Those Left Behind (Serenity)

Those Left Behind (Serenity) by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, and Will Conrad

Description: (From Back of Book) That’s how it is – in a universe filled with hearts and minds as cold and dark as the reaches of space, one small Firefly-class starship names Serenity takes its ragtag crew of mercenaries, outlaws, and fugitives in search of a job, any job, that’ll earn them enough cash to afford that most elusive commodity – peace.

Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, unveils a previously unknown chapter in the lives of his favorite band of space brigands in this prequel to the serenity feature film – the blockbuster follow-up to Whedon’s cult-hit TV show Firefly.

Review: This was a nice story in additon to the TV series and movie. I felt it was just another episode to the show. I loved the artwork as well. My hope is that they do not stop there and continue to create more stories. Very well done.

Score: 5 out of 5

Dracula, Prince of Mancy Faces

Dracula, Prince of Many Faces

Description: (From Amazon) The fictional Dracula of Bram Stoker's novel is better known than the actual Vlad Dracula the Impaler, who ruled as prince of Wallachia for three brief periods in the mid-15th century. This study by two Boston College professors who have written other books about Dracula explores how the legend of the Transylvanian vampire arose. As a ruler, Dracula spread terror far and wide, inflicting appalling tortures on his victims, killing them by impalement, by boiling or skinning them alive. Yet when the time came to defend Europe against Turkish invaders, he led the battle, and the authors view him as "the first modern Renaissance prince of the land." Florescu and McNally offer so much detail about the battles of kings, princes, princelings and claimants to thrones that the book will appeal only to the most ardent Dracula fanatics.

Review: After reading The Historian for my book club, I wanted to get some "real" history on Dracula. I remembered this book from my Borders days and decided to check it out. I'm glad that I did as it turned out to be very interesting. There is a lot of medieval history and a lot of side stories that are intertwined into the story of Dracula. I thought the authors did a good job of showing the real Dracula. I found him to be a very interesting person in history. I really recommend this book to anyone who wants to study the real Dracula.

Score: 4 out of 5

Sold

Sold

Description: (from Booklist)Lakshmi, 13, knows nothing about the world beyond her village shack in the Himalayas of Nepal, and when her family loses the little it has in a monsoon, she grabs a chance to work as a maid in the city so she can send money back home. What she doesn't know is that her stepfather has sold her into prostitution. She ends up in a brothel far across the border in the slums of Calcutta, locked up, beaten, starved, drugged, raped, "torn and bleeding," until she submits. In beautiful clear prose and free verse that remains true to the child's viewpoint, first-person, present-tense vignettes fill in Lakshmi's story. The brutality and cruelty are ever present ("I have been beaten here, / locked away, / violated a hundred times / and a hundred times more"), but not sensationalized. An unexpected act of kindness is heartbreaking ("I do not know a word / big enough to hold my sadness"). One haunting chapter brings home the truth of "Two Worlds": the workers love watching The Bold and the Beautiful on TV though in the real world, the world they know, a desperate prostitute may be approached to sell her own child. An unforgettable account of sexual slavery as it exists now.

Review: The subject matter of this book is not to be taken lightly. It is not a light hearted book. To be honest, there wasn't much to it. It was formatted as if it were a journal of experiences. I finished this book in about 2 hours total. It was interesting and sad, but nothing out of the ordinary. The book seems to have been given great reviews and all 15 reviews on Amazon.com were very positive. I think it was good, but perhaps a bit overrated.

Score: 3 out of 5