Pod wpływem impulsu postanowiłem odświeżyć sobie jakąś pozycję, którą czytałem bardzo dawno temu. Myślałem o Wiedźminie ale wtedy mój wzrok padł na najniższą półkę, gdzie trzymam komiksy. A tam stoi sobie kompletny Sandman. Zacząłem go zbierać na studiach  i zajęło mi to około dwóch lat. W tedy na studiach jeszcze będąc przeczytałem wciągając zeszyt za zeszytem. Czy teraz będzie smakował tak samo?

 

Tytułowy Sandman, to Władca Snów, jeden z siedmiu Nieskończonych, którzy są starsi niż bogowie. W pierwszej połowie XX wieku zostaje on przyzwany i uwięziony przez potężnego czarnoksiężnika i dopiero po 60 latach udaje mu się uciec. Czas spędzony w zamknięciu poczynił spustoszenie zarówno w jego Królestwie jak i u samego Snu. Zaczyna on mozolnie odzyskiwać swoje atrybuty władzy odwiedzając między innymi Piekło. 

 

Krótki powyższy opis dotyczy pierwszego zeszytu. Każdy kolejny sprawia, że głębiej zanurzamy się w świecie wykreowanym przez Gaimana. Chociaż określenie "wykreowany" nie jest tu odpowiednie. To nie jest inny świat albo obca planeta. Akcja dzieje się tuż obok naszej rzeczywistości. Tak jak w "Nigdziebądź" wystarczy skręcić za róg i dostajemy się w dziwne miejsce. 10 tomów Sandmana ma różną zawartość. Niektóre są zbiorem pozornie niezwiązanych ze sobą historii, inne natomiast to jedna długa opowieść jak np. "Dom Lalki" albo cudowne "Panie Łaskawe". Ale z czasem okazuje się, że nawet te pojedyncze historyjki mają swoje miejsce i ważną funkcję.

 

Komiks był dla mnie zawsze taką rozrywką dla dzieci. Superbohaterowie, kolorowe obrazki i fikuśne stroje. Sam wolałem książkę. Ale z czasem uznałem, że przydało by się zapoznać z jakąś serią aby z czystym sercem móc pogardzać tym medium. Wybór padł na Sandmana. Po lekturze byłem oczarowany. Teraz po blisko 10 latach nadal uważam, ze jest to cudowna seria, która słusznie zgarnęła całe mnóstwo nagród literackich. Takie komiksy to ja mogę czytać cały czas.

We loved – absolutely LOVED – Jericho and went into this one with high hopes. But though the writing is strong and all the characters are still there, we were more than a little disappointed. What we expected was a new romance set in the town with the characters from the first book being present in supporting roles. What we got instead was just life going on with the same characters.

https://www.bestlesficreviews.com/2019/05/aftermath-jericho-2-by-ann-mcman.html

4.5 stars

Warm interactions. Adorable supporting characters. Totally loveable MCs. Fluid writing. Painstaking detailing. Slow burn. Excellent dialogue. Crackling chemistry. What’s there not to love!

Read the full review @https://www.bestlesficreviews.com/2019/01/jericho-by-ann-mcman.html

The beginning starts by introducing Barb, a metal sculpturalist contracted for a multi-layered show featuring feminist-centric essays and accompanying artwork. To that end, she brings together a cadre of characters to meet for a writing workshop at her cousin’s Vermont resort. There is a plethora of good humor from the start and excellent characterizations throughout. The story is primarily light-hearted interspersed with poignant essays written by these quirky women. Some essays are heart-wrenching, others are lighter, but all can be taken as a master class of how to cut to the heart of deep issues in a minimum number of characters. This was even more interesting for the reader because you never find out who wrote which essay until the end glossary. I want to read it again now that I’m armed with the knowledge of their deepest secrets, which I believe will make their reactions to circumstances even more enthralling.

The group of authors meeting together, some finding love, others finding opportunity, and still others are on the search to discover themselves. All are believably flawed and interesting for different reasons. Although this is in every way an ensemble piece, some women get more of a spotlight than others. Which was fine, as to give everyone the same screen time would have greatly inflated what is a surprisingly cohesive account.

My only real complaint was the overuse of character names. This was primarily noticeable with the frequent mention of one character in particular: V. Jay Jay. I get the joke, her name is humorous, though only really after a few mentions. After that I started to cringe every time she came onto a scene, which is unfortunate, as she was one of my favorite characters. Once Darien began calling her “Vee” I was hopeful it would switch to that, as everyone else was going by their first names/nicknames, but that never happened. I think I counted at one point 5-6 V. Jay Jay mentions in a single page, which was just way too much (and not just with her name, but all the characters I came to realize received the same treatment). I do understand why one would think repetitive mentions are necessary, as there are a lot of individuals to keep track of. However it all just became excessive. Aside from that, this was a very original story that was able to evoke an incredible depth of emotions in me, which is uncommon in a story with such a quirky cast. It doesn’t hurt that it features some good-natured ribbing at the lesfic genre as well. Do all the subplots get tied up perfectly? Mostly. Were there characters I didn’t feel like I got to spend enough time with? Certainly. But I highly recommend this one all the same. It was unexpectedly complex, and an absolute pleasure to read.

Loved it! Maybe a bit too long to my taste (lots of denial!), but I like that for once we get to see their budding (and oh so serious already) couple a little longer before the credits. My only complaints would be that Syd uses far too many ableist slurs ("you're nuts", thrown about 30 times— it's insensitive and it gets really old) and that everyone's far too perfect. Smart, gorgeous, rich, perfect women living perfect lives, with (lots of) great wine, great cooking and great classical music tastes. Oh, the jealousy.

Also this book could use the B word sometimes. I know about compulsory heterosexuality but it doesn't always explain why "I'm gay" is the go-to explanation of someone falling for a woman after four (even shitty) years of marriage with a dude.