Review: The Gravediggers Union Vol. 1 by Wes Craig

I saw this book come up as a suggested read on Goodreads, and I'll admit that the title had me intrigued. I wasn't exactly sure what this book was about but I had my suspicions that this was a supernatural book just by the title alone.

Right from the start, we see the action and what the Gravediggers Union's main purpose is....to protect the living from the undead! We see them fight back hordes of zombies and vampires. We later learn just what kind of sinister world this is which is overseen by the rich who are in league with an evil cult called the Black Temple(sounds like the Illuminati, right?). These people hope to bring the dark gods back to earth so that they may reap their rewards. Typical selfish rich people...ya know. We also see the origins of the supernatural in this world which features Lovecraftian creatures...Cthulu anyone? Kinda like 2001 Space Odyssey with the monkeys and aliens...just plain weird and fun shit going on in these panels. 

It's kinda obvious that this is a horror comedy and not a super serious plot....if compared to a tv series I would compare it to Ash vs  Evil Dead. This book is kinda campy. If you are looking for a more serious horror/supernatural title I would check out Nailbiter or Harrow County. 

First off I was super impressed by the artwork of this and the use of color. Toby Cypress is the artist for this series. I kinda liked the sketchy way the figures are drawn and really liked the splash of color randomly placed on certain scenes which kinda gave this a 60's/70's horror vibe. To be honest that was the strong point of liking this book...that and it's campy horror vibe. Now I know that this is not a series for everyone. The ratings for this are not too high and I hope they do not cancel it before it really gets going. I myself rated this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, and am looking forward to reading more of this series. 

Review: Sleeping Giants (The Themis Files #1) by Sylvain Neuvel

Okay, so I'm late to the party on this one, and I will admit when this book came out and everyone was talking about it I tried to avoid the hype for fear of being disappointed. But I couldn't resist when this book came on sale for Kindle at a very low price one that I couldn't say no to.

First off this is not the typical science fiction book. Why you ask? Because at least 95% of it is written as a transcript of interviews between some type of government agent and witnesses to the events that unfold in the book. Some people who have read this were critical of this because this writing style leaves very little room to develop characters, but the main point of this book is not the characters. The main point of the book is the event. So if you are a reader who wants character development driven stories this is not the book for you.

What is the event you ask? Giant Robots from Space! Fans of robot mechs and fighting robots rejoice. The book starts out by discovering a hand within an underground cavern and it slowly builds on the story and revealing just what this giant robot looks like and what it is capable of. Now I won't spoil any of the specifics because this was part of what made this story so interesting. The anticipation to see how it all comes together and how the reaction from those who witness it and what they learn along the journey.

I have to admit that I am pretty impressed by the writing of this "high school drop out". Being written the way it is this is a super fast paced read and one that doesn't leave you feeling that there is anything missing. Although I made sure to pace myself and read this at a slow pace so I could enjoy it. I really enjoyed this and will admit it did slow down a bit towards the end, but this has not deterred me from wanting to read more in this series. I will read book 2 in the series eventually, and I know that book 3 is due to release soon.(May 2018) I rated this 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I do have to say again that this will not be for everyone. If you get excited about things like Ancient Aliens, and Robotech, or Gundam this will be right up your alley.