{"id":307,"date":"2010-09-25T20:57:55","date_gmt":"2010-09-25T20:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/"},"modified":"2012-08-17T05:18:37","modified_gmt":"2012-08-17T05:18:37","slug":"books-received-92510-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Books received 9\/25\/10 Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/61wmhnB127L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Flaming-Zeppelins-Adventures-Ned-Seal\/dp\/1616960027\/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1285446673&amp;amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"postlink\"><span style=\"font-style: italic\">Flaming Zeppelins: The Adventures of Ned the Seal<\/span><\/a><br \/>\nby Joe. Lansdale<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cross-pollinating famous 19th-century fictional characters and historical figures from disparate sources, this wild, steampunk fantasy presents two consecutive tales of madcap adventure. Hilarious and unpredictable, the first section follows Wild Bill Hickock, Annie Oakley, George Custer, Sitting Bull, and Buffalo Bill Cody\u2019s head\u2014which is affixed to the top of a mechanical body\u2014as they take the Wild West Show to Japan by zeppelin. Further exploits involve Frankenstein as an aphrodisiac for a local shogun, encounters with Captain \u201cBemo\u201d and his submersible, and a trip to the \u201cisland of Dr. Momo.\u201d The second phase of this nonstop romp\u2014partly inscribed by a courageous young seal on his trusty notepad\u2014accompanies Mark Twain and Jules Verne against the backdrop of a Martian invasion. Escaping the carnage on a speedboat converted into a touring balloon, the boisterous group encounters more perilous experiences in the form of an island of pirates, a steam-powered robot, a Kong-sized ape, and multiple tears in the space-time continuum. Raucous and inventive, this dime-store pulp parody is rife with absurdist comedy while maintaining a literary scope.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">Collects the first two Ned the Seal books: <span style=\"font-style: italic\">Zeppelins West<\/span> and <span style=\"font-style: italic\">Flaming London<\/span>. Lansdale &amp;amp; steampunk&#8230; need I say more?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51ePjnpTwjL._SL500_AA300_.jpg\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Double-Cross-Disillusionists-Trilogy-Book\/dp\/0553592629\/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1285447109&amp;amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"postlink\"><span style=\"font-style: italic\">Double Cross (The Disillusionists Trilogy: Book 2)<\/span><\/a><br \/>\nby Carolyn Crane<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>SOME SECRETS COME BACK TO HAUNT. OTHERS COME TO KILL.<\/p>\n<p>Justine Jones lived her life as a fearful hypochondriac until she was lured into the web of a mysterious mastermind named Packard, who gifts her with extraordinary mental powers\u2014dooming her to fight Midcity\u2019s shadowy war on paranormal crime in order to find the peace she so desperately craves.<\/p>\n<p>But now serial killers with unheard-of skills are terrorizing the most powerful beings in Midcity, including mastermind Packard and his oldest friend and worst enemy, Midcity\u2019s new mayor, who has the ability to bend matter itself to his will.  <\/p>\n<p>As the body count grows, Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men\u2014one on a journey of redemption, the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.<\/p>\n<p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radicalpublishing.com\/\/images\/titles\/driver\/covers\/driver2_main.jpg\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radicalpublishing.com\/titles\/comics\/driver-for-the-dead?series_id=40&amp;amp;issue_id=166\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"postlink\"><span style=\"font-style: italic\">Driver for the Dead<\/span> #2<\/a><br \/>\nCreated and Written by John Heffernan<br \/>\nPencils and Inks by Leonardo Manco<br \/>\nPaints by Kinsun Loh and Jerry Choo<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">Promo copy:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the heart of New Orleans, there is only one man trusted with moving the most dangerous corpses to their final resting place. Behind the wheel of his custom-made hearse \u201cBlack Betty\u201d, Alabaster Graves is the Driver for the Dead. Whether it&#8217;s getting rid of pesky witches or safely destroying the remains of a vampire, Graves is the best man for the job.<\/p>\n<p>When legendary voodoo priest Mose Freeman dies during an exorcism, Graves is the only man who can safely transport his body to the family crypt for his final rest. With Mose&#8217;s daughter Marissa riding shotgun, Graves begins the long drive to pick up the witch doctor&#8217;s body. But unbeknownst to Graves, an evil necromancer named Fallow has arrived in New Orleans, and he&#8217;d like nothing better than to get his hands on Mose Freeman\u2026<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">I reviewed issue one a few months back in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfsite.com\/columns\/graphica323.htm\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"postlink\">&quot;Nexus Graphica&quot; column<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<table width=\"90%\" cellspacing=\"1\" cellpadding=\"3\" border=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td><span class=\"genmed\"><b>Quote:<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"quote\">Not your typical hearse driver, Alabaster Graves challenges vampires, witches and other nasties. Snakes On A Plane screenwriter Hefferman borrows heavily from Constantine, both the comics and movie, and a variety occult mythologies for his first comics script. While the story moves at a nice clip and the stereotypical characters are interesting enough, artist Manco steals the show, elevating the tale beyond its fairly typical foundation. While always producing superior work, Drive For the Dead represents the finest work to date of Manco&#8217;s career.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><span class=\"postbody\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n<span style=\"font-weight: bold\">More in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/bb\/weblog_entry.php?e=2619\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"postlink\">Part I<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound. Flaming Zeppelins: The Adventures of Ned the Seal by Joe. Lansdale Promo copy: Cross-pollinating famous 19th-century fictional characters and historical figures from disparate &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v15.2.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Books received 9\/25\/10 Part II - The Geek Curmudgeon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s take a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived in the mail here at the Geek Compound. Flaming Zeppelins: The Adventures of Ned the Seal by Joe. Lansdale Promo copy: Cross-pollinating famous 19th-century fictional characters and historical figures from disparate &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Geek Curmudgeon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-09-25T20:57:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-08-17T05:18:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/61wmhnB127L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@rickklaw\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Geek Curmudgeon\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/\",\"name\":\"The Geek Curmudgeon\",\"description\":\"Where opinionated geek Rick Klaw expresses his views\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/61wmhnB127L._SL500_AA300_.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/\",\"name\":\"Books received 9\/25\/10 Part II - The Geek Curmudgeon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-09-25T20:57:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-08-17T05:18:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/#\/schema\/person\/5aff9b51d7f4ac07b16a90e522e59e87\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2010\/09\/25\/books-received-92510-part-ii\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/#\/schema\/person\/5aff9b51d7f4ac07b16a90e522e59e87\",\"name\":\"The Geek Curmudgeon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d8fef42bf3bfaecca46077e79bc05d3c47c12cd563bfc6f2de4e29467f85f832?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The Geek Curmudgeon\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rickklaw\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1162,"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions\/1162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}