Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick (2023) 232 pages

This DC Black Label title with slightly more mature themes has stunning art by Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott. It has won a couple Eisner Awards. The book is available on Hoopla. The many two-page spreads contained so much beautiful detail that it was a bit difficult to read on my phone screen. I had to zoom in many times to appreciate and read it. This is not a Wonder Woman adventure. It is an origin story of the Amazons from Wonder Woman mythology with Hippolyta, who would raise Diana, as the central protagonist. With all the God and Goddess characters it feels like Clash of the Titans, somewhere between the style of the old and new movie versions. The graphic novel fully realizes ancient Greek culture and mythology. DeConnick imagines a believable origin for Hippolyta who becomes a leader among the supernatural and mortal women of Themyscira.
 

Queen of the Cicadas

Queen of the Cicadas by V. Castro, 214 pages

In the 1950s, Milagros left her family in Mexico to be a migrant worker in Texas, hoping to earn some money to help them survive and eventually immigrate to the U.S. themselves. Instead, she met a horrific end and the cotton plantation where she died became the site of drought and brutal unexplained deaths, spawning an urban legend among Mexican-Americans. Half a century later, Belinda Alvarez visits the plantation and begins digging into Milagros' story, with stomach-churning and surprising results.

This is a fantastic mash-up of folklore, urban legend, and the foundation of a new feminist religion, though it's really hard to categorize because of that. It's horror, yes, but it's more than that. Really, this could have been a much longer book, with more details about Milagros and Belinda, and I would still have been captivated.

Graveyard Shift

Graveyard Shift (Lana Harvey, Reapers, Inc.) by Angela Roquet  258 pp.

After reading the reviews of this book on Amazon, there are apparently editing issues. These aren't too noticeable when listening to the audio version. I found the book to be fun and enjoyable, in a dark humor kind of way. Lana is a Reaper as in Grim. Grim is actually her boss in Eternity where the reapers do his job by collecting the souls of the dead and ferrying them to the afterlife where their souls are designated, e.g. Heaven, Summerland, Hell, Nirvana, etc. Lana prefers to do the bare minimum her job entails so when a promotion is unexpectedly dumped in her lap she finds herself in battles with demons and more. Angels, Nephilim, Ancient Gods, and the aforementioned Demons all inhabit the world of eternity and not all are friendly. This book is kind of Christopher Moore-ish but not close to his caliber.

Vessel/Sarah Beth Durst

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst; young adult, fantasy; 432 pages

Once each century, the desert clans summon their gods to take human form; the gods inhabit a human vessel (after displacing the human soul inside), and restore water to the wells, heal sickness, and perform other miracles for the well-being of the clan.  The summoning is even more important than usual this year, when the Great Drought has destroyed many of the oases that the clans rely on for survival.  Liyana is the chosen vessel of Bayla, goddess of the Goat Clan, and she is more than willing to give up her life to save her people.  But when Liyana and the clan magicians summon Bayla, she does not come.  Believing her to be unworthy, Liyana's clan abandons her to fend for herself in the desert with only minimal supplies.  Then, on her third (and possibly last) day, a young man walks out of the desert.  He carries no food or water, and claims to be the trickster god Korbyn, of the neighboring Raven Clan.  He says that someone has kidnapped many of the deities that should have come to earth, including Liyana's goddess, and he needs her help to get them back. 

This is far and away one of my favorite books of this year.  The setting is rich and well-developed, and the back-and-forth between Liyana and Korbyn is lots of fun.  There is a villain in this story, but we don't get a glimpse of him until the very end of the book, so most of the conflict comes from trying to survive the harsh and beautiful desert, as well as trying to convince the isolated, self-reliant clans that they must work together to save themselves.  Highly recommended for fans of Robin McKinley, Tamora Pierce, and Rae Carson (though that last one might be because I'm reader her newest book right now, and it shares a similar desert setting). 

The Sugar Frosted Nutsack

The sugar frosted nutsack: a novel/Mark Leyner 247 pgs.

The gods and goddesses of the modern world currently live in a luxury skyscraper in Dubai.  They move around to always reside in the tallest building in the world.  Other things they do in their spare time is claim different aspects to be the god or goddess of...for example The God of Head Trauma who is also the God of Concussions, the God of Dementia and the God of Alcoholic Blackouts.  Sometimes there is conflict and sometimes someone makes a claim that turns out to be a blatant power grab.

The gods are a bit randy and like to create mischief.  They are currently obsessed with a butcher from New Jersey.  Ike Karton does OK with the attention but is destined for a spectacular demise.  An interesting take on modern obsession.

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