incorrigibly frivolous (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
usuallyhats) wrote2014-02-01 06:56 pm
usuallyhats) wrote2014-02-01 06:56 pm
Books and comics read in January 2014
*Raising Steam - Terry Pratchett
*Adventures with the Wife In Space - Neil Perryman
Team Human - Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
Doctor Who: Festival of Death - Jonathan Morris
Principles of Angels - Jaine Fenn
Fantastic Four: New Departure, New Arrivals
*FF: Fantastic Faux
*Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega
*Astonishing X-Men: Weaponised
The Shattering - Karen Healey
*The Woman Reader - Belinda Jack
X-Men: Storm
X-Men: Blank Generation
*A Madness of Angels - Kate Griffin
*The Rook - Daniel O'Malley
*Flying Higher: An Anthology of Superhero Poetry ed. Michael D. Thomas and Shira Lipkin
*Superman: Secret Origin
*Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis
*Shadows on the Moon - Zoë Marriott
*Avengers vs X-Men: Avengers Academy
Ultimate Spider-Man: Carnage
*The Girl Who Would Be King - Kelly Thompson
*Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain - Charlotte Higgins
Raising Steam
I did like this, but the gender stuff bothered me a lot. Which seems a bit strange: this is the fortieth book in a series I've been reading for over half my life, I know what to expect (some good stuff and great characters, some missed opportunities and lazy stereotyping) and I can usually roll with it, but less so in this one. I think it was because it got off on the wrong foot with all the "only boys really like trains" stuff which... no. I LOVED the Thomas the Tank engine books when I was little; my ipod is named Skarloey after one of my favourite trains from them (and I've occasionally considered renaming this account that too). On the other hand, my childhood train-love did probably increase my overall enjoyment levels of the book, so there's that. I was also a bit disappointed that (skip) we didn't get the queer relationship between Rhys and Aeron that I thought we were going to. :( I mean, I liked Rhys turning out to be female (the bit where other female-identified dwarfs are congratulating her was ace) but I'm sad we had to lose queer representation to get it. I wish they had both been female! And I feel like there's a lot of space for Discworld dwarf society to be really interesting gender and sexuality wise, with dwarfs identifying with and presenting as any gender they feel like at the time, and with them falling in love without necessarily knowing the other dwarf's gender, but that though none of this is actually DENIED none of it ever becomes canon either. :( All that being said, I did have fun reading this book. I just have so much affection for the world that it was great to spend more time in it. And I love the relationship between Moist and Adora Belle - with him spending so much time at the railway it would have been so easy to make her into either a nag or a doormat, but no, she has her own stuff going on too, and they're true partners. Also, the one scene we had with Adora and Angua was GOLD. Can the next book be all about them please?
Adventures with the Wife In Space
Read this almost straight through, it is so charming. A lot of it's about Neil Perryman's relationship with fandom, and with his wife, and he and Sue just seem like such lovely people. ♥
FF: Fantastic Faux
I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT. This was so delightfully weird and tender and lovely. I loved all the kids (especially Tong. The page with her explaining to her brothers that she's their sister, not another brother, makes me so happy every time I see it) and the adults too, especially Darla. The page of her trying various different headgear was a delight, so deadpan and good natured and funny. But the page that really tipped me over into LOVE was the diagram of the Baxter Building showing everyone's rooms and where they were - just that snippet of ordinary life in the Future Foundation, some of the kids on the roof doing yoga with Darla, YES.
Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega
Possibly picking up something with Wolverine's name right there in the title was a mistake? I mean, I'm reasonably fond of Wolverine, and I enjoy his habit of mentoring young women, but I do not like him nearly as much as Marvel in general seems to. :/ So in this volume in particular, I wish that it had been Hisako and not him who worked out that they were in a simulation, partly because I was reading it for her, and also because it would have been nice for someone other than Wolverine (or Quentin Quire, who I found quite PHENOMENALLY irritating) to have something to do. Rachel Grey was in it a lot, but I'm blanking on anything she actually did other than wander round and look at the plot from time to time. SIGH.
Astonishing X-Men: Weaponised
I didn't quite connect with this but the existence of Warbird was enough to bump it up to three stars. I REALLY LOVE WARBIRD.
The Woman Reader
I found this history of women reading fascinating and engrossing. It was rather Eurocentric, which was a shame, since the glimpses it offered us of women readers outside Europe were intriguing. I feel like this may have been either an availability-of-material-to-the-author or a maintaining-a-manageable-length issue (as we get closer to the present day, the geographical focus narrows even further), which is fair enough, but I wish it had been more explicitly acknowledged. That aside, it was very good. I would have liked some more analysis on ideas of gendered reading in the final chapter, but other than that I thought it did well at stopping to challenge its own assumptions.
A Madness of Angels
Sometimes by the time a book I've requested from the library or added to my wishlist makes its way to me I've forgotten why I asked for it. In this case I am about 70% sure I read it on the strength of the first chapter appearing in the back of N.K. Jemisin's Kingdom of the Gods - it's a cracking cold open. It's part of the "Urban Fantasy (London-based)" subgenre of which I am rather fond, and though it didn't feel as situated in the city as others I've read have (particularly ones from the "Urban Fantasy (London-based) (Author has also written for Doctor Who)" subsubgenre), I still liked it a lot. Representation-wise it is not so good, though - it's not awful at race (by which I mean there were non-white characters in it and no obvious terriblenesses), but its handling of disability was not good, it had exactly one gay character, who was also evil, and it needed more women (to be fair, the ones we had were pretty great, they just didn't turn up enough, and also (skip) Dana's death was pointless and stupid.). Its major selling point was the nature of the main character, which I cannot explain because a) spoilers and b) complicated, but which unfolded compellingly as the book went along. The prose occasionally sauntered into the purple, but was mostly vivid and detailed, with a good eye for ordinary things, like how fighting with magic can play merry hell with one's wardrobe, what with all the blood and miscellaneous gunk and whatnot. So overall, more good than bad, and I have requested the first of the sequels, of which there are already lots, from the library. \o/
The Rook
Another entry in the "Urban Fantasy (London Based)" subgenre, and at last one with a female protagonist! \o/ Sadly I didn't like it as much as I wanted to: the writing was a bit flat in places, meaning that Myfanwy's instafriendship with her American counterpart didn't convince me (though their dynamic blossomed into something v. enjoyable, and I really liked that Myfanwy (who insists on pronouncing her name to rhyme with Tiffany, which I never quite got my head round) had interesting relationships with a fair few other women), and it could have done with a bit of a Britpick. Also I didn't think its mythology quite worked: it seemed to be trying to integrate two different magical systems (one traditional, with spells and creatures and whatnot, the other like a supernatural X-Men, where some people are randomly born with very specialised power sets) and it didn't entirely pull it off. And it did the thing where it combined a fairly flippant tone with horrible brutal murder and I never really like that. All that being said, it was still fairly enjoyable: I really liked the heroine, some of the comedy was great, the supernatural MI5 stuff I loved, and it was fun to read. I just wish it had been better.
Flying Higher: An Anthology of Superhero Poetry
I... have no idea how to rate this. The actual quality of the poems was a bit variable (I'd single out "Invisible", about Sue Storm, as being my favourite), but the sheer amount of superhero love underlying the endeavour made me feel pretty warmly towards it overall.
Superman: Secret Origin
Oh Superman. In theory I like him a lot, but in practice... not so much. (Except in Bryan Q. Miller's Smallville comic, of course, but that comic is magic.) That aside, I did like this, but I liked it a lot more after Lois blazed in. ♥ The idea that Superman had changed Metropolis for the better by making its people kinder, less desperate and more hopeful was lovely.
Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis
I hated the art on this so much. Haaaaaaated it. It was just so horrible to look at, even without the "women's bodies how do they work" issue. Ugh. And the writing wasn't much better: Ellis lampshaded quite a lot of the obvious issues with a story in which a mostly white group of X-Men go to save babies in a made-up African country... and then still didn't handle it very well (seriously, what even was Logan's rant about how all African leaders are corrupt?). There was some nice dialogue, particularly for Beast, but I expect much better from Ellis. :/
Shadows on the Moon
I don't know how I feel about this book. A lot of it was great - I love massively reworked fairy tales - but... the love interest kept randomly being weirdly possessive and even physically coercive towards the heroine, and the text seemed to think this was a-ok, and no, no it was not. :/ Boo.
Avengers vs X-Men: Avengers Academy
The character stuff remains the strong point of this series. The friendship between Finesse (ILU FINESSE) and X-23, based mostly on a firm foundation of not really knowing how friendship works, is a particular highlight. ♥ (On the minus side, not really this comic's fault, but Phoenix!Emma's costume, what even. I mean, I know it's EMMA FROST, but still: cleavage AND underboob AND a metal thong arrangement? Whyyyyyyyy.)
The Girl Who Would Be King
I enjoyed reading this superhero novel - it's self-published, so there are some infelicities in the writing, but nothing TOO disastrous - until I got to the end, which really ruined it by making everything that had happened before completely pointless. :/ I hate that sort of ending. Without the epilogue, I'd have given it three or four stars; with the epilogue, only two.
Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain - Charlotte Higgins
Enjoyable ramble around Britain looking at Roman remains and how they've been interpreted and reacted to in the centuries since. (I wish the in-text images had been labelled, though, as flipping to the front every time to double check what I was actually looking at was a pain.) Great writing, and provided some pleasing "I've been there!" moments: Housesteads and Vindolanda; Tullie House Museum, Carlisle; the Corinium Museum, Cirencester; Chedworth Roman Villa. There's a section in the back with details of places to visit, too - I am definitely going to try and see the Orpheus Mosaic whilst it's still on display (the date in that link is a lie), and since I'm away to London next weekend anyway, might pop into the Roman Britain bit of the British Museum.
*Adventures with the Wife In Space - Neil Perryman
Team Human - Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
Doctor Who: Festival of Death - Jonathan Morris
Principles of Angels - Jaine Fenn
Fantastic Four: New Departure, New Arrivals
*FF: Fantastic Faux
*Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega
*Astonishing X-Men: Weaponised
The Shattering - Karen Healey
*The Woman Reader - Belinda Jack
X-Men: Storm
X-Men: Blank Generation
*A Madness of Angels - Kate Griffin
*The Rook - Daniel O'Malley
*Flying Higher: An Anthology of Superhero Poetry ed. Michael D. Thomas and Shira Lipkin
*Superman: Secret Origin
*Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis
*Shadows on the Moon - Zoë Marriott
*Avengers vs X-Men: Avengers Academy
Ultimate Spider-Man: Carnage
*The Girl Who Would Be King - Kelly Thompson
*Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain - Charlotte Higgins
Raising Steam
I did like this, but the gender stuff bothered me a lot. Which seems a bit strange: this is the fortieth book in a series I've been reading for over half my life, I know what to expect (some good stuff and great characters, some missed opportunities and lazy stereotyping) and I can usually roll with it, but less so in this one. I think it was because it got off on the wrong foot with all the "only boys really like trains" stuff which... no. I LOVED the Thomas the Tank engine books when I was little; my ipod is named Skarloey after one of my favourite trains from them (and I've occasionally considered renaming this account that too). On the other hand, my childhood train-love did probably increase my overall enjoyment levels of the book, so there's that. I was also a bit disappointed that (skip) we didn't get the queer relationship between Rhys and Aeron that I thought we were going to. :( I mean, I liked Rhys turning out to be female (the bit where other female-identified dwarfs are congratulating her was ace) but I'm sad we had to lose queer representation to get it. I wish they had both been female! And I feel like there's a lot of space for Discworld dwarf society to be really interesting gender and sexuality wise, with dwarfs identifying with and presenting as any gender they feel like at the time, and with them falling in love without necessarily knowing the other dwarf's gender, but that though none of this is actually DENIED none of it ever becomes canon either. :( All that being said, I did have fun reading this book. I just have so much affection for the world that it was great to spend more time in it. And I love the relationship between Moist and Adora Belle - with him spending so much time at the railway it would have been so easy to make her into either a nag or a doormat, but no, she has her own stuff going on too, and they're true partners. Also, the one scene we had with Adora and Angua was GOLD. Can the next book be all about them please?
Adventures with the Wife In Space
Read this almost straight through, it is so charming. A lot of it's about Neil Perryman's relationship with fandom, and with his wife, and he and Sue just seem like such lovely people. ♥
FF: Fantastic Faux
I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT. This was so delightfully weird and tender and lovely. I loved all the kids (especially Tong. The page with her explaining to her brothers that she's their sister, not another brother, makes me so happy every time I see it) and the adults too, especially Darla. The page of her trying various different headgear was a delight, so deadpan and good natured and funny. But the page that really tipped me over into LOVE was the diagram of the Baxter Building showing everyone's rooms and where they were - just that snippet of ordinary life in the Future Foundation, some of the kids on the roof doing yoga with Darla, YES.
Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha and Omega
Possibly picking up something with Wolverine's name right there in the title was a mistake? I mean, I'm reasonably fond of Wolverine, and I enjoy his habit of mentoring young women, but I do not like him nearly as much as Marvel in general seems to. :/ So in this volume in particular, I wish that it had been Hisako and not him who worked out that they were in a simulation, partly because I was reading it for her, and also because it would have been nice for someone other than Wolverine (or Quentin Quire, who I found quite PHENOMENALLY irritating) to have something to do. Rachel Grey was in it a lot, but I'm blanking on anything she actually did other than wander round and look at the plot from time to time. SIGH.
Astonishing X-Men: Weaponised
I didn't quite connect with this but the existence of Warbird was enough to bump it up to three stars. I REALLY LOVE WARBIRD.
The Woman Reader
I found this history of women reading fascinating and engrossing. It was rather Eurocentric, which was a shame, since the glimpses it offered us of women readers outside Europe were intriguing. I feel like this may have been either an availability-of-material-to-the-author or a maintaining-a-manageable-length issue (as we get closer to the present day, the geographical focus narrows even further), which is fair enough, but I wish it had been more explicitly acknowledged. That aside, it was very good. I would have liked some more analysis on ideas of gendered reading in the final chapter, but other than that I thought it did well at stopping to challenge its own assumptions.
A Madness of Angels
Sometimes by the time a book I've requested from the library or added to my wishlist makes its way to me I've forgotten why I asked for it. In this case I am about 70% sure I read it on the strength of the first chapter appearing in the back of N.K. Jemisin's Kingdom of the Gods - it's a cracking cold open. It's part of the "Urban Fantasy (London-based)" subgenre of which I am rather fond, and though it didn't feel as situated in the city as others I've read have (particularly ones from the "Urban Fantasy (London-based) (Author has also written for Doctor Who)" subsubgenre), I still liked it a lot. Representation-wise it is not so good, though - it's not awful at race (by which I mean there were non-white characters in it and no obvious terriblenesses), but its handling of disability was not good, it had exactly one gay character, who was also evil, and it needed more women (to be fair, the ones we had were pretty great, they just didn't turn up enough, and also (skip) Dana's death was pointless and stupid.). Its major selling point was the nature of the main character, which I cannot explain because a) spoilers and b) complicated, but which unfolded compellingly as the book went along. The prose occasionally sauntered into the purple, but was mostly vivid and detailed, with a good eye for ordinary things, like how fighting with magic can play merry hell with one's wardrobe, what with all the blood and miscellaneous gunk and whatnot. So overall, more good than bad, and I have requested the first of the sequels, of which there are already lots, from the library. \o/
The Rook
Another entry in the "Urban Fantasy (London Based)" subgenre, and at last one with a female protagonist! \o/ Sadly I didn't like it as much as I wanted to: the writing was a bit flat in places, meaning that Myfanwy's instafriendship with her American counterpart didn't convince me (though their dynamic blossomed into something v. enjoyable, and I really liked that Myfanwy (who insists on pronouncing her name to rhyme with Tiffany, which I never quite got my head round) had interesting relationships with a fair few other women), and it could have done with a bit of a Britpick. Also I didn't think its mythology quite worked: it seemed to be trying to integrate two different magical systems (one traditional, with spells and creatures and whatnot, the other like a supernatural X-Men, where some people are randomly born with very specialised power sets) and it didn't entirely pull it off. And it did the thing where it combined a fairly flippant tone with horrible brutal murder and I never really like that. All that being said, it was still fairly enjoyable: I really liked the heroine, some of the comedy was great, the supernatural MI5 stuff I loved, and it was fun to read. I just wish it had been better.
Flying Higher: An Anthology of Superhero Poetry
I... have no idea how to rate this. The actual quality of the poems was a bit variable (I'd single out "Invisible", about Sue Storm, as being my favourite), but the sheer amount of superhero love underlying the endeavour made me feel pretty warmly towards it overall.
Superman: Secret Origin
Oh Superman. In theory I like him a lot, but in practice... not so much. (Except in Bryan Q. Miller's Smallville comic, of course, but that comic is magic.) That aside, I did like this, but I liked it a lot more after Lois blazed in. ♥ The idea that Superman had changed Metropolis for the better by making its people kinder, less desperate and more hopeful was lovely.
Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis
I hated the art on this so much. Haaaaaaated it. It was just so horrible to look at, even without the "women's bodies how do they work" issue. Ugh. And the writing wasn't much better: Ellis lampshaded quite a lot of the obvious issues with a story in which a mostly white group of X-Men go to save babies in a made-up African country... and then still didn't handle it very well (seriously, what even was Logan's rant about how all African leaders are corrupt?). There was some nice dialogue, particularly for Beast, but I expect much better from Ellis. :/
Shadows on the Moon
I don't know how I feel about this book. A lot of it was great - I love massively reworked fairy tales - but... the love interest kept randomly being weirdly possessive and even physically coercive towards the heroine, and the text seemed to think this was a-ok, and no, no it was not. :/ Boo.
Avengers vs X-Men: Avengers Academy
The character stuff remains the strong point of this series. The friendship between Finesse (ILU FINESSE) and X-23, based mostly on a firm foundation of not really knowing how friendship works, is a particular highlight. ♥ (On the minus side, not really this comic's fault, but Phoenix!Emma's costume, what even. I mean, I know it's EMMA FROST, but still: cleavage AND underboob AND a metal thong arrangement? Whyyyyyyyy.)
The Girl Who Would Be King
I enjoyed reading this superhero novel - it's self-published, so there are some infelicities in the writing, but nothing TOO disastrous - until I got to the end, which really ruined it by making everything that had happened before completely pointless. :/ I hate that sort of ending. Without the epilogue, I'd have given it three or four stars; with the epilogue, only two.
Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain - Charlotte Higgins
Enjoyable ramble around Britain looking at Roman remains and how they've been interpreted and reacted to in the centuries since. (I wish the in-text images had been labelled, though, as flipping to the front every time to double check what I was actually looking at was a pain.) Great writing, and provided some pleasing "I've been there!" moments: Housesteads and Vindolanda; Tullie House Museum, Carlisle; the Corinium Museum, Cirencester; Chedworth Roman Villa. There's a section in the back with details of places to visit, too - I am definitely going to try and see the Orpheus Mosaic whilst it's still on display (the date in that link is a lie), and since I'm away to London next weekend anyway, might pop into the Roman Britain bit of the British Museum.
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2) YOUR ICON
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2) *g* I saw that scene and HAD to icon it. ALICIAAAA.
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1) hee, that's fair, but even so, good work!
2) I don't even remember what ep it's from! Where are you up to? (Experiencing a massive resurgence of tgw feelings lately.) and yes, OMG, ALICIAAAAAA.
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Eeee, you're getting close! Ugh, it's so good. <3
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Ahaha, oh no! Heh, season 4 is pretty great though. IIRC the first episode has a Very Important Alicia moment for me. (Not serious but definitely important. ;D) If you bring a pen next time I see you I can give you...most of it? (I watched S4 a mix of streaming and downloading so some I'm missing.) It's uneven and probably my least favourite season but it's still got some awesome moments and episodes. (For the record my feelings are: S2, S1 and S3 are tied for second place, currently what there is of S5 so far trumps S4.)
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Saturday? SATURDAY!! Yes! Ooh, I need to find someone for my second ticket. (Who's got yours?) You're still welcome to stay over after!
I think that for me, S3 is definitely BETTER than S1, agree, but I like it better when Kalinda and Alicia aren't fighting.
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Yeah, that's definitely the major argument in favour of S1. <3 </3 There may have been some mental wailing at the end of S2. :(
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OK, good to know! Maybe I'll ask Manda and Patrick. (Hannah and Andrew will be busy with Hannah's visiting parents.)
Basically, yes. S3 is really good overall but the Kalicia developments make me saaad. And yes, I sometimes wail just thinking about the end of S2. (Er. Sorry to have hijacked your BOOK post to discuss The Good Wife.)
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Yeah, I really appreciate that they're taking Kalicia seriously enough to know that they can't just fix their relationship in five minutes, but on the other hand WOE. Ack, the pacing on S2, the way it builds to that revelation, so great and yet so painful! D: (*g* no need to apologise, I never feel I have enough to say about The Good Wife to justify posting about it (most of what I have to say is ALICIAAAAA! KALINDAAAAA! DIAAAAAAANE!) but it's good to have a chance to flail about it a bit. ♥)
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Or I’ll forget and it’ll just be the four of us. w/e. ;D
Er, OK, there is stuff I’m deliberately not saying at this juncture cuz vague spoilers, but IDK if it’s stuff you might want to know? And yeees, S2 is the beeeest! And also the woooorst! :D D: (Haha, yeah, that’s basically how I feel about it too, which is why I never post about it either. I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH. <3)
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I don't know if I want to know either! /o\ (I keep trying to decide who I love the best and I JUST CAN'T.)
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I'm finding that I'm enjoying the Discworld books a little less now Terry's working so much with Rob - I've no idea how much input Rob's having, but there's definitely been a change in style over the last 2 - 3 books. They're certainly not as laugh-out-loud funny any more.
(BTW, if you want a good series of urban fantasy-with-magic stories and you've not already read them (and I know I was late to jump onto the band-wagon) then I highly recommend Ben Aaranovitch's Peter Grant/Rivers of London series. I got introduced to it via a crossover fanfic someone wrote for a friend for Yuletide (it was a crossover with the Morse prequel TV show, Endeavour) and fell instantly in love. I devoured books 2 - 4 in 3 days! I confess that after reading the Peter Grant series, I realised that this was what Paul Cornell was trying to do - but (in my opinion) failed to do in 'London Falling'.)
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No... I did really like Unseen Academicals though. I imagine dictating rather than typing is also having an effect. :(
I love the Peter Grant books! (Well, I am a bit worried about the thing that happened at the end of book 4, but I'm reserving judgement until we find out how it works out...) They are eminently devourable. :D I liked London Falling too, though it's definitely a different beast, and it was a bit harder to get into - I read it on a train, so I had a good reason to keep powering through until it grabbed me.
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Yes I imagine that's true. I certainly would find it immensely difficult to dictate to someone else and have them type it up for me.
Yes, that thing at the end of book 4 made me go "Eek!" - did you know he's got another 4 books planned? (I now follow Ben on Twitter and his publisher mentioned it recently.)
Ah - I just couldn't seem to get into London Falling - I struggled to engage with the characters.
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It must make the editing process really different...
I didn't, yay! I knew it was intended to be ongoing but I didn't know there were concrete plans for at least four.
I definitely didn't connect with the characters as much as I did with the Rivers of London ones, yeah.
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Definitely!
Yup - four! That makes me all flaily like a demented fangirl...
*nods* It's a shame 'cos I've read quite a bit of PC's stuff and I really love his Jonathan Hamilton short stories - I'm waiting for him to gather them all together in an ebook, TBH.
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*giggles* I always remember by saying it as Jona-THAN...
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I mean, I'm reasonably fond of Wolverine, and I enjoy his habit of mentoring young women, but I do not like him nearly as much as Marvel in general seems to. :/
These feelings are my Wolverine feelings too. :P
I tried to read Flying Higher because I found the free e-book of it a while back, but I gave up pretty quickly because I just wasn't really feeling the poems.
I have Superman: Secret Origin out from the library!
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If only Marvel agreed with us!
I think it's worth going back for the Sue Storm poem, but yeah, I can understand that...
Yay! The Lois bits are definitely worth it.
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Haha, yes! Any title with "Wolverine" in the name would be forced to include one of Wolverine's plucky teenage sidekicks riding around in his backpack and being sassy and awesome.
I read it last night and I liked the Lois bits and the parts with Jimmy and the Kents and Lana too! They did a really good job with the supporting cast.
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YES. And they would have to give whichever sidekick it was a proportional amount of Plot too. :D
Agreed! Some of the stuff with the Kents was really lovely. ♥
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Also, got the feeling he was trying to cram in far too much, like he realised he may not have the time to develop his train-related world development properly over the course of several books and just raced through all of it in one go; thoughts?
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Huh, I hadn't thought of that, but you could be right. It definitely felt a bit like he had a list of train-related story elements he was ticking off.