly well. He brought Frank Herbert’s colossal saga to the big screen with minimal alterations—at least in terms of its essence—faithfully adapting the first book (or, to be precise, roughly its first half). But when it comes to Dune: Part Two, things aren’t quite as straightforward.

Dune: Part Two is a GOOD movie, if…

…you haven’t read the book.

If that’s the case, you’re in for a spectacular, at times overwhelming revenge story. After being exiled and losing his father due to the schemes of the Emperor and the villainous Baron Harkonnen, Prince Paul Atreides finds himself in the best possible place to exact his revenge: the most hellish place in the universe, the desert planet Arrakis—also known as Dune.

This barren wasteland is home to the Empire’s most valuable resource: the spice, a substance that extends life and expands human consciousness. The planet’s oppressed native tribes, the Fremen, have long been impatiently awaiting their prophesied messiah. Meanwhile, the mysterious Bene Gesserit order, which has spent millennia manipulating noble bloodlines in hopes of bringing forth the human supercomputer known as the Kwisatz Haderach, has already laid the groundwork centuries in advance.

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The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – Book Review

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Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – Book Cover

Demons Never Give You a Moment of Peace

It’s as if Peter V. Brett keeps getting better as a writer with each successive book in the Demon Cycle series. You definitely get that feeling with The Daylight War. And it’s not just because the stakes dramatically increase in this installment, which is true, but rather because Brett uses his characters much more effectively.

At first, the demons that seep to the surface from the depths of the earth during the night seem quite elusive and faceless. However, as the series progresses, you get to know these hellish creatures better and better.

What starts as a seemingly conventional world in The Warded Man, becomes increasingly complex here. And the demons lurking below ground realize that their dinner is becoming tougher and tougher.

In the Demon Cycle, everything and everyone comes in pairs: day and night, humans and demons, the northern duchies of Thesa and Krasia located in the south, the Creator and Everam, Ahmann Jardir and Arlen Bales. This duality is even more pronounced in Krasia, where men and women are separated just as distinctly as the full-fledged Sharum and the lower, despised Khaffit caste.

However, The Daylight War is about unification. Humanity must unite under the banner of the Deliverer if they are to defeat their common enemy. The problem is that there are two Deliverers. And each one is convinced that he is the true one. And with good reason…

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Legion versus Phalanx by Myke Cole – Book Review

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Legion versus Phalanx by Myke Cole - Book Cover

The one with the longer stick wins, right?

“The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World.” Yeah, but which one triumphs? The phalanx or the legion? As the reviews on this blog are typically spoiler-free, don’t expect me to give that away. Those astute readers who can dredge up from the depths of their minds the not-so-well-known fact about whether the Romans or the Greek-Macedonian tandem held sway over the Mediterranean coastline for hundreds of years, might have some preliminary guesses. The book Legion versus Phalanx is mainly for those who have no idea.

Myke Cole is an amateur military historian but also an enthusiastic and practicing soldier. Through six ancient battles, he attempts to provide a clear answer to this burning question, using a wealth of source material; alongside the well-known ancient historians, he also quotes authors you’ve probably never heard of in your life.

Moreover, Myke Cole skillfully dramatizes the events, making the battle descriptions particularly thrilling. (Though, in the case of the unfortunate water-carrying mule at the Battle of Pydna, he may have gone a bit overboard.)

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Saga: Volume Three by Brian K. Vaughan – Fiona Staples – Comic Book Review

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Saga: Volume Three by Brian K. Vaughan - Fiona Staples - Comic Book Cover

The Pace of Saga Slows Down

Our favorite, scandalous space opera, Saga, continues its journey. However, by the third installment, the pace seems to have slowed down a bit. Of course, the never-ending war taking place in a galaxy populated with surreal and bizarre creatures and locations provides a solid foundation that can handle some deceleration.

Still, while most of the events previously felt life-changing for our heroes, now there are episodes that seem more like filler, such as the bickering between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or various characters’ hallucinations. The only positive aspect of these is the appearance of the series’ (so far) best character, The Stalk, whom the authors clearly can’t let go of. You might rightfully ask, why the hell did those damn fools kill her off in the first place?

The Impact is Gone, but It’s Still Highly Entertaining

In the third part of Saga, the introduction of new characters feels the most unnecessary. The two pesky tabloid journalists won’t uncover anything you haven’t known for a long time. Except perhaps that Alana is an even bigger bitch than you thought.

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Robin Hood (2010) – Film Review

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Robin Hood (2010) movie poster

Robin Hood (2010) – Film Review

Ridley Scott’s 2010 creation is, without a doubt, the most baffling Robin Hood movie ever made (yes, including Men in Tights), which, after a reasonably well-executed opening battle scene, quickly devolves into a weird, multi-threaded mess:

Warning: major spoilers ahead! But honestly—don’t worry about it.

—Robin Hood Steals, Cheats – and Plants Wheat

Robin Hood, the SIMPLE ARCHER, under the alias of Sir Loxley, ends up delivering King Richard the Lionheart’s crown to the Queen Mother (but only by accident, because he and his bros GOT HAMMERED while sailing and forget to make a run for it).

Then Robin, the SIMPLE ARCHER, using the Sir Loxley alias, infiltrates the Loxley family, and at this point the story turns into The Taming of the Shrew, with the understandably reluctant Lady Marion (who, by the way, spends her free time ploughing, sowing, and reaping alongside peasants, and feels an irresistible urge to personally drag the common folk’s goats out of the muck.).

Robin, the SIMPLE ARCHER, secretly sows the grain he EXTORTED from Friar Tuck — in the DEAD OF NIGHT.

The Martial Arts Masters of Sherwood Forest

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Blood Will Follow by Snorri Kristjansson – Book Review

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Blood Will Follow by Snorri Kristjansson - Book Cover

In the Name of Christ – with an Axe

King Olav Tryggvason has decided to unite all of Norway in the holy name of Christ. And anyone unwilling to share his faith is going to get a good solid whack on the head with an axe. The various plot threads all come together beneath the walls of the city of Stenvik, where a bunch of old-school Vikings dissenters — stubbornly clinging to their traditional, low-maintenance religion — are planning to whack King Olav on the head right back, also with an axe. So yeah—forget the word of Christ. Blood Will follow.

The first book in Snorri Kristjansson’s trilogy, Swords of Good Men, was a pretty decent historical novel — though you might’ve lost your enthusiasm a bit with the overload of hard-to-tell-apart characters, the constant switching of points of view, and the somewhat clumsy start to the plot. Luckily, during the siege, the story picked up steam. Though the inclusion of fantasy-style blood magic in an otherwise historically grounded novel might have caused a few readers to raise an eyebrow.

Everything Clashes With Everything Else

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Saga: Volume One by Brian K. Vaughan · Fiona Staples – Comic Book Review

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Saga: Volume One by Brian K. Vaughan · Fiona Staples - comic book cover

Everything is shit

“Am I shitting? It feels like I’m shitting!”

With these immortal words, the Saga comic series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples kicks off—in the middle of a childbirth scene, no less. If your immediate reaction is to think, “Maybe this is trying to shock me,” well, you wouldn’t be wrong… But hey, it’s the 21st century, so who doesn’t give a FUCK? who doesn’t give a GOOD GODDAMN?

That said, I wouldn’t exactly recommend the Saga comic to prudes in good conscience, as this is far from the ONLY instance like this.

For example, you’ll encounter dangling male genitalia more than once, swinging in all its glory. Then, you’ll visit a brothel planet and stumble straight into a full-blown orgy. Later, you’ll meet a character with more legs than arms and more eyes than ears. And at this point, you might start doubting yourself: could it be, purely by chance, that you’re just a tad bit twisted for thinking this bizarre creature is sexy as hell…?

But oh yes, it’s entirely possible!

(Oh, and she spends every one of her scenes rocking a monokini. So, if you didn’t already know what arachnophilia is, you’re about to find out.)

And yet, all of this is still not the point.

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