The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye

I’m really glad my initial review was deleted by my computer. -_-
Take #2

5/5

I told myself, despite the huge amount of hype, that I wasn’t allowed to watch the show until I read the graphic novels. The stars have finally aligned!

I loved this. Although there have been many movies, books, etc., of late about zombies, this graphic novel still managed to make the topic fresh and entertaining. I particularly enjoyed following Rick, the main character, as he awakes from a coma and discovers that the world he knew has become a living nightmare as he slept. If I were in Rick’s place, and had been thrown into a zombie-infested world, I probably would have gone insane. His resilience, even at the prospect of such great loss, is admirable. The other characters were well done as well; they are realistic and react in ways that I truly feel people in their situation would act. You can tell that each character has their own emotional burden, and it is interesting to see how this manifests itself in the things that they say and do.

The illustrations in this graphic novel were pretty top-notch. Due to the quality, the gory scenes in this graphic novel appear that much more life-like. The illustrations of the zombies ‘feasting’ are particularly gruesome.

The first volume left me wanting to know what was going to happen next; where is everybody going to go now? Is the group going to fracture because of certain events? I will definitely be continuing with this series.

The only thing that irked me about this graphic novel is that I felt like I was suffering from déjà vu. The beginning of Days Gone Bye was essentially a mirror image of the movie, 28 Days Later. In 28 Days Later, the main character also wakes from a coma to a world gone to Hell. He then is on his own until encountering a pack of zombies. Hmmmmmm… pretty similar if you ask me.

Magic Strikes

5/5

Book one: pretty frigging good

Book two: pretty frigging amazing

Book three:

Needless to say, I loved Magic Strikes. It has made the Kate Daniels series, unless Ilona Andrews royally fucked up in the books I haven’t read… (BAHA…inconceivable), one of my favorite Urban Fantasy series of all time. This may seem like a bold statement, seeing as I haven’t read the entire series and all, but it most definitely is not – these books are that awesome!

Magic Strikes has been my favorite book overall because of the equal mix of badassery, intrigue, and sexual tension. I bought a paper copy of this book and folded over 15 pages that contained quotes I liked. 15 pages.

Because I have nothing of real value to add that hasn’t already been said about this book, I will leave you with some quotes I particularly liked:

“His Majesty needs a can-I girl anyway. And I’m not it.”
“A can-I girl?”Andrea frowned.
I leaned back. “Can I fetch you your food, your Majesty? Can I tell you how strong and mighty you are, your Majesty? Can I pick out your fleas, your Majesty? Can I kiss your ass, Your Majesty? Can I…”
It dawned on me that Raphael was sitting very still. Frozen like a statue, his gaze fixed on the point above my head.
“He’s standing behind me, isn’t he?”

He strained to say something else. I leaned toward him. He focused on me. “Rape,” he promised. “Many, many times. Until you bleed…”
“I’m so flattered.”
He raised his hand and traced a short line over my chest. “Carve out your heart…won’t cook in in the fire…eat it raw…”
We weren’t getting anywhere.

He growled, closing his eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Pulling on death’s whiskers,” I murmured…

Go forth and read this series if you haven’t already. THE HYPE IS REAL!