Graphic novel review: Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel
Genre: Middle grade paranormal action
Publisher: Scholastic Graphix, 2010
Lists: ALA's 2011 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens
From: Local library

Story: Garth Hale is dying, but he's not dead yet. So when he finds himself in the afterlife, he's got to get back to his mom and the living. Luckily he has a skeleton horse and mysterious boy to help him get to Ghostopolis where, hopefully, he can find a way home.

Frank Gallows has been employed as a ghost wrangler with the Supernatural Immigration Task Force a long time. He's tired. He's jaded. He's sloppy. He didn't mean to send Garth to the afterlife, but that's what happened. Now he has to get Garth back. He needs the help of his ex-girlfriend Claire, but they didn't part on the best of terms.

Thoughts: This book is a lot of fun. Frank Gallows is a great character with his wrinkled suit and sneaky yet authoritative ways. I would love a whole book just about the Supernatural Immigration Task Force (SITF) and Frank on the job with all of his ghostbusting tools. SITF and Frank are only a small part of Ghostopolis. There's a lot going on. The way your afterlife age is decided, the world's political structure, and the workings of time and physics are all described in a whirlwind as Garth races to the town. There's also a lot of heart as Garth learns about trust, compassion, and forgiveness. It was a quick and enjoyable read with only a few bodily function jokes for the younger set. I especially liked the hissing cockroches.

The graphics in this novel are great. The drawings are nice and clear, and there's usually something interesting going on off in the background. I usually don't care for coloring in my graphic novels, but this one does it well. I especially liked the shadowy blues used inside the buildings to notch up the suspense. The dialogue is hand-lettered in all caps, and was sometimes difficult to read due to the non-standard shapes and sizing. My problems were all at the beginning though, so I either got used to the writing or the lettering became more readable as the story went on.

Final thoughts: A fun ghost adventure for middle-grade readers with enough unexpected events to keep teens and adults happy. A Ghostopolis film, starring and produced by Hugh Jackman, is scheduled to be released in 2013.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Imortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley

What if you died and woke up...in the future?

Imortality, Inc. (1959) by Robert Sheckley
Genre: SF Time travel
Length: 5h 48m
Audio publisher: Blackstone Audio, 2011
Read by: Bronson Pinchot
Nominated for a Hugo under the name Time Killer
From: Purchased from Audible
Buy this audiobook from Audible.com

Story: Thomas Blaine, a 32 year-old junior yacht designer, is already obsolete in 1958. There are only so many yachts that need designing. When he gets in a car wreck and wakes up in 2110 New York, he has some serious questions. How is he alive? What's happened in the past 150 years? and Who will hire a 20th century yacht designer?

Thoughts: For such a short story, Imortality, Inc. is full of big ideas. It's also really funny. I guess 'yacht designer' is an occupation much like 'architect.' It's upper class, cerebral, and pays well, but it's so random, it made me laugh every time it came up. The story follows every-man Blaine from the '50's as he bumbles around future New York. It's less about time travel and more about a future where ghosts and zombies have been scientifically explained, immortality can be bought, and the afterlife is for anyone who has the right insurance. Imortality, Inc. is a forward-thinking story that could almost have been written today. Almost because it shows its age in its female characters. They start off strong and unsympathetic, but as soon as they start acting sympathetic, they fall into the female 50's stereotype of stopping their own lives to follow their men. Bleck. Ignoring the women, this is a great story with fabulous ideas.

Reading: I knew Bronson Pinchot from his role as Balki on the 1986 sitcom Perfect Strangers. He did a great job on that show, but I had no idea the guy reading this story was the same person. His voices in Immortality, Inc. are all distinct and extremely well done with a 50's noir flair. I especially liked the voice of Joe, who sounded a lot like Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon. His female voices were good, too, although I didn't care for the 50's baby-doll bimbo. I know it's a period voice, but it's a period voice I'd like to forget. 

Dose of Wikipedia: Imortality, Inc. was loosely adapted into the 1992 movie Freejack starring Emilio Esteves, Mick Jagger and Anthony Hopkins. That movie sounds so bad it must be good!
A scene from Imortality, Inc. where Blaine mistakenly stands in line for a suicide booth, was used in the pilot episode of Futurama. Funny stuff!

Final thoughts: A SF classic and must-listen for science fiction aficionados and Futurama lovers alike.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Audiobook Review: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

I'm on a monster kick and had heard I Am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson has zombies and/or vampires. Since it's almost Halloween, that's what I want!

Genre: Post-apocalyptic horror
Length: 5h 19m
Audio publisher: Blackstone Audio (2007)
Read by: Robertson Dean
From: Local library OverDrive
Note: The version I listened to was I Am Legend and Other Stories (10h 52m)

Story: Robert Neville has been living alone in his Los Angeles area home for three years. He gets up every day at 5:30. He's inside everyday by dark. He's got plenty of food and wine. What he doesn't have is companionship, because he's the last man on earth.

Thoughts: What a fabulous story. I loved the deliberate way Neville went about his daily errands and how he used the scientific method to learn what he need to know. If I was the last person on earth, I would spend my time in the library, too. What I wouldn't do is use an alarm to wake up at 5:30 am. It's the end of the world, sleep in! Descriptions of I Am Legend say it has vampires. I can see where that comes from, but when vampires travel in packs and are as slow-moving as these ones, they're more like zombies. I guess it's all a matter of food source: blood vs brains. The book takes place in 1976, and I didn't realize when I was listening that it was written in 1954! I thought it was written in the 1970's and was wondering why some of the technology was a little off. A manual choke in a car, for example. Overall an excellent story about what it means to be human and what makes life worth living.

Reading: Robertson Dean has acted in a lot of movies and tv shows, but this is the first time I've listened to him in an audiobook. I loved his deep voice. His slow, methodical reading was perfect for Robert Neville. His female voices weren't as melodious, so its lucky the female characters don't say much.

Film: After I listened to I Am Legend, I had to watch the 2007 film with Will Smith to see what was altered. The book and film are not at all the same. They differ in every detail. It was fun to see the different takes on the same story, and I like the parts they added to the movie. I found the movie to be a little too simplistic and upbeat, so I prefer the book.

Final thoughts: A must-listen cannon classic for both vampire and zombie aficionados.

Grade: 5 out of 5

This post is a part of Murder, Monsters, and Mayhem by Jenn's Bookshelves and RIP VI by Stainless Steel Droppings.

From movie to book - Contagion

I haven't seen the movie Contagion, but a good (fictional) pandemic always gets me excited. When I heard about Contagion, I was reminded of some of my favorite pandemic books.

After reading Peeps by Scott Westerfield, I could never look at a marshmallow chick the same. A sexually-transmitted parasite is spreading across the US. People with this parasite (aka peeps) hate everything they used to love and eat their friends. Cal is an asymptomatic carrier. His job, to track down other Peeps and contain the spread. The best part of the book is the alternating chapters filled with scientific facts on real parasites from Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer.

A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier also has alternating chapters, between people in the City, the place some people go when they die, and Antarctica, where Laura Byrd is not dead yet. What caused this pandemic? Where do people go when they disappear from the City? And is Laura the only person left alive?

I never did finish The Passage by Justin Cronin, bu the part I got to has stock with me. A virus found in the remote jungle turns people into grotesque blood-suckers. Those infected are being observed in a remote, high-security facility. What happens next? I don't know. I've got to take another stab at this one.