The Confidence Man

My first finished novel for school is one written by Melville.  I never knew this book existed.  The editors of the book would like for the reader to believe that the devil is wandering about a Mississippi steamboat tempting people and gulling them.  At times funny and at times boring, this will go on the back of my shelf when this class is through.

#75 Final Crisis

I know recently I placed David Sims ahead of Grant Morrison as favorite comic book writers.  After reading Morrison's Final Crisis I am afraid that Morrison has now moved ahead of Sims.  This was an amazing graphic novel that I wished was twice as long.  This is the sort of novel you wonder how it got published, and now that it has you are thankful.  Morrison, who writes sci-fi in a postmodern way is difficult to grasp if you lack the knowledge he is working from.  I have never seen string theory applied to a plot like in Final Crisis.  In the DC Multiverse there are 52 universes each with their own versions of all the super heroes, though they are usually different either in appearance or attitude.  Anyways these 52 Earths are watched over by the Monitors, who represent a sort of Godlike presence.  On the other end is Darksied (Pictured) who represents a sort of Hell.  Now Darksied tries to take over Earth-0 (DC Universe) and he does this through the collapse of space and time and an "anti-life equation" that turns anyone that reads a mathematical equation to be automatically his slave.  THe Monitors on the other hand become celestial vampires that start feeding on the 52 worlds.  These two powers collide and results in the complete fracturing of the multiverse into one chaotic mess.  By the end, when all seems utterly hopeless Superman manages to have a glimpse of the "Miracle Machine" which will grant him one wish.  So after Darksied is killed and leaves a black void where Hell was, Superman wishes the best for everyone, resulting in the disappearance of the monitors.  So in one grand sweeping Epic Morrison has killed the afterlife using String Theory.  There is much much more, but elaboration breeds more elaboration.  The only thing about this book I would want more of is time for each superhero to breathe and develop in there own roles.  I felt sometimes the action was disconnected.  I wonder if I was missing some stories that were published elsewhere.  The main themes are here, I just wanted more.  I will have to read this again when time allows, along with my other favorite Morrison book, The Filth.

Life of Milton

So this is my first entry for school reading and it is Samuel Johnson's Life of Milton.  I feel a sort of kinship to Milton's political views and enjoy his staunch Parliamentarian attitudes which is why I had difficulty with Johnson.  He writes with such bias, and even if it is couched in humor, I still find it difficult to get past the fact Johnson is so different in politics.  His bias didn't pop up on every page, but it colored everything he said and put into the biography.  On some occasions his bias was blatant and in the foreground, and these passages were the least enjoyable.  It felt like listening to Fox News go at it.

Identity Crisis

Despite reading reviews saying this was a terrible story that involved shamelessly killing a lovable character.  I think the people writing the review were far more entrenched in the DC Universe than I am.  I had no connection to Sue Digny, so when she died it really wasn't a terrible thing for me.  I guess she was the modern Gwen Stacy for the Elongated Man.  I enjoyed the mystery of the book and how it played out.  I read this rather long piece over the Labor Day weekend and am a little upset with the end.  The person murdering the loved ones of super heroes was a jealous ex-wife that walked out on her husband.  Her motive was to get her husband to care for her again and so they could be together.  Is this the modern representation of women in comics today?  Either as jealous ex-wives or as voluptuous sex goddesses (Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Starfire.........).  So I found the ending less than awesome.  I don't care if there isn't some unimaginably powerful enemy or a simple non-touched human, I just want the story to satisfy, and this one did not.  Though I will say the characters are well written and believable in all of their actions.  The dialogue was smooth, and only a couple of times did I read something that didn't quite fit.  I just wish the ending had as much polish.

#72 Church and State I

So I have started school now, and contrary to logic am reading less full books than I normally do.  But one I recently finished is the first epic part of Church and State, which follows Cerebus as he becomes high Pope and uses his unlikely position to divinely threaten his new found flock with destruction and apocalypse.  Quite funny, even as it pokes fun at the infallibility of the Catholic Pope, this satire is light hearted and non-threatening.  As I continue to read about Cerebus the more I am convinced Dave Sims is one of the finest comic writers of this generation.  I have just moved him above Stan Lee and Grant Morrison.

The World Turned Upside Down

I am so happy I ordered this book.  Not only did it present the English Civil War from the perspective of the lower classes, but it also introduced me to Christopher Hill.  I had never heard of him before I read this book, but I already have Milton and the English Revolution sitting on my bed stand, waiting for my perusal.

Hill discusses the ideas among the peasants while war raged around them.  And apparently there were a lot more going on that I had previously known.  I was familiar with the Diggers and the Levellers, but all the other factions were new to me, especially the Ranters (Hippies in the 1600s).  Hill frequently cites Milton and Bunyan throughout his book, making me enjoy the information all the more.  Hill is apparently a fairly famous Marxist historian, and was also a member of the British Communist Party, according to Wiki.  I find that believable after having read this book.  Definitely one of my better finds this summer.

#70 Will in the World

This is one of the most accessible book on Shakespearean theory I have read.  (Disclaimer: I have read very little on Shakespeare and theory.)  This is another product of the New-Historicism movement that I am liking more and more.  Written by Greenblatt, this is a very fun book that explores the world Shakespeare lived in and how it influenced his works.  This book more than anything humanized the literary canon god of Shakespeare.  Shakespeare is shrouded in mystery and this book hopes to understand him in his time, though much of it must be conjecture.  At least Greenblatt is knowledgeable enough to make it an educated conjecture.  The book explores some of Shakespeare's more known works and how they reflected the events going on around him.  This was a very fun book to read, even at 390 pages.