Reading ads for urban fantasy on Facebook, I’ve noticed how many of them emphasize their quirky, oddball supporting cast. NETTLE AND BONE by T. Kingfisher manages to pull the quirky off better than most of them, as the protagonist’s team includes a skeletal dog, an inept fairy godmother and a demonic chicken.
Marra, the protagonist, is a royal third daughter who’s been kept out of the way in a nunnery. Her sister has married to forge an alliance with a powerful neighboring kingdom; on a visit, Marra discovers her brother-in-law is abusing his wife and might well kill her once she gives him a son. Due to politics, there’s nothing that can be done … or is there? Marra sets off to find a path through the magic protecting the king, acquiring her oddball allies along the way. Charming, low-key and clever.
I’ve no idea why DC issued the first Omnibus for Silver Age Batman before the final volume of the Batman Golden Age Omnibus, but I’m happy it finally arrived. There’s no radical change or fresh ground broken here unless you count the debut of Ace, the Bat-Hound.
This was an era when consistency was more important than shaking things up and there’s little difference from the previous volume — some time-travel tales, some mysteries —
— a few tales with the Rogue’s Gallery villains. Plus some oddities like one involving a hillbilly singer and his “Ballad of Batman.”
Overall it’s a fun volume, though it definitely feels like the creators are running out of steam at times. Alas, the upcoming the Silver Age shift to science fiction wasn’t the best way to rejuvenate the mythos.
The back-cover copy for THE ZOOKEEPERS’ WAR: An Incredible True Story from the Cold War by JW Mohnhaupt asserts the topic is the cutthroat competition by East and West Berlin’s dominant zoos to keep topping each other during the Cold War. In reality it’s much lower key story, following the city and the two zoos through the years East and West Germany as well as East and West Berlin were separate nations. While lacking in cutthroat competition or any real dramatic arc, the book kept me reading and enjoying it anyway.
#SFWApro. Covers by J. Winslow Mortimer, all rights remain with current holders.
