Secret Identity by Alex Segura
30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 4 Book 2/30 DNF @ 30% I gave it the ole college try, as none of the kids say these days. But this book was not for me! I’m really sad about it, because the gritty 70s NYC atmosphere, the love of comics built in to it, and the MC being a queer daughter of Cuban immigrants trying to make it in comics publishing all really sounded like something I would love, but this book was so dull. What […]
Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices by Edited by: Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington
Thank you, llamareadsbooks for gifting this book to me in the CBR Book Exchange! CBR14 Bingo: “Time” – This anthology moves through time, from the ancient past to the far future. Sword Stone Table first came to my awareness through emmalita’s review. When narfna reviewed it a few weeks ago, it prompted me to move it to the top of the read pile. I have a deep affection for stories about King Arthur and Camelot that probably started with the Disney animated version, was strengthened by […]
Secret Identity by Alex Segura
Alex Segura’s Secret Identity tells the story of Carmen Valdez, a 1970s-era employee of second-rate comic book publisher Triumph Comics. Carmen loves comic books and would like to write them, but hasn’t found a way in, given the boys club atmosphere. She thinks she may have found a foothold when her colleague Harvey Stern suggests they collaborate on a new series. Carmen has lots of ideas built up over a lifetime as a comics fan and together she and Harvey create the Legendary Lynx – […]
Secret Identity: A Novel by Alex Segura
I waited for this book for months. Months! And for the most part, it was worth the wait. It’s very good. I’ve read other stuff from Alex Segura, from his Pete Fernandez mystery books to the first edition of his Black Ghost graphic novel series. I love his interest in how journalism, urban corruption, and dogged investigative work come together to tell an entertaining tale. It’s right up my alley. This ambitious novel set in the comic industry in 1970s New York City could fall flat for trying to […]
Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington
My formative King Arthur works were the 1963 Disney movie The Sword in the Stone, and 1975’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail. When I discovered Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave, as a preteen, my life as a reader of fantasy and romance was set. I’m a King Arthur enthusiast, but not a purist (except for Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 King Arthur – great cast, beautiful visuals, terrible movie that should never have been marketed as “historically accurate”). Hearing that a work is a retelling of […]
Silent City by Alex Segura
I enjoy crime fiction that effectively doubles as a tour guide. I’ve never been to Miami before so part of Silent City‘s allure for me was to learn more about the city. Charles Willeford does it somewhat effectively but he’s looking at it through the ethnographic lens of an old, racist white guy. Alex Segura gives me that and more. I appreciate writers who talk about their urban environments as if they actually dwell there. No “this is a good/bad neighborhood” kind of nonsense, but […]
