Enjoyable, and beginning to set the tone of the rest of the series. It's remarkable how much better the first book in the series is, like it was not written to formula like all the rest. Still, a perfectly enjoyable cozy mystery for housework and shopping.
User Profile
Database consulting engineer who loves singing music from the Italian Renaissance. Sci-fi, biographies, nonfiction.
This link opens in a pop-up window
Matthew Royal's books
User Activity
RSS feed Back
Matthew Royal rated Girl Genius Vol. 7: 5 stars
Matthew Royal rated Girl Genius Volume 6: 5 stars
Girl Genius Volume 6 by Phil Foglio (Girl Genius (6))
Matthew Royal rated Girl Genius.: 5 stars
Girl Genius. by Kaja Foglio
Agatha finds herself in a fairy-tale castle on a mountain pass, where she gets caught up in an evil plan …
Matthew Royal rated Agatha Heterodyne & the Circus of Dreams: 5 stars
Agatha Heterodyne & the Circus of Dreams by Kaja Foglio (Girl genius -- 4)
Review of "THIS IS MY SURFBOARD: A Long Composition with a Reference Section That Looks At Aspects of the Sandman's Life between Three Years and Fifteen Years" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I'm happy to finish this original series of Sandman comics right before the television series starts tomorrow on Netflix. It's remarkable timing, given I didn't read the comics on a schedule.
"Life is no play. We meet people once, and never see them again. There is no shape to events, no point at which we turn to the audience for their praise. No time at which we step behind the stage, to see the actors changing their wigs, and painting their faces, and muttering their lines."
Neil Gaiman has a pattern to what he writes. He rides a line of greatness and self-confidence/cringe that I'm afraid I'll get sick of, but never do -- even if someday I figure out how the magic works enough to do it myself, I'll still come back and re-read, re-watch, and re-feel what he's made.
Review of 'The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (Cat Who..., #1)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This is a delightful cozy murder mystery series! I love the premise that the newspaperman lives in a town obsessed with art. It's just the sort of fantasy world I'd want to live in -- close to our own, but with marked improvements.
This was a revisit to this series. I intend to listen to all the audiobooks in order while doing housework for the next year or so.
Matthew Royal reviewed Fuck yeah menswear by Kevin Burrows
Review of 'Fuck yeah menswear' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
This is a survey of and meditation on the "douche-bro" subculture of men's fashion. It does not feel complete for this reason. It is an oddly prescriptive guide, but is not disciplined enough to be a complete guide. Rather, it reads like an idea notebook with a mix of great ideas and crude inside jokes.
There are occasionally clever riffs on fashion photography, but there is far more noise than signal in this book -- it needs to be tightened up and reissued.