Powell's Books - View All of pebbeb's Customer Comments

: pebbeb, October 7, 2008
It may have taken 23 years since Neil Gaiman first had the idea for The Graveyard Book until he finished it, but this book was well worth the wait. He described this as "The Jungle Book in a graveyard" and just like the book by Kipling, this tale about a young orphaned boy delights, enchants, frightens, and makes the reader want for more. This world is the best of Gaimain with its wit, its creativity, and most of all its humanity (even in nonhuman characters). Each chapter is like a small story unto itself, but they all add up to a complete novel and does not feel like just a group of stories strung together. Neil Gaiman has offered readers a vivid and spellbind fable.
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: pebbeb, September 11, 2008
Jane Yolen has crafted a stunning masterpiece of modern fairy tale. She has woven the fairy tale of Briar Rose with the memories of Gemma, a woman who is a complete mystery to her family, and that of her granddaughter Becca. It is only after Gemma's death, that Becca begins to investigate where the truth lies amidst her grandmother's retelling of Briar Rose. Was her grandmother a princess? Who was her prince? Into all of this, Yolen presents a haunting tale of redemption amidst the Holocaust. Like any great fairy tale, this book stayed with me long after I finished reading it.
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: pebbeb, August 9, 2008
This is a book that takes a twist on the gothic novel. It is essentially a series of tales within an arc of the story of Lord Baltimore, who while lying wounded from battle during WWI encounters a strange and disturbing carrion. As the tale enfolds, we are presented with tales that are gothic, fairy tale, and, while reminiscent of other tales from folklore, are highly original in the way they're crafted into this novel. Mike Mignola's black and white illustrations only add to the text. It is a fascinating tale of the supernatural.
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: pebbeb, August 3, 2008
A highly entertaining read! Set in Victorian London, Julian Barnes creates a mystery that is not only a page turner, but is full of clever and imaginative plot twists that even involve the work of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Edward Moon, the protagonist, is both a conjuror and detective who finds himself involved in a complex mystery that is dark, magical, and highly original. Julian Barnes has written a fascinating novel that makes one long for there to be a sequel.
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: pebbeb, November 15, 2007
As with everything he does, Neil Gaiman gives a new twist to folklore and myth in this wonderful story. He takes what could easily be a typical story that deals with Faerie but with his cleverness and humor he makes his tale entirely original. To top the whole book off are the vividly imaginative illustrations by Charles Vess, who is a modern day Rackham. The whole thing would make Lord Dunsany proud.
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