Fifth and (the publisher says) final outing for Rogers’s indescribable comedy fantasy (Samurai Cat Goes to the Movies, 1994, etc.). Miaowara Tomokato, along with his swords, puns, and nephew/sidekick Shiro, is still pursuing his task of tracking down and killing everyone responsible for the death of his master, Lord Nobunaga. Next on the list is Genghis Khan, whose Mongol hordes are unfortunately now equipped with Kalashnikovs, courtesy of a sweet deal by Shiro; even worse, they’ve converted their (Mongol) pencil factory into making suitcase-sized nuclear bombs (again thanks to Shiro). So when the Khan explodes a nuke to thwart our heroes, Tomokato and Shiro are blown all to Hell. Even there, they have work to do: Heaven would like Tomokato to kill Satan and wind up the infernal regions for keeps. Check one: (a) hysterically funny, I loved it, (b) appallingly stupid, I hated it, or (c) unsuitable for life-forms with more than minimal cognitive abilities.
Pub Date: June 15, 1998
ISBN: 0-312-86642-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
After years of unprepossessing folderol—the wearisome Nine Princes in Amber retreads are depressingly typical—Zelazny bursts forth with, well, ``Victorian light supernatural fantasy'' just about covers it. Narrator Snuff, a guard dog who performs complex thaumaturgical calculations in his head, has many duties: to keep various Things firmly trapped in mirrors, wardrobes, and steamer trunks; to accompany his master, Jack—he of the magical blade—on weird collecting expeditions into the graveyards and slums of Victorian London; and—for a single hour each night—discuss the day's goings-on in human speech. Snuff's neighbors include: Jill the witch and her familiar, Graymalk the cat, with whom Snuff forms a friendly alliance; Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Frankenstein, Dracula, a werewolf, and a satanic vicar. The witches, detectives, doctors, vampires, etc., along with their equally industrious familiars, trade information and scheme for advantage as the full moon of Halloween approaches; at that time, a magical showdown to decide the fate of the Earth will occur. Some of the characters are ``openers,'' determined to open a magical doorway allowing the Old Gods to reoccupy the Earth; others are ``closers,'' equally resolved to keep the magical door nailed shut; and a few are involved yet stand outside the Game altogether. Snuff's problem is to discover who is which. Sparkling, witty, delightful: Zelazny's best for ages, perhaps his best ever.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-12508-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1993
Stunning, again.
In the second of a trilogy (The Fifth Season, 2015) by the science-fiction columnist for the New York Times Book Review, the latest in a series of apocalypses marches on.
The powerful orogene Alabaster has used his powers to tear a blazing rift across the continent, and humanity faces extinction. Finding refuge in the underground comm of Castrima, the now-dying Alabaster struggles to impart vital information and skills to his former student and lover, Essun, which could potentially cease the flow of the tectonically devastating Seasons. All the while, Castrima faces tension from within—those who fear Essun’s rapidly growing magical powers—and without, as an invading army prepares to take the comm’s dwindling supplies for its own. Although Essun’s greatest desire is to recover Nassun, the daughter she loves, the girl always wanted to escape her mother, whom she perceives as cold and who imposed harsh training to discipline and hide her daughter’s orogeny. Nassun willingly left with her adored father even though he murdered her brother and violently loathes all orogenes. This uneasy father/daughter pair travels to a mysterious, distant community rumored to “cure” orogeny, where Nassun discovers a key figure from her mother’s past—but he’s no longer quite what he used to be. The worldbuilding deepens in this installment, with fresh revelations about the distant past and the true and alarming nature of the enigmatic stone eaters. But as in the previous volume, it’s the people who take front and center. Jemisin’s depictions of mob behavior are frighteningly realistic. And she offers a perceptive and painful portrayal of two different kinds of abusive relationships between parent and child. She also generates huge amounts of nuanced sympathy for some (but not all) of the characters driven to do truly dreadful things, often accidentally, to save themselves and the ones they love.
Stunning, again.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-22926-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Orbit/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK TO SCREEN
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