Fables: Rose Red

                                                           
I have fallen in love with the Fables series of graphic novels.  How could anyone not love the fairy tale twisted subversive dark delightful funny stories that Fables tells?  Imagine all your favourite fairy tale characters together, along with mythic creatures, witches, ogres, gods and goddesses, and then imagine worlds upon worlds of fairy tale tellings to plunder.  There is something so marvellous about this series, it's got so much going on in it, and it's fun and scary and funny.  Beauty is married to Bigby, otherwise known as the Beast.  Rose Red and Snow White, Prince Charming, King Cole, Pinocchio.....and these are adult fairy tales, mind.  So naked fairies abound, plus dark sorcery, spells and enchantments.  And the funniest look at politics and trying to hold a city, a haven and a farm together.  I love the mix of the stories, of all these characters together. 

Rose Red is about - Rose Red.  Remember the fairy tale Rose Red and Snow White?  Well, Snow is happily married to her Prince, but Rose Red is lying in misery on her bed, sulking because she has never forgiven Snow White for disappearing and marrying the Big Bad Wolf (Bigby).  We get the full story of Rose Red and Snow White growing up in their cottage, of the bear who comes to stay in winter nights, of the dwarf who Snow White saves three times, only to discover that he is a thief and is stealing magical items.  To evade his curse she is sent away, and so we get to see the real story of the 7 dwarves, and how Rose Red copes with her sister's death, and then discovery it was faked.  Rose Red is about Rose discovering the full truth at long last, because Fable Town is in danger from Death.  See?  I told you it was dark and magical and good.

I had borrowed this copy from the library, and last month I had borrowed a copy of Witches, the book in the series preceeding Rose Red. My original review is here.
                                         

Witches is the story of how Death was once captured, as the great mythic powers are wreaking havoc on many different worlds, slaying and laying waste to people in such great numbers (just because they can), that a group of monks decide to devote their lives to capturing them.  Witches features Buffkin the talking monkey, who along with a group of fairies, saves the day.  They stop Baba Yaga, the witch of the title, who complete with her walking house, has a plan to get out of the central land she is in, and make her way through all the worlds. The other great power causing havoc is Death. He is creepy and scary, very reminiscent of the gentleman from Buffy the Vampire episode from Season 4.  He makes people turn into zombies just by being near him.  He is a creature of nightmare.  And so powerful that even in the box he was captured in, his power leaked out and tainted whoever came near him.  Witches ends with the end of Baba Yaga, and Death moving into New York City.

The artwork in these graphic novels is stunning.  I'd like to frame so many of the pages!  The dialogue is uncanny, in that each character is captured in speech rhythms and use of words.  The characters are true to their original sources,even if the stories they find themselves in are adult now.  It's like a continuation of their original stories, told for grown-ups.  I can't rate this series highly enough.  If you haven't tried Fables yet, try one.

I think of all the ones I've read so far, Rose Red might be my favourite.  It could be that it features the bear in the woods, the dwarf with the stolen treasure - I loved seeing that fairy tale again here;  it could be that we see what realistically happens between Rose Red and Snow White, and how they finally come together again as sisters, or just that we see Rose Red finally get out of her bed and reclaim her place as mayor of  the Farm.  I think it might be all of those, and the love story that is in the background too.  Oh, and Beauty and the Beast's baby - you have go to see what happens!!

I read Rose Red for Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge.  I think I will be looking for a copy for myself, for my upcoming birthday.  I like it that much.

Catching up and no worries about running out of books to read.....

I've been sick the past two days with a version of the flu. Today I am home again because my daughter's babysitter and family caught the same bug and so I am spending the afternoon with Holly-Anne at home. If only this gave me time to read! Unfortunately I was so sick I couldn't read - Buffy tv watching and lots of sleep was all I could manage - so I haven't magically read anything, and missed Short Story Monday again. The good news is.......I went book buying today! I had to pick up the two books I had on order, and found 3 more.......
1. The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper #2 in The Dark is Rising Series
2. The Dead Hour - Denise MIna
3. The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
4.Inkheart - Cornelia Funke
5. The Various Haunts of Men - Susan Hill

My excuse for picking up the extra books are - If I like the Dead Hour, I can give copies to my mother and other people through the year. Inkheart I wanted to read before the movie opens soon. The Dark is Rising, because I enjoyed book 1 and now I want to read the series this year! It will be fantastic if I can finally get the whole series read. For the books I'd ordered, I really want to read The Various Haunts of Men, which is book one in the Simon Serrailler series - again, if I like it, can get copies for other people. And the Bloody Chamber, which I have been meaning to read for at least 10 years, and thought was out of print and couldn't find a used copy anywhere. One of my favourite movies, A Company of Wolves, is based on a short story in The Bloody Chamber. And I had to put back two other books to get later, and promise myself I would come back for the Book Thief, and book two of Paul Park's Roumania series which is getting raves in the fantasy world, and promise myself that I would ration myself to buying a book a week! Obviously has not worked this month already. But I feel better!

I guess I shouldn't worry about running out of books to read!

My copy of Locus magazine arrived yesterday with the year 2007 in review, so of course I have been making a list of books from there to get next. Even the reviewers in Locus were saying that they didn't have enough time last year to read all the books that were published, in the science fiction and fantasy fields. So they had to choose what to read and review. I thought this was an interesting point they made, because it seems to me to be true of publishing in general now - there are so many books being published in a year, that it is impossible to read them all. So how do you choose, then? How do I choose? Do I read only reviews? Other people's lists of what it is good? Word of mouth? What is your selection criteria, Gentle Reader? How do you choose what books to read in a given year? My criteria has always been varied - I like a good story, and try to read as much as I can, in a given year. I check out newspaper reviews, magazine reviews, Book Magazine, Locus, Guardian Unlimited Books online regularly, Book Slut has good mystery and young adult fiction reviews online, and then the rest is by chance, by going into bookstores, and now blogs. Entertainment Weekly and Stephen King's column sometimes have interesting books to look out for. And always, there is everyone's Notable Book List of the year, plus award winners etc.

I can't say I am willing to read anything, and that is part of my problem. If so many books are being published in fantasy, and mystery, the genres I read most in, how can I read other areas too? How do I choose my books? Favourite authors, word of mouth, gifts, plus the areas mentioned above. And always, I want something good, something beautiful, meaningful, interesting, deep, thoughtful, moving, original. Exciting.

One of the things I have found, that I mentioned in an earlier blog, is that these book blogs help me find books I otherwise would overlook - books that were published years ago, books in other genres that I don't often read in, books that are good but have been overlooked in a time when so many books are being published. So I am most grateful to you, other book bloggers, for writing about what we all love so much - books.

And despite critical reviewers writing about book bloggers and our lack of credentials and/or books spoiling reviews, I can't help think that book blogs are more useful and fun than a disservice to the publishing industry. I got my sister to read Persuasion because of one of the blogs I wrote about the movie and how the book is better than any version made yet! So my hope is that our book blogs do just that - allow us to talk about books, and help each other find wonderful books to read. The best of our blogs allow us a peek into one another's lives as we live around our reading. Many of us have children, work, husbands, and we build reading in and around how we live. Or build our lives around our reading, I'm not sure which comes first!

Youngest child has just come home, my life calls - the last story in The Door in the Hedge will have to wait til after dinner, I'm afraid.... Happy reading, and happy finding new books to read this year!