Book Review: Star Wars: Canto Bight

This casino city is the latest stop on the Journey to "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."

"Star Wars: Canto Bight" consists of four very different novellas set in the Las Vegas of a galaxy far, far away, on the desert planet Cantonica, ahead of the city's first on-screen appearance in Episode VIII.

The first of these, "Rules of the Game" by Saladin Ahmed, focuses on Kedpin Shoklop, a seemingly guileless Wermal who has won a trip to Canto Bight.

However, his dream vacation gradually turns nightmarish as he runs into various con artists before his encounter with Anglang Lehet, a Caskadag assassin who decides to use Kedpin in his mission.

Ahmed employs a straightforward, clear writing style, but he manages to craft a nice introductory tale. Since Kedpin is an outsider, the reader learns about Canto Bight with him.

Additionally, the contrast between Kedpin's cheery naivete and Anglang's hardened cynicism creates a fun tonal shift as we jump between their points of view.

Mira Grant's "The Wine in Dreams" is a less typical tale.

Derla Pidys, a sommelier, is trying to purchase a legendary vintage from the mysterious Grammus sisters, who claim to be from a dimension beyond hyperspace. 

The sale is complicated when ruthless nightclub owner Ubialla Gerald tries to procure the wine for her superior.

Grant's writing is quite poetic, but needlessly long descriptive passages and flowery dialogue (mostly from the sisters) slow things down too much. The pace picks up towards the end, but it's hard not to get bored during the buildup to the deal.

Luckily, "Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing" by Rae Carson more than makes up for it.

This novella introduces us to Lexo Sooger, a Dor-Namthian masseuse, and Lula, his human adopted daughter who works in indentured servitude. The pair appear to lead quiet lives until Lexo finds himself caught up on a power struggle between the elites of Canto Bight — something he has tried desperately to avoid.

Carson's story is the strongest of the four. It's fast-paced and thrilling, with an excellent main character. Lexo is easy to empathize with and he becomes increasingly fascinating as we learn more about him.

This tale also reveals the most about the hierarchy of Canto Bight, from its glamorous elites to those struggling to survive in its dark underbelly.

"The Ride," by John Jackson Miller, is the most fun of the four stories.

Here, we are introduced to Kaljach (Kal) Sonmi, a Heptooinian career card player with a debt and a tight time limit. He follows a system until he loses it all to the Lucky Three, brothers who make wild bets and win big.

Kal's seesawing luck and the Lucky Three's happy-go-luck attitudes make this an unpredictable ride. 

Gambling stories often hinge on the readers' understanding of games, but Miller — also known for 2014's "A New Dawn" — does a nice job of explaining the rules.

This collection's authors and editors also deserve credit for the subtle links between the four stories. 

These give us a satisfying sense of the Canto Bight community and some nice narrative threads for readers, but never to the detriment of the story being told.

It's unlikely that the events of this book will have a major impact on "The Last Jedi," but it will enrich one of the movie's locations and create some nice Easter eggs for fans who want to know about the background characters.

"Canto Bight" doesn't change the galaxy, but those who love all the small details and quirky characters of the "Star Wars" universe will enjoy at least three of the stories in this collection.

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Original Review on: http://www.nydailynews.com

Comic Book Review - Mystik U #1

While the DC Universe is filled with colourful superheroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and the rest of the Justice League that save the world and fight a ton of supervillains, it is also filled with quite a few magical heroes who fight demons and other magical foes. 

They haven’t been given much of a spotlight lately, but DC’s new bi-monthly series by Alisa Kwitney aims to change that with Mystik U.

The first issue of Mystik U is like DC meeting Harry Potter and X-Men after Zatanna finds herself taken to Mystik University, a place where people could study and harness their magical and supernatural abilities. 

The first issue combines an entertaining cast of characters with an interesting premise as one of the new students is bound to become a powerful force called The Malevolence that will destroy the world in seven years time.

Kwitney writes a good take on Zatanna, one who is younger than she typically is in the DC comics. She’s an engaging character with a good sense of humour that readers can identify with with immediately. 

All she wants at the start of the story is to be recognized as a good magician and be equal with her father, who doesn’t think she has ‘the gift’. One odd beat, though, is how she transitions from mourning the potential death of her father to being wide-eyed and giddy about Mystik U. 

The change happens a bit too fast as her father is never really brought up again in the issue, but otherwise Zatanna’s characterization and relationship with her fellow students is pretty well handled.

The supporting cast is just as entertaining as Zatanna. Its nice to see Kwitney using less-known or almost forgotten magical DC characters, like Sargon the Sorcerer or Mister E. 

Sebastian Faust is a social rebel that looks more like James Dean than a wizard while Enchantress alternates between a sweet looking girl and a punk hipster depending on the dominant personality. 

Sargon provides a bit of comic relief as the socially awkward one of the bunch while the new character Pia is an interesting addition to the magical corner of DC, adding another fish out of water in the school.

Mystik U has Runaways‘ Mike Norton doing the artwork that compliments the tone of Kwitney’s script. He captures Zatanna’s youth pretty well and includes a nice amount of detail in his facial expressions and background. 

One example is the differences between Enchantress when she’s June Moone and the sorceress, particularly in a set of panels where Moone is changing into the Enchantress in the background and is putting on make-up, dying her hair and giving herself a new hairstyle.

Some of the magical entities are also drawn well, such as the horde of demons that captures Zatanna’s father to Plop, the school’s new slime monster. Jordie Bellaire makes good use of the colours on these creatures and characters as well, giving some of the school’s settings an eerie feeling whether its in the cemetery or Dr. Psyche’s office.

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Original review on: www.flickeringmyth.com

Book Review – Marvel Superhero Adventures: Deck the Malls!

Marvel Superhero Adventures is a new early reader series from Marvel Press. The first volume follows Spider-Man and his friends in a holiday story. Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Deck the Malls! is the perfect way to get kids reading and get them into the Christmas spirit.

Peter Parker and Aunt May are in line for the new Stark Watch and Peter is being a little selfish, leaving Aunt May to wait in line while he goes off to make a list of things he wants. 

But while browsing for books with Gwen, Venom arrives to try and latch on to Peter! Now Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen have to fight through the mall to stop Venom and keep the shoppers safe. Through this fight, Peter also learns that at Christmas, it's better to give than to receive.

Comic artist Sean Ryan has created some eye popping artwork that features these characters in a younger-looking, kid-friendly style. The story is by MacKenzie Cadenhead, a former editor for Marvel Comics, and she has fun creating a story based on Marvel's most iconic character for kids, Spider-Man.

If your kids are learning to read and love watching Spider-Man on Disney XD, then they will love Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Deck the Malls! This series is also a great way to introduce kids to Marvel characters in a kid-friendly way. 

Future volumes will feature other Marvel characters along with more Spider-Man adventures, allowing these classic comic icons to be part of their lives before they graduate to comics.

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Original review on: www.laughingplace.com