Review: Artful

ArtfulArtful by Peter David
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a free ebook copy of this book from NetGalley.

As Ka would have it, earlier this year I read Oliver Twist. So I was rather intrigued when I later saw that Peter David was putting out a book about the Artful Dodger. I've read Peter David and he is among my favorite comic book writers as well as one of my favorite authors of Star Trek novels. This man wrote the adaptations of Stephen King's Dark Tower comic series! So he's telling the story of one of the better characters from the Dickens novel? Sign me up.

All in all, this was an enjoyable story. David wrote it in a tone to echo Dickens's narrative voice, while adding his own elements of humor to it. And (view spoiler).

It was well paced, and had lots of historical and literary surprises packed in there. The Dodger himself remained an interesting character. I also like what David did with the other characters, both from the original story and other sources. And even the (view spoiler).

I was rather amused by the Artful's perspective on Oliver Twist himself, among his other views.

So yes, this was a good light read with nice pacing and some humor, along with a few surprising plot Twists.

View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Fiction of Joe R. Lansdale

Image
Things Get Ugly: The Best Crime Fiction of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received an eARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley... Joe R. Lansdale knows how to craft a story, with an instinctive grasp of character development. His language is such that he connects with readers and makes the task of reading an enjoyable escape. While all of the stories in this book fall into the "crime" category, this is a very loose grouping. There is such a mixed bag of offerings here, from the noir to the really freaking weird. As with most collections, some stories hit with me better than others, but there really aren't any duds here. View all my reviews
Read more

Review: Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey

Image
Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey by Robert Mack McCormick My rating: 5 of 5 stars I received an ARC of this audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley. I didn't know what to expect here, thinking it would be interesting to read a biography of blues legend Robert Johnson. This was more than that, though. Less too, but mostly more... No, this was more of a memoir of the biographer of Robert Johnson, in his quest to track down and speak with people that knew Robert Johnson. Mack McCormick had an interesting journey himself, and it was the mystery of Johnson's barely documented past that made this so intriguing.. Memoir, biography, mystery, and cultural study. All of that and more... View all my reviews
Read more

Review: Bookshops & Bonedust

Image
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree My rating: 3 of 5 stars I received an audio ARC and ebook ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. This was an entertaining followup to the breakout novel, Legends & Lattes . While not as solid a story as that told in the first book, this prequel adds quite a bit of backstory to the main character of both novels, Viv. Although as a prequel this novel is set some years before the first published book, I would recommend reading Legends & Lattes first. It serves as a better introduction to the characters and settings. Also, this book has an epilogue that is set after the events of both books. On a final note, Travis Baldree does the audio reading of this book himself, and he is excellent at capturing the characters and keeping the story moving.... View all my reviews
Read more